UN Warns of Gaza 'Disaster,' American Toll Rises

Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the "reign of terror" of Hamas as he traveled to Israel on Thursday to meet with Benjamin Netanyahu as well as the families of Americans killed or taken hostage. As Israel inched closer to a ground invasion, Blinken also urged restraint, notes the New York Times, saying "every possible precaution to prevent harming civilians" should be taken. Developments:

• The US raised the number of Americans killed in the Hamas attacks to 27 and said 14 remained unaccounted for, reports the AP. The number of Israeli fatalities rose to 1,300.
• The UN warned of a "humanitarian disaster" unfolding in Gaza, with more than 330,000 people displaced in six days of bombing. Israel also has cut off water and electricity to the region. "We are running out of supplies in every way," a doctor at one Gaza hospital tells the BBC.

• Netanyahu's office published graphic photos of "babies murdered and burned" by Hamas, reports the Washington Post. The images, here, require viewers to click past a warning. Blinken, meanwhile, described seeing photos of "a baby riddled with bullets, soldiers beheaded, and young people burnt alive" by Hamas, according to the BBC.

(More Israel-Hamas war stories.)