Israel's ambassador in Tirana, Galit Peleg, has accused Iran of being behind the attacks of terrorist groups in the region, such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Peleg emphasizes that the terrorists do not differentiate between soldiers and civilians, but their goal is to kill as many Israelis as possible. According to the Israeli diplomat in Tirana, Israel considers the leader of Hamas responsible and will use any means to make them pay painfully for today's events.
"Currently, Israel continues to be under rocket attack from Gaza. Early in the morning, Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel. Terrorists do not differentiate between soldiers and civilians.
Again, the Hamas leadership proves that they do not care about the lives of civilians in Gaza, but their main goal is to kill as many Israelis as possible. They entered the house and tried to break into the shelters where the families were hiding. In some cases, they burned the house down so the family would come out and then lock them up.
As of this morning we have hundreds killed, thousands injured and an unknown number of soldiers and civilians kidnapped in Gaza. Israel holds the Hamas leader responsible and will use any means to make them pay painfully.
At the same time, Israel will use any means to protect its citizens. We have no doubt that Iran is behind terrorist groups in our region, both Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
We expect the international community to unconditionally support Israel's right to self-defense. We also expect them to wear the unholy alliance of Iran, Syria and Lebanon to avoid opening another front with Israel" , said Ambassador Galit Peleg.
Israeli authorities claim that 2,500 Hamas rockets hit Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, Yavne and Kfar Aviv this morning, killing around 200 people and injuring 1,610 others. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza did not provide details of the area where the deaths occurred and whether the deaths involved Hamas militants or civilians in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the group's military commander Mohammad Deif stated that they had fired 5,000 rockets. In reference to the tense developments, Major General Ghassan Alian said that Hamas had "opened the gates of hell" with its surprise attack.
"I want to say one thing, Hamas has opened the gates of hell in the Gaza Strip. Hamas made the decision and Hamas will take responsibility and pay for its actions."
Alian's belligerent rhetoric echoed earlier comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the country would "return fire on a scale the enemy has never known".
According to Netanyahu, "the enemy will pay an unprecedented price".