The Israeli rescue service Zaka has said 260 bodies have been recovered from the site of an all-night nature music festival near the Gaza Strip which was attacked by Hamas group members on Saturday.

A spokesperson for ZAKA told The Times of Israel that some 260 bodies had been collected at the site, near Kibbutz Re’im.

The announcement by ZAKA, a volunteer group that handles human remains after terror attacks and other disasters, escalated fears for many parents and friends who have been desperately trying to connect with missing people since the assault took place.

According to reports, the Nova festival was attended by around 3,000 people, mostly young Israelis.

Participants have described a nightmarish massacre, with terrorists — who had apparently known in advance of the event and directed significant forces there — surrounding the participants and cutting down dozens of them with rifle fire, then moving through the area and hunting people in hiding to execute or capture, reported The Times of Israel.

More than 1,000 people have died in Israel and Palestine after the surprise rocket attack on Saturday by Hamas triggered a war in the region.

"More than 700 people have been killed in Israel, while more than 400 Palestinians have been killed, according to authorities. Some 2,300 others have been wounded in Gaza, with power cuts threatening lives of hundreds of injured and patients,"  the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza was quoted as saying by CNN.

Israel has declared war on Hamas and initiated airstrikes in response to their fierce attack.

The Israel Defense Forces told CNN that  Israel has "severely degraded the capabilities" of the Palestinian militant group Hamas as airstrikes on Gaza continued into early Monday.

Israel Defense Forces said 2150 people have been injured in the attack so far.