Convoy in Gaza

A second humanitarian convoy entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian side on Oct. 22. (Video: Reuters)

A second convoy of aid trucks entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing from Egypt late Sunday, offering only a small fraction of the relief needed but also a “glimmer of hope,” United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said. President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed during a phone call Sunday that there would be a “continued flow of this critical assistance,” according to the White House. As tensions rise in the Middle East, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned of a “likelihood of escalation by Iranian proxies” against U.S. forces and said that the United States is “taking steps to make sure we can effectively defend our people.” The Pentagon has sent two aircraft carriers and about 2,000 Marines to the eastern Mediterranean to deter Iran or Hezbollah from joining the conflict. Go to the end of the carousel

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The Palestinian Authority said that at least 4,651 people were killed and more than 14,200 injured in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli authorities, more than 1,400 people have been killed and 5,400 injured in Israel since the Hamas attack on October 7. The dead included at least 32 U.S. citizens. Israel continued to strike Hezbollah targets and repelled attacks by the militant group near the Lebanese border. Netanyahu warned Hezbollah on Sunday that Israel would retaliate if it joined the war, adding that any escalation along the shared border would be “devastating” for Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces said one of its tanks accidentally fired at an Egyptian post near the border crossing at Kerem Shalom on Sunday. The Israeli military expressed regret for the incident, which the Egyptian military said caused minor injuries to border guards. French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte are expected to land in Israel this week, the Israeli prime minister’s office said on X, formerly known as Twitter. End of carousel

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24 min ago

Hezbollah steps up attacks, IDF says, fueling fears of wider conflict

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By Noga Tarnopolsky and Rick Noack

Hezbollah fighters raise their group's flag and shout slogans as they attend the funeral procession of a Hezbollah fighter who was killed by Israeli shelling, in Majadel village, south Lebanon, on Sunday. (Hassan Ammar/AP)

JERUSALEM — Fears mounted Sunday that the Israel-Gaza war could swell into a wider conflict amid rising cross-border attacks on Israel’s north from Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and expanding Israeli airstrikes across the region.

Syria’s state news agency said Israel struck the Damascus and Aleppo international airports, damaging runways. In the West Bank, a rare Israeli airstrike hit a mosque, which the IDF said had been used as a command center for militants.

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1 hour ago

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By Kyle Rempfer

President Biden spoke with his counterparts in Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Britain on Sunday, according to the White House.

“They welcomed the release of two hostages and called for the immediate release of all remaining hostages,” a joint statement said. “They committed to close coordination to support their nationals in the region, in particular those wishing to leave Gaza.”

1 hour ago

How the Biden administration tried to slow Israel’s invasion of Gaza

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By Karen DeYoung, John Hudson, Dan Lamothe, Abigail Hauslohner and Yasmeen Abutaleb

Returning from a trip to Israel, President Biden departs Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews on Thursday. (Julia Nikhinson/Pool/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

Within days of pledging “rock solid and unwavering” support for Israel in the wake of Hamas’s vicious Oct. 7 attack that left at least 1,400 Israelis dead, President Biden began gently reminding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “democracies like Israel and the United States are stronger and more secure when we act according to the rule of law.”

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2 hours ago

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By Ben Brasch

General Assignment reporter

The Palestine Red Crescent Society confirmed early Monday local time that it had received 15 trucks carrying humanitarian aid from Egypt into Gaza.

The group tweeted that the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) took the aid to UNRWA warehouses.

12:57 a.m. EDT

Where China stands on the Israel-Gaza war and what it stands to gain

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By Christian Shepherd and Lyric Li

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, shake hands after a signing ceremony in Beijing in June. (Jade Gao/AP)

Beijing is trying to promote two key diplomatic aims: Bolstering its status as a champion of developing countries at the same time it is positioning itself as a superpower to rival the United States in a multipolar world, with some notable support.

Since the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, China has been unusually ready to offer itself up as peacemaker. This is an excerpt from the full text.

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