Israeli airstrikes on Gaza continue and Israel's defense minister has told troops to be ready for a ground assault on the Palestinian territory, although he has not said when that will begin.
More than 1 million Palestinians, roughly half of Gaza's population, have fled homes in the north and Gaza City after Israel told them to evacuate. The airstrikes early Thursday continued across the entire territory, including in areas in the south that Israel had declared as "safe zones."
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that limited humanitarian aid would be allowed into Gaza from Egypt following a request from U.S. President Joe Biden.
The war that began on Oct. 7 after Hamas militants stormed into Israel, and Israel vowed to destroy the militant group, has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday that 3,785 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 12,500 others have been wounded.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly in the initial attack. An Israeli military spokesperson said Thursday that the families of 206 people believed to have been captured by Hamas and taken into Gaza had been notified.
Currently:
- EU demands Meta and TikTok detail efforts to curb disinformation from Israel-Hamas war
- Woman becomes Israeli folk hero for plying Hamas militants with snacks until rescue mission arrives
- Egypt and other Arab countries typically don't want to take in Palestinian refugees
- Relatives of people taken hostage by Hamas militants tell their stories as they hope for their safe return.
Here's what's happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:
9:03 p.m. EDT
Biden calls for more aid for Israel and Ukraine
President Joe Biden is urging support for additional U.S. aid for Ukraine and Israel, saying in a televised address from the Oval Office that "American leadership is what holds the world together."
WATCH: President Biden's Address to the Nation | PBS NewsHour's full evening coverage
Biden spoke hours after returning to Washington from an urgent visit to Israel to show U.S. support in the wake of a deadly attack by Hamas on Oct. 7. Some 1,400 civilians were killed and roughly 200 others, including Americans, were taken to Gaza as hostages. Israel has responded with airstrikes, and 3,785 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The U.S. president argued that Israel needs help to defend itself from Hamas. He also said the U.S. must help Ukraine stop the advances of Russian President Vladimir Putin to keep other "would-be aggressors" from trying to take over other countries.
Biden said he will send lawmakers an "urgent budget request" Friday to fund U.S. national security needs. He called the request, said to carry a price tag of about $100 billion, a "smart investment" that will pay dividends for decades to come.
2nd Gentleman Douglas Emhoff meets U.S. survivor of Hamas attack
Douglas Emhoff, the husband of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, met in Washington with Natalie Sanandaji, a 28-year-old American survivor of Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks in Israel.
Sanandaji recounted the attack on a music festival, where some 260 people were killed, a White House official said.
Emhoff, who is Jewish and has been outspoken about and against antisemitism, spoke to Sanandaji about President Joe Biden and Harris' support for Israel, providing humanitarian aid to civilians and the administration's work to combat hate of all kinds, the official said.
Gaza authorities report death and injuries in bombing of historic church
BEIRUT — An explosion struck a Greek Orthodox church housing displaced Palestinians late Thursday, resulting in deaths and dozens of wounded.
Mohammed Abu Selmia, director general of Shifa Hospital, said dozens were hurt at the Church of Saint Porphyrios but could not give a precise death toll because bodies were still under the rubble.
Palestinian authorities blamed the blast on an Israeli airstrike, a claim that could not be independently verified.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchy of Jerusalem issued a statement condemning the attack and said it would "not abandon its religious and humanitarian duty" to provide assistance.
A survivor told Qatar's Al Jazeera Arabic television that there was no warning from the Israeli military beforehand.
Named after the Bishop of Gaza from 395 to 420, St. Porphyrios is located in the al-Zaytun section of Gaza's Old City. Its thick limestone walls house an elaborate interior of gilded icons and ceiling paintings.
It became a mosque in the 7th century before a new church was built in the 12th century during the Crusades.
5:07 p.m. EDT
Israel says almost 30 children among hostages taken by Hamas
JERUSALEM — Nearly 30 of some 200 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are children, the Israeli military said Thursday.
More than 10 are over the age of 60, the statement said.
Authorities have no information about the location of more than 100 missing Israelis, it said.
U.S. intelligence estimates 100-300 died in Gaza hospital blast
WASHINGTON — An unclassified U.S. intelligence assessment delivered to Congress on Thursday estimates casualties in an explosion at a Gaza City hospital on the "low end" of 100 to 300 deaths.
That death toll "still reflects a staggering loss of life," U.S. intelligence officials said in the findings, which were seen by The Associated Press.
WATCH: Examining intelligence assessments of who is responsible for Gaza hospital blast
The explosion at Gaza's al-Ahli hospital on Tuesday left body parts strewn on the hospital grounds, where crowds of Palestinians had clustered in hopes of escaping Israeli airstrikes.
Officials in Hamas-ruled Gaza quickly said an Israeli airstrike had hit the hospital. Israel denied it was involved. The Associated Press has not independently verified any of the claims or evidence released by the parties.
President Joe Biden and other U.S. officials already have said that U.S. intelligence officials believed the explosion was not caused by an Israeli airstrike. Thursday's findings echoed that.
The U.S. assessment noted "only light structural damage" to the hospital itself was evident, with no impact crater visible.
UN force helps to recover 7 people caught in Lebanese-Israeli fighting
BEIRUT — The U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon says Lebanese troops requested assistance to bring back seven individuals stranded along the border with Israel. One person was killed in the operation.
The U.N. force known as UNIFIL said the seven became stranded during an exchange of fire.
UNIFIL urged the Israeli military to suspend fire to facilitate the rescue operation, and Israel complied, allowing Lebanese troops to recover the seven. It said one person was killed.
Lebanese TV stations reported that the group included several Iranian journalists.
Mohsen Maghsoodi, an Iranian state TV host, posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he was with the group and that they were stranded for "five or six hours" in the crossfire. Their car "was seriously damaged by bullets and mortars," he said.
The journalists are safe but one Lebanese person was killed, he wrote.
Israeli forces raid West Bank refugee camp
JERUSALEM — An Israeli border police officer was killed Thursday during a military raid into a refugee camp in the northern West Bank, the police and border guard said in a joint statement.
Israeli forces killed at least seven Palestinians during the daylong raid into the Nur Shams camp, and prevented ambulances from retrieving the wounded, according to Palestinian state media.
4:02 p.m. EDT
U.S. Navy intercepts missiles headed north from Yemen
A U.S. Navy warship took out three missiles that had been fired from Yemen and were heading north, U.S. officials said Thursday.
The officials said the USS Carney, a Navy destroyer, was in the Red Sea and intercepted the three missiles. It wasn't immediately certain if they were aimed at Israel. One of the officials said the U.S. does not believe the missiles were aimed at the ship.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations not yet announced.
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have expressed support for the Palestinians and threatened Israel. Last week, in Yemen's Sanaa, which is held by the Houthi rebels still at war with a Saudi-led coalition, demonstrators crowded the streets waving Yemeni and Palestinian flags. The rebels' slogan long has been, "God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse of the Jews; victory to Islam."
Last week, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, the rebel group's leader, warned the United States against intervening in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, threatening that his forces would retaliate by firing drones and missiles.
AP writers Tara Copp and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this item.
UK leader asks Saudi Arabia's crown prince to prevent spread of war in region
LONDON — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has met Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler and encouraged him to use his influence to stop the Israel-Hamas war from spreading.
Sunak's office said the U.K. leader and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed on the need to get humanitarian aid into Gaza and "underscored the need to avoid any further escalation in the region."
The U.K. said Sunak "encouraged the Crown Prince to use Saudi's leadership in the region to support stability, both now and in the long-term."
Sunak flew to Saudi Arabia after visiting Israel on Thursday to show support after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.
California governor plans one-day trip to Israel
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that he plans to make a one-day trip Israel to meet some of those affected by the war.
The Democratic governor will arrive in Israel Friday and will depart the same day. The announcement by Newsom's office did not specify where the governor would go.
His office said California will send medical supplies to the region, including to the Gaza Strip.
California is home to the largest population of Arab Americans in the United States, according to the Arab American Institute. It also has the second largest populations of Jews in the U.S., according to the American Jewish Population Project at Brandeis University.
2:24 p.m. EDT
U.N. chief urges aid access for Gaza and calls for cease-fire
CAIRO — United Nations Secretary General António Guterres is urging Hamas and Israel to agree to a humanitarian cease-fire and for Palestinians in Gaza to be allowed access to fuel, food, water and medicine.
"Civilians in Gaza need core services and supplies and for that we need rapid and immediate humanitarian access, we need water, food and medicine now. We need it at scale, and we need it to be sustained," António Guterres said.
Guterres was speaking during a news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo, where the U.N. chief is supervising preparations for the delivery of aid into Gaza via Egypt's Rafah crossing, which could begin Friday.
Guterres also urged Hamas to release the hostages captured during their assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7.
India's PM promises aid for Palestinian people
NEW DELHI — India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and conveyed his condolences for the loss of civilian lives at the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza.
"We will continue to send humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people," Modi said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
He said he "reiterated India's long-standing principled position on the Israel-Palestine issue." At a briefing earlier, India's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India was in favor of negotiations to establish a two-state solution, which allows for an independent Palestinian state.
Modi told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week that "the people of India stand in solidarity with Israel in this difficult hour."
During the Cold War, India leaned heavily in favor of the Palestinians, but its ties to Israel have grown since 1992 when the two countries established diplomatic relations. In 2017, Modi became the first prime minister to visit Israel.
Humanitarian agencies prepare to coordinate flow of supplies to Gaza
ZUWAIDA, Gaza Strip — Oxfam is working with other humanitarian agencies to provide a quick response when supplies begin flowing into Gaza.
Najla Shawa, a spokesman for Oxfam in Gaza, said they're waiting for a cease-fire to be able to provide assistance to people who have had electricity, food and fuel supplies cut off.
"This is going to be a big challenge because there's a lot to be done and we still don't have enough information about what's going to come in tomorrow," Shawa told The Associated Press from Gaza on Thursday. Authorities have said the Egypt-Gaza border crossing in Rafah could open as soon as Friday.
Oxfam will probably focus on providing water and cash assistance once there's clarity on what's happening.
She said any response will take longer than usual because so many aid workers have been driven from their homes.
"All the team is displaced," she said. "They're all in shelters and schools and different apartments. Nobody has full electricity. They hardly have maybe a few hours of electricity at best. So the situation is extremely challenging."
U.N. to inspect aid shipments into Gaza under Israel-Egypt deal
CAIRO — A U.N. flag will be raised at the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza to protect against Israeli airstrikes under a U.N.-brokered deal between Israel and Egypt to allow aid into the Palestinian territory.
An Egyptian official and a European diplomat said observers from the U.N. will also inspect trucks carrying aid before crossing into Gaza.
They said the U.N will oversee the aid, along with the Egyptians and Palestinian Red Crescent societies, to ensure it is given to civilians and not used by Palestinian militants.
The Egyptian official said they are still negotiating with Israel over allowing fuel into Gaza, where a shortage has forced the closure of multiple hospitals.
The official and the diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
Associated Press reporter Sam Magdy in Cairo contributed.
Turkish officials say Israel withdraws diplomats, citing safety
ANKARA, Turkey — Israel has withdrawn all of its diplomats from Turkey over concerns for their security, according to two Turkish officials.
The move follows a spate of protests outside Israeli diplomatic missions in Turkey after a blast at a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds of Palestinians. Some protesters tried to storm the ambassador's residence in Ankara and a building housing the consulate in Istanbul.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to make public statements, said diplomats including ambassador Irit Lillian have already left Turkey.
They insisted the diplomats had left over safety concerns and that their withdrawal was not political.
Turkey and Israel recently restored full diplomatic relations after withdrawing ambassadors in 2018 amid tensions sparked by the United States' decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Associated Press reporter Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed.
WHO says 5 truckloads of medical supplies ready for delivery to Gaza
GENEVA — The World Health Organization says it's ready to enter Gaza with five truckloads of medical supplies if a border crossing with Egypt reopens on Friday.
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday that WHO was working with Egypt and Palestine Red Crescent Societies, and that "our trucks are loaded and ready to go" through the Rafah crossing from Egypt.
Dr. Teresa Zakaria, a WHO technical officer for health emergency interventions, said the U.N. health agency is ready with five truckloads of medical supplies as soon as the border is open.
WHO emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan said any convoy would require guarantees for safety and joint planning on both sides for "a fully supported humanitarian operation."
Defense minister tells Israeli troops to prepare for ground invasion of Gaza
JERUSALEM — Israel's defense minister has told ground troops to be ready to enter the Gaza Strip, though he is not saying when the invasion will start.
In a meeting with Israeli infantry soldiers on the Gaza border Thursday, Yoav Gallant urged the forces to "get organized, be ready" for an order to move in.
"Whoever sees Gaza from afar now, will see it from the inside," he said. "I promise you."
Israel has massed tens of thousands of troops along the border following a bloody Oct. 7 cross-border massacre by Hamas militants.
State Department warns of potential for violent protests and terror attacks
WASHINGTON– The State Department is warning U.S. citizens of potential for terrorist attacks and violent demonstrations around the world as the Israel-Hamas war intensifies and threats against American interests become more acute.
In a "Worldwide Caution" issued on Thursday, the department advised Americans to "exercise increased caution due to the potential for violence and increased tensions" in all countries.
"Due to increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests, the Department of State advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution," it said.
The brief notice said Americans should be particularly alert in areas frequented by foreign tourists.
World Jewish Congress asks Pope Francis to appeal for hostages' release
ROME — The head of the World Jewish Congress has asked Pope Francis to use his moral authority to appeal for the release of hostages taken from Israel by Hamas.
Ronald Lauder made the appeal Thursday during a scheduled audience with Francis at the Vatican. Lauder was in Rome to inaugurate a WJC liaison office with the Holy See.
Francis has called for the hostages to be released and reaffirmed Israel's right to self-defense, while expressing alarm about the plight of Palestinians in Gaza and the unfolding "humanitarian catastrophe."
Airstrike kills several Palestinians in West Bank refugee camp
JERUSALEM — A rare Israeli airstrike in the West Bank targeted militants in a refugee camp Thursday, leaving several Palestinians dead and stoking violent clashes, the Israeli military said.
The Israeli military said the airstrike killed militants in the Nur Shams refugee camp, close to the city of Tulkarem, but did not specify how many. Palestinian health officials said six Palestinians were killed.
Gunmen threw explosives at Israeli forces and forces fired back, the Israeli military said.
Palestinian state media reported that Israel sealed off the camp and prevented ambulances from entering to help the injured. Private cars smuggled the wounded past roadblocks to the hospital.
The Israeli military said forces were still inside the camp.
Hamas and Hezbollah say they bombarded Israel Israel from Lebanon
BEIRUT – The military wing of Hamas said its members fired 30 rockets from south Lebanon into northern Israel Thursday, mainly targeting the towns of Nahariya and Shlomi.
The Qassam Brigades' statement came after Lebanon's Hezbollah group said it hit several Israeli army positions and a kibbutz along the border with missiles.
Israeli forces also shelled border areas on the Lebanese, an Associated Press journalist in southern Lebanon said.
Tension has been rising along Lebanon's southern border since the Oct. 7, attack by Hamas on southern Israel. At least 12 Hezbollah fighters have been killed since in Israeli shelling and airstrikes.
Authorities urgently request diesel to keep Gaza hospitals open
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Gaza Health Ministry has issued an urgent request for diesel after a fifth major hospital closed due to a lack of fuel.
The Yemen al-Saeed Hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip was forced to shut down after running out of fuel, the ministry said Thursday.
Beit Hanoun Hospital, Dora Children's Hospital, Karama Hospital and the International Eye Hospital in Gaza have already closed due to fuel shortages and air strike damage, the ministry said. Services have also halted at 14 smaller primary health centers in the enclave for the same reasons, it said.
The ministry issued an urgent call to all gas stations in Gaza and anyone else who may have a spare liter of diesel to immediately call a hotline so that the fuel can be transferred to Gaza's hospitals, now powered by backup generators with scant fuel supplies.
The remaining healthcare facilities in Gaza are operating at over 150% capacity, the ministry said.
Ministry spokesman Medhat Abbas said doctors are resorting to desperate measures to care for the hundreds of wounded Palestinian patients.
"Surgery is being performed in the corridors of hospitals without anesthesia, yes without anesthesia, to save the lives of those who may have hope to live," he said. "Others are left to die, to succumb to their destiny.
3 Scandinavian nations advise against traveling to Lebanon
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark, Sweden and Norway have further tightened their travel advisories for Lebanon and cautioned against travel there until further notice.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said Thursday that Norway was "tightening the travel advice due to the serious security situation in the region. There are daily military actions on the border between Lebanon and Israel. This increases the risk throughout Lebanon."
Denmark's Foreign Ministry said the security level in Lebanon had been changed to red.
"Staying in Lebanon entails a very high security risk," the ministry said. It "strongly encouraged" Danish citizens in the country to leave.
Barth Eide noted that flights were still available from Beirut but that "at short notice, it may become even more difficult to leave Lebanon."
Sweden's travel advice was updated late Wednesday.
9:19 a.m. EDT
Hamas says no aid or road repair equipment has entered Gaza
CAIRO — Hamas' spokesman for the Rafah crossing, Wael Abu Omar, said that no aid or road repairing equipment has entered Gaza from Egypt as of Thursday afternoon.
Egypt and Israel reached a deal Wednesday evening that would allow aid to enter the Palestinian territory through the Rafah crossing.
Later that day, U.S. President Joe Biden said that aid could begin rolling into the region by Friday, but that the roads near the crossing would first need hours of repairs. The crossing has been hit by four Israeli airstrikes since Oct. 7, Egyptian authorities say.
European Parliament calls for 'humanitarian pause' in Gaza
STRASBOURG, France — The European Parliament has called for a "humanitarian pause" in Gaza to make sure aid can reach the needy and stressed that Israel's right to defend itself can only be done within the strictures of international law.
In the nonbinding resolution adopted on Thursday in a 500-21 vote, with 24 abstentions, European lawmakers also called for the immediate release of all hostages kidnapped by Hamas.
The call for a "humanitarian pause" stopped short of demanding a cease-fire.
Gaza hospital shuts off lights to conserve fuel
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Gaza's second-largest hospital has switched off the lights in the majority of the facility as staff try to conserve energy amid fuel shortages.
Lights are still on in Nasser Hospital's intensive care unit, but in many other departments, doctors are using cellphones and flashlights to illuminate procedures.
Meanwhile, funerals were held for the victims of an earlier strike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. A mother wept, clutching the small body of her child cocooned in white cloth.
Hamas commander killed in an Israeli strike
GAZA STRIP, Gaza Strip — Gaza's government press office says the commander of the Hamas-led National Security Forces, Maj. Gen. Jihad Muheisen, was killed in an Israeli strike on his home in Gaza City along with some of his relatives.
It wasn't immediately clear how many of his relatives were killed in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in northern Gaza City. The National Security Forces is a paramilitary organization in Gaza taken over by Hamas after its 2007 seizure of the strip.
Separately, Hamas officials told The Associated Press that Hamas legislative council member Jamila al-Shanti was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Thursday. She was known as the first woman to be elected to political office within the Hamas group and the widow of one of the founders of the Islamist movement.
Israeli airstrike hits densely populated area in southern Gaza
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike hit a densely populated area in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, again on Thursday.
Many wounded were being rushed to the Nasser Hospital from the strike in the al-Amal neighborhood.
Earlier, a doctor at a hospital said that at least a dozen people were killed and 40 others were wounded in an Israeli strike that hit a residential building in Khan Younis.
Palestinian death toll in Gaza increases to 3,785
The death toll in Gaza since Israel declared war has risen to 3,785 Palestinians killed, including 1,524 children, 1,000 women and 120 older people, the Gaza Health Ministry said.
In addition, 12,493 others have been wounded, including 3,983 children and 3,300 women.
Israel conducts a raid in the West Bank
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military has conducted an extensive raid in the West Bank, arresting more than 80 Palestinians.
The latest in a series of stepped-up Israeli operations in the territory since the outbreak of war, the raid on Wednesday night provoked violent clashes and left three Palestinians dead, including two children.
The military said that 63 of the 80 suspects arrested overnight were linked to Hamas. Of the 524 Palestinians arrested since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, 330 are Hamas affiliates.
Forces also demolished the home of a militant who killed an Israeli soldier, Staff Sgt. Shilo Yosef Amir, earlier this year. The militant, who the military identified as Ahmed Yasin Jidan, was shot shortly after killing Amir.
Clashes ensued across the territory in response to the raid, with Israeli forces firing on Palestinians who threw rocks and Molotov cocktails.
Since the latest war began, 72 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank. U.N. monitors are describing the period as the deadliest phase since they started recording data.
Sunak says UK standing by Israel in its 'darkest hour'
JERUSALEM — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says Britain is standing by Israel in its "darkest hour" as it wages war on Hamas following the Palestinian militant group's Oct. 7 attack.
Sunak spoke alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, a day after U.S. President Joe Biden made a similar trip to Israel to express solidarity.
"I am proud to stand here with you in Israel's darkest hour as your friend," Sunak said.
The U.K. prime minister acknowledged the "shocking scenes" over the past day, including the aftermath of an explosion at a Gaza hospital, saying "we mourn the loss of every innocent life."
Sunak plans to travel to Saudi Arabia later Thursday to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as Britain tries to dampen down regional tensions, get aid into Gaza and secure the release of U.K. hostages held by Hamas.
EU says promise of aid to Gaza a start but more needed
BRUSSELS — On the promise that some aid will be allowed to get into Gaza, the European Union said it was a start. But the bloc said that more needed to be done to be in line with international commitments.
"We also welcome the announcement made by Israel that it will not thwart the deliveries of food, water or medicine coming from Egypt," European Commission spokesman Balazs Ujvari said.
"And let me just add that we also understand that this will be a limited — the quantity of humanitarian aid will be limited in quantity as well as in nature. It needs to be reminded that international humanitarian law obliges all parties to ensure safe and unhindered humanitarian access to people in need. Restrictions on the quantity, destination and categories of items are not in line with this obligation."
He also said that a second plane with emergency aid was to land in Egypt later. Together it amounts to about 50 tons of essential humanitarian supplies, medicine, food, water and shelter.
Palestinians say Israel is targeting bakeries in Gaza
Israel has bombed and targeted areas with bakeries in Gaza over the course of the war while dozens of Palestinians were lining up to buy bread, causing high numbers of dead and wounded, Salam Marouf, the head of the government media office, said in a statement.
By repeatedly targeting bakeries, he said that Israel sought to worsen the humanitarian situation, inflict a greater number of casualties and "make it more difficult for citizens, to the point that obtaining some loaves of bread has become a dangerous journey." More than five bakeries were targeted in different areas to the north and south of Gaza, either directly or in the area where they are located, Maarouf said.
Aid groups, including the World Food Program, have warned Gaza is running low on food supplies with shops only having a few days worth of supplies left.
Egypt's president meets with U.S. general in Cairo
CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi met with Gen. Michael Kurilla, head of the U.S. Central Command, in Cairo to discuss efforts to "intensify cooperation" between the two countries and to "restore stability" in the region, the president's office said.
Within hours of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, the U.S. began moving warships and aircraft to the eastern Mediterranean to provide Israel with support. Israel has conducted unrelenting airstrikes on Gaza.
Egypt has long acted as a key broker between Israel and Hamas. On Wednesday, Egypt and Israel reached a deal that would allow aid to enter the Palestinian territory.
Also Thursday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with U.K. counterpart James Cleverly in Cairo, where they talked about ways to de-escalate the conflict and address the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
Emergency crews work to rescue survivors at Gaza building
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — A doctor at a hospital in the southern Gaza Strip says at least 12 people were killed and 40 others wounded in an Israeli strike that hit a residential building in a densely populated neighborhood in the city of Khan Younis.
Dr. Mohammed Qandeel said the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis received the patients on Thursday morning. The city is located within what Israel called a safe zone when it encouraged Gaza residents to evacuate the territory's north.
Emergency crews rushed to rescue survivors around a crater at least one floor deep where people were believed to be trapped. One rescued woman staggered unsteadily from the scene, screaming that God would take revenge against Israel.
A rescue worker rushed a small, ash-covered child toward an ambulance, according to an Associated Press journalist at the scene.
Germany's leader demands release of hostages
BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has demanded in a speech watched by relatives of some of the hostages held by Hamas for the militant group to free the captives.
In a speech to the German parliament, Scholz underlined Germany's staunch support for Israel and renewed a warning that it "would be a serious mistake" for Hezbollah, Iran or their proxies to enter the war.
Scholz traveled to Israel and Egypt this week. He said Thursday: "One important task we all have is to free the hostages, the kidnapped. They most be released without preconditions."
German officials say a "low two-digit number" of German-Israeli dual citizens are believed to be held in Gaza.
Australian lawmaker accuses Israel of 'punishing' Palestinians
CANBERRA, Australia — Australian government minister Ed Husic has accused Israel of collectively punishing Palestinians in its war on Hamas.
Husic told Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Thursday: "I feel very strongly that Palestinians are being collectively punished here for Hamas' barbarism." He added: "I really do feel there is an obligation on governments, particularly the Israeli government, to … follow the rules of international law and to observe in particular that innocents should be protected."