Israel says more IDF soldiers were killed inside Gaza as ground operation against Hamas continues

Former U.S. Army intelligence officer Abe Hamadeh joined "FOX News @ Night," where he said the Biden administration was sending "mixed signals" to Israel during its war with Hamas in Gaza.

On Wednesday, President Biden suggested Israel should "pause" its military operation against Hamas to allow people trapped in Gaza time to escape. He did not specifically call them to do so. The suggestion comes as the president faces pressure to address a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Biden's comment comes as a subtle shift from his initial and unequivocal support for Israel's right to self-defense after Hamas led an invasion into Israel on Oct. 7, slaughtering more than 1,400 people in Israeli communities.

During the "FOX News @ Night" segment, retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata suggested this pressure was a part of Hamas leaders' psychological strategy and messaging campaign to the West.

Tanks move across a field on November 01, 2023 in Southern Israel. As Israel's response to Hamas's Oct 7 attacks entered its fourth week, the Israeli PM said the current war would be a long one and would amount to a "second war of independence." Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Israel's military said a battle with Hamas terrorists broke out in the northern Gaza Strip last night, as its forces were destroying terror infrastructure, leaving dozens of terrorists killed.

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said terrorist cells in the northern Gaza Strip fired anti-tank missiles, detonated explosive devices, and hurled grenades at its troops when they confronted the cells.

The soldiers engaged with the terrorists, using artillery fire and tanks, as well as directing an aerial strike from a helicopter and a missile strike from a naval boat. "Dozens of terrorists were killed during the battles," the IDF said.

In a separate encounter, a terrorist cell fired at IDF troops, prompting retaliation.

"The troops directed an aircraft in a strike that killed the terrorists. IDF reserve troops, while receiving covering fire from the Israeli Navy, coordinated with aerial forces and directed an aircraft in a strike that neutralized an additional terrorist squad that planned to fire anti-tank missiles toward IDF soldiers," the IDF said.

IDF soldiers continue to target Hamas terrorists in northern Gaza and have directed airstrikes on terror targets, including weapons manufacturing and storage facilities, anti-tank missile launching posts, and UAV launching posts.

Fox News' Dana Karni contributed to this report.

Some Democrats in Michigan have have express worry that President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war could cost him re-election in Michigan, a state that he almost certainly can't afford to lose in 2024.

The president has reaffirmed Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas, which the State Department has designated as a foreign terrorist organization. However, he faces pressure from the state’s prominent Democrats and others to alleviate tensions as they claim he is losing support within the Arab American community.

“The message has been relayed. We’ve had calls with the White House. We’ve had calls with DNC officials,” said Abraham Aiyash, the third-ranking Democrat in the state House of Representatives, referring to the Democratic National Committee.

President Joe Biden walks from Marine One upon arrival on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, in Washington. Biden is returning from Minnesota. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Aiyash added: “We’ve been clear in saying the humanity should matter, but if that is not a calculation that you’re going to make in this moment, recognize that there will be electoral reverberations to this.”

"People are openly saying that the Biden administration and Democrats who agree with his position on the war do not deserve our votes next year in the election. That’s come across very clear from community activists and people who are on the ground,” said Dawud Walid, the executive director of Michigan’s Council on American-Islamic Relations.

A senior Michigan Democratic Party official who spoke with the Associated Press said Biden’s handling of the war has emerged in the state as a “huge” problem. It could become more vexing if the war stretches on, closer into the 2024 election, the official added.

Michigan remains critical to Biden's re-election strategy and is a component of the so-called blue wall of states that includes Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Biden won all three states in 2020, helping him win the White House. Since then, Democrats have felt more confident about their standing in Michigan, particularly after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer notched a commanding 10-point reelection victory last year.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East could see this support falter.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Maxar satellite imagery of Morning and afternoon views of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. Note that the black and white images (the afternoon collect) come from our WorldView-1 satellite which only collects panchromatic imagery (location: 31.248, 34.257). Satellite image (c) 2023 Maxar Technologies.

The State Department has confirmed that US citizens were among those who fled Gaza into Egypt after a deal was reached Wednesday to allow foreigners to leave the territory.

“An initial group of foreign nationals, including U.S. citizens, departed Gaza through Rafah today, and we expect exits of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals to continue over the next several days,” department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

Miller did not say how many Americans had made it to Egypt but said they were receiving assistance.

Roughly 400 American citizens in Gaza have told the State Department they want to leave the territory. U.S. officials say they are looking at about 1,000 people who are seeking to get out, Miller said.

“In the past 24 hours we have informed U.S. citizens and their family and family members with whom we are in contact that they will be assigned specific departure dates. We’ve asked them to continue to monitor their email regularly over the next 24 to 72 hours for specific instructions about how to exit,” Miller said.

He did not say how many U.S. citizens are among those held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend war cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 16, 2023. Haim Zach (GPO) / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Israel and Jordan again this week as the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza continues to intensify, the State Department said Wednesday.

Blinken will depart Washington on Thursday and will be in Israel and Jordan on Friday. He previously visited the region shortly after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel. Blinken traveled to Israel three times and visited six Arab nations during that trip.

BLINKEN SAYS US IS 'READY' TO GET INVOLVED IN ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR IF LINE IS CROSSED: 'WE WON'T HESITATE'

Blinken will be entering a diplomatic maelstrom as the region remains tense with Israel warring against Hamas in Gaza and as regional leaders condemn the ongoing violence.

Jordan announced Wednesday that it had recalled its ambassador to Israel and would not permit Israel’s ambassador to Jordan to return to the country. It also said it would not revisit those moves until the Gaza conflict was over.

Blinken is expected to underscore the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s right to defend itself but also stress the importance of minimizing civilian casualties and ensuring that humanitarian assistance reaches innocent Palestinians in Gaza, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

During Blinken's last visit to Israel, he met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Iran is poised to start a senior role on the U.N. Human Rights Council, despite the country's ties to terrorist groups such as Hamas.

The plan for Iran to serve as chair of the Human Rights Council Social Forum was announced earlier this year. It is slated to start tomorrow.

The U.S. objected to the plan in May, with Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council Michèle Taylor issuing a statement condemning the move.

"The United States is appalled that the Iranian Ambassador in Geneva may serve as the Chair-Rapporteur of the Social Forum, an annual meeting in Geneva established by a UN Human Rights Council resolution, to be held in November," the statement read.

"While we recognize the principle of regional rotation in such roles, such a practice should not take precedence over promoting respect for human rights and accountability," Taylor added. "The appointment of a representative to a country with such a deplorable human rights record severely undermines the credibility and purpose of both the UN Human Rights Council and the Social Forum."

It also comes as Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian threatened U.S. officials  during recent remarks at the UN.

"If the genocide in Gaza continues, [the U.S.] will not be spared from this fire,” he said. “It is our home and West Asia is our region. We do not compromise with any party and any side, and we have no reservation when it comes to other homes’ security.”

Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

An Iranian student walks past an Israeli flag painted at the entrance of a University in downtown Tehran, October 22, 2023. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Presidents from nine universities in Israel signed and sent a letter to their international colleagues on Wednesday to express their "deep concern" over narratives from some academic institutions that "misrepresent" the conflict between Israel and Hamas, or even target Israelis and Jews.

On Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and murdered more than 1,400 people, including babies, children, Jews, Muslims and Christians, while also taking 240 people hostage.

In retaliation, Israel launched an offensive targeting Hamas leaders hiding among the people of Gaza. Some see the retaliation from Israel as murderous, while others say Israelis have the right to defend themselves after falling victim to a surprise attack.

Click here to read Greg Wehner's full article

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 30, 2023. (Photo by Wang Zhuolun/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that the leader spoke with the Prime Minister of Thailand, Srettha Thavisin, on Wednesday amid the war against Hamas.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and expressed his sincere condolences over the murder and abduction of Thai nationals in the murderous terrorist assault by Hamas," Netanyahu's office wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "The Thai Prime Minister expressed his sorrow over the terrible massacre that took place on October 7th."

At least 54 of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists are Thai, the Israeli military has said. Thailand is one of Israel's biggest sources of foreign labor.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu said that Israel is making every effort to free all of the hostages including the citizens of Thailand, and noted that wounded foreign nationals, including the Thais, are receiving optimal care like all Israeli citizens," the social media post explained.

"The Prime Minister conveyed his appreciation for the Thai workers and their contribution to the economy and expressed the hope that many of those who have left would return," the account added.

Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari speaks to the press from The Kirya, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defence, in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)

IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari delivered remarks on the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war on Wednesday, saying that Israeli forces "broke through" a Hamas perimeter.

"The ground campaign is continuing as planned in the northern Gaza Strip," Hagari explained. "In accordance with prior planning from the Intelligence Branch, specific intelligence from the Intelligence Branch, in a joint action of our ground, sea and air forces, our forces broke through the forward Hamas perimeter the northern Gaza Strip."

The spokesperson also announced that a Hamas leader was killed in an airstrike.

"Our forces, guided by precise intelligence from the Intelligence Branch and the ISA, killed the head of the Hamas anti-tank array, using fighter jets," he said. "The array is a deadly and capable anti-tank force and eliminating it will impact Hamas' future fighting capabilities."

Hagari then accused Hamas of dishonesty about the war, and said they will "continue to lie."

"We will continue to share with the world with concrete and thorough evidence, as we did with the [al-Alhi] al-Madani Hospital, which Hamas lied about, and as we did when we exposed Shifa hospital and its infrastructure," he added.

Israeli airstrikes on the northwest of Gaza, is seen from Sderot city as the Israeli airstrikes continue on 26th day, in Sderot, Israel on November 01, 2023. (Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Marine Corps Forces Central Command (MARCENT) cancelled their annual ball amid escalating situation in the Middle East, Military.com reported.

A spokesperson said that the cancellation was due to "unforeseen operational commitments and the nature of our current mission" and was a "prudent measure."

"Regretfully and with a strong sense of duty, I write to inform you of a decision that I had to make regarding the Marine Corps 248th Ball, scheduled for 16 November 2023," Maj. Gen. Christopher McPhillips said in a statement. "Due to unforeseen operation commitments and the nature of our current mission, it is with great regret that we must cancel this year's event."

MARCENT spokesperson Capt. Joe Wright told Military.com that there were "no major operational changes or changes in force posture," but confirmed that the decision was made because of uncertainty in the Middle East.

"The intent of the letter from the outset was to inform folks that were planning on going to the ball to let them know, regrettably, it's not going to happen this year," Wright explained. "And just to give them notice, well ahead of time, so that they can recoup the money that they might have committed to the planning or reservations."

A Hamas terrorist told an Israel Securities Authority (ISA) official he and another man shot and killed crying children who were inside a safe room, until the sounds could no longer be heard, while acknowledging he entered the house simply to kill.

In a video posted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, the Hamas terrorist is seen wearing prison garb while sitting in a chair with an Israeli flag behind him.

The unnamed man tells the ISA official, who cannot be seen in the video, that he and other members of Hamas entered a house through the window. While checking the house, he told the official, they heard sounds of young children in the safe room and shot at the safe room.

Click here to read Greg Wehner's full article

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Doron Spielman appeared on "America Reports" to discuss recent Israeli strikes against Hamas, as the war between the two militaries continues.

Host Sandra Smith asked Spielman about a recent attack that killed a Hamas commander in the Jabalia refugee camp, but also several civilians in the process.

"This was a pinpointed strike against the Hamas commander that has been controlling and commanding the anti-tank warfare unit in the Gaza Strip, which they've been employing both in the Gaza Strip, towards our tanks, towards people, towards our soldiers," Spielman explained. "In fact, one of those did result in some of the deaths that we experienced. He was a senior commander and he is confirmed dead, along with a number of other terrorists that were with him."

The official also explained that Hamas terrorists have been fleeing into civilian areas amid the fighting.

"They are fleeing, I can tell you, into underground bunkers," Spielman said. "We see them inside of medical clinics, inside of schools. They go in, you open the doors, you can't find anybody. You walk a few feet in, you pull up a hatch and they're underneath the ground."

"They are so embedded within the civilian structures," he added.

Foreign passport holders board a bus after arriving in the Egyptian part of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on November 1, 2023. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)

Fox News has learned that 5 Americans are part of the civilian group that left Gaza for Egypt on Tuesday.

The evacuation was conducted with the help of the Special Operations Association of America, which worked with the U.S. State Department.

The Americans were all aid workers, part of a group of around 30. The other 25 workers had different nationalities.

The civilians departed through the Rafah crossing after a deal was struck between Egyptian and Palestinian authorities, amid Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Click here to read the full article

Fox News Digital's Trey Yingst contributed to this report.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speak during a press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel on October 25, 2023. (Photo by Elad Malka (IMoD)/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant released a statement on civilian losses in Gaza amid the Israeli military's war against Hamas terrorists.

The statement was released as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continues airstriking the Jabalia refugee camp for the second day in a row, killing an unknown number of Palestinians.

"The IDF is advancing on the way to defeating Hamas," the official said. "War has a heavy price, I share in the sorrow of the families who lost their loved ones in the hard battles in Gaza City."

In the press release, Gallant also referenced Israel's determination to secure victory over Hamas.

"We are determined to win. The enemy has only two options: die or surrender unconditionally - there is no third option," the statement read. "The arena of the war is wider, we are on the attack in the Gaza Strip area, but we are defending in the north and are prepared in additional fronts."

"We are at the forefront of the free world against a world of darkness and all evil," Gallant concluded. "We must win."

Fox News Digital's Yael Rotem-Kuriel contributed to this report.

Hamas Spokesman Ghazi Hamad speaks on May 23, 2021 in Gaza City, Gaza. (Photo by Laurent Van der Stockt/Getty Images)

Hamas official Ghazi Hamad said in an interview that Hamas will repeat terrorist attacks against Israel "again and again" until the Jewish nation is destroyed.

The interview took place on Lebanese television channel LBC TV on October 24, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute.

"Israel is a country that has no place on our land," Hamad argued. "We must remove that country, because it constitutes a security, military, and political catastrophe to the Arab and Islamic nation, and must be finished. We are not ashamed to say this, with full force."

The official argued that Hamas was willing to repeat the attacks until they achieved victory, calling Palestine "a nation of martyrs."

"We must teach Israel a lesson, and we will do this again and again," he explained. "The Al-Aqsa Flood is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth, because we have the determination, the resolve, and the capabilities to fight. Will we have to pay a price? Yes, and we are ready to pay it. We are called a nation of martyrs, and we are proud to sacrifice martyrs."

"We are the victims of the occupation. Period," Hamad added. "Therefore, nobody should blame us for the things we do. On October 7, October 10, October 1,000,000 – everything we do is justified."

Hamas took power in the Gaza Strip after winning elections in 2006, a year after Israeli occupation of Gaza ended.

This picture taken on April 22, 2021 shows a general view of nurses and patients at the COVID-19 coronavirus intensive care unit , at the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza City. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)

The only hospital in the Gaza Strip that treats cancer patients has reportedly gone out of service Wednesday after running out of fuel.

The development surrounding the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital now means 16 out of the 35 hospitals in Gaza are not operating, Reuters is reporting, citing Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila.

"The lives of 70 cancer patients inside the hospital are seriously threatened," she was quoted by the news agency as saying. "The number of cancer patients in the Gaza Strip is about 2,000 living in catastrophic health conditions as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Strip and the displacement of a large number." 

The Israeli government has maintained a blockade over Gaza in response to terrorist attacks from Hamas fighters, who have launched around 8,000 rockets since the war began.

Click here to read Greg Norman's full article

Seen on a large screen the King of Jordan Abdullah II attends the International Peace Summit hosted by the Egyptian president in the New Administrative Capital (NAC), about 45 kilometres east of Cairo, on October 21, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Jordan recalled its ambassador from Israel in protest of the "humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. 

Jordan’s deputy prime minister, Ayman al-Safadi, who is also the foreign minister, said the return of the ambassadors is linked to Israel “stopping its war on Gaza … and the humanitarian catastrophe it is causing.”

Jordan signed a peace deal with Israel in 1994, the second Arab country after Egypt to do so.

King Abdullah II of Jordan has called for peace between Gaza and Israel but said Israeli-Palestinian relations could never be stable without a "two-state solution."

Such a proposal includes Palestinian people getting their own land and country, which Israel opposes.

"There will be no security, no peace, no stability without just and total peace that comes through a two-state solution," King Abdullah II told the Jordanian parliament earlier this month, calling for a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The King of Jordan has also mobilized medical and humanitarian aid teams to the blockaded Gaza Strip through Egypt.

Fox News Digital's Lawrence Richard and the Associated Press contributed to this update.

The Democratic Party is divided over pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian factions in a major split that may tear the party apart for a "generation," according to a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed. (Getty Images // Fox News Digital)

The Democratic Party is divided over pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian factions in a major split that may tear the party apart for a "generation," according to a recent Wall Street Journal report.

Some of the biggest names in progressive and leftist politics are expressing concerns that the Democratic Party is no longer unified as politicians and commentators continue to battle it out in the public square over Israel. The article, headlined "The Left Is Tearing Itself Apart Over Israel," was published on Tuesday.

"It has been an incredibly clarifying and terrifying moment at the same time for many progressive Jews," Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told the WSJ's Molly Ball. "They’re calling me, tweeting, messaging, expressing shock and sadness that the people they marched with, the causes they marched for, have abandoned them in their hour of need."

Others were disappointed that the Democratic Party was not doing enough for pro-Palestinian factions. 

"If you are Arab-American, Muslim-American or Palestinian, you feel like you don’t matter, you feel invisible," said Waleed Shahid, former spokesman for the Justice Democrats. "If you are advocating at all that Palestinian and Israeli lives should be treated equally, there’s a feeling that the party doesn’t care about you at all."

Shahid also pointed to flagging poll numbers for President Biden among "young and minority voters," according to the story. A recent Gallup poll found that Biden's "job approval rating among Democrats has tumbled 11 percentage points in the past month to 75%, the worst reading of his presidency from his own party. This drop has pushed his overall approval rating down four points to 37%, matching his personal low."

"It shouldn’t be that hard to condemn the murder of innocent women and children and seniors, yet many have either said nothing or equivocated," said Maryland state delegate and congressional candidate Joe Vogel. "We have a serious problem in our party right now."

Fox News Digital's Jeffrey Clark contributed to this update.

Cornell University junior Patrick Dai was arrested on a federal complaint Tuesday for allegedly calling for the deaths of Jewish people online and threatening to shoot up an on-campus dining hall.

The 21-year-old engineering student hails from Pittsford, New York, about 80 miles northwest of the Ithaca campus. 

His mother told the New York Post that Dai suffers from "severe depression" and was on the brink of suicide before his arrest.

In a string of disturbing posts on a Greek life message board that was not affiliated with the school, Dai allegedly threatened to "shoot up 104 West," a campus dining hall that serves kosher food, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York. 

The cafeteria is next door to the Cornell Jewish Center, which provides housing for Jewish students.

"In another post, Dai allegedly threatened to 'stab' and 'slit the throat' of any Jewish males he sees on campus, to rape and throw off a cliff any Jewish females, and to behead any Jewish babies," the press release says. "In that same post, Dai threatened to ‘bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig jews.’"

The deranged threats come in the midst of heightened hostilities and a spike in antisemitism on college campuses across the U.S. spurred by the Israel-Hamas War.

Fox News Digital's Rebecca Rosenberg contributed to this update.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., accused a pro-Israel political action committee (PAC) of being an "extremist organization" that "destabilizes" American democracy.

The leader of the progressive "Squad" attacked the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on Tuesday night amid Israel's war with the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas.

Ocasio-Cortez — who accused Israel of committing "war crimes" last month — accused the pro-Israel PAC of being "racist" and "bigoted" toward lawmakers of color. 

Ocasio-Cortez also accused AIPAC of being an "extremist organization that destabilizes US democracy."

"AIPAC endorsed scores of Jan 6th insurrectionists," the Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) congresswoman said. "They are no friend to American democracy."

"They are one of the more racist and bigoted PACs in Congress as well, who disproportionately target members of color," she continued.

"They are an extremist organization that destabilizes US democracy," she wrote.

AIPAC responded to Ocasio-Cortez's post, blasting the democratic socialist congresswoman over her peddling "of the same tired lies [and] spin."

"[Ocasio-Cortez] and the Squad summed up: People who disagree with us are racist," AIPAC posted on Wednesday. "AIPAC stands with pro-Israel Democrats and Republicans of all races, genders, and backgrounds who support the US-Israel alliance."

"And we oppose those who don't, like you," the group added.

Fox News Digital's Houston Keene contributed to this report.

A Florida doctor is offering a helping hand in Israel after his family's vacation to the Holy Land took a turn for the worst during Hamas' surprise attacks on Oct. 7.

"It's been a very chaotic period of time," Dr. Cory Harow, medical director of the emergency department of West Boca Medical Center, told "FOX & Friends First" on Wednesday.

"This is not something that you plan for. We had a phenomenal family vacation. We were touring, visiting with friends, extended family, and it was all fantastic being together until air raid sirens woke us up October 7th. We padded out into the hallway of our hotel, and the images that we saw on the televisions were just chilling."

Harow, a dual American and Israeli citizen, joined the IDF while attending Tel Aviv University.

He currently serves in a unit that specializes in battlefield triage, assessing, treating and stabilizing battlefield injuries.

"We've been training every year. We meet for one week a year to maintain a high state of readiness. And then we were mobilized on October 7th when the hostilities began in an attempt to save as many battlefield lives as possible," he explained.

After Hamas terrorists launched their surprise attacks last month, his phone rang, and he confirmed he was in the country and ready for emergency mobilization.

While his family flew back home to the U.S. the next day, he stayed behind to work with first responders to help treat wounded IDF soldiers.

Fox News Digital's Taylor Penley contributed to this update.

Yale Daily News (YDN) , the independent student newspaper and oldest college daily in the country, retracted editor's notes that targeted a pair of recent pro-Israel columns after a huge backlash. The editor's notes took issue with statements in both pieces that "Hamas raped women," calling them "unsubstantiated claims."

An Oct. 12 column by Yale student Sahar Tarak titled, "Is Yalies4Palestine a hate group?" was hit with an editor's note without Tarak's initial knowledge, reading, "This column has been edited to remove unsubstantiated claims that Hamas raped women and beheaded men." 

Another column published on Oct. 13, titled "Stop justifying terrorism," similarly accused the terror group of raping women during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and also had an editor's note added. 

"The News was wrong to publish the corrections," the newspaper later wrote on Tuesday. "By the time of the first correction on Oct. 25, there had been widely reported coverage from outlets such as Reuters publicly verifying that Hamas raped and beheaded Israelis." 

There have been multiple reports that Hamas terrorists committed rape during their rampage. Israel released footage of one captured attacker who said they were given permission to rape the corpse of a girl, according to The Times of Israel. NBC News reported on "signs of rape" in videos of the attack presented to journalists last week. Military forensic teams in Israel also said they found signs of torture and rape among the victims, according to Reuters.

Additionally, Shani Louk, a German-Israeli citizen who was kidnapped by Hamas and paraded unconscious on the back of a truck, as seen in footage of the Oct. 7 massacre, was discovered dead and beheaded, according to Israeli government officials.

The Yale newspaper wrote that it "failed to ensure that the columnists’ statements were properly cited and attributed" during its editing process because "[a]t the time of the columns’ initial publication, those specific forms of violence during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack were not independently confirmed by the cited source."

Fox News Digital's Jeffrey Clark contributed to this update.

A sophomore Yale student whose pro-Israel column published in the Yale Daily News was edited without her knowledge spoke out on Tuesday. 

An Oct. 12 column by Sahar Tarak titled, "Is Yalies4Palestine a hate group?" was hit with an editor's note on Oct. 25, reading, "This column has been edited to remove unsubstantiated claims that Hamas raped women and beheaded men." 

Tartak wrote in an op-ed in the Washington Free Beacon this week about how the Yale Daily News, the university's independent student newspaper, edited a section referring to Hamas' atrocities in their terrorist attack against Israel. 

Tartak said she found out about the edits over the weekend. "The Yale Daily News editor in chief told me that at the time my piece was published—five days after Hamas carried out a pogrom reminiscent of the bloodiest 19th-century atrocities—'there was swirling unsubstantiation [sic] of the rape and beheading claims,'" she wrote, while pointing to several sources substantiating the allegations.

She also reported that another column by a friend, titled "Stop justifying terrorism," was updated by the Yale Daily News without the author's knowledge to include a similar editor's note that read, "This column has been edited to remove unsubstantiated claims of rape."

But Tartak said, "Yale Daily News editors are not such sticklers when it comes to lobbing accusations at the Jewish state," in reference to other anti-Israel op-eds they published.

She warned about "history repeating itself" and how the attitudes of Yale students on campus reverberate into the greater media ecosystem when they graduate.

"I wish I could write off my classmates' foibles as youthful stupidity, but I see professional journalists making the same mistakes. It's not an accident: The Yale Daily News is their breeding ground, and in a few years, the editors who wrote and approved that correction will go on to careers in the mainstream press, which is chock-full of Yale Daily News editors and reporters. Take the New York Times, where the author of the flagship daily newsletter, the paper's diplomatic and Supreme Court correspondents, and the host of the paper's hit podcast The Daily are all Yale Daily News alumni," she wrote.

"This pipeline is full of sewage, and it shows. The Yale Daily News is now a home for modern-day Holocaust denial, where brutalizing Jews does not need to be justified. It's just denied outright," Tartak concluded.

Fox News Digital's Hanna Panreck and Alexa Moutevelis contributed to this update.

Heads of Israeli universities sent a letter to colleagues around the world expressing concern about rampant antisemitism on some college campuses after the bloody Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks.

The Association of University Heads in Israel also criticized the failure of academic leaders to clamp down on antisemitism on their campuses amid the Israel-Hamas war. 

“It’s unsettling to note that many college campuses have become breeding grounds for anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiments, largely fueled by a naïve and biased understanding of the conflict,” the letter said, according to the Associated Press. 

“Freedom of speech is a cornerstone of academic freedom, but it should not be manipulated to legitimize hate speech or to justify violence.”

At campuses across the U.S., anti-Israel protesters have organized massive demonstrations since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7. The surge in incidents has been paired with antisemitic rhetoric and violence against Jews, leaving many students feeling unsafe and fearful of attending class.

Fox News Digital's Madeline Coggins and the Associated Press contributed to this update.

Cornell Jewish students described still feeling "terrified" after threats from a self-identified "Hamas fighter" led to the arrest of a suspect from the student body in interviews with Fox News Digital.

On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced it had a suspect – 21-year-old Patrick Dai –, who is a junior at Cornell, in custody for allegedly posting about threatening to "stab" and "slit the throat" of Jewish males, to "rape" Jewish women and throw them off a cliff and to behead any Jewish babies, according to its press release. Court documents show numerous posts allegedly made by Dai, where he allegedly used usernames like "Hamas fighter," "jew evil" and "glorious Hamas"

"It’s both scary and sad that a member of our own campus community could be so hateful… To see that a student believes and was willing to make comments such as these shows that Jew-hatred can be anywhere and everywhere, even among our fellow students," said Cornell student Netanel Shapira. He added it was "scary to think that people around you, especially… at an Ivy League school people take pride in… being well-educated and knowing the facts of what's going on, and [are] believing in that… Just no words."

Another student, Amanda Silberstein, criticized the university's professors for peddling what she believed was propaganda against Israel in response to the arrest. She said it was "terrifying to be on campus right now."

"Upon discovering that the suspect was, in fact, a fellow student at Cornell, rather than an anonymous individual unaffiliated with the university, the situation took on a heightened sense of reality," said Amanda Silberstein. 

"It's a stark acknowledgment that harmful ideologies and antisemitic rhetoric persist and spread. This includes the propagation of untruths, the denial of atrocities, the tolerance of hate speech under the guise of free speech, the repetition of propaganda by some professors, and the falsehood that anti-Zionism is anything other than a form of hatred against the Jewish community," she continued. 

Cornell did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Silberstein's opinion of the "propaganda." 

Fox News Digital's Hannah Grossman contributed to this update.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., questioned Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about one of his employees who praised terrorists, but still remains employed by the government.

On October 7, Hamas launched a multi-pronged terror attack on multiple Israeli army bases, civilian communities and a music festival. The Hamas paragliders who murdered teens and young adults at the music festival have been touted by some as a symbol of the attack, such as the Chicago Black Lives Matter chapter, which posted a graphic of a paraglider with the Palestinian flag that read "I Stand With Palestine." 

After asking about the prospect of revoking visas from foreign students calling for the destruction of Israel and Jewish people, Hawley read one such social media post and asked for Mayorkas’ opinion on the rhetoric.

"What about people who say things like, on October the seventh, ‘F Israel’ — I’m cleaning up the language here — ‘F Israel, the government and its military, are you ready for your downfall?’ People who say things like, ‘F Israel and any Jew who supports Israel. May your conscience haunt your dreams until your last breath. Palestine will be free one day. F apartheid Israel,’ This is pretty extreme rhetoric, don’t you think?"

After Mayorkas argued there is a distinction between "espousing or endorsing terrorist ideology and speech that is odious," Hawley followed with some key details.

"This person works for you," he said, noting the DHS worker in question is "an employee of the Department of Homeland Security who posted these comments on October the seventh." 

He went on, "That’s not all she posted," noting the department employee also posted a "fake graphic" depicting a "Hamas paraglider" armed with a machine gun and flying into Israel.

Hawley noted that this employee posted it with the celebratory caption, "Free PALESTINE."

Hawley addressed Mayorkas and asked if this "asylum and immigration officer who is posting these, frankly, pro-genocidal slogans and images on the day that Israelis are being slaughtered in their beds" is "typical of people who work for the DHS."

Mayorkas initially denounced the premise of the question, "Your question to suggest that that is emblematic of the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security is despicable."

"I’m sorry, this person works for the Department of Homeland Security, have you fired her?" Hawley replied.

Fox News Digital's Alexander Hall contributed to this update.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said most U.S. companies likely do not want to hire someone who proverbially links arms with a terrorist organization, telling FOX News that those who demonstrate with signs and chants in favor of Hamas should be publicly identified.

Haley said that as a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, she knows that most member nations believe Hamas is a terrorist organization, and that she believes the intergovernmental organization is a farce – and that the ideologically corrupt viewpoints expressed are similar to the reason why she wanted America to split from the World Health Organization during COVID.

"I expected this from the UN, you expect all kinds of ridiculous things at the UN. I fought this battle every day for two years. What I don't expect is to see what's happening in our cities and what's happening on our college campuses, because these protests that we're seeing," she told "Hannity."

"Are you telling me that these professors, these college students, they are supporting a terrorist organization?"

She noted Hamas has murdered at least 33 Americans and taken at least 20 hostage while members of the Palestinian-governing party have chanted "Death to America, and the like.

Haley asked whether the Americans who are demonstrating in favor of Hamas or in agreement with Hamas' massacre of Israeli civilians therefore also want America to be destroyed.

"If they do, every one of them is dangerous to our country… because that's what Hamas preaches, is ‘death to America’. So when they get up there, and they hold those signs, or they get upset on why people won't hire them: it's because companies don't want to hire someone who wants to destroy our country," Haley said.

"That's why I think every name needs to be … published. Every face needs to be published. And we need to call this out for the hate that it is."

Fox News Digital's Charles Creitz contributed to this update.

"Mommy, I think I'm going to die," Romi Gonen, 23, said while shot and bleeding in the back seat of a car during the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks on Israel. Her fate is unknown. Gonen is possibly among the 243 people believed held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. (Courtesy of Bring Them Home Now)

Meirav Gonen listened in real-time terror as her daughter, bleeding in the back seat of a car and fearing death, described by phone the surprise attack by Hamas on a music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7.

"Mommy, I’m shot. Mommy, I think I’m going to die," said daughter Romi to her mother during the militant incursion into Israel, as the elder Gonen relayed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday from Tel Aviv.

"I heard her crying very quietly. I heard the shooting all around them," said the anguished mother.

Gonen does not know the fate of the middle of her five children. But Romi's best friend, Gaya Halifa, was killed — apparently in the same vehicle. 

If Romi Gonen survived, she’s likely one of about 243 people — citizens from up to 20 different countries, including the United States — believed to be kidnapped and held hostage by terrorists in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. 

Bring Them Home Now, a grassroots humanitarian movement with international volunteers, is determined to find every one of them.

"We demand the safe return of all citizens who have been taken hostage by the terrorist group Hamas," the group says on its website, story.bringthemhomenow.net.

"We will not rest until every hostage is released and returns home safely," the group says.

Fox News Digital's Kerry J. Byrne contributed to this update.

TEHRAN, IRAN - OCTOBER 25: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran on October 25, 2023. (Photo by Iranian Leader Press Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is calling on countries Wednesday to block the flow of food and oil to Israel over its military action against Hamas inside the Gaza Strip. 

Khamenei’s remarks to students in Tehran come after he praised the Palestinian terrorist group for launching its Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel. 

"What the Islamic governments should insist is an immediate halt to the crimes [the Israelis] are committing in Gaza. The bombardments should immediately stop," Khamenei was quoted by state media as saying, according to The Associated Press. "They should block the flow of oil and food to the Zionist regime. Islamic governments shouldn’t have economic cooperation with the Zionist regime." 

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian called on Iran's Arab-majority neighbors in mid-October to impose an oil embargo on Israel and for nations within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to expel all Israeli ambassadors. 

However, OPEC, the organization of largely Arab nations that overseas oil production in the Middle East, has no plans to impose such an embargo, Reuters reported at the time. 

"We are not a political organization," one OPEC source told Reuters. 

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman and the Associated Press contributed to this update.

The Massachusetts family stranded in Gaza amid the ongoing war between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists said they continue to struggle to access drinking water, fuel and other resources and are hoping for safety as they await updates from the U.S. government about a possible exit plan.

Abood Okal, Wafa Abuzayda and their 1-year-old son, Yousef, were visiting family in Gaza when Hamas launched its largest attack against Israel on Oct. 7. The family has been in the region since late September, and had intended to return home to Medway, Massachusetts, on Oct. 13 before the violence delayed their plans.

In an audio recording obtained by Fox News Digital, Okal explained that the family ran out of drinking water on Sunday and that a nearby desalination station had run out of fuel needed to power generators. He said they have been roaming the main roads and streets in Rafah City, where they are staying in a single-family home with 40 other people including his sister Haneen and her three kids, in search of trucks or carriages carrying tanks of 1,000 or 2,000 liters of drinking water. Haneen and her children are also Americans.

"We stood in line, I think it was for maybe about two hours, to fill one gallon. They tried to limit the portions, so ours was a gallon. And we're hoping that would last us for the rest of the day today and for most of tomorrow until we could find another place to get drinking water from," Okal said in the recording created on Monday.

Israel’s military announced Wednesday that more than 11,000 terrorist targets have now been hit inside the Gaza Strip, while the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) shot down a surface-to-air missile fired from Lebanon at one of its drones. 

The Israeli air force said in a series of posts that "During the fighting yesterday, IDF fighters identified many terrorists of the terrorist organization Hamas who had barricaded themselves in a multi-story building in the Jabalia area in the northern Gaza Strip." 

"The building is located near a school, a medical center and government offices. The fighters directed air forces that attacked the terrorists," it added. 

The Israeli air force said as military activity in the Gaza Strip continues "since the beginning of the fighting, the IDF has attacked more than 11,000 targets of the terrorist organizations." 

"In addition, IDF forces identified a vehicle carrying anti-tank missiles as it drove towards the forces operating in the Gaza Strip. Following this, the ground forces directed an aircraft that fired at the vehicle. A hit has been detected," it also said. 

Farther north, the IDF shot down a "surface-to-air missile" fired from Lebanon at an IDF remotely-piloted aircraft, according to the Israeli air force. 

"In response, Air Force aircraft attacked the source of the fire from which the missile was launched as well as the squad that carried out the launch," it said. 

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman contributed to this update.

Israeli security forces inspect the damage at a residential building after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashdod, southern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Ilan Assayag)

Left-wing governments in several South American countries have taken actions against Israel this week, criticizing the reported number of Palestinian deaths in the ongoing war with Hamas. 

Bolivia cut diplomatic relations with Israel on Tuesday, accusing the Jewish state of "crimes against humanity." Meanwhile, Chile and Columbia recalled their ambassadors to Israel and criticized the country's military offensive against Hamas terrorists.

Bolivian officials cited the number of Palestinian casualties in Gaza that have resulted from the latest Israel-Hamas war, but made no mention of the Hamas attack on Israel at the start of the conflict.

"Bolivia decided to break diplomatic relations with the state of Israel in repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive taking place in the Gaza Strip,” Freddy Mamani, Bolivia’s deputy foreign minister, said at a news conference.

Chile recalled its ambassador "in the face of the unacceptable violations of international humanitarian law committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip,” the South American country's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Neither country mentioned the Oct. 7 attack perpetrated against Israel by Hamas, in which 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, were butchered by terrorists. 

Columbian President Gustavo Petro also said he was recalling his country's ambassador to Israel. 

The Hamas-led Gaza health ministry claims more than 8,500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes and ground operations since the start of the war. Gaza authorities do not distinguish between civilians and terrorists in their reports, which cannot be independently verified. 

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 20: U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) leaves a closed-door House Republican meeting at the U.S. Capitol on October 20, 2023 in Washington, DC. The House Republican caucus is searching for a new Speaker of the House candidate after Rep. Jim Jordan failed on three separate attempts to achieve a majority of votes in the House of Representatives. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican, responded to criticism from a pro-Israel group after he announced he would vote against a $14.3 billion aid package for Israel.

The aid package for Israel, which is backed by most House Republicans, includes allocating $1.2 billion for the development of the Iron Beam defense system and $4 billion for the country's Iron Dome and David's Sling defense systems.

"If Congress sends $14.5 billion to Israel, on average we'll be taking about $100 from every working person in the United States," Massie wrote Monday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. "This will be extracted through inflation and taxes. I’m against it."

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee pointed out that the congressman voted last week with nine progressive Democrats, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, against a resolution defending Israel's right to defend itself and condemning Hamas.

Massie responded to the post on Tuesday by saying the AIPAC was "intentionally misrepresenting" his intent in voting against the resolution. The congressman has condemned Hamas' terror attack against Israel, but said last week he opposed the resolution because it calls for sanctions and "asserts the necessity of foreign aid commitments which I have voted against."

"AIPAC always gets mad when I put America first. I won’t be voting for their $14+ billion shakedown of American taxpayers either," he wrote on Tuesday. "Let them know what you think by replying to their post. They are intentionally misrepresenting my intent and the resolution I voted against."

The group replied, "The U.S. is stronger when Israel is secure. No misrepresentation, your vote says it all: NO to standing with Israel, NO to condemning Hamas, NO to helping Israel win this war."

A drone attack on a U.S. base in Syria was thwarted on Wednesday, according to a report.

Two drones targeting Syria's al-Tanf region were disabled or destroyed by the base defense system, an Iraqi government source told Reuters.

The thwarted attack comes as U.S. and Coalition Forces at Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) installations in Iraq and Syria have been attacked at least 27 times between Oct. 17-31.

Of these attacks, 16 happened in Iraq and 11 took place in Syria. They included a mix of one-way attack drones and rockets.

Most of these attacks were successfully disrupted by military forces and most failed to reach their targets, thanks to robust defenses. One U.S. contractor died as a result of cardiac arrest, when warned of an attack. Several other injuries were reported.

Defense officials have said Iranian-forces are believed to have backed the attacks.

Senior U.S. officials, including President Biden, Vice President Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have discouraged Iran from getting involved. They have also vowed retaliation if U.S. forces are intentionally targeted but have not specified which actions they would take.

The U.S. has deployed carrier group and other forces in the Mediterranean Sea and sent an additional 300 more troops on Wednesday.

Fox News Digital's Lawrence Richard and Liz Friden contributed to this update.

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis took issue with President Biden's tact of sending detachments of U.S. troops to the Middle East amid the Hamas invasion of Israel, saying the numbers of troops are too small to be effective but large enough to be a target of America's enemies.

While Vice President Kamala Harris recently said the administration has "absolutely no intention" to deploy troops to fight in Israel or Gaza, several hundred have been deployed elsewhere and about 2,000 were reportedly told to prepare for potential deployment earlier this month.

The Pentagon has said there have been 27 attacks against American troops in the Mideast in October.

DeSantis, who is running for president, told FOX News on Tuesday that the U.S. taken ineffective actions against Iran – the suspected sponsor of Hamas terror – in that the response to attacks on U.S. servicemembers has been "abysmal."

"I look at all these attacks that are going against US positions in the Middle East, and it seems like Biden has people there that are effectively sitting ducks," he said on "Your World."

"They're there in probably too small a number to really do a whole lot. But they're in sufficient numbers where they're an inviting target."

Fox News Digital's Charles Creitz contributed to this update.

An Israeli woman who was taken hostage by Hamas recently told Israeli outlet Ynet that her fellow captives are still alive.

Kibbutz Nir Oz resident Nurit Cooper, 79, was released last week after being kidnapped on October 7. According to an English translation of the Ynet piece, she is "slowly recovering" from the traumatic experience. Cooper's husband is still in custody of Hamas.

"The abductees are alive," Cooper is quoted as saying. "Everything must be done to bring them back. I want all the families to be as happy as my family is."

Cooper's son told the outlet that her recovery is "not easy at all."

"She remembers details, but doesn't always share," he explained. "She prefers to focus on the future. Father is still kidnapped and she worries about him very much. They were kidnapped together and held together in the same underground room, along with five other kibbutz members."

"Father must have realized that mother and Yochaved were released," he added. "The event is very traumatic for her, because the kidnapping was very violent."

Foreign passport holders were seen entering the Rafah Crossing from Gaza to Egypt Wednesday morning.

These individuals are the first travelers to enter the crossing since the war between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists began on Oct. 7.

This, after Qatar mediated an agreement between Egypt, Hamas and Israel in coordination with the U.S. to open the Rafah Crossing on Wednesday. The agreement allows foreign passport holders and some critically injured civilians out of Gaza.

It is unclear how long the crossing will remain open.

More than 9,700 people have been killed in Gaza and Israel since Hamas launched its largest attack against Israel in decades on Oct. 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.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

The Ivy League student who allegedly made threats of a mass shooting and antisemitic violence at Cornell University has been criminally charged.

Court documents show that 21-year-old Patrick Dai, a junior at Cornell has been federally charged in connection with the threats following an investigation by the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

"It is concerning, of course, that the threats came from within the campus. It must be particularly frightening for students to think that someone they sat in class with or socialized with could make such threats," said William A. Jacobson, a Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Securities Law Clinic at Cornell Law School. "I hope that there will be a full and transparent investigation of his connections, if any, to any groups or others who may have known of the threats."

Fox News Digital's Stepheny Price contributed to this update.

Nearly three dozen U.S. citizens were killed when Hamas terrorists executed a sneak attack on Israel on Oct. 7, according to the U.S. State Department.

A spokesperson for the State Department confirmed to Fox News Digital that 35 Americans were killed in the attacks.

"At this time, we can confirm the deaths of 35 U.S. citizens who were killed in the October 7 attacks," the spokesperson said, adding that an additional U.S. citizen died as a result of continued violence after the attacks.

As far as the number of Americans who have died in Gaza, the State Department spokesperson said they are not aware of any, but information about U.S. fatalities in Gaza is "extremely limited" because of the situation.

"We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected," the spokesperson said on behalf of the department.

Of the 35 U.S. citizens the State Department said have died, 26 have been confirmed.

Fox News' Lawrence Richard and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

The Israeli military reported additional casualties inside the Gaza Strip , the day after it said its first two soldiers were killed during its ground invasion against Hamas Tuesday morning, the first such casualties in Gaza since Israel began its ground operations there.

According to Fox News’ Trey Yingst, who is in Israel, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were hit by an anti-tank guided missile while operating in the northern part of the strip, leaving at least 10 dead.

Israeli forces entered the second stage of their war with Hamas in what is expected to be a lengthy military operation. Until this week, Israel had largely relied on airstrikes and artillery to retaliate against Hamas' massacre in Israel on Oct. 7.

Military officials have warned that the war will be long and difficult, potentially spanning months or longer.

The IDF began expanded ground operations this week and ground troops are now tasked with clearing out a complex network of Hamas tunnels and other fortified strongholds. IDF says it has attacked 11,000 targets in Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.

"Combined forces of the IDF attacked many terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip during the night, including operational headquarters and squads of Hamas terrorists," a translated statement from the IDF Wednesday read.

Fox News' Lawrence Richard and Trey Yingst contributed to this report.