As the Israel-Hamas war entered its third day, officials say the death toll in Israel has passed 700, while the number of people who died in the Gaza Strip now stands at 436, Palestinian health authorities have said.
More than 500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip were hit overnight, says the Israeli Air Force (IAF). The IAF says fighter jets and helicopters, aircraft and artillery struck the targets.
It also says it hit seven Hamas command centers and an Islamic Jihad command center.
Watch: Multiple explosions hit Gaza City as Israel intensifies raids on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas surprise attack. #Israel #Palestine #Gaza #Hamas
Read more: https://t.co/Unvl6cwGLz pic.twitter.com/z8TIayQK1K
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) October 9, 2023
Hospitals in the besieged Palestinian enclave are overwhelmed with the number of injuries and the scale of the Israeli air attacks.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are still fighting against Hamas on the ground in southern Israel, a military spokesperson said Monday, more than 48 hours after the Palestinian militant group launched a surprise attack.
“We are still fighting. Seven to eight open places around Gaza where we still have warriors fighting terrorists,” Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said. “It is taking us more time than we expected … We thought this morning we would be in a better place.”
It’s also possible that Hamas fighters are still crossing into Israel from Gaza, he said, adding that Israeli airstrikes are targeting locations where militants are gathering to cross the border.
Dozens of Israelis are being held as hostages, Hect also said, without providing a specific number.
Hamas massacres at least 260 at Israel festival
ZAKA, an Israeli rescue service, says it removed about 260 bodies by Sunday from a techno music festival, attended by thousands in the Israeli desert.
The festival site – with three stages, a camping area and bar and food area – was in the Negev desert, near Kibbutz Re’im. It is not far from the Gaza Strip, from where Hamas fighters crossed over at dawn to launch their attack. They infiltrated towns and villages, taking dozens of people hostage.
Footage from the music festival in Re’im, just minutes before Hamas massacred over 250 attendees and kidnapped hundreds of others into Gaza. #Israel #IsraelPalestineWar #hamasattack #IsraelUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/pGDLLlUyUu
— Santosh Yadav (@Santosh35004791) October 9, 2023
Video aired on social media and by Israeli news outlets showed dozens of festivalgoers running through an open field as gunshots rang out. Many hid in nearby fruit orchards or were shot as they fled.
CNN’s Clarissa Ward reports from the scene of an Israeli music festival after Israeli rescuers say at least 260 bodies were found at the site after Hamas militants carried out an assault on festival-goers and took hostages.
Israel Gaza Palestinian Jerusalem#IsraelPalestineWar pic.twitter.com/CxOTZGuhhn
— Globe🌎 News 🗞️🎤 (@Nycon01) October 9, 2023
One partygoer, called Ortel, said the first sign that something was wrong was when a siren went off at around dawn, warning of rockets. Eyewitnesses said the rockets were quickly followed by gunshots.
“They turned off the electricity and suddenly out of nowhere they [militants] come inside with gunfire, opening fire in every direction,” she told Israel’s Channel 12.
“Fifty terrorists arrived in vans, dressed in military uniforms,” she said.
People tried to flee the site, she said, running across the sand and getting into their cars to drive away – but partygoers said there were jeeps full of gunmen, shooting at the cars.
Related: The Israel-Hamas War: No Matter who Loses, Iran Wins