More than 140 killed in Nigerian tanker explosion, officials say

(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, cease-fire discussions are occurring in the Middle East, with officials hoping to bring an end to the conflict.

The United States and its allies continue to plead for a cease-fire deal, with discussions set for this week.

Here’s how the news is developing:

Israel says it killed top militant in West Bank operation

Israeli forces killed the “head of a terrorist network,” Mohammed Jabar, in the West Bank Thursday, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Nadav Shoshani told reporters Thursday.

Jabar and “four other armed operatives that were all directly connected to his network” were in a mosque when they were killed by Israeli forces, Shoshani said.

The bodies of Jabar and the four others killed in the mosque have not been handed over to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the ministry said.

IDF special forces were deployed to the specific area where Jabar was located. There was a significant exchange of fire between the armed terrorists hiding inside the mosque and Israeli forces, according to Shoshani.

Jabar was allegedly planning future attacks, the IDF said.

-ABC News’ Anna Burd and Nasser Atta

Israeli delegation continues cease-fire talks in Qatar

A delegation from Israel — including Israeli Security Agency, Mossad and IDF officials — remains in Doha, Qatar, and is continuing hostage release and cease-fire talks for a second day, an Israeli official told ABC News Thursday.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

West Bank death toll at 12, expected to rise

The Palestinian Ministry of Health has said that at least 12 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ground and air operation in the West Bank.

Another five people are believed to have been killed in a mosque Tulkarm on Wednesday, though their bodies have not been recovered or added to the overall toll.

Israel said “terrorists were hiding in the mosque,” in the city, which is one of four areas subject to the ongoing raids.

Israel ‘fueling’ explosive situation in West Bank: UN

The White House remains “deeply concerned about maintaining stability in the West Bank,” a State Department spokesperson has said, as Israeli forces continue to press its multi-city operation.

“We recognize Israel’s very real security needs to protect all citizens from harm,” the spokesperson added.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement that Israel is “fueling an already explosive situation,” while Guterres himself posted on X calling for an immediate end to the operation.

At least 11 dead, 20 injured in West Bank raids: Palestinian Ministry of Health

At least 11 people are dead and another 20 injured since the Israel Defense Forces launched operations in the West Bank overnight Tuesday, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Hamas says Israel’s temporary pause for polio vaccinations is not enough

Amid rising calls for a pause in fighting to administer polio vaccinations to children in Gaza, Hamas is saying Israel’s temporary pause is not enough.

“This suspicious method that Netanyahu and his government are trying to impose will thwart the United Nations’ move and deprive hundreds of children of vaccination against polio,” Hamas said in a statement Wednesday.

It is still unclear if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan is different from the United Nation’s requests for a temporary pause in fighting.

Hamas is calling for a comprehensive truce throughout Gaza to allow for a polio vaccination campaign.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

World Food Programme pauses staff movement in Gaza after vehicle targeted

The World Food Programme announced it is pausing the movement of its employees in Gaza until further notice after its team came under fire on Tuesday, near an Israeli checkpoint.

The WFP team — traveling in two armored vehicles — was returning from a mission to Kerem Shalom after escorting a convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian cargo routed to central Gaza.

“Despite being clearly marked and receiving multiple clearances by Israeli authorities to approach, the vehicle was directly struck by gunfire as it was moving towards an Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) checkpoint. It sustained at least ten bullets: five on the driver’s side, two on the passenger side and three on other parts of the vehicle. None of the employees onboard were physically harmed,” the WFP said in a statement.

WFP called for protection of humanitarian workers providing essential aid to civilians in Gaza.

“The incident is a stark reminder of the rapidly and ever shrinking humanitarian space in the Gaza Strip, where increasing violence compromises our ability to deliver life-saving assistance. The already critical situation is exacerbated by restricted access and heightened risks, leading to decreased food supplies reaching those in desperate need,” WFP said.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Netanyahu approves ‘limited pauses’ in fighting to facilitate polio vaccination in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved “limited pauses” in fighting to allow for polio vaccinations for children in Gaza amid calls from international aid organizations, according to an Israeli official familiar with deliberations.

The pauses will only be in designated areas, according to the official.

A 10-month-old baby was paralyzed and became the first confirmed case of polio earlier this month.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

10 killed in West Bank as IDF says operation ‘won’t end tomorrow’

Ten people have been killed since the start of the Israel Defense Forces’ operation in the West Bank overnight, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said Wednesday.

The operation is targeting Jenin, Tulkarm and Nablus in the West Bank, IDF spokesman Nadav Shoshani said during a Zoom briefing with reporters Wednesday.

Shoshani implied the operation could go on for a few days, saying it “won’t end tomorrow,” during the IDF briefing.

The IDF did not say how many troops are involved in the operation, but Shoshani called it a “large” operation. Israeli security forces called it a “counterterrorism operation,” in a release Wednesday.

The IDF is surrounding the Ibn Sinai hospital in Jenin “to prevent terrorists from taking shelter there,” Shoshani said, but said the IDF has no plans to “enter, capture or seize” the hospital.

There are no plans to evacuate civilians from the areas where the IDF is operating, Shoshani said.

One of the targets of the operation is the cell that planned a failed suicide bombing attempt in Tel Aviv earlier this month, but the attack did not prompt the large operation, Shoshani added.

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

US announces new sanctions targeting West Bank extremism

The U.S. State Department announced new sanctions targeting an Israeli nongovernmental organization and an individual, Yitzhak Levi Filant, as part of its ongoing efforts to “address the extreme levels of instability and violence against civilians in the West Bank.”

The organization, Hashomer Yosh, is providing support to an outpost in the West Bank and individuals — who are already designated by the U.S. government — and allegedly prevented Palestinian residents that were forced to leave their homes from returning, according to the State Department.

Filant, identified as the civilian security coordinator of a settlement in the West Bank, is accused of engaging “in malign activities outside the scope of his authority,” including an incident in February where he purportedly “led a group of armed settlers to set up roadblocks and conduct patrols to pursue and attack Palestinians in their lands and forcefully expel them from their lands,” the State Department said in a statement.

“Extremist settler violence in the West Bank causes intense human suffering, harms Israel’s security, and undermines the prospect for peace and stability in the region. It is critical that the Government of Israel hold accountable any individuals and entities responsible for violence against civilians in the West Bank,” the State Department said.

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston

Foreign minister urges Gaza-style approach to West Bank ‘terrorist front’

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has framed the unfolding West Bank operation as another front in the country’s showdown with Iran, suggesting Israel should “deal with the threat just as we deal with the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza.”

“Iran is working to establish an eastern terrorist front against Israel in the West Bank, according to the Gaza and Lebanon model, by financing and arming terrorists and smuggling advanced weapons from Jordan,” Katz wrote in a post on X.

Katz said Israel should take “whatever steps are required,” including “the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents.”

“This is a war for everything and we must win it,” he added.

Israel launches largest raids in West Bank in years

The IDF overnight widened a major military operation in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, attacking from the air and from the ground using tanks and bulldozers, ABC News has learned.

The targets of the raid are Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas. The IDF has described the ongoing operation as an “extensive operation to counter terrorism” and to “thwart Islamic-Iranian terrorist infrastructures.”

Reports indicate that nine Palestinians have so far been killed, though that number could rise. The IDF has reportedly ordered Palestinians to evacuate from the three targets locations, with troops also entering a hospital in the area.

The raid is believed to be the first operation by the IDF targeting several cities at once since the Second Intifada, which ran from 2000 to 2005.

IDF launches large raids in the West Bank

Israel Defense Forces said it launched an “operation to counter terrorism” in the northern West Bank overnight Tuesday.

“The security forces have now begun an operation to counter terrorism in Jenin and Tulkarm in the Menashe division,” the IDF said in a statement.

Hostage in good condition, will remain in hospital for more tests

Qaid Farhan Alkadi, the hostage rescued from a tunnel in Gaza, is in “good condition,” but will remain in the hospital for “another day or two of medical tests to make sure he is still OK,” Shlomi Codish, the CEO of Soroka Medical Center, said during a press conference Tuesday.

Alkadi is being treated at the Soroka Medical Center after being rescued by Israeli forces.

Israeli delegation heads to Doha to continue cease-fire talks

A delegation from Israel — including Israeli Security Agency, Mossad and IDF officials — is heading to Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday to continue hostage release and cease-fire talks, an Israeli official told ABC News Tuesday.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Hostage was alone when found by Israeli forces

Qaid Farhan Alkadi was alone when he was located by Israeli forces in a tunnel in Gaza, Israel Defense Forces officials told ABC News.

In the last few days, IDF and Israeli security agency forces had been operating in the area where Alkadi was found and rescued, according to IDF officials. The forces operated underground, in a complex environment where there was suspicion of the presence of hostages, terrorists and explosives, the officials said.

Farhan was located by Israeli forces when he was alone, without his captors, and was rescued from the tunnel, the officials added.

-ABC News’ Dana Savir

Hostage families renew calls for cease-fire after hostage rescue

Hostage families are calling for an immediate cease-fire, calling the rescue of Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi — a Bedouin father of 11 from south of Rahat — from a tunnel in Gaza, “nothing short of miraculous,” in a statement.

“However, we must remember: military operations alone cannot free the remaining 108 hostages, who have suffered 326 days of abuse and terror. A negotiated deal is the only way forward,” the hostage families said in a press release.

Al-Qadi was kidnapped from his security job at Kibbutz Magen’s packing factory on Oct. 7. He is the eighth hostage that Israeli forces have rescued alive since Oct. 7, according to an IDF official.

“Every single day in captivity is one too many. The remaining hostages cannot afford to wait for another such miracle,” hostage families said.

-ABC News’ Dana Savir

Israel to use ‘all means’ to return remaining hostages

IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told a press conference on Tuesday of the “complex rescue mission” that freed Qaid Farhan Alkadi from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip.

“He is back home in Israel,” Hagari said of Alkadi. He is only the eighth hostage rescued alive from Gaza by the IDF, and the first rescued alive from a tunnel under the strip. Alkadi was among scores of people seized in southern Israel during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack.

“We cannot go into many details of this special operation but I can share that Israeli commandos rescued Qaid Farhan Alkadi from an underground tunnel, following accurate intelligence,” Hagari said.

“His medical condition is stable and he will undergo examinations in hospital. His family had been waiting 326 days to receive the news they did today.”

“But there are still 108 hostages, whose families are still waiting to hear news that their loved ones are home. And they should know that we will not rest until we fulfill our mission to bring all our hostages back home.”

“We will pursue the return of our hostages through all means possible. I repeat, through all means possible.”

-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor

Israeli forces rescue hostage from Gaza

The Israeli military announced Tuesday that it had rescued an Arab citizen of Israel who was among scores of people abducted in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terror attack.

Qaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, from the Bedouin town of Rahat in southern Israel, was rescued “in a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip,” according to Israeli authorities.

An Israeli source told ABC News that the rescued hostage is currently at Soroka Medical Center in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.

Top US general ends Israel visit

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. has completed a visit to Israel amid intensifying fighting across the Lebanese border and continued uncertainty about a potential Iranian attack on Israel.

Brown met with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israeli Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi in Tel Aviv on Monday. The officials discussed Hezbollah’s weekend rocket and drone attack and the “need to de-escalate tensions to avoid a broader conflict,” per a Pentagon readout.

Hezbollah launched its attack in retaliation for Israel’s killing of Fouad Shukr in Beirut last month.

Cease-fire talks moving forward after strikes: Kirby

Cease-fire talks are now moving forward at a working group level in Cairo over the next few days to hammer out specifics, according to National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby.

This weekend’s strikes by Israel and Hezbollah have “not affected the actual work on the ground by the teams trying to get this cease-fire deal in place,” Kirby told reporters Monday.

Kirby also rejected any suggestion that talks broke down this weekend, instead saying they were “constructive” enough to work on “finer details” at lower levels.

“There was no breakdown,” he said. “They made enough progress that they were willing to, or needed to transition to a working group level so you didn’t need the mediators all there and the leadership there.”

Brett McGurk, a top senior adviser on the Middle East at the White House, stayed in Cairo an extra day to kick off the meetings and is still there, Kirby said, adding that all parties are being represented in these discussions.

“One issue that will be for the working groups to flesh out is the exchange of hostages and prisoners that Israel’s holding — what that exchange looks like, how many, some of the details of exactly who will be released on either side and at what pace, those kinds of things,” Kirby said.

Al-Aqsa Hospital still operating despite evacuations

Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah is still operating, despite new temporary evacuation orders from Israeli forces to leave the surrounding area near the hospital.

Out of the 650 patients in Al-Aqsa Hospital, only 100 remain in the hospital that are being treated, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said.

The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged they have been “operating in recent days in the Deir al Balah area,” but they said the evacuation orders did not include “the hospitals and medical facilities in the area,” in response to an inquiry from ABC News.

Three out of 18 water wells are still functioning in Deir al Balah due to “ongoing military operations,” the U.N. Agency for Palestinian Refugees said in a post Monday.

World Food Programme operations ‘severely hampered’ in Gaza

The World Food Programme, the U.N.’s worldwide food assistance program, is being “severely hampered” by the “intensifying conflict” in Gaza.

The agency said border crossings have been limited and roads in Gaza have become so unusable that urgent repairs are needed in order to transport basic needs, like food and medicine.

“Transporting food, water, medicine and hygiene equipment is critical for the survival of communities in Gaza today and will be needed for months to come,” Antoine Renard, the country director for Gaza, said in a statement. “Roads are part of this lifeline.”

6:26 PM EDT
Hospital in central Gaza under evacuation order after nearby explosion

Israeli forces issued an evacuation order in the vicinity of the Al Aqsa Hospital, Deir Al Balah, in central Gaza, urging people to flee, according to a statement from Doctors Without Borders Sunday.

“An explosion approximately 250 meters away triggered panic with many choosing to leave the hospital,” the organization said.

Of the approximately 650 patients in the hospital prior to the explosion, only 100 remain, with seven in the intensive care unit, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Doctors Without Borders is considering suspending wound care for the time being, while trying to maintain lifesaving treatment, according to the statement.

“This situation is unacceptable,” the organization said. “Al Aqsa has been operating well beyond capacity for weeks due to the lack of alternatives for patients. All warring parties must respect the hospital, as well as patients’ access to medical care.”

Aug 26, 2024, 4:56 PM EDT
Sirens sound in Tel Aviv as Hamas fires rocket from Gaza

Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv Sunday night for the first time since January as Hamas launched a single rocket toward central Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces said the Hamas rocket fell into an “open area” in Rishon LeTsiyon, south of Tel Aviv.

Israeli emergency services officials said no one was injured by the rocket, but a 26-year-old woman was hurt going to a shelter.

Hamas confirmed it fired an “M90” rocket at Tel Aviv.

-ABC News Victoria Beaule

4:37 PM EDT
Hezbollah leader says missile barrage on Israeli base ‘has ended’

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said missile and drone strikes targeting a “base for military intelligence” near Tel Aviv, Israel, “has ended” for now.

Nasrallah said the strikes carried out Sunday constituted the first and second phases of Hezbollah’s response to Israeli missile strikes in Lebanon. He said Hezbollah reserves the right to “respond” if it learns its strikes on Israel are not “sufficient.”

Nasrallah said Hezbollah’s missile and drone strikes targeted the Glilot military base near Tel Aviv, alleging it is a “base for military intelligence.”

“It contains a large number of officers and soldiers and it manages many of the assassination operations that take place in the region, as well as the sedition and deception operations,” Nasrallah alleged.

Hezbollah believes “a number of drones” reached their target. Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said most of the Hezbollah missiles and drones were intercepted and denied that the Glilot military base was hit.

Hagari also confirmed that the soldier who was killed in the Hezbollah missile strike was hit by a fragment of an Iron Dome interceptor.

Nasrallah said a total of 340 missiles were fired at the Glilot military base.

A “preemptive strike” by Israel failed to cause any significant damage, according to Nasrallah.

“What happened was aggression, not a preemptive action,” Nasrallah said.

-ABC News Victoria Beaule

3:33 PM EDT
Hamas rejects latest cease-fire deal

Hamas leader Osama Hamdan has released a statement indicating Hamas does not accept the latest iteration of the cease-fire proposal as written.

Hamas insists that changes added by Israel since July 2 are non-starters for them, specifically, Israel Defense Forces positions in the Philadelphi corridor, an eight-and-a-half-mile long demilitarized buffer zone running along the border between Egypt and Gaza. Hamas also objected to a proposal for non-Palestinian control of the Rafah border crossing.

Hamdan said Hamas will not return to the cease-fire talks as long as the new conditions stay in the proposal.

“The occupation set new conditions for accepting the agreement and backed away from what it had previously agreed to,” Hamdan said in a statement. “The delegation informed the mediators today of our opinion.”

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule

1:16 PM EDT
Soldier killed, 2 others injured in ‘combat’ in Northern Israel, says IDF

An Israeli soldier was killed and two others were injured Sunday “in combat in northern Israel,” the Israel Defense Forces announced.

The circumstances of what led to the death and injuries of the soldiers were not immediately disclosed by the IDF.

The soldier who was killed was identified by the IDF as Petty Officer 1st Class David Moshe Ben Shitrit, 21, of Geva Binyamin, Israel. The soldier was a member of the Israeli Navy’s 914th Fleet, according to the IDF.

The two soldiers who suffered light to moderate injuries are also members of the 914th Fleet, according to the IDF. Their names were not immediately released.

-ABC News’ Anna Burd and Jordana Miller

US not involved in Israel’s pre-emptive strike on Lebanon, official says

A U.S. official reaffirmed Sunday that the United States was not involved in Israel’s pre-emptive strike Saturday night on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon but had provided Israel some intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information believed to have been used in the mission.

The U.S. had provided some “ISR support in terms of tracking incoming Lebanese Hezbollah attacks but did not conduct any kinetic operations as they were not required,” the official said.

“We continue to closely monitor the situation and remain well-postured and ready to support the defense of Israel from attacks by Iran and any of its proxies, to include Lebanese Hezbollah,” the official said.

At least three people were killed overnight in the Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Sunday. The casualties included two people who were killed in the village of At Tiri and one in the town of Khiam, the ministry said, adding that two additional people were injured and required hospitalization.

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez

IDF issues new evacuation order in central Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces announced a new evacuation order Sunday for a small strip of land in a humanitarian area of central Gaza.

The new evacuation order for an area of Deir al-Balah came just days after the IDF ordered the evacuation of two refugee camps in the same area as the Israeli military prepared for a new ground offensive in the humanitarian zone.

The IDF suspects that Hamas terrorists are hiding in the area and using Palestinian refugees as human shields.

Sunday’s evacuation order affected those living in a relatively small area of Deir al-Balah that includes five schools sheltering displaced people and tent camps around them.
The area is near the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, one of the largest remaining functional hospitals in Gaza, servicing all of central Gaza.

-ABC News’ Bictoria Beaule

Hezbollah planned to strike Israeli intelligence, sources tell ABC News

Israel believes the Hezbollah targets in central Israel were meant to be a complex of intelligence bases and the headquarters of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, just north of Tel Aviv, two Israeli security sources told ABC News.

-ABC News’ Dana Savir and Bruno Nota

3 killed, 2 injured in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, officials say

At least three people were killed overnight in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Sunday.

Two were killed in the village of At Tiri and one in the town of Khiam, the ministry said, adding that two additional people were injured and required hospitalization.

The United Nations agency in charge of peacekeeping in southern Lebanon called on Sunday for a cease-fire and for all sides to “refrain from further escalatory action.”

“In light of worrying developments across the Blue Line since the early morning, UNSCOL and UNIFIL call on all to cease fire and refrain from further escalatory action,” the agency said in a statement, referring to a demarcation line separating Israel from Lebanon.

There have been no reports of injuries on the Israeli side, according to emergency services in Israel.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz, Jordana Miller and Victoria Beaule

Israel continues strikes in southern Lebanon, IDF says

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday said the military was targeting Hezbollah with additional strikes in southern Lebanon.

“In the last hour, the IDF struck Hezbollah launchers in several areas in southern Lebanon to remove threats,” the IDF said in a statement. “In addition, the IDF identified a terrorist cell operating in the area of Khiam in southern Lebanon. The IAF swiftly struck the terrorists.”

-ABC News’ Anna Burd and Victoria Beaule

‘Whoever harms us — we will harm them,’ Netanyahu says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday described his country’s preemptive strikes within Lebanon as a “strong action to foil the threats” raised by a potential attack by Hezbollah.

“It has eliminated thousands of rockets that were aimed at northern Israel,” Netanyahu said as he convened his Security Cabinet for a meeting at 7 a.m. local time. “It is thwarting many other threats and is taking very strong action — both defensively and offensively.”

Netanyahu had earlier in the morning been managing the situation with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant from the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, his office said. The prime minister’s office released photos of the pair meeting with military officials.

“We are determined to do everything to defend our country, to return the residents of the north securely to their homes and to continue upholding a simple rule: Whoever harms us — we will harm them,” Netanyahu said.

-ABC News’ Kevin Shalvey

‘Thousands’ of Hezbollah rocket launchers destroyed, IDF says

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday said it had destroyed “thousands” of Hezbollah rocket launchers.

“Approximately 100 IAF fighter jets, directed by IDF intelligence, struck and destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels that were located and embedded in southern Lebanon,” the military said in a statement.

The statement added, “Most of these launchers were aimed toward northern Israel and some were aimed toward central Israel. More than 40 launches areas in Lebanon were struck during the strikes.”

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Kevin Shalvey

Israel warns Lebanese citizens of danger as it strikes Hezbollah

The Israeli Air Force launched “dozens” of planes to attack locations throughout southern Lebanon, saying it was continuing “to remove threats, to vigorously attack the terrorist organization Hezbollah.”

“Israel’s air defense systems, navy ships and Air Force planes are on a defense mission above the country’s skies, identifying, intercepting threats and attacking wherever in Lebanon it is required in order to remove threats and harm Hezbollah,” Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said.

The aerial strikes within Lebanon were coming as Israeli defenses were dealing with “different types of threats,” including scores of rockets and drones launched into Israeli airspace, he said.

“We have already intercepted a number of rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles that approached the territory of the State of Israel,” Hagari said.He added, “We warn the Lebanese citizens in South Lebanon. We recognize that Hezbollah is firing in a large area near your homes. You are in danger. We attack and remove Hezbollah threats.”

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Kevin Shalvey

Hezbollah claims hundreds of rockets launched at Israel

Hezbollah claimed early on Sunday to have launched more than 320 rockets toward 11 military locations within Israel and Golan Heights.

The “enemy sites” that had been targeted were detailed in a statement. They included military bases in Meron, Ein Zeytim and Al-Sahl.

Barracks in Naveh Ziv, Ramot Naftali and Zaoura were also among the sites targeted, Hezbollah said.

The group described those launches as a “first stage,” saying they were “targeting Israeli barracks and sites to facilitate the passage of offensive drones towards their desired target deep inside” Israel.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Kevin Shalvey

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(LONDON) —  A “suspicious person” was shot dead by Munich police near the Israeli consulate in what authorities said they believe was a planned terrorist attack.

The incident occurred in the Karolinenplatz area of the southern German city on Thursday morning.

Munich’s police force said in a statement on social media that officers deployed to the scene encountered an armed 18-year-old suspect and engaged him in a shootout.

“The suspect was fatally injured,” police said. “There are still no indications of further suspects or other injured persons.”

The 18-year-old suspect was an Austrian citizen living in Austria who did not have a permanent residence in Germany, Munich police said. He was carrying an “older carbine with attached bayonet” when shot, officials said. The suspect parked a car near the crime scene, police said.

“At present, it is assumed that the attack was a terrorist attack, also with reference to the Consulate General of the State of Israel, with one focus of the ongoing investigation being the suspect’s motivation for the crime,” the Munich police said in a statement translated by The Associated Press.

Police added they are still investigating the suspect’s alleged motive.

The area was cordoned off with a helicopter in the air above the scene, the force said. Police later issued an “all clear” statement assuring people in the area that “there is no longer any danger to the population.”

The shooting occurred next to the city’s Nazi Documentation Center, police said. Authorities urged residents to “avoid this area as much as possible” as the investigation continued, and warned of road closures and disruption to nearby public transit routes.

The Nazi Documentation Center is one of the city’s most popular museums, located midway between the famous Karolinenplatz and Königsplatz squares just northwest of the medieval old town. It is less than 500 feet from the Israeli consulate.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed there had been a “shooting incident” close to the consulate, noting the facility was closed on Thursday coinciding with the anniversary of the deadly terror attack at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

“No one from the consulate staff was injured in the incident,” the ministry’s spokesperson said. “The shooter was neutralized by the German security forces and the incident is under their care.”

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Victoria Beaule and Dana Savir contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the U.S. military announced it is moving more forces to the Middle East.

The United States and its allies continue to plead for a cease-fire deal while Israel anticipates possible retaliatory action from Iran or Hezbollah following multiple assassinations of top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in recent weeks.

Here’s how the news is developing:

Blinken arrives in Israel ahead of new round of cease-fire talks

Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Sunday evening local time ahead of cease-fire talks that are scheduled to resume in Egypt this week.

Following discussions in Doha, Qatar, last week, senior officials are due to meet again this week in Egypt. Israel has said it will send a team to Cairo to continue talks, but Hamas has dismissed any hint of progress as an “illusion.”

While in Israel, Blinken is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials to press for a cease-fire agreement. Netanyahu has expressed “cautious optimism” about the talks, but said Sunday that “there are things we can’t be flexible about.”

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

Netanyahu says Israel ‘can’t be flexible’ on some issues

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel “can’t be flexible” about certain things while cease-fire talks continue.

Netanyahu commented on the cease-fire talks during his weekly cabinet meeting and ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s scheduled arrival in Israel on Sunday evening local time.

“We are conducting very complex negotiations when on the other side is a murderous, uninhibited and recalcitrant terrorist organization,” Netanyahu said, referring to Hamas. “But I want to emphasize — we are conducting negotiations, not negotiation. There are things we can be flexible about, and there are things we can’t be flexible about — and we insist on them. We know very well how to differentiate between the two.”

Following discussions in Doha, Qatar, this week, senior officials are due to meet again next week in Egypt. Israel has said it will send a team to Cairo to continue talks, but Hamas has dismissed any hint of progress as an illusion.

“Therefore, besides the great efforts we are making to return our abductees, we stand firm on the principles we have established, which are essential for Israel’s security. These principles — I repeat — are consistent with the May 27 outline, which received American support,” Netanyahu said Sunday.

Netanyahu said Hamas has refused to negotiate, noting it did not send a representative to the talks in Doha.

“Therefore, the pressure should be directed at Hamas and Sinwar, and not at the Israeli government,” he said, referring to Yahya Sinwar, the newly named political leader of Hamas and one of the key architects of Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel. “The strong military pressure, and the strong political pressure, this is the way to achieve the release of our abductees.”

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Blinken heads to Tel Aviv as parties work on ‘specific details’ in cease-fire negotiations

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will land in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Sunday evening as talks over a Gaza cease-fire hang in the balance.

Following discussions in Doha, Qatar, this week, senior officials are due to meet again next week in Egypt. Israel has said it will send a team to Cairo to continue talks, but Hamas has dismissed any hint of progress as an illusion.

Vedant Patel, the State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson, told reporters at a Thursday briefing that the parties are yet to settle “some specific details, some specific implementing factors,” but that there is “broad agreement on the contours” of a proposal set out by President Joe Biden in May.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed “cautious optimism” of progress, though one Israeli official said that “gaps” remain on sensitive topics, including whether or not Israeli forces will withdraw from key strategic areas within Gaza.

Meanwhile, the death toll continues to grow in the devastated strip. This weekend, more than 60 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Tom Soufi Burridge

Biden: ‘No one in the region should take actions to undermine’ cease-fire deal

With a cease-fire deal “now in sight,” President Joe Biden said in a statement Friday that “no one in the region should take actions to undermine this process.”

Biden said his teams will “report to me regularly” as they remain on the ground over the coming days. Senior officials “will convene again in Cairo before the end of the week,” he said.

The expectation is for a cease-fire to go into place soon after there is agreement between the parties, a source familiar with the talks told ABC News.

-ABC News’ Justin Gomez

First case of polio confirmed in 10-month-old Gazan baby

A 10-month-old baby has become the first confirmed case of polio in Gaza, as international aid organizations and the United Nations push for a temporary humanitarian cease-fire to administer polio vaccinations, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The baby, located in is in Deir al-Balah, had not received a polio vaccination.

“The continued brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has resulted in a health disaster, as attested by international organizations. The lack of basic hygiene needs, the lack of sanitation services, the accumulation of waste in the streets and around the places where displaced persons are sheltered, and the lack of safe drinking water have created an environment conducive to the spread and transmission of many epidemics, including waterborne diseases such as the vaccine-derived polio virus,” the ministry said in a statement.

Blinken to travel to Israel

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel on Saturday amid reports Hamas and Israel are close to a cease-fire deal.

Blinken will head to Israel Saturday to “continue intensive diplomatic efforts to conclude the agreement for a ceasefire and release of hostages and detainees through the bridging proposal presented today by the United States, with support from Egypt and Qatar,” according to the state department.

Cease-fire talks ‘in the end game,’ senior US official says

Cease-fire negotiations are “now in the end game,” according to a senior U.S. official, who discussed what to expect over the next week as a deal is on the brink of finalizing.

The main elements of the proposal that President Joe Biden laid out on May 31 remain, but negotiators have taken the areas of disagreement and “bridged those in a way that we think basically is a deal that is now ready to close and implement and move forward.”

“There is still more work to do, and over the course of this week, there are working group engagements to talk about everything from the list of hostages and the sequence by which hostages would be released, the list of Palestinian prisoners, because ultimately, this is an exchange, similar to what you saw in the November cease-fire deal,” the official told reporters Friday.

Getting to this point has been “extremely complicated” and the portion of the deal focusing on the exchange of prisoners and hostages was a “large basis” of the talks in Doha, Qatar.

“There was some gaps there, and some trade space between the parties, which I think we’ve now gone a long way to bridge,” the official said.

With tensions remaining high as Iran weighs a retaliatory attack on Israel, the official said if Iran really does want to see a cease-fire deal reached, “now is an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is and to basically work towards the conclusion of this.”

“It’s just ironic, it was Hamas, a proxy of Iran, started this war on Oct. 7, and it would be ironic if Iran were to do something to basically derail what we think is the best opportunity for the comprehensive cease-fire and hostage during these deal that we have had in many months.”

Biden says negotiations are ‘closer than we’ve ever been’

President Joe Biden says negotiators are “closer than we’ve ever been” on reaching a deal and “much, much closer” than they were three days ago.

3 Gazan children present symptoms of polio

Three children have presented with suspected acute flaccid paralysis, a common symptom of polio, weeks after poliovirus was detected in environmental samples from Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah.

International aid groups are calling for temporary humanitarian pauses in order to launch polio vaccination campaigns across the Gaza Strip at the end of August and September to prevent the spread of the circulating variant type 2 poliovirus.

“During each round of the campaign, the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and partners, will provide two drops of novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) to more than 640 000 children under ten years of age,” the WHO and UNICEF said in a statement.

Hamas said it supports a humanitarian pause in order to vaccinate thousands of children against quadriplegia.

“At least 95% vaccination coverage during each round of the campaign is needed to prevent the spread of polio and reduce the risk of its re-emergence, given the severely disrupted health, water and sanitation systems in the Gaza Strip,” the aid groups said.

Qatar, Egypt, US say new proposal was given to Israel, Hamas

A new “bridge proposal” was presented to Israel and Hamas, according to a joint statement from Qatar, Egypt and the U.S.

Israeli sources told ABC News progress has been made in negotiations and some of the gaps have narrowed. But Hamas said that the Israeli side did not abide by what was agreed upon on July 2 and Netanyahu even backed down from what was stated in the Israeli paper on May 27.

More talks will be held in Cairo next week to bridge the gap and complete the deal, the three countries said.

“Working teams will continue technical work over the coming days on the details of implementation including arrangements to implement the agreement’s extensive humanitarian provisions as well as specifics relating to hostages and detainees,” Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. said.

“There is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay,” the countries said.

IDF issues new evacuation orders, moves humanitarian zone in Khan Younis

Israel is calling on Palestinians sheltering in the humanitarian zone in northern Khan Yunis and eastern Deir al Balah to temporarily evacuate to the adjusted humanitarian area.

“The adjustment is being made following accurate intelligence information according to which the Hamas terrorist organization has established terrorist infrastructure in an area defined as a Humanitarian Area,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

Hamas said forcing thousands of Palestinian civilians to repeatedly displace has led to their overcrowding in harsh conditions that threaten their lives and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.

“Forcing our people in northern Khan Yunis and eastern Deir al-Balah by the criminal Zionist occupation army to flee to the so-called ‘humanitarian and safe areas’ is nothing but another means to deepen the collective punishment and genocide that our people have been subjected to for more than ten months. The occupation uses displacement as a weapon in its war against defenseless civilians, in an attempt to break their will and increase their human suffering,” Hamas political bureau member Izzat al-Rishq said in a statement.

Israel has continued to conduct strikes on humanitarian areas despite official designations that they are safe zones for civilians.

Hamas says Israeli evasion is obstacle to cease-fire agreement

As negotiations between Hamas and Israel continue in Qatar, Hamas said the obstacle to reaching a cease-fire in Gaza is continued Israel evasion.

Hamas said that any agreement must include a complete withdrawal from Gaza, the return of displaced people and the reconstruction, in addition to a prisoner exchange deal, according to Husam Badran, a member of the Hamas’ political bureau.

At least 1 dead, several injured after Israeli settlers raid West Bank village

At least one person was killed and several others were injured after Israeli settlers raided Jit, a village in the West Bank.

Dozens of Israeli citizens, some of them masked, entered the village of Jit in Samaria Thursday evening and set fire to vehicles and buildings in the village, threw stones and threw Molotov cocktails, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

IDF and Magav forces jumped into the village within minutes of receiving the report, dispersed demonstrations and shot into the air, and removed the Israeli citizens from the village.

Security forces arrested one Israeli citizen, who was handed over to the Israel Police for further treatment.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement on the attack saying “those responsible for any criminal act will be caught and prosecuted.”

Benny Gantz, chairman of Israel’s National United Party, also said those who commited acts of violence on Thursday should be behind bars and said they are “harming the state of Israel.”

“They deserve unequivocal condemnation from all parts of society and from the entire leadership in Israel,” Gantz said in a statement.

IDF claims more than 17,000 militants ‘eliminated’ in Gaza

The Israeli Defense Forces claimed it has “eliminated over 17,000 terrorists” in Gaza on Thursday.

More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Negotiations between Israel, Hamas have started, US says

Negotiations are “just starting there in Doha,” Qatar, despite Hamas saying it will not attend the talks, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters during a call Thursday.

“We’re at a point now where the framework is generally accepted and where the gaps are in the execution of the deal, the individual muscle movements that go with putting the deal in place,” Kirby said.

“In the past, it has worked very similar to how it’s working in Doha today, where mediators will sit and discuss work things out, and then those mediators will be in touch with Hamas, and then the Hamas leaders in Doha then communicate directly with Mr. Sinwar for final answers,” Kirby said.

Netanyahu, IDF chief at odds over withdrawing from Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Forces chief Herzi Halevi are at odds over a key provision amid cease-fire negotiations — IDF withdrawing from the Gaza Strip.

The IDF chief of staff said that holding on to any part of Gaza or the Philadelphi corridor are conditions Israel should not break a potential deal with Hamas over. The IDF can deal with being out of Gaza and giving up the control on Philadelphi, Halevi said.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu firmly stands by the principle that the IDF will remain physically on the Philadelphi axis, according to a source close to Netanyahu.

Cease-fire talks resume in Qatar

A U.S. delegation is in the Qatari capital of Doha for the resumption of cease-fire talks related to Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

CIA chief Bill Burns is part of the U.S. group, while the head of Mossad — David Barnea — is with the Israeli delegation. High level Egyptian officials are also in attendance.

The talks are being hosted by Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Discussions will take place over two days.

Hamas is not taking part in the negotiations. The group announced on Wednesday it would not send a representative in protest of what it said was Israel’s failure to commit to negotiating on the basis of a July 2 cease-fire proposal.

Grim milestone of 40,000 killed in Gaza, says Hamas-run Health Ministry

Israel’s war in Gaza has hit another grim milestone after the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the strip declared that the death toll had passed 40,000 since the start of the war on Oct. 8.

On Thursday, officials in Gaza said a total of 40,005 people had been killed in the conflict.

That figure does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. However, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said there were more than 11,000 women and more than 16,000 children among the dead.

The true death toll in Gaza, after more than 10 months of war, could be significantly higher than the Health Ministry’s figure because officials in Gaza estimate that an additional 10,000 people in Gaza are unaccounted for because of the war.

Latest on the state of play for high-stakes Gaza cease-fire talks

On the eve of what is supposed to be a critical, final push to seal the Gaza cease-fire/hostage release deal, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is working the phones with key mediators as the U.S. works to make sure negotiations will indeed press on.

In his conversations with his Qatari and Egyptian counterparts, Blinken discussed efforts to reach an agreement and stressed that “no party in the region should take actions that would undermine efforts to reach a deal,” according to readouts of the calls.

This comes as Hamas continues to assert that it will not participate in the talks in Doha, Qatar — accusing Israel of moving the goal posts and insisting it will only move forward with the version of the deal it agreed to in early July.

Qatar has assured the Biden administration that it will drum up some sort of Hamas representative to fill the group’s seat at the negotiating table, U.S. officials said. However, Qatar has made no promise about the quality of said representation. Getting messages to Hamas’ ultimate power and deciding vote, Yahya Sinwar, can take days or even weeks, so to be effective in the talks, the intermediary needs to have a good idea of what Sinwar might ultimately sign off on and what’s a nonstarter.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is insisting on maintaining operational control over the Philadelphi Corridor — a narrow strip of land separating Gaza from Egypt — through the duration of any cease-fire, as well as implementing additional procedures for Gazans that would be returning to their homes in the North, according to officials familiar with the matter.

As for Hamas, the group has called for more than two dozen changes to the framework that was rolled out in May, which U.S. officials have repeatedly insisted is “nearly identical” to a deal Hamas previously agreed to.

Regarding Iran, U.S. officials don’t have a crystal-clear view of Tehran’s position, but the administration does put stock into the idea that Iran doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardize a peace deal and sees the looming talks as a potential reason there hasn’t yet been retaliation against Israel for the killing of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Two Hezbollah fighters killed, IDF and Hezbollah say

Israeli forces said they killed two Hezbollah members in Lebanon on Wednesday.

Hezbollah also confirmed the death of two of their fighters in statements released on Wednesday.

The IDF said an Israeli Air Force aircraft “eliminated two Hezbollah terrorists” in the area of Marjayoun in southern Lebanon.

Netanyahu gives negotiating team more flexibility: Israeli official

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expanded the mandate and positions of the Israeli negotiators, an Israeli official told ABC News, giving the team more flexibility ahead of the cease-fire talks in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday.

The development comes as he faces growing criticism to reach a cease-fire deal.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

White House expects cease-fire talks to ‘move forward as planned’

The White House expects Thursday’s cease-fire negotiations in Doha, Qatar, to “move forward as planned” and said the announcement of Hamas not sending a delegation is just “public posturing” in advance of those discussions.

“We expect these talks to move forward as planned. [CIA] Director [Bill] Burns and Brett McGurk, [White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa], will both travel to Qatar for these discussions. There’s always a lot of public posturing in advance. We’ve seen that before. It’s not new of these talks, and I’m not going to certainly weigh in on any of that, just like I’m not going to discuss the details of the negotiation,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday.

Israel closes humanitarian route through Rafah

Israeli forces “temporarily” closed the humanitarian route in the area of Rafah, in southern Gaza, on Tuesday, saying Hamas operatives “opened fire” toward the route.

This is the second time the IDF has closed this route in the past week.

The route is an 8-mile road going from the Kerem Shalom crossing, near Rafah, north near Khan Younis and the humanitarian zone.

Hamas not attending cease-fire negotiations in Qatar

Hamas said it will not be attending cease-fire negotiations in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday.

“The movement demands a clear commitment from the occupation to what was agreed upon on July 2, according to the clarifications conveyed by the mediators, and if that happens, the movement is ready to enter into the mechanisms for implementing the agreement,” Hamas Political Bureau Member Dr. Suhail al-Hindi told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed TV.

Israel to send delegation to Qatar to negotiate cease-fire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the sending of an Israeli delegation to Doha, Qatar, on Thursday to continue negotiations for a cease-fire agreement.

This comes as Netanyahu is receiving pushback internally and externally amid reports he changed the parameters of what he would agree to.

Biden expects Iran to hold off on retaliatory attack if a cease-fire deal is reached

President Joe Biden addressed the rising tensions in the Middle East Tuesday after U.S. officials warned Iran could launch a retaliatory attack on Israel as early as “this week.”

Biden told reporters he expects Iran to hold off on carrying out a retaliatory attack against Israel if a cease-fire deal with Hamas is reached.

“That’s my expectation, but we’ll see,” Biden said after arriving in New Orleans, LA.

Last week, Biden along with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar jointly called for Israel and Hamas to return to the negotiating table and reach an agreement that would free hostages and end the war in Gaza.

Hamas leaders declined the new set of cease-fire conditions on Sunday, asking for negotiations to resume around what was presented in July.

US approves $20 billion more in arms sales to Israel

The U.S. State Department has signed off on several large arms transfers to Israel, notifying Congress on Tuesday that it has approved the sale of more than $20 billion worth of weaponry and military equipment.

All of the sales surpass the value threshold that requires the State Department to formally notify Congress 15 days before initiating the transfer process. Congress can move to reject the transaction by adopting a joint resolution of disapproval within that timeframe.

Some of the items aren’t scheduled to arrive in Israel for years.

Israeli forces kill two Hezbollah fighters, IDF says

Israeli forces killed two Hezbollah fighters from its Southern Front on Tuesday, the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement. Hezbollah has confirmed the death of two of their fighters on Tuesday.

These attacks come as Israel awaits a response from Hezbollah and Iran for killings in recent weeks.

CIA director, Biden aide to head to Middle East to salvage hostage talks

Several U.S. officials are headed to the Middle East this week in a bid to de-escalate regional tensions and try to salvage hostage negotiations, as the window for a deal appears to be closing.

CIA Director Bill Burns is expected to arrive in Doha, Qatar, this week, where he will lead a crucial meeting on the hostages, according to a U.S. official. It’s not clear, however, whether a representative of Hamas will attend.

Meanwhile, Brett McGurk, Biden’s top adviser on the Middle East at the White House, was expected to travel separately to Cairo, according to the U.S. official.

Axios first reported the travel plans for Burns and McGurk, noting that McGurk’s plan was to nail down a security plan for the Egypt-Gaza border.

The diplomatic trip also comes as the U.S. has been scrambling to revive a coalition of countries that helped to defend Israel last April during an attack by Iran.

Israel has been bracing for Iran to launch a retaliatory attack following the assassination of a senior Hamas official in Tehran.

The U.S. official acknowledged “there have been complications” with getting some of the Arab countries on board but added they’ve been “able to put in place preparations” to defend Israel successfully.

-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty

Western leaders call on Iran to ‘stand down’

The leaders of the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Italy called on Iran to “stand down” and expressed their support for Israel’s defense “against Iranian aggression” during a call on Monday, according to a joint statement released by the White House.

“We called on Iran to stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel and discussed the serious consequences for regional security should such an attack take place,” the statement said.

The leaders also expressed their support for ongoing efforts to reach a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza, according to the statement.

-ABC News’ Justin Gomez

Hostage deal talks expected to move forward: State Department

As the Middle East continues its uneasy wait for Iran’s response to the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, the State Department is pressing on with its high-stakes diplomatic campaign to constrain military action from Tehran amid fresh waves of uncertainty.

“We continue to work diplomatically to prevent any major escalation in this conflict,” deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters Monday. “We obviously don’t want to see any kind of attack or response happen in the first place.”

Multiple officials within the State Department said they are still cautiously optimistic that Iran will limit the scope of its retaliation, but that they increasingly expect the country will strike at Israel before Thursday — the date the Biden administration, along with Egypt and Qatar, set to relaunch hostage/cease-fire deal talks in hopes of bringing Israel and Hamas back to the table for a final push.

A joint statement issued by the mediators last week was designed not only to pressure the parties involved, but as a message to Iran that an agreement was in the offing meant to persuade the country against military action that could scuttle a deal, according to an official.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also publicly warned Monday that Iranian military action could impede progress at a critical point in the negotiations.

However, Hamas’ earlier announcement that it would not participate in the round of negotiations and public infighting among top Israeli officials have cast significant doubt over whether the Thursday meeting will even happen — undercutting the administration’s intended message to Tehran.

At the podium Monday, Patel said mediators “fully expect talks to move forward as they should” in order to “bring this deal to conclusion.”

He declined to say whether Hamas or Israel was the bigger impediment.

“I’m not going to color it one way or the other,” Patel said while noting that “the prime minister of Israel immediately welcomed this initiative and confirmed that the Israeli team will be there, and they’ll be prepared to finalize the details of implementing the deal.”

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston

Retaliatory attack on Israel could come ‘this week’: Kirby

A United States assessment shows a retaliatory attack by Iran and its proxies against Israel could be launched “this week,” the White House said Monday.

“We share the same concerns and expectations that our Israeli counterparts have with respect to potential timing here. Could be this week,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “We’re continuing to watch it very, very closely.”

Kirby said it’s difficult to ascertain what a potential attack could look like at this time but that “we have to be prepared for what could be a significant set of attacks.”

Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari told reporters on Monday that Israel remains “on high alert.”

“We take seriously the threats of our enemies and that is why we are on high alert offensively and defensively,” he said.

Hagari said the IDF will “work hard to give the public time to get organized.”

-ABC News’ Justin Gomez

Netanyahu accuses defense minister of ‘adopting anti-Israel narrative’

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant appeared to take a swing at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Knesset committee meeting about Israel’s response to ongoing cross-border tensions with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

“I hear all the heroes with the war drums, the ‘absolute victory’ and this gibberish,” Gallant reportedly said, alluding to Netanyahu’s slogan through the war, according to Israeli media.

Netanyahu’s office released a statement shortly after, saying Gallant too is bound by the policy of “absolute victory.”

“When Gallant adopts the anti-Israel narrative, he hurts the chances of reaching a deal for the release of the abductees,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said. “He should have attacked [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar, who refuses to send a delegation to the negotiations, and who was and remains the only obstacle to the kidnapping deal.”

National Unity Party Chairman Benny Gantz warned about internal divisions in Israel during an address on Monday.

“If we don’t come to our senses, there will be a civil war here,” Gantz said.

He said there have been “heroes,” from soldiers to volunteers, in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack, but also “leadership that dissolves, networks that poison the well from which we live.”

“The patriotic Israeli majority should stop the hatred and make amends,” Gantz said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Hezbollah says it is still determined to attack Israel

While the weekend passed with no direct retaliation from Hezbollah for the killings of several top leaders by Israeli strikes, the group said it still plans to strike.

“The response is coming and inevitable and there is no turning back from it,” Ali Damoush, the deputy chairman of the Executive Council of Hezbollah, said Monday.

The Hezbollah official saif America, Great Britain, Germany and everyone who supplies Israel with weapons is a partner in the Gaza massacres.

“Israel does not find any practical and serious response to its massacres, and this is what encourages it to continue committing crimes and massacres, and without effective pressure Netanyahu will not stop his crimes,” Damoush claimed.

Israeli Air Force bans travel abroad

Amid fears that an attack from Iran may be imminent, the commander of Israel’s Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, has issued an order barring servicemembers from traveling abroad. The directive applies to career officers and non-commissioned officers, not conscripts, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

US is ‘strengthening’ military force in Middle East over ‘escalating’ tensions

The U.S. is “strengthening” its capabilities in the Middle East by sending an additional guided missile submarine to the region “in light of escalating regional tensions,” according to a statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder issued on Sunday.

The update comes the same day Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.

“Secretary Austin reiterated the United States’ commitment to take every possible step to defend Israel,” according to the statement.

Secretary Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, equipped with F-35C fighters, to accelerate its transit to the Middle East, which was previously expected to get there by the end of the month.

The Lincoln was already en route to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt, but will now add to the capabilities of the Roosevelt

Additionally, Austin has ordered the USS Georgia guided missile submarine to the Middle East.

The statement doesn’t say how soon the Lincoln or the USS Georgia will arrive in the region.

Israeli forces intercept ‘projectiles’ crossing from Lebanon, no injuries: IDF

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intercepted approximately 30 “projectiles” that were identified as crossing from Lebanon into northern Israel early Monday morning local time, the IDF said in a statement.

No injuries were reported from the attacks, the IDF said.

“The IDF is striking the sources of fire,” the IDF added.

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