IDF strikes Gaza
(Ido Erez)
The IDF confirmed to foreign press overnight that Israeli forces including tanks were operating in the Gaza Strip, without giving more details but adds that incursions had taken place previously. In an announcement in the early morning hours. the military said its jets struck 150 underground Hamas targets in the northern areas "including terror tunnels, underground combat spaces and additional underground infrastructure. The IDF also said it has killed Asem Abu Rakaba, head of the Hamas Aerial Array.
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Hamas says its forces are prepared to confront the Israeli troops after claiming firefights were taking place in Beit Hanoun in the north eastern part of the Strip and at the al Bureij refugee camp in the center, overnight.
The UN said on Saturday that it had lost contact with its staff, and members of aid organizations in Gaza after a communication and internet failure since late on Friday as Israel expanded its incursions into Gaza. World Health Organization (WHO) chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said contact with Gaza health facilities was also lost. "This siege makes me gravely concerned for their safety and the immediate health risks of vulnerable patients," he said.
Family members of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza demanded the government explain how a ground offensive would not endanger hostages, after meeting with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. She ensured the the administration was doing everything possible to secure hostages are released and told them they were not alone.
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U.S. Vice President Kamal Harris meets meets family members of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza
(Photo: X)
Pro Palestinian protesters demanding a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas forced officials on Friday to close Grand Central Terminal, one of New York City's major transit hubs, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said.
The UN On Friday voted on a call for an immediate truce in Gaza. the resolution drafted by Arab states passed with 120 votes in favor, while 45 abstained and 14 - including Israel and the United States - voted no.
UN ambassador Gilad Erdan slammed the international body for not even mentioning the Hamas terror group in the wording of its resolution and asked why the murderers of babies were being protected by members of the general assembly
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UN General Assembly passes resolution calling for Gaza truce
(Photo: Sarah Yensel / EPA)
Sounds of explosions were heard in the border communities as massive airstrikes targeted the Jabalia refugee camp in the north-eastern part of the Strip. Internet in the Strip was down. IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the military was increasing the scope of incursions into Gaza to "meet the objectives of the war." The spokesmen said reports that hostage release was imminent, were part of the Hamas psychological warfare.
He earlier revealed what he described as intelligence showing a Hamas command center located under a the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. In a briefing to foreign journalists, the IDF revealed what it described as intelligence showing a Hamas command center located under a the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
"There are a number of areas, used by Hamas to direct its military operations. A tunnel that reaches the hospital can accesses the command center and a control room used by the terror group's internal police force, is located inside the hospital, and heavily staffed by armed forces," the spokesperson said.
Illustration of Hamas HQ at Shifa
(IDF)
"Another command center is located in the hospital, used among other things, to direct rocket fire at Israeli communities, while the 4,000 medical and administrative staff of the 1,500 bed medical facility, are used as human shields.
The UN General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly called for an immediate humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas and demanded aid access to the besieged Gaza Strip and protection of civilians. The resolution drafted by Arab states passed with 120 votes in favor, while 45 abstained and 14 - including Israel and the United States - voted no.
A rocket struck a Tel Aviv residential block in a heavy barrage targeting the metropolitan area and the central plains on Friday afternoon. At least four people were hurt, one suffering moderate wounds. A rocket also landed in Jaffa, while the southern cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod also came under attack.
Building hit by rocket
(Fire & Rescue)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Friday that troops loyal to Iran in Lebanon are ready to "pull the trigger" if the IDF begins its ground offensive on Gaza.
Earlier the military revealed images showing elite naval commando Unit, Flotilla 13 in their incursion into the Strip overnight to destroy Hamas infrastructure used to launch attacks on Israel .
Earlier the military revealed images showing elite naval commando Unit, Flotilla 13 in their incursion into the Strip overnight to destroy Hamas infrastructure used to launch attacks on Israel .
Egypt's army spokesperson said on Friday that an unidentified drone crashed on Friday morning near a hospital building in the Red Sea town of Taba, near the Sinai Peninsula border with Israel, injuring six people. The statement came after the Israeli military said that an "aerial threat" had been spotted in the Red Sea region
Over the last day, IDF ground forces, accompanied by IDF fighter jets and UAVs, conducted a targeted raid in the central Gaza Strip, according to the IDF Spokesman's Unit. As part of the activity, IDF aircraft and artillery struck terror targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the Shuja'iyya area and throughout the Gaza Strip. During the activity, the IDF identified and struck numerous terror targets, including anti-tank missile launch sites, military command and control centers, as well as Hamas terrorists. The troops exited the area at the end of the raid. No IDF injuries were reported.
Another eight trucks carrying food, medicine and water are expected to cross into the Gaza Strip on Friday, a senior United Nations official said Friday. "We have gotten in approximately 74 trucks. We're expecting another eight or so today," Lynn Hastings, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told reporters in Geneva. In addition, a medical delegation of 10 foreign doctors crossed the border into the Gaza Strip, as well as 10 aid trucks containing water, food and medicine.
Newly elected U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said on Thursday that funding to support Ukraine and Israel should be handled separately, suggesting he will not back President Joe Biden's $106 billion aid package for both countries.
Johnson, speaking in an interview on Fox News, has concerns about Ukraine funding in general, and believes any money for Israel will need to be funded by cuts elsewhere.
He met Biden on Thursday and said he told White House staff "our consensus among House Republicans is we need to bifurcate those issues."
Biden wants Congress to provide $106 billion in supplemental funding, with the bulk of the money going to bolster Ukraine's defenses and the remainder split among Israel, Indo-Pacific and border enforcement.
Johnson said of Ukraine funding: "We want to know what the object is there, what is the end game in Ukraine. The White House has not provided that."
The U.S. military on Thursday carried out strikes against two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and groups it backs, the Pentagon said, in response to a spate of attacks against U.S. forces in both Iraq and Syria.
As tensions soar over the Israel-Hamas conflict, U.S. and coalition troops have been attacked at least 12 times in Iraq and four times in Syria by Iran-backed forces.
A total of 21 U.S. forces have suffered minor injuries, the vast majority of them traumatic brain injuries.
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Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and U.S. Sec. of Defense Lloyd Austin
(Photo: Defense Ministry )
"These precision self-defense strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17," U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. The strikes were ordered by President Joe Biden.
"These Iranian-backed attacks against U.S. forces are unacceptable and must stop," Austin said in the statement.
"If attacks by Iran's proxies against U.S. forces continue, we will not hesitate to take further necessary measures to protect our people."
An explosion was heard and heavy smoke and dust were seen rising early on Friday in an Egyptian Red Sea resort town near the Israeli border, a witness told Reuters.
The Israeli military said it was aware of a security incident around the town of Taba, saying it unfolded "outside of our border".
Egypt's Al Qahera News TV said