People walk on rubble in the aftermath of a strike amid the conflict with Israel in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, October 12, 2023.
The death toll in Gaza has risen to 1,200, with around 5,600 wounded, Palestinian media reported earlier, citing Gaza’s health ministry. Speaking to a roundtable of Jewish community leaders in Washington, Biden said his deployment of military ships and aircraft closer to Israel should be seen as a signal to Iran, which backs Islamist groups Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.Iran likely knew Hamas militants were planning “operations against Israel” but initial U.S. intelligence reports showed that some Iranian leaders were surprised by the group’s unprecedented attack from Gaza, U.S. sources said on Wednesday.
Ms. Bouganim said her niece arrived at the Supernova festival in Kibbutz Re’im, just five kilometres east of the wall that separates Gaza from Israel, in the early morning hours of Saturday. The sound of sirens went off around 6:30 a.m. before gunfire from militants tore through the crowd, reportedly killing more than 200 people.
Ms. Bouganim said three of her niece’s friends were killed at the festival while another managed to flee to safety. The family has been visiting hospitals in the area and have filed a police report on Georgy’s disappearance, but they have mostly been left to search for answers on their own. They believe she has been kidnapped and is still alive.