Israel-Gaza-Lebanon live updates: IDF confirms death of US-Israeli hostage

(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.

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.”

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule

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(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces conducted what it called “precise strikes on military targets” in Iran on Friday in response to the Iranian missile strikes earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes and ground fighting continued in Gaza — particularly in the north of the strip — and in Lebanon, with renewed Israeli attacks on Beirut.

WHO evacuates more patients from Kamal Adwan

The World Health Organization has continued to evacuate patients from the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, as the hospital continues to receive “a constant stream of trauma patients due to ongoing hostilities in the area,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general, Wednesday.

There are now only two surgeons left at the hospital. The WHO has transferred 23 critical patients to Al-Shifa Hospital and 16 patients from Al-Shifa to Nasser Medical Complex in a multiday mission to north Gaza in the past two days.

The Kamal Adwan Hospital building and equipment sustained damage during the most recent siege and its four ambulances were destroyed.

“We have provided medical supplies, food and water for patients at Kamal Adwan Hospital — but much more is needed. Additionally, this week we have also provided 40,000 liters of fuel and medical supplies for six hospitals in Gaza City,” the director-general said.

Israel issues evacuation warning for entire city of Baalbek, in eastern Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces issued an evacuation warning for residents in the entire eastern Lebanese city of Baalbeck and the surrounding areas and key routes into the Bekaa Valley. This includes the ancient Roman temple complex, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The deliberate targeting of a World Heritage Site is a war crime under international law.

Residents have been told to evacuate their homes “immediately” and move outside the city and villages, according to the evacuation warning.

There are nearly 80,000 residents in the city, adding to the hundreds of thousands of people in Lebanon who are already displaced.

Israeli official explains deadly strike in north Gaza

An airstrike on a residential building that killed at least 110 people in Beit Lahia in north Gaza on Tuesday — per figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health — was targeting a person acting suspiciously on its roof, an Israeli military official told ABC News.

The official said they did not know there were so many people in the building, as everyone in the area had already been told to leave.

The official added they were skeptical of the death toll provided by the Gaza Ministry of Health, a sentiment expressed by the Israel Defense Forces in a public statement regarding the incident.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Tuesday described the strike as a “horrifying incident with a horrifying result.”

Emergency responders said the airstrike hit a five-story building housing displaced people, with at least 25 children among the dead. Many more people are still missing, officials said.

-ABC News’ Britt Clennett

UNRWA not ‘darlings of Hamas,’ official says after Israel ban

Juliette Touma, UNRWA’s chief spokesperson, told ABC News the agency is “impossible to replace, especially in a place like Gaza,” following the Israeli parliament’s decision to ban the organization from operating in Israel.

UNRWA has warned that the move could severely curtail the aid agency’s ability to get desperately needed aid into Gaza. Israeli allies abroad — including in the U.S. — have also warned that the Israeli parliament’s move could exacerbate humanitarian concerns across Palestinian areas in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

“We have the logisticians, the humanitarian experts who know how to deliver humanitarian assistance and how to drive around and reach people in need. These are humanitarian experts who have been doing this for aid for many, many years,” Touma said.

Israel has alleged that UNRWA — which since 1950 has been responsible for supporting Palestinian refugees displaced during Israel’s independence war — is compromised by Palestinian militant groups.

A source from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office told ABC News, “UNRWA is tainted with terror and perpetuates the Palestinian problem. That is why the ban is due.”

Touma disputed the assertion. “It is not as if we are the darlings of Hamas,” she said. “We have continued to have a very, very bad relationship with Hamas. On a number of occasions throughout the war we have called out publicly against Hamas.”

Touma said Israel is under legal obligation “to provide for the services and welfare for the community it’s occupying.”

Israeli authorities say they will do so without UNRWA help. But Touma said she was skeptical.

“I’m not entirely sure that they know what they’re doing, practically speaking, in terms of the ability to cater and to provide humanitarian assistance to 2 million people in Gaza,” she said.

The ban on UNRWA, Touma added, will not address the need for an agency serving its role.

“UNRWA exists because of the failure of the international community to reach a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” she said.

-ABC News’ Britt Clennett and Guy Davies

UN condemns deadly Israeli strike in Gaza’s Beit Lahia

The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland called the Israeli airstrike in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza “another appalling incident” in a “deadly series of recent mass casualty incidents,” in a statement released by the U.N. Secretary-General spokesperson’s office Tuesday.

“I unequivocally condemn the widespread killing and injury of civilians in Gaza, and the endless displacement of the population in Gaza,” Wennesland said in the statement. “I call on all parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law.”

US says Israel’s implementation of UNRWA ban could have ‘consequences’

The Biden administration is “deeply troubled” by the Israeli parliament’s vote to sharply restrict the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Tuesday.

“It could shutter UNRWA operations in the West Bank, in Gaza, in East Jerusalem. It poses risks for millions of Palestinians who rely on UNRWA for essential services, including health care and primary and secondary education,” Miller said.

“Particularly in Gaza, they play a role right now that, at least today, cannot be filled by anyone else. They are a key partner in delivering food, water and other humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza that wouldn’t have anyone else to get it from if UNRWA were to go away,” Miller said.

Miller said that the U.S. had “made clear our opposition to this bill” to Israeli authorities and said there could be “consequences under U.S. law and U.S. policy for the implementation of this legislation.”

“We are going to engage with the government of Israel in the days ahead about how they plan to implement it. We’re going to watch and see if there are legal challenges to the law, and if there’s any impact by those legal challenges, and then we’ll make our decisions after looking to all those facts,” Miller said.

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston

5 killed, 33 injured in Israeli strike on Lebanon

At least five people were killed and 33 others were wounded after an Israeli strike in the Saida neighborhood of Sidon, Lebanon, on Tuesday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

At least 82 people were killed and 180 were wounded in Israeli attacks across Lebanon Monday, bringing the total number of people killed since Israel’s increased attacks on Lebanon to 2,792, and 12,772 people wounded, the ministry said.

At least 138 airstrikes were recorded in various areas of Lebanon on Tuesday, “mostly concentrated in the south, Nabatiyeh and Baalbek-Hermel,” a situation report from the Lebanese Prime Minister’s Office said Tuesday.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz

Second phase of polio vaccine campaign still unable to continue in North Gaza

The second phase of the polio vaccination campaign has been unable to take place in northern Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip, Director General of Field Hospitals in Gaza Marwan Al-Hams said Tuesday.

“About 110,000 children in northern Gaza need the second dose of the polio vaccine,” Al-Hams said.

-ABC News’ Sami Zyara

Israel will hit Iran harder if it launches more missiles, IDF chief says

Israel will hit Iran harder if it launches more missiles, Israel Defense Forces chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi warned Tuesday.

“If Iran makes the mistake of launching another missile barrage at Israel, we will once again know how to reach Iran, with capabilities that we did not even use this time,” Halevi said, speaking at the Ramon Airbase.

110 killed, dozens missing in Israeli strike in north Gaza, officials say

At least 110 people were killed with more still missing following Israeli strikes on a five-story building housing displaced families in north Gaza on Tuesday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

At least 25 children were among the dead and missing, health officials said.

Local journalists reported that the strike hit a residential building in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza on Tuesday morning.

The only hospital still functioning in the area is Kamal Adwan Hospital, which in recent days has been the focus of Israeli strikes and raids.

Health officials said there are now no doctors capable of performing surgery left at the facility, dozens of medical staff having been detained by the Israel Defense Forces.

The IDF is yet to comment on Tuesday morning’s strike.

-ABC News’ Guy Davies and Joe Simonetti

90% of Gaza residents face food insecurity, WFP warns

The United Nations World Food Program issued a warning that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza could soon become a famine unless action is taken.

“Restrictions on humanitarian aid coming into Gaza are severe. During the month of October, only 5,000 metric tons of food have been delivered into Gaza, amounting to just 20 percent of basic food assistance for the 1.1 million people who depend on WFP’s lifesaving support,” the WFP said in a statement.

“Meanwhile, Gaza’s food systems have largely collapsed due to the destruction of factories, croplands and shops. Markets are nearly empty as most commercial channels are no longer functioning,” WFP said.

The WFP warned that a large group of Gazans could soon be in an “emergency phase” of need, while others would face “catastrophic” levels of food insecurity.

1 killed in Israel as 200 rockets fired from Lebanon

One person was killed by a rocket in the northern Israeli town of Maalot on Tuesday, Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services said.

The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday that at least 200 projectiles were fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon into Israel since Monday night.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

60 people killed in Israeli strikes in eastern Lebanon

Israeli warplanes killed at least 60 people and wounded 58 others in successive airstrikes on the Baalbek-Hermel governorate and the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon on Monday night, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Joe Simonetti

110 killed, dozens missing in Israeli strike in north Gaza, officials say

At least 110 people were killed with more still missing following Israeli strikes on a five-story building housing displaced families in north Gaza on Tuesday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

At least 25 children were among the dead and missing, health officials said.

Local journalists reported that the strike hit a residential building in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza on Tuesday morning.

The only hospital still functioning in the area is Kamal Adwan Hospital, which in recent days has been the focus of Israeli strikes and raids.

Health officials said there are now no doctors capable of performing surgery left at the facility, dozens of medical staff having been detained by the Israel Defense Forces.

The IDF is yet to comment on Tuesday morning’s strike.

-ABC News’ Guy Davies and Joe Simonetti

Hezbollah confirms new leader

Hezbollah said in a Tuesday morning statement posted to social media that Naim Qassem was elected as the group’s new secretary general in a vote by its decision-making Shura Council.

Qassem, 71, was born in the Lebanese capital Beirut. He was previously Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general, serving in the role since 1991. Qassem has long been a prominent spokesperson for the Iran-backed militant organization.

His election followed Israel’s assassination of former Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah in September and his presumed successor Hashem Safieddine in October.

Following Nasrallah’s killing in Beirut, Qassem gave a video address in which he vowed that Hezbollah would continue its fight against Israel despite its significant military setbacks.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz

IDF claims strikes on 150 targets in Lebanon, Gaza in 24 hours

The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday it attacked more than 110 targets in Lebanon and 40 targets in the Gaza Strip in the previous 24 hours.

Hezbollah targets in Lebanon included “launchers aimed at the rear of the state of Israel and weapons depots,” the force wrote in a post to X.

In Gaza, the IDF said it attacked “terrorist cells, military buildings and other terrorist infrastructures.”

UN Secretary-General ‘deeply concerned’ by Israel’s laws banning UN organization

UN Secretary-General António Guterres is “deeply concerned” by the two laws passed by the Israeli parliament Monday concerning the U.N. organization, UNRWA, he said in a statement Monday.

“UNRWA is the principal means by which essential assistance is supplied to Palestine refugees in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. There is no alternative to UNRWA,” the UN Secretary-General said in the statement.

“The implementation of the laws could have devastating consequences for Palestine refugees in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which is unacceptable,” he added.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

Netanyahu addresses humanitarian aid in Gaza after UNRWA ban

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement on X Monday after legislation banning the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), a main provider of aid to Gaza, passed the Israeli parliament.

Israel is “ready to work with our international partners to ensure Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not threaten Israel’s security,” Netanyahu said.

“UNRWA workers involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable. Since avoiding a humanitarian crisis is also essential, sustained humanitarian aid must remain available in Gaza now and in the future,” the Prime Minister added.

The Israeli government has accused multiple UNRWA members of participating in Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attacks and having ties to Hamas. The UN conducted an investigation into the matter after the Israeli government’s initial allegations, and fired multiple UNRWA staffers after the probe, according to the Associated Press.

UNRWA initially fired 12 staffers and put seven on administrative leave without pay over the claims. The UN then fired an additional nine staffers, according to AP.

The laws passed by the Israeli parliament Monday will take effect in 90 days and will likely be challenged by Israel’s High Court.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

Netanyahu says Israel would accept 48-hour cease-fire, hostage exchange proposal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he would accept a 48-hour cease-fire agreement proposed by the president of Egypt for the release of four hostages, but said he has not received the offer yet.

“If such a proposal were made, the Prime Minister would accept it on the spot,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s office said in a statement Monday.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Israeli parliament passes bills banning UN relief agency in Gaza

Israel’s legislative body, the Knesset, passed two bills ending the Israeli government’s ties to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East on Monday, effectively banning the organization from working inside of Israel or with any Israeli authorities.

The first bill bans UNRWA from operating in Israel, including in east Jerusalem. The bill passed with 92 members of the Knesset voting in favor and 10 voting against. This will also force UNRWA to close its bureau in Jerusalem.

The second bill prohibits any Israeli state or government agency from working with or “liaising” with UNRWA or anyone on its behalf. This applies to any Israeli agency working with UNRWA in Gaza and the West Bank. The bill passed with 87 members of the Knesset voting in favor, and nine voting against.

UNRWA is the main U.N. relief agency operating inside of Gaza. This second bill would ban COGAT, the Israeli agency that manages coordination with Gaza and the West Bank, from working with UNRWA to coordinate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Israel has accused many of the members of UNRWA on the ground as having ties to Hamas.

Both bills have a three-month waiting period before they take effect. It is expected that the bills will be challenged Israel’s high court.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini called the two bills “unprecedented” and said they set a “dangerous precedent” in a post on X after they were both passed.

“These bills will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza where people have been going through more than a year of sheer hell,” Lazzarini said. “These bills increase the suffering of the Palestinians & are nothing less than collective punishment.”

-ABC News’ Dana Savir and Jordana Miller

Iran promises ‘bitter and unimaginable consequences’ for Israel retaliation

Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Israel’s strike on Iran will lead to “bitter and unimaginable consequences,” in comments Monday, according to Tasnim News Agency, an Iranian news agency close to the IRGC.

The IRGC chief also said the “illegitimate and unlawful” attack by Israel revealed Israel’s “miscalculation and its frustration in the battlefield in the war against the combatants of the great front of Islamic resistance, especially in Gaza and Lebanon.”

He also offered his condolences to the four Iranian service members killed in the attack.

Esmail Baghaei, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Minister’s Office, said Iran “reserves the right to respond to Israeli aggression in accordance with international law,” IRNA, Iranian state media, reported.

-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian

7 killed, 17 wounded in strikes on Tyre

At least seven people were killed and 17 wounded after Israeli strikes in Tyre, Lebanon, on Monday, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.

The Israeli air force struck “Hezbollah weapons and anti-tank missile storage facilities, terrorist infrastructure and observation posts in the area of Tyre in southern Lebanon,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a release.

The IDF’s spokesman to Arab media issued a warning on X for residents in the Tyre area, “specifically to those in the buildings between the streets: Dr. Ali Al-Khalil, Hiram, Muhammad Al-Zayat, Nabih Berri,” to evacuate.

There have been 179 airstrikes and shellings recorded in various areas of Lebanon over the past 48 hours, mostly in “the South and Nabatiyeh,” the Lebanese Prime Minister’s Office said Monday.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Ghazi Balkiz

Israeli lawmakers look to stop UNRWA operations

Israeli lawmakers are set to discuss two bills intended to end all Israeli cooperation with UNRWA — the United Nations agency that provides assistance to Palestinian refugees.

If the bills pass, UNRWA could be evicted from premises it has held for over 70 years and have its immunities revoked, majorly restricting its ability to deliver health care, education and other resources to Palestinians.

An Oct. 13 letter from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Israeli ministers warned that the proposed UNRWA legislation could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and restrict aid to Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

Israel alleges that UNRWA is compromised by militants, with Israeli intelligence claiming that around 10% of UNRWA’s Gaza workforce — some 1,200 employees — are Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

Israeli operation in Kamal Adwan Hospital concludes, IDF says

The Israel Defense Forces said Monday it completed its raid on the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip where IDF troops have been waging a major campaign.

The IDF claimed that “a number of terrorists — including Hamas terrorists who took part in the Oct. 7 massacre — had barricaded themselves inside the hospital.”

The IDF said its troops arrested around 100 fighters from within the hospital compound, “including terrorists who attempted to escape during the evacuation of civilians.”

The IDF said it found “weapons, terror funds and intelligence documents” in the hospital and in the surrounding area.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Iran will not back off in the face of Israeli aggression, Iranian president says

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday his country would stand firm following Israel’s attack on Iran.

“Definitely the free people will not back off in the face of this criminal, blood-thirsty regime. We have always defended the rights of our people and will continue to do so,” Pezeshkian told cabinet members, according to The Associated Press.

Earlier, Iranian state TV reported that Pezeshkian said Iran would respond to Israel “appropriately.”

Israel attacked military targets in Iran on Saturday in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles Iran fired on Israel earlier this month, marking the first time the IDF has openly attacked Iran.

Pezeshkian also warned tensions will escalate if Israel’s aggressions and crimes continue.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

Iran calls for UN Security Council meeting after Israel’s retaliatory attack

The U.N. Security Council will meet Monday at Iran’s request after Israel’s retaliatory attack against the country, a spokesperson for the Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. confirmed to ABC News.

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Israel’s retaliatory attack a “serious violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a flagrant breach of international law,” in a letter requesting the U.N. Security Council meeting.

The letter from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was sent to the UNSC’s current president and U.N. Secretary General António Guterres.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(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.

Tensions 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.

IDF says 4 drones intercepted in north and east

The Israel Defense Forces said in a post to X on Monday that military aircraft intercepted four drones.

Some of the unmanned aircraft were intercepted after crossing into Israel from Lebanon, while the others were shot down before entering the east of the country from the direction of Syria and Iraq, the IDF said.

IDF claims killing of Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that it killed Hezbollah’s commander of the Baraachit area of southern Lebanon in an airstrike.

The IDF said Abu Ali Rida was responsible for rocket and anti-tank missile attacks on Israeli forces and commanded Hezbollah units in the Nabatieh area.

Israel notifies UN of plans to terminate cooperation with UNRWA

The Israeli government notified the United Nations of its plans to terminate cooperation with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in a letter to the president of the U.N. General Assembly on Sunday.

UNRWA is the main U.N. agency operating in Gaza and is responsible for coordinating and supplying humanitarian aid. It also operates in the West Bank. The Israeli government has accused UNRWA of having ties to Hamas. After the initial accusations, the U.N. conducted an internal investigation, and some UNRWA staff members were fired.

Israel maintains that UNRWA still has ties to Hamas. But aid organizations warn if the agency stops operating in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis there will only worsen.

Israel’s termination of UNRWA in the country follows legislation passed by Israel’s parliament at the end of October severing the country’s ties with the organization.

Israel’s governmental body passed two bills — one banning UNRWA from operating in Israel, including in east Jerusalem, and another prohibiting any Israeli state or government agency from working with UNRWA or anyone on its behalf.

The legislation has a three-month waiting period before it goes into effect. It is set to go into effect at the end of January.

Israeli Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jacob Blitshtein wrote in the letter released Sunday that Israel will “continue to work with international partners, including other United Nations agencies, to ensure the facilitation of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not undermine Israel’s security.”

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

Northern Gaza hospital says Israeli artillery fire injured children

The Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza said Israeli artillery fire hit a floor of the hospital, injuring children who were being treated there.

The hospital also said there was heavy bombing overnight on the block where it is located, threatening the nearby Al Yemen al Saeed Hospital.

The hospital director said in a statement on Sunday the glass of the doors and windows of the facility were shattered by the force of the blasts.

The IDF has not commented on the attacks.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.