"A sea of bodies" as Israel-Palestine conflict escalates

Fighters from the Palestinian group Hamas rampaged through Israeli towns on Saturday killing and capturing scores of civilians and soldiers in a surprise assault met by Israel with massive retaliatory air strikes that killed scores in the Gaza StripAt least 200 Israelis were reported killed and 1100 wounded by gunbattles raging in more than 20 locations inside Israel AFP reported In Gaza health officials reported more than 230 people killed and 1600 woundedHamas said the attack was driven by Israelrsquos escalated attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank Jerusalem and against Palestinians in Israeli prisons ldquoThis is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earthrdquo Hamas military commander Mohammad Deif said announcing the start of the operation in a broadcast on Hamas media and calling on Palestinians everywhere to fightIn Sderot in southern Israel near Gaza bodies of Israeli civilians lay strewn across a highway surrounded by broken glass A woman and a man were sprawled out dead across the front seats of a carA military vehicle drove past the bodies of another woman and a man in a pool of blood behind another car ldquoI went out I saw loads of bodies of terrorists civilians cars shot up A sea of bodies inside Sderot along the road other places loads of bodiesrdquo Shlomi from Sderot told AFPIn Gaza black smoke and orange flames billowed into the evening sky from a highrise tower hit by an Israeli strike Crowds of mourners carried the bodies of freshly killed Palestinians through the streets wrapped in green Hamas flagsAlso read IsraelPalestine conflict Israel launches Op Iron Swords against Op Al Aqsa Flood by HamasGazarsquos dead and wounded were carried into crumbling and overcrowded hospitals with severe shortages of medical supplies and equipment The health ministry said 232 people had been killedStreets were deserted apart from ambulances racing to the scenes of air strikes Israel cut the power plunging the city into darknessHamas said it fired a volley of 150 rockets towards Tel Aviv on Saturday evening in retaliation for an Israeli air strike that took down a highrise building with more than 100 apartmentsHamas deputy chief Saleh alArouri told Al Jazeera that the group was holding a large number of Israeli captives including senior officials He said Hamas had enough captives to make Israel free all Palestinians in its jailsThe attack which began at 630 am local time 0330 GMT on Saturday involved Hamas fighters who infiltrated Israel by land sea and airIsraels Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned Hamas it made a grave mistake in carrying out the rocket attacks and ground assault ANI reportedCitizens of Israel we are at war The enemy will pay an unprecedented price Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message from military headquarters in Tel Aviv after the attacks broke outIsraels military launched a series of air raids on Gaza in response to the attacks the ANI report saidHamas would pay a heavy price for its actions the Israeli military told citizens living near the Gaza Strip ordering them to remain inside their housesThat Israel was caught completely off guard was lamented as one of the worst intelligence failures in its history a shock to a nation that boasts of its intensive infiltration and monitoring of fightersIn Gaza a narrow strip where 23 million Palestinians have lived under an Israeli blockade for 16 years residents rushed to buy supplies in anticipation of days of war ahead Some evacuated their homes and headed for shelters Agencies