31 Americans killed in Hamas attack on Israel: White House

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - The number of Americans killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict has risen to 31, the White House said Tuesday.

"The number of unaccounted for (is) 13 right now," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters ahead of President Joe Biden’s departure for Israel.

Kirby said Biden will also meet with some of the families of those Americans who he said have lost loved ones in Israel and some of the families who still don't know the fate of their loved ones.

Eleven days into the conflict with the Palestinian Hamas group, Israel's bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip has continued, with over one million people displaced – almost half of Gaza's total population, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The fighting began when Hamas on Oct. 7 initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

More than 4,400 people have been killed in the armed conflict, including at least 3,061 Palestinians and more than 1,400 Israelis.