Israel Gaza live updates: We are at war, says Israel's PM, after major ...

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Edited by Jamie Whitehead and George Bowden

All times stated are UK

Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has said it is closely following the situation in Gaza and is in “direct contact with the leadership of the Palestinian resistance”.

It called the Hamas attacks a “decisive response to Israel’s continued occupation and a message to those seeking normalisation with Israel”.

The group is a major opponent of Israel and went to war with the country in 2006.

Hezbollah relies on military and financial support from Iran.

It is hard to describe just how unprecedented today’s developments are.

Not only is this likely to be the worst intelligence failure since the 1973 Yom Kippur war (and the timing is no accident – it’s 50 years almost to the day), but rarely, if ever, has Israel lost control of its own towns.

The scenes from Sderot and other communities around the Gaza Strip, with Palestinian gunmen apparently roaming the streets at will, kidnapping and killing civilians, will send the deepest shockwaves throughout Israel.

That, of course, is the point. Hamas has tried numerous tactics in the past, from suicide bombs to tunnels into Israel and even “incendiary kites”.

But the Gaza-based militants have never tried anything remotely this audacious before. By their standards, this was an astonishingly sophisticated - and, yes, brutal - act of hybrid warfare, using hundreds of rockets as the prelude to a mass breakout at multiple points along the normally impregnable fence.

The civilians of Gaza must now brace themselves for Israel’s inevitable response. Air strikes are just the prelude.

Gazans know what’s coming, because they’ve seen it many times before. But with some in Israel saying it’s now time to eradicate Hamas altogether, everyone knows the coming days or weeks will be very tough.

Graeme Baker

Live reporter

Islamic Jihad, which operates in Gaza, claims its fighters have also captured "many" Israeli soldiers. In a post on Telegram, a spokesman calling himself Abu Hamza states:

"We confirm in the al-Quds Brigades that now, thanks to God, we possess many Zionist soldiers who are prisoners in our hands”

Islamic Jihad is one of several militant groups that operate in Gaza. The Quds Brigade is its armed wing. The group co-operates with Hamas but also maintains independence.

It is also active in the West Bank and has staged several attacks there on Israelis.

Israel last year said a series of strikes on its leadership had "taken them back decades".

Meanwhile, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, has denounced reports of civilians being taken hostage. He called the act a violation of international law and demanded their release.

Borrell posted on social media: "The news of civilians being held hostage at home or in Gaza is appalling. It goes against international law. The hostages must be released immediately.

"We follow with anguish the news coming from Israel. We unequivocally condemn the attacks by Hamas.

"This horrific violence must stop immediately. Terrorism and violence solve nothing."

His comments came as Hamas posted several videos and images on social media that appear to show captives.

Graeme Baker

Live reporter

More now on reported hostage takings.

Hamas' military wing, the Qassim Brigades, has released a video showing at least three men in civilian clothes being held captive by militants, claiming the trio are Israeli soldiers.

The video, seen on social media, claims the captives to be "enemies" captured during the offensive.

The AFP news agency says the video is preceded by text, in Arabic, stating "Images of al-Qassim Brigades capturing several enemy soldiers during" the Palestinian operation.

Signs in Hebrew in the background suggest that the video was filmed on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, AFP says.

BBC News has so far been unable to independently verify the video.

The Hamas gunmen who have infiltrated southern Israel are unlikely to remain at large there for long. They will either be killed or captured by the Israel Defense Forces or withdraw by themselves.

The more complicated situation surrounds those Israelis reportedly kidnapped by Hamas and possibly taken into Gaza.

Israel has two options here: mount a special operations rescue mission, or wait it out and negotiate.

Both are fraught with risks.

We've been hearing from residents in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, following the rocket strikes this morning. English author and journalist Gideon Levy told the BBC he believes a settlement with the Palestinians is now out of reach.

"I don't remember Tel Aviv in this situation for many years," he said.

"I just went out on to the streets. The streets are totally empty. Restaurants, cafes everything is locked down and there is a heavy feeling of surprise, of shock and of fear from what is still expected to happen.

"When the first rockets fell, I was still jogging in the park, the noise was terrible", he added.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said it has so far attacked 17 military compounds and four Hamas operational headquarters in a social media post.

The BBC has not verified the claim, but the IDF said earlier it had begun striking targets in the Gaza Strip in response to the earlier barrage of rockets into Israel.

There has been a lot of reaction to the Palestinian attacks in Israel, here's a selection of it:

We've just received reports saying the advisor to Iran's Supreme leader Ali Khamenei supports the Palestinian attack on Israel.

"We congratulate the Palestinian fighters," Rahim Safavi is quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

"We will stand by the Palestinian fighters until the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem”, he says.

Yolande Knell, the BBC's Middle East correspondent, says there are reports near the Gaza border of Israelis hiding in their homes and calling for the army to be sent there.

Graeme Baker

Live reporter

The Israeli television channel Reshet 13 reports that Palestinian militants are holding Israelis captive in the southern town of Ofakim, according to the Reuters news agency.

This is one of the first reports we have from Israeli media on the situation, after widespread claims on social media that Palestinian militants have taken captives.

Unverified videos on social media appear to show Palestinians taking civilians captive and moving them by motorbike into Gaza.

The Israeli authorities have said they will not comment on this and BBC News has so far been unable to verify the reports.

However, a Hamas spokesman told Al Jazeera that "they are not hostages - they are prisoners of war".

Israeli government officials tell me a major investigation is being launched as to how Israeli intelligence failed to see this massive and well coordinated Hamas attack coming.

“It will go on for years,” one says.

Israel's health ministry says at least 545 people have been injured in the Palestinian attacks, according to the Reuters news agency.

At least 22 Israelis have died in the unprecedented attacks, according to emergency services.

We're hearing more from the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas.

He's been speaking about "the need to provide protection for our people", stressing the right of the Palestinian people to defend themselves against settler "terrorism and occupation forces".

The president was chairing an emergency meeting held in Ramallah with a top officials from the Palestinian Authority.

What’s been happening this morning is without precedent in the more than 15 years since Hamas took control of Gaza.

It comes after months of violence and rising tension between Israelis and Palestinians, although most of that has been concentrated in the West Bank, which is the territory Israel has occupied since 1967, that stretches between Jerusalem and the border with Jordan.

Israel has said it’s been attacked, that effectively Hamas had declared war on Israel, and I would expect that the plans that the Israelis are putting together now will result in a very vigorous response – they’ve said that’s what’s going to happen.

I think there’s a strong chance that will include perhaps putting troops into Gaza.

This situation will move fast and it’s likely to escalate. One big question is what happens now - not just in and around Gaza - but what happens in Jerusalem and the West Bank, where there has been repeated and deepening violence between Palestinian armed groups and Israeli security forces and settlers for months.

An already volatile situation is certain to be exacerbated by these events.

So I think right now for Israelis and Palestinians, this is a thoroughly unexpected and highly worrying and concerning morning.

Israel's emergency services say at least 22 Israelis have been killed after an unprecedented surprise Palestinian attack.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says his people have the right to defend themselves against the "terror of settlers and occupation troops", according to the Reuters news agency.

We'll bring you more comments from him shortly.

Things are developing rapidly but this is what we know so far: