1 years ago / 2:24 PM EST

More than 12,150 Palestinian children killed since start of war, Hamas says

Lina Dandees
Daniel Arkin and Lina Dandees

Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip has killed more than 12,150 Palestinian children, Hamas said today. Nearly 17,000 Palestinian children in the besieged enclave are now living without their parents.

"Among these children are those whose parents were martyred, arrested, and are still missing, either under the rubble or their fate is still unknown as a result of the ongoing war," Hamas said.

More than 27,800 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, with 70% of the victims being children and women.

An injured Palestinian child is treated today at a hospital in Rafah, Gaza.Belal Khaled / Anadolu via Getty Images
1 years ago / 1:44 PM EST

Video shows emotional moment Gazan doctor discovers son among wounded patients

NBC News

An NBC News camera crew was at the Kuwait Hospital in Rafah when Dr. Rami Abu Libdeh found his son among the wounded victims of an Israeli airstrike that reportedly killed 14 people. Here's the emotional moment:

1 years ago / 1:14 PM EST

International Red Crescent chief says deaths of 15 members in Gaza and Israel are 'unacceptable'

The head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies confirmed that another member has been killed in the Gaza Strip.

Mohammed Al-Omari was killed and two other paramedics were wounded while they were transferring several injured people from the north to the south of Gaza, according to Jagan Chapagain, the group’s secretary general.

Chapagain added that the deaths of 15 members since the start of the war are "unacceptable."

"Since the beginning of the conflict, the IFRC network has lost 15 members. Twelve Palestine RCS staff and volunteers have been killed, and three from Israel’s Magen David Adom. This is unacceptable," Chapagain said.

1 years ago / 12:37 PM EST

Jordanian king to meet Biden, press for end of Gaza war

Moufaq Khatib
Moufaq Khatib and Daniel Arkin

Jordan's King Abdullah embarked on a tour of major Western capitals today that will eventually take him to the U.S. for a meeting with Biden at the White House, where he is expected to lobby for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and increased humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the besieged enclave, according to a statement from the royal palace.

The king's tour also includes stops in Canada, France and Germany, according to the statement.

"The royal tour aims to mobilize international support for a ceasefire in Gaza, protect civilians, provide permanent and adequate humanitarian aid to the Strip, and emphasize the importance of finding a political horizon that leads to a comprehensive settlement that ends the Palestinian crisis," the palace said.

1 years ago / 11:58 AM EST

Hillary Clinton calls for ouster of Netanyahu

Hillary Clinton, appearing on MSNBC last night, blasted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as untrustworthy and said he should step down.

"Netanyahu should go," the former U.S. secretary of state and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee told host Alex Wagner. "He is not a trustworthy leader."

Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack took place "on his watch," she said, adding: "He needs to go, and if he's an obstacle to a cease-fire, if he's an obstacle to exploring what's to be done the day after, he absolutely needs to go."

Clinton appeared to stop short of explicitly calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. She has previously expressed support for Israel's military operations in the enclave following Oct. 7. However, she told ABC’s "The View" in November that "Israel should conduct itself by the rules of war and do everything it can to prevent and limit civilian casualties."

1 years ago / 11:41 AM EST

33 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested in suburban Chicago for blocking street

Seven men and 26 women were arrested in a Chicago suburb yesterday after they allegedly blocked a street, sitting in a roadway "purposely blocking traffic and creative a hazard," according to a statement from police.

The Niles Police Department said in a news release that the protesters had "bound themselves to each other using PVC pipe, chicken wire and duct tape." The protesters were asked to "leave the roadway numerous times," according to the release, but they "refused."

Police said the demonstrators were "protesting a business," but the department news release did not provide any specifics.

Local news articles said the protesters were standing outside a company that makes products for the aerospace and industrial markets, but NBC News could not immediately confirm that detail.

1 years ago / 11:28 AM EST

U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees says north Gaza is 'unrecognizable'

The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said in a tweet early Thursday that north Gaza is "unrecognizable" after months of brutal bombardment from Israeli military forces.

In a post on X, UNRWA quoted an employee of the agency identified as Abdallah: "The situation is catastrophic. There is not a single house that was not damaged."

UNRWA has drawn intense international scrutiny amid an investigation into allegations that some workers participated in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The agency is entrusted with getting humanitarian aid into Gaza.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has said that he was “horrified” by the accusations, adding that those found to have been involved would be referred for potential criminal prosecution.

1 years ago / 11:09 AM EST

U.N. human rights chief says Israeli destruction near Gaza border a 'grave breach' of Geneva Conventions

The United Nations' high commissioner for human rights said today that Israel's reported destruction of all buildings along the border inside the Gaza Strip — an operation with the goal of creating a "buffer zone" — constitutes a war crime.

In a statement, Volker Türk cited those reports and said: "I stress to the Israeli authorities that Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits destruction by the occupying power of property belonging to private persons, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.'"

Türk added that reports of Israel's attempts to create a buffer zone "do not appear consistent with the narrow 'military operations' exception set out in international humanitarian law."

"Further," he said, "extensive destruction of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly, amounts to a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and a war crime."

An Israeli tank on the border with Gaza on Jan. 19.Jack Guez / AFP - Getty Images file
1 years ago / 10:50 AM EST

American support is vital, prime minister of Iraq’s Kurdish enclave tells NBC News

Masrour Barzani, the prime minister of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, told NBC News’ Keir Simmons that he would continue to seek America’s support, although the nature of U.S. backing might need to change.

“The challenges we face today are different than the ones we faced against ISIS,” he said. “We need to be economically strong, we need to be politically strong, we need to be militarily strong,” he added.

1 years ago / 10:31 AM EST

German frigate heads to the Red Sea on mission to protect ships

Associated Press

A German Navy frigate set sail today toward the Red Sea, where Berlin plans to have it take part in a European Union mission to help defend cargo ships from attacks by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels that are hampering trade.

The Hessen set off from the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven with about 240 service members on board. The aim is to have it in place once the E.U. mission is given the official go-ahead and the German parliament has approved a mandate for the ship to join in, which is expected at the end of February.

E.U. foreign ministers are expected to sign off on the Red Sea mission on Feb. 19. Officials have said that seven countries in the bloc are ready to provide ships or planes.