An Israeli woman reportedly learned that her grandmother was killed by Hamas militants after seeing a video on Facebook as fighting continues in Gaza.
“This young woman’s grandmother was murdered by Hamas terrorists. She found out from Facebook after Hamas posted a video of the execution,” the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote on Facebook. “This is what we are fighting against.”
The post on Monday morning comes amid fighting between members of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and Hamas militants in parts of the Gaza Strip. On Saturday, Hamas launched an attack, after which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the country was “at war.”
“We will take strong revenge for the black day they gave the people of Israel. We will operate everywhere and with all of our force. This war will take time and it will be difficult but we will win,” Netanyahu said.
IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a briefing on Saturday that Israeli military forces were fighting “in 22 locations.”
“There is no community in Southern Israel where we do not have forces, in all the towns. There are communities that have been rid of terrorists, but we want to finish additional scans of the area before declaring so,” Hagari said in the briefing, which was shared with Newsweek over the weekend.
While there was little information shared about the Israeli woman’s grandmother reportedly killed by Hamas, there have been similar reports of people being taken hostage.
Several videos and images were posted on social media showing hostages being taken at the Tribe of Nova music festival in southern Israel near Gaza over the weekend.
Israel resident Adva Adar also posted images on Facebook announcing that her grandmother, Yaffa Adar, was taken hostage.
“My grandmother who founded the kibbutz with both her hands, who believed in Zionists, who loved this country that abandoned her, was kidnapped,” Adar said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this weekend that the agency has received reports that several Americans have been taken hostage in Israel.
“We have reports that several Americans may be among the dead….We are very actively working to verify those reports. Similarly, we’ve seen reports about hostages,” Blinken told NBC‘s Meet the Press on Sunday. “Any American anywhere who is being detained or held hostage, that is going to be a priority for this government, this administration, and for me.”
Newsweek reached out to the Israeli Foreign Ministry via email for comment.
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh recently said about the fighting: “We warned the whole world, with this fascist government that unleashed the settlers to wreak havoc in Al-Aqsa Mosque and in Jerusalem….And we told them not to play with fire, and not to cross the red line, but they deafened their ears and blinded their eyes.”
Haniyeh’s remarks where shared with Newsweek after previously reaching out for comment.