With the Israeli government promising to hunt down Hamas fighters after imposing a total seige on the Gaza Strip following a surprise weekend attack, the total death toll has neared 1,600.
Israeli TV news channels reported that the death toll from the Hamas attack had climbed to over 900, with at least 2,600 wounded. According to Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, more than 100 Israelis were also taken captive. Hamas militants breached a fortified fence and shooting dead civilians and soldiers along the Gaza border. The deceased include at least 260 people killed at a crowded music festival.
Israel, which has officially declared war, retaliated with airstrikes on Gaza, where at least 687 people were killed and 3,726 injured, reported Reuters, citing a Gaza's Health Ministry statement. The destroyed buildings include houses, apartments, a mosque and a 14-storey tower housing Hamas offices.
Further escalating the situation, Lebanon-based Hezbollah armed group fired rockets into northern Israel's disputed territory and Israel also fought back. Israel said one of its deputy commanders was killed in a cross-border raid from Lebanon while Hezbollah lost at least three of its members in the shelling.
With the war declaration, the Israeli army called up around 3,00,000 reservists and imposed a seige by cutting food, fuel and power supplies, sparking worries about a possible ground assault into Gaza.
"We have never drafted so many reservists on such a scale. We are going on the offensive," Reuters quoted Israel's Chief Military Spokesperson Rear-Admiral Daniel Hagari as saying.
Bombarding more than 1,000 targets in Gaza, Israeli airstrikes reportedly leveled much of the town of Beit Hanoun, which is used as a staging ground for attacks, AP cited the military as saying.
