The Hamas health ministry said the number of people killed in Gaza has increased to at least 1,354, with dozens more dying since Thursday morning after a huge Israeli attack on the territory.

The ministry said more than 6,049 people have also been wounded, updating an earlier figure of around 1,200 deaths reported at dawn on Thursday.

At least “1,354 citizens have been martyred, and 6,049 suffered various injuries”, the ministry said.

Israel has promised to wipe out Hamas completely before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives on Thursday, as the US showed support for its ally in a war that has caused thousands of deaths.

Before Blinken’s visit, the US asked its ally to be careful in responding to Hamas’s surprise assault – the worst in Israel’s 75-year history – which Israeli forces said killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

In Gaza, officials said earlier that more than 1,200 people died in Israel’s non-stop campaign of air and artillery strikes, while the UN said more than 338,000 people have been forced to leave their homes.

“Every Hamas member is a dead man,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on TV on Wednesday, comparing Hamas to the Islamic State group and saying: “We will crush them and destroy them as the world has destroyed Daesh.”

Israel bombs Gaza ahead of possible ground invasion

For days, dark smoke has risen into the air above the poor Palestinian territory of 2.3 million people, where whole neighbourhoods have been destroyed.

As the war continues, there are growing worries about the fate of at least 150 hostages – mostly Israelis but also foreign and dual nationals – held in Gaza by Hamas.

Hamas said that four captives died in Israeli strikes and warned to kill the others if civilian targets were hit without advance notice from Israel.