Netanyahu rejects Palestinian state Biden is pushing for
French shipping giant CMA CGM to avoid Red Sea and Suez Canal after attacks on commercial vessels
Following the recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea by Houthi militants based in Yemen, the French shipping giant CMA CGM Group said today that it is rerouting vessels.
The company says it is adopting contingency measures on several services crossing the Suez Canal to ensure the safety of its vessels and crews navigating the area.
Services will be rerouted from the Suez Canal and start traveling via the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, CMA CGM said.
Children in Gaza clamor for food at a makeshift soup kitchen
Crowds of Palestinian children were seen holding old kitchen pots and containers at the gates of a makeshift soup kitchen in the southern city of Rafah yesterday.
In a video shot by an NBC News team on the ground, several dozen Palestinians — some wrapped in jackets and others barefoot — are seen waiting as workers prepared large cauldrons of soup with pasta shells to hand out. As workers begin to ration out the soup in various bowls, some children clamored at the gates amid shouts and childish cheers.
A man on video behind the rush of young kids is heard pleading in Arabic.
He waves his pot, asking for a serving and says: “Please, brother. I’m with 25 people. I come every day. We’ve been displaced for three months, no electricity and no water, not even a biscuit.”
The United Nations and humanitarian groups have warned that much of Gaza’s population is at the risk of famine and starvation.
Pakistan tells Iran it wants to build trust after tit-for-tat strikes
Pakistan expressed its willingness to work with Iran on “all issues” in a call between their foreign ministers today after both countries exchanged drone and missile strikes on militant bases in each other’s territory.
The tit-for-tat strikes by the two countries are the highest-profile cross-border intrusions in recent years and have raised alarm about wider instability in the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted Oct. 7.
However, both sides have already signaled a desire to cool tensions, although they have had a history of rocky relations.
Iran said that yesterday’s strikes killed nine people in a border village in its territory, including four children. Pakistan said the Iranian attack Tuesday killed two children.
The contacts come as Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar began a meeting of the National Security Committee, with all the military services chiefs in attendance, a source in his office said. The meeting aims at a “broad national security review in the aftermath of the Iran-Pakistan incidents,” Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said.
UNICEF pleads to stop ‘war on children’ in Gaza
The United Nations children’s agency is calling for an immediate end to the killing of Gazan children as it says the situation inside the enclave has gone from “catastrophic to near collapse” in the last three months.
“UNICEF has described the Gaza Strip as the most dangerous place in the world to be a child,” Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban said in his report after a three-day visit to Gaza released late yesterday.
“We have said this is a war on children,” he said. “But these truths do not seem to be getting through.”
Palestinian health officials said today that 24,762 people have been killed in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. Of the almost 25,000 dead, health officials said last month that 70% were women and children.
IDF soldiers patrol against a backdrop of destruction
An Israeli tank rolls along the border in southern Israel today, as the shattered ruins of homes in northern Gaza appear in the background.
Israel will carry on until goals of the war are achieved, Israeli defense minister tells U.S.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told his U.S. counterpart in a call last night that Israel was committed to the war in Gaza until its goals are met.
Speaking with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Gallant “emphasized the determination of the State of Israel and the defense establishment within it, to continue operating until the goals of the war are achieved, namely — the destruction of Hamas’ military and governing capabilities and the return of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza,” according to the read-out of the call from Gallant’s office.
The U.S. has been pushing Israel to reduce the intensity of its air and ground campaign in Gaza, amid mounting civilian causalities.
Earlier this week, Gallant said Israel has ended its “intensive” phase of operations in northern Gaza and will soon do the same in southern Gaza, as the IDF also announced that it was pulling one of four divisions out of the Gaza Strip for “a period of refreshment and training.”
Palestine Red Crescent ambulance damaged after West Bank raid
A damaged ambulance in a refugee camp in Tulkarem, in the occupied West Bank today, where the IDF carried out overnight raids.
New proposals in hostage talks but no deal is imminent, senior administration official tells NBC News
There are new proposals on the table for another deal to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza, but an agreement is still some way away, a senior administration official has told NBC News.
It will take at least another few weeks to arrive at any deal as the sides are still quite a ways apart, said the official.
More than 130 hostages, including Americans, are believed to still be held in Gaza. More than 100 were freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in a truce deal last year, but the families of remaining hostages have been desperate for any information on the fate of their loved ones.
The official said the latest proposals have the same contours as earlier talks and would see hostages being released in exchange for a pause in fighting, but that there has also been a maximalist proposal to get all the Israeli and American hostages out in exchange for a cease-fire, with a possible caveat surrounding the hostages who served in the Israeli military.
Washington sees some softening within the Israeli system to a longer pause or cease-fire, the official added, because Israel is under intense pressure to get the hostages home.
Hostage’s mom accuses world leaders of failing them
DAVOS, Switzerland — She traveled to Davos with only one thing in mind: to plead with world leaders to secure the release of the hostages who remain in Hamas captivity, including her son Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
“This is a slow motion trauma,” Rachel Goldberg told NBC News today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “A truck has been running over us slowly for more than 100 days.”
“To me, it’s so obvious that when civilians are dragged from their beds, the world should unite and say we are going to get them home,” added Goldberg, who wears a number on her heart representing the number of days her son has been held. Today, it said 104.
Of the 240 Israelis taken Oct. 7, around 100 remain in captivity after scores were freed as part of an exchange for Palestinian prisoners in late November.
As world leaders debated the possibility of a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, Goldberg said she thought everyone “using the hostages and everyone has failed them.”
“There are lots of competing interests in the negotiations but I only have one interest,” she added. “His name is Hersh. To me, Hersh is my universe but he is not theirs.”
Houthi official says Russian, Chinese ships are safe from Red Sea attacks
Russian and Chinese ships in the Red Sea are guaranteed safety, a member of the Houthi rebel group’s political wing has said.
The Yemen-based militants, backed by Iran, have targeted international shipping in what they say are attacks aimed at supporting Hamas in its confrontation with Israel, prompting retaliatory strikes from the U.S. and its partners. But it appears the Houthis are making an exception for Russia and China, both of which have called for a cease-fire in Gaza and have been more rhetorically sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.
“As for all other countries, including Russia and China, their shipping in the region is not threatened,” Muhammad al-Buheiti, a political member of the Houthis, told Russia’s pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper.
“Moreover, we are ready to ensure the safety of the passage of their ships in the Red Sea, because free navigation plays a significant role for our country,” al-Buheiti added.
IDF says it killed Islamic Jihad propaganda deputy
The Israel Defense Forces has said it killed a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza who served as the militant group’s propaganda deputy.
The IDF said in a joint statement with Israel’s intelligence agency Shin Bet that it targeted Wael Abu-Fanounah with a “precise” airstrike yesterday. It said Abu-Fanounah was the deputy head of Islamic Jihad’s “psychological warfare operations” and was responsible for publishing videos of the Islamic Jihad’s rocket attacks against Israel, and creation and distribution of documentation of the Israeli hostages.
NBC News was not able to verify the claims.
WHO warns about hepatitis A spread in ‘inhumane living conditions’
The head of the World Health Organization has warned that a lack of clean water and toilets in Gaza will enable the Hepatitis A virus to spread in the war-ravaged enclave.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X that kits supplied by the WHO have confirmed cases of hepatitis A, which he described as inflammation of the liver.
“Hepatitis A is usually mild but can occasionally cause severe disease,” he said, adding that 24 cases have been confirmed but that no deaths have been reported so far. Palestinian health officials reported 8,000 cases of viral hepatitis infection due to displacement yesterday.
“The inhumane living conditions — barely any clean water, clean toilets and possibility to keep the surroundings clean — will enable Hepatitis A to spread further and highlight how explosively dangerous the environment is for the spread of disease,” Ghebreyesus said, adding that capacity of disease testing and diagnosis remains “extremely limited” in Gaza, with no functioning laboratory.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its report yesterday the availability of water for drinking and domestic use in Gaza is “shrinking” each day.
Mother and daughter injured after strikes in Khan Younis
An injured Palestinian mother and her daughter are brought to Nasser Hospital for treatment following Israeli attacks in Khan Younis, Gaza, today.
Israeli war Cabinet member says pre-emptive attack against Hezbollah was called off last-minute
TEL AVIV — An Israeli pre-emptive strike against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon was called off at the last minute early on in the war, a member of Israel’s war Cabinet has told local media.
Speaking on Israel’s Channel 12 TV, Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff, said he had been among those arguing against a pre-emptive strike, which he said would have been a “strategic mistake” that would have risked sparking a regional war.
He said objections he and others raised during a Cabinet session in early October played a key role in preventing the attack.
Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, there have been regular exchanges of fire between the IDF and Hezbollah, which controls much of Lebanon’s south. But, so far, there has been no broader expansion of the war onto a second front with Hezbollah.
U.S. says it will keep pushing Israel on Palestinian statehood despite Netanyahu’s dismissal
The Biden administration has made clear it will keep pushing for Israel to embrace a path to the creation of a Palestinian state, despite Netanyahu’s public rejection of the idea.
“If we took such statements as the final word, there would be no humanitarian assistance going into Gaza and no hostages released,” a senior administration official told NBC News in response to Netanyahu’s comments. “As with those and many other issues, we will continue to work toward the right outcome, particularly on issues where we strongly disagree,” the official said.
There is “no way” to solve Israel’s security issues and the Gaza war without a Palestinian state, the State Department said after Netanyahu’s comments put him at odds with Israel’s biggest ally.
In a briefing yesterday, spokesman Matthew Miller said Israel has “a historic opportunity” to deal with challenges that it has faced since its founding — in countries in the region who are “ready to step up and further integrate with Israel” and provide “real security assurances” to Israel.
“There is no way to solve their long-term challenges to provide lasting security, and there is no way to solve the short-term challenges of rebuilding Gaza and establishing governance in Gaza, and providing security for Gaza, without the establishment of a Palestinian state,” Miller said.
The U.S. has been pushing for Israel to scale back its ground and aerial campaign in Gaza, and work toward a resolution to the conflict based on the “two-state solution,” a peace formula that would create a state for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza alongside Israel.
But Netanyahu was defiant in a news conference last night and said that he has made clear to Washington that Israel must control the security of all the territory “west of the Jordan river,” a necessary condition which he said “conflicts with the idea of sovereignty.”
U.S. reports third Houthi attack on commercial ships in 3 days
The Iran-backed Houthi militants launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at a U.S.-owned tanker ship late yesterday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said, but there were no injuries or damage to the ship.
CENTCOM said the third such attack in three days took place at approximately 9 p.m. local time (1 p.m. ET) and targeted M/V Chem Ranger, a Marshall Island-flagged but U.S.-owned and Greek-operated tanker ship.
“The crew observed the missiles impact the water near the ship,” CENTCOM said in a post on X. “There were no reported injuries or damage to the ship. The ship has continued underway.”
It’s the latest in a string of Houthi attacks amid a growing escalation in the Red Sea that has disrupted global trade and provoked retaliatory strikes by the U.S. and its allies, raising fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spill into a wide-ranging Middle East conflict.
Calls for restraint after Iran and Pakistan trade missile strikes
The United Nations and world powers called on Iran and Pakistan to exercise restraint after both countries carried out strikes this week on militants in each other’s territory.
“All security concerns between the two countries must be addressed by peaceful means,” a spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement yesterday.
The White House also said it was closely monitoring the situation and did not want to see an escalation, with Biden saying the clashes showed that Iran “is not particularly well liked in the region.”
Russia said it was “regrettable” that this was happening between two members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional forum founded by Russia and China.
“Further aggravation of the situation plays into the hands of those who are not interested in peace, stability and security in the region,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
China, which has close ties with both Iran and Pakistan, said it “sincerely hopes that the two sides will remain calm,” offering to mediate if necessary.
Lives shattered in southern Gaza
A woman sits amid the ruins of homes damaged in Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, in southern Gaza yesterday.
Top Houthi leader says they are at war with the U.S.
JERUSALEM — The U.S. military attacked Houthi targets inside Yemen for the fifth time in retaliation for attacks in the Red Sea after the Biden administration formally re-designated the Houthis as a terrorist organization.
NBC News spoke with a top commander of the Houthis who claims the group is at war with the U.S.
Catch up with our latest coverage of the war
