Israel’s Death Toll From Hamas Terror Strikes Rises to Over 1,200

The Israeli Defense Force said it had finally “retaken control” of settlements near Gaza, more than 48 hours after Hamas raiders first mounted a devastating surprise attack that killed hundreds of Israelis and injured thousands more in the war-torn state.

Still, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters Monday, it was possible that individual militants continued to run free near those towns and villages. Earlier on Monday, officials had said that militants were still fighting in seven or eight Israeli communities. 

"We are in control of the settlements surrounding Gaza,” Hagair said, but “it is possible that there are still terrorists in the area."

As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 1,200 Israelis have been killed since Hamas launched their surprise incursion into the now war-torn nation, according to a report. Nearly 3,000 have been wounded.

Israel continued to pound Gaza with bombs and rockets as its soldiers cleared the last Hamas pockets of fighters from its southern settlements, with the death toll in the Palestinian territory topping 687, according to officials.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said a school sheltering more than 225 people took a direct hit. It did not say where the fire came from, the Associated Press reported.

"We slaughtered everyone who came to the fence to harm us,” Hagari said. “There are hundreds of terrorists lying on fences, hundreds buried under buildings in Gaza." More than 1,000 targets were hit in Gaza, the military said.

According to the U.N., 123,000 people have been displaced since October 7 after their homes were destroyed. Most are staying with host families, and some have gone to emergency shelters.

In an example of the dynamic nature of Hamas’ attack and Israel’s slow response, the Israeli Defense Forces said 70 additional militants had infiltrated Be'eri kibbutz overnight on Monday.

An estimated 1,000 Hamas fighters surged into Israel on Saturday morning, blasting through several sections of Israel’s vaunted border wall, descending on a music festival in paragliders, and landing on the beach with small boats.

The Hamas militants rampaged through southern Israeli towns, killing at least 800 people — including 260 at the music festival alone — and seized 130 hostages who they carried back into Gaza. 

Mayyan Zin, a divorced mother of two, told AP she learned her daughters — Dafna, 15, and Ella, 8 — had been abducted when a relative sent her photos from social media showing them sitting on mattresses in captivity. 

She then found online videos showing her ex-husband at home, his leg bleeding, near their weeping daughters. Another video showed the father being taken across the border into Gaza.

“Just bring my daughters home and to their family. All the people,” Zin said.