Israel Faces ‘Long, Difficult War’ After Hamas Attack From Gaza (Incredible map of attack span)

Israel’s military has warned that Hamas militants from Gaza are still fighting inside Israel after they infiltrated southern communities and left a reported 250 people dead.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told Israelis they are going into a “long and difficult war”.

Hundreds of gunmen burst into southern Israel, killing soldiers and civilians, and taking into Gaza what the army said was a “significant number” of hostages.

These have continued on Sunday morning, with the Israeli Air Force saying it was targeting “operational infrastructure” in Gaza.

Israel also carried out artillery strikes in Lebanon, following “shooting carried out a few minutes ago into Israeli territory”, Israel Defense Forces said.

More than 200 people have been killed since Palestinian militants infiltrated the Israel border from Gaza on Saturday morning, according to Palestinian health officials.

Gazans received Israeli text messages overnight telling them to leave their homes and move to city centres or take refuge in shelters.

The Israeli prime minister said in an overnight message that the war had been “forced on us by a murderous attack by Hamas”, and the first stage would end in the coming hours when most of the militants on Israeli territory had been wiped out. Israel would restore security to its citizens and win, he added.

The Israeli government also said it would cut off electricity, fuel and goods supplies to Gaza.

Israel’s nightmare scenario – armed Palestinian militants at large in the south of the country – began early on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath and festival of Simchat Torah.

Gunmen cut through the Gaza perimeter fence, storming into Israel on motorbikes, paragliders and by sea. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman said the militants numbered in the high hundreds, while more than 3,000 rockets were fired across Israel across the the day.

“They attacked dozens of Israeli communities and IDF bases and went door to door, house to house,” said Lt Col Jonathan Conricus.

“They executed Israeli civilians in cold blood in their homes and then continued to drag into Gaza Israeli civilians and military personnel. I’m talking women, children, elderly, disabled.”

Distressing videos emerged of Israeli civilians running for their lives from a festival in the desert, and of women being bundled into vehicles and kidnapped.

Israelis rang into news channels saying they were hiding in their homes and scared for their lives. The town of Netiv HaAsara said 15 of its residents were shot dead by Hamas militants.

In the town of Sderot, a resident called Shlomi described seeing a “sea of bodies, inside Sderot along the road”.

Gradually the Israeli military began to reassert control over most of the southern communities. Hostages held in a dining room in Kibbutz Be’eri were eventually freed after 18 hours, Israeli media reported. Shortly afterwards further reports said troops had freed hostages in the town of Ofakim and the attackers holding them had been killed.

US President Joe Biden spoke of America’s “rock-solid and unwavering” support for Israel which was “under attack orchestrated by a terrorist organisation”.

Hamas’s military wing said the number of Israelis captured was several times greater than dozens and they included senior military officers.

By the end of Saturday, more than 1,500 people had been wounded in Gaza and 1,500 more in Israel, officials said.

The army said Hamas’s unprecedented level of violence would be met with an unprecedented response.

Tens of thousands of reservists have been mobilised and are now expected to launch a ground operation in Gaza.

On Saturday Israeli strikes destroyed the 11-storey Palestine Tower in downtown Gaza City, which houses Hamas radio stations in the rooftop.

The Israeli air force said it struck “military infrastructure in two multi-storey buildings used by senior Hamas terrorist operatives for carrying out terrorist activity”, and that it had warned occupants to evacuate before the attack.

There was also violence in several locations in the West Bank on Saturday. Palestinian medics reported that six Palestinians were shot dead during confrontations with Israeli forces.

Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif called on Palestinians everywhere to join the group’s operation.

“We have decided to put an end to these Israeli offences with God’s help, so the enemy understands that the time of wreaking havoc without being held accountable is over,” he said.

Ismail Haniyeh, the leader-in-exile of Hamas, claimed that Palestinian factions intended to expand the violence to the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas spokesman, meanwhile told the BBC that the group had direct backing for the attack from Iran.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas – a political rival of Hamas – said the Palestinian people had the right to defend themselves against the “terror of settlers and occupation troops”.

UN Secretary General António Guterres said he was “appalled by reports that civilians have been attacked and abducted from their own homes”, while the UK’s Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, said it “unequivocally condemns the horrific attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians”.

However Saudi Arabia called for an immediate halt to the escalation, saying it had warned repeatedly about the dangers stemming from “continued occupation” and “the deprivation of the Palestinian people of their legitimate rights”.

How Islam progressively takes over countries By Mark Ellis

In Dr. Peter Hammonds book, Slavery, Terrorism and Islam, he documents the way Muslims slowly develop a presence in various countries and as their population numbers build, become more aggressive and assertive about exercising Sharia law.

Islam is not a religion, nor is it a cult. In its fullest form, it is a complete, total, 100% system of life, Dr. Hammond notes in his book. Islam has religious, legal, political, economic, social, and military components. The religious component is a beard for all of the other components.

Their takeover of a country, what Dr. Hammond refers to as Islamization, begins when the population of Muslims reaches a critical mass, and they being to agitate for various privileges.

Open, free, democratic societies are particularly vulnerable. When politically correct, tolerant, and culturally diverse societies agree to Muslim demands for their religious privileges, some of the other components tend to creep in as well, he notes.

This is how it works, according to Dr. Hammond:

When the Muslim population remains under 2% in a country, they will be seen primarily as a peace-loving minority and not as a threat to other citizens. This is the current situation in:

United States Muslim 0.6% Australia Muslim 1.5% Canada Muslim 1.9% China Muslim 1.8% Italy Muslim 1.5% Norway Muslim 1.8%

As the Muslim population reaches 2% to 5%, they begin to recruit from ethnic minorities and disaffected groups, within prisons and street gangs. This is happening in:

Denmark Muslim 2% Germany Muslim 3.7% United Kingdom Muslim 2.7% Spain Muslim 4% Thailand Muslim 4.6%

From 5% on, they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population, Dr. Hammond notes. For example, they will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food and increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature such food on their shelves along with threats for failure to comply. This is happening in:

France Muslim 8% Philippines 5% Sweden Muslim 5% Switzerland Muslim 4.3% The Netherlands Muslim 5.5% Trinidad & Tobago Muslim 5.8%

Soon they begin to apply pressure to allow Sharia law within their own communities (sometimes ghettos).

When Muslims approach 10% of the population, they tend to increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions, Dr. Hammond notes. In Paris, we are already seeing car-burnings. Any non-Muslim action offends Islam, and results in uprisings and threats, such as in Amsterdam, with opposition to Mohammed cartoons and films about Islam. These tensions are seen on a regular basis in: Guyana Muslim 10% Riots in Pakistan, 2013 Riots in Pakistan, 2013 India Muslim 13.4% Israel Muslim 16% Kenya Muslim 10% Russia Muslim 15%

The violence increases when the Muslim population reaches 20%. After reaching 20%, nations can expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings, and the burnings of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues, such as in:

Ethiopia Muslim 32.8% At 40%, nations experience widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks, and ongoing militia warfare, such as in:

Bosnia Muslim 40% Chad Muslim 53.1% Lebanon Muslim 59.7% From 60%, persecution of non-believing infidels rises significantly, including sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia law as a weapon, and Jizya, a tax placed on infidels, such as in: Albania Muslim 70% Malaysia Muslim 60.4% Qatar Muslim 77.5% Sudan Muslim 70%

After 80%, expect daily intimidation and violent jihad, some State-run ethnic cleansing, and even some genocide, as these nations drive out infidels, and move toward a 100% Muslim society, which has been experienced to some degree in:

Bangladesh Muslim 83% Egypt Muslim 90% Gaza Muslim 98.7% Indonesia Muslim 86.1% Iran Muslim 98% Iraq Muslim 97% Jordan Muslim 92% Morocco Muslim 98.7% Pakistan Muslim 97% Palestine Muslim 99% Syria Muslim 90% Tajikistan Muslim 90% Turkey Muslim 99.8% United Arab Emirates Muslim 96%

A 100% Muslim society will theoretically usher in their version of peace the peace of Dar-es-Salaam the Islamic House of Peace. Here theres supposed to be peace, because everybody is a Muslim, the Madrassas are the only schools, and the Koran is the only word, such as in:

Afghanistan Muslim 100% Saudi Arabia Muslim 100% Somalia Muslim 100% Yemen Muslim 100%

Dr. Hammond observes this Islamic ideal is seldom realized. Unfortunately, peace is never achieved, as in these 100% states the most radical Muslims intimidate and spew hatred, and satisfy their blood lust by killing less radical Muslims, for a variety of reasons.

It is important to understand that in some countries, with well under 100% Muslim populations, such as France, the minority Muslim populations live in ghettos, within which they are 100% Muslim, and within which they live by Sharia law, he states.

Dr. Hammond is also concerned by demographic trends. Todays 1.5 billion Muslims make up 22% of the worlds population, he observes. But their birth rates dwarf the birth rates of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, and all other believers. Muslims will exceed 50% of the worlds population by the end of this century.

Dr. Peter Hammond is a missionary who has pioneered evangelistic outreaches in the war zones of Mozambique, Angola and Sudan. Peter has travelled hundreds of thousands of miles to deliver Bibles to persecuted Christians in Africa and Eastern Europe.

He is the Founder and Director of Frontline Fellowship, the Founder and Chairman of Africa Christian Action, the Director of the Christian Action Network and the Chairman of The Reformation Society and the author of numerous missions-related books. He is the Editor of both Frontline Fellowship News and Christian Action.

Peter has developed the Biblical Worldview Seminar and Great Commission Course to mobilize churches to comprehensively apply the Lordship of Christ to all areas of life and to fulfill the Great Commission.

Peter was born in Cape Town and brought up in Rhodesia now Zimbabwe. He converted to Christ in 1977, worked in Scripture Union and Hospital Christian Fellowship, served in the South African Defense Force and studied at Baptist Theological College, Cape Town. He also earned a Doctorate in Missiology. For more information about his book, go here.

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