Middle East live updates: Israeli forces strike Houthi targets in Yemen, IDF says

(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.

‘The situation unfolding in North Gaza is apocalyptic,’ WHO says

The World Health Organization and the leaders of 15 United Nations and humanitarian organizations “urge, yet again, all parties fighting in Gaza to protect civilians, and call on the State of Israel to cease its assault on Gaza and on the humanitarians trying to help,” in a joint statement Friday.

The WHO called the situation in North Gaza, “apocalyptic,” warning, “The entire Palestinian population in North Gaza is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence.”

“Hospitals have been almost entirely cut off from supplies and have come under attack, killing patients, destroying vital equipment, and disrupting life-saving services. Health workers and patients have been taken into custody. Fighting has also reportedly taken place inside hospitals,” the groups said.

“Dozens of schools serving as shelters have been bombed or forcibly evacuated. Tents sheltering displaced families have been shelled, and people have been burned alive. Rescue teams have been deliberately attacked and thwarted in their attempts to pull people buried under the rubble of their homes,” the groups said.

Hamas political leader says group does not support Egyptian cease-fire proposal

Hamas does not support the cease-fire agreement proposed by Egypt — a temporary cease-fire agreement that included a prisoner-hostage exchange and an increase in aid — a Hamas political official said in an interview with Al Jazeera.

The Hamas official said the agreement doesn’t include a permanent stop in fighting, a withdrawal of the Israeli occupation from the Gaza Strip nor does it allow for the return of the displaced.

The proposals do not address civilians’ need for security, relief, reconstruction or opening the crossings, especially the Rafah crossing, the official said.

Any offer or agreement must stop the Zionist aggression permanently and not temporarily. The occupation is trying to exploit the assassination of resistance leaders to show that the resistance has been broken and the truth is that the resistance is increasing its strength, the official said.

Israel says it killed head of Hamas national relations in strike

The Israel Defense Forces said it killed Izz al-Din Kassab, a member of Hamas’ political bureau and head of national relations within the organization, in a strike in the area of Khan Yunis.

“Kassab was one of the last high-ranking members of Hamas’ political bureau alive in the Gaza Strip. Alongside him, his assistant, the militant Ayman Ayesh, was also eliminated,” the IDF said in a statement Friday.

Polio vaccination campaign to resume in northern Gaza, UN says

The third phase of the polio vaccination campaign is set to begin in part of the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday. It had been postponed from Oct. 23 due to lack of humanitarian pauses and intense bombardment of the strip.

“These conditions made it impossible for families to safely bring their children for vaccination and for vaccination teams to perform their duties. The humanitarian pause necessary to conduct the campaign has been assured, however, the area of the pause has been substantially reduced compared to the first round of vaccination in northern Gaza, conducted in September 2024,” UNICEF and the World Health Organization said in a statement.

But, WHO and UNICEF warned that it will be difficult to interrupt poliovirus transmission because “at least 90% of all children in every community and neighborhood must be vaccinated, which will be challenging to achieve given the situation.”

“The campaign in northern Gaza follows the successful implementation of the first two phases of the second round in central and southern Gaza, which reached 451,216 children — 96% of the target in these areas. A total of 364,306 children aged between 2 and 10 years old have received vitamin A so far in this round,” the WHO and UNICEF said.

-ABC News’ Nadine Shubailat

IDF issues evacuation order for areas in southern Beirut

The Israel Defense Forces released an evacuation warning for areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, early Friday morning local time.

The areas under the evacuation order include Haret Hreik and the pond enclosure, according to the IDF.

Israeli Forces said the areas are suspected of being “near Hezbollah facilities and interests” and that the IDF plans to “operate against them” in the near future.

“For your safety and the safety of your family members, you must evacuate these buildings and those adjacent to them immediately and stay away from them for a distance of no less than 500 meters,” the IDF said.

US defense secretary speaks to Israeli counterpart about regional de-escalation

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant on Thursday to discuss opportunities for regional de-escalation, according to a statement from the Pentagon.

In the call, Austin reaffirmed that the United States remains fully prepared to defend U.S. personnel, Israel and partners across the region against threats from Iran and Iran-backed proxy groups, the Pentagon confirmed.

Austin reiterated the commitment to a diplomatic arrangement in Lebanon that allows both Lebanese and Israeli civilians to return safely to their homes on both sides of the border, according to the statement.

He also reviewed steps Israel is taking — and should continue to advance — to improve the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza, as well as prospects for a hostage release and cease-fire deal, the statement said.

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez

Iranian general says Israel should expect an ‘unimaginable response’

Israel “made a mistake” in attacking Iran over the weekend and will now “taste the response, an unimaginable response,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander-in-Chief Gen. Hossein Salami said on Iranian state TV on Thursday.

“You think you can change the story of domination of a great power called Islam by firing a few missiles? In Operation True Promise 2, you saw how your sky was cracked open. You saw how your missile shield worked. Once again you made a mistake, you will taste the response, an unimaginable response,” Gen. Salami said.

By “Operation True Promise 2,” Gen. Salami is referring to Oct. 1, when Iran sent a barrage of about 200 missiles toward Israel.

“See the behavior of the Iranian nation in the war against its enemies,” he added.

-ABC News’ Hami Hamedi and Ellie Kaufman

Injured patients in Gaza hospital lack medicine, food and water: Officials

The director of nursing at Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip released a statement Thursday saying 120 patients and injured people are lacking medicine, food and water.

“We appeal to bring specialized medical delegations to restart the hospital and save people’s lives,” the nursing director said.

Doctors Without Borders received confirmation that one of their doctors has been detained by Israeli forces, along with “several other medical staff from Kamal Adwan hospital in north Gaza,” after an Israeli military operation at the hospital on Oct. 26, the organization said in a release Thursday.

“We are extremely alarmed by the detention of our colleague,” the release said.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

6 paramedics killed in Lebanon on Thursday

Six paramedics were killed in Lebanon on Thursday, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said in separate statements.

One paramedic was killed, and two were wounded in a strike on an ambulance in Zefta in southern Lebanon.

Additionally, one paramedic was killed and two were wounded in Deir al-Zahrani, and four paramedics were killed in Dardghaya, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said.

“The Ministry of Public Health reiterates its condemnation of the occupation forces’ continued targeting of ambulance crews and reiterates its appeal to the international community to put an end to this series of ongoing war crimes,” the Lebanese Ministry of Health said.

On Wednesday, 45 people were killed, and 110 people were wounded from various Israeli attacks across the country, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said. Overall, 2,867 people have been killed, and 13,047 people have been injured since Israel’s increased attacks on Lebanon in mid-September.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

Progress being made toward cease-fire in Lebanon, Israeli official says

Following several days of high-level meetings, there has been “significant progress” toward a cease-fire in Lebanon, a senior Israeli official with knowledge of the negotiations told ABC News.

Israeli “Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] made it clear that the main issue is not the paperwork of this or that agreement, but Israel’s ability and determination to enforce the agreement and thwart any threat to its security from Lebanon, in a way that will return our residents safely to their homes,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

19 killed, 3 injured in Israeli strikes in Baalbeck

At least 19 people were killed and three were injured in Israeli strikes on Salibi and Badnayel in Baalbek on Wednesday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

The Israel Defense Forces issued another evacuation order on Thursday telling residents in Baalbek, Ain Bourday and Douris to “evacuate your homes immediately and move out of these areas.”

Bombing continues at Kamal Adwan Hospital in north Gaza

Conditions are worsening for patients at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in north Gaza as Israeli bombing continued to target the hospital’s surroundings through the night, the hospital director said Thursday.

“We had to let sick and wounded die due to the cessation of surgical operations,” the hospital director told ABC News.

Three members of the hospital’s staff sustained burns due to bombing that targeted the third floor of the hospital, the director said.

“The bombing of the hospital caused fires in departments containing wounded people and medical supplies. We demanded that ambulances be brought to the hospital to transport the wounded, to no avail. The situation is catastrophic in the hospital, we live in a disaster area, and we provide minimal treatment,” the hospital director said.

-ABC News’ Samy Zyara

IDF issues further Baalbek airstrike warning in east Lebanon

For the second consecutive day, the Israel Defense Forces ordered residents of the city of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon to flee their homes ahead of imminent airstrikes.

“You are in a combat zone where the IDF intends to attack and target Hezbollah infrastructure, interests, installations and combat means and does not intend to harm you,” IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on X.

“Staying in the red zone puts you and your family at risk,” he added, alongside a map on which most of the city was marked red.

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said at least eight people were killed by Israeli strikes in Baalbek on Thursday.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Joe Simonetti

Israeli bombs besiege Gaza hospital again

Israeli aircraft bombed the third floor of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza Thursday morning, destroying the hospital’s remaining medicines as well as medical supplies brought by the World Health Organization a few days ago, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.

The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital said that continuous bombing had targeted the hospital’s surroundings throughout the night.

The hospital, which was the last functioning medical center capable of performing surgeries in northern Gaza, has 120 patients and has been targeted several times by Israeli forces in the past 13 months.

Palestinian media, citing medical sources, reported that surgical operations have completely stopped at Kamal Adwan Hospital due to the ongoing Israeli aggression.

-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz, Samy Zyara and Joe Simonetti

CIA chief in Egypt for cease-fire push

CIA Director William Burns and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi discussed efforts to push for progress on a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release deal during a meeting in Cairo, the Egyptian presidency said Thursday.

The talks focused on “joint efforts to calm the situation in the Gaza Strip, ways to advance negotiations to reach a cease-fire and the exchange of detainees, as well as immediate and full access to humanitarian aid” in the territory, El-Sisi’s office said in a statement.

-ABC News’ Ayat Al-Tawy and Joe Simonetti

Israeli troops launch new West Bank operation

The Israel Defense Forces said it launched a “counter-terrorism” operation in the West Bank alongside Israel Border Police and the Israel Security Agency.

The operation focused on the area of Nur Shams, east of the city of Tulkarm, which has been a focus of intense and deadly Israeli security forces raids in recent months.

During the operation, the Israeli air force “struck an armed terrorist cell that fired at the forces,” the IDF said.

The IDF said the operation was launched hours after counter-terror and intelligence personnel killed Hussam Mallah, who the force described as a “significant” member of Hamas’ network in the area, “who was involved in the planning of terrorist attacks within an immediate time frame.”

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Israel to deploy forces along eastern border with Jordan, IDF says

Israel will deploy forces along its eastern border with Jordan to “protect the eastern border” — a border that was quiet for decades — the Israel Defense Forces announced Wednesday.

Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi approved the establishment of a regional division after they “examined the operational needs and defense capabilities in the region,” the IDF said in a statement.

“The division’s mission is to strengthen defense in the border area, Highway 90 and the settlements, and to respond to dealing with terrorist incidents and the smuggling of weapons, while maintaining a peaceful border and strengthening cooperation with the Jordanian army,” the IDF said in a statement.

UN reports over 30 ‘incidents’ from IDF against peacekeepers in Lebanon, some ‘deliberate’

The United Nations has documented over 30 incidents of attacks on U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon, some of which were deliberate.

“Since the 1st of October, UNIFIL has recorded over 30 incidents resulting in damage to U.N. property or premises or injury to peacekeepers. About 20 of those we could attribute to IDF fire or actions, with seven being clearly deliberate,” a spokesperson for UNIFIL said.

“In an incident yesterday, a rocket, likely fired by Hezbollah or affiliated group hit UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura and setting a vehicle workshop on fire with some peacekeepers suffering a minor injuries,” a spokesperson for UNIFIL said.

UNIFIL also said there are thousands of people stuck in villages without having access to the most basic needs.

Israel gave residents 4 hours to get out of Baalbek before beginning strikes

Baalbek’s 80,000 residents were given just under four hours to leave the city before Israeli strikes on the region began.

Residents received a message in Arabic telling them to evacuate their homes and move outside the city and villages “immediately.”

The Israel Defense Forces said it struck a fuel depot in Baalbek “located inside military compounds” belonging to Hezbollah.

“These fuel depots supplied fuel for Hezbollah’s military vehicles and were critical to the operation of Hezbollah’s military infrastructure. The fuel at these sites was supplied by Iran as part of its military support for Hezbollah,” the IDF said in a statement.

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

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

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

White House says Sinwar’s death is ‘inflection point’ for cease-fire negotiations

National security communications adviser John Kirby called Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s death an “inflection point” in this war, providing a new opportunity to reach a cease-fire deal.

“So Hamas is in a much, much, much weakened position than it ever was before,” Kirby told reporters in Berlin, where he is visiting alongside Joe Biden. “The president believes that certainly with Sinwar’s killing yesterday, that there’s a unique opportunity here for us all to kind of grab hold of to see what we can do to end the war and to get a cease-fire. And we still believe that a cease-fire, actually in the north too, but we still believe a cease-fire is important for Gaza to get those hostages home.”

When pressed by reporters on what makes the White House so confident that Sinwar’s death truly does open the door to achieve a deal that had not been possible for months, Kirby said that it’s a “unique opportunity” to take the intensive diplomacy to the next level. Kirby also explained why it was difficult to negotiate with Sinwar.

“Every time his political advisers would — we would negotiate with and through them to come up with a proposal, it would have to get to him,” Kirby said. “Of course, that took time because of the communications challenges, and then he would just, he would just refute it and refuse to move forward.”

-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart

Biden says Sinwar killing is ‘a moment of justice’

President Joe Biden met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday afternoon to discuss the war in Ukraine and security threats in the Middle East.

Ahead of that meeting, Biden called Israel’s killing of Yahya Sinwar “a moment of justice.”

“He had the blood of Americans, and Israelis, Palestinians and Germans, and so many others, on his hands,” Biden said. “I told the prime minister of Israel yesterday, let’s also make this moment an opportunity to seek a path to peace, a better future in Gaza without Hamas.”

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

US Central Command congratulates Israel on Sinwar killing

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla issued a statement Thursday congratulating the Israel Defense Forces on the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

“U.S. Central Command’s support to the Israel Defense Forces remains ironclad,” said Kurilla. “Our commitment to countering terrorists throughout the Middle East, with allies and partners, continues to be a top priority. Those who choose the path of terrorism should expect the same fate as Sinwar.”

CENTCOM is the combatant command that oversees U.S. missions in the Middle East.

An earlier statement from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called Sinwar’s killing a “major achievement in counterterrorism” and said it provides an opportunity for a lasting cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas.

“Our top and most urgent priority is to secure the release of each and every hostage, including our own American citizens,” Austin said in a statement. “The hostages should not have to suffer for another hour in the clutches of Hamas and other terrorists. Those who are holding them should release them now.”

Hezbollah announces ‘escalated’ phase in conflict with Israel after Sinwar’s death

Hezbollah said Thursday they are transitioning into a “new, escalated phase” in the “confrontation with the Israeli enemy,” after Israeli forces and officials announced the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

This new phase in the conflict “will be revealed by the developments and events in the coming days,” Hezbollah said in the statement.

-ABC News’ Josiane Hajj Moussa

IDF releases drone footage they say shows Sinwar before his death

The Israel Defense Forces released drone footage they say shows Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Wednesday before he was killed.

A damaged building and a man sitting in a chair with his face covered can be seen in the footage.

IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel said Sinwar was wounded in a shooting and is shown in the footage throwing a wooden plank at the drone.

Netanyahu says Israel will continue ‘with all our strength’

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrated the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by Israeli forces on Thursday, but vowed to continue the war “with all our strength” until the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza are returned.

“I would like to say again, in the clearest way: Hamas will no longer rule Gaza. This is the beginning of the day after Hamas, and this is an opportunity for you, the residents of Gaza, to finally break free from its tyranny,” Netanyahu said in a recorded message.

“The war, my dears, is not over yet. And it is difficult, and it exacts heavy prices from us,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu said Sinwar was killed when he fled IDF soldiers in a panic on Thursday.

“Now it is clear to everyone, in Israel and in the world, why we insisted on not ending the war. Why did we insist, in the face of all the pressures, to enter Rafah, the fortified stronghold of Hamas where Sinwar and many of the murderers hid,” Netanyahu said.

“We are in a war for our existence. Big challenges are still ahead,” Netanyahu said.

Israeli President Herzog, Israeli Defense Minister comment on Sinwar’s death

Israeli leaders celebrated the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was assassinated by Israeli forces on Thursday.

Israel President Isaac Herzog commended the Israel Defense Forces for the killing and said Israel must act in every way possible to bring back the remaining 101 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.

“Sinwar, the mastermind behind the deadly October 7th attack, has for years been responsible for heinous acts of terrorism against Israeli civilians, citizens of other countries, and the murder of thousands of innocent people. His evil endeavors were dedicated to terror, bloodshed, and destabilizing the Middle East,” Herzog said in a statement.

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant also saluted IDF soldiers.

“The elimination of Sinwar joins a long series of eliminations — from Nasrallah to Muhammad Deif and many more. We will pursue and eliminate our enemies. Sinwar died while beaten, persecuted and on the run — he didn’t die as a commander, but as someone who only cared for himself,” Gallant said in a statement.

“This is a clear message to all of our enemies — the IDF will reach anyone who attempts to harm the citizens of Israel or our security forces, and we will bring you to justice,” Gallant said.

Benny Gantz, the former IDF chief of staff and former minister of defense, applauded the killing, but said “the mission is not over.”

“The IDF will continue to operate in the Gaza Strip for years to come, and now the series of achievements and the elimination of Sinwar must be taken advantage of to bring about the return of the abductees and the replacement of Hamas’ rule. On this day, we will also remember the painful price of the war, all the murdered and martyrs, and we will strengthen all our heroic soldiers who have been working for over a year in all arenas to ensure that never again,” Gantz said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Yahya Sinwar killed in Israeli attack

Hamas political leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces on Thursday, Israel Foreign Minister Israel Katz confirmed in a statement.

“The master murderer Yahya Sinwar, who is responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was killed today by IDF soldiers,” Katz said.

-ABC News’ Guy Davies

Egypt replaces head of general intelligence agency

Egypt replaced the head of its general intelligence agency — who played an instrumental role in brokering a Gaza cease-fire deal — amid stalled negotiations. Deputy Hassan Rashad was named as new head of the agency.

Abbas Kamel, a longtime confidant and close aide to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, had headed the general intelligence agency since 2018 and was seen as the country’s second-most powerful figure.

Sisi relied heavily on Kamel for managing foreign policy affairs, including conflicts in Gaza and Sudan, as well as domestic security issues such as a wide-scale crackdown on dissent.

The change comes amid stalled negotiations for a cease-fire in the ongoing war in Gaza, which has spread into Lebanon. Kamel was a lead negotiator in the mediation efforts by Egypt, the U.S. and Qatar to end to the yearlong conflict. He played a key role in the diplomacy that led to a weeklong truce in November 2023.

Kamel will now take up a post of presidential adviser and envoy, as well as general coordinator of security services, according to a presidency statement.

-ABC News’ Ayat Al-Tawy

Israel ‘checking the possibility’ that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces are “checking the possibility” that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is one of the three militants it killed in Gaza on Thursday.

“At this stage, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed,” the IDF wrote in a post to X. “In the building where the terrorists were eliminated, there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area. The forces that are operating in the area are continuing to operate with the required caution.”

The 62-year-old has served as Hamas’ leader in Gaza since 2017 and assumed leadership of the group’s political bureau after the Israeli assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran this July.

-ABC News’ Guy Davies

28 killed, 160 wounded in Israeli strike on school in northern Gaza

At least 28 people were killed and 160 others were wounded in an Israeli strike on the Abu Hussein School in northern Gaza where displaced people were sheltering, according to the Hamas-run Government Media Office.

In a statement, Hamas said Israel’s claims “that Abu Hussein School is being used for resistance purposes are mere lies, and it is a systematic policy of the enemy to justify its crime.”

-ABC News’ Samy Zyara

German warship downs drone off Lebanon

The German Ludwigshafen am Rhein corvette — which is operating as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon — downed an unidentified drone off the Lebanese coast on Thursday, a spokesperson at the German Ministry of Defense told ABC News.

The spokesperson did not describe how the aircraft was shot down, but said the ship acted in self defense.

There are approximately 60 crew members on board the vessel.

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said that “electronic countermeasures were used and the UAV fell and exploded on its own.”

-ABC News’ Dragana Jovanovic and Guy Davies

Hezbollah fires projectiles towards Israel

Hezbollah said it launched a missile salvo towards Israel on Thursday morning.

The Israel Defense Forces said sirens sounded in northern Israel and “two projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory.” One was intercepted and the other fell in an open area, the IDF said.

Fighting continues in southern Lebanon. There, Hezbollah claimed to have attacked two Israeli tanks near the border village of Labbouneh.

The IDF, meanwhile, said it killed a commander of Hezbollah’s Kana sector.

-ABC News’ Guy Davies

WHO warns of cholera risk in Lebanon

The World Health Organization has warned of a “very high” risk of cholera in Lebanon following the wave of mass displacement caused by Israel’s nationwide airstrike campaign and southern ground offensive.

The WHO warning came after Lebanon’s Health Ministry confirmed the first cholera case in the north of the country on Wednesday.

WHO “has activated a preparedness and response plan to strengthen surveillance and contact tracing,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

–ABC News’ Dragana Jovanovic and Guy Davies

IDF claims destruction of 150 Hezbollah targets in 24 hours

The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that its troops and warplanes “eliminated more than 45 terrorists and destroyed more than 150 targets” in Lebanon in the previous 24 hours

Among the Hezbollah targets were “weapons warehouses, launchers and military buildings of the organization,” the IDF said in a post on X.

US bombs Houthi weapons storage sites

U.S. Central Command said it conducted “precision airstrikes on numerous Iran-backed Houthi weapons storage facilities” on Wednesday.

The sites “contained various advanced conventional weapons used to target U.S. and international military and civilian vessels navigating international waters throughout the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

CENTCOM said the strike was intended to degrade the Houthis’ ability to launch “reckless and unlawful attacks on international commercial shipping and on U.S., coalition, and merchant personnel and vessels” in the region.

B-2 stealth bomber aircraft were among the assets involved in the mission, CENTCOM said. “The employment of the B-2 bomber demonstrates U.S. global strike capabilities to reach these targets, when necessary, anytime, anywhere,” it added.

CENTCOM said its analyses of the strikes “are underway and do not indicate civilian casualties.”

-ABC News’ Matthew Seyler

Defense Secretary Austin speaks with Israeli counterpart about Lebanon
The Pentagon released a readout Wednesday evening following a phone call between Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.

The two discussed “Israel’s operations in Lebanon and broader regional security matters,” according to the readout.

“Secretary Austin and Minister Gallant discussed the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery as an operational example of the United States’ ironclad support to the defense of Israel. The Secretary encouraged the Government of Israel to continue taking steps to address the dire humanitarian situation, noting the recent action by Israel to increase the amount of humanitarian assistance entering Gaza,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

Austin also “raised the need to pursue a diplomatic pathway to provide security for civilians on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border as soon as feasible,” the Pentagon said.

-ABC News’ Matt Seyler

Israeli forces targeting UNIFIL position ‘under examination,’ IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said an incident of an Israeli tank firing at a UNIFIL position in southern Lebanon is “under examination” when asked by ABC News.

“The Hezbollah terrorist organization has been devising and taking forward attacks against the State of Israel and IDF soldiers from terror infrastructure sites that have been built within and adjacent to UNIFIL posts for many years,” the IDF said in a statement when asked about the incident.

This is the first time the IDF has said Hezbollah infrastructure has been built “within and adjacent” to UNIFIL posts. In the same statement, the IDF said UNIFIL “infrastructure sites and forces are not a target.”

Israel’s attacks on UNIFIL sites in southern Lebanon have been widely condemned by the international community.

-ABC News’ Dorit Long

Netanyahu approves set of targets for Israel’s reprisal strike on Iran, Israeli source says

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved a set of targets for the planned Israeli reprisal strike on Iran, an Israeli source told ABC News.

Israel is planning to respond after Iran attacked Israel with more than 200 missiles on Oct. 1.

The source would not give more details on specific targets and would not comment on whether they are strictly Iranian military targets.

No timeline has been given for the strikes to be carried out.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Risk of cholera outbreak ‘very high’ in Lebanon after confirmed case: WHO

The risk of spread of cholera in Lebanon is “very high” after a case of the acute and potentially deadly diarrheal infection was detected in the country, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

“If the cholera outbreak … spreads to the new displaced people, it might spread very fast,” Abdinasir Abubakar, the WHO representative in Lebanon, said in a press conference.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Netanyahu says Israel won’t accept ‘unilateral cease-fire’ in Lebanon

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is opposed to a “unilateral cease-fire” in Lebanon during a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office.

“The Prime Minister said in the conversation that he is opposed to a unilateral cease-fire, which does not change the security situation in Lebanon, and which will only return it to the way it was,” the statement said.

Netanyahu “made it clear” that Israel won’t accept a cease-fire deal in Lebanon “that would not prevent Hezbollah from reorganizing and rearming,” the statement said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Israel says it killed Hezbollah commander in strike on southern Lebanon

Israel said it killed Hezbollah commander Jalal Mustafa Hariri in a strike on southern Lebanon Wednesday. Hezbollah has not confirmed the death of the commander.

Three people were killed and 54 others were injured in a strike in the Qana and Nabatieh areas, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

-ABC News’ Dorit Long and Josiane Hajj Moussa

US announces more sanctions against Hezbollah, Syrian regime

The U.S. has announced another round of sanctions targeting several individuals and companies it accuses of generating funds for Hezbollah’s operations by helping the terror group evade existing financial restrictions.

The Biden administration also announced sanctions against three individuals allegedly involved in the production and trafficking of captagon, a synthetic amphetamine-type stimulant that it says “harms communities and countries across the region and beyond and is a source of funding for the Syrian regime and its backers,” which include Hezbollah.

“The United States is steadfast in our commitment to disrupt Hizballah’s access to the international financial system and its various methods of generating revenue, which the Iran-backed group uses to fund its violence. We will also continue to target the illicit captagon trade in the region, which has become an illicit billion-dollar enterprise operated in part by senior members of the Syrian regime,” the administration said in a statement.

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston

At least 6 killed in strike on Lebanese town headquarters

At least six people were killed and 43 injured in an Israeli strike on Nabatieh, Lebanon, which hit the town’s municipal headquarters during a meeting, according to Lebanese Minister of the Interior Bassam Mawlawi. The city’s mayor was among those killed.

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

Local mayor killed in Israeli airstrike in south Lebanon

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Guy Davies

Aid trucks enter Gaza, Israeli authorities say

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

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

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

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

Aid organizations condemn ‘horrifying level of atrocity’ in Gaza

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Guy Davies

IDF claims killing of Hamas drone commander in Gaza

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

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

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

Israel resumes Beirut airstrikes

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

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

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

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

Delta pauses JFK-Tel Aviv flights through March 31

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gazan soccer player killed alongside 9 family members

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

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Dia Ostaaz

At least 29 killed in northern Israel amid fighting with Hezbollah

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

25% of Lebanon under Israeli evacuation orders, UN says

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Guy Davies

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Guy Davies

US troops arrive in Israel to support THAAD deployment

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez

10 members of 1 family killed in Khan Younis strike

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Dia Ostaaz and Guy Davies

Israeli police officer killed in shooting attack

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Netanyahu listening to US ‘opinions’ in Iran attack planning

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

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

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

Iran accuses Israel, US of ‘psychological operation’

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

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

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

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

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

Israel targeting civilian infrastructure in north Gaza, UNRWA chief says

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

IDF claims 230 strikes in Lebanon, Gaza in 24 hours

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

100 US soldiers will go to Israel with THAAD deployment

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Shannon Kingston

Northern Gaza still waiting for food supplies, group says

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Guy Davies

IDF claims it killed head of Hamas Aerial unit

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

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

— ABC News’ David Brenna and Julia Reinstein 

54 killed, 258 wounded in Lebanon in past 24 hours

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Jordana Miller

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Doctors Without Borders staffer killed in northern Gaza

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

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

He is survived by his wife and two children.

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

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

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

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

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

Americans in Lebanon should ‘depart now,’ embassy says

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Airstrike kills 18 in north Lebanon, Red Cross says

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

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Guy Davies

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Guy Davies

IDF claims killing of Hezbollah anti-tank commander

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News Diaa Ostaz and Guy Davies

10 killed amid ‘total siege’ in northern Gaza

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Guy Davies

 

Israel to probe deadly drone attack on troops, Gallant says

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

IDF claims 200 strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon

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

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

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

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

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

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

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

Around 55 more are reported to have been injured.

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

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

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Israel strike on Gaza hospital kills 4, wounds dozens

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

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

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

At least 3 killed in IDF strike on Gaza hospital

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

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

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(LONDON) — At least five people have been hospitalized and 62 others detained after a night of violence targeting Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam Thursday evening, authorities said.

The violence occurred after a UEFA Europa League match between the Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club and the Dutch Ajax Football Club in Amsterdam on Thursday.

The Israeli National Security Headquarters told Israeli citizens staying in Amsterdam to “avoid movements in the street and shut oneself in hotel rooms.”

The Dutch Prime Minister, Dick Schoof, said the situation is now calm and that he is “horrified by the antisemitic attacks on Israeli citizens.” Israeli PM Netanyahu said he had been in touch with Schoof and called for increased security for Jewish communities in the Netherlands.

Tensions were rising in the lead up to the game last night, Amsterdam police on Wednesday night had reported a group of people pulled a Palestinian flag off the face of a building in the center of the city, and that police “prevented a confrontation” between a group of visitors and taxi drivers.

The Amsterdam Police have not yet commented on the incident but announced Wednesday evening that a “number of safety measures” had been taken before the match to ensure “that everything proceeds safely and orderly,” in a post on X.

Officials in Amsterdam said there will now be extra police on the move in the coming days and extra attention “for the extra security of Jewish institutions and objects.”

Amsterdam authorities will be holding a press conference at 12 p.m. on Friday where additional measures that will be taken today and in the coming days will be announced.

ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman and Victoria Beaule contributed to this report.

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