Israel is stunned by a surprise Hamas strike from Gaza, which kills hundreds of people.

In an unprecedented surprise early morning onslaught on Saturday during a significant Jewish holiday, scores of Hamas militants broke out of the blockaded Gaza Strip and into surrounding Israeli communities, murdering dozens and kidnapping others.

Israel declared war on Hamas after being taken aback and began carrying out airstrikes in Gaza, threatening to exact a "unprecedented price" on the group.

Gunmen from Hamas invaded up to 22 areas outside of the Gaza Strip in a startlingly broad attack, encompassing towns and other settlements up to 15 kilometers from the Gaza border.

They roved for hours in some locations, killing soldiers and bystanders while Israel's military struggled to mount a defense.

Even when it got dark, there were still gunfights going on, and two towns had hostage situations due to extremists.

According to Israel's national rescue agency, the attack was the bloodiest in Israel in decades with at least 200 fatalities and 1,100 injuries.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that at least 1,610 people have been injured and at least 198 people have died as a result of Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.

Unknown numbers of civilians and soldiers were kidnapped by Hamas militants and taken to Gaza; this is a very sensitive subject for Israel.

Israel's threats of escalating its reaction raised the possibility that the war may reach a deadlier stage.

Previous wars between Israel and the Hamas authorities of Gaza resulted in extensive death and destruction in that region as well as days of rocket fire on Israeli communities.

With the security breach stinging Israel's far-right government and Palestinians despondent by an endless occupation in the West Bank and strangling blockade of Gaza, the situation could get more explosive.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in a televised speech on Saturday night that the military will use all of its might to destroy Hamas' capabilities but that the conflict will "take time" after previously declaring Israel to be at war.

He declared, "We will triumph over them and exact revenge for this dark day.

After dusk, Israeli bombings in Gaza increased in intensity, causing massive explosions to level a number of residential structures, including a 14-story skyscraper in the heart of Gaza City that housed both Hamas offices and dozens of apartments.

Just before, Israeli forces fired a warning shot, but no casualties were reported.

Soon after, four cities in central Israel were targeted by a Hamas rocket bombardment, including Tel Aviv and a nearby suburb, where two individuals suffered critical injuries.

The Israeli military reported that Hamas fired more than 3,500 rockets during the day.

Israelis were surprised by the attack's power, intelligence, and timing.

Hamas fighters drove motorcycles, trucks, paragliders, and speed boats along the shoreline to cross after using explosives to breach the border fence enclosing the Mediterranean region.

There was a trail of dead citizens in several towns where they had run into the oncoming shooters.

A bloodied woman was found dead in her car seat on the highway outside of Sderot.

At least nine victims of a shooting at a bus stop in the town were lying on stretchers on the sidewalk with their baggage still nearby.

As she was being carried away, one woman grabbed the deceased person's helmet off the ground and embraced the body of a family member who was lying on the ground close to a crashed motorcycle while screaming.

A senior Israeli woman who had been kidnapped by Hamas militants was seen being driven back into Gaza on a golf buggy, and another woman was captured between two terrorists on a motorcycle.

Additionally, pictures showed rebels driving seized Israeli military vehicles through the streets of Gaza.

Mohammed Deif, the enigmatic head of Hamas' military wing, claimed that the attack was in retaliation for the 16-year blockade of Gaza, recent Israeli raids inside West Bank cities, violence at Al Aqsa, the disputed Jerusalem holy site revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, rising settler attacks against Palestinians, and settlement expansion.

The message's final words were "enough is enough," according to Mr. Deif, who does not frequently appear in public.

He urged Palestinians from east Jerusalem to northern Israel to join the battle and said that the attack was just the beginning of what he named Operation Al-Aqsa Storm. The masses are rediscovering their revolution now.

The Hamas attack on Simchat Torah, a typically happy day when Jews finish reading the Torah scroll once a year, brought back painful memories of the 1973 Middle East War, which occurred almost exactly 50 years ago today. In that conflict, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Yom Kippur, the most important day of the Jewish calendar, in an effort to reclaim Israeli-occupied territories.

Criticism of Mr. Netanyahu and his far-right partners, who had campaigned on taking more robust action against threats from Gaza, was heightened by comparisons to one of the most horrific episodes in Israeli history.

Political analysts slammed the administration for failing to foresee what seemed to be a Hamas strike that had not been anticipated in terms of planning and coordination.

When asked by reporters how Hamas managed to surprise the army, Israeli army spokesman Lt Col Richard Hecht responded, "That's a good question."

The kidnapping of Israeli soldiers and civilians also brought up a particularly difficult topic for Israel, which has a history of striking extremely unfair trades to return captured Israelis.

The military arm of Hamas alleged that it was imprisoning Israeli soldiers in tunnels and "safe places" around the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military acknowledged that some Israelis had been kidnapped but would not specify how many.

If accurate, the accusation might lead to difficult negotiations for a swap with Israel, which is imprisoning thousands of Palestinians.

Additionally taken were an unknown number of people. Four people, including two women, were taken from the kibbutz of Kfar Azza, as reported by the AP.

A black jeep stopped in Gaza, and when the back door opened, a young Israeli woman crawled out with her hands bound behind her back and bleeding from the head.

She was pulled by the hair into the back seat of the car by a man brandishing a gun.

According to Israeli TV, the hostages also included employees from the Philippines and Thailand.

Just two and a half kilometers from the Gaza Strip, in the kibbutz of Nahal Oz, scared residents reported hearing incessant gunfire reverberating off the buildings while firefights went on.

Since we have the Iron Dome (missile defense system) and our safe rooms, we feel somehow safer with rockets. However, knowing that terrorists are prowling throughout neighborhoods creates a new type of fear, according to 42-year-old Nahal Oz volunteer fireman and mother of three Mirjam Reijnen.

Mr. Netanyahu promised that Hamas "will pay an unprecedented price" earlier in the day.

Whether Israel will undertake a ground assault into Gaza, a heavily populated territory with more than two million residents, a move that has historically resulted in increased casualties, was a key question at this point.

In addition to the 31 battalions currently present, the Israeli military was sending four divisions of soldiers and tanks to the Gaza border, according to spokeswoman Hagari.

After sunset, a large portion of the population in Gaza was plunged into darkness due to Israel's cutoff of electrical supply, which accounts for almost all of the territory' power.

Hamas claimed it has prepared for a possibly protracted conflict. Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, said Al-Jazeera TV, "We are ready for any choices, including all-out war.

"We are prepared to take whatever action is required to protect the honor and freedom of our people."

"This appalling assault against Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza," said US Vice President Joe Biden.

According to a White House statement, he told Mr. Netanyahu that Israel "has a right to defend itself and its people".

Saudi Arabia, which has discussed normalizing relations with Israel with the US, urged moderation on both sides.

According to the monarchy, it had already issued numerous warnings about the risk of "the situation exploding as a result of the continued occupation (and) the Palestinian people being deprived of their legitimate rights."

Hezbollah, a militant organization in Lebanon, welcomed Hamas and praised the attack as retaliation for "Israeli crimes". The organization said that Hamas and its command in Lebanon were speaking about the operation.

The incident occurs amid historically deep divisions within Israel over Prime Minister Netanyahu's plan to reform the court.

As a result of widespread opposition to the plan, tens of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets to protest, and hundreds of military reservists have opted out of volunteer service. This unrest has raised questions about the military's readiness for combat and its ability to deter enemies.

Additionally, it happens at a time when tensions between Israel and the Palestinians are rising and the peace process has essentially been dead for years.

The development of settlements in the occupied West Bank has increased under Israel's far-right government over the past year, Israeli settler violence has driven hundreds of Palestinians from their homes there, and tensions have risen around a sensitive Jerusalem holy site.

Israel has kept Gaza under siege ever since Hamas took over the region in 2007. Since since, the fierce rivals have engaged in four conflicts.

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