Israel-Hamas war : Death toll in Gaza rises to 770, including 140 children

At least 770 Palestinians have been killed and 4,000 wounded in Israeli air strikes since Saturday, the health ministry in Gaza said. Among the dead are 140 children and 120 women.

Over 1,600 people have been killed on both sides after Gaza-based Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a triple attack on Israel on Saturday, following which the Israeli government on Monday formally declared war as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to reduce the militant group to “rubble”. According to reports, over 130 Israeli and other nationals are also feared as taken hostage by Hamas, while more than 900 people alone have been killed in one of the country’s worst civilian massacres. The number of those killed in Israeli airstrikes stands at 770.

The declaration of war gave the green light for Israel to take “significant military steps” against Hamas after which the army called up around 300,000 troops.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip “has only started.” “We have only started striking Hamas…What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations,” he said.