Hamas says fierce fighting continues inside Israel

Hamas says its fighters are still engaged in fierce clashes at several sites inside Israel, as Hezbollah joins the fray at the northern end of the country.

Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, has just issued a statement saying that fighting is ongoing in several areas in Israel that border the Gaza Strip, including Ofakim, Sderot, Yad Mordechai, Kfar Azza, Be’eri, Yatid and Kissufim, The Age reports.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military says hundreds of Palestinian gunmen have been killed and dozens have been taken prisoner.

Fighting is now in its second day after Hamas launched a staggering and unexpected attack on Israel at dawn on Saturday, launching rockets, breaching the border and taking Israeli captives back into the Gaza Strip. The Israeli embassy in the United States says Hamas fighters have kidnapped 100 Israeli civilians and soldiers.

Israel retaliated to the attack by launching air strikes on targets in Gaza. The Palestinian Health Ministry says the air strikes have killed 313 Palestinians so far and wounded nearly 2000.

To the north, Hezbollah claimed responsibility at about 7 am local time for firing mortar into Israeli-occupied land near the Lebanese border. Israel responded to those strikes with artillery fire into southern Lebanon.

Photographs are starting to come through of the damage inflicted overnight, including on a mosque in Gaza and buildings in Tel Aviv.