52m ago / 9:31 PM UTC
New Jersey man allegedly motivated by Oct. 7 Hamas attack arrested, accused of seeking to join al Shabaab terrorists
A New Jersey man, inspired by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, was arrested in Kenya, after allegedly seeking to join terrorist forces in Africa, authorities said Friday.
Karrem Nasr, a 23-year-old Garden State resident and U.S. citizen who also went under the name Ghareeb Al-Muhaji, was taken into custody in Nairobi on Dec. 14 before being taken to the United States on Thursday, federal prosecutors said.
Nasr, “motivated by the heinous terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas” on Oct. 7, “devoted himself to waging violent jihad against America and its allies,” according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office out of the Southern District of New York.
1h ago / 9:08 PM UTC
Drone video shows devastation of Israeli airstrike in Rafah
Drone video shows people looking through the rubble and debris of destroyed buildings in Rafah following an Israeli airstrike.
2h ago / 8:30 PM UTC
IDF says Israel will continue military pressure throughout Gaza
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said Friday that Israel will continue to exert military pressure on Hamas throughout the north, center and south of Gaza.
“We are acting resolutely in the face of every threat, and we will not allow a return to reality before October 7,” Hagari said. “We will ensure security and a sense of security before we allow citizens to return to the northern border and the southern border.”
3h ago / 7:45 PM UTC
South Africa says Israel ‘failed to prevent genocide’ in Gaza and requests start of ICJ proceedings
The International Court of Justice, which is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, said today that South Africa has filed an application instituting proceedings against Israel for allegedly violating its obligations to prevent the genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
According to a news release from the ICJ, the application stated that acts by Israel “are genocidal in character” and that Israel’s conduct in Gaza “is in violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention.”
According to the release, the application states that since Oct. 7, Israel has “failed to prevent genocide and has failed to prosecute the direct and public incitement to genocide.”
3h ago / 6:56 PM UTC
IDF says it destroyed tunnels containing Hamas ‘headquarters’ in northern Gaza
The IDF said it located and destroyed “tunnels of Hamas’ general headquarters” in the northern Gaza Strip.
The IDF said that inside the tunnels it found “an electricity network, ventilation and sewage infrastructure, prayer rooms and resting rooms.”
The military group said that in recent weeks it also located and destroyed a hideout apartment of one the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, near Gaza City. Soldiers examined the apartment and found that “a strategic tunnel shaft was located on the basement floor” and, after inspecting the tunnel shaft, “reached a significant tunnel that is apparently used by the senior officials of Hamas’ Military and Political Wing,” the IDF said.
“The apartment is part of a long and branching tunnel network, in which senior officials of the Hamas terrorist organization moved and operated,” the IDF said. The IDF added that after it was examined, the tunnel was destroyed by soldiers.
4h ago / 6:10 PM UTC
U.N.: ‘Spillover’ from Israel-Gaza conflict could have ‘devastating consequences’ for Middle East
The United Nations today warned about “further spillover” into the Middle East, which could bring “devastating consequences.” In a statement, a spokesman for the secretary-general, Stéphane Dujarric, cited “escalating violence” in the West Bank, intensified by both Israeli security operations and attacks on Israelis by Palestinians. Further, exchanges of fire across the Israel-Lebanon border could escalate and affect regional stability.
The U.N. statement urged all parties involved to “exercise maximum restraint” in an effort to de-escalate tensions and called on the international community to “do everything in their power” to prevent further violence. Additionally, the secretary-general stressed the importance of an immediate cease-fire and the release of hostages.
4h ago / 5:57 PM UTC
Hundreds of thousands have fallen ill in Gaza since mid-October, WHO says
The World Health Organization remains “very concerned” about the threat of infectious diseases in Gaza, “with some families forced to move multiple times and many sheltering in overcrowded health facilities,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the WHO, said Friday.
The WHO chief said that since mid-October to mid-December, people living in shelters have continued to fall sick, including close to 180,000 people with upper respiratory infections; 136,400 cases of diarrhea with half of those among children under 5-year-old; 55,400 cases of lice and scabies; 5,330 cases of chickenpox; 42,700 cases of skin rash, including 4722 cases of impetigo; 4,683 cases of Acute Jaundice Syndrome; and 126 cases of meningitis.
5h ago / 5:26 PM UTC
Kerem Shalom border crossing into Gaza reopened for aid, Egyptian Red Crescent says
Dr. Khaled Zayed, the head of the Egyptian Red Crescent in North Sinai, told NBC News that Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah and Kerem Shalom border crossings on Friday morning.
Zayed said that 103 trucks of humanitarian, medical and food aid and four trucks of domestic gas fuel entered Gaza crossing from Rafah. Thirty-two injured people, accompanied by their relatives, entered Egypt, he said.
Meanwhile, 79 trucks were sent in preparation for their inspection and entry from the Kerem Shalom border, he said.
5h ago / 4:55 PM UTC
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Israel struck two sets of Syrian targets
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said today that Israel struck two sets of Syrian targets late yesterday into this morning.
The group said the first round of strikes targeted the Damascus Airport area. It had also struck an air defense base in southern Syria, where the air defense confronted the Israeli missiles and managed to shoot down some of them, it said. NBC News has not independently verified these claims.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said that it had no information about the results of a second round of strikes targeting neighborhoods in Damascus or whether it targeted Iranian or Hezbollah figures.
The group said that there was great secrecy within Hezbollah and Iranian circles operating south of Damascus about the results of the second round of strikes after midnight. The group said that since the start of the war in Gaza, Israel has targeted Syrian territory 39 times.
6h ago / 4:22 PM UTC
Israeli forces ‘humiliated’ detained ambulance center staff, paramedic says
Israeli forces “humiliated” staff from an ambulance center after they were detained at the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, a paramedic said in a video released by the Palestine Red Crescent Society on X today.
“We were all humiliated, we were all beaten in sensitive areas and on our heads and backs,” Mohammed Salah said.
He added that after Israeli forces stormed the ambulance center where he was working, they called for the director to come out. But Salah said the director was not there and he stepped in for him.
“I came outside and I was instructed to take my clothes off,” he said, adding that he was then taken for interrogation, along with several other people.
Later, Salah said, one of his colleagues was assaulted and wounded, and would likely need a skin transplant on his legs.
NBC News could not independently verify his claims.
6h ago / 4:01 PM UTC
UNRWA calls for ‘unimpeded and safe access’ to deliver humanitarian aid
The UNRWA commissioner general said today that “severe restrictions on humanitarian access” by the Israeli authorities have continued to create challenges for their operation of bringing much-needed aid to the Gaza Strip.
Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement that UNRWA faces “constant bombardment, airstrikes and fighting,” restricted access inside the Gaza Strip, a “state of despair among the communities,” a breakdown of law and order, long delays at crossing points and regular cuts in communications, among other ongoing issues.
He said that a U.N. resolution passed last week demanded “immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip.”
“However, the delivery of much needed and urgent aid continues to be limited in quantities and riddled with logistical hurdles,” he said.
Lazzarini added that Gaza’s entire population of 2.2 million people were now “almost exclusively dependent on humanitarian assistance including food.”
“I call on the Israeli Authorities, other parties to the conflict and those with influence over them to safeguard an environment for safe and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid,” he said.
7h ago / 3:06 PM UTC
Around 187 killed in past day as Gaza death toll since Oct. 7 tops 21,500, Health Ministry says
Around 187 people have been killed in the past day, making the death toll top 21,500 since Oct. 7, the Palestinian Health Ministry said today in a Telegram post.
It added that 55,915 people had been wounded in Israeli attacks following Israeli military operations in the strip after rounds of Hamas attacks in southern Israel.
8h ago / 2:51 PM UTC
UNRWA: 2023 is the “deadliest year for Palestinians in West Bank” on record
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East tweeted that this year has been the “deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank” on record, with 504 deaths recorded. The UNRWA started recording casualties in 2005.
8h ago / 2:20 PM UTC
Car ramming attack injures 4 in occupied West Bank
A car ramming attack was carried out near a military post in the occupied West Bank, the IDF said in a statement today.
Soldiers operating in the area near the Adorayim Junction in the southern town of Otniel killed the attacker, the statement said, adding that more soldiers have been deployed to reinforce the area.
In a separate post on X, Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service said four pedestrians were struck, all of them in their 20s. It added that all of them were conscious, one was in “moderate condition” and three in “mild condition.”
9h ago / 1:50 PM UTC
Israeli families flee their homes as Hezbollah strikes from Lebanon increase
TEL AVIV — Israeli families who lived near the border with Lebanon told NBC News today that they have been forced to flee from their homes because of increasing attacks from the Hezbollah militant group.
Kenia Cohen said the situation in her hometown of Kiryat Shmona “was very scary. Like, boom, all the time, boom boom.”
After the town of around 20,000 people was evacuated because of the almost daily shelling, rocket and drone attacks by Hezbollah, Cohen and her four children moved to the Abraham Hostel in Tel Aviv, a place normally reserved for students and backpackers.
They joined the more than 200,000 Israelis who have fled their homes because of the war.
Uri Sharon, commercial director of Abraham Hostels & Tours, said the hostel was “pretty full” and the majority of his guests had come from northern Israel.
“The suffering from both sides must come to a halt, an immediate halt,” he said, adding that everybody should “understand that pain is not the solution but the problem.”
9h ago / 1:20 PM UTC
Freed Israeli hostage says she ‘went through a holocaust’ in Gaza
Freed Israeli hostage Mia Schem said she “went through a holocaust” when she was held captive in Gaza.
“It is important for me to reflect the real situation with regard to people living in Gaza,” the 21-year-old said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 13 TV station.
Schem, was abducted by Hamas at the Supernova music festival on Oct. 7, and released as part of a prisoner exchange with the militant group last month.
She said she lived with a family as she was held in captivity and she didn’t sleep for the entire 54 days because she was “frightened.”
“There is a fear of being raped,” she said.
9h ago / 1:05 PM UTC
Minister blames ‘lack of trust’ over decision not to extend prison commissioner’s tenure
A “complete lack of trust” was behind National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s decision not to extend the tenure of the chief commissioner of Israel’s Prison Service, his party said in a statement yesterday.
The statement release by Ben-Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party said there were “gaps that cannot be reconciled,” with Katy Perry, adding that under her rule “the commission avoided implementing the minister’s policy and even acted contrary to it.”
Calling him “irresponsible,” Perry responded by saying in a statement that she was not surprised by Ben-Gvir’s decision. She added that his claims were “unfounded and baseless.”
10h ago / 12:00 PM UTC
Think again if you believe getting aid into Gaza is easy, senior U.N. official says
People who believe getting aid into Gaza is easy should “think again,” according to Martin Griffiths, U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.
In a post on X today, he listed the hurdles that aid agencies had to clear before aid could enter the enclave.
Griffiths said that aid trucks required three layers of inspections, there was a growing list of rejected items and vehicles had been blocked or tried to enter at points designed for pedestrians.
He added that there was “constant bombardment,” convoys were “being shot at,” and aid workers were themselves being “displaced and killed.”
“This is an impossible situation for the people of Gaza, and for those trying to help them,” he said.
11h ago / 11:40 AM UTC
Israeli Embassy deletes ‘inappropriate’ video imagining Hamas attack on Seoul
SEOUL, South Korea — After the South Korean government called it “inappropriate,” the Israeli Embassy has deleted a video depicting an imaginary attack on Seoul by masked assailants.
The embassy said the self-produced video was created to help South Koreans understand how Israelis felt during the Hamas attacks Oct. 7.
But it earned a stern rebuke from the Korean Foreign Ministry.
“One cannot justify the killing and abducting of civilians by Hamas, and yet for the Israeli Embassy to have created a video using that analogy about another nation’s security situation is inappropriate,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The South Korean government has conveyed our position to the Israeli Embassy in South Korea and the Israeli Embassy immediately deleted the video in question,” it added.
11h ago / 10:55 AM UTC
Death of 3 hostages killed by Israeli soldiers ‘could have been prevented,’ investigation finds
The deaths of three hostages who were shot dead by members of the Israeli military as they held a stick with a white cloth “could have been prevented,” an investigation into the incident has concluded.
Alon Shamriz, Yotam Haim and Samer Talalka were killed in Shejaiya, Gaza, on Dec. 15.
In a news release about the investigation released yesterday, the Israel Defense Forces said “an IDF soldier fired toward three figures, identified as threats, and hit two of the hostages who were killed.”
“The third figure fled,” it said. Although commanders had given orders to hold fire so the person could be identified, when “the figure emerged from a building toward the forces,” the release said, “two soldiers, who did not hear the order due to noise from a nearby tank, shot at and killed the third hostage.”
The release said that the chief of the general staff “concluded that it was a difficult event with very difficult outcomes.”
“The IDF failed in its mission to rescue the hostages in this event,” it said, “The entire chain of command feels responsible for this difficult event, regrets this outcome, and shares in the grief of the families of the three hostages.”
It added that the chief of staff “determined that the hits on the hostages could have been prevented,” and there was no malice in the event, and the soldiers carried out the right action to the best of their understanding of the event at that moment.”
12h ago / 10:35 AM UTC
Israeli soldiers fired at aid convoy, UNRWA chief says
The head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees has accused Israeli soldiers of firing at an aid convoy in Gaza.
Thomas White said in a post on X that the convoy was returning from northern Gaza “along a route designated by the Israeli Army,” when it was shot at.
“Our international convoy leader and his team were not injured but one vehicle sustained damage,” he said. “Aid workers should never be a target,” he added.
NBC News approached the IDF for comment.
12h ago / 10:15 AM UTC
Navy destroyer shoots down drone, anti-ship ballistic missile in Red Sea
The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mason shot down a drone and an anti-ship ballistic missile that was fired by Iranian-backed Houthis rebels, according to U.S. Central Command.
The drone and the ballistic missile were fired in the southern Red Sea this evening local time, it said.
There were no reported injuries and no damage to any of the 18 ships nearby, Central Command said.
Since Oct. 19, Houthis have attempted 22 attacks on international ships, it said.
12h ago / 10:15 AM UTC
U.S. sanctions money network tied to Houthi rebels blamed for shipping vessel attacks
WASHINGTON — The U.S. imposed sanctions on a group of money exchange services from Yemen and Turkey alleged to help provide funding to Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who have been launching attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the southern Red Sea.
Included in the sanctions are the head of a financial intermediary in Sana’a, Yemen, along with three exchange houses in Yemen and Turkey. The Treasury Department alleges that the people and firms helped transfer millions of dollars to the Houthis at the direction of sanctioned Iranian financial facilitator Sa’id al-Jamal.
The sanctions block access to U.S. property and bank accounts and prevent the targeted people and companies from doing business with Americans.
Yesterday’s action is the latest round of financial penalties meant to punish the Houthis.
The U.S. announced sanctions this month against 13 people and firms alleged to be providing tens of millions of dollars from the sale and shipment of Iranian commodities to the Houthis in Yemen.
12h ago / 10:15 AM UTC
Palestine Red Crescent setting up first camp for displaced Gazans in Khan Younis
The Palestine Red Crescent Society, with help from the Egyptian Red Crescent, said yesterday that it working to set up the first organized camp for civilians in Gaza who have been displaced by the war.
The camp will be in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, it said.
The camp’s initial phase will include 300 tents and eventually expand to 1,000, with the intention of providing shelter to hundreds of displaced families, the aid group said.
12h ago / 10:15 AM UTC
