[World] Israel Gaza: US death toll after Hamas attack jumps to 22

At least 22 American citizens have been confirmed dead after the cross-border raid by Hamas on Israel, a US state department spokesperson has said.

The death toll has jumped from the number of 14 confirmed by US President Joe Biden on Tuesday.

US citizens are also among the hundreds of people taken hostage by the Palestinian militant group.

Israel’s death toll from the attack has hit 1,200. More than 1,100 people have died in Israeli air strikes on Gaza.

Confirming the updated death toll on Wednesday, a state department spokesperson said: “We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected.”

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said there were at least 17 Americans missing, a smaller figure than previously announced.

It is unclear how many have been taken captive by Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organisation by the US.

Mr Biden has said experts have been deployed to “advise Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts”.

The US president on Tuesday called the unprecedented attack an “act of sheer evil”, vowing to “stand with Israel”.

Some Palestinian-Americans are reported to have been stuck in Gaza amid the Israeli air strikes, though it is unclear if any of them have lost their lives in the bombardment.

The US Embassy in Jerusalem said in a security alert on Monday: “US citizens in Gaza who wish to leave and can do so safely are advised to check the status of the Rafah Crossing into Egypt.”

Among the missing is 23-year-old American-Israeli Hersh Golberg-Polin, who was at a music festival in the desert when it was stormed by militants.

His parents told the Jerusalem Post they received two messages from him, reading “I love you” and “I’m sorry”.

“We just want him safe,” Jonathan Polin, his father, said.

Another US citizen living in Israel, Abbey Onn, told the BBC’s partner CBS that five members of her family, including a 12-year-old boy, were taken hostage.

On Saturday, she received a WhatsApp message from her family that Hamas fighters were in their home at Nir Oz, a kibbutz near Gaza.

A soldier with dual US-Israeli citizenship, Itay Chen, has been reported missing in action since Saturday.

His father, Ruby Chen, told CBC he had sought the state department’s help in finding his son, who he said had grown up in New York City.

He added that it is “a fair assumption” his son was taken to Gaza.