The death toll in the Israeli-Palestinian war has already surpassed 1,200, with about 700 of those killed being Israelis. This morning US authorities revealed that nine US citizens are known to have died in the attack.

“At this time, we can confirm the death of nine U.S. citizens. 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,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

There were reports yesterday that Americans were among those taken hostage by Hamas as well.

American have been captured and are being held hostage by Hamas amid the militant group’s attack on Israel that began Saturday, two Israeli ambassadors said, although the number of American hostages remains unconfirmed.

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan said that “dozens” of Americans are being held in Gaza amid a Hamas attack. “I know that there are dozens — dozens, OK? — of Israelis holding American citizenship who are being held hostage in Gaza,” Erdan told Fox News, according to Haaretz. “There are many Israelis who have American citizenship, we don’t have all the names yet. We’re still working to get the names of all the missing people. But dozens are Americans.”

Israel’s ambassador to the US also said yesterday that there were hostages with US citizenship but he didn’t know how many.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. @AmbHerzog confirms there are Americans among the hostages taken by Hamas, but adds, "I don't have the details," when asked how many Americans are being held hostage. pic.twitter.com/S4Q54qn1hl

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 8, 2023

Does the fact that Sec. Blinken didn’t say anything about hostages today mean that, contrary to those reports yesterday, there aren’t any US hostages? Or does it mean the State Department hasn’t confirmed that yet? We’ll have to wait and see on that.

As Jazz pointed out this morning, Israel has announced a siege of Gaza, meaning no food, fuel or electricity for the near future. Meanwhile airstrikes on Gaza have accelerated today.

Situation in Gaza #IStandWithIsrael #IsraelUnderAttack #IsraelAtWar #hamasattack #HamasTerrorists #IsraelHamasWar #IsraelPalestineWar#Israel #Gaza #Hamas #Palestine #IsraelUnderAttack #Lebanon pic.twitter.com/TdSdcnuJIF

— BHOOPENDER YADAV 🚩 (@BhoopendarY) October 9, 2023

IAF strikes in recent hours in Beit Hanoun, Sajaiya, El-Furqan and Rimal in the Gaza Strip.

We will continue to fight Hamas terrorists as long as necessary for the sake of the residents of the State of Israel. pic.twitter.com/zIT5bB1wd6

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) October 9, 2023

Gaza Strip | Oct, 9th.
lsraeli warplanes launch a heavy series of airstrikes which are the most violent since the beginning of the aggression. pic.twitter.com/0V5vEh6Zog

— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) October 9, 2023

Lots of targets in Gaza are being flattened.

Between Saturday and Monday morning, over 1,200 targets were hit by Israeli aircraft across the Gaza Strip, including weapons storage and manufacturing sites, command and control centers, rocket launchers and more.

Today we doubled that number. pic.twitter.com/bRxZetbNqP

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 9, 2023

There are a number of videos from the ground where these airstrikes are happening some of them too gruesome to post here. This one gives you a sense but doesn’t show any bodies.

⚡️Video from the Gaza strip moments ago after a regime airstrike on the city pic.twitter.com/lT16raUTZs

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) October 9, 2023

Having entered Israel and murdered hundreds of people, Palestinians will now complain about the cruelty of Israel’s response. The response is brutal but Gaza asked for war and now they are going to get it. Their death toll will be much higher than the Israeli death toll when this is all over. That outcome was entirely predictable. And that makes me wonder: What did Hamas think it was going to achieve here? It’s as if they were so fixated on murdering Israeli civilians they couldn’t see what would inevitably follow. That or the overwhelming response was part of the strategy here.

The NY Times reports support for Palestinians is growing around the world from fellow Islamists who are also fixated on murdering Israelis.

On Saturday, when Palestinian gunmen from the blockaded territory of Gaza surged into Israel, carrying out the boldest attack in the country in decades, it set off an outpouring of support for the Palestinians across the region. In some quarters, there were celebrations — even as hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians were killed and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel threatened a “long and difficult war” ahead.

“This is the first time that we rejoice in this way for our Palestinian brothers,” said Abdul Majeed Abdullah Hassan, 70, who joined a rally with hundreds of people in the island kingdom of Bahrain. In the context of the Israeli occupation and blockade, the Hamas operation “warmed our hearts,” he said, calling his government’s deal to recognize Israel “shameful.”

Demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestinians took place across the region, including in Bahrain, Morocco, Turkey, Yemen, Tunisia and Kuwait. In Lebanon, Hashem Safieddine, head of the executive council for the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah, delivered a fiery speech lauding “the era of armed resistance.” And in Egypt’s coastal city of Alexandria, a policeman opened fire on Israeli tourists, killing two Israelis and an Egyptian.

At least one observer in Saudi Arabia wonders if this wasn’t aimed at derailing normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, something that is currently being negotiated.

On Sunday morning, another signal arrived in a major Saudi-owned newspaper, Asharq al-Awsat. In a column, Tariq Alhomayed,the newspaper’s former editor, criticized Hamas and Palestinian factions for waging what he called a “useless war.”

He accused them of trying to sabotage the prospects for Saudi-Israeli normalization — and of serving their Iranian backers at the expense of the Palestinian people.

“Iran does not want to see real peace, or specifically Saudi-Israeli peace,” he wrote. “Because if it happens, it will be the peace that will change the face of the region.”

Maybe that’s what this is all about? This war certainly won’t do any good for Gaza in the short term.