Israel has confirmed that 212 people are being held hostage in Gaza, the military spokesperson said on Sunday, adding that Israeli strikes overnight killed dozens of Palestinian fighters, including the deputy chief of Hamas rocket forces.
Israel began unrelenting airstrikes on Gaza to its southwest after Hamas gunmen breached the border on Oct. 7 and carried out a shock rampage through nearby communities, killing 1,400 people, mainly civilians, and taking the hostages back to Gaza.
Concerns about the risk of wider Middle East conflict triggered by the Israel-Hamas war rose on Sunday with the US dispatching more military assets to the region as Israel pummeled targets in Gaza and Hamas supporters in Lebanon and Syria.
On the northern front, Israel has been attacking fighters trying to fire missiles across the Lebanese border and struck a site in Lebanon from where a missile was fired at an Israeli aircraft, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a briefing.
