Israeli President Isaac Herzog says his country faces a "bloody and difficult war" The war was sparked on October 7 by an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. More than 250 people were kidnapped during the attack and taken to Gaza where 129 are still being held, including 34 who died.
Fears of an extension of the conflict in the region intensified further after Iran promised to retaliate for the deaths of seven Revolutionary Guards killed Monday in Damascus in a bombing against the Iranian consulate, attributed to Israel.