Operation Swords of Iron: What happened on Day 12?

US President Joe Biden pledged to do everything possible to secure the release of over 200 people held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, including some US citizens.

“There is no higher priority than the release and safe return of all these hostages,” Biden said during a one-day solidarity mission to Israel.

The Israel Democracy Institute has reported that the number of Israelis who have been evacuated from their homes has reached 300,000.

The majority are residents primarily from the Gaza border area with 10% coming from northern communities and including those who left of their own accord as well as those evacuated by the government.

A US analysis of currently available data indicates that "Israel is not responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday," a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council said on Wednesday.

The assessment is based on the United States' analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information, NSC spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a post on X, adding that the United States is continuing to collect information.

Lebanon's Hezbollah warned its adversaries on Wednesday it was "thousands of times stronger" than before, as its fighters exchanged fire at the border with Israeli forces in violence fueled by the war between Hamas and Israel.

The United States has warned Iran, which backs Hezbollah and the Palestinian group Hamas, against getting involved in the crisis, and deployed two aircraft carriers which it says aim to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate the war.

Rocket sirens sounded in communities across northern Israel including Kiryat Shmona, Margaliot, Menara, and Tel Hai. 

Two rockets fell in open areas outside the city with no injuries or property damage reported according to N12.

Local residents in Kiryat Shmona have been asked to remain in their homes until further notice, according to a statement from the Kiryat Shmona Municipality.

The United States vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Wednesday that would have called for humanitarian pauses in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Hamas terrorists to allow humanitarian aid access to the Gaza Strip.

The vote on the Brazilian-drafted text was twice delayed in the past couple of days as the United States tries to broker aid access to Gaza. Twelve members voted in favor of the draft text on Wednesday, while Russia and Britain abstained.

Israel acquiesced on Wednesday to US demands that it won’t stop basic humanitarian aid such as food, water and medicine can enter the Gaza Strip through Egypt’s Rafah Crossing. 

“In light of President Biden's demand, Israel will not thwart humanitarian supplies from Egypt as long as it is only food, water and medicine for the civilian population located in the southern Gaza Strip,” the Prime Minster’s Office said at the end of Biden’s visit to Tel Aviv.

The US and Israeli embassies in Argentina were evacuated on Wednesday following two bomb threats received via email, local media sites Clarin and La Nacion reported.

Anti-bomb squads were reported on the scene.

US President Joe Biden met with the representatives of families of those kidnapped and taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. Biden extended to the families that, "We support Israel absolutely. The United States will do everything in its power to bring the kidnapped and missing people home."

Biden also emphasized that one of the goals of his visit to Israel was to meet the families in person.

The Aliyah and Integration Ministry announced on Wednesday a significant change in policy, allowing new immigrants, or olim, to apply for private weapons for self-defense more swiftly than before. This decision came after an appeal from Aliya and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer to the Chairman of the Internal Security Committee, MK Zvika Fogel.

Previously, olim had to wait three years post-aliyah to Israel before being eligible to apply for permission to purchase weapons. With the new regulations, any olim who have resided in the country for less than three years can now submit their application, which will then be reviewed individually by the National Security Ministry.

This move aims to provide new olim with an enhanced sense of security, although it remains to be seen how this policy will impact the broader community.