Biden says he wants ceasefire in Gaza and Israel to pull out. This is a sea change since he faced opposition after voices from USA itself against merciless Genocide in Gaza is decried world over. Also the threat of expansion of war since Hamas and Hezbollah commanders have been killed by Israel. The US secretary of state Blinken's diplomatic push comes as fears grow of a wider war in the Middle East after an Israeli strike in Lebanon killed a top commander in the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Fears of broader escalation were stoked by an Israeli strike in Lebanon that killed an elite commander in the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. Last week's assassination of a Hamas leader in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, has halted talks on a hostage deal, two senior administration officials told NBC News.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting with Israeli officials as the U.S. pushes its ally to scale back its deadly assault on the Gaza Strip and seeks to avert a wider war. It follows days of talks with Middle East leaders, who warned that anti-U.S. opinion is growing in the region, multiple sources told NBC News.
The Israeli military has indicated it is shifting to a less intense phase in the north, but said it was expanding ground operations in the key southern city of Khan Younis as it battles Hamas but also bombards areas where masses of civilians fled at Israel's urging.
More than 23,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than 57,000 have been injured, and thousands more are missing and presumed dead.
Israeli military officials say at least 185 soldiers have been killed during the country's ground invasion of Gaza, which came after 1,200 people were killed and about 240 hostages were seized after Hamas launched multipronged attacks on Israel on Oct. 7. NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell, Richard Engel, Raf Sanchez, Ali Arouzi and Josh Lederman are reporting from the region.
Israel's internal dissensions are also increasing since hostages held in Gaza are facing "immediate, life-threatening danger" as many were already suffering from various illnesses and are presumed to be cut off from any medical support, a group representing their families has warned. "Many hostages were kidnapped from home without vision aids, hearing aids, or mobility devices, thereby exacerbating their physical health problems and contributing to the deterioration of their mental well-being," the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said today. The forum described the medical treatment some hostages need, including mental support in a report released today, and called for their immediate release. Some of the elderly hostages suffer from respiratory diseases, it said, with some suffering from gunshot wounds during their capture and now at the risk of fatal infections.
Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila tells Al Jazeera only nine hospitals continue to operate in Gaza, without enough medical supplies or electricity. Iran deploys a warship to the Red Sea after the US Navy attacks and kills Houthis trying to commandeer a commercial vessel. Battles rage in central and southern Gaza after Israel announces it is pulling some troops from the ground invasion. At least 21,978 people have been killed and 57,697 injured in Israel attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll from the October 7 attack in Israel stands at 1,139. Israel-Hamas war: Hospitals facing ‘totally catastrophic’ situation
