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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.<\/p>\n
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The Israeli army warned of sirens across the country’s south and central areas, urging the public to stay near bomb shelters.<\/p>\n
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The armed wing of Palestinian group Hamas said it was behind the fire, claiming its militants had launched more than 5,000 rockets.<\/p>\n
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“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.”<\/p>\n
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Israel declared it was at war, hours after Palestinian militants fired 5,000 rockets at the country and infiltrated into several towns.<\/p>\n
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“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.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
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“It was a combined ground raid which happened through paragliders, through the sea and through the ground,” army spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters.<\/p>\n
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“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.<\/p>\n
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Hecht confirmed there are casualties but would not be drawn on details, nor discuss reports that multiple Israelis had been captured by Palestinian militants.<\/p>\n
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Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza since 2007 after Hamas took power.<\/p>\n
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Palestinian militants and Israel have fought several devastating wars since.<\/p>\n
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The latest fire follows a period of heightened tensions in September, when Israel closed the border to Gazan workers for two weeks.<\/p>\n
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The shutdown of the crossing came as Palestinian protest rocked the heavily militarised border.<\/p>\n
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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.”<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
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“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.” <\/p>\n
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In Gaza, people rushed to buy supplies in anticipation of days of conflict ahead. Some evacuated their homes and headed for shelters.<\/p>\n
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Hamas military commander Mohammad Deif announced the start of the operation in a broadcast on Hamas media, calling on Palestinians everywhere to fight.<\/p>\n
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