The United States has received indications that numerous Americans were killed in Hamas' terror strike against Israel on Saturday, which resulted in hundreds of casualties, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, as Breitbart News reported.
Anchor Dana Bash said, “I want to ask about any Americans in Israel. Is there any indication that Americans were killed or kidnapped by terrorists?”
Blinken said, “Yes. We have reports that several Americans were killed. We’re working overtime to verify that. At the same time, there are reports of missing Americans, and, there again, we’re working to verify those reports.”
Bash said, “It does seem like this very coordinated attack came out of nowhere. I want our viewers to listen to what the U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said just nine days ago.”
During an interview with The Atlantic, Sullivan said, “The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades. Now challenges remain, Iran’s nuclear weapons program, tensions between Israelis and Palestinians but the amount of time that I have to spend on crisis and conflict in the Middle East compared today to my predecessors going back to 9/11 is significantly reduced.”
Blinken said, “What Jake Sullivan said is right.”
After Hamas' unprecedented assault into Israel, the Israeli government says it has deployed special forces to retake four positions. Following Hamas's surprise attack on Saturday, Israel declared war on Sunday and approved "significant military steps" in retaliation.
The Israeli military increased its bombing of the Gaza Strip in an effort to eliminate the last fighters in the southern communities, as The Epoch Times reported.
More than 1,100 people died, and thousands more were injured, on both sides. On Monday morning, violence raged on in a number of different areas. More than 400 Palestinians in Gaza and at least 700 in Israel have been killed, according to reports.
Oliver Varhelyi, a commissioner for the European Union, announced on Monday that the bloc is suspending "all payments immediately" to the Palestinians due to the "scale of terror and brutality" during Hamas' attacks against Israel.
Mr. Varhelyi's unexpected announcement came just hours after EU officials emphasized that no EU funds had been given to Hamas and that relations had been suspended for 16 years. The EU views Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Qatar's foreign ministry verified to Reuters its participation in mediation discussions with Hamas and Israeli officials, including a potential prisoner exchange.
"We are in constant contact with all sides at the moment. Our priorities are to end the bloodshed, release the prisoners and make sure the conflict is contained with no regional spillover," foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told Reuters, without elaborating.
The recent Hamas attack, which exhibited an unanticipated level of sophistication and coordination, stunned Israelis and the rest of the world.
Using motorcycles, pickup trucks, paragliders, and even speedboats, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip and began kidnapping and murdering civilians. In addition, they fired thousands of missiles into Israeli cities beginning at 6:30 a.m. on October 7.
