What we know
- The Israeli military said 24 soldiers were killed yesterday in the Gaza Strip, including 21 reservists in a single incident near the border. That makes it the deadliest day for the country's forces since the war began. Hamas claimed responsibility.
- In some of Gaza's bloodiest fighting of the new year, Israeli forces said they had encircled the southern city of Khan Younis, where Palestinian health officials said the IDF stormed a hospital and placed another under siege, cutting patients off from trauma care.
- The U.S. and British militaries launched a new round of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, the second round of strikes by the two allies against the Iran-backed militants in a bid to prevent the group from attacking ships in the Red Sea.
- More than half a million people in Gaza face “catastrophic hunger,” the United Nations has warned. More than 25,400 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than 62,000 have been injured, and thousands more are missing and presumed dead.
- Israeli military officials said at least 210 soldiers have been killed during the ground invasion of Gaza. About 1,200 people were killed and about 240 hostages were taken after Hamas launched multipronged attacks on Israel on Oct. 7.
- NBC News’ Richard Engel, Raf Sanchez, Matt Bradley, Chantal Da Silva, Anna Schecter and Ali Arouzi are reporting from the region.
U.S. forces strike Houthi missiles that were preparing to attack
U.S. forces early Wednesday struck two Houthi missiles that had been prepared to attack cargo ships and U.S. assets in the Southern Red Sea, U.S. Central Command said in a statement overnight.
The early morning strikes targeted two missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and were undertaken in "self-defense" given their posture, Central Command said. The missiles were destroyed, it said.
"They presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the U.S. Navy ships in the region," Central Command said in its statement. "This action will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy vessels and merchant vessels."
Iran-backed Houthi militants in November began attacking Red Sea cargo ships as they used shipping lanes important to global trade. Houthis have expressed dismay over Israel's warfare in Gaza and sympathize with the Palestinians who live in the region.
U.N. chief says it's a 'fantasy' to think 2.2 million Palestinians can live off aid alone
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is "appalling" as aid workers fight visa delays, unsafe conditions and rejected access to regions inside the Palestinian enclave, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in remarks to the Security Council today.
"It is fantasy to think that 2.2 million people can survive on aid alone," Guterres said. "Basic commodities from the private sector must enter in meaningful quantities — as they did for many years before the current fighting."
He once again called for a humanitarian cease-fire in his speech to the council, where the U.S. vetoed a resolution demanding a cease-fire months ago. Guterres noted the ever-increasing fear that the conflict will spill into a regional war as skirmishes escalate in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iraq.
"The right of the Palestinian people to build their own fully independent state must be recognized by all," Guterres said. "And any refusal to accept the two-state solution by any party must be firmly rejected.
"What is the alternative?" he continued. "How would a one-state solution look with such a large number of Palestinians inside without any real sense of freedom, rights and dignity? This would be inconceivable. "
Palestinians fleeing Khan Younis to Rafah after being displaced again by bombardment, UNRWA says
The United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency shared images on X of Palestinian families who were forced to leave Khan Younis after the Israeli military moved its operations against Hamas to south Gaza.
According to the post, it is not the first time these Gazans have had to leave as they've been displaced again by violence. They appear to be on their way to Rafah, where UNRWA says the population has quadrupled.
"Exhausted parents carrying hungry children," the post said. "The elderly pushed in wheelchairs. All looking for safety where there is none."
Gaza at risk of 'pockets of famine,' World Food Program says
The World Food Program said today that very little food aid had made it beyond southern Gaza since the start of the conflict with Israel, and pockets of the Palestinian enclave remained at risk of famine.
Israel’s offensive, launched in the wake of a deadly rampage by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, has displaced most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population and caused acute shortages of food, water and medical supplies.
Over 25,000 people have been killed, according to Palestinian authorities, with thousands more feared buried under rubble.
“It’s difficult to get into the places where we need to get to in Gaza, especially in northern Gaza,” said WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa. “I think the risk of having pockets of famine in Gaza is very much still there.”
Northern Gaza was cut off altogether from external aid for weeks earlier in the conflict, while some aid entered the south from Egypt.
Etefa said there was a “systematic limitation on getting into the north of Gaza, not just for the WFP.”
“This is why we’re seeing people becoming more desperate and being impatient to wait for food distributions — because it’s very sporadic,” she said. “They don’t get it frequently, and they have no trust or confidence that these convoys will come again.”
A U.N.-backed body said last month that Gaza’s entire population was facing crisis levels of hunger, with the risk of famine increasing every day.
Biden interrupted by protesters more than a dozen times at campaign rally
A Biden campaign rally focused on abortion rights was interrupted 13 times today by war protesters criticizing the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
During his speech, a protester shouted, “Genocide Joe,” while another called for a “cease-fire now.” A separate demonstrator held a sign that read “Let Gaza women live,” and another waved a Palestinian flag.
The interruptions were staggered just a few minutes apart, with the crowd of Biden supporters attempting to drown out the protesters with chants of “Four more years” and other cheers backing him as he tried to power through.
“They feel deeply,” Biden said in response to a protester.
He also acknowledged that the interruptions are likely to persist.
“This is going to go on for a while,” Biden said. “They have this planned.”
Iran’s supreme leader urges Mideast countries to cut off Israel’s ‘lifeline’
TEHRAN, Iran — The supreme leader of Iran urged other Muslim governments to pressure Israel by severing economic and political ties, instead of making statements in support of a cease-fire in Gaza.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged countries in the region “to cut off the lifeline” of Israel, without elaborating, the state-run IRNA news agency reported today.
In recent months, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, which are allied with Iran, have attacked ships in the region’s waterways that they say are either linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports.
“Sometimes the positions and statements of the officials of the Islamic countries are wrong, because they talk about an issue such as the cease-fire in Gaza, which is beyond their control,” Khamenei said at a public meeting, adding that Mideast nations should refrain from supporting Israel.
Before the war, the U.S. had been trying to broker a landmark normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
In a separate development, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in New York on the sidelines of a United Nations Security Council meeting about the Palestinians.
Referring to Russia’s position and role as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, Amirabdollahian demanded Russia play a more active role to stop Israel’s war in Gaza.
U.S. strikes Iran-backed militias in Iraq
The U.S. late today carried out strikes against three facilities in Iraq used by Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia group and other Iran-affiliated groups. The facilities include headquarters, storage and training locations for rocket, missile and one-way attack drone capabilities, according to two U.S. defense officials.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed the strikes in a statement noting that they had been authorized by President Joe Biden.
"We do not seek to escalate conflict in the region. We are fully prepared to take further measures to protect our people and our facilities," Austin said. "We call on these groups and their Iranian sponsors to immediately cease these attacks."
Earlier today, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed to have launched two drone attacks on Ain Al-Assad base in western Iraq, where American troops are located.
The group also claimed responsibility for attacks on that base over the weekend.
IDF hits targets in Lebanon that it says are Hezbollah sites
Israel's military hit targets in southern Lebanon that it said were sites connected to Hezbollah as the country continues to exchange fire with the militant group over the border.
There were a series of strikes in Lebanon, the IDF said, including one on what it said was a Hezbollah military compound. Lebanon's state news said today that Israel hit locations in the town of Al-Jumaijmeh and in a woodland area near Nabatieh.
Hezbollah also reported its own attacks on Israel, including a gathering of soldiers and two bases today.
Gazans dig graves outside Khan Younis hospital
Palestinian men were seen digging graves for dozens of bodies outside Al Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza in a video shot by an NBC News team on the ground yesterday.
The footage showed wrapped bodies being carried from the medical complex to a small outdoor area. At one point, a woman wept and prayed over one of the buried bodies. In another frame, a young boy could be seen shoveling sand to make way for the incoming dead. Men created makeshift tombstones out of rough slabs of concrete to distinguish the graves in the otherwise unmarked area.
Residents said the cemetery was unreachable because of the presence of Israeli tanks and heavy fire nearby.
"We're burying martyrs outside Nasser Hospital in the ground here because it's tough to take them out and to go to any cemetery to bury them, because we are besieged," Abdel Karim Ahmed, a Gazan man sheltering at the hospital, said.
"Anyone who moves outside the complex, they will target him," he added.
Yesterday, a Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman said that at least 50 people had been killed and more than 100 injured in the area of Khan Younis where the hospital is located. Dr. Nahud Abu Taima, the director of surgery at Al Nasser, provided NBC News with the same death toll.
Palestinian national soccer team advances in Asian Cup for the first time
After defeating Hong Kong today at the Asian Cup, the Palestinian soccer team will advance from the tournament's group stage for the first time.
The 3-0 victory enables the Palestinian team to compete in the upcoming round of 16. Iran, the highest-ranked team in the group, beat the United Arab Emirates to move ahead, as well. This is the Palestinian team's first-ever win at the Asian Cup and a significant victory for a squad that has been limited in their ability to play due to the ongoing war.