Israel responds to air, sea and ground assaultIt is rare for Palestinian militants to be able to make it into Israel from Gaza which is sealed off and heavily watched by Israel’s military.
As the day unfolded, the IDF said it was fighting in 22 locations, later adding that its operations has seen “ground and aerial forces thwarted hundreds of terrorists in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip and southern Israel.”
Another IDF spokesman, Brigadier General Daniel Hagari, said there were hostage situations in two locations – Ofakim and Beeri.
It is not clear how many people Hamas has taken captive, however video verified by CNN showed the moment some were seized.
Streaks of light are seen as Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercept rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from Ashkelon on Friday.
In one of the videos, geolocated by CNN to the neighborhood of Shejaiya in Gaza, a barefoot woman is pulled from the trunk of a Jeep by a gunman and then forced into the backseat of the car. Her face is bleeding, and her wrists appear to be cable-tied behind her back. The jeep also appears to have an Israel Defense Forces license plate, suggesting it may have been stolen and brought into Gaza.
A second video, which appears to show Hamas militants taking multiple Israelis captive, was geolocated by CNN to Be’eri in southern Israel, which is a village close to Gaza.
Residents of Kibbutz Beeri and Kibbutz Nir Oz, two Israeli communities, told the country’s Channel 12 television station that assailants from Gaza were trying to break into their homes. They have repeatedly pleaded on television for assistance from the IDF. ..................
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/07/middleeast/sirens-israel-rocket-attack-gaza-intl-hnk/index.html
