The Hamas attack against Israel this Saturday the 7th occurred on the day that marked the 50th anniversary of the start of the Yom Kippur War. On this occasion, between October 6 and 7, 1973, the armies of Egypt and Syria surprised Israel by launching simultaneous attacks from the north and south during the religious holiday of Yom Kippur.
The country, then led by Prime Minister Golda Meir, was demobilized at the time. At the end of the war, on October 25, Israel recaptured and retained its territories captured in the 1967 SixDay War.
The current Hamas invasion, in which armed men entered the country by land, comes amid the celebration of Simcha Torah (homage to the Jewish holy book). Much of the army oversees the security of synagogues across the country. Israeli Consul in São Paulo and southern Brazil, Rafael Erdreich, said west that he sees some parallels with the Yom Kippur War and that the current Hamas invasion is very serious.
“It’s something very serious,” Erdreich said. “And it won’t be resolved quickly, it will take time. I am in contact with the authorities in Israel and now is the time to try to curb these attacks. There are still many terrorists on Israeli territory and the army is pursuing them.”
Erdreich also said that the terrorists’ current offensive is different from previous years. “This time the territory itself was invaded,” he noted. “We will find everyone and in the meantime Israel will defend itself against rocket attacks from Gaza.”
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In addition to the land offensive, the invaders spread across the southern region of Israel armed with machine guns and bombs. The city of Sderot is one of the destinations. So far more than 40 people have died. At the same time, Hamas fired a series of rockets into Israeli territory, the range of which can reach Tel Aviv, about 70 km away.
For the first time in 50 years, the State of Israel, through Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, issued a declaration of war in response to the attacks.
Israeli intelligence is looking for a response to the land invasion
In a statement from Israel Defense Force (IDF)In the last few hours, dozens of warplanes attacked 17 military complexes and four Hamas operational command centers in the Gaza Strip. The IDF called the retaliatory operation “Iron Sword.” Already those chief of staff announced a fullscale mobilization of reserve forces.
Erdreich emphasized that Israeli intelligence is working to understand how Hamas managed to smuggle men into Israel. “That is a question to which we do not yet have an answer,” said the consul. “The secret service is analyzing everything and will know soon. Our goal for now is to control these attacks and respond appropriately. Hamas will pay dearly for what it has done.”
In Arabic, Hamas means “Islamic Resistance Movement.” The group was formed in 1987 at the beginning of the first Palestinian intifada against the Israeli presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Hamas preaches the destruction of Israel in its statutes. There have been repeated conflicts between Israel and Hamas in recent years, with rockets being fired from Gaza. The last one occurred in 2021.