Shillong, October 9: Recent attacks by the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip have claimed the lives of at least four Americans, according to informed sources. The death toll is anticipated to increase as the situation unfolds.
These sources, who were privy to a Sunday briefing given to key House committees, shared this information with CNN. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had previously confirmed that the United States was diligently working to verify reports of missing and deceased Americans following the October 7 attack.
“We have reports that several Americans were killed. We’re working overtime to verify that. At the same time, there are reports of missing Americans, and there again, we’re working to verify those reports,” Blinken stated in an earlier CNN interview on Sunday.
An internal US government memo, as reported by CNN, had initially indicated that at least three Americans lost their lives in the attacks.
The memo also mentioned that the State Department was aware of additional Americans whose whereabouts had not been determined.
Since the onset of the conflict, more than 1,100 individuals have lost their lives on both sides.
In addition to the United States, Nepal has confirmed that 10 of its citizens were killed, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that two Ukrainians lost their lives as a result of the violence.
Furthermore, over 2,300 people have been wounded in ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, including 213 children and 140 women.