U.S. military presence boosted in the Middle East

When the Israeli evacuation order came to leave northern Gaza, airstrikes had already forced Nowar Diab and her family to relocate three times in five days. 

They reluctantly decided to obey the Oct. 13 instructions for 1 million residents to move south for their own safety. As Diab, 20, peered out the window of the car carrying her from Gaza City, the English literature student feared that she was witnessing a repeat of something she had seen in old photographs and heard about from grandparents.

“I saw the exodus of Palestinians,” Diab said in a telephone interview. “I felt like I was dreaming and it’s not reality. And I’m a part of it; I’m taking part in it.”

Palestinians in Gaza, as well as members of the Palestinian diaspora, told NBC News that they fear Israel will use Hamas’ terrorist attack to permanently expel Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. 

Read the full story.

With anticipation building for a ground invasion of Gaza by Israel, concerns are also growing that the war could widen. Netanyahu said tonight that if Hezbollah joins the war, he will order an attack on targets across Lebanon.

Detroit police said today that they have found no evidence that indicates the fatal stabbing of a Detroit synagogue president this weekend was linked to antisemitism.

Police continue to investigate the death of Samantha Woll, 40, who was found stabbed outside her home Saturday morning, Police Chief James E. White said in a statement.

“No evidence has surfaced suggesting that this crime was motivated by antisemitism,” White said.

Mourners attended a funeral for Woll today.

Read the full story here.

The Israel Defense Forces said it struck two Hezbollah cells in Lebanon — one that it claimed planned to launch anti-tank missiles toward Israeli territory and another that it claimed planned to launch rockets.

NBC News has not confirmed the strikes.

"The IDF thwarted the attacks," striking the Hezbollah cells before the weapons were fired, the Israeli military said.

Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces have clashed repeatedly since Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

Biden and Netanyahu "affirmed" on the phone today that critical humanitarian assistance will continue to flow into Gaza, according to a summary of the call released by the White House.

The summary said Biden welcomed the first two convoys of aid that crossed into the besieged Palestinian enclave this weekend and expressed appreciation for the Israeli government's support in helping accommodate the release last week of two American hostages held in Gaza — Judith Raanan and her daughter, Natalie.

They discussed their governments' efforts to secure the releases of all the other hostages Hamas terrorists took after the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel.

They also talked about the need to "provide for safe passage for U.S. citizens and other civilians in Gaza who wish to depart" the area, which has come under intense bombardment by the Israeli military.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators expressed solidary and support for Israel during a visit Tel Aviv.

"Destroying Hamas is non-negotiable," said Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

"These were crimes against humanity. We are all involved in this. It's in the United States' interest," said Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md. "It's in the interest of the civility of our planet for us to stand united."

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut issued a security alert today saying American citizens who "wish to depart Lebanon should leave now, due to the unpredictable security situation."

Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon have clashed repeatedly since Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7. The clashes have stoked concerns about a wider conflict in the Middle East.

The State Department on Tuesday raised the travel advisory for Lebanon to "Level 4: Do Not Travel."

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy criticized a call for the public release of the names of students associated with pro-Palestinian activist groups from Harvard University, his alma mater, saying it isn’t “good for our culture” to limit free speech.

Billionaire hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman and other company executives have asked Harvard to release a list of the names of students who issued a letter blaming Israel for Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7. “That feels like a witch hunt to me,” Ramaswamy, 38, said yesterday after a campaign stop in Iowa.

“I just don’t think it’s good for our culture. I don’t think it’s good for America,” he said. “We have to ask ourselves: What’s our national character as Americans?”

Ramaswamy, however, also criticized the letter itself — saying “it was odious, it was reprehensible, it’s disgusting” — and making it clear he doesn’t endorse it.

Some of Ramaswamy’s GOP rivals have taken hard-line stances on support for the Palestinians, with former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis saying the visas of international students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests should be revoked.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will travel to Israel early this week to meet with Netanyahu, according to the Israeli prime minister's office.

Netanyahu earlier today spoke virtually with Macron, Rutte and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, his office said in a statement.

Thousands gathered Sunday at Copley Square in Boston in support of Palestinians in Gaza as violence continues in the region, NBC10 Boston reported.

The rally, organized by the Boston Coalition for Palestine, called for a ceasefire and for the United States to stop sending weapons and financial support to Israel. 

People rallied for Palestinians in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur today. Below, people in London rallied for those believed to be held hostage in Gaza.

A new aid convoy of 14 trucks has entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, a U.N. official said.

The new batch of humanitarian relief is the second to enter Gaza this weekend after a diplomatic breakthrough aimed at easing the crisis facing residents in the besieged enclave. Medicine, food and water entered yesterday in 20 trucks.

The Israeli military says it is stepping up its bombardment of Gaza ahead of "the next stage of the war," and it previously cut off key supplies to Gaza in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel Oct. 7.

KIBBUTZ BE’ERI, Israel — Hamas militants stormed Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7 and massacred more than 100 people, or about 1 in 10 residents of the small community, according to the Israeli government.

Survivors described hiding in bomb shelters as militants wielding machine guns and machetes lit buildings on fire to force people from their homes.

The destruction was evident during an Israeli government-led media tour of the site today. Some buildings were charred or had partly collapsed, while the remaining windows were pocked with bullet holes.

A "continuous flow" of humanitarian aid is expected to make its way into Gaza from the Rafah border with Egypt, according to U.S. Special Envoy David Satterfield.

Satterfield, President Joe Biden’s newly appointed special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues, said on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki” that based on recent discussions, he expects to see more aid moving into Gaza regularly this week. The first trucks arrived in Gaza yesterday with food, water and medical supplies, but aid workers have said far more is needed.

"We want to build that flow up to the levels necessary to begin to meet Gaza’s needs," Satterfield said.

He added that if Hamas diverts or seizes the humanitarian aid, “they will bring on themselves, and sadly, the people of Gaza, the consequences of such actions.”

Aid should continue to reach Gaza even if Israel launches a ground attack, Satterfield said. 

Gaza's hospitals are in crisis amid a lack of fuel, which could put the lives of 1,100 kidney failure patients at risk, including 38 children, the Palestinian Health Ministry said today.

Ten hospitals and 29 health care centers in Gaza are no longer operating as a result of Israeli airstrikes and a lack of fuel, according to the health ministry. Others remain open but are expected to run out of fuel in the coming days.

"Delaying the entry of fuel into Gaza Strip hospitals foreshadows a dire health and humanitarian disaster," Palestinian Health Ministry spokesperson Dr. Ashraf Al-Qudra said in a statement.

Israel cut off all supplies into Gaza after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. While the first aid trucks since the conflict began entered Gaza yesterday, they did not include fuel.

One Israeli soldier was killed and three more were wounded in a raid on Gaza intended to reduce Hamas' resistance to an expected ground invasion, the Israel Defense Forces said.

"IDF forces raided Gaza near the border as part of an effort to prepare the area for an attack, and as well collect any information regarding the missing and abducted," the IDF said in a statement released by spokesman Daniel Hagari.

The IDF did not identify the slain soldier but explained the thinking behind the Israeli aerial assaults on the densely packed Palestinian territory that leaders there say have resulted in thousands of civilian deaths — and sparked protests around the world — following Hamas' deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

"IDF operates from the air very strongly first to hit terrorists and terrorist infrastructures of Hamas, as well as preparing the area for a ground maneuver," the IDF statement said. "We have increased air strikes and will continue to act like this until we guarantee optimal conditions for the ground maneuver."

During a briefing, Hagari once again urged Palestinian civilians living in northern parts of Gaza to head south to avoid being caught up in the expected fighting. "You are risking your lives if you do not leave," he said.

Hundreds gathered to mourn the deaths of two Palestinians who were killed after the Israeli military said it launched an airstrike on a “terror cell” at al-Ansar Mosque in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters took the streets of New York City last night to demonstrate against the Israeli attacks on Gaza.

The protest in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bay Ridge, which has a large Arab American population, was organized by a pro-Palestinian group called Within Our Lifetime, The New York Daily News reported.

“We are having people come out to show that what is happening is genocide,” Abdullah Akl, 21, one of the protest organizers, told the newspaper. “And we’re out here to shore support for the Palestinians.”

The NYPD said 19 people were arrested on charges that included resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstructing government administration, after police said they were shoved and pelted with "eggs, fireworks and bottles."

It wasn't immediately clear if the people who were arrested were involved in the otherwise peaceful protest.

The Brooklyn demonstration came a day after hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters marched through central Manhattan demanding a cease-fire in the war that erupted on Oct. 7 after Hamas militants launched a deadly surprise attack on Israel.

Nearly 140 protesters were charged with disorderly conduct for blocking traffic and were released, according to the NYPD.

Palestinians in the central Gazan city of Deir al-Balah searched for survivors after an Israeli airstrike today. Below, they helped a woman who was pulled from the rubble.

KIBBUTZ RE’IM, Israel — At the kibbutz near where 260 people were killed at a music festival, a community leader said Hamas terrorists brought supplies suggesting they intended to stay, possibly for days.

Noam Mark, 60, a resident of Kibbutz Re’im, said large supplies of food and water brought from Gaza were found in the aftermath of the attack. The Hamas terrorists had also set up a makeshift medical post onsite to treat their own wounded, stocked with first aid supplies and even a blood transfusion kit, he added.

Spent bullet casings and trauma gloves remain littered on the ground, amid the debris of destroyed houses. Mark pointed out one home that he said the Israeli army decided to bulldoze after Hamas terrorists barricaded themselves inside.

About 200,000 Israelis have been evacuated from their homes due to the threat of attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah, according to the Israeli prime minister's office.

This includes 205 communities, such as the cities of Sderot in the south and Kiryat Shmona in the north.

In addition, an estimated 100,000 Israelis have chosen to evacuate their homes because of the threat of missiles, the prime minister's office said.

President Joe Biden and Pope Francis had a 20-minute telephone call during which they discussed “situations of conflict in the world and the need to identify paths to peace," Vatican News, the official news outlet of the Holy See, reported.

The White House later released a statement confirming the two leaders spoke about “the latest developments in Israel and Gaza.”

“The President condemned the barbarous attack by Hamas against Israeli civilians and affirmed the need to protect civilians in Gaza,” the statement said. “He discussed his recent visit to Israel and his efforts to ensure delivery of food, medicine, and other humanitarian assistance to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. They also discussed the need to prevent escalation in the region and to work toward a durable peace in the Middle East.”

Earlier, during his Sunday address, Pope Francis once again called for peace in Gaza and Israel. 

“I am very concerned, grieved,” he told his flock. “I pray and I am close to all those who are suffering, the hostages, the wounded, the victims and their families.”

LONDON — Thousands of people rallied in Berlin and London today to oppose antisemitism and support Israel, while demonstrations in support of Palestinians in besieged Gaza continued around the world.

Some of those who gathered in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate carried Israeli flags or posters with photos of some of the more than 200 people seized by Hamas as hostages during the militants’ deadly Oct. 7 incursion into Israel.

“It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again today — in our country of all places,” President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the crowd. “Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions is a disgrace for Germany. Every single attack fills me with shame and anger.”

Read the full story here.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, says it will run out of fuel that is critical for its humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip in three days.

“Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries," UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement today. "Without fuel, aid will not reach those in desperate need. Without fuel, there will be no humanitarian assistance."

No fuel in Gaza "will further strangle the children, women and people of Gaza," Lazzarini said.

“I call on all parties and those with influence over them to immediately allow fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip and to ensure that fuel is strictly used to prevent a collapse of the humanitarian response," Lazzarini said.

While the first convoy of aid trucks reached Gaza yesterday, it did not include fuel. The UNRWA, the World Health Organization and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said more assistance, including food, water and medical supplies, is desperately needed.

An Israeli tank mistakenly struck an Egyptian position at the Gaza border near the Kerem Shalom crossing, the Israel Defense Forces said today.

"The incident is being investigated and the details are under review," the military posted on X. "The IDF regrets the incident."

An Egyptian military spokesperson posted on Facebook that shell fragments from an Israeli tank accidentally hit an Egyptian border watchtower, "resulting in minor injuries to some border watchmen."

The post added, "the circumstances of the incident are being investigated."

Kerem Shalom is a commercial junction and the passageway for goods into Gaza from Egypt and Israel, which is currently closed. It is also home to the Kerem Shalom kibbutz, which has a population of less than 200.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised the recent release of an American mother and daughter held hostage by Hamas, but expressed skepticism over the militant group’s recent statement that they were ready to release two more hostages.

 "The bottom line is this: They need to be released. Each and every one of them. Now. Unconditionally,” he said.

Read the full story here.

Almost 1.4 million people have been displaced across the Gaza Strip, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, said today.

This includes more than 540,000 people who are sheltering across 147 schools run by the U.N. agency, which has been tasked with supporting Palestinian development since 1949. 

Another approximately 170,000 people were sheltering across other schools, churches, hospitals and public buildings, the agency said.

SOUTHERN ISRAEL — At a dusty, sweaty rest stop in southern Israel, dozens of Israel Defense Forces soldiers eat burritos, drink coffee and smoke cigarettes as they wait for orders today in the next phase of the conflict.

There are some civilians here, but this gas station and cluster of fast-food eateries is dominated by olive green-clad troops with rifles slung over their shoulders.

Amid the unfolding crisis in Gaza, the Israelis overnight arrested hundreds of people in the West Bank, a military spokesman said.

"In the West Bank we arrested over 450 activists," Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said during a briefing. "We operate every night and thwart terror attacks."

Hagari did not provide any details on who was taken into custody.

The Israeli military said earlier today that it had launched a rare aerial strike on an underground compound at a mosque in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, containing a “terror cell.”

The deadly terrorist attack in Israel and the torrent of social media threats that followed have forced many American Jews to reconsider their long held stances against owning or using guns.

Firearm instructors and Jewish security groups across the country say they have been flooded with new clientele since Hamas assaulted Israel on Oct. 7. And gun shop owners in Florida say they have seen more Jews purchase firearms in recent weeks than ever before. 

“We’ve definitely seen a tremendous increase in religious Jewish people, Orthodox people, purchasing firearms,” said David Kowalsky, who owns Florida Gun Store in the town of Hollywood, and also offers firearms training classes. “I’ve seen a surge in interest in individual training as well as group training.”

Read the full story here.

Pope Francis posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he was "very grieved by what is happening in Israel and Palestine."

"I pray and I am close to all those who are suffering," the head of the Roman Catholic church wrote. "I renew my appeal for spaces to be opened, for humanitarian aid to continue to arrive, and for the hostages to be freed."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. is already "taking steps to make sure we effectively defend our people" if Iran tries to "escalate" the Israeli war with Hamas.

"We are concerned, in fact we expect, escalation by Iranian proxies against our forces, directed against our personnel," Blinken said today on "Meet the Press."

Blinken was referring to Iranian-backed militant groups like Hezbollah, which is based in southern Lebanon and has expressed solidarity with Hamas in Gaza.

Nobody, Blinken said, wants a "second front" of fighting to open up.

"But if that happens, we're ready for it," he said.

That is why, Blinken said, the U.S. has sent two aircraft carriers into the region "not to provoke, but to deter."

JERUSALEM — Falling to her knees in anguish, Muna Habil was inconsolable as her neighbors tried to comfort her.

“I have no one left — all my family is gone,” Habil cried. “They killed them.”

Her mother, her father, her brother and her sister-in-law were killed by a blast at a building in Al Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza at around 6 a.m local time Saturday. Five children, her nieces and nephews, also died.

Read the full story here.

A second convoy of 17 trucks carrying humanitarian aid has entered the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing into Gaza.

It comes a day after 20 trucks carrying the first supplies of food, water and medicine entered the besieged enclave since the eruption of war between Israel and Hamas.

Health officials have warned that residents need a steady supply of relief to combat a spiraling crisis.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group against waging a war on Israel, saying doing so would devastate Lebanon.

Netanyahu told soldiers stationed in northern Israel near the Lebanese border today that it would be a "mistake" for Hezbollah to join the Israel-Hamas conflict. He added that Israel would "cripple" the group if it got involved, according to an official transcript.

The Israeli military has dropped leaflets from the sky warning Gaza residents in the north to evacuate farther south, days after a similar warning prompted hundreds of thousands to evacuate.

"Your presence north of the Gaza Valley puts your life in danger," the leaflet reads in Arabic.

"To anybody who chose not to evacuate from the northern strip to south of the Gaza Valley, it’s possible they will be considered as a partner to terrorist organization."

The Israel Defense Forces subsequently told NBC News it "has no intention of considering those who have yet to evacuate as a member of a terrorist group."

RE’IM, Israel — Here on the Israeli border with Gaza we’re continuing to hear the booms of both Israeli airstrikes into Gaza and Hamas rockets into Israel. 

This morning there are new signs that a ground invasion by Israel is imminent as it increases attacks and prepares for the next stage of the war. 

The Israel Defense Forces released a new video of what it said was an infantry brigade practicing the battle plan. Leaflets have also been dropped on northern Gaza urging residents to flee south. 

Pictures of over 1,000 people abducted, missing or killed in the Hamas attack in Israel are displayed today on seats in the Smolarz Auditorium at Tel Aviv University.

After the Rafah border crossing with Gaza opened briefly on Saturday, the U.N. aid chief has said he is 'pessimistic' more aid will be let in today.

"We had hoped for more today," Martin Griffiths told Sky News.

He added that the 20 aid trucks that had crossed into Gaza on Saturday was a "very good start, but it's nowhere near enough to provide for the needs of up to 2 million people."

A father holds his child’s body today next to others killed at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza.

RE’IM, Israel — Though the long-awaited ground assault has not yet started, the aerial war is raging in the skies above southern Israel.

NBC News just had to take cover after air raid sirens sounded in Re’im, near the Gaza border.

And artillery dug in near the kibbutz has let off several deafening rounds in the past 10 minutes. All the while the slow drumbeat of bombardment can be heard across the border in Gaza, accompanied by the whine of Israeli drones and the roar of its jets somewhere overhead.

The Israeli military has claimed it killed the deputy commander of the Hamas rocket fire force last night, adding it was pounding Hamas targets as the country prepares for the next phase of the war.

“We continue to attack targets with an emphasis on Gaza City and its surroundings, but in the entire Gaza Strip, in preparation for the next phase of the war,” spokesperson Daniel Hagari said, adding there was an emphasis on targeting militant leaders. NBC News has not verified the claim.

He also repeated Israel's call for residents of the Gaza Strip to move southward. "I call on Gaza residents – there is now Gaza North and Gaza South – in Gaza North we are attacking fiercely," he said.

Almost half of the population of Gaza has been displaced but the south has also faced relentless bombardments with many residents saying there was nowhere to run.

ISRAEL/GAZA BORDER — Overnight the Gaza skyline lit up orange at various points and we heard artillery fired in the direction of the enclave. 

There were air raid sirens in central and southern Israel as rockets were fired in the direction of those areas. 

We expect an Israeli ground offensive to take place in Gaza any day now. They do have everything in position to do so. It’s just a question of when.

At least 212 hostages are being held in Gaza, Israel's military spokesperson said this morning, a slight increase on the number announced to the public.

"We will not rest until we can bring them all back home. We keep in touch with their families," Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a briefing, adding 307 Israeli soldiers had been killed.

The news follows the release of two American hostages by Hamas.

JERUSALEM — A consistent flow of aid is needed in order to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, where food and drinking water has become scarce, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA.

"The situation is terrible, humanitarian supplies are very limited," the director of the agency, which has been tasked tasked with supporting Palestinian development since 1949, said.

"We need a sustainable supply line of aid to avoid catastrophe in the Strip," the director added.

BE’ERI, Israel — The sun was shining on this kibbutz near the Gaza border this morning, the scent of fresh mint and flowers wafting into the streets from gardens where not long ago death had hung heavy in the air and lay heavy in body bags on the ground. But the destruction is still palpable from when Hamas militants swept through Be’eri, with some homes reduced to rubble, while others sit empty.

Survivors of the attack only return briefly and in small numbers to collect some of the possessions they were forced to leave behind. Otherwise, only soldiers remain. Bicycles lay burnt on the ground, while others are still intact but sit abandoned in a bid to escape.

Dozens of people lost their lives here, while others are feared to have been taken hostage by Hamas. It is unclear when residents will be able to return, or if they will even want to.

As the sound of missiles flying into Gaza rings out, IDF Staff Sgt. Ben, who asked that his last name be withheld, said many people want to return eventually, but “a lot of people aren’t ready to come back at all.”

JERUSALEM — Israeli airstrikes put runways out of service at the international airports of Damascus and Aleppo in Syria this morning, according to the Syrian defense ministry.

The "bursts of missiles" were fired from the Mediterranean Sea direction and "led to the martyrdom of a civilian worker at Damascus airport and the wounding of another worker," it said in a statement. "Material damage to the runways at both airports led to them being out of service," it added.

NBC News was unable to independently verify the claim. Israel has not commented publicly.

Israel's military has targeted airports in the government-held parts of Syria in recent weeks an apparent attempt to prevent arms shipments from Iran to militant groups it supports, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Palestinians leave a damaged building in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, this morning amid intense Israeli airstrikes.

JERUSALEM — Israel announced this morning it was evacuating more residents in the country's north as tensions and clashes escalate on the border with Lebanon.

"The 14 communities added to the plan are: Snir, Dan, Beit Hillel, She’ar Yashuv, Hagoshrim, Liman, Matzuva, Eylon, Goren, Gornot HaGalil, Even Menachem, Sasa, Tziv’on and Ramot Naftali.u," read a joint statement by the defense ministry and military.

Many residents had already begun moving south, fearing their towns could become a battleground between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon.

BE’ERI, Israel — The Israeli military said Sunday that it had launched an aerial strike from a military aircraft on an underground compound at a mosque in the occupied West Bank containing a "terror cell."

Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror operatives “who were organizing an imminent terror attack,” were hit in the rare strike on compound in the city of Jenin, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Securities Authority said in a joint statement.

NBC News could not independently verify this claim.

“Intel was recently received which indicated that the terrorists, that were neutralized, were organizing an imminent terror attack,” the statement said. It added that the mosque was used “as a command center to plan the attacks and as a base for their execution.”

The West Bank has seen a rise in tensions and violence since the Hamas attack, with dozens of Palestinians reported killed in clashes with Israeli troops, attacks by Jewish settlers and frequent arrest raids. Violence had already been soaring before the eruption of war in Gaza.

RE’IM, Israel — At one of the kibbutzes in southern Israel that was attacked by Hamas two weeks ago, NBC News saw a rocket being fired from Gaza.

From a roof terrace in Re’im, where the Supernova music festival was also held, the rocket arced through the hazy morning sky, making a whooshing sound, leaving a trail of smoke and followed by a distant thud. The rocket was destined for another part of Israel, further north, and no alarms sounded here.

This kibbutz is around 3 miles from the border with Gaza. From that direction, the morning has been accompanied by the metronome of muffled booms, as Israel continues to bombard the Strip.

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.

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.  

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. 

Read the full story here.