After Hamas terrorists killed hundreds of Israeli citizens, including women and children, in a series of surprise attacks on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to turn Gaza into “rubble.”
“Dear citizens of Israel, this morning, on Shabbat and a holiday, Hamas invaded Israeli territory and murdered innocent citizens including children and the elderly. Hamas has started a brutal and evil war,” Netanyahu said. “We will be victorious in this war despite an unbearable price. This is a very difficult day for all of us. Hamas wants to murder us all. This is an enemy that murders children and mothers in their homes, in their beds, an enemy that abducts the elderly, children, and young women, that slaughters and massacres our citizens, including children who simply went out to enjoy the holiday.”
“What happened today is unprecedented in Israel and I will see to it that it does not happen again,” he continued. “The entire government is behind this decision. The IDF will immediately use all its strength to destroy Hamas’ capabilities. We will destroy them and we will forcefully avenge this dark day that they have forced on the State of Israel and its citizens.”
Netanyahu warned the residents of Gaza to leave immediately because “all of the places which Hamas is deployed, hiding in, and operating from in that wicked city, we will turn them into rubble.”
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CBS News reported that at least 250 people in Israel, including women and children, were killed and 1,500 were wounded in the Hamas terrorist attacks.
The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) confirmed that the terrorist group also abducted Israeli civilians and soldiers. According to Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli army spokesman, a “substantial” number of Israelis were taken hostage.
