Destruction of Gaza has set back development by 69 years: UN report
Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images
(LONDON) — The Gaza infrastructure decimated by the Israel military operation against Hamas has set back human development in the area by almost 70 years, according to a new UN report.
After Hamas launched an unprecedented terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage, Israel began its military retaliation on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 42,000 people in the Palestinian territory, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry.
As the war in the region rages on, Israeli President Isaac Herzog has said that Israel “must act in every way possible to bring back the 101 hostages” still in Gaza after the announcement that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had been killed during an Oct. 17 military operation.
Approximately 60% of buildings in Gaza — at least 151,265 structures — and 57% of agricultural land have been damaged or destroyed, according to a new assessment released Tuesday from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA).
UNDP estimates that the war has erased “over 69 years of progress” in Gaza and that it would cost more than $18.5 billion to repair the direct damage to the territory’s infrastructure.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has called the mass destruction of dwellings “domicide,” known as the widespread destruction of a living environment, as it has made the Palestinian territory “uninhabitable.”The report also highlights UN concerns about access to not just housing, but also food sources, health care, drinking water, sanitation facilities and more.
“Projections in this new assessment confirm that amidst the immediate suffering and horrific loss of life, a serious development crisis is also unfolding – one that jeopardizes the future of Palestinians for generations to come,” said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator. “The assessment indicates that, even if humanitarian aid is provided each year, the economy may not regain its pre-crisis level for a decade or more. As conditions on the ground allow, the Palestinian people need a robust early recovery strategy embedded in the humanitarian assistance phase, laying foundations for a sustainable recovery.”
UNDP reports that about 90% of the population has been internally displaced, many of them repeatedly. With tens of thousands of damaged housing units among the destruction, more than 743,000 individuals are expected to remain displaced after the war’s end.
This impact is larger than just housing — an estimated 67% of water and sanitation infrastructure and facilities were damaged or destroyed, and 92.9% of school buildings have sustained damage. Health care infrastructure has faced almost 500 attacks recorded by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Israeli officials have said Sinwar’s death “creates a possibility for the immediate release of the abductees and to bring about a change that will lead to a new reality in Gaza — without Hamas and without Iranian control,” according to Israel Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Tuesday amid U.S. efforts to kickstart stalled cease-fire negotiations in Gaza and encourage a diplomatic resolution to ongoing fighting between the Israeli Defense Forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
(LONDON) — Ukrainian special forces claimed on Monday to have inflicted more than 100 casualties among North Korean forces over three days of operations.
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces branch claimed in a post to its official Telegram channel that 77 North Koreans were killed and 40 wounded in recent fighting.
On Sunday, the SSO posted photos of what it said were North Korean troops killed in Russia’s western Kursk region. The SSO also uploaded photos of purportedly fabricated Russian military identity cards. ABC News was not immediately able to independently verify the images.
“Russia is trying to hide the presence of military personnel from North Korea by issuing them with fake documents,” the SSO wrote.
It added that the documents “do not have all the seals, photographs, the patronymics are given in the Russian manner and the place of birth is signed as the Republic of Tuva,” the home region of Sergei Shoigu — formerly Russia’s defense minister and now the secretary of the Security Council.
The SSO said the signatures of the document owners were written in Korean, which it said “indicates the real origin of these soldiers.”
U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian officials have said there are currently up to 12,000 North Korean soldiers inside Russia, deployed there primarily to help push Kyiv’s forces out of positions taken in Russia’s western Kursk region since August 2024.
Ukrainian military sources told ABC News in November that North Koreans were expected to be among the 50,000 troops arrayed for a major counter-offensive in Kursk.
The deployment of troops marks a new milestone in North Korean support for Russia’s war, Pyongyang already having supplied Moscow with ammunition and weapons — including ballistic missiles — since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this month that Kyiv has “preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults — a significant number of them.”
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, meanwhile, has reported “significant casualties” among North Korean troops deployed on the front lines alongside Russian units.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported on Monday that Seoul expects Pyongyang to send more troops and equipment to Russia.
“North Korea is preparing to rotate or increase the deployment of troops [in Russia], while currently supplying 240mm rocket launchers and 170mm self-propelled artillery,” said South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, as quoted by Yonhap.
“There are also some signs of [the North] moving to manufacture and supply suicide drones,” the JCS said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a drone production and test facility in November. Then, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said Kim “underscored the need to build a serial production system as early as possible and go into full-scale mass production.”
(LONDON) — Israeli forces continued their intense operations inside Gaza after Hamas leader and Oct. 7, 2023 attack mastermind Yahya Sinwar was killed in a firefight with Israeli forces.
The development comes as Israel continues intense air and ground campaigns against Hezbollah in Lebanon and against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and mulls its response to Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday in a bid to kickstart stalled cease-fire talks and prevent further regional escalation.
IDF attempting to make us ‘killable targets,’ Al Jazeera journalist in north Gaza says
Israel has accused six Al Jazeera journalists of being “Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists,” publishing their names and photographs.
Al Jazeera said the claims were “unfounded” and “fabricated accusations as a blatant attempt to silence the few remaining journalists in the region, thereby obscuring the harsh realities of the war from audiences worldwide,” in a statement.
Hossam Shabat, one of the journalists named said dossiers released by the IDF claiming to link the journalists to militant groups were “fabricated.”
“This blatant and belligerent attempt to transform us, the last witnesses in the north, into killable targets is an assassination threat and obvious attempt to preemptively justify our murder,” he said in a post on X.
Israel and Al Jazeera have history, but this latest claim has sparked major concern amongst media organizations and prominent journalists around the world.
“Israel has repeatedly made similar unproven claims without producing credible evidence. After killing Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail Al Ghoul in July, the IDF previously produced a similar document, which contained contradictory information, showing that Al Ghoul, born in 1997, received a Hamas military ranking in 2007 – when he would have been 10 years old,” The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded to a question about the accusations saying he can’t speak to the accuracy of them, but said “it clearly needs to be examined.”
“We very much support the work of journalists in Gaza and everywhere else around the world and including in areas of conflict and we’re equally determined that journalists be protected. Far too many have lost their lives in Gaza. We’re determined to do what we can to ensure that, again, they can do their work safely and securely as possible,” Blinken told reporters during a joint press conference in Doha on Thursday.
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, also commented on the the accusations.
“At Al-Jazeera, they are running at the highest international standards, and if there are any premises to these accusations, they are going to take care of the measures that’s needed for their journalists. But also, we need to know that we learned throughout this war that we cannot take those accusations of Israel for face value,” he said.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
Blinken says negotiations to resume on hostage release, cease-fire in Gaza
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press conference in Doha on Thursday that negotiators will resume talks with Hamas “in coming days” to discuss a path forward in Gaza to release the hostages and end the war.
But, he added, it’s not clear whether Hamas was “prepared to engage” following the death of its leader, Yahya Sinwar.
“We haven’t yet really determined whether Hamas is prepared to engage, but the next step is getting the negotiators together, and I anticipate we’ll know and we’ll certainly learn more in the coming days,” he said.
Blinken announced the development at a press conference with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who said his government had been in touch with Hamas officials in recent days.
“I believe that until now, there is no clarity what will be the way forward or the clear position,” bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said.
Blinken also announced another $135 million in aid to Gaza civilians, bringing the total contribution to $1.2 billion, he said.
-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty
Surgeon under Israeli siege in north Gaza reports death ‘in all forms’
Dr. Mohammed Obeid, a Médecins Sans Frontières surgeon working at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza said medical workers there are “hopeless” and under constant fire amidst Israel’s siege.
“There is death in all types and forms,” Obeid said. “The bombardment does not stop. The artillery does not stop. The planes do not stop. There is heavy shelling, and the hospital is [being] targeted too.”
“It just looks like a movie — it does not seem real,” he added.
“We have 30 people dead inside the hospital and around 130 injured patients who need urgent medical care. Medical staff are exhausted and many are injured as well. We feel hopeless. I just don’t have words.”
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
Blinken in Qatar for talks on ending Gaza war
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha on Thursday as he neared the end of this week’s Middle East peace push.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement that Blinken discussed “renewed efforts to secure the release of the hostages and end the war in Gaza, as well as ongoing work to provide for security, governance and reconstruction in Gaza after the war.”
Blinken and Al Thani also discussed Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and “exchanged views on achieving a diplomatic resolution along the Blue Line and making political progress in Lebanon in order to ensure its sovereignty and security.”
Blinken is set to travel to the U.K. after concluding his meetings in Qatar.
-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty
16 killed in Israeli airstrike on school-turned-shelter, officials say
Hospital officials at Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza said they received 16 dead bodies and 32 injured people after Israeli strikes on a school-turned-shelter in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.
The hospital said “most” of the victims were “children and elderly people.”
The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately comment on the attack.
-ABC News’ Dia Ostaaz and Guy Davies
Deadly airstrikes in Syria, military says
Syria’s Defense Ministry reported airstrikes in the capital Damascus and at a military site near the western city of Homs on Thursday.
The attacks killed one soldier and injured seven other people, according to the ministry.
Israel — which has conducted regular strikes inside Syria in recent years — did not claim the airstrikes. The country generally refuses to confirm or deny responsibility for operations on foreign soil.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Guy Davies
IDF accuses Hezbollah of using ambulances to carry weapons
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee alleged on X on Thursday that Hezbollah is using ambulances to transport fighters and weapons.
Any vehicle used for “terrorist” purposes will be subject to “necessary measures,” Adraee wrote.
The IDF did not provide any evidence to support the assertion. Medical vehicles, workers and facilities have been repeatedly targeted by Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
IDF says 50 projectiles, 2 missiles fired from Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces wrote on X on Thursday morning that around 50 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory.
The launches set off air alert sirens in the Upper and Western Galilee areas, with some projectiles intercepted and other landing, the IDF said.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said paramedics evacuated three people suffering from shrapnel injuries to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya. Two of the victims were in moderate condition and one in mild condition, the service said.
The IDF also reported two missiles fired from Lebanon into northern Israel which it said “fell in open areas.”
-ABC News’ Dana Savir
US urges Israel to address ‘dire humanitarian situation’ in Gaza U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant Wednesday to discuss Israel’s operations in Lebanon and the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the Pentagon said in a statement.
“Secretary Austin welcomed the movement of humanitarian assistance through the Erez crossing and urged the Government of Israel to take all necessary steps to address the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza,” Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said of the call.
Humanitarian services ‘completely stopped’ in north, Gaza Civil Defense says The Gaza Civil Defense said its work has “completely stopped” in northern Gaza as “the situation there has become catastrophic,” according to a statement released Wednesday.
“Citizens there are now without humanitarian services,” the Gaza Civil Defense said.
Medical supplies have also run out at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, the director of field hospitals in Gaza said Wednesday.
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz
Nearly 200,000 people displaced in Lebanon as number of Israeli strikes approaches 11,000
Nearly 200,000 people have been displaced across various regions of Lebanon as the number of Israeli strikes on the country approaches 11,000, according to a report from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
The highest concentrations of displaced persons are in Mount Lebanon and Beirut, though the estimated total number of displaced individuals is likely much higher, the ministry said.
At least 2,574 people were killed and 12,001 others were injured since the increase in strikes began, the ministry said.
Since the increase in strikes began, 1,097 centers have been established to accommodate the displaced, with 922 of these centers reaching maximum capacity, the ministry said.
From Sept. 23 to Oct. 23, 344,819 Syrian nationals and 150,104 Lebanese nationals crossed the Lebanese border into Syria, the ministry said.
Over 150 patients in northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital in critical condition
More than 150 people in northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital are in critical condition and are facing increasingly dire conditions, according to the hospital director.
Health services cannot be provided to the sick and injured due to the depletion of medical supplies, according to the director.
“Kamal Adwan Hospital remains partially functional but is struggling to meet growing needs due to intensified hostilities in the north and a shortage of medical supplies and fuel. A strike near the hospital causing damages to the gate was reported earlier today, 22 October,” the World Health Organization said in a statement Wednesday.
“As hostilities intensify in North Gaza, WHO is deeply concerned about the last two functional hospitals – Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda – which must be protected. A complete lack of health care in North Gaza would make an already catastrophic situation worse, and lead to more lives being lost,” the WHO said.
Gaza polio vaccine campaign postponed due to ‘intense’ attacks, UN says
The World Health Organization announced Wednesday that it has been forced to postpone the third phase of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza.
The WHO blamed “escalating violence, intense bombardment, mass displacement orders and lack of assured humanitarian pauses across most of northern Gaza.”
The third and final round of the vaccination push was due to start on Wednesday, the WHO said, and aimed to vaccinate 119,279 children across northern Gaza.
“The current conditions, including ongoing attacks on civilian infrastructure continue to jeopardize people’s safety and movement in northern Gaza, making it impossible for families to safely bring their children for vaccination, and health workers to operate,” the organization wrote in a statement published on its website.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Blinken to travel to Qatar, UK after Saudi visit
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Qatar and the U.K. after his Wednesday stop in Saudi Arabia, the State Department announced.
Blinken left Israel early Wednesday following meetings with officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.
The visit was the first on a Middle East tour intended to kickstart stalled cease-fire negotiations in Gaza and encourage a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday morning ahead of a planned meeting with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.
-ABC News’ Cindy Smith
US has ‘not seen evidence’ of bunker under Beirut hospital: Austin
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Wednesday that U.S. officials have “not seen evidence” to support Israel’s claim of a Hezbollah bunker located under Al-Sahel hospital in southern Beirut.
“We’ll continue to collaborate with our Israeli counterparts to gain better fidelity on exactly what they’re looking at,” Austin added.
Israel claims Hezbollah is using the purported bunker to store hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold under the city’s southern Dahiya suburb. Hospital officials have denied the allegation.
The area — known as a Hezbollah stronghold — has been the focus of its intense airstrikes on the Lebanese capital over the past month.
-ABC News’ Chris Boccia
Austin says no staffers probed in FBI’s Israel leak investigation
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday denied reports that one of his senior staffers is under investigation by the FBI in connection with leaked Pentagon documents purportedly relating to Israel’s planned retaliatory strike on Iran.
“There’s no OSD [Office of the Secretary of Defense] official being named as a part of this investigation,” Austin told reporters while in Rome, Italy. “So that is not true at this point.”
“I’ve seen no evidence of that, or any indication that any OSD official will be implicated as part of this.”
-ABC News’ Chris Boccia
More overnight Israeli strikes rock Beirut
The Israel Defense Forces said warplanes conducted another night of airstrikes in the Lebanese capital targeting what it said were Hezbollah weapons storage, arms manufacturing and command center targets in the southern suburbs.
The airstrikes centered on Dahiya — an area of south Beirut known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
More than 2,500 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since Oct. 7, 2023, with nearly 12,000 injured, according to tallies from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Will Gretsky
Blinken departs Israel for Saudi Arabia
Secretary of State Antony Blinken departed Israel early Wednesday for Saudi Arabia — the next stop on his latest Middle East tour.
Before boarding his plane in Tel Aviv, Blinken told reporters that Israel has now achieved most of its military objectives in Gaza — including the elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar — but at great cost to Palestinian civilians.
Blinken said it was time to end the conflict, having spent Tuesday meeting with Israeli leaders — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — and the families of hostages in a bid to revive cease-fire and hostage release talks.
There is now a need to establish whether a post-Sinwar Hamas will be more open to a diplomatic resolution, Blinken said, plus to facilitate more aid into Gaza and to establish a concrete plan for the post-war governance of the territory.
Blinken said such questions would be part of his meetings with other Middle East leaders through this week.
-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston
US officials press Israel on ‘General’s Plan’
During their meeting Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about reports that some Israeli officials wanted to seize control of north Gaza using controversial methods, according to a senior U.S. administration official.
Coined the “General’s Plan” by media outlets, the idea would be to force evacuations of the area and assume anyone who stays behind is an enemy combatant and can be fired upon and starved.
The senior U.S. administration official said Blinken noted in the meeting that there’s a “perception” that this method is official Israeli policy.
The official said Netanyahu and his top aide, Ron Dermer, denied that it was and said the perception was “deeply damaging” to their efforts.
“We did hear a very clear commitment that that is not their state of policy,” the official told a reporter.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Blinken, Netanyahu meet as US pushes for cease-fire
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for over 2 1/2 hours on Tuesday, as the U.S. makes a push for a cease-fire agreement to end Israel’s conflicts with Hamas and Hezbollah.
Blinken and Netanyahu discussed the need to capitalize on the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to reach an agreement that would secure the release of the remaining hostages being held in Gaza and putting in place a plan that provides lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis.
Blinken also discussed the importance of increasing the flow of aid being allowed into Gaza. The U.S. warned Israel last week that assistance could be withheld if humanitarian aid doesn’t reach civilians in Gaza.
Lebanese hospital sustained ‘severe material damage’ in Israeli strike
Lebanon’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital will continue providing care despite the building sustaining “severe material damage” in an Israeli strike on Monday, according to Dr. Jihad Saadeh, the head of the hospital.
“Because of the targeting that has happened, we have sustained severe material damage to the hospital, including the destruction of solar panels, extensive destruction of all glass facades and damage to the hospital walls. Severe damage because it seems the shrapnel was very large,” Saadeh said.
“We will not stop. Several entities even called me yesterday asking if I would like to evacuate the hospital. I told them, not at all. We will not evacuate. There is no hospital left but us. After the sinful targeting of the suburb’s hospitals, there is no one left except for us. So we will continue our work, God willing,” Saadeh said.
Drone attack on Netanyahu’s house caused damage
The drone that targeted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home on Saturday caused some damage to the structure, according to a person familiar.
Netanyahu called the attack an “attempt to assassinate me and my wife,” in a statement Saturday. They were not in the home at the time of the attack, according to the prime minister’s office.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
63 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon Monday
At least 63 people were killed and 234 were injured in Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Monday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Since the start of Israel’s increased strikes on Lebanon, at least 2,546 people were killed and 11,862 others were injured, the ministry said.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Gaza’s development set back 69 years by war, UN says
The United Nations Development Programme published a new report Tuesday suggesting that Israel’s war against Hamas has set the Gaza Strip’s development back by as much as 69 years.
Poverty levels in Gaza are projected to rise to 74.3% in 2024, affecting over 4 million people, the report said — including 2.61 million “newly impoverished” people.
The territory’s GDP is expected to contract by some 35.1% in 2024 compared to a no-war scenario, it added, with unemployment potentially rising to almost 50%.
“The assessment indicates that, even if humanitarian aid is provided each year, the economy may not regain its pre-crisis level for a decade or more,” UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said.
Evacuation leaflets accompany Israeli attacks in north Gaza
At least 12 people were killed or injured in Israel Defense Forces attacks in northern Gaza over the past 24 hours, officials from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Tuesday.
At least 87 people were killed over the weekend in an IDF attack in the Beit Lahia neighborhood, officials said, just north of the Jabalia refugee camp which has been the focus of recent Israeli operations in the area. The IDF disputed the death toll.
Meanwhile, the IDF dropped leaflets over Beit Lahia on Tuesday urging residents to evacuate southwards.
Footage from the area showed long lines of people — mostly women and children — fleeing with their belongings under the watch of Israeli forces.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Guy Davies
Beirut hospital won’t evacuate despite Israeli strike, director says
The general manager of Beirut’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital said on Tuesday that staff would continue treating patients there despite a nearby Israeli airstrike.
“We are committed to continuing our work and will not evacuate the hospital,” Dr. Jihad Saadeh said. “Although the hospital has suffered damage from shrapnel, we are prepared to treat patients in the hospital corridors if necessary.”
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said 13 people including a child were killed and at least 57 others injured in the Israeli airstrike late Monday, with significant damage done to the nearby hospital — the largest public medical facility in Lebanon.
There was no warning issued before the strike on the hospital, sources told ABC News. The Israel Defense Forces denied the hospital was hit and said its strike was on a nearby Hezbollah target.
Saadeh told Tuesday’s press conference that some 50 healthcare centers, 150 ambulances, 150 paramedics and 15 hospitals have been targeted in Israeli attacks.
-ABC News’ Josiane Hajj Moussa and Guy Davies
IDF strike near hospital in Lebanon kills 13 and injures at least 57
An Israel Defense Forces strike near Rafik Hariri Hospital in southern Beirut on Monday killed 13 people including a child and injured at least 57 others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Seventeen of those injured required hospitalization, with seven in a critical condition, the ministry said in a Tuesday statement.
The hospital, which is the largest public medical facility in Lebanon, sustained significant damage, officials said.
There was no warning issued before the strike on the hospital, sources told ABC News.
The IDF denied attacking the hospital in a statement, claiming it was targeting a Hezbollah target close to the facility. “The strike did not hit the hospital and the IDF emphasizes that the hospital was not targeted, and the hospital itself and its operation were not affected, the IDF said.
-ABC News’ Josiane Hajj Moussa, Jordana Miller and Guy Davies
Israel designates Al-Qard al-Hassan as a terrorist organization
Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced Tuesday that he designated the Al-Qard al-Hassan finance institution — which Israel alleges is a key financial vehicle for Hezbollah — a terrorist organization.
“Hezbollah’s bank is used to purchase weapons, pay the salaries of terrorists and keep Hezbollah’s terror machine going,” Gallant wrote in a post on X.
“Degrading Hezbollah’s capabilities requires both a military and economic campaign,” he added. “We are destroying the terrorist organization’s ability to both launch and buy missiles.”
Israel has been targeting Al-Qard al-Hassan infrastructure throughout Lebanon in recent days. The strikes have been especially fierce in Beirut, and particularly in its southern Dahiya suburb which is known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Blinken lands in Israel
Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to begin a tour of Middle East nations in bid to reinvigorate cease-fire talks in both Gaza and Lebanon.
Blinken is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.
The revival of stalled cease-fire talks and the prevention of further regional escalation are at the top of the agenda for America’s top diplomat.
Blinken’s latest regional tour comes just two weeks to go until the U.S. presidential election and with Israel still mulling its retaliation against Iran for the latter’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack.
-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston and Guy Davies
IDF claims 230 more strikes in Lebanon and Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces said in a social media post Tuesday that it struck around 230 Hezbollah and Hamas targets in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip over the previous 24 hours.
The strikes killed “dozens” of fighters, the IDF claimed, and hit targets including three purported command centers of a Hezbollah drone unit in southern Lebanon.
In Gaza, fighting continues in the Jabalia area in the north of the strip, which is under intense Israeli bombardment and sweeping evacuation orders.
The IDF said “thousands of civilians have been evacuated” from the area, while “dozens of terrorists were arrested from among the civilians.”
Another 10 fighters were killed in a strike in the area, the IDF added. Troops also dismantled several tunnel shafts and a rocket launcher in Beit Lahia, to the north of Jabalia.
Elsewhere, the IDF reported an airstrike on a rocket launcher and ammunition in the southern Rafah area.
IDF claims Nasrallah’s bunker located underneath Beirut hospital
The Israel Defense Forces claimed late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s gold-filled bunker is located underneath a Beirut hospital, which hospital officials said was being evacuated Monday out of an abundance of caution.
“There are millions of dollars in gold and cash in Hassan Nasrallah’s bunker. Where is the bunker located? Directly under Al-Sahel Hospital — in the heart of Beirut,” IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a video address Monday.
The IDF released 3D renderings of the hospital building and the bunker it said belonged to Nasrallah, who was killed in Israeli airstrikes in Beirut last month, but has not provided tangible proof. Hagari said the Israeli air force is monitoring the site but added, “We will not strike the hospital itself.”
“We are not at war with the people of Lebanon. We are at war with Hezbollah,” he said.
Following Hagari’s remarks, Lebanese hospital officials said the hospital is being evacuated out of an abundance of caution for the safety of the patients. Lebanese Parliament member Fadi Alameh, the owner of the hospital, said he has requested that the Lebanese army and United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon investigate the Israeli allegations.
Lebanese official Wiam Wahhab said the “talk of weapons depots” at the hospital “is illogical and false.”
“This points to the beginning of targeting hospitals, and the army must deploy around the hospital and protect it,” he said.
Dr. Youssef Bakhash, the president of the Lebanese Order of Physicians, told the Lebanese media group Al Jadeed that the “pretext of the existence of tunnels and funds beneath Sahel Hospital is aimed at targeting and disrupting the healthcare sector.”
Israel’s conflict with Iran to last ‘many months’: Former IDF general
Israel’s planned attack on Iran will mark the “beginning of a war” that will last “many months,” retired Israel Defense Forces Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi told ABC News.
Israel’s war with Hezbollah had gone incredibly well and the IDF had surpassed its own expectations in degrading the Iranian proxy, Avivi said, adding that the same mentality would be applied to dealing with the Iranian regime itself.
“We have a historical opportunity to deal with Iran so they don’t pose another threat to Israel,” said Avivi, the founder of the right-wing think tank Israel’s Defense and Security Forum.
Israel’s retaliatory strike on Iran will be “fierce and strong and very surprising” when it happens, he said.
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge and Jordana Miller
300 Hezbollah targets hit in Lebanon in past 24 hours: IDF
The Israel Defense Forces said it hit 300 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours, which saw an intense night of airstrikes on Beirut.
Seven brigade commanders, 21 battalion commanders and 24 company commanders for Hezbollah were killed in its ongoing operations, the IDF said.
More strikes against Hezbollah targets are expected all over southern Lebanon Monday night, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said.
Still unclear whether intelligence docs were leaked or hacked: White House
There’s no indication yet whether classified documents on Israel’s retaliation plans were leaked or hacked, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Monday.
“I’m just not able to answer your question whether it was a leak or a hack at this point. We’ll let the investigation pursue its logical course there,” Kirby said.
Kirby said that President Joe Biden was “deeply concerned” about the incident, and that while they don’t expect more documents to be revealed, they are on high alert amid the investigation.
“We’re certainly going to keep our antenna up and our eyes open for any potential future disclosures,” he said.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
7 Israeli citizens arrested after allegedly spying for Iran
Seven Israeli citizens were arrested after allegedly spying for Iran, Israeli authorities said Monday.
The Israel Security Agency and Israel Police said they “successfully dismantled a spy network” that allegedly gathered sensitive information on Israel Defense Forces bases and energy infrastructure.
The citizens were allegedly recruited by Iranian agents to conduct “security-related tasks” over at least two years, authorities said, including “extensive reconnaissance missions” on air force and navy installations, ports, Iron Dome system locations and energy infrastructure.
Photographs and videos of “numerous” IDF bases, ports and energy infrastructure were seized as part of the investigation, authorities said.
“It is assessed that these activities have inflicted security damage on the state,” the ISA and Israel Police said.
The seven Israelis were allegedly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, often through cryptocurrencies, for their work, authorities said.
Prosecutors are expected to file an indictment against them in the coming days.
Austin: ‘Hard to say’ what Israeli retaliatory strike on Iran will look like
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters while traveling to Ukraine on Monday that it’s “hard to say” what an Israeli retaliatory strike on Iran will look like, when asked whether the response should be proportional.
“That’s an Israeli decision,” he said. “Whether or not the Israelis believe [it] is proportional and [how] the Iranians perceive it, I mean, those are maybe two different things.”
Austin told reporters that the U.S. is “going to continue to do everything we can” to get both parties to “begin to de-escalate.”
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Blinken to visit Israel in Middle East tour
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will begin a tour of Israel and other Middle Eastern nations on Monday in a bid to inject new life into stalled cease-fire and hostage release negotiations in Gaza, the State Department said.
Blinken “will discuss the importance of bringing the war in Gaza to an end, securing the release of all hostages and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people,” the State Department notice said.
“He will continue discussions on post-conflict period planning and emphasize the need to chart a new path forward that enables Palestinians to rebuild their lives and realize their aspirations free from Hamas’ tyranny,” the statement said.
Blinken will also “underscore that additional food, medicine and other humanitarian aid must be delivered to civilians in Gaza,” it continued.
The situation in Lebanon — where Israel is continuing an intense air and ground campaign and Hezbollah is still firing across the shared border — will also be a topic of discussion, the State Department said.
Blinken will continue pursuit of a “diplomatic resolution” that “allows civilians on both sides” of the border to return to their homes, the statement said.
-ABC News’ Cindy Smith
‘Beirut in flames’ after night of airstrikes, foreign minister says
“Beirut in flames,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Monday following an intense night of airstrikes on the Lebanese capital.
“A wide-scale Israeli attack targeted Hezbollah’s financial infrastructure in Beirut and across Lebanon last night,” Katz said.
“Massive fires were seen above Beirut as over 15 buildings were struck following evacuation warnings to residents,” the foreign minister wrote.
“Hezbollah has paid and will continue to pay a heavy price for its attacks on northern Israel and its rocket fire. We will keep striking the Iranian proxy until it collapses.”
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
IDF claims ‘dozens’ of strikes on Hezbollah financial targets
Israel Defense Forces warplanes launched “a series of targeted, intelligence-based strikes against dozens of facilities and sites used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to finance its terrorist activities,” the IDF said in a Monday post to X.
The Sunday night strikes hit targets in Beirut, southern Lebanon and elsewhere “deep within” the country, the IDF added.
The IDF said the targets were linked to the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, which Israel has accused of acting as a key financier of Hezbollah activities.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
US investigating intelligence leak on Israel’s alleged plan to attack Iran
Documents purporting to show classified U.S. intelligence-gathering on Israel’s preparations for a possible retaliatory strike against Iran appeared on social media platforms late last week.
The impact of the circulation of these documents on current and future planning by the Israeli military is unclear at this time.
U.S. officials declined to comment on the situation when reached by ABC News. However, a law enforcement source on Sunday confirmed with ABC News that there is an investigation underway.
Markings on the documents indicate that they would have originated from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which collects, analyzes and distributes intelligence gleaned from satellite and aerial imagery.
If the documents are authentic, it would indicate a major intelligence breach.
According to Mick Mulroy, an ABC News national security and defense contributor, who served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East: “The future coordination between the U.S. and Israel could be challenged, as well.”
The Department of Defense, Federal Bureau of Investigation and a spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence all declined to comment when contacted by ABC News.
House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared on CNN Sunday and acknowledged that there is an investigation underway into the possible intelligence leak, adding, “We’re following it closely.”
-ABC News’ T. Michelle Murphy
IDF says it’s targeting infrastructure in Lebanon of group allegedly financing Hezbollah
The Israel Defense Forces announced it was targeting infrastructure Sunday night in Lebanon that has been linked to the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, an organization it alleges is involved in financing Hezbollah.
The United States placed sanctions on the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association in May 2021 related to financing Hezbollah activities.
The Al-Qard Al-Hassan group has 31 branches in Lebanon — including in Beirut and Bekaa, officials said. At least one strike was reported Sunday evening in the Chyah neighborhood of Beirut.
“The ‘Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association’ is involved in financing the terrorist activities of the Hezbollah organization against Israel, and therefore the IDF has decided to attack this terrorist infrastructure,” the IDF said in a statement Sunday. “The IDF continues to work forcefully to destroy Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure. Therefore, we call on people inside buildings used by Hezbollah to stay at least 500 meters away from them for the next few hours.”
(LONDON) — Dominique Pelicot, 72, has been given the maximum sentence of 20 years in the massive trial that has shaken France and shocked the world.
Pelicot and the 50 codefendants have all been found guilty, with all except one having been charged with rape.
The trial began on Sept. 2. Hearings took place for nearly three months and included testimony from Gisèle herself, who has become a feminist icon in France and across the world.
Prosecutors demanded the maximum sentence of 20 years for Dominique Pelicot and 10 years or more for most of the other co-defendants, if they’re found guilty. Dominique Pelicot had asked his family to “accept his apologies.”
Forty-nine of the 50 other co-defendants face aggravated rape or attempted rape charges. One co-defendant is accused of sexual assault and could face up to four years in prison.
Dominique Pelicot testified during the trial in Avignon that he mixed sedatives into Gisèle Pelicot ‘s food and drink so he could rape her, and that he recruited at least 50 other men via an online chat forum and invited them over to the family home where they are alleged to have raped and sexually abused Gisèle Pelicot. Dominique acknowledged in court that he’s guilty of the allegations and that his co-defendants understood what they were doing, The Associated Press reported.
The alleged abuse took place for almost a decade in their home in Provence, from 2011 to 2020. Gisèle has since divorced her husband.
Dominique Pélicot collected 20,000 photos and videos and stored the evidence, which later helped lead prosecutors to the 50 other defendants — “although about 20 others haven’t yet been identified,” The AP has reported.
She refused to stay anonymous, saying in court at one point during the hearings that she wants women who have been raped to know that “it’s not for us to have shame — it’s for them,” per The AP.
ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge and Hugo Leenhardt contributed to this report.
