This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Hundreds of Israelis lost their lives in the surprise war that was launched by the terrorists in Hamas just days ago, but the result of the conflict won't be known for some time yet, as Israel gears up for what could be a devastating ground occupation of Hamas territory in Gaza.

Already, according to Discern Report, there is a promise from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel will "change the Middle East" in its response to Hamas terror.

Already, supplies have been cut off from Gaza, meaning power, food, fuel, and water no longer are being made available there.

"We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly," warned Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Already, an estimated 500 Hamas targets had been hit by Israeli air strikes, including eight Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad war rooms; a building for Hamas operatives; high-rise towers housing Hamas assets; a command center used by a senior official in Hamas’s naval forces; an "operational asset used by Hamas" located within a mosque in Jabaliya; an asset used by the terror group for intelligence; and three tunnels in the Beit Hanoun area in northern Gaza, the report said.

Massive numbers of soldiers, upward of 450,000, are being activated in Israel, including 8,000 elite commandos, along with 300 tanks.

The report said, "The Israelis would not be mobilizing all of these troops if they did not plan to do something with them."

At ABC there was confirmation that already, in Gaza, at least 830 people have been killed and 4,250 wounded. That's in addition to the 900 killed and 2,600 injured in Israel.

"Gaza is a closed zone. There's nowhere people can evacuate to -- there are no shelters," said Laila El-Haddad, 45, a Palestinian-American living in Maryland whose family is currently in Gaza.

Fox News reported Netanyahu warned, "What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations."

In the Daily Mail, a report said there was fighting at 22 locations in Israel, and Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht, an Israeli army spokesman, warned of a "severe hostage situation" where it is believed Hamas fighters took those they kidnapped during their murderous rampage.

CBS said the missiles launched against Hamas interests were "just an opening salvo for what Israel promised will be a devastating blow against Hamas."

The report said Netanyahu admitted that Hamas started the war, but "Israel will finish it."

"Hamas will understand that by attacking us, they've made a mistake of historic proportions," Netanyahu said. "We will exact a price that will be remembered by them and Israel's other enemies for decades to come."

Observers also noted that the "full dimension" of Israel's response still was not known.

Discern Report noted that the next step could be for Hezbollah to jump into the fight, even despite Israel's promises to "destroy Damascus" if that happens. If Hezbollah does step in, and Israel targets the Iran-backed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, Syria would be drawn in and could draw in Iraq, and even the U.S.

"What I am trying to say is that this thing could get way out of control very rapidly," Discern Report noted.