Two Israeli tourists and one Egyptian were killed Sunday by a policeman in Egypt, local media and Israeli authorities said, as war rages for a second day between Israel and Hamas.

An Egyptian official said Sunday that Israel has sought help from Cairo to ensure the safety of dozens of captives and hostages held by Palestinian militants amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

The official added that Egypt’s intelligence chief had contacted Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group to seek information.

Israeli soldiers battled Hamas fighters in the streets of Israel's south on Sunday as Israel's retaliation strikes leveled buildings in Gaza.

Hamas fighters, backed by a volley of thousands of rockets, broke through barricades around Gaza early Saturday to rampage through nearby communities in Israel. They took captives back into the coastal enclave, including women, children and the elderly, while Israel's retaliation strikes leveled buildings in Gaza and its prime minister said the country was at war. Israeli media, citing rescue service officials, said at least 300 people were killed, including 26 soldiers. The health ministry in Gaza meanwhile said that at least 313 Palestinians have been killed and 1,990 wounded since the start of fighting.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday decried what he called the "appalling assault" by Hamas militants and his administration pledged to ensure Israel has "what it needs to defend itself" after the surprise attack that drew worldwide condemnation and anger from Israel's allies.

Biden made clear in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that "we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support," according to the White House. He also called Jordan's King Abdullah II. Secretary of State Antony Blinken rushed to the White House for meetings and was phoning foreign counterparts, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israel's defense minister.

Under cover of a barrage of rockets, dozens of Hamas militants broke out of the blockaded Gaza Strip and into nearby Israeli towns, killing hundreds and abducting others in an unprecedented surprise early morning attack during a major Jewish holiday Saturday. A stunned Israel said it is now at war with Hamas and launched airstrikes in Gaza, vowing to inflict an "unprecedented price."

In an assault of startling breadth, Hamas gunmen rolled into as many as 22 locations outside the Gaza Strip, including towns and other communities as far as 24 kilometers from the Gaza border. In some places, they roamed for hours, gunning down civilians and soldiers as Israel's military scrambled to muster a response. Gunbattles continued well after nightfall, and militants held hostages in standoffs in two towns.

Hezbollah congratulated Hamas Saturday, praising the Palestinian "heroic" and "victorious" infiltration into southern Israel.

In a statement, Hezbollah said it is following up with the Palestinian factions on the operation, and called on Israel to "draw lessons" from it.

Germany "firmly condemns the terrorist attacks from Gaza against Israel", Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Saturday, following the firing of hundreds of rockets.

Israel "has our full solidarity" and "the right, guaranteed by international law, to defend itself against terrorism", Baerbock said on social media, as the Israeli army began carrying out air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

The European Union on Saturday "unequivocally" condemned attacks by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel and called for an immediate stop to the violence.

"We follow with anguish the news coming from Israel. We unequivocally condemn the attacks by Hamas. This horrific violence must stop immediately. Terrorism and violence solve nothing. The EU expresses its solidarity with Israel in these difficult moments," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

Israel's army carried out at least two air strikes on the Gaza Strip Saturday, an AFP journalist reported, after barrages of rockets were fired from the Palestinian territory into Israel.

More than 5,000 rockets had been fired so far from the Gaza Strip, the armed wing of Hamas which controls the blockaded coastal enclave said. Medics said the rocket fire killed at least one Israeli, a woman in her 60s.

Israeli police have arrested an American tourist at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem after he hurled works of art to the floor, defacing two second-century Roman statues.

The vandalism late Thursday raised questions about the safety of Israel's priceless collections and stirred concern about a rise in attacks on cultural heritage in Jerusalem.