The surprise and unprecedented multifront attack – by air, land and sea – by the Hamas militant group in southern Israel from the Gaza Strip is a result of a "colossal failure" of the country's intelligence agencies, according to media reports and experts.
Militants from Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, fired more than 3,000 rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Saturday morning, according to the Israeli military, while Hamas fighters entered southern Israel by land, sea and air, using paragliders and even captured several Israeli soldiers near the border.
At least 350 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed and more than 1,900 injured in Israel - the deadliest day for the country in at least 50 years. On the Gaza Strip side, there are nearly 300 deaths and about 1,500 wounded in Israel’s counterattack, media reports said on Sunday.