The war that began on Oct. 7 has become the deadliest of the five Gaza wars for both sides.
Here are the latest updates on the Israel–Hamas war:
Blinken Tells UN: US Doesn’t Want War With Iran but Will Defend Itself
The United States told the United Nations on Tuesday it does not seek conflict with Iran, but Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that Washington would act swiftly and decisively if Iran or its proxies attacks U.S. personnel anywhere.Mr. Blinken spoke to the 15-member U.N. Security Council amid international fears the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Palestinian Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip could spill over into a wider war, drawing in Lebanon’s heavily armed Hezbollah that is also supported by Tehran.
“The United States does not seek conflict with Iran. We do not want this war to widen. But if Iran or its proxies attack U.S. personnel anywhere, make no mistake: we will defend our people, we will defend our security—swiftly and decisively.”
Saudi Arabia Evacuates Embassy Staff and Families of Diplomats in Beirut, Airport Officials Say
Lebanese airport officials say Saudi Arabia has evacuated the families of its diplomats and employees at the embassy in Beirut on two military planes that left Lebanon’s capital on Tuesday.
There was no official announcement from Saudi authorities, but the move came days after Saudi Arabia urged its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately.
The Saudi embassy did not respond to calls for comment.
The officials who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations said Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Waleed Bukhari as well as the military attache and other diplomats and staffers did not leave the country.
The officials said about 65 people left Lebanon Tuesday afternoon.
It was not immediately clear if the embassy was still functioning as normal.
The departures come amid rising tensions along the Lebanon–Israel border where members of the Hezbollah terrorist group have been exchanging fire with Israeli troops on a daily basis.
Doctors Report Outbreaks of Disease Among Gaza’s Displaced
Doctors in Gaza say patients arriving at hospitals are showing signs of disease caused by overcrowding and poor sanitation after more than 1.4 million people fled their homes for temporary shelters under Israel’s heaviest-ever bombardment.Aid agencies have repeatedly warned of a health crisis in the tiny, crowded Palestinian enclave under an Israeli blockade that has cut off electricity, clean water, and fuel, with only small U.N. convoys of food and medicine getting in.
“The crowding of civilians and the fact that most schools used as shelters are housing lots of people, it’s a prime breeding ground for disease to spread,” said Nahed Abu Taaema, a public health doctor at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
UN Chief Says Situation in Middle East is Growing ‘More Dire,' Calls Again for Cease-fire
The United Nations chief is warning that “the situation in the Middle East is growing more dire by the hour,” with the risk of the latest Israel–Hamas war spiraling through the region as tensions threaten to boil over.Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his call for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire and appealed “to all to pull back from the brink before the violence claims even more lives and spreads even farther.”
He told the U.N. Security Council’s monthly Middle East meeting—which has been turned into a high-level event with more than a dozen foreign ministers flying to New York—that the rules of war must be obeyed.
Israel Counters ‘Holocaust Denial-like Phenomenon’ by Releasing Unedited Footage of Hamas Attack
The Israeli government screened a graphic and unedited 43-minute compilation video showing atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists during their Oct. 7 attack on Israel.The screening took place on Oct. 23 at a base in Tel Aviv and was attended by foreign journalists, Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy revealed. It was created from various sources, including body cameras worn by Hamas terrorists, vehicle dashboard cameras, social media accounts, and cellphone videos.
Blinken Says Ceasefire ‘Would Allow Hamas to Remain’ and Carry out Future Attacks
Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeatedly avoided endorsing calls for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel–Hamas conflict, insisting Israel not only has the right to defend itself after an unprecedented attack by the Hamas terrorist group, but also to make sure Hamas cannot carry out similar attacks in the future.The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been trading fire with Hamas for more than two weeks after Hamas terrorists breached the Gaza barrier and killed hundreds of civilians on Oct. 7.
“No country can be expected to tolerate this, to live with this. And as we’ve said from the start, Israel has both the right and even the obligation not only to defend itself but to try to make sure that, to the best of its ability, this can’t happen again,” Mr. Blinken said in an interview with CBS News host Margaret Brennan on Sunday.
Obama Says Israel Has Right to Defend Itself But Warns Military Strategy That Ignores Human Cost Could Backfire
Former President Barack Obama has reiterated his stance that Israel has a right to defend itself but warns that “any military strategy that ignores” the loss of civilian lives in Gaza could backfire for Israel and its allies.In a new Oct. 23 post shared on Medium, his second since the start of the conflict, President Obama called the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the terrorist group Hamas “horrific,” and applauded America’s stance of rightly declaring “solidarity with the Israeli people.”
US Issues Warning to Ships in Red Sea
The United States is issuing a new warning to ships traveling through the Red Sea after a drone and missile attack launched from Yemen during the Israel–Hamas war.The U.S. Maritime Administration on Tuesday urged vessels to “exercise caution when transiting this region.”
The U.S. Navy says it shot down missiles and drones believed to have been launched by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in recent days amid wider tensions across the Middle East over the war.
Hezbollah-allied Politician Says Lebanon Won’t Initiate War With Israel
A prominent Lebanese Christian politician allied with Hezbollah said Tuesday that Lebanon would not initiate a war with Israel but would defend itself if attacked.The comments by Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement of former President Michel Aoun, came as sporadic clashes continue on the Lebanese border with Israel between Hezbollah and armed Palestinian groups in Lebanon on one side and Israeli forces on the other.
“No one can drag us into war unless the Israeli enemy attacks us, and then we will be forced to defend ourselves,” Mr. Bassil said after a meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, another Hezbollah ally. Mr. Bassil also spoke by phone to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Monday. “All the Lebanese agree that they do not want war, but that does not mean that we should allow ourselves to be attacked without a response.”
Released Hostage Says She Was Beaten With Sticks When Kidnapped
Yocheved Lifshitz, an 85-year-old woman released by Hamas, told reporters Tuesday that the terrorists beat her with sticks, bruising her ribs and making it hard to breathe, as they kidnapped her during their attack on towns in southern Israel on Oct. 7.They drove her into Gaza, then forced her to walk several miles on wet ground to reach a network of tunnels that looked like a spider web, she said. Ms. Lifshitz is one of only four hostages to be released—and the first to speak publicly—of the more than 220 believed held by Hamas.
She said the people assigned to guard her “told us they are people who believe in the Quran and wouldn’t hurt us.”
Ms. Lifshitz, whose husband remains a hostage, said that after she and four other people were taken into a room, they were treated well, conditions were clean, and they received medical care, including medication. They ate one meal a day of cheese and cucumber, she said, adding that her captors ate the same.
White House Says Iran ‘Actively Facilitating’ Some Attacks on US Military Bases
The White House on Monday said Iran was in some cases “actively facilitating” rocket and drone attacks by Iranian-backed proxy groups on U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria, and President Joe Biden has directed the Department of Defense to brace for more and respond appropriately.White House spokesman John Kirby said there had been an uptick in such attacks over the last week, and especially over the last few days, but the United States would not allow threats to its interests in the region to “go unchallenged.”
He said the United States believed these groups were supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard and the Iranian government, which was also continuing to support the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist groups.
“We know that Iran is closely monitoring these events, and in some cases, actively facilitating these attacks and spurring on others who may want to exploit the conflict for their own good, or for that of Iran,” he said.
Macron Says France Stands ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ With Israel
French President Emmanuel Macron vowed on Tuesday not to leave Israel isolated in its fight against Islamist terrorists, but warned against the risks of a regional conflict as he arrived in Israel.After meeting with families of French victims at Tel Aviv airport, Macron told President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem that France stood “shoulder to shoulder” with Israel and that the first objective should be to free hostages in Gaza.
“I want you to be sure that you’re not left alone in this war against terrorism,” Mr. Macron said. “It is our duty to fight against terrorism, without any confusion and without enlarging this conflict.”
Beyond showing solidarity with Israel, Mr. Macron wanted to make “proposals that are as operational as possible” to prevent an escalation, to free hostages, and guarantee Israel’s security and work toward a two-state solution, presidential advisers said. He will push for a humanitarian truce, they added.
Freed Israeli Grandmother Is Peace Activist Who Helped Sick Gazans, Grandson Says
Yocheved Lifshitz, an Israeli grandmother released by Hamas terrorists on Monday, is a peace activist who together with her husband helped sick Palestinians in Gaza get to hospital for years, her grandson told Reuters.The Palestinian terrorists said they released Ms. Lifshitz, 85, and a second woman, Nurit Cooper, 79, on health grounds, after taking them and more than 200 others hostage during an Oct. 7 gun rampage in Israel in which the shooters killed 1,400 people.
Ms. Lifshitz and her 83-year old husband, Oded, were kidnapped from their home at the Nir Oz kibbutz, close to the border with Gaza in southern Israel, the Israeli prime minister’s office said late on Monday. Oded remained captive, it added.
“They are human rights activists, peace activists for all their life,” grandson Daniel Lifshitz told Reuters in Tel Aviv before the release was confirmed.
Almost 20,000 Displaced in Lebanon as Clashes on Israel Border Escalate
Almost 20,000 people have been internally displaced in south Lebanon and elsewhere since early October, a U.N. agency said on Monday, as violence escalates on the Lebanese–Israeli border following the eruption of the Gaza war.The International Organization for Migration said 19,646 people had been displaced inside Lebanon since it began tracking movements on Oct. 8, the day after an assault on Israel by Hamas terrorists and an Israeli counteroffensive on Gaza.
It said the movements were mostly by those fleeing the south of Lebanon, while some people have also moved from other areas.
At Least 10 Britons Killed in Israel–Hamas Conflict: UK Minister
At least 10 British nationals have been killed in the conflict between Israel and Hamas and a further six remain missing, junior British finance minister Victoria Atkins told Times Radio on Tuesday.In a separate interview, Ms. Atkins said the government believed those six Britons were being held hostage.
“They are our absolute priority,” she told Sky News.
Hamas on Monday said it had freed two Israeli women who were among the more than 200 hostages taken during its Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel.
Qatar’s Emir: Israel Shouldn’t Get Unrestricted OK to Kill
Qatar’s ruling emir on Tuesday urged the international community not to grant Israel “unrestricted authorization to kill” Palestinians in its fight against Hamas, in what he called a dangerous escalation that threatens global security.“We say enough. Israel shouldn’t be granted an unconditional green light and unrestricted authorization to kill,” Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said in an annual speech to open the Gulf Arab state’s advisory Shura council, his first public comments since Qatar began its most recent efforts to mediate between Israel and Hamas.
The Palestinian health ministry said the Gaza death toll had topped 5,000 in two weeks of Israeli air strikes in response to Hamas’s surprise Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, in which the Islamist terrorist group killed more than 1,400 people and captured more than 200 hostages.
