The Israeli military prepared for a possible ground invasion in Gaza on Thursday as it pounded the tiny coastal strip in retaliation for the unprecedented weekend attack on Israel by the militant group Hamas.
In a deliberate show of support for Israel, a U.S. official confirmed that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin plans to visit on Friday, a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Suffering in Gaza, meanwhile, rose dramatically with Palestinians desperate for food, fuel and medicine and the territory’s only power plant shut down for lack of fuel. The morgue at Gaza’s biggest hospital overflowed Thursday as bodies came in faster than relatives could claim them.
Israel said Thursday that a complete siege would remain in place until Hamas freed 150 hostages taken during its incursion. 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.
The war has claimed at least 2,800 lives on both sides, and displaced 423,000 people in Gaza.
Here's what's happening on Day 7 of the latest Israel-Hamas war:
Israel’s military ordered hundreds of thousands of civilians living in Gaza City to evacuate Friday ahead of a feared Israel ground offensive. The directive came on the heels of what the United Nations said was a warning they received from Israel to evacuate 1.1 million people living in northern Gaza within 24 hours.
Suffering in Gaza has been rising dramatically with Palestinians desperate for food, fuel and medicine and the territory’s only power plant shut down for lack of fuel. The morgue at Gaza’s biggest hospital overflowed as bodies came in faster than relatives could claim them.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Israel on Friday, a day after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The war has claimed at least 2,800 lives on both sides since Hamas launched an incursion on Oct. 7.
Here's what's happening on Day 7 of the latest Israel-Hamas war:
SOUTH KOREAN AND OTHER ASIAN NATIONALS EVACUATE FROM ISRAEL
SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean military plane evacuating 220 South Korean and other Asian nationals from Israel has departed Tel Aviv and was expected to land in South Korea later Saturday, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said.
The people transported on the KC-330 military transport plane included 163 South Koreans, 51 Japanese nationals and six Singaporean nationals, the ministry said.
South Korea had also sent a civilian plane earlier this week to evacuate 192 South Korean nationals. About 470 South Koreans remain in Israel, most of them long-term residents who have chosen to stay.
No South Korean casualties have so far been reported from the violence in Israel and Gaza.
16 PALESTINIANS KILLED IN WEST BANK, HEALTH MINISTRY SAYS
The Palestinian Health Ministry reported 16 Palestinians killed Friday in the occupied West Bank, bringing to 51 the total number of West Bank Palestinians killed since Hamas waged its brutal assault on Israel last Saturday.
The United Nations says attacks by Israeli settlers have surged there since the Hamas assault.
RELATIVES OF ABDUCTED ISRAELIS PLEAD FOR WORLD'S HELP
UNITED NATIONS — Relatives of Israelis abducted during Hamas militants’ attack last weekend pleaded at the U.N. on Friday for the world’s help getting their loved ones home.
Speaking by video from Israel, Yoni Asher told diplomats at an Israel-organized event that he hasn’t slept or eaten since his wife and two small daughters vanished Saturday while visiting his mother-in-law in the country’s south.
His wife called to tell him that they were locked in a safe room after people came into the house and she heard gunshots, Asher said. He said he later saw a video of his wife and daughters, who are under 5 and 3, being loaded into a vehicle, and he tracked his wife’s phone to Gaza.
“I don’t know if I got any more tears left,” he said. “I’m exhausted, and I just want to approach whoever can hear me in the international community. Please bring back my baby girls.”
Hamas fighters took 150 hostages during Saturday’s surprise assault. Alana Zeitchik said a half-dozen of her cousins were snatched from a kibbutz. They were known to be alive as of Friday morning, she said.
“We don’t want more bombs or rockets or blood or tears,” said Zeitchik, who lives in New York. “We want our family back immediately. And we want peace.”
BIDEN SAYS ADDRESSING HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN GAZA IS A PRIORITY
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Friday that it’s a priority of his administration to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Speaking at an event in Philadelphia to promote a $7 billion program to kickstart development and production of hydrogen fuel in the U.S., Biden paused to note the deteriorating situation for Palestinians as Israel continues to bombard the strip in retaliation for last weekend’s attacks on Israel.
Biden said he’s directed his team to work with the governments in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab nations and the United Nations to surge humanitarian relief to those impacted by the war.
“We can’t lose sight of the fact that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians had nothing to do Hamas,” Biden said. “And they’re suffering as a result as well.”
Biden again lashed out at Hamas, saying the militant group in control of Gaza makes the terrorist group Al-Qaida “look pure.”
ISRAELI MILITARY LAUNCHES DRONE AT HEZBOLLAH TARGETS
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military has announced that an Israeli drone is currently striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
ISRAELI SHELLING ALONG LEBANON BORDER KILLS 1 JOURNALIST, WOUNDS 6
ALMA Al-SHAAB, Lebanon — An Israeli shell has landed in a gathering of international journalists covering clashes on the border in south Lebanon, killing one and leaving six injured.
An Associated Press photographer at the scene saw the body of the dead journalist and the six who were wounded. Some of them were rushed to hospitals in ambulances. One nearby car was charred.
Al-Jazeera identified two of its employees among the wounded. The Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing sporadic acts of violence since Saturday’s attack by the militant Palestinian group Hamas on southern Israel.
ISRAEL MILITARY SAYS IT HAS CARRIED OUT SMALL RAIDS INTO GAZA STRIP
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says for the first time that ground troops have been operating inside the Gaza Strip.
In a statement Friday, the army said troops had entered Gaza to battle militants, destroy weapons and search for evidence about the missing hostages held by Hamas.
The announcement did not appear to be the beginning of an expected ground invasion of Gaza. Israel has been massing troops along the Gaza border since last Saturday’s deadly incursion by Hamas militants.
WHITE HOUSE MEETS VIRTUALLY WITH FAMILIES OF MISSING AMERICANS
WASHINGTON — The White House hosted a virtual conversation on Friday with family members of 14 Americans who are unaccounted for after the Hamas attacks on Israel.
President Joe Biden addressed the families. Other participants included Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser; Roger Carstens, hostage affairs special envoy; John Bass, undersecretary of state; and Brett McGurk, National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East.
EGYPT CALLS ON UN SECURITY COUNCIL TO STOP THE EVACUATION IN GAZA
CAIRO — In a statement Friday, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli army’s decision to tell some 1 million people in Gaza to evacuate toward the southern part of the besieged territory.
It said the move “constitutes a grave violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, and will expose the lives of more than a million Palestinian citizens and their families to the dangers of remaining in the open without shelter.”
The evacuation order comes ahead of an expected ground invasion, hiking fears of a massive influx of refugees across the heavily fortified border into its territory.
In the statement, Egypt called on the United Nations Security Council, which is scheduled to meet Friday, to stop the evacuation.
PALESTINIAN ENVOY SAYS EVACUATION ORDER COULD COMPARE TO DISPLACEMENT OF HUNDREDS IN 1948
UNITED NATIONS — The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations says his people’s mass exit from northern Gaza under Israeli military orders may compare to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians amid the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation — an event that Palestinians call the “nakba,” or catastrophe.
Ambassador Riyad Mansour called the current flight “potentially a second nakba" as he spoke to reporters at U.N. headquarters Friday before a meeting of Arab countries’ ambassadors.
The Israeli military told people to leave northern Gaza ahead of an expected ground invasion against the Hamas militants who launched an assault on southern Israel last weekend. While the evacuation order involves the northern part of the territory, Mansour said “there is no place in Gaza that is safe.”
He called for a ceasefire to allow food, medicine and water into the territory.
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ACCUSES ISRAEL OF USING WHITE PHOSPHORUS
LONDON — Human Rights Watch has called on Israel to stop using munitions containing white phosphorus in the Gaza Strip after verifying video and witness accounts of these “indiscriminate” incendiary weapons being used in densely populated areas.
White phosphorus catches fire spontaneously when it comes in contact with oxygen, releasing toxic fumes and generating temperatures of up to 815 degrees Celsius (1,500 Fahrenheit). Because it continues to burn until all of the material is used up or it is smothered, white phosphorus exposure can leave victims with permanent disabilities, scarring and chronic pain.
“The issue is that white phosphorus is indiscriminate,’’ Yasmine Ahmed, the U.K. director of Human Rights Watch, said Friday. “It is used in a way that it cannot distinguish between a civilian population and a military target … particularly in the context of a densely populated area.”
The Israeli Defense Force has denied using white phosphorus as a weapon in Gaza.
UN SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR ON FRIDAY
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council is set to meet behind closed doors Friday afternoon to discuss the Israel-Hamas war as Palestinians stream out of northern Gaza on orders from the Israeli military.
Friday’s council meeting was scheduled before the evacuation order was issued and added still more urgency to the discussion. The U.N. has said the order affects 1.1 million people, about half Gaza’s population, and could turn an already dire humanitarian crisis into a calamity.
The council emerged without any collective message or action from another closed-door meeting Sunday on the Israel-Hamas fighting. At that meeting, the United States pressed unsuccessfully for a strong condemnation of Hamas from all 15 members of the U.N.’s most powerful body, where divisions have sharpened amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.
EVACUEES FROM ISRAEL ARRIVE IN CYPRUS AS THEY AWAIT REPATRIATION
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cypriot authorities say they’re gearing up to host significant numbers of third-country evacuees from Israel as the first 268 foreign nationals have used Cyprus as a waystation for their repatriation.
Cyprus Foreign Ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis said Friday most of the people were Portuguese citizens flown out on Portuguese Air Force C-130 transport aircraft on three flights. Others among them included Austrians and Spaniards.
Gotsis said cruise ships are also ferrying foreign nationals including Germans out of Israel. The arrival of Danish and British citizens is expected later Friday.
Cyprus has set aside temporary accommodations for evacuees until they can be repatriated.
ISRAEL ORDERS 1.1 MILLION PEOPLE IN NORTHERN GAZA TO EVACUATE, UN SAYS
JERUSALEM — Israel’s military on Friday ordered the evacuation of northern Gaza, a region that is home to 1.1 million people, within 24 hours, a United Nations spokesperson said.
The order, delivered to the U.N., comes as Israel presses an offensive against Hamas militants. U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the evacuation would be “impossible” without “devastating humanitarian consequences.”
This could signal an impending ground offensive, though the Israeli military has not yet confirmed such an appeal. On Thursday, it said that while it was preparing, a decision had not yet been made.
200 EVACUEES ARRIVE IN INDIA FROM TEL AVIV
NEW DELHI — India’s first chartered flight brought over 200 Indian nationals back home from Tel Aviv on Friday, nearly a week after the latest Israel-Hamas war erupted.
"Everyone is scared. We have no idea what would happen there. We had to move to shelters when there were missile attacks. This was not normal,” said Deepak Sharma, a 20-year-old student who was studying physics at a college in north Israel.
There are about 18,000 Indian citizens living in Israel, a small percentage of them students, according to India’s External Affairs Ministry. Nearly one-third of them have registered with the Indian embassy ready to fly back home.
New Delhi has not heard of any Indian casualties since Hamas launched its Oct. 7 incursion, the ministry said.
NUMBER OF PEOPLE DISPLACED IN GAZA RISES TO 423,000
JERUSALEM — The number of people forced from their homes by the airstrikes soared 25% in a day, reaching 423,000 out of a population of 2.3 million, the United Nations said Thursday. Most crowded into U.N.-run schools.
Families were cutting down to one meal a day, said Rami Swailem, a 34-year-old lecturer at al-Azhar University, who had 32 relatives sheltering in his home. Water stopped coming to the building two days ago, and they have rationed what’s left in a tank on the roof.
The death toll from Israeli strikes on Gaza rose to 1,537, with 6,612 people wounded, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said Thursday. Of those killed, 500 were under the age of 18, the ministry said.
Palestinians were reporting heavy Israeli airstrikes across the besieged Gaza Strip, with bombardment on residential buildings in densely populated city districts and refugee camps.
NEPALIS RETURN HOME FROM ISRAEL
KATHMANDU, Nepal — More than 200 Nepali nationals evacuated from Israel returned home Friday as the government worked to bring back the bodies of 10 Nepali students killed in the unprecedented attack by Hamas.
Nepal’s foreign minister, Narayan Prasad Saud, accompanied 254 citizens on a plane chartered by the government. The returnees were welcomed home by family and friends at Kathmandu airport.
In addition to those killed, four Nepalis were wounded and one is still missing, Saud said. One of the wounded was flown back in the evacuation flight and three others were getting treated at hospitals in Israel, Saud said.
He said 54 Nepali nationals still in Israel have been moved to safer areas and will be evacuated eventually. Many Nepalis in Israel are students studying agriculture techniques.
IF ISRAEL DOESN’T END BOMBARDMENT, WAR MAY OPEN ON ‘OTHER FRONTS,’ IRAN SAYS
BEIRUT — Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amirabdollahian said Thursday that if Israel’s bombardment of Gaza continues, the war may open on “other fronts,” an apparent reference to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Amirabdollahian arrived in Beirut late Thursday evening, where he was greeted by representatives of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad along with Lebanese officials.
“In light of the continued aggression, war crimes, and siege on Gaza, opening other fronts is a real possibility,” Amirabdollahian said, speaking to journalists on his arrival.
Early Thursday, Amirabdollahian had visited Iraq, where he made similar statements after a meeting with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
Questions have swirled around the extent of Iran’s role in the unprecedented surprise attack launched by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on Saturday.
Hamas officials have denied that Iran was directly involved in planning the attack or green-lighted it, and to date no government worldwide has offered direct evidence that Iran orchestrated the attack. However, many have pointed to Iran’s long sponsorship of Hamas that has included training, funding and providing it with weapons.
EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT TO TRAVEL TO ISRAEL
BRUSSELS — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Israel on Friday to express support for the nation in the wake of last weekend’s attack by Hamas.
Von der Leyen will be accompanied by European Parliament president Roberta Metsola, the commission said in a statement late Thursday. Von der Leyen has been one of the most outspoken European Union leaders in support of Israel since the attacks and the subsequent war with Hamas.
HEZBOLLAH SENDS DRONE OVER ISRAEL, OFFICIAL WITH LEBANON GROUP SAYS
BEIRUT — The militant Hezbollah group sent a drone over Israel on Thursday, according to an official with a Lebanese group familiar with the situation along the Lebanon-Israel border.
The drone was shot down over Israel, the official said, without elaborating further. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to comment to the news media.
An Israeli military spokesman wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, Thursday afternoon that an air-defense missile was fired in northern Israel but it turned out there was no target in the air.
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Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed to this report.
INTERNET CONNECTIVITY IN GAZA BELOW 20%, ANALYST SAYS
BOSTON — Internet connectivity in Gaza City has been below 20% since Tuesday, according to analyst Doug Madory of the network monitoring firm Kentik Inc., whose data shows outages began Saturday morning.
Madory said an internet provider in Gaza told him that Israeli air strikes had cut fiber optic cables. The provider declined to speak with an Associated Press reporter but Madory relayed his message: “Pray for us to stay alive and stop this war.”
US AND QATAR AGREE TO NOT ACT ON ANY IRANIAN REQUEST TO ACCESS FUNDS
WASHINGTON — The U.S. and Qatar have agreed not to act on any Iranian request to access $6 billion in funds that were transferred from South Korea after a blanket waiver by President Joe Biden's administration meant to clear the way for the release of five Americans held by Iran, a U.S. official said Thursday.
The move stops short of freezing the funds. Under the terms of the agreement, the funds must be requested by Iran and can go only for humanitarian purposes. The Americans were released last month.
The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the agreement and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The funding has been a concern as questions mount about Iran’s influence or role in the Hamas attack on Israel. Iran is Hamas' principal financial and military sponsor, though the White House says it has not uncovered information that Iran was directly involved in the operation.
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Associated Press Writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.
ISRAEL TELLS CITIZENS ABROAD TO AVOID HAMAS DEMONSTRATIONS
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s Foreign Ministry is warning Israelis abroad to avoid demonstrations said to have been called for by Hamas in cities around the world, saying they could become violent.
In a joint statement with Israel’s National Security Council, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday that there is a concern that Israelis or Jews could be targeted during the protests. The ministry statement said protests are expected on Friday and urged Israelis to be cautious.
45 PALESTINIANS KILLED IN AIRSTRIKE ON HOUSE, GAZA MINISTRY SAYS
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Israeli military bombarded a residential building in the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza on Thursday, killing at least 45 people and injuring dozens more, Gaza’s interior ministry said.
A late-afternoon airstrike hit the al-Shihab family house at the center of the Jabaliya camp, interior ministry spokesperson Eyad Bozum told The Associated Press. The al-Shihab house was packed with dozens of relatives at the time of the airstrike, Bozum said. Some family members had fled heavy bombing from other parts of the Gaza Strip and taken refuge there
Bozum said the death toll was likely to rise from that airstrike as civil defense workers were still pulling bodies from the rubble and counting the dead.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strike.
TWO ISRAELI POLICE OFFICERS WOUNDED IN EAST JERUSALEM
JERUSALEM — A Palestinian armed with an improvised submachine gun opened fire toward police officers at one of the entrances to Jerusalem’s Old City, wounding two officers, including one seriously. Police said they chased and shot the assailant, whose condition was not immediately clear.
Tensions have been running high in Jerusalem, with most shops closed since the Hamas attack and Palestinian protests in East Jerusalem at night that have devolved into deadly clashes with police.