War in Israel: "We made our cross and came," say the first Greeks who returned

Some of the 81 Greeks who returned to Greece late Sunday night spoke about the dramatic moments they experienced during their presence in Israel after the attack by Hamas on Saturday morning.

"We experienced dramatic moments at the airport on the first day. I heard that there had been rocket attacks, but today, things were smoother," said one of the repatriated Greeks.

"We only stayed for three days; we were supposed to return on the 15th of the month; the group leader told us to be careful," added an elderly woman.

"We saw roadblocks, a lot of people at the checkpoints. The situation is difficult; we heard gunshots on Saturday. We were all worried, so we made our cross and came; the embassy helped us," added a third Greek.

"We were stranded in Jericho for a pilgrimage; we were going there, and our agent was good. We tried to fake the anxiety. Israel was a desert; we had never experienced it before. We had a lot of anxiety, especially when we left Jericho for Bethlehem, and even more, until we got to Tel Aviv," one woman described what she experienced.

The Israeli military announced that more than 700 people there had been killed in attacks after a massive co-ordinated assault by Hamas militants that started early on Saturday.

The latest update from the Palestinian side says more than 400 have died after retaliatory strikes by Israel in Gaza.

Hamas is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying that fresh US military aid to Israel amounts to "aggression" against Palestinians.

The group is said to have called on "resistance fighters in the West Bank" and "Arab and Islamic nations" to join the battle.

"The announcement of the US that it will provide an aircraft carrier to support the occupation (Israel) is actual participation in the aggression against our people," it said.

READ MORE: Aegean Airlines is among the significant airlines that have cancelled flights to Tel Aviv due to the intensifying conflict.