UPDATE - 300 Israelis killed in military escalation with Hamas

UPDATES WITH DEATH TOLL, ADDS DETAILS, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - At least 300 Israelis were killed and 1,500 others injured in ongoing military escalation with Palestinian groups in Gaza, Israeli Channel 12 reported on Saturday.

Hamas launched on Saturday Operation Al Aqsa Flood, saying its surprise attack was in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence. It said it fired rockets and captured many Israelis.

In turn, the Israeli army initiated Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said we are "at war." He called on Palestinian civilians in Gaza to leave as the Israeli military is going to turn "all Hamas hiding places into rubble."

According to the Israeli army, more than 3,000 rockets have been launched by Hamas toward Israel since Saturday morning. In a statement on X, it acknowledged Israeli soldiers had been captured and taken hostage into Gaza, and confirmed that over 1,000 Israelis were injured.

The Health Ministry in Gaza, meanwhile, said the Palestinian death toll from Israeli airstrikes reached 232.