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What we know
- Today is the 100th day of the war. In Israel, families and supporters of the remaining hostages marked the grim milestone with gatherings at Hostages Square, and protests erupted around the world over the weekend calling for a cease-fire. In Gaza, famine looms as the death toll mounts.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed yesterday that Israel will pursue “total victory” and that “no one will stop us, not The Hague, not the Axis of Evil and not anyone else.”
- “The massive death, destruction, displacement, hunger, loss, and grief of the last 100 days are staining our shared humanity,” the head of the U.N.’s Palestinian refugee agency said yesterday.
- Fears of a regional escalation continue to simmer following strikes yesterday and Friday by the U.S. and the U.K. on Houthi military positions in Yemen and the Israel Defense Forces’ and Hezbollah’s ongoing exchanges of fire over Israel’s border with Lebanon.
- More than 23,900 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than 60,000 have been injured, and thousands more are missing and presumed dead.
- Israeli military officials say at least 186 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’ Richard Engel, Raf Sanchez, Ali Arouzi, Chantal Da Silva and Josh Lederman are reporting from the region.
'The cost is very high, but ... what is the other option?' mourning Gaza journalist asks
After losing his wife, 15-year-old son, 7-year-old daughter and a grandson in Israeli airstrikes since Oct. 7, Al Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael Al Dahdouh has come to embody the painful personal sacrifices that have come with covering Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip.
“The cost is very high, but at the end of the day we ask ourselves, what is the other option?” he told NBC News’ Ayman Mohyeldin. “We sit in our homes, waiting for missiles to land, leave this job, give up this humanitarian message that we delivered? This is definitely not an option.”
In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with Mohyeldin — his first and only with Western media — Al Dahdouh talked about reporting on the front lines of the historic war between Israel and Hamas and described the painful emotional toll of unspeakable personal tragedy.
‘We cannot allow the issue of the hostages to fall from the public and global agenda,’ says Israel President Isaac Herzog
Addressing a crowd during a rally marking 100 days of war in Gaza, Israeli President Isaac Herzog vowed to free the remaining hostages being held by Hamas militants.
“We cannot allow the issue of the hostages to fall from the public and global agenda, until the very last one of the hostages is freed," Herzog said. "I commit to continue acting to ensure this, in every way and with every tool at my disposal."
Herzog's speech comes during South Africa's case against Israel in the International Court of Justice, where it argues Israel's ongoing bombardment of Gaza constitutes genocide.
Antisemitic vandalism painted near oldest U.S. Holocaust monument
Philadelphia police are investigating after a swastika was painted on a wall near the country's oldest Holocaust monument.
Security video captured a man in a ski mask painting the symbol about 1:30 this morning next to the Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza, said Eszter Kutas, the executive director of the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation, which operates the plaza.
Police said the man also wore a dark, striped jacket.
Opened in 2018, the plaza is home to Nathan Rapoport’s sculpture "Monument to Six Million Jewish Martyrs," installed in 1964 as the first such Holocaust remembrance in the U.S.
"This is a place where people come to commemorate and reflect on the Holocaust, and it's also a place for education," Kutas said. "This is, unfortunately, a devastating incident, a very upsetting incident, but it's no longer a shocking incident."
She continued by connecting the incident to Hamas militants' incursion into Israel on Oct. 7, which sparked war. "Antisemitism has been on a rise for several years in our country. But in particular, since Oct. 7, the antisemitic incidents are really skyrocketing."
The foundation circulated images from the security video with the hope someone might recognize the man in the mask.
U.S. shoots down missile in Red Sea fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen
The U.S. said it shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired toward a Navy destroyer this afternoon in the Red Sea.
U.S. military officials said tonight that the missile was fired toward the USS Laboon from Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas of Yemen.
No injuries or damage were reported.
The news comes days after the U.S. and Britain launched military strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who for weeks have been targeting shipping vessels.
The Houthis have said their strikes are in support of Hamas and last week vowed retaliation for attacks.
TEL AVIV — The Israel-Hamas war has reached the grim milestone of 100 days of fighting.
It is now the longest war between Israel and Palestinians since Israel’s founding 75 years ago.
Hamas posts video appearing to show 3 hostages, including Noa Argamani
TEL AVIV — On the 100th day of the war, Hamas posted a video appearing to show three hostages held captive in Gaza: Noa Argamani, Yossi Sharabi and and Itay Svirsky. NBC News was not immediately able to independently verify the video.
Argamani's kidnapping Oct. 7 drew international attention after harrowing video showed her being driven away on the back of a motorcycle as her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, was marched behind her. In another video, she was seen sitting on a couch drinking a bottle of water, but she had not been seen or heard from since.
Close friends of Argamani's confirmed they were aware of the video Hamas posted today but did not wish to comment on it.
Sharabi and Virsky's relatives could not immediately be reached. Last month, Sharabi's brother-in-law, Raz Matalon, described his family's desperation to be reunited with both Sharabi and his brother Eli Sharabi, who he said was also taken hostage. “This is a feeling of urgency that I never felt in my life," Matalon said at the time.
Eli Sharabi’s wife, Lianne, and their two children, Yahel, 13, and Noiya, 16, were killed in Hamas' attack. Yossi Sharabi’s wife and daughters survived the attack.
Biden marks 100 days of captivity for hostages in Gaza
President Joe Biden released marked 100 days of captivity for hostages in Gaza in a statement today.
"Today, we mark a devastating and tragic milestone — 100 days of captivity for the more than 100 innocent people, including as many as 6 Americans, who are still held being hostage by Hamas in Gaza," the statement read. "For 100 days, they have existed in fear for their lives, not knowing what tomorrow will bring. For 100 days, their families have lived in agony, praying for the safe return of their loved ones. And for each of those 100 days, the hostages and their families have been at the forefront of my mind as my national security team and I have worked non-stop to try to secure their freedom."
Biden reaffirmed his commitment to bring Israeli hostages home, saying to them and their families, "we are with you."
Families of hostages ‘hopeful’ as Israel marks 100 days since Hamas attack
Israelis marked the 100th day since Hamas' Oct. 7 terrorist attack with rallies calling for the release of hostages, as demonstrators around the world demanded a cease-fire in Gaza.
Asian Cup holds moment’s silence for Israel-Gaza war victims ahead of Palestinian team’s game
AL-RAYYAN, Qatar — A moment of silence was observed and then shouts of “free Palestine” rang out ahead of the Asian Cup game between the Iranian and Palestinian soccer teams today.
As the Israel-Hamas war reached the 100-day mark, both teams lined up in the center of the field at Education City Stadium, and an announcement asked for silence “in memory of the lives tragically lost as a result of the ongoing conflict in Palestine.”
A hush fell across the stadium before the pro-Palestinian chants could be heard coming from members of the crowd.
Earlier, Palestinian players stood in a line with their arms linked across one anothers’ shoulders and sang their national anthem along with fans. The players then gathered in a huddle before and after the moment of silence.
'I hope I get to see her before my last day,’ says Noa Argamani’s terminally ill mom
TEL AVIV — The mother of Noa Argamani, whose story captivated the world after video of her kidnapping at the Nova music festival was shared on social media, says she is desperate to be reunited with her daughter.
“I hope I get to see her before my last day,” Liora Argamani, who has terminal brain cancer, said in a speech at the "100 Days of Hell" rally in "Hostages Square."
“I miss her a lot. One hundred days is enough,” she told reporters after walking through a tunnel set up in the plaza to re-create the conditions those held hostage by Hamas are living in. “We suffered a lot.”
Noa Argamani was seen on video being driven away on a motorcycle during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack at the Supernova music festival as her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, was led away behind her. She was later seen in another video sitting on a sofa and drinking water but has not been seen or heard from since.
Separately, Liora Argamani told NBC News’ Josh Lederman that she has faith her daughter “will come back soon.”