Israel-Hamas war: Nine US citizens dead, White House extends condolences to victims

The US government confirmed on Monday (Oct 9) that nine of its citizens have been killed in the ongoing Israel conflict, as the death toll continues to rise.

In a statement, the White House said: "We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected, and wish those injured a speedy recovery.

"We continue to monitor the situation closely and remain in touch with our Israeli partners, particularly the local authorities," it added.

The death toll of Americans was confirmed by State Department spokesperson Matt Miller to CNN by saying: "We are in close contact with the government of Israel as they continue to conduct security operations to locate missing US citizens.. and we are, of course, in close contact with the families of these nine deceased Americans and offering them any consular assistance that we can provide."

Meanwhile, a report by BBC mentioned that "more than 10" British citizens are feared dead or missing in Israel in the aftermath of surprise attacks launched by Hamas from Gaza.

The situation in Israel continues to escalate as Hamas militants killed 700 Israelis and reportedly abducted dozens more in an attack on Saturday.

A London-born man who was serving in the Israeli army died on Saturday on the Gaza border, his family said, and another British man was missing, Israel's embassy in London said on Sunday.

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Casualties on both sides

After the unprecedented attack, Israel retaliated by launching missiles at Hamas targets.The death toll in the Gaza Strip rose to 560 on Monday, the health ministry in the Palestinian enclave said.

The Hamas-controlled ministry said "560 people were killed and another 2,900 injured" since Saturday's surprise dawn attack when Hamas militants stormedIsraelunder a barrage of rocket fire.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

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