war News

In an exclusive interview with NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the deaths of Al Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh's sons and other family members were "the worst possible loss." He added that he had raised the deaths of journalists on his trip to the Middle East.
His comments came ahead of today's meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank as the U.S. pushes Israel to reduce civilian suffering and embrace a plan for post-war Gaza.
Blinken's diplomatic tour of the Middle East has also focused on averting a broader regional conflict, as tensions mount on Israel's northern border with Lebanon after a series of strikes targeting commanders in the Hezbollah militant group.
But further south in the Red Sea, the U.S. and U.K. have shot down a massive barrage of missiles and drones fired by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea , thought to be the militants' largest attack yet. The assault came ahead of a planned United Nations Security Council vote to potentially condemn and demand an immediate halt to the Yemen-based rebels' attacks.
More than 23,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than 59,000 have been injured, and thousands more are missing and presumed dead.
Israeli military officials say at least 189 soldiers have been killed during the country's ground invasion of Gaza, which came after 1,200 people were killed and about 240 hostages were seized after Hamas launched multipronged attacks on Israel on Oct. 7.
NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell, Richard Engel, Raf Sanchez, Ali Arouzi and Josh Lederman are reporting from the region.