United States President, Joe Biden, says no fewer than 11 Americans have died since Palestinian militants launched a stunning and complex surprise attack in Israel.

Biden, in a statement on Monday night, described the deaths as the “heart wrenching” results of an “appalling terrorist assault against Israel”.

The president said the U.S. believed that the Hamas militant group is likely holding American citizens as prisoners.

He added that the U.S. is working with Israel to handle the hostage crisis.

President Biden stated: “This is not some distant tragedy.

“The ties between Israel and the United States run deep. It is personal for so many American families who are feeling the pain of this attack.”

The identities of the dead Americans were not immediately released, and it was unclear if any were from New York, which is home to about 1.6 million Jews.

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New York City is home to the largest Jewish population of any city on the globe.

It also has a significantly smaller Palestinian population; the exact size is not clear but could number in the tens of thousands.

In New York, there was a heavy police presence at synagogues on Monday, dpa said.

Major U.S. airlines have canceled flights into and out of Israel.

At least 50 New York residents were seeking to return from Israel on Monday, according to a count by Grace Meng’s office.

The State Department said it was in contact with the families of the dead Americans.

More than 1,300 people have already been reported dead in the conflict, which was escalating Monday as Israel ordered an intense retaliatory assault on the blockaded Gaza Strip.

At least 700 people have died in Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

The Palestinian death toll was 687, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Monday.

Meng, a Democrat who represents much of central and eastern Queens, wrote a letter to the State Department asking it to “use all resources at its disposal” to help Americans in Israel return to the U.S.

A spokesman for Meng, Jordan Goldes, said a “handful” of Meng’s constituents were in Israel.

Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, a Brooklyn Democrat, in a statement on Sunday night, said he had been briefed on the rising American death tally – then four – and that it would rise.

“The viciousness and brutality of this unprecedented attack from Hamas targeting innocent civilians – children, families, seniors – is overwhelming and heart-wrenching,” Schumer, who is Jewish and is currently on a trip to China, added.

The Star