October 8, 2023 Israel-Hamas war news

Our live coverage of the conflict in Israel and Gaza has moved here.

Islamist militant group Hamas on Sunday accused the United States of taking part in “aggression against Palestinian people” by sending a Navy carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

The Navy carrier strike group includes the USS Gerald R. Ford, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, accompanied by guided missile destroyers and guided missile cruisers.

The US is also positioning?more fighter jets to the Middle East, as a deterrent to?Hezbollah?in Lebanon and other militant groups aligned against Israel, officials say.

At least 10 Nepali citizens were killed when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on Saturday, Nepal’s ambassador to Israel told CNN on Sunday.

The deceased were agriculture students in the Alumim kibbutz, Ambassador Kanta Rizal said.

One Nepali student remains missing, Rizal added.

Officials say the death toll in Israel has passed 700 following Hamas’ unprecedented surprise attack that began on Saturday. More than?400 Palestinians have died in the Israeli military response, according to the health ministry in Gaza.?

The Israeli embassy in Bogota?has been vandalized with graffiti including swastikas, Israel’s envoy to Colombia said on Sunday.

Photos posted by Ambassador Gali Dagan on X, formerly Twitter, show a pillar of the embassy building daubed with a swastika next to the Star of David and pro-Palestinian slogans.

The incident comes after?Colombian President Gustavo Petro expressed support for the recognition of Palestine on Saturday, slamming the international community for treating the “Israeli occupation in Palestine” in a “very different way” from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.?

CNN has reached out to Bogota police for more details about the incident.

A professor emeritus from Brandies University in Massachusetts said his daughter and son-in-law were killed in the Hamas attacks on Israel on Saturday.?

Ilan?Troen told?NPR?that his daughter and son-in-law tried to shield their son from gunfire as militants attacked.?

It is unclear whether Troen’s daughter and son-in-law, whose names have not been released, were US citizens.?

Israel has “severely degraded the capabilities” of Palestinian militant group Hamas as airstrikes on Gaza continued into early Monday, the Israel?Defense Forces (IDF) said.

The IDF?said it?targeted a structure that housed Hamas operatives and several of the group’s operational command centers, including a three-floor command center.

The IDF also said it targeted:

Israel has been?pounding Gaza with airstrikes?and formally?declared war on Hamas?Sunday following an unprecedented surprise attack by the militant group that began on Saturday. More than?400 Palestinians have died, according to the health ministry in Gaza, and medical care has been complicated by Israel cutting power to the territory.

Officials say the death toll in Israel has passed 700.

US lawmakers and Biden administration officials discussed increasing support for Israel at a briefing with House leadership on Sunday night, three people familiar with the call told CNN.?

Senior officials from the State and Defense Departments told the lawmakers?they are moving as quickly as they can to deliver weapons?and?resources to Israel as part of already existing contracts, the sources said.

That could help ensure that Washington provides some items as soon as possible, amid questions about how quickly Congress could act on a larger aid package.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has postponed all upcoming matches scheduled in Israel due to the ongoing conflict, European soccer’s governing body said Sunday.

The matches affected include Thursday’s Euro 2024 qualifier between Israel and Switzerland, as well as Israel’s Euro Under-21 championship matches against Estonia and Germany.

Read more here.

Fire and smoke rise following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Sunday.

The death toll is rising in Israel and Gaza as fighting rages between Israeli forces and Hamas militants and as more details emerge of the dead and those taken hostage.

Israel formally?declared war on Hamas on?Sunday after the Islamist militant group launched its deadly surprise assault on Saturday. Israel also cut power to Gaza — complicating medical care efforts as the densely-populated territory is pounded by Israeli airstrikes.

If you’re just joining us, here’s what you need to know:

German-Israeli woman Shani Louk.

The mother of Shani Louk, the German-Israeli women captured at a music festival near the Gaza border, said she found out about the incident through a viral video on social media.

Ricarda Louk told CNN her daughter had stopped responding to her when Hamas rockets were launched Saturday morning.

In video authenticated and geolocated by CNN, Shani can be seen unconscious in the back of a vehicle, being paraded around Gaza. One gunman, carrying a rocket propelled grenade, has his leg draped over her waist; the other holds a clump of her dreadlocks. “Allahu Akbar,” they cheer — “God is Great,” in Arabic.

Ricarda said someone in Gaza had tried to use her daughter’s credit card, and that they are still “waiting for news” of her whereabouts.

Israeli authorities have not come back to her with any news, Ricarda said.?She also said she’s been in contact with the German embassy for help since both her and her daughter are German citizens.

At least four civilians were killed while in the custody of Hamas, just feet from where armed militants had been escorting them near the Gaza border, videos obtained and geolocated by CNN show.

One video from the kibbutz of Be’eri in southern Israel shows armed fighters, burned cars and a bulldozer in the background.?Toward the end of the?video, which was released on a Hamas-affiliated Telegram channel, four bodies can be seen on the ground.?

Another video previously geolocated by CNN showed five Israeli?civilians taken captive by armed militants in nearly the same spot. A CNN analysis of the videos determined that the bodies, and the individuals being escorted, had matching clothes and hairstyles.

It is not clear what happened to the fifth hostage.?

Gaza hostages: Hamas fighters are holding more than 100 Israeli hostages in Gaza, including high-ranking army officers, a spokesperson for the militant group claimed Sunday.

Another Palestinian armed group, Islamic Jihad, on Sunday said it is holding at least?30?hostages in Gaza.

CNN is unable to verify the claims of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.?

Israel authorities have said that dozens of Israelis are being held hostage in Gaza but have not confirmed exact numbers. In addition to Israeli captives, there are several other nationalities believed to be taken hostage.

Air Canada planes are seen in Toronto, Canada, on June 12.

Air Canada is canceling all flights to Tel Aviv as of Sunday, joining a number of other international airlines suspending routes to Israel.

The Canadian airline said it will adjust flights and plans as it monitors the situation in Israel. Passengers flying to or from Tel Aviv will be allowed to make changes to their plans, including requesting a refund.

Air Canada currently has 10 weekly flights planned for departure from Canada to Tel Aviv daily and three times a week from Montreal.

United Airlines and American Airlines have also suspended flights to Tel Aviv. Delta Air Lines, Air Malta and Portuguese airline TAP have also canceled flights to Israel.

Members of Congress were told that four Americans have been killed following the attacks in Israel close to the Gaza border,?according to a source familiar with a briefing to key House committees on Sunday evening.?

The death toll of American citizens is expected to rise, the source said.

CNN reported earlier Sunday that at least three Americans have been killed following the attacks on Israel near the border, according to an internal US government memo reviewed by CNN.?

At least two Ukrainians have been killed in the conflict in Israel, Ukrainian President Volodymyr?Zelensky said Sunday.

Zelensky did not specify details surrounding the deaths, but said the Ukrainian embassy is working with Israeli authorities “to?find out the details about Ukrainians who found themselves in the areas of hostilities and shelling.”

He also urged the international community to respond to the conflict and “not stand aside.”

“Many people were shocked by the audacity of the terrorist attack. The audacity and thorough preparation. If terrorists can afford it, it means they are a threat not just to one country,” he said.

Hamas, the militant group that launched the weekend attack on Israel, has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel.

Hamas fighters are holding more than 100 Israeli hostages in Gaza, including high-ranking army officers, a spokesperson for the militant group claimed Sunday.

Asked about the presence of Israeli army officers among the hostages, Marzouk said: “There are high-ranking officers.”?

Another Palestinian armed group, Islamic Jihad, on Sunday said it is holding at least?30?hostages in Gaza.

CNN is unable to verify the claims of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.?

Israel authorities have said that dozens of Israelis are being held hostage in Gaza but have not confirmed exact numbers.

In addition to Israeli captives, there are several other nationalities believed to be taken hostage. Two Mexican nationals, a woman and a man, have “presumably” been taken hostage by Hamas, Mexico’s Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena said on Sunday. At least three Brazilian nationals are also missing, according to Brazilian authorities.

The father of an Israeli woman who was reportedly taken hostage at a music festival near the Gaza-Israel border on Saturday said he “didn’t want to believe it” when he saw his daughter being hoisted onto the back of a motorcycle by Hamas militants in a video circulating on social media.

Speaking to CNN’s Becky Anderson, Yakov Argamani described the moment he saw the video of his 25-year-old daughter Noa being taken captive.

?At least 260 bodies have been found at?the site of the outdoor Nova Festival following Saturday’s attack by Hamas, according to?Israeli rescue service Zaka.

The event was supposed to be an all-night dance party, celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

Hamas gunmen shot at fleeing attendees and took others hostage at the festival in a rural farmland area near the Gaza-Israel border, according to social media videos and accounts from festivalgoers.

Yakov said he has “not heard anything from authorities,” regarding his daughter’s situation.

The terrifying festival attack was just one of multiple locations hit on Saturday morning by the most sustained and coordinated assault inside Israel ever carried out by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group designated as a terror organization by the United States, European Union and Israel.

Yakov appealed to Hamas militants to “reach an honest peace.”

Hamas on Sunday claimed to have taken a large number of hostages from Israel and brought them back to Gaza, according to?Abu Obaida, the spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas, in a short statement on al-Aqsa TV.?

“Today, our fighters managed to capture a large number of prisoners from the enemy forces and bring them to the Gaza Strip,” Obaida said.

Hamas, an Islamist militant group, claimed their forces are still present and conducting operations in Mavki’im?in?southern?Israel?just north of Gaza.

“Our fighters managed to reach the?Mavki’im?area and engaged in fierce clashes that resulted in the killing and injury of a significant number of enemy forces,”?Obaida said.

CNN is unable to verify Hamas’ claims.?

Asked for comment in an interview with?CNN’s Wolf Blitzer early Monday morning local time,?Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Maj. Ben Wahlhaus neither confirmed or denied?the Hamas claims, saying,?“It is a very fluid situation. It’s something that’s ongoing as we speak with rockets being fired.”?

“We’re still fighting down south. People are still inside their homes, inside their safe rooms, inside their bomb shelters,”?Wahlhaus told CNN.

Israelis inspect the rubble of a building in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Sunday, October 8, a day after it was hit by a rocket fired from Gaza.

US officials tell CNN on Sunday that the administration has yet to find a smoking gun so far linking Iran directly to planning and executing the attack on Israel this weekend.??

However, there’s no denying Iran’s history of aiding Hamas, officials say.?

“Of course Iran is in the picture,” one US official told CNN.?“They’ve provided support for years to Hamas and Hezbollah.”?

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, senior US officials have maintained that it was too early to determine whether Iran had any direct role in planning and supporting Hamas’ attack.?“It is early” and a matter of direct interest to determine, one senior official said.?

But?officials are beginning to go as far as to say that Iran’s well-established connections to Hamas would mean it is likely they helped train and finance effort that ultimately led to this weekend’s attack.?

“Iran’s close ties to Hamas and financial and operational support make it likely they had a role in this,” one Democratic senator, who was expected to receive a classified briefing on Monday, told CNN.?

But for now, US officials say there is no intelligence making the direct connection.?

One congressional source said that given the sophistication of the attack, Iran would have had a role, since Hamas does not have the ability to buy weapons at this scale. The question now: To what extent Iran played a role.

Another key question is how Hamas coordinated and amassed the people and weaponry to execute the operation and do so undetected by?key middle eastern and western intelligence operations, including the Israelis.

Publicly, administration officials have expressed similar regarding the understanding of Iran’s role so far.?On CNN’s “State of the Union” today, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “in this specific instance, we have not yet seen?evidence that Iran directed or was behind this particular attack. And on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Blinken added “that’s something we’re looking at very carefully, and we’ve got to see where the facts lead.”

While the administration has rejected the criticism that a recent deal unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian funds was connected to the attack, Blinken was more circumspect about whether the deal freed up Iran to spend other money, noting that Iran has long underwritten terrorism.

“Iran has, unfortunately, always used and focused its funds on supporting terrorism, on supporting groups like Hamas. And it’s done that when there have been sanctions; it’s done that when there haven’t been sanctions. And it’s always prioritized that,” Blinken said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Reporting from Katie Bo Lillis, Natasha Bertrand and Evan Perez?contributed to this post.

Oil prices surged and US stock futures fell Sunday night in their first reaction to Israel’s war with Hamas.

Although Israel is not a major oil producer, escalating tensions in the oil-rich Middle East spooked investors who have already been selling off oil in recent weeks. Inflation, fear of a global economic downturn and a correction to prices that were surging in recent months had sent US oil prices down from around $95 a few weeks ago to just above $80 last week.

But US oil prices were 3% higher Sunday night — more than $85 a barrel. Brent crude, the global benchmark, was also about 3% higher, trading around $87 a barrel.

US stock futures, which surged on a surprisingly strong American job market report Friday, fell sharply Sunday night. Wall Street investors fear prolonged tensions in Israel could hurt the fragile global economic recovery.

Dow futures were down 190 points, or 0.6%. S&P 500 futures were down 0.7%. And Nasdaq futures were 0.6% lower.

The death toll in Israel a day after the surprise attack by Hamas?fighters breached the border from Gaza?has risen to “over 700 dead,”?Israel Defense Forces spokesperson, Maj. Ben Wahlhaus, told CNN on Sunday.?

A US F-35 fighter jet flies over Jutland, Denmark, on March 10.

The US is positioning?more fighter jets to the Middle East as part of a plan to bolster US force posture in the region, a US official familiar with the planning tells CNN.

The move will include sending in F-35 and F-15 fighter jets, the official said, two of the most potent air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities in the Air Force. Though an exact number of aircraft is unclear, the official said it will likely be around 20-25 fighters headed to the region.

The purpose of the deployment of additional fighter jets is to deter any Iranian aggression or an expansion of the fighting beyond Israel’s borders, the official said.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced earlier Sunday the US would “augment” its fighter squadrons in the Middle East under US Central Command. In addition to F-35s and F-15s, Austin also said F-16 and A-10 squadrons in the region would be bolstered.

F-35 fighter jets were ordered to the region in mid-July in response to Iranian aggression in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway in the Middle East. The jets wrapped up the deployment only days ago, but more of the fifth-generation aircraft will head to the region in the wake of the escalation between Israel and Gaza and concerns it could spill become a regional conflict.

In late March, the US deployed A-10 attack aircraft to the region following increased Iranian aggression against US forces in Syria. The A-10s were then shifted to the monitoring the Strait of Hormuz following a series of attempted seizures from Iranian maritime forces.

Six Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli fire in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, according to Palestinian health officials.

First, a 24-year-old Palestinian man was fatally shot in the northern entrance of Jericho. This was confirmed by the director of Jericho Government Hospital in a phone interview with CNN.

Later, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah said that three Palestinians were shot and killed near Qalandiya checkpoint. Nine Palestinians were injured and transferred to Ramallah Medical complex Sunday night.

The ministry identified the three who were killed as Mohammad Ziyad Abdel alJaleel Ehmaid, 24; Amjad Maher Alian Khdeir, 36; and 17-year-old THa’er Sami Ali Kassabeh.

A fifth Palestinian was shot and killed in Hebron and was identified by the Palestinian Ministry as Mohammad Jawad Abdel Rahman, 21, the ministry said.

The sixth Palestinian was shot and killed in Beita and was transferred to Rafidia Government hospital near Nablus in the West Bank. The ministry said it is not yet releasing the identification.

The US Holocaust Memorial Museum on Sunday condemned the Hamas’ attack on Israel and called for immediate release of hostages being held in Gaza.

Dozens of people are believed to have been captured in Israel by Hamas fighters over the weekend. They are now being held in locations across Gaza, complicating Israel’s response to the militant group’s deadly attack on Saturday.

Sen. Cory Booker, who was in Israel when Hamas attack happened, described how he sheltered with others, including children and families, following the attack.

Booker posted a video to social media after leaving the country.

“About this time yesterday, I was jogging behind me in the Old City when I got an urgent call from my chief of staff telling me to get back to the hotel as quickly as I could, that Israel was under attack,” Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, said in the video posted on X.

Booker concluded the video by urging people to “reject those who use terror as their weapon.

Watch the full video from Booker:

Rockets are fired toward Israel from Gaza on Sunday, October 8.

Hamas has fired more than 4,000 rockets at Israel, the Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog told CNN’s Abby Phillip.?

“Yesterday Hamas launched an unprovoked war against the state of Israel, firing until now over 4,000 rockets, which is more than they fired in 10 days in the last round of war we had with them two years ago. And sending hundreds of terrorists into Israeli territory, butchering hundreds of Israelis,” Herzog said.

Israel formally declared war on Hamas Sunday after the group’s devastating surprise attack the day prior, setting the stage for a massive military response. Israel has been pounding Gaza with airstrikes.

The Hamas rocket attack on Sunday targeting Ashkelon made a “direct hit,” according to Israeli Police.

Police said the rocket fire hit an apartment building.

Ashkelon is not far north of the border with the Gaza Strip.

Israel is requesting precision-guided bombs and additional interceptors for the Iron Dome from the US, according to an Israeli military official?and a US defense official. The request comes?as?Defense Secretary Lloyd?Austin?has promised the US will move security assistance to Israel as soon as today.

The Israeli official said the request to the Americans includes Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAMs, a kit that turns an unguided “dumb” bomb into a precision “smart” weapon.?Israel has used precision-guided bombs to strike targets in Gaza from the air.

Israel is also requesting more interceptors for Iron Dome, a short-range aerial defense system that has intercepted many of the rockets fired from Gaza. But the system has been overwhelmed by barrages of rockets, allowing some rockets to get through and hit Israel.

The US has provided millions of dollars in funding for Iron Dome.

The Israeli official also said the Israeli military could request more capabilities and weapons, depending on how Israel’s campaign against Hamas plays out.?

“As and if other events evolve, then we will need other parts as well,” the official said.

Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood speaks to reporters ahead of a United Nations Security Council meeting on Sunday, October 8.

No action was taken following the United Nations Security Council emergency meeting on the situation in the Middle East, according to several Security Council members who spoke Sunday afternoon.

“I don’t want to get into what was really discussed in the briefing, but there are a good number of countries that condemned Hamas’ attacks,” Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told reporters following the meeting. “They’re obviously not all (condemning the attacks), and I don’t really want to get into that. I think you can probably figure out one of them without me saying anything.”

Some context: The Security Council consists of 10 elected members, and five permanent members — China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation. All 15 members would have needed to vote unanimously for any statement to emerge following the Security Council meeting.

More from the council: “The situation is still fluid and very dangerous,” Wood said.

He added officials are working hard to try to prevent the conflict from spreading through the region.

When asked about the plight of Palestinians in the region, Wood said, “We condemn civilians who are hurt or killed anywhere in the world. That goes without saying. What’s important now is that the international community to show its solidarity with Israel.”

Hamas should be condemned until they end their violent terrorist activity, he added.

A still from a video shows the aftermath of a Sunday, October 8, missile attack on Ashkelon in southern Israel.

Hamas, which earlier said it was targeting Ben Gurion International Airport, also said it had launched “a major missile attack with 100 rockets” on Ashkelon in southern Israel.

The rockets were fired at the coastal city in response to Israel Defense Forces “targeting of their safe houses,” said the Izzedine al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian militant group.

Ashkelon is not far north of the border with the Gaza Strip.

Loud explosions could be heard across central Israel and the suburbs of Tel Aviv late Sunday, according to CNN teams?on?the?ground.

Hamas has claimed it is targeting the Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel’s international hub, which is located just outside Tel Aviv.

The Izzedine al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a statement that the “missile barrage was in response to the continuing crimes and targeting of civilian homes.”

Remember: Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack from Gaza on Saturday, leading Israel to declare war on the Palestinian militant group. Since then, Israel has bombarded Gaza with airstrikes, and Hamas has launched further attacks from the territory.

At least 260 bodies have been found at?the site of an Israeli music festival following Saturday’s attack by Hamas, according to?Israeli rescue service Zaka.

Hamas gunmen shot at fleeing attendees and took others hostage at the festival in a rural farmland area near the Gaza-Israel border, according to social media videos and accounts from festivalgoers.

The terrifying attack was just one of multiple locations hit on Saturday morning by the most sustained and coordinated assault inside Israel ever carried out by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group designated as a terror organization by the United States, European Union and Israel.

People run across an empty field away from gunshots at a music festival near the Gaza-Israel border on Saturday, October 7.

The outdoor Nova Festival event was supposed to be an all-night dance party, celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

Read more about the festival attack here.

CNN’s Paul P. Murphy,?Allegra Goodwin,?Benjamin Brown?and?Sharif Paget contributed reporting to this post.

Islamic Jihad — a militant Palestinian faction which has also carried out terror attacks in Israel —?is holding at least 30 hostages in Gaza who were captured Saturday, according to the group’s secretary general, Ziyad al-Nakhala.

The group is calling for Israel to release some of its fighters in exchange for the hostages’ release.

“The Islamic Jihad Movement currently has more than 30 prisoners, and they will not return to their homes until our prisoners are liberated,” al-Nakhala said in a recorded, televised speech late Sunday.

Some context: Islamic Jihad and Hamas are separate organizations, but they both operate in the Gaza Strip and they are aligned in their opposition to Israel.

The total number of hostages taken during Hamas’ assault this weekend is not yet clear, but Israeli officials have said there are dozens of captives.

At least three Americans have been killed following the attacks in Israel close to the Gaza border, according to an internal US government memo reviewed by CNN.?

Earlier Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN the US had received reports of missing and dead Americans, and the administration was working “overtime” to verify.?

The internal memo says the State Department is aware of three US citizens killed in the Gaza periphery, as well as additional Americans who have not been accounted for.

CNN?has?reached out to the State Department for comment.

The US embassy in Jerusalem, meanwhile, has also updated its contingency planning “for any potential evacuation by land or air,” according to the memo.?On Saturday, the embassy issued a “shelter in place” for embassy personnel after Hamas launched its surprise attack.

People mourn family members killed in Israeli strikes during a funeral in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on Sunday, October 8.

At least 413 Palestinians have been killed, including 78 children, and 2,300 others wounded in Gaza since Saturday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

Power cuts in the territory pose “a big challenge for the medical sector,” the ministry said, threatening the lives of hundreds of others who need treatment.

Key context: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Saturday that Israel will halt the supply of “electricity, fuel and goods” into the Gaza Strip, although military spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said Sunday only electricity had been cut.

Since then, power is only available for an average of four hours per day, down from the usual eight hours.

Israel has formally declared war on Hamas, which controls Gaza, after the militant group’s surprise attack Saturday. It has been pounding the territory with airstrikes since.

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan speaks to reporters in New York on Sunday, October 8.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan has demanded the United Nations Security Council condemn the “ruthless terror attacks” by Hamas against Israel.

“In the wake of the Holocaust, the world swore, ‘never again,’” he continued. “This very body, the UN, was established on the ashes of the Holocaust. Yet yesterday, we watched as hundreds of Jews were massacred in cold blood. This is a ‘never again’ moment.”?

“Today, many members of the international community are supporting Israel,” he told reporters. “But if history has taught us anything, we know that tomorrow that may not be the case,” Erdan said, adding “the UN, the Security Council, have a very short memory when it comes to Israel.”

The ambassador said the reports and videos depicting Hamas’ kidnapping and killing of Israeli citizens are “blatant, documented war crimes.”

Erdan condemned Hamas as a “genocidal Islamist jihadist terror organization,” saying it is “no different than ISIS.” The Palestinian militant group is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, Israel and other countries.

“Israel is at the forefront of the war on terror,” Erdan told reporters.

A person walks through the debris of a destroyed building in Gaza City, on Sunday, October 8.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in Gaza as Israeli Defense Forces continue to target Hamas positions on the strip, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said on Sunday.

The statement also noted that a “UNRWA school sheltering displaced families in the Gaza Strip was directly hit today?(Sunday). The school, sheltering more than 225 people, was severely damaged. No casualties were recorded among the displaced.”

At least 13 family members, including four toddlers, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, according to a relative and journalist Hassan Eslayeh.

The airstrike also killed four more people and injured 25 others, according to Eslayeh. He also shared with CNN the names of the people who were killed.

Pictures and a video shared on social media showed the four toddlers from the Abu Daqqa family wrapped in white clothes in a hospital morgue in Gaza with visible head injuries.

Mohammad Abu Daqqa, a relative, said five residential buildings were destroyed in the Israeli airstrike. Each building was three or four stories tall.

Some background: Hamas, the Islamist militant group designated as a terror organization by the US, European Union and Israel, controls Gaza. The densely populated enclave is home to some 2 million Palestinians.

Israel formally declared war on Hamas Sunday, after the group’s surprise attack the day prior, setting the stage for a massive military response. Israel has been pounding Gaza with airstrikes.

At least 370 Palestinians have been killed and 2,200 others wounded in Gaza since Saturday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

The USS Gerald R. Ford is seen anchored in the Gulf of Trieste in Italy on September 18.

A US Navy carrier strike group is headed to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, according to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, as Israel prepares for a large-scale campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

The USS Gerald R. Ford, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was sailing with the Italian Navy earlier this week, according to the ship’s social media, putting it close to Israel.

The carrier will be accompanied by guided missile destroyers and guided missile cruisers, which are two other classes of Navy warship.

The US is also taking steps to bolster its presence of fighter jets in the region, including F-35, F-15, F-16 and A-10 squadrons. It sent several of these aircraft to the Middle East in recent months in response to aggression from Iranian forces across the region, including in Syria and in the Gulf of Oman.

Why it matters: The strike group’s presence is intended as a deterrent to Hezbollah in Lebanon and other militant groups aligned against Israel, the officials said.

US President Joe Biden warned Saturday that “this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage.”

Remember: Hamas, like Hezbollah, has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union and Israel.

Israel accuses its archenemy Iran of backing Hamas.

An official in US President Joe Biden’s administration said Saturday that it’s not yet clear whether Iran played a direct role in this weekend’s attacks on Israel, but that there is no question Hamas is funded, equipped and armed by Iran.

US President Joe Biden and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Additional US assistance is on its way to Israel, US President Joe Biden told Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a call Sunday.

Biden once again expressed sympathy for those missing, wounded and killed, and discussed efforts to ensure no other rivals of Israel take advantage of the situation, according to the readout.

The two leaders are expected to stay in contact in the coming days.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an speaks at a summit in New York on September 18.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an said his country is ready to help stop the conflict between Israel and Hamas “and to reduce the tension that has escalated with the recent events.”

The Turkish president said that while the country always stands “in solidarity with our Palestinian brothers; we have emphasized that any steps that would escalate tensions in the region, cause more bloodshed, and deepen the problems should be avoided.”

Israeli troops have killed hundreds of Hamas fighters, wounded thousands and captured scores of others, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said Sunday.

The initial Israeli counterattack began at 3:45 a.m. local time Sunday (8:45 p.m. ET Saturday), with “tens of tons of bombs” dropped, said IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.

Israeli forces destroyed around 800 targets, including launching pads used by Hamas, with 50 planes attacking 120 targets in Beit Hanoun alone and destroying all Hamas gathering points there, Hagari said.?

Sunday saw fighting in a series of Israeli communities near Gaza, including Kfar Aza, Nahal Oz, Kissufim and Be’eri, Hagari said.

On the coast, near the community of Zikim, a Hamas squad that tried to land was foiled, the IDF spokesperson said.

Remember: Hamas is an Islamist organization with a military wing. It controls the Gaza Strip, the enclave home to 2 million Palestinians, from which it launched Saturday’s devastating attacks on Israel.

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel.

Rockets are fired toward Israel from Gaza on October 8.

More than 600 people have been killed in Israel since Hamas launched its surprise attack Saturday — and the death toll is expected to rise further, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer told CNN on Sunday.

More than 2,000 people are wounded, according to officials.

Fighting in Israel rages on Sunday, a day after Hamas fighters breached the border from Gaza in a devastating attack.

The United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East will be a closed door meeting starting at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, according to the UN.

Gilad Erdan, the permanent representative of Israel to the UN, is expected to brief reporters ahead of the meeting at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Americans are among the “scores” of hostages being held in Gaza, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday.?

He declined to estimate the number of Americans specifically being held.

Dermer called the attack on Israel a “savage attack,” saying that women, children and elderly people are among the hostages in Gaza.?

The US is “working overtime” to verify reports of?missing and dead Americans?overseas after Hamas launched its unprecedented attack, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Bash earlier Sunday.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a news conference on September 20.

Hamas claimed Sunday that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi praised its surprise attack on Israel in a phone call with the group’s leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news on Sunday said Raisi spoke with Haniyeh in a phone call and “reviewed the situation underway in the occupied lands,” but did not provide further details.

In a later statement, Raisi said his country “supports the Palestinian nation’s legitimate defense,” and that Israel and its backers “bear responsibility for endangering the security of the nations of the region.”

Haniyeh expressed his appreciation for Iran’s position, according to a statement released by Hamas.

Some context: Iran is Israel’s archenemy, and the two countries have long engaged in a form of proxy war, in which Iran-backed groups fight Israeli forces.

Israel accuses Iran of backing Hamas.

An official in US President Joe Biden’s administration said Saturday that it’s not yet clear whether Iran played a direct role in this weekend’s attacks on Israel, but that there is no question Hamas is funded, equipped and armed by Iran.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed support for Israel on Sunday.

Netanyahu said the European heads of state “expressed unreserved support for Israel’s right to defend itself as necessary,” according to a social media post.

Zelensky also wrote a post about the conversation on social media.

“I spoke with Netanyahu to affirm Ukraine’s solidarity with Israel, which suffers from a brazen large-scale attack, and to express condolences for the multiple victims,” the Ukrainian president wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Zelensky also noted that Israeli law enforcement and diplomats are coordinating to ensure the safety of Ukrainian citizens in Israel.

A man inspects the rubble of a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, on Sunday, October 8.

At least 370 Palestinians have been killed and 2,200 others wounded in Gaza since Saturday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

Israel formally declared war on Hamas Sunday, after the group’s devastating surprise attack the day prior, setting the stage for a massive military response. Israel has been pounding Gaza with airstrikes.

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Maj. Doron Spielman speaks with CNN on Sunday, October 8.

Israel will “do anything” to free and return hostages that have been taken into Gaza, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Maj. Doron Spielman told CNN on Sunday.

Spielman said Israeli forces are “trying to eliminate the Hamas infrastructure as effectively as possible.”

The spokesperson said Hamas is trying to infiltrate seven different areas in Israel, and that the IDF has air command over most of them, but is trying to firm up its defenses.

Spielman was unequivocal in describing the severity of Hamas’ incursion.

Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks in Krakow, Poland, on September 29.

Poland will send air force transport planes to evacuate its citizens from Israel, President Andrzej Duda noted?in a post on social media platform X on Sunday.?

“Soldiers from our special forces will ensure loading protection and safety on board. We are working so that all our compatriots can return home?safely,” Duda said.

People run across an empty field away from gunshots at a music festival near the Gaza-Israel border on October 7, 2023.

Organizers from a music festival that was attacked by Hamas are helping Israeli security forces find missing attendees.

Organizers are asking for anyone with information on missing persons from the festival to pass it along to relevant officials.?

“We are hopeful and pray that good news will reach you and us soon,” the statement continued.?“At these moments, it is important we stay strong and unified, faithful, and support each other and we will be there for anyone who needs it.”

Some background: The outdoor Nova Festival event in a rural farmland area near the Gaza-Israel border was supposed to be an all-night dance party, celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

But as dawn broke, attendees began hearing sirens and rockets. Hamas fighters raided the festival, gunning down innocent people as they ran for their cars. Others were taken hostage.

Dozens of bodies were seen at the festival grounds in photos released by Israel’s foreign ministry in the aftermath of the attack. In one of the images, a body bound by cable ties is seen badly burned.?It’s unclear why the individual is bound, but Hamas fighters have been seen putting prisoners in the restraints in videos from their assault.

Read more on the festival here.

CNN’S Gianluca Mezzofiore, Clarissa Ward and Brent Swails contributed reporting to this post.

An Israeli tank travels on a highway near Sderot, Israel, on October 8.

The Israeli government formally declared war on Hamas on Sunday, setting the stage for a massive response against the Islamist militant group.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu already said Saturday the country was at war — but that declaration was rhetorical. Sunday’s move by the Israeli cabinet is an official decision, tantamount to a declaration of war by Congress in the United States.

The war declaration was taken in accordance with Article 40 of Israel’s Basic Law, the Israeli government press office said. Israel?does not have a written constitution, but its 13 Basic Laws serve a similar function.

Netanyahu said before Sunday’s declaration that Israel would “take mighty vengeance” for the attack by Palestinian militants, while the country’s top military official in charge of activities in the Palestinian territories?said after the attacks that Hamas has “opened the gates of hell.”?Israel has been pounding Gaza with airstrikes, which have killed?more than 300 people.?

Israel is opening a missing persons command center for friends and family members to register people who are unaccounted for.

The address for the command center is Negev 3 Road, Airport City, in central Israel, Dean Elsdunne, the international spokesperson for the Israel Police, said in a video message.

Elsdunne said those registering missing people should provide as much personal information as possible, including personal effects to help officials match DNA samples.

Antony Blinken speaks in an interview with CNN on Sunday, October 8.

The US could announce additional aid to Israel as soon as today, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN’s Dana Bash.

“We’re looking at specific additional requests that the Israelis have made. I think you’re likely to hear more about that later today,” Blinken said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Blinken said President Joe Biden’s direction was “to make sure that we’re providing Israel everything it needs in this moment to deal with the attacks from Hamas.”

Blinken also told CNN the US has received reports of missing and dead Americans, and the administration is “working overtime” to verify the information.

In response to Republicans’ accusations that the Biden administration has been appeasing Iran, and that the unfreezing of Iranian funds contributed to the situation in Israel, Blinken reiterated that no money has been spent from the unfrozen funds intended for humanitarian purposes.

“So people are either misinformed or they’re misinforming. And either way, it’s wrong,” he said.

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01:18 - Source: CNN

Israel is fighting to push?Palestinian militants?out of its territory a day after Hamas launched?a deadly assault from Gaza, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing retaliation and warning of “a long and difficult war” ahead.

Israel has responded to Saturday’s shock terror attack by launching airstrikes on what it?said were Hamas targets in Gaza, while its forces clashed on the ground with Hamas fighters in villages, army bases and border crossings.

Israeli warplanes continued to pound Gaza on Sunday morning, with the Israel Defense Forces saying it had struck 426 targets in Gaza, including 10 towers used by Hamas. Israel said drones were used overnight Saturday to strike “a number of terrorist squads in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip.”

In Gaza, at least 313 Palestinians have died and nearly 1,990 wounded in the past 24 hours, the Palestinian health ministry said. The toll included 20 dead and 121 wounded children, the ministry added.

The Israeli leader said the “first phase” of the operation had ended with the “destruction of the majority of the enemy forces that penetrated our territory.”

Here’s where the fighting has been reported since Saturday:

Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Sunday, October 8.

The Israeli Defense Forces said fighter jets have struck three military headquarters belonging to terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip on Sunday afternoon local time.

“Military headquarters belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization used for directing terror were struck, as well as military headquarters belonging to the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization that were used during recent operations, and additional military headquarters belonging to the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization that were used by the terrorist organization’s rocket forces,” the IDF said.

Live video feeds Sunday showed multiple explosions and large plumes of smoke rising from northern and eastern parts of Gaza, including in the area of Beit Hanoun.?

Israel has been pounding Gaza with airstrikes, which have killed more than 300 people, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The number of people dead in Israel following the surprise attacks by Hamas on Saturday is likely to be over 500, CNN analysis suggests.

Zaka, an emergency rescue service that specializes in handling the bodies of the dead, told CNN Sunday that it had confirmed “around 500” people are dead.

That number does not include people who died or were declared dead in hospitals, and Zaka has not been able to reach every location where people are thought to have been killed, meaning the total number is almost certainly more than 500.

At least 2,156 people have been wounded since Hamas launched its surprise attacks Saturday, according to the Israeli health ministry.

See photos from the ground, as the conflict between Hamas and Israel enters its second day.

Palestinians inspect a mosque destroyed by Israeli air strikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Sunday, October 8.

Palestinian children look toward the sky at the sound of airstrikes at a United Nations-run school in Gaza on Saturday, October 7.

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from Gaza on Sunday. Amir Cohen/Reuters

A woman runs to her family's reinforced concrete shelter moments after rocket sirens sounded in Ashkelon, Israel, on Saturday.

See more photos here

More than 20 communities adjacent to the Gaza security fence are being evacuated, the Israeli military said.

Civilians living in these areas are being asked to leave their homes because of the ongoing attacks by Hamas and in anticipation of the Israeli response inside the enclave.

An Israel Defense Forces spokesman told CNN that severe strikes inside Gaza would be forthcoming. The Israeli government and military were, as of Sunday morning, still in the process of determining what the goals would be for its likely military response.

Rockets are fired toward Israel from Gaza on Saturday, October 7.

Saturday marked one of the darkest days in Israel’s 75-year history, as the Islamist militant group Hamas launched a deadly surprise blitz, targeting civilians and soldiers alike.

Here’s what you need to know:

The all-out assault: The attack began early Saturday, with Hamas firing rockets into Israel; sending militants across the border by land, air and sea; and calling on civilians to take up arms against Israel. Assailants were still wreaking havoc on Israeli soil more than a day later. As of Sunday afternoon thousands had been wounded, at least 350 people had been killed in Israel and “dozens” of civilians and soldiers had been taken hostage.

At the scene: Attacks, including one that sent concertgoers running for their lives, were caught on camera. One video showed an Israeli woman being kidnapped, hoisted onto the back of a motorcycle and driven away as her boyfriend was also abducted. Another showed the motionless body of a German-Israeli woman, identified by her dreadlocks and tattoos, being paraded through Gaza as onlookers shout “Allahu Akbar.” One person was seen spitting on her head as the car drives off.

The response: Israel has responded with airstrikes targeting Hamas. Inside Gaza, at least 313 Palestinians have died and more than 1,900 were wounded, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The war to come: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that the country will “take mighty vengeance.” The top IDF official in charge of activities in the Palestinian territories said Hamas had “opened the gates of hell.” What the exact response looks like remains to be seen, but a military spokesman’s comments hinted that Israel may try to take full control of Gaza for the first time since it unilaterally withdrew from the territory in 2005.

The intelligence gap: Whether by design or by chance, Saturday’s attack began 50 years and one day after another incursion Israel failed to predict, what’s known in Israel as the Yom Kippur war. Israel has since spent billions of dollars to create one of the world’s most formidable security services, and yet it is today still grappling with the kind of infiltration of military bases, towns and kibbutzim that marked its 1948 war of independence.

Israeli authorities have identified 44 servicemen and servicewomen and 30 security service members killed since Hamas attacked Israel early Saturday.

The security service members who died were police and border officers and members of Israel’s National Counter Terror Unit, the Yamam.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is trying to establish the exact number of hostages that have been taken into Gaza,?with the?military’s?international spokesperson emphasizing the “complicated” nature of the situation to CNN on Sunday.?

?Speaking to CNN’s Laila Harrak in an interview from Tel Aviv, IDF spokesman Lt. Col.?Richard Hecht said the IDF understands that “dozens” of hostages have been taken into Gaza.

Severe strikes coming: The IDF will be striking “severely inside the Gaza Strip” in response to Hamas’ incursion on Saturday, Hecht said.

Hecht said the military will be evacuating Israeli communities around Gaza and “do everything we can to minimize collateral damage and evict people that are not involved.”

Hecht told CNN that the IDF’s primary goal is to “stabilize the defense, protect the border” and “take care of the communities.”?

The situation in the north: Hecht said that the IDF is ready should the violence in Gaza spread to the West Bank or Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.

Israel struck an area in Lebanon on Sunday following what the IDF described in a statement as a “shooting” from the country into Israel.?

Lebanese militant group Hezbollah subsequently issued a statement Sunday claiming responsibility for targeting three Israeli sites in an area known as Shebaa Farms using missiles and artillery.

Lebanon and Israel are considered enemy states, but a truce between the two has largely held since a conflict between them in 2006.

Hecht expressed his hope that Hezbollah does not?join?Hamas in arms, stressing that to do so would be a “colossal mistake.”

Soldiers stand in front of an Israeli police station that was damaged during battles to dislodge Hamas militants who were stationed inside, on October 8, 2023.

Four people were wounded in Sunday rocket attacks in and around the southern city of Sderot on Sunday, Israeli emergency services said.

One of the victims – a 20-year-old man – is in critical condition.

The Israel Defense Forces said it used drones overnight trying to cross the border from Gaza into Israel. ?

The IDF said it had “thwarted” five groups of terrorists comprised of at least 16 militants using both drones and aircraft.

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from Sderot, southern Israel, on October 8, 2023.

Hamas said that 100 rockets have been fired at the southern Israeli city of Sderot on Sunday.

Israel’s emergency services, Magen David Adom said their teams are currently in the Sderot area providing treatment to one individual in serious condition after a rocket attack.

Palestinians search for casualties under the rubble of a house destroyed in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on October 8, 2023.

At least 313 Palestinians have been killed and another 1,990 wounded in the last 24 hours, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said.

Israel has been carrying out airstrikes targeting Hamas since the group’s deadly surprise attack against Israel began early Saturday morning.

Israeli soldiers patrol outside a police station which was the site of a battle following a mass infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Sderot, southern Israel, on October 8, 2023.

The Israel Defense Forces said that the number of Israelis killed since Hamas launched its attack Saturday has risen to 350.

At a briefing Sunday, IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the priorities now were to end the fighting in Israeli communities and control breaches in the fence dividing Gaza and Israel.

A building in Tel Aviv is damaged by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza on October 7, 2023.

Hamas fighters are still present in southern Israeli cities, according to a statement from the group.

The statement said Hamas is supporting them with rocket fire on Israeli cities.

It said the fighters were present in Ofakim, Sderot, Yad Mordechai, Kfar Aza, Be’eri, Yated, and Kissufim.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in south Lebanon said their peacekeepers remain in position even after an exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel earlier Sunday.

“Early this morning, UNIFIL peacekeepers detected several rockets fired from southeast Lebanon toward Israeli-occupied territory in the general area of Kafr Chouba, and artillery fire from Israel to Lebanon in response,” United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on X, formerly Twitter. ?

UNIFIL said they’re available to help de-escalate the situation.

“We urge everyone to exercise restraint and make use of UNIFIL’s liaison and coordination mechanisms to de-escalate to prevent a fast deterioration of the security situation”, it added.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says fighter jets have struck a compound in Gaza belonging to the head of the intelligence department of Hamas.

“The IDF is currently continuing to strike terror targets in the Gaza Strip,” it added.

The IDF published aerial footage of the operation

The IDF says its naval soldiers have identified and targeted “five terrorists who were hidden in the area of Zikim Beach in Israeli territory.”?

“IDF naval soldiers targeted the terrorists and prevented infiltration into civilian areas,” it said in a statement.?

The IDF released video that it said showed the operation taking place in the past few hours.

A Palestinian woman looks on as she walks on a debris-strewn street near the Watan Tower, which was destroyed in?Israeli strikes, in Gaza City on October 8, 2023.

At least 256 Palestinians were killed over the past 24 hours, including 20 children, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said Sunday.?

A further 1,788 Palestinians have been injured, including 121 children, the ministry said in a statement.?

Smoke rises from the?Shebaa farms area as seen from the Lebanese village of Rashaya al-Foukhar, in southern Lebanon, on October 8, 2023.

The Lebanese group Hezbollah issued a statement Sunday claiming responsibility for targeting three Israeli sites in an area known as Shebaa Farms using missiles and artillery.

Shebaa Farms is considered by Lebanon as Israeli-occupied.?

The three sites include the Radar site, the Zabdin site, and the Ruwaisat Al-Alam site, the statement by Hezbollah said.?

Israel responded to the attacks by firing artillery at the area in Lebanon where the strike originated, the IDF said earlier.

Some context: Lebanon and Israel are considered enemy states, but a truce between the two has largely held since a conflict between them in 2006. There have been several small-scale rocket attacks from Lebanon in recent years that have prompted retaliatory strikes from Israel.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday that it is “deeply concerned” over the current escalation of tensions and violence.

“We call on relevant parties to remain calm, exercise restraint and immediately end the hostilities to protect civilians and avoid further deterioration of the situation,” the MOFA spokesperson said.

The ministry urged the international community “to act with greater urgency, step up input into the Palestine question, facilitate the early resumption of peace talks between Palestine and Israel, and find a way to bring about enduring peace.”

The spokesperson added that China will “continue to work relentlessly with the international community towards that end.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday published the names of 26 soldiers killed in the attack Hamas launched at dawn the day before.

“We have lost soldiers, we have lost commanders, we have lost a lot of civilians,” he added.

Hecht said there are plans to activate a hotline for those with questions regarding missing or injured people.

“In the case of missing or injured persons, a hotline will be activated to clarify questions, and for the families who are disturbed,” Hecht said. “We know how to deal with difficult situations and difficult challenges and we will meet the targets we are required to achieve. We ask the public to continue to show responsibility.”

A man carries a crying child as he walks in front of a building destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on October 7, 2023.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say their focus is taking control of the Gaza Strip as the conflict enters a second day.

“We have targets for the next 12 hours: to end the Gaza enclave. To control the entire enclave and kill all the terrorists in our territory,” Hecht said.

The IDF said there are still eight “points of engagement” with Hamas militants in the south of the country.

Hecht told the briefing the IDF would “exact a very heavy price” by “attacking military infrastructure targets and all Hamas targets.”

Hecht added: “We are prepared with many forces with an emphasis on Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] and the northern arena – to stop any event if there is an attack against us. We are prepared for disturbances or attempted attacks if there are any.”

Hecht said the IDF had neutralized most of the significant battles that took place in the settlement of Otef, but there were still operations ongoing in Sderot, Kfar Gaza, Be’eri, Kissufim and Sufa, among other places.

The IDF was engaged in searches and trying to clean the area, to make sure there were no Hamas militants still inside the communities, Hecht said. Those living in communities around the Gaza Strip were slowly being evacuated, he said.

Asked by a journalist about the intelligence failure that had allowed such a large scale attack to occur, Hecht said: “This is not a question for now…. I am sure that will be a big discussion down the road.”

An Israeli mother told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday that she was on the phone with her two children when Hamas militants broke into their home and kidnapped them.

The mother and her children are not being identified for safety reasons.?

The mother said her children, ages 16 and 12, were alone in the security room because she was away.

The mother said that she told her children to stay quiet, stay in the security room and lock the door, but?she told Tapper the doors don’t lock as they were not prepared for such a situation.

“And the phone went off, the line went off. That was the last time I heard from them. It was a very, very hard day,” the mother told Tapper, adding that no one from the military or the government came by to say anything.

Some context: Hamas claims it has captured dozens of Israelis, including soldiers, and videos authenticated by CNN show some of the dramatic seizures. Israel’s military has said hostages were taken.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Saturday that the number of civilians captured by Hamas is “unfortunately, a significant number.”

Video on social media shows the moment an Israeli woman and her boyfriend were kidnapped after attending a festival in southern Israel near the Gaza border.

Amir Moadi, who is a roommate of the woman seen in the video, told CNN’s Erin Burnett that Noa Argamani’s family asked him to share the video with CNN in the hope that it will help?secure?her safe?release.

Moshe Or, the brother of the man seen in the video, told?CNN affiliate Channel 12 in Israel that he approves of the media showing the video. He has indicated on his Facebook page that he wants to get the word out so his brother, Avinatan Or and Argamani, his brother’s girlfriend, can be returned to Israel as soon as possible.?

In the video, Argamani can be seen on the back of a motorcycle being driven away as she pleads for help. Or is apprehended by several men and is walking with his hands held behind his back. A dark plume of smoke can be seen in the background of the video.?CNN cannot independently verify the video.

“But still, we have people missing. We have friends and families, young and old, everyone that got to Gaza Strip, and we need to do everything, and now to get them back,” he added.?

Moshe Or told CNN affiliate Channel 12 that it did not take him long to find the video.

“My brother, who is a big guy, two meters tall, trains four times a week, a really strong guy. They held him maybe four or five people and just led them towards the strip, I guess,” he added.?

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) artillery is currently striking an area in Lebanon in response to a “shooting” from Lebanon into Israel, the IDF said in a statement.

“The IDF has been taking preparational measures for this type of possibility and will continue to operate in all regions and at any time necessary to ensure the safety of the Israeli civilians,” a statement said.?

It is unclear what was fired from Lebanon towards Israel.?

Some context: Lebanon and Israel are considered enemy states, but a truce between them has largely held since a conflict between them in 2006. There have been several small-scale rocket attacks from Lebanon in recent years that have prompted retaliatory strikes from Israel.

An ambulance in Tel Aviv, Israel, takes away a person injured by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.

The surprise attacks by Hamas have injured more than 1,800 people, according to Israeli officials.

As of Sunday at 6:30 a.m. local time 1,864 injured people had been evacuated to hospitals, Israel’s Ministry of Health said. Of those, 19 are in critical condition and 326 have serious injuries.

Fire and smoke rises above buildings during an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on October 8, 2023.

Israeli warplanes continued striking Gaza on Sunday morning as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) evacuated Israeli residents around the Gaza Strip overnight.

Israeli forces struck 426 targets in Gaza, including 10 towers used by Hamas, the IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a briefing on Sunday.

Tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers are operating on the ground around the Gaza Strip, Hagari added.

A CNN journalist in Gaza said Al Watan building and Al Aklouk building in the center of Gaza City were struck.

Internet connectivity continues being partially disrupted and most of the electricity has been cut off since Saturday.

The sound of warplanes and explosions continued throughout the night and the smell of gunpowder filled the air, the CNN journalist in Gaza said.

The IDF shared footage showing a strike on a multi-story building in the city.

The strike hit “Hamas military targets located in multi-story buildings in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF said.

An unconscious woman taken hostage by Gaza militants attacking an Israeli music festival was seen being paraded around the coastal enclave in new video authenticated and geolocated by CNN.

CNN has confirmed the identity of the woman as Shani Louk, a German-Israeli dual national. CNN has reached out to her family for comment but has not yet received a response.

Her cousin?confirmed to The Washington Post?that Louk attended the Nova Festival, an all night dance party celebrating the Israeli harvest festival Sukkoth near Re’im, Israel.

Louk is seen motionless in the video.?

One gunman, carrying a rocket propelled grenade, has his leg draped over her waist; the other holds a clump of her dreadlocks. “Allahu Akbar,” they cheer – “God is Great,” in Arabic.

Some of the crowd gathered around the truck, just outside of the Al-Shalfoh bakery and grocery store, join in the cheers. One man spits on Louk’s head as the car drives off.

CNN does not know Louk’s whereabouts, or condition, at this time. CNN is not airing the video because it is graphic and disturbing.

“We recognized her by the tattoos, and she has long dreadlocks,” Louk’s cousin told The Washington Post.

A German foreign ministry source told CNN that, “The Federal Foreign Office and the German embassy in Tel Aviv are in close contact with the Israeli authorities in order to clarify whether and to what extent German citizens are affected.”

In video obtained by German news outlet Bild, Louk’s mother Ricarda spoke directly about the abduction.

Reserve Israeli soldiers line up to register for duty in a northern Israeli town on October 7, 2023.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were still fighting to clear Hamas fighters inside the country early Sunday morning.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an IDF spokesman, told CNN’s Jake Tapper “many hundreds”, possibly as many as 1,000 Hamas fighters were involved in Saturday’s surprise attacks.

As of 4:15 a.m. local time Sunday morning, Conricus said: “We are still fighting, clearing the last houses and locations and communities and bases.”

“Then we will lock down the border and make sure that there are no other terrorists coming in,” he added. “And then we shall start to focus on hitting Hamas like we have never hit Hamas before.”

People react at the site where a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip landed in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 7, 2023.

Israel’s political-security cabinet convened late on Saturday to determine the country’s response to the surprise attack by Hamas.

The cabinet made a “series of operational decisions aimed at bringing about the destruction of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and Islamic Jihad,” according to a statement from the office of Israel’s Prime Minister.?

“The first phase ends at these hours by the destruction of the majority of the enemy forces that penetrated our territory. At the same time, we started the offensive formation, and it will continue without reservation and without respite until the objectives are achieved,”?Netanyahu?said.?

Israel aims to “negate [Hamas’s] ability and desire to threaten and harm the citizens of Israel for many years to come,” according to the statement.

“We will restore security to the citizens of Israel and we will win,” Netanyahu added.?“Among the decisions made by the cabinet are the stopping of the supply of electricity,?fuel?and?goods.”

A man passes the scene where a rocket fired from Gaza hit a building on October 7, 2023, in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Correction: This post has been updated to correct a reference to the Israeli political-security cabinet’s aim to degrade the capabilities of Hamas and other organizations in Gaza

U.S. President Joe Biden holds a bilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the 78th U.N. General Assembly in New York City on September 20, 2023.

The US could announce new assistance to Israel as soon as Sunday, a US official said, as the Biden administration works to bolster its Middle East ally in the wake of Saturday’s unprecedented attack by Hamas.

At the same time, the current dysfunction in Congress remains an open question for American officials as they work to provide Israel what it needs. Without a sitting House Speaker, administration officials are unclear about what can be accomplished.?

Top American and Israeli officials have been working throughout the day to identify where Washington can be of assistance as Israel prepares to respond to the attack, including at the Pentagon, State Department and the White House.

“We are in deep discussions with the Israelis about some of their particular needs as they respond to this,” a senior US administration official said Saturday.

The official said “we might have more to say about it as early as tomorrow.”

When Biden spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier Saturday, the President reinforced the US would provide Israel what it needed to defend itself, though not at a level of specificity to include particular weapons or hardware.

Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have existed since before the nation’s founding in 1948. Thousands of people on both sides have been killed and many more injured in the long-simmering conflict between the two sides over the past few decades.

Violence has been particularly heightened this year. The number of Palestinians – militants and civilians – killed in the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces is at its highest in nearly two decades. The same is true of Israelis and foreigners – most of them civilians – killed in Palestinian attacks.

Israel and the militant group Hamas have been involved in armed conflict dating back as early as the 1987 First Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, against Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Israel captured Gaza from Egypt in a 1967 war, then withdrew in 2005. The small territory — home to some 2 million Palestinians — fell under Hamas’ control in 2007 after a brief civil war with Fatah, a rival Palestinian faction which is the backbone of the Palestinian Authority.

After Hamas seized control of Gaza, Israel and Egypt imposed a strict siege on the territory, which is ongoing. Israel also maintains an air and naval blockade on Gaza.

Before Saturday’s operation, the last war between Hamas and Israel was in 2021, which lasted for 11 days and killed at least 250 people in Gaza and 13 in Israel.

Saturday’s assault occurred on the 50th anniversary of the 1973 war, when Israel’s Arab neighbors launched a surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, on October 6, 1973.

Hamas is an?Islamist organization?with a military wing that came into being in 1987, emerging out of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist group that was founded in the late 1920s in Egypt.

The word “Hamas” is itself an acronym for “Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamia” – Arabic for Islamic Resistance Movement.

The group, like most Palestinian factions and political parties, insists that Israel is an occupying power and that it is trying to liberate the Palestinian territories. It considers Israel an illegitimate state.

Its refusal to recognize Israel is one reason why it has rejected peace talks in the past. In 1993, it opposed the Oslo Accords, a peace pact between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

The group presents itself as an alternative to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which has recognized Israel and has engaged in multiple failed peace initiatives with it. The PA is today led by Mahmoud Abbas and is based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Hamas, meanwhile, controls the?Gaza Strip, an enclave that is home to some 2 million Palestinians and is frequently the site of civilian casualties when fighting flares between militants and Israeli forces.

Hamas has over the years claimed many attacks on Israel and has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel. Israel accuses its archenemy Iran of backing Hamas.

A salvo of rockets is fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza City toward Israel on October 7, 2023.

The Gaza militant attacks that have left at least 200 people dead and hundreds injured are unprecedented, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Saturday.

“Israel will reach every place Hamas is hiding,” Netanyahu said, referring to the militant group behind the attacks. “I tell Gaza’s people to leave those places now.”

He also referred to the Israeli soldiers and civilians taken hostage by Hamas fighters.

“I tell Hamas, you are responsible for wellbeing of captives. Israel will settle the score with anyone who harms them,” the prime minister said, according to Reuters.

Firefighters work to put out a fire in an open field, following a mass-infiltration by Hamas gunmen from Gaza, near a hospital in Ashkelon, southern Israel, on October 7, 2023.

The gunmen came from air, sea and land. They shot at civilians, took hostages and forced families to barricade themselves indoors, fearing for their lives.

A day that began with air raid sirens blaring out in the early morning had by lunchtime turned into?one of the most terrifying attacks Israel has known?in the 75 years of its existence. Assailants from Hamas, the Islamist militant group that controls the impoverished and densely populated Gaza Strip, had by nightfall killed hundreds of people and wounded hundreds more.

An attack with no warning: Though Israel is no stranger to terrorist attacks, Saturday’s assault was unprecedented – not least because of the lack of warning. Israel’s military on Saturday found itself caught off-guard, despite decades in which the country became a technology powerhouse that boasts one of the world’s most impressive armed forces and a premier intelligence agency.

The questions for Israeli authorities are legion. It has been more than 17 years since an Israeli soldier was taken as a prisoner of war in an assault on Israeli territory. And Israel has not seen this kind of infiltration of military bases, towns and kibbutzim since town-by-town fighting in the 1948 war of independence. How could a terror group from one of the world’s poorest enclaves manage to launch such a devastating attack?

A system failure: “The entire system failed. It’s not just one component. It’s the entire defense architecture that evidently failed to provide the necessary defense for Israeli civilians,” said Jonathan Conricus, a former international spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces.

Heavy investment in defense: Since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, it has spent billions of dollars securing the border from attacks. That has included striking at any weapons fired from Gaza into Israel, and stopping terrorists from trying to cross the border by air or underground using tunnels. To stop rocket attacks, Israel has used the Iron Dome, an effective rocket defense system developed?with help from the United States.

Israel?also spent hundreds of millions of dollars?building a smart border system with sensors and subterranean walls that was, according to Reuters, completed at the end of 2021.

So far, officials have said little: Israeli authorities will almost certainly look at where its systems failed on Saturday, but the country has not yet released figures on how many of the more than 2,000 rockets fired by Hamas militants were intercepted. Nor have officials commented on if the border fence did its job. And the Israeli military has repeatedly dodged questions about whether Saturday’s events constitute an intelligence failure.

Military spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told CNN that Israel was focused on the current fight and protecting civilian lives.

“We’ll talk about what happened intelligence-wise after,” Hecht said.

Read more about Israel’s security measures here.