Sun., Oct. 8: Fire and smoke rise following an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City.

Sun., Oct. 8: Fire and smoke rise following an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City. / AP

Updated October 8, 2023 at 11:05 PM ET

Editor's note: This report contains some graphic images. Viewer discretion is advised.

Israel's military is striking targets in Gaza on Sunday while fighting continues against militants in southern Israel.

"We are at war," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, after Hamas militants infiltrated several Israeli towns and military camps and fired thousands of rockets from Gaza in a surprise attack on Saturday.

An Israeli military spokesman tells NPR that the Hamas militant group has taken Israelis hostage.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. has reports that some Americans have been killed or taken hostage in the violence.

The attack on Israel on Saturday came after recent weeks of volatile clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops along the Gaza-Israel border, and deadly Israeli military raids and clashes with Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

We will continue to update this visual report as the situation evolves.

Sun., Oct. 8:

Sun., Oct. 8: Israelis inspect the rubble of a building a day after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Sun., Oct. 8: Israelis inspect the rubble of a building a day after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel. / AP

Sun. Oct. 8: A destroyed mosque following an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip.

Sun. Oct. 8: A destroyed mosque following an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip. / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Sun., Oct. 8: A relative of an Israeli missing since a surprise attack by Hamas militants near the Gaza border, is overcome by emotion during a press conference in Ramat Gan, Israel.

Sun., Oct. 8: A relative of an Israeli missing since a surprise attack by Hamas militants near the Gaza border, is overcome by emotion during a press conference in Ramat Gan, Israel. / AP

Sun., Oct. 8: Rockets fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza City are intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome defense missile system.

Sun., Oct. 8: Rockets fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza City are intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome defense missile system. / AFP via Getty Images

Sun., Oct. 8: Israeli forces cross a main road in their self-propelled howitzer as additional troops are deployed near the southern city of Sderot.

Sun., Oct. 8: Israeli forces cross a main road in their self-propelled howitzer as additional troops are deployed near the southern city of Sderot. / AFP/Getty Images

Sun., Oct. 8: Residents check the damage following Israeli air strikes in Gaza City.

Sun., Oct. 8: Residents check the damage following Israeli air strikes in Gaza City. / AFP via Getty Images

Sun., Oct. 8: Israelis inspect the rubble of a building a day after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Sun., Oct. 8: Israelis inspect the rubble of a building a day after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel. / AP

A missile explodes in Gaza City during an Israeli air strike.

A missile explodes in Gaza City during an Israeli air strike. / AFP/Getty Images

Sun., Oct. 8: People inspect the ruins of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes.

Sun., Oct. 8: People inspect the ruins of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes. / AFP via Getty Images

Sun., Oct. 8: An Israeli sodleir prays standing in front of a Merkava tank on the outskirts of the northern town of Kiryat Shmona near the border with Lebanon.

Sun., Oct. 8: An Israeli sodleir prays standing in front of a Merkava tank on the outskirts of the northern town of Kiryat Shmona near the border with Lebanon. / AFP via Getty Images

Sun., Oct. 8: People gather at a mosque to pray over the bodies of the Abu Quta family and their neighbors, killed in Israeli strikes on the Palestinian city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Sun., Oct. 8: People gather at a mosque to pray over the bodies of the Abu Quta family and their neighbors, killed in Israeli strikes on the Palestinian city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. / AFP via Getty Images

Sun., Oct. 8: Trucks carry heavy armored vehicles and tanks of Israeli army as Israel tightens measures by the army, police and other security forces.

Sun., Oct. 8: Trucks carry heavy armored vehicles and tanks of Israeli army as Israel tightens measures by the army, police and other security forces. / Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Sun. Oct. 8: An Israeli missile launched from the Iron Dome defense missile system attempts to intercept a rocket, fired from the Gaza Strip, over the city of Netivot in southern Israel.

Sun. Oct. 8: An Israeli missile launched from the Iron Dome defense missile system attempts to intercept a rocket, fired from the Gaza Strip, over the city of Netivot in southern Israel. / AFP via Getty Images

Sat., Oct. 7:

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Sat, Oct. 7: Police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel.

Sat, Oct. 7: Police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel. / AP

Sat., Oct. 7: Palestinians gather around an Israeli army vehicle that Palestinian militants drove from Israel into Gaza, in Shejaiya, Gaza Strip.

Sat., Oct. 7: Palestinians gather around an Israeli army vehicle that Palestinian militants drove from Israel into Gaza, in Shejaiya, Gaza Strip. / AP

Sat., Oct. 7: An ambulance takes away a person injured from a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Sat., Oct. 7: An ambulance takes away a person injured from a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Tel Aviv, Israel. / AP

Sat., Oct. 7: A young woman reacts as she speaks to Israeli rescuers in Tel Aviv.

Sat., Oct. 7: A young woman reacts as she speaks to Israeli rescuers in Tel Aviv. / AFP via Getty Images

Sat., Oct. 7: Journalists take cover behind cars as Israeli soldiers take position during clashes with Palestinian fighters near the Gevim Kibbutz, close to the border with Gaza.

Sat., Oct. 7: Journalists take cover behind cars as Israeli soldiers take position during clashes with Palestinian fighters near the Gevim Kibbutz, close to the border with Gaza. / AFP via Getty Images

Sat., Oct. 7: Israeli fire brigade teams douse the blaze in a partking lot outside a residential building following a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon.

Sat., Oct. 7: Israeli fire brigade teams douse the blaze in a partking lot outside a residential building following a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon. / AFP via Getty Images

Sat., Oct. 7: Palestinians and militants from the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades run towards the Erez crossing between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip.

Sat., Oct. 7: Palestinians and militants from the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades run towards the Erez crossing between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip. / AFP via Getty Images

Sat., Oct. 7: A man stands in front of a damaged shop in Tel Aviv.

Sat., Oct. 7: A man stands in front of a damaged shop in Tel Aviv. / AFP via Getty Images

Sat., Oct. 7: People standing on a rooftop watch as a ball of fire and smoke rises above a building in Gaza City.

Sat., Oct. 7: People standing on a rooftop watch as a ball of fire and smoke rises above a building in Gaza City. / AFP via Getty Images

Sat., Oct. 7: Children are seen in a destroyed house after Israeli attacks in Gaza City, Gaza.

Sat., Oct. 7: Children are seen in a destroyed house after Israeli attacks in Gaza City, Gaza. / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Sat., Oct. 7: Members of the Israeli frorces take cover on the side of a street in Ashkelon as sirens wail while barrages of rockets are fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Sat., Oct. 7: Members of the Israeli frorces take cover on the side of a street in Ashkelon as sirens wail while barrages of rockets are fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel. / AFP via Getty Images

Sat., Oct. 7: Smoke rises as the clashes between Palestinian groups and Israeli forces continue on the streets of Beit Hanun.

Sat., Oct. 7: Smoke rises as the clashes between Palestinian groups and Israeli forces continue on the streets of Beit Hanun. / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Sat., Oct. 7: Rockets are fired toward Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Sat., Oct. 7: Rockets are fired toward Israel from the Gaza Strip. / AP

Sat., Oct. 7: Relatives of Palestinians, killed by Israeli forces during airstrike clashes, mourn after they were taken to the morgue of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Gaza.

Sat., Oct. 7: Relatives of Palestinians, killed by Israeli forces during airstrike clashes, mourn after they were taken to the morgue of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Gaza. / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Sat., Oct. 7: Palestinians inspect the destroyed buildings after a rocket attack by Israeli air forces targeting a shopping center in the Gaza Strip, Gaza.

Sat., Oct. 7: Palestinians inspect the destroyed buildings after a rocket attack by Israeli air forces targeting a shopping center in the Gaza Strip, Gaza. / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Sat., Oct. 7: A salvo of rockets is fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza City toward Israel.

Sat., Oct. 7: A salvo of rockets is fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza City toward Israel. / AFP via Getty Images

Sat., Oct. 7: Cars burn after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a parking lot and a residential building in Ashkelon, southern Israel.

Sat., Oct. 7: Cars burn after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a parking lot and a residential building in Ashkelon, southern Israel. / AP

Sat., Oct. 7: Palestinians break over a fence with the help of a digger.

Sat., Oct. 7: Palestinians break over a fence with the help of a digger. / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Tags: Israel  Gaza