U.S. official provides background on the Biden administration’s view of the U.N. vote
The Biden administration believes that as long as Hamas clings onto its bellicose ideology, any ceasefire would be temporary at best and dangerous at worst, both to Israelis and Palestinians, a U.S. official told NBC News, providing rationale behind its U.N. vote against a ceasefire in Gaza.
The draft also had multiple omissions and failed to condemn Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 that killed over 1,200 people and alleged sexual violence, the official said, adding that the U.S. had also offered an amendment that rejects and condemns the atrocities.
While acknowledging that it matters how Israel defends itself, the official said the U.S. emphasized Israel’s right to do so, a statement absent from the draft resolution.
Seven Palestinians killed in West Bank, Palestinian ministry says
Israeli forces continued to operate in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, killing at least seven Palestinians since yesterday, the Palestinian Information Ministry said on Telegram today.
The IDF also arrested 12 Palestinians and imposed a complete siege on the neighborhood, it said, adding it bombed several homes and destroyed infrastructure.
Schools were instructed to transition to distance learning in towns invaded by IDF, the ministry said. Israeli military also launched “a campaign of house raids and arrests of citizens” this morning, it added.
NBC News has not verified the claims.
Aid into Gaza has largely stopped, U.N. says
Aid into Gaza has largely stopped, according to a statement released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs yesterday.
This, in large part, is due to the “intensity of hostilities and restrictions on movement along the main roads.”
Limited aid distributions, however, are still entering the Rafah in the southernmost portion of the Gaza Strip.
A Palestinian family home is destroyed during West Bank raid
Members of the Baajawi family walk through the remains of their home, damaged during an Israeli army raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank last night. Violence has escalated in the occupied territories since the war broke out, with around 270 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire and settler attacks in the West Bank since October 7, according to Palestinian officials.
Charges in Beverly Hills attack on Jewish couple could amount to life in prison
The suspect in an attack on a Jewish couple walking to a Beverly Hills, California, synagogue was charged Tuesday with multiple felony counts that could add up to life in prison.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced the charges at a news conference, saying rising antisemitic violence and other hate crimes will not be tolerated under his leadership.
The vow came amid a spate of violent and hateful incidents targeting Jews and people of Arab heritage against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war.
“Our nation is facing a crisis of hate crime, and these cases are symptoms of that,” Gascón said, adding that his office will “continue to aggressively prosecute these cases.”
Bodies of two hostages recovered, IDF says
The bodies of two hostages, who were taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, have been recovered, according to a statement released by the IDF.
Eden Zakaria, 27, was taken hostage from the Re’im music festival. Master Sgt. Ziv Dado, 36, meanwhile, was working in the army at the time of the attack.
“Locating the missing and bringing the hostages home is a national mission,” said the statement.
U.S. Defense Secretary will visit Israel, Bahrain and Qatar to seek maritime protection
The Pentagon announced Tuesday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Israel, Bahrain and Qatar next week as the U.S. continues to press allies to commit to an international maritime task force to protect commercial ships in the Red Sea as those ships have come under increased attacks.
Austin will also meet with his defense counterparts in Tel Aviv to show continued U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself but also press the need for Israel to avoid more civilian casualties in Gaza.
Late Monday, a land-based cruise missile launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen hit the Motor Transport ship STRINDA, causing a fire. The USS Mason, a destroyer, responded to assist the ship.
UNGA calls for Gaza ceasefire
The U.N. General Assembly vote on a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza in New York City, late yesterday. The U.S., Israel and a handful of other countries voted against the measure.
Biden warns Netanyahu that Israel is losing support worldwide and its government must ‘change’
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden appeared Tuesday to offer his harshest criticism yet of the Israeli government since Hamas’ terrorist attack on Oct. 7, saying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a “tough decision to make.”
“I think he has to change, and with this government, this government in Israel is making it very difficult for him to move,” he said.
Biden made the remarks at an off-camera campaign reception in Washington on Tuesday afternoon, suggesting that Netanyahu’s government is hindering a long-term solution.
The president said that far-right members of the Israeli government, like National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, don’t want a two-state solution with the Palestinians and that changes must be made to the government.
Highlights from NBC News’ reporting relating to the war
