At least 100 held hostage by Hamas in Gaza: Israel

Israel’s Government Press Office confirmed the development by sharing an infographic on Facebook where it said “100+ kidnapped, 2,000+ injured, 600+ murdered.”

Until now Israel has refused to confirm the number of civilians or soldiers being held hostage, reported The Times of Israel.

Meanwhile, the death toll due to the attack conducted by Hamas on the Israeli border community has touched 600, media reports said.

A spokesperson for ZAKA, a volunteer group that handles dead bodies and human remains after terror attacks, tells Hebrew media as quoted by The Times of Israel that more than 600 Israelis have been killed so far.

The Israeli government formally declared war on Hamas on Sunday, a day after the deadly attack was carried out by the group.

Israeli jets carried out “intense” airstrikes on targets in Gaza Sunday afternoon, shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the security cabinet had voted Saturday evening to put the country officially at war, meaning it can carry out “significant military activities", The Times of Israel reported.

On Saturday, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which controls Gaza, showered Israel with thousands of rockets in a rare surprise attack.

Israel's military responded with airstrikes in Gaza, flattening multi-story buildings and attacking Hamas targets.