Steve (00:00):
Israeli officials say a Hamas leader has been killed during an airstrike on a refugee camp in Gaza.
Natasha (00:05):
This as Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced he will travel to Israel on Friday, and the Senate confirmed Jack Lew as the next US ambassador to Israel. Let’s get right to Linda Schmidt in the newsroom with the very latest. Linda?
Linda Schmidt (00:17):
Yeah. Hi there, Steve and Natasha. Well, first of all, I will tell you this, the Israeli military saying that the Hamas commander was one of the architects of the October 7th massacre in Israel. Now, in addition to killing him, Israel says the strike killed dozens of members of the terror group.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
[inaudible 00:00:36].
Linda Schmidt (00:35):
Rescuers pulling children, women and men out of the rubble.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
[inaudible 00:00:41].
Linda Schmidt (00:42):
Israeli airstrikes leveled apartment buildings in a refugee camp near Gaza City, leaving a giant crater. Palestinians rushed to hospitals.
Speaker 5 (00:50):
[inaudible 00:00:53].
Linda Schmidt (00:53):
Israel saying the airstrikes killed Senior Hamas Commander Ibrahim Biari, who helped plan the October 7th slaughter of more than 1400 people in Israel. Hundreds more taken hostage by Hamas. Officials say Biari was hiding in the Palestinian refugee camp, using innocent people as shields, and that the airstrikes destroyed a Hamas command center set up in civilian houses and a network of underground tunnels. No word yet on the official death toll.
Doron Spielman (01:22):
Why was this Hamas battalion commander literally operating underneath a civilian area? They have no concern for the civilians.
John Kirby (01:31):
It’s not the goal of Israeli forces to go out and deliberately take innocent civilian life.
Linda Schmidt (01:39):
The series of airstrikes come as Israeli forces push deeper into the Gaza Strip, the military saying it is targeting Hamas rocket launch positions and tunnels where ammunition and potentially many hostages are held.
Daniel Hagari (01:53):
They killed terrorists and continue to attack hundreds of targets of the murderous Hamas organizations.
Linda Schmidt (01:58):
And the humanitarian disaster in Gaza is growing. Food, water, and medical supplies are not arriving fast enough.
Daniel Hagari (02:06):
We know there’s an awful lot that needs to happen to increase that flow of aid.
Linda Schmidt (02:10):
As for some calls for a ceasefire.
Daniel Hagari (02:13):
Right now is not the time for a general ceasefire. It is however, the time to consider pauses in the fighting.
Linda Schmidt (02:22):
And the US government says Hamas is continuing to prevent hundreds of Americans from leaving Gaza.