Why we attacked Israel, abducted citizens–Hamas

Hours after launching a multi-front attack on Israel in one of the serious escalations in the Israel-Palestine conflict, Hamas commander has said that the attack was “in defence of the Al-Aqsa” mosque.

The Palestinian militant group, Hamas, on Saturday launched a multi-front attack on Israel, striking it at seven locations with nearly 5,000 missiles. As Hamas fired missiles, hundreds of militants infiltrated the territory and opened fire at civilians.

In a statement, Hamas commanders said that it launched attacks on the Israeli territory ‘in defense of Al-Aqsa’ which was stormed by Israeli settlers a few days ago.

Al-Aqsa has been the flashpoint between Palestine and Israel. Hamas military commander Muhammad Deif, who released a recorded message after the attack, said the strikes were in retaliation for Israel’s “desecration of the Al-Aqsa” mosque in Jerusalem.

READ ALSO: Israel intensifies strikes on Gaza as death toll nears 1,200

The Hamas commander also said the militant attack was also a counteroffensive on the killing of hundreds of Palestinians.

A few days ago, Al-Aqsa was stormed by scores of Israeli settlers, much to the annoyance of Palestinians.

Hamas has claimed to have “captured” civilians and soldiers during their infiltration into Israel. Hamas also released some pictures showing its militants invading Israel and an IDF post at the Gaza border.

Social media was replete with videos of Hamas fighters parading what appeared to be stolen Israeli military vehicles through the streets and at least one dead Israeli soldier within Gaza being dragged and trampled by an angry crowd of Palestinians shouting “God is Great.”

A video showed Hamas militants arriving in an SUV and opening fire at another civilian vehicle. Another video showed top commanders of Hamas praying as a TV next to them showed a militant attack on Israel.

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At least 40 people have been killed in Israel during fighting with Palestinian militants on Saturday. Meanwhile, Israel has launched massive airstrikes on Gaza to target the Hamas militants in Operation ‘Iron Swords’.