As of this writing, the official body count on Israel's side is upwards of 150 ... and it continues to soar as the government scours through the wreckage and aftermath. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is "at war" following the Hamas incursion -- and promised to retaliate with everything in his power to send a message of deterrence. Israel has already begun to do that ... firing its own rockets and destroying buildings that are believed to affiliated with Hamas militants -- and there are aerial strikes happening as well.