On the second day of the bloody conflict between the Israeli military and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas, fighting continues in southern Israel where Hamas militants infiltrated.
On the 8th (local time), the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced in a morning briefing that control over the southern Israeli region infiltrated by Hamas militants was regained overnight. At least eight locations, including the Be'eri Kibbutz in Sderot where dozens of Israeli residents were held hostage, are still engaged in fighting. However, hostages held in Be'eri and Ofakim Kibbutzim were rescued, and the situation at the Sderot police station, which was controlled by armed forces, has been resolved.
Israeli police station damaged during battle to drive out Hamas armed forces [Image source=AFP Yonhap News]
They also reported that about ten militants were killed and dozens were arrested during the operation. The number of Israeli soldiers killed has reached 26.
The military authorities plan to continue searches to find Hamas militants who may be in hiding while evacuating residents in the area. The Israeli police estimated that 200 to 300 Hamas militants infiltrated along with mortar attacks the previous day.
The Israeli military stated that through overnight airstrikes, they attacked 426 Hezbollah-related facilities in the Gaza Strip, including about ten high-rise buildings over ten stories tall.
Israel-occupied Shebaa Farms on the Golan Heights bordering Lebanon and Syria [Image source=AFP Yonhap News]
In northern Israel, the Lebanese armed faction Hezbollah appeared. Hezbollah claimed responsibility after attacking the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms on the Golan Heights, bordering Lebanon and Syria. Shebaa Farms is a disputed territory between Lebanon and Israel. Subsequently, the Israeli military retaliated with shelling in southern Lebanon where the shells originated.
With Hezbollah, supported by Iran which is hostile to Israel, intervening in Hamas's attack against Israel, attention is focused on whether armed groups in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and others, which Israel calls Iran's 'proxy forces,' will also participate in the war.
On the second day of Israeli airstrikes, over 300 people have died and 1,864 have been injured in Israel. In the Palestinian Gaza Strip, there have been 256 deaths and 1,788 injuries.
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