Page 4 - Michael Conte News Today

Israel's military says it is surrounding Gaza City as its bombardment of the strip intensifies, with the skies of northern Gaza illuminated by flares and explosions late Thursday night. Follow for live updates.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called it "striking" and "shocking" that the brutality of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel "has receded so quickly in the memories of so many" during a news conference in Tel Aviv on Friday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that his government opposed any temporary ceasefire in Gaza unless Hamas freed all the hostages it holds.

The United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) released audio interviews with three women currently taking shelter in Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza describing their desperate situation.

The United States believes Israel is "making efforts to try to minimize civilian casualties," National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said Thursday — but he declined repeatedly to say whether President Joe Biden's administration sees Israel as having tried to minimize civilian deaths in its airstrikes on the Jabalya refugee camp.

All 22 staff members of Doctors Without Borders International, who were unable to leave Gaza since October 7, have successfully entered Egypt via the Rafah border crossing, the organization said Wednesday. 

Israel says the next stage of war with Hamas has begun after expanding its ground operations in Gaza. Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis in the enclave is deepening. Follow for live updates.

An Israel Defense Forces attack caused a massive blast at the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza, leaving many casualties, officials in both countries said.

Approximately 400 American citizens and their family members – about 1,000 people total – are stuck in Gaza and are seeking to leave, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Tuesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear on Monday that Israel would not agree to a ceasefire, drawing parallels to the United States’ position after Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the September 11 attacks in 2001.