Hamas threatens Ashkelon with major rocket attack as Israel-Gaza conflict grows intense
Tel Aviv: As the ongoing conflict between Israel and terrorist group Hamas grows tense, the spokesperson for Hamas's Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida, has threatened the Israel's coastal city of Ashkelon with a major rocket barrage in the coming hours, The Times of Israel reported.
The Hamas leader has also asked the residents to leave their homes in order to not fall victim to the attacks.
"In response to the enemy's crime of displacing our people and forcing them to flee their homes in several areas of the Gaza Strip, we give the residents of the occupied city of Ashkelon a deadline to leave before 5 p.m.," Abu Obeida said on his Telegram channel, according to The Times of Israel.
Over 770 Palestinians have been killed in air raids after Israel launched a strong retaliation after the 'surprise attack' by Hamas, Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday.
The Health Ministry in Gaza said that at least 770 Palestinians have been killed and 4,000 wounded in Israeli air raids. Among the dead are 140 children and 120 women, a ministry spokesperson said.
In addition to this, at least 18 people have also been killed and around 100 were injured in the West Bank region since Saturday, Al Jazeera reported. Meanwhile, at least 900 Israelis were killed and over 2,616 people injured after Hamas launched a barbaric 'surprise attack' on Israel on October 7.
In a war update shared by Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on X, the IDF said that about 30 hostages have been held by Hamas in Gaza in the ongoing conflict.
It also stated that about 4,500 rockets have been fired from Gaza on Israel after which the Israeli defence forces struck 1290 Hamas targets in Gaza.
An IDF Spokesperson has confirmed that 123 soldiers have been killed in the fighting, and 50 families have been informed that a relative was kidnapped by Hamas.
Earlier in the day, in a stern warning to Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "though Israel did not start this war" but "will finish it".
"Israel is at war. We didn't want this war. It was forced upon us in the most brutal and savage way. But though Israel didn't start this war, Israel will finish it," said Netanyahu in an address to the nation.
As part of its retaliation against Hamas, Israel has mobilised 3,00,000 troops. This is the largest mobilisation since the 1973 Yom Kippur War when Israel called up 400,000 reservists, Times of Israel reported.
The Israeli Air Force continues to extensively attack many targets of the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip.
