Palestinian militant group Hamas has launched a "war" against Israel, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said, after barrages of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory on Saturday.
"Hamas has made a grave mistake this morning and launched a war against the State of Israel," Mr Gallant said in a statement.
"IDF troops (Israeli army) are fighting against the enemy at every location," he said. "I call on all of Israel's citizens to follow security instructions. The State of Israel will win this war," he said in a video statement on X.
Israel's police chief Yaakov Shabtai said there are currently 21 locations where special police forces are operating, adding the entire south of Israel has been sealed off.
Rockets streamed across the sky repeatedly after the first launches from multiple locations across the Palestinian territory from 6.30 am. The outbreak of conflict follows months of surging violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with fatalities in the occupied West Bank hitting a scale not seen in years.
Air raid sirens wailed across Israel's south and central areas, with the Israeli army urging the public to stay near bomb shelters.
The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas said it was behind the aerial assault, claiming its militants had launched more than 5,000 rockets.
Hamas "will face the consequences and responsibility for these events", an army statement said.
With inputs from AFP
