More Americans Dead As Toll For Hamas' Israel Attack Continues To Rise

The number of Americans confirmed to have died in the Hamas attack on Israel over the weekend has once again increased as the total death toll continues to rise, NBC News reports.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that 25 American citizens were killed in the Hamas attack on Israel that took place on Saturday (October 7) upon arriving in the country to meet with regional leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while reiterating the United States' support.

At least 1,300 Israelis, including 222 soldiers, are reported to have died and more than 3,300 were injured since the initial attack on Saturday, NBC News reports.

"As Israel’s defense needs evolve, we will meet with Congress to make sure those needs are met," Blinken said via NBC News. "There is no excuse, there is no justification for these atrocities. This is and this must be a moment for moral clarity."

"Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people and does not stand for the future," Blinken added. "They have one agenda — to kill Jews."

U.S. President Joe Biden had previously called the Hamas attack "an act of sheer evil," claimed he had "no higher priority than the safety of Americans being held hostage around the world."

"President Biden was absolutely correct in calling this sheer evil," Netanyahu said via NBC News. "Hamas is ISIS and just as ISIS was crushed, so too will Hamas be crushed. And Hamas should be treated just as ISIS was treated."

Netanyahu declared, "we are in a war," in a video shared on social media after the attacks, which included land, air and sea as Hamas fighters infiltrated Israel's southern border and fired rockets from the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu ordered an "extensive reserve mobilization" in retaliation for the unprecedented attacks.

On Wednesday (October 11), the Gaza Ministry of Energy announced that the Gaza Strip's sole power plant has run out of fuel amid an Israeli blockade. The energy ministry said it was forced to shut down after supplies were cut off, leaving only generators to power the territory, while hundreds of thousands are displaced.

The announcement came after Israel launched a retaliation strike on the Gaza Strip with airstrikes, which resulted in at least 1,350 deaths and 6,000 injuries, NBC News reports.