The number of U.S. citizens confirmed to have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war has risen to 22, the State Department said Wednesday.That’s an increase from the 14 who’d been confirmed dead one day earlier. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a leading opposition figure on Wednesday created a war-time Cabinet overseeing the fight to avenge a stunning weekend attack by Hamas militants. In the sealed-off Gaza Strip ruled by Hamas, Palestinian suffering mounted as Israeli bombardment demolished neighborhoods and the territory’s only power plant ran out of fuel.The new war-time Cabinet establishes a degree of unity after years of bitterly divisive politics, and as the Israeli military appears increasingly likely to launch a ground offensive into Gaza.The Cabinet, which will focus only on issues of war, will consist of Netanyahu, Benny Gantz — a senior opposition figure and former defense minister — and current Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, a statement released by Gantz said. The risk of the war spreading was evident Wednesday after the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles at an Israeli military position and claimed to have killed and wounded troops.The Israeli military confirmed the attack but did not comment on possible casualties. The Israeli army shelled the area in southern Lebanon where the attack was launched.After nightfall, Israel urged residents in the north to shelter after a “hostile aircraft” entered from Lebanon. It did not specify the kind of aircraft. But Hezbollah and Palestinian militants are known to have drones and gliders.The government is under intense public pressure to topple Hamas after its militants stormed through a border fence Saturday and massacred hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival. Militants in Gaza are holding an estimated 150 people taken hostage from Israel — soldiers, men, women, children and older adults. A ground offensive in the tiny, coastal Gaza Strip, densely populated with 2.3 million people, is likely to dramatically hike casualties in a war that has already claimed at least 2,200 lives on both sides.Here are some key takeaways from the war:What is the situation in Gaza?Conditions in the coastal enclave, a crowded, 25-mile strip of land that is home to 2.3 million people, were deteriorating quickly Wednesday as entire city blocks were reduced to rubble and residents searched for places to go. Gaza’s Civil Defense Department warned that there were too few rescue teams to search for survivors buried under rubble, and that teams were unable to reach many places because of damage to roads and constant bombardments.“There is no safe place in Gaza right now,” said journalist Hasan Jabar after three Palestinian journalists were killed in the bombardment of a downtown neighborhood home to government ministries, media offices and hotels. “I am genuinely afraid for my life.”Video below: North Carolina college student cancels trip to Israel amid attacks on his homelandMore than 250,000 people in Gaza have fled their homes, the U.N. said. Most of them have crowded into schools run by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. Most of the territory’s residents are unable to leave due to a years-long blockade maintained by Israel and Egypt.Israel has cut off supplies of food, fuel, electricity and medicine into Gaza, and the sole remaining access from Egypt was shut down Tuesday after airstrikes hit near the border crossing. Gaza’s power authority said its only power plant has since run out of fuel, leaving the territory without electricity. What is Israel doing?Israel is taking a new approach to its air war, warning civilians to evacuate neighborhood after neighborhood, and then inflicting devastation. It’s also mobilized some 360,000 reservists.The new tactics could point to a new objective. Four previous rounds of Israel-Hamas fighting between 2008 and 2021 all ended inconclusively, with Hamas battered but still in control. This time, Israel’s government is under intense pressure from the public to topple Hamas, a goal considered unachievable in the past because it would require a reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, at least temporarily.”We will not allow a reality in which Israeli children are murdered,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a meeting with soldiers near the southern border on Tuesday. “I have removed every restriction – we will eliminate anyone who fights us, and use every measure at our disposal.” The government is under intense public pressure to topple Hamas after its militants stormed through a border fence Saturday and massacred hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival. Militants in Gaza are holding an estimated 150 people taken hostage from Israel — soldiers, men, women, children and older adults. What has been the response from the U.S. and other nations?U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday again condemned the attack by Hamas, calling it an act of “pure unadulterated evil.”Biden warned adversaries not to take advantage of the crisis. “I have one word: Don’t. Don’t.”Video below: Biden speech on Tuesday condemning Hamas attack U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to Israel on an urgent mission to show support for Israel, the State Department said Tuesday.The Ford carrier strike group has arrived in the far Eastern Mediterranean, within range to provide a host of air support or long-range strike options for Israel if requested, but also to boost the U.S. military presence to prevent the now 4-day-old war with Hamas from spilling over into a more dangerous regional conflict, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on Tuesday.The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the arrival ahead of an official announcement.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized Israel’s blockade of Gaza, saying cutting off electricity and water is against the Palestinians’ human rights.Speaking at a joint news conference with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Tuesday, Erdogan criticized U.S. plans to send an aircraft carrier to the region, saying the deployment could lead to “massacres.”President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, whose government maintains ties with Israel and Hamas, on Tuesday called for a cease-fire in the war. What is the status of foreign citizens in Israel?Foreign governments tried to determine how many of their citizens were dead, missing or in need of medical help as many countries arranged evacuation flights.The number of U.S. citizens confirmed to have been killed has risen to 22, the State Department said Wednesday. “We have to be crystal clear. There is no justification for terrorism,” President Joe Biden told reporters Wednesday. “The United States has Israel’s back and we’re going to be working on this through the day and beyond.’Americans are also among the hostages captured by Hamas, Biden said. Russia has reported the deaths of four citizens, while France said at least eight were killed and the Philippines said two Filipinos were dead.Twenty Thais were feared dead based on reports from employers, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kanchana Patarachoke said Tuesday, while 14 were believed to have been kidnapped.The Austrian government said three Austrian-Israeli dual citizens may be among the people kidnapped by Hamas during its attack on Israel. Italy’s foreign minister said an Italian-Israeli couple living on the Be’eri Kibbutz had been missing since the incursion and were “probably taken hostage.”Video below: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin gives statement on Israel while in BelgiumWhat prompted Hamas’ attack on Israel?Hamas, which seeks Israel’s destruction, says it is defending Palestinians’ right to freedom and self-determination.But the devastation following Hamas’ surprise attack on Saturday has sharpened questions about its strategy and objectives. Hamas officials have said they planned for all possibilities, including a punishing Israeli escalation.Desperation has grown among Palestinians, many of whom see nothing to lose under unending Israeli control and increasing settlements in the West Bank, a 16-year-long blockade in Gaza and what they see as the world’s apathy.In addition to citing long-simmering tensions, Hamas officials cite a long-running dispute over the sensitive Al-Aqsa Mosque that is sacred to both Muslims and Jews. Competing claims over the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, have spilled into violence before, including a bloody 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in 2021.Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians escalated with recent violent Palestinian protests. In negotiations with Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations, Hamas has pushed for Israeli concessions that could loosen the blockade on the Gaza Strip and help halt a worsening financial crisis.
The number of U.S. citizens confirmed to have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war has risen to 22, the State Department said Wednesday.
That’s an increase from the 14 who’d been confirmed dead one day earlier.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a leading opposition figure on Wednesday created a war-time Cabinet overseeing the fight to avenge a stunning weekend attack by Hamas militants. In the sealed-off Gaza Strip ruled by Hamas, Palestinian suffering mounted as Israeli bombardment demolished neighborhoods and the territory’s only power plant ran out of fuel.
The new war-time Cabinet establishes a degree of unity after years of bitterly divisive politics, and as the Israeli military appears increasingly likely to launch a ground offensive into Gaza.
The Cabinet, which will focus only on issues of war, will consist of Netanyahu, Benny Gantz — a senior opposition figure and former defense minister — and current Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, a statement released by Gantz said.
The risk of the war spreading was evident Wednesday after the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles at an Israeli military position and claimed to have killed and wounded troops.
The Israeli military confirmed the attack but did not comment on possible casualties. The Israeli army shelled the area in southern Lebanon where the attack was launched.
After nightfall, Israel urged residents in the north to shelter after a “hostile aircraft” entered from Lebanon. It did not specify the kind of aircraft. But Hezbollah and Palestinian militants are known to have drones and gliders.
The government is under intense public pressure to topple Hamas after its militants stormed through a border fence Saturday and massacred hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival. Militants in Gaza are holding an estimated 150 people taken hostage from Israel — soldiers, men, women, children and older adults.
A ground offensive in the tiny, coastal Gaza Strip, densely populated with 2.3 million people, is likely to dramatically hike casualties in a war that has already claimed at least 2,200 lives on both sides.
Here are some key takeaways from the war:
What is the situation in Gaza?
Conditions in the coastal enclave, a crowded, 25-mile strip of land that is home to 2.3 million people, were deteriorating quickly Wednesday as entire city blocks were reduced to rubble and residents searched for places to go.
Gaza’s Civil Defense Department warned that there were too few rescue teams to search for survivors buried under rubble, and that teams were unable to reach many places because of damage to roads and constant bombardments.
“There is no safe place in Gaza right now,” said journalist Hasan Jabar after three Palestinian journalists were killed in the bombardment of a downtown neighborhood home to government ministries, media offices and hotels. “I am genuinely afraid for my life.”
Video below: North Carolina college student cancels trip to Israel amid attacks on his homeland
More than 250,000 people in Gaza have fled their homes, the U.N. said. Most of them have crowded into schools run by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. Most of the territory’s residents are unable to leave due to a years-long blockade maintained by Israel and Egypt.
Israel has cut off supplies of food, fuel, electricity and medicine into Gaza, and the sole remaining access from Egypt was shut down Tuesday after airstrikes hit near the border crossing. Gaza’s power authority said its only power plant has since run out of fuel, leaving the territory without electricity.
What is Israel doing?
Israel is taking a new approach to its air war, warning civilians to evacuate neighborhood after neighborhood, and then inflicting devastation. It’s also mobilized some 360,000 reservists.
The new tactics could point to a new objective. Four previous rounds of Israel-Hamas fighting between 2008 and 2021 all ended inconclusively, with Hamas battered but still in control.
This time, Israel’s government is under intense pressure from the public to topple Hamas, a goal considered unachievable in the past because it would require a reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, at least temporarily.
“We will not allow a reality in which Israeli children are murdered,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a meeting with soldiers near the southern border on Tuesday. “I have removed every restriction – we will eliminate anyone who fights us, and use every measure at our disposal.”
The government is under intense public pressure to topple Hamas after its militants stormed through a border fence Saturday and massacred hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival. Militants in Gaza are holding an estimated 150 people taken hostage from Israel — soldiers, men, women, children and older adults.
What has been the response from the U.S. and other nations?
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday again condemned the attack by Hamas, calling it an act of “pure unadulterated evil.”
Biden warned adversaries not to take advantage of the crisis. “I have one word: Don’t. Don’t.”
Video below: Biden speech on Tuesday condemning Hamas attack
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to Israel on an urgent mission to show support for Israel, the State Department said Tuesday.
The Ford carrier strike group has arrived in the far Eastern Mediterranean, within range to provide a host of air support or long-range strike options for Israel if requested, but also to boost the U.S. military presence to prevent the now 4-day-old war with Hamas from spilling over into a more dangerous regional conflict, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the arrival ahead of an official announcement.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized Israel’s blockade of Gaza, saying cutting off electricity and water is against the Palestinians’ human rights.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Tuesday, Erdogan criticized U.S. plans to send an aircraft carrier to the region, saying the deployment could lead to “massacres.”
President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, whose government maintains ties with Israel and Hamas, on Tuesday called for a cease-fire in the war.
What is the status of foreign citizens in Israel?
Foreign governments tried to determine how many of their citizens were dead, missing or in need of medical help as many countries arranged evacuation flights.
The number of U.S. citizens confirmed to have been killed has risen to 22, the State Department said Wednesday.
“We have to be crystal clear. There is no justification for terrorism,” President Joe Biden told reporters Wednesday. “The United States has Israel’s back and we’re going to be working on this through the day and beyond.’
Americans are also among the hostages captured by Hamas, Biden said.
Russia has reported the deaths of four citizens, while France said at least eight were killed and the Philippines said two Filipinos were dead.
Twenty Thais were feared dead based on reports from employers, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kanchana Patarachoke said Tuesday, while 14 were believed to have been kidnapped.
The Austrian government said three Austrian-Israeli dual citizens may be among the people kidnapped by Hamas during its attack on Israel. Italy’s foreign minister said an Italian-Israeli couple living on the Be’eri Kibbutz had been missing since the incursion and were “probably taken hostage.”
Video below: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin gives statement on Israel while in Belgium
What prompted Hamas’ attack on Israel?
Hamas, which seeks Israel’s destruction, says it is defending Palestinians’ right to freedom and self-determination.
But the devastation following Hamas’ surprise attack on Saturday has sharpened questions about its strategy and objectives. Hamas officials have said they planned for all possibilities, including a punishing Israeli escalation.
Desperation has grown among Palestinians, many of whom see nothing to lose under unending Israeli control and increasing settlements in the West Bank, a 16-year-long blockade in Gaza and what they see as the world’s apathy.
In addition to citing long-simmering tensions, Hamas officials cite a long-running dispute over the sensitive Al-Aqsa Mosque that is sacred to both Muslims and Jews. Competing claims over the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, have spilled into violence before, including a bloody 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in 2021.
Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians escalated with recent violent Palestinian protests. In negotiations with Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations, Hamas has pushed for Israeli concessions that could loosen the blockade on the Gaza Strip and help halt a worsening financial crisis.
