Russia ‘adept at obscuring’ role in Georgia election, opposition leader says
Giorgi Arjevanidze via Getty Images
(LONDON) — Tens of thousands of Georgians took to the streets of the capital Tbilisi on Monday evening to protest what the opposition said were fraudulent parliamentary elections handing victory to the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Opposition leaders — joined by President Salome Zourabichvili — gathered with the protesters hoping to spark a new round of mass demonstrations against GD akin to those that swept the capital in 2023 and 2024 in response to the government’s proposed foreign agent bill.
Russia looms large over the showdown. Moscow occupies 20% of Georgian territory, and officials in Moscow have threatened war if Georgia continues on its professed path to NATO and membership. GD, the Western-facing opposition says, is at best sympathetic to the Kremlin — and at worst in thrall to it.
Mamuka Khazaradze — the leader of the Strong Georgia coalition — told ABC News on Tuesday that his compatriots will not stand for the electoral “irregularities orchestrated through a Russian special operation and a clear pattern of systemic fraud.”
“Over the past twelve years, the government of the Georgian Dream has operated in service of Russian interests, resembling a Russian-style clan syndicate, and has established a system of manipulation and influence that undermines the integrity of our elections,” Khazaradze said.
“Georgia is not a nation that will tolerate such actions,” he added.
The official results published by the Central Election Commission said GD secured almost 54% of the vote, with the combined share of the four opposition parties just under 38%.
The CEC said GD will therefore take 89 seats in the 150-seat parliament — one less than it secured in the last election in 2020. The four pro-Western opposition parties combined will take 61 seats. The CEC said Khazaradze’s Strong Georgia coalition won 8.8% of the vote and 14 seats.
International election observers reported “frequent compromises in vote secrecy and several procedural inconsistencies, as well as reports of intimidation and pressure on voters that negatively impacted public trust in the process.”
Leaders in Hungary, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Venezuela and China were quick to acknowledge the official results and congratulate GD. But the U.S., European Union and several individual Western states raised concerns about suspected electoral violations.
President Joe Biden said the contest was “marred by numerous recorded misuses of administrative resources as well as voter intimidation and coercion,” and called for a full and transparent investigation.
Bidzina Ivanishvili is GD’s billionaire founder, former prime minister and purported decision-maker behind the party. Ivanishvili is Georgia’s wealthiest person and made his fortune in post-Soviet Russia through an empire of metals plants, banks and real estate.
Ivanishvili and GD leaders like Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze framed the election as a choice between renewed war with Russia or peaceful co-existence. They repeatedly pointed to Ukraine as a cautionary tale for Georgians voting for pro-Western parties.
Opposition leaders see Moscow’s hand behind GD’s legislative agenda, particularly its 2023 and 2024 efforts to introduce legislation to curb foreign funding of media and civil society groups. Opponents dubbed it the “Russian law” given its similarities to a similar measure passed by Moscow in 2012.
“Ivanishvili and his government are governing this country in accordance with Russian directives; this assertion no longer requires extensive evidence — merely the existence of the Russian law suffices,” said Khazaradze, who also transitioned into politics after a successful business career.
Asked if there was concrete proof of Russian meddling, Khazaradze said “rigorous and qualified research” will be needed. “The substantial support of our international partners will be essential, as Russia is adept at obscuring its actions,” he added.
Khazaradze alleged that Russian influence operations have been ongoing in Georgia since long before Saturday’s vote.
“Over the past year, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service has been actively disseminating narratives that align with the primary messages of the Georgian Dream’s campaign regarding the war,” he said.
“They have employed the most disreputable Russian tactics, with campaign materials closely mirroring” the rhetoric of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Khazaradze said.
Moscow has denied any involvement in the recent election. “This has become standard for many countries, and, at the slightest thing, they immediately accuse Russia of interference,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said this week.
“There was no interference and the accusations are absolutely unfounded,” he added.
The opposition is now hoping to stoke major protests while gathering evidence of electoral fraud and appealing to Western partners for their backing.
“We have a strategy in place, and we do not intend to disclose this plan in advance to the oligarchs who have usurped power,” Khazaradze said of the opposition’s next steps.
Khazaradze said he was “confident” that foreign nations “will play a pivotal role.”
“We are engaged in intensive communication with the diplomatic corps and are collaborating with international organizations to investigate reported violations,” he added.
“The West must implement effective mechanisms to curtail Russian influence in Georgia, which may include sanctions against those responsible for undermining the electoral process,” Khazaradze said.
He added, “Ultimately, the West remains our reliable and trustworthy partner, and the Georgian people have the full support of both European and American allies.”
The protests against the foreign agent bill in 2023 and 2024 saw violent scenes in the streets surrounding the parliament building in central Tbilisi. On Monday, large numbers of riot police descended on the area.
Khazaradze said the opposition would not be silenced.
“While resistance is anticipated, I firmly believe that no amount of water cannons or rubber bullets can deter the will of the Georgian people,” he said. “It is in Ivanishvili’s best interest to acknowledge the reality that his time in Georgia has come to an end.”
“I remain hopeful in the resilience of the Georgian people and the hundreds of thousands of voters who stand with us,” he said. “I assure you that the world will bear witness to our determination.”
(NEW YORK) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt on Wednesday for fresh talks on an Israel-Hamas cease-fire, and as tension with Hezbollah persists at the Israel-Lebanon border.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Israel moves troops toward Lebanon border
The Israel Defense Forces’ 98th Division will be deployed to the northern part of the country close to the border with Lebanon, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.
The division was previously active in the Gaza Strip and is being deployed to the north amid rising tensions and ongoing skirmishes between the IDF and the Hezbollah militant group operating from southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah has vowed retaliation for Israel’s exploding pager attack that killed at least 12 people and injured at least 2,800 in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday.
Israel behind Lebanon pagers attack, sources confirm
Sources confirmed to ABC News that Israel was responsible for the explosion of pagers across Lebanon on Tuesday.
The pagers began exploding around 3:30 p.m. local time, according to Hezbollah officials. An intelligence source familiar with the situation told ABC News that Israel has long been working to perfect this type of “supply chain interdiction attack.”
At least nine civilians were killed and more than 2,750 injured by the explosions, Lebanese health authorities said.
Hezbollah said 11 of its members were killed on Tuesday, though did not disclose the circumstances of their deaths. The militant group vowed retaliation against Israel.
Four Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said four of its soldiers were killed fighting in southern Gaza on Tuesday.
Capt. Daniel Mimon Toaff, Staff Sgt. Agam Naim, Staff Sgt. Amit Bakri and Staff Sgt. Dotan Shimon were killed in combat, the IDF said in a statement.
One officer and two soldiers from the Shaked Battalion, Givati Brigade, were “severely injured” during the same incident, the statement said. Another two soldiers were “moderately injured.”
An officer from the Givati Reconnaissance Unit was also “severely injured” in southern Gaza, the IDF said.
Hezbollah vows ‘reckoning’ for pager explosions
In a Wednesday morning statement, the Hezbollah militant group said it would continue operations to “support Gaza” and vowed a “reckoning” for Israel after Tuesday’s “massacre” when more than 2,750 people were injured by exploding pagers in Lebanon.
Hezbollah blamed Israel for the operation, which killed at least nine civilians. Eleven Hezbollah members died on Tuesday, the group said, though — as is typical in its statements — did not specify how they died.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is set to speak on Thursday afternoon to address the situation.
Israel has not commented on its alleged involvement in Tuesday’s explosions in Lebanon.
IDF strikes Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said warplanes hit Hezbollah targets in six locations in southern Lebanon into Wednesday. Artillery strikes were also conducted, it added.
Israeli aircraft bombed “Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure” in the areas of Majdal Selm, Odaisseh, Markaba, Blida, Maroun El Ras and Chihine in southern Lebanon, the IDF said in a statement.
Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways cancel all flights to Israel
Three major European airlines have canceled all flights to Israel hours after a deadly attack on Hezbollah left at least nine people dead and over 2,700 people injured.
Air France has canceled flights to Tel Aviv for Sept. 18 and 19, according to the flight status board on their website. Lufthansa has canceled flights to Israel through Sept. 19 and British Airways has canceled flights to Israel through Sept. 27.
Netanyahu undermining security with ‘petty politics,’ political rival alleges
Benny Gantz — the leader of the centrist National Unity coalition — on Tuesday accused rival Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of endangering Israeli security “in the most tangible way that I can remember being done by a prime minister during a war, and in general.”
In a public statement — later also published on his X page — Gantz accused the prime minister of “security recklessness” over reports that Netanyahu is preparing to replace Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who is a major critic of the prime minister’s approach to cease-fire negotiations in Gaza.
Gantz said the alleged political maneuvering is particularly dangerous ahead of a potential expansion of the conflict in the north of the country, where the Israel Defense Forces has been engaged in cross-border fighting with the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia since Oct. 8.
“Human lives and the future of the nation are at stake,” Gantz said, describing the situation as the “dictionary definition of petty politics, at the expense of national security.”
11,000 students killed in Gaza, education ministry says
The Palestinian Ministry of Education said Tuesday that some 11,000 students have been killed and more than 17,000 others have been injured in the Gaza Strip since Israel’s campaign there started on Oct. 7.
The ministry also said 500 schools and universities have been bombed across the territory in almost one year of war.
Islamic Jihad rocket commander ‘eliminated’ in Gaza, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said it “eliminated” the head of the Islamic Jihad militia group’s southern rocket and missile unit in a Monday airstrike on a humanitarian zone in southern Gaza.
Ahmed Aish Salame al-Hashash was the commander of the Islamic Jihad’s rocket forces in the southern Rafah area, the IDF said in a statement. He was “an important source of knowledge of rocket fire within the Islamic Jihad terror organization in Gaza,” the IDF added.
Al-Hashash was killed while “operating inside the Humanitarian Area in Khan Younis,” the IDF said, referring to one of the areas designated by the Israeli military as safer locations for civilians amid the devastating campaign in Gaza.
“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence,” the IDF said.
The IDF often launches strikes inside Gaza humanitarian zones in pursuit of militant leaders.
Gaza Health Ministry identifies more than 34,300 people killed
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry published a 649-page document identifying 34,344 people killed in the strip between Oct.7, 2023 and Aug. 31, 2024.
The document includes the name, age, gender and identification number of each person killed.
The first 13 pages of the document include names of people all under 1 year old.
The document only includes the names of those the Health Ministry said it has been able to identify. Thousands more who are a part of the overall death toll are considered missing, the ministry said.
The current death toll in Gaza is 41,226 as of Sept. 16, according to the Hamas-run ministry.
Blinken to travel to Egypt
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt this week to discuss efforts to reach a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release deal, the State Department said.
Blinken will travel to Egypt Wednesday through Friday to co-chair the opening of the U.S.-Egypt Strategic Dialogue with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, the department said.
He will also meet with Egyptian officials “to discuss ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza that secures the release of all hostages, alleviates the suffering of the Palestinian people, and helps establish broader regional security,” the State Department said in a statement.
State Department doesn’t have timeline on new cease-fire proposal
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller declined to predict when a new Gaza cease-fire and hostage release deal proposal might be ready.
“We continue to engage with our partners in the region, most specifically with Egypt and Qatar, about what that proposal will contain, and making sure — or trying to see that it’s a proposal that can get the parties to an ultimate agreement,” Miller told reporters Monday.
“I don’t have a timetable for you other than to say that we are working expeditiously to try to develop that proposal, try to find something that would bring both the parties to say yes and to formally submit it,” Miller added.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had previously said more than a week ago that a proposal would be presented to both Israel and Hamas “in the coming days.”
Miller said Monday that — just like in the negotiations overall — the main hurdles for creating the new proposal were the security situation in the Philadelphi corridor and the number of hostages and Palestinian prisoners that would be released.
‘Trajectory is clear’ at Israel-Lebanon border: Gallant
Time is running out for a diplomatic solution to the ongoing conflict at the Israel-Lebanon border, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in an overnight phone call.
“Hezbollah continues to ‘tie itself’ to Hamas — the trajectory is clear,” Gallant told Austin per a readout from the Israeli Defense Ministry.
Gallant “reiterated Israel’s commitment to the removal of Hezbollah presence in southern Lebanon, and to enabling the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes,” the defense ministry said.
Cross-border fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah — which is aligned with Iran and Hamas through the so-called “Axis of Resistance” — has been near-constant since Oct. 8.
Tens of thousands of Israelis have left their homes in the north of the country amid the fighting, with Israeli leaders repeatedly threatening a significant military operation to pacify Hezbollah forces operating in southern Lebanon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Sunday statement that the “current situation will not continue. This requires a change in the balance of forces on our northern border. We will do whatever is necessary to return our residents securely to their homes.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Israel now says Houthi missile was hit by interceptor
A missile described by the Houthis as a “new hypersonic ballistic missile” was hit by an Israeli interceptor, Israeli military officials said Sunday, after initially saying it got through its defenses and fell in an open area.
An Israeli interceptor hit the missile fired into central Israel from Yemen, causing it to fragment, according to Israeli officials. The missile was not destroyed, but caused no damage, the Israeli officials said.
“The conclusion into the review of the surface-to-surface missile that was fired this morning is that there was a hit on the target from an interceptor, as a result of which the target fragmented but was not destroyed,” an Israeli military official said in a statement.
The Houthi movement claimed responsibility for the missile attack, claiming in a statement that it was aimed at an “important military target” in the Tel Aviv region. The Houthis claimed the missile flew some 1,267 miles in less than 12 minutes and that Israeli anti-missile defenses “failed to intercept” the weapon.
The Israel Defense Forces initially confirmed to ABC News that its defenses failed to intercept the missile but changed its conclusions upon further investigation.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
IDF: ‘High probability’ 3 hostages were killed by Israeli airstrike in November
On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces released the results of its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of three hostages, whose bodies were recovered from Gaza by IDF forces in December.
The three hostages — two soldiers, Ron Sherman and Nik Beizer, and civilian Elia Toledano — were killed “as a byproduct” of an Israeli airstrike on the compound where they were being held, according to the investigation. The IDF said the strike was targeting a Hamas commander, and that they believed the hostages were being held elsewhere.
“The findings of the investigation suggest a high probability that the three were killed as a result of a byproduct of an IDF airstrike, during the elimination of the Hamas Northern Brigade commander, Ahmed Ghandour, on November 10th, 2023,” the IDF said Sunday in a statement.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Netanyahu vows to inflict ‘high price’ for Houthi missile attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate against the Houthi movement after a missile fired from Yemen fell in central Israel on Sunday morning.
“This morning, the Houthis launched a surface-to-surface missile from Yemen at our territory,” Netanyahu said before a cabinet meeting. “They should know that we exact a high price for any attempt to attack us.”
“Whoever needs a reminder of this, is invited to visit the port of Hodeidah,” the prime minister added, referring to Israel’s bombing of the strategic Yemeni port in July after a Houthi drone strike killed one person in Tel Aviv.
“Whoever attacks us will not evade our strike,” Netanyahu said.
(NEW YORK) — In an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Good Morning America, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he believes the war with Russia is “closer to an end” than many believe and called on allies to strengthen Ukraine as he arrived in the United States for a week of high-stakes diplomacy.
“The plan of victory is strengthening of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said during a sit-down interview with Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts. “That’s why we’re asking our friends, our allies, to strengthen us. It’s very important.”
Zelenskyy spoke with Roberts as he visited New York on Monday for the United Nations General Assembly this week as part of a trip to the U.S. where he has promised to present what he calls his “Victory Plan” to President Joe Biden, as well as other key American political leaders.
See more of Robin Roberts’ exclusive interview with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and first lady Olena Zelenska at 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday on ABC News Live and streaming on Hulu on Thursday.
Zelenskyy declined to provide details of the plan before presenting it to Biden later this week, but he made clear that it was aimed at strengthening Ukraine with the goal of forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate on fair terms. Zelenskyy indicated he did not believe Putin was currently ready for real negotiations.
“It’s not about negotiation with Russia,” Zelenskyy told Roberts. “It’s a bridge to a diplomatic way out, to stop the war. Only in the strong position we can push, we can push Putin to stop the war, diplomatic way.”
A source close to Zelenskyy told ABC News the plan consists of five points and that its core includes specific figures and amounts of military assistance for Ukraine, as well as certain diplomatic and political steps. The plan does not include any proposed concessions to Russia, the source said, but is aimed at forcing the Kremlin to end the war.
Zelenskyy said the plan was an “urgent” one, intended to end the war quickly, not prolong it “one year, or two years or three years.”
Later this week, Zelenskyy is expected to travel to Washington to meet with Biden as well as presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
There are doubts a second Trump administration would continue similar levels of support to Ukraine and could perhaps push it into negotiations. Trump in the debate with Harris two weeks ago declined to say he wants Ukraine to win the war and his running mate JD Vance has said Ukraine should give up Russian-occupied territory and abandon ambitions to join NATO.
Zelenskyy said he hoped the U.S. election wouldn’t influence support for Ukraine but that he understood U.S. policy could change and “therefore we need to prepare in advance.”
That is why the “Victory Plan” is important, he said, saying he wants to discuss it with the candidates.
Zelenskyy again expressed gratitude to Americans and apologized for having to ask again for support.
“I’m so sorry. I know that you have your challenges. But I have to underline it and to repeat,” he said. “We can’t now be weak. We can’t relax. Because we didn’t stop Putin. Didn’t stop him in his crazy ideas. That’s why we have to be strong and I’m asking to understand us. And I think that we are closer to the peace than we think. We are closer to the end of the war. We just have to be very strong, very strong.”
Zelenskyy also repeated his appeal to the United States to drop its restrictions on the long-range missiles they have provided to Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia.
Zelenskyy said he would raise the issue again with Biden again this week, saying it would allow Ukraine to strike Russian airbases used to launch hundreds of bombs into eastern Ukraine. He said he believed other allies such as France, Britain, Italy, and Germany would allow it but that the U.S. needed to lead the decision.
“But the main role is in the United States, in the president of United States, Biden. Everybody’s looking up to him, and we need this to defend ourselves,” he said.
Putin, meanwhile, has warned that the use of Western weapons to strike targets in Russia would mean NATO countries are at war with Russia and promised a response.
Zelenskyy’s request comes amid heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine where Russia has been making steady advances in recent weeks. Russian forces are also still struggling to reverse Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. Ukraine has said it seized hundreds of square miles and dozens of villages inside the Kursk region in the early days of its surprise offensive.
Zelenskyy told Roberts that Putin is “afraid” of the Kursk operation.
“It’s true. He’s afraid very much,” Zelenskyy said. “Why? Because his people saw that he can’t defend, that he can’t defend all his territory.”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine launched the surprise operation because of intelligence suggesting that Russia had been preparing to mount its own offensive into Ukraine’s northern Sumy region.
“They have the desire to occupy the city of Sumy,” he said. “And we decided that we need preventive steps. We had to move in with our troops. And we did it so that they did not occupy our north.”
Zelenskyy also accused Russia of using Chinese satellites to photograph Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, perhaps in preparation for possible strikes on them.
“The recent information is that, Russia has been using Chinese satellites and taking photos of the details of the objects on nuclear facilities,” Zelenskyy told Roberts. “And in our experience, if Russia takes photos of certain objects, then there is a threat of strikes against the nuclear objects.”
Zelenskyy did not say whether the Chinese satellites Russia has used were commercial satellites or controlled by the Chinese government. He said he would share information Ukraine had with leaders at the General Assembly this week.
Asked to comment on Monday, China’s embassy in Washington did not respond.
Zelenskyy was joined by his wife, first lady Olena Zelenska, who is also attending events at the General Assembly.
Zelenska, who is addressing events focusing on the impact of the war on children, said she was also seeking to campaign for greater international help in returning tens of thousands of Ukrainian children deported to Russia. She said at least 19,500 remained held in Russia, but that the true number could be significantly higher.
She said so far only 308 children had been returned through negotiations, saying she hoped a 30-country coalition would find a way to do more.
“This can’t carry on like this. If we are going to bring our children back at this rate, we will need more than 30 years to bring them back,” she said. “So we need to bring pressure to bear to make sure they can be brought back.”
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, cease-fire discussions are occurring in the Middle East, with officials hoping to bring an end to the conflict.
The United States and its allies continue to plead for a cease-fire deal, with discussions set for this week.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Israel launches largest raids in West Bank in years
The IDF overnight widened a major military operation in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, attacking from the air and from the ground using tanks and bulldozers, ABC News has learned.
The targets of the raid are Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas. The IDF has described the ongoing operation as an “extensive operation to counter terrorism” and to “thwart Islamic-Iranian terrorist infrastructures.”
Reports indicate that nine Palestinians have so far been killed, though that number could rise. The IDF has reportedly ordered Palestinians to evacuate from the three targets locations, with troops also entering a hospital in the area.
The raid is believed to be the first operation by the IDF targeting several cities at once since the Second Intifada, which ran from 2000 to 2005.
IDF launches large raids in the West Bank
Israel Defense Forces said it launched an “operation to counter terrorism” in the northern West Bank overnight Tuesday.
“The security forces have now begun an operation to counter terrorism in Jenin and Tulkarm in the Menashe division,” the IDF said in a statement.
Hostage in good condition, will remain in hospital for more tests
Qaid Farhan Alkadi, the hostage rescued from a tunnel in Gaza, is in “good condition,” but will remain in the hospital for “another day or two of medical tests to make sure he is still OK,” Shlomi Codish, the CEO of Soroka Medical Center, said during a press conference Tuesday.
Alkadi is being treated at the Soroka Medical Center after being rescued by Israeli forces.
Israeli delegation heads to Doha to continue cease-fire talks
A delegation from Israel — including Israeli Security Agency, Mossad and IDF officials — is heading to Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday to continue hostage release and cease-fire talks, an Israeli official told ABC News Tuesday.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Hostage was alone when found by Israeli forces
Qaid Farhan Alkadi was alone when he was located by Israeli forces in a tunnel in Gaza, Israel Defense Forces officials told ABC News.
In the last few days, IDF and Israeli security agency forces had been operating in the area where Alkadi was found and rescued, according to IDF officials. The forces operated underground, in a complex environment where there was suspicion of the presence of hostages, terrorists and explosives, the officials said.
Farhan was located by Israeli forces when he was alone, without his captors, and was rescued from the tunnel, the officials added.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir
Hostage families renew calls for cease-fire after hostage rescue
Hostage families are calling for an immediate cease-fire, calling the rescue of Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi — a Bedouin father of 11 from south of Rahat — from a tunnel in Gaza, “nothing short of miraculous,” in a statement.
“However, we must remember: military operations alone cannot free the remaining 108 hostages, who have suffered 326 days of abuse and terror. A negotiated deal is the only way forward,” the hostage families said in a press release.
Al-Qadi was kidnapped from his security job at Kibbutz Magen’s packing factory on Oct. 7. He is the eighth hostage that Israeli forces have rescued alive since Oct. 7, according to an IDF official.
“Every single day in captivity is one too many. The remaining hostages cannot afford to wait for another such miracle,” hostage families said.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir
Israel to use ‘all means’ to return remaining hostages
IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told a press conference on Tuesday of the “complex rescue mission” that freed Qaid Farhan Alkadi from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip.
“He is back home in Israel,” Hagari said of Alkadi. He is only the eighth hostage rescued alive from Gaza by the IDF, and the first rescued alive from a tunnel under the strip. Alkadi was among scores of people seized in southern Israel during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack.
“We cannot go into many details of this special operation but I can share that Israeli commandos rescued Qaid Farhan Alkadi from an underground tunnel, following accurate intelligence,” Hagari said.
“His medical condition is stable and he will undergo examinations in hospital. His family had been waiting 326 days to receive the news they did today.”
“But there are still 108 hostages, whose families are still waiting to hear news that their loved ones are home. And they should know that we will not rest until we fulfill our mission to bring all our hostages back home.”
“We will pursue the return of our hostages through all means possible. I repeat, through all means possible.”
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Israeli forces rescue hostage from Gaza
The Israeli military announced Tuesday that it had rescued an Arab citizen of Israel who was among scores of people abducted in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terror attack.
Qaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, from the Bedouin town of Rahat in southern Israel, was rescued “in a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip,” according to Israeli authorities.
An Israeli source told ABC News that the rescued hostage is currently at Soroka Medical Center in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.
Top US general ends Israel visit
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. has completed a visit to Israel amid intensifying fighting across the Lebanese border and continued uncertainty about a potential Iranian attack on Israel.
Brown met with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israeli Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi in Tel Aviv on Monday. The officials discussed Hezbollah’s weekend rocket and drone attack and the “need to de-escalate tensions to avoid a broader conflict,” per a Pentagon readout.
Hezbollah launched its attack in retaliation for Israel’s killing of Fouad Shukr in Beirut last month.
Cease-fire talks moving forward after strikes: Kirby
Cease-fire talks are now moving forward at a working group level in Cairo over the next few days to hammer out specifics, according to National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby.
This weekend’s strikes by Israel and Hezbollah have “not affected the actual work on the ground by the teams trying to get this cease-fire deal in place,” Kirby told reporters Monday.
Kirby also rejected any suggestion that talks broke down this weekend, instead saying they were “constructive” enough to work on “finer details” at lower levels.
“There was no breakdown,” he said. “They made enough progress that they were willing to, or needed to transition to a working group level so you didn’t need the mediators all there and the leadership there.”
Brett McGurk, a top senior adviser on the Middle East at the White House, stayed in Cairo an extra day to kick off the meetings and is still there, Kirby said, adding that all parties are being represented in these discussions.
“One issue that will be for the working groups to flesh out is the exchange of hostages and prisoners that Israel’s holding — what that exchange looks like, how many, some of the details of exactly who will be released on either side and at what pace, those kinds of things,” Kirby said.
Al-Aqsa Hospital still operating despite evacuations
Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah is still operating, despite new temporary evacuation orders from Israeli forces to leave the surrounding area near the hospital.
Out of the 650 patients in Al-Aqsa Hospital, only 100 remain in the hospital that are being treated, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said.
The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged they have been “operating in recent days in the Deir al Balah area,” but they said the evacuation orders did not include “the hospitals and medical facilities in the area,” in response to an inquiry from ABC News.
Three out of 18 water wells are still functioning in Deir al Balah due to “ongoing military operations,” the U.N. Agency for Palestinian Refugees said in a post Monday.
World Food Programme operations ‘severely hampered’ in Gaza
The World Food Programme, the U.N.’s worldwide food assistance program, is being “severely hampered” by the “intensifying conflict” in Gaza.
The agency said border crossings have been limited and roads in Gaza have become so unusable that urgent repairs are needed in order to transport basic needs, like food and medicine.
“Transporting food, water, medicine and hygiene equipment is critical for the survival of communities in Gaza today and will be needed for months to come,” Antoine Renard, the country director for Gaza, said in a statement. “Roads are part of this lifeline.”
6:26 PM EDT Hospital in central Gaza under evacuation order after nearby explosion
Israeli forces issued an evacuation order in the vicinity of the Al Aqsa Hospital, Deir Al Balah, in central Gaza, urging people to flee, according to a statement from Doctors Without Borders Sunday.
“An explosion approximately 250 meters away triggered panic with many choosing to leave the hospital,” the organization said.
Of the approximately 650 patients in the hospital prior to the explosion, only 100 remain, with seven in the intensive care unit, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Doctors Without Borders is considering suspending wound care for the time being, while trying to maintain lifesaving treatment, according to the statement.
“This situation is unacceptable,” the organization said. “Al Aqsa has been operating well beyond capacity for weeks due to the lack of alternatives for patients. All warring parties must respect the hospital, as well as patients’ access to medical care.”
Aug 26, 2024, 4:56 PM EDT Sirens sound in Tel Aviv as Hamas fires rocket from Gaza
Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv Sunday night for the first time since January as Hamas launched a single rocket toward central Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces said the Hamas rocket fell into an “open area” in Rishon LeTsiyon, south of Tel Aviv.
Israeli emergency services officials said no one was injured by the rocket, but a 26-year-old woman was hurt going to a shelter.
Hamas confirmed it fired an “M90” rocket at Tel Aviv.
-ABC News Victoria Beaule
4:37 PM EDT Hezbollah leader says missile barrage on Israeli base ‘has ended’
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said missile and drone strikes targeting a “base for military intelligence” near Tel Aviv, Israel, “has ended” for now.
Nasrallah said the strikes carried out Sunday constituted the first and second phases of Hezbollah’s response to Israeli missile strikes in Lebanon. He said Hezbollah reserves the right to “respond” if it learns its strikes on Israel are not “sufficient.”
Nasrallah said Hezbollah’s missile and drone strikes targeted the Glilot military base near Tel Aviv, alleging it is a “base for military intelligence.”
“It contains a large number of officers and soldiers and it manages many of the assassination operations that take place in the region, as well as the sedition and deception operations,” Nasrallah alleged.
Hezbollah believes “a number of drones” reached their target. Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said most of the Hezbollah missiles and drones were intercepted and denied that the Glilot military base was hit.
Hagari also confirmed that the soldier who was killed in the Hezbollah missile strike was hit by a fragment of an Iron Dome interceptor.
Nasrallah said a total of 340 missiles were fired at the Glilot military base.
A “preemptive strike” by Israel failed to cause any significant damage, according to Nasrallah.
“What happened was aggression, not a preemptive action,” Nasrallah said.
-ABC News Victoria Beaule
3:33 PM EDT Hamas rejects latest cease-fire deal
Hamas leader Osama Hamdan has released a statement indicating Hamas does not accept the latest iteration of the cease-fire proposal as written.
Hamas insists that changes added by Israel since July 2 are non-starters for them, specifically, Israel Defense Forces positions in the Philadelphi corridor, an eight-and-a-half-mile long demilitarized buffer zone running along the border between Egypt and Gaza. Hamas also objected to a proposal for non-Palestinian control of the Rafah border crossing.
Hamdan said Hamas will not return to the cease-fire talks as long as the new conditions stay in the proposal.
“The occupation set new conditions for accepting the agreement and backed away from what it had previously agreed to,” Hamdan said in a statement. “The delegation informed the mediators today of our opinion.”
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
1:16 PM EDT Soldier killed, 2 others injured in ‘combat’ in Northern Israel, says IDF
An Israeli soldier was killed and two others were injured Sunday “in combat in northern Israel,” the Israel Defense Forces announced.
The circumstances of what led to the death and injuries of the soldiers were not immediately disclosed by the IDF.
The soldier who was killed was identified by the IDF as Petty Officer 1st Class David Moshe Ben Shitrit, 21, of Geva Binyamin, Israel. The soldier was a member of the Israeli Navy’s 914th Fleet, according to the IDF.
The two soldiers who suffered light to moderate injuries are also members of the 914th Fleet, according to the IDF. Their names were not immediately released.
-ABC News’ Anna Burd and Jordana Miller
US not involved in Israel’s pre-emptive strike on Lebanon, official says
A U.S. official reaffirmed Sunday that the United States was not involved in Israel’s pre-emptive strike Saturday night on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon but had provided Israel some intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information believed to have been used in the mission.
The U.S. had provided some “ISR support in terms of tracking incoming Lebanese Hezbollah attacks but did not conduct any kinetic operations as they were not required,” the official said.
“We continue to closely monitor the situation and remain well-postured and ready to support the defense of Israel from attacks by Iran and any of its proxies, to include Lebanese Hezbollah,” the official said.
At least three people were killed overnight in the Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Sunday. The casualties included two people who were killed in the village of At Tiri and one in the town of Khiam, the ministry said, adding that two additional people were injured and required hospitalization.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
IDF issues new evacuation order in central Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces announced a new evacuation order Sunday for a small strip of land in a humanitarian area of central Gaza.
The new evacuation order for an area of Deir al-Balah came just days after the IDF ordered the evacuation of two refugee camps in the same area as the Israeli military prepared for a new ground offensive in the humanitarian zone.
The IDF suspects that Hamas terrorists are hiding in the area and using Palestinian refugees as human shields.
Sunday’s evacuation order affected those living in a relatively small area of Deir al-Balah that includes five schools sheltering displaced people and tent camps around them. The area is near the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, one of the largest remaining functional hospitals in Gaza, servicing all of central Gaza.
-ABC News’ Bictoria Beaule
Hezbollah planned to strike Israeli intelligence, sources tell ABC News
Israel believes the Hezbollah targets in central Israel were meant to be a complex of intelligence bases and the headquarters of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, just north of Tel Aviv, two Israeli security sources told ABC News.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir and Bruno Nota
3 killed, 2 injured in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, officials say
At least three people were killed overnight in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Sunday.
Two were killed in the village of At Tiri and one in the town of Khiam, the ministry said, adding that two additional people were injured and required hospitalization.
The United Nations agency in charge of peacekeeping in southern Lebanon called on Sunday for a cease-fire and for all sides to “refrain from further escalatory action.”
“In light of worrying developments across the Blue Line since the early morning, UNSCOL and UNIFIL call on all to cease fire and refrain from further escalatory action,” the agency said in a statement, referring to a demarcation line separating Israel from Lebanon.
There have been no reports of injuries on the Israeli side, according to emergency services in Israel.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz, Jordana Miller and Victoria Beaule
Israel continues strikes in southern Lebanon, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday said the military was targeting Hezbollah with additional strikes in southern Lebanon.
“In the last hour, the IDF struck Hezbollah launchers in several areas in southern Lebanon to remove threats,” the IDF said in a statement. “In addition, the IDF identified a terrorist cell operating in the area of Khiam in southern Lebanon. The IAF swiftly struck the terrorists.”
-ABC News’ Anna Burd and Victoria Beaule
‘Whoever harms us — we will harm them,’ Netanyahu says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday described his country’s preemptive strikes within Lebanon as a “strong action to foil the threats” raised by a potential attack by Hezbollah.
“It has eliminated thousands of rockets that were aimed at northern Israel,” Netanyahu said as he convened his Security Cabinet for a meeting at 7 a.m. local time. “It is thwarting many other threats and is taking very strong action — both defensively and offensively.”
Netanyahu had earlier in the morning been managing the situation with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant from the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, his office said. The prime minister’s office released photos of the pair meeting with military officials.
“We are determined to do everything to defend our country, to return the residents of the north securely to their homes and to continue upholding a simple rule: Whoever harms us — we will harm them,” Netanyahu said.
-ABC News’ Kevin Shalvey
‘Thousands’ of Hezbollah rocket launchers destroyed, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday said it had destroyed “thousands” of Hezbollah rocket launchers.
“Approximately 100 IAF fighter jets, directed by IDF intelligence, struck and destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels that were located and embedded in southern Lebanon,” the military said in a statement.
The statement added, “Most of these launchers were aimed toward northern Israel and some were aimed toward central Israel. More than 40 launches areas in Lebanon were struck during the strikes.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Kevin Shalvey
Israel warns Lebanese citizens of danger as it strikes Hezbollah
The Israeli Air Force launched “dozens” of planes to attack locations throughout southern Lebanon, saying it was continuing “to remove threats, to vigorously attack the terrorist organization Hezbollah.”
“Israel’s air defense systems, navy ships and Air Force planes are on a defense mission above the country’s skies, identifying, intercepting threats and attacking wherever in Lebanon it is required in order to remove threats and harm Hezbollah,” Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said.
The aerial strikes within Lebanon were coming as Israeli defenses were dealing with “different types of threats,” including scores of rockets and drones launched into Israeli airspace, he said.
“We have already intercepted a number of rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles that approached the territory of the State of Israel,” Hagari said.He added, “We warn the Lebanese citizens in South Lebanon. We recognize that Hezbollah is firing in a large area near your homes. You are in danger. We attack and remove Hezbollah threats.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Kevin Shalvey
Hezbollah claims hundreds of rockets launched at Israel
Hezbollah claimed early on Sunday to have launched more than 320 rockets toward 11 military locations within Israel and Golan Heights.
The “enemy sites” that had been targeted were detailed in a statement. They included military bases in Meron, Ein Zeytim and Al-Sahl.
Barracks in Naveh Ziv, Ramot Naftali and Zaoura were also among the sites targeted, Hezbollah said.
The group described those launches as a “first stage,” saying they were “targeting Israeli barracks and sites to facilitate the passage of offensive drones towards their desired target deep inside” Israel.
