Israel kills Hezbollah commander in Beirut strike, Netanyahu vows to continue ‘with full force’

(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) — On the streets of Alfafar on Wednesday, cars and caravans were strewn like toys in the muddy aftermath of the floodwater that had rushed through the Spanish town.

Emergency crews descended on Wednesday on that town and others surrounding Valencia, wading through washed-out neighborhoods, searching homes and looking for missing people following devastating flooding, according to emergency officials.

More than 1,000 troops had been deployed to the province to help with the emergency response, the Military Emergencies Unit, a branch of the Spanish military, said on social media on Wednesday.

The flash floods were caused by heavy rain, which by Wednesday morning had begun “easing off,” according to the country’s meteorological agency

“[B]ut there is still an orange warning in inland Castellón until 2:00 p.m.,” the agency said. “Caution in the northeast of the peninsula and western Andalusia: very heavy showers are possible. Stay informed!”

For some, the flood water arrived quickly and almost without warning.

Kewin Jacek Ryfa Stelmach told ABC News he was out to dinner with his wife on Tuesday in Alfafar when they noticed the water beginning to rise. He said he got up to move his car to a spot near the entrance of the restaurant.

“I saw the water was already entering the restaurant, so my wife and I ran to the car,” he said. “We started to drive not knowing which direction to take.”

As they drove, they became boxed in by other vehicles that had been stopped by the flooding, he said.

“For a moment I thought I was going to get trapped, since there were many cars and no one was moving,” he said. “We managed to cross a tunnel that was still dry. I managed to save myself and save the car. I saw a lot of people who couldn’t move forwards in their cars, others were broken down, and others abandoned them.”

In that town’s shopping district, some people had been trapped in an IKEA store as the surrounding area flooded, according to videos verified by ABC News.

And Ryfa Stelmach’s bother, Oskar, told ABC News his car became trapped in rising waters in the town, forcing him to flee with his partner on foot.

“The water reached our waists,” Oskar said. “We took a lady having an anxiety attack out of her car and headed to Sedavi Bridge.”

They waited until the floodwaters receded at 5 a.m. before walking towards Valencia, he said.

The regional emergency services of Valencia estimated that 62 people were dead in the wake of the flooding that took over the southeast of Spain after Tuesday’s storms. 

ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian contributed to this report.

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(LONDON) — Omer Maxim Neutra, an American-Israeli soldier, was among those killed on Oct. 7, 2023, as Hamas terrorists poured into southern Israel, officials said on Monday.

Neutra, 21, had been believed to have been taken alive to Gaza as a hostage, but the Israel Defense Forces on Monday said he was instead one of the about 1,200 killed during the surprise attack.

The soldier, who was from New York, had been a tank platoon commander in Israel’s 7th Armored Brigade’s 77th Battalion.

“Omer was a man of values, blessed with talents and a Zionist in every aspect of his being,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, which he released with his wife, Sara. “He immigrated to Israel to enlist in the IDF, chose a combat path and was chosen to command and lead.”

Netanyahu said Neutra, who was a captain, had “fought fiercely” as he led Israeli forces “to defend the settlements surrounding Gaza, until he fell.”

In a statement, the Neutra family said it’s “deeply grieving.”

“Our hearts are shattered with this devastating news. The Neutra family is deeply grieving and are requesting the public, who has shown great support throughout this journey, to please respect their privacy until they are formally ready to announce the next steps,” the statement read.

Israel said it had confirmed via intelligence that Neutra had died during the attack and that his body was still being held in Gaza.

Prior to his military service, Neutra had completed a preparatory year with the Tzabar Garin program, where he “loved sports, playing soccer, basketball, and volleyball, and served as the captain of his school’s sports teams,” according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

“Family and friends described him as a warm, optimistic, and caring individual who ‘lights up the room the moment he enters,'” the forum said in a statement posted on social media on Monday.

Neutra’s parents, Orna and Ronen, spoke in July at the Republican National Convention. They told the crowd of their grief, not knowing for more than nine months, whether “your son is alive.”

“We need our beautiful son back,” Ronen Neutra said. “And we need your support — your support to end this crisis, and bring all the hostages back home.”

Netanyahu on Monday said he and his wife shared the family’s “heavy” grief.

“We will not rest or be silent until we return him home to the grave of Israel,” he said, “and we will continue to act resolutely and tirelessly until we return all our captives — the living and the dead.”

Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat who represents the New York Congressional district where Neutra was from, wrote on social media on Monday that he was sending condolences to Neutra’s family.

“I have prayed for Omer and his family, and I ask all of you to join me in holding the Neutra family close as they seek to find peace and meaning in this tragedy,” Suozzi wrote.

Three Americans are still presumed to be alive among the dozens of hostages Hamas is still holding.

“We must fulfill the ultimate imperative: to return Omer, and all our abducted men and women — the living to their families, and the fallen and murdered to be laid to rest,” President Isaac Herzog of Israel said in a statement announcing Neutra’s death.

ABC News’ Dave Brennan, Joe Simonetti, Jordana Miller and Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.

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