 He's taking Israeli citizens hostage, Hamas reporting dozens of Israeli civilians kidnapped into the Gaza Strip, while they continue, the terrorist that is, continue to get in and out crossing the border. All of this under massive hours-long barrages of rockets targeting the south, the center, the east of the country, thousands of rockets fired so far, numerous direct hits resulting in casualties, great damage, of course. At least 40 Israelis confirmed dead, number likely to rise, as hundreds are injured, currently being treated in hospital, dozens of them in critical condition. The entire country under complete lockdown in a state of war, apocalyptic scenes that do not begin to describe what is unfolding in recent hours, Israelis being slaughtered in their own homes. The IDF still working this hour as well to conquer back Israeli towns. Reservists have been called in. The head of Hamas Smelter Wing, Muhammad Def, announcing a beginning of a war, urging Arab Israelis, West Bank Palestinians, Palestinians in East Jerusalem, and armed groups in Lebanon to all take up their arms and join the fog of war, creating a whole lot of confusion. And this is why we want to stay, to stay clearly at the beginning of this broadcast. There is a lot of information, misinformation, disinformation circulating at the moment on social media, some, if not all, containing extremely difficult visuals and content. We are aware of it all. We're getting it all from all sides, and yet we will be reporting here only verified information. And in this respect, after long hours of speculation, we have decided to show you a tiny portion of milder documentation published by Hamas Terrorists, live streaming their activities on social media, showing Israeli civilians kidnapped into the Gaza Strip, where they're being held hostage, captive by Hamas Terrorists. Unprecedented, unbelievable scenes, it's a Saturday morning, a Saturday afternoon rather already, October 7th, 2023, a day and 50 years after the Yom Kippur War broke out and today Israel once again under a surprise war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convening the security cabinet earlier today. Let's take a listen to what he had to say. Citizens of Israel were at war, not operation in war. This morning Hamas launched a murder of surprise attack against the state of Israel and its citizens. We've been at it since early morning. I convened the heads of the security establishment. First of all, I instructed to cleanse the villages of the terrorists who have infiltrated. This operation is being carried out during these hours. At the same time, I ordered an extensive reserve mobilization and a retaliatory war with a strength and scope that the enemy had never known. The enemy will pay a price he has never known. In the meantime, I call on all citizens of Israel to strictly obey the instructions of the army and the instructions of the home command. We are in a war and we will win it. And we're crossing now live to Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hack, the IDF International spokesperson joining us live. Thank you very much, Lieutenant Colonel Hack, for speaking with us this afternoon. While we discuss the how come and what next, what is the current state of affairs, Lieutenant Colonel Hack? So a very severe day for the IDF and for the state of Israel. As you heard the prime minister say, surprise attack with multiple rockets and also a ground invasion, basically that came in with also from the sea, also from the air, and also from the ground. As we speak, I contemplated on doing this interview, but because we're in the same, we're fighting as we speak. There's soldiers risking their life, as the prime minister said, we've mobilized forces down and we're fighting in all these communities to take care and take out these terrorists. We're going from house to house is very complicated and chaotic, but the IDF will win this. Lieutenant Colonel Hack, how many active scenes are there at the moment? So there's multiple active scenes, I think you're covering it, Zikim, Kerem Shalom, Zderot, Ares Crossing, Nakhal Oz. These are scenes where Hamas terrorists are currently at Israeli territory. Again, we're engaging with them, the infiltrated into Israel, and our soldiers are fighting. We've mobilized a lot of our special forces that are very, very professional in these kinds of a battle, and they're right now engaging with these terrorists. Lieutenant Colonel Hack, what can you tell us on the amount, the status of of of Israelis kidnapped being held hostage by Hamas terrorists? So we can't talk about the numbers right now, it's something that we're still learning. We will come back to you with that data. The numbers are quite substantial of people that have been harmed from this horrific inhumane attack. Right now our our goal is stage one to with our special ground forces to get control back on all of these places. And we'll be planning our response in a very, very focused and precise manner against Hamas. Yes, before we ask you what is to be expected next, Lieutenant Colonel Hack, we cannot ignore the horrific chilling symbolism of this day, 50 years and a day after the Yom Kippur War broke out five decades later, Israelis still debating the element of surprise back then. And today I need to ask you the same, Lieutenant Colonel Hucked, how come Israel was so surprised in that scope and scale? So I think it's not the time to talk about big historic narratives, and also not to give the Hamas the credit of the Yom Kippur War. Let's get the situation under control. Let's kill all these terrorists that are in Israel. Let's respond severely against Hamas and Gaza. And then we'll talk about the narratives, the Yom Kippur, etc. It's not there's not time for that, I would say. And Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hucked with me here in studio, our Middle East correspondent Ariel Osiron. Yeah, just a quick question, Lieutenant Colonel Hucked. Thank you for your time. We appreciate everything you're doing today. Can you just confirm we're getting reports of 50 hostages being held currently and the kibbutz of Baeri on the border, and that IDF soldiers are currently engaged with terrorists there? Can you confirm that? We are engaging in all these locations where there's terrorists. I'm not going to go into the nitty gritty of the tactics and the battle. And once we have our control back of the situation, we will update you. Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hucked, the International Spokesperson of the IDF, we genuinely appreciate your time and the information you have provided us, sir, we will touch base with you later on. Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hucked, thank you very much for this. All right, we're moving on now to I-24 News correspondent Hamda Selhout, on the ground down south in the southern city of Asderot, Hamda Selhout, what has been happening in Asderot since the early hours of this morning. It is hard to comprehend what is the current state of affairs now there, and what more can you tell us about what unfolded in the past hours? Right, it's been several hours. It appears that we have some connectivity issues as we have been experiencing all day long since Vasta, our chunks of Israel south are experiencing power outages and other connectivity issues there on both sides of the border. We are now joined in studio by I-24 News senior defense correspondent Jonathan Regive, I-24 News and Middle East correspondent Arielle Osseron and Mr. Olivier Raufowitz. Security and defense expert, thank you gentlemen for joining us. Jonathan Regive, it is perhaps challenging to dub it as such, but the little information we had in the early hours of this uncomprehensible day, we still don't have much. We still do not know much. You just spoke with a man who provides us with the information, that's the idea of spokesman for international media, and there's not a lot of information coming out. It might be confusion, it might be the fog of battle, it might be many things, but the bottom line is that ten hours into this terrible event, practically almost all of the information that we have is from the other side. First, judging on past experiences, I tend to believe them. I tend to believe what they're saying. I think if those of us who have not learned it up until this morning should learn to respect the other side a bit more, they're not, if in the past Israel would use to look first at Arab armies and then at Arab terror groups as farmers running away without their shoes, that's not the case. They're well organized, well trained, and if Israel will continue to look down at these organizations it will keep paying such a price as Israel is paying today, again and again and again, and same as their media, a lot of their information usually tends to be correct. So the numbers, I have to say that the numbers that they're saying, they're terrible, and there might be true. And this is also a consideration that Israel will have to look at. If there are tens of Israelis alive inside the Gaza Strip, that will be a problem when the next stage of the war will come and it will come, in which Israel will want to strike hard against Gaza to let them understand that this is unacceptable. This is something that cannot happen and will have to come with a terrible, terrible, terrible price. But doing this with tens of Israelis who may be alive in the Gaza Strip, that may be a serious consideration. The worn-out phrase of changing the equation will now come to test, to a large extent. And Jonathan, before we get your take, Mr. Afovic, Jonathan, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin is now isolated to speak with American President Joe Biden in the coming hours, maybe the coming hour. The defense, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin already vowing the Pentagon will work to assure that Israel, all it needs to defend itself, what does it mean in practice? I think we're looking mainly at funding for Iron Dome interceptors, to keep the Israeli mechanisms going. Constantly going, because if this escalates into a conflict that also comes along with the northern border with Hezbollah, with its 100,000 or 150,000 rockets, those rockets need to be intercepted. And in order to intercept them, you need a very large number of interceptors. Those of course, they cost money, they need to be produced, and the United States is vowing to do everything that Israel needs in order to go past successfully. This battle, this war, we know that there's friction between the current Israeli government and many of its Western allies, not on this issue right now. It's quite strong backing from Western governments towards Israel. All right, before we get back here in studio, and it is important to mention that while we are here analyzing what may happen, what should happen, what could happen, barrages of rockets from the Gaza Strip towards Israel continue constantly. Heavy barrages of rockets while Israeli troops are still fighting to regain control over Israeli territory down south. So you want to turn now to our 24 News Correspondent, Pierre Kloschendler, in the southern hospital of Baselah in the city of Ashkelon. Pierre, we're talking at least 40 Israelis murdered, confirmed, hundreds injured, among them dozens in critical condition. What can you tell us? Well, I can tell you what's going on in Ashkelon itself. Less than an hour ago, there were three very loud explosions, and it seems that one of the rockets managed to infiltrate the barrage of the Iron Dome anti-missile missile system and exploded nearby the hospital. There was a very loud explosion, and shrapnels flew over the pediatric emergency ward of the hospital. Luckily, the young patients are in protected areas of the hospital, so no one was wounded. But we saw a wounded woman from shrapnel in the head and on the chest that was evacuated here a few moments later. And you can see here there are stretches that are on the ready to carry hospitals to the emergency ward. There is an ambulance just next to us, an ambulance truck actually, and there are many paramedics that are waiting, that are on the ready in case of further hospitalizations of wounded. Right now there's about at least 200 wounded from that chaotic war on Israel, and 60 of them are in critical condition. Some are fighting for their life, really, literally. And at this moment, no one knows what goes on in the community villages nearby the Gaza Strip. No one knows exactly, but there are rumors of hostages, of kidnapped soldiers, female male and civilians. Chaos reigns Israel this hour as well. Pierre Kloeschendler with the I-24 News team there down south. Thank you very much for this. Stay safe. Much more from Pierre throughout the evening, of course. And we're staying in the southern city of Oshkelon. Ophel Tene, resident of the city, is joining us now by phone. Ophel, how are you? Well, first of all, we woke up to a terrible day in which numerous terrorist attacks, innocent citizens. And really, I never remember this kind of event in the magnitude like our generation have never experienced this kind of thing. And I want to say that my heart is with all of the injured and the families, all who died during this sad event. And of course, we support the law enforcement, the army and the police. And it's really, really shocking this whole day. Yeah, shock is an understatement to describe what we all feel this day. Ophel, describe to us what you've been through in recent hours. I assumed that you have, you did not leave your house as much as possible, but communication among your neighbors probably ongoing throughout the day. Currently, by the way, I live in Moshevnik next to Oshelon. It's village. And we woke up like in 6 a.m. with many, many rocket alarm. And the rocket alarm never stopped. And around 12, we heard gunshots, lots like like a range of gunshots and screaming like I think like half a mile, mile from our house and it was very, very frightening events. And we're with the kids, of course, in the safe room, but for the kids and for me, we're never encountered this kind of activity. It's never happened. And now all of the army and law enforcement are here. But we had like a couple of hours that we felt very frightening with minimum, minimum police that we saw, but they came few hours after this. And this is obviously something that will be discussed in length. Those hours were during which many southern residents felt stranded, no other way to put it with the lack of responsiveness from Israel's security forces there. Ophel Teneb, before we let you go, we all need every dose of optimism and togetherness and brotherhood on this day. If you would like to conclude with a message to all Israelis. Yeah, I think that in these days, all of Israel unite together and support each other. We got many calls from friends that said friends and family and said that maybe you can stay with us for a couple of days. And this is really in this time, you can see the Israeli nation together. And I just say that it's really a shame that in the other side, in the Hamas, all they try to do is to kill and create death. And in the last several months, we thought that we had more optimistic side. And every day we had like Arabic come from Gaza Strip and work in Israel. And we thought that we're going into some kind of peace. But apparently they just want destruction. So it's it's very sad. But the Israeli nation unites under this kind of thing. So this is some some kind of light in this all chaos now. Ophel Teneb in a community in a village near the southern city of Ashkelon. Thank you very much for speaking to us. Stay safe, stay resilient. Thank you for this. Back here in studio with us, Colonel Raffovic. What are we to expect in the coming hours while security forces are still engaged in the battle to conquer back Israeli territory? Yeah, you are right. And it's a catastrophe. The first time since 1948 that Arabs, Arab armies, Arab terrorist group are capable to conquer Israeli territory. The last time was in 48. Then we were in full control. And we knew all the time to transfer the combats within the enemy territory. These times are in our territories, are in our state. And we know that we talk about hundreds of wounded and maybe maybe hundreds. Of dead people, still not very clear because the number is still in the figure are not very clear for now. So first step, we have to continue to fight, to fight back to conquer these villages, these kibbutzim around the Gaza Strip and to put them back, that number one. Then there will be the stage number two to continue to strike within the Gaza Strip. And I believe that this time, the goal is not only to strike back, but the goal is to my analysis, to my opinion, to destroy, to eliminate. Totally, as a strategic decision, the Hamas regime within the Gaza Strip. So we're talking about the possibility of taking back the Gaza Strip under Israeli control? This time it is a possibility because, as you know and you know it very well, because you are here for a long time now. Every time that we fought Hamas, we did not finish a job. Again, we were facing a new round of confrontation with the Hamas movement. This time, I believe that we cannot continue to play according to the rules of the game fixed by Hamas, this time as well as to change the rules of the game. And the rules of the game this time, really, would be to radically transform the situation, maybe to bring back, maybe to bring back Mahmoud Abbas in the Gaza Strip, to eject totally the Hamas regime. And I know that from Egypt, we got the message during the day, the Egyptian government decided to cut the relationship, the links with Hamas. And it's a kind of message sent to Israel, like, we give you the green light. To do what you need to do. To do what you have to do. Now, Qatar, the Saudis, the Emirates, the Egyptians, the Georgians. Also responding, yeah. I think that we have to do it because the result of what's going on today, what happened today, is unacceptable in any way for the state of Israel. The citizens in Israel will not accept, in any case, that we will continue to be again facing Hamas after so many casualties, so many dead people. And we don't know the exact numbers. And I think that the numbers will be very, very high and terrible. We're nearing the end of this broadcast, obviously, we were continuing our live coverage all throughout the day. Ariel Serrana, Jonathan Regev, Ariel, to an extent, do you think that Hamas was surprised as well by the, quote, unquote, success of its operation? On their part, I would imagine so. They're not saying that. But indeed, with all their pendants on social media specifying how easy the entry to Israel was. And I want to stress, again, a la ISIS documentation that we're seeing. Yeah, the convoys of trucks with armed militants coming out, and also the treatment of Israelis dead or alive that also bears parallels to ISIS. Now, as again, as we're talking, we need to remember two things in mind. One, there are constant barrages of rockets towards southern Israel. Even since I started this sentence, there's been another alert of a rocket barrage towards southern Israel. There is continued fighting in southern Israeli communities. And Israel is carrying out nonstop strikes in the Gaza Strip, according to health sources there. At least 160 Palestinians killed and over 1,500 injured. Now, if we're looking at what Hamas is saying now, the number two deputy leader of Hamas, Saleh al-Rouri, seen as the mastermind of these latest escalations and acts. He's, well, he's in Lebanon most of the time. But this morning we saw him in a video with Ismail Aniyah, the leader of Hamas, watching live Al Jazeera TV as smiling before praying. He's saying that all possibilities, he's telling this to Al Jazeera, the same Al Jazeera that they watched the infiltration take place from. All possibilities are expected and we are prepared for any ground invasion of the Strip. He's saying this is the best outcome for the Palestinian resistance, given the high level of casualties in the Gaza Strip. I don't think he should be calling it a success, but saying that they captured large number of Israeli civilians as well as Israeli IDF officers. They're claiming senior Israeli officers. We tried to get an answer from the IDF spokesperson. No answer as to the identity and quantities. But indeed they're trying to project an image of immense success. Ariella Saran, colonel of Olivier Raffovich, Jonathan Regev, thank you for joining us for this broadcast. We continue our coverage, of course, nonstop throughout the day. Stay resilient. Stay strong. Stay strong.