Day 6 of the latest Israel-Palestinian war
The Israeli government is under intense public pressure to topple Hamas after its militants stormed through a border fence Saturday and killed hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival.
In the Gaza Strip, meanwhile, residents are facing ever-growing uncertainty after the territory's only power plant ran out of fuel and shut down Wednesday. Without power, communication is limited and information is scarce.
Egypt has engaged in intensive talks with Israel and the United States to allow the delivery of aid and fuel through its Rafah crossing point, which remained closed on both sides Thursday. However, Egypt pushed back against proposals to establish corridors out of Gaza, saying an an exodus of Palestinians from the enclave would have grave consequences on the Palestinian cause.
The war, which has claimed more than 2,500 lives on both sides, is expected to escalate.
Here's what's happening on Day 6 of the latest Israel-Palestinian war:
ESTONIA REPORTS DEATH OF ESTONIAN-ISRAELI MAN
TALLINN, Estonia — Estonia's government says a man with dual Estonian-Israeli citizenship is among the dead in the attacks launched on Israel by Hamas last Saturday.
Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told reporters during a news conference on Thursday that more detailed information about the man wouldn't be provided, in accordance with his family's wishes.
There are still 22 citizens of the Baltic country in Israel at present, the minister said, while 35 citizens have left the country since the wave of attacks began.
US DEATH TOLL IN ISRAEL RISES TO AT LEAST 25
TEL AVIV — The number of U.S. citizens who have died in the Israel-Palestinian war has risen to at least 25, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday during a visit Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
That's an increase from 22 on Wednesday. The State Department previously said at least 17 more Americans remain unaccounted for.
MEDIA REPORTS: ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES ON AIRPORTS IN SYRIA
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria's pro-government media reports that Israeli airstrikes have targeted the airports of the capital city Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, damaging their runways.
Al-Watan Daily and Dama Post did not give further details other than both airports are out of service.
They were the first Israeli strikes on Syria since the militant Palestinian group Hamas carried out its deadly attacks in southern Israel.
Earlier this year, the airports of Damascus and Aleppo were hit several times.
NETANYAHU PRAISES BLINKEN'S VISIT TO ISRAEL
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed journalists on Thursday in Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu praised Blinken's visit as a "tangible example of America's unequivocable support of Israel."
"President Biden was absolutely correct in calling this 'sheer evil,'" Netanyahu said, referring to Hamas' unprecedented attack Saturday on Israel.
They shook hands after Netanyahu's remarks.
Blinken said that he came before journalists "not just as secretary of state, but also a Jew" while recounting his own family's history of surviving the Holocaust.
"So prime minister, I understand on a personal level, the harrowing echoes that Hamas' massacres carry for Israeli Jews, as well as Jews everywhere," Blinken said.
ISLAMIC GROUP CONDEMNS ISRAEL'S AIRSTRIKES IN GAZA
JERUSALEM — The 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Thursday strongly condemned what it called the "ongoing Israeli military aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip."
"The OIC considers this brutal aggression against the Palestinian people a blatant international and humanitarian law violation and a war crime," it said in a statement. It cited the killing and wounding of women and children, the destruction of civilian buildings and other locations.
The OIC said it held Israel "fully responsible" for the "repercussions of the continuation of this sinful aggression."
The OIC, based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, broadly aligns itself with the thinking of Saudi Arabia's rulers. That suggests the ongoing war likely will affect the ongoing efforts by the United States to broker a deal that could see Saudi Arabia diplomatically recognize Israel.
ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES HAVE BLOCKED THE OPERATION OF THE RAFAH CROSSING, EGYPT SAYS
CAIRO — Egypt's Foreign Ministry denied Thursday it had officially closed the Rafah crossing and said Israeli airstrikes have prevented it from operating.
In the statement, the ministry called on all countries and international organizations wishing to provide humanitarian aid to deliver supplies to el-Arish International Airport, in Egypt's northern Sinai. Hamas' border authorities said Tuesday that an Israel airstrike hit the no-man's land between Gaza and Egypt, blocking the road with a large crater.
ICRC SAYS IT'S IN TOUCH WITH HAMAS, ISRAELI AUTHORITIES ABOUT ISRAELI HOSTAGES
The International Committee of the Red Cross on Thursday said it was in touch with Hamas and Israeli authorities as part of efforts to secure the release of Israeli hostages who are believed to be held in the Gaza Strip.
"As a neutral intermediary we stand ready to conduct humanitarian visits, facilitate communication between hostages and family members and to facilitate any eventual release," said Fabrizio Carboni, the group's Middle East regional director.
The Mideast emirate of Qatar, a frequent mediator between Israel and Hamas, has also confirmed its involvement in the negotiations.
Carboni appealed to Israel to allow badly needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza as Palestinians face staggering supply shortages following Israel's decision to impose a siege on the crowded territory.
CZECH GOVERNMENT TO ALLOW ISRAELIS TO RETURN HOME ON CZECH PLANES
PRAGUE — The Czech Foreign Ministry said it has agreed with a request from Israel to allow Israeli citizens to fly home on Czech government planes evacuating Czech citizens from Israel. The ministry said the Israeli nationals need to return home for humanitarian and family reasons, or to join the military following the attacks by Hamas.
An unspecified number of Israel's citizens were aboard a Czech plane that took off from Prague on Thursday. Another such plane is scheduled to fly to Israel later in the day.
INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS WORKING TO MOBILIZE SUPPLIES, STAFF ALREADY IN GAZA
CAIRO — Fabrizio Carboni, the International Committee of the Red Cross's regional director, said the aid group's first aim is to mobilize the medical supplies, fuel and staff already within Gaza — particularly those that could support medical facilities.
Speaking to journalists at an online presser, he said that aid delivery through the Rafah crossing requires both a political agreement and also a security deal so that needed supplies can safely reach affected areas.
"I fear that what's coming next is going to be at least as challenging as what we're seeing now." Carboni said.
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM X REMOVES HUNDREDS OF HAMAS-LINKED ACCOUNTS
LONDON — The head of Elon Musk's social media platform X says it has removed hundreds of Hamas-linked accounts and taken down or labeled thousands of pieces of content since the militant group's attack on Israel.
CEO Linda Yaccarino on Thursday outlined efforts by X, formerly known as Twitter, to get a handle on illegal content flourishing on the platform following a warning from a top European Union official, who requested information on how X is complying during the Israel-Hamas war with tough new EU digital rules aimed at cleaning up social media platforms.
The new Digital Services Act mandates social media companies step up policing of their platforms for illegal content, under threat of hefty fines.
2 PALESTINIANS ARE GUNNED DOWN AT A FUNERAL IN THE OCCUPIED WEST BANK
ISRAEL — The Palestinian Health Ministry reported Thursday that two Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank when Israeli settlers sprayed bullets at a funeral for three Palestinians who had been killed in a settler rampage the day before. Footage showed Jewish settlers in their cars swerving into the funeral procession and cutting off the road to the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, before stopping and opening fire.
Health authorities identified the two men killed as a father and son: 62-year-old Ibrahim al-Wadi, a local official in the secular nationalist Fatah party; and 25-year-old Ahmed al-Wadi, an off-duty Palestinian security officer.
Residents near the northern West Bank city of Nablus and north of Ramallah reported that armed settlers have rampaged through villages and hurled stones at passing Palestinian cars after the unprecedented Hamas militant attack on Israel on Saturday.
220 EVACUEES ARRIVE IN MADRID FROM TEL AVIV
MADRID — Spain's foreign ministry says a plane evacuating 220 people from Tel Aviv landed in Madrid late Wednesday, bringing to 429 the number of people flown out of the city on Spanish flights in two days.
The Wednesday flight included 149 Spaniards, 15 people from other European Union countries, 36 from Latin America and 20 from other countries, a foreign ministry statement said.
The previous day's flight brought out 209 people, 185 of them Spaniards.
FRANCE MAKES 24 ARRESTS FOR ANTISEMITIC ACTS SINCE HAMAS ATTACKED ISRAEL
PARIS — France's interior minister is reporting 24 arrests for antisemitic acts in the country since Hamas attacked Israel and says that online hate is surging.
"Since the end of the day Saturday, since the terrorist massacres in Israel, there have been more than 100 antisemitic acts, essentially graffiti — swastikas, 'death to Jews,' calls for an intifada against Israel," said the minister, Gerald Darmanin. Speaking Thursday on France Inter radio, he said there have also been people caught with knives near Jewish schools and synagogues and a drone equipped with a camera that was spotted flying over a Jewish cultural center. Because of stepped-up police security around Jewish sites, "we were able to detain a large proportion of these people" with 24 arrests, he said.
Online, "hatred is surging," he added, with more than 2,000 cases of antisemitic speech reported to a French online watchdog force, he said.
ISRAEL IS TRYING TO IDENTIFY THOSE MISSING SINCE SATURDAY'S ATTACK
JERUSALEM — The Israeli official overseeing the effort to return hostages taken by Hamas says the government is still trying to identify all of those missing or taken captive in Saturday's attack.
In a statement, Gal Hirsch said his office is working "to formulate an assessment of the situation" and to assist the families of the captives and missing. "The searches in the field are continuing and the difficult work of identifying the bodies continues," said Hirsch, a former general who was appointed after the incursion by Hamas on Saturday.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesperson, said Thursday that the army has notified the families of 97 Israelis believed to be in Hamas captivity.
BEIJING CONFIRMS 3 CHINESE NATIONALS DIED IN LATEST GAZA WAR
BEIJING — China said Thursday that three Chinese nationals have been confirmed dead in the latest Israel-Palestinian war. Two others are missing and several have been injured, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said. He urged authorities to make every effort to search for and rescue the missing.
The Chinese Embassy in Israel reported earlier in the week that a young woman of Israeli and Chinese heritage was among the scores of hostages taken by Hamas fighters.
China's Mideast envoy, Zhai Jun, discussed the crisis with Amal Jadou, the first deputy foreign minister of Palestine, in a phone call Wednesday.
IN PHONE CALL, PRESIDENTS OF SYRIA AND IRAN SAY THEY STAND BEHIND PALESTINIANS
DAMASCUS, Syria — The presidents of Iran and Syria have discussed by telephone the situation in the Gaza Strip, expressing both countries' support for the Palestinian people.
Syria's state news agency SANA reported that Syria's Bashar Assad and Iran's Ebrahim Raisi said they stand behind the Palestinian people who are "being subjected to crimes and have the right to resist to defend their legitimate cause to gain back their rights."
Assad was quoted by SANA as saying that Israel's policies are leading to bloodshed in the region and called on Arab and Muslim countries to work on defending the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza.
HAMAS SAYS IT WON'T BE DETERED BY NETANYAHU'S UNITY GOVERNMENT
Hamas responded defiantly Thursday to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement the day before that he and opposition leader Benny Gantz had formed a national unity government to lead the country in its war on the Hamas militant group.
Hamas officials vowed that Israel's united front would not "intimidate or deter the resistance."
"We have been preparing for this attack for years," said Mohammad Nazzal, a senior Hamas official. "The resistance fighters have prepared to engage in the most vicious of battles for many months."
