Prayers for Thai hostage in Gaza echo from a rural church
Inside a church in northeastern Thailand, the Sriaoun family gathered yesterday, their voices rising and falling in song, tears rolling down the eyes of some, as they prayed for the safe return of their oldest son.
Watchara Sriaoun, 32, is one of six Thais believed to be held captive by Hamas since the war began last October.
For a year now, the Sriaoun family, along with their fellow church members, has prayed every week for his return. But there has been scant news.
“We can only pray to God,” said Wiwwaro Sriaoun, Watchara’s mother. “Asking people doesn’t give us answers, and even the village chief or headman cannot confirm anything.”
In Gaza, children who survive Israel’s assault face a lifetime of trauma
Osama Muhammad Abu Mustafa was convinced he would become an international soccer superstar. Playing on a local team at the municipal stadium in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, he envisioned a future “like Ronaldo.” He was 13.
Even in the midst of war, he worked hard at fulfilling his dream. He was practicing soccer with his cousins when the bombs fell.
“I had the ball — and then a missile fell,” he told NBC News’ crew on the ground in Gaza in an interview in his home, where he was still recovering months after the July 3 airstrike.
What happened next is a blur, he said. But when he woke up, he was in a hospital bed, where he learned that one of his cousins, his aunt and her husband had been killed.
He had also lost his left leg.
“The occupation killed my dream,” Osama said. “They stole it from me.”
Osama is one of hundreds of thousands of children whose lives have been shattered during Israel’s yearlong military offensive in Gaza, which has brought on a humanitarian catastrophe.
Harris says she will 'never forget' Oct. 7 attacks
Vice President Kamala Harris said she was “devastated” by the loss and pain of the Israeli people following the “brutal and sickening” Oct. 7 attacks.
In a statement posted on X, Democratic presidential candidate said she would “never stop fighting” for the release of the hostages, and that she will “always ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself.”
Harris added that she was heartbroken over the death and destruction in Gaza, and that it was “far past time for a hostage and cease-fire deal to end the suffering of innocent people.”
'A year of profound loss, grief and suffering': UNWRA chief
The Middle East is "sinking deeper into conflict" a year after the Oct. 7 attack, the commissioner-general of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said, calling it "a year of profound loss, grief and suffering."
"Twelve months of brutal war have transformed the Gaza Strip into an unrecognizable sea of rubble, and a graveyard for tens of thousands of people, among them far too many children," Philippe Lazzarini posted on X.
More than 220 UNRWA team members have been killed, the highest death toll in the history of the United Nations, Lazzarini said.
In calling for a cease-fire deal, he said: "There are no winners in wars. The only way out is through a diplomatic and peaceful solution."
Israel has a tense relationship with the U.N. and has long campaigned for UNRWA to be disbanded. After the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, Israel accused UNRWA staffers of being involved.
Missile fired at Israel from Yemen
A surface-to-surface missile was fired at Israel from Yemen, the Israel Defense Forces said today.
Sirens sounded across central Israel, including Tel Aviv, as a warning for civilians to seek shelter. Israel's military said the missile was successfully intercepted by the country's air force.
Israeli forces shoot dead 12-year-old Palestinian boy in West Bank, health official say
A 12-year-old boy named Hatem Sami Hisham Ghaith died this morning after being shot by Israeli forces in the West Bank, according to Palestinian health officials.
The Ministry of Health said in a statement that Ghaith was shot at the Qalandia refugee camp and later died from a wound to the abdomen.
Israeli officials did not immediately comment on the shooting.
Commemorations planned across Israel despite gatherings ban
A number of events are taking place in Israel and across the world today as communities gathered to commemorate the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog held a moment of silence at Re'im this morning, the site of the Nova music festival where hundreds were killed and dozens taken hostage.
In Tel Aviv, families of hostages rallied today near the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call for the return of their loved ones.
And thousands appear prepared to flout the IDF's ban on gatherings in Israel of over 2,000 people with large vigils as well as anti-war rallies.
Memorials, marches and protests are also scheduled in London, Paris, Berlin, Sydney and many other cities around the world.
Photos: Gazans live in the rubble of a destroyed neighborhood
Displaced Palestinians walk on a dirt road lined with rubble in the Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City today.
Palestinian boys pull containers to ferry water from a distribution point in Shujaiya today.
Trump says he 'should get 100%' of the Jewish vote
In a radio interview this morning, Trump said he believes all American Jews should cast their ballots for him next month because "nobody's done more for the Jewish people than I have."
"I should get 100% of the vote. No person has ever been better to the Jewish people, probably no person, period, to the Jewish people and Israel,” Trump said during an interview on "Sid & Friends in the Morning," a drive-time radio show that reaches listeners in the New York metropolitan area.
Trump reiterated his belief that the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks would never have happened had he been in the Oval Office.
Jewish Americans have overwhelmingly voted for Democratic presidential candidates for decades, though some polls conducted this year have shown Republicans making gains with Jewish voters.
Trump has repeatedly said he believes he deserves a larger share of the Jewish American vote, partly because of his administration's pro-Israel policy, including the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in 2017 and the relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
In a previous interview on "Sid & Friends," for example, Trump said: "If you’re Jewish, if you vote for a Democrat, you’re a fool, an absolute fool."
In response, many Jewish community leaders accused Trump of trafficking in antisemitic tropes by suggesting members of the faith feel "dual loyalty" between the U.S. and Israel. Jewish American voters are motivated by a wide range of domestic and foreign issues in this election, advocates say.
In a separate interview with conservative media personality Hugh Hewitt, Trump was asked whether Gaza could rival Monaco if it was "rebuilt the right way" by a real estate developer. Trump replied that Gaza could be "better than Monaco" partly because it has "the best location in the Middle East."
"It could be the most beautiful place — the weather, the water, the climate," the former president said.
Airstrikes in southern Beirut hit close to Lebanon's only airport
New strikes have hit near the Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport, Lebanese media has reported.
The airport is the only one in Lebanon and has been used by foreign nationals to evacuate the country in recent weeks. It has also been used for aid deliveries from countries like Jordan and the U.K.
Lebanon’s Al-Jadeed news station posted a video with clips of the strikes today. One featured a man narrating in Arabic.
“This is the airport,” he said. Then, as the camera panned to a plume of smoke, he added, “and this is the hit.”