More than 1,600 people have been killed since the Hamas militant group launched a surprise assault on Israel from Gaza early Saturday, leading Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare “we are at war.”
An Israeli embassy spokesperson said Monday the death toll has risen to at least 900 Israelis, most of them civilians. Another 2,500 were reported wounded, IDF international spokesperson Lt. Col. (Res.) Jonathan Conricus told CBS News on Monday. More than 250 of the dead were Israelis who came under attack at the Supernova music festival near the border with Gaza when militants opened fire on the crowd.
Israeli officials also say Hamas fighters captured more than 100 hostages, including women, children and elderly people, who were apparently taken into Gaza as captives.
At least 11 U.S. citizens are among the dead, the White House says, while an unknown number of Americans remain missing. U.S. officials say Americans may be among those who were taken hostage.
Meanwhile, at least 765 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip by Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. At least 140 children there have been killed and more than 3,720 others have been wounded, the Gaza Ministry of Health says.
Read more at CBSnews.com
What Are Your Thoughts?
