Why Trump’s imminent return might scuttle Biden’s last plays in foreign wars
ABC/Al Drago
(LONDON) — President Joe Biden will see out his term knowing that President-elect Donald Trump — a man he fought desperately hard to unseat in 2020 and called a “genuine danger to American security” — will succeed him.
Foreign policy has been central in Biden’s long political career. It will likewise form a major chunk of his legacy, as will the two wars — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Middle East conflagration sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack — that erupted during his term.
Now less encumbered by political calculations — for himself or for Vice President Kamala Harris — and with only two months until Trump’s second inauguration, the outgoing president may have one last window to wield the power of the Oval Office in both theaters.
But with Trump looming above the outgoing Biden-Harris administration, American allies and enemies may be hesitant to engage with the outgoing administration.
European nations, for example, are already shifting focus to how best to court Trump, Leslie Vinjamuri of the British Chatham House think tank told ABC News.
“All these European leaders are very quickly reaching out,” she added. “They’re congratulating him. They want to talk with him. They want to work with him, because they understand that the stakes are extremely high and they clearly feel that by talking with him, they have an ability to influence policy and the outcome.”
“What they don’t want to do is to be seen to be making a deal with Joe Biden that undercuts whatever it is that Trump is going to do,” Vinjamuri added.
“It’s a very tricky position to be in, because if anything’s visible that cuts across what he wants to do, you as a leader risk being punished.”
Those at the top of American politics know that foreign policy success can accelerate careers and define legacies. Former President Richard Nixon infamously undermined President Lyndon B. Johnson’s efforts to negotiate an end to the Vietnam War during the 1968 election campaign for fear it would reduce his chances of victory.
Though he has already secured his second term, Trump appears unlikely to help the Biden administration with any foreign policy “wins” in its closing days.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty and room for maneuver — it’s highly unpredictable,” Vinjamuri said.
Russia and Ukraine
Russia’s war on Ukraine has dominated much of Biden’s presidency. He will leave office with Moscow’s forces holding large parts of Ukraine and still advancing, even if slowly and at huge cost.
“I think that now Biden can be much more decisive in support of Ukraine, especially when he sees that Trump will be the next president,” Oleksandr Merezhko — a member of Ukraine’s parliament and the chair of the body’s foreign affairs committee — told ABC News.
“Biden has his hands completely untied,” Merezhko added. “Now Biden is thinking about his legacy.”
“He might even try to take some decisions which will make irreversible changes in support of Ukraine — for example, he might lift all the restrictions on the use of the Western weapons on the territory of Russia,” Merezhko said. “And he might start the process of inviting Ukraine to join NATO.”
Merezkho acknowledged that progress on the NATO front might be ambitious. “Yes, he doesn’t have much time,” he said. “But he — with [National Security Adviser] Jake Sullivan and [Secretary of State] Antony Blinken — might do something creative to help Ukraine.”
It appears unlikely that Biden’s final months will bring Kyiv any closer to NATO membership. Ukrainian leaders are still pushing for an invitation to join the alliance despite fierce opposition from Russia — and hesitance among key alliance members. Allies have repeatedly said that “Ukraine’s future is in NATO,” but even top officials in Kyiv acknowledge this cannot happen amid war with Moscow.
The outgoing president may at least be able to ring fence much-needed funding for Kyiv.
Matthew Savill of the Royal United Services Institute think tank in the U.K., said Biden “might choose in his last months in office to use the remainder of the funding available for support to Ukraine under Presidential Drawdown Authority, amounting to over $5 billion.”
The Pentagon has already committed to rolling out new funding packages between now and January totaling some $9 billion. “That is consistent with how we’ve been doing this in the past,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told journalists last week. “It’s something that we’ve done on a pretty regular, almost weekly, basis.”
Biden has also reportedly already decided to allow non-combat American defense contractors to work in Ukraine to maintain and repair U.S.-provided weaponry.
Yehor Cherniev — a member of the Ukrainian parliament and the chairman of his country’s delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly — told ABC News that deeper sanctions on “Putin’s inner circle” are on Kyiv’s wish list, along with the delivery of all previously allocated aid, commitments for more, plus the end to restrictions on Western weapon use inside Russia.
Trump has suggested he would quickly end Russia’s invasion by threatening to cut off military aid to Kyiv unless it agrees to hand Moscow direct or indirect control of swaths of occupied territory in the south and east of the country.
As such, his election has raised concerns in Ukraine of an imminent sellout.
Merezhko, though, stressed the unpredictability of the president-elect. “Trump might become even more critical of Russia to show that all suspicions about him are groundless,” he said.
“We know that Trump loves his country and seeks to protect its interests in accordance with his vision,” Cherniev said. “Therefore, we are confident that the U.S. will not leave us alone with Russia, since this is not in the interests of the U.S. and the free world.”
“However, much will depend on Putin’s willingness to make concessions and compromises,” he added. “If the Russian dictator does not show due flexibility, I think Trump will increase his support for Ukraine.”
As to potential tensions between Trump and Biden in the coming months, Merezhko said, “Competition between them will continue.”
“For us, it would be better if they compete amongst themselves on who will do more for Ukraine.”
European nations, meanwhile, will be bracing for Trump while hoping to influence the president-elect’s take on the war.
Vinjamuri, of the Chatham House think tank, said Europeans will also be working closely with the Biden administration “to put in place everything that they can to keep Europe and Ukraine in as good a place as possible before Jan. 20, when Trump comes in and tries to negotiate a peace deal.”
“That means that getting Ukraine in the best position on the ground, because when you start negotiating a peace, a lot of what gets locked in is based on what land people hold,” she said.
The Middle East
The Biden administration’s pre-election Middle East diplomatic push does not appear to have made significant breakthroughs in either Gaza or Lebanon. Fierce ground fighting and devastating Israeli airstrikes continue on both fronts, with the toll of civilian dead and displaced growing ever larger.
The regional war began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw around 250 taken back to Gaza as hostages. Israel’s military response in the strip has killed some 43,600 people and injured more than 102,000, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Israel’s airstrike and ground campaign in Lebanon has killed more than 3,000 since Oct. 8, 2023, Lebanese health officials say.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu replaced Defense Minister Yoav Gallant — one of his prime political rivals and an advocate for a cease-fire deal — on the eve of the U.S. election, reinforcing his position and entrenching his government’s commitment to what he has called “total victory.”
Hafed Al-Ghwell, senior fellow and executive director of the North Africa Initiative at the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute, Johns Hopkins University, told ABC News he has little expectation of peace during Biden’s final months. “I don’t think he has any incentive to do anything,” Hafed said.
“In the case of Israel and Palestine, Biden has taken not just a political stand but an ideological one, and there is no sign that he is going to change that,” Hafed added. “He has called himself a Zionist, and he had ample opportunity to stop this war. Even when the United Nations proposed a resolution to end the occupation, he didn’t support it.”
“It would be really controversial for an outgoing president to make any major decisions,” he continued.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu will be confident in the new White House’s backing in his suppression of Palestinian and Lebanese groups, as well as in his wider showdown with Iran.
Netanyahu “probably feels like he has a free run,” Vinjamuri said. “Even if Biden tried to push him, I’m not so sure he would be responsive, because he knows that Trump is now coming into office.”
Hafed suggested Netanyahu’s domestic concerns, too, will be driving his policy in the coming months. “He knows that the minute this war stops, the Israeli public won’t want him around,” he said. “So, he will continue the war in Lebanon and probably threaten Iran, knowing he will have the full support of Trump.”
Burcu Ozcelik at RUSI said the extent of Trump’s influence over Netanyahu tops “a complex list of unknowns.”
“Trump in recent weeks indicated that he was prepared to give Israel freer rein, provided that the war ended by the time he entered office,” he added.
Those living in the region will be left grappling with the fallout, Hafed continued. “For the people of the Middle East, Biden’s legacy is one of a bloodbath,” he said. “The region is bitter and battered.”
ABC News’ Luis Martinez contributed to this article.
White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said on ABC News’ “This Week” that Hezbollah’s command structure has been “nearly decimated” and that thousands of the terrorist group’s drones and missiles have been destroyed.
Kirby’s remarks come after the Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Saturday that it had killed Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on Beirut on Friday.
“There’s no question that the Hezbollah of today is not the Hezbollah that was even just a week ago,” Kirby told ABC’s Martha Raddatz.
But Hezbollah will likely regroup, Kirby warned, saying that “somebody will be anointed” to take Nasrallah’s place in command of the organization.
When asked about what capabilities remain for Hezbollah — whether the group still has long-range missiles and other firepower — Kirby said the U.S. does not have a “clear picture” of their capabilities.
“You can’t just count them out,” Kirby said. “They still have quite a bit of capability left.”
Kirby also warned that the U.S. has to “be ready” for Iran to respond to the Israeli attack that killed Nasrallah and other leaders, saying that Iran’s rhetoric “certainly suggests they’re going to try to do something.”
“We’re watching this very, very closely to see how — if and how — Hezbollah and or Iran may react as well as the militia groups in Iraq and Syria. We have to be prepared for some sort of response. We have to make sure that we are ready, and we are. We believe we have the force capability we need in the region, but it’s not clear right now, it’s too soon to know how Iran’s going to react to this,” Kirby said.
Kirby’s comments come as the U.S. beefs up military posture in the region. Earlier this week, the Pentagon confirmed that it moved a “small number” of additional U.S. military personnel to the Middle East.
President Joe Biden said in a statement on Saturday that he directed the Department of Defense “to further enhance the defense posture of U.S. military forces in the Middle East region to deter aggression and reduce the risk of a broader regional war.” Raddatz pressed Kirby on what the president meant by that.
“We did deploy some additional forces into the region. I would tell you that there’s other options available as well in terms of adding and enhancing that force posture,” Kirby said.
Kirby added that the U.S. has been growing its capacity in the region, even more than when Iran launched a missile and drone attack on Israel in April.
“So there is already a very robust military capability to defend ourselves and to help defend Israel, if it comes to that,” Kirby said.
Raddatz also asked Kirby about whether the administration was having conversations with Israel about how their actions could lead to U.S. assets becoming targets. Kirby said that the Israelis “understand” that the U.S. could become targets of attacks.
“I think they understand that, and we’re having those discussions with them right now about sort of what is the next best step, or steps forward, at the same time, as the president said yesterday, we got to make sure we’ve got the ability to defend our troops and our facilities, if it comes to that, and we believe we do,” Kirby said.
ABC News’ Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
(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.
(LONDON) — A museum in the Netherlands has recovered an artwork that resembles two empty beer cans from the trash after an elevator technician accidentally disposed of them during his shift, officials said.
The artwork, “All The Good Times We Spent Together” by Alexandre Lavet, was made in 1988 and initially appears to be nothing more than two empty beer cans. It was being exhibited in the LAM Museum in Lisse, Netherlands, approximately 25 miles southwest of Amsterdam, according to a statement from the LAM Museum.
However, a closer look reveals that these dented that were being exhibited were actually “meticulously hand-painted with acrylics, with each detail painstakingly replicated. Unlike ready-made found objects, such as the famous urinal by Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven and Marcel Duchamp, Lavet’s piece required a lot of time and effort to create.”
“For the artist, the cans symbolise cherished memories shared with dear friends. While evenings spent enjoying drinks may seem trivial in the grand scheme of things, they ultimately embody precious moments of connection,” the museum continued.
The LAM Museum, which is known for showcasing its international art collection not only on walls and exhibition plinths but also in unconventional locations, had been exhibiting Lavet’s beer cans piece inside the museum’s glass elevator shaft “as if left behind by construction workers,” the museum said.
“The theme of our collection is food and consumption,” Sietske van Zanten, the museum’s director, said. “Our art encourages visitors to see everyday objects in a new light. By displaying artworks in unexpected places, we amplify this experience and keep visitors on their toes.”
But when an elevator technician who was covering for the museum’s regular technician came to work, he ended up mistaking the work of art for just some everyday trash that somebody had left behind in the museum and ended up disposing of the 36-year-old piece.
“He was just doing his job in good faith,” says Sietske van Zanten. “In a way, it’s a testament to the effectiveness of Alexandre Lavet’s art.”
When museum officials realized that the piece had vanished, they immediately launched a search. It was museum curator Elisah van den Bergh who eventually discovered the artwork in a trash bag in the museum, ready for disposal.
“Miraculously, both cans were found intact,” the LAM Museum said. “They have been cleaned and temporarily put in a place of honour at the museum entrance, now displayed on a traditional plinth.”
“We wanted to give them their moment in the spotlight,” Elisah van den Bergh said. “As for where the artwork will be displayed next, that’s yet to be revealed. We enjoy surprising our visitors, so no space is off-limits.”
Said the LAM Museum in a statement following the accidental trashing: “The museum bears no ill will towards the lift technician who made the mistake.”
