Israel-Hamas War HIGHLIGHTS: US President Biden to visit war-torn Israel in show of solidarity today

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell expressed their resolve to support Israel during the ongoing war with Hamas, saying they would spend the coming weeks reaching a bipartisan agreement to provide aid for Israel's counterterrorism operations, CNN reported. 

Italy says one of three Italian-Israeli citizens believed to be kidnapped by Hamas was killed in Israel during the Hamas terror assault on the Be’eri kibbutz in southern Israel, reported The Times of Israel.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says, "We feel the terrible grief of all Israelis whose parents, siblings and children were killed in this barbaric attack. We share the unbearable worry of all those whose family members were taken from their everyday lives and brutally abducted. Among the abducted are also Germans and our focus is on them and on all the other hostages. We are working hard to secure their release."

Tensions flared on Tuesday along the Lebanon-Israel border, leaving four Hezbollah fighters dead, the largest number in a single day since the militant group and Israeli military started clashing last week.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip says at least 500 people have been killed in an explosion that it says was caused by an Israeli airstrike.

The Israel Defense Forces says troops have arrested 440 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including 220 affiliated with Hamas, since the war in the Gaza Strip began on October 7, reported The Times of Israel.

Preliminary estimates indicate between 200 to 300 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a hospital in the center of Gaza City, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said in a statement Tuesday, noting many people still remained beneath the rubble, reports CNN.

At least 20 humanitarians from the United Nations and Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement have been killed in Gaza, the UN said. Supplies continue to dwindle in what the agency described as "utter catastrophe", CNN reported.

Egypt is still negotiating with Israel on the delivery of humanitarian assistance and fuel to Gaza from its crossing points, Rafah and Kerem Shalom, a senior Egyptian official said as trucks loaded with aid waited for permission to cross into the besieged territory.

Tel Aviv: | Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen says, "We did not start this war. They forced us to enter this war. We expect the international community to support us as we fight Hamas...We will respect the guidelines of the international humanitarian law. And take maximum. Recursion in protecting innocent civilian population...Israel's war is just war. We are acting in self-defence eliminating threats and the enemy which aims to kill and destroy us..."

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tweets, "We just eliminated Ayman Nofal, a senior Hamas operative. Nofal was the Commander of Hamas’ Central Brigade in Gaza and the former Head of Military Intelligence. Nofal directed many attacks against Israeli civilians and besides being one of the most dominant figures in the terrorist organization, he was involved in the planning of the abduction of Gilad Shalit. We won't stop until we eliminate Hamas."

France's foreign ministry on Tuesday confirmed the death of 21 French citizens killed in the Hamas militants attacks on Israel. The ministry says 11 French citizens are missing.

In the wake of the attack in which a six-year-old Muslim boy was murdered and his mother critically injured by a man who targeted them because of their faith and the October 7 Hamas assault, over 100 Jewish groups have released a statement condemning the attack and rejecting any effort to exploit the situation in Israel and Gaza to spread hate and bigotry, reported The Times of Israel.

At least 3,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since last Saturday, CNN reported citing the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.

The World Food Program says it has tons of aid arriving in Egypt from warehouses around the region, ready to enter Gaza, reported the Associated Press.

Israeli airstrikes hit two densely populated refugee camps in central Gaza on Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Interior Ministry, resulting in close to 20 casualties, reported CNN.

"An anti-tank missile was fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel earlier today. 2 IDF reservists were injured, 1 lightly and 1 moderately. They were evacuated to a hospital to receive further medical treatment. An Israeli civilian was injured as well," said the Israel Defence Forces.

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A hospital in the southern Gaza city of Rafah says it has received two Israeli warnings to evacuate the facility even though it is in the area where Israel told civilians to take refuge.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lands in Israel ahead of expected meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and other officials, reported The Times of Israel.

The Hamas terror group announces the death of a senior member in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip. Ayman Nofal, a member of the terror group’s General Military Council and the head of its military wing’s Central Gaza Brigade, was killed, reported The Times of Israel.

United States President Joe Biden "believes that this is exactly the right time to go to Israel and to go to Jordan," National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said Tuesday, previewing the president’s visit to the region, which is set for Wednesday, reports CNN

The Israel Defense Forces says another anti-tank guided missile was fired from Lebanon, at the northern town of Zar’it, apparently by the Hezbollah group, reported The Times of Israel.

The Israeli military said Tuesday it was responding with "tank and artillery fire towards military posts belonging to Hezbollah," after "two anti-tank missiles" were fired near the border with Lebanon, CNN reported.

The mother of a young Israeli woman held by Hamas appealed for her release on Tuesday, calling the seizure of some 200 hostages by the Palestinian militant group “a crime against humanity.”

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday said if the "atrocities" against Gaza persisted, "Muslims and resistance forces could lose patience," and nobody would be able to prevent their actions, CNN reported.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday announced that he will visit Israel following the fatal terror attacks by the Hamas terror group in Israel, reported Jerusalem Post.

Rocket alert sirens sound in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon. There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage, reported The Times of Israel.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday called for the "immediate and unconditional release" of Mia Schem, the woman shown in the first hostage video released by Hamas, CNN reported.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Israel is concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, but for now there is no ceasefire and the Rafah crossing into Gaza from Egypt remains closed, CNN reported.

The UN human rights office is decrying “appalling reports” that civilians who were trying to flee to southern Gaza were hit and killed by a military strike.

The Israel Defense Forces says it carried out a series of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip this morning, targeting Hamas headquarters, military sites where members were gathered, and hideout apartments, reported The Times of Israel

Clashes erupted again Tuesday on the border between Lebanon and Israel, where Israeli forces and armed groups in Lebanon have engaged in a series of low-level skirmishes since the outbreak of the latest war in Gaza.

The entire Metula local council area was declared a closed military area after anti-tank missile fire from Lebanon, Jerusalem Post reported citing IDF. Citizens are asked not to try to approach the place and Metula residents have been asked to evacuate the area under the council's jurisdiction. 

The Hamas-appointed head of crossings in Gaza, Fouad Abu Btihan, and some of his relatives were killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza on Tuesday, Jerusalem reported citing Hamas radio.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says the crisis in Gaza could turn into genocide if Israel’s war against Hamas in the territory continues.
Anwar said Tuesday that civilian safety must be given top priority. He said he expressed Malaysia’s unwavering support for the Palestinian people during a phone conversation Monday with Hamas political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh.

The Israeli military said it killed four militants attempting to cross into the country from Lebanon with an explosive device, its Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee said.
A video from a reconnaissance drone the Israeli army shared showed the militants near the separation wall before they were targeted, causing an explosion.

A Hamas official has demanded 6,000 Palestinian men and women detained in Israel's jails be released in exchange for hostages in Gaza, Sky News reported. Earlier on Monday, Israeli military said that 199 captives were being held in the besieged territory - a higher figure than previously estimated. Khaled Meshaal, head of Hamas' diaspora office, said the hostages include high-ranking officers from the Israeli Defence Forces' Gaza Division, which is responsible for patrolling around the Gaza Strip.

The Hezbollah terror group on Monday opened fire with light arms at a number of Israeli military posts on the Lebanon border and launched a missile at a tank, causing no injuries, in the latest skirmishes on the northern frontier, Times of Israel reported. According to the Israel Defense Forces, no soldiers were hurt in the attacks.

Amid the unprecedented attack on Israel, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in the war-torn country with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had to take shelter in a bunker for five minutes on Monday. According to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, air raid sirens went off in Tel Aviv during their meeting.

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Palestinians in Gaza reported intense bombardments near the southern towns of Khan Younis and Rafah, where Israel ordered civilians to seek refuge, early on Tuesday. Details of causalities were not immediately available. Israeli bombs hit areas west and southeast of Khan Younis and west of Rafah, according to local reports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken with Egyptian, Iranian, Syrian and Palestinian leaders, urging a quick end to the hostilities. The Kremlin said in its readout of Monday’s phone calls that Putin emphasized “the unacceptability of any form of violence against civilians” and noted that Moscow has submitted a draft U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul says she will arrive in Israel on Tuesday for a “solidarity mission.” Hochul said she planned to meet with diplomatic leaders and communities devastated after the brutal attack by Hamas terror attack on southern Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces says it struck more than 200 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip overnight.

In a major development, Hamas, on Monday, released another video of a hostage, wherein it showed a young woman receiving medical treatment at an unknown place, Jerusalem Post reported. According to the report, the girl introduced herself as Mia Shem from Shoham and said she was kidnapped by Hamas at a party and added she has been receiving medical treatment.

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President Joe Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday to show support for the U.S. ally amid concerns the Israel-Hamas war could become a larger regional conflict, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said early Tuesday in Tel Aviv. Biden will then go to Jordan to meet with Arab leaders, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

 Hamas militants have allegedly stolen fuel and medical equipment kept for them from a UN compound in the war-torn Gaza City, IDF Spokesperson, RAdm. Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday.

A lack of clean water in the Gaza Strip is raising major concerns for human health. Gaza is running out of water, and Gaza is running out of life,” said Philippe Lazzarini, chief of the UN agency for Palestinians. Gaza normally gets its water supplies from a combination of sources, including a pipeline from Israel, desalination plants on the Mediterranean Sea and wells. Those supplies were slashed when Israel cut off water, along with the fuel and electricity that power water and sewage plants in the wake of the Hamas attacks.

The head of Israel’s Shin Bet security service has taken responsibility for the bloody October 7 Hamas rampage that killed over 1,400 Israelis. In a message sent to Shin Bet workers and their families over the weekend, Ronen Bar wrote that “despite a number of actions we took, unfortunately, on Saturday we were unable to create enough early warning to prevent the attack.”

Israeli air strikes continue to lay waste to Gaza, hitting homes sheltering people seeking safer ground and wiping out 18 members of the same family. Three families who had fled Gaza City were in a house that was struck early Monday in the southern city of Rafah. The attack killed a dozen people and left nine buried in the rubble, according to surviving family members.