In pictures: Israel launches retaliatory air strikes on Gaza after Hamas attack

A Palestinian man sits next to the ruins of a house destroyed in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip on October 8, 2023. © Ibraheem Abu Mustafa, Reuters

The Israel Defence Forces launched air strikes on Gaza late Saturday in response to an unprecedented multi-pronged assault from the Palestinian militant group Hamas at dawn. More than 600 Israelis are reported to have been killed in the surprise assault, and at least 370 Palestinians have been killed in the air strikes on Gaza.

The Israeli army launched retaliatory air strikes on Gaza after an unprecedented attack by Hamas fighters during a major holiday in Israel. 

At least 370 Palestinians have been killed in the strikes and a further 2,200 have been injured, the health ministry in Gaza said. Several residential towers in Gaza, including the 14-storey Palestine Tower, were reduced to rubble. 

Palestinians react as they search through the rubble of a house destroyed in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip on October 8, 2023. © Ibraheem Abu Mustafa, Reuters

A man carries a crying child as he walks in front of a building destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on October 7, 2023. © Mohammed Abed, AFP

Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinian twin babies Ossayd and Mohammad Abu Hmaid, their mother and their three sisters, who health officials said were killed in Israeli strikes, during their funeral in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 8, 2023. © Ibraheem Abu Mustafa, Reuters

The Israel Defence Forces also struck a mosque in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza as well as the high-rise Watan Tower, causing both to collapse. 

People stand outside a mosque destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip on October 8, 2023. © Yousef Masoud, AP

Palestinians gather next to the ruins of Watan Tower, which was destroyed in Israeli strikes, in Gaza City on October 8, 2023. © Mohammed Salem, Reuters

Many local residents sought refuge in United Nations-run schools in Gaza.  

People flee their homes amid Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip on October 8, 2023. © Ibraheem Abu Mustafa, Reuters

The UN agency for Palestinian Refugees, UNRWA, said more than 20,000 people had sought shelter at its schools in the Gaza Strip. 

Palestinians who fled their homes amid Israeli strikes, shelter in a United Nations-run school, in Gaza City on October 8, 2023. © Mohammed Salem, Reuters

Palestinians fleeing Israeli air strikes take refuge in a school run by the United Nations in Gaza City on October 8, 2023. © Mohammed Abed, AFP

Israeli forces also launched strikes on Gaza's seaport, reinforcing its more than 15-year-long blockade of the region.

Smoke billows from a boat following Israeli strikes, at the seaport of Gaza City on October 8, 2023. © Mohammed Salem, Reuters

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS, AFP, AP)