SDEROT, Israel

Israeli police on Wednesday rejected accusations by Israeli media that they were too slow to respond Hamas attacks on Saturday.

"I can tell you that the Israeli police and border police ran to the sites from the second that there was an infiltration. We're talking about heroes," police spokesperson Dean Elsdunne told Anadolu near the southern city of Sderot, a few kilometers from the Gaza border.

"I think that anybody who's not wearing combat boots and was not there should not rush to make judgments. It's very easy to make decisions and opinions retrospectively under fluorescent lights. But what I can tell you is that there's a lot of questions that need to be answered and they will be answered," Elsdunne said.

Elsdunne said there were women, children and elderly still at risk in the war zone and border police officers were "putting their lives on the frontlines in order to defend civilians."

So far, over 41 police officers have been killed, Elsdunne said, adding that eight were from the Sderot police station.

"But, we are hearing countless heroic stories about officers that gave everything, they dropped everything to run into the line of fire while civilians were running the opposite way so that we can protect and save human lives," he added.

Underlining that there were infiltration attempts inside Israel persisted, he said police and Israeli military and security forces were on the front lines "doing everything possible to thwart these attempts and defend civilians."

"I can tell you that there have been numerous infiltration attempts. Just last night, there were attempts to come over from the ocean into the areas of Ashkelon and Ashdod, but luckily our police, border police, and IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) were standing ready," he said.

Underlining that there were some hostages, including among police, taken by Hamas, Elsdunne said: "We're doing everything possible to defend right now the citizens that are inside and the IDF and security forces are making their preparations in order to rescue those inside."

Israeli forces launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip in response to a military offensive Saturday by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israel.

The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood -- a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea and air.

Hamas said it was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip in response.

That response was extended into cutting water, food, fuel and electricity to Gaza in what it describes as a "full siege," further worsening living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz.