WASHINGTON, October 8. /TASS/. Washington has not been informed beforehand about Saturday’s attack on Israel, a high-ranking US administration official has said.
"If the allegation is that we had some specific warning or indicator from another country, it's certainly not something that we've seen. So I think that's really not accurate," he said, adding that Washington had no information about the attack "other than just general concern, as we have had concern about, obviously, rising tensions, particularly in the West Bank, which we've been working very hard on."
The statement was made in response to claims that the Egyptian government had allegedly warned about the possibility of an attack on Israel.
The official added that the United States and Egypt were actively cooperating amid the recent developments.
Early on Saturday morning, rocket attacks were launched at Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Alarm signals have sounded continuously since 06:28 a.m. Moscow time in many localities across the country, including the Tel Aviv area and its environs. Shortly after, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced they were launching Operation 'Iron Swords' in retaliation for the attack, coming from the Palestinian exclave. According to latest reports, the rocket attacks left at least 300 Israelis dead and over 1,500 injured.
Under these circumstances, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has approved a call-up of reservists and declared the state of ‘special situation’ within a range of 80 kilometers from the Gaza border. The state of emergency was expanded over the entire territory of Israel late on Saturday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was "at war" and was determined to win it. "The enemy will pay an unprecedented price," he added.