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Israel is now in an official state of war as fighting with Hamas rages, the government has said.
“The political-security cabinet last night approved the state of war and, accordingly, the taking of significant military operations. This is in accordance with Article 40 of the Basic Government Law,” the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday afternoon.
“The war that was forced on the State of Israel in a murderous terrorist assault from the Gaza Strip began at 6am yesterday,” it added.
The cabinet decision has to be formally approved by the parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee, after which Mr Netanyahu will announce the decision before the Knesset.
Israel launched a wave of air strikes on Gaza after hundreds of Hamas militants crossed into Israel on Saturday morning.
Almost 1,000 people have been killed in two days of fighting in Israel and Gaza. About 2,000 people have been injured on each side.
The death toll in Israel is now at 600, according to Israeli media reports, with at least 320 killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
There has been no official confirmation of the number of deaths on the Israeli side.
An unknown number of Israelis and foreign nationals were taken hostage by Hamas, which said it would release the exact number some time on Sunday.
The violence is unlike anything seen in Israel or Gaza in recent years.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said 572 Palestinians have been killed in Israel-related violence this year, more than half of them in the past two days.
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People survey the damage from a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Tel Aviv. AP -
Fire and smoke rise following an Israeli air strike, in Gaza city. AP -
A missile explodes in Gaza city during an Israeli air strike. AFP -
New York City Police hold back Israeli supporters during a protest between Palestinian and Israeli demonstrators. EPA -
Relatives of an Israeli missing since a surprise attack by Hamas militants near the Gaza border during a press conference in Ramat Gan, Israel. AP -
A relative of an Israeli missing since the attack by Hamas militants near the Gaza border sheds tears during a press conference in Ramat Gan, Israel. AP -
Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building after it was struck by an Israeli air strike, in Gaza city. AP -
A car burnt during an infiltration by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip, near Sderot, Israel. AFP -
Israeli border police take cover by a vehicle, near Sderot. Reuters -
Israeli police check the occupants of a vehicle near Ashkelon, Israel. Bloomberg -
Lebanese soldiers overlook the Israeli town of Metula at the Lebanese side of the border in Kfar Kila, Lebanon. AP -
Women mourn during a funeral of a family killed in Israeli strikes on the Palestinian city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. AFP -
Soldiers walk past an Israeli police station damaged during battles to dislodge Hamas militants who were stationed inside. AFP -
Palestinian firemen check the remains of a residential building destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City. AFP -
People walk around the ruins of a building destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City. AFP -
A Palestinian woman's home which was damaged during Israeli airstrikes on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP -
Israelis inspect the rubble of a building in Tel Aviv after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip. AFP -
Palestinians search for casualties in a house destroyed by Israeli strikes in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters -
A Palestinian man reacts next to the ruins of a house destroyed in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis. Reuters -
Israeli troops unload 155 mm artillery at an undisclosed location on the border with the Gaza Strip. AFP -
A Palestinian man stands in front of the rubble of Gaza city's Al-Watan Tower, which was destroyed in Israeli airstrikes. AFP -
People near a mosque destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip. AFP -
People examine a building destroyed in Israeli air strikes in Gaza city. AFP -
Israeli troops gather at an undisclosed location on the border with the Gaza Strip. AFP -
Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip. Reuters -
Fire and smoke rises amid an Israeli air strike in Gaza city. AFP -
Palestinians inspect the ruins of the Palestine Tower after an Israeli missile struck. EPA -
Rockets launched from the Gaza Strip landed in Tel Aviv. Reuters -
Black smoke rises after an Israeli air strike in Gaza city. EPA -
The departure board at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv displays a host of cancelled flights. AFP -
A building hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip. Getty Images -
A police officer stands near a burned car at a scene in Tel Aviv. Getty Images -
A woman walks past a damaged site after a rocket landed in Tel Aviv. Reuters -
Israeli police inspect the damage from a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip. AP -
Firefighters, rescue and security workers at the site, where a rocket hit a residential building in Tel Aviv. EPA -
Residents of the Israeli city of Netivot bordering the Gaza Strip wait to be evacuated to central Israel. AFP -
Israeli ambulances wait to evacuate wounded residents from the city of Sderot. EPA -
A car amid the rubble of a destroyed tower after an Israeli air strike in Gaza city. AFP
The latest fighting has also stoked tensions with neighbouring Lebanon, from which Hezbollah fired artillery and rockets on Sunday morning.
In the occupied West Bank, hospitals declared a state of emergency and have offered to treat wounded Gazans, although most governorates were placed under lockdown on Sunday.
Classes across Israel have been cancelled for the next two days, the Home Front Command has announced.
Access to towns in the south has also been restricted as fighting continues.
On Sunday, Hamas said more militants entered kibbutzes in southern Israel, where police stations were overrun on Saturday and armed militants shot at residents on the street.
Gaza has been under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since 2007 and residents of the densely-populated enclave have endured several wars with Israel.
