Israel-Gaza updates: Attack on Gaza’s main hospital becomes flashpoint in war

(NEW YORK) — Thousands of people have died and thousands more have been injured since the militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel retaliated with a bombing campaign and total siege of the neighboring Gaza Strip, leaving the region on the verge of all-out war.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Nov 13, 4:01 PM EST
US intelligence on Hamas operations under Al-Shifa Hospital supports Israeli claims: Sources

While the White House is emphasizing the need to protect civilians in and around Gaza’s hospitals, two administration officials say the U.S. has intelligence supporting Israel’s assessment that Hamas is using Al-Shifa Hospital to shelter a command center under the medical complex, further complicating the situation on the ground.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller declined to weigh in on Hamas’ operations surrounding Al-Shifa specifically, and underscored that regardless of the terror group’s activities, hospitals were still serving vital civilian needs and must be safeguarded.

Miller also stressed that Hamas bore responsibility for the suffering at hospitals.

“We would love to see Hamas vacate the hospitals it’s using [as] command posts immediately,” he said. “We would love to see Hamas take some of the fuel reserves it’s sitting on and use that to supply hospitals in northern Gaza. We would love to see Hamas have taken the fuel that Israel offered it yesterday that they declined for use at Al-Shifa Hospital.”

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Nov 13, 3:36 PM EST
White House says Israel shares view that hospitals should be protected

The U.S. and Israel both “do not want to see firefights in hospitals,” national security advisor Jake Sullivan said Monday as conditions at Gaza’s hospitals worsen.

A Doctors Without Borders surgeon working at Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa Hospital, said when an ambulance was sent outside the hospital gate to bring in patients, the ambulance was attacked.

The surgeon said the medical team has only agreed to leave Al-Shifa if patients are evacuated first.

“We want to see patients protected, we want to see hospitals protected. We have spoken with [the] Israeli government about this, and they have said they share that view,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan also said the U.S. is continuing to work on getting fuel to hospitals and allowing evacuations from hospitals if they’re in danger.

Nov 13, 2:47 PM EST
20 died at Al-Shifa Hospital over last 3 days: Gaza Ministry of Health

Twenty people, including babies, have died at Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa Hospital, over the last three day, Ashraf Al-Qidra, spokesman for the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza, told Al-Jazeera on Monday.

About 1,500 patients and medical staff as well as about 6,000 to 7,000 displaced people sheltering at the hospital have had no medicine, water or food for days, Al-Qidra said.

Al-Qidra said medical staff have been unable to collect or bury decomposing corpses at the hospital courtyard amid constant gunfire and shelling by Israeli forces.

A Doctors Without Borders surgeon working at Al-Shifa Hospital said when an ambulance was sent outside the hospital gate to bring in patients, the ambulance was attacked.

“The medical team agreed to leave the hospital only if patients are evacuated first. We don’t want to leave our patients,” the surgeon told Doctors Without Borders. “We need a guarantee that there is a safe corridor. … If they give us guarantees and evacuate the patients first, we will evacuate.”

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the situation “dire and perilous” on Sunday as he again called for a cease-fire.

Nov 13, 1:12 PM EST
559 foreign passport holders and Egyptians exited Gaza Monday

The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt opened again on Monday, permitting 559 foreign passport holders as well as Egyptians to cross through to Egypt, a Rafah border crossing official said.

Four injured or sick Palestinians and five of their family members also crossed into Egypt, the official said.

Nov 13, 8:09 AM EST
‘All of them will die,’ doctor warns of premature babies at Gaza hospital

Doctors in the war-torn Gaza Strip are appealing for help from the international community as hospitals run out of life-saving supplies amid Israel’s bombardment.

Dr. Hatem Daher, who runs the neo-natal department at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in south Gaza, told ABC News that the situation there “is bad.”

“There is the difficulty in getting drinking water and washing water, especially in our natal ICU because of the difficulty of getting the fuel for our generator,” Daher said.

Daher noted that the situation at the strip’s largest medical complex, Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, is even worse. Several doctors from Shifa are now working in Daher’s hospital, he said.

“Our colleagues in Shifa Hospital describe a disaster there,” Daher told ABC News. “No electricity, no oxygen, no drugs.”

Daher warned that dozens of premature babies at Shifa are on the brink of death.

“Because they need incubator, they need electricity, they need oxygen, they will die. All of them,” he said. “All of them will die. So, we call this emergency — emergency call for all world, for all organizations — WHO, UNICEF, Red Cross, anybody [who] can help these children.”

-ABC News’ Sami Zayara

Nov 13, 7:05 AM EST
Heavy bombardment forces hospital evacuation convoy to turn around in Gaza, aid group says

The Palestinian Red Cresent Society said Monday that heavy bombardment and explosions around Al-Quds Hospital, the second-largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, is hindering the evacuation of patients and medical staff trapped inside.

A convoy of vehicles accompanied by the International Committee for Red Cross that had set off from southern Gaza toward central Gaza to secure the evacuation of Al-Quds Hospital was forced to turn around on Monday, according to the Palestinian Red Cresent Society.

“The convoy was forced to return due to the dangerous conditions in the Tal al-Hawa area, where the hospital is located, in light of the continuing shelling and shooting, and the medical staff, patients and their companions are still trapped inside the hospital without food, water or electricity,” the Palestinian Red Cresent Society wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

-ABC News’ Ayat Al-Tawy and Morgan Winsor

Nov 13, 5:45 AM EST
IDF says it’s continuing raids on outskirts of Gaza refugee camp

The Israel Defense Forces said Monday morning that its “troops are continuing to conduct raids” on the outskirts of the Al-Shati refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, “targeting terrorist infrastructure located in central governmental institutions in the heart of the civilian population, including schools, universities, mosques, and residences of terrorists.”

The IDF alleged that “terror infrastructure” belonging to Gaza’s militant rulers, Hamas, was “deliberately located inside civilian structures” within the area, including inside the Al-Quds University and the Abu Bakr mosque.

“The troops uncovered a section of the mosque which housed a large number of explosive devices and flammable materials,” the IDF said in a statement. “During the activity, the troops seized dozens of weapons, military equipment, and operational plans belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization.”

The IDF also alleged that its ground troops discovered “a large number of weapons” inside a children’s bedroom within the home of a senior official of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another militant group based in Gaza.

Since Oct. 7, in response to Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel, the IDF said its aircraft and ground forces have conducted 4,300 strikes on Gaza, hitting “hundreds of anti-tank missile launch posts, approximately 300 tunnel shafts, approximately 3,000 terrorist infrastructure sites, including over 100 structures rigged with explosives, and hundreds of Hamas command and control centers.”

-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor

Nov 13, 1:36 AM EST
Doctors in northern Gaza hospital struggling to care for premature babies without incubators

Doctors at Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza say they are doing everything they can to try and keep 36 premature babies alive.

Hospital staff had to take the infants out of the incubators, making the situation dire, Ahmed Mokhallalati, Head of the Plastic Surgery department at the hospital, told ABC News Sunday. As ABC News reported earlier Sunday, a missile struck nearby and shut down the medical facility’s backup generator, according to a doctor working at the hospital.

“The neo-nates — they are the ones we are afraid will be dying one by one as we were pushed to move them outside of the incubator area,” Mokhallalati said.

On Sunday evening, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that Hamas is preventing the rescue of these babies.

“The hospital also requested to consider assistance with safely evacuating the premature babies. We also answered this request and are ready to help. Hamas leadership, alongside the Hamas Ministry of Health, is preventing this and placing pressure on the Shifa hospital [not to accept our help],” Hagari said. “If the hospital requests, we will assist them with fuel and with evacuating the premature babies. The fuel is for essential systems only and the evacuation of the babies will be to another hospital. Our communication with the Shifa Hospital will continue.”

When asked why Al-Shifa Hospital didn’t take 300 liters of fuel offered by the IDF, he said because the number, compared to what they need daily, which is 10,000 liters, wouldn’t amount to more than an hour of power.

The staff at Al-Shifa also calculated it was not worth the risk, with doctors reporting on Saturday that those who had tried to flee the hospital had been fired on.

“We feel it would be unsafe to get these 300 liters,” a hospital worker said.

The director of the Surgical Hospital at Al-Shifa, Dr. Nidal Abuhadrous, is calling for the ICRC to give hospital staff and patients safe passage out of the complex.

-ABC News’ Zoe Magee, Matt Gutman and Sami Zayara

Nov 12, 6:00 PM EST
3 premature babies die at Al-Shifa Hospital: Doctor

At least three premature babies have died at the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza when a missile struck nearby and shut down the medical facility’s backup generator, according to a doctor working at the hospital.

Dr. Ahmed Mokhallalti, the chief plastic surgeon at the hospital, told ABC News that the babies died when the power to their incubators was cut off Friday night into Saturday morning.

Mokhallalti said all of the hospital’s ventilators were back up and running Sunday, but he expressed fear that more people would die at the hospital due to the relentless bombing.

Hospital officials said two patients in the hospital’s intensive care unit also died on Sunday due to complications caused by the shelling.

The international humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders has made repeated calls for the shelling of hospitals in Gaza to cease.

“We are nearly sure that we are alone now. No one hears us,” Dr. Mohammed Obeid of Doctors Without Borders said in a video statement from the Al-Shifa Hospital on Saturday.

Obeid said there are about 600 patients at the hospital who need medical care and need to be evacuated.

“The problem is [we need] to be sure we can evacuate the neonatal patients because we have 37 to 40 premature babies,” Obeid said. “We have about 17 other patients in the ICU, and we have 600 postoperative patients who need medical care. So the situation is very bad. We need help.”

-ABC News’ Zoe Magee, Matt Gutman and Sami Zayara

Nov 12, 1:00 PM EST
Fighting intensifies between Hezbollah and Israeli forces on Lebanon’s border

Fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli forces intensified Sunday in southern Lebanon, where the terrorist group has claimed responsibility for launching a series of missile strikes on northern Israel, Israeli military officials say.

“Hezbollah is dragging Lebanon into a war that may happen, and it is making mistakes,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Saturday. “If it makes mistakes of this kind, the ones who will pay the price are first of all the citizens of Lebanon. What we are doing in Gaza we know how to do in Beirut.”

Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for at least five attacks in northern Israel, including one it says resulted in numerous deaths and injuries. The terrorist group also claimed one of its missile strikes targeted Israel’s Zarit Barracks on the Israeli-Lebanese border.

Hezbollah has been designated a terrorist organization by multiple countries, including the U.S. and Israel.

Fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli troops intensified Saturday night into Sunday. Local news media broadcast images of the heavy clashes in the hills along the border and smoke rising.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati released a statement saying his country does not want war but has made a contingency plan in case it is drawn into the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

“What matters to me is that Lebanon stays away from war and looks forward to stability,” Mikati told the Al Jazeera network.

During the Al Jazeera interview, Mikati called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

-ABC News’ Marcus Moore

Nov 12, 10:50 AM EST
9 Americans believed to be among Hamas’ hostages: Sullivan

At least nine Americans remain unaccounted for and U.S. officials believe they are being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told ABC News Sunday.

“There are ongoing negotiations involving the Israelis, the Qataris, and we, the United States, are actively engaged in this as well, because we want to make sure that we bring home those Americans who have been taken hostage as well as all of the other hostages,” Jake Sullivan told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl.

Pressed by Karl on the total number of hostages, Sullivan said America doesn’t have a “precise number.”

“We know the number of missing, and that’s the number the Israelis have given. But we don’t know how many of those are still alive,” Sullivan said. “As far as the Americans are concerned, there are nine missing American citizens, as well as a missing legal permanent representative, a green card holder.”

Sullivan said he plans to meet with family members of the American hostages this week.

-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow

Nov 11, 11:00 PM EST
WHO says it’s lost communication with contacts in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza

The World Health Organization announced early Sunday morning that it had lost communication with its contacts in Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza.

Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in Gaza, has been under attack in the last 48 hours, according to WHO.

The last report WHO says it received from staff within the hospital said Al-Shifa was surrounded by tanks and there was a “lack of clean water and risk of the last remaining critical functions, including ICUs, ventilators and incubators, soon shutting down due to lack of fuel.”

Nov 11, 4:18 PM EST
Surgeon at Al Shifa hospital gives update

Dr. Ahmed Mokhallalati, the chief plastic surgeon at Al Shifa hospital in Gaza, told ABC News that he is unwilling to leave his scores of burn patients and stayed behind with the some 2,000 people left in the hospital complex and about 500 patients.

Mokhallalati said the hospital is virtually cut off because no one can get in — they only received two or three patients on Saturday.

But despite having hundreds of burn patients, Mokhallalati doesn’t have much to do because they have only enough power for a single outlet to work. They use it in a clinic which has become the only operating room, because the real ORs require more power.

Mokhallalati said only about 15-20% of the hospital staff remain.

He also said there are some 40 infants in the neonatal units and 60 or so patients on ventilators, who he and the hospital administrators say will die once the generator fuel runs out.

The Israeli military’s civil coordinator said in a video statement Saturday that the eastern exit to the hospital is open, and that people are free to leave. But the images the Israeli military released from inside Gaza show that much of Gaza City and it’s outlying neighborhoods are flattened.

-ABC News’ Matt Gutman and Sohel Uddin

Nov 11, 2:39 PM EST
Hezbollah claims responsibility for 2 attacks on Israel

Hezbollah issued two statements claiming two attacks on Israel amid daily clashes between Hezbollah and Israel forces along Lebanon’s southern border.

For the first time since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, the Israel Defense Forces said it carried-out a strike 40 km past its northern border into Lebanon, hitting a truck in Zahrani.

For now, this is contained within the the Blue Line, the UN-defined demarcation line between the two countries. As the fighting continues between Hamas and Israel and casualties mount up, the potential for escalation increases.

All of this is happening ahead of the commemoration of Hezbollah’s Martyr Day and another speech by Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrullah, his second of the conflict.

Nov 10, 5:58 PM EST
ICRC chief surgeon in Gaza: ‘Relentless’ stream of burn victims

Dr. Tom Potokar, the International Committee of the Red Cross’ chief surgeon who is currently working in the European Gaza Hospital, detailed the challenges they are facing in a phone interview with ABC News Live on Friday.

Potokar, who specializes in burn treatments, said they have seen “many, many” burn cases, adding that the number of burn patients is “relentless” and “not slowing down at all.” The patients with burn injuries have been all ages, with the youngest they’ve seen just 4 months old, he said.

“A lot of them have burns involving the face as well, and the limbs,” Potokar said. “These could be quite deep burns, as I say, so will lead to significant scarring potentially in the future if they actually survive.”

Potokar, who has been a war surgeon in Gaza before, said the damage is “far, far” worse and in a “completely different stratosphere from how I’ve ever come across it before.”

He said the way they are treating burns is “not ideal” under the current circumstances due to limited medical supplies.

“The way we’re treating burns is really stepping back 40, 50 years,” he said.

-ABC News’ Josh Ascher, Kelly Johnstone, Casey McShea and Michelle Stoddart

Nov 10, 3:08 PM EST
IDF denies strike at Gaza hospital

The Israel Defense Forces denied carrying out a strike that hit an outpatient clinic at Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital Friday morning, stating it was a “misfired projectile launched by terrorist organizations inside the Gaza Strip.”

There were two incidents at the hospital Friday morning, according to videos verified by ABC News. In one incident, a shell hit the refugee encampment outside of the hospital entrance. In the second incident, a strike hit the outpatient clinic where people were sheltering.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry blamed the Israeli military for the strike that hit the outpatient clinic.

Nov 10, 1:41 PM EST
Northern Gaza is ‘hell on earth’: UN

As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to worsen by the day, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the United Nations humanitarian office, said, “If there is a hell on earth today, its name is northern Gaza.”

“People who remain there, the corners of their existence are death, deprivation, despair, displacement, and literally, darkness,” Laerke said. “The entire Gaza Strip has been plunged into darkness. … What do you tell your children in such a situation? It’s almost unimaginable.”

Nov 10, 11:50 AM EST
Mass exodus from Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital

People are fleeing Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital, sources confirmed to ABC News, in the wake of a strike on the exterior area of the hospital’s outpatient clinic. One surgeon told ABC News “everyone” has fled, calling it a “nightmare.”

The hospital’s head of plastic surgery, Dr. Ahmed Mokhallalati, told ABC News he is among the roughly 15% to 20% of staff members still there on Friday.

Although many patients have evacuated, he said, “There is no hospital in Gaza that can accommodate this number of ICU patients — around 100 ICU patients.”

Nov 10, 8:36 AM EST
What we know about the conflict

The war, which has now moved into its second stage, according to Israel, has passed the one-month mark.

In Israel, at least 1,400 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured since Oct. 7, according to Israeli officials. In the neighboring Gaza Strip, at least 11,078 people have been killed and another 27,490 have been injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Aid workers and officials fear that Israel’s call for an evacuation of the northern part of Gaza is precipitating a humanitarian disaster as electricity and other supplies have been cut off in preparation for what appears to be an imminent ground offensive.

Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to call off the evacuation and agree to a cease-fire, even as the country has asserted a right to defend itself — a right the United States endorses.

Nov 10, 8:13 AM EST
Over 100 UNRWA workers killed

More than 100 workers with UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, have been killed since Oct. 7, the highest number ever seen in a single conflict, the agency said.

Those killed include parents, teachers, nurses and doctors, said Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA.

“Devastated. … UNRWA is mourning, Palestinians mourning, Israelis mourning,” Lazzarini wrote, again calling for a humanitarian cease-fire.

Nov 10, 5:27 AM EST
Blinken acknowledges 4-hour pauses, reaffirms US commitment to 2 states

During brief remarks in New Delhi Friday morning, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken swiftly acknowledged the Biden administration’s “appreciation” of Israel’s commitment to four-hour pauses with three-hour notice in specific areas and corridors of Gaza “that will allow people to move more safely, freely to get out of harm’s way and also to access assistance.”

“At the same time, much more needs to be done to protect civilians and to make sure that humanitarian assistance reaches them,” he continued. “Far too many Palestinians have been killed. Far too many have suffered these past weeks, and we want to do everything possible to prevent harm to them, and to maximize the assistance that gets to them.”

The secretary said they have established basic principles to guide the effort for lasting peace and security in the region: no use of Gaza as a platform for launching attacks against Israel, no diminution in the territory of Gaza and a commitment to Palestinian-led governance.

Blinken reaffirmed that the administration had “long been committed” to a two-state solution, and the terror attacks of Oct. 7, he said, only redouble American commitment to the peace process.

“But now we’ve had the events of October 7 — the almost, beyond the human imagination — horror of October 7. And I think that only reinforces us in our conviction and our commitment to durable and lasting peace which again, we see through two states,” he said.

On humanitarian assistance, Blinken said that “more than plans, we have a concrete way forward,” including ensuring that there are adequate supplies of fuel for the trucks coming in and that hospitals and desalination plants “have what they need.”

“It’s always a process and moving from an understanding, moving from an agreement to implementation is what we’re working on right now,” he said.

Nov 09, 4:36 PM EST
Any plans for pauses in fighting must be carried out in coordination with UN

Any plans for short-term pauses in the fighting in Gaza must be carried out in coordination with the United Nations, said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general.

The U.N.’s comments come after the White House said Israel agreed to daily four-hour pauses in northern Gaza to allow civilians to escape.

“How any such halt in the fighting, and how it would work for humanitarian purposes, will need to be coordinated with the United Nations, especially on the issue of timings and location,” Dujarric said. “And obviously in order for this to be done safely for humanitarian purposes, it would have to be agreed with all parties to the conflict to be truly effective.”

Nov 09, 4:24 PM EST
Over 800 aid trucks have reached Gaza

Another 65 aid trucks entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Thursday, a border crossing official said.

A total of 821 aid trucks have now crossed into Gaza as the humanitarian crisis worsens.

Nov 09, 4:16 PM EST
632 foreign passport holders cross from Gaza into Egypt Thursday

A Rafah border crossing official said 632 foreign passport holders crossed from Gaza into Egypt on Thursday.

Twelve wounded Palestinians and 10 of their family members also crossed into Egypt on Thursday, the official said.

Nov 09, 1:44 PM EST
Congressional progressives reject humanitarian pause, demand cease-fire

Several Congressional progressives continued calls for a cease-fire in Gaza while pushing back against a four-hour humanitarian pause.

“What we need is to stop the bombing,” Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., said outside of the U.S. Capitol on Thursday during a press conference while joined by anti-war veterans in support of a cease-fire.

The event comes after National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby announced Thursday that Israel will start to implement four-hour pauses in fighting in areas of northern Gaza each day.

“Four hours? We don’t want four hours. We don’t want 16 hours. We don’t want 22. We want a cease-fire now,” Bush said.

Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., said a humanitarian pause does not account for the 2 million people stuck in Gaza.

“Any pause that doesn’t take into account that this is still a collective punishment once the four hours has ended is not sufficient,” Lee said.

-ABC News’ John Parkinson and Lauren Peller

Nov 09, 12:28 PM EST
Israel agrees to 4-hour pauses in Gaza each day: White House

Israel will start to implement four-hour pauses in fighting in areas of northern Gaza each day, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby announced Thursday.

“We’ve been told by the Israelis that there will be no military operations in these areas over the duration of the pause, and that this process is starting today,” Kirby said.

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Richard Hecht said the pauses are already being held. Kirby said the pauses will be announced three hours ahead of time.

Kirby said these pauses are a “step in the right direction” and “significant first steps” to help civilians reach safer areas, away from the fighting.

“A four-hour pause for instance will allow, potentially, to move humanitarian assistance into that localized area, over that span of time. It could also provide enough of a window to help people get out of harm’s way,” Kirby said. “It could also provide brief windows of opportunity for safe passage for those hostages from where they’re being held, to safer ground.”

He said the Israelis have also agreed to a second humanitarian corridor that will allow people to leave hostile areas of northern Gaza.

“The second route along the coastal road will enable many more thousands to reach safer areas in the south,” Kirby said. “Of course, we remain concerned that Hamas will discourage or prevent civilians from fleeing. At the same time, when encouraging people to leave areas of active operations, it’s critical, absolutely vital, that humanitarian supplies and assistance are expanded in the areas where people are moving, in this case, southern Gaza.”

Hecht, the IDF spokesman, stressed that it will only be “tactical, local pauses for humanitarian aid of a limited time and area,” and the evacuation corridors would be for people to move south for humanitarian aid.

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

Nov 09, 12:23 PM EST
Biden calls for longer pauses, says no possibility of a cease-fire

President Joe Biden confirmed that he has pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a three-day pause in Gaza. Biden said he’s also asked for an even bigger window to get the remaining hostages out.

Biden told reporters his message to the families of hostages is: “We’re not going to stop until we get them out.”

Israeli officials say Hamas had 239 hostages in Gaza. Four hostages were released from Gaza over the last few weeks: two American women and two Israeli women. The Israel Defense Forces said a fifth hostage, a female Israeli soldier, was rescued during the Israeli military’s ground operations in Gaza.

Asked if there would be a cease-fire, Biden responded, “None. No possibility.”

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez and Tia Humphries

Nov 09, 12:02 PM EST
CIA director meets about potential hostage deal: US official

CIA Director William Burns took part in a meeting in Qatar regarding a potential hostage deal, a U.S. official confirmed.

Burns also traveled to Egypt “where he met with his intelligence counterparts and country leaders,” the official said. “They discussed issues of mutual concern, including the situation in Gaza and the USA commitment to ensuring humanitarian aid there.”

Nov 09, 7:42 AM EST
‘General’ cease-fire would benefit Hamas, US official says

A “general” cease-fire would benefit Hamas and “legitimize” the group’s Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday.

“A general cease-fire means everybody lays your arms down and you talk about the end of this conflict,” Kirby told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America. “To do that right now would be a benefit to hamas. It would give them time. It would also legitimatize what they did on October 7th.”

He said Israeli military forces were in the middle of an “operational campaign” targeting Hamas leadership.

“We believe Israel has a right to do that and we’ll continue to make sure they get the tools and capabilities,” Kirby said.

But there may be a need for a “pause” if some of the about 240 hostages taken by Hamas are to be released, Kirby said.

“What we want to make sure is not only can we secure their release, George, but that when we get that release secured, that we can get them safely out of Gaza and into Israel, into safer hands,” he said. “That requires this idea of a temporary humanitarian pause.”

Nov 09, 6:58 AM EST
About 72,000 have fled northern Gaza in four days, U.N. says

About 72,000 people have fled northern Gaza in the last four days, moving south along a corridor opened by Israeli military forces, the United Nations said Thursday.

About 50,000 traveled along Salah al-Din Road in the hours the corridor was opened on Wednesday, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

“Clashes and shelling on and around the road reportedly continued, endangering evacuees with reports of corpses alongside the road,” the U.N. statement said.

Many have arrived at the corridor on foot. Some who’ve driven there have been told to leave their vehicles along the outskirts of Gaza City, the U.N. said. Videos and photos released by the Israel Defense Forces have shown crowds marching while waving white flags.

“The evacuees then walk 4-5 kilometres down the corridor, with an estimated distance of up to 20 kilometres for those traveling farthest,” the U.N. said.

Nov 08, 10:46 PM EST
Israel considering Egypt-Qatar proposal for humanitarian pause: Sources

Israel is considering a proposal presented by Egypt and Qatar for a humanitarian pause in exchange for the release of hostages, sources tell ABC News.

The U.S. is in close coordination with all parties negotiating this possible deal, the sources said and no final deal has been reached yet.

No further details were available.

Nov 08, 6:18 PM EST
PRCS gives update on aid trucks

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it received 106 trucks loaded with aid, including food, water and medical supplies, from the Egyptian Red Crescent, Wednesday.

The trucks arrived via the Rafah crossing, PRCS said in a statement.

The group also said it received five ambulance vehicles from Kuwait.

Nov 08, 6:05 PM EST
Al-Shifa Hospital receives aid

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and World Health Organization announced Wednesday that medical supplies and medicines have been delivered to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.

This is the second delivery to the hospital since the attacks on Gaza began, the two organizations said in a joint statement.

“While welcome, the quantities we delivered are far from sufficient to respond to the immense needs in the Gaza Strip. The medical conditions at Al-Shifa – the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip and one of the oldest Palestinian health institutions – are disastrous.” the UNRWA and WHO said.

The organizations said there are currently “almost two patients for every bed available.”

“The emergency department and wards are overflowing requiring doctors and medical workers to treat wounded and sick patients in the corridors, on the floor and outdoors,” NRWA and WHO said.

Nov 08, 5:59 PM EST
Hamas wants ‘prisoner exchange deal’ for hostages: Spokesperson

The issue of hostages remains a priority for Hamas in its conflict with Israel, the spokesperson of the group’s armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, said Wednesday.

“The only clear path to this issue is a comprehensive or partial prisoner exchange deal,” Abu Obeida said in a video statement on Telegram.

He said Hamas has its own civilians and fighters in Israeli prisons, and Israel has the same types of groups in Hamas’ group’s custody.

“There is absolutely no solution to this issue other than this path and a swap category by category or as a comprehensive process,” he said.

Obeida accused Israel of “hindering and destroying all efforts to hand over foreign hostages” by refusing to create the right conditions to do so and jeopardizing captives’ lives.

The group’s fighters have completely or partially destroyed 136 Israeli military vehicles since the start of the ground invasion as they clashed with Israeli forces in northwest and southern Gaza City and the northern part of the Gaza Strip, he said.

-ABC News’ Ayat Al-Tawy

Nov 08, 4:10 PM EST
Netanyahu: ‘No cease-fire without the release of our hostages’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday evening that “there will be no cease-fire without the release of our hostages — everything else is false.”

Nov 08, 3:33 PM EST
Kirby discusses ‘delicate negotiating process’ for pause in Gaza

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said there are about 500 to 600 Americans and family members remaining in Gaza.

Asked if the lack of humanitarian pauses is a factor in why hundreds of Americans remain in Gaza, Kirby said it’s among the many “complicating factors.”

Kirby would not confirm Axios’ report that President Joe Biden is asking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a three-day pause to allow progress in releasing more hostages, but Kirby said that discussions are ongoing with Israel, noting that there have been pauses in the past.

Kirby said they are trying to get an agreement “for as many pauses as might be necessary to get all of them out,” but called it a “delicate negotiating process,” and laid out some of the options that are being floated.

“What we’re talking about here is temporary, fixed in time, short duration, hours to days, depends on the need. And then also localized in terms of the map,” he explained. “So it would be an agreement that for a set period of time [in a set area] there will be a pause in the fighting. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be or couldn’t be fighting outside that zone during that same period of time. So all of that has to get factored in and I have no doubt that on the Israeli side, as they look at each proposal, they’ll think about the impact, potential impact, on their military operations on the ground or in the air.”

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

Nov 08, 3:10 PM EST
No ‘proof of life’ for hostages: White House

Over one month since Hamas took more than 200 people hostage in Israel, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the administration is still “not aware of any specific proof of life.”

“We don’t have any indication to the contrary, that they aren’t still alive. And so, we’re certainly operating under that assumption,” he said.

“We don’t have a perfect picture about where everybody is, what condition they’re in, or how they’re being held,” Kirby continued. “We cannot rule out the possibility that other groups than Hamas may have hostages that they’re holding.”

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

Nov 08, 2:42 PM EST
UN high commissioner for human rights: Hamas, Israel both committed war crimes

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said both Hamas and Israel have committed war crimes since Oct. 7.

“The atrocities perpetrated by Palestinian armed groups on 7 October were heinous, they were war crimes — as is the continued holding of hostages,” Turk said.

“The collective punishment by Israel of Palestinian civilians is also a war crime, as is unlawful forcible evacuation of civilians,” he added.

Nov 08, 2:31 PM EST
UN secretary-general: Something ‘clearly wrong’ with Israel’s military operation

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Reuters NEXT conference that there’s something “clearly wrong” with the Israeli military’s operations when looking at the number of civilians killed in Gaza.

“There are violations by Hamas when they have human shields. But when one looks at the number of civilians that were killed with the [Israeli] military operations, there is something that is clearly wrong,” Guterres said.

More than 4,000 children have died in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Guterres added that it hurts the world’s public opinion of Israel “to see every day the terrible image of the dramatic humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people.”

Nov 08, 2:19 PM EST
Rafah crossing closed Wednesday over ‘security circumstance’: State Department

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza was closed Wednesday due to a “security circumstance,” Deputy State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said.

Patel said he could not give any details on the security situation.

“We’re continuing to work with, in partnership with, the government of Egypt and the government of Israel toward safe passage for more U.S. citizens, eligible family members and lawful permanent resident,” he added.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Nov 08, 2:09 PM EST
Hamas says it’s ready to release hostages if ‘suitable conditions are facilitated’

Hamas is ready to release civilian hostages if “suitable conditions are facilitated,” a Hamas spokesperson said in a press conference Wednesday.

“From the beginning we have announced our position very clearly,” said Hamas spokesman Bassem Naim at a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon. “We are ready to release all the civilians and foreigners inside the Gaza Strip, if the suitable conditions are facilitated, mainly by the Israelis … in accepting an immediate cease-fire along the whole Gaza Strip.”

Israeli media is reporting that Israel is in advanced talks to come to an agreement on releasing a group of hostages in exchange for a humanitarian pause. Israel wants a much larger group of hostages released than the 10 to 15 being proposed. Qatar and Egypt are leading the negotiations.

State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel declined to confirm or deny the reports on potential hostage negotiations.

“We’ve seen those reports” but won’t “get into the specifics of any of our negotiations or discussions,” he said. “I will just reiterate that we have been working around the clock to determine the whereabouts of these hostages. We’re working with the Israeli government on every aspect of this including sharing intelligence experts, offering our insight.”

Patel did, however, pour some cold water on the notion that Hamas was ready to release hostages or that Israel was refusing a reasonable deal to free them, dismissing recent statements from the group’s military leaders.

“The proof should be in the actions that they undertake, and so if they have a desire to release hostages, we would welcome that,” he said.

Nov 08, 12:49 PM EST
IDF says it’s destroyed 130 Hamas tunnels

The Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers have destroyed 130 Hamas tunnel shafts in northern Gaza since Oct. 7.

Nov 08, 12:44 PM EST
Kirby says US foresees ‘period of time’ where Israeli forces remain in Gaza post-conflict

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, explaining what Secretary of State Antony Blinken meant earlier when he said there would be a “transitional period” in Gaza, said a post-war Gaza will go through a “period of time” where Israeli forces remain on the ground.

“I think all of us can foresee a period of time after the conflict is over where Israeli forces will likely still be in Gaza and will have some initial security responsibilities. But for how long and where and to what size and scale and scope, I think it’s too soon to know that,” he said on CNN.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir that Israel would have the “overall security responsibility” of Gaza for an “indefinite period.”

ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

Nov 08, 12:21 PM EST
What we know about the conflict

The war, which has now moved into its second stage, according to Israel, has passed the one-month mark.

In Israel, at least 1,400 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured since Oct. 7, according to Israeli officials. In the neighboring Gaza Strip, at least 10,515 people have been killed and more than 26,000 have been injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Aid workers and officials fear that Israel’s call for an evacuation of the northern part of Gaza is precipitating a humanitarian disaster as electricity and other supplies have been cut off in preparation for what appears to be an imminent ground offensive.

Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to call off the evacuation and agree to a cease-fire, even as the country has asserted a right to defend itself — a right the United States endorses.

Nov 08, 10:48 AM EST
Schumer says he urged Netanyahu to clamp down on settler violence in West Bank

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders on Monday and reiterated to them that the “U.S. has Israel’s back in this dark hour.”

Schumer said he told Netanyahu that they must work to protect Palestinian lives, and said he urged Israeli leaders to stop the settler violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.

Israel has “a responsibility to protect innocent Palestinian civilian life. We know this is not easy, but it must be done,” Schumer said. “We must likewise work together to send critical humanitarian aid to innocent civilians in Gaza who have nothing to do with Hamas.”

“I also strongly urge the Israeli government to quickly clamp down on settler violence against and displacement of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. Violence and displacement against these Palestinian civilians is not just wrong — it risks spreading the current crisis beyond Gaza at a time when Israel and America are working hard to deter other actors from taking advantage of the situation,” Schumer said.

ABC News’ Mariam Khan

Nov 08, 9:08 AM EST
92 UNRWA workers killed

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said 92 of its employees have now been killed in Gaza, the highest number ever seen in a single conflict.

“We are never going to be the same without them,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said. “Once again I call for a cease-fire for the sake of humanity.”

Nov 08, 8:57 AM EST
Gaza evacuation corridor opens again

A civilian evacuation corridor from northern Gaza to southern Gaza opened again on Wednesday.

“Due to the substantial response,” the corridor was open for an extra hour, running from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. instead of ending at 2 p.m., “allowing many more Gazans to move south for their safety,” the Israel Defense Forces said.

Nov 08, 6:49 AM EST
Israel ‘cannot occupy’ Gaza, Blinken says

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said Israel “cannot occupy” Gaza “not now, not after the war.”

The top U.S. diplomat added that a transition period may be necessary when the bombings and shooting stop in Gaza.

“I think we’ve been very clear from day one that when it comes to post-conflict governance in Gaza, a few things are clear and necessary,” Blinken said in Tokyo, where he’s attending G7 meetings. “One, Gaza cannot continue to be run by Hamas. That simply invites a repetition of Oct. 7, and Gaza used as a place from which to launch terrorist attacks. It’s also clear that Israel cannot occupy Gaza.”

Blinken said G7 members stood united on the globe’s major crises. The group’s “first focus was the crisis in the Middle East.” The group’s joint communique called for “humanitarian pauses,” short of a cease-fire.

“We all agreed that humanitarian pauses would advance key objectives to protect Palestinian civilians, to increase the sustained flow of humanitarian assistance, to allow our citizens and foreign nationals to exit, and to facilitate the release of hostages,” Blinken said.

Nov 07, 6:03 PM EST
Biden said he asked ‘for a pause’ during Monday call with Netanyahu

President Joe Biden told ABC News’ Karen Travers that he asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “for a pause” in fighting during a phone call Monday.

“I didn’t get a chance to talk to him today, but I did ask him for a pause…yesterday,” Biden said.

When asked for a specific timeline of the pause, the president did not answer.

Nov 07, 3:02 PM EST
Gaza City ‘encircled,’ IDF forces inside: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel Defense Forces have “encircled” Gaza City and are “operating inside it.”

“We are increasing pressure on Hamas every hour, every day,” he said in remarks translated by Reuters. “We have killed thousands of terrorists, above ground and below ground.”

Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, the commander of IDF’s Southern Command, said Tuesday they are fighting in “significant centers of the Gaza Strip.”

“For the first time in a decade, the IDF is fighting in the heart of Gaza City,” Finkelman said in a statement. “Today, at this very hour, our soldiers are eliminating terrorists, discovering tunnels, destroying weapons and continuing to advance into the center of the enemy.”

Nov 07, 2:23 PM EST
Doctor in Gaza says surgery ‘medieval’ due to dwindling supplies

Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta, a British-Palestinian plastic surgeon, called the conditions of working in a hospital in Gaza right now “medieval.”

“There’s no pain relief,” he told ABC News in a phone interview on Tuesday. “I mean, we operate on patients and then we give them all paracetamol. We’ve run out of morphine two weeks ago.”

Abu Sitta, who has been working at the Shifa and Ahli hospitals in Gaza, said they have had to perform surgery on some children without proper anesthesia.

“These kids are traumatized,” he said.

He has seen children who come in with no surviving family, he said.

“It really is heart-wrenching,” he said. “From the minute you see them in the emergency room with no one around them, you realize.”

-ABC News’ Zoe Magee

Nov 07, 1:51 PM EST
Netanyahu doubles down on no cease-fire without release of hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [doubled down on his position[() in brief remarks Tuesday, saying “there will be no cease-fire without the return of the hostages.”

Netanyahu also said he has asked the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the hostages and report on their well-being.

The prime minister offered a warning to both Hamas and Hezbollah, saying in Hebrew remarks, “Gaza will never be a threat to Israel again,” and adding, “If Hezbollah chooses to join the war, it will make the mistake of its life.”

Netanyahu said he speaks with President Joe Biden frequently and that he “deeply appreciates” his support, as well as the support of the US Congress and American people.

ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Nov 07, 12:55 PM EST
‘Every day is like eternity’: Family of those believed to be held hostage by Hamas plead for help

Through tears and voices choked with raw emotion, people whose family members are believed to held hostage by Hamas pleaded for help during a Republican-led press conference at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.

Doris Liber told reporters that her son, Guy Iluz, called her as Hamas unleashed its terrorist attack against Israel on Oct. 7 and she hasn’t heard from him since.

“I’m here because it’s been 30 days. Every day is like eternity to me,” Liber, who holds joint Israeli-American citizenship, said. “We don’t have a list of the hostages. We don’t know their condition. I don’t have anything. So I need your help.”

She described the last time she spoke to her son.

“We hear shots in the background,” she said. “He was shot in the arm and he wasn’t able to stop the bleeding and he was trying to say his last words.”

“I tried to, you know, tell him, ‘Guy I love you. Don’t worry, nothing’s going to happen. I’m going to end the call now. I’m going to send somebody now to get you,'” she continued. “And that’s what I did. I hung up and I regret that since I didn’t hear from him since.”

Yonatan Lulu-Shamriz said he was awoken by his pregnant wife as the sirens began to sound in their kibbutz. They grabbed their 3-year-old daughter, huddled in a safe room and listened as their neighbors were slaughtered, he said. Soon his brother, Alon, called to report he was under attack, Lulu-Shamriz said.

“We don’t know what is their condition,” Lulu-Shamriz said. “This is a wake-up call not only for Israel, not only for the Jewish community. This is a wake-up call for all of you — all of you here, all of America, all of Europe. You are next. You are next. And we should do everything that we can to stop these atrocities.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson vowed to “take action.”

“We’re resolved to help,” the newly minted speaker said. “House Republicans want to do that.”

ABC News’ John Parkinson and Lauren Peller

Nov 07, 12:14 PM EST
Mother of days-old newborn discusses struggle in Gaza

A mother of four in Gaza told ABC News she is worried about getting vaccinations for her days-old newborn and keeping her children warm and fed.

“I’m afraid for him because there is no warmth, no vaccinations, and no good health supplies,” Maha al Sharbsy, 32, said of her fourth child, Mohammed, who was born on Saturday. “The child has started to show signs of jaundice, and his condition is unstable.”

Al Sharbsy said she and her children evacuated northern Gaza days after the war started following “intense” bombings. Now in southern Gaza, she said her children cannot sleep “because there are no winter clothes and no food,” and she doesn’t have money to buy food.

“I want the children to live in peace, cleanliness, and good health conditions. At the very least, for the sake of the children,” she said. “We, the adults, are not the issue; the children are what matter.”

Her 9-year-old son, Riad, told ABC News he misses his room and toys and is worried for his family.

“I’m afraid of the rockets, I’m afraid of people getting injured and dying, and I’m afraid of planes bombing our homes,” he said.

ABC News’ Sami Zayara and Zoe Magee

Nov 07, 12:14 PM EST
Red Cross on war’s impact on children: ‘This is a moral failing’

One month into the Israel-Hamas war, the International Committee of the Red Cross called on both sides to “deescalate now” to prevent more suffering among the civilians in Gaza and Israel, particularly children.

The organization called for the release of hostages “immediately” and for the restoration of “critical services,” such as water, electricity and health care, in Gaza.

“Among the most shocking impact is the agony children have had to bear. Children have been ripped from their families and held hostage. In Gaza, ICRC surgeons treat toddlers whose skin is charred from widespread burns,” ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement. “What more must children endure? The images of suffering, dead and wounded children will haunt us all. This is a moral failing.”

Nov 07, 11:02 AM EST
Over 2 dozen suspected militants arrested in West Bank: Israeli officials

Amid operations in the West Bank, Israeli officials said they have arrested 28 suspected militants overnight in the territory.

Meanwhile, funerals are being held Tuesday for several people reportedly killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank during the ongoing operations.

Since Oct. 7, 163 people have been killed and another 2,100 injured in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Nov 07, 9:54 AM EST
What we know about the conflict

The war, which has now moved into its second stage, according to Israel, has reached the one-month mark.

In Israel, at least 1,400 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured since Oct. 7, according to Israeli officials. In the neighboring Gaza Strip, at least 10,328 people have been killed and 25,956 have been injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Aid workers and officials fear that Israel’s call for an evacuation of the northern part of Gaza is precipitating a humanitarian disaster as electricity and other supplies have been cut off in preparation for what appears to be an imminent ground offensive.

Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to call off the evacuation and agree to a cease-fire, even as the country has asserted a right to defend itself — a right the United States endorses.

Nov 07, 8:12 AM EST
‘Thousands’ leave northern Gaza as civilian corridor opens, Israel says

Israeli officials again opened on Tuesday a corridor for civilian evacuations from northern Gaza into the south, the Israel Defense Forces said, marking the second day the IDF has appealed to Gaza residents to use the corridor.

An IDF spokesperson posted to social media in Arabic, saying the southbound evacuation corridor on the major Gaza street of Salah-El-Deen was expected to be open between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. local time.

“Thousands” of people were passing through the corridor midday on Tuesday, Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories said in another a statement posted to social media.

Israeli officials released a short video Tuesday showing a line of people moving along a street, which they said was filmed earlier in the day.

Some of the people in the footage appeared to be waving white flags as they walked. A tank stood in the foreground and a row of partially destroyed buildings lined the road behind them.

Nov 07, 6:02 AM EST
Moment of silence in Israel marks month since Hamas attack

Members of the Israeli public paused on Tuesday to mark a month since Hamas’ surprise attack on Oct. 7, during which more than 1,400 people were killed, according to Israeli officials.

Staffers at the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs gathered for a moment of silence “in memory of the 1,400 Israelis who were murdered on that dreadful day and with the hope of seeing our 240 kidnapped civilians in Gaza back home safe and sound,” Yossi Zilberman, the ministry’s deputy spokesperson, said on social media.

Nov 06, 5:05 PM EST
Netanyahu to ABC’s Muir: ‘No cease-fire’ without release of hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has once again rejected the idea of a cease-fire in Gaza unless hostages are released, speaking in an exclusive interview with ABC News “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir.

President Joe Biden and top administration officials have been pressuring Israel for temporary “humanitarian” pauses in the fighting so more aid can enter Gaza and more civilians can escape the fighting in the Palestinian territory.

Biden and Netanyahu discussed the matter as recently as Monday, according to the White House, though no apparent agreement was reached.

In the interview, Muir pressed Netanyahu on the Biden administration’s calls for humanitarian pauses in Gaza as the civilian death toll climbs; efforts to release the hostages; whether Netanyahu bears responsibility for the intelligence failures; who governs Gaza when the war is over, and more.

“What they’re proposing is a humanitarian pause, there will be no pause?” Muir asked Netanyahu.

“Well, there’ll be no cease-fire, general cease-fire, in Gaza without the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu responded. “As far as tactical little pauses, an hour here, an hour there. We’ve had them before, I suppose, will check the circumstances in order to enable goods, humanitarian goods to come in, or our hostages, individual hostages to leave. But I don’t think there’s going to be a general cease-fire.”

An extended version of the interview, Netanyahu’s first with U.S. media since the war began on Oct. 7, will air Monday on ABC News “World News Tonight” at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Nov 06, 4:37 PM EST
570 aid trucks have entered Gaza

Another 92 aid trucks entered Gaza through the Egypt-Gaza Rafah borer crossing on Monday, a Rafah border crossing official told ABC News.

A total of 570 aid trucks — with supplies including food, water and medicine — have now entered Gaza, where the humanitarian crisis is worsening by the day.

Nov 06, 4:20 PM EST
UAE to set up fully equipped field hospital in Gaza

The United Arab Emirates said it will set up a fully equipped field hospital in the Gaza Strip, state news agency WAM said on Monday.

The 150-bed hospital will be built in several stages and will encompass multiple departments, including general surgery and intensive care units.

Nov 06, 4:16 PM EST
329 foreign passport holders left Gaza Monday, border crossing official says

The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt reopened on Monday allowing 329 foreign passport holders to leave Gaza, a Rafah border crossing official told ABC News. The border had been closed all weekend.

Twenty-nine Palestinians, including some critically injured and some cancer patients, as well as some of their relatives, also crossed from Gaza into Egypt Monday, the border crossing official said.

Out of the 29 Palestinians, eight people were critically injured and five people were their family members. Nine cancer patients and seven of their family members also crossed, the official said.

Nov 06, 3:39 PM EST
IDF says it’s ‘deepening’ operational activities, putting pressure on Gaza City

The Israel Defense Forces is “deepening” its operational activities and putting pressure on Gaza City, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in Hebrew.

Israeli forces have killed Hamas leaders who were part of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and soldiers are destroying Hamas tunnels one-by-one, Hagari said.

In the West Bank, the IDF said it killed four armed terrorists who were allegedly involved in attacks on Israel.

To the north, in Lebanon, the IDF is in the middle of extensive attacks in response to 30 rockets allegedly fired at Israel on Monday, Hagari said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Nov 06, 3:26 PM EST
More than 300 Americans have left Gaza: State Department

More than 300 U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents have left Gaza since the start of November, and that number’s expected to rise, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.

After the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza closed over the weekend, Patel said the State Department understood it reopened on Monday.

Asked about the apparent contrast between Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s assessment that all parties were “working through” practical issues surrounding humanitarian pauses and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that there will be no pauses until Hamas releases hostages imprisoned in Gaza, Patel said, “I don’t think that these circumstances in these situations are black and white, necessarily.”

“We will continue to raise publicly, privately, directly with our Israeli partners what we believe to be avenues to allow for humanitarian aid to get into Gaza to support the Palestinian civilians who need it. And of course, Israel will continue to conduct and make assessments about this operation, as they’re the ones doing so,” he said.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Nov 06, 3:02 PM EST
Biden, Netanyahu discus possibility of ‘tactical pauses’ in Gaza: White House

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed Monday the possibility of “tactical pauses” in strikes on Gaza to help civilians reach safer locations, allow for more humanitarian aid to get in and help work toward the possibility of hostages being released, according to the White House.

“We consider ourselves at the beginning of this conversation, not at the end of it, so you can expect that we’re going to continue to advocate for temporary vocalized pauses in the fighting,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

He said less than 30 trucks of humanitarian assistance arrived in Gaza over the past 24 hours, which he said wasn’t enough.

“In the early goings here, Israel was very resistant to humanitarian assistance getting in at all, and we persisted. We continue to persist,” Kirby said. “Humanitarian aid is getting in, again, not to the degree we want it to, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. But, but, my goodness, based on our constant engagement, we’ve been able to make a big difference.”

Kirby said “more Americans” will be leaving Gaza on Monday but he did not provide specific numbers.

Kirby said Biden and Netanyahu also discussed the situation in the West Bank and “reducing threats from terrorist groups that are operating there.”

Kirby said their talks would continue and the leaders agreed to speak “in the coming day.”

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

Nov 06, 11:44 AM EST
What we know about the conflict

The war, which has now moved into its second stage, according to Israel, is approaching the one-month mark.

At least 1,400 people have died and 4,629 others have been injured in Israel since Oct. 7, according to Israeli authorities. In the neighboring Gaza Strip, at least 10,022 people have been killed and 25,408 have been injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Aid workers and officials fear that Israel’s call for an evacuation of the northern part of Gaza is precipitating a humanitarian disaster as electricity and other supplies have been cut off in preparation for what appears to be an imminent ground offensive.

Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to call off the evacuation and agree to a cease-fire, even as the country has asserted a right to defend itself — a right the United States endorses.

Nov 06, 10:16 AM EST
Rafah crossing to reopen to foreign passport holders

The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt is set to reopen on Monday to allow foreign passport holders to leave Gaza and permit wounded Gaza residents to get treatment in Egypt, a border official said.

The border had been closed all weekend.

Eighty-eight workers with UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, have been killed since Oct. 7, the highest number ever seen in a single conflict, the agency said.

A UNRWA spokesperson said the 88 fatalities are “only what we could verify — the actual number could be even higher.”

“Like most Gazans, our staff have also lost relatives, friends, neighbors and are themselves displaced with their families,” UNRWA said. “And yet, they continue to work tirelessly to provide humanitarian assistance.”

Nov 06, 8:43 AM EST
At least 10,000 dead in Gaza, Hamas-run ministry says

At least 10,022 have died in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on Oct. 7, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday.

The death toll includes at least 4,104 children in Gaza, Ashraf Al-Qidreh, the ministry’s spokesperson, said during a press conference. The ministry’s figures have not been independently verified.

ABC News’ Ayat Al-Tawy

Nov 06, 6:11 AM EST
79 UN workers killed since Oct. 7, agency says

Five workers with UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, were killed in the last 48 hours in Gaza, bringing the total killed to 79, the organization said on Sunday.

UNRWA also received “confirmation of the death of two staff members who were killed on 24 October,” the agency said in a statement.

“Like most Gazans, our staff have also lost relatives, friends, neighbors and are themselves displaced with their families,” UNRWA said. “And yet, they continue to work tirelessly to provide humanitarian assistance.”

Another 24 UNRWA workers have been injured, the agency said.

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule

Nov 06, 5:15 AM EST
Israel accuses Hamas of using hospital as shield for underground complex

The Israeli military on Monday accused Hamas militants of building “a whole tunnel system under” Sheikh Hamad Hospital in Gaza.

The practice of using hospitals as civilian shields has been “absolutely normal” for the militants, IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said.

“Why it is this important? Because hospitals and other humanitarian facilities are supposed to enjoy special protections,” Conricus said in a morning briefing. “But what Hamas is doing is that they’ve violating that special protection and using it for combat purposes.”

More than 500 people have died in at least 102 strikes near or on health care facilities since Oct. 7, the World Health Organization said on Sunday.

“Over half of health attacks and over a half of hospitals damaged were in Gaza City,” WHO officials said on social media. “Health care is #NotATarget.”

During Monday’s briefing, Conricus shared an IDF video that he said demonstrated there were Hamas tunnels under the hospital. He also shared several photos that he said dated back to at least 2010, when the hospital was being constructed. The groundwork for the Hamas tunnels was put in place at that time, he said. ABC News was not immediately able to verify the claims.

In a photo said to be from 2023, rocket-launching sites could be seen along the outskirts of the facility, Conricus said. He presented another photo of what he said was the opening of a Hamas tunnel on the grounds.

“We know that underneath this entire complex, there’s an entire Hamas infrastructure underground,” Conricus said. “And it is absolutely normal. This is how Hamas operates all around the Gaza Strip.”

-ABC News’ Kevin Shalvey

Nov 06, 3:54 AM EST
Israel strikes 450 sites, takes Hamas compound, IDF says

Israeli forces took control of a Hamas compound in the Gaza Strip, as the military continued its bombardment of the enclave overnight, the Israel Defense Forces said Monday.

The Hamas compound included a web of “underground terror tunnels,” as well as training areas and observation posts, the military said in a post on Telegram. Israel did not disclose the location of the compound. ABC News was not immediately able to verify IDF’s claims.

“During the operation, several Hamas terrorists were killed,” Israel said.

Israeli munitions struck “in the last day” at least 450 other sites throughout Gaza, “including tunnels, terrorists, military compounds, observation posts, anti-tank missile launch posts and more,” IDF officials said.

“Moreover, IDF naval soldiers struck command centers, anti-tank launch posts and additional observation posts belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization,” IDF officials said in the post.

-ABC News’ Kevin Shalvey

Nov 05, 7:17 PM EST
Jordan says it air-dropped aid into Gaza

King Abdullah II of Jordan says his country dropped aid by parachute into northern Gaza at midnight.

“Our fearless air force personnel air-dropped at midnight urgent medical aid to the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza,” read a post on X (formerly Twitter). “This is our duty to aid our brothers and sisters injured in the war on Gaza. We will always be there for our Palestinian brethren.”

The king posted two photos of a crate with the flag of Jordan on it being loaded onto an airplane.

Nov 04, 5:49 PM EDT
Biden says progress is being made on a humanitarian pause

President Joe Biden on Saturday said progress was being made on a humanitarian pause — something his administration has pushed for to get hostages out and aid into Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Answering a shouted question on if progress was being made, Biden gave a thumbs up and said, “Yes,” as he was departing church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed U.S. support for temporary pauses in the Israel-Hamas war during remarks at a summit in Jordan on Saturday. He again rejected the idea of a ceasefire being promoted by many Middle Eastern officials at the summit in Amman.

“It’s our view that a ceasefire now would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on Oct. 7. And you don’t have to take my word for it — just a few days ago that a senior Hamas official said it was their intent to do Oct. 7 again and again and again,” Blinken said. “No nation would accept that. None of us would find that tolerable.”

The remarks capped off an afternoon of talks with Egyptian, Jordanian, Saudi, Qatari and Emirati diplomats and a senior Palestinian official.

Despite the divide, Blinken thanked the other officials for their partnership.

“We appreciate the engagement of every country, and we’re particularly grateful to Jordan and to Egypt,” said Blinken, noting that both countries have “long worked toward a two-state solution,” which he later called “the sole viable solution” to the overarching conflict.

-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow and Shannon K. Crawford

Nov 04, 5:03 PM EDT
Hamas’ military arm claims 60 hostages killed in bombings

Hamas’ military arm, al-Qassam Brigades, claimed Saturday that 60 Israeli hostages have been killed in the Israel Defense Forces’ bombing of Gaza since Oct. 7.

It further claimed that 23 of the hostages’ bodies are missing in the rubble from the airstrikes.

Hamas is believed to be holding 241 captives, according to Israeli officials.

Nov 04, 10:48 AM EDT
What we know about the conflict

The war, which has now moved into its second stage, according to Israel, is in its 29th day.

At least 1,400 people have died and 4,629 others have been injured in Israel since Oct. 7, according to Israeli authorities. In the neighboring Gaza Strip, at least 9,488 people have been killed — including 3,900 children and 3,509 women — and 24,158 have been injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Aid workers and officials fear that Israel’s call for an evacuation of the northern part of Gaza is precipitating a humanitarian disaster as electricity and other supplies have been cut off in preparation for what appears to be an imminent ground offensive.

Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to call off the evacuation and agree to a cease-fire, even as the country has asserted a right to defend itself — a right the United States endorses.

Nov 04, 10:41 AM EDT
Doctors Without Borders says conflict has reached ‘new low’ after ambulance strike

Doctors Without Borders called for a ceasefire Saturday saying the conflict has reached “a new low in an endless stream of unconscionable violence.” The organization, which has been providing medical care to people in Gaza, also condemned world leaders for not calling for a ceasefire.

“The deadly attack outside the gate of Al-Shifa hospital impacting an ambulance is horrendous. This is a lethal attack outside Gaza’s main and busiest hospital, where our staff work daily to provide lifesaving medical care. We have repeatedly called for an immediate and total ceasefire, for the protection of healthcare facilities, as well as medics, patients and people who are taking shelter there,” Doctors Without Borders said in a statement Saturday.

“This is a new low in an endless stream of unconscionable violence. The repeated strikes on hospitals, ambulances, densely populated areas and refugee camps are disgraceful. How many people have to die before world leaders wake up and call for a ceasefire?” Doctors Without Borders said.

This comes as the Palestinian death toll rises to 9,488 — including 3,900 children and 3,509 women — and 24,158 Palestinians were injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

One physician described seeing an ambulance hit outside Al-Shifa hospital.

“We were standing inside the hospital gate when the ambulance was directly hit in front of us. There were bloody bodies everywhere. Many were killed immediately, while we rushed others to the operating room for emergency care,” Dr. Obaid, a Doctors Without Borders doctor at Al Shifa hospital, said.

The Israel Defense Forces claimed its aircraft hit an ambulance that it believes was being used by Hamas and called for civilians to move south for safety.

-ABC News’ Cindy Smith and Emma Ogao

Nov 04, 9:47 AM EDT
Turkey withdraws its Israeli ambassador over ‘humanitarian tragedy in Gaza’

Turkey announced it is recalling its ambassador to Israel due to the “humanitarian tragedy in Gaza caused by the continuing attacks by Israel against civilians,” the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Saturday.

“In view of the unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Gaza caused by the continuing attacks by Israel against civilians, and Israel’s refusal of calls for ceasefire and continuous and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid, it was decided to recall our Ambassador in Tel Aviv, H.E. Mr. Şakir Özkan Torunlar, to Ankara for consultations,” according to a statement.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has now added a stop in Ankara, Turkey, during his diplomatic mission to the region.

-ABC News’ Cindy Smith and Davonne Morales

Nov 04, 6:47 AM EDT
Secretary Blinken in Jordan for talks with Middle East foreign ministers

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah on Saturday and will join a meeting of foreign ministers of five Arab countries, also attended by a representative of the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas.

The prime objective of the talks is to ease Gaza’s growing humanitarian crisis, but that mission is complicated by Israel’s insistence there can be no temporary cease-fire until all hostages held by Hamas are released. Israel has also presented the argument that a cease-fire would be in Hamas’s favor.

Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has again called for an immediate cease-fire to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, saying the conditions in Gaza are now “horrific” with food and water needed along with fuel for generators that power hospitals.

The U.N.’s director for Palestinian refugees says that the average Gaza inhabitant is living on two pieces of bread made from flour the UN had stockpiled and that people in southern Gaza have been forced to do all their washing on the beach using seawater as clean water runs out.

Nov 03, 4:15 PM EDT
13 killed from strikes on ambulances at gate of Gaza hospital: Gaza Health Ministry

Thirteen people were killed and 26 were injured from a blast that struck ambulances at the gate of Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital complex, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the group of ambulances were returning to the hospital from a mission to transport injured people to the Gaza-Egypt Rafah border crossing.

The Israel Defense Forces said its aircraft hit an ambulance that it believes was being used by Hamas.

“We have information which demonstrates that Hamas’ method of operation is to transfer terror operatives and weapons in ambulances,” the IDF said.

“A number” of Hamas terrorists were killed in the blast, the IDF said.

The IDF said, “We emphasize that this area is a battle zone. Civilians in the area are repeatedly called upon to evacuate southwards for their own safety.”

Nov 03, 2:13 PM EDT
Over 100 Americans and relatives left Gaza Thursday, more expected Friday

The U.S. Embassy in Cairo helped more than 100 U.S. citizens and family members who left Gaza for Egypt on Thursday, according to the White House. “Another large group of Americans” is expected to leave Gaza on Friday, the White House said.

The U.S. is aware of more Americans and family members who left Gaza on Thursday and didn’t seek out help from the embassy in Cairo, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

Nov 03, 12:28 PM EDT
Egyptian Red Crescent says it’s about to run out of aid to send to Gaza

Ramy ElNazer, CEO of the Egyptian Red Crescent, warned Friday that the organization is about to run out of its stock of humanitarian aid to send to Gaza.

Nov 03, 12:21 PM EDT
Explosion reported at Gaza City’s biggest hospital

A large explosion has been reported at Al-Shifa hospital, Gaza City’s biggest hospital. An ambulance was apparently on fire following the blast.

A spokesman for the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said, “We informed the Red Cross in accordance with international law that the convoy of wounded was moving via ambulances from Al-Shifa Hospital, but the occupation targeted the convoy in more than one location: in front of the hospital door, at the Ansar roundabout, and on Al-Rashid (Al-Bahr) Street leading to the south of the Gaza Strip.”

Nov 03, 11:12 AM EDT
35 Americans killed in Oct. 7 attack in Israel: Blinken

Thirty-five Americans were killed in the Oct. 7 attack in Israel, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a Friday news conference after meeting with Israeli leaders. The American death toll previously stood at 32.

ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Nov 03, 10:24 AM EDT
Blinken discusses ‘humanitarian pauses’ during meetings in Israel

At Friday’s news conference in Israel, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said among the goals for his meetings are upping aid deliveries to Gaza, continuing to move American nationals out of Gaza and freeing hostages.

He said these goals would all be “facilitated by humanitarian pauses.”

“That was an important area of discussion today with Israeli leaders — how, when and where these can be implemented, what work needs to happen, and what understandings must be reached,” he said.

Mick Mulroy: ‘Anything to facilitate civilians getting out of Gaza needs to happen’

Blinken acknowledged these pauses would not be easy to pull off.

“A number of legitimate questions were raised in our discussions today, including how to use any period of pause to maximize the flow of humanitarian assistance, how to connect a pause to the release of hostages, how to ensure that Hamas doesn’t use these pauses or arrangements to its own advantage,” he said. “These are issues that we need to tackle urgently and we believe they can be solved.”

ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Nov 03, 9:40 AM EDT
Blinken recounts graphic video of Israeli dad, sons targeted at kibbutz

Israel has an obligation to self-defense, as no country should tolerate the “slaughter of innocence,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a Friday news conference in Israel after meeting with Israeli leaders.

Blinken said during his Friday meetings with Israeli leaders he viewed more footage from Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, describing the videos as “almost beyond the human capacity to process.”

In one video, he said, a father at a kibbutz grabbed his two sons, who appeared about 10 or 11 years old, and pulled them from the house into a shelter.

The family was “followed seconds later by a terrorist who throws a grenade into that small shelter,” Blinken said.

When the dad came stumbling out of the shelter, he was shot, Blinken said.

The sons then ran from the shelter into the house, crying, “Where’s daddy?” he said.

The terrorist then “casually opens the refrigerator and starts to eat from it,” Blinken said.

“It is striking, and in some ways, shocking, that the brutality of the slaughter has receded so quickly in the memories of so many. But not in Israel and not in America,” he said.

Nov 03, 9:24 AM EDT
New Jersey woman who fled Gaza says Gazans ‘deserve life’

American Maha Elbanna woke up in Gaza on Thursday unsure if she’d be able to cross the border into Egypt. She found her name on the approved list and said she had enough fuel in her car for one shot at getting to the border.

Thursday night, from her hotel in Cairo, she told ABC News that she’s been in Gaza for other wars, but this time is different.

“It’s brutal,” she said. “The total number of people killed is too high, too fast. Too many women and children — can’t be justified.”

She said the decision to leave Gaza wasn’t easy.

“I’m leaving everyone I know — my brothers, sisters, nieces, my cousins, my friends, my co-workers,” she said.

But she also has four children in New Jersey. She said she’s grateful she is able to go home to have Thanksgiving with them.

She said she wants people to know that Gazans are human.

“They’re beautiful. They have dreams and hopes and aspirations. We do everything like all other normal people. We eat, we breathe, we play, we dance … we do yoga. we ride our bikes. It’s normal life,” she said. “It’s people who deserve life.”

-ABC News’ Maggie Rulli

Nov 03, 8:13 AM EDT
US flying unarmed drones over Gaza to help with hostage recovery

The U.S. has been flying unarmed MQ-9 Reaper drones above Gaza to assist with hostage recovery efforts, a U.S. official said.

The official would not discuss where the MQ-9 flights are originating for operational security reasons.

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez

Nov 03, 6:30 AM EDT
Blinken and Netanyahu meet again

Secretary Blinken and Prime Minister Netanyahu met earlier this morning behind closed doors and are now meeting with the Israeli War Cabinet, according to the pool producer on the ground.

Photos of the closed meeting were posted to the Netanyahu’s X account.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now holding a private meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, at the Kirya in Tel Aviv. They will also meet with the members of the War Cabinet,” the Israeli PM tweeted.

Nov 03, 4:12 AM EDT
Secretary Blinken arrives in Israel

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken descended the plane stairs and greeted newly sworn-in Ambassador Jack Lew and the former Chargé d’Affaires, now Deputy Chief of Mission Stephanie Hallett, as he arrived in Tel Aviv on Friday morning.

Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Chief of State Protocol Gil Haskel and MFA North Americas Bureau Director Yaron Sideman also welcomed the secretary.

Blinken will meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu, members of the Israeli War Cabinet and President Herzog this morning and will hold a press availability at 8 a.m. ET (2 p.m. local) after the meetings.

Nov 02, 6:42 PM EDT
Hezbollah leader to give speech Friday in Beirut, Lebanon

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is scheduled to speak publicly Friday to people in Ashura Square in Beirut, Lebanon.

The speech is expected to start 3 p.m. local time

Nasrallah will likely appear to the crowd in Beirut via a screen and not in person. He has not appeared in person on the street since 2006.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman, Marcus Moore and Bruno Roeber

Nov 02, 6:15 PM EDT
Ceasefire would allow Hamas to regroup: Pentagon spokesperson

Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder reiterated the administration’s calls for a humanitarian pause over a ceasefire.

We do not support a ceasefire, in that gives time for Hamas to regroup which is something that again, would put Israeli citizens and others in danger,” he said. “You have heard however, the president say that the U.S. government does support humanitarian pauses to enable humanitarian aid to get in, for hostages to get out as well as other citizens.”

“So in the [Defense] Secretary’s discussion with his counterparts, ensuring that innocent civilians in Gaza are able to get humanitarian assistance, whether that be water fuel, medical aid … that continues to be something that we continue to emphasize regularly,” Ryder added.

Ryder added that the U.S. continues to speak to Israel about the importance of safeguarding civilian lives in its operations in Gaza, which includes the principle of proportionality, while acknowledging that Israel has a right to self-defense and is dealing with an existential threat.

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez

Nov 02, 3:31 PM EDT
IDF says its ‘encirclement of the city of Gaza has been completed’

The Israeli military’s “encirclement of the city of Gaza has been completed,” according to Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.

Israeli soldiers are now “attacking positions, command centers, firing posts, firing infrastructure and eliminating terrorists in face-to-face combat,” he said Thursday.

Nov 02, 3:24 PM EDT
Kirby suggests ‘pause’ allowed 2 American hostages out, US looking to secure more ‘pauses’

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby on Thursday suggested that Israel agreed to a temporary pause in order for the two American hostages to be safely freed last month and said the U.S. would be working toward securing more pauses.

“The president already worked on one such pause when we were able to get those two Americans out. And that’s, that’s what we’re kind of looking at,” Kirby added. “When we’re talking about humanitarian pause, what we’re talking about are temporary, localized pauses in the fighting to meet a certain goal or goals — as I said, get aid in, get people out.”

He said the administration is exploring “as many pauses as might be necessary to continue to get aid out, and to continue to work to get people out safely, including hostages.”

Israeli officials said there are 242 hostages in Gaza.

Kirby stressed that the administration isn’t “advocating for a general cease-fire at this point.”

“We believe that a general cease-fire would benefit Hamas in providing them breathing space and time to continue to plot and execute attacks on the Israeli people,” he said.

-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow

Nov 02, 2:54 PM EDT
Blinken says minimizing harm to Palestinians ‘very much on the agenda’ for Israel meetings

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is en route to Israel and Jordan, said this trip he’s focused on de-escalation and the plight of the Palestinians.

“We will be talking about concrete steps that can and should be taken to minimize harm to men, women and children in Gaza,” Blinken said.

“When I see a Palestinian child, a boy or a girl, pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building — that hits me in the gut as much as seeing a child in Israel or anywhere else. So this is something we have an obligation to respond to, and we will,” he said.

The secretary identified three key goals for his trip.

“First, to talk to the Israeli government about the ongoing campaign against the Hamas terrorist organization,” Blinken said. “Israel has not only the right but the obligation to defend itself, and also to take steps to try to make sure that this never happens again. … We’ve also said very clearly and repeatedly that how Israel does this matters. We will focus as well on steps that need to be taken to protect civilians who are in a crossfire of the Hamas’ making, and we want to look at concrete steps that can be taken to better protect them.”

Blinken said his second objective is getting humanitarian aid into Gaza and getting people who want to leave out of Gaza.

Blinken said his third goal is to try to set the groundwork for a resolution to the conflict.

The secretary added that the administration is still “intensely focused” on the hostages in Gaza and “taking every possible step that we can in concert with others to secure their release.”

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Nov 02, 1:39 PM EDT
Total of 300 aid trucks have crossed into Gaza

Forty-five aid trucks crossed from Egypt into Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Thursday as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, the Palestinian spokesman for the border crossing, Wael Abu Omar, told ABC News.

A total of 300 trucks have now crossed from Egypt into Gaza since Oct. 21.

Nov 02, 1:35 PM EDT
677 foreign passport holders have crossed into Egypt: Border spokesman

At least 342 foreign passport holders crossed from Gaza into Egypt via the Rafah border crossing on Thursday, according to Wael Abu Omar, the Palestinian spokesman for the border crossing.

A total of 677 foreign passport holders have crossed into Egypt from Gaza since Wednesday, he said.

Another 97 injured Palestinians have crossed into Egypt. Overall, 118 Palestinians have crossed into Egypt from Gaza, he said.

Nov 02, 1:27 PM EDT
74 Americans, family members have left Gaza: White House

Seventy-four U.S. citizens and family members have crossed from Gaza into Egypt, a senior Biden administration official said, adding that the numbers are fluid and changing in real time.

President Joe Biden said at the White House Thursday, “We got out today 74 American folks, out that are dual citizens, and coming home.”

Nov 02, 1:16 PM EDT
70 UNRWA staff killed

Seventy employees from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East have been killed since Oct. 7, the highest number of U.N. aid workers to die in a conflict in such a short time, the agency said.

Nov 02, 12:40 PM EDT
Israeli troops in Gaza City

Israeli troops are operating in Gaza City and are “encircling it from several directions,” said chief of the Israeli General Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi.

Israeli forces are now also “engaged in a ground operation in the northern Gaza Strip,” Halevi said.

Halevi said less than half of the total strength of the Israeli Air Force is operating in the Gaza Strip.

“Most of the force is prepared and ready, with bombs on the wings and people who are ready to be scrambled at any moment to the planes, to go out and strike in other arenas as soon as required,” he said.

ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Nov 02, 11:20 AM EDT
200 foreign passport holders left Gaza: Border spokesman

Two-hundred foreign passport holders have left Gaza on Thursday, crossing into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing, according to Wael Abu Omar, the Palestinian spokesman for the border crossing.

This is in addition to the 335 foreign passport holders who exited Gaza through the crossing Wednesday.

Nov 02, 11:01 AM EDT
What we know about the conflict

The war, which has now moved into its second stage, according to Israel, is in its 27th day.

At least 1,400 people have died, and 4,629 others have been injured in Israel since Oct. 7, according to Israeli authorities. In the neighboring Gaza Strip, at least 9,061 people have been killed and more than 23,000 have been injured, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.

Aid workers and officials fear that Israel’s call for an evacuation of the northern part of Gaza is precipitating a humanitarian disaster as electricity and other supplies have been cut off in preparation for what appears to be an imminent ground offensive.

Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to call off the evacuation and agree to a cease-fire, even as the country has asserted a right to defend itself — a right the United States endorses.

Nov 02, 9:19 AM EDT
American who escaped Gaza: ‘People are frustrated, they’re desperate’

Barbara Zind, a pediatrician from Colorado who was in Gaza working with the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, said the scene at the Gaza-Egypt border was pure chaos.

“Everyone rushed in and they were pressing the doors,” she told ABC News. “They did have a list up of who was on the list to leave.”

“People are frustrated. They’re desperate. People are angry. There were a couple of fist fights,” she said.

Zind, one of the first five Americans to leave Gaza on Wednesday, said she has survivor’s guilt.

“I just left so I might get a little emotional, but these people are just being slaughtered,” she said. “These are my friends.”

Zind said the bombing was constant.

She said often it was near impossible to contact people outside Gaza. At one point she was in a total communication blackout for 18 hours and unable to tell her husband and son that she was safe.

As conditions worsened, she said at one point they were down to consuming 800 calories per day, with two days left of supplies. She said one man risked his life to drive into Gaza City to get more supplies for everyone to eat for another week.

Zind has made many trips to Gaza to work with children and families there. When asked if she would go back, she said, definitely.

Nov 02, 7:13 AM EDT
Border crossings continue in Rafah for second day

Hundreds of foreign nationals and dual citizens, including about 400 Americans, were eligible to cross from the Gaza Strip into Egypt, local officials said Thursday.

Egyptian authorities published a list of some 600 names of those who would be permitted to leave though the Rafah crossing on the second day it’s been open since Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

In total some 7,000 foreign nationals from about 60 countries were eligible to leave, officials said.

Lena Beseiso, a 57-year-old American from Salt Lake City, Utah, was on the list on Thursday. Beseiso had previously told ABC News she had made the trip to the border twice only to be turned away.

“Our government has the power to demand the Egyptians to open the border. Why do they delay, keeping our lives in danger?” she told ABC News last month.

Nov 01, 5:21 PM EDT
IDF claims they have broken through Hamas’ frontline

The Israel Defense Forces released a statement claiming they broke through “the forward Hamas perimeter [in] the northern Gaza Strip.”

The IDF said it killed the head of Hamas’ anti-tank array in an air strike.

“The array is a deadly and capable anti-tank force and eliminating it will impact Hamas’ future fighting capabilities,” the IDF said in a statement.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Nov 01, 4:53 PM EDT
‘Handful of Americans’ expected to leave Gaza Wednesday: White House

A “handful of Americans” are expected to leave Gaza on Wednesday and enter Egypt through the Rafah border crossing, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.

According to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, five American aid workers crossed from Gaza into Egypt on Wednesday.

Kirby called the exit of Americans “a significant breakthrough.”

Approximately 400 Americans, as well as 600 of their family members, have been trapped in Gaza, according to the State Department.

“We’ve gotten through a bottleneck,” Kirby said, but the evacuations will “take some time.”

He cautioned that “the situation remains very fluid” and explained the “complicated process” to identify Americans and make sure they have proper documentation and can access an available route to exit safely and efficiently.

President Joe Biden said later Wednesday afternoon, “American citizens were able to exit today as part of the first group of probably over 1,000. We’ll see more of this process going on in the coming days. We’re working nonstop to get Americans out of Gaza, as soon and as safely as possible.”

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

Nov 01, 4:01 PM EDT
Blinken to travel to Israel, Jordan

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel and Jordan on Friday, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller announced.

Blinken will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders to get an update on their military plans.

While meeting with the Israelis, Blinken “will reiterate U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself in accordance with international humanitarian law and discuss the need to take all precautions to minimize civilian casualties, as well as our work to deliver humanitarian assistance,” Miller said.

In Jordan, Blinken will “underscore the importance of protecting civilian lives and our shared commitment to facilitating the sustained delivery of life saving humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, the resumption of essential services, and ensuring that Palestinians are not forcibly displaced outside of Gaza,” Miller said.

“He will also reaffirm the U.S. commitment to working with partners to set the conditions for a durable and sustainable peace in the Middle East to include the establishment of a Palestinian state that reflects the aspirations of the Palestinian people in Gaza and in the West Bank,” Miller continued. “And of course, he will discuss the ongoing work to secure the release of all hostages.”

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Nov 01, 3:15 PM EDT
22 Doctors Without Borders staff cross from Gaza into Egypt

Doctors Without Borders said 22 of its staff members — all foreign nationals — crossed into Egypt from Gaza via the Rafah crossing on Wednesday.

A new team of workers “is ready to enter Gaza as soon as the situation allows,” Doctors Without Borders said. “Meanwhile, many of our Palestinian colleagues continue to work and provide lifesaving care in hospitals and across the Gaza Strip, while the most basic protections for hospitals and medical personnel are not guaranteed.”

“We reiterate our call for an immediate cease-fire,” the organization said. “Critically needed humanitarian supplies and staff must be allowed into Gaza where hospitals are overwhelmed and the healthcare system is facing total collapse.”

Nov 01, 3:06 PM EDT
‘Handful of Americans’ expected to leave Gaza Wednesday: White House

A “handful of Americans” are expected to leave Gaza on Wednesday and enter Egypt through the Rafah border crossing, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.

According to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, five American aid workers crossed from Gaza into Egypt on Wednesday.

Kirby called the exit of Americans “a significant breakthrough.”

Approximately 400 Americans, as well as 600 of their family members, have been trapped in Gaza, according to the State Department.

“We’ve gotten through a bottleneck,” Kirby said, but the evacuations will “take some time.”

He cautioned that “the situation remains very fluid” and explained the “complicated process” to identify Americans and make sure they have proper documentation and can access an available route to exit safely and efficiently.

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

Nov 01, 2:35 PM EDT
2nd airstrike on Jabalia refugee camp, Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says

Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, the most populous refugee camp in the region, was hit by a second airstrike on Wednesday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that on Wednesday, “based on precise intelligence, IDF fighter jets struck a Hamas command and control complex” in Jabalia, and that Hamas fighters were killed in the strike.

“Hamas deliberately builds its terror infrastructure under, around and within civilian buildings, intentionally endangering Gazan civilians,” the IDF said. “The IDF has been urging Gazans in this neighborhood to evacuate as part of its efforts to mitigate harm to civilians. The IDF continues to call on all residents of northern Gaza and Gaza City to evacuate southwards to a safer area.”

The IDF also took responsibility for the first strike on Tuesday, saying the blast killed a Hamas official who the IDF claimed was one of the leaders of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Nov 01, 2:20 PM EDT
76 patients, 335 foreign passport holders cross from Gaza into Egypt

Seventy-six injured Gazan residents have crossed from Gaza into Egypt on Wednesday, hours after the Rafah border crossing opened for the first time since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on Oct. 7, according to Palestinian Rafah Crossing spokesman Wael Abu Omar.

The World Health Organization said it’s working with officials in Egypt to help establish “a comprehensive triage, stabilization, and medical evacuation system” and “ensure that psychological trauma support services are available to patients.”

At least 335 foreign passport holders — including dual nationals and foreigners — also crossed from Gaza into Egypt on Wednesday, he said.

As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, 51 aid trucks crossed the border Wednesday to head into Gaza, he said. A total of 268 aid trucks have now entered Gaza.

Nov 01, 1:31 PM EDT
More Americans expected to leave Gaza, Biden says

President Joe Biden posted on social media on Wednesday confirming that the U.S. “secured safe passage for wounded Palestinians and for foreign nationals to exit Gaza.”

“We expect American citizens to exit today, and we expect to see more depart over the coming days,” Biden wrote.

Five American aid workers are among the foreign nationals who crossed the Rafah border from Gaza into Egypt on Wednesday, according to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund.

A Rafah crossing spokesman said at least 335 foreign passport holders — including dual nationals and foreigners — have crossed from Gaza into Egypt.

Nov 01, 12:24 PM EDT
76 patients, 335 foreign passport holders cross from Gaza into Egypt

Seventy-six injured Gazan residents have crossed from Gaza into Egypt on Wednesday, hours after the Rafah border crossing opened for the first time since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on Oct. 7, according to Palestinian Rafah Crossing spokesman Wael Abu Omar.

At least 335 foreign passport holders — including dual nationals and foreigners — also crossed from Gaza into Egypt on Wednesday, he said.

As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, 51 aid trucks crossed the border Wednesday to head into Gaza, he said. A total of 268 aid trucks have now entered Gaza.

Nov 01, 11:10 AM EDT
5 American aid workers cross from Gaza into Egypt

Five American aid workers have crossed the Rafah border from Gaza into Egypt, according to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. They work for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, Catholic Relief Services and Doctors Without Borders.

Nov 01, 11:06 AM EDT
What we know about the conflict

The war, which has now moved into its second stage, according to Israel, is in its 26th day.

At least 1,400 people have died and 4,629 others have been injured in Israel since Oct. 7, according to Israeli authorities. In the neighboring Gaza Strip, at least 8,796 have been killed and another 22,219 have been injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Aid workers and officials fear that Israel’s call for an evacuation of the northern part of Gaza is precipitating a humanitarian disaster as electricity and other supplies have been cut off in preparation for what appears to be an imminent ground offensive.

Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to call off the evacuation and agree to a cease-fire, even as the country has asserted a right to defend itself — a right the United States endorses.

Nov 01, 9:48 AM EDT
Rafah border crossing opens, allowing foreign nationals to exit Gaza

The border crossing between Gaza and Egypt opened on Wednesday, allowing some foreign nationals and injured Gaza residents to exit the enclave for the first time since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on Oct. 7.

Seventeen ambulances, each transporting one injured Gazan, have crossed the border into Egypt, ABC News has confirmed.

The Rafah border crossing, which is controlled by Egypt, was expected to allow about 500 foreign passport holders to exit, according to the Gaza Borders and Crossings Authority, which released a list of names of those who would be allowed across.

At least 110 dual nationals have crossed the Rafah border into Egypt, ABC News confirmed.

Five American aid workers are among those at Rafah waiting to cross into Egypt, according to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund.

Nov 01, 9:02 AM EDT
Ground fighting between IDF, Hamas near Jabalia

The Israel Defense Forces said Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants fought overnight near Jabalia in northern Gaza. This comes as the IDF said it’s “significantly” deepening its ground operations.

The IDF said it’s hit more than 11,000 targets in Gaza since Oct. 7.

Nov 01, 8:49 AM EDT
Eleven Israeli soldiers killed in ground fighting Tuesday

The Israel Defense Forces said 11 of its soldiers were killed in ground fighting in Gaza on Tuesday.

The total number of Israeli soldiers killed now stands at 326, according to the IDF.

Nov 01, 5:43 AM EDT
Rafah border crossing opens, allowing foreign nationals to exit Gaza

The border crossing between Gaza and Egypt opened on Wednesday, allowing some foreign nationals and injured Gaza residents to exit the enclave for the first time since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on Oct. 7.

The Rafah border crossing, which is controlled by Egypt, was expected to allow about 500 foreign passport holders to exit, according to the Gaza Borders and Crossings Authority, which released a list of names of those who would be allowed across.

At least five Americans working for nongovernmental agencies were included on the list. Passport holders from an additional 13 countries were also listed.

Another 81 Gaza residents with serious injuries were to be given priority in crossing into Egypt, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

Ambulances on Wednesday had been lined up at the crossing, waiting to exit.

Nov 01, 12:31 AM EDT
Phone, internet down in Gaza again, Palestinian communications companies say

Phone and internet service in Gaza is down once again, the Paltel communications company claimed early Wednesday morning.

“We regret to announce a complete interruption of all communications and Internet services with the Gaza Strip, due to international routes that were previously reconnected being cut off again,” Paltel said.

Jawwal, a cellular communications company, also claimed a loss of service.

Internet and phone service in Gaza was inaccessible last Friday for more than 24 hours.

Oct 31, 9:57 PM EDT
Biden and Abdullah committed to facilitating ‘life-saving’ humanitarian aid for Gaza

President Joe Biden spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah, the White House said on Tuesday.

The leaders discussed the latest developments in Gaza and stated their commitment to “facilitating the increased, sustained delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and the resumption of essential services,” according to a press release from the White House.

The president reiterated the importance of “protecting civilian lives and respecting international humanitarian law, as Israel defends its citizens and combats terrorism,” according to the White House.

The president and King Abdullah also agreed it’s a critical need to ensure “Palestinians are not forcibly displaced outside of Gaza,” while also discussing ways to reduce regional tensions.

Oct 31, 6:00 PM EDT
52 Palestinians killed in refugee camp strike, Gaza Health Ministry says

The Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, put out a statement claiming that 52 Palestinians were killed in the Israel Defense Forces strike on the Jabalia refugee camp earlier Tuesday.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman, Nasser Atta and Samy Zayara

Oct 31, 4:24 PM EDT
Israeli forces ‘fighting deep inside the Gaza Strip’: IDF

The Israeli military is “fighting deep inside the Gaza Strip,” killing “terrorists in close range combat” and “conducting coordinated strikes on terror targets from land, air and sea,” the Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday.

The IDF said it has “eliminated many terrorists and destroyed terror infrastructure.”

On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers killed terror leader Ibrahim Biari, the IDF said.

“Striking Biari caused the collapse of adjacent buildings because of the expansive infrastructure there whose purpose was to launch terror attacks against our forces,” the IDF said. “During the battle, the entire infrastructure collapsed and many terrorists were killed.”

“The Hamas terrorists continue to use civilian population as protective armor. This is intentional and devastatingly barbaric,” the IDF continued. “Once again, today, we call on the citizens of Northern Gaza to move Southward. … We will act forcefully in the city of Gaza and in the Northern Gaza Strip. We will continue to act against any terrorist in every part of the Gaza Strip.”

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

Oct 31, 4:16 PM EDT
State Department says ‘good progress’ made toward securing exit for Americans in Gaza

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller signaled Tuesday that the U.S. might be close to securing safe passage for the approximately 400 Americans and 600 of their immediate family members trapped in Gaza, saying negotiators “have made good progress on this.”

“We are making very good progress on this issue. You may have seen some reports that have moved from the region just in the last few hours about the possibility of Rafah gate opening tomorrow,” Miller said. “I’m not in the position to make any announcements as I stand here right now, but I would say that we would welcome any agreement that would permit the safe exit of American citizens, families, other foreign nationals.”

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza is expected to open Wednesday to receive injured Palestinians from Gaza, according to Egypt state-linked TV channels.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Oct 31, 4:09 PM EDT
Rafah border crossing to open Wednesday to ‘receive injured Palestinians’: Egypt state-linked TV

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza will open Wednesday to receive injured Palestinians from Gaza, according to Egypt state-linked TV channels.

The Palestinian interior ministry’s border authority said it has been informed by Egyptian authorities that 81 critically injured Palestinians will be allowed entry from Gaza Wednesday to receive treatment at Egyptian hospitals.

More than 21,000 people have been injured in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

Oct 31, 4:03 PM EDT
White House: ‘It’s obvious to us’ that Israel is ‘trying to minimize’ civilian casualties in Gaza

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby would not discuss the Israeli strike that hit Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp on Tuesday, but he did say broadly that the U.S. believes Israel is “trying to minimize” civilian casualties in Gaza.

“It’s obvious to us that they are, that they are trying to minimize,” Kirby said.

He said that assessment is based on the “daily conversation we are having with our counterparts about their goals, the strategies, and their plans.”

“We’re not going to react to every event in real time, but will certainly recognize that civilians have been hurt, civilians have been killed, to the tune of many thousands, that infrastructure has been damaged by these airstrikes,” Kirby said. “We’re not accepting of any single civilian death in Gaza. They’re all tragedies. And we continue to work … with the Israelis about the need to respect human life and to try to limit civilian casualties.”

Following repeated warnings from President Joe Biden and his administration for Israel to follow the “rules of war,” ABC News asked Kirby if a strike like this on a refugee camp would mean they violated that, but Kirby would not speculate on the explosion, saying he had no information on what occurred.

The Israeli Defense Forces has taken responsibility for the strike at the Jabaliya refugee camp, which is one of the most densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip. The IDF said the blast killed a Hamas official and claimed the official was one of the leaders of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

Oct 31, 2:42 PM EDT
Austin: Iran had ‘big part’ in Hamas attack

At Tuesday’s hearing before the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was asked several times about Iran’s role in Hamas’ Oct. 7 ambush on Israel.

Austin said that while Iran helped enable the attack, he has not seen evidence that Tehran played a direct role.

But Austin added that Iran has “funded, resourced, enabled, trained Hamas operatives,” which “means that they have a big part in this.”

-ABC News’ Matt Seyler

Oct 31, 2:38 PM EDT
66 aid trucks arrived in Gaza in last 24 hours

Another 66 aid trucks with food, water and medicine arrived in Gaza over the last 24 hours — the “highest single-day delivery so far” — and “dozens of more trucks are expected to clear today,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday.

But “it’s a trickle compared to what needs to get in,” Kirby said, “and we’re gonna keep working that, very, very hard.”

Kirby said the U.S. is continuing to push for safe passage for civilians in Gaza and the resumption of essential services, including water and fuel.

Kirby also said President Joe Biden is set to speak with Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday “to discuss further cooperation with Arab partners to address the worsening humanitarian situation.”

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

Oct 31, 2:19 PM EDT
IDF confirms strike on Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza

A massive blast has been reported at the Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza, which is one of the most densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas-run Gaza Interior Ministry claims Israeli aircraft dropped six bombs on the residential area.

The Israeli Defense Forces took responsibility for the strike, saying the blast killed a Hamas official who the IDF claimed was one of the leaders of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

The “elimination [of Hamas commander Ibrahim Biari] was carried out as part of a wide-scale strike on terrorists and terror infrastructure belonging to the Central Jabaliya Battalion, which had taken control over civilian buildings in Gaza City,” the IDF said. “The strike damaged Hamas’ command and control in the area, as well as its ability to direct military activity against IDF soldiers operating throughout the Gaza Strip.”

The IDF did not acknowledge the civilian deaths and casualties but repeated the warning that residents of Gaza should move south for safety.

Oct 31, 1:46 PM EDT
UN secretary-general: ‘I condemn the killing of civilians’

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement Tuesday that he’s “deeply alarmed by the intensification of the conflict between Israel and Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza,” including the Israeli military’s expansion of ground operations in Gaza and continued airstrikes on Gaza.

He reiterated his call for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, for more humanitarian assistance allowed into Gaza and for the release of the hostages held by Hamas.

He also condemned both Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the killing of civilians in Gaza.

“International humanitarian law establishes clear rules that cannot be ignored. It is not an a la carte menu and cannot be applied selectively. All parties must abide by it, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution,” Guterres said. “With too many Israeli and Palestinian lives already lost, this escalation only increases the immense suffering of civilians.”

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

Oct 31, 1:29 PM EDT
60 aid trucks crossed Rafah border Tuesday

Sixty aid trucks crossed through the Egypt-Gaza Rafah border crossing on Tuesday, two Egyptian security sources told ABC News. The trucks are headed to Nitzana, Israel, for inspection before the aid can be distributed in Gaza.

A total of 144 aid trucks have entered Gaza as the humanitarian crisis worsens, according to the Palestinian and Egyptian Red Crescent.

Oct 31, 11:19 AM EDT
400 US citizens want to get out of Gaza, Blinken says

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that about 400 American citizens and their family members, which totals about 1,000 people, “are stuck in Gaza and want to get out.”

Blinken said Hamas is the only hurdle blocking the exit of Americans and their families.

“The impediment is simple — it’s Hamas. We’ve not yet found a way to get them out by whatever, through whatever place, and by whatever means that Hamas is not blocking, but we’re working that with intermediaries,” Blinken said.

“We’ve been in close communication as best we can with Americans who are stuck in Gaza,” he said. “We’ve had about 5,500 communications that we’ve initiated — phone calls, emails, WhatsApp — to be in touch with them to try to guide them as best we can, and to work for their ability to leave.”

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Oct 31, 11:03 AM EDT
Rising antisemitism since Hamas attack part of ‘preexisting’ trend, DHS chief says

A rise in antisemitism since Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel is part of a “preexisting increase … in the United States and around the world,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told a Senate committee on Tuesday.

“Hamas terrorists horrifically attacked thousands of innocent men, women and children in Israel on Oct. 7, brutally murdering, wounding, and taking hostages of all ages,” Mayorkas said. “In the days and weeks since, we have responded to an increase in threats against Jewish, Muslim and Arab-American communities and institutions across our country.”

-ABC News’ Luke Barr

Oct 31, 7:42 AM EDT
Israeli bulldozers, tanks continue push into Gaza

The Israeli military has continued its “expanded ground operation” into Gaza, with bulldozers clearing paths and troops appearing to take up positions.

Military officials released video appearing to show tanks and bulldozers pushing through the rubble of destroyed buildings.

The footage, which could not be independently verified, also appeared to show ground troops patrolling in the dark.

Oct 31, 6:21 AM EDT
Hamas compounds included in strikes on about 300 Gaza targets, IDF says

The Israeli military struck about 300 targets, including Hamas compounds, during the last day, the Israel Defense Forces officials said Tuesday.

“Numerous Hamas terrorists have been eliminated,” IDF said. “The IAF struck terrorist targets and infrastructure.”

The strikes hit Hamas compounds inside underground tunnels, as well as posts for launching anti-tank missiles and rockets, IDF said.

Israel shared a short video on social media appearing to show explosions at sites throughout Gaza.

The military also said it had hit “Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure including weapons, posts and sites in Lebanon.” The video and claims could not be independently verified.

Oct 31, 12:03 AM EDT
18-year-old Chicagoan taken by Hamas returns home following release

Natalie Raanan, one of two American women released by Hamas on Oct. 20, has returned home to Chicago, the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest announced Monday.

“I am relieved to see Natalie back home in Chicago. Her family members have been anxiously waiting for her return, and today I am sharing their happiness,” Consul General of Israel to the Midwest, Yinam Cohen, said in a statement.

“While we’re celebrating Natalie’s return, we remember the 239 hostages, among them babies, children, women, and the elderly, who are still held by Hamas in Gaza. This week, family members of those still held hostage by Hamas will be in Chicago to share their stories and call for their immediate release,” Cohen’s statement continued.

Raanan, 18, and her mother, Judith Tai Raanan, 59, were kidnapped by Hamas during the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel. They were held for nearly two weeks before they were released. Two Israeli women were released last week. More than 200 people are still being held hostage by Hamas.

Oct 30, 5:31 PM EDT
Half of Gaza population pushed south in 3 weeks: UNRWA

One million people were pushed from the north of the Gaza Strip towards the south in the last three weeks, according to Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner general for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

This represents half of the population of Gaza, according to Lazzarini.

“I have said many times, and I will say it again, no place is safe in Gaza,” he said during a briefing Monday.

Over 670,000 displaced people are currently in overcrowded UNRWA schools and buildings, according to Lazzarini.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Oct 30, 4:17 PM EDT
Last planned US charter flight to leave Tel Aviv Tuesday

The last planned U.S. charter flight out of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport is set for Tuesday, according to the State Department.

“Commercial availability remains limited out of Ben Gurion Airport,” the State Department said. “Please go to Ben Gurion International Airport, Terminal 3 if you wish to depart Israel. U.S. Embassy personnel will be present to direct you and provide specific flight information. Be prepared to wait.”

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said the chartered flights are ending because there’s no longer enough American passengers to fill them.

“It is purely a demand issue. We had a charter flight yesterday that had five people on it,” he said Monday. “We’ve consistently seen the demand for our charter flights go down to where we had a lot of flights going out with 50% capability. I think the number of seats that we have offered, we have had something like 25% of that actually be filled.”

“We have notified everyone that the charter flight tomorrow is the last one that we are currently planning, so if they do want to leave, now’s the time to do it,” he continued. “But we will always conduct assessments in real time about whether there’s additional demand, whether circumstances change on the ground, and if we need to make additional arrangements, we will of course be open to doing so.”

Oct 30, 4:16 PM EDT
Hamas making ‘number of demands’ for foreign nationals in Gaza: State Department

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Hamas was making “a number of demands” for opening the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza to foreign nationals, including the 500 to 600 Americans who are trapped in Gaza.

“Hamas is making a number of demands before they’ll allow people to leave Gaza. I’m not going to speak to those demands, but it’s something we’re continuing to try to work through,” he said.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Oct 30, 4:09 PM EDT
US making ‘significant progress’ on getting fuel into Gaza: State Department

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller claimed Monday that the U.S. was making “significant progress” on getting fuel into Gaza via a “reliable delivery mechanism” that would assuage Israel’s fear that it could be intercepted by Hamas.

“Fuel is essential to the delivery of humanitarian assistance, the desalinization of water and the provision of medical care and we want to see it provided for those purposes as soon as possible,” Miller said. “I should note that even as we work to provide fuel for these essential humanitarian services, Hamas continues to maintain extensive fuel reserves. Rather than provide that fuel to hospitals or aid workers or for other civilian needs, however, it continues to hoard it for the benefit of its fighters and to carry out its terrorist attacks against Israel.”

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Oct 30, 4:03 PM EDT
26 more aid trucks entered Gaza Monday

Twenty-six more aid trucks entered Gaza through the Egypt-Gaza Rafah border crossing on Monday, Egyptian state TV reported.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened by the day, with residents trapped without food, water, electricity and internet as Israeli strikes continue.

A total of 150 trucks have entered Gaza, according to State Department spokesperson Matt Miller.

“We aim to surpass that number today, tomorrow and beyond,” Miller said Monday.

Oct 30, 3:21 PM EDT
Netanyahu says no plans to resign, Israel will fight on

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Monday that Israel will keep fighting despite international criticism, and said he has no plans to resign.

Netanyahu said Israel will not agree to a cease-fire, saying doing so would mean surrendering to Hamas.

Netanyahu implored the international community to back Israel, framing the war as a fight for civilization itself.

He said Hamas will continue to use civilians as human shields as long as the international community keeps blaming Israel for their deaths.

-ABC News’ Matt Rivers

Oct 30, 2:22 PM EDT
Last planned US charter flight to leave Tel Aviv Tuesday

The last planned U.S. charter flight out of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport is set for Tuesday, according to the State Department.

“Commercial availability remains limited out of Ben Gurion Airport,” the State Department said. “Please go to Ben Gurion International Airport, Terminal 3 if you wish to depart Israel. U.S. Embassy personnel will be present to direct you and provide specific flight information. Be prepared to wait.”

Oct 30, 1:43 PM EDT
63 UNRWA staff members killed

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said 63 of its staff members have been killed and at least 22 staffers have been injured since Oct. 7.

Ten have been killed in the last 72 hours.

Oct 30, 1:22 PM EDT
What we know about the conflict

The war, which has now moved into its second stage, according to Israel, is in its 24th day.

At least 1,400 people have died and 4,629 others have been injured in Israel since Oct. 7, according to Israeli authorities. In the neighboring Gaza Strip, at least 8,306 people have been killed and 21,048 have been injured, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.

Aid workers and officials fear that Israel’s call for an evacuation of the northern part of Gaza is precipitating a humanitarian disaster as electricity and other supplies have been cut off in preparation for what appears to be an imminent ground offensive.

Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to call off the evacuation and agree to a cease-fire, even as the country has asserted a right to defend itself — a right the United States endorses.

Oct 30, 12:55 PM EDT
26 more aid trucks entered Gaza Monday

Twenty-six more aid trucks entered Gaza through the Egypt-Gaza Rafah border crossing on Monday, Egyptian state TV reported.

More humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened by the day, with residents trapped without food, water, electricity and internet as Israeli strikes continue.

A total of 144 aid trucks have entered Gaza since Oct. 21.

Oct 30, 12:51 PM EDT
Hamas releases kidnapped female Israeli soldier, IDF says

Pvt. Ori Megidish, a female Israeli soldier who was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, was released during the Israeli military’s ground operations overnight, the Israel Defense Forces said Monday.

“The soldier was medically checked, is doing well, and has met with her family,” the IDF said.

Oct 30, 12:36 PM EDT
Death of German-Israeli woman kidnapped by Hamas confirmed by Israeli, German governments

The death of Shani Luk, a 23-year-old German-Israeli woman who was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, was confirmed by both the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the German government on Monday.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on social media, “The news of Shani Louk’s death is terrible.”

“This shows the full barbarity behind the Hamas attack – who must be held accountable.” Scholz said. “This is terror, and Israel has the right to defend itself.”

Oct 30, 12:14 PM EDT
Hamas releases new hostage video

Hamas has released a new video that claims to show three female hostages. One of the hostages speaks in Hebrew pleading for their release, blaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and calling on Netanyahu to help free the hostages.

The group that represents the hostage families confirms the names of the three women in the video as Rimon Buchshtab Kirsht, 36; Danielle Aloni, 44; and Yelena (Lena) Trupanob, 50.

Netanyahu’s office in a statement called the video “cruel psychological propaganda by Hamas-ISIS.”

“We embrace the families and are doing everything to return all of the captives and missing to their families,” Netanyahu’s office said.

According to the Israeli military, 230 people were taken hostage by Hamas.

Oct 30, 10:56 AM EDT
4 prominent Hamas operatives killed, IDF says

The Israel Defense Forces said four prominent Hamas operatives, including a commander of Hamas’ naval forces, have been killed in the last few hours.

This comes after the IDF says it “expanded” its ground operations in Gaza overnight.

Oct 30, 10:47 AM EDT
What we know about the conflict

At least 1,400 people have died and 4,629 others have been injured in Israel since Oct. 7, according to Israeli authorities. In the neighboring Gaza Strip, more than 8,000 people have been killed and 21,400 have been injured, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.

Aid workers and officials fear that Israel’s call for an evacuation of the northern part of Gaza is precipitating a humanitarian disaster as electricity and other supplies have been cut off in preparation for what appears to be an imminent ground offensive.

Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to call off the evacuation and agree to a cease-fire, even as the country has asserted a right to defend itself — a right the United States endorses.

Oct 30, 10:56 AM EDT
4 prominent Hamas operatives killed, IDF says

The Israel Defense Forces said four prominent Hamas operatives, including a commander of Hamas’ naval forces, have been killed in the last few hours.

This comes after the IDF says it “expanded” its ground operations in Gaza overnight.

Oct 30, 10:37 AM EDT
Israeli tanks apparently reach main highway of Gaza Strip

Israeli military tanks apparently reached the main highway of the Gaza Strip on Monday morning, pushing deep into the eastern part of the territory, according to statements from Hamas officials as well as reports from Palestinian journalists.

The Hamas government media office said in a statement that “a few” Israeli tanks targeted civilian cars on the outskirts of Gaza City during an incursion along Salah al-Din Road, which connects the north to the south. Israeli troops then used a bulldozer to cut the street before Hamas militants “forced them to retreat,” according to the office.

“There is currently no presence of occupation army vehicles on Salah al-Din Road, and citizen movement has returned to normal on it,” the office added.

Izzat Al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, also released a statement about the alleged incident on Salah al-Din Road, saying an Israeli tank had “positioned itself for 15 minutes” on the highway and “bombed a civilian car that was returning from the south of the Gaza Strip to its north.”

“The car, crowded with a civilian family, tried to return, but the tank bombarded it with a shell,” Al-Rishq said in a statement. “The Al-Qassam and Resistance Brigades engaged in violent clashes with the tanks, which penetrated all the way to Salah al-Din Road and hit at least one tank directly. The tanks turned back and they realized that the area in front of them was a minefield.”

Video filmed by a Palestinian journalist purportedly shows an Israeli tank striking a car that was attempting to turn around and drive away on Salah al-Din Road on the outskirts of Gaza City.

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters during a press briefing on Monday morning that he can’t comment on the location and movement of troops in Gaza.

ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Bruno Nota and Morgan Winsor

Oct 30, 9:16 AM EDT
In Gaza, ‘day and night is hell’

Younes Elhallaq, a 24-year-old student at the Islamic University of Gaza, is among about 30 family members sheltering in a four-room house in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. They are running out of resources and living in fear.

“The situation is really miserable,” he told ABC News. “No electricity, no internet, no water, no food.”

“They all told us to go to the south because it’s going to be secure and safe or something, but no. … Everything here in Gaza is targeted,” he said.

“Sometimes you kind of sleep for two hours, three hours, and then we hear the bombs everywhere,” he said.

His sister-in-law, 22-year-old Batoul Abu Ali, added, “Our day and night is hell.”

-ABC News’ Camille Alcini and Zoe Magee

Oct 30, 9:10 AM EDT
Ground operations ‘continued and expanded’ overnight: IDF

Israel Defense Forces announced that their ground operations “continued and expanded” in Gaza overnight.

“An IAF aircraft—guided by ground forces—struck a Hamas post and the 20+ terrorist operatives in it,” the IDF said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter). “Soldiers spotted armed terrorists and an anti-tank missile launching post near the Al-Azhar University and guided an IAF fighter jet to strike them.”

Meanwhile, the IDF said that they had eliminated “multiple terrorists barricaded within civilian buildings and terrorist tunnels” who attempted to attack the forces.

Meanwhile, the IDF said that they had eliminated “multiple terrorists barricaded within civilian buildings and terrorist tunnels” who attempted to attack the forces.

Oct 29, 6:41 PM EDT
24 trucks bring in aid: Red Cross

The Red Cross announced Sunday night that its teams in Gaza received 24 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent through the Rafah crossing.

The trucks contained food supplies and medical necessities, the Red Cross said.

That brings the total number of aid trucks to 118, according to the Red Cross.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Oct 29, 5:52 PM EDT
IDF spokesperson says Hamas tactical commanders killed in ground operation

IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Sunday that the military ground operation has led to the death of “many terrorists,” including tactical commanders.

The IDF is pursuing Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, and Hagari said they will go after him “until we get to him.”

Meanwhile, rockets were fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel on Sunday, Hagari said, with Israeli troops returning fire. Hagari said the IDF struck “Hezbollah terror infrastructure.”

In the north of the country, the IDF also attacked what Hadari said were three terrorist cells that had been shooting toward Israel’s troops.

On Sunday night, local time, rockets were fired at Kiryat Shmona and the Upper Galilee, Hadari said, noting the IDF returned fire.

In his Sunday briefing, Hadari again encouraged Gaza’s civilian population to move south of Wadi Gaza for “their personal safety,” and where conditions will “allow access to medicines, food and water.”

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Oct 29, 6:52 PM EDT
Israeli officials release statement after reports of protesters storming Russian airport

Israeli officials released a statement Sunday following reports that hundreds of people stormed the Makhachkala main airport and landing field in southern Russia to protest the arrival of a flight from Tel Aviv.

“The State of Israel takes seriously attempts to harm Israeli citizens and Jews everywhere,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a joint statement Sunday.

“The Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Headquarters (NSH) are monitoring the development of events in southern Russia in the Dagestan province,” it continued. “Israel expects the Russian law enforcement authorities to protect the safety of all Israeli citizens and Jews wherever they may be and to act resolutely against the rioters and against the wild incitement directed against Jews and Israelis.”

“Israel’s ambassador to Russia, Alex Ben-Zvi, is working with the authorities in Russia to ensure the safety of Israelis and Jews there,” the joint statement read.

The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency said, “The measures are in effect until the situation normalizes. Law enforcement agencies are working on the spot,” adding that “the planes that were supposed to land in Makhachkala were redirected to alternate airfields.”

In a statement, Sergei Melikov, the head of Dagestan, said the actions of the crowd were a gross violation of the law. “There is no courage in waiting in a crowd for unarmed people who have not done anything forbidden,” Melikov said. “There is no determination to break into the airport territory. There is no honor in swearing at strangers, reaching into their pockets and trying to check their passport. There are no good intentions in attacking women with children who were undergoing treatment abroad.”

“What happened at our airport is outrageous and should receive an appropriate assessment from law enforcement agencies! And this will definitely be done,” he added.

More than 20 people were injured at the Makhachkala airport, the Ministry of Health of Dagestan said early Monday local time. Two people of the 10 in hospitals were in serious condition, the Ministry said. More than 10 people received medical aid at the airport.

-ABC News’ Bruno Nota, Natalia Shumskaia and Will Gretsky

Oct 29, 4:44 PM EDT
Israeli officials release statement after reports of protesters storming Russian airport

Israeli officials released a statement Sunday following reports, including from The Associated Press, that hundreds of people stormed the Makhachkala main airport and landing field in southern Russia to protest the arrival of a flight from Tel Aviv. The AP cited Russian news agencies and social media.

“The State of Israel takes seriously attempts to harm Israeli citizens and Jews everywhere,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a joint statement Sunday.

“The Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Headquarters (NSH) are monitoring the development of events in southern Russia in the Dagestan province,” it continued. “Israel expects the Russian law enforcement authorities to protect the safety of all Israeli citizens and Jews wherever they may be and to act resolutely against the rioters and against the wild incitement directed against Jews and Israelis.”

“Israel’s ambassador to Russia, Alex Ben-Zvi, is working with the authorities in Russia to ensure the safety of Israelis and Jews there,” the joint statement read.

The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency said, “The measures are in effect until the situation normalizes. Law enforcement agencies are working on the spot,” adding that “the planes that were supposed to land in Makhachkala were redirected to alternate airfields.”

-ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Natalia Shumskaia

Oct 29, 3:19 PM EDT
Biden, Netanyahu spoke Sunday, White House says

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Sunday about “developments in Gaza,” and the president reiterated that Israel needed to defend itself “in a manner consistent with international humanitarian law,” according to the White House.

The two also discussed efforts to locate and free hostages, including U.S. citizens, the White House added.

Biden also spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Sunday, the White House said, and the two “committed to the significant acceleration and increase of assistance flowing into Gaza beginning today and then continuously.”

The two leaders talked about “ensuring that Palestinians in Gaza are not displaced to Egypt or any other nation,” the White House added.

-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow

Oct 29, 3:16 PM EDT
American father trapped in Gaza describes difficulties getting drinking water, bread

Abood Okal, a 36-year-old American father trapped in Gaza with his wife and young son, told ABC News on Sunday about the difficulties getting drinking water and bread.

“And I think it is for many people here in Gaza. We are almost out of drinking water today,” he said. “I think we have enough just to last us through the night and then tomorrow would be basically out.”

Okal described them spending their days not only “trying to figure out our water situation,” but also trying to secure bread, telling ABC News he was part of a group that spent six hours standing in lines in front of bakeries.

“We hit four different bakeries to buy bread and any type of bread, actually, and it was a total mayhem, just like we expected,” he said. “And actually quite heartbreaking to see the amount of people lined up in front of the bakeries, hundreds and hundreds of people in front of each one.”

Okal said they stood in line for hours to get one portion of bread — “which is about 25 to 30 pieces of pita bread, an average sized pita bread,” he said — “which basically would be good enough for a day or two at most.”

“I think Gaza has reached a point where it does not matter where you’re from or how much money you have or who you know,” he said. “Everyone is in the same boat in terms of the dire daily struggle to survive. And certainly our family is no exception to that.”

-ABC News’ Zoe Magee

Oct 29, 10:04 AM EDT
Freeing hostages in Gaza is still a priority amid expanding war, Sullivan says

Securing the release of the hostages being held in Gaza is still a priority as Israel expands its ground assault in the territory in an effort to defeat Hamas, the White House’s national security adviser said Sunday.

“We are continuing to see if there are ways to make that happen. We are prepared to support humanitarian pauses so that hostages can get out safely. And we will keep working at that every day because the president has no higher priority than the safe return of American citizens and wants to support the return of citizens of other countries and Israelis, as well,” Jake Sullivan told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.

“Now, how exactly that happens … I cannot predict that. All I can tell you is every effort is being undertaken right now to do that,” Sullivan said.

But he noted “there are ongoing efforts which I can’t get into detail on television, including regional partners, including the Israelis.”

-ABC News’ Tal Axelrod

Oct 29, 10:03 AM EDT
Retired US general says Israel faces ‘nearly impossible’ task

Israel’s expanding ground assault on Gaza will involve months of painstaking and “very fierce fighting” with Hamas extremists amid conditions “unlike anything that we’ve seen in recent years,” retired Army Gen. Robert Abrams predicted on Sunday.

“And simultaneously trying to ensure that the Israelis do not target, unwittingly, the locations on the hostages — this is going to prove to be a very difficult task,” Abrams told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz. “And we’ll just have to see how their plan plays out here over the coming days.”

Abrams, who commanded U.S. troops during America’s invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, went on to say that he believes Israeli forces face a nigh insurmountable challenge in their stated goal to destroy the militant group that launched a terror attack on Israel earlier this month — while seeking to limit civilian casualties in the Palestinian territory and recover the hundreds of captives Hamas is thought to be holding in Gaza.

“It’s going to be what I would consider nearly impossible to destroy Hamas, to eliminate their capability to do harm to Israel and the Israeli people, while simultaneously protecting what some people have estimated as to be a million Palestinians who are in harm’s way and they can’t get out of harm’s way,” Abrams said.

Israel has faced mounting international outcry at the potential humanitarian disaster in the blockaded territory as it carries out its retaliatory operations on the militants.

Abrams said on “This Week” that he thinks “every effort is being made to follow the laws of armed conflict” but acknowledged the “horrific” images being broadcast of the escalating conflict.

“Fundamentally, at the end of this, Martha … we still have to answer the question: What is the future? Hamas was created as a result of a lack of a separate Palestinian state. A two-state solution, as many people have talked about. That has to be somewhere, when you asked, ‘How does this end?’ That has to be part of the equation,” Abrams said.

-ABC News’ Adam Carlson

Oct 29, 7:54 AM EDT
230 people held hostage by Hamas, IDF says

The number of people believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel has risen to 230, according to Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.

During a press briefing on Sunday morning, Hagari said bringing the hostages home remains a top priority and that Israeli forces on the ground in the neighboring Gaza Strip are working to achieve this goal.

The IDF expanded its entry of troops into Gaza overnight, joining the forces already fighting on the ground there, according to Hagari.

“We are gradually expanding the ground activity and the scope of our forces in the Gaza Strip,” Hagari said. “The operations on the ground are complex and include risks to our forces.”

Over the past 24 hours, the IDF struck 450 Hamas military targets in Gaza. Ground forces directed IDF aircraft toward the targets and also struck “terrorist cells” that attempted to attack them, according to Hagari.

The IDF also struck Hezbollah military positions in neighboring Lebanon in response to attacks on IDF positions, Hagari said.

The IDF will draft new soldiers in November as was scheduled, even during the war, according to Hagari.

-ABC News’ Anna Burd, Bruno Nota and Morgan Winsor

Oct 29, 6:16 AM EDT
Thousands break into UNRWA warehouses in Gaza, taking food and ‘basic survival items,’ agency says

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency said Sunday that “thousands of people” have broken into several of their warehouses and distribution centers in the middle and southern parts of the Gaza Strip, “taking wheat flour and other basic survival items like hygiene supplies.”

“This is a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down after three weeks of war and a tight siege on Gaza,” Thomas White, director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, said in a statement. “People are scared, frustrated and desperate. Tensions and fear are made worse by the cuts in the phones and internet communication lines. They feel that they are on their own, cut off from their families inside Gaza and the rest of the world.”

Since Oct. 7, a “massive displacement of people” who were forced to leave the north of Gaza and head southward due to Israeli airstrikes “has placed enormous pressure on those communities,” according to UNRWA.

“Supplies on the market are running out while the humanitarian aid coming into the Gaza Strip on trucks from Egypt is insufficient,” White added. “The needs of the communities are immense, if only for basic survival, while the aid we receive is meager and inconsistent.”

As of Sunday morning, just over 80 trucks of humanitarian aid had crossed into Gaza from Egypt in one week. There was no aid delivered on Saturday due to a communications blackout in Gaza, according to UNRWA. The agency, which is the main actor for the reception and storage of aid in Gaza, said it was “not able to communicate with the different parties to coordinate the passage of the convoy.”

UNRWA said its teams in Gaza have reported that internet services and connections were restored. The agency said it will reassess the situation with the goal of resuming aid convoys and distribution on Sunday.

“The current system of convoys is geared to fail,” White said. “Very few trucks, slow processes, strict inspections, supplies that do not match the requirements of UNRWA and the other aid organizations, and mostly the ongoing ban on fuel, are all a recipe for a failed system. We call for a regular and steady flow line of humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip to respond to the needs especially as tensions and frustrations grow.”

Meanwhile, UNRWA said 59 staff members have now been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7.

-ABC News’ Guy Davies and Morgan Winsor

Oct 29, 4:52 AM EDT
Gaza internet ‘gradually’ returns

As internet service returned to Gaza on Sunday, several people inside the enclave spoke with ABC News, detailing an increase in aerial bombardments and tank shelling over the last two nights.

“When the internet went out, I felt very afraid and thought we would die and no one would know anything about us,” said one resident, who asked not to be named for safety reasons.

Internet and telecommunications in Gaza, which had been disrupted Friday, were being “gradually” restored, Paltel Group, a local provider, said on social media early Sunday.

“For a moment, we thought it’s the end,” said another Gaza resident, who also asked that they not be identified.

The person added, “No way out. Complete darkness, no communication and the loud sound of missiles and bombardment.”

-ABC News’ Zoe Magee

Oct 28, 5:11 PM EDT
Netanyahu: War will be ‘long and difficult’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war in Gaza “will be long and difficult” as Israel expands its ground operations in the enclave.

“This is the second stage of the war, the goals of which are clear: Destroying Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, and bringing the captives back home,” Netanyahu said in a statement Saturday.

Netanyahu said the War Cabinet and Security Cabinet both decided to expand ground operations “based on a commitment to ensure both the destiny of the state and the security of our soldiers.”

The prime minister said aerial strikes have intensified in recent days to “assist our forces in making a safer ground incursion.”

“We have eliminated countless terrorists, including arch-terrorists, and we have destroyed many terrorist command posts and infrastructure. We are only just getting started,” he said.

Oct 28, 5:05 PM EDT
Netanyahu meets with families of hostages for 1st time

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the families of hostages held in Gaza for the first time on Saturday, on the heels of Israel’s expanded ground operation.

Among those in attendance were the families of abducted children.

“My heart was broken. I reiterated to them: At every stage up to now and at every stage from now, we will exhaust every possibility to bring our brothers and sisters back to their families,” Netanyahu said in a statement following the meeting.

According to Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, 229 people captured in Israel are being held hostage in Gaza.

Oct 28, 9:57 AM EDT
Israel pressure on Hamas to ‘continue to rise’ amid ground operation

ABC News’ Ian Pannell speaks to Mark Regev, the advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Nentayahu and a former ambassador, on Israel’s expanded ground operation in Gaza. Regev said the land operation could be long, with many challenges.

“We are continuing to beef up the pressure on Hamas,” said Regev. “It will continue to rise in the coming days and weeks until we achieve our goal which is the total dismantlement of the Hamas military machine and the end of their political structure in Gaza.”

Oct 28, 10:42 AM EDT
Israel says ‘forces are still on the ground and are continuing the war’

In a press briefing on Saturday, Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that “the forces are still on the ground and are continuing the war” and the Israel Defense Forces “will continue to make a concerted effort in order to maintain the security of our forces, using strong fire from the air, this is combat.”

Meanwhile, several Hamas commanders have been killed overnight as part of the expanded offensive as aid trucks make their way into Gaza carrying food and water.

Hagari confirmed there have been 311 Israel Defense Forces fatalities since Oct.7 and added that the IDF have suffered no casualties in the overnight operations.

There are reports that communication networks have been cut in Gaza and WHO Chief Tedros Ghebreyesus who said the communications blackout is making it “impossible to reach the injured” and WHO staff, according to a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Oct 28, 10:40 AM EDT
IDF says more Hamas militants killed in overnight attacks

The Israel Defense Forces said they hit 150 underground targets in the northern Gaza Strip overnight and killed the head of Hamas’ Ariel Array – Asem Abu Rakaba.

In a Saturday morning post, the IDF said that based on intelligence it had and intelligence from the Israel Securities Authority, IDF fighter jets struck and killed Abu Rakaba.

He was responsible for Hamas’ UAVs, drones, paragliders, aerial detection and aerial defense, the IDF and Israel Securities Authority said in a joint release. He took part in planning the massacre in the communities surrounding the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, the IDF said. He directed the terrorists who infiltrated Israel on paragliders and was responsible for the drone attacks on IDF posts, according to the military.

The IDF said it also hit tunnels and underground infrastructure. Several Hamas terrorists were killed in the attacks, according to the IDF.

Oct 28, 9:57 AM EDT
Israel pressure on Hamas to ‘continue to rise’ amid ground operation

ABC News’ Ian Pannell speaks to Mark Regev, the advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Nentayahu and a former ambassador, on Israel’s expanded ground operation in Gaza. Regev said the land operation could be long, with many challenges.

“We are continuing to beef up the pressure on Hamas,” said Regev. “It will continue to rise in the coming days and weeks until we achieve our goal which is the total dismantlement of the Hamas military machine and the end of their political structure in Gaza.”

Oct 27, 8:14 PM EDT
Grand Central Terminal closes amid sit-down calling for cease-fire in Gaza

Protesters with a Jewish peace activist group are calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza in a large, ongoing demonstration Friday at Grand Central Terminal in New York City.

Metro-North said Grand Central is closed due to the protest.

According to organizer Jewish Voice for Peace-New York City, a far-left Jewish group, thousands of members and allies are taking part in the sit-in, which comes after Israel announced it is expanding its ground activity in Gaza.

Oct 27, 6:44 PM EDT
State Department perspective on Israel’s expanded ground activity in Gaza

The State Department was tracking the potential for a significant escalation in Israel’s military campaign in Gaza throughout the day but did not have confirmation that the Israel Defense Forces would expand its ground operations until around the time it was announced to the public earlier Friday, according to two U.S. officials.

Officials say the U.S. has been pressuring Israel to adopt a narrower scope for its offensive and take a more incremental approach. One source said that while Israeli forces seem likely to stay on the ground in Gaza for a longer duration this time, if this incursion doesn’t spiral, it could be a positive sign that the administration is successfully making its case.

At this hour, there is still no clarity from the U.S. side on whether this is the big ground offensive that’s been expected — or just part of the buildup.

Officials are confident that they can keep up the short windows of calm that have allowed a limited amount of aid to flow into Gaza through the Rafah Gate, but these fall short of the sustained “humanitarian truce” the United Nations is demanding.

But several other delicate negotiations directly involving the U.S. — including efforts to free the hostages, allow foreign nationals to exit Gaza and create safe spaces inside the enclave — could be sidelined by a more comprehensive ground assault. Talks with all parties involved press on. Officials acknowledge that the U.S. would have liked to resolve these issues before any escalation, but that Hamas was likely to use its leverage to push off additional military action as long as possible.

Oct 28, 10:45 AM EDT
Doctors Without Borders said it has lost contact with Gaza staff

Doctors Without Borders made an urgent plea for protection of medical centers in Gaza, after the organization said it has lost contact with its members in the region.

In a video post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Avril Benoit, the organization’s executive director, said she was very concerned about the patients, staff and civilians who are taking shelter at al-Shifa Hospital.

The Israel Defense Force said Hamas was using the hospital as a shield for its tunnels and ops centers.

“We call for the unequivocal protection of all medical facilities, staff and civilians across the Gaza Strip,” she said. “We need an immediate cease-fire now.”

UNICEF said it has also lost contact with its employees in Gaza and is “extremely concerned about their safety.”

Oct 27, 4:40 PM EDT
IDF on current ground operations

When asked whether troops had launched a ground invasion into the Gaza Strip on Friday night, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Peter Lerner told ABC News, “We are conducting our sweep and clear activities in order to create better conditions for optimal operational conditions on the ground.”

“So we are seeking out anti-tank capabilities, we are destroying observation posts and we are engaging the terrorists where we find them on the front lines or in the peripheral of the Gaza Strip,” he continued, noting that troops have been “conducting these activities” for “several days” but he can’t detail specifics due to “operational concerns.”

“We intend on dismantling their capabilities, destroying their government, and making sure they can never use the Gaza Strip as a staging ground against our people again,” Lerner added.

Oct 27, 4:19 PM EDT
UN General Assembly adopts Gaza resolution calling for immediate humanitarian truce

The United Nations General Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution calling for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce” between Israel and Hamas.

The resolution also demands the “continuous, sufficient and unhindered” provision of supplies and services for civilians in Gaza, as Israel says it is expanding its ground operations in the territory.

Oct 27, 3:56 PM EDT
US ‘not drawing red lines for Israel’: Kirby

The U.S. is “not drawing red lines for Israel” and is still in “active negotiations” to release hostages, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said during a virtual briefing Friday.

Asked whether the U.S. was given advance warning of the expanding ground incursion happening today, Kirby would not give any detail on conversations with the Israelis, but said President Joe Biden has been getting daily briefings from his national security team.

Pressed on whether the U.S. is confident that Israel has thought through what happens after the ground incursion, Kirby said it’s up to the Israelis to answer questions about the “soundness of their planning and the effectiveness of the execution.”

Kirby said Israel should support a humanitarian pause if it can allow for the release of hostages.

Oct 27, 2:29 PM EDT
IDF says it is expanding ground operations in Gaza Friday night

The Israel Defense Forces are expanding ground activity in Gaza Friday night, a military spokesperson told reporters.

This is Israel’s biggest ground operation in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attack.

“In recent hours we have increased the attacks in Gaza,” the IDF said in a statement. “The Air Force widely attacks underground targets and terrorist infrastructure, very significantly. In continuation of the offensive activity we carried out in the last few days, the ground forces are expanding the ground activity this evening.”

Oct 27, 1:26 PM EDT
Internet, cell service cut off in Gaza after barrage of strikes, telecom provider says

All internet and communications services have been cut off in Gaza following a barrage of strikes, according to the Palestinian Telecommunications Company.

“The intense bombing in the last hour destroyed all remaining international routes linking Gaza to the world,” the company said in a statement. “The severe bombing led to the interruption of all communications services in the Gaza Strip.”

Jawal, a Palestinian mobile company, also said all communications and internet services have been interrupted due to the “intense bombing.”

Palestinian Red Crescent, a humanitarian organization, said it is unable to reach its teams due to the disruption in landline, cell and internet services.

“We are deeply concerned about the ability of our teams to continue providing their emergency medical services,” the group said in a statement.

The World Health Organization said it has also lost touch with its staff in Gaza, with Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus adding, “This siege makes me gravely concerned for their safety and the immediate health risks of vulnerable patients. We urge immediate protection of all civilians and full humanitarian access.”

Oct 27, 1:20 PM EDT
Harris, Emhoff meet with families of missing Americans

Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff met with families of Americans who are unaccounted for following the Oct. 7 attack in Israel and heard of their “agonizing” experiences, Harris’ office said.

During the meeting at the State Department Friday morning, Harris told the families that “securing the hostages remains front and center in our diplomatic conversations,” a readout from her office stated.

She also said they are working with partners in the Middle East “to ensure that any country with influence over Hamas brings that influence to bear to help secure the release of hostages,” the readout stated.

Doug and I met with families of Americans who are still unaccounted for following the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, and my message to them was simple: You are not alone. @POTUS and I are doing everything we can to bring these Americans home. pic.twitter.com/ADUvjs7u0g

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) October 27, 2023

Her office did not specify how many families attended the meeting.

The Biden administration said Tuesday that 10 Americans remained accounted for.

Oct 27, 11:15 AM EDT
Blasts hit 2 Egyptian Red Sea towns near border with Israel

Blasts hit two Egyptian Red Sea towns on Friday, injuring at least six people, according to the Egyptian military and state media, with Israel blaming the incidents on an “aerial threat” in the region.

Egyptian army spokesman Col. Gharib Abdel-Hafez said an “unidentified drone” crashed Friday morning into a building near a hospital in the resort town of Taba, near the border with Israel, injuring six people.

Earlier on Friday, Egyptian state-linked TV channel Al-Qahera News said a missile fired as part of the escalation in the neighboring Gaza Strip had struck a medical facility in Taba.

The channel later reported that an “unidentified body” crashed near a power station in the South Sinai resort town of Nuweiba, some 45 miles to the south.

The Israeli military said the incidents were a result of an “aerial threat” in the Red Sea region and that there were no Israeli casualties from the strike near its border.

“An aerial threat was detected in the Red Sea region, and fighterjets were called in to deal with it,” the Israeli military’s Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a statement. “We estimate that the harm to Egypt was caused by this threat,” he said, adding that Israel will work with Egypt and the United States to “tighten defense in the region” against such threats.

Egyptian witnesses said fighter jets have roared above the two towns since dawn.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the two incidents.

Earlier this week, a number of Egyptian border guards were injured after being hit by fragments of a shell that Israel’s army said was accidentally fired from one of its tanks. The Israel Defense Forces quickly apologized for the incident.

The recent incidents highlight the risk Egypt faces from a possible regional spillover of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza.

ABC News’ Ayat Al-Tawy

Oct 27, 9:22 AM EDT
At least 4 injured after rocket his Israeli apartment building, authorities say

At least four people were injured on Friday when a rocket struck an apartment building in Tel Aviv, according to Israeli authorities.

Hamas allegedly fired a barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip toward Tel Aviv on Friday afternoon and most were intercepted by Israel’s air defense system, but one hit a five-story apartment building.

The injured victims ranged in age from 20 to 78. Two were hospitalised in moderate condition while the others were in minor condition, according to Israel’s rescue service MDA.

-ABC News’ Dani Tene and Morgan Winsor

Oct 27, 8:59 AM EDT
Hamas has taken 229 hostages, IDF says

The number of people believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas in Israel on Oct. 7 is now 229, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

As of Friday morning, the IDF said 229 hostage families have been notified.

-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor

Oct 27, 6:58 AM EDT
Israeli troops enter Gaza for 2nd straight night

A column of Israeli military tanks crossed into the northern Gaza Strip late Thursday for the second straight night to conduct a series of targeted raids.

The mission lasted several hours and included airstrikes from above. The Israel Defense Forces said Friday morning that 250 targets were struck in Gaza in the past 24 hours.

-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor

Oct 27, 12:58 AM EDT
Missile of undetermined origin strikes medical facility in Egyptian Red Sea

A missile struck a medical facility in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Taba, near the border with Israel early on Friday, injuring six people, Egyptian state-linked Al-Qahera News TV channel reported Friday morning local time.

The missile was fired as part of the ongoing violence in Gaza, it said, citing sources.

The blast, which hit a Taba ambulance facility and a residential building for the staff of the Taba Hospital, damaged a residential building, the station reported. The channel aired footage showing a charred car and big holes in the facade of a building.

“Once the side that launched the missile is identified, all options are available to address and Egypt reserves the right to respond [to the incident] at the right time,” a security source from the Egyptian government told the channel.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Earlier this week, a number of Egyptian border guards were injured after being hit by fragments of a shell that Israel said was accidentally fired from an Israeli tank. Israeli Defense Forces quickly apologized for the incident.

-ABC News’ Ayat Al-Tawy

Oct 27, 6:58 AM EDT
Israeli troops enter Gaza for 2nd straight night

A column of Israeli military tanks crossed into the northern Gaza Strip late Thursday for the second straight night to conduct a series of targeted raids.

The mission lasted several hours and included airstrikes from above. The Israel Defense Forces said Friday morning that 250 targets were struck in Gaza in the past 24 hours.

-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor

Oct 27, 12:58 AM EDT
Missile of undetermined origin strikes medical facility in Egyptian Red Sea

A missile struck a medical facility in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Taba, near the border with Israel early on Friday, injuring six people, Egyptian state-linked Al-Qahera News TV channel reported Friday morning local time.

The missile was fired as part of the ongoing violence in Gaza, it said, citing sources.

The blast, which hit a Taba ambulance facility and a residential building for the staff of the Taba Hospital, damaged a residential building, the station reported. The channel aired footage showing a charred car and big holes in the facade of a building.

“Once the side that launched the missile is identified, all options are available to address and Egypt reserves the right to respond [to the incident] at the right time,” a security source from the Egyptian government told the channel.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Earlier this week, a number of Egyptian border guards were injured after being hit by fragments of a shell that Israel said was accidentally fired from an Israeli tank. Israeli Defense Forces quickly apologized for the incident.

-ABC News’ Ayat Al-Tawy

Oct 26, 6:37 PM EDT
What the US is requesting before Israel launches Gaza invasion

A senior U.S. official said Thursday the administration has requested that Israel allow the U.S. to get forces in place before Israel launches an expected ground invasion in Gaza.

The U.S. has also requested that Israel get a better handle on the hostage and humanitarian situation in Gaza, where cases of dysentery from people drinking contaminated water are being reported, the official said.

Additionally, the U.S. told the Israelis that it is still not convinced they have a good plan for what they want to do in Gaza, the official said.

Oct 26, 4:23 PM EDT
US explains wanting a ‘temporary pause’ for humanitarian reasons

White House national security council spokesman John Kirby explained during a briefing what the U.S. meant by wanting a “temporary pause” in the action.

“As Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken said, we do think that there should be consideration made right now for humanitarian pauses,” Kirby said. “These are localized, temporary, specific pauses on the battlefield so that humanitarian assistance can get in to people that need it or the people can get out of that area in relative safety. That’s what a humanitarian pause is, and we think it’s an idea worth exploring.”

“Now, it could also be more than one spot, right?” he added. “So, I mean, it depends, but we think it’s a valuable idea that’s worth looking at to help alleviate the humanitarian suffering in Gaza.”

Kirby said 74 trucks carrying humanitarian aid have entered Gaza since the Rafah border crossing was opened on Oct. 21, but added it was “not enough.” Twelve trucks have crossed with supplies in the last 24 hours, he said.

-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson

Oct 26, 3:59 PM EDT
US to send 2 Iron Dome systems to Israel

The U.S. will be sending its two Israeli-made Iron Dome air defense systems to Israel, the Pentagon said Thursday.

“We’re also planning to provide the two U.S. Iron Dome systems currently in our inventory to Israel to help further bolster their air defense capabilities and protect citizens from rocket attacks,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters today at his briefing.

Ryder said he would not provide delivery timelines due to operational security and would only say that all of the air-defense systems being sent by the U.S. would be “online soon.”

Ryder also told reporters that 900 U.S. troops have been deployed or will be deploying to the Middle East, making care to say they will not be going to Israel itself. This includes the THAAD air defense unit, the Patriot missile systems and an air-defense headquarters — some of which were part of the original 2,200 placed on Prepare to Deploy Orders a few weeks ago.

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez

Oct 26, 3:37 PM EDT
US making progress toward escape route for Americans in Gaza: State Dept.

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said the U.S. was continuing “close consultations with both the Israeli government and the Egyptian government as well as the United Nations” on opening the Rafah border crossing to American citizens, but that those still talks hadn’t crossed the finish line yet.

“We have been making progress. I can’t get into the details of that progress because they are very sensitive negotiations, but it’s something that we are focused on and hope to have American citizens and other foreign nationals able to move through in the coming days,” Miller said.

Miller said the State Department sent a message to American citizens Wednesday telling them that they were continuing “to work out a solution.” And while the administration still hasn’t given an estimate on how many Americans it is in contact with in Gaza, for the first time Miller said the State Department was speaking with “several hundred.”

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Oct 26, 3:22 PM EDT
IDF claim to have killed terror attack co-architect

The Israel Defense Forces claim to have killed the co-architect of the Oct. 7 terror attack in an aerial strike.

IDF fighter jets struck Shadi Barud, the head of intelligence relations for Hamas, the Israeli military said in a statement Thursday. The statement did not specify when the attack occurred.

IDF accused Barud of planning the attack with Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza.

Oct 26, 2:31 PM EDT
There’s ‘significant evidence’ Israel committed war crimes: Amnesty International

Paul O’Brien, the executive director of Amnesty International USA, told ABC News Live that “there is significant evidence” that Israel is “committing war crimes” in its targeting of the Gaza Strip.

“Israel is not taking the measures that it needs to take in order to protect civilians now,” O’Brien told ABC News’ James Longman. “Dropping leaflets into a densely populated area and forcing people to move or threatening them if they don’t is a war crime.”

O’Brien pointed not just to the issue of collective punishment, but also to the “indiscriminate targeting of civilians,” and demanded an immediate investigation and accountability. The executive director also said that Amnesty has denounced Hamas’ actions on Oct. 7 as a war crime, but that “the answer to that is not the further commission of war crimes by the state of Israel.”

In a letter released Thursday, Amnesty International Senior Crisis Response Adviser Donatella Rovera said, in part, “Amnesty International reiterates its call on the Israeli authorities to immediately rescind the forced ‘evacuation’ orders and to put an end to threats designed to sow fear and panic among Gaza’s civilian population. All conditions on the distribution of humanitarian aid must be urgently lifted and aid, including fuel, must be allowed into Gaza in sufficient quantities to meet the dire needs of the civilian population.”

Israel has allowed in limited resources through the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt and says Hamas is stockpiling fuel that could be used for humanitarian needs in the region. Israel has also asserted it has a right to defend itself in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attack.

-ABC News’ Luis Rodriguez

Oct 26, 1:53 PM EDT
What a potentially wider Israel-Hamas war could mean for the US economy

A potential escalation of the Israel-Hamas war and the possibility that it could widen into a regional conflict could send gas prices above $5 a gallon, trigger an overall surge of inflation and plunge the U.S. economy into a recession, economists and oil industry analysts told ABC News.

A conflict that ensnares the Middle East could send oil prices soaring, which in turn would hike costs not only for gasoline but also for many consumer products that depend on diesel and jet fuel for transport, the experts said.

Click here to read more.

-ABC News’ Max Zahn

Oct 26, 12:27 PM EDT
Iran issues warning to United States

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the minister of foreign affairs for Iran, chastised the United States and issued a warning in a speech at the United Nations during an emergency session to discuss the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Amir-Abdollahian said that America was “managing the genocide” of Palestinians and “that we do not welcome the expansion of war in the region, but I warn if the genocide in Gaza continues, they will not be spared from this fire.”

The U.S. has cautioned against Iran becoming directly involved in the conflict and sent two aircraft carriers to the region to serve as a deterrent.

There have, however, been smaller skirmishes between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon and the U.S. shot down cruise missiles fired by the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Both groups are backed by Iran.

Oct 26, 6:24 AM EDT
Israeli military briefly enters northern Gaza, IDF says

Israeli tanks and infantry personnel briefly entered northern Gaza in “preparation for the next stages of combat,” the Israel Defense Forces said early Thursday.

“IDF tanks & infantry struck numerous terrorist cells, infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch posts,” the military said in a post on social media.

The post included a video that appeared to show bulldozers breaking through a barricade-like structure, followed by footage of a military convoy traveling along dirt roads and then several explosions.

“The soldiers have since exited the area and returned to Israeli territory,” IDF said.

The video could not be independently verified.

Oct 25, 5:46 PM EDT
House passes resolution defending Israel

The House of Representatives passed a resolution defending Israel and condemning Hamas after the group’s attack earlier this month and the escalating war in the Gaza Strip.

The resolution passed in a 412-10 vote. Six members voted present. Nine of the 10 “no” votes came from progressive Democrats, while Rep. Thomas Massie, Ky., was the only Republican to vote against the resolution.

-ABC News’ Lauren Peller and Tal Axelrod

Oct 25, 5:31 PM EDT
Dueling Russia, US resolutions on conflict fail to advance at UN Security Council

The dueling resolutions on the Israel-Hamas war put forth to the United Nations Security Council by Russia and the U.S. have both failed.

Russia’s version called for a humanitarian ceasefire and avoided condemning Hamas. Russia, China, the UAE and Gabon voted in favor of the draft, while nine members abstained, and both the U.S. and the U.K. voted against it.

While the U.S. emphasized in its resolution Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas, officials worked to find a middle ground that would placate a majority of members, urging a pause to military action in Gaza. The U.S. measure secured the votes it needed to advance out of the council but was ultimately vetoed by Russia and China.

“The United States is deeply disappointed that Russia and China vetoed this resolution. A resolution that, as I’ve said, was strong and it was balanced. That was the product of consultations with members of this Council. We did listen to all of you. We incorporated feedback. And we worked to forge consensus around a resolution that would send a clear message to the world – and most importantly, to Israelis and Palestinians – that this Council is determined to meet this moment,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Oct 25, 4:40 PM EDT
WHO calls for release of hostages, proof of life, proof of medical care

The World Health Organization said there’s “an urgent need” for Hamas to “provide signs of life, proof of provision of health care and the immediate release” of the hostages.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he met with families of some hostages on Wednesday.

“Many of the hostages, including children, women and the elderly, have pre-existing health conditions requiring urgent and sustained care and treatment,” he said in a statement. “The mental health trauma that the abducted, and the families, are facing is acute and psychosocial support is of great importance.”

Oct 25, 4:36 PM EDT
Israeli official: ‘Definitions of defeating Hamas’ must be more ‘realistic’

Maj. Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland, the former head of the Israel National Security Council, told ABC News the “definitions of defeating Hamas … have to be a little more measurable and realistic.”

Eiland, who has been working inside Israel’s military headquarters, said there’s no way to completely destroy Hamas, but he said what Israel can do “is destroy the military capabilities and other governmental functions of Hamas.”

“But even to achieve this limited goal we will have to maintain the military effort,” he said.

Eiland said Israel cannot allow Hamas “the ability now or in the future to rebuild their rocket arsenal.”

-ABC News’ Matt Gutman

Oct 25, 3:44 PM EDT
House to vote on resolution defending Israel

The House on Wednesday is debating a resolution to show support for Israel and condemn Hamas.

The resolution introduced by House Foreign Affairs Chairman Mike McCaul is entitled “Standing with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists.”

It’s expected to pass with large bipartisan support.

-ABC News’ Lauren Peller

Oct 25, 3:39 PM EDT
Israeli forces said they’ve hit underground tunnels

Missiles fired by Israeli forces have struck underground tunnels in Gaza, targeting Hamas terrorists, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said. It’s unclear what the result of the hit was.

Hamas has previously claimed to have built 500 kilometers — more than 300 miles — of tunnels under Gaza. The tunnel system is designed to conceal and cover Hamas militants and allow them to execute surprise attacks, according to experts.

The IDF spokesman said Israel’s current attacks in Gaza are improving their situation for the next stage of the long war ahead.

Oct 25, 2:35 PM EDT
Biden says Israel has right to defend itself while urging country to follow ‘laws of war’

President Joe Biden on Wednesday emphasized U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself, while also urging the country to do “everything in its power” to protect innocent people in Gaza.

“We will ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself,” Biden said during a press conference at the White House with Australia’s prime minister.

Biden said Hamas is using Palestinian civilians as human shields, putting an “added burden on Israel while they go after Hamas,” but Israel should still do everything it can to follow the “laws of war.”

“Israel has to do everything in its power, as difficult as it is, to protect innocent civilians,” he said.

Biden also said the flow of aid to Gaza needs to increase and that he was working “around the clock” to secure the release of hostages.

He reiterated his support for a two-state solution, saying that the status quo will never return after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

“I’m convinced one of the reasons Hamas attacked when they did — I have no proof of this, my instinct tells me — is because of the progress we were making toward regional integration for Israel and regional integration overall. And we can’t leave that work behind,” Biden said, repeating a claim he’s made before about his efforts to broker a broader deal between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia that would lead to Saudi Arabia recognizing Israel.

-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett

Oct 25, 2:23 PM EDT
Israel readying for ground operation, won’t reveal date: Netanyahu

Israeli forces are getting ready for the ground operation into Gaza, but will not tell anyone when it will be, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday.

When soldiers enter Gaza, they’ll “exact the full price from these murderers,” Netanyahu said in Hebrew.

“I once again call on the uninvolved population in Gaza to evacuate to the southern strip,” he said.

Netanyahu also said Israel will “do everything possible to bring hostages home.”

“We are gathering the support of world leaders,” he added. “Our fight against Hamas is also their fight.”

Oct 25, 12:52 PM EDT
Gaza shelters 4 times over their capacities: UNRWA

Shelters in Gaza are four times over their capacities, forcing many people to sleep in the streets, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

Nearly 600,000 displaced Gaza residents are sheltering at 150 UNRWA facilities, the agency said.

Oct 25, 12:41 PM EDT
Tuesday marks deadliest day in Gaza since conflict began

Tuesday marked the deadliest day in Gaza since the Hamas-Israel conflict began on Oct. 7, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

At least 700 people died on Tuesday, OCHA said.

Over 6,500 people have died in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.

Oct 25, 11:40 AM EDT
Gaza to run out of fuel Wednesday night: UNRWA

Gaza is set to run out of fuel Wednesday night, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

“If we do not get fuel urgently, we will be forced to halt our operations in the Gaza Strip” Wednesday night, UNRWA said.

Oct 25, 11:29 AM EDT
UN secretary-general responds to Israeli ambassador’s criticism

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is responding to the Israeli ambassador’s call for him to resign, saying it’s false to accuse him of “justifying” Hamas’ attacks.

At the U.N. Security Council meeting on Tuesday, Guterres asserted that “the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” sparking immediate backlash from Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Gilad Erdan.

“The Secretary-General is completely disconnected from the reality in our region and that he views the massacre committed by Nazi Hamas terrorists in a distorted and immoral manner,” Erdan said. “His statement that, ‘The attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,’ expressed an understanding for terrorism and murder.”

Experts breakdown Israel-Hamas conflict

“It’s truly sad that the head of an organization that arose after the Holocaust holds such horrible views,” Erdan said.

Guterres said at the U.N. Wednesday, “I am shocked by the misinterpretations by some of my statement yesterday in the Security Council, as if I was justifying acts of terror by Hamas. This is false. It was the opposite. In the beginning of my intervention yesterday, I clearly stated — and I quote: ‘I have condemned unequivocally the horrifying and unprecedented 7 October acts of terror by Hamas in Israel. Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians, or the launching of rockets against civilian targets.'”

“Indeed, I spoke of the grievances of the Palestinian people,” Guterres continued. “And in doing so, I also clearly stated, and I quote: ‘But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas.'”

Oct 25, 11:10 AM EDT
Gaza hospital ‘will turn into a big morgue,’ doctor warns

In Gaza, where the “health system is collapsing,” doctors “cannot offer much” to their hundreds of severely wounded patients, Dr. Mohammed Ghandil from Gaza’s Nasser Hospital told ABC News.

“The hospital door is open, but the health care is not provided,” Ghandil said.

“We are just giving some peaceful words for them to die,” he said.

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that one-third of hospitals in Gaza and two-thirds of clinics were not functioning.

More than 17,000 people in Gaza have been wounded since Oct. 7.

“Even the medical patient [who] was not wounded, who came with heart attack, with stroke, with sepsis, we’re just sending them home because there is no bed in the hospital,” he said. “The hospital corridors, the hospital backyards, the hospital balcony are fully, fully packed with the severely wounded.”

Gaza is set to run out of fuel Wednesday night, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

“If the fuel is zero,” Ghandil said, “the doctors and the nurses will go home and the hospital will turn to a big morgue.”

ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian

Oct 25, 10:31 AM EDT
‘Some progress’ in hostage negations, Qatar says

“Some progress” has been made as Qatar continues its hostage negotiations with Hamas, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said at a news conference.

“If we compare where we started and where we are right now, there is some progress and some breakthrough and we will remain hopeful,” he said. “The negotiations are still ongoing and at any moment of time, I think that if we will be able to get along between the two parties, I think we will see some breakthroughs hopefully soon.”

Israel reported that 222 hostages were taken by Hamas. Four hostages have been released in the last week: two American women and two Israeli women.

Oct 25, 10:01 AM EDT
UN meeting Thursday to debate Israel-Hamas war

The United Nations General Assembly will be called back into an emergency special session in New York on Thursday morning to debate the Israel-Hamas war.

The general assembly could vote on moves, including a humanitarian pause in Gaza and the establishment of an international protective presence in Gaza.

Oct 25, 5:35 AM EDT
IDF says it targeted Hamas, Hezbollah, Syrian military in ‘wide-scale strikes’

The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday morning that it has carried out “wide-scale strikes” in the neighboring Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours.

The Israeli airstrikes hit Hamas infrastructure, including tunnels, military headquarters and weapons warehouses, as well as “several terrorists,” including a Hamas commander, according to the IDF.

The IDF said it also killed five Hezbollah militants in neighboring Lebanon who tried to launch missiles and rockets against Israeli forces in the last day.

Two rockets were fired into Israel from neighboring Syria and the IDF said it responded by attacking infrastructure and positions of the Syrian military.

Oct 24, 7:28 PM EDT
US intelligence assess ‘with high confidence’ that Israel was not responsible for Gaza hospital explosion

An official with the U.S. Office of the Director of Intelligence told reporters Tuesday that the office has updated its assessment of last week’s explosion of al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, which killed hundreds, and stated “with high confidence that Israel was not responsible for the explosion.”

The official added, “We assess with low confidence that Palestine Islamic Jihad, PIJ, was responsible for launching the rocket that landed on the hospital,” the official added, noting that they suspect based on their analysis that the rocket responsible likely suffered a “catastrophic motor failure.”

The intelligence official said they were drawing on “intelligence, missile activity, open-source video and images of the incident,” including an examination of the blast effects.

“If an Israeli munition was responsible for this blast, we would expect that Palestinian militants would be very directly and clearly showing what they thought was an Israeli munition,” the official said. “We’ve looked at all of the images and in none of them do we assess that there are remnants, Israeli munitions.”

Oct 24, 5:45 PM EDT
US engaging in ongoing talks to release a number of hostages: Source

Talks are ongoing between the U.S. and regional partners, including Israel, Egypt, and Qatar to secure the release of a large number of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, a source with knowledge told ABC News.

The U.S. is still advising for a delay to have more time for the hostages to be released and for aid to get out, but does not want to appear to be dictating what to do to the Israelis, according to the source.

-ABC News’ Selina Wang

Oct 24, 4:12 PM EDT
Blinken updates number of Americans killed

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that 33 Americans were confirmed dead after the Hamas terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Oct 24, 3:39 PM EDT
How the ‘law of war’ could apply to an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza

With Israel appearing to be on the cusp of a ground invasion into Gaza, President Joe Biden and other world leaders this week said the Jewish state has the right to defend itself against the recent brutal attacks by Hamas.

At the same time, they warned, Israel must abide by the “law of war” in protecting innocent Palestinians living in Gaza.

But with the prospect of hundreds, if not thousands more Palestinian civilians killed, can Israel do both? And could either Israel or Hamas be prosecuted for war crimes?

Click here to read what you need to know about international humanitarian laws and how they apply in the Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza.

-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty

Oct 24, 3:28 PM EDT
Kirby: Israel needs to ‘consider possibility of humanitarian pause’

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday a “ceasefire right now really only benefits Hamas.”

When asked if the U.S. has set or discussed any red lines with the Israelis, he said simply, “No.”

But when pressed to elaborate on Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s comments that “humanitarian pauses must be considered,” he said, “pauses in operation is a tool and a tactic” that can protect civilians for temporary periods of time.

Later when asked, Kirby said Blinken talked about the need to “consider the possibility of a humanitarian pause, to allow aid to get in — and get in unfettered — and to allow for the safe movement of people out.”

-ABC News’ Selina Wang

Oct 24, 2:12 PM EDT
Gaza to run out of fuel Wednesday night: UNRWA

Gaza is set to run out of fuel Wednesday night, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

“If we do not get fuel urgently, we will be forced to halt our operations in the Gaza Strip as of tomorrow night,” the agency said.

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan said, “We know for sure that there’s plenty of fuel in Gaza. Hamas has stored fuel in advance, and is stealing fuel from both civilians and the U.N. to power its war machine against Israel.”

Oct 24, 1:45 PM EDT
20 more aid trucks cross Rafah: Egyptian officials

Twenty more aid trucks crossed the Egypt-Gaza Rafah border on Tuesday and are now headed to the Israel-Egypt Nitzana Border Crossing for inspection, according to Egyptian officials.

It is not clear if the trucks have reached Gaza yet, where humanitarian conditions are worsening by the day, but these new trucks will bring the total to 74 aid trucks crossing through over the last four days.

The Rafah border crossing was shut on Oct. 10 after it was hit by Israeli warplanes on the Palestinian side three times on Oct. 9 and 10.

The crossing has briefly opened each day since Saturday, permitting a small amount of aid to enter Gaza.

Asked by a reporter if humanitarian aid is getting to Gaza fast enough, President Joe Biden said Tuesday, “Not fast enough.”

Oct 24, 1:26 PM EDT
Israeli, Palestinian Authority foreign ministers speak out at UN Security Council meeting

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and the Palestinian Authority’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad al-Maliki, gave long, impassioned speeches at the United Nations Security Council meeting about the suffering their people are experiencing.

Cohen began by holding up photographs of the Israeli children kidnapped by Hamas, reading out their names and ages.

“They are just a few the many children and babies that have not seen evil. They have not caused evil. But they are victims of evil,” he said.

Cohen described Hamas as “the new Nazis” and said Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel should serve as “a wakeup call against extremism.”

Al-Maliki purported that Israel’s retaliation had equated to “ongoing massacres being deliberately, systematically, and savagely” perpetrated against Palestinians civilians.

“The Security Council has a duty to stop them,” he said. “It is our collective human duty to stop them now.”

He suggested that Israel’s campaign would ultimately lead to more conflict, saying “more injustice and more killing will not make Israel safer.”

The foreign minister argued that everyone on the council should be united behind one goal.

“We should be on the same side — all of us who believe in justice and peace,” he said. “We should stand shoulder to shoulder in these moments. But that is only possible if everyone recognizes the value of Palestinian life — the need to uphold Palestinian rights.”

ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Oct 24, 1:17 PM EDT
Blinken backs Israel but says ‘humanitarian pauses must be considered’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered a forceful defense of Israel’s military actions at the United Nations Security Council, but Blinken said “humanitarian pauses must be considered” to protect civilians in Gaza — the administration’s strongest statement of a support for any type of halt in Israel’s efforts to vanquish Hamas.

“We must affirm the right of any nation to defend itself and to prevent such heart from repeating itself. No member of this council, no nation in this entire body. could or would tolerate the slaughter of its people,” Blinken said.

The secretary said every member of the U.N. has a “responsibility to denounce the member states that arm, fund and train Hamas or any other terrorist group that carries out such horrific acts,” reminding them that many other foreign nationals were also killed and kidnapped in its attacks.”

Blinken then turned to ongoing efforts to protect civilian lives, first emphasizing that Hamas is responsible for putting the innocent in harm’s way, before shifting to Israel’s responsibilities.

“Hamas must cease using them as human shields,” he said. “Israel must take all possible precautions to avoid harm to civilians. It means means food, medicine and water and other assistance must flow into Gaza and to the areas people need them. It means civilians must be able to get out of harm’s way. It means humanitarian pauses must be considered for these purposes.”

Previously, the State Department and other U.S. officials flatly rejected calls for any kind of ceasefir, arguing, as State Department spokesperson Matt Miller did Monday, that it would “give Hamas the ability to rest, to refit and to get ready to continue watching terrorist attacks against Israel.”

In his remarks, Blinken also detailed the administration’s efforts to prevent the conflict from spreading in the Middle East, but emphasized the threat posed by Iran and promised the U.S. would not allow attacks on Americans to go unanswered.

“We do not want this war to widen, but if Iran or its proxies attack U.S. personnel anywhere, make no mistake — we will defend our people, we will defend our security–swiftly and decisively,” he vowed.

ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Oct 24, 11:54 AM EDT
784 slain in Israel identified, Israeli police say

The Israeli police said they’ve identified at least 784 people killed by Hamas.

Police said some bodies were in such bad condition that they have not yet been identified.

At least 1,400 people have died and 4,629 others have been injured in Israel since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, according to Israeli authorities.

Oct 24, 11:35 AM EDT
US sends 3-star Marine general to advise Israel

The Biden administration has sent Lt. Gen. James Glynn, a three-star Marine general who is currently serving as the head of Marine personnel, to Israel to advise the country on its military operations, according to a U.S. official.

The news was first reported by Axios on Monday.

Glynn is “not directing operations” but rather is “purely there to provide military advice and pose hard questions to help [the Israel Defense Forces] think through various scenarios,” the U.S. official told ABC News.

The official said Glynn was in Israel “temporarily” and was not expected to still be there when a ground operation starts.

ABC News’ Ben Gittleson

Oct 24, 11:30 AM EDT
Fuel ‘most vital commodity’ in Gaza, WHO says

Fuel is now the “most vital commodity” in Gaza, according to the World Health Organization.

The limited aid trucks trickling into Gaza have not included any fuel, the organization said. Before Oct. 7, hundreds of trucks entered Gaza every day, including about 45 trucks bringing fuel, said Tamara Alrifai, spokesperson for the U.N. agency for Palestine refugees.

Without fuel, “trucks can’t move and generators can’t produce electricity for hospitals, bakeries and water desalination plants,” said Alrifai.

Alrifai said the United Nations Relief and Works Agency would be responsible for delivering the fuel to hospitals and water desalination plants and keeping it out of Hamas’ hands.

The WHO said one in three hospitals in Gaza and two in three clinics are not functioning, with the health system overwhelmed by more than 16,000 injured people.

Dr. Rick Brennan, WHO emergencies director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, said he’s begging “all those in a situation to make a decision or influence decision makers, to give us the humanitarian space to address this human catastrophe.”

Oct 24, 11:03 AM EDT
Underground hospital prepares to treat wounded IDF soldiers

In just two weeks, the space below Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital has been converted into an underground hospital, bracing for an influx of war casualties.

Rows of hospital beds and medical equipment have been set up in what was meant to be used as a parking garage.

“We have up to 130 beds here, including intensive care beds,” Dr. Tamar Elram, director of the Hadassha Mount Scopus Hospital, told ABC News. “Everything that we do here is in total cooperation and agreement with the army and with police and all the other security forces.”

The hospital has also been treating civilian victims, like Michal Alon, who was shot in the hand and chest by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 and is now embarking on the long road to recovery, both physically and emotionally.

Israeli hospital prepares for war casualties

“We’ve already got soldiers and civilians who are turning to our ERs, two and a half weeks after the terror attack, starting to suffer from acute post-traumatic syndrome,” Elram said.

Elram says one of the biggest challenges they’ve faced in preparing for what’s to come includes manpower. Some staffers are leaving the hospital to go serve in the Israeli military.

ABC News’ Guy Davies and Ines De La Cuetara

Oct 24, 9:07 AM EDT
Hostages influencing Israeli military’s operational plans, spokesperson says

Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col Peter Lerner confirmed that hostages are influencing the plans of Israel’s forces.

“Of course the presence of the hostages is at the top of our priority list,” Lerner told ABC News. “It is obviously influencing our operational capabilities, operational plans.”

Lerner said that while the military has been given the “green light” to go into Gaza, they have not officially been given the command to “go” from the government.

Asked if the window for an operation into Gaza will close, Lerner responded, “There is no choice for Israel.”

Learner also said Israeli forces are actively trying to assassinate Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahye Sinwar, but they haven’t found him yet.

As the humanitarians conditions in Gaza become more dire by the day, Lerner said fuel will not be among the aid trickling into Gaza.

“Hamas has over a million liters of fuel in their stockpiles in Gaza — they are actually not far away from Rafah. All they need to do is give some to the hospitals,” he said.

Oct 24, 8:29 AM EDT
Parents describe watching video of Hamas taking son hostage

The father of 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was taken hostage by Hamas at the Supernova music festival, said he has gained some “strength” from seeing a video of his son on the day of the attack.

“No parent should ever be subjected to this sight,” Jon Polin said on ABC News’ Good Morning America on Tuesday.

Polin and Rachel Goldberg’s son was wounded in the Oct. 7 attack. He had been hiding with a group in a bomb shelter and witnesses saw him being loaded into the back of a Hamas pickup truck, his parents told ABC News earlier this month.

Goldberg-Polin’s parents said on Tuesday they have since seen a video in which their son leaves the bomb shelter.

“Knowing he spent an hour to an hour and a half being subjected to this massacre and he then gets up with an arm freshly blown off and walks on his own two feet, under his own strength, towards this truck and uses his weak hand, his only hand now, to pull himself onto the truck while bloodied, but looking sort of composed,” Polin said. “It gives me a sense of, he’s got a perseverance and fortitude that we hope carries him through this.”

Oct 24, 8:25 AM EDT
Gaza hospitals as ‘dire as it can be’

Hospitals in Gaza are “horrific scenes,” filled with killed and injured children and “medical staff working 24/7 with almost nothing in terms of resources and equipment,” said Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra, a spokesman for the Health Ministry in Gaza.

Seventy-percent of the victims are children, women and the elderly, according to the health ministry.

The ministry said 12 hospitals and 32 health centers are out of service, with those numbers expected to rise as airstrikes continue and Gaza runs out of fuel.

“It’s dire as it can be. The scenes inside the hospital are almost indescribable — one of our doctors recently had to do an operation on the floor, in the corridor of the hospital, because there was nowhere to do it. The situation is untenable, absolutely horrific,” al-Qudra said.

Oct 24, 6:52 AM EDT
‘Through hell,’ released Hamas hostage says of days in captivity

After Yocheved Lifschitz, 85, was taken hostage by Hamas militants, she was brought into a “huge network” of underground tunnels, which she described on Tuesday as being “like a spider’s web.”

“I’ve been through hell,” Lifschitz told gathered reporters in the lobby of the Tel Aviv hospital where she’s being treated.

As Lifschitz spoke in Hebrew, her daughter translated her words into English.

The 85-year-old had been taken by motorcycle on Oct. 7, carried away through fields while her captors struck her with sticks and removed her watch and jewellery, she said. She was made to walk a few kilometers to the entrance of one of the many tunnels Hamas has built under Gaza.

She said she was kept during her captivity in a “clean” location, where doctors visited every few days. Medicine was available, she said.

She slept on a mattress on one of the tunnel’s floors. She ate white cheese, cucumbers and pita bread, she said.

Oct 24, 1:06 AM EDT
Three Hamas deputy commanders killed: IDF

The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday morning that three Hamas deputy commanders were killed Monday night.

“During the night, IDF aircraft also attacked operational headquarters used by operatives of the terrorist organization Hamas and assembly points of the terrorist organization located inside mosques,” the IDF said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The deputy commander of the Nusirat battalion, the deputy commander of the Shati battalion and the deputy commander of the Alfurkan battalion of Hamas were killed, the IDF said in the post.

Oct 23, 10:27 PM EDT
Biden speaks with Netanyahu about hostages’ release, humanitarian assistance for Gaza

President Joe Biden spoke with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday afternoon, once again addressing his commitment to efforts to “secure the release of all remaining hostages taken by Hamas – including Americans – and to provide for safe passage for U.S. citizens and other civilians in Gaza,” according to a White House readout of the call. Biden welcomed the news of the two hostages who were released earlier on Monday, per the readout.

During the call, Biden also “underscored the need to sustain a continuous flow of urgently needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” according to the readout.

Biden also spoke with Netanyahu about U.S. support for Israel and what the White House said was “ongoing efforts at regional deterrence, to include new U.S. military deployments.”

Oct 23, 6:06 PM EDT
Kirby warns of uptick in Iran-linked attacks

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday that in recent days there had been “an uptick in rocket and drone attacks by Iranian-backed proxy groups against military bases housing U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria.”

“We know Iran continues to support Hamas and Hezbollah, and we know Iran is closely monitoring these events and in some cases, actively facilitating attacks and spurring on others who may want to exploit for their own good, or for that of Iran,” Kirby said.

Kirby said Iran tries to “maintain some level of deniability here, but we’re not going to allow them to do that.”

He added that there is still no direct evidence that Iran was involved in Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel.

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