What we know
- President Joe Biden is still "working through options" after he vowed to retaliate for the drone attack that killed three Army Reserve soldiers, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told NBC's “TODAY” show. The deaths at a base in Jordan yesterday are the first in months of attacks by Iran-backed militants since the Israel-Hamas war began, though Iran sought to distance itself from the strike.
- A source familiar with hostage talks held in Paris over the weekend has told NBC News that negotiators from Israel, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have agreed on a framework for a new cease-fire deal and that a draft is being presented to Hamas today.
- The United Nations Relief and Works Agency warned today that it will not be able to continue operations in Gaza and across the region beyond the end of February if funding is not resumed. A growing number of states have followed the U.S. in suspending funding for UNRWA following Israel's accusations that 12 of its workers participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
- More than 26,600 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than 65,000 have been injured, and thousands more are missing and presumed dead.
- Israeli military officials said at least 220 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’ Keir Simmons, Hala Gorani, Raf Sanchez, Matt Bradley and Chantal Da Silva are reporting from the region.
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Death toll climbs to 26,637 in Gaza since Oct. 7, Palestinian health officials say
More than 200 people have been killed in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll in Gaza to 26,637, the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said today.
More than 65,380 people have been wounded since the conflict began Oct. 7, with many missing under the rubble and on the roads, the ministry said in a statement on Telegram.
It added that about 2 million people were displaced.
Health officials called on international organizations to protect hospitals and health workers in the enclave and to provide more medicine, food and fuel to the city.
Hamas reiterates no hostages will be released without Israel's withdrawal
Hamas reiterated its position on hostage releases a statement after a source said the group would be approached with a framework deal agreed upon by representatives from the U.S., Egypt, Israel and Qatar in Paris.
The framework would include, according to the source, a 60-day pause in fighting, as well as an exchange of hostages for detained Palestinians. Netanyahu’s office said no final deal has been agreed upon.
Hamas said once again in a statement that it would not release the more than 100 hostages remaining in Gaza until Israel withdrew its forces from the Gaza Strip and agreed to a complete cease-fire. Netanyahu has called those terms unacceptable in recent weeks, saying the war needed to continue.
Kirby calls Gaza resettlement comments from ministers 'reckless' and 'incendiary'
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby denounced recent comments at an event in Israel where ministers promoted the idea of resettling Gaza by expelling Palestinians.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who have previously made public comments on the matter, were keynote speakers.
Kirby said the ministers “speak for themselves” and added that the White House has had open lines of communication with Israel’s war Cabinet.
"Some of this rhetoric in the language that that was attributed to some of these ministers at this event, irresponsible, reckless — incendiary, I go so far as to say — and certainly doesn’t comport with our strong policy statement," Kirby said at a White House briefing today.
"We have made clear that there can be no reduction in Gazan territory.”
Germany's foreign office also condemned the statements, saying considering the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza is "unacceptable."
"It only makes things worse and violates international law," it said on X. "Anyone who thinks that expulsion fantasies can achieve security for Israel is simply wrong."
President Biden convened a meeting with his national security team over how the U.S. will respond to Iran-backed groups’ attacks in Jordan that left three American soldiers dead. The meeting included national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Department of Defense identifies 3 soldiers killed in Jordan
The Pentagon released the names of the three soldiers who were killed in Jordan yesterday after a drone struck a base near the border with Syria.
The service members were identified as Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Georgia; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia.
President Biden said the troops were killed by “radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq" and an investigation has been launched into the incident.
Framework for a cease-fire deal reached in Paris, source says
Israeli, Qatari, Egyptian and American officials in Paris have reached a “unified position” on a framework for deal that would enact a 60-day pause of hostilities in Gaza, a source familiar with the talks tells NBC News. The framework is being presented today to Hamas in Egypt, the source added. Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that no final deal has been agreed upon.
A combination of Egyptian and Qatari proposals would include no bombardment by Israel, no rocket fire from Hamas and the redeployment of Israeli forces away from the southern city Khan Younis. The details of the Israeli military redeployment still need to be negotiated, the source added.
If agreed, the deal would move in phases with a focus on what the source calls the "humanitarian phase" in the first 60 days: Each civilian hostage, women first, would be released in exchange for three Palestinian prisoners. Israel would allow two Qatari field hospitals waiting in Egypt to be set up inside Gaza – along with much more humanitarian aid.
Any breach would be mediated via a mechanism that still needs to be discussed, but a definitive breach would temporarily end the other terms of the agreement, the source said.
During the last week of the cease-fire, other parties would begin discussing extending the pause and the release of military prisoners, beginning with military women and moving to military men and then the remains of those killed in exchange for all Palestinian prisoners taken since the start of the hostilities, which is close to 7,000. (The number of Palestinian prisoners is growing by the day.)
Qatari official warns of 'catastrophic repercussions' in stopping UNRWA support
Lolwah Rashid Al-Khater, minister of international cooperation at Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reaffirmed the country's commitment to the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency and warned of the "catastrophic repercussions" of ending its relief efforts.
In a call today with UNRWA Commisioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, she said they discussed the importance of coordinating unhindered aid deliveries across Gaza as the agency faces increased scrutiny. The minister also pointed to UNRWA's work outside of Gaza, supporting Palestinian refugees in states such has Jordan and Lebanon.
"Her Excellency urged the international donors to continue providing the necessary support, especially in light of the international community's failure to reach a political solution that leads to stopping the ongoing war on civilians in the Strip for four months," according to a statement from the ministry.
Second intelligence briefing on UNRWA alleges around 10% of UNRWA employees tied to Hamas or PIJ
In a second Israeli intelligence briefing on UNRWA employees obtained by NBC News and shown to the governments of Western countries, Israel alleges that about 10% of the 12,000 UNRWA employees in Gaza are operatives of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad and about 50% are “first degree relatives with a Hamas operative,” allegations that NBC News has not verified.
The document says Israel has evidence of 13 UNRWA workers who supported the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, accusing them of actions from kidnapping Israelis to supplying logistical support for the attack.
Of the 13, 10 are alleged to be Hamas operatives, two are allegedly members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and one is not identified with an affiliation, according to the dossier.
The dossier also makes the following allegations, which NBC News has not independently verified:
- Six UNRWA employees infiltrated Israel in the attack (five Hamas-affiliated and one unidentified).
- Four UNRWA employees were involved in kidnapping Israelis (two of whom infiltrated Israel territory).
- Three additional UNRWA employees were invited by text to arrive at an assembly area the night before the attack and were directed to equip with weapons. Their arrival at the assembly area was not confirmed in practice (they are affiliated with Hamas.)
- At least one UNRWA employee supplied logistical support to the infiltration attack, and an additional employee was directed to establish an "ops room" on Oct. 8.
- Within UNRWA employees’ Telegram groups, many statements that express celebration and support of the massacre were seen during the onset of the war. An Israeli who was a hostage in the Gaza Strip testified that she was kidnapped by a UNRWA teacher.
At least nine countries, including the U.S., suspended funding to the UNRWA after the allegations came to light.
At a briefing today, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that there are scores of good people working at UNRWA and that the 13 are a tiny percentage of them.
UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement that an investigation into the "heinous allegations" had been launched and will "establish the facts."
He warned that suspending funding to the organization has dire consequences.
"The lives of people in Gaza depend on this support and so does regional stability," he said.
Civil rights complaint filed against Harvard over 'failure to protect' students in support of Palestinians
The Muslim Legal Fund has filed a civil rights complaint against Harvard University with the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students and others who support Palestinian rights, the organization announced today.
In the complaint, Harvard is accused of failing to protect students who have been subjected to "rampant harassment and racist attacks including doxxing, stalking, and assault," the fund said in a news release. The university's administration is also accused of threatening to limit the students' future academic opportunities when they asked for help.
One student, who was not identified, said in a statement that administrators repeatedly denied requests for protection "while a hostile, hateful environment ballooned on campus."
“We’re calling on the Department of Education to do what Harvard refused to do — truly investigate what happened to us, hear our voices, and bring accountability so that no other student has to experience the racism and harassment we did," the student said.
A spokesperson for Harvard University did not comment on the complaint but directed NBC News to a list of resources it has provided students, including a presidential task force on combating Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias announced earlier this month.
The list also included a link to a statement made by Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana on Oct. 12, denouncing antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and discrimination.
U.S. lawmakers push Biden administration on move bypassing congressional review of arms sale to Israel
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and a group of lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate are seeking more information about the Biden administration's decision last month to bypass Congress for the second time to proceed with an emergency arms sale to Israel amid its war with Hamas.
In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, they noted the State Department’s “longstanding practice” to inform the Senate and House Foreign Relations Committees about prospective arms sales.
“Both informal and formal notifications are essential for congressional oversight and the State Department ‘generally will not formally notify an arms transfer if a member of Congress raises significant concerns by placing a hold during the informal notification stage,’” they wrote. “This review process may only be waived if Congress receives notification that ‘an emergency exists’ for the sale or export license to be approved immediately.”
They said the president’s decision to bypass congressional oversight through an emergency declaration for the arms sale to Israel is a “highly unusual” move, citing the Arms Export Control Act that requires the State Department to notify Congress of major arms sales.
“In fact, since the AECA was passed into law, an emergency declaration authority has only been used 18 times in nearly 50 years,” they wrote. “Yet in a single month this administration used the authority twice: first to approve the sale of nearly 14,000 rounds of 120mm tank ammunition worth more than $106 million and then to approve the sale of fuzes, primers, and charges worth $147.5 million that allow for the use of 155mm shells.”
They expressed concerns over the “civilian harm risks inherent to the nature of these weapons” as well as the weapons the U.S. provides to Israel being “used in a manner that violates U.S. policy and international law.”
“We are concerned that these transfers and the administration’s evasion of congressional oversight may be inconsistent with broader U.S. foreign policy goals,” they wrote.
The U.S. lawmakers gave a Feb. 9 deadline for the State Department to respond.