Growing Concern Russia Spurred Hamas Attack On Israel Related To Ukraine, US

Growing questions are being raised by informed observers as to how Hamas could have launched such a complex, sophisticated attack without assistance from a well-armed and financed backer, specifically, Israel. 

The attack comes as US political instability has halted aid to Ukraine, even as Russian forces have faltered. Strategically, this could force the US to focus on Israel - rather than Ukraine - giving Russia a breather there. And it raises questions about whether the US and NATO have been too reticent in undermining the Putin regime. Updates to continue. JL 

Patrick Kingsley and  Isabel Kershner report in the New York Times:
 

Israel and Hamas said they were at war Saturday after Palestinian militants launched an early morning assault on southern Israel that had few precedents in its complexity and scale. The timing of the assault was striking, hitting Israel at one of the most difficult moments in its history. It followed months of profound anxiety about the cohesion of Israeli society and the readiness of its military, a crisis set off by the government’s efforts to reduce the power of the judiciary. And the violence came 50 years and a day after the Yom Kippur War of 1973, when Israel was also surprised by a complex Arab attack

Israel and Hamas said they were at war Saturday after Palestinian militants launched an early morning assault on southern Israel that had few precedents in its complexity and scale, invading several Israeli towns and firing thousands of rockets toward cities as far away as Jerusalem.

The militants crossed into Israel by land, sea and air — firing at least 2,200 rockets into the country by late morning, according to the Israeli military. Israel retaliated with massive airstrikes on Gazan cities.

By early afternoon, at least 40 Israelis had been reported dead by the country’s main ambulance service.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said that 198 Palestinians have been killed and 1,610 Palestinians have been wounded on Saturday. Yousef Abu al-Rish, the top Palestinian health official in Gaza, said that most of the casualties resulted from firefights inside Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said operations were underway to clear the militants from infiltrated towns and that he had issued a call-up of reservists.

“We are at war,” he said in a televised statement.

The timing of the assault was striking, hitting Israel at one of the most difficult moments in its history. It followed months of profound anxiety about the cohesion of Israeli society and the readiness of its military, a crisis set off by the government’s efforts to reduce the power of the judiciary. And the violence came 50 years and a day after the Yom Kippur War of 1973, when Israel was also surprised by a complex Arab attack, leading to huge Israeli losses and soul-searching about the state of the country.

The poor coastal enclave of Gaza has been under blockade by Israel and neighboring Egypt for 16 years. Muhammad Deif, the leader of the military wing of Hamas, the Islamic militant organization that controls Gaza, said in a recorded message that the group had decided to launch an “operation” so that “the enemy will understand that the time of their rampaging without accountability has ended.”

Here is the latest:

• The Israeli military said that gunmen had crossed the border fence in several locations along Israel’s perimeter with Gaza. Palestinian militants infiltrated at least seven Israeli communities and army bases, according to the Israeli military spokesman, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht.

• The White House said President Biden had been briefed on the fighting, and the attacks drew condemnation from several Western powers, with Hamas singled out for criticism. Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said that the United States “unequivocally condemns the unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists” and that the United States stood “firmly” with Israel.

• Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said that there was a military operation “in defense of the Aqsa mosque,” part of the hotly contested holy site in Jerusalem that thousands of Jews have visited in recent weeks, and against the Israeli blockade.

• Israel’s Health Ministry said that at least 779 wounded Israelis had been treated at hospitals across the country. The Soroka Medical Center in the southern city of Beersheba had admitted more than 80 people, with some “in very difficult condition,” a hospital spokeswoman said. The ambulance service, Magen David Adom, issued an urgent call for blood.