ABC News analysis: 70% of schools in Gaza destroyed or damaged during Israel-Hamas war
Qadira Zourob sits on a mattress outside the tent she lives in, in the courtyard of a school housing displaced people in Khan Younis. (Diaa Ostaz/ABC News)
(LONDON) — — Qadira Zourob, a 17-year-old in Gaza, was in her last year of high school when war broke out in the Strip after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel in 2023.
“I was preparing for my exams with great excitement. I had been studying hard, staying up late every night, determined to succeed and achieve a high score. But the next day, we woke up to the sounds of bombings and rocket fire,” she told ABC News in an interview in a tent where her family has been displaced.
Zourob is one of the more than 600,000 students in Gaza who have had their education interrupted by the war. She said she dreamed of becoming a nurse, helping people and traveling abroad, but now she says she feels lost, adding, “I feel as if my life has come to a standstill.”
As millions of children go back to school around the world, formal education continues to be on hold for the children of Gaza. An ABC News visual analysis reveals that at least 70% of all schools in Gaza — 399 school buildings — have been damaged or destroyed since Oct. 7.
In a statement to ABC News about these figures, the Israel Defense Forces said “There is no IDF policy to target schools or educators. Rather, Hamas’ widespread and well documented strategy of exploiting schools and educational facilities for terror activities, has required IDF activity in those areas.”
Using Palestinian Authority government and U.N. records, ABC News geolocated nearly every school in Gaza, about 547 of the 567 school buildings. Analysis of dozens of satellite images identified which of each of the 547 buildings were damaged or destroyed.
To further supplement the data, 149 videos where schools were visible, showing about a quarter of all schools, were added to the analysis. The videos were filmed by the IDF and Hamas, as well as dozens of local journalists, civilians, the United Nations, and other organizations in Gaza. Some schools that did not look damaged on satellite imagery had holes in the sides or the structures were still standing but lower floors had been completely blown out.
The results show 212 schools are either partially or completely destroyed, and a further 187 show signs of damage.
This analysis relies solely on data available online, as international journalists are not allowed into Gaza and movement for ABC News’ local journalists in Gaza is severely restricted.
The U.N. estimates as many as 84% of schools — 477 buildings — will need to be repaired or rebuilt. This higher number is a result of the U.N.’s use of a model to estimate blast damage to areas in the vicinity of bomb sites, while ABC News’ analysis relies solely on visually verifiable damage.
It has been a particularly bloody summer at school buildings across Gaza. At least 354 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on school buildings that housed displaced people between June 1 and Sept. 1, according to individual tallies released by the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health and collated by ABC News.
The death toll comes from Israeli airstrikes on 25 schools for which Israel has publicly claimed responsibility in that timeframe. In statements announcing the strikes, the IDF said each time that it was targeting Hamas militants or Hamas command centers embedded inside the school buildings. In statements on 23 of the 25 schools hit, the IDF said it took “numerous steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.”
Verified videos from 14 of the 25 scenes show injured and bloodied children either running or being carried from the wreckage.
A video taken by journalist Talal Mahmoud at the Abu Oreiban school in Nuseirat on July 14 shows six children being rushed out of the courtyard, as screams come from the school. A screaming toddler covered in dust sits against a back wall in another video. Twenty-two people were killed in the strike, according to the Ministry of Health.
The Khadija school, in the Israeli designated safe zone in Deir al-Balah, was struck on July 27. Video moments after the strike by a bystander, and verified by ABC News, shows dozens of people running from the school courtyard, carrying people, including multiple children, from the scene. As a child looks at the smoking ruins, another missile crashes to the ground, exploding on impact.
The entire eastern side of the school crumpled. Thirty people, seven of whom were children, were killed, according to the Ministry of Health. Video filmed by journalist Hani Abu Rezeq from the scene shows a young man with a biohazard bag picking up charred fragments of human remains from the rubble.
Future obstacles for educators, students
Rachael Cummins, a humanitarian director in Gaza for Save the Children, told ABC News the organization is bringing learning back to some of Gaza’s children. They started earlier this year with child-friendly spaces for play, and are now introducing more learning, with the goal of reintroducing a level of normalcy and structure to children’s lives, she said.
Cummins said the obstacles are immense, from staff safety, to finding child friendly spaces, to sourcing materials, and all made more difficult by the constant displacement of people.
For the children themselves, Cummins said, returning to learning is no easy task and the lost year will have lasting ramifications.
“Children haven’t been able to access formal education, so they’ve missed a whole year of learning. But, you know, outside of that, what they’re seeing and what they’re living through and the consequences of that in terms of their mental health, really, really cannot be underestimated. A whole generation, a whole population, actually, of children and their parents and their caregivers, in terms of the impact of the war on their mental health is absolutely extraordinary,” she said.
She said their programs have to take into account how the war has changed children’s behaviors, from finding it impossible to focus, to aggressive reactions, and anxiety attacks.
She also highlights the poor physical health, malnutrition and illnesses affecting many children in Gaza, which compound the difficulty of their focusing on anything but immediate needs.
“It’s a dire situation for children. It manifests in many different ways and is deeply distressing for them and obviously deeply distressing for their families who obviously want to support their children as best they can and to keep them safe, but it’s impossible,” Cummins told ABC News.
Qadira Zourob, the high school student, said her former school, in Khan Younis, is being used as a shelter for thousands of displaced people. It is damaged, but it has not been bombed. Even so, she said she does not have hopes she will be able to return to education, even if a cease-fire is agreed to.
“The displaced people will likely remain in the school. How can they be removed when they have no shelter, home, or anything else?” she asked.
“Our lives are on hold. What will become of my life?” she said. “An entire year of my life, where I built my hopes and dreams, has been destroyed.”
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) — Israeli troops are now active in southern Lebanon in what the Israel Defense Forces called “limited, localized, and targeted ground raids” targeting Hezbollah positions.
Israel believes it has eliminated around 30 top Hezbollah leaders over the last several weeks, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, U.S. and Israeli officials said.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Iran to launch ballistic missiles at Israel ‘imminently,’ US official says
A senior White House official told ABC News on Tuesday that the U.S. “has indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel.”
“We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack,” the official added.
“A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran,” the official said.
Israeli special ops teams active in Lebanon for almost a year, IDF says
Israel special operations teams have been operating in southern Lebanon since November, an Israeli security source said Tuesday, conducting around 70 missions in groups of 20 to 40 operators.
The troops spent around 200 nights inside Lebanon, making it the most intense series of special operations missions in Israel’s history, the official said.
The units operated between 1 and 2 miles inside Lebanese territory, the official said, blowing up and dismantling hundreds of Hezbollah facilities including tunnels.
Some tunnels doubled as weapons caches and others stretched to the Israeli border. Officials said on Tuesday they believed Hezbollah was planning an imminent “Oct.7-style invasion” of northern Israel.
The security source claimed that Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force was at times as little as six hours from launching such an attack. ABC News was not immediately able to independently verify the official’s claims.
The Israeli special operations units operating in southern Lebanon encountered almost no resistance, the official said, and did not suffer any casualties.
Though some 2,000 Radwan troops are believed to be present within 3 miles of Israel’s border — and between 6,000 and 8,000 in southern Lebanon in total — they have not been fighting.
“During these operations, the troops also collected valuable intelligence and methodically dismantled the weapons and compounds, including underground infrastructure and advanced weaponry of Iranian origin,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
“Some of the weapons were recovered and taken by the soldiers back into Israeli territory.”
Airstrike hits southern Beirut suburb
The southern Beirut suburb of Dahiya was hit by a fresh airstrike early on Tuesday, as Israeli warplanes continued to bomb targets across Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah members and resources.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Tuesday that the previous 24 hours saw at least 95 people killed and 172 wounded by Israeli strikes in Lebanon’s southern regions, the eastern Bekaa Valley and Beirut.
Hezbollah disputes Israel’s incursion claims
Israeli claims that its soldiers began ground operations inside southern Lebanon “are false,” Hezbollah said in a Tuesday statement.
“No direct ground clashes have yet taken place between the resistance fighters and the occupation forces,” the group said, referring to Israeli troops.
“The resistance fighters are ready for a direct confrontation with the enemy forces that dare or attempt to enter Lebanese territory and inflict the greatest losses on them,” the group added.
Beirut not a target of Israeli ground incursion, official says
The Israel Defense Forces’ operation in southern Lebanon is occurring “right by the border” with no intention of pushing towards the capital Beirut, an Israeli security official said during a Tuesday briefing.
The IDF has three goals, the official said.
The first is to remove the threat of cross-border fire at Israeli citizens, they said. The second is to target senior militant leaders planning such attacks, the official added.
The third goal is to create a situation in which tens of thousands of displaced Israelis can return to their homes in the north of the country.
“We’re talking about limited, localized, targeted rates based on precise intelligence in areas near the border,” the official said when asked about the scope of the operation.
Beirut, they added, is not on the table, though airstrikes are expected to continue across the country and in the capital.
“We’re talking about Hezbollah embedding itself in the Lebanese villages, right by the border,” they said.
“We’re operating at the moment according to the mission we received from the political echelon. We’re acting in a limited area that is focusing on the villages right by the border,” they explained.
IDF claims Hezbollah was planning ‘invasion’ of Israel
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Israeli troops were engaged in “limited and targeted raids” in southern Lebanon as of Tuesday morning, alleging that Hezbollah was planning “an Oct. 7-style invasion” into Israeli homes.
“Hezbollah turned Lebanese villages next to Israeli villages into military bases,” Hagari said. “Hezbollah planned to invade Israel, attack Israeli communities and massacre innocent men, women and children.”
“I want to make it clear: our war is with Hezbollah, not with the people of Lebanon,” Hagari continued. “We do not want to harm Lebanese civilians, and we’re taking measures to prevent that.”
More than 700 people were killed by an intensified Israeli airstrike campaign across Lebanon last week. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported 95 people killed and 172 people by strikes on Monday. Israeli bombing continued overnight into Tuesday morning, including in the capital Beirut.
UK charters flight for citizens in Lebanon, urges Britons to ‘leave now’
The British government announced Monday that it chartered a commercial flight out of Lebanon for citizens wishing to leave the country.
British nationals, their spouse or partner and children under the age of 18 are eligible, a Foreign Office press release said. “Vulnerable” citizens will be prioritized, it added.
The flight is scheduled to depart Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport on Wednesday.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the situation in the country “is volatile and has potential to deteriorate quickly.”
“The safety of British nationals in Lebanon continues to be our utmost priority,” he added.
“That’s why the U.K. government is chartering a flight to help those wanting to leave. It is vital that you leave now as further evacuation may not be guaranteed,” he said.
IDF reports ‘heavy fighting’ in Lebanon border areas
Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee — the Israel Defense Forces’ spokesperson for Arab media — warned residents of southern Lebanon on Tuesday morning that “heavy fighting” is now underway in the region.
“Hezbollah elements,” he said, are “using the civilian environment and the population as human shields to launch attacks.”
Adraee told residents not to move vehicles from the north to the south of the Litani River, which is around 18 miles north of the Israeli border. Israel previously demanded that all Hezbollah forces withdraw north of the waterway in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolution that sought to end the 2006 border war.
“This warning is in effect until further notice,” Adraee said.
The IDF said Monday that its ground offensive into Lebanon was underway, following a week of punishing airstrikes and targeted killings across the country.
The IDF described the operations as “limited, localized, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon.”
A senior U.S. official told ABC News that the incursion is expected to be significant but not “major.” Lebanese leaders, meanwhile, are calling for an immediate ceasefire and the implementation of the 2006 U.N. resolution that would see Hezbollah forces leave southern Lebanon.
10 projectiles fired back at Israel from Lebanon amid ground incursion: IDF
After Israeli forces began the ground incursion into southern Lebanon, at least 10 projectiles crossed over into northern Israel, according to the IDF.
“Following the sirens that sounded in the area of Meron in northern Israel, approximately 10 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon,” the IDF said in a statement Monday.
“Some of the projectiles were intercepted and a number of projectiles fell in open areas,” the IDF said.
IDF begins ground incursion into Lebanon
Israeli forces have begun a ground incursion into southern Lebanon, a spokesperson for the IDF said in a statement.
The IDF described the operations as “limited, localized, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon.”
“The IDF is continuing to operate to achieve the goals of the war and is doing everything necessary to defend the citizens of Israel and return the citizens of northern Israel to their homes,” the statement said.
95 killed, 172 injured in Lebanon from attacks Monday
The death toll in Lebanon from Israeli attacks rose to 95 on Monday with 172 people injured, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said in a post on X.
Ground operations in Lebanon will be significant but not ‘major’: US official
The Israel Defense Forces’ ground movement into Lebanon will be significant but not “major,” a senior U.S. official told ABC News.
The operations will be limited to small unit commando teams, the official said, adding that the teams will have air power backup against Hezbollah fighters.
IDF issues ‘urgent warning’ to residents of southern suburbs of Beirut
The Israeli Defense Forces issued an “urgent warning” Monday to residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut.
In a post on X, the IDF urged people in three neighborhoods — Lilac, Haret Hreik and Burj Al-Barajneh — to evacuate.
“You are located near interests and facilities belonging to the terrorist Hezbollah, and therefore the IDF will act against them forcefully,” the IDF wrote. “For your safety and the safety of your family, you must evacuate the buildings immediately, starting at a distance of no less than 500 meters.”
UNRWA chief denies knowing suspended staffer was Hamas leader in Lebanon
On Monday, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini denied having being aware that staffer Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin had been the head of Hamas’ Lebanon branch.
Abu el-Amin and his family were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, a spokesperson for Hamas said Monday.
In his press briefing in Geneva on Monday, Lazzarini said Abu el-Amin had been suspended from his UNRWA position in March after allegations arose that he was involved in Hamas.
-ABC News’ William Gretsky
5 killed, 57 injured in Israeli air strikes on Yemen: Houthi spokesperson
Five people were killed and 57 were injured after Sunday’s Israeli air strikes in Al-Hodeidah, Yemen, the Houthi spokesperson said in a statement Monday.
“This crime will be responded to with escalating military operations against the criminal enemy during the coming period,” the Houthi spokesperson added in his statement.
-ABC News’ Ahmed Baider
12 killed, 20 wounded in Lebanon from attacks Monday
Twelve people have been killed and at least 20 were injured in attacks in Lebanon on Monday, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said.
The number of casualties from strikes in Lebanon on Sunday rose to 118 killed and 376 injured, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
Hezbollah and Israel continued to trade attacks on Monday.
Hezbollah issued 10 statements taking responsibility for various attacks on Monday.
The Israeli Defense Forces said they destroyed a “surface-to-air missile launcher storage facility approximately 1.5 kilometers” from Beirut’s international airport in a release Monday.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Jordana Miller
Israeli forces conducting ‘training’ near northern border, IDF says
Israeli forces have been “conducting training near the northern border,” the IDF said in a release Monday.
“As part of increasing readiness for combat, IDF soldiers from the 188th Brigade have been conducting training near the northern border and at the command’s headquarters,” the IDF said in the release.
Sinwar goes radio silent in Gaza cease-fire negotiations
Senior Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, one of the key architects of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, has gone radio silent, according to an official familiar with negotiations to reach a cease-fire and hostage release deal.
Sinwar’s absence has created another hurdle for U.S. officials who are still trying to complete an overdue “final” proposal for a deal.
It has also sparked speculation that Sinwar is dead, but the official said there is no indication that’s the case.
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller spoke about Hamas’ role in delaying a cease-fire proposal during a briefing Monday, but did not weigh in on Sinwar’s status specifically.
“When it comes to Sinwar, I don’t have any update on his condition at all, one way or the other,” he said, before asserting that Hamas has been unwilling to “engage at all” with Egyptian or Qatari mediators “over the past several weeks.”
“So the reason you have not seen us put forward this proposal is we can’t get a clear answer from Hamas of what they’re willing to entertain and what they’re not willing to entertain,” he said. “We’re going to continue to try to work it.”
-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston
More officials say invasion possibly imminent, US fighter jets heading to region for air defense
Israel’s limited ground incursion into Lebanon could be imminent, two more U.S. officials have told ABC News.
One of the officials said Israel notified the U.S. of its intentions.
Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh would not confirm as much when repeatedly asked Monday, but did give new details on the additional forces being sent to the region to potentially defend Israel and its own forces.
“These augmented forces include F-16, F-15E, A-10, F 22 fighter aircraft and associated personnel,” Singh said.
The fighter aircraft are to be used for air defense, such as intercepting missiles if needed, according to Singh. There are “an additional few thousand” troops in the region as part of the augmented force, according to Singh.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Matt Seyler
Israel imminently planning limited ground operation in Lebanon: Senior US official
The U.S. expects Israel to imminently begin a limited ground operation into Lebanon that would be targeted, in order to clear out Hezbollah infrastructure near Israeli border communities and then pull their forces back, according to a senior U.S. official.
This could start “immediately,” according to the senior official.
-ABC News’ Selina Wang
Biden tells Israel to stop when asked about possible Lebanon invasion
Speaking to reporters Monday at the White House, President Joe Biden addressed Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon and reports that they are preparing for a limited ground operation.
The comment, which followed Biden’s remarks on Hurricane Helene, came after a reporter asked if he was aware of and “comfortable” with the possibility of Israel invading Lebanon.
“I’m more aware than you might know, and I’m comfortable with them stopping. We should have a cease-fire now,” Biden replied.
Middle East ‘safer’ without ‘brutal’ Nasrallah, Blinken says
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was “a brutal terrorist, whose many victims included Americans, Israelis, civilians in Lebanon, civilians in Syria and many others as well.”
During a ministerial meeting on defeating ISIS in Washington, D.C., Blinken said Hezbollah under Nasrallah’s leadership “terrorized people across the region and prevented Lebanon from fully moving forward as a country.”
“Lebanon, the region, the world, are safer without him,” Blinken added.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Beirut on Friday, marking the most significant blow yet to Hezbollah over almost a year of cross-border conflict with Israel.
Israeli airstrikes are continuing across Lebanon and in the capital. A U.S. official told ABC News on Sunday that small-scale cross-border Israeli ground operations may have already begun, as a prelude to a wider offensive into southern Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah targets.
Blinken said the U.S. and its partners would continue to work toward a diplomatic solution “that provides real security to Israel, to Lebanon, and allows citizens on both sides of the border to return to their homes.”
“Diplomacy remains the best and only path to achieving greater stability in the Middle East,” he said. “The United States remains committed to urgently driving these efforts forward.”
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
‘Nowhere’ Israel cannot reach, Netanyahu warns Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed to anti-government sentiment in Iran on Monday, telling the Iranian people: “With every passing moment, the regime is bringing you — the noble Persian people — closer to the abyss.”
“Every day, you see a regime that subjugates you make fiery speeches about defending Lebanon, defending Gaza,” the prime minister said in a video statement posted to social media.
“Yet every day, that regime plunges our region deeper into darkness and deeper into war. Every day, their puppets are eliminated.”
“Ask Mohammed Deif. Ask [Hassan] Nasrallah,” Netanyahu said, referring to the Hamas military commander — whose death the group has not confirmed — and the former Hezbollah leader. Israel claims Deif was killed in Gaza in July, while Nasrallah was killed in Beirut on Friday.
“There is nowhere in the Middle East Israel cannot reach,” Netanyahu said.
“Iran’s tyrants don’t care about your future,” Netanyahu continued. “When Iran is finally free — and that moment will come a lot sooner than people think — everything will be different.”
“Our two ancient peoples, the Jewish people and the Persian people, will finally be at peace,” Netanyahu said. “The people of Iran should know — Israel stands with you.”
Tehran has not yet responded to Netanyahu’s statement. But on Monday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said his country would not deploy volunteer troops to Lebanon in response to Israel’s expanding campaign there against Hezbollah.
“We believe that the governments and nations of the region have the necessary ability and authority to defend themselves,” he said. “We have not had any request from anyone, and we know that they do not need deployment of human forces from our side.”
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Somayeh Malekian
Hamas leader in Lebanon killed in airstrike, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday it killed Fatah Sharif Abu al-Amine, the head of Hamas’ Lebanon branch, in an overnight airstrike.
“Sharif was responsible for coordinating Hamas’ terror activities in Lebanon with Hezbollah operatives,” the IDF said in a statement.
“He was also responsible for Hamas’ efforts in Lebanon to recruit operatives and acquire weapons.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
Deadly strike hits central Beirut for first time in 18 years
An overnight precision strike on an apartment building in the Cola neighborhood was the first such strike in central Beirut for 18 years.
Four people were killed, including three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine militant group.
Israel did not immediately claim the strike but is widely assumed to have carried it out.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Hezbollah deputy gives first statement since Nasrallah assassination
Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general, addressed followers Monday in the first leadership statement since Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday.
“The mujahadeen will continue,” Qassem said of the militant group’s fighters, their work informed by “what [Nasrallah] designed.”
Qassem did not announce a replacement for Nasrallah, but said Hezbollah’s next leader will be chosen “sooner rather than later.”
Details of Nasrallah’s funeral are still unconfirmed. A three-day mourning period in Lebanon began on Monday.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Joe Simonetti
IDF confirms new attacks on Hezbollah targets
The Israel Defense Forces said it carried out an operation against more Hezbollah targets early Monday morning local time.
The Israeli Air Force attacked targets in the Bekaa region of Lebanon, the IDF said in a statement.
Targets included launchers and buildings where the IDF said weapons were held.
The Israeli Air Force also attacked what it said were military buildings in southern Lebanon.
-ABC News Will Gretsky
At least 105 people killed Sunday in Lebanon: Ministry of Health
The death toll in Lebanon as a result of Israeli airstrikes Sunday rose to 105, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
Nearly 360 individuals were wounded in the strikes, the ministry reported.
The strikes occurred in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa, Baalbek-Hermel and the southern suburbs of Beirut (Dahieh), according to the ministry.
Netanyahu announces former rival Gideon Sa’ar joined Israeli cabinet
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed opposition lawmaker Gideon Sa’ar to rejoin his cabinet, the politicians announced in a joint statement Sunday.
Sa’ar will serve in the Security Cabinet, according to Netanyahu.
“I appreciate the fact that Gideon Sa’ar responded to my request and agreed today to return to the government,” Netanyahu said, noting how the leaders have put aside their disagreements.
“We will work together, and I intend to use him in the forums that influence the conduct of the war,” Netanyahu added.
Sa’ar was once a member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party but defected after an unsuccessful bid for party leadership. He formed his own party in 2020 called New Hope.
“I am joining the government at this stage without a coalition agreement – but with an orderly worldview and with a strong patriotic attitude for our people,” Sa’ar said in the joint statement.
(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 after Israel marked the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault, and as Israeli leaders planned their response to Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack.
Israel to probe deadly drone attack on troops, Gallant says
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the scene of a deadly Hezbollah drone strike in northern Israel on Monday, telling soldiers there the incident “was a difficult event with painful results.”
Four troops were killed and 55 wounded in Sunday’s attack on the Golani Training Base close to the town of Binyamina, some 20 miles south of Haifa.
“We must investigate it, study the details and implement lessons in a swift and professional manner,” Gallant said, according to a Defense Ministry readout.
“We are concentrating significant efforts in developing solutions to address the threat of UAV attacks,” he added
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
IDF claims 200 strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday its warplanes targeted around 200 “Hezbollah terror targets” in its continuing operation against the Iranian-backed group in southern Lebanon.
The targets included “launchers, anti-tank missile launch posts, terrorist infrastructure and weapons storage facilities containing launchers, anti-tank missiles, RPG launchers and munitions,” the IDF wrote on X.
Ground forces, meanwhile, “eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters encounters and aerial strikes” in their ongoing cross-border incursion, the force reported.
The IDF is still describing its ground operation as consisting of “limited, localized, targeted raids” in southern areas close to the border.
Airstrikes, though, continue across southern Lebanon. Around a quarter of all Lebanese territory is under IDF evacuation orders and some 1.2 million civilians are displaced, according to the government in Beirut.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Hezbollah drone attack on IDF base ‘painful,’ commander says
The Israel Defense Forces identified the four soldiers killed in a Hezbollah drone attack on a training base in the north of the country on Sunday.
Sgt. Omri Tamari, Sgt. Yosef Hieb, Sgt. Yoav Agmon and Sgt. Amitay Alon were killed, an IDF press release said. The strike occurred at the Golani Training Base close to the town of Binyamina, some 20 miles south of Haifa.
Around 55 more are reported to have been injured.
IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi addressed Golani Brigade troops on Sunday night following the attack.
“We are at war, and an attack on a training base in the rear is difficult and the results are painful,” the commander said according to a post on the IDF’s official Telegram channel.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Israel strike on Gaza hospital kills 4, wounds dozens
At least four people were killed and 40 others wounded Monday in an Israeli airstrike on tents housing displaced Palestinians inside the Al-Aqsa Hospital in the central Gaza’s city of Deir al-Balah, health officials said.
The Israeli military said it targeted militants operating from a command center inside the compound. Israel accuses Hamas of routine use of civilian facilities such as hospitals for military purposes — a charge Hamas denies.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Defense Secretary Austin discusses safety of UNIFIL forces with Israel’s Gallant
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant by phone on Sunday to express his condolences for the IDF soldiers killed in a Hezbollah drone attack and discuss the IDF’s military operations in Lebanon.
According to a readout of the call from the Pentagon, Austin, “reinforced the importance of Israel taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of UNIFIL forces and Lebanese Armed Forces, and the need to pivot from military operations in Lebanon to a diplomatic pathway to provide security for civilians on both sides of the border as soon as feasible.”
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon established by the U.N. Security Council.
The conversation comes after the IDF has repeatedly fired on the UNIFIL headquarters in southern Lebanon.
Additionally, Secretary Austin “reaffirmed the deep U.S. commitment to Israel’s security,” which he says is demonstrated by the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).
According to the Department of Defense, THAAD employs interceptor missiles, using “hit-to-kill” technology, to destroy threat missiles.
During the call, Austin “again raised concern for the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and stressed that steps must be taken soon to address it,” the Pentagon said.
At least 3 killed in IDF strike on Gaza hospital
At least three people were killed and dozens more were injured after Israel Defense Forces struck Al Aqsa Hospital in Gaza on Sunday.
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the U.S. military announced it is moving more forces to the Middle East.
The United States and its allies continue to plead for a cease-fire deal while Israel anticipates possible retaliatory action from Iran or Hezbollah following multiple assassinations of top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in recent weeks.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Cease-fire talks resume in Qatar
A U.S. delegation is in the Qatari capital of Doha for the resumption of cease-fire talks related to Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
CIA chief Bill Burns is part of the U.S. group, while the head of Mossad — David Barnea — is with the Israeli delegation. High level Egyptian officials are also in attendance.
The talks are being hosted by Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Discussions will take place over two days.
Hamas is not taking part in the negotiations. The group announced on Wednesday it would not send a representative in protest of what it said was Israel’s failure to commit to negotiating on the basis of a July 2 cease-fire proposal.
Grim milestone of 40,000 killed in Gaza, says Hamas-run Health Ministry
Israel’s war in Gaza has hit another grim milestone after the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the strip declared that the death toll had passed 40,000 since the start of the war on Oct. 8.
On Thursday, officials in Gaza said a total of 40,005 people had been killed in the conflict.
That figure does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. However, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said there were more than 11,000 women and more than 16,000 children among the dead.
The true death toll in Gaza, after more than 10 months of war, could be significantly higher than the Health Ministry’s figure because officials in Gaza estimate that an additional 10,000 people in Gaza are unaccounted for because of the war.
Latest on the state of play for high-stakes Gaza cease-fire talks
On the eve of what is supposed to be a critical, final push to seal the Gaza cease-fire/hostage release deal, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is working the phones with key mediators as the U.S. works to make sure negotiations will indeed press on.
In his conversations with his Qatari and Egyptian counterparts, Blinken discussed efforts to reach an agreement and stressed that “no party in the region should take actions that would undermine efforts to reach a deal,” according to readouts of the calls.
This comes as Hamas continues to assert that it will not participate in the talks in Doha, Qatar — accusing Israel of moving the goal posts and insisting it will only move forward with the version of the deal it agreed to in early July.
Qatar has assured the Biden administration that it will drum up some sort of Hamas representative to fill the group’s seat at the negotiating table, U.S. officials said. However, Qatar has made no promise about the quality of said representation. Getting messages to Hamas’ ultimate power and deciding vote, Yahya Sinwar, can take days or even weeks, so to be effective in the talks, the intermediary needs to have a good idea of what Sinwar might ultimately sign off on and what’s a nonstarter.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is insisting on maintaining operational control over the Philadelphi Corridor — a narrow strip of land separating Gaza from Egypt — through the duration of any cease-fire, as well as implementing additional procedures for Gazans that would be returning to their homes in the North, according to officials familiar with the matter.
As for Hamas, the group has called for more than two dozen changes to the framework that was rolled out in May, which U.S. officials have repeatedly insisted is “nearly identical” to a deal Hamas previously agreed to.
Regarding Iran, U.S. officials don’t have a crystal-clear view of Tehran’s position, but the administration does put stock into the idea that Iran doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardize a peace deal and sees the looming talks as a potential reason there hasn’t yet been retaliation against Israel for the killing of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Two Hezbollah fighters killed, IDF and Hezbollah say
Israeli forces said they killed two Hezbollah members in Lebanon on Wednesday.
Hezbollah also confirmed the death of two of their fighters in statements released on Wednesday.
The IDF said an Israeli Air Force aircraft “eliminated two Hezbollah terrorists” in the area of Marjayoun in southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu gives negotiating team more flexibility: Israeli official
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expanded the mandate and positions of the Israeli negotiators, an Israeli official told ABC News, giving the team more flexibility ahead of the cease-fire talks in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday.
The development comes as he faces growing criticism to reach a cease-fire deal.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
White House expects cease-fire talks to ‘move forward as planned’
The White House expects Thursday’s cease-fire negotiations in Doha, Qatar, to “move forward as planned” and said the announcement of Hamas not sending a delegation is just “public posturing” in advance of those discussions.
“We expect these talks to move forward as planned. [CIA] Director [Bill] Burns and Brett McGurk, [White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa], will both travel to Qatar for these discussions. There’s always a lot of public posturing in advance. We’ve seen that before. It’s not new of these talks, and I’m not going to certainly weigh in on any of that, just like I’m not going to discuss the details of the negotiation,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday.
Israel closes humanitarian route through Rafah
Israeli forces “temporarily” closed the humanitarian route in the area of Rafah, in southern Gaza, on Tuesday, saying Hamas operatives “opened fire” toward the route.
This is the second time the IDF has closed this route in the past week.
The route is an 8-mile road going from the Kerem Shalom crossing, near Rafah, north near Khan Younis and the humanitarian zone.
Hamas not attending cease-fire negotiations in Qatar
Hamas said it will not be attending cease-fire negotiations in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday.
“The movement demands a clear commitment from the occupation to what was agreed upon on July 2, according to the clarifications conveyed by the mediators, and if that happens, the movement is ready to enter into the mechanisms for implementing the agreement,” Hamas Political Bureau Member Dr. Suhail al-Hindi told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed TV.
Israel to send delegation to Qatar to negotiate cease-fire
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the sending of an Israeli delegation to Doha, Qatar, on Thursday to continue negotiations for a cease-fire agreement.
This comes as Netanyahu is receiving pushback internally and externally amid reports he changed the parameters of what he would agree to.
Biden expects Iran to hold off on retaliatory attack if a cease-fire deal is reached
President Joe Biden addressed the rising tensions in the Middle East Tuesday after U.S. officials warned Iran could launch a retaliatory attack on Israel as early as “this week.”
Biden told reporters he expects Iran to hold off on carrying out a retaliatory attack against Israel if a cease-fire deal with Hamas is reached.
“That’s my expectation, but we’ll see,” Biden said after arriving in New Orleans, LA.
Last week, Biden along with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar jointly called for Israel and Hamas to return to the negotiating table and reach an agreement that would free hostages and end the war in Gaza.
Hamas leaders declined the new set of cease-fire conditions on Sunday, asking for negotiations to resume around what was presented in July.
US approves $20 billion more in arms sales to Israel
The U.S. State Department has signed off on several large arms transfers to Israel, notifying Congress on Tuesday that it has approved the sale of more than $20 billion worth of weaponry and military equipment.
All of the sales surpass the value threshold that requires the State Department to formally notify Congress 15 days before initiating the transfer process. Congress can move to reject the transaction by adopting a joint resolution of disapproval within that timeframe.
Some of the items aren’t scheduled to arrive in Israel for years.
Israeli forces kill two Hezbollah fighters, IDF says
Israeli forces killed two Hezbollah fighters from its Southern Front on Tuesday, the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement. Hezbollah has confirmed the death of two of their fighters on Tuesday.
These attacks come as Israel awaits a response from Hezbollah and Iran for killings in recent weeks.
CIA director, Biden aide to head to Middle East to salvage hostage talks
Several U.S. officials are headed to the Middle East this week in a bid to de-escalate regional tensions and try to salvage hostage negotiations, as the window for a deal appears to be closing.
CIA Director Bill Burns is expected to arrive in Doha, Qatar, this week, where he will lead a crucial meeting on the hostages, according to a U.S. official. It’s not clear, however, whether a representative of Hamas will attend.
Meanwhile, Brett McGurk, Biden’s top adviser on the Middle East at the White House, was expected to travel separately to Cairo, according to the U.S. official.
Axios first reported the travel plans for Burns and McGurk, noting that McGurk’s plan was to nail down a security plan for the Egypt-Gaza border.
The diplomatic trip also comes as the U.S. has been scrambling to revive a coalition of countries that helped to defend Israel last April during an attack by Iran.
Israel has been bracing for Iran to launch a retaliatory attack following the assassination of a senior Hamas official in Tehran.
The U.S. official acknowledged “there have been complications” with getting some of the Arab countries on board but added they’ve been “able to put in place preparations” to defend Israel successfully.
-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty
Western leaders call on Iran to ‘stand down’
The leaders of the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Italy called on Iran to “stand down” and expressed their support for Israel’s defense “against Iranian aggression” during a call on Monday, according to a joint statement released by the White House.
“We called on Iran to stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel and discussed the serious consequences for regional security should such an attack take place,” the statement said.
The leaders also expressed their support for ongoing efforts to reach a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza, according to the statement.
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Hostage deal talks expected to move forward: State Department
As the Middle East continues its uneasy wait for Iran’s response to the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, the State Department is pressing on with its high-stakes diplomatic campaign to constrain military action from Tehran amid fresh waves of uncertainty.
“We continue to work diplomatically to prevent any major escalation in this conflict,” deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters Monday. “We obviously don’t want to see any kind of attack or response happen in the first place.”
Multiple officials within the State Department said they are still cautiously optimistic that Iran will limit the scope of its retaliation, but that they increasingly expect the country will strike at Israel before Thursday — the date the Biden administration, along with Egypt and Qatar, set to relaunch hostage/cease-fire deal talks in hopes of bringing Israel and Hamas back to the table for a final push.
A joint statement issued by the mediators last week was designed not only to pressure the parties involved, but as a message to Iran that an agreement was in the offing meant to persuade the country against military action that could scuttle a deal, according to an official.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also publicly warned Monday that Iranian military action could impede progress at a critical point in the negotiations.
However, Hamas’ earlier announcement that it would not participate in the round of negotiations and public infighting among top Israeli officials have cast significant doubt over whether the Thursday meeting will even happen — undercutting the administration’s intended message to Tehran.
At the podium Monday, Patel said mediators “fully expect talks to move forward as they should” in order to “bring this deal to conclusion.”
He declined to say whether Hamas or Israel was the bigger impediment.
“I’m not going to color it one way or the other,” Patel said while noting that “the prime minister of Israel immediately welcomed this initiative and confirmed that the Israeli team will be there, and they’ll be prepared to finalize the details of implementing the deal.”
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Retaliatory attack on Israel could come ‘this week’: Kirby
A United States assessment shows a retaliatory attack by Iran and its proxies against Israel could be launched “this week,” the White House said Monday.
“We share the same concerns and expectations that our Israeli counterparts have with respect to potential timing here. Could be this week,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “We’re continuing to watch it very, very closely.”
Kirby said it’s difficult to ascertain what a potential attack could look like at this time but that “we have to be prepared for what could be a significant set of attacks.”
Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari told reporters on Monday that Israel remains “on high alert.”
“We take seriously the threats of our enemies and that is why we are on high alert offensively and defensively,” he said.
Hagari said the IDF will “work hard to give the public time to get organized.”
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Netanyahu accuses defense minister of ‘adopting anti-Israel narrative’
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant appeared to take a swing at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Knesset committee meeting about Israel’s response to ongoing cross-border tensions with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
“I hear all the heroes with the war drums, the ‘absolute victory’ and this gibberish,” Gallant reportedly said, alluding to Netanyahu’s slogan through the war, according to Israeli media.
Netanyahu’s office released a statement shortly after, saying Gallant too is bound by the policy of “absolute victory.”
“When Gallant adopts the anti-Israel narrative, he hurts the chances of reaching a deal for the release of the abductees,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said. “He should have attacked [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar, who refuses to send a delegation to the negotiations, and who was and remains the only obstacle to the kidnapping deal.”
National Unity Party Chairman Benny Gantz warned about internal divisions in Israel during an address on Monday.
“If we don’t come to our senses, there will be a civil war here,” Gantz said.
He said there have been “heroes,” from soldiers to volunteers, in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack, but also “leadership that dissolves, networks that poison the well from which we live.”
“The patriotic Israeli majority should stop the hatred and make amends,” Gantz said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Hezbollah says it is still determined to attack Israel
While the weekend passed with no direct retaliation from Hezbollah for the killings of several top leaders by Israeli strikes, the group said it still plans to strike.
“The response is coming and inevitable and there is no turning back from it,” Ali Damoush, the deputy chairman of the Executive Council of Hezbollah, said Monday.
The Hezbollah official saif America, Great Britain, Germany and everyone who supplies Israel with weapons is a partner in the Gaza massacres.
“Israel does not find any practical and serious response to its massacres, and this is what encourages it to continue committing crimes and massacres, and without effective pressure Netanyahu will not stop his crimes,” Damoush claimed.
Israeli Air Force bans travel abroad
Amid fears that an attack from Iran may be imminent, the commander of Israel’s Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, has issued an order barring servicemembers from traveling abroad. The directive applies to career officers and non-commissioned officers, not conscripts, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
US is ‘strengthening’ military force in Middle East over ‘escalating’ tensions
The U.S. is “strengthening” its capabilities in the Middle East by sending an additional guided missile submarine to the region “in light of escalating regional tensions,” according to a statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder issued on Sunday.
The update comes the same day Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
“Secretary Austin reiterated the United States’ commitment to take every possible step to defend Israel,” according to the statement.
Secretary Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, equipped with F-35C fighters, to accelerate its transit to the Middle East, which was previously expected to get there by the end of the month.
The Lincoln was already en route to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt, but will now add to the capabilities of the Roosevelt
Additionally, Austin has ordered the USS Georgia guided missile submarine to the Middle East.
The statement doesn’t say how soon the Lincoln or the USS Georgia will arrive in the region.
Israeli forces intercept ‘projectiles’ crossing from Lebanon, no injuries: IDF
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intercepted approximately 30 “projectiles” that were identified as crossing from Lebanon into northern Israel early Monday morning local time, the IDF said in a statement.
No injuries were reported from the attacks, the IDF said.
“The IDF is striking the sources of fire,” the IDF added.
