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A woman and child walk past a destroyed building Monday in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip. (AFP/Getty Images)

U.S. senators vote to advance Israel aid bill as campus antiwar protests escalate

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Israeli officials and American lawmakers celebrated the U.S. Senate voting overwhelmingly to advance a package of bills that would give billions in aid to Israel, as well as Ukraine and Taiwan. Meanwhile, antiwar demonstrations at university campuses across the United States continue to escalate — with over 150 students and faculty arrested so far.

Key updates
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Top U.N. officials called for an international investigation into allegations of mass graves at hospitals in Gaza, following reports that hundreds of bodies had been recovered at the Nasser medical complex in Khan Younis.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Tuesday that its forces did not create the graves in Khan Younis. “The claim that the IDF buried Palestinian bodies is baseless and unfounded,” the statement said.
An independent report examining the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, found that Israel has not substantiated claims that significant numbers of the agency’s employees have ties to militant groups.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Tuesday that Hamas “moved the goal posts” on hostage talks after Iran and Israel exchanged attacks. Miller said the militant group’s leaders appear to have made “the determination that they might get the full-scale regional war they were hoping for, and so have not agreed to a very significant proposal that was on the table.”
At least 34,183 people have been killed and 77,143 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children.
Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 260 soldiers have been killed since its military operation in Gaza began.
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Top U.N. officials called for an international investigation into allegations of mass graves at hospitals in Gaza, following reports that hundreds of bodies had been recovered at the Nasser medical complex in Khan Younis.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Tuesday that its forces did not create the graves in Khan Younis. “The claim that the IDF buried Palestinian bodies is baseless and unfounded,” the statement said.
An independent report examining the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, found that Israel has not substantiated claims that significant numbers of the agency’s employees have ties to militant groups.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Tuesday that Hamas “moved the goal posts” on hostage talks after Iran and Israel exchanged attacks. Miller said the militant group’s leaders appear to have made “the determination that they might get the full-scale regional war they were hoping for, and so have not agreed to a very significant proposal that was on the table.”
At least 34,183 people have been killed and 77,143 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children.
Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 260 soldiers have been killed since its military operation in Gaza began.
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Israel-Gaza war

The Israel-Gaza war has gone on for six months, and tensions have spilled into the surrounding region.

The war: On Oct. 7, Hamas militants launched an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel that included the taking of civilian hostages at a music festival. (See photos and videos of how the deadly assault unfolded). Israel declared war on Hamas in response, launching a ground invasion that fueled the biggest displacement in the region since Israel’s creation in 1948.

Gaza crisis: In the Gaza Strip, Israel has waged one of this century’s most destructive wars, killing tens of thousands and plunging at least half of the population into “famine-like conditions.” For months, Israel has resisted pressure from Western allies to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave.

U.S. involvement: Despite tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some U.S. politicians, including President Biden, the United States supports Israel with weapons, funds aid packages, and has vetoed or abstained from the United Nations’ cease-fire resolutions.

History: The roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mistrust are deep and complex, predating the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Read more on the history of the Gaza Strip.