From a Washington Post story by Noga Tarnopolsky, Claire Parker, Shira Rubin, Hazem Balousha and Devlin Barrett headlined “Israel at war after unprovoked assault by Hamas militants from Gaza”:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Saturday that “we are at war” after Hamas militants from Gaza launched a surprise, multipronged attack across central and southern Israel, killing an estimated 250 Israelis and wounding 1,000 more.

The assault began early Saturday when Hamas launched thousands of rockets toward Israeli cities and sent militants into Israeli territory overland and by using paragliders and speedboats. Gunmen seized control of pockets of southern Israel, taking hostages and leaving bodies of civilians in the streets.