The Hamas militant group’s surprise attack against Israel on Saturday has sent shockwaves throughout the international community, and now the conflict is hitting home.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told CNN on Sunday morning that officials were ‘working overtime’ to confirm if any Americans died because of the attacks, or if any were taken hostage.
Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, confirmed that Americans were among those taken captive but gave no details about them nor Americans who may have been killed.
Dermer told CNN’s “State of the Union” that he suspects the number of captive and deceased Americans to rise due to the large population of dual Israeli-American citizens.
FILE – 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, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File) 
FILE – People stand outside a mosque destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Yousef Masoud, File) 
FILE – Israeli security forces evacuate an injured woman from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Oren Ziv, File) 
FILE – People stand outside a mosque destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Yousef Masoud, File)
Meanwhile, travelers lucky enough to escape the chaos happening on the other side of the world are beginning to arrive at Los Angeles International Airport, shaken but thankful to be alive.
“We had to go because of our kids, but my heart is there,” said Edn Bendavid, who arrived in L.A. from Tel Aviv on Sunday. “All my family, everybody is there…my cousin’s husband just passed away trying to save other people. It’s horrible.”
At least 600 people have reportedly been killed in Israel, while more than 300 have been killed in Gaza as a result of retaliatory Israeli airstrikes.