Israel Hamas war

The U.S. said the first humanitarian pause would be announced Thursday and that the Israelis had committed to announcing each four-hour window at least three hours in advance.

Thousands of Palestinians are streaming out of northern Gaza on foot in an accelerating exodus.

The 234-188 tally came after enough Democrats joined with Republicans to censure Tlaib, a punishment one step below expulsion from the House. The three-term congresswoman has long been a target of criticism for her views on the decades-long conflict in the Middle East.

The Israeli army says its forces are battling Hamas fighters inside Gaza’s largest city, signaling a major new stage a month into a war that has claimed thousands of lives and leveled swaths of the territory.

Israeli forces have severed northern Gaza from the rest of the besieged territory and pounded it with intense airstrikes overnight, setting the stage for an expected push into the dense confines of Gaza City and an even bloodier phase of the month-old war.

Gaza has lost communications in its third total outage of the Israel-Hamas war, and Israel’s military says it has encircled Gaza City and divided the besieged coastal strip into two.

From Washington to Milan to Paris, tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched Saturday, calling for a halt to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

Congresswoman Cori Bush of Missouri called Israel’s invasion of Gaza an “ethnic cleansing campaign,” and was among 10 House members who did not back a resolution supporting the nation.

Thousands are expecting to march and rally Saturday in Washington, D.C., supporting calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, and an end to U.S. aid to Israel.

People demanding a ceasefire in Gaza protested Friday morning at the Port of Oakland around a US government ship that is reportedly headed to Israel.

Israel warned that it was on high alert for attacks on its border with Lebanon as fears grew that the conflict that began with a Hamas rampage in Israel could widen.

Israeli troops have encircled Gaza City in heavy fighting with Hamas militants, the military says, as the Palestinian death toll rises above 9,000. U.S. and Arab leaders are raising pressure on Israel to ease its siege and at least briefly halt its attacks in order to aid civilians.

The House has approved a $14.5 billion in military aid package for Israel, but without humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

After more than three weeks of siege, the first Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza. Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera television aired footage of devastation in the Jabaliya refugee camp.

“It is a time to be concerned. We are in a dangerous period," FBI Director Christopher Wray said this week. “We shouldn’t stop going out, but we should be vigilant."