By-Srushti Sharma
Israel declared war, as it blasted the Gaza Strip with bombs on Sunday in reaction for a sizable surprise offensive by Hamas
The announcement followed an extraordinary attack by Hamas gunmen, who broke through a well reinforced border barrier and killed citizens and troops in Israeli settlements along the Gaza border while a significant Jewish holiday was in progress.
As many as a 1000 Hamas fighters participated. Authorities had collected roughly 260 dead by Sunday from the attack at the popular music event that was targeted during the rampage.
Israel retaliated, among other ways by using aircraft to destroy a 14-story structure housing offices for Hamas. More than 400 fatalities were reported in Gaza, and at least 700 deaths were reported in Israel.
Without making a formal declaration, Israel previously conducted extensive military operations in Gaza and Lebanon that it presented as wars.
Israel is authorised under the declaration to take "significant military steps" against Hamas. It happened as the IDF persisted in its attempts to crush the final pockets of terrorists in southern Israel after the strike.
The commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which took part in the raid on Saturday, claimed to be holding around 30 Israelis in Gaza along with dozens of other hostages. They won't be released, he declared, until all Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons are set free.
74,000 individuals in the Gaza Strip had taken refuge in dozens of its schools as a result of Israel's requests for border region residents to leave.
Since Saturday, when over 20,000 people initially entered schools run by the United Nations, the number of displaced people has climbed by almost 50,000.
The number is certain to rise as a result of frequent airstrikes and shelling in various areas of the 2 million-person enclave that is already overcrowded and under siege.
The outbreak of violence occurs while Israel is dealing with the largest demonstrations in its history as a result of Netanyahu's plan to undermine the Supreme Court while he is on trial for corruption.