Fighting against Hamas continues in multiple locations inside Israel after war formally declared

Israeli forces are actively fighting Hamas in two locations inside Israel, after the country formally declared war.

Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht, the international spokesperson for the IDF, told Sky News that Israeli troops have managed to regain control of some areas of southern Israel.

“There are two last pockets of fighting,” he said. “We have more or less stabilised control in all communities around Gaza.”

Earlier, the IDF said fighting was occurring in as many as eight locations.

It said it thought the situation would be in “a better place”, more than 48 hours since the beginning of the surprise attack.

More than 1,000 Palestinian targets hit – follow live updates

Lieutenant Colonel Hecht said he was unsure if more Hamas had come across the Gaza border.

“There could be a potential for more to come through. We are still looking at other options for them to infiltrate into Israel. We can’t deny that,” he said.

“We are trying to make sure our border is secure on the ground and in the sea.”

Other key developments include:
• Hundreds of Israelis are being held hostage by Hamas, including women, children and the elderly;
• Israeli civilians have been gunned down in towns, along roads and at a techno music festival being held in the desert near Gaza;
• The United Nations Security Council opted for no immediate action after an emergency meeting;
• More than 123,000 people have been displaced in Gaza, UN says.

Israel-Hamas War – watch special programme on Sky News tonight at 9pm.

Israeli forces moved to crush fighters still in southern towns and intensified their bombardment of the Gaza Strip with the number of dead reaching 1,100 and thousands wounded on both sides.

At least 700 people have reportedly been killed in Israel and around 493 have died in Gaza as Israel retaliated with airstrikes in an operation which has been dubbed “Swords of Iron”.

The IDF said it had struck more than 1,000 targets inside the Gaza Strip, including airstrikes that levelled much of the town of Beit Hanoun in the northeast corner.

The Israeli rescue service Zaka said its paramedics removed about 260 bodies from a music festival attended by thousands that came under attack.

The total number of dead is expected to be higher as other paramedic teams were working in the area.

Video on social media and Israeli news outlets showed dozens of festival-goers running through an open field as gunshots rang out. Many hid in nearby fruit orchards or were gunned down as they fled.

“It’s the darkest day in our history,” Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, spokesperson for the IDF, said.

“You could say it’s 9/11 and Pearl Harbor together for us,” he told Fox News.

Major Nir Dinar, also from the IDF, added: “They got us. They surprised us and they came fast from many spots – both from the air and the ground and the sea.”

By late Sunday, Israeli airstrikes destroyed 159 housing units across Gaza and severely damaged 1,210 others, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The declaration of war foreshadows heavier fighting ahead, and a major question is whether Israel will launch a ground assault into Gaza, a move that in the past has brought increased casualties.

Meanwhile, in northern Israel, a brief exchange of strikes with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group fanned fears that the fighting could expand into a wider regional war.

During their rampage through southern Israel, militants dragged back into Gaza dozens of captives.

Authorities are still trying to determine how many civilians and soldiers were seized by Hamas fighters and taken back to Gaza.

From videos and witnesses, the captives are known to include women, children and the elderly.

The leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, Ziad Nakhaleh, said his group, which took part in the attack, is holding more than 30 Israelis, among dozens he said were captive in Gaza.

He said they would not be released until all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails are freed.

Senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk told Arabic language news outlet al Ghad on Sunday that they were holding more than 100 people captive.

Read more:
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What is Hamas – and why has it chosen now to strike?
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US secretary of state Antony Blinken said as many as 1,000 Hamas fighters were involved in the assault, a high figure that underscored the extent of planning by the militant group ruling Gaza.

How Hamas carried out deadly Israel attack

Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters Hamas was using Beit Hanoun as a staging ground for attacks.

There was no immediate word on casualties in the town, with most of the community’s population of tens of thousands thought likely to have fled beforehand.

“We will continue to attack in this way, with this force, continuously, on all gathering (places) and routes” used by Hamas, Rear Admiral Hagari said.

At the UN, the United States called on all 15 members of the security council to strongly condemn “heinous terrorist attacks committed by Hamas” which has seen Israel declare war on the Palestinian organisation.