Israel was stunned this Saturday morning, after the launch of operation “Al-Aqsa Flood” by the armed wing of Hamas. Israel then launched Operation “Iron Sword” in response, but the situation there remains chaotic and represents a real failure for the Israeli army, which does not seem to have anticipated this offensive.
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Incomprehension of the Israeli population after the attack by the armed wing of Hamas on Israel. This surprise offensive seems to reflect a dysfunction within the Israeli army, which was taken by surprise. According to the latest emergency report, 40 people were killed on the Israeli side. The Red Cross reports “ hundreds of injured “. According to AFP journalists, at least nine people have died in Gaza.
Israel has, however, imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007 and the Jewish state has also locked the Palestinian coastal enclave behind a security barrier, recalls our correspondent in Jerusalem, Sami Boukhelifa. Its construction was completed in December 2021. Israel until then had its iron dome, the anti-missile device, to protect itself from rocket fire carried out by Palestinian armed groups from Gaza.
The Jewish state proudly presented its “iron wall” two years ago. A 65 km barrier, lined with hundreds of cameras, sensors, radars, 140,000 tons of iron and steel. It also has an underground part. Its objective according to the Israeli army: to prevent the infiltration of Hamas soldiers into Israeli territory, via tunnels.
This barrier cost more than a billion dollars. It extends into the sea and is also connected to a weapons system, controlled remotely. However, this Saturday morning, it was a real fiasco, an unprecedented Israeli security failure which seemed to have taken place.
Listen again to our special edition on the Hamas offensive in Israel
This Hamas offensive seems to have escaped Israel
Because despite all the security in place, the Hamas commandos overcame all obstacles and entered Israeli territory without difficulty. They would have infiltrated using motorized paragliders » to lead a dazzling attack which was carried out on three fronts: on land, from the sea where these fighters landed on Israeli beaches, and from the air, via rocket fire, according to the Brigades war communications cell Azzedine Al Qassam, armed wing of Hamas.
On videos circulating on social networks, which have not been authenticated, we can see Palestinian bulldozers forcing the separation wall to gut it and leave free movement between the two sides.
Hamas also released a video this Saturday showing at least three men in civilian clothes frightened and captured by a squad of armed men with blurred faces. Official photos from the British agency Reuters showed Israeli civilians shot and lying at the foot of a bus station. Images of dead soldiers bathing in their blood have been published en masse on social networks, but have not yet been verified.
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