Israeli forces battled Hamas fighters and struck targets in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, October 8, after a large-scale surprise attack on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot took the Israeli armed forces stationed nearby by surprise.
While Hamas fighters scored some initial successes while wreaking havoc in towns nearby, the Israeli army retaliated heavily with air strikes and a massive ground counter-offensive.
As both sides prepares themselves for a “long and difficult” war as stated by current Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ongoing fighting has already resulted in an ever-increasing number of casualties.
Israel
The whole Israeli press seems to According to Israeli press, the death toll on the Israeli side stood at more than 700, including 57 soldiers, with a further 750 missing (5:00pm).
The number of wounded has risen to 2,243, while at least 100 Israeli citizens are currently being held captive by Hamas.
Palestinian territories
On the Palestinian side, the death toll has reached 413 in Gaza according to Palestinian state media WAFA and 7 in the West Bank, according to Al Jazeera.
According to the same source, number of wounded has reached 2300 in Gaza (WAFA) with 170 in West Bank (Al Jazeera).
Other victims includes two Ukrainian citizens, one German and an unspecified number of U.S. nationals.
Some German and U.S. citizens are currently held hostages by Hamas. At least 7 French citizens and 11 Nepali students are also missing.
