What we know about the Hamas assault on Israel

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Hamas militants and Israeli forces a day after the Islamist group launched a surprise attack on Israel from Gaza, in a dramatic escalation of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Hundreds of people have been killed on both sides since the Iran-backed Hamas launched the multi-pronged assault at dawn on Saturday, with Israeli forces fighting holdout militants and pounding the Gaza Strip with air strikes.

This is what we know about the conflict so far:

The army said hundreds of Hamas militants attacked Israel from around 6:30 am (0330 GMT) on Saturday, the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, in an assault that also came 50 years after the outbreak of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

The Islamist group fired thousands of rockets into Israel from Gaza as its militants used explosives and bulldozers to break through the fence surrounding the blockaded Palestinian enclave, multiple sources said.

Using motorbikes, pickup trucks, motorised gliders and speed boats, the militants streamed into Israeli urban areas including Ashkelon, Sderot and Ofakim, which is about 22 kilometres (13 miles) from Gaza.

The gunmen attacked a rave party attended by hundreds of young Israelis near Kibbutz Reim, close to Gaza, Israeli media reported.

Israel said Hamas has taken more than 100 Israelis hostage.

The militants overran several locations inside Israel, including a Sderot police station where they were engaged in a shootout with Israeli forces on Sunday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to reduce to «rubble» Hamas hideouts in Gaza, an impoverished enclave of 2.3 million people hemmed in by an Israeli blockade for more than 15 years.

The army said it has deployed tens of thousands of soldiers to fight the militants in southern desert