Israel formally declares 'state of war' against Hamas

At least 260 bodies have been found at a festival site in Israel following large-scale attacks by Hamas on Saturday, Israeli rescue service Zaka reported.

The toll was expected to rise as other paramedic teams were working in the area.

Hamas had attacked festival participants near the border with Gaza and also abducted numerous people from there.

The media quoted eyewitnesses who spoke of a massacre.

Videos circulating on the internet are said to show the revelers fleeing from the shots of the attackers.

The attacks on Israelis in Gaza were war crimes, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations said on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters at the United Nations ahead of a UN Security Council meeting, Israeli envoy Gilad Erdan also said it was time to "obliterate" Hamas' military infrastructure.

"The era of reasoning with these savages is over," he said. "Now is the time to obliterate Hamas' terror infrastructure, to completely erase it, so that such horrors are never committed again."

Hamas militants attacked Israeli towns over the weekend, killing at least 600 people and abducting dozens more.

Israeli media has since put the latest death toll at more than 700 people.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday that Britain stood with Israel following the attacks by Hamas.

"(Sunak) reaffirmed that the UK will stand with Israel unequivocally against these acts of terror. The prime minister offered Prime Minister Netanyahu any support Israel needs," Sunak's Downing Street office said in a statement following a phone call between the two leaders.

"The prime minister outlined the diplomatic work the UK is doing to ensure the world speaks with one voice in opposition to these appalling attacks," the statement continued. "Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked the prime minister for the UK's support."

In a separate broadcast clip, Sunak urged all sides to show restraint while reiterating Britain's support for Israel.

"No one wants to see regional escalation, and both the UK and allies have urged everyone in the region not to use this as an opportunity to incite further violence," Sunak said.

Washington has ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford, an aircraft carrier, and its accompanying warships to the eastern Mediterranean, the Pentagon said on Sunday, adding that it was increasing fighter aircraft squadrons in the region.

The Ford carrier strike group has around 5,000 sailors and deck of warplanes.

The carrier will be accompanied by cruisers and destroyers.

A statement from US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that the US would provide munitions and equipment to Israel and boost American forces in the Middle East.

"The United States government will be rapidly providing the Israel Defense Forces with additional equipment and resources, including munitions," Austin's statement said.

Iran President Ebrahim Raisi said Tehran supports the Palestinians' right to self-defense and warned Israel must be held accountable for endangering the region.

"Iran supports the legitimate defense of the Palestinian nation," Raisi was cited by state television as saying.

"The Zionist regime (Israel) and its supporters are responsible for endangering the security of nations in the region, and they must be held accountable in this matter."

He urged Muslim governments to "support the Palestinian nation" while praising "resistance" efforts by Hamas and Islamic Jihad as well as in countries including Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq.

Iran has long supported Hamas and other militant groups.

US President Joe Biden has ordered "additional support" for Israel after the attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas, the White House said Sunday.

"The President directed additional support for Israel in the face of this unprecedented terrorist assault by Hamas," the White House said in a statement. 

No other details were given about the support.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed by national security officials on the situation in Israel early Sunday and will continue to receive updates, the White House said.

White House officials will also remain in contact with Israelis and "counterparts throughout the region," the statement added.

Israeli forces on Sunday were still trying to crush the last groups of militant fighters holed up in several towns in southern Israel. 

The military, which faces questions over its failure to prevent the attack, said it had regained control of most infiltration points along security barriers, killed hundreds of attackers and taken dozens more prisoner.

Hamas fired more rocket salvos into Israel on Sunday, with air raid sirens sounding across the south.

Israel on Sunday continued to strike Gaza, a narrow strip that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians.

The airstrikes hit housing blocks, tunnels, a mosque and the homes of Hamas officials.

More than 20,000 Palestinians in Gaza have, so far, sought refuge in schools run by the United Nations, the UN's Palestinian refugee agency said.

The Israeli military said it had also deployed tens of thousands of soldiers around Gaza and was starting to evacuate all Israelis living around the frontier of the territory.

In a sign the conflict could spread, Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militia exchanged artillery and rocket fire on Sunday.

Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets and shells at three Israeli positions in a disputed area along the border, and the Israeli military fired back using armed drones.

The Israeli military said the situation was calm after the exchange.

In the Egyptian city of Alexandria, two Israeli tourists were shot dead along with their Egyptian guide.

More than 100 people have been kidnapped and 600 killed in Israel in large-scale attacks by the Islamist group Hamas, the Israeli government said on Facebook.

Hamas launched surprise attacks against Israel from Gaza on Saturday morning, while armed Palestinians simultaneously advanced into Israel by land, sea and air. 

They took hostages in several Israeli towns and also abducted people in the Gaza Strip.

According to Israeli media reports, there are around 170 Israelis in captivity in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health in Gaza said at least 370 people have died there so far as a result of Israeli retaliation. and around 2,200 were injured. 

Foreign nationals are among those killed or kidnapped as fresh conflict broke out between Hamas and Israel over the weekend.

The German Foreign Ministry said German nationals are among those abducted by Hamas, all of them dual Israeli-German citizens.

On Saturday, German national Shani Louk was seen in the car of  Hamas militants in videos shared on social media. She had been attending a peace festival near Gaza.

US media reports suggest several Americans were among the dead and US nationals among those abducted by Hamas.

France said one of its nationals was killed in Israel, while several others were missing.

Britain said one of its nationals, serving in the Israeli army, was killed on the Gaza border on Saturday. A second UK national is reported to be missing.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday two of his country's nationals had died in the attacks.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin tweeted Sunday he had received reports from the Thai ambassador in Tel Aviv "that two Thai people had died from the violence."

A Cambodian national was also reported dead in Israel.

Ten citizens of Nepal were among those killed in the Hamas assault on Israel, the Himalayan republic's embassy in Tel Aviv said in a statement Sunday, without giving more details.

Nepal had earlier said at least 11 Nepali agricultural students were missing. They were studying near the Gaza border. Four others were injured in the attacks.

Germany is reviewing its hundreds of millions of euros of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territories, Development Minister Svenja Schulze said Sunday. 

She said although Germany had been careful to check that the donor money was only used for peaceful ends, the nature of the current attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas marked a "terrible turning point." 

"We will now review our entire engagement for the Palestinian territories," Schulze said.

Germany would discuss with Israel how development projects in the region could best be served, but she added it was also in the country's interest for people in the Palestinian territories to be able to live in stability in the long term.  

German development commitments currently total €250 million (around $265 million) and include funds for water supply and sanitation, health care, food security and job creation.

Half of that for bilateral projects via Germany's overseas aid agency and development bank, and the other half for the UN agency for the Palestinians, UNRWA.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and assured him of German support.

Scholz said Israel had the right to defend itself after the "barbaric attacks."

The German leader also planned to speak with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, supporting Egypt's efforts to mediate and de-escalate the situation. 

As a precaution, authorities have increased the protection of Israeli and Jewish institutions in Germany.

Israel's security cabinet on Sunday officially declared a state of war following Saturday's attacks by Hamas militants. The declaration allows "far-reaching military steps."

Israel was already carrying out strikes on buildings in Gaza.

On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised a harsh response to the militant attacks. 

His office said the security cabinet had also approved steps to destroy "for many years" the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the other militant group in the attacks.

It did not expand on what these steps would entail or say whether it would include a ground operation in Gaza.

According to Israeli media outlets, the Israeli death toll following the Hamas attack has risen to 600.

The Kan public broadcaster and Channel 12, as well as the Haaretz and Times of Israel newspapers, reported the toll Sunday.

The number is expected to rise further as Israeli security forces were still battling Hamas gunmen in southern parts of the country more than 24 hours after the fighting erupted early Saturday.

Local health authorities said that retaliatory Israeli strikes have killed 313 Palestinians and injured almost 2,000 in the Gaza Strip.

Separating Gaza's civilian population from the Hamas militants engaged in fighting is a complicated one, journalist Hazem Balousha told DW from the coastal territory.

Balousha stressed that the Gaza Strip was small in size and densely populated.

"We are talking about the 2.2 million population of the Gaza Strip. It's not divided into places, like this is Hamas, or this is not. It's very hard," he said.

"Even the buildings and some offices that Israel claims are affiliated with Hamas or other factions (are) within civilian buildings," he added. "So we cannot differentiate."

Israel has deployed thousands of soldiers to fight militants in southern Israel, near Gaza, after Hamas launched a major attack there on Saturday. Israel has also launched airstrikes on positions inside Gaza.

Balousha also said he was wary of a stricter blockade on the strip as a result of the latest escalation. He underlined that Gaza has been under blockade for more than 15 years, adding that it was "very tight" in the early years and would "be a disaster" if the situation were to deteriorate further.

Poland has announced plans to evacuate its citizens from Israel, as the conflict between Israel and Gaza militants continues.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said Warsaw was sending air force transport planes to bring Polish nationals home.

"Soldiers from our special forces will provide boarding protection and security on board," Duda said in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. "We are working so that all our compatriots can return home safely."

The Polish Foreign Ministry had earlier addressed the "very serious situation" in Israel, urging its citizens to carefully follow the instructions of local authorities.

Pope Francis has called for an end to attacks and violence on Israel and the Gaza Strip.

The pope stressed in his weekly address in St. Peter's Square that terrorism and war would not solve any problems, but only bring further suffering and death to innocent people.

He said he was following the unfolding situation with "apprehension and sorrow," praying for "all those who are experiencing hours of terror and anguish."

"Let the attacks and weapons cease, please, because it must be understood that terrorism and war bring no solutions, but only ... the death and suffering of many innocent lives. War is a defeat, every war is a defeat. Let us pray for peace," the pope said.