Israel hit Gaza with airstrikes, targeting hundreds of targets in an area that the Israel Defense Forces said serves as a hub for the Hamas terrorist organization.
The strikes are in retaliation for the surprise attacks from Hamas over the weekend.
One of the first targets of the Palestinian gunmen was the Nova Music Festival on the Israel-Gaza border.
Michal Ohana, who attended the festival, was shot but survived the ordeal.
“I lied under the tank because they surrounded us from every direction because they saw the people on the tank and the more of us there were, it was getting worse because a large group, they could just shoot at us,” Ohana said.
Hundreds of others who attended the festival were murdered in the attacks.
Some survivors are among more than 100 hostages that the group claims to be holding in Gaza. For one American hopeful, Nahal Neta, his mother is one of them.
“It is our hope, which is a little bit ridiculous, at this stage to say that the optimistic scenario here is that she’s held hostage in Gaza and not dead on the street of the kibbutz where we grew up,” Neta said.
Tanks are on the move in southern Israel.
There have been Hamas missile attacks on several cities, including Tel Aviv.
The sound of warning sirens can be heard there and in the holy city of Jerusalem, filling residents with fear.
“I am living this with concern and uncertainty because we do not know what is going to happen or how this situation is going to evolve,” said Father Juan Antonio Ruiz, the director of the Spanish Biblical Institute in Jerusalem. “The atmosphere is very tense and we can see that this situation is getting more and more complicated.”
There have been questions about whether or not Iran helped plan the attack.
The country’s leader denied any involvement on Tuesday, Oct. 10, but said he supports it.
“We kiss the hands of those who planned the attack on the Zionist regime,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.
The comment doesn’t come as a surprise for some.
The region has always been turbulent politically, but for decades the Vatican has tried to negotiate peace.
Pope Pius XII tried to get a legal safeguard for the status of the Holy Land after the war began in 1948. He published three documents asking for peace and aid for refugees.
Pope Paul VI was the first pope to visit the Holy Land in 1964. While he was there he advocated for Palestinians during the pilgrimage.
Pope John Paul II spoke with the president of Palestine then, and a few years later an agreement was reached between the Vatican and the Palestinian national authority.
Pope Benedict XVI organized a synod in the Holy Land, which focused on stopping the use of the word of God to justify terrorism.
Pope Francis also held a historic meeting with both leaders in 2014 to pray for peace. If you want to help the innocent victims on both sides of the violence you can donate to the international Red Cross at ICRC.ORG and click donate now.