Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPA
Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories are reeling after the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched the biggest attack on the Jewish state in 50 years. Hundreds are dead after a surprise attack on the morning of a Jewish holiday and Israel has declared a state of war.
Here is what we know so far:
Israeli forces continued to battle Hamas fighters on the streets of southern Israel on Sunday and launched strikes that levelled buildings in Gaza, more than 24 hours after the Palestinian militant group launched a surprise and unprecedented incursion into Israel – the deadliest in decades.
At least 600 Israelis were killed, including 44 soldiers, and more than 2,000 wounded, Israeli media reported.
At least 370 Palestinians were killed, including 20 children, and 2,200 wounded as a result of airstrikes in Gaza since Saturday, the Palestinian authority said. Seven people were also killed by Israeli army fire in the West Bank.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was at war and would exact a heavy price from its enemies. Hamas leaders said they were prepared for further escalation.
Israel military officials said “hundreds of terrorists” had been killed and dozens captured as the fighting continued on Sunday.
Israeli military said a “substantial” number of civilians and soldiers had been taken to Gaza and were being held hostage.
In northern Israel, a brief exchange of strikes between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group raised fears of a broader conflict.
In neighbouring Egypt, a policeman shot dead two Israeli tourists and an Egyptian at a tourist site in Alexandria.
The UN security council is due to meet on Sunday after the secretary general, António Guterres, urged “all diplomatic efforts to avoid a wider conflagration”.
Israel will stop supplying electricity, fuel and goods to Gaza, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office on Saturday night.
The US president, Joe Biden, issued a staunch condemnation of the attacks by Hamas against Israel, saying in an address on Saturday: “The United States stands with Israel”. He issued a statement earlier calling the attacks “horrific” and an “appalling assault”.
