See photos and videos as Israel’s PM Netanyahu declares war on Hamas in Gaza

Hamas militants were fighting gunbattles inside several Israeli communities on Saturday in a surprising show of strength that shook the country, The Associated Press reported. Militants also fired thousands of rockets. Israel’s national rescue service said at least 22 people have been killed and hundreds wounded, making it the deadliest attack in Israel in years.

“We are at war,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address, declaring a mass mobilization of the country’s army reserves. “Not an ‘operation,’ not a ‘round,’ but at war.”

There was no official comment on casualties in Gaza, but Associated Press reporters witnessed the funerals of 15 people who were killed and saw another eight bodies arrive at a local hospital. It was not immediately clear if they were fighters or civilians.

See photos and videos as tensions flare.