October 7, 2023: Israel says it is 'at war' after Hamas surprise attack

The Israel Defense Forces say Hamas has taken hostages and prisoners of war since it launched its surprise attack Saturday morning.

In videos geolocated and authenticated by CNN, Hamas appears to have taken Israelis captive in and near Gaza, including Israeli soldiers.

In one of the videos, geolocated by CNN to the neighborhood of Shejaiya in Gaza, a barefoot woman is pulled from the trunk of a Jeep by a gunman and then forced into the backseat of the car. Her face is bleeding, and her wrists appear to be cable-tied behind her back. The jeep also appears to have an Israel Defense Forces license plate, suggesting it may have been stolen and brought into Gaza.   

Another video, which appears to show Hamas militants taking multiple Israelis captive, was geolocated by CNN to Be'eri in southern Israel, which is a village close to Gaza. 

In another set of videos geolocated and authenticated, Hamas appears to be seizing Israeli soldiers.

The first video shows Hamas militants yank two clearly terrified and stunned soldiers out of a disabled tank. It's unclear from the video how the tank was disabled, but Hamas has been utilizing drones to drop bombs onto Israeli tanks.

The militants are then seen kicking one of the soldiers on the ground in a short snippet of video. In the next clip, the soldier is seen lying motionless on the ground.

The second soldier is led away by Hamas militants.

A third soldier — whose face was very bloody — is seen lying on the ground motionless near the tank track. CNN does not know the current whereabouts or status of the three soldiers.

Another video, taken afterward, shows a number of different armed men around the tank. The three soldiers seen in the first video are nowhere to be seen.

The armed men in the second video are seen pulling a fourth Israeli soldier from the tank.

The soldier is motionless as he's dragged down the side of the tank and onto the ground. The armed men then begin to stomp on the man's body.

The video is heavily edited — Hamas has blurred the faces of their militants — and it was posted to Hamas' official social media accounts. CNN has geolocated the video and can report that it was taken along the eastern Gaza border near the border wall.

Senior Hamas member Saleh al-Arouri said the militant group, which runs Gaza, is ready "for all options, including a war and an escalation on all levels."

Al-Arouri claimed there are ongoing "intensive international and regional efforts" to end the crisis, "but now nothing will be more important than the battle."

Meanwhile, the Izzedine al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, on Saturday claimed they are still fighting in 25 locations.

The group also said in a statement that there are ongoing clashes at the Re'im military base near Gaza's northern border crossing with Israel.

Nine people were wounded, including two who remain in serious condition, following an attack on a farm in Israel where 14 Nepalis were working on Saturday, Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a news release Saturday.

Militants captured an underground shelter near the farm where the attack took place, Nepal's Ambassador to Israel, Kanta Rizal, told CNN. The embassy is in touch with some Nepalis inside the shelter, Rizal said.

The embassy has no information about any Nepalis taken hostage and moved elsewhere, the ambassador added. 

Nepal's foreign ministry urged its nationals in Israel to remain cautious and follow safety measures advised by authorities. 

“The Government of Nepal strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Israel today that caused loss of precious human lives and injured many more. At this critical hour, we convey our solidarity with the Government of Israel," the ministry said in a news release. “The Government of Nepal extends heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathies to the people and Government of Israel as well as the victims of this cruel attack and their families. We wish for speedy recovery of the injured.”

Editor’s Note: CNN has removed a photo taken by Hassan Eslayeh, a freelance journalist with whom the network has severed ties.

A nurse and an ambulance driver have been killed in Israeli strikes on two hospitals located in Gaza, medical aid group Médecins Sans Frontièrs (MSF) said Saturday.

“Following the escalation between Israel and Gaza, Israeli forces struck the enclave's ‘Indonesian hospital’ and an ambulance in front of ‘Nasser Hospital’ in southern Gaza,” MSF said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The strikes killed one nurse, one ambulance driver, injured several and damaged an oxygen station.”  

MSF has been supporting the "Indonesian hospital" since 2021, and Nasser hospital since 2011. Both hospitals are located in Gaza. 

“The scale of this new round of hostilities must not be underestimated, with Palestinian and Israeli authorities reporting massive casualties all over Israel and Gaza,” it added. 

Brazil, which holds the current presidency of the United Nations Security Council, said it will call an emergency meeting of the council after the surprise attack on Israel Saturday. 

In a statement, Brazil's foreign ministry condemned the unprecedented attack by Hamas and offered "its solidarity with the Israeli people."

Brazil also said it continues to support a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

The Israeli Emergency Services estimate about 70 people are now dead in Israel, with hundreds seriously injured, after Gaza militants launched a surprise attack Saturday, firing thousands of rockets and entering Israel by land, sea and air using paragliders.

Additionally, 985 people have been wounded in the attacks in Israel, the Israeli Health Ministry said.

Meanwhile in Gaza, at least 198 Palestinians have been killed, with 1,610 injured, the Palestinian health ministry said. Israel launched air strikes on Gaza in response to the attack, as Netanyahu vowed to "exact a huge price from the enemy."

Hamas has taken “hostages and prisoners of war,” the Israel Defense Forces spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari, said.

“There are hostages and prisoners of war that Hamas took. There are also deaths among IDF soldiers. We don't have an exact number yet - we are at war,” he said.

US President Joe Biden and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about the situation in Israel on Saturday.

In a statement, Biden condemned the attacks by Hamas and said the United States stands by Israel.

Biden added that he and his team are monitoring the situation and will stay in touch with Netanyahu.

Earlier, Netanyahu's office released a statement saying Biden called the prime minister Saturday and voiced his support for Israel.

In a separate statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that the US "unequivocally condemns the appalling attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israel, including civilians and civilian communities."

"We will remain in close contact with our Israeli partners," Blinken said.

The US embassy in Jerusalem issued a “shelter in place” for embassy personnel due to the ongoing violence in Israel and Gaza. 

“The U.S. Embassy is closely monitoring the security situation as a result of rockets fired from Gaza across southern and central Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and the infiltration of Hamas militants,” the statement reads.

The embassy “is aware that there have been casualties as a result of these incidents” and cautions US citizens to “remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness,” it added.

US officials, from the White House to the State Department and the Senate Intelligence Committee, have been monitoring the attacks throughout the morning.