Tag: israel-hamas war

Since the Israel-Hamas War ignited on Oct. 7, it feels as though we’ve been bombarded online with graphic information and imagery of the horrors unfolding in the Middle East.

The war has flooded the news and social media, in some cases, sowing political division. The trauma is worst for those directly affected by bullets or bombs, who have lost loved ones or anxiously await the return of hostages, or who are members of the Israeli and Palestinian diasporas, but anyone can be impacted and experience vicarious trauma. Today, the BBC acknowledged the toll the war was taking on its staff and has offered more mental health support.

If you feel as though your mental health has been negatively impacted by the ongoing conflict, here’s who you can contact for help.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

SAMHSA runs the Disaster Distress Helpline that is toll-free, multilingual and available 24/7 to all residents in the U.S. and its territories who are experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters. This includes survivors of disasters, loved ones of victims, first responders, rescue, recovery, and relief workers, clergy, parents and caregivers calling on behalf of themselves or someone else.

Each Disaster Distress Helpline Core Region Center has crisis counselors who are trained to listen and offer support to people in emotional crisis, the agency says.

You can speak with a counselor immediately by calling or texting 1-800-985-5990. For deaf and hard of hearing callers, you can call the same number from a videophone or access a video conference call online by following this link from the government website.

If you’re looking to receive mental health treatment or therapy, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 or TTY: 1-800-487-4889. The confidential, free, 24/7 information service in English and Spanish for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups and community-based organizations.

You can also visit SAMHSA’s online treatment locator, or send your zip code via text message to 435748 to find help near you.

Read More: How to Help Victims of the Israel-Hamas War

Crisis Text Line 

Crisis Text Line is a global nonprofit organization that provides text access to a crisis counselor. It is staffed by volunteers who undergo a multi-stage application process, background check and training program, and then are supervised by staff with master’s degrees in a relevant field or commensurate crisis intervention experience, the organization says. The service is available in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Ireland.

If you’re in the U.S., text HOME to 741741 to chat with a crisis counselor, use Whatsapp or message online.

In Canada, text CONNECT to 686868. The line is jointly run with Kids Help Phone.

From the U.K. text SHOUT to 85258. Shout is an affiliate of Crisis Text Line in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

For Ireland, text HOME to 50808.

Find A Helpline 

No matter where you are in the world, use this search engine to find a mental health helpline by country, region and/or topic. Mental healthcare company ThroughLine, which has partnered with Google, verifies and publishes the online tool.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) 

In the U.S., you can contact NAMI’s HelpLine to communicate with a volunteer. Connect by phone 1-800-950-6264 or text “HelpLine” to 62640, or chat online. It is available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

NAMI also publishes a resource directory where you find help online and in-person help by topic and runs local chapters where you can attend support groups in person. 

Find mental health therapy online or in-person 

If you’re in the U.S. and looking for more personalized and ongoing mental health therapy, it can be difficult to find or afford a therapist, especially if you don’t have health insurance.

The American Psychiatric Association runs a database where you can search for a psychiatrist near you. The American Psychological Association refers to its state chapters where you can find therapists by location, including in some states finding those working pro bono or on a sliding scale. If you don’t have insurance, the federal government recommends searching for a community health center near you that might offer free or low-cost mental healthcare.

Nonprofit nationwide network Open Path Psychotherapy Collective is another option that offers therapy at a reduced cost for people who are uninsured or underinsured. Pay a lifetime membership fee of $65, then schedule with a therapist for $40 to $70 a session, with $30 student intern sessions available. You can join the network and find a therapist online.

JERUSALEM — Deadly violence has been surging in the West Bank as the Israeli military pursues Palestinian militants in the aftermath of the Hamas attack from Gaza, with more than 90 Palestinians killed in the Israeli-occupied territory in the past two weeks, mainly in clashes with Israeli troops.

The violence threatens to open another front in the 2-week-old war, and puts pressure on the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank and is deeply unpopular among Palestinians, in large part because it cooperates with Israel on security matters.

The tally includes six Palestinians killed in separate incidents on Sunday, including two who died in an airstrike on a mosque in the volatile Jenin refugee camp that Israel said was being used by militants. Israel carried out an airstrike during a battle in another West Bank refugee camp last week, in which 13 Palestinians, including five minors, and a member of Israel’s paramilitary Border Police were killed.

Israel rarely uses air power in the occupied West Bank, even as it has bombarded Hamas-ruled Gaza since the militant group stormed across the border on Oct. 7.

More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel since the war began, mostly civilians killed in the initial Hamas assault. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says over 4,300 Palestinians have been killed.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank says 91 Palestinians have been killed there since Oct. 7. In the rest of the year leading up to the Hamas attack, 197 Palestinians were killed, according to an Associated Press count.

In addition to the raids, Palestinians have been killed in violent anti-Israel protests and in some instances in attacks by Jewish settlers.

Israel clamped down on the territory immediately after the Hamas assault, closing crossings and checkpoints between Palestinian towns. Israel says its forces have detained over 700 suspects in the West Bank, including 480 members of Hamas, since the start of hostilities.

Israel’s resumption of aerial attacks — which in a July operation in Jenin reached a level of intensity not seen since the Palestinian uprising against Israel two decades ago — suggests a shift in military tactics.

The military described the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin as a militant compound belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, a smaller and more radical Palestinian militant group. It said the militants had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another imminent assault.

The intensified violence follows more than a year of escalating raids and arrests in the West Bank and deadly Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 war. The Palestinians want all three territories for a future state. Over 500,000 Israelis live in settlements across the West Bank that most of the international community considers illegal, while the territory’s more than 2.5 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule.

The Palestinians view the settlements as the greatest obstacle to resolving the conflict with Israel. The last serious and substantive peace talks broke down over a decade ago.

Settler violence against Palestinians has also intensified since the Hamas attack. At least five Palestinians have been killed by settlers, according to Palestinian authorities, and rights groups say settlers have torched cars and attacked several small Bedouin communities, forcing them to evacuate to other areas.

The West Bank Protection Consortium, a coalition of non-governmental organizations and donor countries, including the European Union, says at least 470 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced in the West Bank due to settler violence since Oct. 7. That’s in addition to over 1,100 displaced since 2022.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza overnight and into Sunday, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants, as the 2-week-old war with Hamas threatened to spiral into a broader conflict.

Israel has traded fire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group on a near-daily basis since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told troops in northern Israel that if Hezbollah launches a war against Israel, “it will make the mistake of its life. We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state will be devastating.”

For days, Israel has seemed to be on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza as part of its response to Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 rampage. Tanks and tens of thousands of troops have massed at the border, and Israeli leaders have spoken of an undefined next stage in operations.

A convoy of 17 aid trucks was allowed to enter Gaza from Egypt on Sunday, Egypt’s state-run media reported, the second shipment into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago. On Saturday, 20 trucks entered. Associated Press journalists at the crossing saw seven fuel trucks enter Gaza on Sunday, but did not see any more deliveries.

Relief workers said far more was needed to address the spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where half the territory’s 2.3 million people have fled their homes. The U.N. humanitarian agency, known as OCHA, said Saturday’s convoy carried about 4% of an average day’s imports before the war and “a fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege.”

The Israeli military said the humanitarian situation was “under control,” as OCHA called for 100 trucks a day to enter.

Israel repeated its calls for people to leave northern Gaza, including by dropping leaflets from the air. It says an estimated 700,000 have already fled, but hundreds of thousands remain. That would raise the risk of mass civilian casualties in any ground offensive.

Israeli military officials say Hamas’ infrastructure and underground tunnel system are concentrated in Gaza City, in the north, and that the next stage of the offensive will include unprecedented force there. Israel says it wants to crush Hamas, but officials have also spoken of carving out a possible buffer zone to keep Palestinians from approaching the border.

Hospitals packed with patients and displaced people are running low on medical supplies and fuel for generators, forcing doctors to perform surgeries with sewing needles, using vinegar as disinfectant, and without anesthesia.

The World Health Organization says at least 130 premature babies are at “grave risk” because of a shortage of generator fuel. It said seven hospitals in northern Gaza have been forced to shut down due to damage from strikes, lack of power and supplies, or Israeli evacuation orders.

Shortages in critical supplies, including ventilators, are forcing doctors to ration treatment, said Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, who works in Khan Younis’ Nasser Hospital. Dozens of patients continue to arrive and are treated in crowded, darkened corridors, as hospitals preserve electricity for intensive care units.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Qandeel told the AP. “Everyday, if we receive 10 severely injured patients we have to manage with maybe three or five ICU beds available.”

Palestinians sheltering in U.N.-run schools and tent camps are running low on food and drinking dirty water. A power blackout has crippled water and sanitation systems. OCHA said cases of chickenpox, scabies and diarrhea are on the rise because of the lack of clean water.

Heavy airstrikes were reported across Gaza, including in the southern part of the coastal strip, where Israel has told civilians to seek refuge. At the Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, south of the evacuation line, several bodies wrapped in white shrouds were lined up outside on the ground.

Khalil al-Degran, a hospital official, said more than 90 bodies had been brought in since early Sunday, as the sound of nearby bombing echoed behind him. He said 180 wounded people had arrived, mostly children, women and the elderly who had been displaced from other areas.

Israel’s military has said it is striking Hamas members and installations, but does not target civilians. Palestinian militants have fired over 7,000 rockets at Israel, according to the military, and Hamas says it targeted Tel Aviv early Sunday.

The military says it plans to step up airstrikes ahead of the “next stages of the war,” without elaborating.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed in the war — mostly civilians slain during the initial Hamas attack. At least 212 people were captured and dragged back to Gaza, including men, women, children and older adults. Two Americans were released on Friday in what Hamas said was a humanitarian gesture.

More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion.

Syrian state media meanwhile reported that Israeli airstrikes have targeted the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo. The strikes killed one person and damaged the runways, putting them out of service. media reported.

Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria, including on the airports, since the war began. Israel rarely acknowledges individual strikes, but says it acts to prevent Hezbollah and other militant groups from bringing in arms from their patron, Iran, which also supports Hamas.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah said six of its fighters were killed Saturday, and the group’s deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned that Israel would pay a high price if it starts a ground offensive in Gaza. Israel struck Hezbollah targets Sunday in response to rocket fire, the military said.

Israel also announced evacuation plans for another 14 communities near the Lebanon border. Kiryat Shmona’s 20,000 people were told to evacuate last week.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 90 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops, arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers since the Hamas attacks, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Israeli forces have closed crossings into the territory and checkpoints between cities, measures they say are aimed at preventing attacks. Israel says it has arrested more than 700 Palestinians since Oct. 7, including 480 suspected Hamas members.

Israeli forces killed at least five people there early Sunday, according to the Health Ministry. Two were killed in an airstrike on a mosque in the town of Jenin, which has seen heavy gunbattles over the past year.

The Israeli military said the mosque compound belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another one.

The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority administers parts of the West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security, but it is deeply unpopular and has been the target of violent Palestinian protests.

As death and devastation mount in the Israel-Hamas War, the bloodiest resurgence in decades of an intractable conflict, Egypt called together world leaders in Cairo in a summit on Saturday to try to negotiate a ceasefire and ensure humanitarian aid.

But missing were the warring parties themselves, leading politicians and experts to cast doubt the summit would make a difference even before it started.

The summit fell two weeks after Hamas, the Palestinian militant group governing Gaza, invaded Israel, killing 1,400 people and taking 200 hostages, Israeli authorities said.

Israel is now preparing for a ground invasion after cutting off Gaza’s aid and electricity and relentlessly bombing the territory, killing at least 4,385 Palestinians, the Hamas-run health ministry said.

On the same day as the summit, 20 aid trucks carrying food, water and medicine rolled into the besieged strip through Egypt’s Rafah crossing after days of diplomatic wrangling.

The United Nations said the aid wasn’t enough: Previously, 100 trucks a day entered the strip to help more than two million people. The few new trucks also carried no fuel, which aid organizations said was critical to keep hospital generators running and to clean water.

European leaders—tightroping politically between supporting Israel and preserving humanitarian rights in Gaza – had debated whether to attend the peace summit, the Financial Times reported.

Find out what happened in Cairo when the world leaders gathered.

Who was at the Cairo Peace Summit? 

Attendees at the summit included Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority that governs the West Bank, and the leaders of Jordan, Iraq and most Gulf countries.

Many European nations sent their heads or foreign ministers, as well as the European Council and European Union. Representatives also came from Russia, South Africa, China and Japan. 

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who visited Egypt’s border with Gaza the day before the summit to beg for the opening of the Rafah crossing to allow in humanitarian aid, also attended.

Missing from the table were the warring parties and another key player, Iran. Iran matters because it has funded both Hamas and Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group engaging in skirmishes with Israeli troops on the border of those two countries.

A Lebanese politician told Politico the summit probably wouldn’t have any impact because of those absences.

The U.S. sent the Chargé d’Affaires ambassador from its Egypt embassy, but no senior officials from President Joe Biden’s administration. Biden, a longtime ally of Israel, has advocated for Israel’s right to defend itself after Hamas’ attack, although he warned Israel not to be consumed by rage in its response.

This week, the U.S. vetoed a United Nations resolution this week calling for a pause in the fighting to allow humanitarian assistance into Gaza, with a representative arguing it didn’t mention Israel’s self-defense. 

Two days later, Biden took credit on social media for brokering the deal to send aid into Gaza, and for Hamas’ release of two American hostages, which was negotiated by Qatar’s government. 

What did world leaders say? 

Leaders largely covered how they might end the war, protect civilians, release hostages, deliver humanitarian aid, and work to a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.

“The grievances of the Palestinian people are legitimate and long,” Guterres said. “Nothing can justify the reprehensible attack by Hamas that terrorized Israeli citizens, and those unwarranted attacks can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

Arab leaders, including Abbas, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah, strongly criticized Israel’s siege of Gaza and forced displacement of Palestinians. 

Abdullah condemned violence against all civilians in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. He called the bombing of Gaza “cruel and unconscionable on every level.”

“It is a collective punishment of a besieged and helpless people,” he said. “It is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. It is a war crime.”

Western leaders were more measured in their comments against Israel, while expressing their concern for civilians and the humanitarian crisis.

As up to 100,000 pro-Palestinian protesters marched through London’s streets to demand an end to the siege of Gaza, U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told the summit he’s spoken directly to the Israeli government about its duty to respect international law and preserve civilian lives in Gaza.

“Despite the incredibly difficult circumstances, I have called for discipline and professionalism and restraint from the Israeli military,” Cleverly said. 

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said “we support Israel’s right to self-defense in accordance with international law,” while raising alarm about the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

Joly said she, and many other leaders, were also worried about war spreading beyond Israel and Gaza—and expressed concern about the role of Iran, absent at the table, and the actions of its proxies.

Hamas reportedly said it followed the summit “with interest,” in a statement that appeared on Telegram.

“We appreciate all efforts exerted to stop the Israeli aggression on our people, and we appreciate, as well, all supportive stances by the countries during the summit which backed the rights of the Palestinian people and their resistance and rejected the Israeli planned intention of expelling our people,” the statement read. 

TIME has reached out to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email for comment regarding its absence and view on the summit.

What did the summit accomplish? 

The warring parties and their backers weren’t there, and world leaders did not release a joint statement at the end of the summit, showing a divide. This means there are no firm documented goals to work toward or pressures to put on either side.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israel’s military spokesman said Israel plans to step up its attacks on the Gaza Strip starting Saturday as preparation for the next stage of its war on Hamas.

Asked about a possible ground invasion into Gaza, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters Saturday night that the military was trying to create optimal conditions beforehand.

“We will deepen our attacks to minimize the dangers to our forces in the next stages of the war. We are going to increase the attacks, from today,” Hagari said.

He repeated his call for residents of Gaza City to head south for their safety. The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened Saturday to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory for the first time since Israel sealed it off following Hamas’ bloody rampage two weeks ago.

Just 20 trucks were allowed in, an amount aid workers said was insufficient to address the unprecedented humanitarian crisis. More than 200 trucks carrying 3,000 tons of aid have been waiting nearby for days.

Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians, half of whom have fled their homes, are rationing food and drinking dirty water. Hospitals say they are running low on medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide power blackout. Five hospitals have stopped functioning because of fuel shortages and bombing damage, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.

Israel is still launching waves of airstrikes across Gaza as Palestinian militants fire rockets into Israel.

The opening came after more than a week of high-level diplomacy, including visits to the region by U.S. President Joe Biden and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Israel had insisted nothing would enter Gaza until Hamas released all the captives from its Oct. 7 attack on towns in southern Israel.

Late Friday, Hamas freed its first captives — an American woman and her teenage daughter. It was not immediately clear if there was a connection between the release and the aid deliveries. Israel says Hamas is still holding at least 210 hostages.

On Saturday morning, an Associated Press reporter saw the 20 trucks heading north from Rafah to Deir al-Balah, a quiet farming town where many evacuees from the north have sought shelter. Hundreds of foreign passport holders at Rafah hoping to escape the conflict were not allowed to leave.

American citizen Dina al- Khatib said she and her family were desperate to get out. “It’s not like previous wars,” she said. “There is no electricity, no water, no internet, nothing.”

The trucks were carrying 44,000 bottles of drinking water — enough for 22,000 people for a single day, it said. “This first, limited water will save lives, but the needs are immediate and immense,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

The World Health Organization said four of the trucks were carrying medical supplies, including trauma medicine and portable trauma bags for first responders.

“The situation is catastrophic in Gaza,” the head of the U.N.’s World Food Program, Cindy McCain, told The Associated Press. “We need many, many, many more trucks and a continual flow of aid,” she said, adding that some 400 trucks were entering Gaza daily before the war.

Gaza’s Hamas-run government called for a secure corridor operating around the clock.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesman, said “the humanitarian situation in Gaza is under control.” He said the aid would be delivered only to southern Gaza, where the army has ordered people to relocate, adding that no fuel would enter.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken appealed to all sides to keep the crossing open for crucial aid shipments and warned Hamas to not take the aid.

“Palestinian civilians are not responsible for Hamas’s horrific terrorism, and they should not be made to suffer for its depraved acts,” he said in a statement. “As President Biden stated, if Hamas steals or diverts this assistance it will have demonstrated once again that it has no regard for the welfare of the Palestinian people.’’

Guterres gave voice to growing international concern over civilians in Gaza, telling a summit in Cairo that Hamas’ “reprehensible assault” on Israel “can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

Two Egyptian officials and a European diplomat said extensive negotiations with Israel and the U.N. to allow fuel deliveries for hospitals had yielded little progress. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information on the sensitive deliberations.

One Egyptian official said they were discussing the release of dual-national hostages in return for the fuel, but that Israel was insisting on the release of all hostages.

The release of Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie, on Friday brought some hope to the families of others believed held hostage.

Rachel Goldberg, whose son is thought to have been badly wounded before he was taken hostage, said she was “very relieved” by the news.

“We are hopeful that that the people who were behind this wonderful release of Judith and Natalie will keep working night and day. But quickly,” she said. “I think he could be dying. So we don’t have time.”

Hamas said it was working with Egypt, Qatar and other mediators “to close the case” of hostages if security circumstances permit.

There are growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says would be aimed at rooting out Hamas. Israel said Friday it does not plan to take long-term control over the small but densely populated Palestinian territory.

Israel has also traded fire along its northern border with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants, raising concerns about a second front opening up. The Israeli military said Saturday it struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in response to recent rocket launches and attacks with anti-tank missiles.

“Hezbollah has decided to participate in the fighting, and we are exacting a heavy price for this,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said during a visit to the border.

Israel issued a travel warning Saturday, ordering its citizens to leave Egypt and Jordan — which made peace with it decades ago — and to avoid travel to a number of Arab and Muslim countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Bahrain, which forged diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020. Protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza have erupted across the region.

An Israeli ground assault would likely lead to a dramatic escalation in casualties on both sides in urban fighting. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed in the war — mostly civilians slain during the Hamas attack.

More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion. The ministry says another 1,400 are believed buried under rubble.

At the summit Saturday, Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi called for ensuring aid to Gaza, negotiating a cease-fire and resuming Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which broke down more than a decade ago. He also said the conflict would never be resolved “at the expense of Egypt,” referring to fears Israel may try to push Gaza’s population into the Sinai Peninsula.

King Abdullah II of Jordan told the summit that Israel’s air campaign and siege of Gaza were “a war crime” and slammed the international community’s response.

“Anywhere else, attacking civilian infrastructure and deliberately starving an entire population of food, water, electricity, and basic necessities would be condemned,” he said. Apparently, he added, “human rights have boundaries. They stop at borders, they stop at races, they stop at religions.”

Over a million people have been displaced in Gaza. Many heeded Israel’s orders to evacuate from north to south within the sealed-off coastal enclave. But Israel has continued to bomb areas in southern Gaza .

A senior Israeli military official said the air force will not hit the area where aid is being distributed unless rockets are fired from there. “It’s a safe zone,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to reveal military information.