Israel claims it killed key Hamas leader, provides 'window' for evacuations: Live updates

Israel Defense Forces claimed to have killed a top Hamas commander and Israel provided Palestinians a three-hour safety window to evacuate north Gaza amid intensified efforts Sunday to wipe out the militant group that has ruled the battered, blockaded territory with an iron fist for more than 15 years.

The IDF said Billal Al Kedra led the Hamas commando forces responsible for the Kibbutz Nirim massacre in the early hours of the Oct. 7 invasion. More than 100 men, women and children were slaughtered and dozens of homes destroyed in the kibbutz, less than a mile from the Gaza border, Israeli authorities say.

"IDF fighter jets operated in Gaza and neutralized Billal Al Kedra," the IDF said in a statement that included video of the strike. "Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist operatives were also neutralized.

Israel has ordered more than 1 million Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza, creating a humanitarian crisis that has brought protests from the U.N. and around the world. The IDF said it would carry out no operations along the primary road south from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.

"During this window, please take the opportunity to move southward from northern Gaza," the IDF said in social media posts. "Be assured, Hamas leaders have already ensured their safety and that of their families."

Developments:

∎ Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to Israel this week after completing a six-nation sweep across the region aimed at preventing the war from spreading, the State Department announced.

∎ Pope Francis renewed his appeal for peace, restraint and release of the hostages: "I strongly demand that children, the elderly, women and all civilians are not victims of the conflict."

See how US Navy shipsin the Mediterranean are positioned to support Israel

Sen Lindsey Graham to Iran: 'If you escalate this war, we're coming after you'

A day after Iran’s foreign minister warned Israel that its attacks on Gaza fuel expansion of the war across the Middle East, Sen. Lindsay Graham warned Iran that it could become a U.S. military target if it attempts to expand the war. Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said if Lebanon-based militant Hezbollah, funded by Iran, joins the battle it would "cause a huge earthquake" in Israel.

Graham, speaking Sunday on Meet the Press, applauded President Joe Biden for his strong support of Israel and said the Israeli military was trying to destroy Hamas while protecting as many Palestinians as possible.

"Here's my message," Graham said. "If Hezbollah, which is a proxy of Iran, launches a massive attack on Israel, I would ... introduce a resolution in the United States Senate to allow military action by the United States in conjunction with Israel to knock Iran out of the oil business. Iran, if you escalate this war, we're coming for you."

Israel restoring water service to southern Gaza, national security adviser says

Israel was restoring water service to southern Gaza on Sunday after initially cutting off water, food and fuel supplies following Hamas’ attack on Israel, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. The U.S. is working with Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the U.N. to ensure that "innocent Palestinians get access to those basic necessities,” Sullivan said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Sullivan said the Biden administration still does not have precise information on the number of Americans being held hostage by Hamas or where they are being held. That's one reason the U.S has not sent Navy SEALs or other special forces to try to recover them, he said.

− Ken Tran

Palestinian and Israeli death toll surpasses 3,600

The Palestinian death toll climbed to 2,329, the Gaza Health Ministry said Sunday, making the war the deadliest of five Gaza wars for Palestinians. More than 1,300 Israelis have been killed in the initial assault by Hamas and subsequent rocket attacks from Gaza. The overwhelming majority of all those killed in the war were civilians. For Israel, this is the deadliest war since the 1973 conflict with Egypt and Syria.

The U.S. death toll stands at 29, and more than a dozen Americans are missing and feared killed or taken hostage.

Looking from afar:People with loved ones in Israel, Gaza with constant trauma

Crisis touches families, loved ones around the world

People with ties to the region are dealing with traumatic stress even though they may be thousands of miles from the conflict. The war between Israel and Hamas has inflicted an immediate crisis far beyond the Middle East, touching loved ones’ lives abroad, and placing Americans living far from kibbutzim and refugee camps in a state of constant emergency. Mental health experts warn that the violent, shocking images and news about the conflict exacerbate traumatic stress. The barrage of information and images can have profound effects on health and well-being.

“What we are seeing right now is needless, preventable suffering,” said Dr. Alishia Moreland-Capuia, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard and the founder and director of the Institute for Trauma-Informed Systems Change at McLean Hospital, near Boston. Read more here.

− Eduardo Cuevas