State Dept Confirms At Least 22 Americans Killed In Hamas Attacks

The number of Americans killed in Hamas’ deadly terrorist invasion of Israel last weekend increased to 22, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.

“At this time, we can confirm the deaths of at least 22 U.S. citizens,” officials said. “We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected.”

The White House later reportedly said 17 Americans were still missing.

As Israel entered its fifth day of battle against the terrorist organization, officials reported the death toll jumped again late on Tuesday night to more than 1,200 Israelis killed and nearly 3,000 injured from the attacks.

Israel said approximately 1,500 Hamas terrorists have been found dead inside Israel.

Israel’s military said it had struck 2,294 Hamas targets in round-the-clock airstrikes.

“It’s not a war, it’s not a battlefield — it’s a massacre,” said Israel Defense Forces Major General Itai Veruv. “You see the babies, the mother, the father, in their bedrooms in their protection rooms, and how the terrorists killed them. It’s something we used to imagine from our grandmothers, grandfathers in pogroms in Europe and other places.”

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former minister of defense Benny Gantz, his chief opposition leader who heads the National Unity party, have agreed to form an emergency unity government “needed to lead to victory in the war.”

The latest figures come less than 24 hours after U.S. officials confirmed that at least 14 Americans had been killed and that some U.S. citizens were kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas.

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President Joe Biden called the Hamas attack “an act of sheer evil” on Tuesday, saying the U.S. would surge additional military assistance, including ammunition and interceptors, to replenish Israel’s mobile all-weather air defense Iron Dome system.

“I’ve directed my team to share intelligence and deploy additional experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise the Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts because, as president, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans being held hostage around the world,” Biden said. “The United States has also enhanced our military force posture in the region to strengthen our deterrence.”

U.S. defense officials may position a second military aircraft carrier — the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower — near Israel to join or replace the USS Gerald Ford — one of the largest warships ever built — in the eastern Mediterranean Sea as a show of support for Israel.

If both ships remain together, it would mark the first time the two carriers were deployed in the area since March 2020, after rocket attacks aimed at Camp Taji in Iraq killed two American troops and one British soldier.

Ryan Saavedra and Hank Berrien contributed to this report.