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Israel hammers Gaza with airstrikes as Hamas’ atrocities revealed: Live updates


4:12 p.m. ET, October 12, 2023

Humanitarian crisis worsens in Gaza as Israel cuts off food, water and fuel. Here’s what to know



An Israeli air strike hits Gaza City on October 12.

Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images

Warning: This post contains graphic descriptions of violence.

Israeli jets continued to pound the densely populated Gaza Strip on Thursday in response to Hamas’ brutal terror attacks Saturday that left at least 1,200 people dead and thousands of others injured.
It has implemented a “complete siege,” of the Hamas-run enclave, cutting off food, electricity, fuel and water. Humanitarian groups are warning supplies are running low.
On the sixth day of the conflict, more than 1,500 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Here are the top headlines to know:

Complex hostage situation: Hamas is holding as many as 150 people hostage, according to Israeli authorities. Israel is cutting off any electricity, water or fuel to Gaza until the hostages are returned home, Energy Minister Israel Katz said. Hamas, meanwhile, is warning that it will start executing hostages if Israel targets people in Gaza without warning. Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a spokesperson for the IDF, said “reason dictates” that the hostages are being kept underground.
A humanitarian crisis: Israel is continuing airstrikes and withholding essential supplies from Gaza. Food and water are limited and “quickly running out” on the enclave, the deputy head of emergencies of the UN World Food Programme said. Gaza’s only power station stopped working on Wednesday after running out of fuel, the head of the Gaza power authority said. So far, more than 330,000 people have been displaced there, according to a statement by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Graphic photos: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office Thursday released “horrifying photos of babies murdered and burned by the Hamas monsters.” The three photos, posted on the social media account for Netanyahu’s office, showed two babies whose bodies had been burned beyond recognition and a third blood-stained infant’s body. The prime minister said he shared the photos, among others, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday.
PM thanks US: Netanyahu thanked the United States for its “incredible support for Israel” during his country’s “war against the barbarians of Hamas.” During his trip, Blinken also said he met with the families of Americans killed or taken hostage by Hamas. At least 27 Americans have been killed and 14 are unaccounted for, the White House said.
Countries arrange to evacuate citizens: Officials around the world are working to evacuate their citizens from Israel following the attacks by Hamas, organizing repatriation flights in an effort to get them home as the crisis unfolds. The United States and Ukraine both scheduled flights to pick up citizens tomorrow and Saturday. Other countries like India, Nepal and Colombia have already evacuated hundreds of people.

Global support: There are no plans to put US troops on the ground in Israel, a top White House official said, pointing instead to a wide array of intelligence sharing, and weapons and munitions contributions to Israel. The United Kingdom has also sent warships and surveillance aircraft to the eastern Mediterranean to support Israel, its defense ministry said.



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