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Despite Hamas’ release of two American hostages on Friday, Israeli forces are expanding their attacks and will move forward at some point with a long-expected ground offensive in the northern half of Gaza, officials said.
At the same time, the United States was increasing its military presence in the Middle East in order to back up Israel if needed, deter Iran and its proxies from entering the war, and protect U.S. forces already in the region, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said.
The announcement on U.S. firepower came as sustenance, including food and water, was allowed into Gaza for the first time. The Gaza Health Ministry said the 20 trucks that drove into Gaza from Egypt were carrying just 3% of Gaza’s daily, life-sustaining supplies. UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme and other organizations called Saturday’s relief efforts “only a small beginning and far from enough.”
Protests, mostly to highlight the plight of Palestinians under fire in Gaza and beyond, raged from London to Chicago.
U.S. to increase military presence, readiness in Middle East
The United States is increasing its military presence in the Middle East in order to help defend Israel if necessary, deter Iran and its proxy forces from entering the war, and protect U.S. forces already in the region, the Pentagon announced today.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin directed the strengthening of the nation's defense posture in the region after consulting with President Joe Biden, he said in a nighttime statement.
The new show of force includes moving the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group to the Central Command area, where it will be able to supplement the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which is in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Austin said.
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and additional Patriot battalions are also being deployed to the region, he said. Additional forces are being placed on "prepare to deploy" status "to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required," the secretary of defense said.
Friends and families of Hamas hostages protested in central Tel Aviv, demanding greater efforts from their government and the international community to bring their loved ones home.
How NBC News verifies videos from the Israel-Hamas war
NBC News' Social Newsgathering team is helping fight the fog of war, working to get an accurate, confirmed set of facts about the situation in Israel and Gaza.
Here’s how journalists are using tech tools and old-fashioned reporting to get to the truth about viral videos and images.
In critical swing state Michigan, some Muslim Americans warn they won’t back Biden again
As Biden declared unwavering support for Israel in the days after Hamas’ terrorist attack in Israel, Ahmad Ramadan, a former Biden adviser now leading coalition efforts for the Michigan Democratic Party, called the state party chair to raise the alarm about what he was hearing.
Michigan has one of the largest Muslim and Arab American populations in the country, and they say their support for Biden was instrumental to putting him over the top in the critical swing state in 2020. But now, Ramadan and other Democratic leaders in the state were hearing nothing but frustration with Biden — and threats to not vote for him again.
In a series of more than a dozen roundtable discussions with Muslim community leaders in the two weeks since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, Ramadan said the main takeaway is that “people are very disappointed.” They say they “will not forget what President Biden did and why he lied to them,” he added.
“Joe Biden has single-handedly alienated almost every Arab American and Muslim American voter in Michigan,” said state Rep. Alabas Farhat, a Democrat whose district includes Dearborn, which is home to one of the largest Muslim and Arab American communities in the country.
Amid the rubble in Gaza City, agony and personal loss
ISRAEL-GAZA BORDER — Throughout the day, missile strikes have been launched from Gaza into central and southern Israel, and there have also been airstrikes and artillery bombardments inside Gaza.
In Gaza City, an area near the Al Shatea refugee camp was hit. At least one home that was struck had people inside it.
After hearing the blast, a woman arrived at the scene as rescuers were combing through debris, searching for survivors. She then walked 2 miles to a hospital, where she discovered nine of her family members had been killed in the blast.
The woman's mother, father, brother and sister-in-law were among those killed.
Bipartisan Senate delegation travels to Middle East
Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Ben Cardin, D-Md., led a meeting today with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia to advance U.S.-Saudi interests and discuss the escalating war between Israel and Hamas.
The bipartisan delegation of 10 U.S. senators also spoke about the need for humanitarian assistance in Gaza and how best to promote peace and stability amid fears of a widening conflict in the region, according to a statement.
Graham had announced on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the bipartisan delegation would be traveling to Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Messages differ at ‘Free Palestine’ rallies across U.S.
“Free, free Palestine!” People at rallies today across the U.S. echoed the chant in support of Palestinians, but their messages differed. Some advocated for resistance to Israel and its allies in the U.S., while others called for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Speakers at the National March for Gaza in Washington, D.C., demanded an immediate stop to the violence before a large crowd in front of the Washington Monument.
“I want this to end either way. If they kill us now, it’s so much better than killing us slowly,” said one speaker, who called for the return of hostages abducted by Hamas, as well as the release of prisoners from Israeli jails.
Adam Sawada, whose brother was recently killed in a bombing in Gaza, said in a speech that he is trying to remain “positive” about the difference he and others around the world can make in ending the bloody war.
“Enough is enough,” he said. “It’s time to put an end to this and make peace. That’s it.”
The protest was hosted by American Muslims for Palestine and the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations, groups that mobilize the Muslim community in the U.S. to advocate for Palestinian rights.
In Providence, Rhode Island, hundreds of protesters clutched umbrellas in heavy rain on the steps of the State House, calling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel.
“We are here today standing against genocide. We are here today resisting Israel’s apartheid regime,” said one speaker, a Palestinian Muslim and student at Rhode Island College. The rally was organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which, according to its website, “stands in solidarity with working-class and oppressed people around the world who are resisting capitalist exploitation and imperialist domination.”
New York’s pro-Palestinian protests also emphasized different messages this weekend. A march to Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s Manhattan office last night advocated for a cease-fire, while protesters at the Flood Brooklyn for Palestine rally today shouted: “When Palestine is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”
In Chicago, protesters marched through the streets this afternoon carrying a giant banner that read, “Stop the U.S.-backed genocide against Gaza.” Before the march, the crowd broke out in a chant calling Biden and Netanyahu war criminals.
Two people were arrested and are awaiting charges, according to a Chicago Police Department spokesperson, who did not provide additional details.
Worldwide demonstrations have been ongoing since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas.
Israeli military warns attacks in northern Gaza will 'intensify'
Israeli forces plan to step up their attacks on Hamas strongholds in northern Gaza, officials said today, as Israel prepares for a ground assault.
"We'll continue attacking targets that can be a threat to our ground forces," Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman, said in a statement, adding that the military "will intensify" its campaign against Hamas.
He also called on residents of northern Gaza to continue evacuating to the south, where humanitarian aid began entering today from the border with Egypt.
He said the aid includes food, water and medicine but not fuel.
Man at D.C. rally mourns brother killed in Israeli airstrike
A brother of Shaaban Sawada, who was fatally wounded in an Israeli air attack in Gaza this week, said at a pro-Palestinian rally today in Washington, D.C., that he believes strained resources in the hospitals led to his death.
"My brother was standing outside, you know, just standing and doing nothing, really. They dropped a bomb next door, and his leg, the leg, went cut off," Adam Sawada said.
"At the hospital, they left him a few minutes until they get to him because, and this is my theory — I think they have too many kids to try to take care of before my elderly brother, because he was, like, about 65," Sawada added, "and by the time they got to him, he was dead."
Aid to Gaza not enough, humanitarian groups say
Humanitarian groups applaud the 20 trucks of supplies that entered Gaza on Saturday but say the aid falls dangerously short of what is needed to help civilians on the ground.
A joint statement issued by groups including UNICEF, World Health Organization, World Food Programme and others called Saturday's relief efforts "only a small beginning and far from enough."
"More than 1.6 million people in Gaza are in critical need of humanitarian aid. Children, pregnant women and the elderly remain the most vulnerable," the statement read in part, noting minors comprise nearly half the population of Gaza.
"With so much civilian infrastructure in Gaza damaged or destroyed in nearly two weeks of constant bombings, including shelters, health facilities, water, sanitation, and electrical systems, time is running out before mortality rates could skyrocket due to disease outbreaks and lack of health-care capacity," the statement went on. "Gaza was a desperate humanitarian situation before the most recent hostilities. It is now catastrophic. The world must do more."