More than 700 Israelis have been confirmed dead since Saturday after Hamas launched a surprise deadly attack on Israel, according to Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer.
According to Dermer, the death toll is expected to rise further.
“We are well north of 700 people who have been killed. There will probably be more — hundreds, several hundred more,” Dermer told CNN.
More than 2,000 people are wounded, according to officials.
Fighting in Israel rages on Sunday, a day after Hamas fighters breached the border from Gaza in a devastating attack.
It is believed that as many as 100 soldiers and civilians were kidnapped when Palestinian fighters crossed the border and raided communities, according to the BBC.
Retaliatory Israeli air strikes have killed at least 370 people in the Gaza Strip, with 2,200 wounded, Palestinian officials have said.
One British citizen, Jake Marlowe, is missing in Israel – he was working at an outdoor party near the Gaza border when the attack happened.
Hamas has captured dozens of Israelis, including soldiers, and videos authenticated by CNN show some of the dramatic seizures.
Israeli forces are trying to drive the group out of southern Israel Sunday. The full scale of the Israeli response remains unclear, but a military spokesperson hinted the country may try to take full control of Gaza for the first time since 2005.