Hamas gunmen kidnap Israeli grandmothers and whisk them into Gaza Strip on golf carts amid reports they have snatched more than 50 civilians

Hamas gunmen kidnapped Israeli grandmothers and took them on golf carts to the Gaza Strip, amid reports that they abducted more than 50 civilians.

Hamas, the de facto ruling authority of the Gaza Strip, claims to have fired 5,000 rockets into Israel, setting off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Israel vowed to take revenge on Palestinian militants after they launched the surprise attack and warned Hamas that they had made a ‘serious mistake’.

Residents living near Israel’s border with Gaza were ordered to stay indoors and others were evacuated after Hamas militants entered the country by land, sea and air and launched a medley of missile attacks.

A resident of Be’eri, Kibbutz, named Ella told Channel 12 that she heard “a lot of gunfire” nearby.

Another resident of the south is worried that his family was kidnapped and taken into the Gaza Strip.

He said his wife and daughters had disappeared and that he tried to call them, but no one answered.

He then located his wife’s phone, which he says is in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

This comes as there are unconfirmed reports that Hamas gunmen are holding hostages at the Kibbutz.

About 50 Israelis of all ages are believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas gunmen in Beeri Kibbutz near the Gaza border, according to channel N12.

Photos show senior Israeli women being transported from Kibbutzim to the Gaza Strip on golf carts and motorcycles.

One grandmother was pinned between two members of Hamas on a motorcycle. One of them was holding a sizable gun.

One woman captured was sitting in the front seat of a golf cart accompanied by three male Hamas members as they entered the Gaza Strip.

Another image shows a woman holding a gun and raising her hands in a peace sign with a member of Hamas in a balaclava.

A senior Hamas leader, Saleh al-Arouri, said the group had enough hostages to allow Israel to free all its Palestinian prisoners.

The killing of civilians drew widespread condemnation from world leaders and prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say the country was at ‘war’.

Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that the militants would pay an ‘unprecedented price’ after their attacks killed at least 40 Israelis; Palestinian officials have since claimed 161 people have been killed in retaliatory attacks by Israel.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a televised address that Hamas had made a “serious mistake … and launched a war against the state of Israel” – promising that “Israel will win ‘.

Emerging footage shows horrific scenes, including Palestinian groups celebrating as they paraded the naked body of a female IDF soldier on a truck through Gaza.

The coordinated attack saw border fences torn down, tanks immobilized, dozens of hostages allegedly taken and residential buildings targeted by airstrikes.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was ‘shocked’ by the attacks, writing on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Israel has an absolute right to defend itself. We are in contact with Israeli authorities, and British citizens in Israel should follow travel advice.’

Videos on social media appeared to show armed troops from the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s militant arm, moving through built-up areas firing weapons as Israeli residents were evacuated from their homes following airstrikes.

In a statement posted on Telegram, Hamas called on “the resistance fighters in the West Bank” as well as “our Arab and Islamic nations” to join the fight.

In comments reported by CNN, militant commander Deif said: ‘If you have a gun, take it out. This is the time to use it – get out with trucks, cars, axes. Today begins the best and most honorable history.’

“Today the people are regaining their revolution,” he added, in other statements reported by AP, as he called on Palestinians from east Jerusalem to northern Israel to “drive out the occupiers and demolish the walls.” ‘

In response, Israeli forces promised that Hamas would ‘face the consequences and responsibility for these events’.

It began striking targets in Gaza in response, deploying countermeasures to repel further airstrikes – prompting further rocket launches from inside the blockaded territory.

In a filmed statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, after the attacks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the raid was a ‘murderous surprise attack’, adding: ‘We are at war, not an operation, not rounds not, but in war.’

Hamas has controlled the Strip since winning the 2006 parliamentary elections and toppling the rival party Fatah in a power struggle during the bloody Battle of Gaza in 2007.

At least 118 people were killed and more than 550 wounded during the fighting until June 15, 2007, when Hamas militants ousted Fatah officials and took power.

In response, Israel imposed a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The conflict brought an end to the ‘unity government’ that administers Gaza and the West Bank, with the Palestinian National Authority independently overseeing the eastern territory.

While the Palestinian National Authority still claims Gaza, the city remains under the control of Hamas.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan expressed his thoughts on the conflict on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He wrote: ‘The news coming out of Israel is deeply disturbing. I condemn the terrorist acts of Hamas and my thoughts are with those affected and those who have lost loved ones.’