5,000 HAMAS ROCKETS HIT ISRAEL;’STATE OF WAR’ DECLARED

BARRAGES of rockets were fired from the blockaded Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least one person in Israel, an AFP journalist and medics said.

The Israeli army warned of sirens across the country’s south and central areas, urging the public to stay near bomb shelters.

The armed wing of Palestinian group Hamas said it was behind the fire, claiming its militants had launched more than 5,000 rockets.

“We decided to put an end to all the crimes of the occupation (Israel), their time for rampaging without being held accountable is over,” the group said. “We announce Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and we fired, in the first strike of 20 minutes, more than 5,000 rockets.”

Israel declared it was at war, hours after Palestinian militants fired 5,000 rockets at the country and infiltrated into several towns.

“Citizens of Israel, we are at war. This is not an operation, not an escalation – this is war. And we will win. Hamas will pay an unprecedented price,” Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Israel’s army said it was fighting Gaza militants who entered Israel by land, sea and air using paragliders on Saturday, after a barrage of rockets was fired at Israel from the Palestinian enclave.

“It was a combined ground raid which happened through paragliders, through the sea and through the ground,” army spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters.

“Right now we’re fighting. We’re fighting in certain locations around the Gaza Strip… our forces are now fighting on the ground” in Israel, he added.

Hecht confirmed there are casualties but would not be drawn on details, nor discuss reports that multiple Israelis had been captured by Palestinian militants.

Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza since 2007 after Hamas took power.

Palestinian militants and Israel have fought several devastating wars since.

The latest fire follows a period of heightened tensions in September, when Israel closed the border to Gazan workers for two weeks.

The shutdown of the crossing came as Palestinian protest rocked the heavily militarised border.

The Indian embassy in Israel has asked Indian nationals living in the country under attack by Hamas militants to “remain vigilant” and “observe safety protocols as advised by local authorities.”

Russia on Saturday urged restraint from all sides after Palestinian militants fired hunderds of rockets on Israel, which then launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

“We are now in contact with everyone. With the Israelis, Palestinians, Arabs,” Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Russian private news agency Interfax, adding: “Of course, we always call for restraint.” 

In Gaza, people rushed to buy supplies in anticipation of days of conflict ahead. Some evacuated their homes and headed for shelters.

Hamas military commander Mohammad Deif announced the start of the operation in a broadcast on Hamas media, calling on Palestinians everywhere to fight.