Mother of son assumed kidnapped by Hamas: ‘He’s my universe’
Rachel Goldberg, whose 23-year-old son is assumed to have been kidnapped by Hamas after he attend a music festival, told NBC News, “We feel like we’re in a parallel universe.”
Goldberg said she last saw her son Friday of last week. He then left with his best friend to go to the Supernova music festival near the Gaza border, where 260 people were killed.
Goldberg said that the next morning, when she heard sirens and knew something was going on, she checked her phone and saw two texts from her son, one reading “I love you” and another saying “I’m sorry.”
“I immediately knew something horrible was in the process of happening or about to happen,” she said.
Goldberg said that she did receive confirmation that her son is assumed to have been kidnapped and that the last signal from his cellphone was picked up on the border of Gaza. She said eyewitnesses said that her son and others ended up in a bomb shelter, that it appeared her son’s arm may have been blown off with a tourniquet around it and that he was taken away with a few other young men.
“He’s my universe. He’s my whole life. He’s the most important thing to me,” she said, adding that she was also aware that her family’s suffering is “one small part” of a much larger, terrible event.
Israeli Iron Dome air defense systems intercept a rocket in Ashkelon
President Biden addresses families of missing Americans following Hamas attacks in Israel
“The families of unaccounted for Americans following the terrorist attack on Israel are going through the unthinkable. I gave them my word: We are not walking away from them,” President Biden posted on X today, together with a video from the Oval Office.
“I know from experience there’s not a single thing more and more worrisome than to have someone you love, someone you adore, adores you, and not knowing their fate,” Biden said in the video.
Pro-Palestinian protests continue around U.S.
Pro-Palestinian protesters held rallies across the U.S. and in Europe today.
The protesters held demonstrations in New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Houston, multiple cities in California and elsewhere.
In Houston, there were well over 1,000 protesters about an hour into a demonstration this afternoon. Some held posters saying “Stand With Gaza,” “Occupation is a Crime” and “Free Palestine.”
In Chicago, protesters chanted “Palestine will be free” and “Free Free Palestine, Ethnic cleansing is a crime.”
In Washington, several thousand rallied at a hourslong protest, some holding pro-Palestinian posters, flags and umbrellas in the rain, chanting “Hey, hey, ho, ho, the occupation’s got to go” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
World Health Organization: Evacuation orders 'are a death sentence for the sick and injured '
The World Health Organization condemned Israel's orders to evacuate "22 hospitals treating more than 2,000 inpatients in northern Gaza" in a statement today.
"The forced evacuation of patients and health workers will further worsen the current humanitarian and public health catastrophe," the statement read, adding that "the lives of many critically ill and fragile patients hang in the balance," including those of patients who rely on life support, newborns in incubators and pregnant women with complications.
The organization said health facilities in northern Gaza are receiving an influx of patients and "are struggling to operate beyond maximum capacity."
"Forcing more than 2000 patients to relocate to southern Gaza, where health facilities are already running at maximum capacity and unable to absorb a dramatic rise in the number patients, could be tantamount to a death sentence," the WHO said.
Israel's evacuation order has put hospital directors and health care workers in a position to choose between abandoning sick patients amid airstrikes or putting their own lives in danger while remaining on site to treat them, according to the WHO.
"WHO calls for Israel to immediately reverse evacuation orders to hospitals in northern Gaza, and calls for the protection of health facilities, health workers, patients, and civilians," it said.
President Biden speaks with Israeli PM Netanyahu for the fifth time
Netanyahu spoke with Biden and thanked him for the "deep and unconditional American support," the prime minister's office said today on X.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Israel this week and reaffirmed U.S. support for its right to defend itself.
In the call, Netanyahu discussed his visit today to the Israeli-Gaza border, where he met with IDF troops and saw the aftermath of the Hamas attack.
Barrages of artillery rounds pierce night sky in Gaza's north
NEAR THE ISRAEL-GAZA BORDER — Three barrages of artillery rounds just pierced the skyline from Israel into Gaza’s north. The bombardments lasted over five minutes and followed a barrage about 90 minutes ago.
IDF launches broad attack against thousands of targets in Gaza: 'Whoever reaches the fence to enter Israel will die'
The Israel Defense Forces have launched a "broad attack against thousands of targets in Gaza," killing Hamas militants, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on X.
Hagari said the destruction of anyone who was part of the attack on Israel "is a top priority" and continued to urge Gaza City residents to evacuate to the south.
“The IDF has a very large presence in the north. Whoever reaches the fence to enter Israel will die," Hagari continued. "Every incident is the full responsibility of the state of Lebanon and it will bear the cost. We are in a broad logistical operation aimed at ensuring the readiness of the forces and responding with protective equipment to those fighting in all sectors, according to the prioritization of combat — Gaza first.”
Israeli troops include U.S. citizens
NORTHERN ISRAEL — Among the Israeli forces defending the northern border with Lebanon are a number of troops originally from the U.S.
At an encampment in northern Israel, NBC News met troops born in Florida, New York and Pennsylvania who had joined the Israel Defense Forces.
Harrison Schwartz, 24, of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, joined Israel’s military six years ago. After having completed his service he returned to Pennsylvania to study business while remaining in the reserves. He got an email after the terrorist attack calling him back to service and booked a flight to Israel.
“These are all my friends. These are my family,” Schwartz said, gesturing to his fellow troops. “I probably couldn’t forgive myself if I just stayed home, if I just went to work, if I was doing something else rather than being here.”