Israel-Gaza live updates: Israel says it killed top militant in West Bank operation

Israel-Gaza live updates: Israel says it killed top militant in West Bank operation
Israel-Gaza live updates: Israel says it killed top militant in West Bank operation
Kawnat Haju/AFP via Getty Images

(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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Fracking is being forced onto some Ohio property owners’ land: Here’s why it’s legal

Fracking is being forced onto some Ohio property owners’ land: Here’s why it’s legal
Fracking is being forced onto some Ohio property owners’ land: Here’s why it’s legal
Jill Hunkler

(NEW YORK) — When Jill Antares Hunkler purchased land in Belmont County, Ohio, in 2007, she never envisioned her home would be surrounded by 78 oil and gas fracking wells a decade later, she said.

“I wanted to build my home where I had roots,” Hunkler, a seventh-generation Ohio Valley resident, told ABC News. “It was a place where I could live a more traditional, natural life.”

Hunkler’s three-acre property at the headwaters of the Captina Creek Watershed was one of hundreds in the area that she said became a magnet for fracking.

Her property sits on the Utica and Marcellus Shales in the Appalachian Basin, geologic formations known to hold large reserves of oil and natural gas.

As of April 2024, the Marcellus Shale contained about 120 million barrels of oil, while the Utica Shale contained 2.3 million barrels, according to the United States Geological Survey.

There are 1,625 fracking wells in Belmont Country this year, which marks a 25% increase from 2023, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), which oversees unitization orders in the state.

Hunkler said when oil and gas representatives called “landmen” came knocking on her door, calling her home and sending repeated notices, she learned of the state’s unitization laws. The fate of her land was largely out of her hands, she said.

“To be perfectly honest, it makes me cry even now,” Hunkler said.

What is unitization?

Unitization is the consolidation of multiple land parcels into a single operational unit for fracking, according to ODNR.

Instead of drilling multiple wells on separate properties, which can be inefficient, unitization combines adjacent properties over a pool to allow for a more coordinated approach to extracting oil or gas.

Because it’s multiple properties, most neighbors in the area must apply to lease their land, according to state law.

In Ohio, 65% of property owners in a project area must sign an application to lease their property for drilling before going forward, according to ODNR.

This leaves a population of dissenting or “non-participatory” landowners forced into fracking in the area, even if it’s not on their property.

Unitization has been legal in Ohio since 1965, however, the last decade has seen unitization orders surge to meet fracking demands.

The ODNR enacted 112 unitization orders in 2022 and nearly 100 in 2023, according to ODNR records.

Before 2021, which saw 73 unitization orders, ODNR enacted less than 50 orders per year between 2012 and 2020, according to records.

Negotiating a lease

Proponents believe fracking brings jobs back to the region, which historically relied on coal and steel manufacturing, and gives residents the opportunity to make passive income by leasing land.

“Natural gas production has been tremendously profitable for Ohio,” state Sen. George Lang and two researchers said in a 2023 press release posted on the Ohio Senate website. “The shale revolution has been the greatest driver of the state’s economic progress since the late 1990s. Ohio now ranks sixth among states in natural gas production, exporting to our neighbors and the world.”

Ohio law states landowners must make “just and reasonable” compensation for leasing sites, which can vary based on location, under state law.

In 2024, some local drillers reported paying landowners an average of $500 per acre, but lease bonus payments in southeast Ohio can range from $3,000–$6,000 per acre, according to McCleery Law Firm, which provides consultation and legal services to landowners considering entering, or impacted by, a leasing agreement.

“It is also an area where landowners are chronically exploited,” the firm says in their “Landowner’s Guide.”

“This is because landmen usually offer significantly less per acre if they suspect you lack knowledge of the market. Without knowledge of fair market value, an increase of two thousand dollars per acre might seem advantageous, when in reality, the starting offer was simply egregiously low,” the firm claims.

Property owners also receive royalties on the gas produced, which typically begins at 12.5%, according to ODNR.

Echoing Hunkler’s story, a study published this month in Nature Energy reviewed detailed records of landmen’s dealings with 37 property owners in Ohio to investigate how they may be disadvantaged in lease negotiations.

The records spanned from January 2014 and April 2021, which saw a boom of fracking increases in the state, according to the study.

Researchers found that companies used persistent and personal strategies to overcome landowner reluctance, such as repeated in-person visits, calls and in some cases, contacting their family members and neighbors.

The study cited a log of contact between a landman and a property owner in Noble County, Ohio.

“When their calls go unanswered, they send letters. When those are returned with ‘REFUSED’ handwritten across them, landmen drive to her house. When she refuses to answer the door, they speak to her neighbours and family members,” according to the study.

When property owners refused all requests, the study found widespread use of compulsory unitization.

“In roughly 40% of the wells drilled in Ohio, compulsory unitization applications were used because voluntary consent from landowners was not obtained,” according to the study.

In a statement to ABC News, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said the role of the agency is “to follow and administer the law, as written.”

“The Division does not have jurisdiction to regulate landmen,” ODNR said.

Changed way of life

“People that don’t live in southeast Ohio have no concept of what it’s like,” Randi Pokladnik, a lifelong resident of the Ohio River Valley and retired research chemist, told ABC News about fracking in the area.

“It sounds like a jet engine in the middle of the night and you can smell the emissions. It’s a constant barrage of sand trucks and fracking trucks with brine in them,” Pokladnik said.

She unaffectionately calls the nightly traffic the “brine truck parade.”

Pokladnik and her husband own property in Tappan, Ohio, and despite denying leasing requests from oil and gas representatives for over a decade, in February, Pokladnik’s property was “force pooled” to participate without their consent.

“It made me sick to my stomach when I first got the notice in the mail that they were going to be doing this,” Pokladnik said.

“This is like the ultimate slap in the face for somebody who’s an environmentalist,” she added.

Environmental and health effects

In 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency found scientific evidence that fracking can potentially impact drinking water resources under some circumstances.

Chemicals used for fracking may travel through cracks in the rock into an underground drinking water source and contamination could also occur if a well is improperly installed, if chemicals are spilled from trucks or tanks or if flowback is not effectively contained, according to the agency.

The Yale School of Public Health found that fracking has led to heightened concerns about its impact on the environment and human health due to wastewater and greenhouse gas emissions.

In response to health and environmental concerns, Rob Brundrett, president of the Ohio Oil & Gas Association said companies work to ensure the safety of the properties they work on and the record stands for itself.

Speaking about conventional fracking wells Brundrett told Energy News Network, “The fact that there have been only three major incidents since 2018 is a testament to the industry’s rigorous safety standards and practices,” Brundrett said.

“Considering that only .004% of Ohio oil and gas operations have had a major reportable incident during that timeframe, I would put our industry’s safety numbers against any other manual industry in Ohio,” he added.

The incidents include a gas leak, crude oil spill and a combustor fire, according to the outlet.

ODNR says it has addressed water well complaints since 1983 and none of the investigations revealed groundwater quality problems due to fracking, the department said in a fracking fact sheet.

However, Pokladnik believes that the effects of fracking in the Ohio River Valley are not in a bubble and should be considered by everyone.

“There’s not a dome over these well pads and everything that we do here is eventually going to cause more climate change,” Pokladnik said.

“So even though you’re not living here and you won’t have to worry about drinking contaminated water or breathing these emissions directly, it is affecting your life,” she added.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

2024 election updates: Harris continues Georgia bus tour

2024 election updates: Harris continues Georgia bus tour
2024 election updates: Harris continues Georgia bus tour
Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — With 70 days before Election Day as of Tuesday, both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump get back to campaigning with Harris in Georgia on Wednesday and Trump in Wisconsin on Thursday.

Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, campaigned in Michigan while Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz picks up the trail on Wednesday in Boston.

Here’s how the news is developing…

Harris continues Georgia bus tour, Walz heads to North Carolina

Harris is continuing her tour with two stops at local businesses in Chatham County in Georgia. She will be joined by Georgia Rep. Nikema Williams.

Later Thursday, Harris will deliver remarks at a rally in Savannah.

Her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, will head to North Carolina for a “local political event” and a campaign reception.

-ABC News’ Will McDuffie

Harris, Walz make campaign stop at Georgia high school

Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz stopped by Liberty County High School in Georgia as part of their bus tour and were greeted by the school’s principal and superintendent and met with the school marching band during rehearsal.

Harris and Walz delivered brief remarks to band members, football players and faculty. After welcoming the class to the “role model club,” Harris told the class that as “leaders” the nation is “counting” on them.

“You are showing what hard work can achieve, what discipline, what teamwork. And that’s the stuff of greatness,” she said.

She continued with a music metaphor that encouraged them to keep up their hard work.

“I will tell you I was in band when I was your age,” she said. “And all that you all are doing, it requires a whole lot of rehearsal, a whole lot of practice, long hours, right? Sometimes you hit the note, sometimes you don’t, right? All that practice makes for beautiful music.”

-ABC News’ Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow and Will McDuffie

Harris spokesman defends joint interview

A spokesman for the Harris-Walz campaign defended Wednesday the decision to make the vice president’s first televised interview as the Democratic presidential nominee a joint interview with her running mate Gov. Tim Walz.

Ian Sams responded on X to a post by journalist Mark Knoller who questioned if CNN should have “insisted on a one-on-one interview,” by saying that “The joint ticket interview is an election year summer tradition going back 20 years.”

“Kerry/Edwards, Obama/Biden, Romney/Ryan, Trump/Pence, Clinton/Kaine, Biden/Harris all did them. Almost always right around the conventions. Harris/Walz join this rich tradition on CNN tomorrow,” he said.

-ABC News’ Will McDuffie, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Fritz Garrow

Vance claims he doesn’t need to prepare for a debate

Vance told reporters he’s preparing for the October vice presidential debate by talking to people on the campaign trail, contending he doesn’t need other preparation against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

“Look, the way I’m doing debate prep is by spending time with these fine people. This is how I do debate prep is to get out there. You get out there, you talk to people, you talk about the issues that matter,” Vance said.

“We don’t need to prepare for a debate with Tim Walz. We need to get out there and talk. We need to get out there. Look, we need to get out there and talk to the American people. That’s the biggest way that we’re going to prepare for that debate on October the first,” he added.

-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim and Hannah Demissie

Vance says Harris ‘can go to hell’ for criticizing Trump for Arlington Cemetery visit

Sen. JD Vance continued to defend Trump’s visit to Arlington Cemetery during a campaign event Wednesday in Erie, Pennsylvania, and went on the attack against Harris, blaming her for the deaths of 13 soldiers three years ago.

“Look, sometimes mistakes happen. That’s just the nature of government, the nature of military service. But to have those 13 Americans lose their lives and not fire a single person is disgraceful. Kamala Harris is disgraceful,” Vance said.

“We’re gonna talk about a story out of those 13 brave innocent Americans who lost their lives, it’s that Kamala Harris is so asleep at the wheel that she won’t even do an investigation into what happened, and she wants to yell at Donald Trump because he showed up. She can, go to hell,” he continued.

The federal government conducted a probe into the final days of the war and American withdrawal and the Pentagon’s Central Command concluded in 2022 that the attack was not preventable despite others’ assertions that it was preventable.

The Pentagon has conducted multiple rounds of reviews, including the latest review published in April that reaffirmed the initial investigation’s findings that the attack was not preventable.

Congress has also scrutinized the attack and heard from many military leaders, including former Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, who told lawmakers last year that he was thwarted in an attempt to stop the suicide bombing.

Harris, who was campaigning in Georgia Wednesday, did not bring up “incident” at Arlington National Cemetery. Harris-Walz communications director Michael Tyler told CNN on Wednesday that the “incident” at Arlington National Cemetery with former President Trump was “pretty sad,” but what “we’ve come to expect” from the former president.

-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim, Cindy Smith and Hannah Demissie

Biden to travel to Wisconsin next week to tout economy

President Joe Biden will travel to the battleground state of Wisconsin on Sept. 5 to highlight his economic agenda, according to the White House.

Exact details of the trip, including the locations in the state, weren’t immediately revealed.

-ABC News’ Justin Gomez

Walz promises to fight for labor freedoms at International Association of Fire Fighters

Gov. Tim Walz addressed the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) convention on Wednesday in Boston, making the case that the Democratic ticket was the one that would fight for their freedoms, including labor protections.

“People tell me, look, I’m really not that into politics. My response to that is, too damn bad — politics is into you,” Walz said to what he acknowledged as a bipartisan audience.

Walz said that Harris “is proudly part of the most pro-labor administration in history,” and that when they “win this election, we’ll have your back like you’ve had ours.”

“We believe that you, not politicians, should be made free to make your own health care choices,” Walz concluded. “We believe that workers deserve to collectively bargain for fair wages and safe working conditions.”

-ABC News’ Isabella Murray

Harris-Walz campaign responds to superseding indictment

Quentin Fulks, the Harris-Walz campaign’s principal deputy campaign manager, reacted to the news of the superseding indictment against Donald Trump Tuesday afternoon on MSNBC and avoided remarking on “ongoing legal cases” but characterized Trump as a danger.

“They saw it with their own eyes, and so we’re going to continue to take the fight directly to Donald Trump on the issues that matter. But American voters aren’t stupid. They know who Donald Trump is, and they know what he will do if he gets more time in the White House,” Fulks told MSNBC.

-ABC News’ Isabella Murray, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow and Will McDuffie

Harris-Walz campaign responds to superseding indictment

Quentin Fulks, the Harris-Walz campaign’s principal deputy campaign manager, reacted to the news of the superseding indictment against Donald Trump Tuesday afternoon on MSNBC and avoided remarking on “ongoing legal cases” but characterized Trump as a danger.

“They saw it with their own eyes, and so we’re going to continue to take the fight directly to Donald Trump on the issues that matter. But American voters aren’t stupid. They know who Donald Trump is, and they know what he will do if he gets more time in the White House,” Fulks told MSNBC.

JD Vance responds to new special counsel indictment

Sen. JD Vance, asked by ABC News on the tarmac in Nashville about the superseding indictment in former President Donald Trump’s federal election interference case, framed the special counsel’s actions as an effort to influence the election.

“I haven’t read the whole thing, but it looks like Jack Smith doing more of what he does, which is filing these absurd lawsuits in an effort to influence the election,” the GOP vice presidential candidate said.

The new indictment adjusts the charges to the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling.

Vance pushed back against the Harris-Walz campaign’s assertion that the Supreme Court ruling goes too far and grants the former president too much immunity, arguing that the president needs some immunity in order to do the job.

“If the president doesn’t have some level of immunity in how he conducts his office, in the same way that judges have to have immunity, police officers have to have immunity. There has to be some recognition that people can’t be sued for doing their job,” Vance said.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Summer scorcher: Dangerous heat moves to South after baking Northeast, Midwest

Summer scorcher: Dangerous heat moves to South after baking Northeast, Midwest
Summer scorcher: Dangerous heat moves to South after baking Northeast, Midwest
ABC News

(NEW YORK) — Life-threatening heat spread across the eastern half of the U.S. this week, first hitting the Midwest, then the Northeast and now the South.

Chicago hit 99 degrees on Tuesday, breaking the city’s daily record of 97 degrees. Some schools in the area closed early due to the weather.

On Wednesday, the heat moved east. Record highs were shattered in Washington, D,C., which reached 101 degrees, and Greenwood, Mississippi, which reached 103 degrees.

The final tennis major of the year, the U.S. Open, which is underway in New York City, operated under an “extreme weather policy,” with stadium roofs partially closed and extended breaks for players.

The heat has now left the Midwest and Northeast.

On Thursday, the South is in the bull’s-eye, with record highs possible in cities including Nashville, Tennessee; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Louisville, Kentucky.

The heat index — what temperature it feels like with humidity — is forecast to soar to 100 degrees in Washington, D.C., and Charleston, South Carolina; 102 degrees in Nashville; Richmond, Virginia; Birmingham, Alabama; and Charlotte, North Carolina; 103 in Raleigh and Charleston, West Virginia; and a scorching 105 in Jackson, Mississippi.

Friday will bring one more day of record heat. By the weekend, cooler air will move in.

There are hundreds of deaths each year in the U.S. due to excessive heat, according to CDC WONDER, an online database, and scientists caution that the actual number of heat-related deaths is likely higher.

Last year marked the most heat-related deaths in the U.S. on record, according to JAMA, a peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Medical Association.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Tulsi Gabbard’s transition from Democrat to high-profile role with Trump’s 2024 campaign team

Tulsi Gabbard’s transition from Democrat to high-profile role with Trump’s 2024 campaign team
Tulsi Gabbard’s transition from Democrat to high-profile role with Trump’s 2024 campaign team
Tulsi Gabbard, former US Representative from Hawaii, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, US,Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — Tulsi Gabbard, who once ran for president as a Democrat, is taking on a prominent role as part of former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign team.

On Thursday, she will moderate what Trump’s campaign is calling a “town hall” with him when he visits La Crosse in battleground Wisconsin.

Gabbard publicly endorsed Trump on stage in Michigan earlier this week, and joined his presidential transition team along with fellow former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“This administration has us facing multiple wars on multiple fronts and regions around the world and closer to the brink of nuclear war than we ever have been before,” Gabbard said. “This is one of the main reasons why I’m committed to doing all that I can to send President Trump back to the White House, where he can, once again, serve us as our commander in chief.”

Trump called Gabbard an “amazing person” and that he looked forward to working with her.

Gabbard, a military veteran who represented Hawaii in Congress for eight years, has also been aiding Trump as he prepares for his first debate against Vice President Kamala Harris on Sept. 10. Gabbard debated Harris and President Joe Biden in the 2020 Democratic primary, and made headlines at the time for taking aim at Harris’ record as a prosecutor.

Since leaving the Democratic Party in 2022 to register as an independent, Gabbard’s adopted several views that align with those held by Trump and his Republican allies.

That includes opposition to U.S. support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian invaders; criticism of the criminal indictments against Trump; and statements railing against the so-called deep state and “woke” ideologies of the Democratic Party.

Gabbard, an anti-interventionist when it comes to foreign policy, has accused President Joe Biden’s administration of stoking tensions around the globe — describing Democrats as a “cabal of warmongers” when she became an independent.

“This war and suffering could have easily been avoided if Biden Admin/NATO had simply acknowledged Russia’s legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraine’s becoming a member of NATO, which would mean US/NATO forces right on Russia’s border,” she wrote of the Russia-Ukraine war on X, formerly known as Twitter, in 2022.

She also shared false information alleging U.S. involvement in Ukraine biological weapons laboratories. Her comments received pushback from the likes of Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, a Republican, who described her comments as “treasonous lies” that were “parroting false Russian propaganda.”

The State Department, around the time such claims were being spread, said the Kremlin was intentionally proliferating “outright lies that the United States and Ukraine are conducting chemical and biological weapons activities in Ukraine.”

The year Russia invaded Ukraine, Gabbard made multiple appearances on Tucker Carlson’s show on Fox to discuss the conflict, clips of which were aired on Russian-state media.

After leaving the Democratic Party, she campaigned for election-deniers in the 2022 midterm cycle, including Arizona’s Kari Lake and New Hampshire’s Don Bolduc — both of whom were defeated.

During an event for Bolduc, she compared President Biden (who she endorsed in the 2020 primary after bowing out of the race) to Adolf Hitler.

In 2023 comments to Fox’s Jesse Watters, Gabbard continued to make comparisons to Hitler as she said Biden and the party’s focus on diversity was similar to the “geneticist core principles embodied by Nazism and Adolf Hitler.”

More recently, she’s accused Biden of weaponizing law enforcement to go after his political opponent after Trump was indicted on federal charges stemming from his handling of classified material and his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) earlier this year, she suggested, like many Republicans have, that the criminal charges against Trump were an effort to interfere in the 2024 election.

“The Democrat elite and their cronies are using our criminal justice system to prosecute and distract the Republican presidential candidate in the midst of his campaign,” she said.

After Biden dropped out of the race, Gabbard turned her focus toward Harris — though asserted a larger “deep state” was at work in the federal government.

“Biden’s out, Kamala is in. Don’t be fooled: policies won’t change. Just like Biden wasn’t the one calling the shots, Kamala Harris won’t be either. She is the new figurehead for the deep state and the maidservant of Hillary Clinton, queen of the cabal of warmongers. They will continue their efforts to engulf the world in war and taking away our liberty,” Gabbard claimed on X.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

California bill would allow undocumented immigrants paying taxes to get home loans

California bill would allow undocumented immigrants paying taxes to get home loans
California bill would allow undocumented immigrants paying taxes to get home loans
Grace Cary/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — A new bill that would allow some undocumented immigrants to receive loans to buy homes is sparking debate as it passes through the California Legislature.

Assembly Bill 1840 would make it clear that a person who applies for a loan under the California Dream for All Program cannot be disqualified solely because of their immigration status. It passed the state Senate with a 25-14 vote.

The program is run by California Housing Finance Agency, which generates revenue “through mortgage loans, not taxpayer dollars,” according to the agency’s website.

Their program provides a shared appreciation loan — which typically means that first-time homebuyers do not pay interest. Instead, they only have to pay back the original loan amount, plus 20% of any home value appreciation. The loan covers 20% of the purchase price or up to $150,000 to cover a down payment or closing costs.

The loan must be paired with a 30-year fixed interest rate first mortgage from the California Housing Finance Agency and the recipient does not have to make payments on the share appreciation loan until the first mortgage is paid off.

In a general statement on the program’s mission, Gov. Gavin Newsom stated: “As part of the state’s comprehensive efforts to improve affordability, build generational wealth and unlock access to housing, Dream For All is paving the way home for thousands of Californians. This program is more than just financial assistance – it’s about providing a pathway for individuals to achieve their California dream.”

It is not clear if Newsom intends to sign the bill. A two-thirds vote in each chamber of the legislature would be needed to override a veto — which could be achieved with the votes in favor of the bill thus far.

If the new bill is passed or signed into law, undocumented borrowers would be able to apply for the housing loan. However, they would be required to have a valid Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number in addition to meeting existing legal residency and documentation requirements.

This language would allow, for example, people who pay taxes but are not legal citizens, such as recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, known as DACA, to apply for the loan.

Supporters say the bill is intended to allow all those who pay taxes in the state to be able to qualify for the assistance.

“Homeownership is one of the largest contributors to building wealth for low and middle-income families,” said Cynthia Gomez, a deputy director at The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in an April hearing on the bill. “However, it’s also well understood that there are many barriers to access for homeownership, in particular for communities of color. California is solution-orientated, and we have implemented various policies that have made homeownership a reality for Californians.”

Critics argue that the money should not be geared toward people who are undocumented and that noncitizens should not be eligible for state programs.

“I just can’t get behind using our limited dollars for people who continue, who are in this country undocumented when we have very limited funds,” said state Rep. Joe Patterson during a hearing on the bill in April.

The Trump campaign told Politico that it believed the bill to be “fundamentally unfair but typical Democrat policy.”

The Senate Appropriations Committee said in a mid-August meeting that the cost pressures on the program, if it were to undergo an expansion, are “unknown,” but the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) indicated “that any costs to update program regulations to prohibit application disqualification based on immigration status would be minor and absorbable,” according to filings in the legislature on the bill.

The debate comes as immigration has continuously ranked as a top issue for 2024 voters, according to Gallup.

California has the largest undocumented population in the country, with an estimated population of 1.85 million undocumented immigrants in 2021, according to the Pew Research Center.

At the same time, California is dealing with a housing crisis, with a growing homeless population and increasingly high costs for housing.

California mid-tier homes are twice as expensive as the typical U.S. home — selling at more than $700,000, according to California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office, and 28% of all homeless people in the U.S. live in California, the point-in-time report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recorded.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Israel-Gaza live updates: 12 killed as IDF launches large raids in the West Bank

Israel-Gaza live updates: Israel says it killed top militant in West Bank operation
Israel-Gaza live updates: Israel says it killed top militant in West Bank operation
Kawnat Haju/AFP via Getty Images

(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:

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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United Airlines flight attendants vote to authorize strike: Will it impact travel?

United Airlines flight attendants vote to authorize strike: Will it impact travel?
United Airlines flight attendants vote to authorize strike: Will it impact travel?
Image Source/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — United Airlines flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, moved closer to a strike Wednesday after the union announced that 99.99% of service members voted in favor of strike authorization.

The vote included 90% of the United Airlines flight attendant staff.

Among the strike requests, flight attendants are demanding significant double-digit base pay increases, being compensated for time at work outside of flights, schedule flexibility and work rule improvements, job security, retirement and more, according to the union.

The historic vote marked the first time in 20 years that United flight attendants have authorized a strike, since the airline’s 2005 bankruptcy negotiations.

However, a strike will not occur immediately and despite the vote, there will be no immediate disruptions to airline operations.

Experts say it’s highly unlikely United flight attendants will actually walk off the job. There are a number of steps that must happen before a strike can take place and the president and Congress have the power to stall or stop an airline strike.

“To be clear, there is no work stoppage or labor disruption,” United told ABC News in a statement Wednesday. “Off-duty flight attendants are simply exercising their right to conduct an informational picket.”

The results of the strike authorization vote were announced as nearly 20 informational picket lines were seen at airports across the country.

“We deserve an industry-leading contract. Our strike vote shows we’re ready to do whatever it takes to reach the contract we deserve,” Ken Diaz, president of the United chapter of the Association of Flight Attendants, said in a statement Wednesday.

“We are the face of United Airlines and planes don’t take off without us. As Labor Day travel begins, United management is reminded what’s at stake if we don’t get this done,” he added.

After this week, the union walked away from federally mandated negotiations. The union will now ask the National Mediation Board to release them into a 30-day “cooling-off” period, which would set a potential strike deadline.

“The United management team gives themselves massive compensation increases while Flight Attendants struggle to pay basic bills,” Diaz continued. “The 99.99% yes vote is a clear reminder that we are unified in the fight against corporate greed and ready to fight for our fair share of the profits we create.”

Similar strike authorization votes have been cast at competing airlines including American, Alaska, Southwest, and more.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

What is a crew appreciation fee? Why one major cruise line is raising the price

What is a crew appreciation fee? Why one major cruise line is raising the price
What is a crew appreciation fee? Why one major cruise line is raising the price
David Sacks/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — This summer brought lots of buzz around “tourist taxes” and other fees that can get tacked on to normal travel expenses. Now, another fee that may be familiar to avid cruisers is increasing on one major cruise line.

The so-called “Crew Appreciation” fee is a daily amount that’s automatically added to a guests’ onboard accounts with Princess Cruises “to recognize the efforts of a wide variety of crewmembers who contribute to the experiences of all our guests” and are pooled and distributed throughout the year in compensation and bonuses.

Travelers will pay slightly more starting later this month depending on the type of accommodations they book, according to the cruise line, which last raised the price in February 2023.

Echoing recent headlines surrounding updates to airline baggage prices, Princess Cruises’ Crew Appreciation fee is rising by just $1 per person, per day in various classes of cabins.

Travelers in suites will see a $19 daily fee, while those in mini suites, cabanas or Club Classes will pay $18. Guests in all other staterooms will pay $17.

“The crewmembers eligible to receive these funds work in various departments, many of whom rotate among different ships, throughout our fleet of ships,” Princess states on its website. “Guests have complete discretion to adjust these crew appreciation [fees] while onboard; however, crew appreciation may only be adjusted prior to disembarking the ship and not refundable post cruise.”

Travelers can choose a prepaid crew appreciation option while managing their booking, but if it’s not adjusted up to the time a passenger settles up the account prior to disembarkation, the payment becomes final and nonrefundable.

Full details of the policy are available on the Princess Cruises website.

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US surgeon general issues advisory on parents’ mental health

US surgeon general issues advisory on parents’ mental health
US surgeon general issues advisory on parents’ mental health
xijian/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — The U.S. surgeon general is calling for a “fundamental shift” in how the mental health and well-being of parents is supported and prioritized.

In a health advisory released Wednesday, Dr. Vivek Murthy, himself a father of two, said parents and caregivers are struggling amid a youth mental health crisis, financial difficulties, social media issues and more.

“Parents typically don’t talk about this all the time,” Murthy said in an interview that aired Wednesday on ABC News’ Good Morning America. “They tend to focus on their kids’ health and well-being, but there’s also this sense of shame and guilt, sometimes around struggling as a parent.”

Citing statistics that show parents are consistently more likely to report high levels of stress than other adults, Murthy wrote in the advisory there needs to be a culture shift and an all-hands-on-deck approach to supporting parents from employers, government agencies, health care providers and local communities.

According to the advisory, 48% of parents say most days, their stress is completely overwhelming, compared to 26% of other adults without kids.

“Supporting parents and caregivers will require a series of thoughtful policy changes and expanded community programs that will help ensure parents and caregivers can get time off to be with a sick child, secure affordable child care, access reliable mental health care, and benefit from places and initiatives that support social connection and community,” Murthy wrote. “It will also require us to rethink cultural norms around parenting.”

He continued, “Part of that will involve shifting how we value parenting. The work of raising a child is work, no less valuable than the work performed in a paid job and of extraordinary value when it comes to the impact on the future of society.”

According to the advisory, more than 60 million parents in the U.S. live with children under the age of 18.

The U.S. is currently one of seven countries globally that does not have any guaranteed form of universal paid leave, according to a petition to pass paid leave on a federal level in the U.S. that was delivered to all members of Congress in July.

Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau earlier this year found that, on average, families pay between 8% to 19% of their income per child on child care.

Kaitlyn Niles, a 34-year-old working mom of two, told GMA that she feels the pressure to balance her career and family and to meet the often unattainable standard of parenting set by society.

“There’s so much pressure on parents to spend all of this quality time with your kids, like sit on the ground and play pretend with your 4-year-old, you know,” Niles said. “And when you think about it logically, it’s like, there’s no way my mom was able to do that with six kids.”

Meanwhile, Eric Martinez, a father of two from Colorado, said he has had to learn new strategies in limiting his kids’ access to technology and social media.

“Navigating those conversations can be challenging because it’s new. It’s new for all of us,” he told GMA. “You know, we didn’t share this experience growing up. We didn’t have access to this technology when we were 7, 8, 9, 10 years old, so we’re kind of figuring this out as we go along.”

Murthy stated in this week’s advisory that the stressors parents are experiencing have made them vulnerable to the nationwide epidemic of loneliness and isolation.

“It also turns out that parents are struggling with loneliness at a much higher level than other adults, particularly single parents,” Murthy said, speaking with GMA.

In his advisory, Murthy noted that parents and caregivers should remember that it’s OK to set healthy boundaries and take time for themselves, which in turn will make them better supports for their family.

In addition, parents and caregivers are encouraged to “nurture connections” with other parents and caregivers and to seek professional mental health support when needed.

If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal, substance use or other mental health crises, please call or text 988. You will reach a trained crisis counselor for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also go to 988lifeline.org.

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