ISRAEL’S DARKEST DAYS: Death toll leaps to 600, 2,156 wounded and treated at hospitals

The death toll in Israel reached 600 on Sunday afternoon, with at least 2,156 Israelis wounded and treated at hospitals so far. Of those, 20 are in critical condition, 338 in serious condition, 421 in moderate condition, 1,052 in mild condition, 49 being treated for severe anxiety and 167 still being assessed by medical officials.

In Gaza, more than 350 Palestinians had been killed in Israeli airstrikes as of Sunday afternoon, according to Hamas figures. Israel’s government issued an official declaration of war, enabling it to carry out “significant military activities.”

Some military breakthroughs were announced overnight, including the freeing of dozens hostages who had been held at Kibbutz Beeri, and of hostages held in a home in the city of Ofakim. But Hamas fighters remained in Israel as of Sunday morning, with fighting ongoing in an untold number of communities. One small town said 15 of its residents had been killed.

Schools in Israel were closed and violence against Israelis is spreading beyond the country’s borders. In Egypt, a gunman shot and killed two Israeli tourists, whose bodies are being flown home.

Videos from Israel showed Israeli civilians held hostage, both in Israel and in Gaza, the Palestinian territory that Hamas controls. Some showed parents trying to comfort their small children despite their circumstances. At least one video circulating appeared to show an Israeli child being held captive.

Anguished parents and relatives posted on social media seeking information about loved ones who remain missing. A widely circulating collage showed dozens of young adults who had been attending an outdoor party in the desert near Gaza that was attacked early; many are presumed dead. Relatives of the missing were being asked to provide DNA samples that could be used in identification.

The names of soldiers who had fallen in combat were also starting to emerge, even as what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised would be a “prolonged and powerful campaign” was just getting underway. The commander of a major infantry brigade was killed, as were an undisclosed number of other soldiers.

Meanwhile, fears were roiling that a second front could open in the north, where Hezbollah, which like Hamas is understood to be a proxy of Iran, operates in Lebanon. Amir Tibon, a Haaretz journalist whose own family was rescued late Saturday from their besieged kibbutz by a battalion including his father, a retired general, cautioned on X that Israelis in the north should prepare themselves for conflict. “We were not prepared properly,” he wrote. “Don’t make this mistake.”