The Israel death toll from the Hamas surprise attack Saturday has surged to more than 200, the army said, accusing the Palestinian militants of breaking into homes and “massacring civilians”.
“Terrorists rampaged and broke into homes, massacring civilians,” the army said, adding that more than 200 people were killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the assault that began at dawn.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to avenge what he said was a “black day” for Israel, saying the army will strike back at Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza with full force.
“The IDF (army) is about to use all its force to destroy Hamas’s capabilities,” Netanyahu said in a brief televised statement.
“We’ll strike them to the bitter end and avenge with force this black day they brought on Israel and its people,” he said, after Hamas militants launched a surprise dawn attack, sending hundreds of militants into Israel under cover of a huge rocket barrage.”
