Israel-Hamas War Live Updates: Gaza Deaths Mount, US Begins Preparing for Mass Evacuation, Israel Strikes Syrian Military Targets
Israel-Hamas War Live Updates: Gaza Deaths Mount, US Begins Preparing for Mass Evacuation, Israel Strikes Syrian Military Targets
US begins preparing for mass evacuation if war escalates
The Biden administration is preparing for the possibility that hundreds of thousands of American citizens will require evacuation from the Middle East if the bloodshed in Gaza cannot be contained, according to four officials familiar with the U.S. government’s contingency planning.
The specter of such an operation comes as Israeli forces, aided by U.S. weapons and military advisers, prepare for what is widely expected to be a perilous ground offensive against Hamas militants responsible for the stunning cross-border attack that has reignited hostilities.
The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to detail internal deliberations, said Americans living in Israel and neighboring Lebanon are of particular concern, though they stressed that an evacuation of that magnitude is considered a worst-case scenario and that other outcomes are seen as more likely.
However, one of the officials said, it “would be irresponsible not to have a plan for everything.”
The Israeli defence forces, which have been backed by US military aid, have been prepping for the much-anticipated ground offensive against Hamas militants who took the world by surprise after they carried out an unprecedented attack against Israel from Gaza on Oct 7.
Last week, the State Department issued an advisory to all US citizens worldwide “to exercise increased caution” due to “increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, [and] demonstrations or violent actions against US citizens and interests”, the Washington Post reported.
The warning was in response to demonstrations that have erupted in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict and broader anger in the Arab world over Washington’s full political, economic and military backing of Israel.
LATEST UPDATE:
Israel strikes Syrian military targets in response to missiles launched from Syria, IDF says
Israeli fighter jets carried out airstrikes on Syrian military infrastructure and mortar launchers, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Wednesday.
The strikes were in response to two missiles launched from Syria Tuesday toward the Golan Heights, the IDF said on Telegram.
UN secretary-general: Hamas attacks on Israel “did not happen in a vacuum”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel “did not happen in a vacuum” during his remarks to the Security Council on the Middle East Tuesday.
“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation,” Guterres said, adding that Palestinians “have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence.”
At the same time, Guterres noted that “the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas.” He added that Palestinian people should not be collectively punished for Hamas’ attacks, either.
Therefore, according to Guterres, all parties of the conflict should “take constant care in the conduct of military operations to spare civilians” as well as “respect and protect hospitals and respect the inviolability of UN facilities which today are sheltering more than 600,000 Palestinians.”
Guterres called the intensified strikes on Gaza by Israel “deeply alarming” as “the level of civilian casualties, and the wholesale destruction of neighborhoods continue to mount.”
At least 35 of Guterres’ UN colleagues working for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees were killed in the bombardment of Gaza over the last two weeks, according to the secretary-general.
He said “the clear violations of international humanitarian law” are witnessed in Gaza, offering Israel’s order for more than one million people to evacuate earlier this month as an example.
Guterres emphasized that the aid delivered to Gaza does not correspond to its enormous needs, including the fuel supplies that are about to run out “in a matter of days.”
He reiterated his appeal for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” a two-state solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and an immediate release of all hostages “without conditions.”
Israeli official says Hamas will not let Americans leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing
Hundreds of Americans who are stuck on the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing are not able to leave because “Hamas won’t let them out,” Mark Regev, senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told CNN.
Here are other headlines you should know:
- Rising death toll: The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah said in a statement published Tuesday that in the most recent 24-hour period, 704 people in Gaza had been killed. Also, at least 12 British nationals were killed following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, a spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday.Additionally, 33 Americans have died as a result of the October 7 attack, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
- Inside Hamas: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released one minute of footage from a 43-minute film they compiled which appeared to show in gruesome detail some of the atrocities that occurred on October 7 attack. Meanwhile, intelligence shared with the US suggests a small cell of Hamas operatives planning the surprise attack on Israel communicated via a network of hardwired phones built into the network of tunnels underneath Gaza over a period of two years, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The US is also stepping up efforts to target a “secret” Hamas investment portfolio believed to be worth at least hundreds of millions of dollars.
- Fuel shortage: As fuel needed to run water systems runs out, some Gazans have been forced to drink dirty, salty water, sparking concerns of a health crisis and fears that people could start dying from dehydration. Gaza needs at least 160,000 liters (42,267 gallons) of fuel a day in order to fuel basic necessities, according to Juliette Touma, spokesperson for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine refugees in the Near East. UNRWA says it will be forced to halt its operations in Gaza by Wednesday night if no fuel is delivered to Gaza. And at least six hospitals in Gaza have been forced to close due to the lack of fuel, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. Israel’s military will not allow any fuel to enter the Gaza Strip because Hamas needs that fuel for its operational infrastructure, the Israeli Defense Forces said. The comments appear to be at odds with earlier comments from the IDF chief of staff.
- Hostage situation: Talks are currently underway to try to secure the release of a large number of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, two sources familiar with the matter and one Western diplomat familiar with the deliberations told CNN, but the talks are being complicated by a number of factors. The IDF said it dropped leaflets in Gaza on Tuesday, appealing to residents for any information about the hostages.
- UN meetings: The Palestinian Authority’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad Al-Maliki spoke in the UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East on Tuesday. Blinken on Tuesday called on UN Security Council member states to use their leverage to stop the Israel-Hamas war from expanding, urging them in particular to warn Iran that any involvement would be met with consequences. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said Tuesday he will not meet with UN Secretary-General António Guterres after the UN chief criticized Israel’s bombing of Gaza. Cohen also called out Guterres, saying “shame on him” in an answer to a reporter’s question at the United Nations stakeout.
- International input: There is a “glaring double standard” as the Western world condemns the Hamas attack on October 7 but is not condemning Israel’s bombing of Gaza or calling for a ceasefire, Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan told CNN Tuesday. Elsewhere, John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesperson, declined to offer details Tuesday on if there are plans underway for the mass evacuation of American citizens from Israel and Gaza as the potential remains for a wider regional war. French President Emmanuel Macron told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that “nothing can justify” the suffering of civilians in Gaza. Macron also expressed his support for the Palestinian people, whom he said “Hamas does not represent.
(With inputs from agencies)