Gaza aid stuck at border; Biden set to visit Israel

Gaza’s size and huge population density visualized

At 139 square miles, the Gaza Strip is approximately equal in size to the city of Philadelphia. But it has about one-third more people than Philadelphia, and the densest part of Gaza — the municipality that contains part of Gaza City — has roughly 10 times as many people as Philadelphia’s most populous ZIP code.

Israel this week told people living in the northern part of the strip to move south, as it continues to conduct airstrikes on what it calls terrorist targets.

Ben Gurion University’s campus hit hard by the war

TEL AVIV — The campus at Ben Gurion University is eerily desolate without its usual buzz, now that thousands of students have gone to fight in the war, prompting the indefinite suspension of classes.

The student center, once a den of youthful energy, is now a logistical hub and donation depot for families in need — those evacuated, or staying close to the injured at the university hospital.

More than 50 students and staff were killed in the horrific Hamas rampage, and more than 10 others kidnapped. Daniel Chamovitz, the university’s president, learned just this morning of another staff member’s son and daughter-in-law who have been held captive by Hamas.

A different university employee and her family were killed on Friday, Chamovitz said. This employee, her husband and their two children were camping on the beach when sirens indicating incoming fire began to roar. They tried to flee but were killed on the road, and one of the children is still missing.

Chamovitz will attend a shiva for them later today.

At least 15 journalists killed covering the war

At least 15 journalists have been killed covering the Israel-Hamas war, according to a report from the Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit organization based in New York.

As of today, 11 Palestinian, three Israeli and one Lebanese journalists are among the war’s casualties, the report said. But the organization is also investigating more than 100 reports of other journalists being killed, missing, detained or threatened.

“Journalists across the region are making great sacrifices to cover this heartbreaking conflict. All parties must take steps to ensure their safety,” said Sherif Mansour, the organization’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator.

The Palestinian government media office later reported that 16 journalists have been killed while working in Gaza.

Supply shortage putting Gaza hospital patients at risk of death

Patients at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, the second biggest hospital in south Gaza, are seeking medical care knowing they could die anyway because of supplies shortages.

Doctors at Nasser Hospital are taking supplies from private medical practices where possible in an effort to keep the hospital running. Gaza has been entirely cut off from shipments and humanitarian aid, though trucks stand ready in Egypt in the hopes that the Rafah border crossing may open.

Petraeus on Israel-Hamas war: ‘Vengeance is not enough’

Retired Gen. David Petraeus described the Israel-Hamas war as “fiendishly difficult” on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” this morning.

Petraeus, who led the U.S. during its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said that not only is the mission to eradicate Hamas difficult tactically, but also raises the question of, “Then what?”

“It’s the issue of vengeance is not enough,” he said. “It’s also, what are the other components of a comprehensive approach.”

Israeli army spokesman says next phase of war may be different from expectations

The Israeli military is getting ready for the next phase of its campaign against the Gaza Strip but plans may not conform to widespread expectations of an imminent ground offensive, an army spokesperson said today.

“We are preparing for the next stages of war. We haven’t said what they will be. Everybody’s talking about the ground offensive. It might be something different,” Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told a regular briefing with reporters.

Appropriate security precautions to be taken for Biden’s visit to Israel, Kirby says

Appropriate security precautions will be taken for Biden’s visit to Israel tomorrow to make sure that he can conduct the trip safely, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told Savannah Guthrie on the “TODAY” show this morning.

The visit into an active war zone is to allow Biden to get “more of a fingertip feel” on the Israeli plans and how things are going on the ground, he said.

Commenting on the first hostage video released by Hamas, Kirby called it “deplorable” that the militants would “advertise how well they are treating them when they are the ones who hurt them in the first place.”

Gaza has only 4 or 5 days of food left, World Food Program warns

In addition to dire water shortages, Gaza is running out of food stocks with only a few days worth of supplies remaining in shops, the World Food Program says.

Shops only have four or five days’ worth of essential food stocks available, spokeswoman Abeer Etefa said. There is enough food in warehouses to last about two weeks, but these are difficult to access because they are in Gaza City, where Israel has ordered residents to evacuate.

Out of five mills in Gaza, only one is operating because of security concerns and the unavailability of fuel and electricity. Etefa said the primary challenge for the WFP is being able to get food to shops amid the constant Israeli bombardment. Long lines have formed outside the few bakeries that are still able to operate.

Biden will aim to show support, contain the war and prevent a humanitarian crisis

Richard Engel

ISRAEL/GAZA BORDER — This will not be the first time Biden travels to a war zone. But it is arguably the most unpredictable and physically dangerous trip of his presidency.

His visit tomorrow will aim to show support for Israel and also try to contain the war with Hamas and prevent a humanitarian crisis.

News of his trip comes as Israel continues to pound the Gaza Strip and ring the area with hundreds of thousands of troops ready for a ground invasion. The threat inside Israel has not dissipated, with Hamas firing rockets and clashes on the country’s northern border with Lebanon raising fears of a new escalation.

Hostage video part of ‘psychological terror’ by Hamas, IDF says as Macron calls it ‘odious’

SDEROT, Israel — The release of the first video of a hostage held by Hamas late yesterday is part of a campaign of “psychological terror” by the militants, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said today.

The video of 21-year-old Franco Israeli hostage, Mia Schem, was the first one that Hamas has released since its violent incursion into Israel on Oct. 7.

“Hamas engages in psychological terror against the citizens of Israel,” IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a briefing yesterday. “There will be more videos like this.”

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Hamas yesterday for using hostages “for blackmail” after Schem’s video was released.

“It is absolutely odious and unacceptable,” he said, adding that France is doing “everything in our power” to secure the release of Mia and other hostages.

Jordan to host Biden at summit with Palestinian, Egyptian leaders

Biden will join a summit in Amman, Jordan, tomorrow with leaders of Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, the Jordanian government said in a post on X.

King Abdullah II is hosting the four-way summit, which will also include Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas “to discuss dangerous developments in Gaza, its regional impact, & ensuring provision of aid into the Strip,” the post said.

The king warned today during a press conference in Berlin that the humanitarian crisis must be dealt with from within Gaza.

“That is a red line, because I think that is the plan by certain of the usual suspects to try and create de facto issues on the ground,” he said. “No refugees in Jordan, no refugees in Egypt.”

More than 2 million Palestinian refugees live in Jordan already, the largest of any United Nation member state, according to the U.N. High Commissioner For Refugees.

‘This is not the normal Tel Aviv’

TEL AVIV — The streets of Tel Aviv are still eerily quiet as the nation reels from the mass killing and kidnap of its citizens just over a week ago.

Shabazi Street, in the antique, fashionable neighborhood of Neve Tzedek, would normally be thronging with locals and tourists on this 80-degree day. Today, it’s empty, many of the boutique stores and eateries along its narrow, cobbled streets shuttered.

“This is not the normal Tel Aviv,” said Margarita Spector, 23, who works at Épicerie Fine, a deli and café, whose ornate building, like many in this area, dates to 1887. “Usually this area would be very busy — but as you can see today it is so quiet.”

Though this scene is far removed from the carnage visited on communities in southern Israel last weekend, and the relentless bombardment on the Gaza Strip, there are constant reminders that violence rages some 40 miles away.

Military helicopters shuttle up and down the coast daily. And, as happens several times a day, just before 2 p.m. (7 a.m. ET), an air raid siren just south of Tel Aviv was followed by a distant boom, likely an intercept by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.

Mother tells NBC News of fears for her daughter, who appeared in Hamas’ first hostage video

TEL AVIV — Keren Schem said she started to scream and fell on the floor when she saw her daughter alive in a video shared by Hamas late yesterday.

Before that moment, she said she knew nothing about what happened to her daughter Mia, 21, missing since the Hamas attack on the open-air Tribe of Nova festival Oct. 7. Then just days ago, the family was told that she may have been kidnapped by Hamas.

Schem told NBC’s Lester Holt after a press conference in Tel Aviv today that she started to “scream from happiness” when she saw “my baby alive,” but she is worried for her well-being, because she is injured and looked “in physical pain” and “alone” in the video distributed by Hamas.

“This is the worst nightmare for every mother in the world,” Schem said.

She showed Holt an arm band from the festival that she said she won’t take off until her daughter and other Israeli hostages come home.

Israel’s evacuation order in Gaza could be international crime, U.N. spokesperson says

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the U.N. human rights office, said Israel seemed to have made no effort to ensure the civilians temporarily evacuated in Gaza were provided with proper accommodation, as well as satisfactory conditions of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition.

“We are concerned that this order, combined with the imposition of a complete siege of Gaza, may not be considered as lawful temporary evacuation and would therefore amount to a forcible transfer of civilians in breach of international law,” she said.

The term “forcible transfer” describes the forced relocation of civilian populations and it is a crime against humanity punishable by the International Criminal Court.

Missile attacks continue in southern Gaza

Max Butterworth

A Palestinian youth sits amid the wreckage of his destroyed home following missile strikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, today.

Iran’s Supreme Leader says Israel should stand trial; resistance will continue

Israel’s government “must stand trial” for its crimes against Palestinians in Gaza, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said today, according to Iranian state media.

He also said that nothing would stop resistance forces “if these crimes continue.”

Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with a group of Iranian elites, state media said, during which he also accused the U.S. government of holding responsibility for the war.

“What is in front of the eyes of the whole world is the Zionist regime’s crime of genocide,” he remarked.

Turkey discussing release of foreigners, civilians and children with Hamas

Turkey is in talks with Hamas on the release of foreigners, civilians and children held hostage by the group, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said today.

Speaking alongside his Lebanese counterpart in Beirut, Fidan said: “Many countries” had sent requests to Turkey to secure the release of their citizens held by Hamas.

CENTCOM leader arrives in Israel as IDF prepares for invasion

Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command, arrived in Israel as the country’s military prepares for a potential invasion into Gaza.

He will be in meetings with Israeli military officials to “gain a clear understanding of Israel’s defense requirements” and outline U.S. support efforts, according to a press release.

“I’m here to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself, and am particularly focused on avoiding other parties expanding the conflict,” Kurilla said.

Bread rationed at Rafah refugee camp in Gaza.

Max Butterworth

A bakery prepares bread to pass out to internally displaced Palestinians in the Rafah refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip today.

Interior Ministry says 23 dead, 50 injured in Israeli attacks on Khan Younis in Gaza

SDEROT, Israel — The Gaza Interior Ministry said this morning that 23 people died and 50 were injured in Israeli airstrikes on the Khan Younis neighborhood in southern Gaza overnight, where many Palestinians evacuated after a warning from the Israeli armed forces last week.

Meanwhile, the IDF said its jets truck Hamas military headquarters and neutralized a Hamas military operative in Gaza overnight. A bank utilized to fund Hamas terrorist activity in Gaza was also hit, according to the IDF.

Sister of killed Israeli festivalgoer speaks out on ‘very difficult’ aftermath

Adar Eylon reflects on the memory of her sister, Shira, who was killed at the Israeli music festival during the Hamas terror attack.

Director in charge of Rafah crossing killed, Palestinian officials say

Major Gen. Fouad Abu Butihan, the head of border crossings in Gaza, has been killed, the governing administration in Gaza said.

Arab media reports have said that Butihan was killed in Israeli strikes at his home. NBC News has not verified those reports. Israel previously said it was conducting military strikes against Hamas militant activists in Rafah.

Butihan is the head of borders and crossings in Gaza, which includes the Rafah crossing. Hundreds of foreign nationals have been waiting to exit the strip through Rafah for days, but the gate remains closed.

Gaza’s only oncology hospital to shut down in 48 hours

SDEROT, Israel — Health officials in Gaza said the enclave’s only oncology hospital will shut down in 48 hours at the latest.

A statement from its director general, Dr. Sobhi Skik, said fuel shortages were affecting the hospital’s operations and that it only has enough resources to run for another two days.

Skik said the closure will leave all oncology patients in the Gaza Strip with nowhere to get specialized treatment.

Israeli military video shows what it says are strikes on named targets in Gaza and Lebanon

Videos released by Israel Defense Forces show strikes on what it claims are specific targets in the Gaza Strip and on Israel’s border with Lebanon.

100,000 Palestinians remain in Gaza City, IDF say

An estimated 100,000 Palestinians are still in Gaza City as the IDF prepares for its “enhanced military operations,” Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said in an briefing early this morning.

To date, roughly 600,000 people have fled south since Israel warned civilians to leave, according to Conricus, who blamed Hamas for the reluctance among some to leave the northern part of the strip.

‘Bring my baby back home’, says mother of hostage whose video was released by Hamas

TEL AVIV, Israel — The family of a young Israeli woman taken hostage by Hamas, whose video was released by the militants late yesterday, said her daughter needs to come home and receive medical care.

The video purporting to show 21-year-old French Israeli woman, Mia Schem, was released by Hamas, in which she said she was injured but is receiving medical care. It’s not clear when the video was shot and whether she spoke under duress.

“I did not know if she is dead or alive until yesterday,” her mother, Keren Schem, said in a press conference in Tel Aviv this morning, holding a portrait of her daughter while surrounded by other family members.

“I am begging the world to bring my baby back home,” she said.

She said her daughter was a fighter and was confident that the Israeli government “will do all they can to bring everyone home.”

Red Cross convoy loaded with medical equipment stuck in Egypt

An aid convoy carrying critical equipment is stuck on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, the International Committee for Red Cross said this morning.

The 12 trucks are loaded with medical equipment, basic mattresses, blankets, essential aid for families and chlorine for cleaning water. “We have additional teams, including surgical and health staff on standby,” a spokesperson for Red Cross told NBC News.

Hospitals in southern Gaza are overwhelmed and the truce conditions that would allow the border to open and for the aid to flow still haven’t been reached.

“The situation is nearly catastrophic,” the spokesperson added.

Search for survivors after airstrikes in Khan Younis

Max Butterworth

Palestinians search through the rubble of a shattered building, after an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip today.

Israeli American soldier leaves U.S. to fight Hamas

An Israeli American soldier explains why he left the U.S. to take up arms for Israel after hearing about the Hamas attacks. “This is our country and we have to defend it,” he said. 

Uncertainty over Gaza-Egypt crossing at Rafah lingers

The Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip remained closed today as there was a growing confusion around when and where the crossing could reopen to allow for a flow of refugees and much-needed humanitarian aid.

Trucks carrying aid for the Gaza Strip arrived today at Rafah, Reuters reported, but there was no confirmation about when the convoy will be allowed into Gaza. Yesterday, crowds of Palestinians were also seen gathering around the crossing’s gates, hoping for an escape.

The Rafah crossing is the only border crossing into besieged Gaza not controlled by Israel, and the world’s attention has been fixed on it in recent days amid a growing humanitarian crisis in the densely populated enclave.

Egyptian officials said yesterday that Israel was not cooperating to make the crossing operational. It was expected Sunday that the crossing would reopen to allow foreign national Palestinians out and aid in, but no truce conditions were established to allow that to happen.

Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital ‘crowded beyond imagination’

One of the major hospitals in the Gaza Strip, Al-Shifa Hospital, has now turned into a shelter for many seeking refuge after their homes were leveled from Israeli bombings.

“It is so crowded — beyond imagination. We can’t even move because of people blocking everywhere,” plastic surgeon Dr. Mohamed Ziara said in a series of video messages sent to NBC News.

Every corridor or department is blocked, he said. “They don’t have food, they don’t have water and they’re trying just to stay alive.”

“The team is so exhausted, we have only three doctors instead of nine. Actually, one of them was killed two days ago while he was going home after a full day’s shift. And he was bombed with his whole family in the whole building,” he said.

Trump calls to bar potential refugees from Gaza

Former President Donald Trump called for potential refugees from Gaza to be barred from entering the U.S. “We aren’t bringing in anyone from Gaza, Syria, Somalia, Yemen or Libya or anywhere else that threatens our security,” he said at his campaign event in Clive, Iowa, yesterday.

Read more here.

Biden to travel to Israel Wednesday amid war with Hamas

Peter Alexander

President Joe Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced, saying one of the president’s goals is to reaffirm U.S. “solidarity with Israel and our ironclad commitment to its security.” We have details from NBC News’ Peter Alexander.

How the U.S.- Israel agreement on aid came together

Abigail Williams

In every stop he made after his trip to Israel last week, Arab leaders told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the U.S. must do something to solve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, a senior State Department official said.

When Blinken called Biden after his meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi to relay their message, Biden asked his top diplomat to go back to Tel Aviv to work out a plan, the official said.

What followed was nine hours of negotiations between the U.S. and Israel, the senior State Department official said, as the two sides hashed out the details of the plan.

On Monday Blinken announced that the U.S. and Israel “have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza — and them alone.” The plan could also include creating areas to keep civilians safe, he said.

During the discussions about the agreement, Blinken and the U.S. delegation set up next to the Israel prime minister’s Cabinet meeting. Every so often Netanyahu would go over, and the two sides would exchange papers, the senior State Department official said.

Blinken also reiterated to Israel’s president today that every Arab leader he met with in the region expressed the importance of dealing with the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the official said.

Israel says it killed four people trying to infiltrate fence bordering Lebanon

ASHDOD, Israel — The Israeli Defense Forces said this morning it killed four people who were trying to infiltrate a security fence bordering Lebanon.

“A short while ago, IDF observation troops spotted a terrorist squad attempting to infiltrate the security fence with Lebanon and plant an explosive device,” a spokesperson for the IDF said.

It shared video appearing to show people moving near a fence before a blast dominates the screen.

Read NBC News’ coverage of the Israel-Hamas war

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