‘Fighting will intensify,’ Israeli military warns

TEL AVIV — The last thing Ido Nagar heard his wife say was “soldiers are coming.”

It was Saturday morning, and Celine Ben David Nagar had been on her way to join the music festival in Israel that turned into a massacre when Hamas terrorists descended onto the event, killing at least 260 people and taking dozens hostage. 

Heartbroken, Nagar, 33, immediately faced a problem very close to home — how to care for the couple’s 6-month-old baby, Ellie, whom Ben David Nagar, 32, had been breastfeeding. 

That’s when his community rallied.

Read the full story here.

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. 

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.

American and Israeli parents say they have received messages from schools, temples, synagogues and peers after the Hamas terrorist attack urging them to delete social media applications from their kids’ phones.

The warning came after the military wing of Hamas threatened to kill an Israeli hostage with every Israeli “targeting” of civilians in Gaza and then broadcast the executions “in audio and video.”

“It has come to our attention that deeply disturbing videos, including footage of hostages, may be spread across social media in the near future,” a principal at a public school in New York City said in an email this week

The exact number of Israelis abducted by Hamas gunmen remained unclear Wednesday afternoon. Hamas militants have claimed more than 100 people were captured; the Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday that 60 people were held by Hamas in Gaza.

Read the full story here.

Biden said today that “there’s a lot we’re doing” to try to bring Americans held hostage by Hamas home, but he did not go into specifics.

“The press is going to shout to me, and many of you are: What are you doing to get these folks home? If I told you, I wouldn’t be able to get them home,” Biden told reporters at a roundtable with Jewish community leaders.

“Folks, there’s a lot we’re doing. A lot we’re doing. I have not given up hope on bringing these folks home,” Biden said.

Officials have said Americans are being held hostage after Hamas attacked Israel, but they have not disclosed a number.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said earlier today that the number is believed to be “very small” but that that could change and more information is being learned every day.

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.

BE’ERI, Israel — An overwhelming smell of death lingers in the air in Be’eri, a kibbutz near the Gaza border where Hamas militants ambushed the small community Saturday morning, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake and dozens dead.

Days later, body bags remain on the streets. Demolished homes and vehicles with their doors hanging wide open tell a story of not just one community but an entire country completely caught off-guard.

“They came to kill, kill and kill,” Israeli Maj. Gen. Itai Veruv said as he led journalists down the now-unrecognizable streets of Be’eri.

Read the full story here.

As Israel prepares for what could be a long war with massive humanitarian implications, there are also concerns about how a protracted fight could weigh on the country’s dynamic economy.

Since Hamas militants staged a surprise attack over the weekend, Israel’s defense forces have called up more than 300,000 reservists for duty, an unprecedented number in recent history. Israel’s standing army, air force and navy comprise 150,000 members. 

The reserve force, made up of a cross-section of Israeli society, has about 450,000 members, many of whom are more experienced in combat than the younger soldiers in the standing army. The reservists are teachers, tech workers, startup entrepreneurs, farmers, attorneys, doctors, nurses and tourism and factory workers.

“The impact is substantial,” said Eyal Winter, a professor of economics at Hebrew University in Jerusalem who has studied the economic impact of Israel’s wars.

Read the full story here.

Biden painted a vivid picture of the horrors of the Israel-Hamas war in remarks today to Jewish community leaders.

“I never really thought that I would see and have confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children,” he said in broader remarks about his administration’s support for Israel in its war with Hamas and efforts to free American hostages.

According to two senior administration officials, Biden was referring to reports from Israel about beheaded children and cited several media reports of beheadings.

A spokesperson for Netanyahu said toddlers and babies were found in Kfar Aza, a kibbutz in southern Israel, with their “heads decapitated” after Hamas’ attack over the weekend, CNN reported.

NBC News has not confirmed those reports.

Read the full story here.

The number of Americans who U.S. officials believe Hamas is holding hostage is “very small,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, but he cautioned that could change.

So far, 17 Americans are known to be unaccounted-for after the Hamas attacks, and 22 have been killed, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

Kirby said the number of Americans who “we believe are held hostage is very small, very small — like less than a handful.”

“But that could change over time,” Kirby said at a White House news briefing. “We’re going to get more information every single day.”

An increasing number of Democratic lawmakers are calling on the Biden administration to refreeze $6 billion in assets the U.S. recently made available to Iran for humanitarian purposes as part of a prisoner swap deal.

Since Hamas' attack on Israel, Republicans have been blaming the Biden administration, claiming, without evidence, that Iran used the unfrozen funds to help Hamas carry it out.

Administration officials have been clear that none of the $6 billion has been accessed yet and that it can be used only for humanitarian reasons.

The Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats, said in a statement today that the U.S. should immediately freeze the $6 billion.

"Money is fungible, and there is a well-documented history of Iran funding Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations opposed to the existence of Israel," the group said. "Doing what we can to prevent the financing of future acts of terrorism by a regime in Tehran whose leaders praised these attacks is the least we can do to ensure our ally Israel can defend itself."

Other Democrats who released similar statements include Reps. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire and Colin Allred of Texas.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said in a statement, "Until I have full confidence that Iran did not play a role in these barbaric terrorist attacks on the Israeli people, the United States should freeze the $6 billion dollars in Iranian assets."

Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., issued similar calls yesterday.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., have introduced legislation to block Iran from accessing the funds.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said his country was working to halt the escalation of the conflict in Israel after the Hamas attack.

Saudi Arabia is “is exerting unremitting efforts,” according to a report by the state news agency SPA, that push for “a halt of the current escalation.”

Bin Salman also condemned targeting civilians and called for an end to Israel’s attack on Gaza.

Israel has been launching airstrikes in Gaza after the attacks, which killed at least 1,200 people in Israel. Hamas also took hostages. The death toll in Gaza is at least 1,100, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations in Chicago today reported a huge increase — dozens per day — of hate-filled messages after the Hamas attack on Israel.

The group, known as CAIR, is a Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization.

The group’s national deputy director, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, has said he was “shocked and appalled” by the violence, but he also called for an end to what he termed Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

Some of the messages have been from people “yelling anti-Muslim insults,” threatening violence and “gloating at the death of civilians in Gaza,” CAIR Chicago said in a statement.

Ahmed Rehab, CAIR-Chicago’s executive director, said one-sided statements by public leaders and biased reporting left Muslims as “ sitting ducks,” and he recalled the anti-Muslim bigotry after the Sept. 11 attacks.

“We had come to believe that we had learned the hard lessons from the darkest days of flippant Islamophobia in the years after 9/11 where the lack of balanced leadership of our elected leaders, and the irresponsible and biased reporting by the media directly contributed to hanging our communities out to dry,” Rehab said in the statement.

Biden spoke today with United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed about the attacks on Israel, the White House said.

"The president stressed his condemnation of Hamas’s terror and his warning against anyone who might seek to exploit the current situation," according to a White House readout of the call. "The two leaders also discussed the importance of ensuring humanitarian assistance reaches those in need."

Biden and bin Zayed also discussed the history of relations between their countries and agreed to remain in close contact, the White House said.

The State Department raised the travel advisory level for Israel and the West Bank to Level 3, urging people to "reconsider travel" to the region.

"Terrorist groups, lone-actor terrorists and other violent extremists continue plotting possible attacks in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza," the travel advisory said. "Terrorists and violent extremists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities."

The State Department advised those traveling to the region regardless of the risks to check recent alerts on the embassy website, learn the locations of the nearest bomb shelters and prepare contingency plans for emergency situations.

The State Department's travel advisory for Gaza has remained at level 4 — "Do not travel" — since Oct. 3.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters today that Egypt had warned Israel of a possible attack from Hamas before the assault. 

"There seems to have been an intelligence failure. We’re not quite sure how we missed it. We’re not quite sure how Israel missed it,” McCaul said after a closed-door briefing from administration officials about the crisis in Israel.

"We know Egypt had warned the Israelis three days prior that an event like this could happen. We know this has been planned perhaps as long as a year ago," he said. 

He did not offer more details.

McCaul spoke after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described media reports that Egypt warned his government before the attack as "absolutely false."

Egypt shares a border with Gaza in its North Sinai region, and it has brokered cease-fires between Israel and Hamas. Washington has long looked to Cairo for key intelligence on Palestinian militants. 

Prices at the pump remain on track to keep falling in the United States despite the Israel-Hamas war, according to energy industry analysts.

After Hamas’ surprise attack over the weekend, global crude oil jumped to more than $87 a barrel by Monday, from below $83 late last week — roughly a 5% increase. Prices have since retreated, clocking in at $83.62 this morning.

But Israel and its immediate neighbors aren’t major energy producers, so as long as the conflict doesn’t expand geographically, seasonal trends should continue much as they have for the last few weeks, said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at the Oil Price Information Service.

“On balance, we’re looking at gasoline prices dropping in all 50 states,” he said.

Read the full story here.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) asked for $104 million to help displaced people of Gaza, officials said today.

Civilians are in desperate need of food, water and medicine, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said.

“What is unfolding is already an unprecedented humanitarian tragedy. Whatever the circumstances are, rules apply in times of conflict, and this one is no exception,” Lazzarini said in a statement. “It is of utmost urgency that access to humanitarian assistance and protection be upheld for all civilians."

Gaza has been under a "full siege" and running out of all supplies in the wake of Hamas' surprise attack on Israel.

American citizen Haneen Okal is pleading for help from the U.S. government to get her and her three children out of Gaza.

"People are running out of food, fuel, medicine," Okal told MSNBC's Katy Tur. "People are going from place to place because no place is safe."

Okal said she has tried calling and emailing the U.S. Embassy in Israel for assistance to no avail.

"The employees who work in the embassy are treating U.S. Palestinians who are located currently in Gaza very rude," Okal said. "They don’t help you. I send emails; they don’t respond at all. Every single time they promise they’ll get back to you, but they don’t."

Okal said she and her children were "shocked" by what they saw in their attempt to get to the Gaza border.

"You cannot tell that this is the streets we saw before," she said.

Comedian Sarah Silverman on Tuesday criticized the Democratic Socialists of America for issuing a statement that supported "Free Palestine" and condemned Israel.

Silverman, who described herself as a "proud lifetime member" of DSA, said that the party has "lost me forever" after its National Political Committee released a statement.

The group said the ongoing conflict in Israel and the Gaza Strip is due to Israel’s government, which they described as “a regime that receives billions in funding from the United States.” Silverman posted a screenshot of their statement in her own post.

While she said she's "still a democratic socialist," she pushed back on their stance.

“These are kids, babies, children, teens, elderly, many of whom like my family march in the streets nightly protesting Netanyahu and the occupation — That’s who Hamas murdered,” she wrote on Instagram. "Do you get that they don’t give a F— about Palestinian lives?????"

Celebrities like Josh Gad and Debra Messing were among those who commented their support for Silverman's post.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the opposition formed an emergency government and war management cabinet, officials said today.

As long as fighting continues, no bills or government decisions will be promoted that do not concern the conduct of the war, under terms of this agreement.

All senior appointments will be automatically extended during the war period.

TikTok said it has beefed up its moderation efforts as social media platforms continue to get flooded with content about the Israel-Hamas war.

A spokesperson for the platform said it uses technology and 40,000 safety professionals to protect the platform from potentially upsetting or violent content, and has increased resources amid the conflict.

It works with fact-checking organizations to assess the accuracy of content and harmful misinformation is removed. If content does contain unverified claims, users are warned, and the content is restricted from "For You" feeds.  

The spokesperson said TikTok has also increased moderation resources in Hebrew and Arabic.

The efforts come as some schools have warned parents and students to delete social media apps, including TikTok and Instagram, to avoid exposure to potentially upsetting content.

Guy Ben Shimon recounted his harrowing escape from Hamas after terrorists killed at least 260 people at the Supernova festival in Israel’s Negev desert Saturday. 

Just five minutes before the rockets started, Shimon said he was talking with a friend about something he was going through.

“And she told me, ‘Everything is going to be okay.’ And one hour after, they took her on a motorcycle with weapons to Gaza,” he said in an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday. “So I want to tell them if they see me now, the ones who were kidnapped, just be strong. Keep breathing. Trust and believe and everything will be okay.”

When he ran and hid from the militants, he said he could feel bullets whizz past his ears.

“I jumped into a bush. And to my left there were three officers who sent shots back to the terrorists," he said. "Just for a second I put my head down and I looked up and saw a bullet hit a leaf just above my head. So close." 

Shimon said now he is physically safe, but his soul is left scarred.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who departed for Israel this afternoon, said he will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and other senior Israeli officials.

"We're determined to make sure that Israel gets everything it needs to defend itself to rely on the security of its people," he said before boarding his flight to Israel.

The Secretary of State will travel to Israel and Jordan through Friday.

"Already significant military assistance requested by Israel is on the way," Blinken said. "That's on top of everything that we've been doing for years, including with the memorandum of understanding that was negotiated by President Obama to make sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself."

Blown-out homes and buildings in Be’eri tell a story of devastation and destruction in a community in which Israeli emergency services said around 100 people died in Hamas’ unprecedented attack Saturday.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing today that 17 Americans remain unaccounted for in the Israel-Hamas war. 

The number of Americans killed is now at 22.

E.U. Commissioner Thierry Breton posted an open letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg today, asking that his company stay on top of disinformation and violent content posted to its platforms.

“I would ask you to be very vigilant to ensure strict compliance with the DSA rules on terms of service, on the requirement of timely, diligent and objective action following notices of illegal content in the EU, and on the need for proportionate and effective mitigation measures,” he wrote.

Breton posted a more confrontational letter to X owner Elon Musk yesterday, warning about reports that the platform was being used to spread content and disinformation that is illegal in the E.U., which has strict rules about how tech companies must moderate content posted to their platforms.

In an emailed statement, a Meta spokesperson said that after the attacks Saturday, the company created an operations center “staffed with experts, including fluent Hebrew and Arabic speakers, to closely monitor and respond to this rapidly evolving situation.

Biden administration officials have privately told lawmakers that the White House is preparing a supplemental funding request to submit to Congress that includes money for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and U.S. border security, according to two congressional officials, an administration official and a defense official.

Administration officials also said the request would aim to address the strain that providing additional military support for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan would put on the Pentagon’s stockpiles, the sources said, by asking for money to build more weapons.

U.S. intelligence agencies still do not have evidence that Iran was directly involved in Hamas' surprise attack, Adm. John Kirby, the National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, said today.

"We just haven't found anything that tells us that the Iranians knew of this specific planning, were involved in this planning, resourced it or helped in any tangible way," he told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell.

Kirby added that "there's a degree of complicity here," citing Iran's long funding for Hamas.

Ali Baraka, a senior Hamas official, has denied that Iran supported or sanctioned the operation.

Mohammad Thabit, a spokesman for Gaza's power distribution company, confirmed to NBC News today that Gaza's only power station had run out of fuel.

“There is no electricity source in Gaza now. All lines are cut,” he said. “In the coming hours, basic services, hospitals, sewage and water will be halted. There are no alternatives to operate Gaza."

The Gaza Strip requires 480 megawatts of electricity to operate, Thabit said. The electricity station supplies Gaza with 65 megawatts from the Israeli side, but on Saturday, Israel cut off 120 megawatts from its side, he said.

The power station shut down on 2 p.m. local time today.

“The occupation is besieging the Gaza Strip in every way possible,” Thabit said.

Paramedics help the wounded seek medical care at the overwhelmed al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza today.

The death toll in Gaza has risen to 1,100, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said in an update this evening.

Additionally, 5,339 citizens were injured, it said.

The West Bank Health Ministry said earlier today that the death toll there stood at 23 and injured at 130. 

At least 22 U.S. citizens have died in the Israel-Hamas war that erupted Saturday, a State Department spokesperson said today.

"We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected," the spokesperson said.

Yesterday, Biden said the American death toll was 14.

Hamas terrorists were found wearing IDF uniforms in Be’eri and Re’im Kubbutzim in southern Israel, the Israeli military said in a news release today about the fighting that’s unfolded since Saturday. 

The press release included accounts of soldiers over the past days, including how soldiers found Hamas militants dressed in IDF uniforms in the Be'eri Kibbutz.

Those militants opened fire upon IDF soldiers, according to the news release. In response, the armored corps fired tank shells at them and IDF soldiers cleared houses in the area. 

It’s been five agonizing days since Adar Eylon last heard from her youngest sister, Shira Eylon 23, who had left her apartment in Tel Aviv to attend the Supernova festival with two friends Friday night.

On Saturday morning, Shira was among the thousands of revelers who were attacked in the early hours. She last called her father around 7 a.m. saying she was terrified as bombs began to fall. She was too scared to drive, so decided to wait for 30 minutes hoping the situation would calm down. 

Just before her phone was disconnected 30 minutes, Shira texted her dad saying she could hear gunfire. 

“That was it. We lost connection with her,” Adar said. “We couldn’t find her. The country was in complete chaos — no one would give us information.”

The music festival was meant to be a big send off the weekend before Adar started college classes. Instead, Shira’s family waited in horror as they scoured social media and called Shira's friends frantically trying to figure out what happened to the young woman who loved animals and volunteered at a rescue shelter. A natural therapist who her family and friends relied on, she hoped to complete a degree in psychology, Adar said. 

After days of visiting hospitals and texting Shira’s friends, Adar eventually pieced together what happened Saturday morning at the festival. One person said he heard Shira scream as she and another friend ran away from gunfire. Another friend said he jumped under a tank and hid for five hours until he was rescued by civilians. Others said they ran into the woods and hid in bushes for three days with nothing to eat. Everyone had lost track of Shira as they spread out desperately seeking safety.

“They told me it felt like the Holocaust — Jews running away from Nazis,” Adar said. 

By Wednesday morning, Adar and her family received the news they had been dreading — Shira’s body was found in the woods surrounding the music festival. 

“She was such a special girl,” Adar said through tears on Wednesday. “Because she was the youngest, she was very independent, very mature. I feel like everybody has a part in this world and her part was spreading kindness.”

President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke again this morning, a senior administration official tells NBC News.

It is the fourth time the two leaders have spoken since Hamas attacked Israel. White House officials are expected to give a readout of their conversation to reporters later today.

BE’ERI, Israel — After a red alert, which warns of rockets, mortars or missiles being fired at Israel, we were told by military members to get down on the ground and take cover, with NBC News’ Raf Sanchez and his news crew ducking for safety.

The warning, at around 6 p.m. local time, appeared to be cleared not long after.

OFAKIM, Israel — An elderly Israeli couple held hostage in their home here for 20 hours fed their Hamas captors and sang to them to buy time for Israeli special forces to assemble, the couple said.

The walls and stairs of David and Rachel's home is bloodied and peppered with bullet holes. That's where gunfire was exchanged between Israeli special forces and the five Hamas gunmen who were holding the couple hostage in a room upstairs.

The couple's son, a policeman, came to the door to conduct negotiations, they said. Rachel said she put her hand over her face to signal that there were five gunmen inside.

When Israeli forces entered, David said he threw his body over his wife to shield her from the bullets. The police stormed in and were able to save them.

Baltimore Orioles’ starting pitcher Dean Kremer, an Israeli American citizen, wore the Star of David during the American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night amid the Israel-Hamas war. 

Kremer, the first Israeli player to start a playoff game, pitched just over an inning in the Orioles' 7-1 loss, ending their season. 

The pitcher, who made history in 2015 as the first Israeli player to be taken in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft, told reporters on Monday that his family in Israel is safe, but that the situation was still “going to be in the back of my head.” 

“Almost every single person in the clubhouse has come in and checked on me at some point over the last 48 hours,” Kremer said. “I’m very grateful for that.”

Some of her friends have lost family members, others have lost their homes and yesterday, Salma Shurrab, a 22-year-old dental student living in Gaza City, said she was forced to evacuate her building.  

“Gaza is no longer a city to live in. It’s a ghost town,” she told NBC News in a video diary today, adding that all the places she worked in have been destroyed. “I don’t think I’ll ever graduate,” she said. 

“I haven’t slept in two days. Every time I close my eyes or hear a bomb or see a light or hear a noise or hear a scream or hear a neighbor evacuating,” she added. 

Shurrab said she feared poor internet connection would prevent the truth about what was happening from coming out. “We’re living in times that have never existed,” she added. “This aggression needs to be over.”   

She nonetheless vowed to return to her home. “If I’m going to die, I’m going to die in my house,” she said.

RE’IM, Israel — Destroyed and abandoned vehicles with their doors still wide open can be seen near Re’im in southern Israel where at least 260 people were killed at a festival on Saturday.

A smell of smoke is strong, as blasts ring out from artillery tanks shelling Gaza across the border.

Israel’s far-right national security minister said every resident of the southern city of Sderot will be able to carry a weapon starting today after the unprecedented incursion by Hamas this weekend.

A statement issued by the National Security Ministry said it had received 10,600 new applications for a license to carry a firearm since Saturday.

“As of today, every resident of Sderot can receive a license to carry a weapon," Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was cited as saying by the ministry's release, "and we will extend it to additional towns."

The number of dead Israeli citizens stands at more than 1,200, among them 165 soldiers, Tal Heinrich, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said today in a press briefing from Tel Aviv.

Over 2,700 are injured, she said.

As for hostages, Heinrich said Israel cannot share a number as officials are still identifying the dead. 

Shelling and gunfire has raged since Saturday. Since then, Heinrich said, Israel has secured the border fence around Gaza. Yesterday, Hamas made an “attempt by sea” and there were confrontations in northern Israel at the Lebanon border, she said. 

Israel's goal is to assure Hamas has "zero military capabilities" and prevent any further Hamas attacks stretching into the next decade, she said.

She called Hamas’ incursion “ISIS on steroids,” citing it’s backing by Iran. Referring to Iran’s speculated involvement in the attack, she said that “we have new indications that are being examined.” 

“We will win this war because there’s simply no other way,” she said.

Israelis take cover in Ashkelon from incoming rockets fired from Gaza today.

URIM, Israel — Omer Shacham, 24, busily prepares food for soldiers near the Gaza border as they prepare to fight.

He’s expecting to be called to serve and deployed himself in just a few days. Until then, then he’s doing what he can to help.

“You can’t sit at home and watch the news all day. You want to be part of it,” he said. Asked if he had any fears about joining the fight, he said: “Actually, I look forward to it. This is the time to act for our country.”

Shacham said he hoped countries around the world would support Israel the way they “supported Ukraine.”

“I want people to see it, what’s happening here. Like people saw and supported Ukraine, that’s what I think should be happening here.”

An Israeli mobile artillery unit firing a shell from southern Israel toward the Gaza Strip today.

SDEROT, Israel — Samuel Arrouas is a volunteer medic here in this southern Israeli community.

Arrouas told NBC News that, since the bloody incursion by Hamas, United Hatzalah, an Israeli nonprofit emergency medical services organization, has been buying a lot of medical equipment and mobilizing 7,000 volunteer medics through the country. 

“We have enough people, but we need to buy more medical equipment,” Arrouas said, speaking at a field hospital near Sderot.

Since the attack, Arrouas said they have been treating a lot of small children. He said they rescued an 8-year-old who was hiding in a closet near Sderot after her family was killed by the militants.

Destroyed buildings and debris in the Jabalia neighborhood in Gaza City today.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gaza's energy ministry said Wednesday that its only power plant had run out of fuel and shut down after Israel cut off supplies of fuel, food and electricity in the wake of the bloody incursion by Hamas over the weekend.

Spokesman Muhammad Thait told NBC News the plant stopped working completely Wednesday afternoon after running out of fuel, and there was no alternative electricity source left in Gaza.

That leaves only generators to power an enclave that's home to more than 2 million people, but fuel for those generators is also in short supply.

King Abdullah of Jordan said there can be neither security nor peace in the Middle East without a comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians that is only possible with a two-state solution, the country's media reported.

"Our compass will always point to Palestine, with Jerusalem in its heart, and we will never falter in defending its interests and just cause,” he said, according to the Jordan News Agency.

Jordan borders Israel and is an important strategic player in the region. A two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians envisions an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, but it remains unclear how viable this option remains after the bloody incursion by Hamas into Israel over the weekend.

TEL AVIV — The leader of the political opposition in Israel tells NBC News he’s open to forming an emergency unity government.

Yair Lapid, leader of the opposition in Israel, suggested he is open to joining an emergency unity government after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition agreed to the possible measure, according to Reuters.

Asked if he would join an emergency government with Netanyahu, Lapid told NBC News earlier today: “We’re going to do whatever is necessary to make sure the people of Israel are safe and sound.”

“If we find a way to work together in the government, fine,” said Lapid, who served as the 14th prime minister of Israel for six months in 2022. One potential stumbling block is whether the far right would be included in that government, he suggested.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, said today that nine of its staff members have been killed in Gaza since the bloody Hamas incursion into Israel on Saturday and the retaliatory Israeli airstrikes that followed.

The agency's head of communications, Juliette Touma, told The Associated Press: "The protection of civilians is paramount, including in times of conflict. They should be protected in accordance with the laws of war."

Smoke trails from Israeli missiles over the Gaza City seaport today.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said today that citizens of at least 22 countries are among those killed or unaccounted for after the bloody Hamas incursion Saturday.

Medical staff and mourning relatives step over bodies at a hospital morgue in Gaza City yesterday.

The IDF said on X earlier today that an anti-tank missile was fired from Lebanon toward a military site.

Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group, has been sporadically exchanging fire with Israel in the days since Hamas launched its attack Saturday. The last time Israel and Hezbollah were at war was in 2006, which lasted roughly 34 days.

TEL AVIV — Officials in the Israeli municipality of Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, are warning residents not to be alarmed by sounds of gunfire at military funerals today for soldiers slain by Hamas militants.

“Today the funerals of the martyrs of the IDF will be held,” said a message sent out to residents of Herzliya, about 8 miles north of Tel Aviv. “During a military funeral, gunshots are heard as part of honor volleys,” it warned.

Dorit Basman, spokeswoman for the municipality, said the warning was issued to avoid any panic when gunshots sound. “They will scare people, but it’s part of the ceremony in Israel,” she said.

There are still Hamas militants inside Israeli territory, but there is no significant fighting happening inside the country at the moment, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces told NBC News this morning.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is "catastrophic" and hospitals are overwhelmed, the aid organization Doctors Without Borders said this morning, as Gazan authorities pleaded for humanitarian help.

Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said late yesterday that the number of wounded in Gaza was extremely high, with a constant influx of patients, leaving medical teams exhausted.

The organization said the Israeli bombing of the enclave did not spare medical facilities — one of the hospitals it supports was hit by an airstrike and damaged. Another airstrike destroyed an ambulance carrying the wounded, it said.

It comes as government officials in Gaza said they were putting out a "very urgent distress call" to the international community and aid organizations, saying a "definite humanitarian catastrophe" is threatening the lives of more than 2 million people.

Israeli soldiers inspect burned houses at a kibbutz near the Gaza border in Kfar Aza today.

Gaza’s power authority said its sole power plant will run out of fuel within hours, leaving the territory without electricity after Israel cut off supplies. Palestinians in Gaza have long relied on generators to power homes, offices and hospitals, but have no way of importing fuel for those either.

Nowar Diab, 20, was sleeping with her mother and younger siblings when she first heard the loud thud of Israeli airstrikes pounding near her home in northern Gaza.

“It was really loud in seconds,” Diab recalled in a phone interview with NBC News from her grandparents’ home. She rushed over there, along with her 9-year-old sister and teenage brother, as the bombardment began. 

“My mom is a reporter so she had to go to work,” Diab said, and she hasn’t seen her since the bombings started. While she has gotten sporadic updates from her mother over the last few days, with power cuts, the internet connection is extremely unstable.

For Diab, the extent of destruction has rendered her hometown unrecognizable. While she says no one dares to go outside, she has a sense of what is going on through videos.

“I really can’t recognize the most popular streets here. And Gaza is very small, so you know all the streets.”

The death toll from the Hamas incursion into Israel has grown again, reaching 1,200 this morning, according to the country's defense forces. This includes more than 150 soldiers.

IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said the overwhelming majority of the victims are civilians. More than 2,700 people have been injured.

"Sadly, something tells me that these numbers are not the final numbers," Conricus said.

Israeli tanks form a column in upper Galilee, near the border with Lebanon today.

Israeli fighter jets have struck 450 targets in Gaza in the last 24 hours, its defense forces said.

More than 200 targets were hit in the northern Gaza neighborhood of Al-Furqan alone, which the IDF said was being used by Hamas as "a terror hub."

Earlier, IDF said it hit dozens of targets in Daraj Tuffah and Beit Hanoun areas of the Gaza Strip.

The IDF says it's only targeting military compounds and "terror infrastructure" used by Hamas, but the United Nations said yesterday that residential structures have been hit in the densely populated enclave, resulting in civilian causalities.

Former Vice President Mike Pence called on Biden to demand Hamas immediately release hostages and be prepared to mobilize U.S. Special Forces to work with the IDF to rescue kidnapped Americans.

The Gaza Health Ministry said today that 950 people have been killed since the Hamas incursion into Israel and retaliatory airstrikes of the Gaza Strip by Israel.

It said 5,000 others were injured as the enclave, home to more than 2 million people, is struggling to handle mass casualties amid a full blockade by Israel.

A wounded Palestinian child sits in an ambulance after airstrikes in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip today.

Fighting is set to intensify inside the Gaza Strip, creating scenes that will be difficult to understand and cope with, the Israeli military has said.

In a daily update, spokesman Jonathan Conricus said in a broadcast on X early today that he hoped international support for Israel would continue, ahead of an expected ground offensive into Gaza Strip, which is run by Hamas.

"We hope that remains that way even when the fighting will intensify and the scenes coming out of the Gaza Strip will be more difficult to understand and cope with," he said.