Israel expands Gaza ground operation

Photos: A rally for Palestinians in London

LONDON — Thousands of people descended on the city today to “March for Palestine.” Some held placards and Palestinian flags as they called for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

Respect our sovereignty, Egypt’s president warns after drone incidents

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi today, urged respect for his country’ sovereignty and position in the region following incidents where drones fell on the Egyptian Red Sea towns of Taba and Nuweiba.

Israel on Friday said it was the target of the drones which it blamed on Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi movement. Egypt’s military did not say who launched the drones.

“Regardless of where it comes from, I have warned of the expansion of the conflict. The region will becoming a ticking time bomb that impacts us all,” Sisi said at a manufacturing expo in Cairo.

He also emphasised that Egypt would continue to play a positive role in the Israel-Hamas conflict and did not want it to expand regionally.

Israeli troops were ‘still in the field’ this morning, IDF says

TEL AVIV — Israeli troops were “still in the field” this morning after the Israel Defense Forces started ramping up its “ground operations” in Gaza last night, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a briefing earlier today.

This appears to be the first time since Israel launched its response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that the IDF acknowledged troops were still “in the field” following an incursion into Gaza. Hagari said forces there were “continuing with the war.”

An IDF spokesperson did not immediately respond to an additional request for further clarity.

Explosions ring out across the Israel-Lebanon border

NAHARIYYA, Israel — Loud booms could be heard from the Israeli costal city of Nahariyya as the country’s military continued to exchange rocket fire across the border with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

Despite the close border, just 5 miles to the north, many people appeared to be going about their day in what is usually a popular tourist spot, swimming at the beach or meeting friends for breakfast.

Earlier, a “terrorist cell” attempted to fire an anti-tank missile at kibbutz Hanita, right on the border itself, the Israel Defense Forces said. The IDF said it hit back at the cell with a drone strike.

Sirens shatter quiet Saturday in Tel Aviv

TEL AVIV — The birdsong, dog walkers and family picnics in a Tel Aviv park this afternoon could not have seemed further from the relentless bombardment of Gaza.

But sirens that rang out through the city served as a reminder that the aerial war is only 40 miles away — and sometimes rockets are fired back.

The sirens, which sounded in the south of the city, sent people scurrying behind walls and even trees in this open space, where there is no nearby bunker.

It was followed by at least two loud booms, either an interception by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, or the missile hitting the ground, as two did yesterday here and in Ashkelon, causing injuries.

Photos: Palestinians line up for water

After a night of Israeli airstrikes and another incursion in the north, Palestinians on Saturday went looking for clean water in Gaza City, top, and Rafah in the south, bottom. They filled plastic jerry cans with drinking water from portable filling points.

WHO chief: Bombardments and internet blackout ‘extremely distressing’

New reports of bombardments in Gaza Strip alongside a communications blackout are “extremely distressing,” said World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

In a post on X this morning, Ghebreyesus wrote that he was unable to get in touch with his team on the ground in Gaza and was very worried about their wellbeing.

“Evacuation of patients is not possible under such circumstances, nor to find safe shelter,” wrote Ghebreyesus. “The blackout is also making it impossible for ambulances to reach the injured.”

He added that WHO is appealing for anyone with with the power to push for a cease-fire to “act NOW.”

25 Palestinians arrested in West Bank overnight, prisoners authority says

The Palestinian Prisoners Authority says that 25 people were apprehended in the West Bank in a series of overnight arrests.

Arrest raids were concentrated in Jalazone camp in Ramallah and Bethlehem, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Authority. Other reported arrests were spread through Hebron, Nablus, Tulkarm and Jerusalem.

There have been a total of 1,555 people arrested since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in Israel, the agency said.

IDF operations into Gaza ‘will take time,’ soldier says

ASHDOD — As the sun rose this morning, all appeared to be relatively quiet after a night of heavy bombardment in Gaza.

During the night, loud booms could be heard frequently ringing out from Gaza, which is roughly 20 miles south of Ashdod.

The Isreal Defense Forces has said it is “progressing with the war stages,” but it is still unclear if and when it will announce a full ground invasion of Gaza, as has been expected.

One IDF reservist stationed closer to the Gaza border, Staff Sgt. Ben Hardin, said the feeling on the ground was that Israel’s operations into Gaza “won’t be over quickly” and that “it will take time.” The IDF has expressed this repeatedly, Hardin said. And among troops, “the feeling matches that.”

The reason why, he said, was that: “Our morality as a people and as a military means it will take longer to minimize civilian interference as much as possible.”

Already, more than 7,000 people, including women and children, have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. In Israel, about 1,400 people have died since the current conflict began.

Turkey’s Erdogan: Israel in a ‘state of madness’

Israel must “immediately get out of this state of madness and stop its attacks,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan posted on X today.

Erdogan, who has previously put himself as a potential mediator between the warring factions, accused Israel of targeting “women, children and innocent civilians” in its “ever-increasing” attacks on Gaza.

He said earlier this week that he had canceled a planned trip to Israel, accusing the country of “taking advantage” of Turkey’s “good intentions.”

In marked contrast to other NATO members and the E.U., which Turkey has long hoped to join, Ankara has not designated Hamas as a terrorist organization and has previously hosted the group in its territory.

IDF says it killed Hamas’ naval commander

The Israel Defense Forces said that its fighter jets killed Ratib Abu Tzahiban, who it said was the commander of Hamas’ “naval forces” of the Gaza City Brigade.

Tzahiban planned and commanded attempts to infiltrate Israel by sea using a cell of divers Tuesday, which was thwarted by the IDF, the Israelis said. NBC News has not been able to independently confirm his death.

The air force and navy aided ground forces in attacking numerous Hamas targets including “observation posts, anti-tank missile launchers, and a military compound,” the statement added.

Prior to its attack on Gaza last night, Israel cut off communications to and within the strip, significantly hampering civilian rescue efforts and humanitarian and medical responses to bombardments.

IDF says it killed Hamas figure who ‘commanded’ paraglider attacks

ASHDOD — The Israel Defense Forces on Saturday said that its fighter jets killed Asem Abu Rakaba, who it said directed attackers who used paragliders to enter Israel on the Oct. 7 attacks.

He was head of Hamas’ “Aerial Array,” the IDF said.

“He took part in planning the October 7 massacre and commanded the terrorists who infiltrated Israel on paragliders and was responsible for the drone attacks on IDF posts,” the IDF said on social media.

Video released by the IDF showed an airstrike hitting what appeared to be a building. The IDF said Abu Rakaba “was responsible for Hamas’ UAVs, drones, paragliders, aerial detection and defense.”

NBC News has not independently confirmed his death.

Ramaswamy previews Republican Jewish Coalition speech

AMES, Iowa — GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy previewed the speech he’s slated to give at the Republican Jewish Coalition Summit while talking to the press after a campaign event.  

Ramaswamy stands in stark contrast to the rest of the Republican presidential field in his messaging for American support to Israel in its war with Hamas. The 38-year-old businessman has been speaking out against an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza without Israel clearly defining its objectives. He believes a ground invasion might spark a broader regional conflict that could result in American boots on the ground.  

“I’m planning on talking about [former Israel Prime Minister] David Ben Gurion,” said Ramaswamy, previewing the speech he’s set to give this morning in Las Vegas. “He wanted Israel to stand on its own feet without relying on the sympathies of anybody else.”  

“The whole point of Israel was to say that the Jews would never rely on the fleeting sympathies of those in another land. That it was going to be the Jews, by their own self-sufficiency, that had the Jewish state unto itself.”

IDF says it struck 150 ‘underground targets’ in northern Gaza

ASHDOD, Israel — The Israel Defense Forces says that its fighter jets struck 150 “underground targets” in northern Gaza.

They included “terror tunnels, underground combat spaces and additional underground infrastructure,” the IDF said.

“Furthermore, several Hamas terrorists were killed,” the military said. Video released by the IDF shows blasts illuminating the night sky, as well as overhead video of airstrikes hitting buildings.

The claim comes after NBC News crews witnessed bombardments in Gaza that were the most sustained seen in their time by the Israel-Gaza border. Israel’s military also said it was increasing ground operations.

Israeli Foreign Minister: ‘We reject outright’ U.N. call for cease-fire

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said today, “We reject outright the U.N. General Assembly’s despicable call for a cease-fire” and vowed that Hamas would be crushed.

“Israel intends to eliminate Hamas just as the world dealt with the Nazis and ISIS,” Cohen wrote on X.

Earlier, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution that called for a humanitarian truce, but which was criticized for not mentioning Hamas. The United States was among the countries that voted against it, citing that omission.