Israel on Saturday evening confirmed that the Hamas terror group had taken Israelis as hostages to the Gaza Strip in its massive assault on the country’s south, amid reports that dozens of people may have been taken, dead and alive.

The Israel Defense Forces’ top spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, confirmed people had been taken into the Strip in a briefing with reporters. Hagari said Israeli soldiers had also been killed in the fighting.

No numbers were given for hostages or soldiers killed.

Hagari says there are still 22 locations of ongoing fighting in southern Israel, including hostage situations in Be’eri and Ofakim. He says Israeli troops had reached all towns on the Gaza border, and were working to scan each and every one.