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The Israel Defense Forces has massed military personnel and equipment at the border, and it said Saturday it was preparing to expand its aerial attack with “an integrated and coordinated attack from the air, sea and land.”
No large-scale ground offensive into Gaza has been announced, but Israel’s military has been telling civilians in Gaza City and other parts of northern Gaza to go south.
The United Nations says that amounts to 1 million people being told to leave in densely populated Gaza, which is 139 square miles.
The World Health Organization said Saturday that forcing patients to move “could be tantamount to a death sentence.” Israel’s military says the order is for the safety of civilians as it attacks Hamas.
What we know
- A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Gaza as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flee from the territory’s north to the south, heeding Israeli warnings to evacuate before an anticipated ground invasion. Their options for seeking safety are extremely limited.
- Israel’s retaliation comes after Hamas, which rules Gaza, carried out the worst terrorist attack in Israel in decades a week ago, a coordinated assault on kibbutzim a music festival and city streets.
- Clean water, fuel and medical supplies have all but run out in Gaza, the United Nations said, and electricity has been unavailable for days. The head of Gaza's largest hospital says it has become a mass shelter, with 35,000 seeking refuge inside.
- The Israel Defense Forces has massed military personnel and equipment at the border, and it said Saturday it was preparing to expand its aerial attack with “an integrated and coordinated attack from the air, sea and land.”
- At least 1,300 people — including 265 soldiers — were killed in Israel in the terrorist attack and more than 3,300 were injured. In Gaza, over 2,200 people have been killed and 8,000 have been injured.
- Twenty-nine Americans have been killed, the State Department said Saturday. Fifteen U.S. citizens are unaccounted-for, as well as one lawful permanent resident.
- NBC News’ Lester Holt, Tom Llamas, Richard Engel, Raf Sanchez, Kelly Cobiella, Matt Bradley, Ellison Barber, Chantal Da Silva and Josh Lederman are reporting from the region.
Despite discussions among different officials on allowing Americans to leave Gaza through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt, the border remained closed and no one has gained passage at yet.
Pete Davidson, the son of a 9/11 victim, opens SNL with heart
"Saturday Night Live" returned for its 49th season, delayed by the summer writers strike. And its guest host, alum Pete Davidson, addressed the ongoing tragedy in the Mideast head on.
"We saw horrible images and stories from Israel and Gaza and I know what you’re thinking: Who better to comment on it than Pete Davidson?" the usually-goofy-but-not-this-time comedian said.
"Well, in a lot of ways, I am a good person to talk about it because when I was seven years old, my dad was killed in a terrorist attack. So I know something about what that’s like.
"I saw so many terrible pictures this week of children suffering, there Israeli children and Palestinian children. And it took me back to a really horrible, horrible place. And, you know, no one in this world serves to suffer. That you know, especially not kids.
"You know, after my dad died, my mom tried pretty much everything she could do to cheer me up. I remember one day when I was eight. She got me what she thought was a Disney movie. But it was actually the Eddie Murphy stand-up special "Delirious." And we played it in the car on the way home and when she heard the things Eddie Murphy was saying, she tried to take it away.
"But then she noticed something for the first time in a long time, I was laughing again. I don’t understand that. I really don’t and I never will, but sometimes, comedy is really the only way forward through tragedy.
"You know, my heart is with everyone whose lives have been destroyed this week. But tonight, I’m gonna do what I’ve always done in the face of tragedy and that’s tried to be funny. Remember, I said try."
Israeli-American CEO rushes home: “I have to come back. I have to be here. I’m Jewish. We have to protect Israel.”
Maayan Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Hello Heart, was on her way to a conference in Las Vegas when the flood of texts from home began. The horrors that her team witnessed made her know there was no question: She had to get to Israel.
Speaking from a bomb shelter in Tel Aviv, her children nearby, Cohen explained.
“Israelis are probably one of the only people that we have war, when we are at risk, everybody flies in. This is our country.
"I have to come back. I have to be here. I’m Jewish. We have to protect Israel.”
Ron DeSantis says U.S. shouldn’t take in refugees from Gaza
CRESTON, Iowa — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said today the U.S. should not accept refugees from Gaza as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flee from the north to the south, following Israeli government warnings to evacuate before an anticipated ground invasion.
Onstage before the crowd of about 50 people in this rural town southwest of Des Moines, DeSantis said other Arab states should absorb the refugees. But delving deeper into his reasoning, he offered up a sweeping characterization of the fleeing Palestinians.
“If you look at how they behave, not all of them are Hamas, but they are all antisemitic. None of them believe in Israel’s right to exist,” he baselessly claimed.
Gaza evacuation: How residents are moving south to find shelter
Getting out of Gaza is harrowing, and the route is littered with deadly obstacles.
Finding hostage locations will be the priority for special forces, analyst says
Special forces are most likely heading into or are in Gaza to identify areas where hostages might be held, a retired admiral and MSNBC analyst said tonight.
“What is happening is special forces are flooding into Gaza City, They’re attempting above all to find and fix the location of these hostages,” James Stavridis, retired admiral and MSNBC chief international analyst, said on the network.
Stavridis said that Israel’s military, which has ground forces around Gaza, could also go in by the sea.
More than just another round of fighting in Gaza, Israel spokesperson says
Israeli’s military action against Hamas in Gaza aims to “dismantle” Hamas as both a military and a governing organization, a spokesperson for Israeli’s government said today.
“This is not another round of fighting in the Gaza Strip; this is not another round in which Israel is aiming to deter Hamas or degrade Hamas,” spokesperson Eylon Levy said on MSNBC. “This is a war in which Israel’s aim is to dismantle Hamas.”
Hamas controls Gaza. It was elected in Gaza in 2006, and there have not been elections since. It has a military arm and a political arm.
Tanks on the move on a clear morning near the border
NEAR THE ISRAEL-GAZA BORDER — At 4:40 a.m. along the northern section of the border, tanks roll along the street, clanking on the pavement as they move.
In the distance, artillery booms are heard and flashes of light are spotted overhead, creating an unusual contrast on a morning clear enough for stargazing and a perfect view of the Big Dipper.
U.K. flights leave Israel as government gets nationals out of region
Three United Kingdom-facilitated flights left Israel bound for the U.K. and Cyprus, the government said, “with more expected in the coming hours.”
“We are working with the Egyptian authorities to facilitate British and dual nationals, and their spouses and children, leaving Gaza via Rafah,” the U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said on X.
Governments have been working to help their citizens leave Israel and Gaza as the conflict continues and could enter a new phase when a promised bombardment by Israel takes place.
Canada has been sending Canadian armed forces flights to get Canadians out of Israel. U.S. officials have said charter flights would go to Israel for Americans there.
Agreement to allow Americans out of Gaza through Rafah gate remains elusive
The tentative agreement to allow Americans safe passage through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt from Gaza continues to face significant obstacles to implementation, U.S. officials say.
The issue will be a key item on Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s agenda when he lands in Cairo tomorrow, they said.
Earlier discussions with Egypt by the U.S., Qatar and Israel focused on a five-hour window during which U.S. citizens could pass through the Rafah crossing today, but the deadline came and went without any immediate sign of success.
A U.S. official said that although the original window has passed, the parties continue to negotiate and obstacles remain.
There’s still no guarantee that Hamas, which controls the Gaza side of the border and which has told residents not to evacuate, will allow for safe passage, three U.S. officials cautioned. A fourth source with knowledge of the situation pointed to another issue — Egypt’s outstanding concerns over aid guarantees tied to any opening of the border. Even if Egypt’s demands are met, Hamas remains a critical piece of the equation.
Even so, the State Department continues to publicly urge the 500 to 600 Americans estimated to be in Gaza to move south, cautioning that if the crossing opens, the window could be brief.
With a ground invasion of Gaza believed to be imminent, securing safe passage for Americans through the Rafah crossing remains an administration priority, according to multiple sources.
Blinken is expected to make remarks from the tarmac in Cairo at 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday.
Demonstrators descend on Israel's L.A. consulate to support Palestinians
LOS ANGELES — Hundreds of demonstrators rallied outside Israel’s Consulate General today in support for the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.
Despite a splinter group's attempt to block the nearby 405 freeway, which was thwarted by Los Angeles police, and a single confrontation with a pro-Israel protester, the event was peaceful overall, authorities said.
Demonstrators blocked busy Wilshire Boulevard, which runs from the sea to downtown and passes UCLA and the Westwood Federal Building, for hours this afternoon. No arrests were reported.
Estee Chandler, a well-known actor who founded the Los Angeles chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, said it was important to note that Jewish Americans attended to support the Palestinian state and human rights for the people of Gaza.
“Dehumanization of Palestinians starts at the top from our government officials,” she said. “We need to remind people that Palestinians are human beings, our brothers, our sisters, our cousins, our dentists, our friends, our teachers, our neighbors, and we have to love each other and take care of each other.”
Critics of Hamas say its level of violence may have discarded any notion of human civility.
“This is about humanity,” Chandler said. “This is about not letting the worst things that we’ve seen in history, that we’ve learned about history, happen again before our eyes with the support of our government and the use of our tax dollars.”