Palestine Red Crescent Society asks for intervention to protect Khan Younis hospitals
Palestine Red Crescent Society staff posted a video to the organization's social media today asking for intervention to protect hospital staff and patients in Khan Younis.
There are roughly 220 staff and civilians remaining at the PRCS headquarters campus, which includes Al-Amal Hospital, according to the video. Earlier this week, the PRCS reported that 8,000 people sheltering at its Khan Younis facilities were evacuated as heavy fighting encapsulates the area.
"Every day we bid farewell to a martyr, and now the hospital yard has become more of a graveyard than health care to save lives," one of the staff members said in the video.
Conditions were described as catastrophic as movements in and out of the hospital are limited by violence outside and medical teams lack supplies to help patients. The staff member speaking in the video said that a patient died due to the fact that the hospital had no oxygen for them.
"We call on the international community and demand the decision-makers and supporters of international law to intervene urgently and immediately to protect what remains of the steadfastness of this hospital, to strengthen the steadfastness of the health system in the Gaza Strip in light of the aggression," he said.
Netanyahu says no cease-fire, not committed to release of Palestinian prisoners
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected demands from Hamas for a permanent cease-fire in response to a potential hostage deal, adding that Israel will fight until "absolute victory."
The prime minister insisted that Hamas' military power must be dismantled before Israel can consider a withdrawal.
Hamas responded yesterday to a proposed deal, which Qatari officials who helped mediate the conversations described as "positive." But Netanyahu indicated the parties might still be far apart, noting today that he’s not committed to releasing Palestinian prisoners in the large-scale quantities that Hamas has asked for.
Netanyahu did not say outright whether he rejected Hamas’ counter.
There was also some insight into the prime minister's conversations with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during the briefing. Netanyahu told reporters he informed Blinken that UNRWA, the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency, must be replaced.
UNRWA is the main humanitarian organization for Palestinian civilians not just in Gaza, but also in the wider region including the occupied West Bank and more than 2 million refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Gaza government accuses IDF soldiers of burning down Palestinian homes
Israel Defense Forces soldiers were accused of burning down Palestinian residences amounting to the destruction of 3,000 housing units in a statement today from the Gaza government, which is run by Hamas.
According to the allegation, commanders order soldiers to "set fire to residential units and houses in a way that makes them completely uninhabitable, and without any significant reasons, but rather in order to inflict damage and losses on the citizens."
The statement went on to say that the destroyed units further exacerbates the suffering of displaced civilians, who were forced to leave their homes by the war. NBC News has not independently verified the allegation, and the IDF did not immediately return a request for comment.
Haaretz reported last week that the burnings were done "without the necessary legal permission." The IDF told Haaretz that structures are selected based on intelligence and done with approval.
U.N. fears Israeli assault on Rafah could lead to ‘war crimes’
As Israel extends its military campaign in Rafah, the United Nations said yesterday it "could lead to war crimes," as the population of displaced Gazans explodes in the southern region.
The U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported an "increase in strikes" on Monday and Sunday, as thousands of Gazans continue to flee intense fighting in Khan Younis.
"Intensified hostilities in Rafah in this situation could lead to large-scale loss of civilian lives," OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva yesterday.
IDF reveals tunnels used to keep hostages and host Hamas leaders under Khan Younis
The Israel Defense Forces today said it revealed a tunnel used by senior Hamas members to hold hostages in Khan Younis, with its forces locating and destroying a second tunnel.
"The tunnel was used to hide high-ranking members of the Hamas terrorist organization and to hold hostages," it said, adding Israeli troops had fought against Hamas members in the tunnel.
During IDF's search of the tunnel, it found several rooms, a barrel cell, a bathroom and a rest area, it said, with up to 12 hostages kept there.
NBC News has not independently verified the claims.
Civilians injured after strikes on Rafah
A man covered in blood with his head bandaged was pictured after a blast today in Rafah, southern Gaza.Children look out over cars covered in debris, left from an Israeli airstrike in the southern city.
Israeli strikes in Syria killed civilians, state media reports
A number of civilians were injured and killed early today from Israeli strikes in Syria, state media reported today.
The attacks targeted Homs city and the countryside, according to the SANA news agency.
SANA quoted a military source as saying the strikes were launched shortly after midnight. “The aggression led to the martyrdom and injury of a number of civilians, and some material losses to public and private property,” the source told the agency.
NBC News has not independently verified the report.
Huge tunnel used to house Hamas leaders and hold hostages found below Khan Younis, IDF says
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces have discovered what they said was a tunnel for Hamas leaders that was also used to hold hostages beneath the city of Khan Younis.
NBC News joined some of the country's troops in southern Gaza on Sunday, following a senior general into the hot, damp air of the tunnel underneath the remains of a house.
After several minutes of walking through a narrow, dark shaft, the tunnel opened into a wider space. The walls were tiled and there was significantly more headroom.
The presence of several plastic bed frames suggested senior figures had been there, said Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfus, commander of the 98th Division of the Israeli military.
He told NBC News he believed Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, had used the tunnel at one point.
“We’ll kill him,” he said when asked why the Israel Defense Forces had so far failed to catch Sinwar after a four-month pursuit. “He’s putting the civilians, the population between him and us. He’s running. He’s on the go. We’ll reach him.”
Off one tunnel shaft was a cage made with metal bars and a door that locked from the outside. Inside, the IDF said it found the DNA of three young hostages — Sahar Kalderon, Sapir Cohen and Or Ya’akov.
All three were kidnapped from kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7 and released in a late November prisoner exchange.
There was an opening in the bars that appeared designed for food to be passed through.
Israel will be allowed to compete in Eurovision Song Contest, organizers say
Israel will be allowed to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest when it take place later this year in the Swedish city of Malmo, the competition's organizer said today.
The European Broadcasting Union had faced calls to ban Israel from the global music contest because of the war in Gaza.
More than 1,000 Swedish musicians and artists including singer Robyn and former Eurovision contestant Malena Ernman, better known as the mother of climate activist Greta Thunberg, signed a recent letter calling for the country to be excluded from the competition.
But EBU Director General Noel Curran said in a statement that while he was “aware of the many voices calling to exclude Israel from this year’s competition,” the country would be allowed to take part as “public broadcaster KAN met all the competition rules for this year and can participate as it has for the past 50 years.”
After the invasion of Ukraine, Russia was kicked out of the contest, but Curran said that “comparisons between wars and conflicts are complex and difficult and, as a non-political media organization, not ours to make.”
He added that the relationship between the Russian government and the Russian broadcasters was different than in Israel, where Netanyahu’s government has had a tense relationship with the country’s public broadcaster.
U.N. says sharp increase in malnutrition among children in Gaza remains a 'significant concern'
The United Nations has warned of acute malnutrition in Gaza after a screening of 3,500 children found a sharp increase in malnutrition, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said yesterday in a report.
The malnutrition rate was found at 9.6%, compared with 0.8% before the war. In northern Gaza, 16.2% malnutrition rate was reported.
"This sharp rise in acute malnutrition suggests that, without adequate preventive and curative services, the situation will worsen," it said.