Israel conducts ground incursion in Gaza tanks roll through border area
Israeli forces conducted "brief" ground incursions into the Gaza Strip as the war with Hamas enters its 20th day. The Hamas-run Health Ministry claims at least 6,546 Palestinians have been killed and 17,439 wounded. More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed since the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas, in which 224 people including foreigners were taken captive into Gaza. Four people have been released so far.
Muslims warn Democrats they'll lose their votes over Israel support: 'Going to have a problem'
Some Muslims in Michigan feel "betrayed" by how Democrats have responded to the Israel-Hamas war, and are warning party leaders they might not back the party in 2024, the Associated Press reported.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other Democrats in the state angered some Arab Americans for attending a pro-Israel rally days after the coordinated terror attack from Hamas earlier this month, but not attending a pro-Palestinian rally in Dearborn, the following day. Dearborn is one of the largest Muslim and Arab-American communities in the country.
At that rally, Whitmer and party leaders in the state were reportedly called out and booed for not attending.
Some Arab Americans told the AP this gesture, along with President Biden's support of Israel, could cost Democrats in the next election.
"There is going to be an effort to not support the people who have not supported us. The people that we voted for such a long time — people that we’ve helped, we’ve donated to and we’ve worked on their campaigns," 22-year-old Palestinian American Adam Abusalah said.
Democratic state Rep. Alabas Farhat said that in 2024, the party would have to answer for the way they've treated Arab Americans and Palestinians in this conflict.
"In 2024, Democrats are going to have a problem with Arab Americans. For too long, they’ve isolated Arab American voices within the party. They’ve isolated the perspectives of Arab Americans. And on this specific issue, they’ve denied even recognizing the human rights of Palestinians," Farhat, whose district contains most of Dearborn, told the AP.
Fox News' Kristine Parks contributed to this report
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke at the United Nations on Oct. 26, 2023. (Source: UNTV via Reuters)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned the U.S. that it would not be spared if it continues to manage what he called the “genocide in Palestine,” while speaking to the United Nations on Thursday.
“Today in New York and the United Nations, I say frankly to the American statemen who are now managing the genocide in Palestine that we do not welcome the expansion of the war in the region,” Amir-Abdollahian said. “But I warn, if the genocide in Gaza continues, they will not be spared from this fire. It is our home and West Asia is our region.”
He continued by saying his country does not compromise with any party or side and does not have reservations when it comes to the country’s security.
Amir-Abdollahian directed comments to President Biden, saying Hamas is ready to release civilian prisoners, then added that the world should support the release of 6,000 Palestinians who are also held as prisoners, though in Israel.
“In addition, why the United States itself is actually and in practice and directly involved in committing crimes against Palestinians, it is not in a position to invite others to exercise self-restraint and refrain from spreading the war,” the foreign minister said. “Therefore, we strongly warn against the uncontrollable consequences of the unlimited financial arms and operational support by the White House to the Tel Aviv regime, which have led to the expansion and added to the severity of the bombardments of the civilians and the Palestinian women and children in Gaza and the West Bank.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said the U.S. has "a pretty strong idea" that some of the 10 unaccounted for Americans are being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
The U.S. and Qatar have agreed to negotiate Hamas’ status in Doha, after the hostage crisis has been resolved, according to a source familiar with the situation.
The Washington Post was first to report about the agreement.
At this time, the source says, there is no specific plan on how to resolve Hamas’ office in Doha, or whether Qatar will expel Hamas.
The deal was struck between the two countries two weeks ago in Doha when Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Sheikh Tamin Bin Hamad al-Thani.
Hamas has an office in the Qatari capital, and officials in Qatar have been acting as intermediaries to negotiate with Hamas to release hostages.
Richard Edson of Fox News contributed to this report.
White House says Gaza health ministry is 'a front for Hamas,' again denies Palestinian casualty data
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby doubled down on President Biden's rejection of casualty data coming from the Hamas-run Gaza healty ministry on Thursday.
Kirby made the statement in response to questions from reporters at a Thursday press briefing at the White House. He described the health ministry as a "front for Hamas" and rejected its claim that more than 7,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7.
"We all know that the Gaza ministry of health is nothing more than a front for Hamas," Kirby said. "It's run by Hamas, a terrorist organization. I've said it myself up here--we can't take anything coming out of Hamas, including the so-called ministry of health, at face value."
Kirby went on to say that the number of casualties in Gaza is likely in the thousands, however.
Biden first stated he had "no confidence" in the Hamas data on Wednesday.
A reporter had asked whether Hamas' statistics suggest that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ignoring U.S. calls to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza.
"What they say to me is that I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed," Biden responded. "I'm sure innocents have been killed, and it's a price of waging a war."
"I think we should be incredibly careful – not we – the Israelis should be incredibly careful to be sure that they're focusing on going after the folks that are propagating this war against Israel. It's against their interests when that doesn't happen, but I have no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using," he added.
New York City Jews warned to stay away from 'Flood Brooklyn for Gaza' protest: Report
Jews in New York City are reportedly being encouraged to stay away from an upcoming "Flood Brooklyn for Gaza" protest, according to local outlet Col Live.
Rabbi Chanina Sperlin of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council told the outelt that the NYPD has assured him that local Jews "will be protected." The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
“Jews should definitely avoid the area,” a police source reportedly told the outlet. "There’s no intel at this time in which direction the protest will head. Locals should definitely stay away from Eastern Parkway in that area."
Jewish community leaders remain confident in police's ability to manage the protest, however.
Rabbi Yaacov Behrman of Jewish Future Alliance told Col that the NYPD did an "excellent job" of managing a pro-Palestinian rally last week that featured some 5,000 attendees. Nevertheless, Behrman said residents shoudl "stay vigilant and avoid that area unless absolutely necessary."
The Brooklyn protest comes as pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas demonstrations have popped up across the U.S., Europe and the globe. University students across America have shouted pro-Hamas slogans, leading to widespread fear among Jewish students.
Israel eliminates top Hamas intelligence official who planned Oct. 7 attack in Gaza airstrike
Israeli Defense Forces say they eliminated a top Hamas intelligence official in an airstrike in Gaza on Thursday.
Israel identified the official as Shadi Barud, deputy head of Hamas' Intelligence Directorate. He is one of several senior Hamas officials to be killed in Gaza in recent days.
"Shadi Barud, Deputy Head of Hamas’ Intelligence Directorate has been eliminated by an IDF aerial strike," the Israeli military wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. "He took part in the planning of the October 7 massacre and countless other deadly attacks carried out against Israelis."
"We will continue to strike and eliminate Hamas leaders and operatives responsible for the barbaric attacks," it added.
Israel remains poised for a full-scale invasion of northern Gaza, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says is imminent.
GOP senators introduce standalone bill to aid Israel without more funding to Ukraine
GOP Sens. Roger Marshall, Ted Cruz, JD Vance and Mike Lee introduced a standalone bill to funnel aid to Israel without tying it to Ukraine aid on Thursday.
The bill, called the Israel Supplemental Appropriations Act, is an alternative to President Biden’s $106 billion emergency supplemental bill he requested from Congress last week.
The Israel Supplemental Appropriations Act, if passed, would provide $14.3 billion to Israel, including $10.6 billion for assistance through the Department of Defense (DOD), $3.5 billion for foreign military financing and $200 million to help protect U.S. embassies and personnel.
The legislation expedites funding for Israel by allocating resources to bolster Israel's defense capabilities, specifically focusing on enhancing systems like the Iron Dome and Iron Beam, as well as replacing weapons provided by the DOD.
The bill comes in opposition to legislation proposed by Democrats and Biden, who want funding for Ukraine and Israel to be lopped together. Many Republicans have soured on continued support for Ukraine, which has already received over $120 billion.
Fox News' Jamie Joseph contributed to this report
Critics slam Biden admin for allowing Iran's FM to visit UN: 'blood of Americans on his hands'
The United States allowed Iran’s foreign minister to visit New York City this week to address the United Nations, drawing the ire of critics who insist the Biden administration should never have allowed him into the country.
"Iran-backed terrorists have attacked our servicemembers and are currently holding Americans hostage, but the Biden administration has granted a top Iranian official a visa — welcoming this regime on U.S. soil with open arms," Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, wrote on social media platform X.
"The appeasement must end," she added.
Fox News Digital learned that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was coming to New York as early as Monday for a U.N. Security Council meeting and asked the State Department why he was being allowed in. While he did not attend that meeting, he arrived last night. Iran's state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency broadcast video of the minister at the Millennium Hilton hotel across from the United Nations.
A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that, "As host nation of the U.N., the United States is generally obligated under the U.N. Headquarters Agreement to issue visas to representatives of U.N. member states to travel to the U.N. headquarters district."
Fox News' Peter Aitken contributed to this report
Jewish student denounces pro-Hamas messages projected on campus library: 'Absolute antisemitism'
One Jewish student at George Washington University spoke out after disturbing anti-Israel messages were projected onto the wall of the library as antisemitism continues to ferment on campuses nationwide in wake of the war against Hamas.
Sabrina Soffer said she was "not surprised" by the antisemitic messages projected onto the library, but explained why she still remains fearful, nonetheless, during "The Ingraham Angle."
"I was very shocked, but I was not surprised, and I'll tell you why," Soffer told Laura Ingraham Wednesday. "I think that Jewish students have been warning of this kind of radical ideology by anti-Israel groups on campus, and this is just one extreme manifestation that they're really showing their true colors here."
"This is absolute antisemitism, and what is happening is that there is a lot of radical ideology that's going on in the classroom where terrorism is being justified in very insidious ways, and it's very concerning," she continued.
"My first reaction was, 'yes, of course, I'm fearful.' Jewish students are fearful, but again, we shouldn't be surprised."
The messages projected onto the university's library read, "GW the blood of Palestinians is on your hands," and "Your tuition is funding genocide in Gaza."
Another message read, "Glory to our martyrs."
Soffer said Jewish students stopped in their tracks when they saw the messages on the library and an ongoing pro-Hamas "vigil." She said there was police intervention but that nothing turned violent.
Fox News' Bailee Hill contributed to this report
Israel says Hamas terrorists keeping fuel for themselves ignoring humanitarian needs of Gazans
Even as the humanitarian situation for Gaza’s 2.1 million civilians continues to deteriorate, with the U.N. and other international aid agencies warning that fuel for hospitals and essential institutions is set to run out completely in the coming days, Israel is remaining steadfast in its refusal to allow power generating materials to enter the Palestinian enclave.
As Israel ramps up its aerial bombardments in an effort to wipe out the Hamas terrorist group following its Oct. 7 surprise attack on southern Israel, withholding fuel is part of a broader strategy of literally "smoking out" the terrorists who have been sequestered in the subterranean tunnel system that snake beneath the streets of the Gaza Strip.
Ehud Ya’ari, an Israel-based Lafer international fellow of The Washington Institute, told Fox News Digital that for years, Hamas had been stealing fuel designated for civilian purposes in order to build up its stocks.
"Underneath Gaza City, there is a deep system of tunnels that stretches for some 190 miles, and it is totally dependent on fuel for ventilation, communication, and electricity," he said.
Ya’ari also said that the roughly 220 hostages being held by Hamas inside Gaza since the Oct. 7 attack were likely hidden somewhere inside this vast tunnel system.
"One of the ways to flush them [Hamas] out or force them above ground is to prevent them from having fuel," he said, adding "It is no vacation being in those underground tunnels for three weeks. It’s hot and humid and the more Israel destroys of Hamas’ infrastructure from the air, the fewer casualties there will be for Israel on the ground."
"This is a key strategy and that is why the Israelis have been insisting that fuel is not to be included in the aid trucks going into Gaza from Egypt," Ya’ari added.
‘Shaking from fear:’ Israeli Father recounts miracles that saved family during Hamas's massacre
A father of three girls said it's a miracle most of his family survived Hamas’ massacre on Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel.
"Every time I looked inside at my daughters, I couldn’t believe that somebody was going to kill them," Mati Dancyg told Fox News. "I thought that eventually they will come to our house."
Almost half of Kibbutz Nir Oz’s 400 residents were murdered or taken captive during Hamas’s brutal Oct. 7 attack, reported The New York Times.
Dancyg’s believes his father and beloved 75-year-old Yad Vashem Holocaust educator, Alex Dancyg, is believed to be a hostage in Gaza.
"They started slaughtering people and burning houses," Dancyg said. "I was very, very terrified, and I was shaking from fear."
"In some kind of a miracle way, they didn’t get inside," he continued.
Dancyg said he tried to keep his family as calm as possible by giving his young daughters — ages 2, 7 and 8 — toys and filtering the news reports he shared with his wife.
"I’m glad they didn’t get very, very traumatized," he said. "I didn’t tell my wife exactly what was going on because I wanted her to stay calm with the daughters."
Fox News' Kassy Dillon contributed to this report
The United Nations is holding an emergency session to address Israel's retaliatory war against Hamas on Thursday and Friday.
The U.N. has so far failed to address the conflict, with Russia and China vetoing a resolution on the issue from the U.S. on Wednesday. The two-day session that began Thursday will open with a speech by the Palestinians after which Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan will deliver remarks, followed by the Ambassador of Jordan and the Foreign Minister of Iran.
Israel has already condemned a resolution put forward by Jordan, calling hit "biased and distorted."
"[The resolution] completely ignores the existence of Hamas and does not mention the terror organization or the barbaric massacre it committed," Israel's mission to the U.N. said in a statement. "The one-sided proposal, which is disconnected from reality, calls for an immediate ceasefire and does not refer at all to the firing of missiles and rockets at Israel or Israel's right to defend itself."
The session will vote on Jordan's resolution on Friday.
Former NBA Star Enes Kanter-Freedom blasted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for claiming that Hamas is not a terrorist organization on thursday.
Kanter-Freedom appeared on Fox Business with host Maria Bartiromo on Thursday morning to discuss Erdogan's comments. Erdogan has accused Israel of deliberately targeting civilians and called the war against Hamas a "premeditated act of crime against humanity."
Kanter-Freedom says he first thought that headlines about Erdogan's comments were "fake, Onion news," referring to a satirical news outlet.
"I couldn't believe my ears. And Turkey is supposed to be a NATO ally," he said. "I cannot imaging an organization like Hamas or Hezbollah getting so much support from countries like Iran and Turkey."
He went on to accuse Turkey of supporting terrorist groups and even providing some with passports.
Israeli military releases footage of air strike that killed senior Hamas commander
Israeli Defense Forces released footage of an air strike they say killed senior Hamas commander Hassan Al-Abdullah on Thursday.
The footage, apparently taken from an Israeli jet, shows several airstrikes in Gaza. Israel conducted some 250 such strikes on Hamas targets over just 24 hours on Thursday.
"IDF fighter jets carried out a precise air strike based on IDF and ISA intelligence and eliminated the Commander of Hamas' Northern Khan Yunis Rockets Array, Hassan Al-Abdullah," the IDF wrote in a statement.
Al-Abdullah is only the latest senior commander Israeli forces have killed, and he is unlikely to be the last. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that all Hamas members involved in the October 7 attack on Israel will be killed, and that Hamas itself will be "destroyed."
Russia, China veto American UN resolution calling for 'humanitarian pauses' in Israel-Hamas war
A U.S. resolution supporting Israel and calling for the respect for civilian life and for "humanitarian pauses" in the Israel-Hamas war failed to pass at the United Nations on Wednesday following vetos from Russia and China.
Of the 15-member Security Council, ten members voted in favor, two abstained, and three voted against. Those opposed included Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates. Despite the strong majority, the resolution failed to pass thanks to Russia and China's status as permanent members.
The U.S. resolution would have fully endorsed Israel's right to defend itself, but it would also have emphasized the protection of civilians and called for pauses in the fighting to provide aid to Gaza.
Israel has allowed some aid to flow into Gaza through the Egyptian border over the 20 days since the war began, but critics say it is not enough.
North Korea accuses Israel of 'genocide' in Gaza, labels US an 'accomplice'
North Korea is accusing Israel of masterminding the ongoing violence between themselves and Hamas — and claiming the U.S. is an accomplice.
North Korean state media accused Israel of responsibility for the recent explosion near al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the Gaza Strip.
"What should not be overlooked is that Israel's such criminal act was openly committed under the undisguised patronage of the U.S.," a North Korean foreign ministry spokesperson told the Korean Central News Agency.
"Immediately after the bombing of the hospital by Israel, the U.S. covered such crime, making absurd sophism that the incident seemed to be committed by other forces rather than Israel," the North Korean spokesperson continued. "This shows that the U.S. is an accomplice who connived at and fostered Israel's genocide."
Hamas has claimed Israel was behind the Oct. 17 explosion that killed hundreds of people, but the source of the rocket has been disputed.
President Biden has asserted intelligence networks' belief that the explosion was caused by a misfired rocket from Gaza militants themselves.
The U.S. military is bolstering its capabilities in the Middle East as it prepares for a potential escalation in Israel's retaliatory war against Hamas on Thursday.
The Pentagon is reportedly rushing to deploy air defenses around bases in the Middle East as Israel appears poised for a full-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip. U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria have already faced over a dozen drone and rocket attacks in the past week, resulting in more than 20 injuries.
President Biden has warned that Iran and Hezbollah must not intervene in Israel's campaign against Hamas, as such an intervention would drastically widen the conflict.
The U.S. has deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups to the Eastern Mediterranean in a clear message of support for Israel. Secretary of State Tony Blinken has said the U.S. will not hesitate to intervene on Israel's behalf if it is necessary.
The Swedish government is granting more funds to its Jewish community to bolster their security as antisemitic incidents spike across the globe.
The Swedish government is granting more funds to its Jewish community to bolster their security as antisemitic incidents spike across the globe.
Pro-Palestinian and Pro-Hamas rallies have popped up in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere as Israel prosecutes its retaliatory war against Hamas in Gaza. The Swedish governmet granted 10 million Swedish kronor, or just under $900,000, to the Official Council of Swedish Jewish Communities on Wednesday.
Sweden says the funds are to be used to improve security at Synagogues, schools and other Jewish organizations.
Meanwhile, American Jews studying in Israel say they are outraged by what they see as a rise of antisemitism back home in the United States following the worst terrorist attack in the history of the Jewish state.
CAIR demands apology after Biden dismisses Hamas-provided casualty numbers in Gaza
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned President Biden for stating that he has "no confidence" in Hamas-provided data on casualties in Gaza on Wednesday.
CAIR wrote that it is "deeply disturbed and shocked" by Biden's comments, made during a press briefing at the White House on Wednesday. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry claims that more than 6,500 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's war on Hamas since October 7.
"The Israeli government has openly admitted that it is targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure. Journalists have confirmed the high number of casualties, and countless videos coming out of Gaza every day show mangled bodies of Palestinian women and children – and entire city blocks leveled to the ground. President Biden should watch some of these videos and ask himself if the crushed children being dragged out of the ruins of their family homes are a fabrication or an acceptable price of war. They are neither," CAIR wrote in a statement.
On Wednesday, a reporter asked Biden whether Hamas' statistics suggest that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ignoring U.S. calls to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza.
"What they say to me is that I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed," Biden responded. "I'm sure innocents have been killed, and it's a price of waging a war."
"I think we should be incredibly careful – not we – the Israelis should be incredibly careful to be sure that they're focusing on going after the folks that are propagating this war against Israel. It's against their interests when that doesn't happen, but I have no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using," he added.
Hamas members are blocking roads and 'shooting at people' who try to flee south, Gaza resident says
Hamas terrorists continue to block roads and prevent civilians in Northern Gaza from fleeing to the south as Israel has urged them to do.
Israeli Defense Forces released a recording they say is of an Israeli intelligence officer speaking with a Gaza resident. The officer urges the resident to flee south toward Khan Yunis, but the resident says that is not possible due to Hamas roadblocks.
"I'm an officer from the IDF, to ensure your personal safety, I'm asking you to head towards Khan Yunis immediately," the officer says in the recording.
"All the roads are blocked," the resident says. "They're just sending people back home...they are shooting at people."
Israel arrests dozens of Hamas targets in West Bank raids
Israeli Defense Forces say they made 60 arrests in the West Bank during raids on Thursday, with 46 of the arrestees being members of Hamas.
Israel's West Bank raid came around the same time it conducted its largest-yet incursion into the Gaza Strip early Thursday. Since the start of the war on Oct. 7, about 1,000 wanted individuals have been arrested, the IDF says.
The West Bank has been th esite of many widespread protests against Israel's war against Hamas.
Israel says the incursion is only a preamble for the "next stages of combat," an apparent hit at a larger scale invasion.
Israeli forces have been encamped around Gaza for more than a week, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that Hamas will be "destroyed" by the end of the conflict.
Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report
Israel says overnight incursion was only preparation for 'next stages of combat'
The Israeli military says its overnight incursion into Gaza--the largest incursion of the war so far--was only in preparation for "the next stages of combat."
Israeli Defense Forces made the statement online early Thursday, hours after the brief, but expansive incursion ended. Footage of the assault shows Israeli tanks firing as they move near a Gaza border zone.
"The soldiers have since exited the area and returned to Israeli territory," the military statement added.
Israel began localised ground incursions on Sunday as the war, triggered by an Oct 7 cross-border rampage by Hamas gunmen, entered its third week. Israel's Army Radio described Thursday's incursion as the biggest yet.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to "destroy" Hamas, saying a full-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip is imminent.
Reuters contributed to this report.
The Israeli military conducted its largest incursion into Gaza of the war so far early Thursday after a bombardment on 250 terrorist targets over the previous 24 hours.
Israeli's military has been poised for a full-scale ground invasion of Gaza for more than a week, but leaders have hesitated to issue an order to move forward. U.S. officials had reportedly urged Israel to hold off on the attack while the U.S. places further air defenses at its bases across the Middle East, according to the Wall St. Journal.
The 224 hostages taken by Hamas during its October 7 massacre in Israel have also been a factor.
The Gold Star father of a Marine who was killed in the U.S. withdrawal from Kabul, Afghanistan, called out Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Biden for how they are handling a situation in Gaza that could lead to a similar mass evacuation of Americans.
On "The Ingraham Angle," host Laura Ingraham reported on murmurs that evacuations of thousands of Americans from Middle Eastern countries could commence if the situation in the Holy Land worsens. Hamas Palestinian militants have an unclear number of Americans held hostage versus potentially deceased.
Mark Schmitz, father of LCpl. Jared Schmitz, told FOX News on Thursday that he fears the worst, given who is in charge at the White House.
"I have no faith and I don't think they've learned a single lesson from Afghanistan," he said. "I mean, we still have American citizens in Afghanistan that we haven't gotten out."
"I just wonder if Blinken is now climbing in the perch of [NSC spokesman John] Kirby where he saw no chaos," Schmitz said. "You know, I think these guys are just tone-deaf."
Fighter jets hit more than 250 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, according to Israel Defense Forces Thursday morning.
The IDF said it struck Hamas infrastructure, operational command centers, tunnel shafts and rocket launchers "placed in the heart of civilian areas" that have fired toward Israeli territory since the terrorist group launched its attack on Oct. 7.
In addition to the airstrikes, the Israeli navy also took down a Hamas surface-to-air missile launch post in the Khan Yunis area."The post is located adjacent to a mosque and kindergarten, which is further proof that Hamas deliberately uses civilian sites for terror purposes," the IDF said.
IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari also revealed there are 224 hostages in Hamas' custody as of Thursday morning, and all families have been notified.
"The effort to release the hostages is still a high priority in any possible way," Hagari said.
Fox News' Yael Rotem-Kuriel contributed to this report.
Social media video shows Jewish students at Cooper Union in New York City locked inside a school library while a pro-Palestinian rally moved through the building.
Protestors were heard banging on doors and chanting "Free, free Palestine" as the students sat at a table and attempted to study. Organizers were also observed holding up anti-Israel signs against the library's glass.
Jake Novak, who formerly worked as a media director at the Israeli Consulate in New York, reported that the protestors "barricad[ed]" the library's exits.
"My sources tell me several Jewish students [at Cooper Union] are currently locked in the school library as a [pro] Hamas rally outside of the Cooper Union building learnt [sic] the Jews were afraid and sitting in the library, then brought the protest inside and are barricading all exits," he explained.
"Police have been called for 40 min and are afraid to get involved," Novak added. "Security locked the students in as they are worried they cannot protect the Jews [right now]."
FBI, DHS update alert highlighting increase in 'potential threats' to US amid Hamas-Israel war
The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI issued an updated alert on Wednesday warning of heightened terrorism threats in the United States amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The announcement was made to "highlight potential threats" from a "variety of actors" following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which has emboldened foreign terrorist groups to encourage their supporters to "foment violence in the West."
Wednesday's bulletin reflects "a fluid and evolving situation," according to the agencies, and comes as an update to the Oct. 10 and Oct. 18 announcements from the FBI, the DHS and the National Counterterrorism Center.
"The terrorism threat in the Homeland has remained heightened throughout 2023, but recent events have increased the possibility of potential attacks against individuals and institutions in response to developments in the Middle East," the bulletin read.
Since the initial announcement on Oct. 10, the FBI and DHS said "the volume and frequency" of threats against Americans, especially those in the Jewish, Arab Americans and Muslim communities, have increased, heightening concerns over reactions from "violent extremists and "lone offenders."
"While we have no specific information that foreign adversaries are plotting attacks against the homeland, some are seeking to take advantage of the conflict, calling for violence in furtherance of their respective goals," the agencies wrote.
The bulletin noted a few instances over the past two weeks of terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida and ISIS, using their media publications to call for attacks against Americans and Jewish communities.
A warning was also issued about mis- and dis-information circulated online by Iranian media outlets "that risk deepening resentment and evoking strong emotional responses among English-speaking audiences" in relation to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
"These outlets are utilizing verifiably doctored or mislabeled images and video footage, inaccurate translations, and misleading content about the conflict with the apparent intent to stoke passions, accelerate the process of radicalization, and lead individuals to engage in targeted violence," the bulletin said.
Americans at home and abroad are urged to remain vigilant and to report threats of violence and suspicious activity to authorities.
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