ANKARA

The Israeli army on Saturday said it destroyed four boats trying to enter its territory by sea as fighting with the Hamas group continued.

"The [Israeli] soldiers opened fire toward the terrorists and thwarted dozens of them, as well as two rubber boats and two additional vessels," it said in a statement.

It also claimed that the Israeli navy killed dozens of Palestinians who attempted to infiltrate into Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is at war, and his army's priority is to "clear out the hostile forces" after Hamas, which controls Gaza Strip, launched an operation.

The group running the Gaza Strip said its operation was in response to the desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence.

In retaliation, the Israeli army initiated a “large-scale operation to defend Israeli civilians against the combined attack."