White House says 27 Americans killed in Israel-Hamas war; Israel preparing for possible ground assault
The White House announced the U.S. government will begin evacuation flights on Friday for Americans who want to leave Israel
By Matthew Lee, Mary Clare Jalonick and Seung Min Kim ••
NBC Universal, Inc.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war against Hamas after the Palestinian militant group launched a surprise attack on Israel, which the IDF says left more than 1,400 dead and thousands injured.
The U.S. and Qatar have reached an agreement that the Qataris will not act on any request from Tehran for the time being to access $6 billion in Iranian funds that were unblocked as part of a prisoner swap last month, a U.S. official said Thursday.
The move, which stops short of a full refreezing of Iranian funds in Qatar's banking system, follows the deadly attacksby Hamas on Israel and continued Republican criticism of the Biden administration’s deal with Iran, in which $6 billion was unfrozen in exchange for the release of five detained Americans. The official who outlined the understanding between the U.S. and Qatar was not authorized to comment and spoke on condition of anonymity.
U.S. officials have strenuously pushed back against the criticism, noting that the money had yet to be spent by Iran and can only be used for humanitarian needs.
“None of the funds that have now gone to Qatar have actually been spent or accessed in any way by Iran,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Israel on Thursday when asked about the funds. “Indeed, funds from that account are overseen by the Treasury Department, can only be dispensed for humanitarian goods — food, medicine, medical equipment — and never touch Iranian hands.”
We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. >Sign up here.
The White House has said it has yet to uncover information that Iran was directly involved in the multipronged Hamas operation — the biggest attack on Israel in decades. Even so, Iran is the principal financial and military sponsor of Hamas. U.S. officials have said their intelligence does not show a direct role by Iran and have not pointed blame at Tehran.
As Israel prepares to escalate retaliatory action against Hamas militants for the weekend attacks, the White House announced the U.S. government will begin evacuation flights on Friday for Americans who want to leave Israel.
In a deliberate show of support for Israel, a U.S. official confirmed that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin plans to visit on Friday, a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Austin is expected to meet with Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to determine what additional military aid is needed in the war with Hamas, said the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive travel details
Speaking to reporters in Brussels on Thursday, Austin said the U.S. is “working urgently to get Israel what it needs to defend itself, including munitions and our iron Dome interceptor interceptors.”
The White House confirmed that the death toll in the fighting now includes at least 27 Americans, while 14 more U.S. citizens in Israel remain unaccounted for. The White House has said a “handful” of Americans are among the dozens of people that Hamas took hostage.
U.S. officials estimate 160,000-170,000 Americans are in Israel, as residents, tourists or in some other capacity. An estimated 500 to 600 American citizens are in Gaza, including people who have been working as humanitarian workers or visiting relatives. Egypt and Israel have closed all exits from the blockaded territory.
The U.S. government is arranging for at least four charter flights a day out of Israel, according to people familiar with the planning.
The State Department said it expects to facilitate the departure of thousands of U.S. citizens per week from Israel. The overall security situation, availability and reliability of commercial transportation, and U.S. citizen demand will all influence the duration of this departure assistance. The department asked U.S. citizens in need of evacuation assistance to complete the crisis intake form at travel.state.gov.
There are still some commercial carriers flying in and out of Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport, and ground routes are open to leave Israel. White House officials, however, have voiced concern that those options may not be feasible or affordable for some Americans in Israel who want to leave.
Blinken visited Israel on Thursday to meet with Netanyahu and Israeli citizens. He was joined by the deputy special representative for hostage affairs, Steve Gillen, who will stay in Israel to to support the efforts to free the hostages.
Blinken said Americans would continue pushing regional countries for a safe passage in and out of Gaza, which could help the hundreds of American civilians trapped in the blockaded enclave.
Israeli defense officials have yet to order a ground invasion of the pummeled territory, but have been planning for the possibility. The military has called over 300,000 reservists into action in preparation.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who joined from Air Force 2 en route to Las Vegas, Nevada, met on Thursday with senior administration officials to discuss efforts to safeguard the U.S., including Jewish, Arab and Muslim communities, following the Hamas attacks in Israel.
Biden administration officials have been speaking with lawmakers about the contours of a supplemental aid package as it continues to determine Israel’s needs.
Some key Republicans, including House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, have advocated for a larger package that would lump in funding for Ukraine, Taiwan and border security along with Israel aid, and the White House has started to prepare such a package, according to an official familiar with the deliberations. The person was granted anonymity to speak about private conversations, and no final decisions have been made on a supplemental package.
The White House has indicated that it will send the new request to lawmakers next week, when both chambers are back in Washington. Its legislative affairs staff is set to brief senators on Friday afternoon about “ongoing national security needs,” according to another official granted anonymity to confirm a private meeting.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
Palestinians stand next to a crater caused by an explosion from an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis in the southern of Gaza Strip, on Oct. 16, 2023.
Mohammed Faeq/AFP via Getty Images
A man reacts as he watches rescuers and civilians remove the rubble of a home destroyed following an Israeli attack on the town of Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on Oct. 15, 2023.
Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli troops prepare weapons and armed vehicles near the southern city of Ashkelon on Oct. 15, 2023.
Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images
Members of the Bedouin community inspect vehicles destroyed in a rocket attack allegedly fired from the Gaza Strip in the village of Arara in the Negev Desert, on Oct. 14, 2023.
Yasser Qudih/AFP via Getty Images
A Palestinian man uses a fire extinguisher to douse a fire following an Israeli strike, in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 14, 2023.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
Palestinians with their belongings leave Gaza City as they flee from their homes following the Israeli army’s warning on Oct. 13, 2023.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
A Palestinian child watches as smoke billows on the horizon after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on Oct. 13, 2023.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli army tanks and vehicles deploy along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Oct. 13, 2023.
Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images
A woman comforts injured Palestinian girls waiting at the hospital to be checked, as battles between Israel and the Hamas movement continue for the sixth consecutive day, in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 12, 2023.
Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images
An Israeli soldier patrols near Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel on Oct. 12, 2023, close to the place where 270 revellers were killed by militants during the Supernova music festival on Oct. 7.
Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
A Palestinian man with a child reacts outside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Oct. 12, 2023 as raging battles between Israel and the Hamas movement continue for the sixth consecutive day.
Yahya Hassouna/AFP via Getty Images
This picture taken on Oct. 11, 2023 shows an aerial view of buildings destroyed by Israeli air strikes in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in Gaza City.
Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli troops search the scene of a Palestinian militant attack in the Israeli kibbutz of Kfar Aza on the border with the Gaza Strip on Oct. 11, 2023.
Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images
People duck for cover upon hearing sirens warning of incoming fire in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon on Oct. 11, 2023.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
Smoke billows after a strike by Israel on the port of Gaza City on Oct. 10, 2023.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
Palestinians inspect the destruction from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City’s al-Rimal neighbourhood early on October 10, 2023.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
A Palestinian man sits in front of a charred building as a fire rages through its interior, following Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City’s al-Rimal district on Oct. 10, 2023.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli soldiers patrol an area in Kfar Aza, south of Israel bordering Gaza Strip, on Oct. 10, 2023.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
Lightning strikes as smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Oct. 9, 2023.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
An aerial picture shows the site of the weekend attack on the Supernova desert music festival by Palestinian militants near Kibbutz Reim in the Negev desert in southern Israel on Oct. 10, 2023.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
An Israeli soldier rests his head on an artillery gun barrel of an armored vehicle as Israeli soldiers take positions near the border with Gaza in southern Israel on Oct. 9, 2023.
Eyad Al-Baba/AFP via Getty Images
A member of the Palestinian civil defense carries a wounded boy rescued from the rubble of the Tattari family home, destroyed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on Oct. 9, 2023.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
Palestinians search for survivors after an Israeli airstrike on buildings in the refugee camp of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 9, 2023.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli army soldiers are positioned with their Merkava tanks near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Oct. 9, 2023.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
A Palestinian points to the Ahmed Yassin mosque, which was levelled by Israeli airstrikes, in Gaza City early on Oct. 9, 2023.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
Palestinians evacuate the area following an Israeli airstrike on the Sousi mosque in Gaza City on Oct. 9, 2023.
Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images
A Palestinian demonstrator throws rocks towards Israeli soldiers in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Oct. 8, 2023.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
A missile explodes in Gaza City during an Israeli air strike on Oct. 8, 2023.
RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images
A man walks past an Israeli police station in Sderot after it was damaged during battles to dislodge Hamas militants who were stationed inside, on Oct. 8, 2023.
Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images
Rockets fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza City are intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome defense missile system in the early hours of Oct. 8, 2023.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Israeli police officers evacuate a family from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Fatima Shbair/AP
Rockets are fired toward Israel from Gaza, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
Cars are on fire after they were hit by rockets from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Yousef Masoud/AP
Palestinians wave their national flag and celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of Khan Younis southern Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Israeli firefighters extinguish fire after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a house in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Israeli firefighters extinguish fire after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a parking lot in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
A young boy walks amid the rubble of a building destroyed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on Oct. 7, 2023.
Oren Ziv/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli soldiers deploy in an area where civilians were killed in the southern city of Sderot on October 7, 2023.
Hassan Eslaiah/AP
Palestinians walk away from the kibbutz of Kfar Azza, Israel, near the fence with the Gaza strip on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Cars burn after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a parking lot and a residential building in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Momen Faiz/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Palestinian militants fire missiles at Israel in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
Israeli soldiers head south near Ashkelon, Israel, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
Smoke rises from an area near a power plant outside Ashkelon, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
A rocket from the Gaza Strip struck a street in Ashkelon, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Israeli security forces take cover during rocket attack siren warning as rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Hani Alshaer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Palestinians take down the fence on the Israel-Gaza border and enter Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
Residents look at damage after a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
