At least 313 Palestinians have been reported to be killed and another 1,990 have been wounded so far as the gun battle between Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas intensified on Sunday. The death toll has been confirmed by the Hamas’ Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip.
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari disclosed that searches for Hamas terrorists were underway in besieged towns, with over 400 terrorists reportedly killed inside Gaza, and others taken captive, as reported by The Times of Israel. Hagari highlighted the extensive presence of IDF forces in various towns.
The IDF’s mission objectives, as outlined by Hagari, include evacuating civilians from border communities in Gaza, ending the fighting in the area, managing security barrier breaches, and continuing to target terrorist elements in the Gaza Strip.
Over 24 hours after Hamas initiated rocket attacks followed by a ground assault, clashes between security forces and terrorists persisted in Kfar Aza, near the Gaza border.
On Saturday, the conflict escalated significantly when Hamas launched a “surprise attack” by firing a barrage of rockets into southern and central regions of Israel. The toll from these rocket attacks and the subsequent ground assault by Hamas surpassed 300 on Sunday, with an additional 1,864 Israelis reported as injured. The Times of Israel also reported that several Israelis had been taken hostage in Gaza, according to officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stern warning to Hamas, characterizing their actions as the start of a terrible war and vowing that the IDF would use its full strength to undermine Hamas’ capabilities. Netanyahu condemned the invasion of Israeli territory by Hamas and expressed his determination to prevent such events from happening again.
Earlier on Sunday, the IDF reported that Israeli fighter jets targeted a military facility at the residence of Hamas’ intelligence chief in Gaza. The IDF shared this update on social media, along with a video, and stated that their attacks in the Gaza Strip were ongoing.
The conflict, which began at 6:30 a.m. local time on Saturday and involved Hamas fighters infiltrating Israel via land, sea, and air, prompted Israel’s military to launch a series of air raids on Gaza in response to the attacks.
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