The operation by Hamas — which included taking scores of Israeli hostages — was an unprecedented incursion that has shaken regional stability and markets. Israel officially declared war and says it won’t stop until Hamas’s military infrastructure is dismantled, a task that seems likely to include a ground invasion and take months.
The combined death toll from the Hamas attack on southern Israel has climbed to more than 1,100 as fighting entered a third day. Oil surged as the conflict threatened to inflame tensions in the Middle East, home to almost a third of global supply.
More than 700 Israelis, most of them civilians, were killed in the attacks which erupted outside the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning. Some 260 bodies were recovered at the site of a music festival that was taking place not far from Gaza’s northern border. About 400 Palestinians have died in fighting and retaliatory attacks, as the Israeli military regained control over most areas breached by militants.
