CAIRO — The situation in Gaza is like living “a horror movie in real time,” according to one American citizen who was freed yesterday.

Emilee Rauschenberger told NBC News she was visiting family, but was trapped in the enclave with her husband, Mohammad Abuhamad, and their five children — Noora, 15; Tariq, 12; Adam and Zaid, both 10; and 4-year-old Maryam — after Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. She added that they rented an apartment away from the heavy fighting in northern Gaza but there were still airstrikes near them.

Before they left, Rauschenberger said, her family lived off of pita bread and jam, with the occasional macaroni or rice for dinner. In their final days, she added that her children became sick with inexplicable illnesses.

“It is a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions. ... It’s just so isolating and barbaric really, because you’re just struggling so much,” Rauschenberger said.

A further escalation along the Lebanese border between Hezbollah and Israel is contingent on Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip, the militant group's leader said today.

Hassan Nasrallah told a crowd in Beirut that Hezbollah would “continue to infiltrate Israel,” even through it had “received a threat that U.S. warplanes will bombard Lebanon.”

“The future of this front will evolve according to the development of the situation in Gaza,” he said. “All scenarios are open on the southern front. All options are laid out and we can adopt any at any point of time,” he added.

Pope Francis spoke on the phone with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas late Thursday afternoon, according to Vatican News, the official news outlet of the Vatican.

Vatican News, citing Palestinian news agency Wafa, said Abbas thanked the pope for his efforts in rebuilding peace among Palestinians and Israelis, while also stressing the “vital importance” of the Vatican's continuing efforts to advocate for a cease-fire.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the need to "prevent escalation" of the war between Israel and Hamas in a speech in Tel Aviv today.

He added that more needed to be done "to protect Palestinian civilians," because it was "the right thing to do."

Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf said today that his in-laws left Gaza this morning through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

The last four weeks have been “a living nightmare for our family,” Yousaf said in a joint statement with his wife, Nadia El-Nakla.

“Although we feel a sense of deep personal relief, we are heartbroken at the continued suffering of the people of Gaza,” the statement posted on X said. “We will continue to raise our voices to stop the killing and suffering of the innocent people of Gaza.”

The statement did not say whether Yousaf's brother-in-law, a doctor who was working at a Gaza hospital, has left the Palestinian enclave.

The crowds were waving Palestinian, Lebanese, Hezbollah and, tellingly, Iranian flags — but Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has sought to distance Tehran and its allied forces from the Hamas attack against Israel on Oct. 7.

In a hotly anticipated speech, Nasrallah praised Hamas' "glorious operation," but he insisted that the surprise attack was "100% Palestinians in terms of execution" and that Hamas "kept it secret even from other factions in Gaza."

Nasrallah urged an end to the war, blaming the U.S. for failing to secure a cease-fire.

The U.N. humanitarian office said today it would cost an estimated $1.2 billion to meet the needs of 2.3 million people in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip and the 500,000 people in the West Bank until the end of the year.

Aid supplies to Gaza have been choked since Israel began bombarding the densely populated enclave in the wake of attacks by Hamas gunmen in southern Israel on Oct. 7, with aid organizations saying it is nowhere near matching the needs of its residents.

“There’s been a high number of casualties reported, as well as the reported use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in some of the most densely populated areas in Gaza,” said Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“We have serious concerns that the principles of distinction and proportionality are not being respected by both sides.”

BEIRUT — At a massive Hezbollah rally in Dahiyeh, a neighborhood of south Beirut, thousands have gathered to listen to a hotly anticipated speech from Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Iran-backed militant group.

Nasrallah is speaking now in a televised address, breaking his silence for the first time since Hamas launched its Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The stage is set with a rousing martial video display blaring Hezbollah songs set to slick music videos showing Hezbollah soldiers chanting and marching. On either side of the stage are pictures of the “martyrs” that have died fighting against Israel.

The speech will be closely watched from Washington to Tel Aviv as Hezbollah and Israel continue to exchange fire over the border and concerns mount over whether the war might expand. The address has been previewed with a number of slick videos posted on social media to build anticipation.

Eneryone here and in the entire region is waiting for more — some kind of indication of where Nasrallah will lead his powerful army in the coming days and weeks. Until now, his silence has been deafening and whatever he says will be crucial to the next stage of this conflict.

JERUSALEM — President Biden's top diplomat arrived in Israel this morning on a mission to slow this war down, pushing for humanitarian pauses to allow more aid into Gaza, buy time for more hostages to be released by Hamas and maybe for cooler heads to emerge.

The timing is critical: The Israeli military says its forces are finished encircling Gaza City and are in street battles. A push into the city could be extraordinary violent. Israel is already losing troops and has outlined no long-term exit plan. Hamas seems happy to pull Israel into a long-term guerilla war, while the people of Gaza face the brunt of the consequences.