Mourners collect bodies at a hospital in Rafah
Palestinians wait at a hospital to collect the bodies of their relatives killed in Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip today.
Attack to the south of Yemen being investigated, U.K. says
An attack to the south of Yemen was being investigated, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said today on X.
The arm of the British navy that oversees Mideast waterways, also warned ships in the waterway to “transit with caution.”
The warning came after Yemen's Houthi rebels vowed to continue attacks on ships in the vital trade route, which they say they are carrying out in support of Gaza.
An explosion has occurred just over 330ft from the ship on its starboard side, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said in an update.
No injuries and damage was reported, it said.
Without hostage release, 'this war is meaningless,' injured Israel soldier says
TEL AVIV — Israel should focus on securing a hostage deal instead of using military pressure to secure the release of those who remain in Hamas captivity, a reserve soldier told NBC News yesterday.
“I think this war is meaningless unless we have all the hostages,” said Stave, 21, who is being treated at Tel Aviv’s Sheba Medical Center for leg injuries sustained Oct. 7, when the militant group launched multipronged attacks on Israel.
Stave, who for security reasons spoke on the condition that he only be identified by his first name, said that securing their release was “the most important goal of the whole war.”
He added that he would prefer to see Israeli leadership prioritize securing a deal as a means of seeing the more than 100 hostages who remain in Gaza released “as costly as that may be.”
Another reserve soldier recovering at the facility said that he also wanted to see the hostages released, but he said he felt Israel’s military campaign in Gaza had so far “110%” been a success.
“We’ve killed and we’ve destroyed a lot of terrorists and a lot of terrorism tunnels and we’ve done a lot of amazing work. Are we done? No. We’re not done. There’s still a lot of work to do and there’s still Hamas out there and hostages are still missing, so we’re not done,” said Menachem who was injured Dec. 12 while fighting in Gaza.
The 20-year-old, who also declined to provide his last name for security reasons, said he felt driven to return to the fight. Those feelings had intensified after 24 soldiers were killed Monday as a building was being wired for demolition with explosives. It marked the deadliest day for his country’s forces since the war began.
“It doesn’t make me afraid or want to sit in bed and cry. There’s not where it goes,” he said. “It more just brought me inner fire to go back in there and fight with my brothers.”
More than 200 people killed in in the last 24 hours, Gaza Health Ministry says
At least 210 people were killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours, the strip's Health Ministry said today in a statement on Telegram, raising the death toll since Oct. 7 to 25,700.
It added that another 386 people were injured and that “a number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads,” with emergency services unable to reach them.
It comes amid intensifying Israeli military campaign in southern Gaza, where health officials have said that some patients remain trapped in hospitals.
Operations in Khan Younis are intensifying, Israel's military says
The Israeli military is intensifying operations around Khan Younis, Gaza's second-largest city, it said in statement on Telegram today.
It added that it had killed multiple members of Hamas as it battles the militant group around Gaza's second-largest city.
NBC News has not been able to independently verify the claims.
Civilians flee Khan Younis
Carrying what they can of their belongings, Palestinians flee the city of Khan Younis yesterday, as fierce fighting continued around Gaza's second-largest city.One child guided a flock of sheep along a road as he fled the city, which the Israeli military said it had encircled yesterday.
U.S. forces strike Houthi missiles that were preparing to attack
U.S. forces early today 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 began attacking Red Sea cargo ships in November as they used shipping lanes important to global trade. Houthis have expressed dismay over Israel’s war in Gaza and sympathize with the Palestinians who live in the region.
IDF soldiers inside Gaza
An image supplied by the Israeli army today shows soldiers during ongoing ground operations at an undisclosed location inside the Gaza Strip.
Catch up with NBC News' latest coverage of the war
- Torture allegations spiked in Israeli jails after Oct. 7, as one group warns jailers seek 'revenge'
- Dozens of deaths reported in Khan Younis as Israel deepens its ground offensive ‘to the west’
- U.S. and U.K. launch new strikes against Houthi sites in Yemen
- Oldest Holocaust survivor turns 112 amid rise in antisemitism