Anchor: The death toll from the ongoing conflict in Israel is nearing one-thousand-600 as the fight between Israeli defense forces and the armed Palestinian faction, Hamas, continues to escalate. Hamas has warned that they will start executing hostages if Israel continues to attack, while the Israeli prime minister has called his country's recent offensive “just the beginning.” 
Max Lee with the latest.

Report: Israel’s airstrikes on the Gaza Strip continue even at night, with explosions raging everywhere. 

The Palestinian militant group Hamas warned that they would start executing its hostages if the attacks continue, as they said they were holding more than one hundred Israelis captive, saying that for each attack on a Palestinian civilian home, one hostage would be executed.

Despite the stern warnings from Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared offensives against the militant group, saying it was just the beginning. As Israel begins deploying a large number of ground troops, it also raises major concerns over civilian casualties.

With 120-thousand people already having fled the Gaza Strip, Israel has completely blocked off the region.

The Israeli military announced that the death toll from the conflict has exceeded nine-hundred and close to 16-hundred people have been killed on both sides, including around 690 in Palestine.

The deadly conflict erupted on Saturday with thousands of missiles launched into Israel by Hamas a day after the seven-day long Jewish festival of Sukkot ended.

As air raid sirens began blaring in Jerusalem at around 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, an estimated two-thousand-200 rockets were fired toward the southern and central parts of the country, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, with Hamas claiming that at least five-thousand rockets were fired.

Hours after the initial attack, Israel's fighter jets began launching retaliatory strikes in Gaza followed by the first public statement by Netanyahu, announcing that “Israel is at war.”

The Israel Defense Forces on Monday reported that its fighter jets struck some 130 targets in the Gaza Strip, many targeting regions that served as a hub for Hamas.

Meanwhile, President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday instructed the government to thoroughly prepare safety measures for South Koreans in Israel as Korean Air canceled all Tel Aviv-bound flights this week due to the on-going conflict.

South Korea on Sunday issued a special travel advisory for Israel and has urged its nationals to evacuate.
Max Lee, KBS World Radio News.