Hamas says militants have taken hostages during attack on Israel
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Footage has emerged that appears to show Hamas militants taking Israeli soldiers and civilians hostage.
One video purports to show a captured Israeli woman in blood-splattered clothes with her hands tied behind her back.
A man is seen brandishing a gun in the air as he shouts “Allahu Akbar” – “God is greatest” – as she is bundled into the backseat of a Jeep.
The clip has been geolocated to Gaza, and was posted after the militant group launched its biggest attack on Israel in years.
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Video posted on a Telegram channel affiliated to Hamas also appears to show its fighters capturing and beating Israelis.
One man can be seen trying to shield his head as he is kicked.
Others were shown being dragged by armed men at a border compound used by the Israeli Ministry of Defence.
Sky News has also geolocated footage from Beeri, where handcuffed men and women in civilian clothing are seen being led away.
On Saturday, an Israeli military spokesperson confirmed Israeli civilians and soldiers were being held hostage by Hamas militants in Gaza.
And Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas, has said “dozens” of Israeli troops are being held in “safe places” and militant tunnels in the Gaza Strip.
Another top official, Saleh Arouri, told al Jazeera that the group is holding “a large number” of Israeli prisoners – enough captives to make Israel free all Palestinians in its jails.
Video from the village of Be’eri, where handcuffed men and women in civilian clothing are seen being led away by armed men.
According to news channel N12, up to 50 Israelis have been taken hostage by Hamas gunmen in Beeri Kibbutz near the Gaza border.
Israeli broadcaster Reshet 13 TV News reported militants were holding Israelis hostage in the town of Ofakim – an Israeli city near the border with Gaza.
Elderly women with dementia as well as workers from Thailand and the Philippines have also been captured, local media reports suggest.
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Palestinians transport a captured Israeli civilian. Pic: AP
Thousands of rockets were fired in an unprecedented, surprise early morning attack during a major Jewish holiday.
At least 250 Israelis have been killed and more than 1,450 injured – making it the deadliest attack in years – according to local media.
Meanwhile, officials in the Gaza Strip said 232 Palestinians have died following retaliatory Israeli airstrikes – with a further 1,600 injured.
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Video seems to show Hamas paragliding over border
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement: “We are at war and we will win.”
He added: “Our enemy will pay a price the type of which it has never known.”
Palestine’s President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves against the “terror of settlers and occupation of troops”.