1,000 have died since Palestinian militant group Hamas launched its massive surprise attack on Israel. The war has claimed more than 600 lives on the Israeli side, the government press office said while Gaza officials reported at least 370 deaths, with thousands more wounded on each side.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of a ‘long and difficult’ war ahead as thousands of Israeli forces were deployed to battle holdout Hamas fighters in the south and the Airforce pound targets in the Gaza strip.
“we’ll reach each and every community until we kill every terrorist in Israel,” said military spokesman Daniel Hagari, a day after Hamas fighters launched their shock offensive and surged into Israel using vehicles, boats and even motorized paragliders.
Gun battles raged in towns as Israeli army sought to secure desert regions near the coastal enclave, rescue Israeli hostages and evacuate all areas near Gaza within 24 hours.
At least 100 citizens were captured by Hamas gunmen and abducted into Gaza, with images circulating on social media of bloodied hostages, and distraught relatives pleading for the state to rescue them.
