At least 313 Palestinians have so far been killed in retaliatory air strikes by Israel in Gaza, according to Palestine’s health ministry, taking the death toll past 550.
The ministry added that nearly more than 2,000 have been wounded in the escalation of conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Earlier, Hamas gunmen carried out a deadly rampage in Israeli towns on Saturday, killing at least 250 Israelis, in the deadliest day of violence in Israel for 50 years.
Hamas fighters began their attack at dawn on Saturday with a huge barrage of rockets into southern Israel, giving cover to an unprecedented, multi-pronged infiltration of fighters into Israel from Gaza, a narrow strip that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians.
On Sunday, the conflict spread, with the Israeli military reporting that mortar bombs were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel. Israeli forces responded with artillery strikes into Lebanon.
The moment when Israeli occupation airstrikes targeted and completely demolished Al-Watan Tower in Gaza City. pic.twitter.com/FNWsMBo26E
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) October 8, 2023
Hamas fighters killed at least 250 Israelis in clashes throughout Saturday and into Sunday and escaped back into Gaza with dozens of hostages. More than 250 Gazans were killed when Israel responded with one of its most devastating days of retaliatory strikes.
#SayNoToWar
Israel's response to Hamas
This is not fireworks but pure fire eruption#طوفان_القدس #IsraelUnderAttack #Palestine #Gaza #hamasattack #HamasTerrorists #FreePalestine #Israel_under_attack #IStandWithPalestine #IsraelPalestineWar pic.twitter.com/dGOtsi0qIs— Pharmacist Jude (@jexmotion) October 8, 2023
Palestinian health officials said 20 children were among 256 civilians killed. Nearly 1,800 people were wounded, they said.