Israel prepares to launch massive ground offensive to REMOVE Hamas from Gaza 'within 48 hours' - as Iron Dome intercepts fresh wave of rockets: Battles rage after Jewish state's 'worst day in history'

Israel continued to relentlessly pound the Gaza strip this morning with air strikes

A missile explodes in Gaza City during an Israeli air strike on Sunday night

By Rachael Bunyan and Stephen M. Lepore

9 October 2023

Israel continued to relentlessly pound the Gaza Strip in the early hours of this morning, with air strikes and artillery hitting more than 1,000 targets belonging to Hamas overnight. 

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed and buildings were reduced to rubble after Israel began its deadly revenge attack in response to Hamas launching a surprise assault that has so far killed more than 700 Israelis and injured 1,200.

The Israeli airstrikes have so far flattened much of the town of Beit Hanoun in the Palestinian enclave's north-east corner, which Hamas terrorists had been using as a staging ground for their attacks. 

On the ground, thousands of Israeli soldiers are preparing to launch a massive ground assault within the 'next 48 hours' to destroy Hamas fighters and infrastructure in Gaza that will see fighting erupt in the streets, US officials say. 

Israel has so far brought in special forces to try and wrest control of four sites from Hamas fighters in the south of the country.   

Israel's Defence Forces have said they want to completely strip Hamas of its power to govern in Palestine after what has been described as the country's 'worst day in history' with the number of Israeli's killed in the conflict set to rise further. 

But even as airstrikes hammered the impoverished and blockaded Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said it was still fighting Hamas terrorists in 'seven to eight' locations in southern Israel.

'We thought by yesterday (Sunday) we would have full control,' military spokesman Richard Hecht said today. 'I hope we will by the end of the day.' 

A paramedic holds a little girl crying after being pulled from the scene of the bombing Gaza on Monday 

A paramedic holds a little girl with her face full of blood and dirt from the effects of the bombing of Israeli planes in Gaza on Monday 

A plume of smoke rises in the sky of Gaza City during an Israeli airstrike on Monday

Israeli airstrikes destroyed buildings and cars at the al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza Strip on Monday

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said he believed around 1,000 Palestinian gunmen were involved in the unprecedented attack on Israel on Sunday, which he called 'by far the worst day in Israeli history'. 

'Never before have so many Israelis been killed by one single thing, let alone enemy activity in one day,' he said, adding that the current death toll of 700 is expected to rise as more than 1,000 Israeli's are injured, some critically.

Hamas launched a barrage of rockets at Hamas on Saturday and sent a wave of fighters who gunned down hundreds of civilians in cold blood and took at least 100 hostages in a huge co-ordinated attack that took Israel by surprise. 

The terrorists massacred 260 Israeli revellers at a festival in a hail of bullets, with survivors describing how the gunmen went 'tree by tree' executing victims. 

Survivors of the attack posted clips of the ordeal to social media, showing how they were forced to hide under bushes and record hushed farewell messages to their loved ones as they watched victims get killed one by one.

Many lay still in sheer terror for more than five hours before they heard the sound of armed rescuers speaking in Hebrew.

The Palestinian terrorist group stormed the Supernova Festival that had been taking place near Kibbutz Re'im, close to the Gaza Strip, as part of its surprise assault launched on Saturday. 

This morning, harrowing dashcam footage from the incident showed gunmen executing civilians as they lay in the sand before rifling through their pockets and emptying bags from their cars.

But the carnage has not ended there, with Hamas terrorists still battling with Israel's forces and taking more Israeli's hostage on Monday morning, the group's spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua said. 

Al-Qanoua said Hamas wants to 'liberate all Palestinian prisoners' from Israel and end Israeli provocations in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, particularly at Al-Aqsa Mosque. 

He added the terrorists have captured 'a large number of Israelis' in Gaza, without giving a specific figure. He said Hamas' military wing, al-Qassam, would announce the figures later.

Israeli soldiers scan an area while sirens sound as rockets from Gaza are launched towards Israel near Sderot, southern Israel, on Monday

Israeli army reinforcements take position outside the southern city of Sderot near the border with Gaza on Monday

Israeli soldiers gather near tanks, as violence around the nearby Gaza Strip mounts following a mass-rampage by armed Palestinian infiltrators on Monday

Israel continued to relentlessly pound the Gaza Strip in the early hours of this morning

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed and buildings were reduced to rubble after Israel began its deadly revenge attack in response to Hamas launching a surprise assault that has so far killed more than 700 Israelis and injured 1,200

An injured Palestinian is being carried on a stretcher after Israeli airstrikes at al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza Strip on Monday

Smoke rises after Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip on Monday

A Palestinian points to the Ahmed Yassin mosque, which was levelled by Israeli airstrikes, in Gaza City early on Monday

Palestinians inspect the destruction around Ahmed Yassin mosque, which was levelled by Israeli airstrikes, in Gaza City on Monday 

Jonathan Conricus, spokesperson for the Israeli Defence Forces, blasted the terror group on X on Sunday, going one step further than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who had vowed to destroy Hamas´ ability to govern in a way that posed a threat to Israeli civilians.

'It is by far the worst day in Israeli history,' Conricus said, adding Israeli forces have not yet killed every terrorist who made their way into the state.

'We are all appalled and enraged by the brutality, by the beastly nature of these terrorists,' he added. 

Several Israeli news outlets, citing rescue service officials, said at least 700 people have been killed in Israel, including 44 soldiers. Attacks continued into Sunday and Monday, with the nation's Iron Dome intercepting continuous waves of rockets. 

A thousand Hamas militants took part in the initial, unprecedented attack on Israel on Saturday, Conricus said.

The Gaza Health Ministry said 413 people, including 78 children and 41 women, were killed in the territory. 

About 2,000 people have been wounded on each side. An Israeli official said security forces have killed 400 militants and captured dozens more. 

Conricus also confirmed that Americans, British and French people were involved in the carnage. 

He said that children, babies, elderly people and disabled people were among those kidnapped.

'We will focus all our efforts on the Gaza Strip and delivering a long, hard, tremendously powerful blow in Gaza,' he said. 

Hamas' surprise attack on Saturday morning came just one day after the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Yom Kippur War, which saw Israel battle existential threats from hostile neighbors led by Egypt and Syria.

Israeli soldiers and civilians fought Hamas militants on the streets of southern Israel following a barrage of 2,000 rockets sent over the border by the Palestinian terrorists, in addition to a savage ground assault.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately declared a state of war and has since promised 'mighty vengeance' on Israel's attackers that will end in victory for his country.

Israeli Defense Forces have begun bombarding key Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip and have issued warnings to civilians in certain regions to leave before a wave of retaliatory attacks begin.

Speaking on Saturday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a dire warning to Hamas militants: 'I tell Hamas, you are responsible for the wellbeing of captives, Israel will settle the score with anyone who harms them.' 

An Israeli airstrike at a Hamas weapons depot in Gaza from Sunday night

Fire and smoke rise above buildings in Gaza City during an Israeli air strike on October 8, 2023. Israel, reeling from the deadliest attack on its territory in half a century, formally declared war on Hamas Sunday as the Israeli death toll surged past 700 after the Palestinian militant group launched a massive surprise assault from Gaza

Israelis walk by a blown up police station in Sderot that was destroyed during a battle with Hamas militants who had overtaken the building

Israeli soldier directs armored vehicles heading towards the southern border with the Gaza strip on October 8, 2023 in Sderot, Israel. The nation is preparing a full blown counteroffensive against the terrorist organization

Israel has no choice but to meet force with force. The Middle East's only democracy has every right to defend itself (Pictured: Gaza on Sunday) 

He promised to defeat the group, but said the war would 'take time', continuing: 'What happened today has never been seen in Israel, we will take mighty vengeance for this black day.'

He vowed to reduce Gaza to 'rubble,' telling innocent Palestinians to leave immediately. Hamas, he said, will pay 'a price it has never known.'

Joe Biden held a barbecue for his staff at the White House while at least four Americans were confirmed dead in the surprise attack by Hamas on Israel Saturday and Palestinian sympathizers protested at the president's gates.

Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog confirmed earlier reporting that multiple Americans are missing after the Hamas attack. 

Later Sunday, at least four Americans were confirmed dead and Hamas is believed to be holding more than 100 hostages.

The terrorists gunned down as many revelers as possible and horrifying photos emerged of bodies piled up in a tent at the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re'im, close to the Gaza Strip. 

Authorities believe 260 people were massacred at the event at which between 3-4,000 people were in attendance. 

The full horror of what unfolded at the dance festival became clear as drone footage from above allowed for a birds eye view of the site. 

The Jewish nation is now raining down fire on fighters in the Gaza Strip in a ruthless counteroffensive in the south while it also pounds Lebanon with artillery in the north.

In the deadliest day of violence in Israel in 50 years, the Middle Eastern country's warplanes strafed densely populated Gaza City with bombs in retaliatory strikes.

Fire and smoke rise following an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City

An Israeli soldier directs a self-propelled howitzer near the southern city of Ashkelon

Attendees at an outdoor party near Kibbutz Urim - the same one Hersh Golberg-Polin was at - flee for their lives after hearing gunshots

Hamas fighters have also taken an unknown number of civilians and soldiers captive into Gaza - including several US citizens, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Yesterday, brazen Hamas fighters knocked on the doors of residents who expected to find Israeli soldiers looking to reassure them about the air-raid sirens. 

Instead the violence kickstarted one of the worst atrocities Israel has encountered in decades.

Innocent mothers with children, settlers and even the frail elderly found themselves the 'war booty' of the masked terrorists, who dragged them away at gunpoint.

Their actions – which horrified the international community – brought back grim reminders of masked Islamic State terrorists in Syria, who paraded hostages on social media before executing them.

Horrifying footage on social media showed terrified hostages being taken to Gaza by Hamas fighters, who chanted 'Allahu akbar' (God is great) as they led them away.

In New York, a pro-Palestine rally took place just after midday on Sunday, with one sympathizer flashing a Nazi swastika. The state's Governor Kathy Hochul has condemned the protest.

Demonstrators are expected to take over Times Square - the social and cultural epicenter of New York - which is the city with the largest Jewish population in the world.

It was revealed this morning that a Boston college professor's daughter and son-in-law were among those killed in Israel after a series of fierce attacks from Hamas.

Professor Ilan Troen, 83, recently retired from his role at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, and moved to Israel to be with his family.

Israeli police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon

Israeli civilians were purportedly taken off the street and driven back into Gaza

The Boston-born academic recalled how his daughter and son-in-law were killed by gunmen from the Gaza strip on Saturday - and how the pair managed to save their teenage son by flinging their bodies over him.

The family were together in a secure room inside their home when in was penetrated by Hamas fighters. 

The young boy, Troen's grandson, was shot in the abdomen and is in hospital.

Troen taught Israel Studies at the private school, having studied there himself as an undergraduate before receiving his PhD from the University of Chicago. 

Speaking on Saturday night, Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu issued a dire warning to Hamas militants: 'I tell Hamas, you are responsible for the wellbeing of captives, Israel will settle the score with anyone who harms them.'

He vowed to defeat the group, but said the war would 'take time', continuing: 'What happened today has never been seen in Israel, we will take mighty vengeance for this black day.'

Promising 'mighty vengeance', he promised to reduce Gaza to 'rubble', telling innocent Palestinians to leave immediately. 

Soon after, a convey of tanks were reported to be heading towards the border with Gaza. 

Speaking late on Saturday, a spokesperson for the Israeli military said the situation in the south of the country was 'still not fully under control.'