The casualty toll from the fighting reached 1,000 on Sunday as Israel, still reeling from the worst assault on its territory in fifty years, formally declared war on Hamas. This came after the Palestinian terrorist group launched a major surprise onslaught from Gaza.
After Hamas fired a barrage of missiles at Israel early on Saturday and sent in fighters who shot dead civilians and kidnapped at least 100 others, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the stunned and distraught country that a “long and difficult” conflict lay ahead.
According to German government sources, several Germans who are also Israeli citizens were among those abducted by Palestinian Hamas militants during their raids into Israel.
The numbers involved were not disclosed by the sources.
According to what they informed AFP, “as far as we know, they are all Israeli nationals as well as Germans.”
However, following the incident, US President Joe Biden has mandated “additional support” for Israel, the White House announced on Sunday.
The White House issued a statement saying that “the President directed additional support for Israel in the face of this unprecedented terrorist assault by Hamas.”
Israel suffered its heaviest losses since the 1973 Arab-Israeli conflict when it came under attack from a coalition of Arab governments led by Egypt and Syria, and the brutal escalation increased Middle East tensions.
Israeli airstrikes on 800 targets in Gaza, which many feared may be the start of a ground invasion, resulted in at least 370 deaths, according to officials, while many more were injured throughout the battle zone.
To combat stubborn Hamas fighters in the South, where bodies of civilians had been discovered scattered over roadways and in town centers, tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers were sent there.
After the attack, as darkness set, a military spokesman, Daniel Hagari, told reporters, “The enemy is still on the ground,” adding that Israel was bolstering its military power close to the Gaza Strip.
A day after hundreds of Hamas gunmen launched their surprise onslaught and poured into Israel using vehicles, boats, and even motorized paragliders, Hagari declared, “We’ll reach every community until we kill every terrorist in Israel.”
Following the kidnapping of roughly 100 Israeli nationals into Gaza by Hamas, there was tremendous shock and outrage in Israel. Pictures of the bruised hostages and heartbroken family asking with the government to save them circulated on social media.