Israel formally declares war, approves 'significant' steps to retaliate for Hamas attack

The latest:

• Israeli media reports at least 700people in Israel killed since Saturday's attacks;Palestinian officials say more than 400 peoplekilled in Gaza.
• Hezbollah claims responsibility for strike in northern Israel; Israeli military firesback into southern Lebanon.
• PM Netanyahuannounces halt tosupply of electricity, fuel and goods to Gaza.
• Hamas says its attacks are retaliation for Israel's escalated aggression in West Bank and Jerusalem.
• U.S. secretary of state says Hamas may want to disruptattempts to normalize Saudi-Israel ties.
• Global Affairs Canada looking into reportsone Canadian has died, two Canadians aremissing.

The Israeli government formally declared war Sunday and gave the green light for "significant military steps" to retaliate against Hamas for its surprise attack from theGaza Strip a day earlier, asthe total death toll on both sides surpassed1,100 and thousands have been wounded.

More than 24 hours afterHamaslaunched its unprecedented incursion out of Gaza, Israeli forces were still trying to crush the last groups of militant fighters holed up in several towns of southern Israel. Thereported death toll is at least 700in Israel and400 in Gaza as Israeli airstrikes pound the territory.

Authorities were still trying to determine how many civilians and soldiers were seized by Hamas fighters during the mayhem and taken back to Gaza. From videos and witnesses, the captives are known to include women, childrenand the elderly.

Home to some two million people, the Gaza Strip has been run by Hamas since it seized control of the territory in 2007. However an independentUN Human Rights commission last yearfound Israel has continued to occupy Gaza despite disengaging in 2005, by effectively controlling movement in and out of its borders and the supply of essentials like water andelectricity.Gaza's economy has long been choked by a blockade imposed by Israel with Egypt's help onethat has been"widely condemned as a policy that may amount to collective punishment," according to the UN.

Over the past year, Israel's far-right government has ramped up settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, Israeli settler violence has displaced hundreds of Palestinians there, and tensions have flared around the Al-Aqsa mosque, a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site.

"What we have in our hands will release all our prisoners," Saleh al-Arouri, deputy chief of theHamaspolitical bureau, told Al-JazeeraTV on Saturday.

A senior Hamas official,Mousa Abu Marzouk, told the Arab-language news outlet al-Ghad that Hamasis holding more than 100 people captive, inaddition toover30 people said to be held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group.

Reports of Canadians missing, killed

Global Affairs Canada cited reports that one Canadian in the region has died and two other Canadians aremissing.

"Canadian government officials in Israel are in contact with local authorities to confirm and gather additional information," Global Affairssaid in a statement.

The agency said it has received over 400inquiries about the fighting. It said1,419 Canadians are registered with the voluntary Registration of Canadians Abroad in the state of Israel, and 492 Canadians are registered in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In an official statement on Sunday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the Hamas attack, expressed support for "Israel's right to defend itself, in accordance with international law," and said Canada stands with the Israeli people.

"We call for the immediate release of those being held hostage and demand they be treated in accordance with international law," Trudeau said. "We will continue to monitor the situation closely, and we are in touch with our international partners to restore peace and security in the region."

WATCH | Many missing Israelis were at a desert concert near Gaza:

Families of Israeli hostages plead for their return

12 months ago

Duration 2:42

Dozens of Israelis are being held hostage, many taken from a desert concert near Gaza, and their families are fearing the worst while pleading for their return.:

Differing views on detainment of prisoners

Israel has detainedover 1,200 prisoners, mostly Palestinians, without charges.Israel says the controversial tactic is necessary to contain dangerous militants and avoid divulging incriminating material for security reasons. But Palestinians and human rights groups say the system denies due process and is widely abused.

Israel's security cabinet discussedtaking "significant military steps" on Sunday.The steps were not defined, but the declaration appears to give the military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a wide mandate.

Fears of conflict spreading to other fronts escalatedSunday morning after Lebanon-basedHezbollah claimed responsibility for strikes onIsraeli positions in a disputed area along the border with Syria's Golan Heights.

Israel's military responded with armed drone strikes on Hezbollah targets in a disputed area where the borders of Israel, Lebanon and Syria meet.

The flareup on Israel's northern border threatened to draw into the battle a fierce enemy of Israel's thatis backed by Iran and estimated to have tens of thousands of rockets at its disposal.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military official, told reporters the situation at the northern border was calm after the exchange.

But he said fighting was still underway in the south and there were still hostage situations there.

The Israeli military said it was evacuating at least five towns close to Gaza.

Hagarisaid troops had moved into every community near the Gaza frontier, where they planned to evacuate all civilians and scour the area for any remaining militants.

"We will go through every community until we kill every terrorist that is in Israeli territory," he said. In Gaza, "every terrorist located in a house, all the commanders in houses, will be hit by Israeli fire. That will continue escalating in the coming hours."

Hamas gunmen rolled into as many as 22 locations outside the Gaza Strip early Saturday morning, including towns and other communities as far as 24 kilometresfrom the Gaza border, and took hostages as Israel's military scrambled to muster a response, while themilitantgroup launched thousands of rockets at Israeli cities.

On Sunday, the Israeli military said its forces were fighting Hamas incursions in eight places. An Israeli military spokesperson said two hostage situations in Gaza had been "resolved," but did not say whether all the hostages had been rescued alive.

Israel struck 426 targets in Gaza, its military said, flattening residential buildings in giant explosions. That included a 14-storey tower that held dozens of apartments as well as Hamas offices in central Gaza City. Israeli forces say they fired a warning just before.

At least413people in the Gaza Strip were killed in Israeli strikes, including 78children and 41 women, and close to 2,000 were wounded, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.Seven people were also killed by Israeli army fire in theWest Bank, including a child, it added.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday spoketo CNN about how the Hamas attack could have been motivated in part to derail a U.S.-brokered diplomatic deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Blinken said Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran a longtime regional rival of Saudi Arabia are all opposed to Israel normalizing relations with its neighbours, "so it's entirely possible."

In Gaza, much of the population was thrown into darkness after nightfall as electrical supplies from Israel which supplies almost all the territories' power were cut off.

WATCH | 'When you back people into a corner, it's just a matter of time before they fight back,' says Canadian Palestinian:

Years of oppression led to Hamas attacks, says Canadian Palestinian

12 months ago

Duration 5:01

Palestinians worldwide watch anxiously as the Israel-Hamas conflict escalates. Ramsey Zeid, president of the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba, fears for loved ones' safety, and says the violence wasn't surprising. 'When you treat people like that, when you back them into a corner, it's just a matter of time before they get fed up and they fight back.'

Israel stopssending electricity, goods to Gaza

Netanyahu's office said in a statement that Israel would stop supplying electricity, fuel and goods to Gaza.

In a televised address Saturday night, hesaid the military will use all of its strength to destroy Hamas's capabilities.

"All the places that Hamas hides in, operates from, we will turn them into ruins," he added. "Get out of there now," he told Gaza residents, who have no way to leave the tiny, overcrowded Mediterranean territory.

Overnight, the Israeli military issued warnings in Arabic to communities near the border with Israel to leave their homes for areas deeper inside the tiny enclave.

UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinians, said more than 20,000 Palestinians left Gaza's border region to head further inside the territory and take refuge in UNschools.

A major question now was whether Israel will launch a ground assault into Gaza, a move that in the past has brought intensified casualties.

Netanyahu vowed that Hamas "will pay an unprecedented price."

But, he warned, "This war will take time. It will be difficult." Israel's military was bringing four divisions of troops as well as tanks to the Gaza border, joining 31 battalions already in the area, a spokesperson said.

WATCH |How Hamas militants caught Israel off guard:

How Hamas caught Israeli defence off guard

12 months ago

Duration 8:29

Sajjan Gohel, international security director at the Asia-Pacific Foundation, discusses the internal and external geopolitical pressures that caused Israeli defence teams to overlook plans for the massive Hamas offensive that has launched a war and resulted in over 1,000 casualties so far.:

Rising tensions ahead of surprise assault

Asked by reporters how Hamas had managed to catch the army off guard, Lt.-Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli army spokesperson, replied, "That's a good question."

The strength, sophistication and timing of the Saturday morning attack shocked Israelis.

Hamas fighters used explosives to break through the border fence enclosing Gaza, then crossed with motorcycles, pickup trucks, paragliders and speed boats on the coast. In an amateur video, hundreds of terrified young people who had been dancing at a rave fled for their lives after Hamas militants entered the area and began firing at them.

The leader of Hamas's military wing, Mohammed Deif, said the assault was in response to the 16-year blockade of Gazaand a series of recent incidents, including more settlements in occupied West Bank, Israeli settler violenceandfurther displacement of Palestinians,that have brought Israeli-Palestinian tensions to a fever pitch.

"Enough is enough," Deif, who does not appear in public, said in the recorded message.

He said the attack was only the start of what he called Operation Al-Aqsa Storm,and called on Palestinians from East Jerusalem to northern Israel to join the fight.

Hamas said it had planned for a potentially long fight.

"We are prepared for all options, including all-out war," said al-Arouri of the Hamas political bureau. "We are ready to do whatever is necessary for the dignity and freedom of our people."

WATCH | Hamas operation designed to 'change the status quo,' expert says:

Hamas operation designed to 'change the status quo,' expert says

12 months ago

Duration 2:33

Hamas militants caught Israel off guard with a barrage of rocket attacks and surprise infiltration of its borders on Saturday. 'This is an attempt to shatter not just Israeli sense of complacency but also of the region and of the great powers like the United States and Europe,' says Khaled Elgindy, senior fellow and director of the Program on Palestine and Palestinian-Israeli Affairs with the Middle East Institute.

Hezbollah attacks support 'Palestinian resistance'

Hezbollah,which effectively controls southern Lebanon,said in a statement that itsSunday morning attackusing "large numbers of rockets and shells" was in solidarity with the "Palestinian resistance."

It said the Israeli positions were directly hit.

Israel's military fired back using armed drones at the Lebanese areas. By attacking Israeli positions in a disputed area rather than Israel proper, Hezbollah appears to be trying to avoid an all-out conflict with Israel.

Israel and Hezbollah are archenemies and have fought several wars in the past, the most recent a 34-day warin 2006 that left 1,200 dead in Lebanon and 160 in Israel.

Aaron David Miller, a Middle East analyst and former U.S. State Department negotiator, told CBC'sRosemary Barton in a televised interview that there's a chance the rocket volleys between Israel and Iran-backedHezbollahcould ignitea wider conflict.

"This is a volatile, broken, dysfunctional region of the world," Miller said. "This is going to get worse before it gets worse."

WATCH | Middle East analyst pessimistic Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be resolved soon:

'This is going to get worse before it gets worse': former Middle East negotiator

12 months ago

Duration 9:27

Rosemary Barton Live spoke with Aaron David Miller, a former U.S. State Department Middle East negotiator, about how events might unfold following the latest outbreak of violence in the region. Miller says he doesn't think the immediate future holds any prospect of serious dialogue between the two sides, let alone resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.