October 8, 2023 Israel-Hamas war news

Israeli troops have killed hundreds of Hamas fighters, wounded thousands and captured scores of others, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said Sunday.

The initial Israeli counterattack began at 3:45 a.m. local time Sunday (8:45 p.m. ET Saturday), with "tens of tons of bombs" dropped, said IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.

Israeli forces destroyed around 800 targets, including launching pads used by Hamas, with 50 planes attacking 120 targets in Beit Hanoun alone and destroying all Hamas gathering points there, Hagari said. 

Sunday saw fighting in a series of Israeli communities near Gaza, including Kfar Aza, Nahal Oz, Kissufim and Be’eri, Hagari said.

On the coast, near the community of Zikim, a Hamas squad that tried to land was foiled, the IDF spokesperson said.

Remember: Hamas is an Islamist organization with a military wing. It controls the Gaza Strip, the enclave home to 2 million Palestinians, from which it launched Saturday's devastating attacks on Israel.

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel.

More than 600 people have been killed in Israel since Hamas launched its surprise attack Saturday — and the death toll is expected to rise further, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer told CNN on Sunday.

More than 2,000 people are wounded, according to officials.

Fighting in Israel rages on Sunday, a day after Hamas fighters breached the border from Gaza in a devastating attack.

The United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East will be a closed door meeting starting at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, according to the UN.

Gilad Erdan, the permanent representative of Israel to the UN, is expected to brief reporters ahead of the meeting at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Americans are among the “scores” of hostages being held in Gaza, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer told CNN's Dana Bash on Sunday. 

He declined to estimate the number of Americans specifically being held.

Dermer called the attack on Israel a "savage attack," saying that women, children and elderly people are among the hostages in Gaza. 

The US is “working overtime” to verify reports of missing and dead Americans overseas after Hamas launched its unprecedented attack, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Bash earlier Sunday.

Hamas claimed Sunday that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi praised its surprise attack on Israel in a phone call with the group's leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Iran's state-run IRNA news on Sunday said Raisi spoke with Haniyeh in a phone call and "reviewed the situation underway in the occupied lands," but did not provide further details.

In a later statement, Raisi said his country "supports the Palestinian nation's legitimate defense," and that Israel and its backers "bear responsibility for endangering the security of the nations of the region."

Haniyeh expressed his appreciation for Iran's position, according to a statement released by Hamas.

Some context: Iran is Israel's archenemy, and the two countries have long engaged in a form of proxy war, in which Iran-backed groups fight Israeli forces.

Israel accuses Iran of backing Hamas.

An official in US President Joe Biden's administration said Saturday that it's not yet clear whether Iran played a direct role in this weekend's attacks on Israel, but that there is no question Hamas is funded, equipped and armed by Iran.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed support for Israel on Sunday.

Netanyahu said the European heads of state “expressed unreserved support for Israel’s right to defend itself as necessary,” according to a social media post.

Zelensky also wrote a post about the conversation on social media.

“I spoke with Netanyahu to affirm Ukraine’s solidarity with Israel, which suffers from a brazen large-scale attack, and to express condolences for the multiple victims," the Ukrainian president wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Zelensky also noted that Israeli law enforcement and diplomats are coordinating to ensure the safety of Ukrainian citizens in Israel.

At least 370 Palestinians have been killed and 2,200 others wounded in Gaza since Saturday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

Israel formally declared war on Hamas Sunday, after the group's devastating surprise attack the day prior, setting the stage for a massive military response. Israel has been pounding Gaza with airstrikes.

Israel will “do anything” to free and return hostages that have been taken into Gaza, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Maj. Doron Spielman told CNN on Sunday.

Spielman said Israeli forces are “trying to eliminate the Hamas infrastructure as effectively as possible.”

The spokesperson said Hamas is trying to infiltrate seven different areas in Israel, and that the IDF has air command over most of them, but is trying to firm up its defenses.

Spielman was unequivocal in describing the severity of Hamas' incursion.

Poland will send air force transport planes to evacuate its citizens from Israel, President Andrzej Duda noted in a post on social media platform X on Sunday. 

“Soldiers from our special forces will ensure loading protection and safety on board. We are working so that all our compatriots can return home safely,” Duda said.