Gaza hammered with airstrikes; Blinken arrives in Israel

Israeli family living ‘double tragedy’ after son goes missing, home destroyed in Hamas attack

Sagui Dekel-Chen was part of a group of young men who tried to defend their home against Hamas when the militants raided Nir Oz, a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip, early Saturday. 

All communication with him stopped a few hours later, and there has been no trace of him since.

Sagui, a 35-year-old father of two who is also an American citizen, is considered missing. While no evidence has yet emerged that he was taken hostage by Hamas, his father, Jonathan Dekel-Chen, told NBC News he fears this is the case.

While dealing with a complete lack of information from both Israeli and American authorities about what could have happened to his son, Dekel-Chen said the the family is also mourning the loss of their home — the kibbutz has been rendered uninhabitable. 

“We are living with a double tragedy,” Dekel-Chen said. “What we believe to be the captivity, in my case of a son, but again, brothers, sisters, parents, children — they have also been taken, and the total physical destruction of our community and of our home. We don’t have anywhere to go home to.”

American troops not being sent for hostages, White House says

There are currently no plans to send American soldiers to Israel for hostage rescue operations, Jon Finer, deputy national security adviser, told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“We are not contemplating U.S. boots on the ground,” Finer said.

America experts are involved in advising Israelis on how to proceed, however, Finer noted. There are an estimated 100 to 150 people currently being held hostage by Hamas, officials have said, including missing American citizens.

Oct. 12, 202306:39

Syrian airports hit by Israeli airstrikes, state media reports

Aerial attacks hit two different Syrian airports in Aleppo and Damascus today, according to Syrian Arab News Agency, a state media site.

The site blamed Israel for the strikes, which it said had damaged the landing strips at both airports and put them out of service, accusing Israel of trying to divert attention from its airstrikes on Gaza.

Israel has hit the airports in the past, but these are the first strikes reported since the Hamas attack.

Rocket strikes and sirens in a southern Israeli town

SDEROT, Israel — Warning sirens blared as we arrived at this southern Israeli town near the Gaza border around midday local time, followed quickly by incoming rocket fire in a primarily residential area of the town.

Rockets from Gaza are striking Sderot periodically, with few civilians on the streets but a large presence of Israeli police and military, many on patrol. There is a constant tempo of outgoing fire from large Israeli weaponry, and small arms fire can also be heard in the distance.

From our vantage point atop a hill overlooking northern Gaza, strikes can be seen steadily hitting the strip. The skyline of Gaza City now is barely visible, through smoke and dust plumes.

Oct. 12, 202302:43

Democratic lawmaker cuts ties with prominent left-wing group over pro-Palestinian rally

WASHINGTON — Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., announced yesterday that he is renouncing his membership in the Democratic Socialists of America after the left-wing group promoted a pro-Palestinian rally a day after Hamas’ deadly terrorist attack on Israel.

In a statement, Thanedar, who is in his first term, cited what he called a “hate-filled and antisemitic rally in New York City,” which other progressives in Congress have also condemned.

Read the full story here

‘We’re not Hamas,’ Gaza residents say as death toll rises

GAZA CITY, Gaza — After days of devastating Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, residents of the besieged enclave say there is no way to escape death. 

Hamas controls the Palestinian enclave, where 2.2 million people live in about 140 square miles — making it one of the most densely populated places in the world. 

Schools have been flattened, walls blown off houses and entire families buried under tons of concrete. Residents are scrambling to rescue relatives as smoke and dust from the relentless bombing make it difficult to breathe. 

“It’s all collateral damage. We are all civilians, normal doctors, nurses, teachers, students. We’re not Hamas,” Mohamed Mughisib, a Palestinian doctor and a deputy coordinator with Doctors Without Borders, said in a telephone interview from Gaza. 

“It’s the children who are dying,” he said.

Read the full story here.

Palestinian health system ‘has begun to collapse,’ ministry says

“The health system has begun to collapse,” the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement today.

The amount of injured Palestinians in Gaza — more than 6,000 people — currently exceeds the number of available operating rooms and beds, it said. Expanded intensive care units have already been filled.

Oct. 12, 202305:48

“The number of injured people is greater than the hospitals’ clinical capabilities, even after they were expanded and the injured were placed in the corridors,” the ministry said.

Latino Jews grieve, worry as attack in Israel puts close family ties in focus

Fernando Russek, 51, a Jewish resident of south Texas who was born in Mexico, spoke with urgency and strength about “people on the side of good” standing with Israel and speaking out against the attack by Hamas. 

But he couldn’t maintain the bravado as he disclosed that his daughter is fighting in the war because she is a captain in the Israeli army and that his brother, a reservist, was reactivated two weeks before he was to have opened a restaurant in Israel. 

“I am like a father — and like any brother,” Russek said when he was asked how he was coping.

The gruesome violence that unfolded when Hamas staged a surprise attack along the Gaza border in Israel and the current state of war have put into focus the Latino Jewish diaspora and the interconnected nature of families, friends and cross-cultural ties among the U.S., Latin America and Israel. 

“There’s literally thousands of Latinos who are Jewish,” said Rabbi Peter Tarlow, executive director of the Center for Latino-Jewish Relations, who’s based in College Station, Texas. “Like anyone else in the Jewish community, this is personal. You know, it hits home.”

Read the full story here.

Blinken says at least 25 American killed in attack by Hamas

Oct. 12, 202302:12

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today that the number of Americans killed in Hamas’ attack on Israel has grown to at least 25.

“Tragically, the number of innocent lives claimed by Hamas’ heinous attacks continues to rise. Among those, at least 25 American citizens were killed,” he said.

Speaking at press conference in Tel Aviv with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he reiterated America’s support for Israel’s defense, through supplying ammunition, aircraft and other aid.

“As Israel’s defense needs evolve, we will meet with Congress to make sure those needs are met,” he said. “There is no excuse, there is no justification for these atrocities. This is and this must be a moment for moral clarity.”

Blinken condemned the loss of innocent lives. “Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people and does not stand for the future,” he said. “They have one agenda — to kill Jews.”

“President Biden was absolutely correct in calling this sheer evil,” Netanyahu said. “Hamas is ISIS and just as ISIS was crushed, so too will Hamas be crushed. And Hamas should be treated just as ISIS was treated.”

Contradictory reports about Egypt’s Rafah crossing from besieged Gaza

There were contradictory reports today about whether the only border crossing out of the Gaza Strip not controlled by Israel is open amid a complete blockade of the enclave.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip is “open for business” and “has not been closed at any stage since the beginning of the current crisis, except that its basic facilities on the Palestinian side were destroyed.”

“As a result of the repeated Israeli bombing, it prevents them from carrying out work normally,” the ministry said, calling on Israel to avoid targeting the Palestinian side of the crossing to keep this “lifeline” for Gaza residents available.

But Embassy of Palestine representative at the Rafah crossing, Kamal Al Khatib, told NBC News today that the border has been closed since Oct. 8 when the Gazan side of the border was first bombed by Israel.

There have been conflicting reports about whether the crossing has been operating since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war. On Tuesday, the Israeli military revised a recommendation by one of its spokespeople that Palestinians fleeing its airstrikes in Gaza head to Egypt.

IDF preparing for a potential ground assault

Israel is preparing for a possible ground operation in Gaza, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman, told reporters today.

He said forces “are preparing for a ground maneuver if decided,” but that political leaders have not yet ordered one

NBC News correspondents have previously seen Israeli tanks lined up at the border with Gaza, indicating the potential for a ground assault.

Gaza is home to more than 2 million Palestinians, half of whom are children. The densely populated strip would make a ground assault difficult and likely increase casualties.

Shrapnel damage after strike in Sderot, Israel

Max Butterworth

Israeli soldiers inspect shrapnel damage on a wall after a rocket strike in the southern border city of Sderot today.

For more coverage on the Israel-Hamas war, read yesterday’s live blog here.

Family of missing American mom and teenager fear they have been kidnapped

Oct. 12, 202301:31

The family of a missing American mom and her teenage daughter, told NBC News’ Lester Holt yesterday that they feared they had been kidnapped by Hamas militants and were doing “everything in our power” to bring her home safely. 

Seventeen-year-old Natalie Ranaan’s aunt Saray Cohen said that she last heard from her shortly after midday Saturday. Natalie, who had just graduated high school in Chicago, told her via text message that they were “hearing shooting out of their apartment. And she said that the other room out of the security room was bombed,” Cohen added. 

Ranaan’s grandmother Tamar Levitan said she was later accompanied by five soldiers when she went round to the apartment where Natalie was staying with her mother Judith. “I saw the front door open and the door to the backyard was broken. It’s glass door. So they broke it and I think from there they came into the house,” she said.     

“We want the U.S. to help us find its citizens Judith and Natalie,” Cohen added.

Water situation in Gaza becoming more dire, U.N. says

As the complete blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel continues for its fourth day Thursday, the United Nations is sounding the alarm about water shortages for the enclave’s more than 2 million residents.

Israel said Monday water was on of the resources it was cutting off for the Gaza Strip, along with fuel, food and electricity.

The U.N. said Wednesday there was already a “severe shortage” of drinking water affecting more than 650,000 people. 

Israeli airstrikes have also damaged seven facilities that had been providing water and sanitation services to over 1.1 million people, more than half of Gaza’s estimated population, the U.N. said. In some areas, sewage and solid waste are now accumulating in the streets, posing a health hazard, the report added.

Palestinian President Abbas to meet Blinken on Friday, official says

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday, a Palestinian official said early on Thursday.

Blinken landed in Tel Aviv Thursday morning and is meeting with Israeli senior officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hussein Al-Sheikh, secretary general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, also said on messaging platform X that Abbas will meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah in Amman on Thursday.

Israeli troops, tanks gather along the Lebanese border

Oct. 12, 202300:54

4 Palestinian medics killed in Gaza, Red Crescent says

The Red Crescent confirmed that four of its Palestinian ambulances workers died while working in Gaza on Wednesday.

Palestine Red Crescent Society identified the four workers today as Hatem Awad, Khalil Al-Sharif, Yousry Al-Masry and Ahmed Dahman, according to a translated post on X. The post also released images of fellow medics crying over their bodies outside of Al-Shifa Hospital.

A video of the medics being carried into the hospital by distraught Palestinians circulated social media on Wednesday and appears to match the images shared by the Red Crescent.

“The IFRC reiterates the call on all parties to respect their legal obligations under international humanitarian law,” the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in a statement. “This is non-negotiable. Civilians, healthcare workers, health facilities and civilian infrastructure must be respected and protected at all times.”

No way out for U.N. agency director’s family after border crossing bombed

Hani Almadoun’s entire family is in Gaza, and was watching from afar the neighborhoods he knows very well, being destroyed beyond recognition from the constant Israeli airstrikes.

Almadoun, who’s the director of Philanthropy for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, said, “They cannot leave if they wanted to,” as airstrikes pound the only border crossing out between Gaza and Egypt.

Oct. 12, 202304:14

“We’ve not been able to establish contact with my parents,” he said. “There’s a lot of death and airstrikes around them.”

Iran foreign minister to do Middle East tour, including Lebanon

Hossein Amir Abdullahian, Iran’s foreign minister, will be doing a tour of the region that includes Lebanon “in light of the current events,” according to an X post by Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon.

Iran is a known supporter of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has been exchanging fire sporadically across the border with Israel since Hamas’ attack on Saturday.

Gaza death rises to 1,354; more than 330,000 displaced

Gaza’s heath ministry has once again revised its death toll to 1,354, up from 1,203 reported Thursday morning. It said more than 6,000 are injured as Gaza’s hospitals are struggling to provide help to all those who need it amid Israel’s complete blockade and air strikes.

The United Nations said the number of those displaced in Gaza has also grown and now stands at 338,934.

Animals left to fend for themselves in Gaza

Max Butterworth

A horse eats from a dumpster along a street filled with garbage and rubble in Gaza City on Thursday.

Gaza hospitals face a ‘tsunami of wounded’ as supplies and power run out

GAZA CITY, Gaza — After Hamas’ terror attack, Israeli airstrikes have reduced entire neighborhoods in Gaza, including hospitals, to soot. The remaining clinics and emergency units have been operating without power and supplies.

“Our hospitals are flooded with patients and injured people, and we have to deal with casualties that are arriving on a daily basis at our emergency department,” Marwan Abu Seeds, deputy director of the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, said as ambulances brought in one casualty after another. 

Officials say at least 1,100 people have died in Gaza in bombings since the attack. Now, as Israel’s forces prepare for a possible ground invasion, doctors and aid workers say the health care system in Gaza is about to collapse.

“The situation is really catastrophic,” said Sarah Chateau, Paris-based desk manager for Doctors Without Borders, which has 300 staff members in Gaza. “We barely can operate in Gaza. The bombing is almost nonstop.”

Read the full story here.

Oct. 11, 202301:58

Blinken is meeting with Israeli PM

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, government ministers and officials as part of his visit Thursday to show Washington’s solidarity with Israel.

A statement from Netanyahu’s office said Blinken is also set to meet with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and centrist opposition party leader Benny Gantz, with whom Netanyahu formed an emergency unity government on Wednesday.

97 families of hostages have been notified

As of this morning, 97 families have been informed of their loved ones being taken hostage by Hamas, according to IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari.

Officials have estimated that between 100 and 150 people have been kidnapped by Hamas.

Residents of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip recover air strike victims and search for loved ones

Oct. 12, 202300:49

Two Palestinians in West Bank killed by settlers, Palestinian health ministry says

Two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers near the town of Qusra in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian health authority said Thursday.

Witnesses told Reuters that the father and son were shot when settlers opened fire at the funeral of four Palestinians who were killed by armed settlers and Israeli soldiers in Qusra, near the northern city of Nablus, on Wednesday.

NBC News could not verify the reports.

X issues formal response to accusations of platform’s disinformation

Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, issued a formal response to European authorities on what the platform is doing to mitigate “illegal content and disinformation” following the break out of war.

Thierry Breton, European commissioner in charge of the internal market of the European Union, sent a letter to Elon Musk on Tuesday implying X may be subject to investigation for violations of the E.U.’s Digital Services Act.

Community notes, which are user-submitted addendums to posts, appear to be where the platform is largely focusing its efforts to add “context to a wide range of topics related to the conflict,” according to the letter.

“We recently launched a major acceleration in the speed in which notes appear,” Yaccarino wrote.

Researchers found a propaganda network of 67 accounts coordinating to spread false, inflammatory content related to the Israel-Hamas war. At least one of them was a verified user account, NBC reported Monday.

Israeli forces preparing ground offensive against Hamas

Oct. 11, 202303:26

Guns distributed to Israelis near Lebanon border

Max Butterworth

Israelis have been receiving weapons at a distribution point for people allowed to carry arms, at the Ayyelet HaShahar Kibbutz, in northern Israel, near the Lebanese border on Thursday.

Israel normally has tight gun restrictions and civilians are not normally allowed to carry firearms, but this week residents in some Israeli towns have been told they will be able to. Some 10,000 people applied for a license in the southern town of Sderot, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Wednesday.

Gaza death toll passes 1,200 ahead of expected Israel ground offensive

Gaza’s ministry of health said this morning that 1,203 people were killed and another 5,763 injured since the bloody incursion of Hamas into Israel this weekend and retaliatory air strikes on the enclave by Israeli forces.

Taiwan sets up task force to study Israel-Hamas war

Taiwan has set up a task force to learn from the surprise attack on Israel by Hamas, the island’s defense minister said Thursday.

Like the war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war has raised concerns about potential conflict over Taiwan, a self-governing democracy that China claims as its territory. Taiwan is under growing pressure from Beijing, which says it seeks “peaceful unification” with the island but has not ruled out the use of force.

Taiwan Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said officials had already drawn lessons from the Israel-Hamas war.

“The first is that intelligence work is really important, and when intelligence is available, many countermeasures can be made,” he told reporters. “These countermeasures also include our ability to prevent a war from happening.”

Satellite images show air strike damage in Gaza

Max Butterworth

New satellite images released Tuesday show the extent of damage caused by Israeli airstrikes. The remains of the Watan tower in Gaza City can be seen in pictures published by Maxar Technologies.

Other images captured by Maxar show destruction across the Rimal district in Gaza City.

Israel’s sense of security forever changed from Hamas attack

Oct. 11, 202301:46

No humanitarian aid for Gaza until Israeli hostages returned, Israeli minister says

Israel’s energy minister said there will be no humanitarian aid for Gaza until Israelis taken hostage by Hamas are returned home.

“No electrical switch will be turned on, no water stop cork will be opened, and no fuel truck will enter until the kidnapped Israelis are returned home,” Israel Katz said on X, formerly Twitter, Thursday.

“Humanitarian for humanitarian. And no one will preach us morals,” Katz wrote.

Aid organizations and the United Nations have been sounding the alarm about a growing humanitarian crisis in the densely populated Gaza Strip since Israel announced a complete blockade Monday, cutting off supplies of fuel, food, water and electricity, in retaliation for the unprecedented Hamas attack this weekend. It comes amid a barrage of air strikes from Israel, which has already displaced more than a quarter million people in the enclave.

3 Chinese nationals killed and 2 missing, Foreign Ministry says

The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday that three Chinese nationals had been killed and two are missing in the Israel-Hamas war.

Several others have been injured, ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

“We express our deep sorrow for the victims, and express our sincere condolences to the families of the victims and the injured,” he said.

It was unclear whether the number of missing Wang cited included Noa Argamani, 25, whose abduction from a music festival by Hamas was seen in a widely shared video and who the Israeli Embassy in Beijing says is Israeli-Chinese.

Gaza morgue inundated with bodies

Max Butterworth

A morgue worker arranges body bags at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Thursday.

Israel-Hamas war escalates tensions nationwide

Oct. 11, 202302:15

Number of displaced people in Gaza rises to 263,000; all 13 hospitals only partially operational, U.N. says

The mass displacement of civilians in Gaza has now topped 263,000 people, the United Nations said Wednesday, with more than 175,000 sheltering in U.N. schools in the enclave that’s home to more than 2 million people.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in its daily update that more than 1,000 housing units in Gaza have been destroyed since Israel launched its air strike mission on the region.

All 13 hospitals and other health facilities in the enclave are only partially operational due to supply shortages and fuel rationing, the U.N. said.

Ceasefire is imperative, China’s Mideast envoy tells Palestinian official

China is “deeply saddened” by the war between Israel and Hamas and the civilian deaths and injuries that have resulted, and calls for an immediate ceasefire, Beijing’s Middle East envoy told a Palestinian official.

The international community should work together to de-escalate the situation and provide Palestinians with humanitarian assistance, the envoy, Zhai Jun, said in a phone call on Wednesday with Amal Jadou, first deputy minister of Palestinian foreign affairs.

Zhai also reiterated China’s support for a two-state solution.

“China will continue to promote a ceasefire to stop the violence, help alleviate the humanitarian crisis, and actively promote peace and negotiations, so as to play a constructive role in promoting a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine,” Zhai told Jadou, according to a readout published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken lands in Tel Aviv

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has landed in Tel Aviv, five days after a surprise Hamas attack on Israel.

The State Department said Tuesday Blinken’s message was one of solidarity and support. Spokesperson Matthew Miller said Blinken will be meeting with senior leaders in the Israeli government about the situation on the ground and how the U.S. can continue to best support Israel.

UNRWA director loses contact with family in Gaza as humanitarian crisis worsens

Oct. 12, 202304:14

Catch up with nbcnews.com’s coverage from Israel and Gaza

Here are just some of the articles our team in the region and beyond have produced in the last 24 hours.