Middle EastPictures

Hamas launches surprise air and land attack on Israel – in pictures

Associated Press
Palestinians celebrate as an Israeli tank burns after it was hit by Palestinian gunmen who infiltrated areas of southern Israel. There also appeared to be a ground infiltration by Hamas gunmen towards Israeli towns and villages. Photograph: Yasser Qudih/Reuters

Dramatic images show rockets being fired, residents fleeing and Israeli military vehicles being seized

A rocket is fired into the sky above Gaza City. Sirens starting sounding across Israel and as far north as the contested city of Jerusalem on Saturday morning after volleys of what Hamas said were thousands of rockets were launched from the blockaded enclave. Photograph: Mustafa M B Hassouna/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A man runs away from a fire in Ashkelon after rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip. Mohammad Deif, Hamas’s military commander in Gaza, announced the start of a new operation to free Jerusalem’s sensitive al-Aqsa mosque compound. Photograph: Amir Cohen/Reuters
Smoke rises after rockets and shells fired from Gaza towards Israel hit the city of Ashkelon. Israel and Hamas appear to be headed to war once again after the Palestinian militant group launched a massive aerial and ground surprise attack from the Gaza Strip. Photograph: Mustafa M B Hassouna/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Palestinians celebrate as an Israeli tank burns after it was hit by Palestinian gunmen who infiltrated areas of southern Israel. There also appeared to be a ground infiltration by Hamas gunmen towards Israeli towns and villages. Photograph: Yasser Qudih/Reuters
Palestinians cross the border fence at Khan Yunis. Photograph: APA Images/Shutterstock
Israeli soldiers head south near Ashkelon. ‘The Israel Defence Forces will defend Israeli civilians and the Hamas terrorist organisation will pay heavy price for its actions,’ said the Israeli military. Photograph: Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
Residents in the Gaza Strip flee their homes to move away from the border with Israel. Photograph: Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
A rocket is fired from Gaza City towards Israel. In response to the attacks, which appear to have caught the Israeli forces by surprise, Israel has declared a state of war. Photograph: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
People look at the wreckage of destroyed vehicles in Ashkelon. The dramatic developments are the most serious flare-up in the volatile region since Israel and Hamas fought a bloody 10-day battle in 2021. Photograph: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images
Israeli security forces take cover during a rocket attack warning in Ashkelon. Photograph: Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Smoke rises after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a house in Ashkelon. Photograph: Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Palestinian militants of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades move towards the Erez check point between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip. Photograph: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
Members of Israeli security forces carry an injured person on a stretcher in Ashkelon. Photograph: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images
Palestinians take control of an Israeli tank after crossing the border fence with Israel from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Photograph: Said Khatib/AFP/Getty Images
Gazan citizens wave an Israeli licence plate. Photograph: Abed Zagout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Israeli police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site in Ashkelon hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip. Photograph: Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Residents in the Gaza Strip flee their homes to move away from the border with Israel. Photograph: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
Palestinians return to Gaza driving an Israeli military vehicle seized after militants crossed the border by land. Photograph: Majdi Fathi/AFP/Getty Images
A building in Gaza City destroyed by an Israeli airstrike. Photograph: Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Relatives mourn Palestinian militants killed in the raid into Israel at the mortuary of a hospital in Gaza City. Photograph: Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images
Rockets are launched from the coastal Gaza Strip towards Israel. Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPA
A Palestinian gunman holds his weapon after infiltrating the Israeli side of the border. Inside Gaza, civilians reported significant movement of armed factions as people braced for what is likely to be a major new escalation. Photograph: Yasser Qudih/Reuters
Emergency workers put out a fire in Ashkelon. Photograph: Amir Cohen/Reuters
Smoke rises after Israeli strikes in Gaza. Photograph: Mohammed Salem/Reuters