Fierce battles between Hamas, Israel as Hezbollah fires mortars
Hezbollah has launched mortar strikes from Lebanon into Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms, with Israel saying it has responded with artillery strikes, reports Al Jazeera.
The escalation comes as fears of a ground invasion of Gaza are growing after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to turn the besieged Palestinian enclave into a "deserted island" following Hamas's surprise attack on Saturday.
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The latest death tolls stand at 313 Palestinians, according to health officials; and 400 Israelis, according to media reports.
Hamas said it has also captured many Israelis and that the hostages were spread throughout all areas of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas's operation came on the heels of the killing of widespread Israeli settler attacks, increased tensions at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem and a record number of Palestinians killed.
The Palestinian fighters group launched the biggest attack on Israel in years on Saturday in a surprise assault that combined gunmen crossing into several Israeli towns with a heavy barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, reports Reuters.
Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri has told Al Jazeera that the group is ready for "the worst case scenario".
"All scenarios are now possible and we are ready for an [Israeli] land invasion," he said.
As warning sirens wailed across southern and central Israel, including in Jerusalem, Israel's military said it was on a war footing and the defence minister said the Iran-backed Hamas had made a "grave mistake" by declaring war on Israel.
The attack marked an unprecedented infiltration by an unknown number of Hamas gunmen into Israel from Gaza, and one of the most serious escalations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in years. At least two Israelis were killed, Israel public broadcaster Kan reported. Medical officials said there were dozens of wounded.
Hamas military commander Mohammad Deif announced the start of the operation in a broadcast on Hamas media, calling on Palestinians everywhere to fight.
"This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth," he said, adding that 5,000 rockets had been launched.
The last major flare-up between Israel and Hamas was a 10-day war in 2021.