The death toll of Hamas’ unprecedented surprise attack on Israel rose to 700, while at least 413 others were reportedly killed in Israel’s retaliatory attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Citing government officials, Israel’s state-owned TV news on the night of Oct 8 reported that at least 700 people were killed in Hamas’ combined attack.

On the same night, the Israeli health ministry updated the number of injuries in Israeli hospitals, reporting that at least 2,243 were wounded, including 22 in critical condition, a Chinese news agency reported.

In southern Israel, the Israeli military still has not taken full control and Hamas militants were in several communities near Gaza continuing gunfights with Israeli soldiers.

Victims include women and children

The IDF home front command called residents in the south to stay at home.

Meanwhile, over 2,300 were wounded by ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, which included 213 children and 140 women.

In a statement, the Gaza-based health ministry said that among the 413 killed, 78 were children and 41 were women.

In the past few hours, Israeli aircraft carried out tens of raids on different areas in the Gaza Strip, including residential homes, agricultural lands, government institutions, and police checkpoints in Gaza, according to Palestinian security sources.

Short videos on social media showed plumes of smoke rising from various areas in the Gaza Strip and large explosions were heard from time to time.

Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said to Israeli media outlets that the Air Force destroyed about 800 Hamas targets in Gaza, noting that the soldiers captured dozens of  “terrorists” during the fighting in the areas bordering the Strip.

Early on Oct 8, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, which included the launching of thousands of rockets and the infiltration of dozens of militants into the Israeli towns bordering Gaza.

(Source: IANS)

-Edited for style

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