From the Liveblog of
Saturday, October 7, 2023
Hamas claims to fire 5,000 rockets at Israel, declares ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’
Gianluca Pacchiani is the Arab affairs reporter for The Times of Israel
Hamas says it has launched 5,000 rockets at Israel in an early morning surprise attack it calls “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.”
Mohammad Deif, the Hamas military commander, issues a statement saying that the ongoing attacks are in retaliation for Israel’s “desecration” of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
He adds that Israel killed and wounded hundreds of Palestinians this year, and that Israel rejected offers for prisoner exchange deals.
Over 5,000 missiles were fired, Deif claims.
“Today, the people are bringing back the revolution and reviving the March of Return,” he says.
He urges Arabs in Jerusalem and inside Israel, in the Negev, the Galilee and northern Israel “set the earth on fire under the feet of the occupiers.”
He further calls on the “Islamic resistance in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon” — countries with terror movements that are militarily supported by Iran — to “merge their resistance with that of the Palestinians today,” and “start marching towards Palestine now.”
Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of Hamas who is considered to be its leader in the West Bank, issued a statement along the same lines, calling on the Arab and Islamic nations to join “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.”
