Lists of missing people have flooded social media.
Credit: Reuters Photo.
Nations worldwide were scrambling Sunday to find citizens who may have been killed or taken hostage when militants from Gaza surged across the Israeli border Saturday. Lists of missing people have flooded social media.
Several US citizens were killed and injured in Israel, a National Security Council spokesperson who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed Sunday evening. The spokesperson, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, said officials continued to monitor the situation closely.
On Sunday morning, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS News that the State Department was also aware of unconfirmed reports of US citizens taken hostage by Hamas. The agency was working to “find out if those reports are accurate,” he said.
France’s foreign ministry said a French woman had died in Israel following Hamas’ assault, but it did not elaborate on the circumstances. There were French citizens unaccounted for Sunday, the ministry said, but it did not provide further information.
Two Thai nationals were killed, Thailand’s prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, said Sunday. The Foreign Ministry of Thailand said that Hamas took 11 Thai citizens hostage.
Two citizens of Ukraine were among those killed in Israel, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Sunday.
Two Mexican nationals were believed to be among the hostages taken by Hamas, Mexico’s foreign minister, Alicia Bárcena, said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
At least four Nepali students who were studying in southern Israel, near Gaza, were injured, Nepal’s foreign minister, Narayan Prakash Saud, said on X. The status of 11 other students was unclear.
The Israeli Embassy in London confirmed that two British citizens — Dan Darlington and Jake Marlowe — were missing. The embassy also confirmed that Nathanael Young, a British man serving in the Israeli military, was killed on the Gaza border Saturday.
German-Israeli citizen Shani Louk was abducted by Hamas militants while attending an open-air music festival, German officials said.