U.S. offers sea evacuation to Americans in Israel; IDF renews call for people in north Gaza to leave: Live updates

The U.S. Embassy in Israel said it would help Americans and their immediate family members with valid travel documents to depart the northern Israeli port city of Haifa via sea to Cyprus on Monday.

In a security alert posted on its website Sunday, the embassy said boarding for passengers would begin at 8 a.m. local time (1 a.m. ET) and U.S. citizens must arrive at Haifa Port’s passenger terminal no later than 9 a.m. local time.

“Boarding will proceed in order of arrival and is on a space limited basis,” the embassy said.

The alert listed several instructions for travelers and noted the passage to Limassol Port in Cyprus was expected to take roughly 10-12 hours.

— Sam Meredith

The president of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a U.S. non-governmental organization that promotes press freedom, said the last week has been the deadliest on record for journalists covering Israel-Palestine.

As of Saturday, 12 journalists had been killed, eight were injured and two were missing over the course of the first eight days of the Israel-Hamas war, the CPJ said in an update via its website.

Of the journalists confirmed to have been killed, the CPJ said 10 were Palestinian, one was Israeli and a Beirut-based journalist was killed during a shelling attack in southern Lebanon.

“This is the deadliest week ever for journalists covering Israel-Palestine in the more than 30 years that @pressfreedom has been covering attacks on the press,” Jodie Ginsberg, president of the CPJ, said Saturday via X, formerly known as Twitter.

— Sam Meredith

Israel Defense Forces said Sunday in a message addressed to residents of Gaza City and northern Gaza that it won’t carry out any military operations from 10 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET) to 1 p.m., renewing its call for people to move southward.

“Residents of Gaza City and northern Gaza, in the past days, we’ve urged you to relocate to the southern area for your safety. We want to inform you that the IDF will not carry out any operations along this route from 10 AM to 1 PM,” the IDF said in a post via X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Your safety and that of your families matters. Please follow our instructions and head southward,” it added.

The United Nations has criticized Israel’s military for issuing an evacuation order to 1.1 million people in northern Gaza, saying it is “impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences.”

— Sam Meredith

More than 2,300 people have been killed and another 9,000 injured in Gaza, according to the local health ministry’s latest update.

In Israel, at least 1,300 have been killed and 3,300 wounded, according to public broadcaster Kan.

— Christine Wang

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to meet with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh at 7:30 a.m. local time (12:30 a.m. ET), a U.S. official said.

The meeting comes as Blinken is scheduled to depart for Egypt later in the day, where he is expected to discuss a tentative agreement to grant Americans in Gaza safe passage through the Rafah border crossing.

— Christine Wang

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East called on Israeli authorities to protect all civilians in its shelters across the Gaza Strip, including those in northern Gaza and Gaza City.

The UNRWA warned that despite Israel’s order to evacuate the north, many people will not be able to flee, particularly pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

“UNRWA shelters in Gaza and northern Gaza are no longer safe. This is unprecedented,” it said.

“This war should be no exception, protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, including United Nations buildings, applies to this conflict too.”

Israel has ordered roughly 1 million residents in northern Gaza to evacuate to the south ahead of an anticipated ground offensive.

Separately, the UNRWA warned that 2 million people are at risk as water runs out in Gaza and called for humanitarian supplies to be let in. It said its newly relocated base in the south is also running out of water as it takes in refugees, thousands of whom it said followed the evacuation order.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said fuel needs to be brought in immediately to guarantee safe drinking water.

“If not, people will start dying of severe dehydration, among them young children, the elderly and women. Water is now the last remaining lifeline. I appeal for the siege on humanitarian assistance to be lifted now,” he said.

— Christine Wang

The Israel Defense Forces reiterated its call for residents to evacuate to southern Gaza, in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Earlier, the military posted another video listing other acts committed by Hamas, saying the Palestinian militant group “has shown the world time and time again what they are capable of.”

“Now the IDF is prepared to counter with an even greater force. There is no place in the world for terrorism,” it said.

The posts come as Israel is expected to commence a ground offensive in Gaza.

— Christine Wang

The Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, said it was “preparing to implement a wide range of offensive operative plans” which will include “an integrated and coordinated attack from the air, sea and land” against Hamas.

The IDF added that it had already completed its mobilization of hundreds of thousands of servicemen for the counteroffensive, according to a statement translated by NBC News.

“IDF battalions and soldiers are deployed all over the country and are prepared to increase readiness for the next stages of the war — with an emphasis on a significant ground operation,” the statement added.

— Amanda Macias

The tentative agreement to grant Americans in Gaza safe passage into Egypt through the Rafah gate continues to face significant obstacles to implementation, U.S. officials told NBC News.

Previous discussions between Egypt, the U.S., Qatar and Israel looked set to allow Americans across the border crossing during a five-hour window Saturday, but NBC reports the deadline came and went without any immediate sign of success. One official told NBC the parties are continuing to negotiate.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to land in Cairo on Sunday and the deal is set to be a key issue on his agenda.

While sticking points remain, the State Department has urged the estimated 500 to 600 Americans in Gaza to move south, warning that if the crossing opens, the window could be brief.

— NBC News, Christine Wang