Hamas terrorists were still holding hostages in Kibbutz Be’eri and Ofakim, some 12 miles from the Gaza border, on Saturday night.
“Many houses have been taken over, there are hostages, there are dead and wounded,” Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster quoted an official at Kibbutz Be’eri as saying.
Around 5:30 p.m., 11 hours into Hamas’s terror assault on Israel, the Israel Defense Forces reported exchanges of fire at 22 locations inside Israel.
According to the IDF spokesperson, 35 battalions are working to neutralize terrorists roaming Israel’s streets.
Nine Palestinian terrorists were “neutralized” near Kibbutz Nirim, while Israeli fighter jets killed another four terrorists in the area of the Erez Crossing and Kibbutz Nir Oz. Additional terrorists were taken out in Kibbutz Sufa, Kibbutz Kfar Aza and Kibbutz Kerem Shalom.
Meanwhile, an airstrike intercepted two additional terrorists who attempted to cross the border fence near the Karni Crossing.
In total, 200 Palestinian terrorists have been eliminated since Saturday morning, Kan News added.
The IDF on Saturday night released footage of an airstrike on a terror squad in Kibbutz Be’eri.
תיעוד של סיכול חוליית מחבלים בקיבוץ בארי מוקדם יותר: pic.twitter.com/nz8w8hzvML
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 7, 2023
At around 10 p.m., the military announced that it was in control of most communities in the South, including Sderot, Sufa, Kerem Shalom, Netiv HaAsara, Holit, Nir Am, Nir Oz and Nahal Oz.
In Sderot, Hamas terrorists took over a police station. According to reports, the local police commander ordered that the station be blown up with the terrorists inside.
Hamas killed at least 250 Israelis and wounded more than 1,500 on Saturday as it launched a massive offensive from the Gaza Strip—on Shabbat and the holiday of Simchat Torah—including firing more than 3,000 rockets and sending dozens of terrorists to infiltrate the Jewish state.
Hamas claimed to have taken 53 Israeli captives to the Gaza Strip.
