Israel kills Hezbollah commander in Beirut strike, Netanyahu vows to continue ‘with full force’
Ramiz Dallah/Anadolu via Getty Images
(TEL-AVIV, Israel) — Israel said it killed another top Hezbollah commander — Muhammad Hussein Srour, the commander of Hezbollah’s Aerial Command — in a “precise” strike on Beirut Thursday.
At least two people were killed, and 15 others were injured in a strike on Dahieh in Beirut, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Hezbollah has not yet commented on the death of its commander.
This comes hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will “continue the fighting with full force.”
At least 23 people were killed — including 19 Syrian refugees — and four others were injured after Israel struck a building on the Syrian-Lebanese border in another strike Thursday, officials said.
Nearly 700 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since Monday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Strikes this week follow the explosion of pagers and walkie-talkies throughout the country last week.
Netanyahu shot down the possibility of a cease-fire that could end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon after the U.S. and France said they have put a proposal on the table for a 21-day stop in fighting. He also said fighting in Gaza will continue until the goals of the war are achieved.
Despite the proposal on the table, all signs point to Israel preparing for a possible ground invasion into Lebanon.
President Joe Biden told reporters on Wednesday that there is global support for a 21-day cease-fire proposal that he and other leaders have called for.
“We were able to generate significant support from Europe, as well as the Arab nations. It’s important this war not widen,” Biden told reporters as he returned to the White House Thursday.
The president was returning from the U.N. General Assembly, where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday to discuss details of a joint statement announcing the proposal, according to senior administration officials.
The Israel Ministry of Defense secured a $8.7 billion U.S. aid package from Washington to support its ongoing military efforts. The package includes $3.5 billion for essential wartime procurement, which has already been transferred, and $5.2 billion designated for air defense systems, according to the Ministry of Defense.
Israel has said it is attacking Hezbollah in order to allow residents to return to the north.
As tensions continue to rise in the region, Iran “will not remain indifferent in case of a full-scale war in Lebanon,” the Iranian Foreign Minister said in comments to reporters Wednesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
He also warned Israel’s “crimes will not go unpunished,” and said the Middle East region “risks full-scale conflict” if the U.N. Security Council does not “act now to halt Israel’s war and enforce an immediate cease-fire.”
“The Israeli leaders must understand that their crimes will not go unpunished. The path to de-escalation is clear. Israel must immediately stop its attacks on Gaza and Lebanon. Without a cease-fire in Gaza, there will be no guarantee of peace in the region,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Wednesday.
“Iran will not remain indifferent in case of a full-scale war in Lebanon. We stand with the people of Lebanon with all means,” he added.
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the latest round of cease-fire discussions appears to have reached an impasse.
Meanwhile, after six hostages were found dead in Gaza, protests erupted in Israel. Protesters have lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded the government bring the hostages home.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Biden ‘outraged’ by Israel’s killing of American activist
President Joe Biden said he is “outraged and deeply saddened” by the killing of American citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the West Bank by Israeli forces.
“The shooting that led to her death is totally unacceptable,” the president said in a statement published Wednesday morning.
The Israel Defense Forces published its initial report into the killing on Tuesday, finding it “highly likely” that the dual American-Turkish activist “was hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF fire which was not aimed at her.”
Biden said the U.S. government has “full access” to the preliminary investigation “and expects continued access as the investigation continues, so that we can have confidence in the result.”
“There must be full accountability,” the president said. “And Israel must do more to ensure that incidents like this never happen again.”
Eygi, 26, was with the International Solidarity Movement in the West Bank, working to protect local Palestinian farmers from attacks by Israeli settlers.
Biden said Wednesday that the violence in the West Bank “has been going on for too long.”
“Violent extremist Israeli settlers are uprooting Palestinians from their homes,” he continued. “Palestinian terrorists are sending car bombs to kill civilians.”
“I will continue to support policies that hold all extremists — Israelis and Palestinians alike — accountable for stoking violence and serving as obstacles to peace,” he said.
Two Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza helicopter crash
Two Israeli soldiers were killed and seven injured were injured in a helicopter crash in southern Gaza on Tuesday night, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The helicopter “was on a mission to evacuate an injured soldier to a hospital for medical treatment,” but “crashed while landing in the Rafah area” in the south of the territory, the IDF wrote on X.
“An initial inquiry conducted indicates that the crash was not caused by enemy fire,” the force said. “The cause of the crash is still under investigation.”
Seven other troops were “injured to varying degrees, the IDF said. They have been hospitalized for treatment.
Israeli Air Force commander, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, appointed an investigative committee to probe the incident, the IDF added.
Israel hits dozens of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
Israeli warplanes “struck approximately 30 Hezbollah launchers and terror infrastructure sites which posed a threat to Israeli civilians” in southern Lebanon overnight, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Wednesday.
The strikes occurred in the areas of Jibbain, Naqoura, Deir Seryan and Zibqin, the IDF said. Israeli artillery also hit the area of Al-Dahira.
Suspect killed after West Bank ‘ramming attack,’ IDF says
One person was critically injured in an alleged ramming attack near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank on Wednesday.
The Israel Defense Forces said that the “terrorist” attacker “was neutralized at the scene.” The incident occurred at the Givat Asaf junction, close to the Israeli settlement of Beit El.
Magen David Adom — Israel’s emergency service — said its responders were “treating a male about 20 years old in critical condition.”
The MDA said on social media that the victim was hit by a “fuel tanker.”
Death toll in Gaza surpasses 41,000: Gaza Ministry of Health
The death toll in Gaza has passed 41,000 as of Tuesday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
The ministry reported that 41,020 people have died and 94,925 have been injured since Israel launched its war against Hamas in Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023, following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.
That figure does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
IDF releases video of tunnel where 6 hostages were held
The Israel Defense Forces has released footage of the blood-stained tunnel where six hostages, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, were held captive and murdered last month.
The “passageway” tunnel spanned 120 meters and was 20 meters deep, the IDF said.
The IDF estimates the hostages were in the tunnel for “weeks.”
The Israeli military believes the six hostages were shot and killed on Aug. 29. The IDF said its soldiers found one of the tunnel’s shafts on Aug. 30, and the hostages’ bodies were discovered on Aug. 31.
The IDF said the hostages were killed with bullets from two guns.
The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters said in a statement that the “shocking” video “proves the unimaginable, inhuman conditions in which the 6 hostages Alex, Hersh, Eden, Ori, Carmel and Almog were held for months.”
“Carmel, Hersh, Alex, Almog, Ori, and Eden suffered until their last breath. They begged to be released, pleaded for their lives,” the group said. “Time is running out! That light, that hope, cannot die. A deal must be signed NOW!”
Blinken condemns ‘unprovoked’ Israeli killing of American activist
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that the IDF’s initial report into the killing of U.S. citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi suggests “her killing was both unprovoked and unjustified.”
“No one should be shot and killed for attending a protest. No one should have to put their life at risk just for freely expressing their views,” Blinken said, using some of the strongest terms to condemn the killing by any American official yet.
“In our judgment, Israeli security forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way that they operate in the West Bank, including changes to their rules of engagement,” Blinken continued, adding that the U.S. was well aware of longstanding allegations concerning Israeli authorities’ use of excessive force against Palestinians in the West Bank.
“Now we have the second American citizen killed at the hands of Israeli security forces. It’s not acceptable. It has to change, and we’ll be making that clear to the senior-most members of the Israeli government,” Blinken said.
“Now we’re looking carefully at the results of this investigation, but even on an initial read and even accepting it at face value, it’s clear that there are serious issues that need to be dealt with, and we will insist that they be dealt with,” he added.
‘Highly likely’ Israeli troops killed American activist: IDF
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) published the results of its initial inquiry into last week’s killing of American Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the West Bank.
“The inquiry found that it is highly likely that she was hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF fire which was not aimed at her, but aimed at the key instigator of the riot,” the IDF press release stated, referring to a period of reported unrest at the Beita Junction.
“Israel has sent a request to carry out an autopsy,” it added. “The IDF expresses its deepest regret over the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi.”
Eygi, 26, was a dual Turkish-American citizen and activist working for the International Solidarity Movement in the West Bank, working to protect local Palestinian farmers from attacks by Israeli settlers.
South Gaza polio vaccine drive reaches 446,000 children: WHO
The polio vaccination campaign in southern Gaza concluded on Monday with more than 446,000 children vaccinated since the drive began on Sept. 1, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
“Five health facilities will continue offering polio vaccination to make sure no child is missed,” Ghebreyesus wrote on X. “We are grateful to the families for their cooperation, and to all vaccinators and health workers for their dedication.”
The polio vaccination campaign is continuing elsewhere in Gaza, and Ghebreyesus said continued humanitarian pauses are “key” in facilitating the program. Preparations to expand the drive into the north of the devastated territory “are ongoing,” he added.
“The children in Gaza deserve lasting peace, not just polio vaccines,” Ghebreyesus said.
US expects ‘transparent’ probe into killing of American in West Bank
The State Department is “urgently working to get more information” on the killing of American citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the West Bank last week, Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told journalists at a Monday briefing.
Eygi, 26, was an activist working for the International Solidarity Movement and was shot dead in the West Bank village of Beita on Friday. The dual American-Turkish citizen was allegedly killed by Israeli troops.
Patel told reporters that “our partners in Israel are looking into the circumstances of what happened, and we expect them to make their findings public, and expect that whatever those findings are, expect them to be thorough and transparent.”
IDF defends strike on Gaza’s Khan Younis humanitarian area
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a Monday night strike on tents in a designated humanitarian zone in the southern Gaza Strip targeted Hamas figures “directly involved” in the Oct. 7 attack.
The Hamas-run Gaza Civil Defense reported at least 40 people killed and at least 60 injured in the bombing. Search and recovery efforts were underway at the scene on Tuesday.
The IDF said Tuesday that its strike targeted “senior Hamas terrorists” in a “command and control center embedded inside the humanitarian area in Khan Younis.”
Among those killed were Samer Ismail Khadr Abu Daqqa, the head of Hamas’ aerial unit in Gaza, the IDF said.
Osama Tabesh, the head of the observation and targets department in Hamas’ military intelligence headquarters, and Ayman Mabhouh, another “senior Hamas terrorist” were also hit, the force said.
“According to an initial review, the numbers published by the Hamas-run Government Information Office in Gaza, which has consistently broadcast lies and false information throughout the war, do not align with the information held by the IDF, the precise munitions used, and the accuracy of the strike,” the IDF statement added.
At least 40 killed in strike on humanitarian area: Gaza Civil Defense
At least 40 people were killed and at least 60 people have been wounded after an Israeli strike in a designated humanitarian area of Khan Yunis, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Civil Defense.
The strike hit “a gathering of displaced persons’ tents consisting of at least 20 inhabited tents,” a Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson said early Tuesday morning local time.
The Israeli Air Force “struck significant Hamas terrorists who were operating with a command and control center embedded inside the Humanitarian Area in Khan Yunis,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
Hamas changed ‘some of the terms’ of the hostage exchange: White House
The White House is remaining hopeful that talks for a cease-fire in Gaza and release of the remaining hostages can be salvaged after Hamas proposed new amendments to the deal following the killing of six hostages.
“Hamas did change some of the terms of the exchange. And that has made it more difficult for us to get there,” National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said at Monday’s press briefing.
“We still believe that, even for the new amendments that Hamas has made, that it’s still worth an effort to try to see if we can’t get back into a cease-fire negotiation,” he added. “But we’re not there right now.”
Kirby would not say if President Joe Biden will be increasing pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a deal and potentially hold the transfer of weapons to Israel in order to secure a deal, similar to the recent decision by the United Kingdom.
“I can’t think of anything we haven’t put more pressure on ourselves than to try to get this deal,” Kirby said. “We know how urgent this is. And we’re working night and day to try to see if we can get a deal in place. Hamas is the main obstacle to this right now.”
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Aerial attack targets northern Israel, officials say
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported “a hostile aircraft infiltration” in the north of the country on Monday morning.
“Two suspicious aerial targets were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory,” The IDF said in a statement. “An aerial target fell in the area of Nahariya. No injuries were reported.”
The Magen David Adom (MDA) — Israel’s emergency services — said in a social media post that its personnel “located the site of the impact, as of now no casualties have been found.”
Israeli media reported that a drone detonated after crashing into an apartment block.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir and David Brennan
Hundreds gather in Central Park for hostage vigil
The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters organized twin protests in Tel Aviv and New York on Sunday, as pro-cease-fire activists look to build pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and American politicians.
Hundreds of people rallied in Central Park “to mourn six Israeli and American hostages murdered after 11 months in captivity,” the Forum said in a press release.
Among the speakers were Gilad and Nitza Korngold — the parents of hostage Tal Shoham who was abducted into Gaza on Oct. 7.
“The Red Cross has refused to help our loved ones while shamelessly requesting better conditions for the terrorists in Israel’s imprisonment,” they said, per the Forum’s press release. “We ask everyone here to call your representatives and demand the release of our loved ones from captivity.”
Moran Stela Yanai — released in November 2023 after 54 days as a hostage in Gaza — also spoke, telling attendees: “My brothers and sisters in captivity are hungry and in pain and in constant danger.”
“We must find the strength to keep fighting for them and bring them home,” she added, as quoted in the Forum’s press release.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and David Brennan
Jordanian border crossings partly reopened after shooting
Israeli and Jordanian authorities confirmed the partial reopening of border crossings on Monday following their closure due to the killing of three police officers at the Allenby Bridge.
An Israel Airport Authority spokesperson said the crossings at Yitzhak Rabin near Eilat, at the Jordan River near Beit Shean and at the Allenby Bridge would open for passenger traffic.
The media spokesman for the Jordanian Public Security Directorate said that King Hussein Bridge leading to the Allenby entry point would remain closed to freight traffic.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s Interior Ministry said that its preliminary investigations into Sunday’s shooting at the Allenby Bridge crossing confirmed that the alleged gunman was a Jordanian citizen named Maher Dhiyab Hussein Al-Jazi.
The alleged shooter — whom Israeli security forces said they shot and killed — was a resident of the Al-Husseiniyah area in Ma’an Governorate, and was crossing the bridge as a driver of a freight vehicle carrying commercial goods.
Al-Jazi acted alone, the ministry said, noting its investigation is ongoing. Authorities are attempting to organize the return of his body so he can be buried in Jordan.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Ghazi Balkiz and David Brennan
Airstrikes hit Syrian scientific research center, state media says
Strikes targeted a Syrian scientific research area in the city of Masyaf in the Hama countryside on Sunday night, Syrian state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said.
“Ambulance vehicles rushed towards the center of the area” amid reports of casualties, the SOHR — a U.K.-based war monitor — said on its website.
Both Syrian state media and the SOHR attributed the strikes to Israel. The SOHR said Syrian anti-aircraft weapons intercepted some Israeli missiles.
There was no immediate confirmation on the number of casualties. At least 14 people were killed and 43 others were wounded, Syrian state news agency SANA reported. ABC News was not able to immediately confirm the reported casualties or whether they were military personnel.
ABC News asked the Israel Defense Forces for comment. Israel typically does not confirm or deny responsibility for strikes in Syria, where it has been engaged in a “shadow war” with Iran and its allies — including the Lebanese Hezbollah militia — for several years.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and David Brennan
Nearly 70% of children in Gaza vaccinated against polio, health ministry reports
The polio vaccination campaign continued today in south Gaza, Khan Younis and Rafah, after early issues in the region when vaccines could not be properly distributed to the eastern side of Gaza.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced Sunday that 441,647 children in Gaza have received the first dose of the polio vaccine, so far.
This accounts for about 69% of the targeted population, according to the ministry.
According to the World Health Organization, 95% of children need to be vaccinated to prevent the spread of the disease effectively.
On Monday, vaccinations will be offered in northern Gaza where daily, eight-hour pauses in fighting and airstrikes will be instituted so children can be taken to one of the roughly 33 locations across Gaza City and north Gaza where the vaccine will be administered, according to the ministry.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé
Israel closes Jordan border crossings after deadly shooting
Israel closed on Sunday the two land crossings between Jordan and Israel, as well as the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and the occupied West Bank, the Israel Airports Authority — which oversees the crossings — told ABC News.
The closures followed a shooting on Sunday morning at Allenby that killed three police officers.
The gunman — who was shot dead by security forces — came from the Jordanian side, but it was not immediately clear if he was affiliated with any militant group. Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad issued congratulatory statements about the shooting.
Netanyahu condemned the attack, saying it was attributable to the “murderous ideology led by Iran’s ‘Axis of Evil’.”
Israel did not say how long the closures would last. The Allenby crossing is one of the key entries through which goods destined for Gaza pass.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Nasser Atta, Victoria Beaule and David Brennan
Hamas rocket commander ‘eliminated’ in Gaza: IDF
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported the killing of a Hamas rocket commander in an airstrike last week.
The IDF wrote on social media on Sunday that its Southern Command “eliminated” Raef Omar Salman Abu Shab — the commander of the rocket unit of the eastern Khan Younis Brigade — in an airstrike on Tuesday
The commander was “responsible for launching rocket barrages from the area of Khan Younis toward southern and central Israel since the start of the war,” the IDF said.
A view of the burned vehicles after a Russian missile attack that killed 7 people including 3 children, and wounded 45 people including 7 children, in Lviv, Ukraine, on September 4, 2024. (Olena Znak/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Russian missiles struck Lviv in western Ukraine early on Wednesday, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens of others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a local official said.
A 14-year-old girl was among the dead, Zelenskyy said in a statement posted to the messaging app Telegram.
“More than 30 people were injured,” he added. “Ordinary residential buildings in the city, schools and medical institutions were damaged.”
Serhiy Kiral, the deputy mayor of Lviv, told ABC News that at least seven people — including three children — are confirmed killed.
“Firefighters are still working to put out the fire, to rescue people who may still be under the debris,” Kiral said early on Wednesday.
“It’s not clear what genius planned the target — these are purely residential neighborhoods in downtown Lviv, around the central train station,” Kiral added.
The strike was the western Ukrainian city’s worst since an attack last year that killed 10 people, Kiral said, adding, “Impunity leads to more crime; rule of thumb.”
Lviv was one of several cities that were targeted on Wednesday by Russian missiles, Zelenskyy said. Five people were also injured in Kryvyi Rih, he added. Ukraine’s air force wrote on Telegram that it downed seven cruise missiles and 22 attack drones overnight. Russia fired a total of two ballistic missiles, 11 cruise missiles, and 29 drones, the update said.
The most recent wave of attacks followed missile-and-drone barrages on Monday night and Tuesday morning that killed dozens of people in three cities. The deadliest incident was a double ballistic missile strike on the Poltava Military Communications Institute and a nearby hospital which killed more than 50 and wounded hundreds, Ukrainian officials said.
First lady Olena Zelenska said Tuesday’s attack was a “shocking tragedy for the whole of Ukraine. Zelenskyy said he “ordered a full and prompt investigation into all the circumstances of what happened.”
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram that the Poltava and Lviv strikes targeted military and defense industry targets.
The military college in Poltava, it said, was used to train communications and electronic warfare specialists, as well as drone operators who conducted strikes with uncrewed aerial vehicles, or UAVs, within Russia. Training there was conducted under the “guidance of foreign instructors,” the ministry alleged.
The Lviv attack was conducted using “long-range precision weapons,” including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and attack drones, the ministry’s report said. The strike targeted “enterprises of the Ukrainian defense industry complex” involved in the production and repair of “electronic components of aircraft and missile weapons.”
“The strike targets have been achieved,” the ministry said. “All designated objects have been hit.”
The Poltava attack came against a backdrop of intensifying Russian long-range strikes on Ukrainian cities, military targets and critical infrastructure nationwide.
Zelenskyy and his top officials have been pressing their Western partners, including the U.S., to loosen restrictions on Kyiv’s use of Western weapons, and to allow Ukrainian forces to strike airfields and launch sites within Russia.
“Russia does not have a free hand,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters in a Tuesday press briefing when questioned on the issue. “We continue to supply Ukraine with air-defense systems,” he continued.
“We continue to supply Ukraine with other equipment that it can use to push back on Russian military assaults, and that’ll continue to be our policy,” he said.
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the latest round of cease-fire discussions appears to have reached an impasse.
Meanwhile, after six hostages were found dead in Gaza, protests erupted in Israel. Protesters have demanded its government bring the hostages home.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Cease-fire protesters plan action near Tel Aviv Defense Ministry
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum announced a fresh protest scheduled for 7 p.m. local time Tuesday in Tel Aviv, close to the entrance of the Defense Ministry building.
The action will be “led by the younger members of the families,” the Forum wrote in a post on X, who will “call for a deal to bring all 101 hostages home.”
Attendees will protest what the Forum called “the abandonment of the hostages in Hamas captivity.”
Additional demonstrations elsewhere will include a gathering outside the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, a protest outside Foreign Minister Israel Katz’s residence in Kfar Ahim, one in front of Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter’s home in Ashkelon and another outside Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin’s home in Modi’in.
Gaza polio vaccination drive reaches 160,000 children
Some 160,000 Gaza children received their first vaccination for polio on Sunday and Monday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
The emergency rollout began on Sunday, facilitated by a partial pause in fighting in the strip. Medical teams in the central part of the territory said they were able to vaccinate 72,611 children on the first day of the campaign.
Palestinian health authorities and United Nations agencies said they were hoping to vaccinate 640,000 children during the push. Israel agreed to some pauses in fighting to support the campaign, though airstrikes have continued in its first two days.
Israel has said the vaccination program will continue through Sept. 9 and last eight hours a day.
Polio is among the illnesses feared to be thriving in Gaza after 10 months of war. The strip’s long-standing humanitarian difficulties have been exacerbated by the destruction of health care facilities, critical infrastructure, and the displacement — sometimes repeated displacement — of most of the territory’s residents.
Gaza recently reported its first polio case in 25 years — a 10-month-old boy, now paralyzed in a leg. The World Health Organization said the case suggests there could be hundreds more infected who are not symptomatic.
Netanyahu asks hostage families for forgiveness, says pressure should be directed at Hamas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is asking for forgiveness from the families of the six slain hostages whose bodies were recovered this weekend.
“I ask you for forgiveness that we did not succeed to bring your loved ones back alive. We were close, but we did not succeed,” Netanyahu said at a Monday news conference.
Netanyahu again said the Israel Defense Forces must maintain a presence on the Egyptian border, but he said the IDF does not need a “large” presence of forces there. It needs groups of forces in key areas all along the border, he said. Netanyahu also reiterated that the IDF must maintain a presence in the Philadelphi corridor to reach the goals of the war.
When asked how he would define “total victory” in the war, Netanyahu responded, “When Hamas no longer rules Gaza — we throw them out. I would define the end of the war of World War II when the Nazis no longer ruled Germany. To do that you need to have a military victory and you have to have also a political victory to destroy their governance.”
Netanyahu also said that international “pressure” must be directed at Hamas, not Israel.
“These murderers executed six of our hostages, they shot them in the back of the head. And now after this we’re asked to show seriousness, we’re asked to make concessions? What message does this send Hamas?” he said.
Netanyahu added, “I don’t believe President [Joe] Biden or anyone serious about achieving peace and achieving the release [of hostages] can seriously ask Israel to make these concessions. We’ve already made them. Hamas has to make concessions.”
A Hamas military spokesman said in a new statement the Israeli hostages won’t be freed by force.
“Netanyahu’s insistence on freeing the prisoners through military pressure instead of concluding a deal will mean their return to their families in coffins, and their families will have to choose between dead or alive,” the spokesperson said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Biden: ‘We’re in the middle of negotiations’ on hostage, cease-fire deal
President Joe Biden told reporters “we’re still negotiating” when asked if there will be a final hostage and cease-fire deal proposed this week.
Asked what he wants Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do, Biden replied, “We’re in the middle of negotiations.”
“We’re still in negotiations. Not with him [Netanyahu], with my colleagues from Qatar and from Egypt,” Biden said.
Earlier on Monday, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with the U.S. hostage deal negotiating team in the Situation Room.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke on the phone Monday morning with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, a U.S. official said. They discussed efforts to conclude a deal for the release of the hostages and for a cease-fire in Gaza, the official said.
-ABC News’ Karen Travers, Elizabeth Schulze and Lauren Peller
Protesters break through barriers near Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s residence
Protesters broke through barriers near Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on Monday as they demanded progress on a deal to return the hostages in Gaza.
Monday marks the second day of large protests across Israel after six murdered hostages were recovered in Gaza this weekend.
Israeli defense minister ‘deeply disheartened’ by UK decision to suspend some arms exports to Israel
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement he was “deeply disheartened” to learn of the United Kingdom’s new restrictions on some arms exports to Israel.
“This comes at a time when we fight a war on 7 different fronts — a war that was launched by a savage terrorist organization, unprovoked,” Gallant said. “At a time when we mourn 6 hostages who were executed in cold blood by Hamas inside tunnels in Gaza. At a time when we fight to bring 101 hostages home.”
U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy told Parliament on Monday about 30 of 350 export licenses are suspended because “there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
29 Palestinians killed in West Bank since IDF operation began
Twenty-nine Palestinians have been killed and 121 have been injured in the West Bank since the Israeli military’s operation began last Wednesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement Monday.
Eighteen people were killed in the Jenin governate of the West Bank, four in the Tubas governate, four in the Tulkarm governate and three in the Hebron governate, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta
Biden, Harris meet with US hostage deal negotiating team
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with the U.S. hostage deal negotiating team in the Situation Room on Monday, according to the White House.
Biden and Harris received an update from the negotiation team on the “status of the bridging proposal outlined by the United States, Qatar and Egypt” and “they discussed next steps” in the release of the hostages, the White House said.
Biden also “expressed his devastation and outrage at the murder” of Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages and he “reaffirmed the importance of holding Hamas’s leaders accountable,” the White House said.
Officials participating in the briefing included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, CIA Director Bill Burns and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Netanyahu doubles down on Israeli troops remaining in Philadelphi corridor
In an Israeli cabinet meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on his stance that he will not agree to a cease-fire and hostage deal that includes the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Philadelphi corridor in Gaza, according to an Israeli official.
Israeli troops remaining in the Philadelphi corridor has been a key sticking point in the ongoing negotiations. Hamas wants a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
“Everyone who says that it is possible to leave Philadelphi for 42 days, knows very well that it will be for 42 years. The world will not allow us to return,” Netanyahu said during Sunday night’s cabinet meeting, according to an Israeli official. “Everyone understands the importance of Philadelphi, and [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar understands it best. That is why he insists. All smuggling the weapons to Gaza were through Philadelphi. If we change the cabinet’s decision, it will be a terrorist award, you will not return the hostages.”
The Hostages Families Forum said in a statement that Netanyahu’s comments are “dangerous.” The families said Netanyahu’s statement means “there will be no deal, and the families will not get to see their loved ones return home.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Dana Savir
Israeli president apologizes to Hersh Goldberg-Polin and his parents for not keeping him safe
As Israeli President Isaac Herzog gave a eulogy at the funeral of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, he apologized to the slain 23-year-old.
“I apologize that the country you immigrated to at the age of 7, wrapped in the Israeli flag, could not keep you safe,” Herzog said Monday, two days after the Israeli-American’s body was recovered in Gaza, along with five others.
The president also asked for forgiveness from Goldberg-Polin’s parents, Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, for not bringing their son home alive.
He said he learned of “a mother’s and father’s limitless love” from Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin.
“Jon and Rachel, against the senseless hatred, and unthinkable brutality of Hamas terror, pure barbaric evil, you have taught the world about human dignity,” Herzog said. “As a human being, as a father, and as the President of the State of Israel, I want to say how sorry I am. How sorry I am that we didn’t protect Hersh on that dark day. How sorry I am that we failed to bring him home.”
Though he said Israel will “continue fighting relentlessly against” Hamas, Herzog stressed that the remaining 101 hostages must be released.
“The time to act is now: Bring them home,” Herzog said.
“Decision-makers must do everything possible, with determination and courage, to save those who can still be saved,” he said. “This is not a political goal, and it must not become a political dispute. It is a supreme moral, Jewish, and human duty of the State of Israel to its citizens.”
-ABC News’ Becky Perlow
Biden says Netanyahu is not doing enough, says ‘we are very close’ to presenting final deal
When asked by reporters if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing enough on the hostage deal, President Joe Biden on Monday replied, “No.”
Asked about presenting a final hostage deal this week, Biden said, “We are very close to that.”
“Hope springs eternal,” Biden said, when asked what makes this final deal different, but he declined to provide details.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are meeting with the U.S. hostage negotiation team Monday morning.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
‘We failed you,’ dad of slain hostage says
Hersh Goldberg-Polin was curious, self-assured and a deep, independent thinker, his dad, Jon Polin, said at his funeral on Monday.
The 23-year-old, who was found dead in Gaza this weekend, was “always seeking to understand the other, and always with dignity and respect,” Polin said.
“Hersh, we failed you. We all failed you,” Polin said with a “332” on his shirt, marking how many days his son was held hostage. “You would not have failed you. You would’ve pushed harder for justice … to bridge differences. … What you would be pushing for now is to ensure your death … [and the others’ deaths are] not in vain.”
“Maybe, just maybe, your death … is the fuel that will bring home the remaining 101 hostages,” Polin said.
“You have become a global symbol of bringing improvement to our world,” he said.
“The 23 years of life that we had with you were a blessing. We now will work to make your legacy a similar blessing,” he said.
Funeral underway for slain American hostage
A funeral procession is underway in Jerusalem for slain Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. The 23-year-old was one of six murdered hostages recovered this weekend.
The Israeli Ministry of Health said the six hostages were killed “in a number of short-range shots” between Thursday and Friday morning.
The funeral comes one day after thousands of people took to the streets of Tel Aviv to protest the deaths of the six hostages.
2 hours and 31 minutes ago Tel Aviv braces for fresh protests
More than 1,000 people have gathered in the northern Israeli city of Tel Aviv for continued anti-government protests, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conclude a cease-fire and hostage-release deal with Hamas.
Other marches are taking place elsewhere in Israel. A general strike — called by Histadrut, Israel’s largest trade union — also began on Monday morning in protest of the government’s failure to free those still held hostage inside Gaza.
Police reported violent clashes with anti-government protesters in Tel Aviv on Sunday night, saying officers had arrested 29 people.
The current wave of demonstrations was sparked by the recovery of the bodies of six of Hamas’ hostages from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and David Brennan
3 hours and 57 minutes ago Israel Police accuses Tel Aviv marchers of ‘brutal’ vandalism, violence
The Israel Police has condemned what it called “brutal vandalism” during a night of anti-government demonstrations in Tel Aviv, sparked by the deaths in captivity of six of Hamas’ Gaza hostages.
In a statement, the Police Spokesperson’s Unit said officers arrested 29 suspects for a range of offenses including disorderly conduct, assaulting officers and vandalism.
The violence followed a planned protest at the Kaplan Junction in Tel Aviv, the statement said, after which “hundreds of protesters” left the approved demonstration area and moved to the Ayalon Highway, “with the intent to disrupt traffic and public order.”
Some marchers “violently pushed against barricades and officers, leading to a confrontation during which a policewoman was injured and lost consciousness,” the statement said. The officer was evacuated for medical treatment.
As officers attempted to clear the area, some protesters “breached security perimeters, blocked the Ayalon Highway, and set fires, while firing fireworks that nearly hit officers,” police said.
“The Israel Police strongly condemns the acts of vandalism and violence directed at officers,” the statement read. “We will pursue legal action against those responsible to the fullest extent of the law.”
The protesters were demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government agree to a cease-fire and hostage-release deal with Hamas.
A general strike called by Israel’s largest trade union — Histadrut — began on Monday morning in a bid to pressure the government into reaching an accord with the militant group.
Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff spoke with the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American-Israeli hostage who was found dead in Gaza on Saturday along with five other Oct. 7 hostages, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The vice president and her husband called parents Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin on Sunday to “express our condolences following the brutal murder of their son by Hamas terrorists,” Harris said in a statement on X.
“My heart breaks for their pain and anguish,” Harris continued.
“I told them: As they mourn this terrible loss, they are not alone. Our nation mourns with them,” Harris said.
4:59 PM EDT Protest erupts in Tel Aviv as demonstrators demand cease-fire deal
Protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv Sunday night, demanding a cease-fire agreement and the release of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas terrorists.
The demonstration came a day after Israel Defense Forces recovered the bodies of six hostages in tunnels under the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
Protesters were seen waving Israeli flags as they demanded a cease-fire agreement, chanting “Deal. Now.”
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
3:25 PM EDT 6 killed in IDF strike on Gaza school, says Gaza Civil Defense
At least six people were killed on Sunday when Israel Defense Forces conducted an airstrike on a school in Gaza City, according to Gaza Civil Defense.
The IDF said in a statement that the strike was aimed at Hamas terrorists they allege were operating a command-and-control center inside the Safad school to plan and carry out terrorist attacks against the IDF and Israel.
“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence,” the IDF said in a statement.
The Gaza Civil Defense confirmed the Safad school was hit in the IDF strike, but said the school houses displaced people from the Al-Zeitoun area east of Gaza City.
