TIMELINE: What has happened since Hamas attacked Israel?
More than 2,000 people have been killed in the past five days following the unprecedented surprise attack by Hamas on Israel and the resulting Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
The Israeli military says more than 1,200 people have been killed in Israel and Gaza’s health ministry says there are more than 1,050 people dead in the territory.
The attack by Hamas put Israel on a wartime footing in what’s been considered the worst attack on the country since the Yom Kippur war in 1973, and “Israel’s 9/11.”
Here’s a timeline looking back at what has happened since the attack on Saturday morning.
At approximately 6:30 a.m. local time in Israel — roughly midnight eastern time — Hamas launched more than 2,000 rockets in its first barrage, setting off air raid sirens and forcing residents to take shelter.
The attack began on Simchat Torah, one of the most joyous days of the Jewish calendar, and the death toll would mount quickly over the coming hours and days.
The militant group had begun a multi-pronged ground invasion, with the Israeli military reporting gunmen had crossed into Israel at about 7:40 a.m. local time. Fighters blew up parts of the country’s highly fortified separation fence to enter communities and traded fire with the military.
The Associated Press reported that Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas’s military wing, shortly after the attack began said it was the beginning of what he called “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.”
A music festival near Israel’s border with Gaza saw some of the first casualties in Hamas’s attack, with partygoers fleeing once gunfire erupted after the rockets.
Many people were killed as they attempted to flee and around 260 bodies have been found.
Hamas said it was also holding “dozens” of Israeli soldiers
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