1 years ago / 9:10 AM EST

People line up for water in southern Gaza

Max Butterworth

Displaced Palestinians line up for water at a makeshift tent camp by the beach in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip today.

AFP - Getty Images
1 years ago / 8:35 AM EST

Trump says he will get Israel and Ukraine conflicts 'solved very fast'

After Donald Trump won the Iowa caucuses last night, he vowed to resolve both the Israel-Hamas war and Russia's invasion of Ukraine "very fast" if re-elected.

In his victory speech, Trump said that if he was still in charge, "Russia would have never attacked, Israel would have never been attacked," as he called the situations both Israel and Ukraine find themselves in "so horrible."

"We are going to get them solved very fast," Trump added, without going into detail about how exactly that would happen.

In office, Trump helped Israel sign normalization deals with some of its Arab neighbors, agreements that largely sidelined the issue of the Palestinians.

1 years ago / 8:06 AM EST

Special forces carried out strike in Lebanon, Israeli military says 

Israeli special forces carried out a strike in southern Lebanon, the country's military said in Telegram post this morning.

They "struck in order to remove a threat in the area of Ayta ash Shab in Lebanon," the IDF said in English. Ayta ash Shab is a village in southern Lebanon close to Israel's northern border.

The IDF did not say what the "threat" was. It also said its aircraft struck a Hezbollah anti-tank missile launcher in a town in southern Lebanon.

It comes amid growing fears of the Israel-Hamas war spilling into neighboring Lebanon and exploding into a broader conflict with the country's Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group.

The IDF later reported aerial and artillery strikes on Hezbollah targets in the area of Wadi Saluki in southern Lebanon, which the Israeli military said the militant group was exploiting for "terrorist activity" to conceal its assets and infrastructure used to attack Israel.

NBC News has not verified that that claim.

1 years ago / 7:31 AM EST

Israeli community near Gaza border reports being hit by 'many launches'

An Israeli community close to the border with Gaza said it was hit with a barrage of "many launches" from the enclave today.

The municipality of Netivot said there were no injuries and one building was damaged when one of the rockets fell at the entrance of the city. It said there were also a lot fragments scattered throughout the city from air defense interceptions.

The Times of Israel reported earlier today that more than 50 rockets were fired at the city, calling it the largest rocket barrage from Gaza in several weeks. NBC News could not immediately confirm how many missiles were launched at Netivot.

1 years ago / 7:16 AM EST

U.S. says it seized Iran missile parts bound for the Houthis

A team of Navy SEALs that lost two members who went overboard while searching a small boat off the coast of Somalia went on to find Iranian missile parts bound for Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, the U.S. military said this morning.

The team found “Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missiles components” including propulsion, guidance, and warheads for medium-ranged ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles, U.S. Central Command, which oversees the military in the Middle East and parts of Asia, said in a statement posted on X.

U.S. Central Command

American ships and aircraft are continuing a huge search and rescue mission in the Gulf of Aden, between Yemen and Somalia, after the two SEALs disappeared into rough, nighttime seas during the boarding operation last Thursday.

Read the full story here.

1 years ago / 7:03 AM EST

WHO head calls for 'fundamental step change in the flow of humanitarian aid'

Samra Zulfaqar

The head of the World Health Organization has called for "a fundamental step change" in the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in the enclave that's home to more than 2 million people.

In a post on X, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for the opening of new entry routes into Gaza and for more trucks being allowed through border checks every day.

He also said there is a need for fewer restrictions on the movement of humanitarian workers and guarantees of safety for people accessing and distributing aid.

1 years ago / 6:28 AM EST

‘Gaza is not there anymore’: Qatari PM blasts Israel, international community at Davos forum

Associated Press

Qatar’s prime minister offered stinging criticism of Israel and the international community this morning over the ongoing Israeli war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as Qatar’s foreign minister, said a two-state solution was required to end the conflict and warned that Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack and the Israeli response showed the region could not go back to the way it was before.

“Gaza is not there anymore. I mean, there is nothing over there,” he said, speaking in Davos, Switzerland. “It’s carpet bombing everywhere.”

He also brought up the ongoing tensions in the occupied West Bank, which has seen Palestinians killed as well by Israeli security forces, and urged for an end to Palestinian divisions.

“We cannot have a two-state solution without having a government and politicians in Israel who believe in coexisting together side by side peacefully and we cannot have all this ongoing without ending this war,” he said.

1 years ago / 6:00 AM EST

Iraq and U.S. condemn Iran strikes on Erbil

Iraq labeled Iran's attacks on the city of Erbil "an aggression" against its sovereignty and security, and has recalled its ambassador from Tehran in response.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a statement on X that Iran targeted "residential places with ballistic missiles," which led to casualties among civilians. The Kurdistan Region Security Council said in a statement that four civilians were killed in Erbil and six others were injured as the result of the attack. NBC News could not verify the claims.

Teams carry out search and rescue operations after missile attacks in Erbil, Iraq, this morning.Karzan Mohammad / Anadolu via Getty Images

The Foreign Ministry said it will take "all legal measures" against Iran's behavior, including submitting a complaint to the U.N. Security Council. The country has also recalled its ambassador from Tehran for further consultations, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

The State Department also "strongly condemned" Iran’s actions, adding that it opposes Tehran's "reckless missile strikes," which undermine Iraq’s stability.

National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said no U.S. personnel or facilities in Iraq were targeted in the strikes, and they continue to assess the situation while supporting Iraq's sovereignty.

1 years ago / 5:42 AM EST

Iran says it launched missiles toward Iraq and Syria to deter security threats

Reuters

Iran said it launched ballistic missiles at targets in Iraq and Syria in defense of its sovereignty and security, as well as to counter terrorism amid rising fears of the escalation of tensions in the Middle East.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it attacked the “spy headquarters” of Israel in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region late yesterday, in addition to striking in Syria against the Islamic State.

The Israeli prime minister's office declined to comment on Iran's claims.

The Iranian semiofficial news agency ISNA quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Naser Kanaani as saying the operations were part of Tehran’s just punishment against those who act against the country’s security.

At least four civilians were killed and six injured in the strikes, the Kurdistan government’s security council said. Multimillionaire Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and several members of his family were among the dead, killed when at least one rocket crashed into their home, Iraqi security and medical sources said.

1 years ago / 5:06 AM EST

Israeli operations in Gaza will soon move to lower intensity phase, defense minister says

Israel's defense minister said yesterday evening that the military offensive inside Gaza is moving toward a lower intensity stage after the conflict reached the 100-day mark.

Yoav Gallant said that when he and the Israeli military leadership presented the war plan for the Gaza Strip after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, they made it clear that the intensive maneuvering stage would last for about three months.

"In the northern area of the Gaza strip this phase will come to an end," Gallant said. "In southern Gaza we will reach this achievement and it will end soon, and in both places, the moment will come when we will move to the next phase."

Gallant's comments came as the Israel military said yesterday it has withdrawn one of four divisions in the Gaza Strip for "a period of refreshment and training."