Israel death toll soars to 600 after Hamas attack as fighting continues

German Chancellor OIaf Scholz stressed the need to avoid a wider "conflagration'' in the Middle East as street battles between Israeli soldiers and Hamas fighters continued Sunday.

The death toll in Israel has reached at least 600 people, according to government numbers, with more than 100 believed to be kidnapped and more than 2,000 people injured after the Hamas militant group attacked the country by air, land and sea.

Officials in Gaza say at least 370 people have died in the territory as well.

The Associated Press reported on Sunday morning that soldiers were battling with Hamas fighters in the streets and buildings in Gaza were levelled by retaliation strikes by the Israelis. But the south was not the only place where fighting was seen, with reporting noting a brief exchange with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group also erupting in the north, raising fears the conflict could grow.

German Chancellor OIaf Scholz stressed the need to avoid a wider “conflagration” in the Middle East.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the security cabinet had approved the state of war that he had vowed a day earlier.  The security cabinet also said in a statement it has approved cutting off the supply of electricity, goods and fuel into Gaza.

Netanyahu said the country is now embarking on “a long and difficult war.”

As Israel faces the biggest and deadliest incursion into the country in 50 years, the response to the onslaught has raised questions among security experts.

Cliff Kupchan with the Eurasia Group told Global News in an interview on Saturday that Israel may have been caught off guard due to two national preoccupations: Netanyahu’s controversial judicial reforms and the resulting protests, and a focus by the Israel Defence Forces on the West Bank.