At least 9 Americans killed in Israel as Hamas terror attacks continue: State Department

On Monday, the State Department announced that the number of American citizens killed in attacks carried out by Hamas in Israel had risen to nine. The terrorist group murdered hundreds of people over the weekend during the unexpected surge of violence.

United States government officials first revealed that Americans were among the dead on Sunday, though at that time the number of victims was only four. The victims have yet to be formally identified.

"At this time, we can confirm the deaths of nine US citizens," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. He noted that there were still a number of "unaccounted-for US citizens" in Israel, and that "we are working with our Israeli partners to determine their whereabouts."

The State Department has been in contact with the families of those still stuck in the county, and will be "providing all appropriate consular assistance." 

According to the New York Post, Project DYNAMO has begun shipping US veterans to Israel to help save their fellow citizens. The non-profit previously assisted when Americans were trapped in Afghanistan during the Biden administration's widely criticized withdrawal in 2021.

Founder and CEO Bryan Stern revealed that he and his team have already received hundreds of requests via Operation: PROMISED LAND, however he put the actual number of those needing help at "five, six, seven or eight" times higher.
 

"We are aggressively monitoring this grave situation, collecting intelligence and receiving requests for assistance," he said in a statement. "We are likely forward deploying an American operations team very shortly to supplement our assets already operating on the ground."

On Saturday morning, Hamas militants executed a surprise attack across Israel launching over 2,200 rockets into the country while gunmen crossed the border. Since then, over 1,000 people have been killed, with Sunday marking the highest number of Jews killed in one day since the Holocaust.

On Monday, the nation's defense minister announced that he had instructed authorities to carry out a "complete siege" of Gaza in an attempt to quell the violence.