Israel targets southern Gaza with airstrikes after cease-fire with Hamas collapses

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Left-wing activist billionaire George Soros is facing intense criticism from Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. for pumping over $15 million into a network of nongovernmental organizations that allegedly support Hamas.

"George Soros’ donations to organizations that seek the destruction of the State of Israel as a Jewish state is shameful. However, I am not surprised," Israeli ambassador Gilad Erdan told Fox News Digital.

Hamas launched a full-blown invasion into southern Israel Oct. 7, resulting in the mass murder of 1,200 people, including over 30 Americans. Hamas also took more than 200 hostages. American citizens were among civilians kidnapped by the jihadi terrorist entity.

"For years, Soros has backed and transferred money to organizations supporting BDS that want to isolate Israel," added Erdan, who has been leading the diplomatic campaign at the U.N. to spell out Hamas’ crimes against humanity. "They have never been about real peace or any solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

BDS is an abbreviation for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign targeting the Jewish state. The German and Austrian parliaments classified BDS as an antisemitic movement that resembles the Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses during the nascent phase of the Holocaust.

Rachel Ehrenfeld, author of "The Soros Agenda," told Fox News Digital, "Support of pro-Hamas, pro-Palestinian groups in the U.S. is not limited to foreign entities. It also comes directly and indirectly from U.S.-based foundations. George and Alexander Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF) is one of them."

Fox News'  Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.

Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., tells "FOX News Live" that he "worries" about Israel’s "tactical strategies" that could make it "harder to find peace."

US forces provide military training in the Qamisli district in the Al-Hasakah province, Syria on August 18, 2023. (Photo by Hedil Amir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A U.S. defense official tells Fox News that Iranian proxy groups have attacked American forces in the Middle East at least 75 times since October 17.

The most recent attack was on Friday, where multiple rockets targeted Patrol Base Shaddadi in Syria. There was no damage to infrastructure or any injuries to personnel.

36 of the strikes happened in Iraq, while 39 of the attacks occurred in Syria. Iranian proxy groups have been using a mix of rockets and one-way drones to target American forces.

The latest attack happened shortly after the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Carney shot down an Iranian-made drone launched by Houthis in Yemen.

"At the time of the shoot-down, the USS Carney was escorting the USNS SUPPLY (Oiler) and another U.S.-flagged and -crewed ship carrying military equipment to the region," U.S. Central Command said to Fox News Digital. "There were no injuries to U.S. personnel and no damage to U.S. vessels."

Fox News Digital's Liz Friden and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a virtual Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting at the Pentagon on November 22, 2023 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin criticized recent Iranian attacks on U.S. personnel in the Middle East at the Reagan National Defense Forum on Saturday.

Speaking from Simi Valley, California, Austin acknowledged that Iran is "raising tensions" by launching strikes against American forces in Iraq and Syria.

"We will not tolerate attacks on American personnel," Austin stated. "And so these attacks must stop."

"And until they do, we will do what we need to do to protect our troops and to impose costs on those who attack them," he continued.

The defense secretary also spoke about the Israel-Hamas war, arguing that protecting Gazan civilians is "both a moral responsibility and a strategic imperative."

"I personally pushed Israeli leaders to avoid civilian casualties and to shun irresponsible rhetoric and to prevent violence by settlers in the West Bank and to dramatically expand access humanitarian aid," Austin added.

Fox News Digital's Liz Friden contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Digital

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside the American Museum of Natural History in New York City to protest the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The protesters waved Palestinian flags and held up signs reading "Stop the Violence" and "Full Cease-Fire."

One large banner read "From the U.S. to Palestine, Abolish the Settle State." Some of the signs were critical of President Biden, with at least one calling him "Genocide Joe."

New York Police Department (NYPD) officers were at the scene of the protest. Officers were seen guarding the museum behind a barricade fence.

Israeli soldiers stand on tanks and armored vehicles near the border with the Gaza Strip on December 2, 2023 in Southern Border, Israel. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that Wessam Farhat, Hamas’ Shejaiya Battalion Commander, was killed by IDF fighter jets on Saturday.

In a joint statement with the Israel Security Agency (ISA), the IDF said that Farhat had commanded the battalion since 2010.

According to the IDF, Farhat was responsible for killing six Israeli soldiers during Operation Protective Edge in 2014. On October 7, the commander sent Hamas terrorists to Kibbutz Nahal Oz and the IDF post at Nahal Oz.

Farhat was involved in terroristic activities for approximately three decades.

"In 1995, while he was on his way to carry out a suicide attack in Israel, Farhat was apprehended by security forces and imprisoned in an Israeli prison for ten years," the IDF explained. "Following his return to Gaza, he worked in rocket production for the Hamas terrorist organization."

"Since the beginning of the war, the IDF and ISA have significantly degraded the Shejaiya Battalion’s capabilities, including the elimination of their senior commanders and the striking of terror infrastructure and weapons," the statement added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) walking during a hearing at the Magistrate's Court in Rishon Lezion on January 23, 2023. (Photo by ABIR SULTAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Saturday that a missing Israeli colonel was actually killed on October 7.

"Tonight it finally became clear that Col. Assaf Hamami, a hero of Israel, fell in a battle on October 7th," Netanyahu said. "Assaf was the southern brigade commander in the Gaza Division."

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Hamami was 41 years old and from Kiryat Ono, near Tel Aviv.

"Two weeks ago I met with his family," the prime minister explained. "We prayed together for a different result and unfortunately this result did not materialize."

"Assaf was a hero to all of us," he added. "May his memory be a blessing."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Deputy Chairman of the Movement's Political Bureau Saleh Al-Arouri makes a speech after signing the reconciliation agreement to build a consensus with Palestinian Fatah movement leader Azzam Al-Ahmad (not seen) in Cairo, Egypt on October 12, 2017. (Photo by Ahmed Gamil/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Deputy Hamas chief Saleh Al-Arouri told Al Jazeera the terrorist group will not release any more hostages until Israel declares a cease-fire in Gaza.

Al-Arouri claimed that the only hostages in Hamas custody that were kidnapped from Israel are either Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers or men who had previously served in the IDF.

The Hamas leader asserted that the hostages would not be released until all Palestinian prisoners are released amid another cease-fire.

"Let the war take its course," Arouri said. "This decision is final."

"We will not compromise on it," he added.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that before the temporary truce with Hamas, soldiers operating in Gaza found and destroyed several tunnels belonging to the terror group.

One tunnel shaft was discovered in the courtyard of a school complex and had a depth of dozens of meters, the IDF said. The discovery was made by troops with the 551st Reserve Brigade in the Beit Lahiya area in the northern Gaza Strip.

"The soldiers, in cooperation with special forces, worked to neutralize the underground infrastructure and they secured and isolated the areas to the north of Jabalia," IDF said. 

"As part of the activity, the soldiers neutralized terrorists, while cooperating with the IAF and the brigade’s intelligence and fire teams. In addition, the soldiers of the brigade destroyed enemy capabilities and terrorist targets, and seized a large amount of military equipment, including weapons, grenades, explosives, launchers and ammunition," the military added. 

US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Tripling Renewable Energy and Doubling Energy Efficiency by 2030 session at the COP28 United Nations climate summit in Dubai on December 2, 2023. The COP28 conference opened on December 1 with an early victory as nations agreed to launch a "loss and damage" fund for vulnerable countries devastated by natural disasters. (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday outlined the Biden administration's view of what post-war Gaza should look like while emphasizing that Israel has a right to self-defense. 

At a press conference in Dubai, Harris said the United States remains committed to securing the release of American hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza. She also said that Israel must abide by international humanitarian law as it conducts an offensive in Gaza to destroy the terrorist group. 

"As Israel pursues its military objectives in Gaza, we believe Israel must do more to protect innocent civilians. So we all want this conflict to end as soon as possible and to ensure Israel's security and ensure security for the Palestinian people," Harris said. 

After the war, the Biden administration seeks a unified Gaza and West Bank under the Palestinian Authority's governance. "No forcible displacement. No reoccupation. No siege or blockade. No reduction in territory and no use of Gaza as a platform for terrorism," Harris outlined. "We want to see a unified Gaza and West Bank under the Palestinian Authority. And Palestinian voices and aspirations must be at the center of this work." 

The vice president called for international cooperation to bring an end to the war and deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. 

"The international community must dedicate significant resources to support short and long term recovery in Gaza. For example, rebuilding hospitals and housing, restoring electricity and clean water, and ensuring that bakeries can reopen and be restocked," she said. 

Harris also called for the Palestinian Authority security services to assume security responsibilities in Gaza and reiterated that terrorists must not be permitted to threaten Israel.

"We have been clear the Palestinians have a right to dignity and self-determination. And Israelis and Palestinians must enjoy equal measures of prosperity and freedom," she said. "They also deserve all deserve a sense of safety and security. And a two state solution then remains the best path, we believe, toward a durable peace. The president and I are committed to that goal." 

Actress Susan Sarandon has apologized for her comments at a recent pro-Palestinian demonstration that resulted in her being dropped from a major Hollywood talent agency.

In a statement posted to social media on Friday evening, Sarandon called it a "terrible mistake" to claim at the rally that anger and hatred Jews had experienced in the wake of the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel was just a "taste" of the treatment that Muslims experience in this country.

In the lengthy Instagram post, the actress said, "Intending to communicate my concern for an increase in hate crimes, I said that Jewish Americans, as the targets of rising antisemitic hate, "are getting a taste of what it is like to be Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence."

"This phrasing was a terrible mistake," she continued, "as it implies that until recently Jews have been strangers to persecution, when the opposite is true. As we all know, from centuries of oppression and genocide in Europe, to the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh, PA, Jews have long been familiar with discrimination and religious violence which continues to this day."

The actress admonished herself again, adding, "I deeply regret diminishing this reality and hurting people with this comment. It was my intent to show solidarity in the struggle against bigotry of all kinds, and I am sorry I failed to do so."

Sarandon made her original controversial comments in front of a large pro-Palestinian crowd in Manhattan’s Union Square on November 17 to protest the ongoing Israel-Hamas War.

Fox News Digital's Gabriel Hays contributed to this post.

Israel Foreign Minister Eli Cohen speaks during a press conference at the European Office of the United Nations, Palais des Nation, in Geneva on November 14, 2023. (Photo by PIERRE ALBOUY/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen slammed the United Nations after its women's agency waited 57 days to condemn the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel. 

Late Friday, UN Women, the agency for "gender equality and women's empowerment," issued a statement saying, "We deeply regret that military operations have resumed in Gaza, and we reiterate that all women, Israeli women, Palestinian women, as all others, are entitled to a life lived in safety and free from violence."

"We unequivocally condemn the brutal attacks by Hamas on Israel on 7 October. We are alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks," the agency added.

That condemnation of Hamas' atrocities came 57 days after the horrific rape, torture and murder of women of all ages on Oct. 7. More than 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack. 

"The conduct of UN Women, the UN Secretary-General, and other UN agencies since the October 7 massacre is disgraceful," Cohen posted on Saturday. 

"UN Women's announcement was both feeble and late, coming after nearly two months of silence during which war crimes, crimes against humanity, and *gender-based crimes carried out by the Hamas terrorist organization were ignored," he wrote. 

Cohen also slammed UN support for the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel's investigation into sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas, claiming the commission is "comprised of a clique of notorious antisemites." 

"Any investigation must be conducted by a neutral and objective body and not by antisemitic Israel-haters," Cohen wrote. "I call on the UN Women's Executive Director, who has failed to carry out her mission at this critical time, to resign."

SDEROT, ISRAEL - DECEMBER 02: Smoke trails in the sky above northern Gaza Strip on December 2, 2023 in Sderot, Israel. Israel is resuming military operations in Gaza after a sustained truce between Hamas and Israel did not hold further than a week, despite diplomatic talks and captives released. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

Rocket alerts sounded all across Israel on Saturday as fighting intensified between Israel, Hamas terrorists inside the Gaza Strip, and Hezbollah fighters firing on Israel from Lebanon. 

Alerts were activated in the city of Ashdod, in Kibbutz Kissufim near the Gaza Strip, in the Lakhish area, in the city of Ashkelon and in communities in norther Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

The IDF said that sirens sounded in the Galilee in northern Israel were activated because of a combat helicopter that downed a military drone that was identified as having a technical malfunction. 

The alert, that warned of rocket and missile fire, was triggered by the interception," the IDF said. "The interception was carried out in a controlled manner and there is no fear of a security incident."

Earlier, the military said it launched retaliatory strikes at Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in Lebanese territory with aircraft, mortar fire and artillery. 

"In addition, a short while ago, a number of launches toward IDF posts in the area of the Lebanese border were identified. In response, the IDF is striking the sources of the fire," the military said at 8:28 a.m. ET. 

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a national statement at the World Climate Action Summit during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Thaier Al Sudani

French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Qatar to assist efforts to negotiate a new truce between Israel and Hamas.

Macron, speaking at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai on Saturday, told reporters that France is "very concerned" by the reignited violence in Gaza. He questioned the feasibility of Israel's ultimate goal in the war — to eradicate Hamas — and said all parties must double down on efforts to secure a lasting cease-fire.

"We are at a moment when Israeli authorities must more precisely define their objectives and their final goal: the total destruction of Hamas, does anyone think it is possible? If this is the case, the war will last 10 years," Macron said.

"There is no lasting security for Israel in the region if its security is achieved at the cost of Palestinian lives and thus of the resentment of public opinions in the region. Let's be collectively lucid," he added.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that the Mossad team in Qatar will return home after reaching an "impasse" in truce negotiations. 

Reuters contributed to this update.

The director general of the Red Cross said Saturday that reignited fighting between Israel and Hamas has been "intense" after a cease-fire deal fell apart. 

The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that it struck 400 terrorist targets and killed an unspecified number of Hamas fighters since the fighting resumed on Friday. The Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry said nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed since Friday. 

"We don't have precise reports but what I can say is the resumption of fighting was intense again," ICRC Director General Robert Mardini told Reuters at the COP28 U.N. summit in Dubai.

"It's a new layer of disruption coming on top of massive, unparalleled destruction of critical infrastructure, of civilian houses and neighbourhoods," he said, warning that the violence would make it difficult to get humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Mardini said the Red Cross has 130 staff working in Gaza, which he described as being in "shambles and rubble." 

Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in the hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza on Saturday claimed that the Palestinian death toll has surpassed 15,200 in the Israel-Hamas war, and that 70% of those killed were women and children. 

That figure, which cannot be independently verified, was announced by ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra. Hamas does not distinguish between civilians and terrorist fighters killed in battle.

The previous toll given by Gaza officials was more than 13,300 dead. Al-Qidra did not explain the sharp jump. However, the ministry had only been able to provide sporadic updates since Nov. 11, amid problems with connectivity and major war-related disruptions in hospital operations. 

More than 40,000 people have been wounded, al-Qidra claimed.

Fighting resumed Friday after a cease-fire deal collapsed amid accusations from each side that the other violated the terms of the agreement. 

Many of Israel's attacks Saturday were focused on the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza, where the military said it had struck more than 50 Hamas targets with airstrikes, tank fire and its navy. Israel's military said it hit more than 400 targets across the Gaza Strip. 

The Associated Press contributed to this update.

The chairman of the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, whose mandate is to use the example of the systematic genocide of millions of Jews by the Nazis in World War II as a teaching point to prevent such mass atrocities from happening again, believes that the rampant rise in antisemitism and anti-Zionism in the U.S., and around the world, stems from the inaction of administrators at Ivy League colleges and other institutions of higher learning.

Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan, speaking to Fox News Digital after a weeklong trip to the U.S. where he met with presidents, provosts and deans from East Coast colleges, including Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, New York University and Queens College, said that in many of these distinguished institutions, where there has been a sharp rise in incidents of antisemitism, there were academics peddling inaccurate theories about Israel.

"In Ivy League colleges across the U.S. … there are groups of academics, not all of them, but important academics, especially in the humanities and social sciences, that are meticulously, stone-by-stone and step-by-step, building pseudo-academic, pseudo-scientific, pseudo-intellectual theories justifying the elimination of the Jewish state," he said.

"Violent demonstrations with students calling ‘from the river to the sea’ or for a ‘global Intifada’ are, of course, extremely disturbing," said Dayan, a former Israeli consul general in New York. "But in some sense, these are just a symptom."

"With all those academic buzzwords about the ‘ethnic-nationalistic,’ ‘settler colonial,’ ‘colonization of Palestine’ and ‘apartheid,’ they are building slowly yet constantly, a pseudo-scientific truth of academic theories," he said, adding that "first it's the demonization of Israel and then justification, after that they are actively advocating for the elimination of the Jewish state, and that is terrible."

Dayan said that calling for the elimination of the world’s only Jewish state is "a terribly antisemitic thing to do."

Fox News Digital's Ruth Marks Eglash contributed to this update.

29 November 2023, Qatar, Doha: A boat passes in front of the skyline of Doha (Qatar). The metropolis on the Persian Gulf has been growing steadily for decades. (Photo by Bernd von Jutrczenka/picture alliance via Getty Images)

A team from Israel's Mossad intelligence agency was in Doha on Saturday for talks with Qatari mediators about a renewed cease-fire in Gaza, Reuters reported.

The report cited a source briefed on the visit who said the Qatari-mediate talks focused on the release of more hostages, not just women and children, and the details of a new truce.

Israel and Hamas have resumed fighting after a previous cease-fire arrangement collapsed on Friday. 

The truce which began on Nov. 24 saw Hamas release Israeli women and children taken hostage on Oct. 7 in exchange for the release of Palestinians, including women, held in Israeli prisons.

Israel and Hamas have traded blame over the collapse of the truce, which lasted a week and was extended twice before mediators were unable to find a way for a third extension.

Israel said Hamas refused to release all of the women held in Gaza. A Palestinian official told Reuters the truce fell apart over female Israeli soldiers. 

Reuters contributed to this update.

Smoke is seen rising from areas near the Syrian capital Damascus as a result of an Israeli missile attack on Nov. 22, 2023. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Israeli airstrikes hit several points near Damascus in Syria, state media reported. 

“Nearly at 1.34 a.m. Saturday, the Israeli enemy carried out a missile aggression from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting some points in the vicinity of Damascus,” an unnamed military official told SANA. 

The strikes resulted in some "material damages," according to the statement. 

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps later said that two of its officers were killed in Syria, the Times of Israel reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition war monitor, said the strikes hit in the area of the south Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab, where it said that “there are military forces working with the Lebanese Hezbollah.” It said ambulances rushed to the scene.

Israel has struck targets in Syria several times since the onset of the Hamas-Israel war on Oct. 7. On Sunday, a reported Israeli airstrike hit the international airport in Damascus and put it out of commission, just hours after the airport resumed flights following a monthlong hiatus after a previous Israeli strike.

Israel is known to have carried out hundreds of strikes in parts of Syria, aiming at Hezbollah and other terrorist groups backed by Iran, but it rarely acknowledges the attacks. 

The Associated Press contributed to this update.

President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 High Level Segment meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on December 1, 2023. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly doubled down on his position that Hamas is not a terror group and insisted they must be involved in Gaza's future after the war.

“I stand by my position. No matter what anybody says, I cannot accept Hamas as a terror group,” Erdogan told Turkish media on Saturday, according to the Times of Israel.

Those comments came in response to a question about possible U.S. sanctions on Turkey for supporting and funding Hamas, the outlet reported. 

The United States recognizes Hamas as a terrorist organization. On Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists infiltrated communities and a music festival in southern Israel, brutally raping, torturing and murdering as many as 1,200 Israelis that day and taking 240 hostages back to Gaza. The attack, labeled "Black Shabbat" in Israel, started the ongoing war in Gaza.

Erdogan has made several anti-Israel statements since the start of the war, accusing the Jewish state of war crimes in Gaza and calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "butcher." 

Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas and its governing capability in Gaza, but Erdogan insisted Saturday that Hamas must be a part of any post-war reality for the Palestinian territory. 

The "exclusion and destruction of Hamas is not an option," Erdogan said. 

Atlanta Fire Chief Rodrick Smith, center, and others leave the scene after a protester set themself on fire outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. (Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

At least two people were injured Friday afternoon and a protester was in critical condition after attempting to light themselves on fire outside the building that houses the Israeli Consulate General in Atlanta, officials said. 

Officials don't believe the incident was terrorism, the ATF said in a press briefing, calling it likely an "extreme act of political protest." A Palestinian flag that was used in the protest was recovered after the incident. 

A security guard who works at the building was burned on the wrist and leg while trying to stop the protester, the ATF said. 

Both people have been taken to the hospital. 

The midtown Atlanta office building houses the Israeli Consulate General, among other offices. 

Atlanta police responded to the scene as well as the FBI and ATF. 

"We are saddened to learn of the self-immolation at the entrance to the office building," Anat Sultan-Dadon, Consul General of Israel to the Southeastern United States said in a statement. "It is tragic to see the hate and incitement toward Israel expressed in such a horrific way. The sanctity of life is our highest value. Our prayers are with the security officer who was injured while trying to prevent this tragic act. We are grateful to the city of Atlanta’s law enforcement and first responders for all they do to ensure safety."

Fox News Digital's Brie Stimson contributed to this update.

Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire hit targets in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday as Israel advances its campaign to eradicate Hamas.

Fighting resumed on Friday after a cease-fire agreement between the two sides collapsed. The Israeli military said that in the last 24 hours combined attacks by its ground, air and naval forces had hit 400 militant targets and killed an unspecified number of Hamas fighters.

The Hamas-led Health Ministry in Gaza claims at least 178 people have been killed by Israel since the end of the truce, adding to the more than 13,300 Palestinians killed during the war. At least 1,200 Israelis were killed in the Oct. 7 terror attack that started the conflict.

The warring sides blamed each other for the collapse of the seven-day truce, during which Hamas had released hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

United Nations officials have decried the renewed fighting, saying it will worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

"Hell on Earth has returned to Gaza," said Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the U.N. humanitarian office in Geneva. 

Reuters contributed to this update.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Baghdad, Iraq Nov. 5. Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office/Handout via REUTERS

Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Iraqi Prime Minster Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to protect installations hosting American personnel amid a series of attacks in recent weeks, the State Department said. 

U.S. military servicemembers have been targeted in dozens of attacks in the region, many with drones. 

“The Secretary called on the Iraqi government to fulfill its commitments to protect all installations hosting U.S. personnel at its invitation and to pursue those responsible for attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq,” the State Department said. 

The Biden administration has accused Iran-linked groups of being behind the incidents. 

Blinken and al-Sudani also discussed the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas and the need to contain the conflict, the State Department said.