(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the latest round of cease-fire discussions appears to have reached an impasse.
Meanwhile, after six hostages were found dead in Gaza, protests erupted in Israel. Protesters have lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded the government bring the hostages home.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Hamas changed ‘some of the terms’ of the hostage exchange: White House
The White House is remaining hopeful that talks for a cease-fire in Gaza and release of the remaining hostages can be salvaged after Hamas proposed new amendments to the deal following the killing of six hostages.
“Hamas did change some of the terms of the exchange. And that has made it more difficult for us to get there,” National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said at Monday’s press briefing.
“We still believe that, even for the new amendments that Hamas has made, that it’s still worth an effort to try to see if we can’t get back into a cease-fire negotiation,” he added. “But we’re not there right now.”
Kirby would not say if President Joe Biden will be increasing pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a deal and potentially hold the transfer of weapons to Israel in order to secure a deal, similar to the recent decision by the United Kingdom.
“I can’t think of anything we haven’t put more pressure on ourselves than to try to get this deal,” Kirby said. “We know how urgent this is. And we’re working night and day to try to see if we can get a deal in place. Hamas is the main obstacle to this right now.”
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Aerial attack targets northern Israel, officials say
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported “a hostile aircraft infiltration” in the north of the country on Monday morning.
“Two suspicious aerial targets were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory,” The IDF said in a statement. “An aerial target fell in the area of Nahariya. No injuries were reported.”
The Magen David Adom (MDA) — Israel’s emergency services — said in a social media post that its personnel “located the site of the impact, as of now no casualties have been found.”
Israeli media reported that a drone detonated after crashing into an apartment block.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir and David Brennan
Hundreds gather in Central Park for hostage vigil
The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters organized twin protests in Tel Aviv and New York on Sunday, as pro-cease-fire activists look to build pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and American politicians.
Hundreds of people rallied in Central Park “to mourn six Israeli and American hostages murdered after 11 months in captivity,” the Forum said in a press release.
Among the speakers were Gilad and Nitza Korngold — the parents of hostage Tal Shoham who was abducted into Gaza on Oct. 7.
“The Red Cross has refused to help our loved ones while shamelessly requesting better conditions for the terrorists in Israel’s imprisonment,” they said, per the Forum’s press release. “We ask everyone here to call your representatives and demand the release of our loved ones from captivity.”
Moran Stela Yanai — released in November 2023 after 54 days as a hostage in Gaza — also spoke, telling attendees: “My brothers and sisters in captivity are hungry and in pain and in constant danger.”
“We must find the strength to keep fighting for them and bring them home,” she added, as quoted in the Forum’s press release.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and David Brennan
Jordanian border crossings partly reopened after shooting
Israeli and Jordanian authorities confirmed the partial reopening of border crossings on Monday following their closure due to the killing of three police officers at the Allenby Bridge.
An Israel Airport Authority spokesperson said the crossings at Yitzhak Rabin near Eilat, at the Jordan River near Beit Shean and at the Allenby Bridge would open for passenger traffic.
The media spokesman for the Jordanian Public Security Directorate said that King Hussein Bridge leading to the Allenby entry point would remain closed to freight traffic.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s Interior Ministry said that its preliminary investigations into Sunday’s shooting at the Allenby Bridge crossing confirmed that the alleged gunman was a Jordanian citizen named Maher Dhiyab Hussein Al-Jazi.
The alleged shooter — whom Israeli security forces said they shot and killed — was a resident of the Al-Husseiniyah area in Ma’an Governorate, and was crossing the bridge as a driver of a freight vehicle carrying commercial goods.
Al-Jazi acted alone, the ministry said, noting its investigation is ongoing. Authorities are attempting to organize the return of his body so he can be buried in Jordan.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Ghazi Balkiz and David Brennan
Airstrikes hit Syrian scientific research center, state media says
Strikes targeted a Syrian scientific research area in the city of Masyaf in the Hama countryside on Sunday night, Syrian state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said.
“Ambulance vehicles rushed towards the center of the area” amid reports of casualties, the SOHR — a U.K.-based war monitor — said on its website.
Both Syrian state media and the SOHR attributed the strikes to Israel. The SOHR said Syrian anti-aircraft weapons intercepted some Israeli missiles.
There was no immediate confirmation on the number of casualties. At least 14 people were killed and 43 others were wounded, Syrian state news agency SANA reported. ABC News was not able to immediately confirm the reported casualties or whether they were military personnel.
ABC News asked the Israel Defense Forces for comment. Israel typically does not confirm or deny responsibility for strikes in Syria, where it has been engaged in a “shadow war” with Iran and its allies — including the Lebanese Hezbollah militia — for several years.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and David Brennan
Nearly 70% of children in Gaza vaccinated against polio, health ministry reports
The polio vaccination campaign continued today in south Gaza, Khan Younis and Rafah, after early issues in the region when vaccines could not be properly distributed to the eastern side of Gaza.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced Sunday that 441,647 children in Gaza have received the first dose of the polio vaccine, so far.
This accounts for about 69% of the targeted population, according to the ministry.
According to the World Health Organization, 95% of children need to be vaccinated to prevent the spread of the disease effectively.
On Monday, vaccinations will be offered in northern Gaza where daily, eight-hour pauses in fighting and airstrikes will be instituted so children can be taken to one of the roughly 33 locations across Gaza City and north Gaza where the vaccine will be administered, according to the ministry.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé
Israel closes Jordan border crossings after deadly shooting
Israel closed on Sunday the two land crossings between Jordan and Israel, as well as the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and the occupied West Bank, the Israel Airports Authority — which oversees the crossings — told ABC News.
The closures followed a shooting on Sunday morning at Allenby that killed three police officers.
The gunman — who was shot dead by security forces — came from the Jordanian side, but it was not immediately clear if he was affiliated with any militant group. Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad issued congratulatory statements about the shooting.
Netanyahu condemned the attack, saying it was attributable to the “murderous ideology led by Iran’s ‘Axis of Evil’.”
Israel did not say how long the closures would last. The Allenby crossing is one of the key entries through which goods destined for Gaza pass.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Nasser Atta, Victoria Beaule and David Brennan
Hamas rocket commander ‘eliminated’ in Gaza: IDF
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported the killing of a Hamas rocket commander in an airstrike last week.
The IDF wrote on social media on Sunday that its Southern Command “eliminated” Raef Omar Salman Abu Shab — the commander of the rocket unit of the eastern Khan Younis Brigade — in an airstrike on Tuesday
The commander was “responsible for launching rocket barrages from the area of Khan Younis toward southern and central Israel since the start of the war,” the IDF said.
(LONDON) — Kate, the Princess of Wales, is opening up about her health six months after announcing she had been diagnosed with cancer.
Kate, the wife of Prince William and a mom of three, said in a video message Monday that she is focused on staying “cancer free” and gradually returning to work after completing chemotherapy.
“As the summer comes to an end, I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment,” Kate, 42, said in the video message shared by Kensington Palace. “The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life as you know it can change in an instant and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown.”
Kate went onto describe her cancer journey as “complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone,” adding of the perspective it’s given her, “This time has above all reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved.”
The video gives an intimate glimpse into Kate and her family, including William and their three children, Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte.
The footage, taken by photographer Will Warr in August in Norfolk, England, shows the Wales family playing outside, enjoying a picnic together and embracing in hugs and kisses.
In one clip, Kate, William and their three children are seen playing a card game with Kate’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton.
In other clips, William and Kate are seen walking and sitting together and embracing.
Kate announced in March that she had been diagnosed with cancer after undergoing what the palace described as “planned abdominal surgery” in January.
She has not revealed publicly what type of cancer she faced, nor exact details of her treatment beyond that she was undergoing “preventative chemotherapy.”
In the newly-released video, Kate said she plans to take on a few additional public duties after remaining out of the public spotlight for most of the past year.
“Doing what I can to stay cancer free is now my focus. Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes,” she said. “I am however looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can.”
Since March, she has been seen only a few times publicly, including attending Trooping the Colour in June and watching the men’s singles final at Wimbledon in July alongside her daughter Charlotte.
Prior to attending Trooping the Colour in June, Kate shared a health update, saying she was “making good progress” while undergoing chemotherapy but was not “out of the woods yet.”
Kate said at the time that her treatment would continue “for a few more months.”
Kate’s absence from public duties came at the same time that her father-in-law, King Charles III, also faced a cancer diagnosis.
Buckingham Palace announced in February that Charles was diagnosed with cancer, but did not specify the type of cancer, the stage of cancer or the type of treatment.
Charles also spent time away from public duties before returning to a modified schedule of public engagements in late April.
The king’s first public royal engagement since his own cancer diagnosis was a visit to a cancer treatment center in London.
(PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea) — Pope Francis boarded an Australian Royal Air Force C-130 on Sunday and flew over the pristine jungles of Papua New Guinea, travelling to the faraway settlement of Vanimo as the 87-year-old continues reaching out to what he likes to call the “peripheries” of the Catholic Church.
He was warmly welcomed with a series of traditional performances. Speaking to a crowd of about 20,000, the Pope praised the missionaries doing God’s work in the remote region, where communities often depend on them for healthcare, education, access to running water, and electricity.
“You are doing something beautiful, and it is important that you are not left alone,” he said.
The pontiff brought close to a tonne of humanitarian aid, medicine and toys with him. He was gifted a traditional feathered headdress that he chose to wear for part of the event.
The Pope then met with a group of missionaries from Argentina, including one he personally knows, Father Miguel de la Calle, who told Vatican Media people had been “walking for days” to see the Pope.
“People are coming from all over — from the jungle, the mountains, from Indonesia across the border, from other provinces,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the Pope held mass in Port Moresby, to a packed stadium of about 35,000.
“Brothers and sisters, you who live on this large island in the Pacific Ocean may sometimes have thought of yourselves as a far away and distant land, situated at the edge of the world,” he said. “Today the Lord wants to draw near to you, to break down distances.”
This comes as Pope Francis continues the most ambitious trip of his pontificate; a 12-day, four country, two continent odyssey. Religious harmony was a key part of the Pope’s message on this first leg of his 12-day trip.
Papua New Guinea marks the furthest from Rome he’s ever been.
The Pope’s next stop: Timor-Leste, where over 97% of the population identifies as Catholic.
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the latest round of cease-fire discussions appears to have reached an impasse.
Meanwhile, after six hostages were found dead in Gaza, protests erupted in Israel. Protesters have lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded the government bring the hostages home.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Aerial attack targets northern Israel, officials say
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported “a hostile aircraft infiltration” in the north of the country on Monday morning.
“Two suspicious aerial targets were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory,” The IDF said in a statement. “An aerial target fell in the area of Nahariya. No injuries were reported.”
The Magen David Adom (MDA) — Israel’s emergency services — said in a social media post that its personnel “located the site of the impact, as of now no casualties have been found.”
Israeli media reported that a drone detonated after crashing into an apartment block.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir and David Brennan
Hundreds gather in Central Park for hostage vigil
The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters organized twin protests in Tel Aviv and New York on Sunday, as pro-cease-fire activists look to build pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and American politicians.
Hundreds of people rallied in Central Park “to mourn six Israeli and American hostages murdered after 11 months in captivity,” the Forum said in a press release.
Among the speakers were Gilad and Nitza Korngold — the parents of hostage Tal Shoham who was abducted into Gaza on Oct. 7.
“The Red Cross has refused to help our loved ones while shamelessly requesting better conditions for the terrorists in Israel’s imprisonment,” they said, per the Forum’s press release. “We ask everyone here to call your representatives and demand the release of our loved ones from captivity.”
Moran Stela Yanai — released in November 2023 after 54 days as a hostage in Gaza — also spoke, telling attendees: “My brothers and sisters in captivity are hungry and in pain and in constant danger.”
“We must find the strength to keep fighting for them and bring them home,” she added, as quoted in the Forum’s press release.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and David Brennan
Jordanian border crossings partly reopened after shooting
Israeli and Jordanian authorities confirmed the partial reopening of border crossings on Monday following their closure due to the killing of three police officers at the Allenby Bridge.
An Israel Airport Authority spokesperson said the crossings at Yitzhak Rabin near Eilat, at the Jordan River near Beit Shean and at the Allenby Bridge would open for passenger traffic.
The media spokesman for the Jordanian Public Security Directorate said that King Hussein Bridge leading to the Allenby entry point would remain closed to freight traffic.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s Interior Ministry said that its preliminary investigations into Sunday’s shooting at the Allenby Bridge crossing confirmed that the alleged gunman was a Jordanian citizen named Maher Dhiyab Hussein Al-Jazi.
The alleged shooter — whom Israeli security forces said they shot and killed — was a resident of the Al-Husseiniyah area in Ma’an Governorate, and was crossing the bridge as a driver of a freight vehicle carrying commercial goods.
Al-Jazi acted alone, the ministry said, noting its investigation is ongoing. Authorities are attempting to organize the return of his body so he can be buried in Jordan.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Ghazi Balkiz and David Brennan
Airstrikes hit Syrian scientific research center, state media says
Strikes targeted a Syrian scientific research area in the city of Masyaf in the Hama countryside on Sunday night, Syrian state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said.
“Ambulance vehicles rushed towards the center of the area” amid reports of casualties, the SOHR — a U.K.-based war monitor — said on its website.
Both Syrian state media and the SOHR attributed the strikes to Israel. The SOHR said Syrian anti-aircraft weapons intercepted some Israeli missiles.
There was no immediate confirmation on the number of casualties. At least 14 people were killed and 43 others were wounded, Syrian state news agency SANA reported. ABC News was not able to immediately confirm the reported casualties or whether they were military personnel.
ABC News asked the Israel Defense Forces for comment. Israel typically does not confirm or deny responsibility for strikes in Syria, where it has been engaged in a “shadow war” with Iran and its allies — including the Lebanese Hezbollah militia — for several years.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and David Brennan
Nearly 70% of children in Gaza vaccinated against polio, health ministry reports
The polio vaccination campaign continued today in south Gaza, Khan Younis and Rafah, after early issues in the region when vaccines could not be properly distributed to the eastern side of Gaza.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced Sunday that 441,647 children in Gaza have received the first dose of the polio vaccine, so far.
This accounts for about 69% of the targeted population, according to the ministry.
According to the World Health Organization, 95% of children need to be vaccinated to prevent the spread of the disease effectively.
On Monday, vaccinations will be offered in northern Gaza where daily, eight-hour pauses in fighting and airstrikes will be instituted so children can be taken to one of the roughly 33 locations across Gaza City and north Gaza where the vaccine will be administered, according to the ministry.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé
Israel closes Jordan border crossings after deadly shooting
Israel closed on Sunday the two land crossings between Jordan and Israel, as well as the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and the occupied West Bank, the Israel Airports Authority — which oversees the crossings — told ABC News.
The closures followed a shooting on Sunday morning at Allenby that killed three police officers.
The gunman — who was shot dead by security forces — came from the Jordanian side, but it was not immediately clear if he was affiliated with any militant group. Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad issued congratulatory statements about the shooting.
Netanyahu condemned the attack, saying it was attributable to the “murderous ideology led by Iran’s ‘Axis of Evil’.”
Israel did not say how long the closures would last. The Allenby crossing is one of the key entries through which goods destined for Gaza pass.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Nasser Atta, Victoria Beaule and David Brennan
Hamas rocket commander ‘eliminated’ in Gaza: IDF
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported the killing of a Hamas rocket commander in an airstrike last week.
The IDF wrote on social media on Sunday that its Southern Command “eliminated” Raef Omar Salman Abu Shab — the commander of the rocket unit of the eastern Khan Younis Brigade — in an airstrike on Tuesday
The commander was “responsible for launching rocket barrages from the area of Khan Younis toward southern and central Israel since the start of the war,” the IDF said.
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the latest round of cease-fire discussions appears to have reached an impasse.
Meanwhile, after six hostages were found dead in Gaza, protests erupted in Israel. Protesters have demanded its government bring the hostages home.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Hamas says no deal if the IDF doesn’t withdraw as negotiations appear stuck
Hamas said it would not agree to a cease-fire agreement with Israel that doesn’t include a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, including the Philadelphia axis and the Rafah crossing, as negotiations appear to be at a standstill.
Hamas is also demanding the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes and an exchange of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel for hostages.
“We do not need any new papers or proposals from any party. We refuse to return to point zero or go around in a vicious circle, in order to achieve Netanyahu’s goals,” the Hamas Political Bureau said in a statement Thursday.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta
Official pushes back on claim US is too optimistic on deal
The National Security Council is pushing back on claims the U.S. is being to optimistic about a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, stressing that it is “actively engaging counterparts in Qatar, Egypt, Israel, to see what we can do to try to move this forward,” spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday.
Kirby said 90% of a deal has been agreed to.
“You call that optimistic. I call that accurate. That’s how close we believe we are. That’s where we have gotten to. The basic framework of the deal has been agreed to,” Kirby said.
“What we’re talking about now is the implementing details, and specifically the exchange of prisoners. And now that calculus is different because of what happened over the weekend,” he said, referring to the death of six hostages in Gaza.
Kirby acknowledged that the administration is “frustrated that we still haven’t been able to conclude this deal.”
“We believe that these differences can be resolved. What the next step looks like in terms of resolving them? I think we just don’t know right now,” Kirby said.
“We want to see the hostages home as soon as possible. But I would also say that as frustrating as it has been at times and as unhelpful as not just public comments, but even private machinations in the negotiation process have been to closure of the deal, it has not dimmed one bit President Biden’s commitment to trying to see this through,” he said.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Israeli strikes hit humanitarian area in Gaza killing 5
Five people were killed after Israeli strikes hit a location “in the humanitarian area in Deir al-Balah,” near the Al-Aqsa hospital, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health and Israeli Defense Forces.
Israeli forces were conducting a “targeted strike on terrorists who operated in a Command and Control Center,” used by Hamas and the Islamic Jihad there, the IDF said in the release.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Sami Zyara
6 killed after Israeli operation in West Bank
Six people were killed in the Tubas and Far’a neighborhoods in the West Bank after an Israeli operation was carried out overnight, the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian Ministry of Health said in statements Thursday.
The IDF called the operation in Tubas and Far’a a “counterterrorism operation.”
Since the IDF operation began last week, 39 people have been killed and about 145 people have been injured in the West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the government must “remain focused” on the “resurgence of terrorism in the West Bank,” in remarks Thursday.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Nasser Atta
Next phase of polio vaccination campaign begins
The polio vaccination campaign in Gaza is making “great progress,” according to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
The World Health Organization said the next phase of the campaign begins Thursday in southern Gaza targeting an estimated 340,000 children under 10.
West Bank death toll nears 700 since Oct. 7, health ministry says
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that at least 39 people have been killed and 145 injured in the West Bank over the past week, amid Israel’s major — and still unfolding — operation there.
Those casualties bring the total number of deaths in the West Bank since Oct. 7 to at least 691, with an estimated 5,700 injured.
Israel minister vows ‘heavy price’ for Hamas amid cease-fire push
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has called on his compatriots to “remain strong and united” as anti-government and cease-fire protests roil the nation.
“Anyone who cold-bloodedly murders six hostages is not seeking a deal,” Katz said, referring to Hamas.
“Hamas must pay a heavy price for this horrific crime — Israel will respond with full force,” Katz added.
Katz’s tweet appeared to reference an Axios article published Wednesday suggesting growing White House doubt that Hamas wants to secure a deal, following the recent killing of six Gaza hostages — including American-Israeli citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Hamas says Netanyahu wants to ‘thwart’ deal
Hamas again accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sabotaging cease-fire and hostage release negotiations.
“We do not need new proposals. What is required now is to pressure Netanyahu and his government and oblige them to what has been agreed upon,” the group said on its official Telegram channel on Wednesday night.
“We warn against falling into Netanyahu’s trap and tricks, as he uses negotiations to prolong the aggression against our people,” the group said.
Netanyahu’s insistence on retaining military control over the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt frontier has been cited by Hamas — and on Wednesday by a U.S. official — as a key obstacle to any deal.
The prime minister’s decision to keep Israeli forces there “aims to thwart reaching an agreement,” the group wrote.
Netanyahu has blamed Hamas for the failure to reach an agreement, citing its recent killing of six hostages in Gaza as proof that the group does not intend to reach an accord.
Prisoner exchange, Philadelphi corridor sticking points in cease-fire deal: US official
There are two areas of dispute regarding hostage release and cease-fire negotiations — the prisoner exchange and withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Philadelphi corridor — according to a U.S. senior administration official.
The official told reporters Wednesday that “90% of this deal has been agreed to,” while also pushing back on the suggestion that the Philadelphi corridor is the only remaining sticking point, noting that the prisoner exchange was the focus for most of last week’s discussions.
The official called the negotiations with Hamas on the prisoner exchange “pretty frustrating,” and said that “until that is worked out, you’re not going to have a deal.”
The official noted that negotiations have been taking place off a list of hostages — a list that is now smaller after the killing of six hostages over the weekend.
“You know, it’s horrific. And Hamas is threatening to execute more hostages,” the official said. “We all know who we’re dealing with. We’re dealing with a terrorist group.”
“For each hostage, there’s a certain number of Palestinian prisoners that will come out. So, you just have fewer hostages as part of the deal in phase one. It’s tragic and awful, and you know, it’s affecting all of us,” the official added.
Nearly 100 projectiles launched toward northern Israel from Lebanon: IDF
Approximately 95 projectiles were launched toward northern Israel from Lebanon on Wednesday, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
There were several fires from the projectile launches in northern Israel, but no injuries were reported, the IDF said.
Hezbollah confirmed in several statements various attacks on northern Israel on Wednesday.
Israeli forces struck targets in southern Lebanon in response, the IDF said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Ghazi Balkiz
Netanyahu defends keeping troops in Philadelphi corridor
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on his position that Israeli forces cannot leave the Philadelphi corridor and still achieve Israel’s goals of the war in Gaza during a press conference in Jerusalem Wednesday.
“I’m telling you that if we relieve the pressure, if we get out of the Philadelphi corridor, we are not going to get the hostages back,” Netanyahu said.
The Philadelphi corridor — a narrow strip of land on the Gaza side of the Gaza-Egypt border — has been one of the main sticking points in reaching a hostage and cease-fire deal.
Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel needs to control the corridor to release the remaining hostages in Gaza.
“I’m committed to returning the remaining 101 [hostages]. I’ll do everything to get them, but leaving Philadelphi does not advance the release of the hostages, because the deal cannot be advanced,” he said.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Israel hits southern Lebanon after dozens of rockets fired, IDF says
Around 65 projectiles were fired into Israel from Lebanon on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces said, with air raid sirens sounding and air defense units active in border areas.
“The IDF Aerial Defense Array successfully intercepted some of the projectiles, and some fell in open areas,” the force said.
“A number of fires were ignited by fallen projectiles,” it added, noting that emergency services were responding.
The IDF said it was “currently striking Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon.”
Hamas threatens Netanyahu with more hostage deaths
Hamas has issued a new threat tying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s premiership to the fate of the surviving Gaza hostages.
“Aggression stops = prisoners return alive,” a Wednesday morning post on the group’s official Telegram channel said. “Aggression continues = prisoners’ fate unknown.”
“Every day that Netanyahu continues to rule may mean a new coffin,” the post — which was written in English, Arabic and Hebrew — continued. “The decision is yours.”
Hamas and Netanyahu have blamed each other for the failure to reach a cease-fire deal. Hamas said Netanyahu’s demands are “aimed at obstructing reaching an agreement to preserve his power.”
Netanyahu, for his part, said this weekend of the militant group: “Whoever murders hostages — does not want a deal.”
There are 101 hostages still inside Gaza, around half of whom are believed to still be alive.
187,000 Gaza children receive polio vaccine, WHO says
More than 187,000 children in central Gaza have received polio vaccines since Sunday, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X on Wednesday that the “first phase of polio vaccination in central Gaza is complete,” with more than 187,000 children under the age of 10 vaccinated.
That is higher than the target number of 156,500, Ghebreyesus said.
“Four fixed sites will continue to offer polio vaccination for the next three days in central Gaza to ensure no child is missed,” the WHO chief added.
Preparations are underway to expand the vaccine roll out campaign into southern Gaza, Ghebreyesus said. Vaccinations there are expected to begin on Thursday.
Palestinian health authorities and United Nations agencies hope to vaccinate 640,000 children.
Israel agreed to partial pauses in the fighting in Gaza to facilitate the polio vaccination campaign, saying the drive will continue through Sept. 9 and last eight hours a day.
“We ask for the humanitarian pauses to continue to be respected,” Ghebreyesus wrote. “We continue to call for a cease-fire.”
Protesters plan gathering at Netanyahu ally’s home
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum will again lead cease-fire and hostage release demonstrations across Israel on Wednesday, according to a schedule posted to social media.
“The public is called to join and come together with the families of the abductees to the houses of the ministers and coalition members and hold demonstrations and protest vigils demanding that they exercise their authority to bring about a deal now,” the Forum wrote on X.
Among the gatherings will be one outside the Jerusalem home of Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer — a former member of the dissolved war cabinet and long considered a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Activists plan to protest at the homes of eight other government ministers and three members of parliament, the Forum said.
Far-right minister ‘working to stop’ cease-fire talks
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he is “working to stop the negotiations with Hamas,” as talks over a cease-fire and hostage release deal continue under massive public and international pressure.
Ben-Gvir — one of the most vocally hawkish members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government — wrote on X that Israel should end negotiations and cut fuel and electricity to Gaza in response to Hamas’ recent killing of six hostages in the southern strip.
“Continuing the negotiations only spurs them to produce more and more terror,” including in the West Bank, Ben-Gvir said.
Ben-Gvir is a longstanding proponent of expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank. He has called on the government to “encourage” Israelis to settle in Gaza while suggesting “voluntary emigration” of Palestinians from the territory.
Ben-Gvir was convicted of incitement to racism and supporting a terror organization in 2008, related to an anti-Arab placard he displayed at a protest following a Palestinian terrorist attack in Jerusalem. Signs referring to the far-right Kach movement — a Jewish group banned as a terror organization — were also found in his car.
Emhoff says parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin told him, Harris they don’t want son’s death to ‘be in vain’
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff said Tuesday night that the parents of Oct. 7 hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who the Israeli military found had been killed last week, do not want their son’s “death to be in vain.”
Emhoff opened up about the recent conversation he and his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, had with the couple after learning of the death of their son.
Speaking at a vigil hosted at the Adas Israel Congregation synagogue in Washington, D.C., which was organized to honor the memory of the six Israeli hostages found killed by Hamas in Gaza, Emhoff said Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin remained committed to seeing the remaining hostages released.
“And yet, with this unspeakable tragedy that they were going through … they were comforting us, but also asking about the latest in the negotiations,” Emhoff told those gathered at the vigil about the call with the grieving couple, which occurred last week. “They were asking how we can use this terrible moment to make progress on the deal. And they told the vice president, in no uncertain terms, they do not want Hersh’s death to be in vain. And they spoke with such grace, such compassion, such strength. And even though part of Rachel and Jon’s world had just ended, they were somehow still looking forward and looking out for others.”
DOJ charges senior Hamas leaders over involvement in Americans’ deaths in Oct. 7 attack
The Justice Department unsealed charges Tuesday targeting multiple senior members of Hamas’ leadership for their alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murdering of Americans during the Oct. 7 attack.
The criminal complaint, unsealed in the Southern District of New York, names six members of Hamas’ leadership structure and details extensively their terrorist activities on behalf of the group.
White House says Israel originally agreed to remove IDF from areas of Philadelphi corridor
The White House is pushing back on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stance of keeping Israeli troops along the Philadelphi corridor — a narrow strip of land on the Gaza side of the Gaza-Egypt border — saying the prime minister originally agreed to removing troops in the Israel-approved framework that was announced in May.
“I’m not going to get into a debate with the prime minister and what he said over the weekend about the Philadelphi corridor,” White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said. “The deal itself, the proposal, including the bridging proposal that we started working with … included the removal of Israeli Defense Forces from all densely populated areas, and that includes those areas along that corridor. That’s the proposal that Israel had agreed to.”
Kirby acknowledged Israel’s belief that they need “some security” along the corridor, but Kirby did not give the U.S. position on whether the administration supports the IDF remaining in less dense areas along the border.
“The proposal says that they have to remove themselves to the east from densely populated areas — and that core essential element of the proposal has not changed,” Kirby said. “But the Israelis have said publicly that they believe that … they would need some security along that corridor.”
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Gantz: Netanyahu is holding up a deal
National Unity party leader Benny Gantz slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, claiming he is holding up a cease-fire and hostage deal.
Gantz said that on Monday, Netanyahu in his speech “did not look directly at the public and told the truth: That he will not bring the kidnapped alive, that he will not truly protect the southern bracket, that he will not return the residents of the north to their homes, that he will not deny Iran nuclear weapons.”
“This did not surprise me, because during the period that we sat in the War Cabinet, Netanyahu delayed the ability to move forward with the abducted deals serially, including in the first outline,” Gantz said. “This does not surprise me because already at the beginning of the war, when we asked to extend the military pressure to Khan Yunis and then to Rafah, Netanyahu hesitated and stopped.”
“The time has come to say yes and move forward: we need to bring a deal – either in stages or in one stage,” Gantz said.
Netanyahu in response laid out the Israeli military’s recent successes.
“Since Gantz and his party resigned from the government, Israel has eliminated the Hamas Chief of Staff and the Hezbollah Chief of Staff, attacked the Houthis, captured the Philadelphia axis – Hamas’s armament pipeline – and carried out a pre-emptive strike against Hezbollah that thwarted its malicious plan and destroyed thousands of rockets aimed at the Galilee,” Netanyahu said. “Whoever does not contribute to the victory and the return of our hostages, it is better not to interfere.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Thousands gather for new protest in Tel Aviv
Thousands gathered in Tel Aviv Tuesday for a new protest organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
The event was led by the younger members of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum who are calling for a deal to bring all of the hostages home, the organization said.
43 killed in Israeli operation in Gaza
Forty-three people have been killed from ongoing operations in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
Israeli forces said its soldiers “struck a compound where Hamas terrorists were operating” and killed eight Hamas members. The strike was near the Al-Ahli hospital compound but wasn’t within the hospital premises, the IDF said.
“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 in a statement.
-ABC News’ Sami Zayara and Jordana Miller
Kirby hedges on ‘final proposal’ reports, says Biden is personally still working on deal
White House national security communications adviser John Kirby hedged on reports that the U.S. is putting forward a “final proposal” when it comes to hostage negotiations, saying the administration — including President Joe Biden – is still working to get a deal.
Kirby refused to give any details about the current proposal, or how it might differ from previous offers put forward, but he stressed that the deal is “actively” being worked on with Qatar and Egypt.
“The president himself is personally involved in working with our team and working with leaders around the world to secure this deal,” Kirby said, adding that this weekend’s recovery of six slain hostages “underscores the sense of urgency that we have.”
Asked about the United Kingdom’s new restrictions on some arms exports to Israel, Kirby said he would not “comment one way or another on the decisions that our British counterparts made.”
U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy told Parliament on Monday about 30 of its 350 export licenses were suspended because “there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
“I can just tell you that, No. 1: We’re going to continue to do we have to do to support Israel’s defensive capabilities,” Kirby said. “No. 2: We have, as I’ve said many times, reviewed individual reports as best we can, and talking to the Israelis about individual reports about compliance with international humanitarian law. And as we speak, there’s been no determination by the United States that they have violated international humanitarian [law].”
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Al-Shifa Hospital reopens 2 departments
Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest and most comprehensive hospital in the Gaza Strip, reopened two of its departments on Sunday after facing shelling, raids and two sieges in the ongoing war, Al-Shifa Medical Complex Director Dr. Marwan Abu Saada told ABC News.
The reopened departments are the Emergency and Accidents Department — which has 70 beds, two operating rooms, one intensive care unit room and one X-ray room — and the Kidney Dialysis Department, which has about 22 kidney dialysis machines and serves 36 patients with kidney failure, Abu Saada said.
The hospital had capacity for 800 beds before the war, Abu Saada said.
“As for the medical staff, there is a large deficit in medical personnel, but at least we want to work and serve the community,” he said.
The maternity building will undergo a six-month restoration to become a general surgery building, he added.
-ABC News’ Camilla Alcini
Cease-fire protesters plan action near Tel Aviv Defense Ministry
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum announced a fresh protest scheduled for 7 p.m. local time Tuesday in Tel Aviv, close to the entrance of the Defense Ministry building.
The action will be “led by the younger members of the families,” the Forum wrote in a post on X, who will “call for a deal to bring all 101 hostages home.”
Attendees will protest what the Forum called “the abandonment of the hostages in Hamas captivity.”
Additional demonstrations elsewhere will include a gathering outside the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, a protest outside Foreign Minister Israel Katz’s residence in Kfar Ahim, one in front of Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter’s home in Ashkelon and another outside Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin’s home in Modi’in.
Gaza polio vaccination drive reaches 160,000 children
Some 160,000 Gaza children received their first vaccination for polio on Sunday and Monday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
The emergency rollout began on Sunday, facilitated by a partial pause in fighting in the strip. Medical teams in the central part of the territory said they were able to vaccinate 72,611 children on the first day of the campaign.
Palestinian health authorities and United Nations agencies said they were hoping to vaccinate 640,000 children during the push. Israel agreed to some pauses in fighting to support the campaign, though airstrikes have continued in its first two days.
Israel has said the vaccination program will continue through Sept. 9 and last eight hours a day.
Polio is among the illnesses feared to be thriving in Gaza after 10 months of war. The strip’s long-standing humanitarian difficulties have been exacerbated by the destruction of health care facilities, critical infrastructure, and the displacement — sometimes repeated displacement — of most of the territory’s residents.
Gaza recently reported its first polio case in 25 years — a 10-month-old boy, now paralyzed in a leg. The World Health Organization said the case suggests there could be hundreds more infected who are not symptomatic.
Netanyahu asks hostage families for forgiveness, says pressure should be directed at Hamas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is asking for forgiveness from the families of the six slain hostages whose bodies were recovered this weekend.
“I ask you for forgiveness that we did not succeed to bring your loved ones back alive. We were close, but we did not succeed,” Netanyahu said at a Monday news conference.
Netanyahu again said the Israel Defense Forces must maintain a presence on the Egyptian border, but he said the IDF does not need a “large” presence of forces there. It needs groups of forces in key areas all along the border, he said. Netanyahu also reiterated that the IDF must maintain a presence in the Philadelphi corridor to reach the goals of the war.
When asked how he would define “total victory” in the war, Netanyahu responded, “When Hamas no longer rules Gaza — we throw them out. I would define the end of the war of World War II when the Nazis no longer ruled Germany. To do that you need to have a military victory and you have to have also a political victory to destroy their governance.”
Netanyahu also said that international “pressure” must be directed at Hamas, not Israel.
“These murderers executed six of our hostages, they shot them in the back of the head. And now after this we’re asked to show seriousness, we’re asked to make concessions? What message does this send Hamas?” he said.
Netanyahu added, “I don’t believe President [Joe] Biden or anyone serious about achieving peace and achieving the release [of hostages] can seriously ask Israel to make these concessions. We’ve already made them. Hamas has to make concessions.”
A Hamas military spokesman said in a new statement the Israeli hostages won’t be freed by force.
“Netanyahu’s insistence on freeing the prisoners through military pressure instead of concluding a deal will mean their return to their families in coffins, and their families will have to choose between dead or alive,” the spokesperson said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Biden: ‘We’re in the middle of negotiations’ on hostage, cease-fire deal
President Joe Biden told reporters “we’re still negotiating” when asked if there will be a final hostage and cease-fire deal proposed this week.
Asked what he wants Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do, Biden replied, “We’re in the middle of negotiations.”
“We’re still in negotiations. Not with him [Netanyahu], with my colleagues from Qatar and from Egypt,” Biden said.
Earlier on Monday, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with the U.S. hostage deal negotiating team in the Situation Room.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke on the phone Monday morning with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, a U.S. official said. They discussed efforts to conclude a deal for the release of the hostages and for a cease-fire in Gaza, the official said.
-ABC News’ Karen Travers, Elizabeth Schulze and Lauren Peller
Protesters break through barriers near Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s residence
Protesters broke through barriers near Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on Monday as they demanded progress on a deal to return the hostages in Gaza.
Monday marks the second day of large protests across Israel after six murdered hostages were recovered in Gaza this weekend.
Israeli defense minister ‘deeply disheartened’ by UK decision to suspend some arms exports to Israel
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement he was “deeply disheartened” to learn of the United Kingdom’s new restrictions on some arms exports to Israel.
“This comes at a time when we fight a war on 7 different fronts — a war that was launched by a savage terrorist organization, unprovoked,” Gallant said. “At a time when we mourn 6 hostages who were executed in cold blood by Hamas inside tunnels in Gaza. At a time when we fight to bring 101 hostages home.”
U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy told Parliament on Monday about 30 of 350 export licenses are suspended because “there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
29 Palestinians killed in West Bank since IDF operation began
Twenty-nine Palestinians have been killed and 121 have been injured in the West Bank since the Israeli military’s operation began last Wednesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement Monday.
Eighteen people were killed in the Jenin governate of the West Bank, four in the Tubas governate, four in the Tulkarm governate and three in the Hebron governate, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta
Biden, Harris meet with US hostage deal negotiating team
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with the U.S. hostage deal negotiating team in the Situation Room on Monday, according to the White House.
Biden and Harris received an update from the negotiation team on the “status of the bridging proposal outlined by the United States, Qatar and Egypt” and “they discussed next steps” in the release of the hostages, the White House said.
Biden also “expressed his devastation and outrage at the murder” of Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages and he “reaffirmed the importance of holding Hamas’s leaders accountable,” the White House said.
Officials participating in the briefing included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, CIA Director Bill Burns and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Netanyahu doubles down on Israeli troops remaining in Philadelphi corridor
In an Israeli cabinet meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on his stance that he will not agree to a cease-fire and hostage deal that includes the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Philadelphi corridor in Gaza, according to an Israeli official.
Israeli troops remaining in the Philadelphi corridor has been a key sticking point in the ongoing negotiations. Hamas wants a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
“Everyone who says that it is possible to leave Philadelphi for 42 days, knows very well that it will be for 42 years. The world will not allow us to return,” Netanyahu said during Sunday night’s cabinet meeting, according to an Israeli official. “Everyone understands the importance of Philadelphi, and [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar understands it best. That is why he insists. All smuggling the weapons to Gaza were through Philadelphi. If we change the cabinet’s decision, it will be a terrorist award, you will not return the hostages.”
The Hostages Families Forum said in a statement that Netanyahu’s comments are “dangerous.” The families said Netanyahu’s statement means “there will be no deal, and the families will not get to see their loved ones return home.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Dana Savir
Israeli president apologizes to Hersh Goldberg-Polin and his parents for not keeping him safe
As Israeli President Isaac Herzog gave a eulogy at the funeral of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, he apologized to the slain 23-year-old.
“I apologize that the country you immigrated to at the age of 7, wrapped in the Israeli flag, could not keep you safe,” Herzog said Monday, two days after the Israeli-American’s body was recovered in Gaza, along with five others.
The president also asked for forgiveness from Goldberg-Polin’s parents, Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, for not bringing their son home alive.
He said he learned of “a mother’s and father’s limitless love” from Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin.
“Jon and Rachel, against the senseless hatred, and unthinkable brutality of Hamas terror, pure barbaric evil, you have taught the world about human dignity,” Herzog said. “As a human being, as a father, and as the President of the State of Israel, I want to say how sorry I am. How sorry I am that we didn’t protect Hersh on that dark day. How sorry I am that we failed to bring him home.”
Though he said Israel will “continue fighting relentlessly against” Hamas, Herzog stressed that the remaining 101 hostages must be released.
“The time to act is now: Bring them home,” Herzog said.
“Decision-makers must do everything possible, with determination and courage, to save those who can still be saved,” he said. “This is not a political goal, and it must not become a political dispute. It is a supreme moral, Jewish, and human duty of the State of Israel to its citizens.”
-ABC News’ Becky Perlow
Biden says Netanyahu is not doing enough, says ‘we are very close’ to presenting final deal
When asked by reporters if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing enough on the hostage deal, President Joe Biden on Monday replied, “No.”
Asked about presenting a final hostage deal this week, Biden said, “We are very close to that.”
“Hope springs eternal,” Biden said, when asked what makes this final deal different, but he declined to provide details.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are meeting with the U.S. hostage negotiation team Monday morning.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
‘We failed you,’ dad of slain hostage says
Hersh Goldberg-Polin was curious, self-assured and a deep, independent thinker, his dad, Jon Polin, said at his funeral on Monday.
The 23-year-old, who was found dead in Gaza this weekend, was “always seeking to understand the other, and always with dignity and respect,” Polin said.
“Hersh, we failed you. We all failed you,” Polin said with a “332” on his shirt, marking how many days his son was held hostage. “You would not have failed you. You would’ve pushed harder for justice … to bridge differences. … What you would be pushing for now is to ensure your death … [and the others’ deaths are] not in vain.”
“Maybe, just maybe, your death … is the fuel that will bring home the remaining 101 hostages,” Polin said.
“You have become a global symbol of bringing improvement to our world,” he said.
“The 23 years of life that we had with you were a blessing. We now will work to make your legacy a similar blessing,” he said.
Funeral underway for slain American hostage
A funeral procession is underway in Jerusalem for slain Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. The 23-year-old was one of six murdered hostages recovered this weekend.
The Israeli Ministry of Health said the six hostages were killed “in a number of short-range shots” between Thursday and Friday morning.
The funeral comes one day after thousands of people took to the streets of Tel Aviv to protest the deaths of the six hostages.
2 hours and 31 minutes ago Tel Aviv braces for fresh protests
More than 1,000 people have gathered in the northern Israeli city of Tel Aviv for continued anti-government protests, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conclude a cease-fire and hostage-release deal with Hamas.
Other marches are taking place elsewhere in Israel. A general strike — called by Histadrut, Israel’s largest trade union — also began on Monday morning in protest of the government’s failure to free those still held hostage inside Gaza.
Police reported violent clashes with anti-government protesters in Tel Aviv on Sunday night, saying officers had arrested 29 people.
The current wave of demonstrations was sparked by the recovery of the bodies of six of Hamas’ hostages from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and David Brennan
3 hours and 57 minutes ago Israel Police accuses Tel Aviv marchers of ‘brutal’ vandalism, violence
The Israel Police has condemned what it called “brutal vandalism” during a night of anti-government demonstrations in Tel Aviv, sparked by the deaths in captivity of six of Hamas’ Gaza hostages.
In a statement, the Police Spokesperson’s Unit said officers arrested 29 suspects for a range of offenses including disorderly conduct, assaulting officers and vandalism.
The violence followed a planned protest at the Kaplan Junction in Tel Aviv, the statement said, after which “hundreds of protesters” left the approved demonstration area and moved to the Ayalon Highway, “with the intent to disrupt traffic and public order.”
Some marchers “violently pushed against barricades and officers, leading to a confrontation during which a policewoman was injured and lost consciousness,” the statement said. The officer was evacuated for medical treatment.
As officers attempted to clear the area, some protesters “breached security perimeters, blocked the Ayalon Highway, and set fires, while firing fireworks that nearly hit officers,” police said.
“The Israel Police strongly condemns the acts of vandalism and violence directed at officers,” the statement read. “We will pursue legal action against those responsible to the fullest extent of the law.”
The protesters were demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government agree to a cease-fire and hostage-release deal with Hamas.
A general strike called by Israel’s largest trade union — Histadrut — began on Monday morning in a bid to pressure the government into reaching an accord with the militant group.
Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff spoke with the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American-Israeli hostage who was found dead in Gaza on Saturday along with five other Oct. 7 hostages, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The vice president and her husband called parents Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin on Sunday to “express our condolences following the brutal murder of their son by Hamas terrorists,” Harris said in a statement on X.
“My heart breaks for their pain and anguish,” Harris continued.
“I told them: As they mourn this terrible loss, they are not alone. Our nation mourns with them,” Harris said.
4:59 PM EDT Protest erupts in Tel Aviv as demonstrators demand cease-fire deal
Protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv Sunday night, demanding a cease-fire agreement and the release of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas terrorists.
The demonstration came a day after Israel Defense Forces recovered the bodies of six hostages in tunnels under the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
Protesters were seen waving Israeli flags as they demanded a cease-fire agreement, chanting “Deal. Now.”
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
3:25 PM EDT 6 killed in IDF strike on Gaza school, says Gaza Civil Defense
At least six people were killed on Sunday when Israel Defense Forces conducted an airstrike on a school in Gaza City, according to Gaza Civil Defense.
The IDF said in a statement that the strike was aimed at Hamas terrorists they allege were operating a command-and-control center inside the Safad school to plan and carry out terrorist attacks against the IDF and Israel.
“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 in a statement.
The Gaza Civil Defense confirmed the Safad school was hit in the IDF strike, but said the school houses displaced people from the Al-Zeitoun area east of Gaza City.
Police officers secure the area around the Koenigsplatz square after a shooting near the building of the Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism (NS-Dokumentationszentrum) in Munich, southern Germany, on September 5, 2024. (PAULINE CURTET/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — A “suspicious person” was shot dead by Munich police near the Israeli consulate in what authorities said they believe was a planned terrorist attack.
The incident occurred in the Karolinenplatz area of the southern German city on Thursday morning.
Munich’s police force said in a statement on social media that officers deployed to the scene encountered an armed 18-year-old suspect and engaged him in a shootout.
“The suspect was fatally injured,” police said. “There are still no indications of further suspects or other injured persons.”
The 18-year-old suspect was an Austrian citizen living in Austria who did not have a permanent residence in Germany, Munich police said. He was carrying an “older carbine with attached bayonet” when shot, officials said. The suspect parked a car near the crime scene, police said.
“At present, it is assumed that the attack was a terrorist attack, also with reference to the Consulate General of the State of Israel, with one focus of the ongoing investigation being the suspect’s motivation for the crime,” the Munich police said in a statement translated by The Associated Press.
Police added they are still investigating the suspect’s alleged motive.
The area was cordoned off with a helicopter in the air above the scene, the force said. Police later issued an “all clear” statement assuring people in the area that “there is no longer any danger to the population.”
The shooting occurred next to the city’s Nazi Documentation Center, police said. Authorities urged residents to “avoid this area as much as possible” as the investigation continued, and warned of road closures and disruption to nearby public transit routes.
The Nazi Documentation Center is one of the city’s most popular museums, located midway between the famous Karolinenplatz and Königsplatz squares just northwest of the medieval old town. It is less than 500 feet from the Israeli consulate.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed there had been a “shooting incident” close to the consulate, noting the facility was closed on Thursday coinciding with the anniversary of the deadly terror attack at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
“No one from the consulate staff was injured in the incident,” the ministry’s spokesperson said. “The shooter was neutralized by the German security forces and the incident is under their care.”
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Victoria Beaule and Dana Savir contributed to this report.
(From L to R) Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru, Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, Uganda’s Rebecca Cheptegei and Kenya’s Selly Chepyego Kaptich compete in the women’s marathon final during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest on August 26, 2023. (FERENC ISZA/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Ugandan long-distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei has died four days after being doused in petrol and set on fire by her former partner, authorities have announced.
Cheptegei — who had been receiving treatment at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret City, Kenya — succumbed to her injuries after sustaining burns to almost 80% of her body in the attack which occurred on Sunday.
Cheptegei was doused with a can of gasoline before being set on fire during an argument over land, according to a police report. Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital announced Cheptegei had passed away at the age of 33 after her organs failed on Thursday, according to hospital spokesperson Owen Menach.
“We have learnt of the sad passing of our Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei following a vicious attack by her boyfriend,” Donald Rukare, head of Uganda’s Olympics Committee, announced on Thursday writing on X. “May her gentle soul rest in peace and we strongly condemn violence against women. This was a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete. Her legacy will continue to endure.”
The Ugandan marathon runner had recently competed in the women’s marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympics, finishing in 44th place with a personal best time this season of 2:32:14, just a month before the fatal attack.
The Ugandan athlete had been living in northwestern Kenya, her father saying she recently bought land in Trans Nzoia County to build a home and be closer to Kenya’s athletics training centers.
Cheptegei’s Kenyan partner who carried out the attack — identified as Dickson Ndiema — is said to have sustained “serious burns” in the attack and is receiving treatment at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.
Uganda’s Athletics Federation said they are “deeply saddened” by the passing of Cheptegei.
“We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei early this morning who tragically fell victim to domestic violence,” the federation announced on Thursday. “As a federation, we condemn such acts and call for justice.”
The incident is the latest in a string of domestic violence cases against female athletes in Kenya.
In 2021, Kenyan distance runner Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death in her home in Iten, in northwest Kenya. Just a few weeks earlier the rising athletics star had set a new women’s 10 kilometer road running record at the “Adizero: Road to Records” event in Herzogenaurach, Germany.
Tirop’s husband — Ibrahim Rotich — was subsequently arrested and charged with her murder. The case is currently ongoing.
Just a year later in 2022, Kenyan-Bahraini athlete Damaris Muthee Mutua, 28, was found murdered at her home in the same town, with Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations saying her cause of death was strangulation.
Kenyan police launched a manhunt for Mutua’s Ethiopian boyfriend — Eskinder Hailemaryam Folie — who is the main suspect in her murder and is alleged to have fled Kenya.
(LONDON) — Ukrainian lawmakers confirmed Andrii Sybiha as the country’s new foreign minister on Thursday, amid a major reshuffle that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says is needed ahead of an “extremely important” fall.
Sybiha was nominated by Zelenskyy to replace the outgoing Dmytro Kuleba, who led Kyiv’s diplomatic efforts since 2020 and became a key figure in Ukraine’s response to Russia’s full-scale invasion from February 2022.
David Arakhamia — the leader of Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People Party in the Ukrainian parliament — said on Telegram on Wednesday that Sybiha was in line for the position.
Sybiha was confirmed in a parliamentary vote, two members of parliament confirmed to ABC News. He won the support of 258 of 401 lawmakers and was sworn in during the parliamentary session shortly after the vote. The 258 votes were out of a total of 315 lawmakers present.
Sybiha, 49, was Ukraine’s senior envoy to Turkey from 2016 to 2021, and served two stints at Kyiv’s embassy in Poland.
Sybiha joined the presidential office in 2021, working under influential administration head Andriy Yermak. He was appointed the country’s first deputy foreign minister earlier this year.
“He is a well-known, experienced diplomat with vast experience,” Oleksandr Merezhko — a member of parliament representing Zelenskyy’s party and the chair of the body’s foreign affairs committee — told ABC News shortly before the confirmation vote.
“Since the first days of the full-scale invasion, Sybiha was with the president, was involved in all important negotiations and — due to his professionalism — has earned the trust and respect of the president,” Merezhko said.
Such proximity to Zelenskyy may help avoid any tensions between the presidency and the foreign ministry.
Sybiha is known as a “thinker” and an “intellectual” among those who have worked closely with him, Merezhko said, and as someone willing to make hard decisions.
“He is not afraid to be unpopular,” Merezhko added.
Ukrainian lawmaker Bohan Yaremenko — also a member of the foreign affairs committee — told ABC News the new minister is “tough, experienced, professional.”
Sybiha is “very different” to his predecessor, Yaremenko said, with a far smaller public profile.
“He spent two years next to the president, so he knows more than anyone else about the most recent negotiations with all important partners,” Yaremenko said.
Zelenskyy said in a Wednesday statement that the country needs “need new energy and these new steps are connected to strengthening our state in different directions.”
“Autumn will be extremely important for Ukraine,” he added. “And our state institutions must be set up in such a way that Ukraine will achieve all the results we need — for all of us.”
Police officers secure the area around the Koenigsplatz square after a shooting near the building of the Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism (NS-Dokumentationszentrum) in Munich, southern Germany, on September 5, 2024. (PAULINE CURTET/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Munich police shot a “suspicious person” in the Karolinenplatz area of the southern German city on Thursday morning, authorities said, adding they had launched a “major operation.”
“Police officers spotted a person who appeared to be carrying a firearm,” Munich’s police force said in an initial statement on social media. “The emergency services used their service weapons and the person was hit and injured.”
“The weapon used by the suspect is an older long gun,” a later police update clarified. “The suspect was fatally injured in the shootout. There are still no indications of further suspects or other injured persons.”
The area was cordoned off, with a helicopter in the air above the scene, the force said.
The shooting occurred next to the city’s Nazi Documentation Center, police said.
“Many emergency services are on their way to the site of operations,” the force noted. “We ask that you avoid this area as much as possible.”
The Nazi Documentation Center is one of the city’s most popular museums, located midway between the famous Karolinenplatz and Königsplatz squares just northwest of the medieval old town. It is less than 500 feet from the Israeli Consulate.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that there had been a “shooting incident” close to the consulate, noting that the facility was closed on Thursday coinciding with the anniversary of the deadly terror attack at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
“No one from the consulate staff was injured in the incident,” the ministry’s spokesperson said. “The shooter was neutralized by the German security forces and the incident is under their care.”
Police officers secure the area around the Koenigsplatz square after a shooting near the building of the Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism (NS-Dokumentationszentrum) in Munich, southern Germany, on September 5, 2024. (PAULINE CURTET/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Munich police shot a “suspicious person” in the Karolinenplatz area of the southern German city on Thursday morning, authorities said, adding they had launched a “major operation.”
“Police officers spotted a person who appeared to be carrying a firearm,” Munich’s police force said in a statement on social media. “The emergency services used their service weapons and the person was hit and injured.”
The area was cordoned off, with a helicopter in the air above the scene, the force said.
“There are currently no indications of any other suspects,” police said, adding that there were no other reported injuries.
The shooting occurred next to the city’s Nazi Documentation Center, police said.
“Many emergency services are on their way to the site of operations,” the force noted. “We ask that you avoid this area as much as possible.”
The Nazi Documentation Center is one of the city’s most popular museums, located midway between the famous Karolinenplatz and Königsplatz squares just northwest of the medieval old town. It is less than 500 feet from the Israeli Consulate.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that there had been a “shooting incident” close to the consulate, noting that the facility was closed on Thursday coinciding with the anniversary of the deadly terror attack at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
“No one from the consulate staff was injured in the incident,” the ministry’s spokesperson said. “The shooter was neutralized by the German security forces and the incident is under their care.”
