More than half of Gaza's population crammed in Rafah, U.N. says
Intense fighting in southern Gaza is pushing more displaced Palestinians into Rafah, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report yesterday.
Gaza's southernmost city was already hosting over half of the enclave's entire population of around 2.3 million.
Martin Griffiths, the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said families who have already "endured the unthinkable" are now facing the prospect of hostilities in Rafah, as Israel warns of an expansion of its military campaign.
OCHA added that the population influx is battering the already stretched health and food distribution system.
U.S. woman detained for incitement on social media, IDF says
An American woman arrested in the occupied West Bank on Monday is being held for “incitement on social media,” a spokesperson for the Israeli military told NBC News today.
Samaher Esmail, 46, was picked up as part of an operation in Silwad by the Israel Defense Forces Binyamin Brigade, the spokesperson said. “Suspects arrested in the operation were transferred to the security forces for further questioning,” the spokesperson added.
Esmail, a U.S. citizen from New Orleans, had been staying on a property she owns in Silwad, about eight miles northeast of Ramallah, her son Ibrahim Hamed said in an interview earlier this week.
Rep. Troy Carter, a Democrat who represents Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District, where Esmail lives, said in Facebook post on Monday that he had been in contact with the State Department to “inquire why a U.S. citizen is being held.”
The U.S.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations called on the State Department to demand Esmail’s release.
Maersk reports massive drop in net profits, warns of uncertainty due to Houthi attacks in Red Sea
Shipping giant Maersk today reported a massive drop in profitability as it warned that tensions in the Red Sea had impacted its operations.
Maersk reported an overall loss of more than $400 million in the fourth quarter of last year, compared to an almost $5 billion profit the same period in 2022, according to its earnings reports released today.
"The Red Sea crisis has caused immediate capacity constraints and a temporary increase in rates," it said, as it warned of the "high uncertainty" of the disruption through the critical shipping route.
Maersk is among the critical sea carriers that have suspended shipping through the Red Sea in light of the Houthi attacks, forcing its ships to take much longer routes.
Displaced Gazan children sleep on shelves in chicken cages
Several young children are sleeping in chicken cages on a poultry farm where they are sheltering with their family in southern Gaza.
On a visit to the farm yesterday, an NBC News team filmed the flimsy mattresses and blankets on shelves inside the large cages where they now rest at night. Toothpaste and a few toys were seen nearby.
Fadil Hanoun, 13, said the mattresses were shared among several family members.
“I sleep here with my sister and a little girl, my niece,” he said. “Here is the place for my cousin and his brother. Here is the place of my cousin and her father,” he added.
Fadil and several other children said the foul odor from the chickens and sewage kept them up at night, along with the cold temperatures.
“We now live like chickens; here we became like chickens,” Fadil said as he pointed at a chicken in a closed cage near his own makeshift bed. “I would stay awake all night to avoid hitting the iron,” he added referring to the metal cage shelves.
Fadil’s father, Ibrahim, said it took several days to convince the children that the cages were safer than the previous places they had stayed despite “the terrible conditions.”
After fleeing their home in Gaza City, in the north of the enclave, he said the family had lived in a school facility and other parts of the enclave where they had been bombarded.
"We did not expect to live like that," he said, adding that he spent days trying to convince them it was better to live there because it was "protected from shelling."
U.S. carried out more self-defense strikes against Houthi targets
U..S. forces in the Red Sea carried out two “self-defense” strikes last night against Houthi militants in Yemen, with one against anti-ship missiles about to be launched and a second against a land attack cruise missile, according to U.S. Central Command.
"CENTCOM identified these missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined they presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region," it said in a statement this morning.
"These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels."
Hamas sends delegation to Cairo for cease-fire talks
Hamas has sent a delegation to Egypt to follow up on its counterproposal that was rejected by Netanyahu and termed an "absolute nonstarter" by Blinken.
The delegation was sent to Cairo “in the framework of following up on the ideas we presented and to achieve the best results that serve the interests of our people,” Hamas official Osama Hamdan said in a statement yesterday. He added the delegation would be led by Khalil Al-Hayya, a senior official with the militant group.
It came as Blinken met with Israeli lawmakers in the hope of advancing a deal that could see the release of some hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting.
Iraq blasts U.S. after drone strike
Iraq today condemned the U.S. over the drone strike that killed a top Kata’ib Hezbollah commander, who the U.S. says had participated in the attack that killed three U.S. soldiers on a base in Jordan.
Calling it a "blatant assassination," Yehia Rasool, spokesperson for the Iraqi prime minister, said the U.S. strike was conducted in the heart of a residential neighborhood in the capital.
"By this act, the American forces jeopardize civil peace, violate Iraqi sovereignty," he said in a post on X.
White House officials to visit Michigan to meet with Muslim and Arab American community leaders
Senior Biden administration aides will travel to Michigan today to hear directly from Muslim and Arab American community leaders on their top issues and concerns including, most notably, the Israel-Hamas war and civilian casualties in Gaza.
The White House teased the upcoming visit to Michigan when President Joe Biden traveled to Detroit last week for a labor-focused event with the United Auto Workers union.
The meeting with Muslim and Arab American community leaders in Detroit is a White House-driven event. Biden campaign officials are not planning to participate at this time.
IDF exercises near the Lebanon border
An Israeli helicopter takes off during a military exercise in Upper Galilee near the Lebanon border yesterday.
Blinken meets with Lapid, war Cabinet members in Israel
Blinken kicked off his second day of talks in Israel at a meeting with the Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, along with war Cabinet ministers Gadi Eisenkot and Benny Gantz.
Blinken reviewed the latest efforts to facilitate the return of the hostages, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“We are, of course, focused on the hostages,” Blinken told reporters.