Troops join emergency responders in search for missing after flash floods in Valencia, Spain
Clara Margais/picture alliance via Getty Images
(LONDON) — On the streets of Alfafar on Wednesday, cars and caravans were strewn like toys in the muddy aftermath of the floodwater that had rushed through the Spanish town.
Emergency crews descended on Wednesday on that town and others surrounding Valencia, wading through washed-out neighborhoods, searching homes and looking for missing people following devastating flooding, according to emergency officials.
More than 1,000 troops had been deployed to the province to help with the emergency response, the Military Emergencies Unit, a branch of the Spanish military, said on social media on Wednesday.
The flash floods were caused by heavy rain, which by Wednesday morning had begun “easing off,” according to the country’s meteorological agency
“[B]ut there is still an orange warning in inland Castellón until 2:00 p.m.,” the agency said. “Caution in the northeast of the peninsula and western Andalusia: very heavy showers are possible. Stay informed!”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Israeli forces continued their intense operations inside Gaza after Hamas leader and Oct. 7, 2023 attack mastermind Yahya Sinwar was killed in a firefight with Israeli forces.
The development comes as Israel continues intense air and ground campaigns against Hezbollah in Lebanon and against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and mulls its response to Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday in a bid to kickstart stalled cease-fire talks and prevent further regional escalation.
UN peacekeepers say they continue to come under fire in Lebanon
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said that its peacekeeping personnel and positions have continued to come under fire in southern Lebanon since Israel launched its ground invasion.
In separate statements, UNIFIL detailed recent incidents that it said occurred earlier this week in several southern Lebanese villages. On Wednesday, two medical evacuation teams came under fire of unknown origin in Yarin, while a medical facility at a UNIFIL position in Beit Leif was hit by a shell or rocket of unknown origin, and shells or rockets — also of unknown origin — landed near a UNIFIL position in Kafer Chouba, according to UNIFIL.
On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers fired at a permanent UNIFIL observation post near Dhayra, forcing the on-duty guards to withdraw to avoid being shot, UNIFIL said. No peacekeepers were injured in any of these incidents, according to UNIFIL.
WHO loses touch with personnel in Kamal Adwan Hospital
The World Health Organization said it has lost touch with personnel in the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza after reports of an early morning raid there.
“This development is deeply disturbing given the number of patients being served and people sheltering there,” the WHO said in a statement.
“Kamal Adwan Hospital has been overflowing with close to 200 patients — a constant stream of horrific trauma cases. It is also full of hundreds of people seeking shelter. Accessing hospitals across Gaza is getting unbelievably harder and exposes our staff to unnecessary danger,” the WHO said.
9 hospitalized after Hezbollah fires 30 projectiles into Galilee
Nine people have been hospitalized in northern Israel as Hezbollah continues to fire rockets into Israel on a daily basis.
The IDF said around 30 projectiles were identified, some of which were intercepted.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir
IDF announce deaths of 10 soldiers in Lebanon fighting
The Israel Defense Forces have announced the deaths of 10 soldiers fighting in Lebanon in the past 24 hours.
The IDF says the soldiers have not been killed in the past 24 hours but their deaths have been confirmed after a process of notifying their families.
The casualties speak to the intensity of the fighting in southern Lebanon, amid reports that Hezbollah appears to have regrouped after the assassination of leader Hassan Nasrallah and the pager attack in September.
Israeli strike kills 3 journalists in Lebanon
Three journalists have been killed in a strike on the accommodation they were staying in in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese officials.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health said three people were killed and three others injured in the strike.
Lebanese Minister of Information said in a post on X that this attack is “a war crime” and described the killings as a “premeditated and planned assassination.” He said that there were 18 journalists at the location representing 7 media outlets.
Local media are saying there was no prior warning to the strike. The IDF has not yet responded to an ABC News request for comment.
IDF says it killed Hamas commander who led massacre at shelter near Kibbutz Re’im
The Israel Defense Forces said it killed the Hamas commander who “led the massacre” at the bomb shelter near Kibbutz Re’im on Oct. 7, the IDF said in a statement Thursday.
The Hamas commander Mohammad Abu Itiwi was killed in a joint operation with the Israeli Security Agency on Wednesday, the IDF and ISA said in a joint statement.
This Hamas commander also worked for UNRWA, the IDF said. UNRWA is the main U.N. agency operating in Gaza.
In a statement Thursday, the UNRWA confirmed the person killed by the IDF Wednesday was a UNRWA staff member.
This staff member was not one of the initial 12 people that the Israeli Defense Forces claimed had allegedly participated in Oct. 7 back in January, UNRWA said.
This person was included in a separate list of “another 100 UNRWA staff members” who the IDF claimed were part of Palestinian armed groups including Hamas. This second list was sent to UNRWA in July 2024 by the Government of Israel.
“The UNRWA Commissioner General responded to that letter immediately stating that any allegation is taken seriously. He urged GOI to cooperate with the Agency by providing more information so he could take action. To date, UNRWA has not received any response to that letter,” UNRWA said in the statement.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Guy Davies
IDF operation on northern Gaza homes leaves dozens killed and wounded
Initial reports of a large-scale ongoing Israeli military operation in Jabalia, a city in northern Gaza, has left dozens killed and wounded, the Hamas-run Gaza Civil Defense said Thursday.
The operation consisted of explosions blowing up 11 houses in one block in Jabalia, the Gaza Civil Defense said.
Additionally, Israeli operations are ongoing in Khan Yunis, a city in southern Gaza Thursday evening, the Gaza Civil Defense said.
Israel issues evacuation order for southern suburbs of Beirut as strikes continue
The Israel Defense Forces has issued another evacuation order for the southern suburbs of Beirut on Thursday evening.
At least 24 people were injured after an Israeli airstrike on Nahle Road, Baalbek, and 16 people were injured after an Israeli strike on Tyre and surrounding areas, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Thursday.
Overall, 2,574 people have been killed and 12,001 injured since the start of Israel’s increased attacks on Lebanon in mid-September, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Josiane Hajj Moussa
Israel to meet with US, Qatari officials over cease-fire deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the head of Israel’s intelligence agency will travel to Doha, Qatar, on Sunday for a meeting with the CIA director and the Qatari prime minister as part of efforts to resume talks for a cease-fire and hostage exchange deal.
This comes after a high-level Egyptian security delegation met with a delegation of Hamas leaders in Cairo on Thursday as part of efforts to restart negotiations for a cease-fire in Gaza, Egypt’s state-owned Al-Qahera News reported.
-ABC News’ Jordanna Miller and Ayat Al-Tawy
Israel could reach ‘sharp conclusion’ with Hezbollah, IDF chief says
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said “there’s a possibility of reaching a sharp conclusion” with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in the north.
“We thoroughly dismantled Hezbollah’s senior chain of command,” he said Wednesday while touring the hard-hit northern Gaza Strip.
The IDF said Halevi “conducted a situational assessment” of the Jabaliya area amid an ongoing offensive there against Hamas.
“Another achievement — Jabaliya is falling, this is another psychological collapse. Both physically and psychologically,” Halevi said. “And if we take out the northern Gaza Brigade commander, it’s another collapse. These moves, again, I don’t know what we’ll encounter tomorrow, but this pressure brings us closer to more achievements.”
-ABC News’ Jordanna Miller
IDF attempting to make us ‘killable targets,’ Al Jazeera journalist in north Gaza says
Israel has accused six Al Jazeera journalists of being “Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists,” publishing their names and photographs.
Al Jazeera said the claims were “unfounded” and “fabricated accusations as a blatant attempt to silence the few remaining journalists in the region, thereby obscuring the harsh realities of the war from audiences worldwide,” in a statement.
Hossam Shabat, one of the journalists named said dossiers released by the IDF claiming to link the journalists to militant groups were “fabricated.”
“This blatant and belligerent attempt to transform us, the last witnesses in the north, into killable targets is an assassination threat and obvious attempt to preemptively justify our murder,” he said in a post on X.
Israel and Al Jazeera have history, but this latest claim has sparked major concern amongst media organizations and prominent journalists around the world.
“Israel has repeatedly made similar unproven claims without producing credible evidence. After killing Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail Al Ghoul in July, the IDF previously produced a similar document, which contained contradictory information, showing that Al Ghoul, born in 1997, received a Hamas military ranking in 2007 – when he would have been 10 years old,” The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded to a question about the accusations saying he can’t speak to the accuracy of them, but said “it clearly needs to be examined.”
“We very much support the work of journalists in Gaza and everywhere else around the world and including in areas of conflict and we’re equally determined that journalists be protected. Far too many have lost their lives in Gaza. We’re determined to do what we can to ensure that, again, they can do their work safely and securely as possible,” Blinken told reporters during a joint press conference in Doha on Thursday.
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, also commented on the the accusations.
“At Al-Jazeera, they are running at the highest international standards, and if there are any premises to these accusations, they are going to take care of the measures that’s needed for their journalists. But also, we need to know that we learned throughout this war that we cannot take those accusations of Israel for face value,” he said.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
Blinken says negotiations to resume on hostage release, cease-fire in Gaza
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press conference in Doha on Thursday that negotiators will resume talks with Hamas “in coming days” to discuss a path forward in Gaza to release the hostages and end the war.
But, he added, it’s not clear whether Hamas was “prepared to engage” following the death of its leader, Yahya Sinwar.
“We haven’t yet really determined whether Hamas is prepared to engage, but the next step is getting the negotiators together, and I anticipate we’ll know and we’ll certainly learn more in the coming days,” he said.
Blinken announced the development at a press conference with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who said his government had been in touch with Hamas officials in recent days.
“I believe that until now, there is no clarity what will be the way forward or the clear position,” bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said.
Blinken also announced another $135 million in aid to Gaza civilians, bringing the total contribution to $1.2 billion, he said.
-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty
Surgeon under Israeli siege in north Gaza reports death ‘in all forms’
Dr. Mohammed Obeid, a Médecins Sans Frontières surgeon working at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza said medical workers there are “hopeless” and under constant fire amidst Israel’s siege.
“There is death in all types and forms,” Obeid said. “The bombardment does not stop. The artillery does not stop. The planes do not stop. There is heavy shelling, and the hospital is [being] targeted too.”
“It just looks like a movie — it does not seem real,” he added.
“We have 30 people dead inside the hospital and around 130 injured patients who need urgent medical care. Medical staff are exhausted and many are injured as well. We feel hopeless. I just don’t have words.”
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
Blinken in Qatar for talks on ending Gaza war
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha on Thursday as he neared the end of this week’s Middle East peace push.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement that Blinken discussed “renewed efforts to secure the release of the hostages and end the war in Gaza, as well as ongoing work to provide for security, governance and reconstruction in Gaza after the war.”
Blinken and Al Thani also discussed Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and “exchanged views on achieving a diplomatic resolution along the Blue Line and making political progress in Lebanon in order to ensure its sovereignty and security.”
Blinken is set to travel to the U.K. after concluding his meetings in Qatar.
-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty
16 killed in Israeli airstrike on school-turned-shelter, officials say
Hospital officials at Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza said they received 16 dead bodies and 32 injured people after Israeli strikes on a school-turned-shelter in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.
The hospital said “most” of the victims were “children and elderly people.”
The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately comment on the attack.
-ABC News’ Dia Ostaaz and Guy Davies
Deadly airstrikes in Syria, military says
Syria’s Defense Ministry reported airstrikes in the capital Damascus and at a military site near the western city of Homs on Thursday.
The attacks killed one soldier and injured seven other people, according to the ministry.
Israel — which has conducted regular strikes inside Syria in recent years — did not claim the airstrikes. The country generally refuses to confirm or deny responsibility for operations on foreign soil.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Guy Davies
IDF accuses Hezbollah of using ambulances to carry weapons
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee alleged on X on Thursday that Hezbollah is using ambulances to transport fighters and weapons.
Any vehicle used for “terrorist” purposes will be subject to “necessary measures,” Adraee wrote.
The IDF did not provide any evidence to support the assertion. Medical vehicles, workers and facilities have been repeatedly targeted by Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
IDF says 50 projectiles, 2 missiles fired from Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces wrote on X on Thursday morning that around 50 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory.
The launches set off air alert sirens in the Upper and Western Galilee areas, with some projectiles intercepted and other landing, the IDF said.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said paramedics evacuated three people suffering from shrapnel injuries to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya. Two of the victims were in moderate condition and one in mild condition, the service said.
The IDF also reported two missiles fired from Lebanon into northern Israel which it said “fell in open areas.”
-ABC News’ Dana Savir
US urges Israel to address ‘dire humanitarian situation’ in Gaza U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant Wednesday to discuss Israel’s operations in Lebanon and the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the Pentagon said in a statement.
“Secretary Austin welcomed the movement of humanitarian assistance through the Erez crossing and urged the Government of Israel to take all necessary steps to address the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza,” Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said of the call.
Humanitarian services ‘completely stopped’ in north, Gaza Civil Defense says The Gaza Civil Defense said its work has “completely stopped” in northern Gaza as “the situation there has become catastrophic,” according to a statement released Wednesday.
“Citizens there are now without humanitarian services,” the Gaza Civil Defense said.
Medical supplies have also run out at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, the director of field hospitals in Gaza said Wednesday.
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz
Nearly 200,000 people displaced in Lebanon as number of Israeli strikes approaches 11,000
Nearly 200,000 people have been displaced across various regions of Lebanon as the number of Israeli strikes on the country approaches 11,000, according to a report from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
The highest concentrations of displaced persons are in Mount Lebanon and Beirut, though the estimated total number of displaced individuals is likely much higher, the ministry said.
At least 2,574 people were killed and 12,001 others were injured since the increase in strikes began, the ministry said.
Since the increase in strikes began, 1,097 centers have been established to accommodate the displaced, with 922 of these centers reaching maximum capacity, the ministry said.
From Sept. 23 to Oct. 23, 344,819 Syrian nationals and 150,104 Lebanese nationals crossed the Lebanese border into Syria, the ministry said.
Over 150 patients in northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital in critical condition
More than 150 people in northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital are in critical condition and are facing increasingly dire conditions, according to the hospital director.
Health services cannot be provided to the sick and injured due to the depletion of medical supplies, according to the director.
“Kamal Adwan Hospital remains partially functional but is struggling to meet growing needs due to intensified hostilities in the north and a shortage of medical supplies and fuel. A strike near the hospital causing damages to the gate was reported earlier today, 22 October,” the World Health Organization said in a statement Wednesday.
“As hostilities intensify in North Gaza, WHO is deeply concerned about the last two functional hospitals – Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda – which must be protected. A complete lack of health care in North Gaza would make an already catastrophic situation worse, and lead to more lives being lost,” the WHO said.
Gaza polio vaccine campaign postponed due to ‘intense’ attacks, UN says
The World Health Organization announced Wednesday that it has been forced to postpone the third phase of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza.
The WHO blamed “escalating violence, intense bombardment, mass displacement orders and lack of assured humanitarian pauses across most of northern Gaza.”
The third and final round of the vaccination push was due to start on Wednesday, the WHO said, and aimed to vaccinate 119,279 children across northern Gaza.
“The current conditions, including ongoing attacks on civilian infrastructure continue to jeopardize people’s safety and movement in northern Gaza, making it impossible for families to safely bring their children for vaccination, and health workers to operate,” the organization wrote in a statement published on its website.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Blinken to travel to Qatar, UK after Saudi visit
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Qatar and the U.K. after his Wednesday stop in Saudi Arabia, the State Department announced.
Blinken left Israel early Wednesday following meetings with officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.
The visit was the first on a Middle East tour intended to kickstart stalled cease-fire negotiations in Gaza and encourage a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday morning ahead of a planned meeting with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.
-ABC News’ Cindy Smith
US has ‘not seen evidence’ of bunker under Beirut hospital: Austin
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Wednesday that U.S. officials have “not seen evidence” to support Israel’s claim of a Hezbollah bunker located under Al-Sahel hospital in southern Beirut.
“We’ll continue to collaborate with our Israeli counterparts to gain better fidelity on exactly what they’re looking at,” Austin added.
Israel claims Hezbollah is using the purported bunker to store hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold under the city’s southern Dahiya suburb. Hospital officials have denied the allegation.
The area — known as a Hezbollah stronghold — has been the focus of its intense airstrikes on the Lebanese capital over the past month.
-ABC News’ Chris Boccia
Austin says no staffers probed in FBI’s Israel leak investigation
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday denied reports that one of his senior staffers is under investigation by the FBI in connection with leaked Pentagon documents purportedly relating to Israel’s planned retaliatory strike on Iran.
“There’s no OSD [Office of the Secretary of Defense] official being named as a part of this investigation,” Austin told reporters while in Rome, Italy. “So that is not true at this point.”
“I’ve seen no evidence of that, or any indication that any OSD official will be implicated as part of this.”
-ABC News’ Chris Boccia
More overnight Israeli strikes rock Beirut
The Israel Defense Forces said warplanes conducted another night of airstrikes in the Lebanese capital targeting what it said were Hezbollah weapons storage, arms manufacturing and command center targets in the southern suburbs.
The airstrikes centered on Dahiya — an area of south Beirut known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
More than 2,500 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since Oct. 7, 2023, with nearly 12,000 injured, according to tallies from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Will Gretsky
Blinken departs Israel for Saudi Arabia
Secretary of State Antony Blinken departed Israel early Wednesday for Saudi Arabia — the next stop on his latest Middle East tour.
Before boarding his plane in Tel Aviv, Blinken told reporters that Israel has now achieved most of its military objectives in Gaza — including the elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar — but at great cost to Palestinian civilians.
Blinken said it was time to end the conflict, having spent Tuesday meeting with Israeli leaders — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — and the families of hostages in a bid to revive cease-fire and hostage release talks.
There is now a need to establish whether a post-Sinwar Hamas will be more open to a diplomatic resolution, Blinken said, plus to facilitate more aid into Gaza and to establish a concrete plan for the post-war governance of the territory.
Blinken said such questions would be part of his meetings with other Middle East leaders through this week.
-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston
US officials press Israel on ‘General’s Plan’
During their meeting Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about reports that some Israeli officials wanted to seize control of north Gaza using controversial methods, according to a senior U.S. administration official.
Coined the “General’s Plan” by media outlets, the idea would be to force evacuations of the area and assume anyone who stays behind is an enemy combatant and can be fired upon and starved.
The senior U.S. administration official said Blinken noted in the meeting that there’s a “perception” that this method is official Israeli policy.
The official said Netanyahu and his top aide, Ron Dermer, denied that it was and said the perception was “deeply damaging” to their efforts.
“We did hear a very clear commitment that that is not their state of policy,” the official told a reporter.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Blinken, Netanyahu meet as US pushes for cease-fire
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for over 2 1/2 hours on Tuesday, as the U.S. makes a push for a cease-fire agreement to end Israel’s conflicts with Hamas and Hezbollah.
Blinken and Netanyahu discussed the need to capitalize on the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to reach an agreement that would secure the release of the remaining hostages being held in Gaza and putting in place a plan that provides lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis.
Blinken also discussed the importance of increasing the flow of aid being allowed into Gaza. The U.S. warned Israel last week that assistance could be withheld if humanitarian aid doesn’t reach civilians in Gaza.
Lebanese hospital sustained ‘severe material damage’ in Israeli strike
Lebanon’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital will continue providing care despite the building sustaining “severe material damage” in an Israeli strike on Monday, according to Dr. Jihad Saadeh, the head of the hospital.
“Because of the targeting that has happened, we have sustained severe material damage to the hospital, including the destruction of solar panels, extensive destruction of all glass facades and damage to the hospital walls. Severe damage because it seems the shrapnel was very large,” Saadeh said.
“We will not stop. Several entities even called me yesterday asking if I would like to evacuate the hospital. I told them, not at all. We will not evacuate. There is no hospital left but us. After the sinful targeting of the suburb’s hospitals, there is no one left except for us. So we will continue our work, God willing,” Saadeh said.
Drone attack on Netanyahu’s house caused damage
The drone that targeted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home on Saturday caused some damage to the structure, according to a person familiar.
Netanyahu called the attack an “attempt to assassinate me and my wife,” in a statement Saturday. They were not in the home at the time of the attack, according to the prime minister’s office.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
63 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon Monday
At least 63 people were killed and 234 were injured in Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Monday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Since the start of Israel’s increased strikes on Lebanon, at least 2,546 people were killed and 11,862 others were injured, the ministry said.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Gaza’s development set back 69 years by war, UN says
The United Nations Development Programme published a new report Tuesday suggesting that Israel’s war against Hamas has set the Gaza Strip’s development back by as much as 69 years.
Poverty levels in Gaza are projected to rise to 74.3% in 2024, affecting over 4 million people, the report said — including 2.61 million “newly impoverished” people.
The territory’s GDP is expected to contract by some 35.1% in 2024 compared to a no-war scenario, it added, with unemployment potentially rising to almost 50%.
“The assessment indicates that, even if humanitarian aid is provided each year, the economy may not regain its pre-crisis level for a decade or more,” UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said.
Evacuation leaflets accompany Israeli attacks in north Gaza
At least 12 people were killed or injured in Israel Defense Forces attacks in northern Gaza over the past 24 hours, officials from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Tuesday.
At least 87 people were killed over the weekend in an IDF attack in the Beit Lahia neighborhood, officials said, just north of the Jabalia refugee camp which has been the focus of recent Israeli operations in the area. The IDF disputed the death toll.
Meanwhile, the IDF dropped leaflets over Beit Lahia on Tuesday urging residents to evacuate southwards.
Footage from the area showed long lines of people — mostly women and children — fleeing with their belongings under the watch of Israeli forces.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Guy Davies
Beirut hospital won’t evacuate despite Israeli strike, director says
The general manager of Beirut’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital said on Tuesday that staff would continue treating patients there despite a nearby Israeli airstrike.
“We are committed to continuing our work and will not evacuate the hospital,” Dr. Jihad Saadeh said. “Although the hospital has suffered damage from shrapnel, we are prepared to treat patients in the hospital corridors if necessary.”
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said 13 people including a child were killed and at least 57 others injured in the Israeli airstrike late Monday, with significant damage done to the nearby hospital — the largest public medical facility in Lebanon.
There was no warning issued before the strike on the hospital, sources told ABC News. The Israel Defense Forces denied the hospital was hit and said its strike was on a nearby Hezbollah target.
Saadeh told Tuesday’s press conference that some 50 healthcare centers, 150 ambulances, 150 paramedics and 15 hospitals have been targeted in Israeli attacks.
-ABC News’ Josiane Hajj Moussa and Guy Davies
IDF strike near hospital in Lebanon kills 13 and injures at least 57
An Israel Defense Forces strike near Rafik Hariri Hospital in southern Beirut on Monday killed 13 people including a child and injured at least 57 others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Seventeen of those injured required hospitalization, with seven in a critical condition, the ministry said in a Tuesday statement.
The hospital, which is the largest public medical facility in Lebanon, sustained significant damage, officials said.
There was no warning issued before the strike on the hospital, sources told ABC News.
The IDF denied attacking the hospital in a statement, claiming it was targeting a Hezbollah target close to the facility. “The strike did not hit the hospital and the IDF emphasizes that the hospital was not targeted, and the hospital itself and its operation were not affected, the IDF said.
-ABC News’ Josiane Hajj Moussa, Jordana Miller and Guy Davies
Israel designates Al-Qard al-Hassan as a terrorist organization
Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced Tuesday that he designated the Al-Qard al-Hassan finance institution — which Israel alleges is a key financial vehicle for Hezbollah — a terrorist organization.
“Hezbollah’s bank is used to purchase weapons, pay the salaries of terrorists and keep Hezbollah’s terror machine going,” Gallant wrote in a post on X.
“Degrading Hezbollah’s capabilities requires both a military and economic campaign,” he added. “We are destroying the terrorist organization’s ability to both launch and buy missiles.”
Israel has been targeting Al-Qard al-Hassan infrastructure throughout Lebanon in recent days. The strikes have been especially fierce in Beirut, and particularly in its southern Dahiya suburb which is known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Blinken lands in Israel
Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to begin a tour of Middle East nations in bid to reinvigorate cease-fire talks in both Gaza and Lebanon.
Blinken is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.
The revival of stalled cease-fire talks and the prevention of further regional escalation are at the top of the agenda for America’s top diplomat.
Blinken’s latest regional tour comes just two weeks to go until the U.S. presidential election and with Israel still mulling its retaliation against Iran for the latter’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack.
-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston and Guy Davies
IDF claims 230 more strikes in Lebanon and Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces said in a social media post Tuesday that it struck around 230 Hezbollah and Hamas targets in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip over the previous 24 hours.
The strikes killed “dozens” of fighters, the IDF claimed, and hit targets including three purported command centers of a Hezbollah drone unit in southern Lebanon.
In Gaza, fighting continues in the Jabalia area in the north of the strip, which is under intense Israeli bombardment and sweeping evacuation orders.
The IDF said “thousands of civilians have been evacuated” from the area, while “dozens of terrorists were arrested from among the civilians.”
Another 10 fighters were killed in a strike in the area, the IDF added. Troops also dismantled several tunnel shafts and a rocket launcher in Beit Lahia, to the north of Jabalia.
Elsewhere, the IDF reported an airstrike on a rocket launcher and ammunition in the southern Rafah area.
IDF claims Nasrallah’s bunker located underneath Beirut hospital
The Israel Defense Forces claimed late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s gold-filled bunker is located underneath a Beirut hospital, which hospital officials said was being evacuated Monday out of an abundance of caution.
“There are millions of dollars in gold and cash in Hassan Nasrallah’s bunker. Where is the bunker located? Directly under Al-Sahel Hospital — in the heart of Beirut,” IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a video address Monday.
The IDF released 3D renderings of the hospital building and the bunker it said belonged to Nasrallah, who was killed in Israeli airstrikes in Beirut last month, but has not provided tangible proof. Hagari said the Israeli air force is monitoring the site but added, “We will not strike the hospital itself.”
“We are not at war with the people of Lebanon. We are at war with Hezbollah,” he said.
Following Hagari’s remarks, Lebanese hospital officials said the hospital is being evacuated out of an abundance of caution for the safety of the patients. Lebanese Parliament member Fadi Alameh, the owner of the hospital, said he has requested that the Lebanese army and United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon investigate the Israeli allegations.
Lebanese official Wiam Wahhab said the “talk of weapons depots” at the hospital “is illogical and false.”
“This points to the beginning of targeting hospitals, and the army must deploy around the hospital and protect it,” he said.
Dr. Youssef Bakhash, the president of the Lebanese Order of Physicians, told the Lebanese media group Al Jadeed that the “pretext of the existence of tunnels and funds beneath Sahel Hospital is aimed at targeting and disrupting the healthcare sector.”
Israel’s conflict with Iran to last ‘many months’: Former IDF general
Israel’s planned attack on Iran will mark the “beginning of a war” that will last “many months,” retired Israel Defense Forces Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi told ABC News.
Israel’s war with Hezbollah had gone incredibly well and the IDF had surpassed its own expectations in degrading the Iranian proxy, Avivi said, adding that the same mentality would be applied to dealing with the Iranian regime itself.
“We have a historical opportunity to deal with Iran so they don’t pose another threat to Israel,” said Avivi, the founder of the right-wing think tank Israel’s Defense and Security Forum.
Israel’s retaliatory strike on Iran will be “fierce and strong and very surprising” when it happens, he said.
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge and Jordana Miller
300 Hezbollah targets hit in Lebanon in past 24 hours: IDF
The Israel Defense Forces said it hit 300 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours, which saw an intense night of airstrikes on Beirut.
Seven brigade commanders, 21 battalion commanders and 24 company commanders for Hezbollah were killed in its ongoing operations, the IDF said.
More strikes against Hezbollah targets are expected all over southern Lebanon Monday night, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said.
Still unclear whether intelligence docs were leaked or hacked: White House
There’s no indication yet whether classified documents on Israel’s retaliation plans were leaked or hacked, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Monday.
“I’m just not able to answer your question whether it was a leak or a hack at this point. We’ll let the investigation pursue its logical course there,” Kirby said.
Kirby said that President Joe Biden was “deeply concerned” about the incident, and that while they don’t expect more documents to be revealed, they are on high alert amid the investigation.
“We’re certainly going to keep our antenna up and our eyes open for any potential future disclosures,” he said.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
7 Israeli citizens arrested after allegedly spying for Iran
Seven Israeli citizens were arrested after allegedly spying for Iran, Israeli authorities said Monday.
The Israel Security Agency and Israel Police said they “successfully dismantled a spy network” that allegedly gathered sensitive information on Israel Defense Forces bases and energy infrastructure.
The citizens were allegedly recruited by Iranian agents to conduct “security-related tasks” over at least two years, authorities said, including “extensive reconnaissance missions” on air force and navy installations, ports, Iron Dome system locations and energy infrastructure.
Photographs and videos of “numerous” IDF bases, ports and energy infrastructure were seized as part of the investigation, authorities said.
“It is assessed that these activities have inflicted security damage on the state,” the ISA and Israel Police said.
The seven Israelis were allegedly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, often through cryptocurrencies, for their work, authorities said.
Prosecutors are expected to file an indictment against them in the coming days.
Austin: ‘Hard to say’ what Israeli retaliatory strike on Iran will look like
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters while traveling to Ukraine on Monday that it’s “hard to say” what an Israeli retaliatory strike on Iran will look like, when asked whether the response should be proportional.
“That’s an Israeli decision,” he said. “Whether or not the Israelis believe [it] is proportional and [how] the Iranians perceive it, I mean, those are maybe two different things.”
Austin told reporters that the U.S. is “going to continue to do everything we can” to get both parties to “begin to de-escalate.”
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Blinken to visit Israel in Middle East tour
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will begin a tour of Israel and other Middle Eastern nations on Monday in a bid to inject new life into stalled cease-fire and hostage release negotiations in Gaza, the State Department said.
Blinken “will discuss the importance of bringing the war in Gaza to an end, securing the release of all hostages and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people,” the State Department notice said.
“He will continue discussions on post-conflict period planning and emphasize the need to chart a new path forward that enables Palestinians to rebuild their lives and realize their aspirations free from Hamas’ tyranny,” the statement said.
Blinken will also “underscore that additional food, medicine and other humanitarian aid must be delivered to civilians in Gaza,” it continued.
The situation in Lebanon — where Israel is continuing an intense air and ground campaign and Hezbollah is still firing across the shared border — will also be a topic of discussion, the State Department said.
Blinken will continue pursuit of a “diplomatic resolution” that “allows civilians on both sides” of the border to return to their homes, the statement said.
-ABC News’ Cindy Smith
‘Beirut in flames’ after night of airstrikes, foreign minister says
“Beirut in flames,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Monday following an intense night of airstrikes on the Lebanese capital.
“A wide-scale Israeli attack targeted Hezbollah’s financial infrastructure in Beirut and across Lebanon last night,” Katz said.
“Massive fires were seen above Beirut as over 15 buildings were struck following evacuation warnings to residents,” the foreign minister wrote.
“Hezbollah has paid and will continue to pay a heavy price for its attacks on northern Israel and its rocket fire. We will keep striking the Iranian proxy until it collapses.”
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
IDF claims ‘dozens’ of strikes on Hezbollah financial targets
Israel Defense Forces warplanes launched “a series of targeted, intelligence-based strikes against dozens of facilities and sites used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to finance its terrorist activities,” the IDF said in a Monday post to X.
The Sunday night strikes hit targets in Beirut, southern Lebanon and elsewhere “deep within” the country, the IDF added.
The IDF said the targets were linked to the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, which Israel has accused of acting as a key financier of Hezbollah activities.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
US investigating intelligence leak on Israel’s alleged plan to attack Iran
Documents purporting to show classified U.S. intelligence-gathering on Israel’s preparations for a possible retaliatory strike against Iran appeared on social media platforms late last week.
The impact of the circulation of these documents on current and future planning by the Israeli military is unclear at this time.
U.S. officials declined to comment on the situation when reached by ABC News. However, a law enforcement source on Sunday confirmed with ABC News that there is an investigation underway.
Markings on the documents indicate that they would have originated from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which collects, analyzes and distributes intelligence gleaned from satellite and aerial imagery.
If the documents are authentic, it would indicate a major intelligence breach.
According to Mick Mulroy, an ABC News national security and defense contributor, who served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East: “The future coordination between the U.S. and Israel could be challenged, as well.”
The Department of Defense, Federal Bureau of Investigation and a spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence all declined to comment when contacted by ABC News.
House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared on CNN Sunday and acknowledged that there is an investigation underway into the possible intelligence leak, adding, “We’re following it closely.”
-ABC News’ T. Michelle Murphy
IDF says it’s targeting infrastructure in Lebanon of group allegedly financing Hezbollah
The Israel Defense Forces announced it was targeting infrastructure Sunday night in Lebanon that has been linked to the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, an organization it alleges is involved in financing Hezbollah.
The United States placed sanctions on the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association in May 2021 related to financing Hezbollah activities.
The Al-Qard Al-Hassan group has 31 branches in Lebanon — including in Beirut and Bekaa, officials said. At least one strike was reported Sunday evening in the Chyah neighborhood of Beirut.
“The ‘Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association’ is involved in financing the terrorist activities of the Hezbollah organization against Israel, and therefore the IDF has decided to attack this terrorist infrastructure,” the IDF said in a statement Sunday. “The IDF continues to work forcefully to destroy Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure. Therefore, we call on people inside buildings used by Hezbollah to stay at least 500 meters away from them for the next few hours.”
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike near the southern Lebanese village of Al-Mahmoudiye on September 24, 2024. (RABIH DAHER/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Israel and Hezbollah are exchanging hundreds of cross-border strikes in the wake of the shocking explosions of wireless devices across Lebanon last week.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Lebanon death toll rises to 558 people, ministry says
At least 558 people have been killed — including 50 children and 95 women — and another 1,853 people wounded by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since Monday, according to the latest data from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Officials released the updated figures during a press conference on Tuesday.
The Israel Defense Forces said it struck at least 1,600 targets in Lebanon over the past 24 hours.
Israeli bombing prompts exodus from southern Lebanon
Thousands of people fled their homes in southern Lebanon after Israel killed hundreds in intensified airstrikes through Monday and Tuesday.
The mass movement of people — encouraged by the Israel Defense Forces before and during its expanding bombing campaign — prompted gridlock on highways running north toward the capital Beirut.
A journey that usually takes 90 minutes took up to 13 hours.
Authorities are working to turn schools and other educational institutions into makeshift shelters to house displaced people.
IDF, Hezbollah begin new day of cross-border fire
The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday its warplanes struck “dozens of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon,” with artillery and tanks also conducting fire missions in the area.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, fired at least 125 rockets overnight into Tuesday morning. Sirens were sounding through the early morning in northern Israel.
At least nine people suffered minor injuries as a result of rockets fired into the Western Galilee region of northern Israel on Tuesday morning, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service.
At least 492 people were killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes on Monday, according to Lebanese authorities. At least 1,645 people were reported injured.
The IDF said it struck at least 1,600 targets in Lebanon over the past 24 hours.
Blinken seeks ‘off ramp’ as Israel pounds Lebanon, official says
A senior official in President Joe Biden’s administration told ABC News the U.S. cannot rule out the possibility of an Israeli invasion into Lebanon following the escalation of its airstrike campaign on Monday.
“I think it is important for everyone to take Israeli preparations seriously,” the senior administration official said.
The U.S. is putting its hope in engagements on the sideline of the United Nations General Assembly this week, said the senior administration official, who expressed hope that the informal meetings could lead to “illusive solutions” or “at least make some progress” toward resolving the crisis in the Middle East.
The official said Secretary of State Antony Blinken would discuss “the increasing challenges” across the so-called “Blue Line” dividing Israel and Lebanon at a meeting with his G7 counterparts.
At that engagement and through the week, the a key U.S. focus will be “finding an off ramp,” they said.
“We’ve got some concrete ideas with allies and partners we are going to be discussing,” the official added.
New details emerge over US troops being sent to Middle East
A U.S. official tells ABC News that the “small number of additional U.S. military personnel being sent to the Middle East,” announced this morning by the Pentagon is a small special operations team that will work in planning for a non-combatant evacuation operation should it be needed.
Lebanon warns UN its citizens face ‘serious danger’ amid Israel-Hezbollah conflict
A Lebanese parliament member addressed the United Nations General Assembly Monday sharing a warning that the country’s citizens are in danger as tensions between Israeli forces and Hezbollah intensify.
Member Bahia El Hariri attended the U.N. meeting in place of Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
“The people of Lebanon are in serious danger after the destruction of large areas of agricultural land and the targeting of residential buildings in the majority of the regions of Lebanon,” Hariri said.
“This has damaged the economy of our country and threatened our social order, especially since several countries have asked their nationals to leave our country,” she added.
Separately, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “gravely alarmed” by the escalating situation between northern Israel and southern Lebanon and the “large number of civilian casualties, including children and women, being reported by Lebanese authorities, as well as thousands of displaced persons, amidst the most intense Israeli bombing campaign since last October,” in a statement issued by his spokesperson Monday.
“The Secretary-General is also gravely alarmed” by the continued Hezbollah strikes on Israel, the statement added.
Israeli Air Force fighter jets attacked “1,600 terrorist targets of Hezbollah” in parts of southern Lebanon in “several attack waves,” on Monday, the IDF said in a post on X.
US Embassy in Jerusalem issues travel restriction for government employees
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem issued a security alert “temporarily” restricting travel for U.S. government employees and their family members to parts of northern and northeastern Israel.
“U.S. government employees and their family members have been temporarily restricted from any personal travel north of highway 65 toward Afula and north/northeast of highway 71 from Afula to the Jordanian border. Any official travel in this area will require approval. Approved travel will take place only in armored vehicles. This is provided for your information as you make your own security plans,” the U.S. Embassy alert said.
Afula is a city in northern Israel.
“US citizens should take this into consideration when planning their own activities,” the alert read.
(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continued intense air and ground campaigns against Hezbollah in Lebanon and against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The uptick in offensive operations came days after Israel marked the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault and as Israeli leaders planned their response to last week’s Iranian ballistic missile attack.
Body of IRGC general killed in Israeli airstrike found in Beirut
The body of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps general was discovered in the Dahieh area of Beirut, the IRGC announced on Iranian state TV Friday.
Brig. Gen. Abbas Nilforoushan, the deputy commander for operations of the IRGC, was killed on Sept. 27 in the same Israeli airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nassrallah.
Nilforoushan was sanctioned by the U.S. for his role in suppressing protests in Iran.
A public funeral and burial will be held when Nilforoushan’s body is returned to Iran, the IRGC said.
-ABC News’ Hami Hamedi
Hezbollah commander killed in strike in southern Lebanon: IDF
The Israel Defense Forces said Friday it eliminated a Hezbollah commander in a strike in southern Lebanon.
The commander was “responsible for numerous anti-tank missile attacks on the area of Ramot Naftali in northern Israel,” the IDF said in a statement.
The IDF said it was continuing to target Hezbollah positions while issuing an evacuation warning for people in parts of southern Lebanon on Friday.
-ABC News’ Dorit Long
Austin addresses safety of UNIFIL forces in call with Gallant
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “emphasized the importance of ensuring the safety” of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon during a call with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, the Pentagon said Friday.
He also “urged coordinating efforts to pivot from military operations to a diplomatic pathway as soon as feasible” during the call Thursday on Israel’s operations in Lebanon, according to a Pentagon readout.
The French Foreign Ministry and Italy’s defense minister on Thursday also expressed concern for the safety of UNIFIL troops after two peacekeepers were injured by Israeli fire on Thursday. Two more were wounded on Friday in explosions that occurred near its headquarters in Naqoura in southern Lebanon, according to UNIFIL.
The Israel Defense Forces said it is reviewing the incidents and “takes every precaution to minimize harm to civilians and peacekeepers alike.”
Lebanon condemns attacks on UNIFIL
The Lebanese Foreign Ministry condemned the “systematic and deliberate targeting of UNIFIL forces by the Israeli army,” in a statement on Friday.
“These attacks cannot be separated from the repeated and ongoing Israeli attempts to undermine the mission of UNIFIL,” the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said.
The Israel Defense Forces said two U.N. peacekeepers were “inadvertently hurt” during IDF combat with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on Friday.
“The IDF expresses deep concern over incidents of this kind and is currently conducting a thorough review at the highest levels of command to determine the details,” IDF international spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Clark Bentson
UNIFIL says 2 peacekeepers injured in southern Lebanon explosions
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said two peacekeepers were injured in two explosions that occurred near its headquarters in southern Lebanon Friday morning local time.
This marked the second time its headquarters were affected by explosions in the last 48 hours, UNIFIL said.
UNIFIL also said an Israeli military bulldozer knocked over several protective walls at one of the U.N. posts along the southern Lebanese border on Friday.
“These incidents put again UN peacekeepers, who are serving in south Lebanon at the request of the Security Council under resolution 1701 (2006), at very serious risks,” UNIFIL said in a statement. “This is a serious development, and UNFIL reiterates that the safety and security of UN personnel and property must be guaranteed and that the inviolability of UN premises must be respected at all times.”
The Israel Defense Forces has not commented on the incidents. Israel on Thursday recommended that UNIFIL relocate farther north to avoid danger as fighting intensifies, after the mission said two troops were injured by Israeli fire.
Israel recommends UNIFIL relocate to avoid danger ‘as fighting intensifies’
Israel recommended that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon relocate farther north, after the mission said two troops were injured in the south of the country by Israeli fire.
“Our dialogue and coordination with UNIFIL will continue in southern Lebanon,” Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, said in a statement Thursday. “Our recommendation is that UNIFIL relocate five kilometers north to avoid danger as fighting intensifies and while the situation along the Blue Line remains volatile as a result of Hezbollah’s aggression.
The Israel Defense Forces said earlier Thursday that Hezbollah operates near UNIFIL posts, and that they told U.N. forces in the area “to remain in protected spaces.” The IDF did not comment on the two UNIFIL peacekeepers being wounded.
22 killed in Beirut strikes: Health ministry
At least 22 people were killed and 117 injured after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut Thursday evening local time, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said.
Israeli forces have since issued another evacuation warning to residents in Haret Hreik in the Dahieh area of Beirut.
Amnesty International on Thursday called Israel’s evacuation warnings “inadequate” and “in some cases also misleading.”
“Our analysis shows that not only did the warnings issued by the Israeli military include misleading maps, but they were also issued at short notice — in one instance less than 30 minutes before strikes began — in the middle of the night, via social media, when many people would be asleep, offline or not following media reports,” Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general, said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz
2nd round of Gaza polio vaccinations set to begin next week: UNICEF
A second round of polio vaccinations in Gaza is set to begin next week, according to UNICEF.
An agreement on humanitarian pauses has been reached to allow for the second dose on Oct. 14, targeting 590,000 children under the age of 10, UNICEF said Thursday.
The first round of vaccinations ended in mid-September, reaching 90% vaccination coverage, UNICEF said at the time.
Northern Gaza bombarded with airstrikes in past 2 days: UNRWA
Northern Gaza has been bombarded with airstrikes, with 118 attacks recorded in the past two days compared to 140 in September, according to a United Nations agency.
“Ongoing military operations and continuous airstrikes on northern Gaza are heavily affecting the population,” the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said on X on Thursday.
The World Food Programme warned the situation in the north is “worsening again,” saying they are no longer able to distribute food in the region.
“Virtually the entire area is under evacuation orders, and thousands of families have been forced to flee amid intense airstrikes and military operations on the ground,” the organization said in a press release on Wednesday. “There is nowhere for these people to go and hardly any way for WFP to reach them.”
Dozens killed in airstrikes in Lebanon in past 24 hours
Dozens of people were killed in the past 24 hours in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Twenty-eight people were killed and another 113 injured, bringing the total casualties since the increased fighting began in mid-September to 2,169 fatalities and 10,212 injuries, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
There were 61 airstrikes recorded in the past 24 hours in various parts of Lebanon, largely in the south, according to the Lebanese prime minister’s situation report on Thursday.
The Israeli Defense Forces issued a warning to sites “in and near southern villages” in Lebanon on Thursday as it continues its campaign against Hezbollah.
Israeli forces struck more than 110 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon over the past day, the IDF said in a statement on Thursday.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Dorit Long
Netanyahu to meet security cabinet Thursday
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with his security cabinet on Thursday evening local time.
Israeli media reported that Israel’s planned retaliation against Iran for its Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack is among the topics to be discussed.
Netanyahu and other officials have vowed a significant response to the barrage, which Tehran justified as a “legal, rational and legitimate response” to Israeli strikes and targeted killings in Iran and Lebanon.
“Iran made a big mistake tonight — and it will pay for it,” Netanyahu said shortly after Iran’s Oct. 1 attack.
This week, Netanyahu said Israel is the “one force in the world that stands in Iran’s way to conquest.” He added, “It’s not only our fight, it’s the free world’s fight.”
Netanyahu spoke with President Joe Biden on Wednesday. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the conversation between the two leaders was “direct” and “productive.”
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Israeli fire injures UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, mission says
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said Thursday that Israeli forces fired on three peacekeeper bases in the south of the country, injuring two troops.
“UNIFIL’s Naqoura headquarters and nearby positions have been repeatedly hit” amid fighting between Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah in the area, the mission said in a post to X.
Two peacekeepers were injured at the Naqoura position “after an IDF Merkava tank fired its weapon toward an observation tower,” the mission wrote, “directly hitting it and causing them to fall. The injuries are fortunately, this time, not serious, but they remain in hospital.”
Elsewhere, UNIFIL said IDF fire on its camp in Labbouneh hit the entrance to a bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering, damaging vehicles and a communications system.
The IDF also fired at and disabled the perimeter-monitoring cameras at Labbouneh, UNIFIL said. An IDF drone was observed above the position, the mission added.
“Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and of Security Council resolution 1701,” UNIFIL said, referring to the 2006 U.N. Security Council agreement that sought to end the last major cross-border war between Israel and Hezbollah.
“We are following up with the IDF on these matters,” it added.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz
28 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza school
At least 28 Palestinians were killed in a single attack on a school in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
Children are believed to be among the casualties in the attack on the Rufaydah school. The Israel Defense Forces said it was targeting a Hamas “command and control center” in what it called a “precise strike.”
The strike occurred in the central region of the devastated strip, where Palestinians from the north have been ordered to evacuate by the IDF.
In the north, Israel is continuing an intense military operation in the Jabalia refugee camp, which is now sealed off and under IDF siege. This is the fourth major IDF operation in Jabalia since the start of the war.
The IDF, meanwhile, said it downed a drone launched into Israel from Gaza, with no injuries reported.
-ABC News’ Samy Zyara, Diaa Ostaz, Zoe Magee, Jordana Miller, Victoria Beaule and Joe Simonetti.
Quarter of Lebanon under Israeli evacuation orders, UN says
Around 25% of Lebanese territory is now under Israel Defense Forces evacuation orders, the United Nations said.
New “displacement orders” are being “issued on a daily basis,” the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a situation update, noting that more than 100 villages and urban areas in southern Lebanon are affected.
A total of 1.2 million people across the country have been displaced by Israeli air and ground attacks, the report said, citing OHCHR figures.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
IDF issues evacuation order in Dahieh area of Beirut The Israel Defense Forces issued another evacuation order in an area of Dahieh in Beirut, Lebanon, right after midnight Thursday local time.
“You are located near Hezbollah facilities and interests, against which the IDF will operate in the near future,” the order read.
“For your safety and the safety of your family members, you must evacuate this building and the surrounding buildings immediately and stay away from them for a distance of no less than 500 meters,” the IDF added.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Trump, Netanyahu spoke last week, Netanyahu’s office confirms
Former President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone “about a week ago,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to ABC News.
Trump called Netanyahu “on his own initiative,” Netanyahu’s office said.
Trump “congratulated” Netanyahu on “the determined and powerful actions that Israel carried out against Hezbollah,” the prime minister’s office said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also participated in the call, Netanyahu’s office said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Delegations from Hamas, Fatah meet in Cairo to discuss post-war Gaza plan
Delegations from Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah met in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss reconciliation and the administration of post-war Gaza, according to a source and Egyptian state media reports.
Egyptian state-affiliated Al-Qahera News quoted sources as saying the factions are working on a “mechanism to form a committee responsible for managing Gaza’s crossings and overseeing key issues related to health services, relief aid, shelter, social development, and education.”
Hamas’s delegation is led by Khalil Al-Hayya, while Fatah’s delegation is headed by deputy leader Mahmoud al-Aloul.
“The meeting will focus on establishing a technocratic government to administer post-war Gaza, the day-after plan, and supporting the unity of authority in Gaza and the West Bank,” a source told ABC News. It will also address the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, the source added.
The discussions are expected to last for two days, the source said.
-ABC News’ Ayat Al-Tawy
Biden to speak with Netanyahu Wednesday, source says
President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to speak Wednesday, a source familiar with the plans told ABC News.
The conversation will be the first publicly announced talks between the leaders in months.
Biden has told reporters for weeks that he would speak to the Israeli leader as escalation in the region intensified. The planned call was first reported by Axios.
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart
Stabbing attack wounds several in Israel
Six people were injured — two seriously — in a stabbing attack in the Israeli city of Hadera on Wednesday, Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said.
Police described the incident as a terrorist attack and said one attacker was “neutralized” while trying to flee the scene. The suspect is 36 years old and is an Israeli national, police said.
Hadera is a coastal city located between Haifa and Tel Aviv.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
Israel continues Beirut airstrikes
The Israel Defense Forces continued its bombardment of Beirut’s southern suburbs overnight into Wednesday, with a focus on the Hezbollah-controlled Dahiya area.
Lebanon’s health ministry also said 36 people were killed and 150 wounded in Israeli attacks on Monday.
The total number of people killed by Israel in Lebanon rose to 2,119 and the number of wounded to 1,019, health officials said.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Joe Simonetti
Gaza death toll passes 42,000, health officials say
The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza announced Wednesday that the Palestinian death toll in the strip since Oct. 7, 2023 has now passed 42,000.
Health authorities reported 42,010 Palestinians killed and 97,720 wounded since the start of the war. Thousands more bodies are believed to still be under rubble in the devastated territory.
-ABC News’ Lama Hasan and Joe Simonetti
IDF claims strikes on 230 targets in 24 hours in Lebanon and Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday morning that it struck 185 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and 45 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip over the previous 24 hours.
In southern Lebanon, the IDF said it “dismantled launch pads that posed a threat to communities in northern Israel, eliminated terrorists during close-quarter encounters and in aerial strikes, located and confiscated numerous weapons including anti-tank missiles.”
In Gaza, the IDF said its troops “eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarter encounters and in aerial strikes, located weapons, including grenades, AK-47 rifles, and more, and dismantled numerous terrorist infrastructure sites and rocket launchers that were ready to fire toward Israeli territory.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
‘Many’ refusing Israel’s north Gaza evacuation order, UNRWA head says
Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, said Wednesday that Israel’s latest evacuation order in north Gaza is deepening the misery of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
“No end to hell,” Lazzarini wrote in a post to X. “At least 400,000 people are trapped in the area.”
The Israel Defense Forces ordered residents of the northern part of Gaza to evacuate amid a renewed military operation there, currently centered on the Jabalia refugee camp. The area is “still considered a dangerous combat zone,” the IDF said this week.
“Many are refusing because they know too well that no place anywhere in Gaza is safe,” Lazzarini said of residents, many of whom have been displaced multiple times during a year of war.
UNRWA shelters and services are being forced to close, “some for the first time since the war began,” Lazzarini added. “With almost no basic supplies available, hunger is spreading & deepening again.”
The renewed fighting in the north also threatens the second phase of the U.N.-led polio vaccination campaign in Gaza. “Children are as ever, the first & most to suffer,” Lazzarini said.
Al Jazeera says cameraman critically wounded in Gaza hospital bombing
An Al Jazeera cameraman was critically wounded in the bombing of a central Gaza hospital, the publication said Tuesday.
Ali al-Attar, 27, suffered a skull fracture and internal bleeding in the brain after being struck by two pieces of shrapnel during the bombing of a police checkpoint inside Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, according to Al Jazeera. Al-Attar was in the journalists’ tents located next to the checkpoint at the time, it said.
The strike occurred early Monday local time, according to Al-Jazeera Arabic.
At least 128 journalists have been killed and 35 reported injured in the Israel-Hamas war since Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Northern Gaza ‘unlivable’: Doctors Without Borders
Doctors Without Borders said northern Gaza has become “unlivable” due to bombings and evacuations.
“These forced mass evacuations of homes and bombing of neighborhoods by the Israeli forces are turning the north of Gaza into an unlivable wasteland, effectively emptying out the whole north of the Strip of Palestinian life,” the organization said in a statement on Tuesday. “To make matters worse, no humanitarian supplies have been allowed to enter the area since 1 October.”
The Israel Defense Forces issued an evacuation order for northern Gaza earlier this week, saying the area is “still considered a dangerous combat zone.”
Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, the director of the Kamal Adwan Medical Complex, which is within the evacuation zone, said they have 24 hours to completely evacuate patients and staff.
“This is a dangerous measure that threatens the collapse of the healthcare system in the northern Gaza Strip,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
36 people killed in Lebanon Monday: Lebanese Ministry of Health
The Lebanese Ministry of Health provided an update on the death toll from the attacks by Israeli forces.
Thirty-six people were killed and 150 were wounded Monday, according to the agency.
Earlier in the day, the Israel Defense Forces claimed that it killed at least 50 Hezbollah members, including six senior commanders, in “significant airstrikes” on Monday.
Since the start of the conflict with Israel, 2,119 people have been killed and 1,019 have been wounded, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
-ABC News’ William Gretsky
Israeli defense minister postpones Washington trip
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has postponed Wednesday’s planned Pentagon meeting, the Pentagon confirmed.
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said at a briefing on Tuesday that the Israeli Ministry of Defense had “just informed” them that Gallant will be postponing his trip to Washington, D.C.
When asked why Gallant was postponing the trip, she said, “You’d have to speak to the Israelis on that one. I was just told that he postponed his trip.”
Gallant was to discuss “ongoing Middle East security developments” during the meeting, the Pentagon had said.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
6 Hezbollah senior commanders among dozens killed in strikes, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces claims to have killed at least 50 Hezbollah members, including six senior commanders, in “significant airstrikes” on Monday.
The IDF said it conducted a series of strikes on underground Hezbollah command centers in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah has not commented on the IDF’s strikes.
Israel claims it has killed Nasrallah’s replacement
Israeli officials claimed Tuesday that their forces have killed the replacement for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
“We damaged Hezbollah’s capabilities. We have eliminated thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah himself, Nasrallah’s successor, and the successor of Nasrallah’s successor,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video address on Tuesday. “Today, Hezbollah is weaker than it has been in many years.”
Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant also said during a situation assessment on Tuesday that Nasrallah’s replacement was “probably also eliminated.”
“Hezbollah is an organization without a head,” Gallant said. “There is no one to make decisions, no one to act.”
Hashem Safieddine, a top Hezbollah official, was widely believed to succeed Nasrallah after the leader was killed in an Israeli airstrike last month.
Hezbollah has not commented yet on Israel’s claims. Deputy Secretary-General Naim Kassem said earlier Tuesday that Hezbollah’s “resources and capabilities remain in good shape.”
“Our resistance on the front is cohesive and the administration is cohesive,” he said in a video address delivered from an unknown location.
WHO reports 77 health workers killed by Israel in Lebanon
Hanan Balkhi, the regional director of the World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, said Tuesday that 77 health workers have been killed and 74 others wounded by Israeli attacks since the beginning of October.
Health infrastructure has been “severely damaged,” the WHO wrote on X, with the organization verifying 36 attacks on health facilities so far in October.
Hezbollah in ‘good shape’ despite Israel strikes, leader says
Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Kassem said Tuesday that the Iran-backed group will not be cowed by Israel’s ongoing air and ground campaign in Lebanon.
“The longer the war goes on, the deeper Israel will find itself in trouble,” Kassem said in a video address delivered from an unknown location. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “can say that he wants war, but he cannot achieve his goals from it,” he added.
More Israelis in the north of the country will be displaced as Hezbollah expands its operations, he said.
Hezbollah will continue cross-border attacks and “expanding the range of the missiles,” the leader said.
“This war has not affected our will and will not affect our determination to confront,” Kassem said. “Our resistance on the front is cohesive and the administration is cohesive.”
“Our resources and capabilities remain in good shape,” Kassem said, despite weeks of intense Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon. “Our command and control is solid. Look at how our operations have increased in the last few days.” Still, Kassem also said Hezbollah supports Lebanese government efforts to secure a cease-fire.
Kassem said the U.S. bears responsibility for the ongoing war. “Israel and America and the West are trying to put more pressure on us to make us afraid,” he continued.
“Without American support, the Israeli aggression would have stopped within a month,” Kassem said.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Somayeh Malekian
Hezbollah fires rocket salvo at Israel as leader speaks
Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets into northern Israel on Tuesday as the group’s Deputy Secretary-General Naim Kassem issued a defiant address vowing to defeat Israel’s operations in Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces said 135 projectiles were fired into Israeli territory, some of which were intercepted and some of which landed.
The launches prompted sirens in the city of Haifa and elsewhere in the north of the country.
In his video address, Kassem — Hezbollah’s acting leader — said more Israelis will displaced in the north of the country as the militant group expands its rocket fire deeper into Israel.
Kassem said Hezbollah’s capabilities are still intact despite weeks of heavy Israeli airstrikes. He added that the group has replaced all commanders killed by Israeli attacks.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
Israel should attack Iran’s nuclear program, ex-PM says
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called for a major attack on Iran, saying in a video posted to social media on Tuesday: “The opportunity must not be missed.”
Israeli leaders say they are preparing a response to Iran’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile barrage.
“Attack the Iranian nuclear program and the regime centers now,” urged Bennett, who was prime minister from 2021 to 2022 and remains an influential voice in national politics.
An August poll by Israel’s Channel 12 news found 38% of respondents would support Bennett’s return as prime minister, versus 33% who wanted Netanyahu to remain in the post. Both men polled better than opposition leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
4th Israeli division joins Lebanon incursion
The Israel Defense Forces announced that a fourth division joined its ground operation in southern Lebanon on Monday.
The 146th Division “began limited, localized, targeted operational activities against Hezbollah terror targets and infrastructure in southwestern Lebanon,” the IDF said. The 146th was previously deployed along Israel’s northwestern border with Lebanon in a defensive role, it said.
The IDF said the 146th Division is the first reserve division to be deployed into southern Lebanon. Its troops will be supported by the 213th Artillery Brigade and other units, the IDF said.
The 146th joins the 91st Galilee Division, 98th Paratroopers Division and 36th Division which are already in action in southern Lebanon.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
IDF says they hit at least 120 targets in southern Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said they struck more than 120 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Monday within an hour.
The airstrikes followed evacuation orders earlier Monday.
Over the past 48 hours, 190 airstrikes were recorded throughout Lebanon, primally in the south, according to the Lebanese Security Council. Forty-seven people were killed and another 207 injured, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Approximately 190 projectiles were fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon into Israeli territory on Monday, according to the IDF.
Harris, Emhoff mark Oct. 7 by planting pomegranate tree at VP residence
Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff marked the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack by planting a pomegranate tree — a symbol of hope and righteousness in Judaism — at the vice president’s residence.
Harris said the tree will “remind future vice presidents of the United States, their families and all who pass through these grounds, not only of the horror of Oct. 7, but the strength and the endurance of the Jewish people.”
The vice president underscored her pledge to make sure Israel has what it needs to defend itself.
Harris also said the world must “work to relieve the immense suffering of innocent Palestinians in Gaza who have experienced so much pain and loss over the year.”
Emhoff, the first Jewish spouse of a president or a vice president, also spoke about the “incredibly challenging day for Jews.”
“We are still hurting, and today feels just as raw as it did one year ago,” he said. “What happened on Oct. 7 is seared into our souls.”
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Israel’s incursions into Lebanon are limited: US State Department
Israeli incursions into Lebanon continue to be limited, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Monday, noting that this assessment does not “offer any kind of forecast about what’s going to happen.”
Miller asserted that U.S. officials were still engaged in talks about “what the path forward ought to look like” with a variety of partners in the Middle East.
“Just because we don’t make the details of those conversations public, which we are not at this point, doesn’t mean that we are not actively engaged in them,” he said.
Similarly, he said Israel’s campaign in Lebanon hadn’t impacted the administration’s drive to secure a cease-fire in Gaza and characterized Hamas as the main hurdle that has been “unwilling to engage in a meaningful way with the mediators.”
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
State Department organizes another flight out of Lebanon
The State Department said Monday it organized a flight to carry Americans out of Lebanon on Monday.
The flight carried approximately 150 American citizens, legal permanent residents and their family members from Beirut to Istanbul, the State Department said.
The department said earlier Monday that it had also organized two flights over the weekend carrying a combined 235 passengers from Beirut to Istanbul.
Monday’s flight brings the total number of U.S. charter flights from Lebanon over the past week to eight, with 900 combined passengers, according to the State Department.
The State Department said it has additionally blocked off 868 seats for Americans on commercial flights, with a significant share of them filled.
Officials from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut are now in contact with approximately 8,500 people inside Lebanon who have asked for more information about departing the country.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Monday that does not mean that all intend to leave, though the department has assessed that there is still significant demand for additional government charter flights among Americans in Lebanon.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
IDF warns they will soon operate in maritime area off southern Lebanon
In a warning to vacationers, beachgoers and boaters, the Israel Defense Forces said they will soon operate against “Hezbollah maritime targets” south of the Awali River line.
“For your safety, refrain from being in the sea or on the beach from now until further notice. Being on the beach and boat movements in the area of the Awali River line southward pose a danger to your life,” the IDF said.
State Department organized 2 more flights out of Lebanon
The State Department said Monday it organized two flights over the weekend to carry Americans out of Lebanon.
The flights departed Beirut to Istanbul on Saturday and Sunday carrying a combined 235 passengers, the State Department said.
A spokesperson said the State Department has now made over 2,900 seats available to U.S. citizens seeking to depart Lebanon on commercial flights and supplemental U.S.-organized flights.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Bidens mark Oct. 7 with memorial candle lighting
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden joined a memorial candle lighting held Monday in the Blue Room of the White House in remembrance of the victims of the Oct. 7 attack.
Rabbi Aaron Alexander recited in Hebrew “El Malei Rachamim” (“God Full of Mercy”), a traditional Jewish prayer for those who have died, then recited it in English.
Biden then lit the yahrzeit candle before observing a moment of silence. Biden made the sign of the cross after a few moments.
Alexander is a family friend of the Goldberg-Polin family. American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, was taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7 at the Nova Music Festival. His body was recovered by Israeli forces in late August.
Biden also spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog earlier Monday to express his “deepest condolences” to Israelis and families of the Oct. 7 attack, the White House said.
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Israel intercepts missile fired from Yemen, IDF says
Air alert sirens sounded across central Israel on Monday due to a missile launch from Yemen, the Israel Defense Forces said.
“The air force successfully intercepted a surface-to-surface missile launched from Yemen,” the force wrote on X.
Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen have repeatedly targeted Israel using missiles and drones. Israel has launched airstrikes on Houthi military and infrastructure sites in response.
Airstrike hits close to Beirut airport
Two more powerful strikes hit Beirut on Monday morning as Israel’s air campaign continued, including one that impacted close to the city’s international airport.
The strikes sent towering pillars of smoke and dust rising above the capital and Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport.
The airport is located south of the city center close to the Dahiya suburb, which is known as a Hezbollah stronghold and has borne the brunt of Israel’s attacks on the city.
Beirut’s airport is still functioning despite nearby airstrikes, though major international carriers have frozen operations there due to the deteriorating security situation.
Lebanon-based Middle East Airlines now accounts for most flights landing at and departing the airport, which was bombed by Israeli warplanes in 2006 during the last major cross-border conflict.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell and Morgan Winsor
World must condemn Iran on Oct. 7 anniversary, Blinken says
Secretary of State Antony Blinken marked the first anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack by calling on the international community to “condemn Iran’s support for Hamas and other terrorist groups in the region that are responsible for so much death, destruction and instability.”
“Today, we mark a devastating and tragic anniversary,” Blinken said in a statement published by the State Department. “The depravity of Hamas’ crimes is almost unspeakable.”
The Oct. 7 attack “unleashed a year of conflict, with tragic consequences for the Palestinian people,” Blinken said.
“The United States mourns the death of every innocent who died on Oct. 7 and in the year since. It is time to reach a ceasefire agreement that brings the hostages home, alleviates the suffering of the Israeli and Palestinian people and ultimately brings an end to this war.”
Blinken called on other nations to “stand steadfast in the face of terrorism and violent extremism, including the sources of support for groups like Hamas,” specifically Iran.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to lasting peace and stability across the region and for a common future for Israelis and Palestinians with equal measures of security, dignity, opportunity and freedom,” Blinken added.
Netanyahu attends Oct. 7 Jerusalem memorial
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended a ceremony at the “Iron Swords” monument in Jerusalem to commemorate Israelis killed since Oct. 7, 2023.
The monument was unveiled in September to remember those from Jerusalem killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel and in the subsequent fighting.
“On this day, in this place, and in many places in our country, we remember our fallen, our abductees — whom we are obliged to return — and our heroes who fell for the defense of the homeland and the country,” Netanyahu said.
“We went through a terrible massacre a year ago and we stood up as a people, as lions.”
“A nation of wolves will rise and a lion will soar,” Netanyahu said.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
US will help deter Iran, Austin tells Gallant
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday to reiterate U.S. support ahead of Monday’s Oct. 7 one-year anniversary.
Austin “reaffirmed U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself and noted that the United States maintains significant capability in the region to defend U.S. personnel and facilities, provide further support for Israel’s self-defense and deter further escalation,” a readout provided by Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said.
The two “reiterated their commitment to deterring Iran and Iranian-backed partners and proxies from taking advantage of the situation or expanding the conflict,” the readout added.
Austin also “expressed his condolences” for two Israeli soldiers killed in a drone attack launched by Iran-aligned Iraqi militants on Oct. 3.
U.S. and Israeli officials are in close contact as the latter consider how to respond to Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel last week.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Biden says US ‘fully committed’ to Israel one year after Oct. 7
The White House released a statement Monday to mark the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack, with President Joe Biden condemning “the unspeakable brutality” of the 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel.
“One year later, Vice President [Kamala] Harris and I remain fully committed to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel and its right to exist,” Biden said.
“We support Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks from Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and Iran,” the president added, noting the U.S. role in responding to Iran’s most recent ballistic missile attack on Israel last week.
“We will never give up until we bring all of the remaining hostages home safely,” the president said of the 101 captives still in Gaza.
Biden condemned the “vicious surge in anti-semitism in America and around the world,” which he called “unacceptable.”
For Palestinians, too, Biden said Oct. 7 should be remembered “as a dark day.”
“Far too many civilians have suffered far too much during this year of conflict — and tens of thousands have been killed, a human toll made far worse by terrorists hiding and operating among innocent people,” he said.
“Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve to live in security, dignity, and peace. We also continue to believe that a diplomatic solution across the Israel-Lebanon border region is the only path to restore lasting calm and allow residents on both sides to return safely to their homes.”
-ABC News’ Lauren Minore
Hamas marks Oct. 7 anniversary with rocket attack
Hamas released a statement Sunday to mark the first anniversary of its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel.
The statement attributed to leader Yahya Sinwar and deputy leader Khalil Al-Hayya described the attack as a “glorious” operation that “shattered the illusions the enemy had created for itself.”
The Hamas attack killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw some 250 people taken to Gaza as hostages.
Monday’s statement said Hamas was ready “for an agreement that achieves the cessation of aggression, ends the siege and leads to a serious exchange deal,” accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “procrastinating and obstructing” negotiations.
Hamas claimed responsibility for rocket fire that set off alarms in Tel Aviv and other parts of central Israel on Monday. One projectile landed south of Tel Aviv and wounded at least two people, emergency responders said.
The rockets were fired from the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said 41,802 Palestinians have been killed in the strip since Oct. 7, 2023.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Matt Gutman and Sohel Uddin
Hezbollah vows to repel Israel despite ‘heavy’ losses
Hezbollah acknowledged “heavy” losses within its “leadership structure” and “military and material structure” during its ongoing conflict with Israel, in a statement issued Monday to mark the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack.
The group said it is “confident” in the “ability of our resistance to repel the aggression” in Lebanon in a message posted to one of its official Telegram channels.
One year of war, the group claimed, has shown Israel to be “a fragile entity that is unable to survive and continue without American support.”
The U.S. and its allies “bear full responsibility for the killing, criminality, injustice and shocking human tragedies” experienced by the Palestinian and Lebanese people, the statement added.
