Israel and Hamas fighters are still trading fire in Israeli towns a day after the Palestinian militants breached the heavily fortified border from Gaza and poured into nearby settlements, killing and taking hostage both soldiers and civilians in an unprecedented attack.
British citizen Jacob Marlowe is among the missing after Hamas stormed a music festival and seized partygoers as hostages as part of its surprise and highly co-ordinated attack on Saturday morning.
Vowing brutal retaliation, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared the country to be at war and vowed to turn Hamas sites to rubble – warning Palestinians they should leave beseiged Gaza, despite them being unable to do so.
Gaza health authorities reported 313 fatalities, as relentless Israeli strikes contined overnight. Israel’s military claimed on Sunday to have killed more than 400 Hamas gunmen as battles continued to dislodge and root out militants from eight settlements within Israel.
The military gave Israeli residents 24 hours to evacuate homes near the border, warning that “every terrorist located in a house, all the commanders in houses, will be hit by Israeli fire”.