Israeli media reported that “Israel was humiliated and defeated today,” adding that "even if Gaza is destroyed... that will not atone for the most serious security failure since the Yom Kippur war,” he wrote in reference to the 1973 October war. 

Around dawn Saturday morning, al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, caught the Israeli occupation army off guard, triggering a state of fear and chaos in the occupied territories. 

As reported by The Washington Post, "the scale and scope of Saturday’s barrage was without parallel. More than 3,000 rockets were fired at dozens of communities that dot southern Israel, at towns in central Israel and the Negev Desert, and reached as far as Tel Aviv and Al-Quds." 

The Post referred to Israeli media reports saying Palestinian resistance fighters were able to overrun 22 Israeli settlements in the south, the occupation army, including some under siege late Saturday evening.

"Israel’s border with Gaza is one of the most heavily fortified in the region, walled off with a high-tech barrier fence and guarded by military outposts," according to the Post.

This portrayal indirectly underscores the remarkable display of strength exhibited by the Palestinian resistance. That said, recent footage circulating on social media has depicted the Palestinian resistance's use of a bulldozer to breach a section of fence and gain access to the occupied territory, a move that seemingly occurred "without resistance from Israeli forces."

As reported by The Washington Post, before the recent operation, the October War in 1973 was considered the "largest intelligence failure in Israeli history, as Egyptian and Syrian forces killed thousands of Israeli forces in an Israeli attack." Operation al-Aqsa Flood, however, took the Israeli occupation back down a dark path, leaving Israelis wondering how its army "could have been caught so flat-flooded." 

Read next: The spoils of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on display in Gaza's streets

This comes after "Israel" witnessed thousands of settlers demonstrating against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which eroded "Israel's" ability to confront any resistance operations. 

“Israel’s enemies were waiting for Israel to weaken itself, and while the top of the army dealt with the internal discord that penetrated the ranks of the army, they dealt with exploiting the situation and preparing for the next war,” according to Israeli media, adding that “The political and military leadership will have to ask themselves how they allowed the internal dispute to weaken Israeli deterrence in a way that made Hamas dare to launch the most murderous attack from the Gaza Strip.”

The Washington Post quoted Uzi Dayan, a former deputy chief of staff in the Israeli occupation army saying that the "assault by Hamas reflected a failure at all levels of Israeli leadership," adding that the Israeli occupation "failed a basic task."

It is worth noting that the current number of dead Israelis has risen to 300 at least, according to Israeli media. 

What you need to know 

Earlier today, Mohammad Deif, Commander-in-Chief of al-Qassam Brigades announced the launching of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood following a barrage of rockets fired and an infiltration operation into Gaza Envelope settlements.

The leader said the operation comes in response to the Israeli occupation's desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque and multiple assaults against women in its yards. 

Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, issued a military statement regarding the operation.

Earlier, Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "Israel is at war" after Hamas fighters initiated a large-scale surprise attack on settlements in the Gaza envelope. 

In a filmed statement published several hours after the Palestinian Resistance launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, Netanyahu confirmed that he convened the heads of the Israeli security establishment and directed that Palestinian Resistance fighters who crossed into Gaza envelope settlements be neutralized.

Towns and cities quickly fell into complete control of the Resistance units as Israeli occupation military and police forces collapsed within the first hour of the attack.

The Resistance's operation comes in the context of continued and unchecked Israeli aggression against Palestinians in the West Bank and occupied al-Quds, as well as a suffocating siege on the Gaza Strip.