Israel-Gaza-Lebanon live updates: Drones, rockets fired at Israel from two directions

(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.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Kevin Shalvey

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(MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA and LONDON) — About 105 people were killed and another 50 others were injured when a tanker exploded in Nigeria, a local police spokesperson said.

The petrol tanker exploded after the driver lost control in the town of Majiya, in northwestern Nigeria, late on Tuesday, Shi’isu Adam, a spokesperson for the Jigawa regional police, told reporters on Wednesday.

Distressing videos taken by eyewitnesses at the scene appeared to show large columns of smoke and flames spreading from the overturned vehicle. Eyewitnesses described the scene as that of chaos and despair, with many struggling to rescue the injured amidst the flames.

Jigawa state Gov. Umar Namadi was briefed on the latest death toll as he visited the scene of the accident in Majiya on Wednesday morning.

A local resident, Sani Umar, who narrowly escaped the inferno, recounted, “It was terrifying. People were running in all directions, screaming for help. The fire spread so quickly that many couldn’t escape.”

The patrol tanker had been heading to Nigeria’s Yobe state before it crashed at around 11:30 p.m. local time after the driver lost control of the vehicle, police said. Soon large crowds began to gather around the tanker at the scene of the accident, with some gathering leaking fuel from the truck when it exploded.

“We are worried that in spite of police warning people to stay clear from scenes of accidents involving fuel tankers, they still engage in such acts,” Adam told reporters on Wednesday. “People gathered around the accident scene; that is the reason for the mass casualties.”

At least 50 of those injured are continuing to receive medical treatment at the Ringim General Hospital for varying degrees of injuries, authorities said.

The area remained cordoned off on Wednesday as police continue investigations.

AT Abdullahi, the commissioner of police in Jigawa state, expressed on Wednesday his condolences to the families of the deceased and the entire people of Jigawa.

“This is a heartbreaking moment for us all,” Abdullahi said. “We share in the pain and sorrow of the families affected. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the bereaved

A mass burial for the victims is due to take place on Wednesday.

ABC News’ Guy Davies contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — The climate crisis is not a distant threat; it’s happening right now and affecting what matters most to us. Hurricanes intensified by a warming planet and drought-fueled wildfires are destroying our communities. Rising seas and flooding are swallowing our homes. And record-breaking heatwaves are reshaping our way of life.

The good news is we know how to turn the tide and avoid the worst possible outcomes. However, understanding what needs to be done can be confusing due to a constant stream of climate updates, scientific findings, and critical decisions that are shaping our future.

That’s why the ABC News Climate and Weather Unit is cutting through the noise by curating what you need to know to keep the people and places you care about safe. We are dedicated to providing clarity amid the chaos, giving you the facts and insights necessary to navigate the climate realities of today — and tomorrow.

October record heat made more likely because of climate change

It may be fall, but it feels a lot like summer in much of the country. That has some people wondering: Is climate change responsible for these record-high temperatures? With climate attribution science, we can now answer that question and determine when human-amplified climate change is responsible for extreme weather events and the significance of that impact.

Using advanced computer models, climate attribution science takes a real-world weather event, such as a record high-temperature day or a hurricane, and compares it to the world where human-caused, post-industrial greenhouse gas emissions don’t exist. By comparing what is actually happening with what would have happened without human intervention, science can estimate how likely or severe a weather event has become due to climate change.

Climate Central, a nonprofit climate research and communications organization, uses climate attribution science to provide real-time data that shows “how much climate change influences the temperature on a particular day.” The information is displayed on a global interactive map called the Climate Shift Index.

For example, the Index showed that human-amplified climate change made Sunday’s record high in Tucson, Arizona of 98 degrees at least three times more likely. The same was true for Waco, Texas, which broke a record with 92-degree heat, and Mobile, Alabama, which hit a record 90 degrees.

Extreme heat is the deadliest weather-related hazard in the U.S., with children and adults over 65 being among the most vulnerable to heat-related illnesses and death. And the average number of heat waves that major U.S. cities experience each year has doubled since the 1980s, according to the federal government’s Fifth National Climate Assessment.

-ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser

How crops will fare with 45% of the US experiencing drought

The U.S. is experiencing the driest fall on record, which could potentially impact the quality of upcoming autumn harvests, experts told ABC News.

About 77% of the mainland U.S. is abnormally dry, and almost half of the country is experiencing drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The spatial pattern of the dry conditions varies widely across the continent, Josue Medellin-Azuara, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California Merced, told ABC News.

Improvement in the drought is not expected for most of the South, the Plains and parts of the Upper Midwest due to expected La Nina conditions this winter that would further reinforce the dryness, according to forecasts by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

However, a lot of the crops in these regions that harvest in the fall had good growing conditions throughout the summer and are in the process of being harvested, meaning overall output should not be heavily impacted, Joseph Glauber, senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute and former chief economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, told ABC News.

Read more here.

EPA cancels toxic pesticide used in growing produce

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it’s canceling any product containing the pesticide dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA), also known as Dacthal.

According to the EPA, their decision is based on comprehensive scientific studies that indicate potential thyroid toxicity linked to DCPA. The agency says research suggests that exposure to this pesticide during pregnancy can lead to changes in thyroid hormone levels in unborn children. Studies cited by the EPA indicate that these hormonal changes could be associated with various health concerns, including low birth weight, impaired brain development and reduced IQ. That research suggests that these developmental challenges may also have long-term effects on motor skills.

DCPA is used in the industrial farming of broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and onions. While pregnant women working in agriculture are most at risk, pesticides can travel into neighboring communities via the air and runoff, putting non-agricultural workers at risk as well.

In a press release, EPA’s assistant administrator for the office of chemical safety and pollution prevention, Michal Freedhoff, wrote, “With the final cancellation of DCPA, we’re taking a definitive step to protect pregnant women and their unborn babies. The science showing the potential for irreversible harm to unborn babies’ developing brains, in addition to other lifelong consequences from exposure, demands decisive action to remove this dangerous chemical from the marketplace,” Freedhoff added.

-ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser

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