A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces says the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has been taking "hostages and prisoners of war" in an ongoing attack on Israel on Saturday.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari confirmed ongoing hostage situations in the towns of Ofakim and Beeri. Hamas militants are holding Israeli civilians and soldiers hostage in Gaza.
The military did not say how many hostages were seized, but their capture marks a major escalation in the fighting.
Hamas made the initial claims its fighters had kidnapped 53 Israelis after infiltrating Israel's highly fortified separation fence and storming into Israeli communities in the country's south.
Social media has been filled with videos showing Hamas fighters dragging lifeless Israeli soldiers on the ground and parading captured civilians through the streets of Gaza.
Hamas militants fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of fighters into Israeli towns near the Gaza on Saturday, the day of a major Jewish holiday.
The casualties made Hamas' attack on southern Israel the deadliest one in Israel in years.
The Magen David Adom said Saturday that "hundreds" of people were seriously injured and strongly urged the public to heed the directives of Israeli authorities for safety.
The wounded were being evacuated in ambulances, mobile intensive care vehicles, and by helicopter to various hospitals.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza says at least 198 people have been killed and at least 1,610 wounded in the territory in Israel’s retaliation after a wide-ranging Hamas assault into Israel.
Israel has carried out a number of airstrikes in Gaza and has clashed with gunmen at the border fence around the coastal territory.
Israel's national rescue service says at least 40 people have been killed in a wide-ranging Hamas assault into Israel.
The latest toll came from the Magen David Adom rescue service as fighting was still underway Saturday.
Hospitals in Israel are treating hundreds of wounded people, including dozens in critical condition.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will exact a "huge price" from Hamas in response to an unprecedented infiltration that killed at least 22 people.
Netanyahu told his Security Cabinet on Saturday that Israel's first goal is to "cleanse the area" of militants and regain control of the southern communities that were attacked.
"The second goal, at the same time, is to exact a huge price from the enemy, also in the Gaza Strip," he said.
He called on the nation to remain calm and unite "to achieve our highest goal — victory in the war."
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