Tel Aviv/ Gaza: Israeli airstrikes on Gaza continue and Israel's defense minister has told troops to be ready for a ground assault on the Palestinian territory, although he has not said when that will begin. More than 1 million Palestinians, roughly half of Gaza's population, have fled homes in the north and Gaza City after Israel told them to evacuate. The airstrikes early Thursday continued across the entire territory, including in areas in the south that Israel had declared as "safe zones."
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that limited humanitarian aid would be allowed into Gaza from Egypt following a request from U.S. President Joe Biden.
The war that began on Oct. 7 after Hamas militants stormed into Israel, and Israel vowed to destroy the militant group, has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday that 3,785 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 12,500 others have been wounded.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly in the initial attack. An Israeli military spokesperson said Thursday that the families of 203 people believed to have been captured by Hamas and taken into Gaza had been notified.
Currently:
1. Biden declares support for Israel and Ukraine is 'vital' for US security.
2. EU demands Meta and TikTok detail efforts to curb disinformation from Israel-Hamas war.
3. Woman becomes Israeli folk hero for plying Hamas militants with snacks until rescue mission arrives.
4. Egypt and other Arab countries typically don't want to take in Palestinian refugees.
Here's what's happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:
- Biden references boy's killing to denounce antisemitism and Islamophobia
President Joe Biden referenced the killing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in Illinois to deliver a forceful denunciation of antisemitism and Islamophobia. Biden brought up the case of Wadea Al-Fayoume during a televised nighttime address from the Oval Office. Authorities say the boy, who was Muslim, was stabbed 26 times Saturday by his landlord in response to escalating rhetoric about the Israel-Hamas war. Wadea's mother was critically wounded.
- Biden calls for more aid for Israel and Ukraine
President Joe Biden is urging support for additional U.S. aid for Ukraine and Israel, saying in a televised address from the Oval Office that "American leadership is what holds the world together." The U.S. president argued that Israel needs help to defend itself from Hamas. He also said the U.S. must help Ukraine stop the advances of Russian President Vladimir Putin to keep other "would-be aggressors" from trying to take over other countries.
Biden said he will send lawmakers an "urgent budget request" Friday to fund U.S. national security needs. He called the request, said to carry a price tag of about $100 billion, a "smart investment" that will pay dividends for decades to come.
- 2nd gentleman Douglas Emhoff meets US survivor of Hamas attack
Douglas Emhoff, the husband of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, met in Washington with Natalie Sanandaji, a 28-year-old American survivor of Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. Sanandaji recounted the attack on a music festival, where some 260 people were killed, a White House official said.
- Deaths and injuries in bombing of historic church, Gaza authorities say
An explosion struck a Greek Orthodox church housing displaced Palestinians late Thursday, resulting in deaths and dozens of wounded. Mohammed Abu Selmia, director general of Shifa Hospital, said dozens were hurt at the Church of Saint Porphyrios but could not give a precise death toll because bodies were still under the rubble.
- Israel says almost 30 children among hostages taken by Hamas
Nearly 30 of some 200 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are children, the Israeli military said. More than 10 are over the age of 60, it said in a statement. Authorities have no information about the location of more than 100 missing Israelis, it added.
- US Intelligence estimates 100 to 300 died in hospital blast
An unclassified U.S. intelligence assessment delivered to Congress estimates casualties in an explosion at a Gaza City hospital on the "low end" of 100 to 300 deaths. That death toll "still reflects a staggering loss of life," U.S. intelligence officials said in the findings, which were seen by The Associated Press. Officials were still assessing the evidence, and the estimate may evolve.
- UN force helps recover 7 people caught in Lebanese- Israeli fighting; 1 dead
The U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon said Lebanese troops requested assistance to bring back seven people caught in a firefight along the border with Israel. One person was killed. The Lebanese military said the group included seven journalists, and one was also injured. It said Israeli soldiers shot at them with machine guns as they were in the outskirts of the village of Houla.
- Israeli forces raid West Bank refugee camp
An Israeli border police officer was killed during a military raid into a refugee camp in the northern West Bank, the police and border guard said in a joint statement. Israeli forces killed at least seven Palestinians during the daylong raid of the Nur Shams camp, and prevented ambulances from retrieving the wounded, according to Palestinian state media.
- US Navy intercepts missiles headed north from Yemen
A U.S. Navy warship took out three missiles that were fired from Yemen and were heading north, U.S. officials said. The officials said the USS Carney, a Navy destroyer, was in the Red Sea and intercepted the missiles. It wasn't immediately certain if they were aimed at Israel. One of the officials said the U.S. does not believe the missiles were aimed at the ship. (with AP inputs)
