Nine Americans have been killed in Israel as the nation reels from the deadly attacks launched by the Palestinian militant group Hamas over the weekend, a State Department spokesperson confirmed Monday.
“Yes, I can confirm that nine Americans unfortunately have lost their lives as a result of these horrific attacks in the region,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on CNN. “We are in close contact with the government of Israel as they continue to conduct security operations to locate missing US citizens, missing Israeli citizens.”
“And we are of course in close contact with the families of these nine deceased Americans and offering them any consular assistance that we can provide,” he added.
Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on Saturday, prompting Israel to declare war on the group and order retaliatory action. The death toll continues to climb, with about 700 people dead in Israel and nearly 500 fatalities in Gaza.
It’s unclear how many Americans are in Israel at this time, with Miller on Monday morning noting that “it’s very hard to say” how many U.S. citizens are unaccounted for as the fighting continues in the region.
“We’ve continued to work. Some of them will be located, we suspect some of them may unfortunately turn out to be deceased, but we will work on that with the Government of Israel in the coming days,” Miller said.
Lawmakers said they are working to bring their constituents home, with Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) saying Sunday that he was is in touch with constituents in Israel amid the attacks.
“Well, we have been in touch with dozens of constituents who are in Israel currently. Obviously, for their safety and security, I’m not going to get too specific. But we are working with them, as well as the consulate, to try and get them out as quickly as possible,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) also said Sunday that he has been notified by 53 of his own constituents, adding on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that they are “panicked” and “trying to find their way to get back to America”
At least two lawmakers were also in Israel as Hamas launched its surprise attack Saturday and were forced to shelter in place.
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), along with his wife and three children, sheltered in a stairwell inside of a hotel in Tel Aviv until early Sunday morning, when they departed for New York, according to his office. Separately, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) took refuge in a bomb shelter at his hotel in Jerusalem on Saturday with his staff before safely departing for the U.S. on Sunday.