Israel Palestine war LIVE: Jewish state prepares massive ground offensive after Hamas kill 260 revellers in Supernova Festival attack

Moscow and the Arab League will work to ‘stop the bloodshed’ in Israel and Gaza, Russian foreign minister said as he met the group’s chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Russia.

‘I am sure that Russia and the Arab League (will cooperate) above all else to stop the bloodshed,’ Lavrov said. Aboul Gheit said the Arab League ‘condemns violence, but from all sides.’

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he would not speculate on the suggestion that Iran may be linked to attacks in Israel.

Speaking on a visit to a business in Nottinghamshire, Mr Sunak was asked if he now supports proscribing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Mr Sunak said: ‘With regard to Iran, I’m not going to speculate on the origins of all of this. There will be time for that in due course.

‘I have said previously that Iran and its actions poses a real threat to the security and safety of all of you, the British people, and that’s why we’ve already taken quite strong action against the Iranian regime, not least sanctioning over 300 people, including the IRGC in its entirety.’

He added: ‘With regards to the proscription, it’s not something that routinely governments have ever commented on. But I can remind you that Hamas, who is claiming responsibility for the attacks in Israel, is a proscribed terrorist organisation under UK law.’

He went on: ‘We will stand steadfast with Israel in supporting them to defend themselves against these appalling acts of terrorism.’

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, when asked if any British citizens have been killed or taken hostage in Israel, said the situation is ‘complex’ and the UK is working with Israeli authorities to establish the status of any British nationals who may be affected.

Speaking on a visit to a business in Nottinghamshire and asked if any British citizens have been killed or taken hostage in Israel, Mr Sunak said: ‘I know it will be an anxious time for many families who have loved ones in the region.

‘It’s a quite complex situation on the ground, so we are working very closely with our Israeli counterparts to establish the status of any British nationals on the ground.

‘That work is under way as we speak.’

He said people should follow the advice of the Foreign Office and the ‘Israeli home command on the ground in particular area’, and that anyone concerned should contact the Foreign Office.

Iran has rejected allegations it had a role in the massive assault on Israel as unfounded.

‘The accusations linked to an Iranian role… are based on political reasons,’ foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told reporters.

The Islamic republic, he said, does not intervene ‘in the decision-making of other countries, including Palestine’.

Iran, which does not recognise Israel and has made support for the Palestinian cause a centrepiece of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, was one of the first countries to hail the Hamas assault.

The Palestinians had ‘the necessary capacity and will to defend their nation and recover their rights’ without any help from Tehran, Kanani said.

‘Talking about an Iranian role aims at turning public opinion (away from the facts) and at justifying the potential future actions’ of Israel, the spokesman added.

Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations also denied allegations the Islamic republic had any role in the Hamas attack, in a statement issued overnight.

It came after the Wall Street Journal reported that ‘ranian security officials helped plan Hamas’s Saturday surprise attack on Israel and gave the green light for the assault at a meeting in Beirut last Monday’, citing senior members of Hamas and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.

On Sunday President Ebrahim Raisi said Iran supported the Palestinians’ right to self-defence and warned Israel must be held accountable for endangering the region.

Raisi – who has spoken with the leaders of Hamas and the Gaza-based Islamic Jihad group since the Hamas attack – also urged Muslim governments to ‘support the Palestinian nation’.

A US official said Sunday it was too soon to say if Iran was ‘directly’ involved in the Hamas attack, adding however that there was little doubt that Hamas was ‘financed, equipped and armed’ by countries including Iran.

Israel’s failure to prepare for Hamas’ attack was a ‘colossal collapse’ of information gathering, an associate fellow at Chatham House has said.

Professor Yossi Mekelberg said: ‘This is a colossal collapse, not only of information gathering, but the concepts of when Hamas would attack, and with what motivations or capabilities.

‘How were they able to train despite the blockade, how did they train paragliders?’

He said that questions would have to be asked about how Hamas’ fighters were able to enter Israel.

‘Despite (Israel) investing billions and billions of dollars on blocking tunnels and building a sophisticated fence, (Hamas) still managed in a matter of hours to enter into Israel.’

He added that Israel’s intelligence ‘definitely wasn’t good enough’.

Israel is escalating measures against the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to a ‘total blockade’ including a ban on admitting food and fuel, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday, describing this as part of a battle against ‘beastly people’.

Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said Labour would ‘not surrender the hope of two states living side-by-side in peace’ as he warned both Israelis and Palestinians are paying a ‘terrible price’ after Hamas’s ‘indiscriminate’ attacks.

Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Mr Lammy said: ‘Labour utterly condemns Hamas’s appalling attack on Israel.

‘There is never a justification for terrorism. Labour stands firmly in support of Israel’s right to defend itself, rescue hostages and protect its citizens.

‘The hostages so cruelly taken, including children, should be released immediately and Hamas’s indiscriminate attacks set back the cause of peace – both Israelis and Palestinians paying a terrible price.

‘There will not be a just and lasting peace until Israel is secure, Palestine is a sovereign state and both Israelis and Palestinians enjoy security, dignity and human rights.”

He added: ‘Though it may never have felt more distant, we will not surrender the hope of two states living side-by-side in peace.’

Rishi Sunak said that he will hold a Cobra meeting later today, amid ongoing clashes between Israel and Hamas.

Speaking to businesses in Nottinghamshire, the Prime Minister said: ‘We already have a very longstanding relationship with Israel, we’re one of their strongest allies.

‘We’ve provided in the past the kinds of equipment that they’ve used to defend themselves over the past couple of days.

‘And as I said to the Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu), we will continue to provide – whether that’s diplomatic, intelligence or security support – as they need.

‘I’m chairing a Cobra with my ministerial colleagues this afternoon, when we’ll continue to discuss the situation, but we’re in close dialogue with our Israeli counterparts.’

Israel continued to relentlessly pound the Gaza Strip in the early hours of this morning, with air strikes and artillery hitting more than 1,000 targets belonging to Hamas overnight.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed and buildings were reduced to rubble after Israel began its deadly revenge attack in response to Hamas launching a surprise assault that has so far killed more than 700 Israelis and injured 1,200.

The Israeli airstrikes have so far flattened much of the town of Beit Hanoun in the Palestinian enclave’s north-east corner, which Hamas terrorists had been using as a staging ground for their attacks.

A left-wing journalist has sparked fury by praising Hamas’ invasion of Israel – which has seen 700 people killed and dozens of civilians kidnapped before some were paraded semi-naked through the streets of Gaza.

Rivkah Brown, commissioning editor at Novara Media, wrote on X to call the first day of the bloody rampage ‘a day of celebration’.

She said: ‘Today should be a day of celebration for supporters of democracy and human rights worldwide, as Gazans break out of their open-air prison and Hamas fighters cross into their colonisers’ territory. The struggle for freedom is rarely bloodless and we shouldn’t apologise for it.’

The Kremlin said on Monday its embassy had no information yet on how many Russian citizens in Israel might have been hurt or killed there after Hamas gunmen burst across the fence from Gaza on a deadly weekend rampage.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking at a regular news briefing, said Moscow’s was extremely concerned about the situation in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, adding that events there posed a ‘great danger’ to the wider region.

Israel has drafted a record 300,000 reservists in its response to a multi-front Hamas attack from Gaza and is ‘going on the offensive,’ the chief military spokesperson has confirmed.

Since Saturday’s surprise assault, Israeli aircraft have been pounding Gaza targets while its ground forces have battled to retake control of border villages and towns overrun by Palestinian gunmen.

Chief military spokesperson Rear-Admiral Daniel Hagari said control of those communities had been re-established but that isolated clashes continued as some gunmen remained active.

‘We are now carrying out searches in all of the communities and clearing the area,’ he said in a televised briefing.

Military officials had previously said that their focus was on securing Israel’s side of the border before carrying out any major escalation of the counter-offensive in Gaza.

Hagari said 300,000 reservists have been called up by the military since Saturday, a number suggesting preparations for a possible invasion – though any such plans have not been officially confirmed.

‘We have never drafted so many reservists on such a scale,’ he said. ‘We are going on the offensive.’

Hagari confirmed media reports that 700 people had been killed on Israel’s side of the border, including 73 confirmed members of the security forces. He said Israel’s military had killed hundreds of Palestinian gunmen.

Israeli army reinforcements take position outside the southern city of Sderot near the border with Gaza

The United Arab Emirates is ‘appalled’ that Israeli civilians were taken hostage in the Hamas assault near the Gaza Strip, a foreign ministry statement said.

‘The ministry is appalled by reports that Israeli civilians have been abducted as hostages from their homes,’ said the Arab Muslim country, which established relations with Israel in 2020.

Young children and elderly grandparents were among the more than 100 hostages being held as human shields by Hamas last night.

Families have described the horror of only discovering their loved ones had been snatched by viewing chilling videos posted on social media by their gloating kidnappers.

In footage that has horrified the world, one student was filmed screaming ‘don’t kill me’ as she was dragged away on a motorcyle by Hamas thugs.

The Foreign Office has warned against all but essential travel to Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories.

They have asked British Nationals in Israel to register their presence and follow the instructions of Israeli Home Front Command.

On the foreign travel advice page, they say: ‘The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.’

They add: ‘Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

‘Attacks could be indiscriminate, including places visited by foreigners including the Old City in Jerusalem, on public transport, and in busy public spaces.’

Israel has called up 300,000 reservists in the biggest draft in the country’s history, Israeli TV has reported quoting the military.

Earlier today an Israeli military spokesperson said that the army had called up around 100,000 reservists, and said in a statement that Israel would aim to end Hamas’ rule of Gaza.

‘Our task is to make sure that Hamas will no longer have any military capabilities to threaten Israel with this,’ said spokesperson Jonathan Conricus in a video tweeted by Israel’s military.

‘And in addition to that, we will make sure that Hamas is no longer able to govern the Gaza Strip.’

Hungary is currently evacuating 110 more people from Israel, bringing the total number of people it has brought out of the country to 325 including 46 children, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a Facebook post on Monday.

He said that 15 of the 325 evacuees were foreign citizens, among them Israeli, Swedish, Austrian, German, British and Portuguese nationals.

Szijjarto said the latest flight, the third it has organised, was currently en route to Budapest

A missing Brit has been pictured having fun shortly before he vanished during the Hamas massacre – as friends of his partner say they have been told she is dead.

British photographer Danny Darlington, who lived in Berlin, and his German girlfriend Carolin Bohl have not been heard from since hiding out in a bunker in Nir Or, a kibbutz in Southern Israel, according to Ms Bohl’s brother-in law Sam Pasquesi.

Mr Pasquesi said his family learned late on Sunday from a man working at the kibbutz that the bodies of the two had been identified.

Jeremy Corbyn has risked fresh fury by suggesting Israel’s ‘occupation’ is the root cause of the Hamas attacks.

The former Labour leader refused to single out the terrorist group for condemnation, saying he was against ‘all violence’.

In a bad-tempered exchange with journalists on the fringes of the party’s conference in Liverpool, Mr Corbyn said the way to end the ‘terrible situation’ was to ‘end the occupation of Palestine by Israel’.

Israel has re-established control of communities near Gaza, the Jewish nation’s military has confirmed.

But some Hamas militants remain on Israeli soil and fighting continues within seven civilian communities.

A spokesperson for the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said that there is no fighting in the north but troops are ‘ready for any scenario’, Sky News reported.

Virgin Atlantic said its flights between London Heathrow and from Tel Aviv could face delays or cancellations due to the evolving situation in Israel.

Virgin said it had cancelled flights VS453 and VS454 on Monday and Tuesday, but planned to continue to operate VS457 and VS458.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday told NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly that now is not the time to withdraw from the international arena and called for Western unity in the face of global events.

‘This is not the time to withdraw from the international arena into internal disputes. This is not the time to isolate ourselves. This is not the time to remain silent or pretend that the terror on one continent does not affect global affairs,’ Zelenskiy told the assembly via video link.

The former British ambassador to the US and Israel has suggested the UK will be one of many nations ‘working very hard’ to stop the conflict in Israel and Gaza from spreading.

Sir David Manning told Sky News: ‘It will be the top priority of the Arab world now to try and find some kind of ceasefire. It’s going to be very difficult to negotiate.

‘The Americans have got the same interest, as have the Europeans, there will be differences of view but the question is now what happens on the ground in Gaza, and is it possible to contain this violence or this war going to spread?

‘It’s in nobody’s interest that it should be spread, and that is what I certainly would expect the Gulf Arabs and the Americans and Europeans to be working very hard to try to achieve.’

Every Jewish family in the UK has been affected ‘in one way or another’ by the events in Israel, the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth said.

Sir Ephraim Mirvis told Sky News: ‘The first question we are asking people when giving them a call in the UK is ‘how is everyone in your family?’

‘Because there certainly isn’t a Jewish family in the UK which hasn’t been affected in one way or another by this.

‘And also, I have been inundated with so many messages of support and solidarity from so many people throughout Britain, and I sense that there is no civilised person who can be unmoved, who can’t be deeply shocked by these scenes, by seeing what has transpired.

‘I know that there are many, many people who are with those who are suffering in Israel right now.’

Sir Ephraim Mirvis pictured at the rededication of Belgium’s largest synagogue in Antwerp

The United States will send multiple military ships and aircraft closer to Israel as a show of support, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.

It comes as Washington believes Hamas’ latest attack may have been motivated to disrupt a potential normalizing of Israel-Saudi Arabia ties.

Austin also added the United States will provide munitions to Israel, and that its security assistance will begin moving on Sunday.

The Pentagon will be adding fighter jets to the region as well, he said.

U.S. President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday that additional assistance for the Israeli Defense Forces was on its way to Israel and more would follow in the coming days, the White House said after their call.

Austria is suspending its aid to Palestinians, totalling around 19 million euros (£16 million) for a handful of projects, in response to Islamist group Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said on Monday.

Neutral Austria’s ruling conservatives have adopted one of the most pro-Israel stances in the European Union in recent years. The Israeli flag has been hoisted above the chancellor’s office and the Foreign Ministry after the shock Hamas assault launched from the Gaza Strip on Saturday.

“The extent of the terror is so horrific … that we cannot go back to business as usual. We will therefore put all payments from Austrian development cooperation on ice for the time being,” Schallenberg told ORF radio in comments confirmed by a spokeswoman, adding the estimate of funds and projects affected.

Schallenberg did not distinguish between Gaza, a Palestinian enclave ruled by Hamas, and the much larger West Bank, run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah movement is a rival to Hamas.

On Sunday, neighbouring Germany debated whether it should stop aid to Palestinians following the Hamas attack, with Development Minister Svenja Schulze of the ruling Social Democrats saying the government had always been careful to check that the money was only used for peaceful ends.

Schallenberg said Austria would assess its projects before deciding how to proceed in consultation with partners within and outside the EU.

Hamas wants to ‘liberate all Palestinian prisoners’ from Israel and end Israeli provocations in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, particularly at Al-Aqsa Mosque, a spokesman for the militant group said Monday.

Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua told The Associated Press over the phone that Hamas militants were still fighting Israeli forces and had captured more Israelis on Monday morning.

‘We are in an open battle to defend our people and the Al-Aqsa Mosque,’ he said. ‘This battle is linked to the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners and the cessation of this fascist government’s activities in Jerusalem.’

He said the group has captured ‘a large number of Israelis’ in Gaza, without giving a specific figure. He said Hamas’ military wing, al-Qassam, would announce the figures later.

370 people have been killed and more than 2,200 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza strip, the country’s health ministry have revealed.

At least 10 people were killed in that strike, which destroyed four houses. Rescuers were still trying to find survivors in the rubble on Sunday.

Nearly 2,400 Israelis have now been injured, the Jewish nation’s ministry of defence have confirmed.

This includes 22 who have been critically injured and a further 345 who are in a severe condition.

A further 462 have recieved medium injuries while 1,175 have light injuries.

A spokesperson said: ‘Please pray for the wounded.’

Wizz Air has cancelled all routes to and from Tel Aviv until further notice.

A Wizz Air spokesperson said: ‘Due to the situation in Israel, we have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv until further notice.

‘We are continuing to monitor the situation closely and are in touch with the relevant authorities.

‘The safety and security of our passengers and crew is our number one priority and all affected passengers will be contacted via email or text.’

Volunteers searching for bodies at a festival massacre that has left some 260 civilians dead have been forced to flee after coming ‘under fire’ from militants.

The team of 25 have so far recovered 162 bodies from the site, commander in the Zaka volunteer group Yossi Landau told the BBC Today programme.

‘We work under fire, so we had to evacuate that place,’ he told the broadcaster.

British intelligence will help Israel bring to justice terrorists who have killed at least 700 people and taken more than 100 hostage, Rishi Sunak declared last night as he pledged ‘steadfast support’ for Benjamin Netanyahu.

In an unprecedented show of support, the Prime Minister indicated that MI6 would help Israel track down the Hamas killers who unleashed the bloodiest attack on the country in 50 years.

Mr Sunak said he had spoken to his Israeli counterpart, Mr Netanyahu, and offered to send ‘diplomatic or security support’, vowing that ‘terrorism will not prevail’.

The commander of a crack team of Israeli troops known as the Ghost unit was killed fighting Hamas when the militants first struck in southern Israel, it has emerged.

Colonel Roy Levy, 44, was the leader of the Multidimensional Unit – a secretive group of commandos established to tackle Hamas using drones and other modern warfare techniques.

He was killed as his forces battled Hamas fighters in the community of Re’im, near the border with Gaza where as many as 260 festivalgoers were killed when violence erupted on Saturday.

The Israeli Defense Force said Levy ‘led his team bravely, engaged [the terrorists], and entered the battle first in Kibbutz Re’im, in order to save citizens who were besieged in their homes.’

Pro-Palestinian protesters took over New York City’s Times Square on Sunday – just one day after terrorist organization Hamas callously attacked Israel, leaving hundreds of civilians dead.

Irate counter-protesters waving Israeli flags clashed with 300 seething placard-clad demonstrators – one of which was spotted on the front line holding up a swastika.

New York is the city with the largest Jewish population in the world – and the swastika was the symbol used by Adolf Hitler when he murdered 6million Jews during the Holocaust.

The clamorous group in Manhattan’s Midtown chanted ‘free Palestine’ while others in the Israeli kettle yelled back: ‘How can you support this! F***ing murderers!’

Dramatic video footage caught the moment the Islamic National Bank in Gaza was hit during an Israeli air strike on Sunday.

Footage captured the second the bank in the Rimal district of Gaza city was struck, sending a huge a cloud of smoke and dust into the air, tearing through the neighbourhood and destroying several nearby buildings.

Terrifying footage shows party goers at an Israeli festival screaming as shots are fired while police are seen trying to help people evacuate.

Some are heard shouting, ‘go, go, go!’ as they clasped hands and sprinted away from the oncoming trucks who followed behind and sprayed bullets.

Meanwhile, survivors of the attack, who posted videos of the ordeal to social media, explained how they were forced to hide under bushes as they watched victims get killed one by one, until they heard the sound of people rescuers speaking in Hebrew some five hours later.

Confirming the horror, the Israeli rescue service Zaka said it had recovered at least 260 bodies in the aftermath of the attack. 

Corpses of young revellers were seen piled up on top of each other in makeshift tents last night as emergency workers tried to identify their remains.

Chilling video has emerged of the moment terrified Israeli festival goers were forced to hide in the undergrowth to avoid a hail of bullets from Hamas militants in a massacre that has left some 260 civilians dead.

The Palestinian militant group stormed the Supernova Festival that had been taking place near Kibbutz Re’im, close to the Gaza Strip, as part of its surprise assault launched on Saturday.

Music at the deadly rave, which survivors said initially had ‘good vibes’, played all night until around 6.30am, when a siren began blaring warning of rockets.

Festival goers knew there was a risk of rocket attacks. What they didn’t expect was truckloads of armed gunmen cutting power to the festival and storming the site, firing indiscriminately into the crowd.

A mother is still missing after her two children that she was kidnapped with were found at the border.

Adi Vital-Kaplon, 33, was snatched by militants from her home near Gaza on Saturday with four-year-old Negev and Eshel, six months.

But the children were left at the border at night where they were found by a family friend Avital, 38.

Their grandfather Yondav Kaplon said: ‘From what we understand [Avital] was kidnapped, or escaped or was released, but she recognised them last night on the fence and took them back to Israel.’

Adi Vital-Kaplon, 33, (pictured) was snatched by militants from her home near Gaza on Saturday with four-year-old Negev and Eshel, six months

A student was filmed screaming ‘don’t kill me’ as she was dragged away on a motorcyle by Hamas thugs.

Noa Argamani, 25, was kidnapped with her boyfriend Avi Nathan during an attack on a music festival close to the Gaza border. Her tearful father Yaacov Argamani said yesterday: ‘I tried to contact her from the second we heard the rocket sirens.

‘While on the phone, her roommate contacted us and said there was a video of her on a motorcycle and she was kidnapped and taken to Gaza.

‘She was so scared, so frightened. I always protected her, and at this very moment I couldn’t.’

Pictured: Noa Argamani, 25, who was kidnapped with her boyfriend Avi Nathan during an attack on a music festival close to the Gaza border

Young children and elderly grandparents were among the more than 100 hostages being held as human shields by Hamas last night.

Families have described the horror of only discovering their loved ones had been snatched by viewing chilling videos posted on social media by their gloating kidnappers.

Footage showed sobbing children and their helpless mothers being dragged from their homes and loaded into vehicles by heavily armed men before being taken to Gaza.

It is feared two Britons could be among those being held after the terrorist group launched its bloody multi-pronged surprise attack.

A group of 31 Harvard organizations, including the Ivy League institution’s affiliate of Amnesty International, has placed the blame on Israel for Hamas’ brutal, surprise attack that has killed at least 700 Israelis.

The organizations released a letter to the public as a ‘Joint Statement by Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups on the Situation in Palestine’ on Sunday to condemn Israel in the wake of the violence.

They claim that Hamas’ attacks, which are still ongoing, ‘did not happen in a vacuum’ and the Israeli government has forced Palestinians to live in ‘an open-air prison for over two decades.’

Music at the deadly rave, which survivors said initially had ‘good vibes’, played all night until round 6.30am when a siren began blaring warning of rockets. Hamas terrorists then cut the electricity as rockets flew overhead and jeeps filled with gunmen ran onto the site.

Terrifying footage shows partygoers screaming as shots are fired while police are seen trying to help people evacuate. Some are seen holding hands as they run away while others shout ‘go, go, go’.

Survivors of the attack said they were forced to hide under bushes as they watched victims get killed one by one, until they heard the sound of people rescuers speaking in Hebrew. According to Israeli media, it took five hours for military to arrive.

Meanwhile distraught relatives, hoping to find their loved ones, were asked to bring personal items such as combs and toothbrushes belonging to their missing children to help emergency services begin the grim task of matching DNA to bodies found.

The Hamas leader behind the deadliest attack on Israel watched and celebrated the invasion from the safety of his Qatar office.

Ismail Haniyeh was spotted with other Hamas officials cheering for joy before they prostrated themselves on the floor and praised God.

It came as the terrorist group launched the single deadliest attack ever launched against Israel – which the Jewish state has claimed is ‘our 9/11’.

Israeli media said at least 700 people were killed and 2,000 wounded in Saturday’s attack.

Hamas’ surprise attack on Saturday morning came just one day after the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Yom Kippur War, which saw Israel battle existential threats from hostile neighbors led by Egypt and Syria.

Israeli soldiers and civilians fought Hamas militants on the streets of southern Israel following a barrage of 2,000 rockets sent over the border by the Palestinian terrorists, in addition to a savage ground assault.

The Gaza Health Ministry said 413 people, including 78 children and 41 women, were killed in the territory.

About 2,000 people have been wounded on each side. An Israeli official said security forces have killed 400 militants and captured dozens more.

Spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces Jonathan Conricus also confirmed that Americans, British and French people were involved in the carnage.

He said that children, babies, elderly people and disabled people were among those kidnapped.

Iran was branded a ‘terrorist state’ last night as the spiralling violence threatened to spill into a major conflict in the Middle East.

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a ‘mighty vengeance’, promising to reduce parts of Gaza run by Hamas ‘into rubble’.

Forces in the north also exchanged rocket and artillery fire with Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.

Senior members of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah claimed that Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel that killed at least 700 people was given the green light by Iranian security officials.

The official go-ahead for the attack was allegedly given at a Monday meeting in Beirut.

A spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces said they want to completely strip Hamas of its power to govern in Palestine after Israel’s ‘worst day in history’ – and warned the death toll of 700 is likely to rise much higher.

Bodies of young revellers were seen piled up on top of each other in makeshift tents last night as emergency workers tried to identify the 260 festival-goers killed at an Israeli music festival by Hamas terrorists in a shock attack.

The distressing image, shared in a pixelated form on the Israeli government’s official Twitter page, showed scores of victims placed in body bags at the site of the ‘beautiful party’ that turned into a horrific massacre.

Footage from the aftermath shows empty festival tents and abandoned cars strewn frantically across the road leading to the Supernova Festival, that had been taking place near Kibbutz Re’im, close to the Gaza Strip.