"Last night, the Security Cabinet approved the war situation and, to this end, the taking of significant military steps, as per Article 40 of Basic Law: The Government. The war that was forced on the State of Israel in a murderous terrorist assault from the Gaza Strip began at 06:00 yesterday (Saturday, 7 October 2023)," the government said in a statement.
Israel was hit by an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning. The Israeli army said Hamas fired more than 3,000 rockets, adding that dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated border areas in southern Israel. The Israeli military has since sent troops to the southern territories to reconquer them from the Palestinian forces and started conducting strikes at Hamas’ positions in Gaza.