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(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continued intense air and ground campaigns against Hezbollah in Lebanon and against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The uptick in offensive operations came after Israel marked the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault, and as Israeli leaders planned their response to Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack.

 

Local mayor killed in Israeli airstrike in south Lebanon

At least six people were killed and 43 injured in an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on Wednesday — including the city’s mayor — according to Lebanese health officials.

The strike hit the town’s municipal headquarters and came as officials met to coordinate relief efforts, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said.

“⁠The targeting of the municipality building in Nabatieh occurred during the coordination of relief work and the preparation of aid for distribution to the residents in the cities and villages of the region who are steadfast in the face of the war they are being subjected to and against Lebanon,” Mawlawi said in a statement.

Search and rescue teams are continuing to search for survivors under the rubble of the two buildings targeted in the strike.

-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Guy Davies

Aid trucks enter Gaza, Israeli authorities say

Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories organization said more than 145 aid trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday and 50 on Wednesday, amid allegations that Israel has failed to facilitate humanitarian relief in the northern part of the strip.

COGAT said that four bakeries are operational in northern Gaza, though it is unclear whether humanitarian organizations have been able to distribute any aid into the north.

Dozens of aid organizations published a joint statement Wednesday saying no aid has been allowed into northern Gaza since Oct. 1.

-ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Diaa Ostaz, Jordana Miller and Guy Davies

Aid organizations condemn ‘horrifying level of atrocity’ in Gaza

Thirty-eight NGOs signed a new appeal to the international community to stop Israel’s latest military operation in northern Gaza, which they said has “escalated to a horrifying level of atrocity.”

“Northern Gaza is being wiped off the map,” the organizations said, describing the Israel Defense Forces’ order for civilians to leave the northern part of the territory as “forced displacement under gunfire.”

Around 400,000 people are estimated to be subject to the north Gaza evacuation order. Hospitals — already “overwhelmed” according to the NGOs — and their staff are also being ordered to evacuate, with the IDF declaring the area a dangerous combat zone.

Israeli officials have denied they are implementing the so-called “Generals’ Plan,” a proposal by retired Israeli military leaders to put north Gaza under siege and declare anyone who does not evacuate to be a valid military target.

“The world cannot continue to stand by as the Israeli government commits these atrocities,” the NGOs wrote. “We demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to Israel’s illegal occupation.”

-ABC News’ Guy Davies

IDF claims killing of Hamas drone commander in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday it killed a Hamas drone commander in an airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip.

The IDF said Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was Hamas’ UAV commander in the northern part of the territory.

The IDF said on social media that Mabhouh was responsible for launching unmanned aircraft towards Israel and against Israeli forces.

Israel resumes Beirut airstrikes

Israel launched its first airstrike on Beirut in nearly a week early on Wednesday.

The Israel Defense Forces claimed a strike “on strategic weapons belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization” in the capital’s southern Dahiya suburb. It was the first such attack in the capital since a strike killed 22 people on Oct. 10.

“These weapons were stockpiled by Hezbollah in an underground storage facility in the area of Dahiya, a key Hezbollah terrorist stronghold in Beirut,” the IDF wrote on X.

The strike came shortly after a new evacuation order issued online by IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee for residents of the Haret Hreik area of southern Beirut.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Hezbollah has the right to ‘target any point’ within Israel, acting leader says

Hezbollah’s acting leader Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem said Hezbollah has the “right to target any point within the enemy’s entity” in a prerecorded video address released Tuesday.

“The occupation seeks to destroy and eliminate everything that stands in its way, but the resistance is prepared to confront it and establish a new equation based on inflicting pain on the enemy,” Qassem said. “We have the right to target any point within the enemy’s entity, and we will choose the appropriate time and place to do so.”

Delta pauses JFK-Tel Aviv flights through March 31

Delta will pause flights between New York’s JFK International Airport and Tel Aviv through March 31 due to “ongoing conflict in the region,” the airline said Tuesday.

Travel waivers will be issued to customers impacted by the change, the airline said.

“As always, the safety of customers and crew remains paramount,” Delta said. “Customers should be prepared for possible adjustments to Delta’s TLV flight schedule, including additional cancellations on a rolling basis.”

UK issues sanctions in response to continued violence in the West Bank

The United Kingdom announced sanctions against Israeli settler outposts and four organizations in response to “continued violence by extremist Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank,” Tuesday, according to a release from the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

The sanctions target outposts and organizations “that have supported, incited and promoted violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank,” the U.K. said in a statement.

“When I went to the West Bank earlier this year, on one of my first trips as Foreign Secretary, I met with Palestinians whose communities have suffered horrific violence at the hands of Israeli settlers. The inaction of the Israeli government has allowed an environment of impunity to flourish where settler violence has been allowed to increase unchecked. Settlers have shockingly even targeted schools and families with young children,” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement.

“Today’s measures will help bring accountability to those who have supported and perpetrated such heinous abuses of human rights. The Israeli government must crack down on settler violence and stop settler expansion on Palestinian land. As long as violent extremists remain unaccountable, the UK and the international community will continue to act,” Lammy said.

Gazan soccer player killed alongside 9 family members

Emad Abu Tai’ma, a 20-year-old Gazan soccer player, was killed alongside nine members of his family, after a strike hit a house in Bani Sahalia where the family was sheltering early Tuesday morning, according to local health officials.

It took rescuers over two hours to free Abu Tai’ma’s body from the rubble, a Gaza Ministry of Health spokesperson told ABC News.

Abu Tai’ma was a soccer player for the Khan Yunis-Tokyo Union for about a year before he was killed, his friend, 19-year-old Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Muzain, told ABC News.

“We studied together in one of the Bani Suhaila schools east of Khan Younis. Imad was a smart student, and he was a famous player even in school. I have not seen him for eight months due to the repeated and continuous displacement. I feel very sad for his loss. He was displaced in a house belonging to the Baraka family, and he is a civilian,” Al-Muzain said.

The Palestinian Football Association confirmed Emad’s death and reflected on his soccer career playing for Ittihad Khan Yunis Club and the Palestinian national soccer team.

“With the passing of Abu Taima, the number of martyrs of the Palestinian sports and scouting movement, as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression since October 7, has risen to 455 martyrs, including 314 in football (87 children, 227 young men), in addition to 90 martyrs from the Olympic sports federations, and 50 martyrs from the scouting movement. The occupation forces also destroyed 57 sports facilities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” the association said in a statement.

-ABC News’ Dia Ostaaz

At least 29 killed in northern Israel amid fighting with Hezbollah

At least 29 civilians were killed in northern Israel amid fighting with Hezbollah, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office.

Twenty-nine Israeli soldiers were also killed in the north, according to the prime minister’s office.

Attacks on hospitals, health workers jeopardize health care in Lebanon, WHO warns

Nearly half of the health care centers and dispensaries in conflict-affected areas in Lebanon are now closed, jeopardizing access to health care, according to the World Health Organization

“Increasing conflict, intense bombardment and insecurity are forcing a growing number of health facilities to shut down, particularly in the south,” the WHO said in a statement Tuesday. “Hospitals have had to close or evacuate due to structural damage or their proximity to areas of intense bombardment.”

The World Health Organization said it has verified 23 attacks on health care in Lebanon, killing 72 and injuring 43 health workers and patients since the escalation of hostilities on Sept. 17.

Fifteen incidents impacted health facilities and 14 impacted health transport, according to WHO.

Northern Gaza cut off from food aid, health systems have ‘all but collapsed,’ aid groups warn

Escalating violence in northern Gaza is having “a disastrous impact on food security for thousands of Palestinian families,” the United Nations World Food Programme warned on Tuesday as aid groups issue sharp warnings.

“The north is basically cut off and we’re not able to operate there,” Antoine Renard, WFP country director for Palestine, said in the release. “WFP has been on the ground since the onset of the crisis. We are committed to delivering life-saving food every day despite the mounting challenges, but without safe and sustained access, it is virtually impossible to reach the people in need.”

Over 90,000 children in Gaza vaccinated in second round of polio vaccine campaign

Over 92,800 children in Gaza were vaccinated on Monday, the first day of the second phase of the polio vaccine campaign, the United Nations Children’s Fund said Tuesday.

“Despite the incredibly complex situation in Gaza, the second phase of Gaza’s polio vaccination campaign began smoothly yesterday, reaching over 92,800 children with polio vaccines and administering Vitamin A to more than 76,000 children between the ages of 2 and 10,” UNICEF said in a statement Tuesday.

“This campaign is crucial not only for preventing the resurgence of polio but also for safeguarding the long-term health of Gaza’s children, who are already facing huge vulnerability due to ongoing conflict, restricted access to healthcare, and malnutrition. Each dose of the vaccine is a lifeline, in an environment where every safeguard counts,” UNICEF said.

The health systems in northern Gaza have “all but collapsed,” United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said.

Lazzarini said they are “unable to reach” UNRWA teams in northern Gaza “due to telecommunications cuts.”

The Israel Defense Forces said they are assisting patients, personnel and hospital staff from Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza “to other functioning hospitals in Gaza,” in a statement Tuesday. An Israeli agency that manages logistics inside of Gaza, including the flow of aid into Gaza, is leading the transfer of patients and staff, the IDF said.

Three hospitals in northern Gaza are inside of the zone where Israeli forces have asked people to evacuate.

The IDF also acknowledged they have been operating “in the Jabalia area” in northern Gaza for “over a week,” in a statement Tuesday. The IDF claims they conducted “targeted raids on dozens of terrorist infrastructure sites in the area, eliminated dozens of terrorists, and confiscated numerous weapons,” in the Jabaliya area during operations there, the statement said.

-ABC News’ Sami Zyara, Diaa Ostaz and Jordana Miller

 

US sends letter to Israel demanding it improve humanitarian situation in Gaza

U.S. officials sent a letter to Israeli officials demanding that Israel take steps within 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, or Israel will face consequences with a potential change in U.S. policy, two Israeli sources confirmed to ABC News.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin sent a letter to Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant Monday focusing on increasing the supply of humanitarian aid into Gaza by the beginning of winter, facilitating the aid delivery route through Jordan and ending the “isolation” of northern Gaza.

“Failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing and maintaining these measures may have implications for US policy under NSM-20 and relevant US law,” the letter stated.

The National Security Memorandum, or NSM-20, states the secretaries of State and Defense are “responsible for ensuring that all transfers of defense articles and defense services” by the departments under “any security cooperation or security assistance authorities are conducted in a manner consistent with all applicable international and domestic law and policy, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” according to the law.

Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh confirmed Austin and Blinken sent a letter to their Israeli counterparts over humanitarian conditions in Gaza, but refused to give additional details.

“I can confirm that Secretary Austin with Secretary Blinken, they co-signed a letter that went to their Israeli counterparts. This was personal, private correspondence, so I’m not going to get into more specifics of it, other than it was expressing concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza,” Singh said on Tuesday.

The letter was first reported by Israeli media and Axios reporter Barak Ravid.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Dorit Long and Matt Seyler

25% of Lebanon under Israeli evacuation orders, UN says

Over 25% of Lebanon is now under Israeli evacuation orders as Israeli airstrikes continue to increase the number of areas impacted, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

“We have over 25% of the country under a direct Israeli military evacuation order. Just yesterday, we had another 20 villages issued with an evacuation order in the south of the country,” Rema Imseis, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees director for the Middle East, said Tuesday.

“In a country of that size, which is relatively small, and a population that’s estimated around 5 million people, you can imagine how dramatic it is that over 1 million people are now without shelter and on the move … being forced to flee their homes in search of safety,” Imseis said.

-ABC News’ Guy Davies

‘Impossible’ to separate conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza, Hezbollah leader says

Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said it is “impossible to separate Lebanon’s front from Palestine,” in a recorded video address released on Tuesday.

There had been speculation over whether Hezbollah would be open to a cease-fire agreement that didn’t include Gaza.

Israeli officials have asserted that the aim in Lebanon is to return Israelis home to the north and separate the war in the north from the war in Gaza.

-ABC News’ Guy Davies

US troops arrive in Israel to support THAAD deployment

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement Tuesday that American troops are already in Israel to support the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to the country.

“An advance team of U.S. military personnel and initial components” required to operate the system arrived in Israel on Monday, Ryder said.

“Over the coming days, additional U.S. military personnel and THAAD battery components will continue to arrive in Israel,” he added.

“The battery will be fully operational capable in the near future, but for operations security reasons we will not discuss timelines,” Ryder said.

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez

10 members of 1 family killed in Khan Younis strike

Ten members of the same family were killed in an airstrike in southern Gaza early on Tuesday, a health ministry official told ABC News.

The strike hit a house in Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis, at 12:30 a.m. local time Tuesday morning, local health officials said.

Ten members of the Abu Tai’ma family were killed, including three children aged 7, 8 and 11, a spokesperson for the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry told ABC News.

The Israel Defense Forces is yet to comment on the strike.

-ABC News’ Dia Ostaaz and Guy Davies

Israeli police officer killed in shooting attack

The Israel Police said in a statement Tuesday that an officer was killed in a shooting attack near the southern city of Ashdod.

The attacker shot the officer and then “continued on a shooting spree and wounded four more civilians,” police said. The attacker was then “neutralized by a civilian,” police said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Netanyahu listening to US ‘opinions’ in Iran attack planning

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday “our national interests” will be the prime consideration in Israel’s response to Iran’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack.

Netanyahu was responding to a Washington Post report suggesting he had assured the U.S. that Israel would target Iranian military — and not nuclear or oil infrastructure — targets in its planned retaliation for Tehran’s recent missile barrage.

“We listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interests,” the prime minister’s office said in a post on X.

Iran accuses Israel, US of ‘psychological operation’

Iran’s mission to the United Nations has denied “any role in the planning, decision-making, or execution” of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack against Israel, as Tehran braces for an expected Israeli response to its Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack.

In a statement posted to social media, the mission said Iran’s assistance to the “Resistance Front” — which includes forces like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen — is “a matter of common knowledge and an obvious fact.”

“However, dragging Iran or Hezbollah into the Oct. 7 operation represents a fabricated conclusion and a cynical attempt to mislead public opinion — all aimed at covering up the Israeli regime’s major intelligence failure in relation to Hamas,” the mission said.

The mission accused “certain American media outlets” of having “morphed into tools for disseminating this psychological operation.”

Hezbollah began firing into Israel on Oct. 8 in support of Hamas. The group has vowed to continue its attacks until Israeli forces conclude a cease-fire in Gaza and withdraw from the devastated Palestinian territory.

Israel targeting civilian infrastructure in north Gaza, UNRWA chief says

Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, said Tuesday that “two long weeks” of Israeli military operations have “all but collapsed” the health system in northern Gaza.

“Hundreds of Palestinians are reported killed, among them children,” Lazzarini wrote on X. “More than 400,000 people continue to be trapped in the area.”

“We are not able to reach our teams due to telecommunications cuts,” he added. “The U.N. has not been allowed to provide any assistance, including food” since Sept. 30, he said. “The two crossing points into northern Gaza have been closed since.”

The Israel Defense Forces is pressing its operation in north Gaza around the Jabalia refugee camp, which the Palestinian Civil Defense said has been put under “complete siege.” The IDF said Tuesday it had “eliminated dozens of terrorists over the past day” there with the assistance of airstrikes.

Lazzarini said the camp is the worst affected part of northern Gaza. Around 50,000 people have fled, while basic UNRWA services have been interrupted or forced to halt, he added.

“Such attacks, the sabotage of civilian infrastructure and the deliberate denial of critical assistance continue to be used as a tactic by the Israeli authorities to force people to flee,” he said.

“Civilians are given no choice but to either leave or starve.”

“In Gaza, too many red lines have been crossed,” Lazzarini said. “What might constitute war crimes can still be prevented.”

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

IDF claims 230 strikes in Lebanon, Gaza in 24 hours

The Israel Defense Forces said in a Tuesday statement it struck “over 230 terrorist targets throughout the past day” as it continues its operations in Lebanon and Gaza.

The force claimed to have “eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters combat” and airstrikes in southern Lebanon, along with the dismantling of “Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure” and the discovery of “vast quantities of weaponry.”

In north Gaza, the IDF continued its intense operation around the Jabalia refugee camp. The Palestinian Civil Defense said the area has been put under “complete siege.”

The IDF said its forces “have eliminated dozens of terrorists over the past day” with the assistance of airstrikes.

Fighting is also ongoing in the south of the strip. There, “troops eliminated multiple terrorists and dismantled terrorist infrastructure,” the IDF said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

100 US soldiers will go to Israel with THAAD deployment

On Monday, U.S. Army leaders said the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to Israel will include approximately 100 soldiers to operate it.

“The THAAD deployment is going to have about 100 soldiers who will go over to Israel,” Christine Wormuth, the secretary of the U.S. Army said at the Army’s annual AUSA conference.

Wormuth did not provide operational or timing details about the deployment of the THAAD system or its deployment for security and force protection reasons.

“I think we should view this THAAD deployment as for what it is, which is another visible statement of our commitment to the security of Israel as it deals with everything that’s coming at it from Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon,” said Wormuth.

A U.S. official told ABC News that discussions about deploying the THADD system to Israel in order to shore up its defenses against ballistic missile barrages have been underway for months.

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Shannon Kingston

Northern Gaza still waiting for food supplies, group says

Thirty trucks carrying flour and food entered Gaza on Monday, according to Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli agency that oversees logistical coordination within the Gaza Strip.

This aid was meant for northern Gaza, COGAT said. However, a spokesperson for the World Food Programme told ABC News it has not yet reached the people there.

“Israel is not denying the entry of humanitarian aid, with an emphasis on food, into the Gaza Strip,” COGAT said in response to an inquiry from ABC News.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Guy Davies

IDF claims it killed head of Hamas Aerial unit

Samer Abu Daqqa, the head of Hamas’ Aerial Unit, has been killed, the Israel Defense Forces claimed in a statement Monday.

Abu Daqqa was killed during an Israeli airstrike in September, the IDF said, but did not say where the attack took place.

— ABC News’ David Brenna and Julia Reinstein 

54 killed, 258 wounded in Lebanon in past 24 hours

In the past 24 hours, 54 people have been killed and 258 have been wounded in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

The total number of casualties since Israel’s increased attacks on Lebanon in mid-September is now 2,309 people killed and 10,782 people injured, the ministry said.

A situational report from the Lebanese Prime Minister’s Office on Monday said 200 airstrikes and shellings were recorded in various parts of Lebanon over the past 48 hours.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a release Monday that they found an underground compound in southern Lebanon stocked with “weapons, ammunition and motorcycles ready to be used in an invasion into Israel.”

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Jordana Miller

Netanyahu: ‘We will continue to hit Hezbollah mercilessly in all parts of Lebanon’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “will continue to hit Hezbollah mercilessly in all parts of Lebanon” while visiting the Golani camp, which was hit by a Hezbollah drone Sunday evening, killing four IDF soldiers and injuring dozens.

“I want to make it clear: We will continue to hit Hezbollah mercilessly in all parts of Lebanon — also in Beirut, all according to operational considerations. We have proven this in recent times, and we will continue to prove it in the coming days as well,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu extended his condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers and said he would visit the injured later on Monday.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Doctors Without Borders staffer killed in northern Gaza

A Doctors Without Borders staffer has been killed in northern Gaza, the organization announced Monday.

Nasser Hamdi Abdelatif Al Shalfouh, 31, was struck by shrapnel Tuesday and died of injuries to his legs and chest two days later, according to the organization.

He is survived by his wife and two children.

In a statement, Doctors Without Borders condemned Israeli forces for having “systematically dismantled the health system in Gaza, impeding access to life-saving care for people.”

“He was unable to receive the necessary level of care due to the hospital’s lack of capacity and an overwhelming number of patients in the facility,” the organization said of Al Shalfouh.

Al Shalfouh joined Doctors Without Borders as a driver in March 2023, but had not been able to work for them recently as operations have been impacted by the war, the group said.

He is the seventh Doctors Without Borders staffer to be killed in Gaza since the war began, the organization added.

“We are horrified by the killing of our colleague which we strongly condemn and call yet again for the respect and protection of civilians,” the NGO said. “In this tragic moment, our thoughts are with his family and all colleagues mourning his death.”

Americans in Lebanon should ‘depart now,’ embassy says

American citizens in Lebanon “are strongly encouraged to depart now,” the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said in a new alert Monday.

The embassy has been urging Americans to depart Lebanon via commercial flights in recent weeks. Monday’s warning was the starkest yet.

The embassy noted it had helped add thousands of extra seats to commercial flights to help Americans leave amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

“Much of this capacity has gone unused,” Monday’s alert said. “Please understand that these additional flights will not continue indefinitely.”

“U.S. citizens who choose not to depart at this time should prepare contingency plans should the situation deteriorate further,” the embassy said.

“These alternative plans should not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuation,” the notice read.

The embassy has been warning citizens not to travel to Lebanon since July.

Airstrike kills 18 in north Lebanon, Red Cross says

Eighteen people were killed and four wounded in an airstrike in the town of Aitou in northern Lebanon on Monday, the Lebanese Red Cross wrote on X.Seven Red Cross teams were dispatched to the area in the Zgharta district, the organization said. “Our teams are working to provide first aid and evacuate the wounded,” it added.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Guy Davies

Hezbollah launches dozens of cross-border attacks, marking daily record

Hezbollah issued 38 statements claiming cross-border attacks into Israel on Sunday — the highest tally since renewed fighting began on Oct. 8, 2023, per ABC News’ count.

The attacks included the drone strike on an Israel Defense Forces training base in northern Israel, which killed four soldiers and injured 55.

Hezbollah has expanded its attacks into Israel despite the IDF’s monthslong campaign of targeted killings of top commanders and airstrikes on Hezbollah military facilities and weapons caches.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Guy Davies

IDF claims killing of Hezbollah anti-tank commander

The Israel Defense Forces said Monday it killed a Hezbollah commander responsible for anti-tank missile forces.

The IDF said in a statement posted to social media that Muhammad Kamal Naim was killed in an airstrike in the Nabatieh region of southern Lebanon.

Naim, it said, was responsible for the elite Radwan Force’s anti-tank weapons.

Naim “was responsible for planning and carrying out many terrorist plots, including firing anti-tank missiles at the Israeli rear,” the IDF wrote.

Israel kills 20 in strike on UNRWA school, health ministry says

At least 20 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East school-turned-shelter in central Gaza, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said.

The school was being used to shelter displaced people in Nuseirat camp, health authorities said. It was bombed on Sunday.

The school was earmarked for use in the planned second round of the Gaza polio vaccination campaign, which was due to begin on Monday.

-ABC News Diaa Ostaz and Guy Davies

10 killed amid ‘total siege’ in northern Gaza

Ten people were killed in shelling at an aid distribution center in the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza on Monday morning, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the strip.

The area has been the focus of intense recent Israeli military activity, with the Israel Defense Forces reporting fierce fighting with Hamas militants there.

The IDF has ordered residents of northern Gaza — of whom there are an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 — to leave the region, which it has classified as a military zone.

Hamas is urging residents to stay, suggesting Israel will not allow those who leave to return.

Gaza’s Civil Defense said there was a “complete siege” of Jabalia. Aid agencies have said that no food has been allowed to enter the north of Gaza since Oct. 1.

-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Guy Davies

 

Israel to probe deadly drone attack on troops, Gallant says

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the scene of a deadly Hezbollah drone strike in northern Israel on Monday, telling soldiers there the incident “was a difficult event with painful results.”

Four troops were killed and 55 wounded in Sunday’s attack on the Golani Training Base close to the town of Binyamina, some 20 miles south of Haifa.

“We must investigate it, study the details and implement lessons in a swift and professional manner,” Gallant said, according to a Defense Ministry readout.

“We are concentrating significant efforts in developing solutions to address the threat of UAV attacks,” he added

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

IDF claims 200 strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces said Monday its warplanes targeted around 200 “Hezbollah terror targets” in its continuing operation against the Iranian-backed group in southern Lebanon.

The targets included “launchers, anti-tank missile launch posts, terrorist infrastructure and weapons storage facilities containing launchers, anti-tank missiles, RPG launchers and munitions,” the IDF wrote on X.

Ground forces, meanwhile, “eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters encounters and aerial strikes” in their ongoing cross-border incursion, the force reported.

The IDF is still describing its ground operation as consisting of “limited, localized, targeted raids” in southern areas close to the border.

Airstrikes, though, continue across southern Lebanon. Around a quarter of all Lebanese territory is under IDF evacuation orders and some 1.2 million civilians are displaced, according to the government in Beirut.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Hezbollah drone attack on IDF base ‘painful,’ commander says

The Israel Defense Forces identified the four soldiers killed in a Hezbollah drone attack on a training base in the north of the country on Sunday.

Sgt. Omri Tamari, Sgt. Yosef Hieb, Sgt. Yoav Agmon and Sgt. Amitay Alon were killed, an IDF press release said. The strike occurred at the Golani Training Base close to the town of Binyamina, some 20 miles south of Haifa.

Around 55 more are reported to have been injured.

IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi addressed Golani Brigade troops on Sunday night following the attack.

“We are at war, and an attack on a training base in the rear is difficult and the results are painful,” the commander said according to a post on the IDF’s official Telegram channel.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Israel strike on Gaza hospital kills 4, wounds dozens

At least four people were killed and 40 others wounded Monday in an Israeli airstrike on tents housing displaced Palestinians inside the Al-Aqsa Hospital in the central Gaza’s city of Deir al-Balah, health officials said.

The Israeli military said it targeted militants operating from a command center inside the compound. Israel accuses Hamas of routine use of civilian facilities such as hospitals for military purposes — a charge Hamas denies.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Defense Secretary Austin discusses safety of UNIFIL forces with Israel’s Gallant

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant by phone on Sunday to express his condolences for the IDF soldiers killed in a Hezbollah drone attack and discuss the IDF’s military operations in Lebanon.

According to a readout of the call from the Pentagon, Austin, “reinforced the importance of Israel taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of UNIFIL forces and Lebanese Armed Forces, and the need to pivot from military operations in Lebanon to a diplomatic pathway to provide security for civilians on both sides of the border as soon as feasible.”

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon established by the U.N. Security Council.

The conversation comes after the IDF has repeatedly fired on the UNIFIL headquarters in southern Lebanon.

Additionally, Secretary Austin “reaffirmed the deep U.S. commitment to Israel’s security,” which he says is demonstrated by the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).

According to the Department of Defense, THAAD employs interceptor missiles, using “hit-to-kill” technology, to destroy threat missiles.

During the call, Austin “again raised concern for the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and stressed that steps must be taken soon to address it,” the Pentagon said.

At least 3 killed in IDF strike on Gaza hospital

At least three people were killed and dozens more were injured after Israel Defense Forces struck Al Aqsa Hospital in Gaza on Sunday.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

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(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza — particularly in the north of the strip — and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut. The strikes form the backdrop for a fresh diplomatic push by the White House ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office in January.

Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called “precise strikes on military targets” in several locations in Iran following Tehran’s Oct. 1 missile barrage.

 

Hostage killed in northern Gaza, Hamas says

Hamas has released a statement announcing that a female hostage being held in Gaza was killed in recent weeks, and a second hostage was injured.

The statement says Hamas has only just been able to make contact with the fighters holding these hostages after contact was “interrupted for weeks” in northern Gaza. The statement says the life of the injured hostage is “still in danger.”

The statement does not elaborate on how the other hostage was killed. The IDF has not yet commented to ABC News.

There are only 12 women hostages left in Gaza, three of whom were already confirmed to have been killed. Only one American woman was still being held and has been confirmed dead.

-ABC News’ Samy Zyara

North Gaza hospital remains under siege, at least 12 injured in latest attack

Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza remains under siege by Israeli forces, with a dozen people wounded in the latest attack, the facility’s director said Saturday morning.

“The occupation forces targeted the hospital with drone bombs and bullets from yesterday afternoon until midnight,” Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya said in a statement. “The bombing directly and repeatedly targeted the entrance to the reception and emergency departments, the courtyards, the electricity generators, and the hospital gates.”

At least 12 people were injured, including “a doctor, a nurse, and an administrator who were inside the reception and emergency department,” according to Safiya. The bombing “disabled the electric generator, the oxygen and water network, and terrified the injured and sick children and women,” the hospital director said.

Kamal Aswan Hospital in the city of Beit Lahia, just north of Jabalia, currently houses 86 injured patients, including eight people in intensive care on ventilators and 13 children receiving treatment, according to Safiya.

“We receive cases of malnutrition of children on a regular basis,” he added. “We call on the world to intervene urgently to bring in medical and surgical delegations, medical supplies and ambulances.”

Israeli air and ground forces have been continuously raiding multiple areas in northern Gaza for weeks, leaving about 2,300 people dead or missing, according to a spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense.

“The occupation is deliberately displacing citizens from the northern Gaza Strip,” the spokesperson said in a statement Saturday. “Running out of fuel is a major dilemma facing our crews and hindering the crews from arriving.”

-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor

At least 15 dead, more injured in powerful Israeli strikes on central Beirut

Rescue efforts were underway after Israeli airstrikes targeted central Beirut on Saturday morning, killing at least 15 people, Lebanese authorities said.

The powerful strikes occurred at around 4 a.m. local time, destroying an eight-story residential building in the densely populated Basta neighborhood in the heart of Lebanon’s capital. So far, emergency responders have pulled 23 people alive but wounded from the rubble as well as the lifeless bodies of others, according to the Lebanese Civil Defense, which noted that the casualty count was provisional as search and rescue operations were still underway as of 10:30 a.m. local time.

ABC News has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment on the strikes.

It’s the fourth round of Israeli strikes to hit Beirut in less than a week, shaking the city as the Israeli military presses its offensive against the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The escalation comes on the heels of U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein’s trip to the region earlier this week in an attempt to clinch a cease-fire deal to end the more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which has erupted into full-on war in the past two months with Israeli ground troops invading southern Lebanon as warplanes bomb Hezbollah strongholds in both the south and in the capital.

Israeli forces conduct airstrike in southern suburbs of Beirut

Israeli forces conducted a strike in Beirut’s southern suburb Friday evening, causing a bright flash in the dark.

At least 62 people were killed and 111 people were wounded from Israeli attacks in Lebanon Thursday, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said in a post on X.

Israeli forces issued an evacuation order to residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut Friday in a post on X.

At least 3,645 people have been killed and 15,355 people have been wounded since Israel’s increased attacks on Lebanon began in mid-September, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.

-ABC News’ Bruno Nota

38 killed in Gaza Friday, IDF conducts operations in northern and central Gaza

At least 38 people have been killed in Gaza since Friday morning, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said Friday.

Israeli forces said they conducted an operation in Beit Lahia in the northern area of the Gaza Strip during the night between Wednesday and Thursday. During the operation, two Hamas company commanders were killed, the IDF said in a statement about the operation.

Israeli forces also killed the commander of the Islamic Jihad’s Rocket Unit in central Gaza with an Israeli airstrike Wednesday, the IDF said in a separate statement.

The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza said Israeli forces targeted the hospital with bombings two days in a row Thursday and Friday. One doctor and a number of patients were injured from the attacks, the director said.

-ABC News’ Sami Zyara, Diaa Ostaz and Jordana Miller

Hungary prime minister says Netanyahu won’t be arrested in his county

Hungarian Prime Viktor Orban said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would face no risk of arrest if he visited Hungary, after the International Criminal Court issued arrest a warrant for the Israeli official.

Orban branded the arrest warrants a “brazen, cynical and completely unacceptable decision.”

Orban, who is often at odds with his European Union peers, has forged close ties with Netanyahu.

“Today I will invite Israel’s prime minister, Mr. Netanyahu, for a visit to Hungary and in that invite I will guarantee him that if he comes, the ICC ruling will have no effect in Hungary, and we will not follow its contents,” Orban said in a statement Friday.

Multiple countries and blocs, including Ireland, Norway, the EU, the Netherlands and Canada, said they would carry out the ICC arrest warrant commitment issued on Thursday.

The U.S., which is not a party to the court, said the ICC does not have jurisdiction to issue the warrants. Netanyahu called the arrest warrants “absurd” and “anti-semitic.”

More health workers, patients killed proportionally in Lebanon than anywhere else

The World Health Organization said Friday that more health workers and patients have been killed proportionally in Lebanon than anywhere else in the world over the past year, including Gaza and Ukraine.

Data shows that 47% of attacks on health care have proven fatal to at least one health worker or patient in Lebanon since Oct. 7, 2023. This is a higher percentage than in any active conflict today across the globe, with nearly half of all attacks on health causing the death of a health worker, according to the WHO.

White House rejects ICC warrants for Israeli officials

The White House said it rejects the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, saying the U.S. is working with its partners on steps that could include possible sanctions against the court.

“Let me just say more broadly that we fundamentally reject the court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for senior Israel officials. We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutors’ rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday.

“The United States has been clear that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over this matter,” Jean-Pierre said.

-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow

At least 66 killed in massive strike in northern Gaza

At least 66 people were killed and dozens more suffered serious injuries in a strike on Northern Gaza near the Kamal Adwan Hospital. Rescue operations are continuing with some people still missing.

Kamal Adwan Hospital has been under siege for nearly a month.

Israeli carries out 4 rounds of airstrikes on Beirut

Israeli forces carried out four rounds of airstrikes on Beirut and continued striking areas in southern Lebanon on Thursday, according to IDF statements and IDF evacuation orders posted on X.

At least 47 people were killed and 22 others were wounded in various Israeli attacks on the region Thursday, Lebanese governate Baalbeck-Hermel said in a post on X.

Several UNESCO World Heritage sites are located in Baalbeck, including ancient Roman temples.

At least 25 people were killed and 121 people were wounded from Israeli attacks across Lebanon on Wednesday, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said in a post on X.

Israeli forces issued three separate evacuation orders for areas of southern Beirut on Thursday, according to posts on X. The IDF also issued evacuation orders for several Lebanese villages and Tyre in southern Lebanon, according to posts on X.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

US envoy had ‘constructive’ meeting with Israeli minister for strategic affairs

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein met with Israeli officials on Thursday about a potential cease-fire agreement between Israel and Lebanon. He arrived in Israel after meeting with Lebanese officials earlier this week in Beirut.

Hochstein had a constructive meeting with Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer Wednesday night, an Israeli official told ABC News.

Hochstein is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz Thursday.

Netanyahu’s office ‘rejects with disgust’ ICC arrest warrant

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions and charges against it,” after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of the prime minister and his former defense minister.

The arrest warrant issued Thursday morning alleges that Netanyahu and the minister, Yoav Gallant, were party to alleged war crimes in Gaza.

The statement issued by Netanyahu said the court, which is based in The Hague, was “a biased and discriminatory political body.”

“There is nothing more just than the war that Israel has been waging in Gaza since the October 7, 2023, coup, after the terrorist organization Hamas launched a murderous attack against us, committing the greatest massacre committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” his office said.

The statement pointed a finger at Karim Khan, accusing the ICC’s chief prosecutor of bias and describing him as “corrupt.”

– ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Kevin Shalvey

ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.

The Hague issued the warrants for alleged war crimes in Gaza, according to a statement. The ICC said that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant committed war crimes, and added that Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction is not required

Dozens killed in massive strike in northern Gaza
Dozens of people have been killed and many more are feared dead after a large strike hit a residential neighborhood in northern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.

The strike occurred in a neighborhood near Kamal Adwan Hospital, officials said.

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Kevin Shalvey

Israel wants freedom to strike Hezbollah under any cease-fire deal, foreign minister says

Israel wants to “keep the freedom to act if there will be violations” by Hezbollah in any cease-fire agreement reached between Lebanon and Israel, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in comments Wednesday.

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein is in Beirut meeting with officials about the proposed cease-fire deal and is expected to travel to Israel Wednesday night to continue discussions.

Israeli forces kill Hezbollah commanders, strike over 100 targets in Lebanon, IDF says

The Israel Defense Forces said it killed Hezbollah’s anti-tank missile and operations commanders “in the coastal area” on Sunday.

Israeli forces “struck over 100 terror targets in Lebanon” in the last day, the Israeli Defense Forces said Wednesday. Israel said it is continuing “limited, localized, targeted raids in southern Lebanon.”

On Tuesday, 14 people were killed, and 87 people were wounded in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

US vetos Gaza UN Security Council cease-fire resolution

The U.S. vetoed another United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza because it did not include a hostage release.

This is the 12th time the Security Council voted on a draft resolution since the war in Gaza started 13 months ago.

At least 43,972 people have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.

In June, the Security Council passed a U.S.-drafted cease-fire deal that President Joe Biden approved. At the time, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said “we voted for peace.”

US sanctions Hamas leaders as officials say group’s political wing has rebased in Turkey

The U.S. is rolling out sanctions against six senior Hamas leaders accused of facilitating the transfer of weapons and funds into Gaza to support the group’s terror activities as well as smuggling in construction materials to build the underground tunnels critical to its operations, according to the Biden administration.

“There is no distinction between Hamas’ so-called military wing and its political leadership,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement announcing the tranche of sanctions.

Three of the targeted individuals are based in Turkey, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Despite the denials coming from Hamas and the Turkish government, two U.S. officials say that the bulk of Hamas’ political wing has now relocated to Turkey following the group’s ouster from Qatar.

The U.S. has turned a blind eye to Hamas’ relationship with NATO ally Turkey for years, which allows the U.S. designated terror group to openly recruit, fundraise and interface with its government officials.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he hopes to strengthen ties with the U.S. when President-elect Donald Trump takes office. However, Trump’s cabinet is expected to feature many staunchly pro-Israel voices who will object to Turkey’s tolerance of Hamas — potentially complicating Erdogan’s plans.

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston

Hospitals in northern Gaza running out of medical supplies, requesting patient transfers as attacks continue

Kamal Adwan Hospital is running out of medical supplies, and more people with cases of malnutrition are arriving at the hospital because of the lack of food and water allowed into northern Gaza, the hospital director said in comments Tuesday.

“⁠There are a number of cases of malnutrition that have begun to arrive, including children and the elderly,” Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan hospital said.

“The health system is working under extremely harsh conditions to the point that we have started losing numbers of infected people due to the lack of medical supplies,” Abu Safia added.

At least 50 people were killed, and 110 people were injured in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Palestine Red Crescent Society transferred 15 patients from Al Awda Hospital in north Gaza to Al Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City Sunday, the ICRC said in a statement Tuesday. The patient transfers were requested by the hospitals, the ICRC said.

The organizations also delivered medical supplies to three hospitals in Gaza City Monday, the ICRC said in a post on X.

“The delivery and medical transfer came in the wake of another large-scale attack in the Beit Lahia area of ​​the Northern Governorate, in which dozens of people were killed and many more injured,” the ICRC said.

-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz and Sami Zyara

UN peacekeepers, buildings targeted in 3 incidents in south Lebanon

United Nations peacekeeping forces in Lebanon and facilities were targeted in “three separate incidents in south Lebanon,” Tuesday, UNIFIL said in a post on X.

Four Ghanian peacekeepers on duty “sustained injures as a rocket … hit their base,” UNIFIL said in a post on X. Three of the injured peacekeepers were transferred to a hospital in Tyre, Lebanon for treatment, UNIFIL said.

In a different attack, a UNIFIL building was “impacted by five rockets,” UNIFIL said.

“In another incident, UNIFIL Sector West Headquarters in Shama was impacted by five rockets, which struck the maintenance workshop,” UNIFIL said. “Although it caused heavy damage to the workshop, no peacekeeper was injured. This was the second time this UNIFIL base was impacted by the ongoing clashes in the area in less than a week.”

In a third incident, a UNIFIL patrol was “passing through” a village, and “an armed person directly fired at the patrol,” UNIFIL said. No injuries were reported from this incident.

UNIFIL is investigating the incidents and has informed the Lebanese armed forces about them, UNIFIL said.

“UNIFIL once again reminds all actors involved in the ongoing hostilities to respect the inviolability of United Nations peacekeepers and premises,” UNIFIL said in a post on X.

5 killed, 31 injured after Israeli strike on central Beirut

At least five people were killed, 31 were injured and at least two people remain missing after an Israeli airstrike in the Zuqaq al-Blat neighborhood of central Beirut, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.

The Israeli Defense Forces did not issue a warning before conducting this airstrike on central Beirut Monday.

At least 28 people were killed and 107 were wounded across Lebanon from Israeli attacks Monday, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.

Overall, 3,544 people have been killed, and 15,036 have been injured since Israel’s increased attacks on the country began in mid-September, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said in a post on X.

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein met with Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut Tuesday, according to Lebanese state media.

After meeting with Hochstein for two hours, Berri said the cease-fire negotiations were “good in principle,” but warned Israel could change its minds about the proposal as it has done before.

Berri said the U.S. is managing guarantees about Israel’s position on the proposal, according to Lebanese state media.

-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor

Israel kills 5 in central Beirut strike, officials say

At least five people were killed and 31 wounded by an Israeli strike in the Zuqaq al-Blat neighborhood of central Beirut on Monday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health. Two other people are missing.

The Israel Defense Forces did not appear to issue any public evacuation order prior to the strike. ABC News has reached out to the IDF for comment on the target of the strike.

The attack made Monday the second consecutive day of Israeli strikes within central Beirut. To date, the vast majority of airstrikes on the capital have hit the southern Dahiya suburb, known as a Hezbollah stronghold.

Israel has intensified its bombardment in and around Beirut over the past week, while Hezbollah has continued missile fire into Israel. Fresh discussions are ongoing as to a potential cease-fire to end the fighting.

-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor, Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

Israel demands ‘immediate’ action against pro-Iran militias in Iraq

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Tuesday published a letter sent to the president of the United Nations Security Council in which he called for “immediate action regarding the activity of the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, whose territory is being used to attack Israel.”

“The Iraqi government is responsible for everything that happens on its territory,” Saar wrote, noting Israel’s right to self-defense.

“I called on the Security Council to act urgently to make sure that the Iraqi government meets its obligations under international law and to make these attacks on Israel stop,” Saar said.

Iran-backed Iraqi militias have been launching drone attacks into Israel from the east in support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, with whom Israeli forces have been engaged since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Nearly 100 aid trucks looted: UNRWA

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said Monday their aid convoy was “violently” looted over the weekend, one of the largest such cases of looting since the war began.

The 109-truck U.N. convoy was carrying food supplies to people in Gaza when it was looted on Saturday, UNRWA said.

“The vast majority of the trucks, 97 in total, were lost and drivers were forced at gunpoint to unload aid,” UNRWA said in a statement.

UNRWA said the Israel Defense Forces made the convoy leave a day earlier than planned.

The IDF has not yet commented on this incident.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Israel’s October attack damaged some of Iran’s nuclear program: Netanyahu

Israel damaged some of Iran’s nuclear program in its October attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday.

Iran’s air defense, ballistic missile production and ability to produce “solid fuel” were impacted, Netanyahu said during remarks to Israel’s parliament.

“There is a certain element of their nuclear program that was damaged in this attack,” he said, though added that its ability to operate “has not yet been thwarted.”

Netanyahu said Iran’s nuclear threat must be dealt with.

“If we don’t deal with the nuclear program, then all the other problems will come back and resurface, both in the axis, and in armaments, and in other things,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu also said Israel is “currently talking about possible negotiations for a settlement” to be reached between Israel and Lebanon, but added, “Even if there is a cease-fire, no one says it will last.”

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

US envoy en route to Lebanon for cease-fire talks, official says

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein is on his way to Lebanon for talks on a cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel, an official familiar with the plans confirmed to ABC News.

Hochstein left from the U.S. for Lebanon on Monday, the official said.

Israel is getting close to being ready to agree to the U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal, which is very similar to the proposal that was floated by the U.S. at the end of September. The U.S. needs to see how Hezbollah feels about this proposal, which is what Hochstein aims to do during his trip, according to the official.

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston

4 killed in Israeli attack in Beirut: Health ministry

Four people were killed and at least 18 injured in an Israeli attack in Beirut, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Monday.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

1 killed, 10 injured in strike on residential building in Israel: Officials

A woman was killed and 10 people injured after a Hezbollah rocket directly hit a residential building in northern Israel, Israeli emergency services said Monday.

Dozens of projectiles were fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon into Israel Monday afternoon, the Israel Defense Forces said. Not all of the projectiles were intercepted, the IDF said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

US sanctions entity, 3 individuals tied to West Bank violence

The State Department said Monday it is sanctioning three individuals and one entity for allegedly undermining “peace, security, and stability in the West Bank.”

The department accuses the entity, Eyal Hari Yehuda Company LTD, of having supported Yinon Levi, an Israeli settler who was sanctioned by the Biden administration over accusations of attacks and harassment against Palestinians earlier this year.

The three impacted individuals are Itamar Levi, Shabtai Koshlevsky and Zohar Sabah, the State Department said. Itamar Levi, the brother of Yinon Levi, is being designated for his role as the owner of the aforementioned company, while Koshlevsky is accused of holding a leadership position at Hashomer Yosh, an Israeli nongovernmental organization that provides material support to U.S.-designated outposts in the West Bank and was sanctioned in August of this year.

Sabah is accused of engaging “in threats and acts of violence against Palestinians, including in their homes” as well as “a pattern of destructiveness targeting the livestock, grazing lands and homes of local Palestinians to disrupt their means of support,” the State Department said in a press release.

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston

Hamas denies that leaders relocated from Qatar to Turkey

Hamas denied reports in Israeli media that its leadership has relocated from Qatar to Turkey amid a breakdown in Doha-supported cease-fire talks earlier this month.

Hamas dismissed the news reports as “rumors” spread by Israeli authorities in a statement posted to its official website.

Qatar told Israel and Hamas earlier this month it could not continue to mediate cease-fire and hostage release talks “as long as there is a refusal to negotiate a deal in good faith.”

Doha is under U.S. pressure to expel Hamas leaders. A senior administration official told ABC News earlier this month that the group’s “continued presence in Doha is no longer viable or acceptable.”

-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz, Shannon K. Kingston and Somayeh Malekian

Gaza death toll nears 44,000, health officials say

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that 43,922 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7, 2023, with nearly 104,000 more injured.

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 96 people and wounded at least 60 in Gaza through the weekend, officials said. The dead included 72 people in north Gaza and more than 20 from other areas of the strip.

Most of those killed were displaced women and children sheltering in residential buildings in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, officials said.

Beit Lahiya is at the heart of the Israel Defense Forces’ recent northern offensive, which has been accompanied with sweeping evacuation orders and spiking civilian casualties.

-ABC News’ Samy Zyara and Joe Simonetti

Hezbollah positive on US cease-fire proposal, reports say

Hezbollah responded positively to the U.S.-proposed cease-fire deal between Israel and Lebanon, Israeli and Lebanese media reported Monday.

U.S. special envoy for Lebanon Amos Hochstein is expected to arrive in Beirut on Tuesday to discuss the proposal before heading to Israel to speak with leaders there.

The proposal is reportedly based on the United Nations Security Council’s resolution 1701 that sought to end the last major cross-border conflict in 2006.

That deal ordered Hezbollah to withdraw all military units and weapons north of the Litani River, which is around 18 miles north of the Israeli border. The resolution also prohibited Israeli ground and air forces from crossing into Lebanese territory.

Israeli leaders have demanded open-ended freedom to act against threats in Lebanon, a stipulation reportedly opposed by Hezbollah and Lebanese leaders.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

Khamenei meets with ambassador injured in pager attacks

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with the country’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, as the latter continues his recovery from injuries sustained during Israel’s detonation of Hezbollah communication devices in September.

Khamenei’s official X account posted a short video of their interaction on Monday, in which Amani told the Iranian leader he lost around half of the vision in his right eye in the attack.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Hezbollah media relations chief killed in Israeli strike

Mohammed Afif, Hezbollah’s media relations chief, was killed in an Israeli strike Sunday, Hezbollah confirmed.

The strike on central Beirut partially collapsed a building and injured three others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

The Israel Defense Forces also confirmed Afif’s death. In a statement, the IDF said he joined Hezbollah in the 1980s and went on to become a “central and veteran figure in the organization who greatly influenced Hezbollah’s military activity.”

Citing one particular incident, the statement claimed that he had played a key role in the drone attack on Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea in October.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Pope calls for investigation to determine whether Israeli attacks on Gaza are ‘genocide’

Pope Francis, in an upcoming book to be released ahead of his 2025 jubilee, called for an investigation to determine whether Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide, according to the Vatican.

“In the Middle East, where the open doors of nations like Jordan or Lebanon continue to be a salvation for millions of people fleeing conflicts in the region: I am thinking above all of those who leave Gaza in the midst of the famine that has struck their Palestinian brothers and sisters given the difficulty of getting food and aid into their territory,” he wrote in a passage released by the Vatican.

“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” the pope wrote. “It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.”

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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

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

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

UN plastic treaty talks fail to reach an agreement

The world uses a lot of plastic — 460 million metric tons of it are produced each year, according to the United Nations. And the International Union for Conservation of Nature says an estimated 20 million metric tons of plastic end up as trash in our environment.

So when more than 3,300 delegates from 170 countries and 440 organizations met in South Korea at the end of November to hash out an agreement to reduce the production of plastics, environmentalists hoped that something might finally get done to address the problem. It didn’t.

The fifth U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee failed to reach a binding agreement on plastic production and waste for the fifth time since the group began meeting in November 2022.

Nearly 100 countries came to an agreement that would limit plastic production and establish an accountability method ensuring all parties would meet reduction goalposts. Some oil-rich nations pushed back, however, wanting to focus on plastic pollution instead. U.N. rules require a consensus among all delegates for any plan to be binding. That didn’t happen.

“It is clear there is persisting divergence in critical areas and more time is needed for these areas to be addressed,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of the U.N. Environment Program.

Most plastic is not recycled. Instead, it ends up in landfills and pollutes marine bodies like oceans and rivers worldwide. According to an OECD report from 2022, only 9% of plastics worldwide get recycled, and since 1970, 139 metric tons have ended up in our oceans, rivers and lakes. A 2021 study revealed that the plastics industry’s contribution to climate change will exceed coal’s by 2030.

While countries failed to reach an agreement on capping the production of plastic, they did agree to continue talks in 2025.

“As we look ahead to 2025, and navigate what an INC 5.2 could look like, countries must come to the table ready to fight for our future,” said Erin Simon, vice president and head of plastic waste and business at World Wildlife Fund. “The current draft has some of the ingredients for success, but we can’t back down on delivering a legally binding text that finally puts us on a course to eliminate plastic pollution.”

According to the Center of International Environmental Law, fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists made up the largest delegation of all groups at the talks.

“Let us always remember that our purpose is noble and urgent: to reverse and remedy the severe effects of plastic pollution on ecosystems and human health,” said Luis Vayas Valdivieso, chair of the U.N.’s international plastics negotiating committee.

-ABC News’ Charlotte Slovin

Study identifies heat wave hot spots across the globe

It’s all but certain that 2024 will be Earth’s warmest year on record, surpassing 2023 as the previous record holder. While this troubling milestone measures global average temperatures, a new study from the Columbia Climate School found that unexplained extreme heat wave hot spots are popping up in specific areas worldwide.

Calling it “a striking new phenomenon,” the study’s authors write, “Distinct regions are seeing repeated heat waves that are so extreme, they fall far beyond what any model of global warming can predict or explain.”

According to the study, “The large and unexpected margins by which recent regional-scale extremes have broken earlier records have raised questions about the degree to which climate models can provide adequate estimates of relations between global mean temperature changes and regional climate risks.”

The study identified these hot spots on every continent except Antarctica. Researchers say the heat waves have mostly been a recent phenomenon, occurring primarily over the last five years, although some date back to the early 2000s and before.

Central China, Japan, Korea, the Arabian peninsula, eastern Australia and certain parts of Africa were the hardest-hit areas. The study, however, found that parts of Texas and New Mexico were also impacted, just not as much as the other regions.

“This is about extreme trends that are the outcome of physical interactions we might not completely understand,” said lead author Kai Kornhuber, an adjunct scientist at the Columbia Climate School’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, in a statement. “These regions become temporary hothouses.”

The researchers say it’s unclear what is causing these hot spots. While one study has pointed to wobbles in the jet stream as a possible culprit, the authors say that the hypothesis doesn’t explain all the extremes.

Regardless of the cause, heat is the deadliest weather-related hazard in the United States. The Journal of the American Medical Association found that heat deaths in the U.S. have nearly doubled since 1999 and account for a 63% increase in health-related death rates between 1999-2023.

“Due to their unprecedented nature, these heat waves are usually linked to very severe health impacts, and can be disastrous for agriculture, vegetation and infrastructure,” said Kornhuber. “We’re not built for them, and we might not be able to adapt fast enough.”

-ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser

How to have a more sustainable Thanksgiving

The amount of food consumed every year at Thanksgiving is actually associated with a large carbon footprint, according to experts.

Although Thanksgiving may be the holiday best known for indulging, there are ways to enjoy your favorite meal of the year while keeping the environment in mind.

“The Thanksgiving meal is more than just the food,” Lauri Wright, director of nutrition programs at the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health, told ABC News. “There’s so much meaning [and] emotions associated with it.”

The average Thanksgiving dinner has a carbon footprint of about 103 pounds of carbon dioxide, according to the Climate Trade, an environmental solutions platform.

Here are some tips to have a more sustainable Thanksgiving.

Maine joins list of states suing fossil fuel companies over climate change

Maine has become the latest in a growing number of states to sue the fossil fuel industry over the impacts of global warming.

Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey accused major fossil fuel companies of deceiving Mainers for decades about the impact their product has on human-amplified climate change.

“For over half a century, these companies chose to fuel profits instead of following their science to prevent what are now likely irreversible, catastrophic climate effects,” Frey said in a statement.

The lawsuit, filed in state court on Tuesday, alleges the defendants knew as early as the 1960s that an increasing use of fossil fuels could potentially bring devastating consequences to Maine. The state argues the companies not only failed to warn residents about the consequences, but knowingly concealed their knowledge about the long-term negative impacts that Maine’s people, environment and economy could face.

The filing states the companies focused on creating public doubt by launching public relations campaigns targeting the science of climate change and the impacts of burning fossil fuels. It is seeking financial compensation for both past and future climate-related damages and for the companies to cease their ongoing deception in Maine.

“They burdened the state and our citizens with the consequences of their greed and deception,” Frey said.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills applauded the attorney general’s actions, saying in a statement that “for decades, big oil companies have made record profits, taking billions out of the pockets of Maine people while deliberately deceiving them about the harmful impacts of fossil fuels — impacts that Maine people see and feel every day.”

Maine joins a growing list of more than 20 states — including California, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Vermont — that have brought similar types of lawsuits to date. Earlier this year, Vermont’s Climate Superfund Act became law, seeking financial accountability for climate change-related damages brought by fossil fuel companies. However, due to stipulations in the law and likely lawsuits, it’s expected to be several years before any potential first charge to fossil fuel companies would be attempted.

-ABC News meteorologist Dan Peck

Soaking rain eases drought in parts of U.S. but dryness still a problem for much of the country

Widespread drought conditions are still a significant concern across the country, with parts of the Northeast, northern Plains and Southwest currently experiencing some of the worst impacts, according to a U.S. Drought Monitor update released Wednesday.

Overall, more than 40% of the contiguous United States remains in a drought. This is an improvement, however, from the beginning of the month when more than half of the lower 48 faced drought conditions. Recent heavy rain along the West Coast and parts of the Midwest brought significant drought relief to portions of Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin and Illinois.

As a result, drought coverage decreased from 45.48% to 41.45% versus last week. While some regions experienced a notable improvement, the recent soaking in the Northeast was only enough to pause the fire danger and trend of intensifying drought conditions — for now.

The current drought situation in the Northeast took months to evolve, and it will take several more rounds of significant rainfall over the span of weeks or even months to completely eliminate the widespread drought in the region.

After a few rounds of beneficial rain, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center says a large part of the country will likely experience below-average precipitation in early December, particularly in the West, Plains and East Coast.

Much of the western Gulf Coast and northern Plains could see above-average rainfall during this period. Drought relief across the country will, at the very least, take a pause through the beginning of next month.

-ABC News meteorologist Dan Peck

Colorado River at a tipping point over drought threat, new study finds

A major water supplier in the West is once again in the spotlight for its unpredictable future.

The Colorado River, the water source for 40 million people across the west, is in a worse state than previously believed, according to a recent study published in Earth’s Future.

Drought and dry conditions, compounded by climate change, put the Colorado River in greater jeopardy, the study’s authors said.

“It doesn’t take a lot of climate change to put the system into a very vulnerable future,” said Dr. Patrick Reed, a civil and environmental engineer at Cornell University and co-author of the study.

Colorado’s West Slope River Basins “are essential water sources for the Colorado River and play a vital role in supporting the state of Colorado’s local economy and natural environment,” according to the study. The West Slope River Basins contribute nearly 70% of the streamflow deliveries to Lake Powell, the nation’s second-largest reservoir.

But drought has significantly depleted Lake Powell’s water supply, leading to the first-ever water shortage in the Upper Colorado River Basin in 2021 and more dependence on the West Slope Basin supply.

“The Colorado River is extremely stressed and overallocated,” Reed said.

The Colorado River supplies water to seven states and Northern Mexico. Agreements about how the water is divided are up for renegotiation in 2026.

-ABC News’ Charlotte Slovin

US fuel economy hits record high as CO2 emissions hit record low, EPA says

U.S. fuel economy reached a record high in 2023 at the same time that greenhouse emissions reached a record low, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s annual Automotive Trends Report released Monday.

The report also states that model year 2023 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles have reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 11%.

“This report provides a critical data-driven affirmation that strong, technology-neutral standards can underpin environmental progress while saving drivers money at the pump,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.

New vehicle CO2 emissions are now at a record low of 319 grams per mile, which reduces the impact on climate change. Battery and plug-in hybrid vehicles, combined with fuel cell vehicles, are expected to reach 14.8% of overall vehicle production in 2024, a trend that is expected to grow across the industry, according to the report.

Passenger cars and light trucks accounted for 17% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, underscoring the need for further reductions across the industry, experts said.

— ABC News Climate Unit’s Dan Manzo

In surprise turn, world leaders reach $300B climate cash deal at COP29

In a surprising turn of events, world leaders at the United Nations climate conference in Azerbaijan announced they have reached agreement on a new deal that calls for wealthy countries to contribute $300 billion annually to help developing nations deal with the effects of climate change.

After fears no deal would be reached as talks broke down, the announcement came around 3 a.m. local time and was met with a standing ovation and a wave of relief.

The deal in question was the “climate cash” agreement, under which developed nations will contribute an annual target of $300 billion to help climate-vulnerable, developing countries deal with the consequences of climate change.

President Joe Biden on Saturday praised the agreement, while touting his administration’s work on climate change, saying “nobody” can undo America’s “clean energy revolution,” in an apparent swipe at President-elect Donald Trump.

“Today at COP29, thanks in part to the tireless efforts of a robust US delegation, the world reached agreement on another historic outcome,” Biden said in a statement, going on to say the “ambitious” deal “will help mobilize the level of finance – from all sources – that developing countries need to accelerate the transition to clean, sustainable economies, while opening up new markets for American-made electric vehicles, batteries, and other products.”

Biden, who is leaving office in less than two months, said states and cities will continue to tackle climate change — notably not mentioning the federal government, while adding that no one can overturn progress on the issue, repeating something he said last week while visiting the Amazon.

In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he had “hoped for a more ambitious outcome” on both financing and climate change mitigation efforts from the conference.

“But this agreement provides a base on which to build,” he said in the statement. “It must be honoured in full and on time. Commitments must quickly become cash. All countries must come together to ensure the top-end of this new goal is met.”

Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan’s minister of ecology and natural resources who served as the COP29 president, said in a statement the $300 billion goal “represents the best possible deal we could reach.”

The U.N. climate conference, known as COP29, was anticipated to be the “finance COP” — the site of negotiations to determine how much fighting the climate crisis would cost and who would pay for it.

In 2015, under the Paris Agreement, participating countries agreed to set climate financing goals in 2024 that would account for the needs of developing countries.

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule, Fritz Farrow and Jack Moore

UN climate conference delegates struggle to reach agreement on financing the climate fight

The U.N. climate conference in Azerbaijan was supposed to be the “finance COP.” World leaders would determine how much fighting the climate crisis would cost and who would pay for it.

However, as COP29 winds down, many developing countries and nongovernmental organizations are dissatisfied with the current language in the proposed climate finance agreement.

In 2015, under the Paris Agreement, participating countries agreed to set a New Collective Quantified Goal, or NCQG, on climate finance in 2024 that would account for the needs of developing countries. Basically, how much money would each nation spend to support developing countries that are being disproportionately impacted by climate?

While several versions of the new NCQG have been proposed, a final agreement is still out of reach. The latest text calls for a $1.3 trillion climate finance investment annually until 2035 but only requires a $250 billion investment from developed countries.

“With a paltry climate finance offer of $250 billion annually, and a deadline to deliver as late as 2035, richer nations, including EU countries, and the United States are dangerously close to betraying the Paris Agreement,” Dr. Rachel Cleetus, policy director for the Climate and Energy Program, Union of Concerned Scientists, said. “This is nowhere near the robust and desperately needed funding lower income nations deserve to combat climate change.”

The latest NCQG language lays out a variety of funding sources that can play a part in reaching global climate finance goals, including multilateral development banks, or MDBs, that can distribute funds through grants and concessional loans for developing countries and adaptation projects.

However, the text does not make clear whether funds from MDBs are part of reaching the $250 billion goal or supplement that goal. It also includes provisions allowing for voluntary contributions from developing countries.

“The central demand coming into COP29 was for a strong, science-aligned climate finance commitment, which this appalling text utterly fails to provide,” Cleetus said. “Wealthier nations seem content to shamefully renege on their responsibility and cave in to fossil fuel interests while unjustly foisting the costs of deadly climate extremes on countries that have contributed the least to the climate crisis.”

World Resources Institute Global Climate, Economics and Finance Program Director Melanie Robinson agrees, releasing a statement Friday saying, “Developed countries should aim higher than the $250 billion they’ve put on the table.”

“We should leave Baku with a goal that at least gets to $300 billion a year by 2035,” Robinson said.

Tasneem Essop, executive director of Climate Action Network International, called the latest draft text “an insult to the people in the Global south.”

“This latest draft text on the New Collective Quantified Goal is not just a joke — it’s an insult to the people in the Global South living on the front line of the climate crisis,” Essop said. “In the meantime, millions of people’s lives are at risk. We are angry, but we will keep fighting until the end.”

-ABC News Climate Unit’s Kelly Livingston and ABC News’ Charlotte Slovin

October was 2nd warmest month on record, NOAA announces

If you thought October was unusually warm, it isn’t your imagination. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports that last month was the second warmest October since the U.S. began keeping records in 1895. It was also the second driest, with less than an inch of rainfall. It should be more than double that.

October was also the second warmest on record globally when looking at land and ocean temperatures. And it was the warmest ever for land temperature alone.

According to the NOAA, there is now a 99% chance that 2024 will be the warmest year on record globally.

This new data continues 2024’s streak of having some of the driest and warmest months on record for states across the U.S.

The heat and high levels of dryness across the country have left 87% of the United States in dry or drought conditions. Widespread drought increases the risk of wildfires, as soil with no moisture burns more easily.

Mark Svoboda, director of the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, calls the combination of heat and dryness a “double whammy.”

New Jersey and Delaware had their driest Octobers on record, and much of the Atlantic Seaboard experienced Octobers with precipitation levels much below average. The region has seen hundreds of wildfires due to these conditions, with New Jersey experiencing a 1,300% increase in fire calls.

In October, much of the United States experienced drought, with dryness expanding and increasing in the Northeast, Great Lakes, Northern Rockies and Plains, Southeast, Deep South, Southwest and the Hawaiian islands.

NOAA says that by February 2025, drought conditions should improve in the Pacific Northwest, Ohio Valley and Western Great Lakes, but are likely to expand and intensify in the Southwest and Atlantic Seaboard.

Despite the destruction they cause, tropical storms can “make or break” drought for the winter, said Svoboda. Without intense rains earlier in the year, there is little or no moisture in the ground come winter.

The dryness impacts wheat crops and livestock forage, potentially increasing food prices. Dryer soil makes wheat crops more vulnerable in colder temperatures because that soil can freeze and kill the plant, decreasing the harvest for the following year.

NOAA also reported that in 2024, 24 different billion-dollar weather and climate disasters impacted the United States through the end of October. This number is only second to last year, with a record 27 individual billion-dollar weather and climate disasters by October.

-ABC News’ Charlotte Slovin

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