Fighters from Islamist group Hamas killed 700 Israelis and abducted dozens more as they attacked Israeli towns on Saturday, the deadliest incursion into Israeli territory since Egypt and Syria's attacks in the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago.
Iran is an ally of Hamas and while it congratulated Hamas on the attack, its mission to the United Nations said Tehran was not be involved in the attacks. "My two little girls, they're only babies. They're not even five years old and three years old," said Yoni Asher who recounted seeing video of Palestinian gunmen seizing his wife and two small daughters after she took them to visit her mother.
"As an occupying power, Israel has no right or justification to target the defenceless civilian population in Gaza or elsewhere in Palestine," the Palestinian foreign ministry said, denouncing a"barbarous campaign of death and destruction".The Israeli military said it had deployed tens of thousands of soldiers around Gaza, a narrow strip of land that is home to 2.3m Palestinians, and was starting to evacuate Israelis around the frontier.
About 30 missing Israelis attending a dance party that was attacked by gunmen emerged from hiding on Sunday, Israeli media reported, putting the death toll at the outdoor gathering at 260. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he had ordered the USS Gerald R Ford Carrier Strike Group to the eastern Mediterranean as a show of support to Israel and would also begin providing fresh munitions to Washington's closest Middle East ally.
The escalation follows surging violence between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where a Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule, and is opposed by Hamas.