The Israeli government is under intense public pressure to topple Hamas after its militants stormed through a border fence Saturday and killed hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival.
In the Gaza Strip, meanwhile, residents are facing ever-growing uncertainty after the territory's only power plant ran out of fuel and shut down Wednesday. Without power, communication is limited and information is scarce.
Egypt has engaged in intensive talks with Israel and the United States to allow the delivery of aid and fuel through its Rafah crossing point, which remained closed on both sides Thursday. However, Egypt pushed back against proposals to establish corridors out of Gaza, saying an an exodus of Palestinians from the enclave would have grave consequences on the Palestinian cause.
The war, which has claimed more than 2,500 lives on both sides, is expected to escalate.
Here's what's happening on Day 6 of the latest Israel-Palestinian war:
MEDIA REPORTS: ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES ON AIRPORTS IN SYRIA
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s pro-government media reports that Israeli airstrikes have targeted the airports of the capital city Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, damaging their runways.
Al-Watan Daily and Dama Post did not give further details other than both airports are out of service.
They were the first Israeli strikes on Syria since the militant Palestinian group Hamas carried out its deadly attacks in southern Israel.
Earlier this year, the airports of Damascus and Aleppo were hit several times.
NETANYAHU PRAISES BLINKEN'S VISIT TO ISRAEL
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed journalists on Thursday in Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu praised Blinken’s visit as a “tangible example of America’s unequivocable support of Israel.”
“President Biden was absolutely correct in calling this ‘sheer evil,’” Netanyahu said, referring to Hamas' unprecedented attack Saturday on Israel.
They shook hands after Netanyahu’s remarks.
Blinken said that he came before journalists “not just as secretary of state, but also a Jew” while recounting his own family’s history of surviving the Holocaust.
“So prime minister, I understand on a personal level, the harrowing echoes that Hamas’ massacres carry for Israeli Jews, as well as Jews everywhere,” Blinken said.
ISLAMIC GROUP CONDEMNS ISRAEL'S AIRSTRIKES IN GAZA
JERUSALEM — The 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Thursday strongly condemned what it called the “ongoing Israeli military aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”
“The OIC considers this brutal aggression against the Palestinian people a blatant international and humanitarian law violation and a war crime,” it said in a statement. It cited the killing and wounding of women and children, the destruction of civilian buildings and other locations.
The OIC said it held Israel “fully responsible” for the “repercussions of the continuation of this sinful aggression."
The OIC, based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, broadly aligns itself with the thinking of Saudi Arabia’s rulers. That suggests the ongoing war likely will affect the ongoing efforts by the United States to broker a deal that could see Saudi Arabia diplomatically recognize Israel.
ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES HAVE BLOCKED THE OPERATION OF THE RAFAH CROSSING, EGYPT SAYS
CAIRO — Egypt’s Foreign Ministry denied Thursday it had officially closed the Rafah crossing and said Israeli airstrikes have prevented it from operating.
In the statement, the ministry called on all countries and international organizations wishing to provide humanitarian aid to deliver supplies to el-Arish International Airport, in Egypt’s northern Sinai. Hamas’ border authorities said Tuesday that an Israel airstrike hit the no-man’s land between Gaza and Egypt, blocking the road with a large crater.
ICRC SAYS IT'S IN TOUCH WITH HAMAS, ISRAELI AUTHORITIES ABOUT ISRAELI HOSTAGES
The International Committee of the Red Cross on Thursday said it was in touch with Hamas and Israeli authorities as part of efforts to secure the release of Israeli hostages who are believed to be held in the Gaza Strip.
“As a neutral intermediary we stand ready to conduct humanitarian visits, facilitate communication between hostages and family members and to facilitate any eventual release,” said Fabrizio Carboni, the group’s Middle East regional director.
The Mideast emirate of Qatar, a frequent mediator between Israel and Hamas, has also confirmed its involvement in the negotiations.
Carboni appealed to Israel to allow badly needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza as Palestinians face staggering supply shortages following Israel’s decision to impose a siege on the crowded territory.
CZECH GOVERNMENT TO ALLOW ISRAELIS TO RETURN HOME ON CZECH PLANES
PRAGUE — The Czech Foreign Ministry said it has agreed with a request from Israel to allow Israeli citizens to fly home on Czech government planes evacuating Czech citizens from Israel. The ministry said the Israeli nationals need to return home for humanitarian and family reasons, or to join the military following the attacks by Hamas.
An unspecified number of Israel’s citizens were aboard a Czech plane that took off from Prague on Thursday. Another such plane is scheduled to fly to Israel later in the day.
INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS WORKING TO MOBILIZE SUPPLIES, STAFF ALREADY IN GAZA
CAIRO — Fabrizio Carboni, the International Committee of the Red Cross's regional director, said the aid group's first aim is to mobilize the medical supplies, fuel and staff already within Gaza — particularly those that could support medical facilities.
Speaking to journalists at an online presser, he said that aid delivery through the Rafah crossing requires both a political agreement and also a security deal so that needed supplies can safely reach affected areas.
“I fear that what’s coming next is going to be at least as challenging as what we’re seeing now.” Carboni said.
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM X REMOVES HUNDREDS OF HAMAS-LINKED ACCOUNTS
LONDON — The head of Elon Musk’s social media platform X says it has removed hundreds of Hamas-linked accounts and taken down or labeled thousands of pieces of content since the militant group’s attack on Israel.
CEO Linda Yaccarino on Thursday outlined efforts by X, formerly known as Twitter, to get a handle on illegal content flourishing on the platform following a warning from a top European Union official, who requested information on how X is complying during the Israel-Hamas war with tough new EU digital rules aimed at cleaning up social media platforms.
The new Digital Services Act mandates social media companies step up policing of their platforms for illegal content, under threat of hefty fines.
2 PALESTINIANS ARE GUNNED DOWN AT A FUNERAL IN THE OCCUPIED WEST BANK
ISRAEL — The Palestinian Health Ministry reported Thursday that two Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank when Israeli settlers sprayed bullets at a funeral for three Palestinians who had been killed in a settler rampage the day before. Footage showed Jewish settlers in their cars swerving into the funeral procession and cutting off the road to the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, before stopping and opening fire.
Health authorities identified the two men killed as a father and son: 62-year-old Ibrahim al-Wadi, a local official in the secular nationalist Fatah party; and 25-year-old Ahmed al-Wadi, an off-duty Palestinian security officer.
Residents near the northern West Bank city of Nablus and north of Ramallah reported that armed settlers have rampaged through villages and hurled stones at passing Palestinian cars after the unprecedented Hamas militant attack on Israel on Saturday.
220 EVACUEES ARRIVE IN MADRID FROM TEL AVIV
MADRID — Spain’s foreign ministry says a plane evacuating 220 people from Tel Aviv landed in Madrid late Wednesday, bringing to 429 the number of people flown out of the city on Spanish flights in two days.
The Wednesday flight included 149 Spaniards, 15 people from other European Union countries, 36 from Latin America and 20 from other countries, a foreign ministry statement said.
The previous day’s flight brought out 209 people, 185 of them Spaniards.
FRANCE MAKES 24 ARRESTS FOR ANTISEMITIC ACTS SINCE HAMAS ATTACKED ISRAEL
PARIS — France’s interior minister is reporting 24 arrests for antisemitic acts in the country since Hamas attacked Israel and says that online hate is surging.
“Since the end of the day Saturday, since the terrorist massacres in Israel, there have been more than 100 antisemitic acts, essentially graffiti — swastikas, ‘death to Jews,’ calls for an intifada against Israel,” said the minister, Gerald Darmanin. Speaking Thursday on France Inter radio, he said there have also been people caught with knives near Jewish schools and synagogues and a drone equipped with a camera that was spotted flying over a Jewish cultural center. Because of stepped-up police security around Jewish sites, “we were able to detain a large proportion of these people" with 24 arrests, he said.
Online, “hatred is surging,” he added, with more than 2,000 cases of antisemitic speech reported to a French online watchdog force, he said.
ISRAEL IS TRYING TO IDENTIFY THOSE MISSING SINCE SATURDAY'S ATTACK
JERUSALEM — The Israeli official overseeing the effort to return hostages taken by Hamas says the government is still trying to identify all of those missing or taken captive in Saturday’s attack.
In a statement, Gal Hirsch said his office is working “to formulate an assessment of the situation” and to assist the families of the captives and missing. “The searches in the field are continuing and the difficult work of identifying the bodies continues,” said Hirsch, a former general who was appointed after the incursion by Hamas on Saturday.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesperson, said Thursday that the army has notified the families of 97 Israelis believed to be in Hamas captivity.
EGYPT REJECTS PROPOSALS TO ESTABLISH CORRIDORS OUT OF GAZA
CAIRO — The Egyptian government has rejected any proposal to establish corridors out of Gaza for Palestinians fleeing Israel’s bombardment in Gaza, a senior Egyptian official said early Thursday.
The official said they were talking with Israel and the United States about establishing safe corridors inside Gaza and the allowance of humanitarian aid to besieged Palestinians.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media, was responding to White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby, who said that the Biden administration is in active conversations to achieve safe passage out of Gaza for civilians.
Egypt's state-run media reported that Israel's offensive is part of a scheme to empty the enclave.
MALAYSIA ANNOUNCES AN EMERGENCY FUND FOR PALESTINIANS AFTER ISRAEL CUT OFF SUPPLIES TO GAZA
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir slammed Israel’s “outrageous acts of cruelty” in cutting off food, water and fuel to the Gaza Strip. He said Thursday that evacuation plans are underway to bring home a Malaysian doctor and her three children caught in the conflict.
Zambry also said a group of 23 Malaysians and Singaporeans safely crossed over to Egypt on Tuesday.
A strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, Malaysia has blamed the crisis on the oppression and injustice against the Palestinian people. Zambry said Malaysia will provide a one million ringgit ($212,000) as emergency fund to help Palestinians.
STATE DEPARTMENT WARNS US CITIZENS TO RECONSIDER TRAVEL TO ISRAEL, WEST BANK
WASHINGTON — The State Department upgraded its travel warning for Israel and the West Bank on Wednesday to Level 3, “reconsider travel.”
It kept its travel advisory for Gaza at the department’s highest warning level, Level 4, meaning “do not travel.”
The State Department cited extremists continuing to plot attacks, the possibility of violence erupting without warning, and increased demonstrations.
The travel warning comes as five days of rocket fire and missile barrages between the Hamas militant group and Israel already have led many airlines to suspend commercial flights.
BIDEN SPEAKS WITH UAE PRESIDENT ABOUT HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed on Wednesday about ensuring humanitarian assistance reaches those in need as the war between Israel and Hamas extends into a fifth day, the White House said.
The UAE was the first Gulf country to normalize relations with Israel in 2020 under the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, which saw Bahrain and Morocco also establish diplomatic ties with Israel.
IRANIAN PRESIDENT SPEAKS TO SAUDI ARABIAN CROWN PRINCE ABOUT WAR, NEWS AGENCY SAYS
JERUSALEM — Iranian hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi has spoken by telephone to Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the first time to discuss the Israel-Palestinian war, the state-run news agency reported Wednesday.
IRNA cited an online message from an adviser to Raisi acknowledging a 45-minute call between the two men on Wednesday. There was no immediate acknowledgment from the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a Chinese-mediated détente earlier this year.
BIDEN CONNECTS HAMAS ATTACK TO DECADES OF ANTISEMITISM
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday once again condemned the weekend attack by Hamas militants on Israel, and sought to connect it directly to decades of antisemitism and violence endured by Jews around the world.
“This attack has brought to the surface the painful memories and scars left by a millennium of antisemitism and genocide against the Jewish people,” Biden said. “We have to be crystal clear: There is no justification for terrorism, no excuse and the type of terrorism that was exhibited here is just beyond the pale, beyond the pale.”
Biden had what was at least his fourth phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday. He said that during conversations with him, he stressed that “it is really important” that Israel “operate by the rules of war" as it strikes back against Hamas.
“And there are rules of war,” Biden said.
TURKEY NEGOTIATING FOR RELEASE OF HOSTAGES HELD BY HAMAS
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey is holding negotiations for the release of civilian hostages held by Hamas, a Turkish official said Wednesday.
The official said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had instructed Turkish officials to hold talks with Hamas for the release of the civilians. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government protocol, could not provide further details on the negotiations.
Turkey does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization and has frequently hosted members of the group. Turkey also recently restored full diplomatic ties with Israel after the two countries fell out following a U.S. decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem.
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Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser contributed to this report.
UN ENVOY IN CAIRO WORKING WITH PARTNERS TO END WAR
UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Mideast envoy is in Cairo working with other key regional and international partners and the Egyptian government on ending the Hamas-Israel conflict, preventing its expansion, and opening a humanitarian corridor to deliver fuel, food and water to access to Gaza which Israel has cut off, the United Nations said Wednesday.
Tor Wennesland is following up on Egypt’s offer to facilitate humanitarian access through the Rafah crossing and to make the El Arish airport available for critical assistance, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Meanwhile, the U.N. humanitarian office reports that 263,000 people have been displaced in Gaza, a 40% increase since Tuesday, Dujarric said. More than 1,000 housing units in Gaza have been destroyed and about 560 severely damaged and rendered uninhabitable in the past day, the U.N. said.
MOURNERS FILL EUROPE'S LARGEST SYNAGOGUE TO REMEMBER VICTIMS
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Mourners filled Europe’s largest synagogue in Hungary’s capital on Wednesday in remembrance of the hundreds of people that were killed in unprecedented attacks against Israel over the weekend by Hamas fighters.
The rabbinic service and solidarity commemoration in Budapest’s Dohany Street Synagogue drew around 3,000 people, including the country’s president, its chief rabbi, the Catholic Primate of Hungary and the mayor of Budapest.
Waving Israeli flags and lighting candles following the service, those gathered listened to the names being read aloud of some of the Israelis killed so far in the war. Some wept as the names were read.
PALESTINIAN WORKERS ARRIVING IN WEST BANK FROM GAZA
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinians who have been expelled from their workplaces in Israel have begun showing up in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where a temporary shelter was set up to house them.
The sudden influx of about 600 workers created an “overwhelming situation” that is bound to get worse as more arrive, Ramallah Governor Laila Ghannam said Wednesday.
At the shelter where men sat on mattresses, some workers said they had been abused by Israeli soldiers.
“We were working and everything was fine, and suddenly they came to us and detained us,” said Raed Al-Moghribi. “When we told them that we are from Gaza, they started beating us.”
The workers began arriving in Ramallah on Wednesday after Israeli security forces brought them to checkpoints in the West Bank.
Khader Achour, another Gaza resident who had worked in Israel, said he wanted to return home but it had been demolished and his nephew, cousin and neighbor had all been killed.
“I wish to return to my family in Gaza to die among them,” Achour said.
Violence in the West Bank continued to flare Wednesday, with Palestinian health officials reporting that 29 Palestinians had been killed in the Israeli-occupied territory since the start of the Hamas invasion.
THE DEATH TOLL OF US CITIZENS RISES TO 22 AFTER HAMAS ATTACK
WASHINGTON — The number of U.S. citizens who have died in the Israel-Palestinian war has risen to 22, a White House official said Wednesday.
White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby said he did not have details on where exactly the Americans were killed. He said there are at least 17 missing, and of those a handful are believed to be held hostage.
NO CLEAR SIGN THAT IRAN WAS BEHIND HAMAS ATTACK, WHITE HOUSE SAYS
WASHINGTON — White House National Security spokesman John Kirby reiterated Wednesday that there is no clear sign that Iran was behind the Hamas attack on Israel.
“We haven’t seen anything that tells they have specifically cut checks to support this set of attacks, or that they were involved in the training," Kirby said. "And obviously, this required quite a bit of training by these terrorists.”
Kirby said officials are going to continue to review the intelligence to see "if that leads us to a different conclusion.”
Earlier Wednesday, a U.S. official said information collected thus far suggests that while senior Iranian government officials were likely aware that Hamas was broadly planning operations against Israel, they appeared to be caught off-guard by the exact timing and scope of the multipronged attack carried out by Hamas militants on Saturday.
The official was not authorized to publicly discuss the intelligence and spoke on condition of anonymity. —- Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.