11 Americans were among those killed in Hamas attacks on Israel, Biden says
Biden said there are more Americans in Israel who remained unaccounted for as of Monday afternoon
By Staff reports ••
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A U.S. State Department spokesperson said nine Americans were killed in Israel and confirmed there are more Americans who are unaccounted for.
At least 11 Americans have been killed in the violence in Israel and more are still unaccounted for after Hamas attacked from the Gaza Strip over the weekend, President Joe Biden said Monday.
“Sadly, we now know that at least 11 American citizens were among those killed — many of whom made a second home in Israel,” the president said in a statement.
Biden said that in addition to the 11 Americans who were killed, more Americans were still unaccounted for amid the ongoing violence.
"We also know that American citizens still remain unaccounted for, and we are working with Israeli officials to obtain more information as to their whereabouts," Biden said.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller had said earlier Monday on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” that at least nine Americans were killed and more were still missing.
More than 1,000 people have been killed so far in the fighting: At least 700 people in Israel, according to the military, and more than 680 people in Gaza and the West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
Additionally, as many as 130 people, including children, have been taken hostage by Hamas fighters. Family members are pleading for information about their missing loved ones.
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A spokesperson for the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, on Monday threatened that militants would kill one civilian hostage any time Israel targets civilians in their homes in Gaza “without warning,” NBC News reported.
In an audio statement, spokesperson Abu Obeida said intense strikes had been seen in civilian areas in Gaza.
He said the statement was a "warning" after Israel issued a "full siege" of Gaza and pounded the area with airstrikes after the unprecedented attack by Hamas.
More: Israel-Hamas War
Here's the latest news from the overseas conflict.
Countries across the world have been working to determine whether their citizens in Israel are safe.
Miller said the State Department continued to monitor the situation closely.
“We are in touch with the families and providing all appropriate consular assistance,” Miller said. “We will continue to provide information to U.S. citizens in the area through Alerts, our embassy website, and travel.state.gov.”
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Palestinians stand next to a crater caused by an explosion from an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis in the southern of Gaza Strip, on Oct. 16, 2023.
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A man reacts as he watches rescuers and civilians remove the rubble of a home destroyed following an Israeli attack on the town of Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on Oct. 15, 2023.
Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli troops prepare weapons and armed vehicles near the southern city of Ashkelon on Oct. 15, 2023.
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Members of the Bedouin community inspect vehicles destroyed in a rocket attack allegedly fired from the Gaza Strip in the village of Arara in the Negev Desert, on Oct. 14, 2023.
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A Palestinian man uses a fire extinguisher to douse a fire following an Israeli strike, in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 14, 2023.
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Palestinians with their belongings leave Gaza City as they flee from their homes following the Israeli army’s warning on Oct. 13, 2023.
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A Palestinian child watches as smoke billows on the horizon after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on Oct. 13, 2023.
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Israeli army tanks and vehicles deploy along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Oct. 13, 2023.
Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images
A woman comforts injured Palestinian girls waiting at the hospital to be checked, as battles between Israel and the Hamas movement continue for the sixth consecutive day, in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 12, 2023.
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An Israeli soldier patrols near Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel on Oct. 12, 2023, close to the place where 270 revellers were killed by militants during the Supernova music festival on Oct. 7.
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A Palestinian man with a child reacts outside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Oct. 12, 2023 as raging battles between Israel and the Hamas movement continue for the sixth consecutive day.
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This picture taken on Oct. 11, 2023 shows an aerial view of buildings destroyed by Israeli air strikes in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in Gaza City.
Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli troops search the scene of a Palestinian militant attack in the Israeli kibbutz of Kfar Aza on the border with the Gaza Strip on Oct. 11, 2023.
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People duck for cover upon hearing sirens warning of incoming fire in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon on Oct. 11, 2023.
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Smoke billows after a strike by Israel on the port of Gaza City on Oct. 10, 2023.
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Palestinians inspect the destruction from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City’s al-Rimal neighbourhood early on October 10, 2023.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
A Palestinian man sits in front of a charred building as a fire rages through its interior, following Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City’s al-Rimal district on Oct. 10, 2023.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli soldiers patrol an area in Kfar Aza, south of Israel bordering Gaza Strip, on Oct. 10, 2023.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
Lightning strikes as smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Oct. 9, 2023.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
An aerial picture shows the site of the weekend attack on the Supernova desert music festival by Palestinian militants near Kibbutz Reim in the Negev desert in southern Israel on Oct. 10, 2023.
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An Israeli soldier rests his head on an artillery gun barrel of an armored vehicle as Israeli soldiers take positions near the border with Gaza in southern Israel on Oct. 9, 2023.
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A member of the Palestinian civil defense carries a wounded boy rescued from the rubble of the Tattari family home, destroyed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on Oct. 9, 2023.
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Palestinians search for survivors after an Israeli airstrike on buildings in the refugee camp of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 9, 2023.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli army soldiers are positioned with their Merkava tanks near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Oct. 9, 2023.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
A Palestinian points to the Ahmed Yassin mosque, which was levelled by Israeli airstrikes, in Gaza City early on Oct. 9, 2023.
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Palestinians evacuate the area following an Israeli airstrike on the Sousi mosque in Gaza City on Oct. 9, 2023.
Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images
A Palestinian demonstrator throws rocks towards Israeli soldiers in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Oct. 8, 2023.
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A missile explodes in Gaza City during an Israeli air strike on Oct. 8, 2023.
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A man walks past an Israeli police station in Sderot after it was damaged during battles to dislodge Hamas militants who were stationed inside, on Oct. 8, 2023.
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Rockets fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza City are intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome defense missile system in the early hours of Oct. 8, 2023.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Israeli police officers evacuate a family from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Fatima Shbair/AP
Rockets are fired toward Israel from Gaza, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
Cars are on fire after they were hit by rockets from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Yousef Masoud/AP
Palestinians wave their national flag and celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of Khan Younis southern Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Israeli firefighters extinguish fire after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a house in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Israeli firefighters extinguish fire after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a parking lot in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
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A young boy walks amid the rubble of a building destroyed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on Oct. 7, 2023.
Oren Ziv/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli soldiers deploy in an area where civilians were killed in the southern city of Sderot on October 7, 2023.
Hassan Eslaiah/AP
Palestinians walk away from the kibbutz of Kfar Azza, Israel, near the fence with the Gaza strip on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Cars burn after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a parking lot and a residential building in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
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Palestinian militants fire missiles at Israel in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
Israeli soldiers head south near Ashkelon, Israel, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
Smoke rises from an area near a power plant outside Ashkelon, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
A rocket from the Gaza Strip struck a street in Ashkelon, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Israeli security forces take cover during rocket attack siren warning as rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
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Palestinians take down the fence on the Israel-Gaza border and enter Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
Residents look at damage after a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
