A surprise assault on the Holy Land has left Israeli forces reeling. As video emerges from the ongoing chaos, the scale and ferocity of the militant operation is rapidly becoming clear.
The situation erupted early Saturday morning as thousands of rockets rained down on Israel. Meanwhile, armed Hamas fighters employed numerous tactics to successfully infiltrate the country’s border.
Militants were recorded moving in on foot and on trucks, dirt bikes and boats.
Border defenses were seemingly overwhelmed by the myriad militants pouring in at numerous points. Making the response more difficult, defenders were forced to deal with unorthodox and clandestine infiltrations.
One video shows an apparent Hamas fighter flying in on a motorized paraglider.
Unconfirmed reports of at least one paraglider attempting to infiltrate southern Israel during rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/GerPyGkFw1
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) October 7, 2023
Hamas soldiers were quick to capitalize on their rapid mass infiltration and began gunning down civilians and assaulting any police or soldiers they encountered.
Rapid movement of the fighters appears to have overwhelmed the Israeli response in the opening hours of the assault.
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A video underscoring the initial success of the violent militants shows fighters atop a seized Israeli tank.
In the footage, the armed men can be seen atop a smoldering piece of Israeli armor. This tank likely had to be abandoned shortly after its capture as smoke pouring from the vehicle indicates it was totally disabled.
Israeli tank in Hamas hands.
This is insane. pic.twitter.com/Y0b5UQqAWJ
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) October 7, 2023
A full video of the assault shows militants on motorcycles breaching a border area before disabling the tank and dragging its crew out. The video is graphic, and can be seen here.
Not all infiltration attempts were successful, however.
A clip taken from the shore shows an Israeli warship opening fire on fast boats full of militants. From the rate of effective fire seen in the video, it seems unlikely either of these boats was able to land its passengers.
Footage of an Israeli warship engaging a boat from Gaza attempting an infiltration. pic.twitter.com/Gtsp2AvhpG
— Global: Military-Info (@Global_Mil_Info) October 7, 2023
The savage and indiscriminate assault on Israel may have left a bloody and ruinous path in its wake, but it’s clear that the massacre will only serve to whip up forces in the Holy Land to exact powerful vengeance.
Now, it’s Hamas’ turn to wait in fear as the Israeli Defense Forces prepare to show the world their answer to the heartless weekend slaughter.