Maccabi Tel Aviv bosses Robbie Keane and Rory Delap ‘forced to flee Israel after spending hours in a panic room’ after Hamas militants launch attack on the country

• TalkSPORT reported that Keane and Delap have been evacuated to Greece
• Keane is Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach with Delap working as his assistant 

Robbie Keane and Rory Delap have reportedly been forced to flee Israel following the attack by Hamas militants.

Keane is currently the manager of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv with Delap working as his assistant.

TalkSPORT report they were hidden in a panic room as thousands of rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip before being evacuated to Greece.

Former Republic of Ireland striker Keane, 43, was appointed head coach of the Israeli Premier League side back in June.

His wife Claudine re-posted a club statement by Maccabi on her Instagram Stories and wrote: ‘Stay safe everyone, I’m praying for you all.’

Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Robbie Keane and his assistant Rory Delap have reportedly fled Israel following the attack on the country by Hamas militants

Delap (pictured) and Keane took over at the Israeli Premier League club back in June

Keane’s wife Claudine posted this message on her Instagram Stories on Saturday

The club message read: ‘The Maccabi Tel Aviv club, its managers, players and employees give strength to the security forces, the residents of the south and of all Israel in these difficult times.

‘Please listen to the instructions of security forces and stay safe. Together we will win.’

Keane and Delap have enjoyed success since they arrived. Maccabi sit top of the table five matches into the Israeli Premier League season, having won four, drawn one and lost none so far.

They have also won a couple of domestic cup games and successfully negotiated two qualifying rounds to reach the group phase of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Having defeated the Icelandic team Breiðablik 3-2 in their group opener, Maccabi suffered a 2-0 defeat to Belgians Gent on Thursday.

They had been due to play away at Hapoel Jerusalem on Sunday but all football fixtures have been postponed following the attack on Saturday.

Israeli forces were battling to regain control of territory taken by Hamas fighters on Saturday after they crossed over the border from Gaza in a surprise attack.

Israeli forces launched retaliatory strikes on Gaza City after Hamas militants launched incursions into their territory in the biggest escalation in decades

People assess the destruction cause by Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on Saturday. Israel has launched a counterstrike against Hamas militants after a sneak attack that killed hundreds

Hamas claimed to have fired 5,000 rockets into Israel from the occupied Gaza Strip, setting off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

Reports said 300 Israeli civilians had been killed, and dozens more taken hostage, following the biggest escalation in decades.

Palestinian officials said retaliatory Israeli air strikes had killed at least 313 people in the Gaza Strip with almost 2,000 wounded.

Israel’s counter-offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip was well underway on Sunday morning following the deadliest day of violence in the region for 50 years.

Israeli warplanes bombed Gaza City in retaliatory strikes after Hamas’s shock attack, while in the north artillery strikes were carried out in Lebanon after mortar fire from there directed towards Israeli territory.

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