Deadline expired for Palestinians to flee Gaza as Israeli troops amass at border

Blinken reaffirms support for Israel in meeting with Netanyahu, discusses humanitarian aid

The State Department offered details of Secretary of State Tony Blinken's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

Blinken traveled to Israel for the second time in as many weeks on Monday to meet with Netanyahu regarding Israel's war against Hamas. State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller says Blinken riterated U.S. support for Israel's right to defend itself and also discussed humanitarian issues.

"The Secretary underlined his firm support for Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas’ terrorism and reaffirmed U.S. determination to provide the Israeli government with what it needs to protect its citizens.The Secretary discussed with Prime Minister Netanyahu the United States’ close coordination with the U.N. and regional partners to facilitate the provision of humanitarian aid to civilians. The Secretary also discussed our commitment to the safe and speedy release of those held hostage by Hamas," Miller said.

Netanyahu will hold a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin later Monday. The State Department did not clarify whether Blinken discussed that call with Netanyahu.

More than 4,000 people have died in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas after the terror group carried out a brutal attack on Oct. 7, which included the slaughter of more than 1,400 Israelis in communities surrounding Gaza.

More than 4,000 people have died in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas after the terror group carried out a brutal attack on Oct. 7, which included the slaughter of more than 1,400 Israelis in communities surrounding Gaza. The deaths also include 260 attendees of a music festival that Hamas terrorists killed that same day.

While the identities of all those who have been killed in the violence or taken hostage by the terror group are unknown to the public, the Israeli government has identified several victims as: a daughter who initially decided not to go to the Tribe of Nova music festival but changed her mind at the last minute, an Israeli jewelry designer described as "the softest soul," an elderly couple married more than 50 years, a third-generation Israeli soldier, and many others.

As officials have identified those who died, remain missing or those taken hostage by Hamas, surviving family members have begun to shed light on who they were, their personalities and their lives.

Karin Journo, 24, recently fractured her leg and talked herself out of going with her friends to the Tribe of Nova music festival on Saturday, Oct 7. Content with her decision, she even sold her ticket. However, a week before the event, she changed her mind — a decision that changed her life forever.

Before going silent, she texted her loved ones: "To the whole family, I want to say that I love you a lot, because I am not coming home."

Fox News' Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.

The Israeli government is distributing roughly 10,000 rifles to Israeli citizens living in towns near its northern and southern borders, officials announced Monday.

The Israeli government is distributing roughly 10,000 rifles to Israeli citizens living in towns near its northern and southern borders, officials announced Monday.

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir purchased the rifles early last week and has expedited the process for "hundreds of thousands" of Israelis to be approved to carry firearms.

"I call on everyone who is eligible [to get] a life-saving weapon," he said in a statement on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

The 10,000 rifles are being distributed to civilian security teams, some of which were able to fight off Hamas terrorists last week using only pistols. Members of at least one team told the Times of Israel that the Israeli Defense Forces had taken their rifles sometime prior to the Hamas assault.

The Lebanese military has destroyed 20 different rocket launching sites that Hezbollah was using to attack Israel from Southern Lebanon, accoridng to Lebanese media.

The Lebanese military has destroyed 20 different rocket launching sites that Hezbollah was using to attack Israel from Southern Lebanon, accoridng to Lebanese media.

Hezbollah, a powerful Iran-backed terrorist group, has threatened to join Hamas in the war against Israel. The group has launched anti-tank guided missiles over the Lebanon-Israel border in recent days, leading to Israeli reprisals.

The reported attacks on Hezbollah rocket positions indicate that there is disagreement in Lebanon regarding whether to challenge Israel.

The news comes as Hezbollah began destroying surveillance cameras on several Israeli army posts along the border on Monday.

Hezbollah’s military media arm released a video showing snipers destroying surveillance cameras placed on five points along the Lebanon-Israel border, including one outside the Israeli town of Metula. Hezbollah’s aim appears to be to prevent the Israeli army from monitoring movements on the Lebanese side of the border.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, offered to exchange himself for Israeli children taken hostage by Hamas in Gaza on Monday.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, offered to exchange himself for Israeli children taken hostage by Hamas in Gaza on Monday.

Pizzaballa, who represents Pope Francis in the Holy Land, made the offer in a video conference with Italian journalists on Monday.

"I am ready for an exchange, anything, if this can lead to freedom, to bring the children home....The first thing to do is to try to win the release of the hostages, otherwise there will be no way of stopping [an escalation]."

FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that the FBI is receiving a spike in reported domestic terror threats following Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel.

FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that the FBI is receiving a spike in reported domestic terror threats following Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel.

Wray made the comments Saturday, warning Americans to be vigilant as "lone actors" in the U.S. may take inspiration from the Hamas assault.

"In this heightened environment, there’s no question we’re seeing an increase in reported threats, and we have to be on the lookout, especially for lone actors who may take inspiration from recent events to commit violence of their own," he said. "And I’d encourage you to stay vigilant, because as the first line of defense in protecting our communities, you’re often the first to see the signs that someone may be mobilizing to violence. And I’d also ask you to continue sharing any intelligence or observations you may have."

"On our end, we’re committed to doing the same, so that together, we can safeguard our communities," Wray said.

The warning came a day after major U.S. cities, including New York, were on heightened security and increased police presence Friday amid concern over demonstrations related to the conflict. A former Hamas leader had also called for Muslims around the world to take to the streets in support of Palestinians and consider Oct. 13 a "Day of Jihad." 

Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

President Biden has postponed his planned visit to Colorado on Monday and will instead remain at the White House as Israeli forces appear poised to invade Northern Gaza.

President Biden has postponed his planned visit to Colorado on Monday and will instead remain at the White House as Israeli forces appear poised to invade Northern Gaza.

White House officials say Biden will participate in national security meetings throughout the day. His planned trip to Colorado would have been focused on his Bidenomics agenda.

"The President’s trip to Colorado is postponed and it will be rescheduled. The President will remain at the White House to participate in national security meetings," a White House official told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Fox News' Sarah Tobianski contributed to this report.

CNN's Jake Tapper pressed President Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, about whether hostages taken by Hamas were a "priority" for the Biden administration on Sunday.

"Is rescuing the hostages a priority at all? Israeli news media like Haaretz, they say it doesn’t seem like it at all," Tapper asked. "And frankly, Jake, if my kids were being held hostage in Gaza, and as you know, there are Americans being held hostage in Gaza right now, I'd want you to send in the Navy SEALs. What’s the conversation like in the White House about the U.S. conducting any sort of operations in order to save Americans being held hostage in Gaza?"

Sullivan responded and said Biden has been clear about wanting to get Americans back to the U.S. safely.

"The Israelis are bombing the crap out of Gaza, I mean, it doesn’t seem like saving the hostages are a priority at all right now," Tapper asserted.

"Well, for President Biden, they are a priority. They’re the highest possible priority. And he has sent hostage experts to coordinate and consult with the Israeli government on hostage recovery efforts. He’s also made sure that our diplomats are in touch with third countries in the region to explore avenues for their safe release. I have to be cautious about how much I can say about certain efforts he’s undertaking, because we want to protect those efforts to give us the best possible chance of getting our people home," Sullivan responded.

He added that the U.S. does not currently know the locations of the American hostages.

Fox News' Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

President Biden spoke with family members of American citizens being held hostage in Gaza, telling them in a video call that the U.S. is "workin' like hell" to rescue them.

President Biden spoke with family members of American citizens being held hostage in Gaza, telling them in a video call that the U.S. is "workin' like hell" to rescue them.

News of Biden's Zoom call with the family members came in a "60 Minutes" interview released Monday. The call, which included 14 families, lasted roughly an hour.

"I'm saying we're gonna do everything in our power to find those who are still alive and set them free. Everything in our power. And-- I'm not gonna go into the detail of that, but there's-- we're workin' like hell on it," Biden said.

When Biden took the call, the situation in Israel had at least 29 dead Americans and 14 missing. One of those missing was identified as deceased over the weekend, however, and the count now sits at at least 30 killed and 13 missing.

"Why do you feel so strongly about speaking to these families personally on Zoom?" CBS News host Scott Pelley asked in the interview.

Because I think they have to know that the president of the United States of America cares deeply about what's happening. Deeply. We have to communicate to the world this is critical. this is not even hum-- human behavior. it's pure barbarism. And we're gonna do everything in our power to get them home if we can find them," Biden responded.

Iran is planning to "break out" in the Middle East if Israel is weakened by a two-front war with Hamas and Hezbollah, predicted Heritage Foundation National Security vice president James Carafano.

Carafano made statement during a Monday appearance on Fox Business, telling host Maria Bartiromo that Iran is the most likely candidate for masterminding the October 7 attack on Israel.

Iran has a long history of funding both Hamas and Hezbollah, the two terrorist groups now assailing Israeli Defense Forces.

"If [Iran] wanted to set the conditions for [a breakout], what would be the optimum conditions?" Carafano posited. "They would have two-front war against Israel that would diminish and weaken the Israelis, and hopefully humiliate the United States. And they would do that at a politically sensitive time for the U.S., right up on the eve of a U.S. election. That's when they break out, and that's what I think is behind this strategy."

Zack Weiss, a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and a member of the 2021 Team Israel Olympic team, spoke with Fox News Digital and expressed sadness over those attempting to justify Hamas' unprecedented terrorist attack last week.

Zack Weiss, a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and a member of the 2021 Team Israel Olympic team, spoke with Fox News Digital and expressed sadness over those attempting to justify Hamas' unprecedented terrorist attack last week.

"I would say, No. 1, is just disappointed, sad," Weiss told Fox News Digital on Monday.

"It’s a bummer that there is some sort of justification for what took place," Weiss continued, expressing carefulness in his word choice. "I think anybody who has seen the videos of what’s happened is familiar with any of the stories that you’ve heard from people, that’s just one-on-one disgusting terrorism at its core. It’s personal, it’s inhumane, it’s just so direct. And that action, in my opinion, is just rooted so deeply in hatred that I don’t really see how we’re seeing political organizations justify it in a political sense."

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) expressed "solidarity with Palestine" in a post on X, formerly Twitter, saying that Oct. 7 "events" were a "direct result of Israel’s apartheid regime — a regime that receives billions in funding from the United States."

Dozens of other organizations, from college campuses to political parties, echoed the sentiment in blaming Israel.

Fox News' Joe Morgan contributed to this report.

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The Senate is back in session Tuesday, and funding the government with aid to Israel and Ukraine will be at the heart of negotiations.

A source familiar with the talks told Fox News Digital the upper chamber will be awaiting the official supplemental request from the Biden administration before an official package is drafted, which could take more than a week.

The upper chamber was briefed on a call last week by the administration on a "mega package" request that would combine aid to Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and border security, according to a source familiar.

Expected floor action for the week is on three separate appropriations bills combined into one legislative package for the 2024 fiscal year, which includes funding for the Food and Drug Administration, and the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. The temporary spending patch that the upper chamber agreed on before the Sept. 30 deadline will expire on Nov. 17.

On Tuesday, the Senate Intelligence Committee will convene for a closed-door briefing. Senate leaders will resume their weekly luncheons with a corresponding press conference, where aid to Israel and Ukraine is likely to be a topic of discussion.

Fox News' Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

Atilgan Ozdil/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, in 2018, warned the United Nations Security Council about the terror threat the Iran-backed Hamas posed to Israel, while also seeking to label it a terror group both in the chamber and the General Assembly -- but the efforts were snubbed or shut down by other members.

Haley, serving as the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in 2018, told the body that Hamas "has been inciting violence for years," long before the U.S. moved to shift its embassy to Jerusalem as it did in 2018.

She sounded the alarm about media reports of plans Hamas made to invade Israel if rioters could break through.

"They have reported that Hamas maps and social media show the fastest routes to reach Israeli communities in case demonstrators make it through the security fence. They have reported on Hamas messages over loudspeakers that urge demonstrators to burst through the fence, falsely claiming Israeli soldiers were fleeing, when in fact, they were not," she told the Council.

She noted incidents where Molotov cocktails were put on kites and flown into Israel, and how key crossing points had been attacked. She also rebuffed calls for additional restraint by Israel by some on the Council -- calls that have been echoed in recent days since the terror attack by Hamas.

"I ask my colleagues here in the Security Council, who among us would accept this type of activity on your border? No one would. No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has. In fact, the records of several countries here today suggest they would be much less restrained."

Hamas is not labeled or sanctioned as a terror group by the United Nations Security Council, unlike ISIS and Al Qaeda.

Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived back in Israel on Monday, where he is expected to meet with Israeli officials as the country's war with Hamas in Gaza continues to intensify.

The Secretary will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid in Tel Aviv, a U.S. official told Fox News. His visit is to show continued U.S. support for Israel, America's closest Middle Eastern ally.

The meeting comes ahead of a potential Israeli ground invasion of Gaza as Netanyahu has vowed to eliminate Hamas terrorists, saying he will "exterminate the bloody monsters."

On Sunday, Blinken was interviewed by Randa Abul Azm of Al-Arabiya, who asked the secretary about efforts to get civilians out of harm’s way in Gaza, as Israel stages a ground offensive.

"Israel is not blocking the departure of foreign nationals," he said. "The problem has been Hamas has disrupted that, and of course, we have to make the necessary arrangements."

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Tel Aviv, Israel on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. (Fox News)

"At the same time, Egypt is fully prepared – and we’re working with them – to get assistance in," Blinken said. "And we’re putting in place a system – working with the United Nations, working with Egypt, working with other countries – to make sure that the assistance can get into Gaza, get to the people who need it."

He added: "And the fact of the matter is this: What does Hamas do? Hamas makes sure that all of its critical leaders, that its command centers, that its weapons, its ammunitions are all located in residential areas, in residential buildings or buried underneath hospitals, schools, and supermarkets. They know – they are using Palestinians of Gaza as human shields, and that, too, is disgraceful."

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Israel's Ministry of Defense and the Israeli Defense Force released a joint statement Monday announcing a plan to evacuate residents located near the Lebanese border to state-funded guesthouses.

"The National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) of the Ministry of Defense and the IDF are announcing the implementation of a plan to evacuate residents of northern Israel who live in the area up to 2 kilometers from the Lebanese border to state-funded guesthouses," the statement read.

Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant approved the plan's implementation. The Northern Command notified the heads of the local authorities of the plan, which will be implemented by the heads of the local municipalities, the Ministry of Interior and the National Emergency Management Authority of the Ministry of Defense.

The 28 communities impacted by the plan are Ghajar, Dishon, Kfar Yuval, Margaliot, Metula, Avivim, Dovev, Ma’ayan Baruch, Bara’m, Manara, Yiftach, Malkia, Misgav Am, Yir’on, Dafna, Arab al-Aramshe, Shlomi, Netu’a, Ya’ara, Shtula, Matat, Zari’t, Shomera, Betzet, Adamit, Rosh HaNikram, Hanita and Kfar Giladi.

More than 3,600 people have been killed since Hamas launched its attack against Israel on October 7, leading to retaliatory action from Israeli forces. Thousands more have been wounded, and many others have been taken hostage by Hamas and raped, tortured and murdered.

Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Miami Dolphins star Tua Tagovailoa took a moment in his postgame press conference to talk about the victims of the Hamas terror attack in Israel last weekend.

Tagovailoa had just led the Dolphins to a 42-21 win over the Carolina Panthers – in a game in which he had three touchdown passes and 262 passing yards. He started to talk about the touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill and then veered off to the other topic.

"I kind of want to also just bring to the attention – I didn’t really realize how bad things were in Israel – and just wanted to bring to attention for those who don’t necessarily understand things that are going on, that it really is bad, and if you don’t understand, if you go on Google, you look, you search and you read about what’s going on in this world. This world needs prayer," he said.

"I don’t know what we’ve come to, but just my thoughts, my prayers are out with those people in Israel. I know the Ukraine and Russia war is still going on as well, and just wanted to bring notice that although we have the freedom to do this here, play football and be able to have the freedom to do these things, that to come back into reality and think that’s where we all are here in this world. Just want to bring that to the attention."

Fox News' Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the American government is supporting Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Hamas terrorists, and that American officials are working to help Gaza civilians with evacuation efforts and humanitarian assistance.

"We stand with Israel as it defends itself. The United States is also actively working to ensure the people of Gaza can get out of harm’s way and the assistance they need — food, water, medicine — can get in. Hamas does not care if Palestinians suffer," Blinken wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Civilians in Gaza were urged by Israeli forces last week to evacuate the area in preparation of Israel's potential ground attack, although Hamas has reportedly prevented residents from leaving.

The Rafah Crossing connecting Egypt and Gaza will reopen shortly, providing the last remaining exit for Palestinians wanting to evacuate the violence ahead of the potential ground attack from Israel. The crossing's reopening also allows humanitarian aid to pass through to Gaza.

More than 3,600 people have been killed since Hamas launched its largest attack against Israel in decades, leading to retaliatory action from Israeli forces. Thousands more have been wounded, and many others have been taken hostage by Hamas and raped, tortured and murdered.

Fox News/Yaniv Turgeman

Israel Defense Forces confiscated a large cache of weapons and supplies from Hamas terrorists amid the attack against Israel, the group announced Sunday.

The seized weapons account for just 20% of the ones used by Hamas to kill Israelis, the IDF wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

All the confiscated weapons were used in the Oct. 7 attack against Israel, according to the IDF.

Hundreds of documents and certificates, and hundreds of cell phones, other forms of communication and cameras used by Hamas have also been confiscated.

‘Squad’ member Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., drew criticism for retweeting a photo of dead children with the caption "CHILD GENOCIDE IN PALESTINE."

The photo showed seven dead children wrapped in white and claimed they were part of the "614 Palestinian children murdered by the Israeli [IDF] forces."

A community note from X, formerly known as Twitter, stated that the picture was from a 2013 sarin gas attack in Ghouta, Syria, and not from the Israel-Hamas war. 

Fellow ‘Squad’ member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., warned about the "incredibly high" amount of misinformation on social media about the ongoing war and urged her followers to "pause" and "check" for verification.

"If you see a claim, photo, or video that triggers a strong emotional reaction, take a moment to pause and check for veracity/confirmation from multiple sources," she wrote on X.

Omar has since un-retweeted the photo after criticism.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the 2023 First in the Nation Leadership Summit on October 13, 2023 in Nashua, New Hampshire. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced on Sunday that he helped successfully transport "hundreds" of Americans from Israel amid the war against Hamas.

"I am proud of how quickly we have been able to activate resources and do what the federal government could not – get Floridians and other Americans back home, reunited with their families, free of charge," DeSantis said in a press release.

The governor announced the news in a video posted to X.

Speaking from an airport in Tampa on Sunday night, DeSantis said that he was getting ready to welcome the Americans back on U.S. soil.

"We are having our first flight of people being rescued from Israel, it has landed. Over 260 people that wanted to get back to the United States and couldn't do it," DeSantis said. "There was a devoid [sic] of leadership, so we stepped up and led."

"We're happy to be able to deliver that. So we're getting ready to welcome them back to the United States of America," he added.

Fox News' Landon Mion contributed to this report.

Israeli UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan speaks at a meeting with families of hostages kidnapped by Hamas at the United Nations on October 13, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan called out a United Nations official who reportedly failed to condemn Hamas in a statement amid its war against Israel.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths had made a social media post calling attention to Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.

"The specter of death is hanging over #Gaza," his post on X read. "With no water, no power, no food and no medicine, thousands will die. Plain and simple."

Erdan responded by criticizing the "double standards" that he accused Griffiths of having.

"Thousands of Israelis were murdered and maimed in the Hamas Nazis' barbaric terror attack. And tens of thousands more will be massacred in the future if this savage terror group is not obliterated," Erdan wrote. "Have you been living under a rock? Your double standards truly know no bounds…"

"Where was your outcry when Hamas funneled all UN funds to dig terror tunnels and manufacture rockets targeting Israeli civilians? When Hamas diverted every resource – water, energy, civilian infrastructure – from the Gazan population to their terror capabilities?" Erdan added.

US President Joe Biden speaks at the Human Rights Campaign national dinner in Washington, DC, US, on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023.

President Biden is reportedly considering visiting Israel as the country continues battling Hamas, according to a White House official.

The senior administration official told the Associated Press that the plans haven't been finalized yet. Biden and his administration have been supportive of Israel since the country was attacked by terrorists on October 7.

Despite the support, Biden has said it would be a mistake for Israel to reoccupy Gaza.

“I think it’d be a big mistake,” the president said in a "60 Minutes" interview that aired on Sunday. “Look, what happened in Gaza, in my view, is Hamas, and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people. And I think that it would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again.”

“Taking out the extremists ... is a necessary requirement," he added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Smoke rises from buildings, viewed from the Israeli side of the border, as the Israeli military conducts a bombardment on October 15, 2023 in northern Gaza. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

A U.S. Department of State spokesperson announced that at least 30 Americans have died as a result of the Israel-Hamas war, which began on October 7.

"At this time, we can confirm the deaths of 30 U.S. citizens," the statement read. "We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected."

The spokesperson also said that 13 American citizens are still unaccounted for, and officials are actively searching for them.

"The U.S. government is working around the clock to determine their whereabouts and is working with the Israeli government on every aspect of the hostage crisis, including sharing intelligence and deploying experts from across the United States government to advise the Israeli government on hostage recovery efforts," the statement added.

Fox News' Nicholas Kalman contributed to this report.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the media before boarding his plane in Cairo en route to Jordan on October 15, 2023. (Photo by JACQUELYN MARTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken argued that Hamas was to blame for the confinement of foreign nationals in the Gaza Strip during an interview on Sunday.

The secretary of state was being questioned by Al-Arabiya's Randa Abul Azm, who asked him about how the United States is helping foreigners get out of Gaza.

"The efforts to evacuate foreign nationals from Gaza Strip has been blocked by Israelis," Azm said to Blinken.

"Israel is not blocking the departure of foreign nationals," the Biden official asserted. "The problem has been Hamas has disrupted that, and of course, we have to make the necessary arrangements."

Blinken added that Egypt, which borders Gaza along with Israel, is prepared to help foreigners get out of the war-torn territory.

"At the same time, Egypt is fully prepared – and we’re working with them – to get assistance in," Blinken added. "And we’re putting in place a system – working with the United Nations, working with Egypt, working with other countries – to make sure that the assistance can get into Gaza, get to the people who need it."

Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at United Nations headquarters on September 21, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Kena Betancur/Getty Images)

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas asserted that Hamas terrorist attacks do not represent his people, Palestinian outlet WAFA reported on Sunday.

Abbas, who is also chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), reportedly told Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on a phone call that the PLO is "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people."

"The president affirmed his rejection of the killing of civilians on both sides and called for the release of civilians, prisoners and detainees on both sides," WAFA added.

Abbas previously told the King of Jordan on Thursday that he "reject[s] the practices of killing civilians or abusing them on both sides because they contravene morals, religion and international law."

"We renounce violence and adhere to international legitimacy, peaceful popular resistance, and political action as a path to achieving our national goals," Abbas was previously quoted as saying.

Reuters contributed to this report.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press briefing at United Nations Headquarters on February 4, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres made "two strong humanitarian appeals" to Israel and Hamas on Sunday, as the war between the two continues.

"In this dramatic moment, as we are on the verge of the abyss in the Middle East, it is my duty as Secretary-General of the United Nations to make two strong humanitarian appeals," Guterres said in a statement.

"To Hamas, the hostages must be immediately released without conditions," he wrote. "To Israel, rapid and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid must be granted for humanitarian supplies and workers for the sake of the civilians in Gaza."

Gaza has been running out of electricity, water and food since Israel blocked entry into the Gaza Strip last week. Guterres explained that the UN has stocks of food, water, medical supplies and more across the Levant.

"These goods can be dispatched within hours," the statement added. "To ensure delivery, our selfless staff on the ground, along with NGO partners, need to be able to bring these supplies into and throughout Gaza safely, and without impediment to deliver to those in need."

"Each one of these two objectives are valid in themselves," Guterres affirmed. "They should not become bargaining chips and they must be implemented because it is the right thing to do."

Pedestrians walk through St Peter's Square in the Vatican on October 13, 2023. (Photo by FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel’s foreign minister Eli Cohen reportedly called out the Vatican for not issuing a "clear and unequivocal" condemnation of Hamas after their terrorists began attacking Israel last week.

According to the Times of Israel, Cohen told Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations, that Israelis expect the Vatican to "come out with a clear and unequivocal condemnation of the murderous terrorist actions."

"It is unacceptable that you put out a statement expressing worry primarily for Gazan civilians while Israel is burying 1,300 who were murdered," Cohen said, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Pope Francis had recently affirmed Israel's right to defend itself and offered prayers to victims.

"I continue to follow what is happening in Israel and Palestine with tears and apprehension: many people killed, others injured," the pope said on Wednesday. "I pray for those families who have seen a feast day transformed into a day of mourning, and I ask that the hostages be released immediately."

At least 1,400 Israelis have been killed since Hamas launched a surprise attack last Saturday, on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.

Palestinian authorities say that more than 2,300 Palestinians have been killed, with over 9,000 wounded.

Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

NBC News' Kristen Welker pressed President Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan about how he was "so far off the mark" in describing the conflict in the Middle East as "quieter" today than it has been in two decades.

"Jake, as you know, there’s been a lot of discussion about how this attack could have been missed. I want to play you some remarks that you made eight days before the attack and get your reaction on the other side," Welker asked before playing the clip. 

Sullivan said the Middle East was quieter than it has been in a long time about a week before Hamas attacked Israel.

"The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades. Now challenges remain. Iran’s nuclear weapons program, and the tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, but the amount of time I have to spend on crisis and conflict in the Middle East today compared to any of my predecessors going back to 9/11 is significantly reduced," he said.

"Jake, why was your assessment there so far off the mark?" Welker asked. "Well, first, Kristen, I made those comments in the context of developments in the wider Middle East region over the last few years after two decades that involved a civil war in Yemen and a massive humanitarian catastrophe, a civil war in Syria and a massive refugee crisis, an invasion and insurgency in Iraq, a NATO military operation in Libya. Iranian-backed attacks on both Saudi and the UAE as well as many other steps including the rise of a terrorist Caliphate that actually occupied a huge amount of territory," he said.

He said that he also clarified that it was "for now" and said it could all change.

Fox News' Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli forces are ready to "exterminate the bloody monsters" of Hamas in a ground invasion of Gaza that now appears imminent.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli forces are ready to "exterminate the bloody monsters" of Hamas in a ground invasion of Gaza that now appears imminent.

Netanyahu made the comments during a meeting of his war cabinet on Sunday, saying the military stands ready to act at "any moment." Israel spent the weekend warning civilians in Gaza to move south as quickly as possible, as Israeli forces plan to invade northern Gaza by land, sea and air in the coming days.

"[We] are ready to act at any moment, to exterminate the bloody monsters that rose up against us," Netanyahu said. "Hamas thought we would be demolished. It is we who will demolish Hamas."

Among Israel's top targets is Hamas commander Yahya Sinwar, who is being held responsible for carrying out the unprecedented October 7 attack that left at least 1,400 people dead in Israel, including at least 29 Americans.

"He is the mastermind behind this, like bin Laden was. He built his career on murdering Palestinians when he understood they were collaborators. That's how he became known as the butcher of Khan Younis [in southern Gaza]," IDF spokesman Lt Col Richard Hecht said Sunday. "That man and his whole team are in our sights. We will get to that man,"

Republicans in the House of Representatives will soon introduce legislation that would block the U.S. from accepting refugees from Gaza displaced by Israel's war against Hamas.

Republicans in the House of Representatives will soon introduce legislation that would block the U.S. from accepting refugees from Gaza displaced by Israel's war against Hamas.

Reps. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., and Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., will introduce the Guaranteeing Aggressors Zero Admission Act, or the GAZA Act, which aims to prevent the Biden administration from granting visas to holders of Palestinian passports, according to a report from the New York Post Saturday.

"We can’t let President Biden abuse our parole and visa rules to bring unvetted Palestinians into American communities the way he did with thousands of unvetted Afghans," Tiffany said of the legislation in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The bill would also prohibit the Department of Homeland Security from allowing Palestinians into the country through its parole program.According to the report, experts believe that there could be more than a million Palestinian refugees from Israel's bombardment of Gaza.

The move comes a day after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stated that the U.S. should not accept any Palestinian refugees. He argued that while not all Gazans are members of Hamas, they are "all anti-Semtic."

"None of them believe in Israel’s right to exist," he added.

Fox News' Michael Lee contributed to this report.

A Gaza resident described Hamas terrorst confiscating car keys and IDs in order to prevent Gazans from heeding Israeli warnings to evacuate toward the South, according to a phone call recording released by Israeli forces.

A Gaza resident described Hamas terrorst confiscating car keys and IDs in order to prevent Gazans from heeding Israeli warnings to evacuate toward the South, according to a phone call recording released by Israeli forces.

The Israeli Defence Force revealed the recording Sunday, saying it was a conversation between a Gaza resident and an Israeli intelligence officer.

"In the conversation, the resident tells the officer that Hamas confiscated people's personal  belongings including their car keys and IDs to prevent them from heading south for safety as they were instructed by the IDF," Israel wrote in a statement.

"This is further evidence that the Hamas terrorist organization is actively preventing Palestinians from evacuating south in order to protect themselves," it added.

Israeli forces had urged civilians in Gaza to flee the northern region as the IDF prepares for a ground invasion against Hamas. Israel had previously shown Hamas roadblocks, which it said prevented civilians from leaving.

Hamas has long used innocents as human shields, and frequently places its weapon caches and command centers in or around places like hospitals, schools and mosques.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis doubled down on his demand that the U.S. not accept any refugees from Gaza amid Israel's war against Hamas on Sunday.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis doubled down on his demand that the U.S. not accept any refugees from Gaza amid Israel's war against Hamas on Sunday.

DeSantis said on CBS' "Face the Nation" that every 2024 presidential candidate should weigh in on whether Gazan refugees should be welcomed in the U.S. He went on to say that Israel has every right to use whatever pressure it can to secure the release of hostages in Gaza and retaliate against Hamas terrorists, including shutting off water and electricity.

The popular Florida governor first laid out his stance against accepting Gazans on Saturday, highlighting that none of the Arab states in the Middle East were willing to accept refugees either.

"If you look at how they behave, not all of them are Hamas, but they’re all anti-Semitic, none of them believe in Israel’s right to exist, none of the Arab states are willing to take any of them," DeSantis said. "The Arab states should be taking them if you have refugees, you don’t fly people and import them into the United States of America."

"My view is very simple: If you don't like this country, if you hate America, you should not come to this country, we’ve got to start being smart about this," he added.

Florida University President Ben Sasse vowed to protect Jewish students and protect free speech as pro-Palestinian sentiment continues to show its face at U.S. universties.

Florida University President Ben Sasse vowed to protect Jewish students and protect free speech as pro-Palestinian sentiment continues to show its face at U.S. universties.

Sasse, a former U.S. Senator for Nebraska, says his university has the largest population of Jewish students of any university in the country. Student groups held a vigil commemorating the at least 1,300 people killed in Israel during Hamas' unprecedented October 7 attack.

At other college campuses, however, pro-Palestinian student groups have shouted slogans praising Hamas and the slaughter of Jews. Sasse challenged wuniversities to "do some educating" and read the Hamas charter, which explicitly calls for the extermination of the Jewish people.

Sasse went on to say that many U.S. students expressing support for Palestinians are likely unaware of tyhe violence called for in the Hamas charter and are merely "confused" by their own ignorance.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says the U.S. is "actively trying" to locate American hostages who may being held in Gaza on Sunday.

Kirby made the statement during an appearance on Fox News Sunday, telling host Shannon Bream that President Biden's administration had not ruled out any means of rescuing American hostages.

Bream pressed Kirby on whether the U.S. would consider deploying American elite troops to conduct rescue operations in Gaza. Kirby asserted that there are no plans to deploy U.S. boots on the ground, and he declined to elaborate on efforts to rescue Americans.

"This is obviously high on the president's priority list. Nothing is more important to him than the safety and security of Americans that are held hostage overseas," Kirby said.

Anything that occurrs in Gaza now and during the expected Israeli invasion is the fault of Hamas, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., says.

Cotton made the statement during an appearence on Fox News Sunday, telling host Shannon Bream that Israel cannot be blamed for retaliating against Hamas' October 7 attack. He highlighted that Hamas has refused to allow Gazans to evacuate toward the south, as the Israeli Defense Forces have urged.

"Hamas is dedicated to the destruction of Israel as a nation and the extermination of the Jewish people. That's in their charter," Cotton said. "If you don't want your hostpitals, your schools and your mosques bombed, then you shouldn't be using them as human shields."

Cotton went on to say that the U.S. should not rule out deploying "elite warriors" to rescue American hostages potentially being held in Gaza. So far, 29 Americans were confirmed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, and 14 remain missing.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and a bipartisan group of other Senators took shelter from Hamas rocket fire in Gaza on Sunday during a visit to Israel.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and a bipartisan group of other Senators took shelter from Hamas rocket fire in Gaza on Sunday during a visit to Israel.

Schumer was in Tel Aviv along with Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah; Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La; Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. He said the group was rushed to a shelter as Israeli rocket warnings blared Sunday morning.

"While in Tel Aviv today, our delegation was rushed to a shelter to wait out rockets sent by Hamas. It shows you what Israelis have to go through. We must provide Israel with the support required to defend itself," he wrote.

Schumer's group announced their trip to Israel on Friday. They are there to show solidarity with Israel in the wake over Hamas' unprecedented October 7 attack, which left at least 1,300 people in Israel dead, including at least 29 Americans.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley blasted President Biden's decision to unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian funds as part of a prisoner exchange deal Sunday.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley blasted President Biden's decision to unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian funds as part of a prisoner exchange deal Sunday.

Haley argued the funds have granted Iran far too much power, and the country is now threatening to intervene in Israel's war against Hamas. Haley made the comments during a Sunday morning appearance on CNN's State of the Union with host Jake Tapper.

Haley, a Republican 2024 presidential hopeful, has criticized Biden's foreign policy decisions throughout his time in office.

President Biden highlighted the distinction between Palestinian citizens and their Hamas leaders on Sunday, saying most Palestinians had "nothing to do" with the October 7 attack on Israel.

President Biden highlighted the distinction between Palestinian citizens and their Hamas leaders on Sunday, saying most Palestinians had "nothing to do" with the October 7 attack on Israel.

"We must not lose sight of the fact that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians had nothing to do with Hamas’s appalling attacks, and are suffering as a result of them," he wrote.

The statement comes as an Israeli ground invasion of Northern Gaza appears imminent. The U.S. has supplies support to Israel via delivering weapons and ammunition, but no U.S. troops will participate in the operation.

Secretary of State Tony Blinken will reportedly arrive in Israel for a second trip in as many weeks on Monday.

Secretary of State Tony Blinken will return to Israel on Monday, just days after leaving the country last week.

He will meet with Israeli officials to coordinate U.S. support for the country as it carries out its invasion of Northern Gaza, Reuters reported. The U.S. has not deployed troops and is not directly assisting the Israeli operation, instead only delivering supplies.

The U.S. has deployed two air craft carrier strike groups to the Eastern Mediterranean as tensions in the region rise. The U.S. has warned Iran and other regional powers not to get involved in the conflict.

Blinken met with Qatari officials late last week and defended Israel's operation. Qatar is also playing host to the leaders of Hamas.

The Global Imam Council, which represents 1,470 Muslim Imams around the world condemned Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel and endorsed a "fatwa" against the terror organization.

The GIC, based in Najaf, Iraq, condemned Hamas' October 7 attack last week, declaring that it stands "with the Jewish people in their struggle against ISIS-like Islamist terrorism carried out by Hamas."

"The Global Imams Council (GIC), our members, and the 800+ communities led by our Imams worldwide, abide by the Fatwa issued against Hamas by The Islamic Fatwa Council on 9 March, 2023, charging Hamas with corruption and crimes against humanity; forbidding Muslims from supporting, donating to, joining or praying for the terrorist organization. The GIC is proud to have proposed the Fatwa against Hamas to The Islamic Fatwa Council, and contributed to its Resolution Document that outlines the Islamic legal charges against Hamas," the group wrote in a statement.

The GIC went on to condemn the "extremist and violent rhetoric" used by pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas protesters in the U.S. and Europe.

Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters took to the streets in the U.K. and Australia this weekend, with many shouting slogans in favor of killing Jewish people.

Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., says his office has successfuly evacuated 96 Americans out of Israel since the war on Hamas broke out last week.

Mills says his team has chartered a plane that can carry 218 people out of the country, and that it remains standing by to carry more Americans out of Israel.

"Our office and team ha now gotten out 96 Americans from Israel. 77 of which I was on myself," Mills wrote. "We’ve also secured a charter aircraft that can hold 218 passengers. It will not cost anything the Americans needing to get out of Israel."

Mills added that his team had also successfully evacuated the son of Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Fla.

President Biden's administration has faced criticism for a lack of effort to assist Americans seeking to leave Israel, which is now a nation at war.

The Israeli military urged Gazan civilians to flee southward along a specified evacuation route on Sunday, clearing out a 3-hour window in which the IDF would not fire on the route.

The IDF alerted Gazans of the window via social media and air-dropped flyers this weekend. Israeli forces are currently preparing for an all-out assault on Northern Gaza, planning to infiltrate from land, air and sea.

"Residents of Gaza City and northern Gaza, in the past days, we've urged you to relocate to the southern area for your safety. We want to inform you that the IDF will not carry out any operations along this route from 10 AM to 1 PM. During this window, please take the opportunity to move southward from northern Gaza," the IDF wrote.

"Your safety and that of your families matters. Please follow our instructions and head southward. Be assured, Hamas leaders have already ensured their safety and that of their families," it added.

Iran told Israeli officials that it does not want to escalate the ongoing conflict with Hamas and warned that it will intervene if Israel's campaign on Gaza continues.

Iran reportedly sent the message through the United Nations on Saturday, though it did not offer details on what an Iranian intervention would look like, according to Axios Both the Hamaz and Hezbollah terror groups, largely funded by Iran, are already engaged in attacks on Israel.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and its allies have aggresively warned Iran to stay out of the conflict. The U.S. has deployed two aircraft carrier groups, the USS Ford and the USS Eisenhower, to the Eastern Mediterranean, a clear message of support for Israel and a warning to regional powers.

President Biden has emphasized that Israel has not requested U.S. support so far in the campaign, and has instead said that it would not tolerate foreign troops on its soil.

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A group of University of Wisconsin students participated in a demonstration on campus endorsing Hamas terrorists' attack against Israel, and the university declined to condemn the chants heard at the event.

The students were observed holding Palestinian flags in front of the university's library as one woman was heard shouting into a microphone, "Glory to the murders!" and "We will liberate the land — by any means necessary!"

The university described the chants celebrating Hamas' largest attack on Israel in decades as "respectful dialogue" that it allows on and off campus.

"The university is not able to restrict First Amendment protected speech, nor does a speaker, rally, or protest on campus constitute the university’s endorsement of the message," a spokesperson for the school said in a statement to the New York Post.

The spokesperson also purported that the demonstrators were chanting, "Glory to the martyrs." But the spokesperson did not dispute the chant that said, "We will liberate the land — by any means necessary!"

The school declined to comment when pressed by the Post on whether the use of the term "martyrs" was appropriate since the Hamas terrorists killed, kidnapped and raped Israeli civilians.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Embassy in Israel announced plans to support Americans' effort to depart Israel amid the ongoing war stemming from Hamas terrorists' attack on the Middle Eastern country.

The embassy said the U.S. government is helping U.S. nationals and their immediate family members leave Haifa, Israel, for the country of Cyprus through sea travel on Monday. Boarding begins at 8 a.m. local time and U.S. citizens must arrive at Haifa port passenger terminal no later than 9 a.m. local time.

Boarding will proceed in order of arrival and has limited space, the embassy said.

"Travel within Israel is conducted at your own risk, and plans may change depending on the security situation," the embassy wrote. "The U.S. government is unable to guarantee your safety."

The passage to Limassol Port is expected to take about 10 to 12 hours and food and wi-fi will be provided. Travelers will be responsible for making accommodations at their destination and booking further travel. The U.S. Embassy will provide buses to airports from the port of Limassol in Cyprus.

Americans will also have to sign a promissory note agreeing to repay the U.S. government.

The embassy gave the following instructions for American travelers:

• Each traveler must be a U.S. national or the immediate family member (spouse/partner, children under age 21) of a U.S. national and have a valid passport.

• If you do not currently have your valid U.S. passport in your possession, please contact us so that we may assist you in making an appointment in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv to obtain one.

• Immediate family members who are not U.S. citizens must be eligible for entry to the destination.

• Each traveler may bring one bag up to 50 lbs./22 kg plus one small carry-on bag.

• Travelers cannot bring pets.

• Before boarding the ship, you will be asked to sign a promissory note agreeing to repay the U.S. government for the cost.

• You will be responsible for arranging your own accommodations and onward travel from Cyprus.

• If you are unable to secure onward travel from Cyprus, chartered flights are also being arranged.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican, is asking President Biden to rescind visas for foreign nationals who defend or support Hamas amid the terror group's largest attack on Israel in decades.

"America is the most generous nation on earth, but we cannot allow foreign nationals who support terrorist groups like Hamas and march in our streets calling for 'intifada' to enter or stay in our country," Rubio wrote in a press release.

Following the attack on October 7, many Americans began participating in demonstrations supporting Hamas terrorists' attack on Israel, with several of these demonstrations happening at U.S. colleges and universities.

Rubio's release says some people responsible for organizing and participating in the demonstrations across the U.S. supporting Hamas are in the country on visas.

"The Biden Administration has the authority and an obligation under existing law to immediately identify, cancel the visas of, and remove foreign nationals already here in America who have demonstrated support terrorist groups, and in many cases, even celebrated the slaughter of Israeli babies and the rape of Jewish girls," the Republican senator said.

"In addition to demanding the Biden Administration apply our existing laws, I will introduce legislation to force them to act," Rubio added.

Israel's Defense Forces said Sunday that Hamas terrorists are blocking civilians who wish to leave from evacuating Gaza.

IDF Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said early Sunday morning in a livestream on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that Hamas is blocking the evacuation of civilians.

Conricus said Hamas ordered residents in Gaza to ignore Israel's notice from Friday to evacuate the area as the IDF prepares for a potential ground attack. Civilians who still attempted to leave were stopped by Hamas.

"Through the night, rockets were fired at Tel Aviv and southern Israel," Conricus said, adding that fighting is happening in and around the northern part of the Gaza Strip as the IDF continues to attack "different military targets belonging to Hamas."

More than 3,600 people have been killed in the war since Hamas launched its attack last week, leading to retaliatory action from Israeli forces. Thousands more have been wounded, and many others have been taken hostage by Hamas and raped, tortured and murdered.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., argued that the U.S. should not accept refugees from Gaza amid violence in Israel resulting from Hamas terrorists' largest attack on the country in decades.

"We should NOT take in 1 million refugees from Gaza—a region prone to terrorism and anti-semitism," Biggs wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

"Where is the focus on our own southern border?" the congressman asked.

A video purportedly from 2019 shows Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the progressive Democrat of Michigan, saying that Israel and the Palestinian people should "coexist" after being asked if the former has a right to exist.

In the video obtained by Fox News Digital , the Michigan representative is seen having a spirited conversation with a self-described "concerned Jewish constituent."

"Separate but equal doesn't work, it didn't work with Blacks and Whites in our country, it shouldn't work in Israel," Tlaib says at the beginning of the clip. "Right?"

The person who took the video, who asked not to be publicly identified, pressed the Squad member, asking, "So would that be a right for Israel to exist?"

"Do they pay you guys?" Tlaib responded. "Do you work for Netanyahu?"

The questioner informs the representative that she is an American citizen, pressing Tlaib for an answer.

"Would you like to answer the question?" Tlaib is asked. "Congresswoman, it's really concerning for me that you can't just say that you believe Israel should exist."

Fox News'  Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Jon Street contributed to this report.

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - JULY 17: Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis delivers remarks at the 2023 Christians United for Israel summit on July 17, 2023, in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says the U.S. should not be receiving any refugees from Gaza in light of the Hamas terror attack against Israel, after at least one left-wing Democrat suggested it.

"I will say, and I don’t know what Biden’s going to do, but we cannot accept people from Gaza into this country as refugees," DeSantis, who is running for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, said on Saturday. "I am not going to do that."

DeSantis was speaking a week after the Hamas terror attack against Israel that killed over 1,300 Israelis. Israel has since launched a counterattack against Hamas in Gaza, sparking a significant displacement of the population. The United Nations has said that more than 423,000 Gaza citizens have been displaced. 

The U.S., under the Biden administration, has expanded refugee resettlement from a cap of 18,000 during the Trump administration to 125,000 now — although it did not come close to reaching that cap last year. Of the FY 2024 allocation, 30,000-45,000 is allocated for refugees from the Near East and South Asia.

The humanitarian situation has led to some concerns from Republicans that refugees from Gaza could end up in the United States. Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-NY, told the New York Post the U.S. should be open to accepting refugees from the area.

"Fifty percent of the population in Gaza are children. The international community as well as the United States should be prepared to welcome refugees from Palestine while being very careful to vet and not allow members of Hamas," he told the outlet.

An administration official told Fox News Digital this week that the U.S. "supports safe passage for civilians" and provides support to Palestinian refugees through support to the U.N, including the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) while also engaging in a "worldwide refugee resettlement program" in partnership with the U.N.

But DeSantis cited anti-Israeli views from the area as a reason they shouldn’t be allowed into the U.S.

"If you look at how they behave, not all of them are Hamas, but they’re all anti-Semitic, none of them believe in Israel’s right to exist, none of the Arab states are willing to take any of them," he said. "The Arab states should be taking them if you have refugees, you don’t fly people and import them into the United States of America."

He also noted the pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests that have taken place in the U.S., as well as in other Western countries.

"My view is very simple: If you don't like this country, if you hate America, you should not come to this country, we’ve got to start being smart about this."

Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Many Americans are trapped in Israel with very limited travel options back to the United States. (Fabrizio Gandolfo / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images / File)

As the war in Israel continues, Americans have attempted to make arrangements to get back to the United States but have had little success. Roman and Alexis Thomson are both hoping to find a way back home.

"It's been incredibly stressful these past couple of days. Basically, we have to change our plan every hour or two. And a lot of variables, things are changing, new news comes in. So, we're just doing our best to try and get home, but it's been very difficult," Roman said during an interview Thursday on "America Reports."

The couple spoke of the complicated process for making travel arrangements from Jerusalem. The pair hasn’t been able to get on a flight due to numerous factors, including cancelations and funding.

"We initially had a flight booked that was canceled. And so we tried to get on El Al, which is the only flight that's flying out. … Their nearest flight was over a week away, about a week and a half away that we could book on. So, we've been looking into other options," said Roman Thompson a Lawful Permanent Resident of the U.S. Thompson, who is Canadian, is hoping to get back by the end of this month when he has his U.S. citizenship interview. 

"Someone put us in touch with an organization called Project Dynamo, and their plan was to charter a flight for 300 Americans to leave the country. And they're now having some funding issues to getting the flight funded so that we can all fly out. So, we're kind of just taking it hour by hour."

Alexis went on to highlight how the couple has navigated the difficult time.

"This is a struggle for us, even as Americans because we hold two identities. This is us as people that really care that our brothers and sisters are being murdered, and we have the luxury to leave, but the American government isn't necessarily responding. And we have to find other means or pay a lot of money to find a flight that aren't even available to fly out at this point."

Co-host of "America Reports" Bill Hemmer asked about the possibility of the two leaving Israel by boat, an option that both expressed is a possibility but less than ideal.

"It's looking like we might have to do something like that. The word is that the U.S. government  is going to be flying the American citizens out, but the first flight is going to be during Shabbat, so we won't be able to fly on that," Roman said.

Fox News' Ashlyn Messier contributed to this update.

GAZA CITY, GAZA - OCTOBER 09: Smoke rises over the buildings as the Israeli airstrikes continue in Al-Rimal Neighbourhood of Gaza City, Gaza on October 9, 2023. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A former  Israel Defense Forces combat reservist says that Hamas must be severely damaged after it carried out a terror attack at a music festival, killing hundreds of people.

Benjamin Anthony, who previously was a combat reservist in the IDF and served during the Second Lebanon War, Operation Pillar of Defense, and Operation Protective Edge, told Fox News Digital that Hamas' capabilities must be limited.

"Hamas's ideology is a genocidal ideology. It calls within the charter of Hamas for the destruction and murder of Jews wherever they may be. It calls for the complete destruction of the state of Israel, though it doesn't name Israel specifically, rather all of the land that they define as Palestine, that sort of ideology," Anthony said. "I don't know that it can be destroyed, but I do know that it must be defanged."

"And I have faith in the capabilities of the Israel Defense Forces now that we have been brought to full height and full readiness to defang this evil beast that is Hamas," he added.

Anthony, who's also the co-founder and CEO of the MirYam Institute, said that he has never seen anything similar to the Hamas terrorist attack. 

"During my time in the Israel Defense Forces, I never saw anything that like the horrors that we've all borne witness to that took place inside the state of Israel emanating from the Gaza Strip at the hands of Hamas terrorists," Anthony said. "This past Saturday morning, not only have I never seen anything like it, but quite frankly, I don't think anybody's seen anything like this since the horrific events of the horrors of the Holocaust and now the evil that is Hamas has come and must know it is on full view for the world to see it on full view, for the world to recognize. And it is on full view for the states of his own, the people of Israel, to counter and hopefully to destroy."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Lod, Israel, on Thursday ahead of meetings with senior Israeli officials following Hamas' terrorist attacks on the country. (JACQUELYN MARTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with PRC Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday.

According to a readout of the call, Blinken "reiterated U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself and called for an immediate cessation of Hamas’ attacks and the release of all hostages."

"The Secretary also discussed the importance of maintaining stability in the region and discouraging other parties from entering the conflict," the readout also states.

According to the State Department, the two also "noted the importance of maintaining open channels of communication and responsibly managing the U.S.-China relationship."

AT SEA- DECEMBER 10: A F18 Super Hornet prepares to land on the deck of the USS Eisenhower off the coast of Virginia, December 10, 2015 in the Atlantic Ocean. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The USS Eisenhower carrier strike group will join the USS Ford carrier strike group in the eastern Mediterranean in a show of force, a senior U.S. defense official confirmed to Fox News on Saturday.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made the decision on Saturday, according to the official.

The development comes as Israeli forces are preparing to conduct a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.

"I have directed the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (CSG) to begin moving to the Eastern Mediterranean. As part of our effort to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas's attack on Israel, the Strike Group includes the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), guided-missile destroyers USS Gravely (DDG 107) and USS Mason (DDG 87), and Carrier Air Wing 3, with nine aircraft squadrons, and embarked headquarters staffs," Austin said in a statement. "The Eisenhower CSG will join the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which arrived earlier this week. The Ford CSG includes the USS Normandy, USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt. Earlier in the week, the U.S. Air Force announced deployment to the region of squadrons of F-15, F-16 and A-10 fighter aircraft."

"The increases to U.S. force Posture signal the United States' ironclad commitment to Israel's security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war," he added.

Fox News' Liz Fried contributed to this report.

(L to R) US President Joe Biden and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas deliver statements to the media after their meeting at the Muqataa Presidential Compound in the city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank on July 15, 2022. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)

President Biden had a phone call with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday as Israeli forces are getting ready to conduct a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.

A readout of the call states that Biden condemned Hamas' attack on Israel and "reiterated that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination."

"President Abbas briefed President Biden on his engagement in the region and his efforts to bring urgently needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza," the readout states.

During the call, Biden offered Abbas "his full support" for humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.

Biden also discussed U.S. efforts to prevent the conflict from spreading.

"Finally, President Biden detailed U.S. efforts to coordinate with partners to prevent the conflict from widening, and the two leaders discussed the need to preserve stability in the West Bank and the broader region," the readout states.

Fox News' Sarah Tobianski contributed to this update.

Pro-Palestinian protesters marched in Washington, D.C. on Saturday afternoon as Israeli forces are preparing a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.

Thousands of people showed up to the protest, which marched through the streets of Washington, D.C.

"To stand with Palestine is to stand with humanity," one poster reads.

1,300 Israeli civilians and soldiers have died during the war with Hamas, as well as 29 Americans. 15 American citizens are also unaccounted for.

Palestinian health authorities say at least 2,215 Palestinians have died.

Fox News' Jon Raasch contributed to this update.

Cars are on fire after they were hit by rockets from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg

Since the surprise attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, hundreds of civilians, including babies, the elderly, and soldiers have been killed, wounded or captured. Israel retaliated against Hamas by firing missiles into Gaza.

A terror attack by Hamas at a music festival in Israel claimed the lives of at least 260 concert-goers with many others kidnapped and injured. Those abducted — including American citizens — are still being held hostage in Gaza.

"We now know that American citizens are among those being held by Hamas," President Biden said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Below are the most recent numbers related to the war. Fox News Digital will continue to inform on fatalities, hostages, death toll and more as they are reported and confirmed by officials.

1. 29 Americans are reported dead
2. At least 1,300 Israeli civilians and soldiers have been killed
3. At least 3,000 Israelis have been injured
4. At least 8,700 Palestinians have been wounded
5. At least 2,215 Palestinians and Hamas terrorists have been killed
6. At least 150 soldiers and civilians are being held hostage in Gaza
7. At least 5,000 rockets have been fired by Hamas terrorists
8. At least 1,500 Hamas terrorists have been found dead
9. At least 260 died at the Tribe of Nova music festival
10. At least 70 terrorists invaded Kfar Aza
11. At least 200 Israelis were found dead in Kfar Aza
12. At least 30 missing persons have been located and rescued at a kibbutz
13. The population of Gaza is 2,000,000
14. The population of Israel is 9,795,000
15. 8 days of war as of Saturday, October 14

Fox News' Ashlyn Messier contributed to this update.

Biden criticism of Netanyahu govt sparks anger as Israeli president set to address Congress. (Credit: Getty Images)

President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, according to the prime minister's office.

According to the prime minister's office, Netanyahu thanked Biden for his "unwavering support."

"The 2 leaders discussed the situation focusing on the south. PM thanked the president for the security and intelligence aid," a readout states.

The phone call comes as the Israeli Defence Forces are preparing a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.

Fox News' Sarah Tobianski contributed to this update.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Israeli Defense Force soldiers on the front lines ahead of expected ground invasions. (Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו @netanyahu)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting with Israeli soldiers on the front lines ahead of expected ground invasions.

The prime minister posted a video of himself speaking with Israeli Defense Forcemembers, alluding to coming combat.

"With our fighters in the Gaza Strip, on the front line. We are all ready," Netanyahu wrote on social media.

In a video shared in the post, Netanyahu asks troops, "Are you ready for the next stage?"

"The next stage is coming," he says, without stating what the next stage of Israel's conflict with Hamas is.

Israel has called up some 360,000 troops and amassed forces on the border with Gaza ahead of an anticipated ground assault to annihilate Hamas' capabilities. 

The terror group launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, rampaging through communities in southern Israel and killing as many as 1,300 Israelis in the worst attack in the country's history.  

Fox News' Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this update.

New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks to thousands at a 'New York Stands With Israel' vigil and rally on October 10, 2023, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams delivered heartfelt remarks showing strong support for the city's Jewish community and Israel after the deadly terror attacks on October 7, the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. 

Speaking at a "New York Stands with Israel" rally on Tuesday, Adams said, "We are not all right" after the world witnessed the atrocities committed by Hamas in southern Israel, where terrorists committed murder, rape, torture and kidnappings and boastfully posted their crimes on social media. 

"We are not all right when we see young girls pulled from their home and dragged through the streets," Adams said to a crowd of thousands who had gathered to express solidarity with Israel. 

"We are not all right when we see grandmothers being pulled away from their homes, and children shot in front of their families. We are not all right when right here in the City of New York you have those who celebrate at the same time when the devastation is taking place in our city," he continued. 

"We are not all right when Hamas believes that they are fighting on behalf of something and their destructive, despicable action that carried out. We are not all right when we still have hostages who have not come home to their family. We are not all right, and we're not going to say we have a stiff upper lip and act like everything is fine. Everything is not fine. Israel has a right to defend itself, and that's the right that we know." 

Adams remarks came after Israel declared war on Hamas in a conflict that has now claimed more than 3,200 Israeli and Palestinian lives, including at least 27 Americans. Adams, President Biden and other world leaders have acknowledged Israel's right to self-defense, but the civilian casualties from Israel's retaliatory strikes — made worse because Hamas terrorists hide behind human shields — have stoked anti-Israel sentiment and antisemitism at home and abroad. 

Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this update.

Bilal Erdogan (C), son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan takes part in a demonstration in front of the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque to show solidarity with the Palestinian people, after Friday prayers in Istanbul on October 14, 2023. (YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images)

The son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended a large pro-Palestinian march in Istanbul on Saturday. 

Bilal Erdogan was accompanied by former Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and former speaker of Turkish parliament Mustafa Sentop, the Associated Press reported. 

“Let us make clear our side, we should at least let our feelings be heard,” Erdogan told The Associated Press.

The crowd of over 1,000 people carried Palestinian and Turkish flags while chanting slogans criticizing Israel and the United States.

In comments to the AP, Sentop said, "Everyone with a conscience, regardless of race or religion, are displaying their sentiments toward this genocide.”

Hamas called for Friday to be a "Day of Rage" and prompted massive protests all across the Muslim world against Israel's response to the Gaza attacks. 

Widespread demonstrations involving tens of thousands of people were reported in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, and other Middle East nations as well as European countries. 

The Associated Press contributed to this update.

Yonat Friling is a Sr. Field Producer for Fox News Media based in the Jerusalem Bureau

Fox News senior field producer Yonat Friling shared her firsthand account of the "horrors" she has encountered covering the brutal Hamas terror attack on Israel. 

"The most disturbing thing I have seen, since the Hamas attacks of October 7, is too horrible to describe and share here," Friling wrote in an op-ed for Fox News Digital. "In the past week, I have seen the most awful things that can be done to people of all ages—babies, older women, young teens -- scenes that I will never forget."

Friling said that she, like many others in Israel, has lost friends and colleagues to the campaign of terror waged on Israelis by Hamas. 

"There are 70,000 living near the Israel-Gaza border area, and in less than 24 hours, more than 1,000 of them have been slaughtered. Families seeking shelters on a sunny Saturday morning were killed; in some places, they barricaded themselves for 10 to 16 hours with no electricity or water, with only the clothes they had. They heard the Hamas militants' footsteps and their conversations in their homes. Each story we hear is more unfathomable than the other, more disturbing," Friling wrote. 

"The scene in Israel since the Hamas attacks is grim. Most of the towns and communities are empty. The streets are silent, shops are closed, and there are no people are walking around. There is a heavy army and police presence, and the smoke from the rockets and the airstrikes fills the air. 

"In the communities that were closest to the border, the houses of Israelis living there have been torched, and there's no resemblance to the vibrant lifestyle that was there just a few days ago. 

"I have covered many wars and conflicts here in Israel, but this is the hardest one I have encountered so far; I am at a loss for words to describe what I feel, and frankly, I haven't had the time to do so." 

An American whose family members are believed to have been killed or taken hostage by Hamas recounted their horrifying experience and encouraged others to share pictures and videos of the brutal attacks.

"There is no nuance in this situation. This is evil," LeElle Slifer told Fox News Digital.

Israel declared war on Hamas after the terror group launched a wide-scale attack on the Jewish state last weekend. Hamas has killed more than 1,300 Israeli civilians, and Israel's retaliatory strikes have killed more than 1,500 Palestinians, officials from both parties said Friday. Hamas is believed to have taken up to 150 hostages.

Slifer said she spotted her mother’s cousin, Kinneret, in a video of hostages with Hamas terrorists. Two days later, she said she saw another video which she believes shows Kinneret’s lifeless body. Kinneret’s body has still not been found.

"I am so thankful that we live in an age where we can quickly disseminate the truth because there is no arguing with pictures and videos," she added. "And unless people look at these things and see what pure evil looks like, we’ll never be able to stop it."

Fox News' Kassy Dillon contributed to this update.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams took aim at celebrities who "spew out" antisemitism during a speech at the city's largest synagogue.

"Far too many sports figures and entertainers are using these new terminologies of credible messengers and influencers to spew out hateful thinking in general, but specifically antisemitism," Adams said during his speech at the Temple Emanu-El Shabbat services Friday. 

Adams comments come as Israel continues to fight back against a surprise attack launched on the country by Hamas last weekend, dragging the country into a conflict that has already claimed thousands of lives. 

But the battle in Israel has also highlighted the continued battle against antisemitism at home. Hamas called for Friday to be a "Day of Rage" and capped off a week of protests nationwide against Israel's response to the Gaza attacks. 

One New York City rally last week promoted by the local Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) chapter included pro-Hamas demonstrators ridiculing Israel supporters with images of a swastika. 

Fox News' Michael Lee contributed to this update.

Fox News foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reported on the devastation left by Hamas' brutal attack on communities in southern Israel , including pets whose families were butchered.

A group of Israeli civilians on Saturday rescued a puppy from a small village near the Gaza border that was hit by Hamas terrorists. They told Yingst that the family who owned the puppy was killed during the attack on Saturday morning.

The dog, which appeared frightened by loud noises in the area, was "another indication of people who were just living their lives, they were with their families and their pets, and these militants went into their homes and killed so many people," Yingst said. 

Yingst reported that Israel has established a volunteer service to find and rescue animals abandoned in war torn communities. 

As many as 1,300 Israeli civilians were slaughtered when Hamas terrorists infiltrated the country on Oct. 7, entering into people's homes and raping, torturing and slaughtering those they found there. 

The terrorist attack in Israel is a "gift" for Russia, who will find America’s attention now divided and its resources potentially shifted away from Ukraine, in what could prove a critical point in the conflict, an expert told Fox News Digital. 

"This couldn’t have happened at a better time for Putin and at the worst time for Israel," Rebekah Koffler, president of Doctrine & Strategy Consulting and a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer, told Fox News Digital. 

"Putin will seize the momentum to escalate his war on Ukraine," she added. "Israelis will pay with their blood for Biden’s incompetent foreign policy in Eurasia and his appeasement of Iran."

Hamas terrorists launched thousands of missiles at Israel and invaded towns along the Gaza border on Saturday, killing at least over 1,300 people, including 27 Americans, and wounding thousands more, prompting Israel to declare war against the Iran-backed group.

Many countries immediately and clearly condemned the attack, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who expressed how "deeply shocked" he was by the news, as did leaders of European nations, including Germany and France. 

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday the recent surprise attack on Israel by Palestinian terrorists will lead to victory for all Palestinians over Israel, state media reported. 

In comments reported by IRNA news, Khamenei said, "all [countries] in the Muslim world have a duty to support Palestine." 

“Today, one of the representations of the power of Islam is the developments that are taking place in Palestine,” Khamenei said during a meeting with Nigeria Shia cleric Sheikh Ebrahim Zakzaki. 

Earlier on Tuesday Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, rejected allegations about his country’s role in Hamas' attacks against Israel and vowed to continue supporting the Palestinian territories.

Iran is a known backer of Hamas and praised the attacks on Israel. The State Department has stated in the past that Iran provides some $100 million a year to Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Biden administration officials have said there is no "specific evidence" that Iran helped Hamas plan and execute the attack on Israel, but acknowledged "broad complicity by the Iranians" in supporting terror throughout the region. 

Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Saturday urged Israel to call off its attacks on Gaza, warning that the terror group Hezbollah could join the war, attacking Israel from the north. 

After meeting with Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, Amirabdollahian told reporters in Beirut that the Lebanese terrorist group is monitoring the ongoing war in Gaza and is prepared to join the conflict. 

“I know about the scenarios that Hezbollah has put in place,” Amirabdollahian said. “Any step the resistance (Hezbollah) will take will cause a huge earthquake in the Zionist entity.”

Amirabdollahian added: “I want to warn the war criminals and those who support this entity before it’s too late to stop the crimes against civilians in Gaza, because it might be too late in few hours.”

Israel considers Hezbollah its most serious immediate threat, estimating it has some 150,000 rockets and missiles, including precision-guided missiles that can hit anywhere in Israel. The group, which has thousands of battle-hardened fighters who participated in Syria’s 12-year conflict, also has different types of military drones.

Israel Defense Forces have clashed with Hezbollah terrorists along Lebanon's border with Israel several times since Hamas provoked war with Israel on Oct. 7. 

The Associated Press contributed to this update.

A man who miraculously survived Hamas’ brutal terrorist attack on Israel describes the "horror show" he endured watching a massacre happen live as bullets were flying around him "in every direction" for at least five hours as he ran about 19 miles until he made it to safety. 

The survivor also describes a chilling moment when he took a call from his father while being shot at during what he thought were his last moments alive. At least 260 people were killed in the terror attack on the Tribe of Nova Trance music festival. 

Shahar Gabay attended the Saturday festival near the Israel-Gaza border that was one of the first targets of terrorism. Hamas terrorists used motor-powered hang gliders to enter the area, and shot at attendees for over four hours as they attempted to flee. Some were taken into Hamas captivity, and others were raped next to the dead bodies of their friends, according to a report from Tablet. 

"(The festival) was normal and it was really fun and then everything started to happen," Gabay told Fox News Digital. "We heard explosions and missiles and everything around us just changed in a minute. Total shock. Everyone ran. Everyone screamed. Everyone didn't know what to do. Also, you need to understand that at this location there is no safe place to be. There's no cover. It's all open fields and the missiles are within seconds of being launched on us." 

Gabay described a terrifying ordeal lasting more than five hours as he dodged bullets from terrorists. He described how terrifying it was that there was no place to hide, since the area was a flat desert. 

Fox News' Hannah Grossman and Maria Lencki contributed to this update.

IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said Friday the Israeli army recovered the bodies of several Israelis who have been missing since the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas and notified their families, Haaretz reported.

The Israeli army conducted raids in northern Gaza intended to "purge the area of terrorists and enemy munitions" and search for hostages, Hagari said. Soldiers "destroyed terrorist infrastructure and squads, including a Hamas unit that fired anti-tank missiles toward Israel," he added. 

Hagari said IDF found items that might lead to more missing Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, the report said.

Reports have indicated as many as 150 Israelis were taken captive by Hamas in last week's surprise attack. Israeli officials are in contact with the families of those who are missing as the government negotiates for the release of hostages. 

On Friday, Israel's coordinator for hostages and missing persons, Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, established a team of about 200 reserve officers to establish a communication line with the families, Haaretz reported. 

"We've recruited high-ranking, experienced officers for this sensitive and important task, so we could aid families through the present uncertainty," Hirsch said, promising to make in-person visits to each family. 

An IDF veteran and father of four living in the U.S. has re-enlisted and returned to Israel to join his daughters in the fight against Hamas. 

Boaz Arbel, who served in the Israeli Air Force for 22 years, joined "FOX & Friends" Friday from Tel Aviv after leaving his home in Massachusetts to serve alongside his children. 

"It's not an easy time for anyone, and I decided that I cannot just stay in my comfort at home in the Boston area, but I have to do something to protect my family, to protect my nation, and specifically my four daughters who grew up in the Boston area, and volunteer to go and take part in the IDF. So here I am to do what's right," Arbel said.

The veteran acknowledged that it will not be an "easy landing back" into service, but said he has an important role to play in the war effort.

"I was assigned to the Israeli Air Force headquarters in Tel Aviv to be a coordinator between the Air Force and the ground forces in the frontlines to make sure, among others, that no innocent people … are being hurt, and we just hit the right targets, only hit the terrorists and their bases. So that's something even an oldie like me could do. So I'm doing as much as I can to help."

The father exuded pride in his daughters' service and commitment to his homeland.

"My wife and I, who works for Friends of the IDF, we grew up very strong individuals, very strong young women that do what they believe in, do the right things… volunteering to give their fair share to the Jewish nation and the Israeli state, and to become part of something that is bigger than them. They always have the time to go back to college and to keep on in adult life when the time is right and when peace is here."

Fox News' Elizabeth Heckman contributed to this update.

Palestinians flee from northern Gaza to the south after the Israeli army issued an unprecedented evacuation warning to a population of over 1 million people in northern Gaza and Gaza City to seek refuge in the south ahead of a possible Israeli ground invasion, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

Israel and Egypt have reached an agreement to let U.S. citizens cross the border at Rafah on Saturday as Israel continues to pummel Hamas, a U.S. official said, according to the AFP news agency. 

The border crossing at Rafah is the only crossing from Gaza into Egypt. A U.S. official accompanying Secretary of State Antony Blinken on his tour in the Middle East reportedly said the two countries agreed to keep the border open from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.

The official said the United States did not yet have confirmation that the agreement was being implemented, "but the intention was to have it open," AFP reported.

The official added that Qatar, where Blinken visited Friday, has been pressuring Hamas, with which the Gulf nation has close ties, to allow movement, the report said. 

Approximately 500-600 U.S. citizens in the Gaza Strip have contacted the U.S. government looking for information on how to leave the war zone, the official told AFP. 

It is unclear if other foreign nationals will be allowed to cross the border at Rafah. 

Israel's military has ordered hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians to evacuate from Gaza City ahead of an anticipated Israeli ground offensive . Israeli Defense Forces say that Hamas terrorists are hiding in "terror tunnels" beneath houses and civilian buildings and has called on civilians to leave the area before soldiers move in to destroy Hamas. 

Israel warned 1.1 million people living in northern Gaza to flee before the operation begins. Palestinians are now scrambling to evacuate while Hamas has reportedly told civilians to ignore the IDF's warning and remain at home. 

Israel has amassed troops on the Gaza border but no order to invade has yet come down. 

The war has claimed at least 3,200 lives on both sides since Hamas launched a surprise terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7. 

President Biden has pledged unequivocal support for Israel as the Jewish state reels from what was the deadliest attack in its history, with at least 1,300 Israelis slaughtered as Hamas conducted rapes, torture and took at least 120 hostages back to Gaza. More than 3,400 Israelis were wounded in the violence. 

At least 2,215 Palestinians were killed since Israel began retaliatory airstrikes, with 8,714 wounded according to Palestinian authorities. 

The Associated Press contributed to this update.

Many people in Iran and the Iranian diaspora are standing up in support of Israel, despite the Islamic Republic's praise of the Hamas-led terror attack on Israelis, an activist and journalist said.

"It's just been incredible to see that these people who have been told that they're our enemies are, in fact, not at all," Emily Schrader, an Israeli-American journalist, told Fox News Digital. "They're our greatest defenders and their greatest allies. I have nothing but love for the people of Iran and I think I can speak for the majority, if not all of Israeli citizens as well."

Israel declared war on Hamas after the terror group launched a wide-scale attack on the Jewish state last weekend. On Friday, Israeli officials said over 1,300 Israeli civilians were killed by Hamas, while Palestinian authorities said over 1,500 Palestinians died from Israel's retaliatory strikes.

Iran is a known backer of Hamas and praised the attacks on Israel. The State Department has stated in the past that Iran provides some $100 million a year to Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Since the initial attack, Schrader said she has received many condolences from Iranians across the world, including in Iran. 

"It's been really, really moving to see how much the Iranian community, even inside of Iran, is supporting Israel," she said.

Fox News'  Teny Sahakian contributed to this report.

JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images

Meta announced plans Friday to increase efforts to enforce its policies against violence and misinformation as the war in Israel stemming from Hamas terrorists' largest attack on the country in decades continues.

The company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, established a "special operations center" with experts, including those who speak Hebrew and Arabic fluently, to monitor the social media platforms and remove content that violates Meta's policies faster.

In the first three days of the war in Israel, Meta removed or flagged more than 795,000 posts in Hebrew and Arabic for violating its policies on dangerous organizations and individuals, violent and graphic content and hate speech, the company said.

Meta said Hamas is banned from Facebook and Instagram under its dangerous organizations and individuals policy.

"We want to reiterate that our policies are designed to give everyone a voice while keeping people safe on our apps," the company said in a statement. "We apply these policies regardless of who is posting or their personal beliefs, and it is never our intention to suppress a particular community or point of view."

More than 2,800 people have been killed in the war in Israel thus far, including at least 1,300 Israeli civilians and soldiers and 27 Americans. Thousands more were wounded in the violence, and many others have been taken hostage by Hamas and raped, tortured and murdered.

Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

A group of 19 Republican governors sent a letter to President Biden regarding the ongoing war in Israel, saying his initial response to Hamas terrorists' attack was inadequate and his administration should take steps to "project American strength."

"We pledge our steadfast support to our ally Israel following the appalling attacks perpetrated against Israel’s sovereignty and innocent civilians on October 7, 2023," the governors wrote. "We write today to make clear that our states absolutely condemn these heinous acts of terrorism led by Iran-backed Hamas and proudly stand with Israel and the Jewish people."

"Your administration’s initial response—including a call for a ceasefire—created dangerous confusion that has only further emboldened state-sponsors of terror and their henchmen to continue attacking Israel," the letter continued. "Unfortunately, this type of international chaos and violence is a direct result of your administration’s appeasement-first foreign policy. Now is the moment to radically change course."

The letter added, "We call on you to project American strength by, among other things, clearly and unequivocally condemning these attacks and supporting Israel’s unquestioned right to respond and defend itself. When the lives of American citizens hang in the balance, the American President must speak boldly and act decisively."

The governors list of requests includes prioritizing the protection of Americans who remain in harm's way in Israel, providing "unequivocal support" to Israel as it defends itself from Hamas' attacks, easing Biden's "appeasement and empowerment" of Iran including freezing the $6 billion payment made to the country in a prison exchange and closing the U.S.-Mexico border to "protect Americans from similar threats at home."

More than 2,800 people have been killed in the war since Hamas launched its largest attack on Israel in decades last week, leading to retaliatory action from Israeli forces. Thousands more have been wounded, and many others have been taken hostage by Hamas and raped, tortured and murdered.

Scott Eisen/Getty Images

The statement from around 30 Harvard University student groups holding Israel responsible for the attack on the country by Hamas terrorists has been deleted after widespread backlash.

The Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups wrote, "We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence."

"Today’s events did not occur in a vacuum," the since-deleted statement continued. "For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison. Israeli officials promise to ‘open the gates of hell,’ and the massacres in Gaza have already commenced. Palestinians in Gaza have no shelters for refuge and nowhere to escape. In the coming days, Palestinians will be forced to bear the full brunt of Israel’s violence."

Harvard president Claudine Gray later released a video message in response to the letter in which she said the university "rejects terrorism," including the "barbaric atrocities perpetrated by Hamas" as well as "hate" against "any group of people based on their faith."

The statement from the student groups was deleted after several of the groups withdrew their names amid bipartisan backlash and after some CEOs demanded Harvard release the names of the students who signed the statement.

More than 2,800 people have been killed in the war since Hamas launched its largest attack on Israel in decades last week, leading to retaliatory action from Israeli forces. Thousands more have been wounded, and many others have been taken hostage by Hamas and raped, tortured and murdered.

Several hundred pro-Palestine demonstrators marched through the streets of downtown Portland, starting and ending at city hall, as war in Israel continues following the attack on the country by Hamas terrorists.

Speakers slammed local politicians, including U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, for expressing support for Israel.

No counter protesters were seen at the demonstration.

Police walked on the sidewalk alongside the demonstrators but did not appear to interact with them, despite being heckled. No vandalism or aggression was observed except toward security guards and one streamer at the very end of the event.

Fox News' Hannah Lambert contributed to this report.

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer listens to a question at a news conference on Oct. 9, 2023 in Beijing. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Protesters were arrested outside Sen. Chuck Schumer's, D-N.Y., New York City apartment on Friday night, Fox News Digital has confirmed. 

The arrests took place during a pro-Palestinian protest outside the senator's apartment. Schumer is expected to travel to Israel as part of a bipartisan CODEL trip this weekend.

A police spokesman didn't say how many people were arrested.

The protest took place after a number of pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the city.

Schumer had Shabbat dinner with his family before he's scheduled to for Israel, according to a post on X from his office.

At least two men were arrested on Friday afternoon during a separate protest after fighting with each other.

Video from that protest shows a large group of demonstrators shouting "Set him free!"

At least 2,800 people have been killed druing the Israel-Hamas war, including at least 1,200 Israeli civilians.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have come to an agreement in principle on a deal that would see the country formally recognize Israel. (Royal Court of Saudi Arabia / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia has switched focus from a deal with Israel to a deal with Iran following the terror attack by Hamas on Israel last week, according to a report. 

At least 2,800 people have died since Hamas launched thousands of rockets on Israel over the weekend, pushing Israel to declare it was at war with the terrorist group and issue warnings to residents in Gaza ahead of operations in the territory to root out the group.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Fox News' Trey Yingst that their infantry forces and tanks entered the Gaza Strip on Friday to conduct localized raids - but not yet begun its much-anticipated ground invasion of the region. 

Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has already spoken with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in an effort to stymie potential further violence across the region

One of the sources said that talks could not continue for now and that Saudi Arabia would need to prioritize concessions for the Palestinian people when discussion resumed. 

A senior Iranian official told Reuters the call, made by Raisi to the crown prince, aimed to support "Palestine and prevent the spread of war in the region," adding that the call was "good and promising." 

A second Iranian official said the call lasted 45 minutes and had the blessing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israeli and Saudi leaders had touted progress towards agreeing to a deal of normalization, which would have had significant consequences for the region.

Fox News' Peter Aitken and Reuters contributed to this update.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited the site of the Supernova music festival attack where hundreds of people were killed by Hamas terrorists.

"Ursula von der Leyen toured the sites of the October 7 massacre alongside Roberta Metsola. The IDF thanks the European Union for firmly standing with Israel," The IDF wrote in a post on X.

She traveled with Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament.

"In Kfar Azza, at the scene of the atrocity and murder. The unspeakable acts committed by Hamas here will go down in global infamy. Hamas are terrorists. They don't represent the aspirations of the Palestinian people, they hinder it. Their brutality can never be justified," Metsola wrote on X.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 28: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) speaks following a Democratic policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on March 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. Credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Protesters have been arrested near Sen. Chuck Schumer's home, a New York City Police Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

The arrests took place during a pro-Palestinian protest outside of the Senator's apartment.

An NYPD spokesperson didn't give additional information regarding how many people were arrested.

People wait in departing section at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel's only international airport, after many flights from abroad are canceled due to the attacks launched by Hamas militants. (Turgut Alp Boyraz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images/File/Fox News)

The first U.S. flight evacuating American citizens out of war-torn Israel landed in Greece on Friday, a State Department official confirmed.

Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesperson, shared the news on X, saying that the first chartered flight landed in Athens.

"While many U.S. citizens are departing Israel on commercial transportation, the State Department is chartering flights to provide additional options and capacity," Miller wrote. "Our first flight carrying U.S. citizens and their immediate family members from Israel is wheels down in Athens."

"A big thank you to everyone involved in making this possible. Our work continues," he added.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby first announced the news to charter flights for American citizens in Israel on Thursday.

Kirby said the U.S. government is "acutely aware" of the limited availability on commercial flights out of Israel and U.S. citizens who may want to depart. 

"The president has asked his team to ensure that we are assisting U.S. citizens who do want to leave Israel and providing them with a safe means of doing that," he said. "So beginning tomorrow, the United States government will arrange charter flights to provide transportation from Israel to sites in Europe." 

Kirby also said that the U.S. government is "exploring other options" by "land and by sea."

"They're still working through some of the details of that, to assist U.S. citizens and their immediate family members who have, for whatever reason, not been able to provide commercial transit out of the country," Kirby added. "And I would add that we're also exploring other options to expand the capacity of doing this, including exploring whether it's possible to help Americans leave by land and by sea."

Kirby made the announcement of the evacuation flights after saying that 27 Americans have now been confirmed killed in the Israel-Hamas war, and that 14 remain unaccounted for. 

"Sadly, five more families have now gotten the worst possible news that any family can conceive of getting. And we're going to stay in touch with them as appropriate," Kirby said. "Same goes for those family members of those who are unaccounted for and by unaccounted for, we mean that. We don't know where they are. They don't know where they are.   

Fox News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Greg Norman contributed to this report.

President Biden said "death" is his main concern with an Israeli ground invasion of the Gaza Strip when asked by Fox News' Peter Doocy on Friday.

"President Biden? What worries you about a potential Israeli ground invasion?" Doocy asked.

"Death," Biden responded.

His comments come as Israeli forces are reportedly preparing for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.

Fox News' Peter Doocy contributed to this report.

Students gather in the Dertouzos Amphitheater at the Stata Center of M.I.T. to show support for the Palestinian people. (Fox News Digital/Kassy Dillon)

College campuses have erupted in shows of support with protests on Thursday and Friday for the Palestinian people following the Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel last week.

At least 2,300 people have died since Hamas launched thousands of rockets on Israel over the weekend, pushing Israel to declare it was at war with the terrorist group and issue warnings to residents in Gaza ahead of operations in the territory to root out the group.

Former Hamas leader Khaled Mashal labeled Friday a global day of "rage" and protest, which resulted in protests in Arab nations throughout the region. Mashal stressed that the protests would send a "message of rage to Zionists and to America." 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Fox News' Trey Yingst that their infantry forces and tanks entered the Gaza Strip on Friday to conduct localized raids - but not yet begun its much-anticipated ground invasion of the region. 

The protests, not limited to campuses in the cases of some New York City colleges such as Baruch College on the city’s Upper East Side, took aim at Israel for its treatment of the Palestinian people over the past decades and Israel’s apparent response.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Students for Justice in Palestine called for a Day of Resistance on Thursday, advising students to show up wearing masks and face coverings as well as plain clothes. 

Nearly a dozen student groups had signed on as co-sponsors for the protest. The post online calling for the protests included the famous rallying cry "From the river to the sea," which can be understood as a call for the "dismantling of the Jewish state," and has long been used by anti-Israel groups like Hamas, according to the Anti-Defamation League. 

UMass Amherst students turned out to support justice in Palestine on Thursday, calling for students to meet outside the college’s student union to stand in solidarity with Palestinians "breaking out of their open-air prison."

A speaker at the event said the organizers "stand in full solidarity with Palestinians as they resist over 75 years of Israeli settler colonialism and apartheid."

"Resistance is justified when people are occupied," another speaker shouted. "What did you expect would happen when you besieged Gaza for all of these decades!"

Portland State University students had planned a protest but called it off until further notice due to "safety concerns" and distanced themselves from a protest that was occurring at Portland City Hall, stressing it was "not affiliated" with them.

Around 300 to 400 protesters showed up to Portland City Hall but appeared to disperse around 4 p.m.

Hundreds of students turned out on Thursday on Columbia University’s main campus, many draped in or carrying Israeli flags or adorned with the Palestinian keffiyeh (headscarf) in support of each side. The protests remained peaceful.

At Baruch’s event, New York City police arrested the demonstrators, including pro-Israel counter-protesters who showed up at the event. Signs held by protesters include questions about the viral claim that the Israel Defense Force (IDF) found beheaded infantsamong the dead on a kibbutz in southern Israel and whether "killing kids" is "self-defense." 

Jewish students at the colleges called the protests "unjust" for the fact that they supported "a terrorist organization." 

"They are not supporting Palestinians who want peace with Israel," one protester told Fox News Digital. "They are supporting a deep-rooted hate of Jews."

Fox News Digital’s Peter Aitken, Kassy Dillon and Megan Myers contributed to this report. 

The Israeli Defense Forces attacked a Hezbollah target in southern Lebanon on early Saturday morning local time.

"The IDF attacked a Hezbollah target in southern Lebanon a short time ago in response to the infiltration of unidentified vessels that were intercepted and the shooting that was carried out at an unmanned IDF aircraft. The launch at the aircraft was intercepted," IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators attend a protest at Columbia University in New York City, New York on Thursday, October 12, 2023. Dueling demonstrations for both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli student groups were hosted on the campus amidst calls for global protests regarding the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Credit: Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital

Protests supporting both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples keep tensions high on Columbia University's campus, where an Israeli student was attacked Wednesday with a stick outside the school’s main library.

At least 2,300 people have died since Hamas launched thousands of rockets on Israel over the weekend, pushing Israel to declare it was at war with the terrorist group and issue warnings to residents in Gaza ahead of operations in the territory to root out the group.

Hundreds of students turned out on Columbia’s main campus Thursday, many draped in or carrying Israeli flags or adorned with the Palestinian keffiyeh (headscarf) in demonstrations of support of reach side. 

The protests remained peaceful, but they followed Wednesday’s attack, which occurred at around 6:10 p.m. after 19-year-old Maxwell Friedman, who identifies as female, got into an argument with a 24-year-old who is named only as I.A. over flyers he had posted with names and pictures of Israeli hostages. 

Friedman had been ripping down the posters after initially offering to help the group, telling them she was Jewish. She also allegedly assaulted I.A. with a stick, according to the school’s paper the Columbia Daily Spectator.

Friedman was arrested and charged with assault. 

Joseph Massad, a Columbia professor of modern Arab politics and intellectual history, earlier this week wrote an article published on The Electronic Intifada that highlighted Hamas’s attack as "astounding" as he called Israel "cruel colonizers." 

"The sight of the Palestinian resistance fighters storming Israeli checkpoints separating Gaza from Israel was astounding, not only to the Israelis but especially to the Palestinian and Arab peoples who came out across the region to march in support of the Palestinians in their battle against their cruel colonizers," Massad wrote.

"But as the ongoing war between the Israeli colonial army and the indigenous Palestinian resistance has only just begun, the days to come will surely be crucial in determining if this is the start of the Palestinian War of Liberation or yet another battle in the interminable struggle between the colonizer and the colonized," he concluded in his article. 

The protests are just some of many that have occurred on college campus across the country as students remain divided on the issue, with many turning out to defend the Palestinian people or condemn Hamas’s attack – all against the backdrop of controversial statements from student groups at NYU Law School, Harvard University and others. 

Dozens of student groups signed onto statements that held Israel "entirely responsible" for the terrorist attack and subsequent violence in the region. 

Harvard president Claudine Gray released a video in response to the letter, stressing that the university "rejects terrorism," including the "barbaric atrocities perpetrated by Hamas" as well as "hate" against "any group of people based on their faith." 

At least five groups withdrew their support of the statement as of Wednesday. 

Fox News' Peter Aitken contributed to this update.

Former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman shared his insights into the escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza with "The Story" host Martha MacCallum.

"Unfortunately, I've witnessed many wars, including the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War and the Second Lebanon War…but this is truly different. In fact, much worse and horrendous than even the Yom Kippur War, because what we've witnessed this time is animals…They are wild beasts," Gillerman responds to MacCallum's inquiry on his perspective.

"They came in, they mutilated bodies, they beheaded babies, they raped women…Hamas, this time, made ISIS look like Mother Teresa," he expressed. "I think this will go all the way until we obliterate and diminish, not just diminish, but demolish Hamas."

Gillerman continued, "We will not stop until the last Hamas terrorist and the last Hamas leader has met the 72 virgins they yearn to join in heaven."

Host Martha MacCallum shared her perspective, "Backed by Iran, [Hamas has] tried to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, and now Israel has a similar mission toward Hamas. It is a terrible time for that region."

The former ambassador concludes the interview, "We all know that Hamas is a proxy of Iran; this was, I think, initiated by Iran…They do not wish to see peace in the Middle East. They want to see carnage and will do everything to sabotage [peace agreements in the Middle East]."

Fox News' Maeghan Dolph contributed to this report.

Pro-Palestinian protesters were seen jumping barricades outside the Israeli consulate on Friday evening.

During the protest on Friday, at least two men were arrested on Friday afternoon after fighting with each other.

Earlier video shows police taking one masked individual into custody, with other protesters shouting "set him free!"

At least 2,800 people have been killed during the Israel-Hamas war, including at least 1,200 Israeli civilians.

Chicago Ald. Raymond Lopez speaks in favor of a resolution to show solidarity with Israel during a special City Council meeting Friday. (City of Chicago)

The Chicago City Council on Friday passed a resolution during a special meeting to show solidarity with Israel that saw pro-Palestinian protesters removed from the chambers as tensions flared over events happening thousands of miles away. 

The measure was passed in a voice vote with no official tally taken following nearly three hours of a sometimes heated debate. Under the Israel Solidarity Resolution , the city will "condemn this heinous terrorist attack by Hamas, stand in support of Israel, express our deepest sorrow for all innocent civilians, and pray for the safe release of all the hostages taken into Gaza."

Supporters of the Palestinians were at City Hall protesting against the measure, calling it "Anti-Palestinian." They had planned to "flood city hall" with hopes of blocking the show of support to Israel. 

The vote came as Israel continues its military offensive against the Hamas terrorist group following the killing and kidnapping of Israeli civilians, including babies and young children, in communities near the Gaza Strip last week. 

At one point, Mayor Brandon Johnson ordered the sergeant-at-arms to remove everyone on the second floor of the council chambers after the protesters kept interrupting the city clerk as she read the proposed resolution, FOX Chicago reported.

They began protesting in the lobby. Some protesters chanted, "Free, free Palestine." At one point, when a person supporting Israel interrupted, the crowd began chanting, "Kick them out!" The council eventually took a five-minute break as the protesters were cleared out. 

The resolution was proposed by Alderperson Debra Silverstein. During the debate, Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez stated her opposition to the measure. 

"Although I wholeheartedly agree that the attacks from Hamas are brutal and that no one should be subjected to that violence, I also understand that the situation is more nuanced than what this resolution expresses," he said. 

During his remarks, Alderman Raymond Lopez assailed critics of Israel amid the deadly events perpetrated on its citizens. 

"Too many in here and out have worked to manufacture a narrative and blame the victim of terror as being responsible for what has unfolded," he said. "Would any of us… would try to legitimize attacks on our own country following 9/11? Would we have given excuse or safe harbor or an apology to Osama bin Laden for killing nearly 3,000 Americans?"

Several American cities have seen protests against Israel by pro-Palestinian supporters since the Oct. 7 attack. Instead of condemning Hamas, many have spoken out against Israel for military operations in besieged territory, citing civilian casualties. 

Fox News' Louis Casiano contributed to this update.

The New York City Police Department took a pro-Palestinian protester into custody during a protest at Baruch College on Friday.

A police spokesperson confirmed to Fox News that at least two men were arrested on Friday afternoon after fighting with each other.

Video shows police taking one masked individual into custody, with other protesters shouting "set him free!"

At least 2,800 people have been killed during the Israel-Hamas war, including at least 1,200 Israeli civilians.

A barrage of rockets are fired by Palestinian militants into Israel. Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images

The White House had an unclassified briefing with members of Congress this week about potentially adding aid to Israel in a package with Ukraine, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. 

A source told Fox News Digital senior officials in the administration briefed the upper chamber on a phone call that it would like to see a "mega package" of aid to both nations, as well for Taiwan, border security and a nonprofit security program to protect houses of worship like synagogues, mosques and churches.

But the Senate is out on recess until next week, and the House is frozen without a leader after it voted to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., last week. Negotiations in the upper chamber are more likely to go public next week since the temporary spending patch for the government expires Nov. 17. The current spending deal does not include any additional assistance to Ukraine. 

While talks behind closed doors began this week, the Biden administration has not publicly asked Congress for a funding package for Israel, which would mainly replenish its weaponry and strengthen its Iron Dome defense. The administration did not put a figure on the supplemental package the White House is seeking.

One source familiar with the talks said congressional members "brought up what Israel might need" and "asked the (administration) their plans." The administration outlined three areas for Israeli military support: precision-guided munitions, artillery and air defense, also known as the Iron Dome.  

According to another GOP aide, there is more bipartisan support for aid to Israel in both chambers compared to those who are supportive of sending more aid to the Eastern European nation. Ukraine has already received upward of $100 billion from the federal government to aid in its defense against the Russian invasion that began in February 2022.

The difference between the two regions, one GOP aide said, is that Ukraine needs much more support on a "ground zero" scale, whereas Israel is already an established nation that will likely need a much smaller funding amount to support its fight against Hamas.

Fox News' Jamie Joseph contributed to this update

President Joe Biden speaks in the State Dining Room of the White House, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, in Washington, after the militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

President Biden spoke with family members of the 14 Americans who are currently unaccounted for in Israel as the country is in a war with Hamas.

A White House official said on Friday that Biden and his national security team spoke with the families on a Zoom call.

According to the spokesperson, Biden said that the U.S. is working extensively to try and bring the missing people home.

"This morning, the president, before departing the White House, had an opportunity to meet with his national security team and then had an opportunity to spend more than an hour on a Zoom call with family members of the 14 Americans still unaccounted for, following this week's horrific attacks in Israel . Today's call was led by a special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, Roger Carstens, and included members of -- a couple of members of each family. The president conveyed directly to these families that they have been in his prayers and reaffirmed that the U.S. government is doing everything possible to locate and bring home their loved ones. Several of the family members shared shared information about their loved ones and their personal experiences as they endure an unimaginable ordeal," the official said.

A State Department spokesperson said in a post on X that its first charter flight carrying U.S. citizens who were in Israel has landed in Athens.

"While many U.S. citizens  are departing Israel on commercial transportation, @StateDept is chartering flights to provide additional options and capacity. Our first flight carrying U.S. citizens and their immediate family members from Israel is wheels down in Athens. A big thank you to everyone involved in making this possible. Our work continues," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller wrote.

Israeli tanks head towards the Gaza Strip border in southern Israel on Thursday. AP/Ohad Zwigenberg

U.S. officials say that they had no intelligence warning of a large-scale Hamas attack taking place in Israel, despite reports that there were indications of potential activity last weekend.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that U.S. officials would have warned an ally if they knew of a possible attack.

"What I can tell you is that if we had known or if we know of a pending attack against an ally, we would clearly inform that ally," Austin said.

At least 2,800 people have been killed during the Israel-Hamas war, including at least 1,200 Israeli civilians.

Fox News' Liz Friden contributed to this report.

A man is arrested during a pro-Palestinian protest in New York City. Credit: Peter Gerber

The New York City Police Department confirmed to Fox News that two men were arrested on Friday afternoon for fighting with each other.

One pro-Palestinian protester was arrested and one pro-Israel protester was arrested as well.

The arrests took place during a pro-Palestinian protest at Baruch College.

Stanford President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez issued a lengthy statement addressing "several issues that have arisen" on campus since the Hamas terror attacks in Israel. (David Madison/Getty Images/Photo by Momen Faiz/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

A Stanford University instructor is sidelined for "identity-based targeting of students" as the school probes a situation that caused "serious concern" on the heels of the brutal Hamas terror attacks in Israel.   

Stanford President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez issued a lengthy statement addressing "several issues that have arisen" on campus since the Hamas terror attack, including the apparent benching of an unnamed instructor. 

"We want to make clear that Stanford stands unequivocally against hatred on the basis of religion, race, ethnicity, national origin, and other categories. The expression of political views, in appropriate times and places, is important. Thoughtful, reasoned discussion of current issues is central to the life of the university. Our commitment to academic freedom means that latitude for expression of controversial and even offensive views is necessary to avoid chilling freedom of thought and ideas," the statement read. 

Saller and Martinez then added, "But harassment and abuse have no place here. We are committed to working with affected communities to provide support and resources, and also to ensuring the physical safety of those on campus." 

"We have received a report of a class in which a non-faculty instructor is reported to have addressed the Middle East conflict in a manner that called out individual students in class based on their backgrounds and identities. Without prejudging the matter, this report is a cause for serious concern. Academic freedom does not permit the identity-based targeting of students," they continued. "The instructor in this course is not currently teaching while the university works to ascertain the facts of the situation."

Stanford University declined further comment. 

"As this is a personnel matter, we are not in a position to identity anyone involved or comment further at this time," a university spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

The instructor has not been publicly named. 

Forward, a nonprofit news organization that covers "issues, ideas and institutions that matter to American Jews," spoke with Rabbi Dov Greenberg, director of the Chabad Stanford Jewish Center about the ordeal. Rabbi Greenberg said he was told by three students that the instructor asked Jewish and Israeli students to identify themselves during an undergraduate course called "Civil, Liberal and Global Education.

Greenberg told Forward that the teacher then told the Jewish students to take their belongings and stand in a corner because "this is what Israel does to the Palestinians."

"The instructor then asked, ‘How many people died in the Holocaust?’ When a student answered, ‘Six million,’ the lecturer said, ‘Colonizers killed more than 6 million. Israel is a colonizer,’" Forward reporter Beth Harpaz wrote. 

"He’s saying Israel is worse than the Nazis and Hamas is innocent. This is what Jewish students face at Stanford and other places. They’re feeling isolated, under attack and threatened," Greenberg told Forward.

Greenberg also told Forward that impacted students were scared to speak up out of fear they would be penalized.

Rabbi Greenberg told Fox News Digital that the Forward piece is accurate. 

"I can confirm all of that," he wrote via email. 

Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.

A plainclothes security guard stands watch outside the Israeli Embassy in Beijing. The embassy was the site of a violent stabbing on Friday when a foreign national attacked a family member of an Israeli diplomat. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

An Israeli embassy employee was stabbed outside his workplace in China on Friday, according to Chinese and Israeli authorities. 

The 50-year-old man, described as a family member of an Israeli diplomat, was attacked upon exiting the Beijing embassy.

"The employee was transferred to hospital and he is in a stable condition," the Israeli government said in a statement.

Beijing police have arrested a suspect in the stabbing, whom they describe as a 53-year-old foreigner. 

China has been tepid in taking sides following the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel.

Israeli officials complained that there was "no clear and unequivocal condemnation of the terrible massacre committed by the terrorist organization Hamas against innocent civilians and the abduction of dozens of them to Gaza."

The Israeli statement continued, "The Chinese announcements do not contain any element of Israel’s right to defend itself and its citizens, a fundamental right of any sovereign country that was attacked in an unprecedented manner and with cruelty that has no place in human society."

China gave little ground in response to Israel's complaints, offering a simple reaffirmation towards de-escalation and peace in the region.

"China will continue to work unremittingly for de-escalation of the situation and the resumption of peace talks," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin.

Members of the U.N. Security Council hold a meeting at the United Nations headquarters on July 13, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

As Israel reels from the deadliest terror attack in years by Hamas, the  United Nations Security Council still does not recognize or sanction Hamas as a terror group -- despite multiple other nations declaring it to be so.

"The U.N. Security Council votes to impose sanctions and designations on groups like al Qaeda, the Taliban or ISIS. But no such sanctions or designations exist for Iran’s axis of terror groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah," Richard Goldberg, senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. 

The Council, under resolutions passed in 1999, 2011 and 2015, sanctions ISIS and al Qaeda, along with associated individuals and groups. The Council’s committee on those resolutions oversees sanctions measured imposed by the council.

However, there are no such sanctions in place for Hamas and Hezbollah. The lack of sanctioning comes as Israel is pushing back against Hamas after it was hit by a surprise attack that killed more than 1,300 Israelis. 

"The U.N. insists these are legitimate political movements and therefore can freely work with them," said Goldberg, who previously served as the director for countering weapons of destruction at the White House National Security Council between 2019 and 2020.

Israeli and U.S. officials have criticized the U.N., including the Security Council -- which is made up of 15 members, including permanent membership for the U.S., U.K., France, China and Russia -- for allegedly having an anti-Israel bias. The U.S. under former President Trump introduced a resolution in 2018 to label Hamas as a terror group, but it received only one vote in favor – that of the United States.

Russia and its veto power often form a roadblock on the Council for any action against Iran and Iran-backed entities. The Associated Press reported this week that the U.S. demanded the Council condemn "these heinous terrorist attacks committed by Hamas," but no immediate action was taken.

Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this update.

The leaders of a pro-Palestinian rally held at the University of Virginia on Thursday did not want to reveal their identities and discouraged the event attendees from speaking with the media, despite claiming to be Gaza advocates. 

"The press here, you guys can all see them, we strongly discourage speaking to them," the masked student organizer hosting the event said. "We would really strongly ask you not identify anyone, especially if you know any of the leaders of this event. Please don't identify them to the press or to anyone else." 

Members of the Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Virginia, which organized the event, distributed papers asking the press to "not approach students or organizers for comment." Another Students for Justice in Palestine event held Tuesday at George Washington University similarly discouraged attendees from engaging with reporters. 

Nearly all the students at the event, including the organizers, declined repeated requests for comment. However, despite the organizers' attempts to stifle dialogue with the media, some attendees spoke with Fox News Digital.

"My biggest hope is that they manage to overthrow the government of Israel," Alex, a University of Virginia alumni who attended the event, told Fox News Digital. "It's nice to see them making a push against Israel."

Alex did not specify whether she was referring to Palestinians or Hamas terrorists. However, when asked about Hamas' attacks in Israel on Saturday, they responded, "it's great that they're making a move against the IDF."

"There's been a lot of accusations of various atrocities, which I take with a grain of salt," Alex continued. "Only one side has the power to stop the violence, and it's Israel."

Pro-Israel college students at the University of Massachusetts were disgusted at the rhetoric used at a pro-Palestinian demonstration on campus celebrating the "historic win" of Hamas' deadly attack on Israel.

"I was overwhelmed by how many people came out to support what I think is just terrible," Olive, a Jewish college student, said. "It’s a massacre of innocent civilians, and it should be strongly condemned, and instead they’re here celebrating this."

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protests and vigils have taken place in several major U.S. cities following Hamas' deadly surprise attack on Saturday that's led to at least 1,200 Israelis killed and many others taken as hostages, including soldiers, women, children and older civilians. The Israeli government declared war against Hamas and begun an assault on Gaza in response, killing at least 1,400 in the territory, according to Palestinian authorities. 

Many college campuses have held demonstrations for the Israel-Hamas war, including hundreds who gathered for a protest led by UMass Amherst students to support justice in Palestine on Thursday. The flyer posted on social media for the event told students to meet outside the college’s student union to stand in solidarity with Palestinians "breaking out of their open air prison." 

"It was a very peaceful protest," Hakan, a pro-Palestinian supporter, told Fox News Digital during the event. "Palestine will be free."

"A lot of people came to support," he continued. "Some people came to try and make a scene."

A small group of pro-Israeli protesters showed up to the event. Some students told Fox News Digital the demonstration was "disgusting" and "upsetting."

"They are supporting a terrorist organization," Milana said. "They are not supporting Palestinians who want peace with Israel. They are supporting a deep-rooted hate of Jews. It’s unjust."

Fox News' Megan Myers contributed to this update.

Omer Neutra, an Israeli-American citizen born in New York, was captured by the militant group on Oct. 10 while serving in the Israel Defense Force, his family said. (Facebook/Jewish Midway Center)

A New York college student has been captured by Hamas after war broke out between Israel and Gaza last weekend, according to a statement from his family.

Omer Neutra, an Israeli-American citizen born in New York, was captured by Hamas along the Israel-Gaza border on Oct. 10 while serving in the Israel Defense Force, his family said.

"He's a born leader and a great son, friend, and a passionate, giving person. After graduating high school, he decided to defer his college acceptance and spend a gap year in Israel connecting with our family's roots," Neutra's parents, Ronen and Orna Neutra, said in a statement posted to Facebook by the Plainview Volunteer Fire Department on Long Island. "This experience impacted his decision to stay in Israel and do what he believed in — serving and protecting the people of Israel."

His family added that Neutra was doing exactly that when Hamas captured him three days ago, and they have not heard from him since.

On Oct. 11, New York City Mayor Eric Adams met with Neutra's parents.

"The war hits home. Ronen and Orna of Long Island are waiting news on their son Omer, who was kidnapped by Hamas this weekend," the mayor said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. "This fight is our fight. It just is. We #StandWithIsrael. And we must bring every hostage home."

The Neutras pleaded with Hamas leaders to treat their son and other hostages "in a humanitarian way in accordance with international law."

Fox News' Audrey Conklin contributed to this update.

An employee at the Israeli Embassy in Beijing was stabbed Friday in front of a supermarket, Chinese police and the Israeli Foreign Ministry said. 

Beijing police said they had arrested a suspect, a 53-year-old foreign man. They described the victim as a family member of an Israeli diplomat. No motive was given for the attack, and it was unclear if it was connected to the war between Israel and the militant group Hamas, the Associated Press reported. 

“The employee was transferred to hospital and he is in a stable condition,” an Israeli government statement said, without giving additional details.

U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns offered support for Israelis in China after news of the attack. 

"We are shocked by today's attack on an Israeli diplomat in Beijing. I spoke with Israel's Ambassador to China, Irit Ben-Abba, and have offered our full support to the Israeli Embassy and Israeli community in China," Burns said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this update.

Reuters cameraman Issam Abdallah was killed Friday while covering the ongoing conflict on the Israel-Lebanon border. (issamabdallah/ Instagram)

Reuters confirmed Friday that a crew member covering the growing conflict between Israel and Lebanese terrorists on its northern border was killed. 

"We are deeply saddened to learn that our videographer, Issam Abdallah, has been killed," the news agency said in a statement. "Issam was part of a Reuters crew in southern Lebanon who was providing a live signal." 

Reuters said it is working with authorities in the region to obtain more information on the strike that killed Abdallah and to support his family and colleagues. 

Reuters journalists Thaer Al-Sudani and Maher Nazeh were also injured and are seeking medical care, Reuters said. 

The Associated Press reported Friday that an Israeli shell landed in a gathering of international journalists covering clashes on Israel's border with Lebanon. One was killed and six more were injured in the collateral damage.

The terrorist group Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli military posts on the border Friday as Israel wages war against the Palestinian terror group Hamas to its south. Israeli Defense Forces said they retaliated with tank and artillery fire towards the fire from Lebanon. 

The Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for attacks on Israeli military posts along the border with Lebanon on Friday.

The Islamist group said in a statement they targeted the military posts with small-arms fire. The Israeli military responded with tank and artillery fire toward the source of the attacks, Israeli Defense Forces said.

A group of journalists covering clashes on the border was struck by an Israeli shell that killed one and left six others injured, the Associated Press reported.

Qatari media outlet Al-Jazeera TV said two of its employees, Elie Brakhya and reporter Carmen Joukhadar, were wounded. Others wounded and killed were not yet identified by their respective outlets.

The Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing sporadic acts of violence since Saturday's attack by the terrorist Palestinian group Hamas on southern Israel.

Journalists from around the world have been coming to Lebanon out of concern that war might break out between Hezbollah and Israel.

Fox News' Trey Yingst and the Associated Press contributed to this update.

The IDF tells Fox News' Trey Yingst that Israeli forces entered the Gaza Strip Friday, both infantry forces and tanks, to conduct localized raids. 

The Israeli military said the raids were an effort to eliminate militants along the border and to gather information about those held hostage inside the Gaza Strip.

This was not the highly anticipated full-scale invasion Israel has been preparing, but it marks the first time Israeli forces entered Gaza on the ground since the start of the war on Saturday. 

More than 1,300 Israelis were killed and thousands more wounded when Hamas launched a surprise terror attack on the Jewish state Saturday. As many as 150 people are believed to have been taken captive by terrorists and held in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities. 

Israel has called up some 360,000 military reservists to respond to the Hamas-led terror campaign. Those forces have gathered on Israel's border with Gaza ahead of a possible full-scale invasion to reclaim the hostages and eliminate Hamas terrorists. 

Israel has warned the 1.1 million people living in the north of Gaza to evacuate the area within 24 hours as a "humanitarian step in order to minimize civilian casualties" ahead of the military's response to Hamas' terrorist attacks.

Fox News' Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this update.

The U.S. has a "quiet agreement" with Qatar to block Iran from accessing the $6 billion in humanitarian aid amid Hamas' terror attacks on Israel, sources familiar told Fox News. 

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo met with House Democrats on Thursday. Sources familiar with the meeting told Fox News that Adeyemo told lawmakers that the U.S. has a quiet agreement with Qatar not to move any of the $6 billion in unfrozen money to Iran for an indefinite period. 

A source present in the room told Fox News Digital that Adeyemo told congressional Democrats in that meeting that the U.S. has reached "quiet understanding" with Qatar not to move the $6 billion in funding.

A senior House aide told Fox News that Congress has not received an official notification from the State Department or the Biden administration freezing the funding. The aide said it was not mentioned in the briefing on the matter earlier Thursday. 

In September, the Biden administration made a deal with Iran to swap prisoners and release $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds.

As part of the deal, Iran released five American citizens detained in Iran and the U.S. released five Iranian citizens being held in the U.S. The deal also created a blanket waiver to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds from South Korea to Qatar without fear of violating U.S. sanctions. Administration officials say the funds can only be used for "humanitarian needs like food and medicine."

The unfreezing of the money took place nearly a month before Hamas terrorists launched a massive, deadly attack on Israel over the weekend.

Fox News' Brooke Singman, Rich edson and Edward Lawrence contributed to this update.

BEIJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 9: Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks at a news conference with U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns (L) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) on October 9, 2023 in Beijing, China.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will lead a bipartisan group of lawmakers to Israel this weekend to show support for the Jewish state, his office said. 

"Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest ranking Jewish elected official in the United States history, will be leading a bipartisan [Congressional Member Delegation] CODEL to Israel this weekend to show the United States’ unwavering support for Israel," a spokesperson for the majority leader said in a statement.

Schumer will meet with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s emergency war cabinet, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

"Sen. Schumer will discuss what resources the United States can provide to support Israel on all fronts," the spokesperson said.

The trip comes as hundreds of civilians, including babies and the elderly, and soldiers have been killed, wounded or captured after Hamas launched a surprise attack on the nation last Saturday. Israel retaliated against Hamas by firing missiles into Gaza this week.

The Senate, which will return from recess next week, will also have to work through a supplemental package that includes aid to Israel, possibly coupled with Ukraine and border security, sources familiar told Fox News Digital.

Fox News' Jamie Joseph contributed to this update.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling in the Middle East as the world remains on high alert after Hamas called for a "Day of Rage" in support of Palestinians. 

He will soon meet with Qatar's prime minister and is also scheduled to meet separately with Jordanian King Abdullah II and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, Jordan, Friday morning.

Blinken confirmed Thursday that 27 Americans have been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas. 

He also reacted to images of "murdered and burned" babies released by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, which purported to show atrocities committed by Hamas.

"It's hard to find the right words," Blinken said Thursday at a press conference. "It's beyond what anyone would ever want to imagine, much less actually see and, God forbid, experience. A baby, an infant riddled with bullets, soldiers beheaded, young people burned alive in their cars or in their hideaway rooms.I could go on, but it's simply depravity in the worst imaginable way. It almost defies comprehension." 

Fox News' Greg Norman contributed to this update.

The United Nations refugee agency for Palestinians said the situation in Gaza is dire as Israeli forces issued a call to evacuate more than 1 million civilians living in the territory's north.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini  called the evacuation order "horrendous" in a statement predicting the escalating Israeli response to Hamas terror attacks will "lead to unprecedented levels of misery and push people in Gaza into the abyss." 

Lazzarini said more than 423,000 Gaza citizens have been displaced since the outbreak of war on Saturday, more than 270,000 of which have taken refuge in UNRWA shelters. 

"“The scale and speed of the unfolding humanitarian crisis is bone-chilling. Gaza is fast becoming a hell hole and is on the brink of collapse," he said. 

“There is no exception, all parties must uphold the laws of war; humanitarian assistance must be provided at all times to civilians." 

Lazzarini echoed other U.N. officials who have called for an end to the war. 

“I urge all parties and those with influence over them to put an end to this tragedy and provide immediate and unconditional humanitarian access and protection to the civilians, among them far too many women and children," Lazzarini said. 

"The time for humanity to prevail is now."

FILE: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the 7th enlarged plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang, North Korea, March 1, 2023 in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korean media is pushing back against speculation that weapons manufactured in their country were used by Hamas. 

Korean Central News Agency published a full-throated repudiation of military experts claiming evidence that North Korean weapons are in the hands of Hamas combatants during the ongoing violence between Israel and Gaza.

"The U.S. administration's reptile press bodies and quasi-experts are spreading a groundless and false rumor that 'North Korea's weapons' seemed to be used for the attack on Israel," wrote North Korean international affairs commentator Ri Kwang-song.

"It is nothing but a bid to shift the blame for the Middle East crisis caused by its wrong hegemonic policy onto a third country and thus evade the international criticism focused on the empire of evil," the piece continued. 

Korean Central News Agency is a state-affiliated news outlet.

Earlier this week, experts raised concerns that North Korean weapons such as F-7 rocket-propelled grenades appear to be in the possession of Hamas terrorists.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said during a Thursday press conference that he could not comment on the alleged connection.

A Chechen immigrant on France's extremist watchlist allegedly stabbed a teacher to death Friday morning and wounded two others in a suspected terror attack, according to reports from the country.

It happened in the city of Arras, about 115 miles north of Paris, near the border with Belgium, and a suspect is in custody, according to France Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.

A bystander recorded part of the attack on cellphone video. It appears to have been taken from an upstairs window and shows a violent altercation in a paved courtyard. It shows a group of men struggling – one of whom is holding a chair who falls down. 

The attacker kicks him as onlookers warn, "He has a knife," according to a Reuters translation of the clip.

Another man picks up the chair from the one who fell and appears to try and scare off the attacker, but he slips. The assailant then jumps on him, swinging several times at his face and chest. The victim stands up, stumbles for a few feet and then collapses as the clip ends.

One person died and at least one other suffered injuries.

The 20-year-old suspect was already on a terror watchlist, according to AFP, which cited a police source who said he shouted the Arabic phrase "Allahu Akbar!" during the attack.

Fox News' Michael Ruiz contributed to this update.

"Fox & Friends" co-host Lawrence Jones visited a pro-Palestinian protest at Hunter College in New York City Thursday and was shocked by what he heard from demonstrators. 

"I've covered a lot of rallies, a lot of protests ... this is the worst I've ever seen," Jones said on "Fox & Friends" Friday. "We have gone from 'No Justice, No Peace' to open jihad." 

Protesters told Jones they stand with the Palestinian people and support the "decolonization" of the territory in Gaza and the West Bank. When he confronted one woman about the slayings of Israelis by Hamas terrorists, including the beheadings of babies, she called those reports "false." 

"Israel is notorious for creating propaganda that sides their one-sided massacre against Palestinians," the protester said. She denied there was proof of the rapes and murders that family members, Israeli officials and journalists have reported. 

More than 1,300 Israelis were killed and thousands more wounded when Hamas launched a surprise terror attack on the Jewish state Saturday. As many as 150 people are believed to have been taken captive by terrorists and held in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities. 

Columbia University Library building by night, Manhattan, New York, USA. (Photo by: Peter Titmuss/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

An Israeli student at Columbia University in New York City was assaulted with a stick outside the Ivy League school’s main library, as tensions on campus over the Israel-Hamas conflict continue to increase.

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said officers responded to the area of the library at about 6:10 p.m. Wednesday, for a report of an assault on a 24-year-old man.

When officers arrived, they learned the man was involved in an argument with 19-year-old Maxwell Freidman of Brooklyn, over flyers he and friends posted with names and pictures of Israeli hostages captured by Hamas.

Police said Freidman "identifies as female."

The victim told the Columbia Daily Spectator — a university student newspaper — he approached Freidman after witnessing Friedman ripping down flyers.

The Israeli student asked only to be identified by his initials, "I.A." because of safety concerns, the publication reported.

One of I.A.’s friends told the paper I.A., and other students first encountered Freidman when they were posting flyers in Uris Hall on Wednesday. Friedman identified as Jewish to the group and asked to help, which the group welcomed.

Later that evening, at about 5:30 p.m., I.A. and a few of his friends noticed Freidman ripping the posters down, outside of Butler Library.

The Spectator reported that Freidman's face was covered with a bandanna when the group approached. As they drew closer, Friedman began throwing obscenities at the group and charged I.A. with a stick, even trying to punch him.

By the end of the scuffle, one of the victim’s hands was bruised and the ring finger on his other hand was broken, I.A. told the newspaper.

I.A. expressed concerns about the situation, saying he does not plan to return to campus anytime soon due to safety.

"We were all kind of shocked that this stuff can happen on our own campus, which should be a safe haven," he told the Spectator. "We don’t know how to handle the situation, let alone that our families and friends are going through the worst nightmare, and we are mentally in the same ship with them."

Freidman was arrested and charged with assault.

Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this update.

Palestinian authorities said Friday that at least 1799 Palestinians are dead and more than 6,300 wounded in the Gaza Strip as Israel wages war against Hamas.

On the West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reports 44 have died and more than 700 were injured in the ongoing violence. Of those injured, about 250 have reached hospitals, officials said. 

On the Israeli side, more than 1,300 civilians were killed by Hamas terrorists and upwards of 3,200 have been injured, according to the Israeli Defense Forces. 

Israel has issued an evacuation order to the 1.1 million people living in the northern part of the Gaza Strip as a "humanitarian step in order to minimize civilian casualties" ahead of a feared ground invasion of Gaza. 

"The IDF calls for the evacuation of all civilians from Gaza City from their homes southwards for their own safety and protection and to move to the area south of the Wadi Gaza, the river Gaza, as shown on the map," Israel Defense Forces spokesman Jonathan Conricus said. 

He explained that telling people to move south of the river makes the directions clear and understandable for everybody, regardless of if they have a map or not.

Conricus said the evacuation order is for safety purposes, adding that civilians will not be able to return to Gaza City until another announcement clearing the area is made. He also said to not approach the area of the security fence with Israel.

Fox News' Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this update.

Interior Department spokesperson Tyler Cherry was appointed to the role in 2021. (Getty Images)

The White House kept quiet after a Biden administration communications official's pro-Palestinian social media post resurfaced amid the Israel-Hamas war. 

Tyler Cherry, who is now the Department of the Interior's principal deputy communications director and senior spokesperson, said in the 2014 post that he was celebrating the end of the "occupation of Palestine." The post came amid the 2014 Gaza War in which Palestinian forces, led by the radical Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas, launched hundreds of rockets into Israel, sparking a forceful Israeli response that involved airstrikes and a ground invasion.

"Cheersing in bars to ending the occupation of Palestine — no shame and f--- your glares #ISupportGaza #FreePalestine," Cherry said on July 25, 2014, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The White House, Interior Department and Cherry himself all ignored requests for comment about the post.

Cherry's post during the 2014 war resurfaced amid the latest conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Last weekend, Hamas unleashed a series of coordinated attacks on innocent civilians across Israel, resulting in thousands of deaths.

Fox News' Thomas Catenacci contributed to this update.

A Jewish mother told Fox News Digital she plans to send her child to school despite Hamas' call for a global "Day of Jihad."

This week, Khaled Meshaal, the former chief of Hamas's political bureau for more than 20 years, called for Muslims across the world to head to the squares and streets Friday and protest in support of Palestinians and for neighboring countries to join the battle against Israel.

In a recorded statement sent to Reuters, Meshaal, who is currently based in Qatar and heads Hamas’ diaspora office, is heard saying, "[We must] head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday."

Despite Meshaal's call for uprisings around the globe, parents and Jewish religious leaders in New York City and Chicago told Fox News Digital that they are "proud Jews" and will continue sending their children to school and worshiping in synagogues amid the threats.

Zahava Berkowicz, whose child attends a Jewish school in the Chicago suburbs, said she received continuous emails about security measures being put in place by the school, as well as synagogues, ahead of Friday.

"It's terrifying. It's really, really scary. We all have young kids, and the question is like, do we send them to school? I'm in a lot of WhatsApp groups with different parents from the school, and some people don't want to send them to school, some people want to send them to school."

Pointing to religious historical precedent, Berkowicz said she believes the children should be in school.

"To me, I actually think it's really important that we send our children to school because if you look at Jewish history … there's been this really long history for the Jewish people of people trying to make us hide our practices or not do our practices," she said.

Fox News' Kyle Morris contributed to this update.

People wave the Palestinian flag as they march to show solidarity with the Palestinians of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, on the sixth consecutive day of battles between Israel and the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip enclave, on October 12, 2023, in Yemen's government-controlled northern city of Marib. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Tens of Thousands of anti-Israel protesters took to the streets in the Middle East on Friday in answer to Hamas' call for a "Day of Rage."  

Large numbers of Yemenis gathered in the streets of the capital Sanaa protesting in solidarity with Gaza after weekly Friday prayers.

The demonstrators showed support for Palestinians as Israel continues to bombard the Gaza Strip with retaliatory airstrikes after Hamas massacred more than 1,300 Israelis in a horrific terror attack Saturday.

At the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City, Israeli police were permitting only certain older men, women and children to enter the sprawling hilltop compound for prayers, trying to limit the potential for violence. Only 5,000 worshippers made it into the site, the Islamic endowment that manages the mosque said. On a typical Friday, some 50,000 perform the prayers, the Associated Press reported.

In Beirut, thousands of supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group waved Lebanese, Palestinian and Hezbollah flags, chanting slogans in support of Gaza and calling for “death to Israel.” The Iranian-backed militant group in neighboring Lebanon has launched sporadic attacks since the Hamas assault, but largely stayed on the sidelines of the war.

Large demonstrations were also reported in Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and other Middle Eastern nations.

The Associated Press contributed to this update.

Security around the world has been ramped up on Friday as Israeli authorities are warning the public about Hamas’ call for a "Day of Rage" targeting its people and Jews. 

The Israel National Security Council and Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it is recommending all Israelis abroad to "be alert, keep away from the demonstrations and protests and – if necessary – check with local security forces regarding possible protests and disturbances in the area." 

"Against the background of Operation Swords of Iron, the Hamas leadership has called on all of its supporters around the world to hold a 'Day or Rage'... (Friday, 13 October 2023) and attack Israelis and Jews," the agencies said in a joint statement. "It is reasonable to assume that there will be protest events in various countries that are liable to turn violent." 

"The National Security Council, the security services and Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to act everywhere in order to safeguard the security of Israeli citizens around the world," the statement added. 

The FBI also told Fox News on Thursday that it is aware of "calls for global action on Friday, October 13th that may lead to demonstrations in communities throughout the United States. 

"We are working closely with our law enforcement partners across the country to share information and identify and disrupt any threats that may emerge. As always, we take seriously any tips or leads we receive regarding potential threats and investigate them rigorously to determine their credibility," the FBI said. "The FBI encourages members of the public to remain vigilant and report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement."

On Wednesday, former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal called for protests in support of the Palestinians. 

"[We must] head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday," Reuters quoted him as saying in a recorded statement.  

Israeli Defense Forces are targeting residential homes in Gaza with airstrikes, saying that Hamas terrorists are launching hostile UAVs from the roofs. 

IDF aircraft targeted dozens of homes after intelligence reports indicated they were being used as launch sites, IDF said. 

"This is further proof Hamas deliberately uses civilian building for military purposes," the Israeli military said. "The IDF will continue to operate in order to destroy Hamas' hostile UAV capabilities."

Hamas has claimed to have launched several drones at Israel since war broke out Saturday following a surprise terrorist attack. 

IDF released video showing an airstrike on a target on the Gaza Strip. The army says it has struck more than 2,600 targets in retaliatory strikes. 

Israel has warned the 1.1 million people living in the north of Gaza to evacuate the area within 24 hours as a "humanitarian step in order to minimize civilian casualties" ahead of the military's response to Hamas' terrorist attacks.

Fox News' Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this update.

TEL AVIV - OCTOBER 13: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (L) meets with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (R) in Tel Aviv, Israel on October 13, 2023. (Photo by Ariel Hermoni (GPO) / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Friday that "the deliberate cruelty of Hamas vividly reminds me of ISIS." 

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant, Austin reiterated that American support for Israel is "ironclad." He condemned those who refuse to acknowledge the atrocities committed by Hamas.

"This is no time for neutrality, or for false equivalence or for excusing the inexcusable," Austin said. "There is never any justification for terrorism, and that's especially true after this rampage by Hamas. And anyone who wants lasting peace for this region must condemn and isolate Hamas. 

He continued: "Hamas does not speak for the Palestinian people or their legitimate hopes for dignity, security, and statehood and peace alongside Israel. As a former commander of Central Command, the deliberate cruelty of Hamas vividly reminds me of ISIS: bloodthirsty, fanatical and hateful. And just like ISIS, Hamas has nothing to offer but zealotry, bigotry and death." 

Austin pledged that the United States would continue to ensure Israel "has what it needs to defend itself." 

"At President Biden's direction, we have moved urgently to respond to this crisis and to send a strong message of deterrence. The U.S.S. General Ford carrier strike group is now in the region, led by the largest aircraft carrier in the world," Austin said. He added that U.S. fighter aircraft squadrons are standing by in the Middle East to respond if needed. 

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will brief reporters Friday after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, Israel. 

Austin said earlier he is visiting Israel to meet with senior leaders and "demonstrate that America's support for Israel's security is ironclad."

His visit comes just one day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Israel and vowed to continue American support for the Jewish state. 

On Thursday, Austin told reporters the U.S. is "working urgently to get Israel what it needs to defend itself, including munitions and our Iron Dome interceptors.”

At the same time, the White House said Thursday that the U.S. will start arranging charter flights for Americans to leave Israel beginning Friday. 

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. government is "acutely aware of limited availability right now on commercial flights out of Israel and the demand signaled by U.S. citizens who may want to depart. 

"The president has asked his team to ensure that we are assisting U.S. citizens who do want to leave Israel and providing them with a safe means of doing that," he said. "So beginning tomorrow, the United States government will arrange charter flights to provide transportation from Israel to sites in Europe." 

"They're still working through some of the details of that, to assist U.S. citizens and their immediate family members who have, for whatever reason, not been able to provide commercial transit out of the country," Kirby added. "And I would add that we're also exploring other options to expand the capacity of doing this, including exploring whether it's possible to help Americans leave by land and by sea." 

Fox News' Greg Norman contributed to this update.

DALLAS, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 16: Former President George W. Bush speaks during the Struggle for Freedom Conference at George W. Bush Presidential Center on November 16, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. The talk is part of a series hosted by the George W. Bush Institute. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Former President George W. Bush, in his first comments on the Israel-Hamas war, said with absolute certainty that only one side is to blame for the conflict. 

"My view is: One side is guilty. And it's not Israel," Bush said Tuesday at a private event near Santa Barba, Calif. Video of his onstage conversation with presidential historian Mark Updegrove, president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation, was first reported by Axios. 

During the conversation, Bush described himself as a "hardliner" on terrorism and predicted the Israeli offensive in Gaza is "going to be ugly for a while." 

"It's not going to take long for people [to say]: 'It's gone on too long. Surely, there's a way to settle this through negotiations. Both sides are guilty,'" Bush said.

But he was clear that Hamas are the "cold-blooded killers." 

"You can make all kinds of excuses why they are, but they are," he said, adding that "negotiating with the killers is not an option" for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

"His job is to ... protect his country. And anyway, we'll find out what he's made out of."

Bush was president when Israel invaded Gaza in 2008 during a war in which thousands of Palestinians died. 

Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and several other countries as Hamas has perpetrated terrorist attacks against Israel since the early 1990s.

Hamas was established in 1987 during the first intifada, and the group took control of Gaza in 2007. On Oct. 8, 1997, about 10 years after the terror group was organized, it was named as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. Hezbollah, a terror group that emerged out of Lebanon, has also been designated a terrorist group by the U.S.

Apart from the U.S., the U.K., Israel, Australia, Japan and the European Union are among other countries and regional blocs that have officially designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. Leaders from these countries have spoken out about the recent events that have unfolded in Israel.

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, "The people who support Hamas are fully responsible for this appalling attack. They are not militants. They are not freedom fighters. They are terrorists." Sunak joined a vigil with local communities at Finchley United Synagogue in London.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, speaks during a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bouhabib, in Beirut Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. Amirabdollahian blasted the United States for calling for restraint in the region while at the same time allowing Israel to "commit out crimes" in Gaza. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Iran's foreign minister said hostile parties may join the war against Israel if the bombardment of Gaza continues.

During a visit to Beirut, Hossein Amirabdollahian accused Israel of war crimes against Palestinian civilians and demanded an immediate end to Israel's retaliatory strikes after Hamas terrorists massacred more than 1,300 Israelis in a surprise attack. 

U.S. President Joe Biden has warned Middle East nations to stay out of the Israel-Hamas conflict, sending American warships to the region and pledging full support for Israel. 

“What is funny is that at a time when America is calling on parties for self restraint, it is allowing the criminals in the fake Zionist entity to kill women, children and civilians in Gaza,” Amirabdollahian said, according to the Associated Press.

He warned that “if these organized war crimes that are committed by the Zionist entity don’t stop immediately, then we can imagine any possibility.” He did not elaborate but it was an apparent hint that Iran-backed groups could join the war.

Senior Hamas official Ali Barakeh told The Associated Press this week in Beirut that allies like Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah “will join the battle if Gaza is subjected to a war of annihilation.”

Amirabdollahian said: “America cannot send weapons and bombs to kill women, children and civilians in Gaza and at the same time calls on all sides for self-restraint.”

The Associated Press contributed to this update.

The Israel Defense Force said it hit 750 military targets overnight Thursday in a response to the attacks launched on the country last weekend by terrorist group Hamas.

Dozens of fighter jets struck Hamas military targets in the Gaza Strip, including 12 Hamas military assets located in a multi-story building used by the group for terror purposes, according to the IDF.

The targets include underground Hamas terror tunnels, military compounds and posts, residences of senior terrorist operatives used as military command centers, weapons storage warehouses, communications rooms and targeted senior terrorist operatives.

In addition to the airstrikes, the IDF said soldiers from a special unit targeted three Hamas operatives that specialize in mortar fire at a military command center in Gaza City.

The overnight attacks into Friday morning come a day after Israel launched a "wave of strikes" that killed a senior Hamas leader and destroyed operational command centers in Gaza, IDF reported Thursday.

One of the airstrikes executed Thursday killed Muhammad Abu Shamla, a senior Hamas naval operative in the Rafah Brigade, while others struck operational command centers used by Hamas operatives, where the infiltration into Israeli communities surrounding Gaza on Saturday was organized.

"IDF aircraft struck Muhammad Abu Shamla, a senior Hamas naval operative in the Rafah Brigade. Abu Shamla's residence was used to store naval weapons designated for terror against the State of Israel," IDF said in a statement.

X CEO Linda Yaccarino responded to an inquiry by the European Union via a letter published to X outlining efforts to curb terrorist use of the platform. (Richard Bord/Getty Images for Cannes Lions / Getty Images)

Social media platform X has worked to remove hundreds of accounts linked to terrorist group Hamas, according to the company's CEO.

Linda Yaccarino remarked on the anti-terrorism efforts in a Thursday letter released publicly to a European Union official.

"So far since the start of the conflict X has identified and removed hundreds of Hamas-affiliated accounts from the platform," Yaccarino said.

The letter was published to X and addressed to European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton — who previously warned misinformation flooding the platform could be in violation of the bloc's Digital Services Act amid recent changes from the platform allowing sensitive and graphic media.

"Following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, we have indications that your platform is being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the EU," Breton wrote in an open letter to owner Elon Musk. "Let me remind you that the Digital Services Act sets very precise obligations regarding content moderation."

In her letter, Yaccarino went on to state that X is "proportionately and effectively assessing and addressing identified fake and manipulated content during this constantly evolving and shifting crisis."

"There is no place on X for terrorist organizations or violent extremist groups and we continue to remove such accounts in real time, including proactive efforts," Yaccarino said.

Palestinians leave their houses following Israeli airstrikes in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

Hamas has instructed Palestinian citizens to ignore the the Israeli Defense Force's warnings to evacuate areas targeted for airstrikes.

A diplomatic source told Fox News' Trey Yingst that Hamas is preventing Palestinians from evacuating IDF targets. During a live report Friday morning, Yingst said a senior official with the terrorist group told him evacuation is “technically impossible."

In a statement, the Hamas Authority for Refugee Affairs called on Palestinians to "remain steadfast in your homes and to stand firm in the face of this disgusting psychological war waged by the occupation," according to the Associated Press. 

Israel has warned the 1.1 million people living in the north of Gaza to evacuate the area within 24 hours as a "humanitarian step in order to minimize civilian casualties" ahead of the military's response to Hamas' terrorist attacks.

IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari in a press conference said that Hamas is responsible for any harm that comes to civilians who do not evacuate from the northern part of the Gaza Strip, the Times of Israel reported. 

“Hamas is taking advantage of the residents of the Gaza Strip, bringing disaster upon them and calling on the residents of the Gaza Strip at this time as well not to listen to the IDF’s recommendations,” Hagari said.

“The responsibility for what may happen to those who do not evacuate is on Hamas’s head,” he added.

Israeli security expert, mother and veteran Sarit Zehavi, who has dedicated her life to protecting Israeli borders, said the terror attacks on Saturday were far worse than what she long considered the "worst-case scenario" for her people, who have made endured a culture of living under constant threat.

"This is something that I never imagined," Zehavi told Fox News Digital. "I thought that this will be stopped immediately. I didn't imagine that many infiltrators at the same time, to so many places."

Zehavi sent away her children to the center of the small country – Israel is slightly larger than the state of New Jersey – since the war between Israel and Hamas started.

"This is the surprise that we had. But in general, the fact that the terrorist organizations on our borders are planning to invade and to launch barrages of rockets, thousands of rockets to the state of Israel, it's not news. I raised my kids in the north under the threat of these rockets," she said. "Now my kids, by the way, are not here. I sent them to the center of Israel few days ago because I knew this is coming." 

Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this update.

TOPSHOT - Rockets fired from the Gaza Strip are intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defence missile system over the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon on October 12, 2023. Thousands of people, both Israeli and Palestinian, have died since October 7, after Palestinian Hamas militants entered Israel in a surprise attack leading Israel to declare war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip enclave. (Photo by YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Sirens blared in Ashkelon Friday as a barrage of rocket fire from Gaza headed towards the Israeli city.

Hamas terrorists in a statement claimed to have launched 150 rockets at Ashkelon, putting an end to roughly 14 hours during which almost no rockets were fired, the Times of Israel reported. 

Israeli Defense Forces say more than 6,000 rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza since Hamas launched a surprise attack on the country on Saturday. The rockets have targeted residential areas and thousands of Israeli civilians have been wounded by attacks that have slipped past Israel's Iron Dome defense system. 

Israel has responded with punishing airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, which Palestinian authorities say have wounded some 1,500 Palestinians. Hamas is known to place military targets behind civilian human shields. 

As of Thursday night, more than 2,800 Israelis and Palestinians have been killed and at least 9,800 have been wounded since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on Saturday. The death toll is expected to rise as Israeli forces reportedly prepare for a ground invasion of Gaza.

Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a residential building leveled in an Israeli airstrike, Al Shati Refugee Camp Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Hamas claims the Israeli military's retaliatory airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have killed 13 hostages, including foreigners, taken captive by the group.

Hamas’ military wing said in a statement Friday that the 13 were killed in various locations over the past 24 hours. It did not give the nationalities of the foreigners. There has been no confirmation from Israel.

Israeli officials have said as many as 150 hostages were taken by Hamas terrorists in the deadly surprise attack on Israel Saturday that claimed the lives of more than 1,300 Israeli civilians. 

It is unknown how many of the hostages were Americans but the White House said Wednesday it is a "very small" number. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed Thursday that 27 Americans have been killed in the ensuing war between Israel and Hamas. 

A Hamas spokesman threatened Monday that the group would kill one hostage for every unannounced Israeli airstrike that hit civilian homes in Gaza. Hamas is known to hide in tunnels under civilian structures, using the people of Gaza as human shields against Israel's wrath. 

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin landed in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday at around 9:41 a.m. local time to meet in person with Israeli leaders following the terrorist attacks launched on the country by Hamas on Saturday.

Austin is expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and the Israeli War Cabinet during the visit aimed at showing America's "unwavering support" for the Israeli people and ensuring Israel "has what it needs to defend itself," according to a DoD news release.

He is also expected to view some of the security assistance delivered to Israel from the U.S.

Friday's visit marks Austin's second trip to Israel this year and his third since becoming Secretary of Defense.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also in the region and is scheduled to meet separately with Jordanian King Abdullah II and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, Jordan, Friday morning.

Harvard president Claudine Gay released a video titled "Our Choices" Thursday evening as the university reels from backlash following a pro-Palestinian statement signed by dozens of student groups holding Israel "entirely responsible" for Hamas' terrorist attacks on the country and the subsequent violence unfolding in the region.

"People have asked me where we stand. So let me be clear. Our university rejects terrorism. That includes the barbaric atrocities perpetrated by Hamas. Our university rejects hate. Hate of Jews. Hate of Muslims. Hate of any group of people based on their faith, their national origin, or any aspect of their identity. Our University rejects the harassment or intimidation of individuals based on their beliefs," she said.

In the message, Gay said that Harvard "embraces a  commitment to free expression," which "extends even to views that many of us find objectionable, even outrageous." She said that though the university does not "punish or sanction" people for expressing polarizing views, it does not mean that it endorses them.

Israeli tanks move near Gaza border as Israeli army deploys military vehicles around the Gaza Strip. (Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Israel has warned the 1.1 million people living in the north of Gaza to evacuate the area within 24 hours as a "humanitarian step to minimize civilian casualties" ahead of the military's response to Hamas' terrorist attacks.

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Jonathan Conricus shared the message sent to citizens in Gaza on X, formerly Twitter, Friday morning.

"The IDF calls for the evacuation of all civilians from Gaza City from their homes southwards for their own safety and protection and to move to the area south of the Wadi Gaza, the river Gaza, as shown on the map," Conricus said.

He explained that telling people to move south of the river makes the directions clear and understandable for everybody, regardless of if they have a map or not.

Conricus said the evacuation order is for safety purposes, adding that civilians will not be able to return to Gaza City until another announcement clearing the area is made. He also said to not approach the area of the security fence with Israel.

Hamas operates out of Gaza City in tunnels underneath homes and inside buildings populated with innocent civilians in efforts to use them as human shields.

The IDF said it will continue to operate significantly in Gaza City and make extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians.

Roni Esehel, 19, has been missing since the Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorist fighters attacker the army base where she was serving, her uncle Elad Levy said.

The uncle of a 19-year-olf Israeli teenage girl who was serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said she has gone missing after Hamas terrorist fighters attacked her army base.

In a Fox News op-ed, Elad Levy described his niece, Roni Esehel, as a “loving child” who enlisted in the IDF a year ago and was based at an army camp on the Israel border with the Gaza Strip.

“On Saturday morning, her world and all of our worlds changed,” Levy wrote. “Hundreds of blood-thirsty Hamas terrorists infiltrated the base. At around 9:30 a.m. Roni sent a text message to her mother, ‘Mom, I am okay, I am busy, I love you.’ And since then, not a word.”

Now Roni’s parents are living a nightmare, he said.

He called the surprise attack on Saturday against Israeli civilians by Hamas was “genocide. Nothing less.”

“The Hamas terrorist organization  has one purpose only,” Levy said. “To kill Jews, wherever, whenever, whoever. One-year olds and ninety year-olds. Females. Families. Hamas is no different than ISIS or Al Qaeda. And all sponsored and directed by Iran.”

Now “is the time to stand with Israel against the axis of evil,” he said. “This is the time to firmly safeguard the values and morals that light our shared path, unconditionally and unequivocally!”

President Biden has declared that he stands with Israel against the Hamas terrorists, but his actions in the White House have facilitated these homicidal attacks by financing our enemies through bad energy policies, Stephen Moore, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, wrote in an op-ed.

Biden’s war on American energy started on day one, Moore said, citing the president’s action to kill the Keystone XL pipeline and the systematic reversal of Donald Trump’s pro-America energy policies. 

The Institute for Energy Research lists scores of Biden anti-fossil fuel policies that include in just recent weeks taking millions of acres of prime oil and gas lands – from Alaska down to the Gulf of Mexico – out of production.

Biden’s environmental rules and higher taxes on the industry seem intentionally designed to bankrupt this industry – much as he promised he would do if elected president, Moore said. 

Aside from hurting the U.S. economically, high energy prices also have national security implications as well. 

“We have known for fifty years that terrorist organizations like Hamas are primarily financed with petro-dollars,” Moore wrote. “We also know from the days of the OPEC oil embargoes of the 1970s that the nation that has control of oil markets has a commanding height of geo-political influence around the world. It is a truism that in 21st century global confrontations, economic might is foremost in fending off enemies.” 

A team of military veterans is helping Americans get out of Israel as the country battles Hamas terrorists and the war between the two escalates.

Project Dynamo CEO Bryan Stern appeared Wednesday on FOX Business Network’s "Cavuto: Coast to Coast," saying that plenty of Americans are stuck in territories in Israel.

"Right now, it’s like the calm before the storm," Stern told host Neil Cavuto. "But there’s hundreds of Americans that are here that are trying to get out. And the carriers are dropping one at a time like flies, so very soon it’s going to be charter air or the government."

Project Dynamo has deployed to several war zones in recent years when the U.S. government has struggled to evacuate American citizens stuck in the chaos.

The company began with pulling Americans out of Afghanistan before rescuing Americans in Ukraine and Sudan, Stern said.

"So that’s four war zones in the span of 24 months, 25 months, where this pattern is. Why that is, is above my pay grade, but what I will say is that if you’re an American family and you’re stuck in Israel and you’re under air raid alert you’re looking for help and the help’s just not here," Stern said. "That’s the reality of it. That’s not a political thing, that’s not an opinion, that’s just a fact of life.”

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that the U.S. will start arranging charter flights for Americans to leave Israel beginning on Friday with flights going to sites in Europe.

"They're still working through some of the details of that, to assist U.S. citizens and their immediate family members who have, for whatever reason, not been able to provide commercial transit out of the country," Kirby said.

"And I would add that we're also exploring other options to expand the capacity of doing this, including exploring whether it's possible to help Americans leave by land and by sea," he added. 

A volunteer with an Israel-based  search and rescue unit said the acts committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians go far beyond the depictions of a "regular war."

Tomer Peretz is an American artist who was visiting Israel with his two sons when hundreds of Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel and shot rockets into civilian villages.

He joined ZAKA, which specializes in locating and clearing dead bodies, saying he wanted to do whatever he can to help.

"I never thought in my worst nightmare that anyone could do stuff like that. You see body parts all over. Babies. Kids," Peretz told followers in a video on his Instagram. "What kind of animal does stuff like that?"

In one day, a crew of around 50 members picked up over 100 bodies in a small farming community, according to Peretz. "What we saw over there was insane," he told Fox News.

The Israeli-born American said he wishes the world could see what he witnessed to know what is happening in Israel. "This is not a regular war; this is a genocide. They torture the people before they kill him."

Fox News Digital's Breana Scheckwitz contributed to this update.

New York City officials are increasing the police presence despite no “specific, credible threats” after Hamas leadership called for a "global day of Jihad" on Friday.  

A surge of uniformed NYPD officers will be spread throughout the city at places like public, private and religious schools, houses of worship and in Jewish neighborhoods.

In preparations for protests expected on Friday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has activated the state’s Homeland Security, Counter Terrorism Unit, Hate Crimes Task Force, and State Police, adding she was ready to activate that National Guard if needed.

National Guard members will patrol mass transit areas in conjunction with the MTA.

"Those who seek to use Hamas’ violence justification for violence of their own, we have no tolerance for your hate," Hochul said. "I condemn violence of every kind in New York, and I want to be clear, when I say every kind, that’s exactly what I mean."

Pro-Palestinian supporters clashed with pro-Israel demonstrators in New York City earlier this week as well as other American cities.

On Thursday, the FBI said it was also taking steps to ensure the safety of Americans, and said it is aware and will be monitoring Friday's global action. 

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this update.

Robert Malley, the former U.S. Special Envoy for Iran, previously tried to normalize relations between the United States and Hamas.

American citizens missing in Israel were likely taken by Hamas, a designated terror group , Biden said Monday. Malley was suspended in June over his handling of classified information but his contacts with Hamas were scarcely addressed at the time.

"I have been informed that my security clearance is under review. I have not been provided any further information, but I expect the investigation to be resolved favorably and soon. In the meantime, I am on leave," Malley told Fox News.

Malley spoke with officials from Hamas and also penned a 2006 Time magazine piece, "The U.S.'s policy in the Middle East is flawed. Here's how to fix it."

"Today the U.S. does not talk to Iran , Syria, Hamas, the elected Palestinian government or Hezbollah. … The result has been a policy with all the appeal of a moral principle and all the effectiveness of a tired harangue,” he wrote.

The U.S. government has classified Iran’s regime as the world’s worst international state sponsor of terrorism and designated Hamas and the Lebanese-based Hezbollah movement as terrorist organizations. 

Iran’s regime aided Hamas, according to Israel’s government, in its slaughter of Israelis and Americans on Saturday.

In a 2009 documentary interview, Malley said it was "a mistake to only think of them in terms of their terrorist violence dimension," referring to Hamas, Hezbollah and the Sadrist Movement in Iraq.

"There's so much misinformation about them. … I speak to them and my colleagues speak to them [Hamas], and now we may disagree with them, but they have their own rationality … none of them are crazies," Malley said in the film titled "Cultures of Resistance."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday pledged to defeat Hamas during the swearing of Israel’s national emergency government. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, pool)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to defeat Hamas and “wipe them off the face of the Earth” in a speech during the swearing-in of the national emergency government at the Knesset.

While praising Israeli forces and military reservists, some of whom have traveled thousands of miles to report for duty, Netanyahu likened the Hamas terrorist group to the Nazis.

“Today, we are facing the same enemy,” he said. “If they could, they would murder all of us.”

“We will find these accursed murders, these human beasts, with full force and we will defeat them. We will wipe them off the face of the earth,” he added.

He further pledged to rebuild the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, where the group has launched numerous rocket attacks at Israel over the years.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has bombarded Gaza with airstrikes following an unprecedented attack by Hamas by air, land and sea last weekend. Since then, Israel has declared war on the terror group and has continued to target Hamas positions.

During his remarks, Netanyahu also criticized calls by some for Israel to engage in peace talks with Hamas despite the group having targeted Israeli civilians, even children and the elderly.

“Hamas is ISIS and the world that was outraged by ISIS and Al-Qaida after 9/11, formed an international coalition to eliminate this blight,” he said. “Nobody said 'Let's meet with the representatives of ISIS or Al-Qaida.’ Nobody said 'Let's give them an office in our country.'”

“Therefore, I said today – there is no such office and if there are countries that maintain their presence, get rid of them, vomit them out of the countries of the world,” he added. “Vomit them out. Whoever does not do this, sanction them.”

Pro-Palestinian protestors assemble on 42nd Street in New York City on Sunday. The demonstration comes after the militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Saturday, Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Bobby Caina Calvan)

The New York Police Department on Thursday said there were no “specific, credible threats” to the city amid safety concerns as war between Israel and Hamas escalates.

“We are aware of the concern that postings circulating online have caused, and we have increased our uniform deployments at large gatherings and cultural sites to ensure public safety out of an abundance of caution,” the NYPD posted on social media.

Authorities are ramping up security in anticipation of pro-Palestinian rallies in the city on Friday. One such rally is slated to be held in Times Square.

The gatherings come after former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal called for protests against Israel across the Muslim world Friday.

Supporters of Israel and backers of the Palestinian cause have already clashed at protests held in several American cities.

The NYPD said it has its critical response and counterterrorism commands ready to be deployed. It also told all police officers to report in uniform. 

During an interview on "The Story" with host Martha MacCallum, American dual citizen Alyssa Kleiner shared her experiences serving as an IDF Reservist in the deadly Israeli-Palestinian conflict that erupted in Gaza.

"I went to Poland and visited the concentration camps, and It really hit me hard that I'm Jewish, and I need to take a stand. I went to Israel for Birthright for the first time and felt the safety of Israel, that we have a place to go, and we have a home here. I felt the warmth of the Jewish people and the Israelis who took me in, and I fell in love with the people and the place," Kleiner explained.

Kleiner, who immigrated to Israel in 2019, served two years in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). On Tuesday, she received a call to return to Israel and join the fight against Hamas terrorists.

MacCallum inquired about how Kleiner and her family felt when she received the call to return to Israel and participate in the conflict.

"I have been flooded with messages on Instagram, even from people I haven't heard from in a while. My family is constantly checking up on me and making sure I'm okay. I started a broadcasting on WhatsApp to ensure that my closest friends and family receive daily updates from me, letting them know I'm okay," she shared.

Fox News' Maeghan Dolph contributed to this report.

People wave Palestinian flags during a pro-Palestinian rally in Marseille, France on Tuesday. France has banned pro-Palestinian protests in an effort to deter antisemitism and protect its Jewish population. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

France has ordered local authorities to ban all pro-Palestinian protests to protect Jews following antisemitic acts amid the war between Israel and Hamas.

In a televised address, French President Emmanuel Macron urged the French public to not let the war erupt into tensions at home.

’’Let us not bring ideological adventures here (to France) by imitation or by projection. Let us not add national fractures ... to international fractures,″ Macron said. ’’Let us stay united.″

Just before his speech, police in Paris used tear gas and water cannons to disperse pro-Palestinian demonstrators who defied a ban on such gatherings Thursday night.

Macron said at least 13 French citizens have been killed in Israel and another 17 are missing.

The French government has reported 24 arrests for more than 100 antisemitic acts in France since Hamas attacked Israel on Saturday, including verbal abuse, people caught with knives near Jewish schools and synagogues and a drone equipped with a camera spotted over a Jewish cultural center.

More than 2,000 cases of antisemitic speech have been reported to an online watchdog force.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin sent a directive to local authorities on Thursday calling for a further tightening of security around Jewish schools, synagogues and other sites.

It said pro-Palestinian demonstrations should be banned and those who defy bans should be arrested, ‘’because they are susceptible to disrupt public order.’’

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

An aircraft with 89 seats was dispatched to Israel on Wednesday to repatriate the Slovak nationals in the country. The U.S. government will begin offering Americans in the country transit options for anyone who wants to leave amid the war between Israel and Hamas. (Pavel Neubauer/TASR via AP)

Americans looking to leave Israel could be responsible for repaying the U.S. government for the cost of their transportation and would need to sign a promissory note before departing, according to media reports.

The State Department said it will begin offering charter flights to Europe starting Friday following talks with airlines, Reuters reported.

Expected routes include flights from Tel Aviv to Athens, Reuters reported. It was unclear how long the offer will last, airline officials said.

A State Department email seen by Reuters said it plans to offer transit options beginning Friday but that it could take some time to schedule everyone.

"If you choose to take this departure assistance, transportation will be by air to Athens or Frankfurt, or sea from Haifa to Cyprus," the email said, according to the news outlet.

The email also reportedly said that: "Americans will be asked to sign an agreement to repay the U.S. government prior to departure and should be prepared to arrange your own lodging and onward travel from Greece, Germany or Cyprus to your final destination."

The State Department said on its website that the law requires “departure assistance to private U.S. citizens or third country nationals be provided ‘on a reimbursable basis to the maximum extent practicable.’”

By taking coordinated transportation, evacuees are obligated to repay the cost, the agency said.

The amount billed to evacuees is based on the cost of a full fare economy flight , or comparable alternate transportation to a particular destination that would have been charged prior to the events requiring an evacuation, the agency said.

In the past, the State Department has waived the costs for evacuation flights before, as it did during the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

Former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal talks during a news conference in Doha July 23, 2014. Meshaal has called on Muslims across the globe to take to the streets Friday and support the Palestinians. . REUTERS/Stringer

The FBI said it was working with law enforcement across the country in response to a call by former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal for all Muslims to join the battle against Israel and to head to the streets on Friday and protest in support of Palestinians. 

In a recorded statement sent to Reuters, Meshaal is heard saying, "[We must] head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday."

Meshaal is currently based in Qatar and heads Hamas’s diaspora office.

“The FBI is aware of open-source reports about calls for global action on Friday, October 13th that may lead to demonstrations in communities throughout the United States,” the FBI said Thursday. “We are working closely with our law enforcement partners across the country to share information and identify and disrupt any threats that may emerge.”

The agency urged the public to report anything suspicious to authorities.

In his statement, Meshaal told Muslims that the people and government officials in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan have a responsibility to support Palestinians, as the vast majority of Palestinian refugees call Jordan and Lebanon home.

"Tribes of Jordan, sons of Jordan, brothers and sisters of Jordan…This is a moment of truth and the borders are close to you, you all know your responsibility," he said.

Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner contributed to this update.

President Biden met with national security teams to discuss how to keep Americans safe at home and abroad following the deadly attacks on Israel by Hamas.

President Biden on Thursday said his highest priority is the safety of Americans at home and abroad.

The statement on X, formally known as Twitter, comes as his administration is working with the Israeli government to locate missing American citizens in Israel.

“As president, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans at home and around the world,” he wrote.  “@VP and I spoke with our national security teams to discuss ongoing steps to protect the homeland, including Jewish, Arab, and Muslim communities, following the attacks in Israel.”

Noa Argamani was last seen attending a music festival in Israel, where festival-goers were attacked by Hamas terrorists. A video circulated on social media of Argamani being aggressively taken away by Hamas terrorists on the back of a motorcycle, while her boyfriend, Avi Natan remained defenseless, surrounded by many men with his hands held behind his back.

Argamani was one of the many taken hostage by Hamas terrorists. The young woman's parents took to X to share a birthday message for their daughter in hopes that their words and the words of others sharing their love will reach her.Today marks Argamani’s 26th birthday, as her condition and location are still unknown.

“This beautiful woman is named Noa. She was taken hostage by Hamas during a music festival,” the social media post shared by Israel’s official X account reads.

“Today is her 26th birthday. Her parents ask that we all wish her a happy birthday with the hope that maybe somehow these messages will reach her. Please share. #HappyBirthdayNoa,” the post concludes.

The social media post is accompanied by a photo of Argamani, smiling at the camera, with beautiful mountain views behind her.

Fox News' Ashlyn Messier contributed to this report.

The U.S. and Qatar have a "quiet agreement" to block Iran from accessing the $6 billion in humanitarian aid amid Hamas' terror attacks on Israel, sources familiar with the matter told Fox News. 

Sources familiar with a meeting between Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo and House Democrats said that Adeyemo told the lawmakers that the United States has a quiet agreement with Qatar not to move any of the $6 billion in unfrozen money to Iran for an indefinite period. 

The release of $6 billion in Iranian funds stems from a Biden administration deal with Tehran as part of a prisoner swap.

As part of the deal, Iran released five Americans being detained in Iran and the U.S. released five Iranian citizens being held in the U.S.

The unfreezing of the funds occurred nearly a month before Hamas launched a deadly multi-pronged attack on Israel this past weekend.  

The Biden administration has said the money can only be used for "humanitarian needs like food and medicine."

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman, Rich Edson and Edward Lawrence contributed to this update. 

Hundreds of people, including babies, the elderly, and soldiers have been killed, wounded or captured since amid the war between Israel and Hamas.

A terror attack by Hamas at a music festival in Israel claimed the lives of at least 260 concert-goers with many others kidnapped and injured. In addition, Hamas has taken hostage, including American citizens.

Since the initial attack, Israel has pummeled the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip with airstrikes before what many believe will be a ground invasion.

The most recent death toll includes 27 Americans, 1,200 Israeli civilians and soldiers, 1,417 Palestinians and Hamas terrorists. In addition, at least 150 soldiers and civilians are being held hostage in Gaza.

Hamas terrorists have fired at least 5,000 rockets.

Fox News Digital's Ashlyn Messier contributed to this update.

Mark Regev, former Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom spoke of numerous countries around the world that have officially designated Hamas a terrorist organization.

“Hamas is internationally designated a terrorist organization, not just by Israel and the United States, but Hamas is a terrorist organization under Japanese law, Australian law, Canadian law, European Union law and of course, Great British law,” Regev said Thursday during an interview on “The Faulkner Focus."

Regev went on to discuss the gruesome acts being displayed by terror organization Hamas since the war began on Saturday, October 7.

“And anyone who had any doubts that this was a brutal terrorist organization, they just had to look at their behavior on Saturday, where we saw these heinous acts of violence against innocent civilians, which you broadcast on Fox and people understand,” Regev continued.

The former ambassador made it clear that this dangerous terrorist group is not just an enemy of Israel, but rather all of humanity. He spoke on the dangerous values Hamas openly holds, and how people who support the group don’t know what they really stand for.

“This is a group that is not only Israel's enemy, but it's the enemy of all civilized humanity. And I would say to people who want to see peace in the Middle East, you have to understand that Hamas is the enemy of peace and reconciliation…They say so. If you read the Hamas charter, they openly say Israel has no right to exist in any borders," Regev said.

"They openly say that any Arab who negotiates peace with Israel is a traitor to the Arab world and to Islam. They say it and finally they say every Jew, every Jew man, woman, child is a legitimate target for their deadly terrorism. And it's not just words because we saw them put that into effect on Saturday morning in a very deadly way. So anyone who tries to justify Hamas doesn't understand what Hamas is really about.”

Fox News' Ashlyn Messier contributed to this report.

An NYPD patrol car is parked outside a synagogue on the Lower East Side of Manhattan on Oct. 7. The police force said it has put more resources in certain areas of the city amid the war unfolding in Israel. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

The New York Police Department on Thursday said it has “surged resources” at sensitive locations around the city amid the war unfolding in Israel.

“The NYPD’s Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureau deploys a wide array of resources to protect the city based on events unfolding here and around the world,” the NYPD told Fox News Digital without giving any specifics. “This includes high-visibility resources like the Critical Response Command and Counterterrorism officers, as well as our Intelligence Division personnel.”

Local media outlets reported the NYPD is planning a show of force Friday and has instructed all members to report in uniform and has canceled all vacations over the possibility of civil unrest.

Clashes and tense confrontations broke out earlier this week during pro-Palestinian protests in Manhattan between groups supporting Palestine and Israel.

Demonstrators at the rally burned and stomped on an Israeli flag and taunted Israel supporters with an image of a swastika. Others exhibited signs that read, "Palestinian return by any means necessary," "Israeli apartheid & genocide funded by the U.S." and "End all U.S. aid to Israel!"

At least one pro-Palestinian protest scheduled for Friday was moved to Thursday in Brooklyn, according to an Instagram post from organizers. 

British Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender, followed by Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS Evertsen, sails in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey, July 2, 2021. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik

The United Kingdom has deployed two Royal Navy ships and surveillance aircraft to the eastern Mediterranean to support Israel and reinforce regional stability, the officer of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Thursday.

The military package includes P8 surveillance planes, other surveillance assets, two auxiliary ships, three Merlin helicopters and a company of Royal Marines, Reuters reported.

The British forces will be on standby to "deliver practical support to Israel and partners in the region, and offer deterrence and assurance", Downing Street said.

"We must be unequivocal in making sure the types of horrific scenes we have seen this week will not be repeated," Sunak said in a statement. "Alongside our allies, the deployment of our world class military will support efforts to ensure regional stability and prevent further escalation."

Sunak also spoke to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi "to understand the wider regional picture and underscore the importance of supporting civilians to leave Gaza," Downing Street said.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday said the Justice Department has offered assistance to the Israeli government to help find and bring home missing Americans. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The Justice Department has offered assistance to the Israeli government to help locate and bring home missing U.S. citizens, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday.

“Hamas’ horrific terrorist attacks on Israel mark the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” Garland said in a statement after meeting with members of his national security team. “My heart is with the families whose loved ones have been killed and those whose loved ones are still missing.

“Since these attacks began, the Justice Department has focused on working with the families of missing Americans to locate their loved ones,” he added. “We continue to work on the return of all missing Americans, including those believed to be taken hostage.”

The assistance offered by the DOJ includes help through the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG), Operational Technology Division (OTD), and Laboratory Division.

Garland said these “highly trained hostage rescue specialists” and experts stand ready to help Israel find any missing Americans to help bring them to safety.

As of Thursday, at least 27 Americans have died since Hamas terrorist fighters attacked Israel over the weekend.   

U.S. Rep Cory Mills takes a photo with Americans evacuated from Israel

U.S Rep. Cory Mills, R-Florida, on Thursday said 77 Americans are "no longer trapped in Israel" after flying there to get them to safe passage amid Israel's war with Hamas.

In a tweet, he criticized the Biden administration's handling of how to safely evacuate American citizens from the country.

"This is the second country (Afghanistan 2021 & Israel 2023) we’ve had to save Americans because Biden had no plan and No leadership!" he wrote. "This never happened under President Trump!"

Mills, who served in Iraq with the U.S. Army, told "America Reports" on Wednesday that he couldn't he cannot "share specifics of his mission or location due to operational concerns and constraints" about his mission.

He further criticized Biden on the evacuation of U.S. citizens and eligible individuals from Afghanistan during his chaotic August 2021 withdrawal.

"I went in and was very thankful to be able to get -- for the second time, by the way I'll just add -- helping the Biden administration, who has failed to do their job," he said.

An American living in Israel has been running in and out of bomb shelters with her husband and two young kids since Hamas' deadly attack and pleads for the world to choose the side of humanity over terror.

"Thousands of my brothers and sisters were slaughtered, murdered, raped, decapitated, kidnapped," Esther Taub Schlesinger, an American living in central Israel, told Fox News. 

"I am scared for my life right now," she said. "It feels never ending. It's truly terrifying and we need your support. We need the world's support."

The Israeli government declared war against Hamas on Saturday after the terrorist group fired thousands of rockets out of Gaza and invaded, killing over 1,200 Israelis and taking hostages, including soldiers, women, children and elderly civilians. Israel's retaliatory assault on Gaza has killed more than 1,400 people, according to Palestinian authorities. 

Schlesinger was born in America but moved to Israel nearly two decades ago. She works as a personal trainer and lives with her husband and two toddlers. But as of a few days ago, her family has been forced to stay in their apartment only to run in and out to get to the bomb shelter or get groceries. 

"We were terrified," Schlesinger said about the initial attack. "We were scared."

She told Fox News she thought Hamas planned the Saturday ambush on the joyous Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah on purpose. Many Jewish people who celebrate the holiday don't have their phones and were praying inside their synagogues, she said. 

"That's just a small, tiny example showing how much Hamas hates us," Schlesinger said. "This isn't about land. This is literally about them wanting to wipe us off the face of the Earth. There's just example after example of this where we have experienced just that hatred and that pure evil."

Kibbutz Urim sits just six miles from the Gaza Strip, between Kibbutz Re’im – the site of one of the Palestinian terrorists’ worst massacre of Israelis on Saturday – and the town of Ofakim, where groups of armed gunmen rampaged and held resident’s hostage in their homes for hours. Yet, somehow, the tiny community of just 210, mostly elderly, people was inexplicably spared. (Fox News)

The Israeli village of Kibbutz Urim , located just six miles from the Gaza Strip, is thanking God after it was inexplicably spared from the violence inflicted on its neighbors.

The tiny community of just 210 is located between Kibbutz Re’im – the site of one of the Palestinian terrorists’ worst massacre of Israelis on Saturday – and the town of Ofakim, where groups of Hamas terrorists rampaged and held resident’s hostage in their homes for hours.

Yet no one was harmed amid Saturday's violence, which provoked Israel to declare war on Hamas.

"So far everyone is accounted for," Yehudit Pelish, 59, who was born in the U.S. but raised on the kibbutz, told Fox News Digital. "It’s really a miracle. . . . It really feels like the hand of God was covering our kibbutz." 

Israeli military numbers estimated on Thursday that more than 1,200 people were killed in Saturday’s mass terrorist attack, the vast majority of them civilians. On Kibbutz Be’eri, a community of roughly 1,000 just a few miles from Kibbutz Urim, more than 100 bodies were recovered by rescue agencies this week. 

In addition, an estimated 80 people are believed to have been taken back to the Gaza Strip and are being held hostage there, including U.S. citizens. 

While thousands of terrorists carried out the worst terrorist attack the State of Israel has ever seen, Pelish said that none of them had managed to infiltrate her kibbutz, which sits just less than a mile from the road leading from Gaza to Ofakim. Hunkered down in a communal bomb shelter, the kibbutz members heard rockets flying overhead and rounds of gunfire, while being updated on what was happening all around them by friends from nearby communities.

"We had a few close calls," said Pelish, who runs the health and wellness center on the kibbutz. "A number of terrorists were killed on the road leading to our kibbutz, and four more were captured right outside our back gate." 

"We just got lucky," she said.  

Fox News' Ruth Marks Eglash contributed to this update.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Council spokesman John Kirby are briefing reporters Thursday as the Israel-Hamas war concludes its sixth day. 

"We can now update the number of Americans that we know have been killed to 27 and the number of unaccounted for stands today at 14," Kirby said. 

Kirby added that the White House is "acutely aware" of limited commercial flights to bring Americans out of Israel and a number of U.S. citizens who may want to leave. 

"The president has asked his team to ensure that we are assisting U.S. citizens who do want to leave israel and providing them with a safe means of doing that." 

The Biden administration has faced criticism for moving slowly to evacuate Americans who want to flee the escalating war between Israel and Hamas. 

A letter signed by 146 members of Congress called on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to do everything possible to evacuate Americans out of Israel, including chartering flights as airlines have canceled most flights out of Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel.

"Given the rapidly escalating situation as Israel launches a counteroffensive, it is imperative that you use all tools at your disposal to return all U.S. nationals in Israel home who wish to do so," the letter reads.

Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this update.

Two U.S. senators will introduce a resolution signaling the legislative body’s support for Israel, one of the United States closet's allies, as the country continues fighting against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

U.S. Senators Ben Cardin, D-Md., the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Ranking Member Jim Risch, R-Idaho, will introduce a bipartisan resolution supporting Israel when the Senate convenes next week, they announced in a joint statement Thursday.

In the announcement, the two lawmakers also released statements condemning the "devastating attacks against Israel" and expressing an "ironclad support for Israel’s security."

A similar resolution has hundreds of co-sponsors in the House of Representatives but cannot be voted on until the House elects a speaker.

The two senators unequivocally blamed Hamas, a terrorist group that governs Gaza, for Saturday’s horrific attack, which included members of the brutal group going door-to-door through the dark of night massacring civilians — beheading some and burning others.  

"Hamas is a terrorist organization, and its brazen acts of terrorism against civilians must be met with a united response that strongly underscores America’s unwavering support for the people of Israel," Cardin said.

Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, during a speech by US President Joe Bide, not pictured, in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken reacted to images of "murdered and burned" babies released by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, which purported to show atrocities committed by Hamas.

"So we did see photographs, videos that the Israeli government shared with us. Some I think has actually already been seen in public media. Others were new to me. And I think new to our team," Blinken said at a press conference in Israel.

"It's hard to find the right words," he continued. "It's beyond what anyone would ever want to imagine, much less actually see and, God forbid, experience. A baby, an infant riddled with bullets, soldiers beheaded, young people burned alive in their cars or in their hideaway rooms.I could go on, but it's simply depravity in the worst imaginable way. It almost defies comprehension.

"And as I've been saying to me in the most immediate future, harkens back to ISIS and some of the very things we saw when it was on its rampage that thankfully was stopped. So I think for any human being to see this, it's really beyond almost anything that we can comprehend, digest.

"And I just add that when you when you see this, you try to imagine -- maybe not try -- can't help but imagine yourself, your family, your loved ones, your friends in that situation, in that predicament. And maybe the best word for it for me is overwhelming. I think what it's done is, as I said, united a country in profound grief, but also united a country in resolve. And it's imperative that the rest of us share that resolve. I said this earlier -- this is a moment for moral clarity. This is a moment where everyone needs to make clear that there is revulsion, disgust and a determination not to allow this to go forward.

"So, images are worth a thousand words. These images may be worth a million."

Fox News' Greg Norman contributed to this update.

Palestinian peace activist Bassem Eid , who has warned of the atrocities committed by Hamas for decades, warned Americans not to confuse the terrorists with a social justice group. 

"Those who are living in Europe and in America who are celebrating the massacre by considering themselves as pro-Palestinians, I don't think that they are pro-Palestinians. …. [They have] no idea what is really going on to celebrate massacres. This is completely unhuman," Eid told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview this week.

Eid expressed shock over Americans showing support for Hamas under claims "it's a justice and social organization." His comments came as pro-Palestinian rallies have been held in cities such as New York and Santa Clarita and on some college campuses.

"I think weapons inside the hospitals and inside the mosques, I think what the Hamas did last Saturday is considered as a genocide," he said. "... Unfortunately, some rubbish human beings around the world are celebrating such a massacre by considering it a Palestinian victory. I think that if then, in the 21st century, if massacres can be considered as victories, that means that this is the end of humanity."

Eid, who spoke to Fox News Digital from East Jerusalem, is a human rights activist and political analyst who initially uncovered human rights violations carried out by the Israeli armed forces before expanding his research to human rights violations by Palestinian armed forces. He founded the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group in 1996 and has toured the U.S. and world, delivering speeches at college campuses and think tanks on his research.

Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this update.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold a press conference in Israel Thursday after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Earlier, Blinken reiterated the Biden administration's position that the United States stands with the Jewish state. 

"The message that I bring to Israel is this: You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself, but as long as America exists, you will never, ever have to. We will always be there by your side," Blinken said.

Blinken landed in Israel this morning to show support for the longtime U.S. ally amid its war with the terrorist organization Hamas. 

Blinken was greeted by Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and other officials after departing the plane at the Ben Gurion Airport in Lod, which is on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Deputy Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Steve Gillen also traveled to Israel with Blinken to prioritize the mission to urge Hamas to release all hostages immediately.

Palestinians sit outside their house following Israeli airstrikes in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

Palestinian residents are claiming Thursday that Israeli planes have dropped flyers into Gaza with a message for them to leave their homes and head to "known shelters" or risk being harmed, a report says. 

"Anyone who is near Hamas terrorists will put their lives in danger," the flyers in the city of Beit Lahiya said, according to The Associated Press. "Adhering to IDF instructions will prevent you from being exposed to danger." 

However, the AP added that the area in the northern part of the Gaza Strip near its border with Israel had been hit by airstrikes by the time Palestinians reported finding the flyers. 

A U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees also said 10 of its shelters have been struck since Israel started conducting retaliatory airstrikes against Hamas following the terrorist group’s initial attack Saturday, the AP has reported. 

As of Thursday – the sixth day in the war – more than 1,400 people have been killed in Gaza from the airstrikes, including 447 children, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said. 

Images taken by the AP have captured bloodied and wounded children receiving treatment from medical staff inside a hospital in Gaza City. 

The Associated Press contributed to this update.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office released photos that it said confirmed Hamas terrorists "murdered and burned" babies in Kibbutz Kfar Aza.

The images purport to show the bodies of two infants who were burned alive, with the third appearing to show a decapitated infant in a blood-spattered onesie.

Officials said Netanyahu shared these photos with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to Israel. 

"Hamas is inhuman. Hamas is ISIS," the prime minister's office posted on X. 

Israeli Defense Forces came upon the horrific scene after Hamas terrorists infiltrated Kfar Aza and other communities in southern Israel on Saturday. The soldiers found about 200 dead, including 40 dead babies, some of whom they said were decapitated, local Israeli media reported.

"It’s not a war, it’s not a battlefield. You see the babies, the mother, the father, in their bedrooms, in their protection rooms, and how the terrorists killed them," IDF Maj. Gen. Itai Veruv said, describing the scene, i24News reported.

"It’s a massacre."

Fox News' Lawrence Richard contributed to this update.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin gives a press conference during the NATO Council Defence Ministers Session at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on October 12, 2023. (Photo by SIMON WOHLFAHRT/AFP via Getty Images)

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that U.S. support for Israel is "rock solid" and that aid to the Jewish state and Ukraine will continue uninterrupted.

"Our support for Israel is rock solid. We are working urgently to get Israel what it needs to, defend itself, including munitions and Iron Dome interceptors interceptors. And we will do so even as we continue to support the people of Ukraine as they fight against Russian aggression," Austin said at a press conference following the NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium. 

Austin said he has not seeing any massing of forces in the Lebanese boarder with Israel and said "to his knowledge" the U.S. had no intelligence of an attack from Hamas. Austin also reiterated the U.S. can support both Israel and Ukraine at one and that Iran was not involved in planning of the attack.  

"Make no mistake, we can and will by Israel, even as we stand by Ukraine, United States can walk and chew gum at the same time." 

Fox News' Liz Friden contributed to this update.

FILE PHOTO: The first of Israel's El Al Airlines order of 16 Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets, lands at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel August 23, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo

For the first time in 40 years, Israel's El Al airlines will operate flights on a Saturday in order to bring back army reservists from the United States and Asia to fight Hamas terrorists in Israel.

Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath. El Al has not flown on the Sabbath since 1982 but it received permission from rabbis who said the preservation of life overrides other religious laws.

The airline said it would will operate two flights on Boeing 787 aircraft from New York and Bangkok to collect reservists who received military call-up orders.

The flights will be free of charge for soldiers and paid for by El Al and by large financial institutions in the United States, El Al said.

Israel has called up some 360,000 military reservists to respond to a Hamas-led terror attack and invasion from the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in at least 1,200 dead Israelis. 

Reuters contributed to this report.

Palestinians carry bodies from the Abu Rayash family killed in Israeli shelling during their funeral in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

At least 1,417 Palestinians have been killed and more than 6,200 wounded in the Gaza Strip since Israel began retaliatory airstrikes against Hamas, Palestinian health officials said Thursday.

Nearly 400 of those dead are children and 250 are women, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said. 

In the West Bank, 31 were reported dead and 600 injured, including about 190 who were hospitalized, officials said. 

At least 2,600 people have been killed on both sides since the war began with a surprise attack on Israel by Hamas on Saturday. 

Israel officials say more than 1,200 Israelis were killed by Hamas, with upwards of 5,000 rockets fired towards Israel since the violence started, injuring more than 3,200 people. 

The Israeli Defense Forces has said soldiers killed about 1,500 Hamas terrorists inside Israeli territory. 

Casualties on both sides are expected to grow as IDF prepares to launch a ground assault inside the Gaza Strip to destroy Hamas and rescue captured Israelis. 

The Israeli military has identified the vast majority of soldiers killed by Hamas terrorists so far in the ongoing war, Israeli Defense Forces said Thursday. 

A total of 222 Israeli soldiers have died and their families have all been notified, a spokesperson for the military said.

The Israeli military keeps databases of fingerprints and dental scans and each soldier carries a dogtag to help identify those that fall in combat, according to the Times of Israel. 

Identification of civilians killed by Hamas has been more difficult. As of Thursday, a total of 854 bodies of civilians were brought to the IDF rabbinate base for identification, the paper reported.

Only 361 bodies were identified and 264 have been buried.

"Before authorities clear a body for burial, DNA tests and pictures must be taken, which are then run through various national databases. In some cases, families are being asked to come in to identify their loved ones," the report said. 

More than 1,200 Israeli civilians are believed to have been killed by Hamas since surprise terror attack on Saturday. 

The Associated Press contributed to this update.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) addresses the media with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken inside The Kirya, which houses the Israeli Defence Ministry, after their meeting in Tel Aviv on October 12, 2023. (Photo by JACQUELYN MARTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken stood alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and vowed that the United States will 'always' back the Jewish state. 

"The message that I bring to Israel is this: You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself, but as long as America exists, you will never, ever have to. We will always be there by your side," Blinken said. "That's the message that President Biden delivered to the prime minister from the moment this crisis began. It's the message that I and my other colleagues in the government have delivered to our Israeli counterparts on a daily, even an hourly basis. It's the message that I bring with me to our discussions today, and it's what I'll affirm, when I meet with the members of Israel's newly formed national emergency government.  We welcome the government's creation and the unity and resolve that it reflects across Israel's society." 

"I can tell you there is overwhelming – overwhelming – bipartisan support in our Congress for Israel's security here in Israel and everywhere," he added.

Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this update.

A former Trump deputy national security adviser called on the United States to stop "feeding" the "monster" Iran after Hamas terrorists provoked war with Israel.

Victoria Coates, who serves as the vice president of the Heritage Foundation’s Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, says Iran serves as the "lifeline" to terrorist group Hamas. 

"Iran's motivation is the same it's been for more than 40 years," Coates said. "They hate Israel. They hate the United States, and they are just fundamentally committed to the eradication of the Jewish state. They want to wipe Israel off the map and they see the Palestinians and Hamas as basically useful idiots in that campaign and they don't care how many Palestinians die. They don't care how badly the people in Gaza suffer." 

Iran started "pouring in hundreds of millions of dollars into Hamas" when the group attempted to set up independent control of Gaza years ago, she said.  

"They don't really have much else to keep going in Gaza except for contributions through things like the United Nations, which are important to remember, funded by the U.S. taxpayer," she told FOX News Digital. "Now, we cut that off during the Trump administration, but that money has been flowing again for the last two years." 

While President Biden’s strong words in support of Israel were welcomed, Coates said the commander-in-chief must "follow up with action." 

"The Biden administration has been very eager to present Iran as somehow a reasonable actor, good faith negotiating partner, on the nuclear issue, but what happened over the weekend just rips the rug right out from under that," she argued. "This is not a rational, normal state that is behaving in any kind of a reasonable way." 

Fox News' Maria Lencki contributed to this update.

An American whose family was taken hostage by Hamas said their abduction — rather than their death — is "the worse of two evils."

Abbey Onn, who's lived in Israel for eight years, had no idea what had happened to her five loved ones living near the Gaza border after the terror group, Hamas, invaded their community, Nir Oz, Saturday morning. 

"The last messages we saw [was] around 11 or 12 in the morning saying they don't know what's going on and that they're scared," Onn told Fox News, "and from one of them saying that this was a holocaust."

After that, the messages stopped. Hours later, the Israeli Defense Forces regained control of the area and found Hamas had burned the entire community to nothing.

"It was so much chaos. I think that it's still chaos," Onn said. "Managing to find out who was alive and who wasn't, wasn't something that that took a matter of hours."

Five of her family members lived in a house together in the community: her cousin Carmela Dan, 80; Dan’s son-in-law, Ofer Kalderon, 50; and three grandchildren Sahar Kalderon, 16; Erez Kalderon, 12; and Noya Dan, 13. Onn didn't know if they were among the dead.

"It wasn't until we saw the video that Hamas uploaded of Erez in their hands being dragged along with them that we understood that they had been taken hostage," she said. 

Hamas is believed to have taken up to 150 hostages since their weekend attack. 

Jewish American "Stranger Things" actor Noah Schnapp put out a message in support of Israel on Instagram this week. (Roy Rochlin/Stringer)

"Stranger Things" star Noah Schnapp urged people to side with Israel against "terrorism" in an Instagram post. 

Schnapp, a Jewish American who plays Will Byers on the popular Netflix show, said he was "heartbroken" by the violence that Hamas committed against Israel on Saturday, which resulted in the murder of more than 1,200 Israeli citizens.

The actor, who was in the country this summer and had his bar mitzvah there in 2018, also called out those framing Israel as the bad guy in its tension with the Palestinian people. He urged all to be on the side of Israel against terrorism. 

"You either stand with Israel or you stand with terrorism," he declared. "It shouldn't be a difficult choice. Shame on you."

Schnapp published the post to the social media this week, opening it with a reference to his own Jewish heritage as well as a message of solidarity with the country reeling from the deadly attack.

"As a Jewish American, I am afraid. Afraid for my brothers and sisters in Israel, who have been senselessly attacked by Hamas. I am truly heartbroken to see the brutal murders of innocent children, women and soldiers fighting to defend themselves," he wrote. 

The actor acknowledged he wants peace between both Palestinians and Israel but insisted that people should not be choosing sides over this issue. He added, "I, like others, want peace for both Palestinians and Israelis. Let’s stop the rhetoric and choosing sides. Instead we must recognize that we are all on the side of the fight against terrorism. Choose humanity over violence."

Fox News' Gabriel Hays contributed to this update

TOPSHOT - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu give statements to the media inside The Kirya, which houses the Israeli Defence Ministry, after their meeting in Tel Aviv on October 12, 2023. (Photo by JACQUELYN MARTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Israel shows "unequivocal support" for the Jewish nation in the war against Hamas. 

In remarks at a joint press conference, Netanyahu called Hamas an "enemy of civilization" and reiterated that the terrorist group must be "crushed" just like ISIS. 

"Hamas has shown itself to be an enemy of civilization. The massacring of young people in an outdoor music festival, the butchering of entire families, the murder of parents in front of their children, and the murder of children in front of their parents.

"The burning of people alive, the beheadings, the kidnappings of a young boy not only kidnapped, molested,  hurt, attacked, and the sickening display of celebrating these horrors, the celebration and glorification of evil. President Biden was absolutely correct in calling this sheer evil," Netanyahu said. 

"Hamas is ISIS. And just as ISIS was crushed, so too will Hamas be crushed," the prime minister continued. "They should be spit out from the community of nations. No leaders should meet them. No country should harbor them. And those that do should be sanctioned."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks before boarding a plane, October 11, 2023, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, en route to Israel. President Joe Biden is dispatching his top diplomat to Israel on an urgent mission to show US support after the unprecedented attack by Hamas militants. (Photo by JACQUELYN MARTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed Thursday that at least 25 Americans were killed in the violence after Hamas infiltrated Israel on Saturday.

"Tragically, the number of innocent lives claimed by Hamas as heinous attacks continues to rise. Among those, we now know that at least 25 American citizens were killed," Blinken said at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. 

More than 2,400 Israelis and Palestinians have been killed in the Middle East since terrorist group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel Saturday morning.

As of Thursday morning, Israel Defense Forces said more than 1,200 Israelis are dead and at least 3,000 are wounded.

In addition to the Israeli deaths, 1,203 Palestinians have been killed since Saturday morning and 5,763 have been wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The war between Israel and Hamas entered its sixth day on Thursday.

Fox News' Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this update

House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, claimed Wednesday that Egyptian officials warned Israel of a potential attack from Hamas prior to the deadly incursion in which the Palestinian terror group murdered hundreds of civilians.

In a public address Monday, however, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly denied any such claim.

McCaul reacted on "Your World" to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby being asked about such allegations during a White House press briefing. Kirby had said he could not speak to "specific intelligence matters" and that the White House's focus is cooperating with Israel and making sure Netanyahu's administration gets the "tools they need."

McCaul said he would not get too specific.

"We do know the Egyptian intelligence did refer this to Israel. And I can't get into any more depth than that. But I do think there was a threat-stream out there. It was a failure of intelligence," he said on "Your World."

The Texas lawmaker said he moderated a classified briefing on the invasion with the entire U.S. House, adding Hamas reportedly planned their attack for more than a year.

"When the Egyptians did warn Israeli officials, obviously, there wasn't enough done to stop it. This concerns me not just with respect to Hamas, but what about our intelligence on Hezbollah? What about our intelligence on Iran? They say there's no clear link to Iran. I disagree with that."

He went on to call claims from U.S. officials that Iran didn't have obvious complicity with the attack "absolutely laughable."

Israel launched a "wave of strikes" on Thursday that killed a senior Hamas leader and destroyed operational command centers in Gaza, officials said.

According to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) , one airstrike executed Thursday killed Muhammad Abu Shamla, a senior Hamas naval operative in the Rafah Brigade. Other airstrikes struck operational command centers used by Hamas operatives, where the infiltration into Israeli communities surrounding Gaza on Saturday was organized.

"IDF aircraft struck Muhammad Abu Shamla, a senior Hamas naval operative in the Rafah Brigade. Abu Shamla's residence was used to store naval weapons designated for terror against the State of Israel," IDF said in a statement.

"Right now we are focused on taking out their senior leadership," said Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman. "Not only the military leadership, but also the governmental leadership, all the way up to [top Hamas leader Yehiyeh] Sinwar. They were directly connected."

Other airstrikes carried out by the IDF targeted Hamas’ Nukhba elite force.

"The Nukhba elite forces consist of terrorists selected by senior Hamas operatives, designated to carry out terrorist attacks such as ambushes, raids, assaults, infiltration through terror tunnels, as well as anti-tank missile, rocket, and sniper fire," the IDF said. "The Nukhba elite forces were one of the leading forces that infiltrated the State of Israel in order to carry out murderous acts of terror against its civilians."

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the government via a video conference at the Kremlin in Moscow on July 19, 2023. (Photo by ALEXANDER KAZAKOV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday doubled down on blaming U.S. foreign policy for creating the conditions that precipitated a violent war between Israel and Hamas. 

Putin made the comments during a forum with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Sudani on Wednesday.

During the forum, Putin said that the "problem" that Israel and the Palestinians are facing is the result of U.S. foreign policy in reference to settlements in Israel.

"Settlement mechanisms have been established, but the United States has neglected these mechanisms over the past few years and decided to regulate everything on its own, did not use these mechanisms and in recent years has relied on meeting the material needs of the population living in the Palestinian territories," Putin said. "In fact, they tried to replace the solution of fundamental political problems with some material handouts. Of course, this is very important for people who have a low standard of living, it is important to solve socio-economic issues."

The Russian president said "without solving fundamental political issues, the main of which is the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, it is impossible to solve the problem as a whole."

"In addition, settlement policy, in addition, a number of other components eventually led to such an explosion of violence. What's happening is terrible," Putin said. "We understand that the hardening on both sides is very large, but no matter what the level of hardness on both sides, it is still necessary to strive to minimize or reduce to zero, to minimize losses among the civilian population: women, children, the elderly. If men have decided to fight among themselves, let them fight among themselves - children, leave women alone. This applies to both sides."

"I would add that the position of Russia, which you mentioned, and I have just outlined it, has not developed today, not in connection with these tragic events, it has been formed for decades, and this position is well known to both the Israeli side and our friends in Palestine. We have always advocated the implementation of the decisions of the UN Security Council, referring primarily to the creation of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state. This is the root of all the problems. And, of course, all that has accompanied this problem in recent years has aggravated it is settlement activity," he added.

Fox News' Adam Sabes contributed to this update.

In an interview with FOX News Digital, Combat Antisemitism Movement CEO Sacha Roytman Dratwa warned that Israel's critics don't understand the hatred and evil that motivates Hamas.

Dratwa discussed the impact of the deadly attacks against Israel by Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists. Since Saturday, more than 2,400 people have been killed including around 1,200 Israelis and at least 22 Americans.

"We know that Hamas doesn't like Israel. We know they don't like us," Dratwa said. "But we didn't know, and we have been extremely surprised by the animosity of the terrorists, by the hatred that was so deep and so badly that I don't think that in Western civilization we are able to understand how much indoctrination happened in Gaza." 

He continued, "And we're told that they want to build a country, maybe. But now we get a strong message that Hamas doesn't want to build anything. They only want to destroy, and they want to destroy the only Jewish state." 

However, since the attack, Israel has faced backlash of its own, ranging from calls for a "ceasefire" by members of Congress to suggestions that the country alone was responsible for the violence. Pro-Palestinian protests also took place across multiple cities throughout the United States, attacking the "apartheid" state of Israel.

Dratwa pushed back against these and other criticisms for failing to understand the situation Israelis face.

"So I think this is really my response to the ‘ceasefire.’ You cannot expect Israel to behave differently than other countries in the world. These are double standards, and we are not going to behave differently than how United States, France, Canada, Germany and other countries [would] have reacted to such attack. We're going to react with all our means and everything that every other country would have done across the world, because this is the right thing to do," he said.

He added, "This is my response to those calling Israel an apartheid state. I would like to see them being Jewish Israelis for one day and then to understand the situation. I don't think that anyone is able to understand without being in Israel and seeing how small it is."

Fox News' Lindsay Kornick contributed to this update.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to speak at a press conference around 6:20 a.m. ET alongside Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu.

Blinken just arrived in Israel a short time ago.

"I’m in Israel today to make one thing clear: The United States stands with Israel and its people, and we will always stand — resolutely — against terrorism," Blinken posted on X.

Blinken will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday, according to multiple reports. 

The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday is accusing Hamas of bringing Islamic State flags to Israel during its attacks on its citizens.

The IDF posted an image on X purportedly showing an ISIS flag and other weaponry that has been taken from Hamas since they began launching their assault on Israel this past weekend.

"Hamas brought ISIS flags to massacre Israeli children, women and men," the IDF wrote. "Hamas is a genocidal terrorist organization. Hamas is worse than ISIS."

The location in which the photo was taken was not immediately clear.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech Wednesday that "Every Hamas fighter… they will be destroyed. The way the world destroyed ISIS, we will do that with Hamas."

"The nation of Israel lives and together, unified, we will win," Netanyahu added.

Fox News' Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.

An Israeli howitzer fires at the Gaza Strip from the south of Israel on Thursday. (AP/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israel President Isaac Herzog told reporters Thursday that "there is no mercy to terror" when describing his country's fight against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Herzog's comment came at the end of a fiery exchange centered around how Israel is choosing their targets to strike back at in Gaza. Israel says Hamas has been using residential areas as launch sites for their missiles streaming into the Jewish state.

"With all due respect, if you have a missile in your God d--- kitchen, and you want to shoot it at me, am I allowed to defend myself? Yes. That is the situation, these missiles are there... the missile comes up from the kitchen onto my children," Herzog said.

"Humanity has to decide, are we accommodating terror or are we fighting terror? We are fighting terror," he continued.

"Unfortunately, in their homes, there are missiles shooting at us, at my children, on the entire nation of Israel. We have to defend ourselves, we have the full right to do so," he also said. "And it's about time that the world understands it. This is the tragedy of using terror, and there is no mercy to terror."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Thursday. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool)

Photos have captured Secretary of State Antony Blinken stepping off an aircraft Thursday at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel. 

"I’m in Israel today to make one thing clear: The United States stands with Israel and its people, and we will always stand — resolutely — against terrorism," Blinken posted on X.

Blinken will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday, according to multiple reports. 

Hussein Al-Sheikh, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the meeting will take place in Jordan's capital city of Amman. 

Sky News reported the meeting will be the first face-to-face encounter between the US and the leader of the Palestinian Authority, which partially governs the West Bank, since Hamas' terrorist attacks on Israel over the weekend. 

Though the meeting has not yet been confirmed by U.S. officials, the Secretary of State website does show Blinken will also travel to Jordan during his three-day trip to Israel, which began Wednesday.

Fox News' Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.

Smoke rises Thursday following an airstrike in Gaza City. (Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz wrote on X Thursday that Gaza will be starved of electricity, fuel and water unless Hamas returns the hostages they are holding inside of their territory, which includes Americans. 

"Humanitarian aid to Gaza? No electrical switch will be turned on, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter [Gaza] until the Israeli kidnapped are returned home," he said. 

“And no one will preach us about morals,” Katz added. 

An estimated 150 hostages remain inside of the Gaza Strip since Hamas launched its deadly assault on Israel Saturday, according to the Associated Press. 

As of Thursday, 17 Americans remain missing, an unknown number of which have been taken hostage by terrorists. 

It’s also been about a day since the territory’s lone power plant ran out of fuel and shut down, leaving private generators as the only source of electricity in the densely-packed coastal region, the AP adds. 

The war between Israel and Hamas entered its sixth day on Thursday and has claimed over 2,400 lives. Photo: Reuters

More than 2,400 Israelis and Palestinians have been killed in the Middle East since terrorist group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel Saturday morning.

As of Thursday morning, Israel Defense Forces said more than 1,200 Israelis are dead and at least 3,000 are wounded.

In addition to the Israeli deaths, 1,203 Palestinians have been killed since Saturday morning and 5,763 have been wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The war between Israel and Hamas entered its sixth day on Thursday.

WORLD

What is Hamas? An overview of the Islamic group that attacked Israel

Hamas started a war with Israel in the early morning of Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. Hundreds of people died, including Americans, in the surprise attack.

According to Israeli reports, around 1,500 Hamas terrorists were killed in Israel. They estimate that hundreds of militants are among the dead in Gaza.

Ohad Harel, who has not heard from his sister-in-law in four days following Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel, describes the search for his missing loved one to Trace Gallagher on Fox News @ Night.

Harel, who assumes his sister-in-law was taken hostage by Hamas, told Trace that Israeli forces cannot take the time to weaken the terrorists, adding that he thinks they should make moves to bring hostages home immediately.

"We cannot wait. Every minute is important. We cannot wait because timing is everything. We know that they hold more than 100, close to 200 even hostages, but time is everything in this case," Harel said. "We have to get in and get them out."

He added, "I don't care about politics. I don't care about anything. We just want to bring them home. That's it."

Israeli woman Mor Radmy, who stars in reality TV show "Wedding at First Sight," reshared a heartbreaking story on her Instagram account on Wednesday of a mother who was sent a video of her son and his girlfriend being murdered by Hamas terrorists.

Radmy, who initially posted the video on Monday, shared the video again Wednesday after she said she received questions about the incident. She shared the story in both Hebrew and English.

"A good friend of mine, her son, was missing at the rave, at the party. Today she got a video from the terrorists murdering her kid and his girlfriend," an emotional Radmy explained. "He took the video in her son's phone and sent it to her through her son's phone."

The Israeli celebrity has been posting daily updates on the Hamas-Israel war on her Instagram account and said she receives many messages from people sharing how they have been affected since Hamas launched the attack on Israel on Saturday.

Fox News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) will reportedly meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (right) in Jordan amid Hamas' terrorist attacks on Israel. Photos: Reuters

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday, according to multiple reports.

Hussein Al-Sheikh, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the meeting will take place in Jordan's capital city of Amman.

Sky News reported the meeting will be the first face-to-face encounter between the US and the leader of the Palestinian Authority, which partially governs the West Bank, since Hamas' terrorist attacks on Israel over the weekend.

Though the meeting has not yet been confirmed by U.S. officials, the Secretary of State website does show Blinken will also travel to Jordan during his trip to Israel, which he departed for on Wednesday.

LA County DA George Gascon speaks at a news conference outside the Hall of Justice in Los Angeles. Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon responded to a letter from 131 current and retired DA employees calling out his silence on Hamas' terrorist attacks against Israel.

Gascon, who typically does comment on current events in the world, was harshly criticized by his peers in the letter for not acknowledging the attacks or offering condolences to the Jewish people.

"Your Jewish attorneys and their colleagues are imploring you to explain why, since you comment publicly on virtually every newsworthy loss of life around the world, from an outbreak of war to the death of a beloved California senator, you have not seen fit to acknowledge, much less express condolences for the unimaginable terrorist actions of Hamas against civilians in Israel this past week," the letter stated.

"And why, when you repeatedly post on social media and train about the vicarious trauma we sustain while supporting victims of crime in Los Angeles, you have not offered the services of the Bureau of Victim Services (BVS) and Employee Assistance Program (EAP) counseling when so many of us have lost friends, relatives, friends of friends, or are simply reeling from generational trauma as the children and grandchildren of survivors of prior antisemitic mass murder? We are at a loss and await your response," it adds.

POLITICS

Progressive Los Angeles prosecutor slammed for not responding to Israel terror attacks: 'Just sickening'

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon responded to criticism from 131 current and former employees in his office for his non-response to the war between Israel and Hamas.

After the letter, Gascon emailed the entire office with the following statement:

"Dear DA Family, The brutal terrorist attacks on Israel have left the world shaken and many concerned for their safety both at home and abroad. I've spent the last few days connecting with faith leaders and law enforcement to express my commitment to ensuring public safety and that members of our community feel protected. There is no justification for these senseless and inconceivably cruel acts of violence against Israel. My heart goes out to everyone that has been impacted."

"We must stand together to support one another. Please take care of yourself, your loved ones, and your community. Your safety and well-being are of utmost importance to us," he added.

Fox News Digital's Adam Sabes contributed to this report.

Former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal talks on the phone after being permitted to temporarily enter Jordan for his mother's funeral. Jordan Pix/Getty Images

Khaled Meshaal, former leader of Hamas, called for Muslims worldwide to join protests in support of Palestinians on Friday and told countries that border Israel to "know your responsibility."

In a recorded statement sent to Reuters, Meshaal is heard saying, "[We must] head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday."

He also said the people and government officials in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan have a responsibility to support Palestinians, as the vast majority of Palestinian refugees live in Jordan and Lebanon.

"Tribes of Jordan, sons of Jordan, brothers and sisters of Jordan…This is a moment of truth and the borders are close to you, you all know your responsibility," he said.

Meshaal is currently based in Qatar and heads Hamas’ diaspora office.

Reuters and Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

Israel Defense Forces soldiers walk through Kibbutz Be'eri where days earlier Hamas militants killed over a hundred civilians near the border with Gaza on October 11, 2023 in Be'eri, Israel. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

The death toll from the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Middle East has risen to over 2,300, according to authorities.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reports that more than 1,200 people were killed in Israel, including 189 soldiers. The fighting began on Saturday, when Hamas terrorists launched a surprise attack against Israel on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.

The conflict is the worst that Israel has seen since the Yom Kippur War half a century ago, when they were attacked by a coalition led by Egypt and Syria.

Palestinian authorities have reported that 1,100 were killed in Gaza so far due to Israeli airstrikes. Israel also cut off electricity, food, fuel and water to the Gaza Strip while the fighting continues.

According to Israeli reports, around 1,500 Hamas terrorists were killed in Israel. They estimate that hundreds of militants are among the dead in Gaza.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Israel Defense Forces soldiers walk through Kibbutz Be'eri where days earlier Hamas militants killed over a hundred civilians near the border with Gaza on October 11, 2023 in Be'eri, Israel. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

The U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday that they are currently exploring options on how to rescue Americans who are stuck in Israel.

"We are also exploring contract options to facilitate U.S. citizen travel to nearby countries and will provide updates to U.S. citizens who have registered via our online form," the State Department said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

In the social media post, the department attached a form that lets American citizens and their families request help with leaving Israel.

Members of Congress previously urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday to accelerate the evacuation of Americans in Israel, particularly by using charter flights and military equipment.

"As the number of casualties continue to rise, our constituents who remain in Israel fear for their lives," the letter read. "We ask that you consider charter flights and military options for evacuation, simultaneously. At this harrowing moment in Israel’s history, it is more important than ever that every American who is looking to return home has the opportunity to do so."

Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

U.S. President Joe Biden departs the stage after delivering remarks on new efforts to crack down on hidden junk fees in the Rose Garden of the White House October 11, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The White House is considering refreezing the $6 billion in Iranian funds that were released as part of a prisoner swap last month.

The news comes as intelligence officials investigate how complicit Iranian officials were in planning the ongoing Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel. Iran has a history of supporting Hamas.

The $6 billion in funds were released to Iranian vendors for humanitarian purposes, rather than the Iranian government. The Biden administration has been criticized for the possibility that the deal played a role in the attacks.

A U.S. official told Bloomberg that intelligence agencies believe Iran knew Hamas wanted to take "some action against Israel." White House officials have maintained there is no "specific evidence" proving that Iranian officials helped plan the attacks.

Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a roundtable with Jewish community leaders in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building October 11, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

President Biden told a group of Jewish community leaders on Wednesday that he warned Iran to "be careful" as the war between Hamas terrorists and the Israeli military continues.

"You know, I spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu I don't know how many times, but again this morning, and already we're surging additional military assistance to the Israeli Defense Force, including ammunition, interceptors to replenish the Iron Dome, and we've moved the U.S. carrier fleet to the Eastern Mediterranean, and we're sending more fighter jets there to that region, and made it clear — made it clear to the Iranians: Be careful," Biden explained.

Biden's warning comes as his administration continues to deny links between Iran and Hamas' recent attacks, although his officials have acknowledged Iran's support of Hamas in the past.

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that Hamas and Hezbollah leaders claimed Iranian security officials had a hand in the planning of the recent attacks.

National Security Counsel spokesman John Kirby has maintained that there is no "specific evidence" that Iranian officials helped Hamas terrorists plan the attack so far.

Fox News Digital's Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.

Democratic Party leaders have seemingly given a pass to "Squad" Democrats who made anti-Israel comments in the wake of Hamas terrorist attacks.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on the matter, while the office of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., pointed to an anti-Hamas statement he personally made. When Fox asked for clarification about the "Squad" members' statements, Schumer's office did not answer.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., both released controversial statements about the Israel-Hamas war. Bush called to end U.S. support of "Israeli military occupation and apartheid," while Tlaib also referred to Israel as an "apartheid government."

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., both called for a ceasefire in their statements, which is a controversial position as Israel continues defending itself against terrorists.

On Tuesday, the "Squad" Democrats were criticized by the Biden administration, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre calling their statements  "wrong," "repugnant" and "disgraceful."

Fox News Digital's Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.

Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital that he rescued 32 Americans who were stranded in Israel after Hamas terrorists began attacking the Middle Eastern country over the weekend.

The Republican explained that he arranged flights back home with the help of the U.S. embassy in Jordan. The Americans were stranded in Tel Aviv but were able to be transported to Jordan and then flown back to the U.S. on Wednesday.

"You know, for me, there's a statesman and there's a politician," Mills explained. "One acts and the other one talks, and I just couldn't sit there knowing Americans were losing their lives."

"And, look, I'm not making a massive dent in things," he added. "There's thousands of people that are still trapped there. I got 32 people out today, and I hope to get a lot more tomorrow."

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem told Fox News Digital that U.S. citizens seeking to be in touch with the U.S. Embassy in Israel should visit the website cacms.state.gov/s/crisis-intake or call +1-833-890-9595 and +1-606-641-0131. Any notifications from the Embassy can be found at  https://il.usembassy.gov/category/alert/. 

Fox News Digital's Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) questions U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, March 23, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

University of Florida president and former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse issued a letter to the school's community affirming his support of Israel amid the Hamas terrorist attacks against the country,

A pro-Israel vigil was held at the school on Monday night and ended in a stampede that injured dozens of students. In his letter, Sasse said he was "overwhelmed to see a thousand Gators standing with Israel."

The former Nebraska senator explained that the injuries from the event appeared to be minor before launching into an anti-Hamas admonition.

"I will not tiptoe around this simple fact: What Hamas did is evil and there is no defense for terrorism," Sasse wrote.

"Sadly, too many people in elite academia have been so weakened by their moral confusion that, when they see videos of raped women, hear of a beheaded baby, or learn of a grandmother murdered in her home, the first reaction of some is to 'provide context' and try to blame [the victims]," he added.

Sasse called the apologism of Hamas's attacks "sickening" and "dehumanizing" while affirming that Jewish students on his campus will be protected.

"We will protect our Jewish students from violence," Sasse said. "Speech is protected - violence and vandalism are not."

Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz sat down with Larry Kudlow on Wednesday to discuss U.S. students' anti-Israel reactions to the recent Hamas terrorist attacks.

During the "Kudlow" appearance, Dershowitz referenced the New York University law school student who had her job offer rescinded for signing her name on an anti-Israel letter.

"We got a law firm in New York to rescind an offer from the head of the NYU Bar Association who supported the rapists and the beheadings and the kidnappers," Dershowitz explained. "At Harvard, we've gotten lots and lots of the groups to withdraw their support for Hamas."

The famed lawyer explained that employing students who express support for Hamas would alienate not just Jewish clients, but any client.

"A big hedge fund operator who graduated from Harvard said he wanted the name of every single student who supported these beheadings and supported these abominations to be made public so that no Wall Street firm makes the mistake of hiring any of them," Dershowitz said.

"Saying to a Jewish client or any client, 'Oh, by the way, the woman who is going to be representing you. She believes it's okay to lynch and rape Jews. Would you like her to represent you?' Of course not."

Dozens of protestors hid their faces with masks while attending a pro-Palestinian rally at George Washington University on Tuesday night.

"We are here today to honor our martyrs and to honor the struggle for liberation that they made the ultimate sacrifice for," an organizer said to the crowd of students. "Our resistance fighters are defying Zionist intelligence as we speak, exposing the cracks and its ironclad foundation and dispelling the illusion of its invincibility."

When Fox News Digital approached the students at the vigil, they refused to give their names. A GWU student who did not attend the vigil told Fox that he was appalled by the amount of violence coming from both sides.

"I've seen Palestinian children get burned alive. Seen videos of rape, of murder of [Israeli] civilians by Hamas," the student, whose name is Sami, said.

"My personal belief, it's a radical belief among many, but you need to end the Israeli state as we know it," he continued. "And we need a binational state that has equal rights for both Palestinians and Israelis within the area we know as Israel."

Fox News Digital's Jon Michael Raasch contributed to this report.

WARNING: This story contains graphic details

President Biden confirmed that he's seen images of decapitated children as Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel continue.

During a roundtable with Jewish community leaders on Wednesday, Biden denounced Hamas's violence and affirmed his support for Israel and the Jewish people.

"I just hate this cruelty against the Jewish people," he said. "And I would argue it's the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, the deadliest day since the Holocaust."

Reports of Hamas terrorists slaughtering civilians, burning Israelis alive and raping women have been spreading on social media. Biden's speech also confirmed the disturbing news that children have been decapitated by the terrorists.

"I never really thought that I would see and have confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children," he said later in his speech.

Fox News Digital's Kassy Dillon contributed to this report.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem on September 27, 2023. (Photo by ABIR SULTAN / POOL / AFP)

WARNING: This story contains graphic details

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed his country late Wednesday night, as Israel continues fighting against Hamas terrorist attacks that began on Saturday.

At least 1,200 Israelis have died since the surprise attack began on Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday. Most of the deaths were civilians.

"We are dealing with it an enemy that is cruel and worse than ISIS," the prime minister explained. "We saw children, boys and girls who were shot in their heads. Men and women who were burned alive. Young women who were raped and slaughtered, children whose heads were cut were decapitated."

"We are fighting with all our strength on all fronts," he said later in his speech. "We have moved over to the offense. Every Hamas member will be destroyed...They are ISIS, they will be destroyed."

An Israeli woman talked to Fox News Digital about the traumatic experience she had being trapped in a bomb shelter for 36 hours during a Hamas terrorist attack.

Sderot resident Sabina Elayev, 31, woke in the middle of the night on Saturday and heard Hamas terrorists shooting her neighbors outside.

"Whole families were disappeared, and during this whole time, you just sit in the shelter waiting for someone to tell you it’s over, and it’s not over," she explained. "Every gunshot … it’s a person killed, murdered, butchered."

Elayev found her niece and the two women raced to their bomb shelter. They expected to stay for a few minutes, but they ended up waiting in the bunker for 36 hours.

"Not even in the worst dream we would imagine terrorists will come to the city," she said. "Dancing on bodies, parading them, kidnapping kids, how can you look a person in the eye and just shoot them dead?"

"Why would they hate us so much?" Elayev added. "This isn't freedom fighting."

Fox News Digital's Hannah Ray Lambert contributed to this report.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) attends a news conference on the launch of the American Climate Corps outside the U.S. Capitol building on September 20, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., accused Israel of violating international law after they cut off fuel, food, electricity and water to the Gaza Strip.

"The targeting of civilians is a war crime, no matter who does it," Sanders said on Wednesday. "Israel’s blanket denial of food, water, and other necessities to Gaza is a serious violation of international law and will do nothing but harm innocent civilians."

"For many, it is no secret that Gaza has been an open-air prison, with millions of people struggling to secure basic necessities," he added. "Hamas terrorism will make it more difficult to address that tragic reality." 

A "complete siege" of Gaza was ordered by the Israeli military on Monday, days after Hamas terrorists began unleashing attacks against the Middle Eastern country. At least 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, have been killed in the Hamas attacks since Saturday.

"We are fighting against human animals, and we act accordingly," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said. "There will be no electricity, no food, no water. No fuel."  

Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

During an interview on “Outnumbered” on Wednesday, co-host Kayleigh McEnany spoke with former State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus about the brutality of the Hamas attacks on Israel. Specifically, McEnany informed of two brothers, three-year-old Ariel and nine-month-old Kfir, who were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in Israel.

“I want our viewers to meet Ariel. He's four years old. Look, he's clearly just gotten a haircut. That beautiful little boy and next to him is Kfir. This is the nine-month-old baby we've been telling you about. Who was kidnapped. Nine months old, look at him,” McEnany said while featuring a photo of the brothers.

“His mom Shri…was depicted holding these two little boys wrapped in a white blanket while surrounded by Hamas militants. It's a widely circulated video,” McEnany continued.

“Last night I saw an interview with the cousin of these two little boys. And her question was this. ‘Is Kfir, is his diaper being changed? Kfir, is he being fed? I just want to know, has he had any formula in the last 72 hours?’ Morgan, as a mom, as an expert. What do you think when you see those two little boys?,” McEnany asked the guest.

“It's just the images keep getting more and more unbelievable. Kayleigh. Our kids are around the same age and this is our worst nightmare,” Ortagus said. “What kind of animals rip children from their mothers? And unfortunately, this story is happening more and more as the death toll goes up.”

Fox News' Ashlyn Messier contributed to this report.

The West Bank is a disputed territory located west of the Jordan River. Historically it's been held by Israelis, Jordanians and parts of it are under Palestinian Authority control.

While West Bank is the common term for the area Israelis refer to it as its biblical name Judea and Samaria.

The West Bank is significantly larger than Gaza, and has a population of about three million people. In 1967, Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Syria were involved in the Six-Day War. The war started on June 5, 1967 and ended on June 10. After the war, Israel took control of the West Bank from Jordan. The area has seen violence between Palestinians and Israelis ever since.

Following the historic Oslo accords between Israel and the Palestinians it was agreed that the Palestinians would be given some self-rule.

As part of the Oslo accords the West Bank was separated into areas A, B and C. Area A is controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Area B is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, with Israel controlling security, while Area C, which makes up about 60% of the West Bank, is controlled entirely by Israel.

Fox News' Ashlyn Messier contributed to this report.

Members of the Jewish community in Glasgow gather in Buchanan Street where they held a vigil in memory of the those killed in Israel by Hamas militants, on October 11, 2023 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

As the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) defends their country against attacks by Hamas terrorists, several non-profit organizations are collecting money to help Israelis.

One such organization is the UJA (United Jewish Appeal) Federation of New York. Donors can contribute by clicking here.

The FOX Corporation recently donated $1 million to the UJA's Israel Emergency Fund, which provides cash assistance to victims of war.

Donors are encouraged to verify the authenticity of non-profits before sending money to them. Watchdog sites such as www.charitywatch.org can help readers make an informed decision before donating.

Fox News Digital's Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, left, calls on a reporter during the daily briefing with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023.

A senior White House official spoke about Iran's "broad complicity" in Hamas' war against Israel, but said that no "specific evidence" exists about Iranian officials helping terrorists plan the attacks.

During a Wednesday briefing, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby asserted that the Biden administration has not "turned a blind eye to Iranian destabilizing behavior."

"We're obviously recognize that there's broad complicity here by the Iranians, I mean, because of the longstanding support to Hamas. Hamas wouldn't have been able to function at all had it not been for propping up by the Iranian regime," Kirby explained.

"But we haven't seen any specific evidence that tells us they were wittingly involved in the planning or involved in the resourcing and the training that went into this very complex set of attacks over the weekend," he added.

Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich pressed Kirby for a more specific answer on Iran's involvement.

"Is it the position of the administration that at this stage Iran was not involved?" Heinrich asked. "I guess my question is, how can we know this was in the planning for over a year and within a few short days say that Iran was not behind it?" 

"Because that's what we think," Kirby replied. "Again, we have not seen any evidence, specific evidence that Iran was directly involved with these specific sets of attacks."

Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

Jewish students at American universities told Fox News Digital that they're "stunned" by pro-Hamas sentiment on their campus amid the terrorist group's war against Israel.

Sev, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology student, said he wasn't scared, but "aware of the animosity and the pure hate that exists."

Israeli student Yossi said that seeing pro-Palestine demonstrators was discouraging, despite the U.S.'s support of his country.

"They're thinking they're supporting Palestine, but it's not really supporting Palestine 'cause they're supporting terrorists," Yossi explained. "This is not about freedom of speech. It's about the freedom of hate."

The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 2,100 people since Saturday morning, when terrorists conducted a surprise attack on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.

Fox News Digital's Kassy Dillon and Hannah Ray Lambert contributed to this report.

Cambridge, MA - December 15: Claudine Gay speaks to the crowd after being named Harvard Universitys next president. (Photo by Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Harvard President Claudine Gay issued a statement condemning Hamas on Tuesday, days after more than 30 Harvard student groups controversially blamed Israel for the recent Hamas terrorist attacks. 

“As the events of recent days continue to reverberate, let there be no doubt that I condemn the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas,” Gay wrote. “Such inhumanity is abhorrent, whatever one’s individual views of the origins of longstanding conflicts in the region.” 

The president also asserted that student groups do not represent the views of the university. 

“Let me also state, on this matter as on others, that while our students have the right to speak for themselves, no student group — not even 30 student groups — speaks for Harvard University or its leadership,” the letter added. 

“We will all be well served in such a difficult moment by rhetoric that aims to illuminate and not inflame,” Gay concluded. “And I appeal to all of us in this community of learning to keep this in mind as our conversations continue.” 

The students' statement had accused Israel of having an “apartheid regime” and blamed the country for the Hamas terrorist attacks, which have killed at least 1200 Israelis since Saturday.

 "We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence," the statement read. "The apartheid regime is the only one to blame. Israeli violence has structured every aspect of Palestinian existence for 75 years."  

WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES

Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst reported from Israel's Kibbutz Be'eri on Wednesday night, the site of a massacre by Hamas militants.

" I need to warn our viewers. What we're about to show you is the aftermath of the massacre against Israelis on Saturday morning. We are in Kibbutz Be'eri that sits just over the border from Gaza," Yingst explained on "Outnumbered." "On Saturday morning, Hamas militants stormed this area. I need to warn you before I show you the scene here, it is very graphic. So if you're at home with children, please do not have them look at this."

Yingst detailed that houses in the kibbutz are riddled with bullet holes, and their floors and beds are covered with blood. One eyewitness told Yingst that he saw victims decapitated and executed with their hands behind their backs.

"The hardest thing to understand about all of this...they came into this community and they slaughtered children. There are bodies of civilians just off in the distance here that we saw," he explained.

"I'm going to toss it back to you, though. We do need to get out of here. It's not the best place to be after dark, but I wanted to make sure you could see the hell on Earth here," Yingst concluded.

A source with knowledge of the situation tells Fox News Digital the State Department is working to arrange private flights out of Israel for American citizens. The source says they’re working on offering flights “soon” but the specifics of that timeline are still unclear.

The news comes as critics of President Biden are urging the White House to move faster.

Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) released a statement on Wednesday explaining that he had called for the immediate evacuation of Americans during a meeting with Biden officials.

 “Other countries have stepped up and have mobilized their own aircraft or chartered flights to successfully evacuate thousands of their citizens who are trying to get out of harm’s way in the wake of Hamas’ absolutely savage, antisemitic terrorist attacks and its barbaric slaughtering, raping and kidnapping of innocent Israelis and Americans,” Smith, who is co-chair of the Israel Allies Caucus, said.

Previously, White House spokesman John Kirby told "Andrea Mitchell Reports" that the Biden administration was in touch with American citizens in Israel and is "making sure we have a sense of how many might want to go and and how they might when when they might want to go." 

Kirby said the government is "examining a range of options" to get those Americans out of Israel. 

"There are some commercial carriers that are still flying out of the airport, Ben Gurion. There are some viable land routes that are available. But but we understand that that may not suit everybody," Kirby said. "So we're working on this very hard. And and I think we'll have more to say about that in coming days."

Fox News' Rich Edson and Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this update.

The Israeli Air Force said Wednesday that "reports of infiltration from the Lebanese border into Israel's airspace" have "been discounted" after local media cited an unfolding "large-scale" drone attack.

“In regards to the reports of infiltration from the Lebanese border into Israel's airspace, as of this moment this has been discounted," IAF said in a statement. 

The Israeli Defense Forces likewise said an alert issued on the nationwide Home Front Command app instructing residents to shelter in place was a false alarm, the Times of Israel reported. 

"This is a mistake, there is no such instruction," the army said, adding that it was caused by "human error" and was not a cyber attack. 

"As of now, fear of an infiltration is ruled out," IDF said, giving the all-clear. 

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the military is investigating the cause of the false drone alerts, according to the Times of Israel. 

Fox News' Greg Norman contributed to this report.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is briefing reporters after a State Department official said at least 22 Americans have been confirmed dead in the Israel-Hamas war. 

Jean-Pierre said that 17 Americans remain unaccounted for and that the numbers are likely to increase in the days ahead as Israel escalates its war against the terror group Hamas. 

"Today and every day we are here to reaffirm the United States will continue to have Israel's back," she said before turning the press conference over to National Security Council spokesman Admiral John Kirby. 

"We know that a number of those Americans are being held hostage right now by Hamas. I think we all need to steel ourselves for the very distinct possibility that these numbers will keep increasing and that we may, in fact, find out that more Americans are part of the hostage pool," Kirby said. 

"Our message to all these families affected is that, you know, we're with you, we're grieving with you. We're sorrowful with you. We're worrying with you. And we're going to do everything we can, particularly for those who don't know where a loved one is, to have to find out where they are and to get them home with you, where they belong." 

FREMONT, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during an event to launch the new Tesla Model X Crossover SUV on September 29, 2015 in Fremont, California. After several production delays, Elon Musk officially launched the much anticipated Tesla Model X Crossover SUV. The (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday that all Tesla Superchargers in Israel will be free to use until further notice as Israel wages war against the terror group Hamas. 

"All Tesla Superchargers in Israel are free," Musk said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

The company’s website lists at least 17 active Superchargers in Israel, with locations ranging from northern Israel near the border with Lebanon to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem all the way to the southern tip of Israel at Eilat on the Red Sea. 

Several other Supercharger locations are listed as scheduled for opening in 2023 or 2024 per the Tesla website, and it is unclear when the site was last updated with the availability of those locations. 

Tesla Superchargers are the fast charging stations for the company’s electric vehicles. They are capable of providing up to 250 kilowatts of power – enough to add 200 miles of range in a period of 15 minutes.

Tesla previously made Superchargers available for free following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when the company made select Superchargers in Poland, Slovakia and Hungary available to people affected by the war. 

Fox Business' Eric Revell contributed to this update.

Rep. Jake Auchinsloss, D-Mass., had harsh words for Republican candidates for president who have attacked President Biden's policies amid the unfolding Israel-Hamas war. 

Auchinsloss, a close ally of the president, accused 2024 GOP hopefuls of trying to score "cheap political points" with their condemnation of Biden for freeing up $6 billion in Iranian assets as part of a prisoner exchange. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and other Republican White House contenders have said those funds allowed Iran to support Hamas' terror attacks. 

"2024 Republicans are trying to score cheap political points when the focus should be on support for Israel," Auchinsloss said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "It is repugnant, and a transparent effort to distract from their own inconsistent support for the Jewish community and Israel."  

"Donald Trump campaigned on forcing Israel to pay the United States back for its security assistance," he continued.

"During his first months as president, Trump put an Israeli intelligence official in harm's way by sharing classified Israeli intel with Russia. Does Donald Trump agree now with Vivek Ramaswamy and Rand Paul that Congress should eliminate funding for Israel's self-defense? Actions speak louder than words –– and MAGA Republicans must answer for their own record."

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this update.

Former political bureau chief of Hamas, Khaled Mashal speaks as he attends the Baitul Maqdis Opinion Leaders Forum on October 12, 2018 in Istanbul, (Photo by Momen Faiz/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal called on the Muslim world to take to the streets, "first of all for anger," to show support for Palestinians in Hamas' fight against Israel. 

In a video reported by Reuters, Meshaal called on Muslims to "head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday, the Friday of Al Aqsa Flood."

"Deliver a message, through the squares and the streets, a message of anger, that we are with Palestine, that we are with Gaza, with Al Aqsa, with Jerusalem, and that we are a part of this battle," Meshaal said. He urged those who can to send "relief and money" to Gaza as the Israeli military lays siege to the territory in retaliation for the massacre of more than 1,200 Israelis by Hamas over the weekend. 

Meshaal said governments and peoples of Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt have a bigger duty to support the Palestinians.

"Tribes of Jordan, sons of Jordan, brothers and sisters of Jordan, from all of your sides and backgrounds, this is a moment of truth and the borders are close to you, you all know your responsibility, and this applies to all nations," Meshaal said. 

He added: "To all scholars who teach jihad for the sake of God and who preach the fighters and martyrs, to all who teach and learn, this is a moment for the application (of theories), so that are words are not just words."

Reuters contributed to this update.

The U.S. State Department confirmed the deaths of at least 22 Americans in Israel since Saturdays' surprise attack by the terror group Hamas. 

"We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected," a state department official said. 

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that there are at least 20 Americans missing in Israel amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, which has already claimed the lives of 1,600 people.

Speaking during a press briefing at the White House, Sullivan stressed that while at least 20 Americans are missing in Israel, it doesn't mean they're being held hostage.

"We believe that there are 20 or more American who at this point are missing. But I want to underscore and stress, that does not mean necessarily that there are 20 or more American hostages. Just that is the number who are currently unaccounted for," Sullivan said.

He said that the number of Americans being held hostage by Hamas is currently unknown.

Fox News' Nicholas Kalman and Adam Sabes contributed to this update.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres is expected to deliver remarks around noon ET on the ongoing conflict between Israel and the terror group Hamas. 

Guterres has raised concerns over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the Israeli military will lay siege to eradicate Hamas after terrorists massacred hundreds of Israelis on Saturday. 

The secretary general said Monday that more than 137,000 people in Gaza were sheltering in sites operated by UNRWA, an aid agency for Palestinians. 

“I am deeply distressed by today’s announcement that Israel will initiate a complete siege of the Gaza Strip, nothing allowed in — no electricity, food, or fuel,” Guterres said.

“The humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely dire before these hostilities. Now, it will only deteriorate exponentially,” he added. 

Guterres also emphasized the horror in Israel, condemning Hamas for launching "thousands of indiscriminate rockets that have reached central Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem" that have killed more than 1,200 people and wounded thousands more. 

Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terrorist organization operating out of Lebanon, is gradually getting involved in the Israeli-Hamas war. Hezbollah, whose name means “Party of God,” is a Shia militia group. The U.S. state department and other countries have named Hezbollah a foreign terrorist group.

Hezbollah and Israel have been at odds since the terrorist group was organized. The goal of Hezbollah was to remove Israel Defense Forces from southern Lebanon. In 2006, Hezbollah engaged in a five-week war with Israel, where they killed 158 Israelis, mostly soldiers, and kidnapped 2, according to Reuters.

Hezbollah was formed in the early 1980s. Its longtime leader is Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah has led the group since 1992 when the previous leader was assassinated by the IDF. In 2021, Nasrallah said that the group had 100,000 fighters, Reuters reported.

Fox News' Ashlyn Messier contributed to this report.

Sirens are sounding across northern Israel and residents were told to shelter in place amid reports of an incoming "large-scale" drone attack.

"Israelis throughout the country were ordered to shelter in place amid a large-scale attack involving drones coming from the direction of the northern border on Wednesday evening," the Jerusalem Post reported. 

The local outlet said there were reports of terrorists on paragliders landing in northern Israel. 

Israeli Defense Forces said it received a report of a "suspected infiltration" from Lebanon into Israeli airspace. 

"All residents in the areas where the warning was sounded are asked to enter the protected areas and stay in them until further notice," IDF said. 

The Times of Israel reported footage broadcast on local Channel 12 news appeared to show a drone moving across the sky. 

Sirens were heard in the towns of Ofer and Kerem Maharal, south of Haifa, with Hamas claiming to have fired rockets in that area, according to the Times of Israel. 

An Israeli mobile artillery unit fired a shell from southern Israel towards the Gaza Strip, in a position a near the Israel Gaza border on Wednesday. (AP/Erik Marmor)

A Israeli military spokesperson told Fox News on Wednesday that "everything labeled Hamas is a target" ahead of an expected ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. 

Israel Defense Forces Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, speaking on "America's Newsroom," said, "Now what we are doing is taking the fight to Hamas. We are preparing ourselves, we are making sure that Hamas can never, ever do this to us again." 

"There are many forces accumulated now around the Gaza Strip," he continued. "We are conducting extensive strikes against the Hamas terrorist organization, their command and control positions, their infrastructure, their launching sites. Everything that is labeled Hamas is a target. They can never be permitted to conduct these attacks against us again." 

Lerner also said Israel is "united" in its defense against Hamas and feels "very emboldened and strengthened" by the support of the international community, including allies such as the United States. 

"We have to make sure Hamas are held accountable for their actions, we demand that they release the captives, the hostages, they have to do it now, and they will bear the consequences of their actions in any case," he also said.  

Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich in an op-ed wrote that Israel must respond to the terrorist group Hamas by destroying them "utterly." 

"At the end of this conflict there should be no remnant of Hamas or any other terrorist organization left in Gaza," Gingrich wrote.  

"There should be a new government willing to recognize and work with Israel. Once that government is established, every effort should focus on making Gaza prosperous," he continued. 

"The people there must learn that peace with their neighbor will lead to a dramatically better life than tolerating a corrupt, ruthless, terror dictatorship that sacrifices everyone’s quality of life and opportunity to prosper.

"Phase one must be to control of all of Gaza. This is a big job because there are more than 2 million people currently living there.

"Phase two must be methodically rooting out terrorism and its supporters. The United States and its allies initially arrested more than 400,000 Germans, when it occupied the country after World War II, who had ties to the Nazi Party or government. There was a methodical process of keeping former Nazis from participating in government.

"In Gaza, this process of erasing Hamas and its influence must include changing the school curricula, ending payments to families of suicide bombers, locking up Hamas activists, and jailing Hamas leaders who plotted to kill Israeli citizens."

Gingrich warned that any strategic goal short of destroying Hamas will risk more war and further atrocities. 

The Israeli Defense Forces said Wednesday that Combat Engineering Corps troops have been deployed to close breaches in the Gaza border fence, created by terrorists who infiltrated the country Saturday morning in southern Israel. 

Israeli Air Force aircraft, including combat helicopters and remotely manned aircraft, are providing a protective envelope for the troops to secure the area, IDF said.

An engineering officer of the Gaza division said a broad effort is underway "to organize the fighting area and to purify the areas where fighting is taking place starting on Saturday." 

The army engineers are constructing "significant defense infrastructures." They are also working to remove explosive devices left behind by Hamas terrorists in areas where they infiltrated.

"They do this with great determination and a special fighting spirit in order to protect residents of the south and the State of Israel and allow the IDF to focus on the attack," the officer said. 

AP Photo/Hassan Ammar

Lebanon's Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terrorist movement was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the US State Department in 1997. It poses a serious threat to Israel as the Israel-Hamas war continues. Terrorists from Hezbollah joined in on Hamas' attacks on Sunday.

Hamas and Israel have fought against one another many times in the past. Hezbollah and Israel went to war in 2006. Iran aided Hezbollah in its 1983 homicide bombing attack that killed 241 members of the US military.

Hamas is also designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), founded in 1987. Hezbollah is a terrorist Lebanese group that was founded in 1982 after the Lebanon War. Both of these groups are backed by Iran. Hamas has controlled Gaza, the highly populated Palestinian territory, home to over two million, since 2006, while Hezbollah’s power lies in Lebanon.

They are both Islamic groups, but Hamas are mostly Sunni adherents and Hezbollah is a Shiite group. Political leader Ismail Haniyeh is the current head of Hamas and has been since 2017 when he replaced longtime leader, Khaled Meshaal. Hezbollah has been led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992.

Fox News Digital's Breana Scheckwitz, Landon Mion and Ashlyn Messier contributed to this report.

Heritage Foundation scholar James Jay Carafano called out President Biden's "disastrous policies" in an op-ed criticizing the president's remarks on the Hamas terror attack against Israel. 

"We’re hearing a lot about what President Biden said in Tuesday’s address on Hamas’s outrageous attack on Israel. What’s missing, though, is … well, what was missing," Carafano wrote Wednesday. "For while he was careful to denounce this brutal, inexcusable act of terrorism, Biden ignored the key role played by his own disastrous policies, and left Americans largely clueless as to how his administration would respond to this major test of U.S. leadership." 

Carafano, the vice president of foreign and defense policy studies at the Heritage Foundation, ripped Biden for neglecting to mention Iran in his speech condemning Hamas. 

"Biden had hoped that Iran would keep a low profile, at least until after the 2024 elections. Tehran’s payback to the U.S. and Biden was not only to cheerlead as Hamas terrorists decapitated babies, but to likely assist in supporting and planning the terror campaign," he wrote. 

"The president could not even bring himself to mention Iran in his speech on Tuesday. That’s a clear signal the administration is clueless what to do now that it’s been hit with irrefutable evidence that its Iran policy has utterly and completely failed."

The White House has refused to answer questions on the future of U.S.-Iran relations in light of the war between Israel and the Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House at least three times this week inquiring if the U.S. would participate in negations and return to the nuclear deal if evidence is found that Iran helped plan the brutal attacks against Israel. The White House's press office ultimately referred Fox News Digital to the National Security Council Monday, which did not respond to the inquiry. 

News broke Sunday that Iranian security officials allegedly approved Hamas' plan to attack Israel during a meeting in Beirut last Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported. Hamas and Hezbollah leaders said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps worked with Hamas since August on air, land and sea attack plans. 

Following the report, U.S. leaders said they have not found direct evidence of Iran planning the attacks in coordination with Hamas but noted that Iran has long supported Hamas, and the nation holds "a degree of complicity" in the attacks. 

"We are looking through the information streams. We haven’t seen hard, tangible evidence that Iran was directly involved in participating in or resourcing and planning these sets of complex attacks that Hamas pulled off over the weekend," Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council John Kirby said Tuesday, something echoed later on in the day by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who again stressed that the U.S. has no evidence that Iran knew about the attacks in advance or that it helped Hamas.

Both Sullivan and Kirby's comments this week echo what a U.S. official told Fox News Digital on Sunday evening, that "of course" Iran is in the picture, but that U.S. officials currently do not have information corroborating the report. 

When asked specifically about the future of the U.S. relationship with Iran, however, the White House has not said if leaders would return to the negotiating table for the Iran nuclear deal or if the U.S. strategy with Iran will change in light of terrorist leaders claiming Iran helped with the attacks. 

Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this update.

Stephanie Hallett, the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, became emotional while describing the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists in Israel. 

Hallett, in a video posted on X, choked up as she stood amid the rubble in an Israeli town near the border with Gaza.

"We've come down here along the Gaza periphery to bear witness to the atrocities that were committed here on Saturday," Hallett said.

"It's really unbelievable," she continued, forcing back tears. "As a mother, and just as a human being to see and to know what happened here — it is really important to say that we've been here, we've seen it, and it is evil. And we stand with Israel." 

Hallet was appointed as chargé d'affaires ad interim at the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem in July 2023. The White House has urged the Senate to confirm an ambassador to Israel promptly since war broke out Saturday. 

BERLIN, GERMANY - MARCH 16: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (not pictured) speak to the media following talks at the Chancellery on March 16, 2023 in Berlin, Germany.

Local Israeli media reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached an agreement with opposition leaders to form a wartime unity government. 

The main opposition leaders, former Prime Minister Yair Lapid and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, had agreed in principle to join a unity government following the surprise attack on Saturday by the Islamist group Hamas, Reuters reported. 

A spokesperson for Gantz's National Unity party said she was optimistic there would be "good news" the party would unite with Netanyahu to form an emergency government but would not elaborate on the terms.

Gantz and Netanyahu were scheduled to meet Tuesday but the meeting was delayed until Wednesday. 

The agreement shows mostly united Israeli political leadership in the face of a war against the Palestinian terror group Hamas, which massacred more than 1,200 Israeli civilians and captured hundreds more in the deadliest attack on Israel in the nation's 75-year history. 

A unity government is needed for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to have a broad consensus within his government to execute decisions.  

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid has refused to join the government if far-right Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit parties remain in it, but a position has been left open for him, the Times of Israel reports.

Fox News' Yonat Friling, Jennifer Johnson and Reuters contributed to this report.

UNITED STATES - MARCH 3: Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., left, and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., talk beofre the start of the Ban Russian Energy Imports Act news conference in the Capitol on Thursday, March 3, 2022. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Moderate Democratic senators who face tough re-election efforts in red states next year have joined Republicans in calling on the Biden administration to immediately "freeze" the $6 billion in Iranian assets released last month for a prisoner swap.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont, posted about his support of freezing the $6 billion in Iranian assets to the social media platform X on Tuesday.

"As American intelligence officials continue to investigate the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas, we should review our options to hold Iran accountable for any support they may have provided," the senator said. "At a minimum, we should immediately freeze the $6 billion in Iranian assets and explore other financial tools we have at our disposal."

Another Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va, told Politico on Tuesday he, too, supported refreezing the $6 billion in assets.

"I wasn’t supportive of the initial $6 billion transfer," he told the publication. "We should absolutely freeze these Iranian assets while we also consider additional sanctions."

Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this update.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., ignored questions Tuesday when a Fox News reporter repeatedly asked for comment on a horrific report that Hamas beheaded Israeli babies.

FOX Business reporter Hillary Vaughn confronted the far-left "Squad" member, who has criticized Israel for the attack, as she walked through a hallway on Tuesday.

"Congresswoman, Hamas terrorists have cut off babies' heads and burned children alive. Do you support Israel's rights to defend themselves against this brutality?" Vaughn asked. However, Tlaib did not acknowledge the questions.

"You can’t comment about Hamas terrorists chopping off babies’ heads? Congresswoman, do you have a comment on Hamas terrorists chopping off babies’ heads?" Vaugh persisted. "You have nothing to say about Hamas terrorists chopping off babies’ heads? Do you condone what Hamas has done chopping off babies’ heads, burning children alive, raping women in the streets? You have no comment about children’s heads being chopped off?" 

Tlaib and her staff entered an elevator without responding. 

Local Israeli news outlet i24News reported Tuesday that as IDF soldiers moved into Kfar Aza, one of the communities Hamas terrorists invaded early Saturday morning, they discovered about 40 dead babies, some decapitated.

"It’s not a war, it’s not a battlefield. You see the babies, the mother, the father, in their bedrooms, in their protection rooms, and how the terrorists killed them," IDF Maj. Gen. Itai Veruv said, describing the scene, i24News reported. "It’s a massacre."

Fox News' Kristine Parks and Lawrence Richard contributed to this update.

Americans in the hundreds have turned to Project DYNAMO to find a way out of Israel as airlines pause services and avenues out of the country continue to disappear. 

"My team of case managers, who are based in America, they’ve been awake for three days just fielding hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of requests from Americans who are stuck," the project’s founder and CEO Bryan Stern told reporters during the first of several daily updates. 

"Most of those hundreds equal a few people, meaning a father reaches out representing his family … not always the case, but very often the case," he explained, saying that his team was "completely saturated" with requests. 

Hamas terrorists launched thousands of missiles at Israel and invaded towns along the Gaza border on Saturday, killing at least over 1,000 people, including 14 Americans, and wounding thousands more and prompting Israel to declare war against the Iran-backed group.

President Biden said during a press conference on Tuesday that his government has confirmed American citizens are among the hostages taken by Hamas. Israel has launched its own hostage rescue operations, with the U.S. seemingly providing intelligence mainly. 

Airlines, including American, United and Delta, have suspended service to Israel amid the conflict, with United telling FOX Business that "the safety of our customers and crews is our top priority." 

With few options open to them, Americans have turned to Project DYNAMO, a nonprofit headquartered in Florida that has conducted evacuation and rescue operations in Afghanistan, Ukraine and Maui since its founding in Aug. 2021, after the messy U.S. military drawdown in Afghanistan that left hundreds of Americans stranded in the country. 

"We're still pulling Americans out of Afghanistan - I have 22 Americans I'm trying to get out of Afghanistan right now, that's my next call," Stern told reporters. "So we're busy. We're busy all the time with all kinds of things." 

A view of the rubble of buildings hit by an Israeli airstrike, in Jabalia, Gaza strip, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. Israel has launched intense airstrikes in Gaza after the territory's militant rulers carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel Saturday, killing hundreds of people and taking captives. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the airstrikes. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

Israel’s defense minister has told soldiers near the country’s border with Gaza that he has "removed every restriction" and "we will eliminate anyone who fights us" ahead of an expected ground invasion of the Hamas-controlled territory. 

The comments from Yoav Gallant came as Israeli airstrikes hit the family home of Mohammed Deif -- the reclusive leader of Hamas’ military wing – in the Gaza city of Khan Younis late last night, killing his father, brother and two other relatives, a senior Hamas official told The Associated Press. 

The Israel Defense Forces have been unrelenting in their retaliatory strikes against Gaza following Saturday’s attack by Hamas, posting Wednesday that "A short while ago, the IDF struck an important Hamas operational, political and military center in Gaza -- the Islamic University." 

"We will not allow a reality in which Israeli children are murdered," Gallant said in a meeting with Israeli soldiers near the southern border on Tuesday, according to the AP. "I have removed every restriction -- we will eliminate anyone who fights us, and use every measure at our disposal." 

As of Wednesday, more than 1,200 people – including 155 Israeli soldiers – have been killed in Israel since Hamas started attacking the country over the weekend, the Israeli military says.  

In Gaza, around 1,055 people have been confirmed dead there, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced. 

Israeli soldiers arrive at Sderot, a town close to the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, Oct.11. (AP/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israeli Defense Forces chief spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Wednesday that Hamas terrorists had planned to remain inside Israel after the invasion on Saturday.

At a briefing on the war effort in the Gaza Strip, Hagari said about 5,000 rockets were launched towards Israel, local media outlet i24 News reported. Israel responded with ferocious airstrikes, hitting military targets inside Gaza and killing at least two high-ranking Hamas officials.

"We counted a thousand bodies inside the Gaza Envelope region and hundreds more on the fence," Hagari said, revealing the scale of the invasion, according to i24 News.

"They had weapons for an invasion and not just for raiding,” he continued. "“We still find them in hiding places or in the points where they built fortifications.”

Hagari said IDF killed 18 terrorists in the last 24 hours inside Israel, including in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Kibbutz Mefalsim, in Zikim, in Kibbutz Re'im and in the city of Ashkelon. 

"We are augmenting the standby units throughout the country with thousands of weapons," Haragi said. 

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations expressed shock and dismay at "Pro-Palestinian" protesters in New York City who celebrated the murder, rape, kidnapping and torture of Israelis.

"I am shocked to see here people on the streets of New York calling for the murder of innocent civilians in Israel, supporting a genocidal, Islamist organization like Hamas," said Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan.

"There are people who want to see death to Israel, death to America. It makes me very sad to see these people here in New York."

Erdan said he can hear cheering and laughter from his office celebrating the murder of Jews by Hamas terrorists. 

"We don't believe that those who support a genocidal organization like Hamas, and Hamas equals ISIS, and they behave exactly like the Nazis, the death squads of the Nazis … what can I tell them?" he asks.

"These people should be treated as [pariahs]. They should be delegitimized. No one should listen to them. Seeing them here, I don’t think that they can be convinced. It's like talking to some members of Congress who hold antisemitic ideology, Rashida Tlaib or Ilhan Omar. What can I tell them? I mean, they cannot be convinced."

"We just saw 700 innocent civilians, babies, mothers, grandparents, Holocaust survivors were butchered, butchered by barbaric Hamas operatives. And you are standing here supporting them? What can I tell these people? Really, it makes me cry," he said. That number has now risen to more than 1,000.

The leader of a prominent Iranian-backed militia in Iraq threatened to attack American military bases if the United States intervenes in the Israel-Hamas war. 

“Our missiles, drones, and special forces are ready to direct qualitative strikes at the American enemy in its bases and disrupt its interests if it intervenes in this battle,” Ahmad “Abu Hussein” al-Hamidawi, head of the Kataib Hezbollah militia, said in a statement. He also threatened to launch missiles at Israeli targets.

The U.S. State Department calls Kataeb Hezbollah -- often referred to as KH -- "a radical Shia Islamist group with an anti-Western establishment and jihadist ideology." The Iran-backed group was listed as a terrorist organization in 2009. 

In 2020, the State and Treasury departments designated al-Hamidawi as a "global terrorist." 

Iran emerged as a major power broker in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, supporting Shiite groups and militias that have enjoyed wide influence in the country ever since. Iran has also supported Hamas, the terror group that massacred hundreds of Israeli civilians on Saturday and provoked a war. 

Fox News' Hollie McKay and the Associated Press contributed to this update. 

An Israeli couple, Zohar and Liron, survived the "horrific massacre" at the Tribe of Nova music festival and have reported for reserve duty in the Combat Engineering Corps' reserve battalion to fight Hamas, IDF said. (Israel Defense Forces)

A young Israeli couple who survived the Hamas attack on a music festival Saturday have immediately enlisted to fight the terrorists, the Israeli military said. 

"Zohar and Liron are a young couple who survived the horrific massacre at the music festival in southern Israel," IDF wrote in a post on X. 

"Immediately after escaping, they both reported for reserve duty in the Combat Engineering Corps' reserve battalion," IDF wrote, sharing a picture of the couple dressed in military fatigues. 

More than 250 civilians were killed at the Tribe of Nova music festival on Saturday. Hundreds of civilians were also abducted from the concert and taken to Gaza by Hamas. The terror group is threatening to broadcast executions of those hostages in response to Israeli airstrikes.

Israel has mobilized roughly 360,000 reservists to join the war against Hamas. The draft is the largest-ever for Israel, as the Israeli military prepares for a ground operation in Gaza to go on the offensive against the terror group. 

Fox News' Gabriele Regalbuto and Lawrence Richard contributed to this update.

TOPSHOT - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during his visit to an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) centre, at the Palmachim Airbase near the city of Rishon LeZion on July 5, 2023. (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey's deputy education minister Nazif Yilmaz wrote that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "will die." 

"One day they will shoot you too," Yilmaz wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in response to a video Netanyahu posted showing Israeli Air Force strikes on Gaza. 

"You will die," Yilmaz wrote. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said in September that Netanyahu may visit Turkey in the near future as the two countries have worked to normalize relations after decades of animosity. 

Erdogan had previously said that Turkey was ready to mediate between Israeli and Palestinian forces to ensure calm. But the Israel-Hamas war may upset those efforts, as Turkey has backed Palestinians in the past, hosted members of Hamas, and supported a two-state solution to the conflict.

After war broke out Saturday when Hamas massacred hundreds of Israeli citizens, Erdogan criticised the United States on Tuesday for sending a carrier strike group closer to Israel. 

"What will the aircraft carrier of the U.S. do near Israel, why do they come? What will boats around and aircraft on it will do? They will hit Gaza and around, and take steps for serious massacres there," Erdogan said at a joint press conference with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in Ankara. 

Reuters contributed to this update.

The first plane carrying U.S. ammunition landed in Israel Tuesday evening, Israeli officials said, as the country amassed tanks near the Gaza border ahead of an expected ground operation.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the armaments, which arrived at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel, "are designed to facilitate significant military operations and increase preparedness for other scenarios."

The IDF did not disclose what types of weapons or military equipment it received. This equipment was brought to Israel through a joint operation overseen by the Ministry of Defense's Directorate of Production and Procurement, the US Procurement Mission, and the International Transportation Unit within Israel's Ministry of Defense.

The Biden administration announced the delivery of the U.S. munitions to Israel this week as the country wages war against Hamas terrorist fighters following Saturday's terror attacks that left more than 1,200 people in Israel, including 155 soldiers, dead.

While defending Israel's border with Gaza, Israeli officials have said Lebanese Hezbollah fighters have carried out cross-border attacks in Northern Israel.

Israeli fighter jets struck a "military center" at the Islamic University of Gaza Wednesday, IDF said. 

The Israeli military said the university was being used as a "training camp for military intelligence operatives" and for the "development and production of weapons." 

"Hamas used university conferences in order to raise funds for terrorism. The university maintained close ties with the senior leadership of Hamas," IDF said, adding, "the university maintained close ties with the senior leadership of Hamas." 

"This is another example of how the Hamas terror organization uses civilian institutions in order to promote terrorist activity against Israel," IDF said. 

More than 2,100 people have been killed on both sides in the war since Hamas launched its attack against Israel on Saturday, leading to retaliatory action from Israeli forces. Thousands more have been wounded, and many others have been taken hostage by Hamas and raped, tortured and murdered.

"We’ve never seen such savagery in the history of the state. They’re even worse than ISIS," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Biden on a phone call Tuesday. "They’re even worse than ISIS, and we need to treat them as such."

Fox News' Landon Mion contributed to this update.

Israel fired artillery into Lebanese territory Wednesday after the Islamist group Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an anti-tank guided missile attack on an Israeli army post on the Lebanon border. 

Hezbollah said it had fired precision missiles at an Israeli position in response to the killing of its members in Israeli shelling earlier this week, pledging "decisive" responses to attacks on Lebanese territory, especially deadly ones. The group claimed the attack caused a "large number" of casualties but did not give specifics. 

"In response to the anti-tank missiles that were launched at IDF soldiers a short while ago, the IDF is currently striking in Lebanese territory," the IDF said at 4:07 a.m. ET. 

Hezbollah and Palestinian faction Hamas both claimed attacks from Lebanon on Tuesday. Lebanon's Hezbollah fired a guided missile at an Israeli tank, posting a video of its destruction, and Hamas said it launched a salvo of rockets into Israel.

Reuters contributed to this update.

Pope Francis speaks during his weekly general audience on St.Peter's Square in Vatican City on October 11, 2023. (Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)

Pope Francis on Wednesday called for the immediate release of hostages taken by Hamas terrorists in the bloody attack on Israel.

"I ask that the hostages be released immediately," the 86-year-old head of the Catholic Church said at the end of his weekly audience at the Vatican, AFP reported.

The Pope also expressed concerns about Israel's siege of Gaza in retaliation for the massacre of its citizens. 

"It is the right of those who are attacked to defend themselves, but I am very worried about the total siege in which the Palestinians live in Gaza, where there have also been many innocent victims," the Pope said. 

"Terrorism and extremism do not help reach a solution to the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, but fuel hatred, violence, revenge and only make both sides suffer.

"The Middle East does not need war but peace, a peace built on justice, dialogue and the courage of fraternity."

The death toll on both sides rose to more than 2,100 people overnight as Israel continued pounding Gaza with airstrikes.

At least 1,200 Israelis were killed after Hamas terrorists invaded and slaughtered civilians in the deadliest attack in the country's 75-year history.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen attends the Investor Forum at Bloomberg Philanthropies in New York City on September 21, 2023. (Photo by SETH WENIG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday left open the possibility that the U.S. may refreeze $6 billion in funds that were unfrozen as part of a prisoner swap with Iran in September. 

At a press conference in Morocco, a Wall Street Journal reporter asked Yellen about the status of those funds and whether the U.S. would potentially refreeze them in light of the Israel-Hamas war. 

"These are funds that are sitting in Qatar that were made available purely for humanitarian purposes. The funds have not been touched. I wouldn't take anything off the table in terms of possible future actions, but I certainly don't want to get ahead of where we are in that," Yellen said. 

Republicans have lambasted the Biden administration for the deal, asserting that President Biden freed up resources that Iran used to fund Hamas' terror in Israel. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he had "not yet seen evidence that Iran directed or was behind this particular attack, but there’s certainly a long relationship."

Biden officials have said the $6 billion won't be touched by the Iranian regime, that it will go to pre-approved vendors who will supply food and medicine to the Iranian people. 

Yellen echoed other Biden officials in condemning the terror attacks in Israel that started a war.

"At this stage we are focused on human beings that have been affected by these barbaric attacks on Israel and the suffering that it's caused," Yellen said.

"While we're monitoring potential economic impacts from the crisis, I'm not really thinking of that as a major likely driver of the global economic outlook," she added. "So we will see what impact it has thus far."

Smoke rises from an explosion caused by Israeli airstrikes on the border between Egypt and Rafah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

As Israel prepares for a ground offensive in the Gaza, the city's power authority says its sole power plant will run out of fuel within hours, leaving millions without electricity. 

Israel said it would cut off all electricity to the territory after Hamas terrorists massacred thousands of Israelis over the weekend, including women, children and the elderly. Terrorists gunned down hundreds of Israelis, invaded homes and slaughtered those they found and took an estimated 150 people captive. 

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has ordered a siege of Gaza and cut off the supply of electricity, food and water to the territory. IDF forces have bombarded Gaza city with airstrikes, flattening entire districts after warning civilians to evacuate. 

All of Gaza’s crossings are closed, making it impossible to bring in fuel for the power plant or the generators on which residents and hospitals have long relied.

The power authority said Wednesday that the plant would shut down in the afternoon.

The Associated Press contributed to this update.

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Pro-Palestinian student groups on college campuses across the U.S. are voicing their support for Hamas terrorists' attack against Israel, claiming that the actions by the terror group are part of a "liberation movement."

The statements from several dozen Students for Justice in Palestine chapters at various colleges across the country come after about 30 Harvard University student groups faced widespread criticism for signing onto a statement blaming Israel for Hamas' attack.

The Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups wrote, "We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence."

The Students for Justice in Palestine chapters purport in their respective statements released since Saturday that Israel is not the victim and Hamas is fighting for liberation.

"GWU Students for Justice in Palestine stands in full support of the liberation of our homeland and our people's right to resist the violent 75-year long colonization of our homeland by any means necessary," the George Washington University chapter wrote.

Pro-Israel college students near Boston denounced a letter signed by more than two dozen Harvard University student organizations blaming the Middle East nation for Hamas' deadly surprise attack over the weekend.

"That letter was deeply disturbing," Annie, a Harvard student, told Fox News Digital at a rally outside Cambridge City Hall on Monday. "I’m appalled that so many student organizations have signed on to this."

Yonah, a Boston University student, told Fox News Digital "every single club who signed that, they need to be informed on what’s happening."  

"That was despicable," he said. "They need to understand the gravity of the situation."

The Israeli government declared war against Hamas on Saturday after the terrorist group fired thousands of rockets out of Gaza and invaded, killing over 1,000 Israelis and taking hostages, including soldiers, women, children and older civilians. Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups released a letter co-signed by 33 student organizations shortly after the attacks blaming Israel entirely and voiced support for Palestinians in Gaza.

"We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence," the statement read. "The apartheid regime is the only one to blame. Israeli violence has structured every aspect of Palestinian existence for 75 years."

Fox News' Kassy Dillon and Megan Myers contributed to this report.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence said there is no direct link between Iran and the attacks against Israel by Hamas terrorists.

Deputy Director for Mission Integration at the ODNI, Morgan Muir, claims to have received reports that directly contradict the an article from The Wall Street Journal reporting that there is a connection to Iran.

The U.S. is currently reviewing intelligence to determine how the attack was missed.

Additionally, the U.S. says there have been no requests to unfreeze the $6 billion in Qatar that was part of a prisoner exchange with Iran.

Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.

Harvard banners hang outside Memorial Church on the Harvard University campus. (Photo by Michael Fein/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A Harvard Law School student leader resigned from her campus group after the organization was linked to a pro-Hamas statement, with the student calling it "egregious" and apologizing for the error.

Danielle Mikaelian announced on Tuesday that she stepped down from the group after it was listed as a co-signer to a controversial anti-Israel statement.

The statement, which was endorsed by over 30 Harvard-affiliated student organizations, seemingly excused the Hamas terrorists' killing, torturing, and abductions of Israelis. Over 1000 people in Israel have died since the war began on Saturday.

"For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison," the statement read. "Israeli officials promise to 'open the gates of hell,' and the massacres in Gaza have already commenced. Palestinians in Gaza have no shelters for refuge and nowhere to escape."

"The apartheid regime is the only one to blame," the letter claimed. 

Mikaelian affirmed that the statement "is not representative of my values and my heart is with those impacted."

"I am sorry for the pain this caused. My organization did not have a formal process and I didn’t even see the statement until we had signed on," Mikaelian wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

Fox News Digital's Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.

A large crowd gathers Tuesday in New York City at a rally in support of Israel. Mayor Eric Adams stated his support for Israel and condemned Hamas. (Jen Golotko for Fox News Digital)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams pulled no punches when he spoke at a pro-Israel vigil on Tuesday, as the Middle Eastern country's war against Hamas continues.

The "New York Stands with Israel" vigil and rally was held in Manhattan on Tuesday evening and attracted hundreds of New Yorkers. The mayor pledged New York City's support for Israel and called for Hamas to be "disbanded and destroyed immediately."

During his speech, Adams also criticized a large pro-Palestinian rally in Times Square that happened on Sunday. The protest was organized by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

"We are not alright when right here in the city of New York, you have those who celebrate at the same time when devastation is taking place in our city," Adams said. "Israel has the right to defend itself. Your fight is our fight."

Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano, Kassy Dillon and Jen Golotko contributed to this report.

Roee and Ilan Yaakov on the Israel National Trail. (Fox News Digital)

An Israeli man told Fox News Digital that his brother is currently missing after attending the Tribe of Nova music festival, where Hamas terrorists massacred more than 260 people.

Roee Moshe Yaakov, 24, explained that his 29-year-old brother Ilan Moshe Yaakov and their cousin were at the festival on Saturday. An unknown number of civilians were also captured by Hamas terrorists during their attack, which happened on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.

"We got video from him a few moments after they start to see the rockets toward Israel," Yaakov explained. "It took a little bit of time and after that, they started to hear shooting, not from rockets, from guns, and they start to see terrorists."

Roee is a soldier for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). He was called upon to deploy for war, but stayed back to help his family.

"My family here is broken," he said. "I cannot leave my sister and my mother here alone."

Fox News Digital's Gabriele Regalbuto contributed to this report.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has reportedly fired 250 airstrikes in a single hour towards Gaza early Wednesday morning as the war against Hamas continues.

"We just got word a few moments ago from the IDF that they conducted 250 airstrikes in this last hour using dozens of fighter jets there, targeting neighborhoods in the northern and eastern part of the Gaza Strip before they send troops in on the ground," Fox News' Trey Yingst explained on "Hannity".

"Thousands of infantry troops are staging near the border with Gaza today," he added.

Around 1,900 people have died since Hamas conducted a surprise attack against Israel early Saturday morning. More than 1,000 people were killed in Israel, while at least 900 people have died in Gaza.

Yingst reported seeing several bodies of Hamas fighters on the sides of Israeli roads.

"What is happening is a massacre," he explained. "It was a massacre Saturday morning. It was the largest killing of Jews since the Holocaust."

Civilians and members of civil defense teams conduct search and rescue operations to save people from under rubble of a collapsed building hit during an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis, Gaza on October 11, 2023. (Photo by Belal Khaled/Anadolu via Getty Images)

At least 1,900 people have died in the war between Israel and Hamas after the fighting began early Saturday morning, officials say.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that over 1,000 people in Israel have been killed. The death toll includes 155 Israeli soldiers.

The number of deaths increased in Gaza as Israel continues airstriking the Gaza Strip. Palestinian officials say that at least 900 people have been killed in Gaza, including 230 women and 260 children.

Israel maintains that the Gaza death toll includes "hundreds" of Hamas terrorists. In addition, the IDF reported that they found more than 1,500 dead Hamas fighters on their territory.

Thousands of people have been reported missing, and the United Nations reported that 200,000 people in Gaza have fled their homes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Holocaust survivors Betty and Avner celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim in 1948 on Kibbutz Ein HaHoresh. Ein HaHoresh was founded in 1931 and is still a working kibbutz today. It is located north of the Israeli city of Netanya.

Kibbutz, “communal settlement” in Hebrew, is a collective community based on socioeconomic values that joins together based on shared ownership of property, production and education.

The concept of kibbutzim dates back to the early 20th century. Young Jewish immigrants founded the first kibbutz to establish a new way of life based on socialist and agricultural principles. Kibbutz Degania and subsequent communities were founded on concepts of equality, cooperative labor and self-sufficiency.

According to the Virtual Jewish Diary, about 130,000 people live in kibbutzim, roughly 2.5 percent of the entire national population. Many of these kibbutzim are affiliated with one of three major national kibbutz movements, each closely associated with a distinct set of principles and beliefs.

Within the kibbutz, a system of direct democracy prevails. The membership convenes in a general assembly to shape policies, select leaders, sanction the kibbutz's financial plan and admit new members. This assembly serves as a governing body and a platform for members to voice their thoughts and perspectives.

The influence of the kibbutz on Israeli society  has been remarkably significant, leaving a mark on the nation's foundation and the formative years of notable politicians, military leaders, artists and authors.

Fox News’ Maeghan Dolph contributed to this report.

Soldiers walk past tanks moving outside of Kibbutz Kfar Aza where days earlier Hamas militants attacked this kibbutz near the border with Gaza, on October 10, 2023 in Kfar Aza, Israel. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been asked by Congress to fast-track the evacuation of Americans from Israel.

In a recent letter that was signed by 146 members of Congress, the politicians suggested charter flights and "military options" to accelerate the rescues.

"Given the rapidly escalating situation as Israel launches a counteroffensive, it is imperative that you use all tools at your disposal to return all U.S. nationals in Israel home who wish to do so," the letter said.

"We ask that you consider charter flights and military options for evacuation, simultaneously," the request added. "At this harrowing moment in Israel’s history, it is more important than ever that every American who is looking to return home has the opportunity to do so."

At least 14 Americans have died since Hamas' war against Israel began on Saturday. Nearly 1,600 people have been killed in total.

Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

Bottled water collected from donations for Israeli soldiers. (Noa Feigenbaum)

Humanitarian efforts in Israel have ramped up as Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldiers continue fighting Hamas terrorists.

Noa Feigenbaum, who lives 20 minutes south of Jerusalem, spoke to Fox News Digital about what it's like to live during the country during the war. She has been volunteering her time to help provide necessities and support Israeli soldiers, especially the lone soldiers.

Lone soldiers are military personnel that do not have family in Israel and are seeking supplies and resources.

"We’ve been able to raise money to buy supplies for our lone soldiers as well as opening our doors for people to come and donate a bunch of food, clothes, supplies, etc.," she said. "It’s honestly beautiful."

While she volunteers, Feigenbaum's husband is serving his country in the IDF. He packed up for one month of deployment.

Fox News Digital's Gabriele Regalbuto contributed to this report.

Flames and smoke rise after an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis, Gaza on October 11, 2023. (Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The first plane carrying U.S. armaments to aid Israel arrived on Tuesday evening, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The aircraft arrived at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel. It is unknown exactly what types of military equipment were sent over.

The IDF reported that the armaments "are designed to facilitate significant military operations and increase preparedness for other scenarios."

"We are grateful for the US backing and assistance to the IDF, and to the State of Israel in general, during this challenging period," the IDF said. "Our common enemies know that the cooperation between our militaries is stronger than ever, and is a key part in ensuring regional security and stability."

Israel's military continues to pound the Gaza Strip with airstrikes after Hamas terrorists launched a surprise mission against Israel, slaughtering civilians on Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday.

Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks at a White House Press Briefing at the White House on October 10, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre condemned statements made by "Squad" Democrats in response to the Israel-Hamas war during a Tuesday press conference.

Jean-Pierre was specifically asked about the Biden administration's response to statements issued by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. and Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo.

Tlaib's statement referenced the U.S. funding Israel's "apartheid government," while Bush called to end American support for "Israeli military occupation and apartheid." Both Ocasio-Cortez and Omar called for a ceasefire, which is a controversial opinion among those who support Israel's self-defense.

"I've seen some of those statements this weekend, and we're going to continue to be very clear. We believe they're wrong, we believe they're repugnant, and we believe they're disgraceful," Jean-Pierre said.

"Our condemnation belongs squarely with terrorists who have brutally murdered, raped, kidnapped hundreds, hundreds of Israelis," she emphasized. "There can be no equivocation about that. There are not two sides here. There are not two sides."

Fox News Digital's Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.

President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks at a White House Press Briefing at the White House on October 10, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

A White House official confirmed that at least 20 Americans are missing in Israel, as Hamas terrorists continue attacking the country.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that the missing Americans are not necessarily being held hostage by Hamas. The current number of American captives is unknown.

"We believe that there are 20 or more American who at this point are missing. But I want to underscore and stress, that does not mean necessarily that there are 20 or more American hostages. Just that is the number who are currently unaccounted for," Sullivan explained.

"We will work hour by hour both to determine whether we can account for any of those Americans or to confirm exactly what the number of Americans who are being held hostage," he added.

Fox News Digital's Adam Sabes contributed to this report.

Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, during a speech by US President Joe Bide, not pictured, in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is slated to travel to Israel on Wednesday to show solidarity with the country during its war against Hamas terorrists.

Blinken's office announced on Tuesday that he will "reiterate his condolences for the victims of the terrorist attacks against Israel and condemn those attacks in the strongest terms" during meetings with Israeli officials.

"The Secretary will also reaffirm the United States’ solidarity with the government and people of Israel," the statement said. "He will also discuss measures to bolster Israel’s security and underscore the United States’ unwavering support for Israel’s right to defend itself."

On social media, Blinken emphasized America's support for Israel as they defend themselves against Hamas terrorists. At least 1,000 Israelis have been killed since Saturday.

"Tomorrow, I will leave for Israel to engage with our Israeli partners directly about the situation on the ground and to discuss ways we can continue to support them in the fight against these terrorist attacks," the post on X, formerly known as Twitter, read. "Our support for Israel remains unwavering."

Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

Israel's Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan speaks to reporters during a stakeout before the United Nations Security Council on October 8, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan rebuked recent statements on the Hamas terrorist attacks from the Human Rights Council and its commissioner, calling them "false" and "immoral."

High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk criticized Israel's "full siege" of the Gaza Strip, and has called for both the IDF and Hamas to "respect international humanitarian law".

"They must immediately cease attacks targeting civilians and attacks expected to cause disproportionate death and injury of civilians or damage to civilian objects," Turk said.

Erdan said that the HRC had "lost its moral compass" while speaking to Turk.

"Israel just suffered the gravest human rights atrocity since the Holocaust," Erdan said. "How many dead Jews does it take to justify a proportionate response against a genocidal terror organization? Is it 1,000? Six million? Maybe it’s 10 million - the population of Israel?"

"This is, after all, Hamas’ publicly declared goal. So I ask you, how many murdered Jews does it take for you to support Israel’s right to self defense?" he added.

Boeing smart bombs are seen attached to the underside of an aircraft wing. (U.S. Air Force via Boeing)

Boeing is accelerating their delivery of 1,000 smart bombs to Israel as the country's war against Hamas continues.

A defense official confirmed the news to Fox News on Tuesday. The delivery includes 250-pound small diameter bombs, which were part of a 2021 contract between the Israeli Air Force and the U.S. Air Force.

The deal was a Direct Commercial Sale (DCS) between the Israeli military and the defense contractor. A senior defense official reported that the delivery isn't part of a Foreign Military Sale (FMS), Bloomberg reported.

The State Department valued the deal at up to $735 million, according to Bloomberg.

FOX Business reached out to Boeing for comment, but they declined.

Fox News Digital's Joe Toppe and Kristen Altus contributed to this report.

IDF soldiers guard near a waving Israeli flag outside Kibbutz Kfar Aza where dozens of civilians were killed days earlier in an attack by Hamas militants on this near the border with Gaza, on October 10, 2023 in Kfar Aza, Israel. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

Chief executive officers have been showing support for Israel as the country continues to respond to attacks by Hamas terrorists.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, denouncing the terrorist attacks and ensuring that his company will support humanitarian relief efforts.

"The attacks against civilians in Israel are shocking and painful to watch," Jassy wrote. "I have been in touch with our teammates there to make sure we do everything we can to help support their family’s and their safety, and to assist however we can in this very difficult time."

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian addressed his company's flight cancellations to Israel in a LinkedIn post on Monday. In the post, he offered to "assist the U.S. government on repatriation efforts" as the war continues.

"We all have an obligation to one another during this difficult time and it’s crucial that we come together to deepen our understanding and care for each other," Bastian said. "Our hearts are with everyone impacted by these tragic events."

Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Antonio Neri said that his company is working to confirm the safety of their team and called the Hamas attacks "unjustified and inexcusible."

Fox News Digital's Danielle Genovese contributed to this report.

President Biden asserted his support for Israel and made no calls to de-escalate their war against Hamas during a speech on Tuesday.

Speaking from the White House, the president emphasized that the U.S. "has Israel's back" as they continue fighting Hamas terrorists. Militants began crossing their border and slaughtering civilians on Saturday.

"We stand with Israel. And we will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself, and respond to this attack," Biden asserted. 

"There’s no justification for terrorism. There’s no excuse," the president added. "Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination. Its stated purpose is the annihilation of the state of Israel and the murder of Jewish people."

At least 1,000 Israelis have been killed since the fighting began. At least 14 Americans have been murdered as well, with an unknown number of U.S. citizens being taken hostage by Hamas.

"Let there be no doubt, the United States has Israel’s back," Biden said. "We’re with Israel. Let’s make no mistake."

Fox News Digital's Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel in the State Dining Room of the White House October 10, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

President Biden announced that at least 14 Americans have been killed amid the Israel-Hamas war since it began on Saturday morning.

"There are moments in this life, I mean this literally, when the pure, unadulterated evil is unleashed on this world," Biden said during a speech on Tuesday afternoon.

"The people of Israel live through one such moment this weekend," he added. "The bloody hands of the terrorist organization Hamas, a group who stated purpose for being is to kill Jews, which was an act of sheer evil."

Biden also confirmed that U.S. citizens are among the hostages taken captive by Hamas.

"We now know that American citizens are among those being held by Hamas," he said.

Hamas unleashed a surprise attack on Israel on Saturday morning, which coincided with the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. At least 1,600 have been killed, including more than 1,000 people in Israel.

White House officials being briefed on the latest developments with the Israel-Hamas war. (@POTUS via X)

President Biden says that his team has been briefed on the latest developments with the Israel-Hamas war, which has been raging since Saturday.

The update on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, was posted shortly before 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

"@VP and I sat down with our teams to receive a situation update on the terrorist attack in Israel and to direct next steps," the tweet read.

"We connected with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss coordination to support Israel, deter hostile actors, and protect innocent people," the post added.

Fox News Digital obtained comments from New Jersey Democrat Rep. Josh Gottheimer that torched Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Cori Bush of Missouri over their comments following the outbreak of the war in Israel. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

A Jewish House Democrat slammed two members of the socialist "Squad" after they called to end U.S. aid to Israel amid the country's war with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. 

Fox News Digital obtained comments from New Jersey Democrat Rep. Josh Gottheimer torching Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Cori Bush of Missouri over their comments following the outbreak of the war in Israel.

In their statements, Tlaib and Bush — both progressives — called for U.S. assistance to Israel to end amid the war.

Gottheimer, who is Jewish, noted that two of his "colleagues called for America to end assistance to Israel, despite the countless images of Israeli children, women, men, and elderly, including Americans, murdered by radical Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists."

"Families were violently pulled from their homes as hostages," Gottheimer said. "This is a deliberate and coordinated terrorist attack, savagely targeting innocent civilians."

"It sickens me that while Israelis clean the blood of their family members shot in their homes, they believe Congress should strip U.S. funding to our democratic ally and allow innocent civilians to suffer," Gottheimer said.

Fox News' Houston Keene contributed to this update.

NORFOLK, VA - APRIL 14: In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Navy, The future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) arrives at Naval Station Norfolk and approaches its berth next to the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), left, and USS George Washington (CVN 73) after returning from Builder's Sea Trials and seven days underway. (Photo by Ridge Leoni/US NAvy via Getty Images)

The USS Dwight Eisenhower carrier strike group will be heading to the eastern Mediterranean this week on a previously scheduled deployment for EUCOM exercises with other NATO countries, two U.S. defense officials tell Fox News. It will take about two weeks to get to the region. 

The officials emphasized this was previously scheduled and not because of the war in Israel. The Eisenhower carrier strike group will be leaving later this week from Norfolk, Virginia.

On Sunday, the Pentagon said the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group would be leaving for the Eastern Mediterranean, which would place it within range to provide a host of air support or long-range strike options for Israel if requested. 

The Associated Press reported the Ford carrier strike group arrived Tuesday. 

The Pentagon has said that the U.S. warplanes, destroyers and cruisers that sailed with the Ford will conduct maritime and air operations which could range from intelligence collection and interdictions to long range strike.

Along with the Ford, the U.S. is sending the cruiser USS Normandy and destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt, and augmenting regional Air Force F-35, F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter aircraft squadrons in the region.

"USCENTCOM stands firmly with our Israeli and regional partners to address the risks of any party seeking to expand the conflict," said General Michael "Erik" Kurilla, Commander, U.S. Central Command.

Fox News' Liz Friden and the Associated Press contributed to this update.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during the second Republican presidential primary debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on September 27, 2023. (ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Tuesday put forward a six-point plan outlining his strategy for U.S.-Israel relations amid the outbreak of war with Hamas.

In an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital, Ramaswamy condemned the violence perpetrated by Hamas terrorists and also slammed his competitor former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and others who have not offered "a pragmatic path forward." 

"The Hamas-led attacks on Israel were barbaric and cannot be condoned. We require a rational response that supports Israel while avoiding another U.S.-led disaster in the Middle East," Ramaswamy said in a statement first shared with Fox News Digital. "I am disappointed and deeply concerned by the remarks of certain presidential candidates including Nikki Haley who have irresponsibly called the Hamas attack an ‘attack on America’ and rabidly shout ‘FINISH THEM!!’ repeatedly without offering a pragmatic path forward."

"The U.S. should provide Israel with diplomatic support, intelligence-sharing, and necessary munitions to defend its own homeland, while taking special care to avoid a broader regional war in the Middle East that would *not* advance U.S. interests," he added.

The Ramaswamy plan, according to his campaign, would: 

1) Offer Israel robust intelligence support and stand ready to provide additional military supplies via both sale and transfer.

2) Immediately confirm an American ambassador to Israel, with the vacant embassies in Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, and Oman to be filled in quick succession.

3) End all further nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, including the full phase-out of Iran’s nuclear program and immediately ending Biden’s disastrous plan to share nuclear technology with Saudi Arabia.

4) Fast-track the deportation of any resident aliens who have served with Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, including extradition to Israeli custody where appropriate.

5) Work with Israel to identify countries willing to accept peaceful Palestinians who wish to escape the pressures of Hamas and facilitate their emigration.

6) Warn the UN of consequences if its historical pattern of drawing false equivalences between Israel and the terrorists who target it.

Fox News' Kyle Morris contributed to this update.

President Biden will deliver remarks on the Israel-Hamas war Tuesday after the White House announced at least 11 Americans were killed in Saturday's unprecedented attack. 

"Hundreds of innocent civilians were murdered, including at least 11 American citizens, and there are other American citizens who remain unaccounted for," White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters earlier.

"The U.S. government is doing everything we can to determine the whereabouts of these U.S. citizens," he added. 

After Hamas launched thousands of rockets and invaded the Jewish State on Saturday, Biden directed military aid to be sent to Israel. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also adjusted the position of U.S. forces in the region "to bolster regional deterrence efforts," Kirby said. 

The White House has "unequivocally" condemned the terrorist attacks on Israel, which killed at least 1,000 Israelis and provoked a retaliatory war in which hundreds of Palestinians have died.

The mother of a 23-year-old missing American-Israeli said Tuesday that the last text messages she received from her son before he was "driven away by Hamas" terrorists over the weekend was "I love you. I’m sorry." 

Rachel Golberg told reporters gathered in Tel Aviv that the messages from her son Hersh Golberg-Polin came into her phone Saturday morning and that she has not heard from him since. 

"There were two texts in a row from Hersh at 8:11. The first one said, 'I love you.'... also, it said, 'I'm sorry'. And so I knew immediately, wherever he was, it was a terrible situation," Golberg said. "I took it to mean I love you and I'm sorry because whatever is going to happen is going to cause you tremendous pain and worry." 

"Since that time, I, of course, tried calling him right back. There was no answer. I texted him a couple of times. Are you okay? I've not heard from him since the text I received at 8:11 on Saturday morning," she added. 

Golberg said Golberg-Polin was attending the music festival in southern Israel on Saturday that was attacked by Hamas, leaving more than 250 dead. 

Golberg added that after speaking with witnesses, she learned that her son had tried to take cover in a bomb shelter and ended up losing his arm from the elbow down after getting caught in a "gun battle" there.