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NBA draft order: Complete order after draft lottery

Most of us can use a little luck.

And the Atlanta Hawks were on the fortunate end of the NBA’s Draft Lottery Sunday, winning the No. 1 pick.

Washington landed the second pick, Houston the third, San Antonio the fourth and Detroit the fifth. Rounding out the remaining lottery picks: No. 6 to Charlotte, No. 7 to Portland, No. 8 to San Antonio, No. 9 to Memphis, No. 10 to Utah, No. 11 to Chicago, No. 12 to Oklahoma City, No. 13 to Sacramento and No. 14 to Portland.

The Hawks, who were 36-46 this season, had a 3% chance to win the lottery, and the longshot came in for Atlanta and Hawks general manager Landry Fields. This is the first time the Hawks have the No. 1 pick since 1975.

There is no clear No. 1 pick. Frenchmen Alexandre Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher have been projected No. 1 picks in mock draft for the past year, but players like UConn’s Donovan Clingan and Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham have climbed draft boards.

Here is what you need to know about the 2024 NBA draft order and more:

NBA draft order 2024

Atlanta Hawks
Washington Wizards
Houston Rockets (from Brooklyn Nets)
San Antonio Spurs
Detroit Pistons
Charlotte Hornets
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs (from Toronto Raptors)
Memphis Grizzlies
Utah Jazz
Chicago Bulls
Oklahoma City Thunder (from Houston Rockets)
Sacramento Kings
Portland Trail Blazers (from Golden State Warriors)
Miami Heat
Philadelphia 76ers
New Orleans Pelicans (from Los Angeles Lakers)
Orlando Magic
Toronto Raptors (from Indiana Pacers)
Cleveland Cavaliers
New Orleans Pelicans (from Milwaukee Bucks)
Phoenix Suns
Milwaukee Bucks (from New Orleans Pelicans)
New York Knicks (from Dallas Mavericks)
New York Knicks
Washington Wizards (from Los Angeles Clippers)
Minnesota Timberwolves
Denver Nuggets
Utah Jazz (from Oklahoma City Thunder)
Boston Celtics

When is NBA draft lottery?

Sunday, May 12 in Chicago, 3 p.m. ET.

How to watch NBA draft lottery?

ABC will televise the draft lottery.

2024 NBA Draft lottery odds

Odds for the No. 1 pick

Detroit – 14% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 52.13%)

Washington – 14% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 52.13%)

Charlotte – 13.3% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 50.28%)

Portland  – 13.2% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 50.01%)

San Antonio – 10.5% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 42.11%)

Toronto – 9% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 37.22%) (pick will be conveyed to San Antonio if not among the top 6 picks)

Memphis – 7.5% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 31.95%)

Utah  – 6% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 26.3%) (pick will be conveyed to Oklahoma City if not among the top 10 picks)

Houston – 4.5% (from Brooklyn) (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 20.27%)

Atlanta – 3% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 13.88%)

Chicago – 2% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 9.41%)

Houston – 1.5% (pick will be conveyed to Oklahoma City if not among the top 4 picks) (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 7.12%)

Sacramento – 0.8% (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 3.84%)

Golden State – 0.7% (pick will be conveyed to Portland – via Boston and Memphis – if not among the top 4 picks) (percent chance to get a top-four pick: 3.37%)

How does NBA draft lottery work?

According to the NBA, ‘Fourteen ping-pong balls numbered 1 through 14 will be placed in a lottery machine. There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, without regard to their order of selection. Before the lottery, 1,000 of those 1,001 combinations will be assigned to the 14 participating lottery teams.

‘All 14 balls are placed in the lottery machine and they are mixed for 20 seconds, and then the first ball is removed. The remaining balls are mixed in the lottery machine for another 10 seconds, and then the second ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the third ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the fourth ball is drawn. The team that has been assigned that combination will receive the No. 1 pick. The same process is repeated with the same ping-pong balls and lottery machine for the second through fourth picks.’

The remaining lottery teams are slotted in order of their draft odds. Detroit can’t slide any lower than No. 5, Washington no lower than No. 6, Charlotte no lower than No. 7, Portland no lower than No. 8 and San Antonio no lower than No. 9. After that, if a team doesn’t move into the top four via ping-pong ball selection, it can’t move up any higher than its draft lottery odds position. For example, if Toronto, with the sixth-best odds to get a top-four pick doesn’t move in the top four, it can’t land a pick any better than No. 6. If Memphis doesn’t move into the top four, it can’t get a pick any better than No. 7 and so on.

The lottery is conducted in a separate room (with no communication devices, such as cell phones or computers) just before the draft lottery TV show. Select media, NBA officials and representatives of the participating teams and the accounting firm Ernst & Young will be in attendance in the room for the drawings.

Who is the projected No. 1 pick in 2024 NBA Draft?

There is not a definitive No. 1, like last season when Victor Wembanyama emerged as the choice. This season, France’s Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher have been projected No. 1 picks throughout the 2023-24 season.

Who are the other projected top picks in 2024 NBA Draft?

UConn’s Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle, Serbia’s Nikola Topic, Kenctucky’s Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard, Lithuanian-America Matas Buzelis and Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht are potential top-10 picks.

NBA draft lottery simulator results

Using tankathon.com’s draft lottery simulator, this is what the draft lottery results could look like:

1. Washington

2. Detroit

3. Houston

4. Portland

5. Charlotte

6. San Antonio

7. San Antonio

8. Memphis

9. Utah

10. Atlanta

11. Chicago

12. Oklahoma City

13. Sacramento

14. Portland

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Nelly Korda’s historic winning streak comes to an end at LPGA Founders Cup

Nelly Korda’s historic streak came to an end in New Jersey.

The World No. 1 still managed to smile walking off the 18th as her caddie, Jason McDede, gave her a side hug. Korda didn’t become the first player to win six consecutive starts on the LPGA, but she did become the third to win five – and that’s still pretty spectacular.

“Gosh, hasn’t even sunk in,” said Korda of her remarkable start to 2024. “Probably maybe now or maybe in like 10, 15 years it’ll sink in. Hopefully someone beats it one day.”

Korda carded a pair of 73s over the weekend to finish in a share of seventh at the Cognizant Founders Cup at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, New Jersey. She went into Saturday’s third round in third place, four shots back, but never made much of a rally.

“I’m human,” said Korda after Saturday’s round, “so I’m going to have bad days.

Korda began the week with a splash at the Met Gala, becoming the first golfer since Tiger Woods to receive an invitation to the A-list affair. She’d taken two weeks off after winning the Chevron Championship, her second career major, to rest up for Founders.

While Korda didn’t close it out this weekend, another American star, Rose Zhang, chased down Madelene Sagstrom after trailing three strokes with three to play. Zhang birdied four of her last five holes to card a 66 and win by two shots.

On a week that celebrates history, Korda etched her place alongside Annika Sorenstam (2004-2005) and Nancy Lopez (1978) as the only players to win five consecutive starts.

She began the week by attending the Met Gala in New York on Monday night before making the short trip to New Jersey. She’ll remain in the Garden State for the LPGA’s next tournament at Liberty National Golf Course.

“Super excited to play Liberty next week,” said Korda of Mizuho Americas Open, “and then we have some really amazing golf courses lined up for some of majors.

“Evian is a beautiful place to go. You play at St. Andrews, so much rich history. I’ve never been to Lancaster, but super excited about that one because I feel like the crowds are going to be unbelievable just because the whole town will probably get behind the event. … it’s a big year.”

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Keselowski triumphs at Darlington to snap 110-race NASCAR winless streak

After an excruciating three-year wait that saw him leave one team and become co-owner of another, Brad Keselowski finally made it back to victory lane.

Keselowski snapped a 110-race winless streak Sunday at Darlington Raceway, scoring his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in three years. The win, the 36th of his Cup career, was also Keselowski’s first as a driver and co-owner of RFK Racing, which he joined at the start of the 2022 season when Roush Fenway Racing became Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.

“It’s just so great to be here in Darlington.  I love this track.  I love coming here,’ Keselowski said. ‘It’s a special place to me whether you win or not, but to run up front all day and have a great car, qualify up front, it was just an awesome day.’

Keselowski’s last win before Sunday came at Talladega Superspeedway on April 25, 2021 as a driver for Team Penske.

Keselowski, who also gave manufacturer Ford its first win of 2024, started second and led 37 laps after battling pole sitter Tyler Reddick for most of the afternoon. They tangled again on the final restart with 33 laps to go and raced side-by-side for a few laps until both were passed by Keselowski’s teammate Chris Buescher, who drove down to the bottom of the track and sped past Keselowski and Reddick to assume the lead.

Reddick moved ahead of Keselowski and steadily reeled Buescher back in, and with 10 laps to go, the 23XI Racing driver made his move – diving from behind Buescher to his left side before sliding high and pushing Buescher’s No. 17 Ford into the outside wall. That contact cut Reddick’s right-rear tire and forced both drivers to pit road, handling the lead back to Keselowski.

Minutes later, Keselowski, the 2012 Cup Series champion, took the checkered flag ahead of Ty Gibbs, and the celebration was on.

“I thought (Buscher) was gonna win it there when he got by me,’ Keselowski said.  ‘I was like, ‘Dog gone it.  Here’s another one that Chris got,’ but he did a hell of a job there.  It’s good for us as a company, good for us as a team.  It locks us into the playoffs.  Just and incredible day for us here in Darlington.”

Buescher, who finished second last weekend at Kansas behind Kyle Larson in the closest finish in NASCAR history, limped home in 30th, while Reddick, who led a career-high 174 laps, finished 32nd.

Immediately after the race ended, Buescher tracked down Reddick on pit road and angrily confronted him.

Buescher then explained his frustration in an interview with Fox Sports’ Jamie Little.

‘We got wrecked. That one’s clear as day, don’t need any cameras to tell us,’ Buescher said. ‘We’ve raced each other really clean through the years, try to be respectful about it, and we get used up. Just really pissed off about it right now. We certainly had a chance to win another one.’

Josh Berry finished third for his second career Cup Series top five, Denny Hamlin came home fourth and Chase Briscoe fifth. William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Justin Haley and Michael McDowell rounded out the Top 10.

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Goaltender’s career high in saves lifts Canucks to Game 3 win

Arturs Silovs made a career-high 42 saves — including 21 in the third period — and the visiting Vancouver Canucks hung on to beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-3, in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series on Sunday.

Brock Boeser had two goals and an assist for the Canucks, who lead the series 2-1. Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is on Tuesday in Edmonton.

Elias Lindholm scored twice and J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes each had two assists for Vancouver, the No. 1 seed from the Pacific Division.

‘I was just trying to follow the puck, being fast and in position. Being ahead of the play,’ Silovs said. ‘They love to sneak around. They’re high-skilled players. They have a lot of skill and speed. I had to be really aware of what they’re doing and be careful with the rebounds as well.’

Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm all posted a goal and an assist for the Oilers. Stuart Skinner allowed four goals on 15 shots for the Oilers before being lifted after two periods. Calvin Pickard made three saves for Edmonton, the No. 2 seed from the Pacific.

Moments after Miller’s empty-net attempt from the defensive zone hit the post, Bouchard’s shot deflected in off Vancouver defenseman Ian Cole with 1:16 remaining to pull the Oilers within 4-3.

Ekholm gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 5:37 of the first period. Evander Kane’s shot from the left circle deflected to Ekholm on the right side, and he scored into the open net.

Edmonton has scored a power-play goal in all eight playoff games this season.

Lindholm tied it 1-1 with a power play goal at 8:45, deflecting Boeser’s shot past Skinner from the slot.

Boeser made it 2-1 at 13:18, receiving a pass in the right circle from Miller and beating Skinner far side with a wrist shot.

Boeser increased the lead to 3-1 at 18:34. Pius Suter intercepted an Oilers clearing attempt and passed to Boeser, who received the puck alone in the left circle, cut in front and scored.

‘We knew they were going to push and we held in there,’ Boeser said. ‘We stuck to our structure. I think that’s important. We’ve talked about that a lot this year, and it just shows we have trust and faith in our structure.’

Draisaitl pulled the Oilers within 3-2 at 3:36 of the second period, scoring on a one-timer from just above the goal line to the left of Silovs off a pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on a power play.

‘I thought we were the better team for the most part, and in my eyes that should have resulted in a win, but that’s not the way hockey works sometimes. Just regroup and get ready for Game 4,’ Draisaitl said.

Lindholm made it 4-2 at 17:35 of the second period, receiving a pass from Miller as he went down the slot and scoring on a backhand shot during a power play.

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Walk-off homer helps Mets avert sweep against Braves

Outfielder Brandon Nimmo, who didn’t start the game due to a side injury, hit a walk-off two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the host New York Mets over the Atlanta Braves, 4-3.

The Mets averted being swept in the three-game series and won for just the seventh time in 19 games. The Braves’ four-game winning streak ended.

Nimmo, who left after four innings in Saturday’s 4-1 loss due to a tight right intercostal muscle, entered Sunday as a pinch runner for DJ Stewart in the seventh inning.

The Braves snapped a 2-2 tie in the eighth, when Marcell Ozuna delivered his second RBI single of the night, and the Mets went down in order in the bottom of the inning before coming back in the ninth against A.J. Minter (5-3).

Jeff McNeil legged out a bunt single and went to second on a sacrifice by Tomas Nido. Nimmo then hit a 3-2 pitch beyond the fence in right-center field for his second career walk-off homer.

Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.

Edwin Diaz (1-1) threw a perfect ninth inning.

Pete Alonso had an RBI single in the third and a run-scoring double in the sixth for the Mets. Stewart and Francisco Lindor also had two hits apiece.

New York starter Luis Severino allowed two runs on four hits and three walks while striking out four over five innings.

Ozuna’s run-scoring hits increased his major-league-leading RBI total to 40 in 37 games. He is the fastest Braves player to reach 40 RBIs since Hall of Famer Henry Aaron had 40 in his first 35 games in 1970.

Jarred Kelenic homered in the second inning for the Braves. Kelenic was selected by the Mets in the first round of the 2018 draft before being traded to the Seattle Mariners in the Diaz blockbuster following that season.

Braves starter Bryce Elder gave up two runs on seven hits and no walks while striking out six over 5 1/3 innings.

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Blinken delivers strongest public rebuke of Israel yet: ‘Get out of Gaza’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday delivered one of the Biden administration’s strongest public rebukes of Israel, amid its war with Hamas in Gaza.

During a pair of TV interviews, Blinken said the United States wants Israeli forces to ‘get out of Gaza’ amid what he described as ‘a horrible loss of life of innocent civilians.’ He also said Israel’s tactics in the war have failed to neutralize Hamas and could create a power ‘vacuum’ in the Palestinian territory.

When asked about the U.S. withholding high payload bombs to Israel, America’s ally, Blinken said: ‘We believe two things. One, you have to have a clear, credible plan to protect civilians, which we haven’t seen. Second, we also need to see a plan for what happens after this conflict in Gaza is over. And we still haven’t seen that because what are we seeing right now? We’re seeing parts of Gaza that Israel has cleared of Hamas, where Hamas is coming back, including in the north, including in Khan Younis.’

He added: ‘As we look at Rafah, they may go in and have some initial success, but potentially at an incredibly high cost to civilians, but one that is not durable, one that’s not sustainable. And they will be left holding the bag on an enduring insurgency because a lot of armed Hamas will be left, no matter what they do in Rafah, or if they leave and get out of Gaza, as we believe they need to do. Then you’re going to have a vacuum and a vacuum that’s likely to be filled by chaos, by anarchy, and ultimately by Hamas again.’

The comments came during an appearance on CBS’ ‘Face the Nation.’

Blinken also had an interview on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ where he echoed, for the first time publicly by a U.S. official, the findings of a new Biden administration report to Congress on Friday that said Israel’s use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law.

‘When it comes to the use of weapons, concerns about incidents where given the totality of the damage that’s been done to children, women, men, it was reasonable to assess that, in certain instances, Israel acted in ways that are not consistent with international humanitarian law,’ Blinken said, condemning ‘the horrible loss of life of innocent civilians.’

‘We treat Israel, one of our closest allies and partners, just as we would treat any other country, including in assessing something like international humanitarian law and its compliance with that,’ he continued.

During the same interview, Blinken praised President Biden’s support for Israel — saying ‘no one has done more than Biden’ — despite the apparent shift in tone.

‘No one has done more to defend Israel when it mattered than President Biden,’ the Secretary of State said. ‘He was there in the days after October 7th, the first president to go to Israel in the midst of a conflict when Iran mounted an unprecedented attack on Israel. Some weeks ago, 300 projectiles, including ballistic missiles, launched in Israel. The United States, for the first time ever, participated in its act of defense, and President Biden brought together a coalition of countries that helped defend Israel.’

Blinken spoke to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday, reiterating the U.S. opposition to the Israeli offensive in Rafah, given the toll on civilians there, according to the State Department’s recounting of the call.

He said the U.S. continues to work with Arab countries and others for weeks on developing ‘credible plans for security, for governance, for rebuilding” in Gaza, but ‘we haven’t seen that come from Israel. … We need to see that, too.’

More than a million Palestinians have been forced to live in Rafah amid Israel’s offensive push across Gaza. Israel has described the city as one of the last strongholds of Hamas terrorists.

The war began on Oct. 7 after an attack against Israel by Hamas that killed 1,200 people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Republican says Biden has ‘strengthened’ Hamas by withholding aid from Israel: ‘Completely incompetent’

A Republican senator hammered President Biden on Sunday for withholding weapons from Israel, which he claimed has inadvertently ‘strengthened’ the Hamas terror group.

Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-NE, said the Biden administration’s decision to withhold high payload bombs from Israel ‘just demonstrates their incompetence.’ He also compared the current conflict with Hamas to how Biden handled Afghanistan, saying he was ‘absolutely mismanaging this.’

‘I mean, the administration said they had an ironclad friendship with Israel, and now they’re demonstrating that it doesn’t mean too much,’ said Ricketts, also a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, during a segment of FOX Report with Jon Scott. ‘Secretary [Antony] Blinken was talking about how we’ve got to offer them a better way. A better way, like Afghanistan. How well did that work out? He’s looking for a credible plan for protecting civilians, that they wouldn’t know a credible plan if it came up and bit them on the behind. These people are completely incompetent and they’re absolutely mismanaging this.’

The Republican also said the president’s tactic was playing into the hands of terrorists: ‘Hamas was negotiating to come up with a cease fire to return the hostages. And then Biden announces he’s going to withhold weapons. And Hamas is like, well, my hand has just been strengthened. Why would I negotiate now?’

Ricketts’ comment came after Biden urged Israel’s government not to carry out a ground invasion of Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, which is currently home to more than a million Palestinians who fled other parts of the Gaza Strip during Israel’s war with Hamas.

On Israel’s Rafah offensive, the Nebraska Republican claimed the Jewish country was being cautious about avoiding civilian deaths.

‘There’s 4 or 5 [Hamas] battalions left in Rafah. They all have to be destroyed,’ Ricketts said. ‘The leadership needs to be killed. And frankly, Israel is doing more than any nation I can think of as far as trying to avoid civilian casualties.’

Biden’s own threats to withhold offensive aid from Israel has prompted wide criticism, including from the House Oversight Committee, which is launching an investigation to see if the president has violated the law.

— Then-presidential candidate Joe Biden in a 2019 PBS interview

Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., questioned both the decision-making process and the timing of the announcement itself in a letter to President Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.

He also requested a congressional briefing from the White House National Security Council in addition to communications and other documents related to discussions about pausing any kind of aid to Israel, with a deadline of May 24.

‘The Committee is alarmed by the Biden administration’s willingness to play political games with U.S. taxpayer-funded assistance going to Israel,’ Comer wrote in a letter signed by Republicans on the Oversight Committee. ‘On May 9, 2024, President Biden made public that he would not supply offensive weapons that Israel could use in its offensive on Rafah — the last major Hamas stronghold in Gaza.’

‘Further reporting indicates that the National Security Council actively chose to withhold this information from the public eye for days, in part so that news of the decision would not be known when President Biden delivered a speech touting support for Israel on Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Committee seeks a briefing, as well as documents and information related to this decision, including any legal justification for withholding essential supplies from Israel in its fight against Hamas terrorists who still have Israeli and American hostages.’

Former President Trump and several of his supporters in Congress have accused Biden of initiating a quid pro quo with Israel — conditioning or withholding aid to Israel in order to change its foreign policy. Trump was impeached for threatening to withhold money from Ukraine, although the funding was ultimately not withheld. 

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

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Mother of Hamas hostage says US shouldn’t be considered ‘neutral negotiator’: ‘America was also a victim’

The mother of a 23-year-old American among the 132 hostages who remain held by Hamas militants said Sunday that the U.S. should not be considered a ‘neutral negotiator’ and ‘was also a victim’ on Oct. 7.

On Mother’s Day, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, said during an appearance on ‘Fox News Sunday’ that ‘it’s clear not enough is being done because we still have 132 cherished souls who are being held captive for 219 days, and within that cohort of 132 souls, there are the American 8.’ 

Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall asked Goldberg-Polin whether she wanted to see ceasefire talks continue. 

‘I think we really have to be creative and inciteful and figure out a way forward. Both sides really have to figure out a way forward, and calling for a timeout certainly will give some time for people to start to think straight again,’ Goldberg-Polin said in response. ‘I think really what gets lost in this is America should not be considered sort of this neutral negotiator. America was also a victim on Oct. 7. Forty-five Americans were killed on Oct. 7. Twelve were taken into captivity, and eight are still being held hostage.’ 

‘And I certainly want all the suffering in the region, and there’s so much suffering to go around, I mean there’s no competition here. There are hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza who are suffering, and there are also 132 innocent civilians in Gaza who were dragged there on Oct. 7 who are suffering. I think people have trouble holding those two truths, and that does an injustice to everyone involved,’ she said. 

Goldberg-Polin said she did not believe most Americans know that American innocent civilians still remain held captive in Gaza, as do people from other nationalities around the world. 

‘There are a lot of people in that hostage cohort that we don’t hear about,’ she said. ‘When we hear a lot of noise about the hostages being held you very rarely hear about the Muslim Arabs who are hostage, you very rarely hear about the Thai Buddhists who are hostage, you very rarely hear about the Black Christian Africans who are being held hostage. There’s Nepalese. There are Mexicans, there are Argentinians, there are Germans, and somehow there has been an attempt to make this group of people a monolithic, homogenous group.’ 

‘I find it curious and suspicious that for whatever reason, that has not been publicly saturating the news,’ Goldberg-Polin added. 

‘Do you think that an Israeli invasion into Rafah – do you think that perhaps that would put your son, put all these other hostages, their lives in danger? Hall also asked. 

‘I’m not a military strategist,’ Goldberg-Polin responded. ‘I am a mother who is horribly, miserably worried about her only son who has been in an active war zone for 219 days, along with 131 other people.’ 

She noted how the oldest remaining hostage is Shlomo Mansour an 86-year-old grandfather, while the youngest is Kfir Bibas, a one-and-a-half-year-old child. 

‘We have daughters, sons, sisters, brothers, spouses, fathers, mothers, grandparents, and we are all horribly worried about our loved ones being in harm’s way,’ she added. 

The Oct. 7 attack killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 250 hostage. Militants still hold about 100 captives and the remains of more than 30. Internationally mediated talks over a cease-fire and hostage release appear to be at a standstill.

Israeli forces pushed deeper into Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on Sunday and battled Hamas in parts of the devastated north that the military said it had cleared months ago but where militants have regrouped, the Associated Press reported. Warnings continued against the growing offensive in Rafah, considered the last refuge in Gaza for more than a million civilians as well as Hamas’ last stronghold. 

Some 300,000 people have fled Rafah following evacuation orders from Israel, which says it must invade to dismantle Hamas and return scores of hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack against Israel that sparked the war. 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated opposition to a major military assault on Rafah, telling CBS that Israel would ‘be left holding the bag on an enduring insurgency’ without an exit from Gaza and postwar governance plan.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Netanyahu’s legacy could be ‘a break’ in relationship between US and Israel, Democratic senator says

The legacy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be at a crossroads, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said Sunday, as Israel looks to launch a direct assault on the Hamas stronghold of Rafah.

Coons appeared on ABC’s ‘This Week’ and said he hopes Netanyahu is thinking about his legacy after President Biden threatened to withhold offensive aid from Israel should the Jewish state go forward with a ground invasion on Rafah, where millions of Palestinian civilians are sheltering from the war. 

‘Right now, his legacy is the huge strategic and defensive failure of Oct. 7,’ Coons said of Netanyahu. ‘And his legacy could be a real gap, a break in the long, strong bipartisan strategic relationship between the United States and Israel.’

Coons continued that this outcome ‘would be tragic,’ and highlighted a different path for Netanyahu.

‘[Netanyahu’s] legacy could instead be achieving regional security and peace for Israel,’ the senator said.

Netanyahu has vowed to follow through with the eradication of Hamas – even if it loses Israel its allies.

‘I have told our American friends: If necessary, we will fight with our fingernails,’ Netanyahu said Sunday, addressing those who will carry torches on Israel’s 76th Independence Day. ‘We have much more than fingernails.’

Coons said that while the U.S. will continue to provide defensive systems to Israel, the U.S. will be watching Netanyahu’s next steps.

‘I think we’ll be looking closely at the path forward that Prime Minister Netanyahu chooses in the days ahead, whether he will use American supplied munitions to bomb and invade and attack Rafah, and the million civilians who are there in order to get at the Hamas fighters who are buried in tunnels deep beneath Rafah,’ Coons said. ‘Or whether he will move ahead with allowing those civilians to be relocated in accordance with a plan developed with the United States.’

Coons said the latter plan isn’t ‘fully acceptable’ to the U.S. yet, or his preferred outcome, as officials work to prepare a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia that will allow a cease-fire, hostage release and resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, and long-term security for Israel against Iran.

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Bernie Sanders says Israel shouldn’t receive ‘another nickel’ in US military aid after State Dept. report

Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, said Israel shouldn’t receive ‘another nickel’ in U.S. military aid despite the findings of a recent State Department report. 

‘Any objective observer knows Israel has broken international law, it has broken American law, and in my view, Israel should not be receiving another nickel in U.S. military aid,’ Sanders said in an appearance on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’ ‘Look the facts are quite clear. Hamas is a terrible disgusting terrorist organization that began this war. Though what Israel has done over the last seven months has not just gone to war against Hamas, it has gone to war against the entire Palestinian people. And results have been absolutely catastrophic.’

His remarks come in response to the U.S. State Department on Friday criticizing Israel’s use of U.S-supplied arms in a way that may be ‘inconsistent’ in ‘mitigating civilian harm’ in the war in Gaza. 

The finding of ‘reasonable’ evidence to conclude that the U.S. ally had breached international law protecting civilians in the way it conducted its war against Hamas was the strongest statement that the Biden administration has yet made on the matter. The report, which was sent to Congress on Friday and obtained by Fox News Digital, admitted that ‘Israel has had to confront an extraordinary military challenge: Hamas has embedded itself deliberately within and underneath the civilian population to use civilians as human shields.’

The report added that ‘it is often difficult to determine facts on the ground in an active war zone of this nature and the presence of legitimate military targets across Gaza.’

Citing figures from the Hamas-controlled Palestinian government, Sanders said approximately 35,000 Palestinians are dead, while another 77,000 are wounded – two thirds of whom are women and children. 

‘That is not the way you conduct a war in a civilized society to the degree that war is civilized,’ he continued. ‘We’re talking about 60% of the housing in Gaza having been destroyed. The civilian infrastructure – that is water, that is sewage now running out into the streets. No electricity. You are talking about a systematic destruction of the healthcare system there. Every university in Gaza has been bombed, and right now, most frighteningly, according to the humanitarian organizations, we are looking at the likelihood of hundreds of thousands of children facing starvation. 

Sanderds said that ‘any country that blocks U.S. humanitarian aid is in violation of law and should not continue to receive military aid from the United States.’ 

‘Meet the Press’ host Kristen Welker noted how 26 House Democrats recently sent a letter to White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Friday, expressing that they are ‘ deeply concerned about the message the Administration is sending to Hamas and other Iranian-backed terrorist proxies by withholding weapons shipments to Israel, during a critical moment in the negotiations.’ 

‘Does withholding weapons to Israel run the risk of prolonging this war and weakening Israel’s hand against Hamas?’ Welker asked Sanders. 

‘Every Republican, as I understand it, wants to give huge amounts of money to Israel. My guess is many Republicans want Israel to go into Rafah despite the incredible humanitarian destruction that will cause. And there are Democrats who also feel that way,’ Sanders said. ‘That is not what the American people feel. Poll after poll suggests that the American people want an immediate ceasefire. They want massive humanitarian aid to get in. People of our country do not want to be complicit in the starvation of hundreds of thousands of children.’ 

‘In terms of the international community, we are increasingly isolated in terms of our support for Israel, who is becoming a pariah nation,’ he added. 

‘Is there a nonmilitary way to get rid of Hamas? Given the threat that they pose? Given that they say their very goal is to destroy Israel’s existence?’ Welker pushed back. 

 ‘You’re right… that is exactly right. That is their goal. It is difficult,’ Sanders said. ‘I don’t want to minimize this, so the goal is to defeat Hamas, but not to destroy or cause the enormous amount of destruction that we’re now seeing in Gaza. And I hope that the future for the Palestinian people is a new generation or Palestinian leaders who focus on allowing the people to have a state of their own.’ 

Fox News’ Brie Stimson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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