(NEW YORK) — Shares of Boeing have plunged nearly 10% this week after a door plug blew out of the company’s 737 Max 9 aircraft during an Alaska Airlines flight.
The incident, which took place on Friday night, prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to ground the aircraft.
The stock price of Spirit Aerosystems, the manufacturer of the door plug, has fallen by more than 11% since trading began on Monday.
The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation into the incident. The Alaska Airlines flight, which carried 171 passengers, had taken off from the Portland International Airport and climbed to 16,000 feet when the door plug fell off the aircraft, according to the NTSB.
None of the passengers or crew members experienced serious injuries.
In a note to investors, Bank of America said the incident does not alter the firm’s previous recommendation that individuals buy shares of the stock. The bank, however, warned of a potential negative effect on public perception of Boeing.
“We do not expect this current issue to have a material impact to our 2024 financial forecast,” Bank of America said, adding, “We do see the latest incident as eroding the fragile confidence that has been built around the 737 Max franchise. In our view, Boeing needs to tread carefully and cautiously through this potential reputational minefield.”
On Monday, United Airlines said it had found loose bolts on its 737 Max 9 fleet during inspections ordered after Friday’s incident.
The NTSB investigation could expand to additional aircraft as the agency learns more, NTSB chief Jennifer Homendy told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” on Tuesday.
“At some point we may need to go broader,” Homendy said. “But right now we have to figure out how this occurred with this aircraft.”
In a statement on Saturday, Boeing backed the decision to ground its 737 Max 9 aircraft and investigate the incident.
“Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers,” the company said. “We agree with and fully support the FAA’s decision to require immediate inspections of 737-9 airplanes with the same configuration as the affected airplane.”
“We will remain in close contact with our regulator and customers,” the company added.
The renewed scrutiny arrives roughly five years after Boeing 737 Max aircraft were grounded worldwide following a pair of crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed a combined 346 people.
In 2021, after a two-year ban, Boeing 737 Max aircraft were permitted to fly.
In addition to the safety concerns, the company faced a pandemic-related decline in demand as well as a recent supply chain slowdown tied to flaws identified in the 737 Max.
Speaking on an earnings call in October, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun acknowledged difficulties encountered by the company in recent months as it aims to reach full production.
“We have more work to do. But overall, we’re making progress in our recovery,” Calhoun said. “We knew 2023 would be a bumpy ride.”
Calhoun addressed scrutiny of the company’s culture as it tried to restore trust over the years following the deadly crashes.
“I’ve heard from a few of you wondering if we’ve lost a step in this recovery,” he said. “You might not be surprised to hear that I view it as exactly the opposite.”
“Over the last several years, we’ve added rigor around our quality processes,” he added. “We’ve worked hard to instill a culture of speaking up and transparently bringing forward any issue, no matter the size, so that we can get things right for a bright future.”
(NEW YORK) — More than a month after a temporary cease-fire between Hamas and Israel ended, Israel continues its bombardment of Gaza.
The end of the cease-fire came after Hamas freed over 100 of the more than 200 people its militants took hostage during the Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel. In exchange, Israel released more than 200 Palestinians from Israeli prisons.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jan 09, 12:06 PM
What we know about the conflict
The Israel-Hamas war has reached the three-month mark.
In the Gaza Strip, at least 23,210 people have been killed and over 59,167 others have been wounded by Israeli forces since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured by Hamas and other Palestinian militants since Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
There has also been a surge in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have killed at least 297 people in the territory since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Jan 09, 8:28 AM EST
UNICEF: All children under 5 in Gaza at ‘high risk of severe malnutrition’
All children under the age of 5 in the Gaza Strip — approximately 335,000 — are at “high risk of severe malnutrition and preventable death as the risk of famine conditions continues to increase,” according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.
“To get children the life-saving support they desperately need, we need a humanitarian ceasefire. Now,” UNICEF’s Middle East and North Africa office wrote Tuesday in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Jan 09, 7:43 AM EST
Blinken meets with Herzog, Netanyahu in Israel
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with top officials in Israel on Tuesday during his fourth visit to the Middle East since the Oct. 7 terror attack.
Blinken met first with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and then with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. He was also expected to sit in on an Israeli war cabinet meeting.
Speaking to reporters alongside the Israeli president on Tuesday morning, Blinken said he valued Herzog’s leadership during these “incredibly challenging times” for Israel and other nations in the Middle East. The U.S. secretary said he would be sharing with Israeli officials what he had heard from leaders in regional countries.
Blinken’s latest weeklong trip is aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the neighboring Gaza Strip. The current conflict was sparked by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Jan 08, 3:05 PM EST
Blinken says he will press Israel on protecting civilians in Gaza
Just before he departed Saudi Arabia for Israel, Secretary of State Antony Blinken outlined what he hoped to accomplish during his time in the country.
Blinken said that while he was on the ground, he would have an opportunity to relate what he had heard in meetings during his several previous stops in the Arab world, as well as “talk to them about the future direction of their military campaign in Gaza.”
“I will press on the absolute imperative to do more to protect civilians and to do more to make sure that humanitarian assistance is getting into the hands of those who need it,” he said.
Summarizing his trip so far, he said that he found a united front among leaders in Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
“Everywhere I went, I found leaders who are determined to prevent the conflict that we’re facing now from spreading, doing everything possible to deter escalation — to prevent a widening of the conflict,” he said, adding they also agreed on the importance of Israel’s security, and that the West Bank and Gaza should be united as one state led by Palestinian governance.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Crawford
Jan 08, 2:38 PM EST
Hezbollah responds to Netanyahu visit to Lebanon border
A Hezbollah leader issued a threat to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after his visit to the Lebanon border on Monday.
“If you want a large-scale war in which you attack our country, we will go to the end and we are not afraid of your threats, your bombing, or your aggression, and we have prepared for you what you never imagined,” Muhammad Raad, head of the Hezbollah bloc of Lebanese parliament, said.
Israel said it hit military targets in southern Lebanon on Monday amid skirmishes that have been ongoing since October.
Netanyahu visited Kiryat Shmona, a city in northern Israel near the Lebanon border, on Monday, where he said Hezbollah got Israelis wrong in 2006 — a reference to the 34-day war between the two countries. He also added that he hopes to return Israeli evacuees to the region.
“We will do everything to restore security to the north and allow your families, because many of you are local, to return home safely and know that we cannot be messed with,” Netanyahu said. “We will do whatever it takes. Of course, we prefer that this be done without a wide campaign, but that will not stop us.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Nasser Atta
Jan 08, 1:12 PM EST
Biden says he’s working with Israel ‘to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza’
President Joe Biden’s speech at the Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina on Monday was interrupted by a handful of protesters who shouted, “Cease-fire now!”
Biden responded to the interruption by saying, “I understand their passion. And I’ve been quietly working … with [the] Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza, using all I can to do.”
ABC News’ Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Libby Cathey and Fritz Farrow
Jan 07, 8:38 PM EST
Blinken expresses concern about a wider conflict during Middle East visit
The Israel-Hamas war “could easily metastasize” beyond the Palestinian territory as “profound tension” in the region raises the prospect of a wider conflict, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday during an ongoing trip to the Middle East.
Such fighting would “cause even more insecurity and suffering,” Blinken told reporters in Doha, Qatar, alongside Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Blinken is roughly halfway through a nine-stop tour around the Middle East, his fourth diplomatic mission since the war began after Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel killed 1,200.
Looking ahead to his meetings with Israeli leaders in Tel Aviv and the West Bank set for early this week, Blinken said Sunday, “I will also raise the imperative of doing more to prevent civilian casualties. Far too many Palestinians, innocent Palestinians, have already been killed.”
The secretary of state, like other U.S. officials including President Joe Biden, have sought to stress their support for Israel’s retaliatory operations against Hamas while calling for Israel to do as much as possible to curb civilian casualties in light of the ongoing onslaught in Gaza and high death toll.
Jan 07, 2:52 PM EST
International Rescue Committee withdraws from Gaza’s Al Aqsa hospital
The International Rescue Committee and Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP) said Sunday they were “forced to withdraw and cease activities” at Gaza’s Al Aqsa hospital “as a result of increasing Israeli military activity” around the medical facility.
The Israeli military has dropped leaflets designating areas surrounding the hospital as a “red zone,” the relief organizations said in a statement.
“Given the recent history of attacks on medical staff and facilities in Gaza, the team is unable to return,” the statement said. “Many local health workers have also been unable to access the hospital to care for the hundreds of patients that remain due to the conflict.”
A MAP staff member is currently a patient at the hospital after she was injured and her three sisters were killed in an Israeli bombing of a house they were staying in, according to the statement.
ABC News reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.
Doctors Without Borders, or Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also said Sunday it was evacuating its staff and families from the neighborhoods around the Al Aqsa hospital.
-ABC News’ Zoe Magee
Jan 07, 1:43 PM EST
IDF says it has completed the ‘dismantling of Hamas’ military framework’
The Israel Defense Forces claimed on Sunday that it has “completed the dismantling of Hamas’ military framework” in the northern Gaza Strip, hitting hundreds of targets and taking out key leaders of the terrorist group.
In an assessment of the first three months of the war between Israel and Hamas, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesperson, said Israeli forces have met their goals through airstrikes, ground operations and intelligence gathering in the primary objective of eliminating Hamas.
He said the IDF’s efforts in northern Gaza have included a relentless barrage of missile strikes, most of them targeting Jabaliya, the onetime stronghold of Hamas. In Jabaliya alone, Hagari said IDF airstrikes had hit 670 targets before ground forces entered the area and another 300 targets after ground troops moved in and helped direct precision airstrikes.
“In these strikes in the Jabaliya area, we eliminated the battalion commander, the deputy brigade commanders, and 11 company commanders leading the terrorists in the field,” Hagari said during a news conference.
Among the Hamas commanders eliminated was Ahmad Randor, Hagari said, showing what he said was a photograph of Randor sitting with his command echelon in a bunker 40 meters, or about 131 feet, underground.
“We have completed the dismantling of Hamas’ military framework in the northern Gaza Strip and will continue to deepen the achievement, strengthening the barrier and the defense components along the security fence,” Hagari said.
Since the war started, IDF forces have located and destroyed 40,000 weapons across the Gaza Strip, some of which were found in schools, hospitals, mosques, and even under the beds of children, Hagari said. In Jabaliya, IDF troops also infiltrated about 5 miles of tunnels and more than 40 tunnel shafts leading to Hamas’ northern headquarters and retrieved the bodies of five hostages, according to Hagari.
“Hamas no longer operates in an organized manner in this area. We have deprived it of its main terror capabilities in the region,” Hagari said.
He noted that while there are still terrorists in the Jabaliya area, “they now operate without a framework and without commanders.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Jan 06, 3:17 PM EST
Blinken voices ‘real concern’ over Israel-Lebanon tensions
While taking questions on the tarmac in Greece before heading to Jordan in his latest round of Middle East shuttle diplomacy, Secretary of State Antony Blinken wouldn’t reveal diplomatic conversations on the latest flareup in northern Israel, where Hezbollah missiles struck early Saturday, but said the U.S. is “actively working” on the issue.
“One of the areas of real concern is the border between Israel and Lebanon,” he said, pointing to the “tens of thousands forced from their homes in northern Israel.”
“We are looking at ways diplomatically to try to defuse that challenge, that tension, so that people can return to their homes, that they can live in peace and security,” Blinken said.
Blinken said the broad priorities of his trip include “preventing this conflict from spreading,” to “maximize the protection for civilians, maximize humanitarian assistance, getting it to them, and also to get hostages out of Gaza,” and paving the way for a postwar, “Palestinian-led” Gaza.
He also praised U.S.-Greek cooperation, pointing to the Greeks’ help in Operation Prosperity Guardian to keep the Red Sea safe amid increasing Houthi attacks on commercial vessels.
“I can’t think of a time when the partnership, the friendship between our countries has been stronger,” he said.
-ABC News’ Chris Boccia
Jan 05, 2:00 PM EST
Refugee camp resident on conditions in Gaza: ‘Poverty, hunger and diseases’
Al Nuseirat Camp, a Palestinian refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, was home to about 100,000 people before the war. Now, only a few hundred remain.
Umm Ahmed, a mother of three, told ABC News she has evacuated three times but has returned to Al Nuseirat Camp.
“I see people sitting and sleeping in the streets,” Ahmed said. “The situation doesn’t allow movement from here to there. It is financially expensive.”
Ahmed said the situation in Gaza is “very, very, very bad.”
“The situation, in all honesty, is no food, no drinking, no water, not even drinkable water, poverty, hunger and diseases,” she said. “Skin diseases are also difficult for children.”
Abu Muhammad, another resident of the camp, told ABC News he did not sleep last night due to bombing. But he does not want to leave.
“My message to the world is that we are here, and this is our land and we will not abandon it,” he said.
ABC News’ Sami Zayara
Jan 05, 11:14 AM EST
Israeli kibbutz announces death of hostage initially believed to be alive
An Israeli man who was believed to be alive and held hostage by militants in the Gaza Strip has been confirmed dead, his community announced Friday.
Tamir Adar, 38, was killed during the Hamas-led assault on the kibbutz of Nir Oz in southern Israel on Oct. 7 before militants took his body back to neighboring Gaza, according to a statement from the kibbutz. His grandmother, Yaffa Adar, was abducted alive and later released during a weeklong cease-fire in November.
Tamir was “born and raised in the kibbutz and lived there with his family,” the statement from Nir Oz said. He is survived by his wife and two young children.
“Tamir was a family man, he loved people and nature,” the statement added.
ABC News’ Anna Brund, Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor
Jan 05, 7:37 AM EST
Israeli kibbutz announces death of hostage initially believed to be alive
An Israeli man who was believed to be alive and held hostage by militants in the Gaza Strip has been confirmed dead, his community announced Friday.
Tamir Adar, 38, was killed during the Hamas-led assault on the kibbutz of Nir Oz in southern Israel on Oct. 7 before militants took his body back to neighboring Gaza, according to a statement from the kibbutz. His grandmother, Yaffa Adar, was abducted alive and later released during a weeklong cease-fire in November.
Tamir was “born and raised in the kibbutz and lived there with his family,” the statement from Nir Oz said. He is survived by his wife and two young children.
“Tamir was a family man, he loved people and nature,” the statement added.
-ABC News’ Anna Brund, Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor
Jan 04, 6:10 PM EST
Mother, uncle of US service member rescued from Gaza
The mother and uncle of an American servicemember were rescued from Gaza in an operation involving Israel and Egypt — the first known mission of its kind to take place since the war broke out — U.S. officials confirmed on Thursday.
Zahra Sckak and her brother-in-law, Farid (a U.S. citizen), were shepherded out of Gaza days ago, though the details of the operation were kept quiet due to security concerns surrounding the operation.
The U.S. played a “liaison role” in the case, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
“There wasn’t an operational presence by any U.S. forces or U.S. personnel there to help these family members escape, but we were glad to see them make their way safely out of Gaza and we’ll continue to work to do what we can to facilitate the departure of others,” Miller told reporters Thursday.
Fadi Sckak, a brother of the U.S. servicemember, told ABC News Live last month that his mother was on the list of individuals approved to leave Gaza through the Rafah gate, but that she couldn’t get to the border crossing because of the heavy fighting surrounding the area where she was sheltering.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Crawford
Jan 04, 4:48 PM EST
3 missing Israeli citizens recognized as hostages: IDF
Three Israeli citizens previously considered missing are now recognized as hostages, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Thursday.
“This decision was made following the completion of search and investigation operations in Israel and after examining all plausible scenarios and the information we have,” he said during a briefing.
That brings the total number of Israeli hostages held in Gaza to 136, including 23 believed to be dead, officials said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Jan 04, 2:13 PM EST
Secretary Blinken to make another trip to Middle East
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be making a marathon trip to the Middle East — his fourth visit to the region since the Oct. 7 attack, the State Department announced Thursday.
The trip, running from Jan. 4 to 11, will technically be his fifth visit to Israel since the war began; he stopped there twice on his trip in October.
“Throughout his trip, the Secretary will underscore the importance of protecting civilian lives in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza; securing the release of all remaining hostages; our shared commitment to facilitating the increased, sustained delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and the resumption of essential services; and ensuring that Palestinians are not forcibly displaced from Gaza,” State Department Spokesperson Matt Miller said in a statement.
The last part of the agenda Miller lays out — “ensuring that Palestinians are not forcibly displaced from Gaza” — runs counter to the rhetoric put forth in recent days by Israeli Minister of National Security Ben Gvir and other far-right politicians, comments the Biden administration have already denounced.
As of now, Blinken is scheduled to spend time in eight countries: Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt. He will also be stopping in the West Bank.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Jan 04, 12:15 PM EST
Houthi leader calls for protests against Israel’s war in Gaza
The leader of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebel group has called for mass protests to take place on Friday against Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
“Let the dear Yemeni people make their voice and word heard to the whole world, in their steadfastness in their faith, moral and humanitarian stance in supporting the oppressed Palestinian people, against whom the Jewish Zionists are committing crimes of genocide, completely destroying their cities and homes in Gaza, and are creative in practicing the most heinous crimes against them, such as burying the living and crushing them,” Houthi leader Abdul Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi said in a statement on Thursday.
Houthi rebels, who have been at war with Yemen’s internationally recognized government since 2014 and currently control a large part of the country, have carried out attacks on ships in the Red Sea in recent weeks in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza, a territory ruled by Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas.
ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Morgan Winsor
Jan 04, 11:05 AM EST
Israeli defense minister warns of ‘short window’ for diplomacy with Hezbollah
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned Thursday that diplomatic solutions with Hezbollah are running out.
Gallant made the remark at the Israeli Ministry of Defense heaquarters in Tel Aviv during a meeting with Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden. The two discussed the situation in northern Israel and along the border with Lebanon, where Israeli forces have been exchanging fire with Hezbollah. The Lebanese militant group has voiced support for Palestinians amid Israel”s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
“There is only one possible result — a new reality in the northern arena, which will enable the secure return of our citizens,” Gallant said. “Yet we find ourselves at a junction — there is a short window of time for diplomatic understandings, which we prefer. We will not tolerate the threats posed by the Iranian proxy, Hezbollah, and we will ensure the security of our citizens.”
ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Morgan Winsor
Jan 04, 8:22 AM EST
IDF says it struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday morning that one of its fighter jets struck an “observation post and terrorist infrastructure” belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
An “anti-tank missile terrorist cell in the same area” was also identified and struck, according to the IDF.
The IDF said its soldiers fired mortar shells overnight “in order to remove a threat” in another area of southern Lebanon, which shares a border with Israel.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the Israeli strikes.
Jan 03, 3:21 PM EST
‘Hamas still has a significant force posture inside Gaza,’ White House says
The White House was pressed on Wednesday about how close Israel may be to its stated goal of eradicating Hamas, as the death count in Gaza surpasses 22,000.
Notably, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby declined to give specific stats on damage done to Hamas but said, “Hamas still has a significant force posture inside Gaza.”
“We have estimates. I’m loath to put the numbers out there now because they are just estimates but Hamas still has a significant force posture inside Gaza,” he said in response to a question about how many more Hamas fighters are left.
He added that Israel has said they’ve been successful “against a range of leadership” and have “without question” had an effect on “Hamas’ ability to command and control itself, to resource itself, and quite frankly to lead their troops.”
But he wouldn’t give specifics on how many members of Hamas have been killed or any measures of progress that Israel has made.
“I’ve been trying real hard not to give them a report card here and I think that is a wise thing for us to do, is to refrain from analyzing and armchair-quarterbacking their military operations,” Kirby said.
Still, on multiple occasions, he was asked if Israel can still eradicate Hamas, which has been the country’s stated goal.
“It can be done militarily. Are you going to eliminate the ideology? No. And are you likely going to erase the group from existence? Probably not. But can you eliminate the threat that Hamas poses to the Israeli people? Absolutely,” Kirby said.
Jan 03, 1:38 PM EST
Hezbollah leader warns of response for killing of top Hamas official
The head of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassam Nasrallah, said in a speech Wednesday that the killing of deputy Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri was a “serious and heinous crime that will not remain without response and punishment.”
“Whoever thinks about war with us will regret it and it will be costly,” al-Arouri said in Arabic.
Nasrallah said they did receive messages that the assassination of al-Arouri was “not targeting Lebanon and the southern suburbs.”
The speech Wednesday was the first time the leader of the Lebanese group has spoken since Nov. 3. It followed the death Tuesday of al-Arouri in a bombing.
Israel has not claimed responsibility, but Hamas and Hezbollah have pointed the blame.
ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Ellie Kaufman
Jan 03, 1:01 PM EST
Israel says it dismantled tunnels under Al-Shifa Hospital
The Israeli army said in a release Wednesday it had destroyed Hamas’ tunnels underneath the Al-Shifa Hospital without causing damage to the hospital complex.
Israel said the tunnels under the hospital spanned over 250 meters and “led to a number of significant terrorist centers and was used for carrying out terrorist operations.” It added that humanitarian operations continued at the hospital.
Hamas, as well as doctors at the hospital, has denied that terrorists were operating from the hospital complex.
ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Jan 02, 3:42 PM EST
US denounces Israeli officials’ remarks on emigration from Gaza
The U.S. State Department is denouncing recent comments from Israel’s far right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calling for the emigration of Palestinians from Gaza, calling the officials’ statements “inflammatory and irresponsible.”
“The United States rejects recent statements from Israeli Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. “We have been told repeatedly and consistently by the Government of Israel, including by the Prime Minister, that such statements do not reflect the policy of the Israeli government. They should stop immediately.”
ABC News’ Shannon K. Crawford
Jan 02, 2:11 PM EST
Top Hamas leader killed in Beirut strike, official says
A top Hamas leader and at least five others were killed in a strike in Beirut on Tuesday, a Hamas official said.
The leader, identified by the official as Saleh Arouri, was second in command in Hamas and the head of Hamas in the West Bank.
Lebanese Security Services said six people were killed in the strike, which Hamas blamed on Israel.
An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson declined to comment on the incident, but told ABC News that Israel “is on high alert and prepared for any scenario.”
“I want to be clear we are focused on the fight against Hamas,” the spokesperson, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, added.
Jan 02, 12:38 PM EST
Top Hamas leader killed in Beirut strike, official says
A top Hamas leader and at least five others were killed in a strike in Beirut on Tuesday, a Hamas official said.
The leader, identified by the official as Saleh Arouri, was second in command in Hamas and the head of Hamas in the West Bank.
Lebanese Security Services said six people were killed in the strike, which Hamas blamed on Israel.
ABC News did not immediately receive a response from Israeli officials on the incident.
The head of Hamas’ political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, said Tuesday the militant group has sent its conditions for a truce to Egypt and Qatar.
In a statement, Haniyeh said the position “is based on a comprehensive cessation of aggression against our people.”
Jan 02, 11:53 AM EST
Maersk halts all transit through Red Sea
Maersk, one of the largest shipping companies in the world, has decided to pause all transit through the Red Sea “until further notice,” the company said Tuesday morning.
The company made the announcement in the wake of an attack on its vessel Maersk Hangzhou by small boats carrying Houthi militants on Sunday.
U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire and sank three of the four small boats, killing the crews, U.S. officials said. The fourth boat fled the area.
Sunday’s incident was the second time in 24 hours that the Hangzhou had issued a distress call, U.S. Navy officials said.
Houthi leaders have said they will not stop the Red Sea attacks until Israel ceases its assault in Gaza.
Jan 02, 10:46 AM EST
What we know about the conflict
The Israel-Hamas war is nearing the three-month mark.
In the Gaza Strip, at least 22,185 people have been killed and over 57,000 others have been wounded by Israeli forces since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry and the Government Media Office.
In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured by Hamas and other Palestinian militants since Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
There has also been a surge in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have killed at least 297 people in the territory since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Jan 01, 8:31 PM EST
What we know about the conflict
The Israel-Hamas war is nearing the three-month mark.
In the Gaza Strip, at least 21,978 people have been killed and 57,697 others have been wounded by Israeli forces since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry and the Government Media Office.
In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured by Hamas and other Palestinian militants since Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
There has also been a surge in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have killed at least 297 people in the territory since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Jan 01, 1:30 PM EST
Some Israeli communities near Gaza can return soon: Defense minister
Some communities in southern Israel near the Gaza border will be able to return soon, Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said Monday.
“In accordance with the recommendations given by the IDF and the defense establishment, we will soon be able to return [displaced] communities home, in areas within a range of four to seven kilometers north of the Gaza Strip,” Gallant said during an operational situation assessment held in Kibbutz Dorot.
Gallant said the “gradual return” will start with communities within seven kilometers, before moving on to the remaining communities.
Earlier Monday, Gallant toured the kibbutz and discussed the security measures required for the return of its residents.
Jan 01, 10:29 AM EST
Israel to move some troops out of Gaza, IDF announces
The IDF announced Monday it is adjusting deployment plans for forces in Gaza and the reserve system.
Some reservists will return to their families and employment, while others will return to scheduled training. The IDF says this is expected “to significantly alleviate economic burdens and enable them to gather strength for upcoming activities in the next year, as the fighting will persist, and their services will still be needed.”
“These adaptations aim to ensure effective planning and preparation for the continuation of operations in 2024” in anticipation of further warfare into the year, according to the IDF statement.
Dec 31, 4:47 PM EST
IDF says it expects war to last all of 2024
The war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group is expected to last all of 2024, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said Sunday.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a statement that the Israeli military is making adjustments to its deployment of troops in the Gaza Strip as it anticipates the war lasting for the entirety of 2024.
“We are adjusting the fighting methods to each area in Gaza, as well as the necessary forces to carry out the mission in the best way possible,” Hagari said. “Each area has different characteristics and different operational needs.”
Hagari added that as 2024 begins, “The goal of the war requires lengthy fighting, and we are prepared accordingly.”
The Israeli military, according to Hagari, will be carrying out “smart” management of its forces in Gaza, allowing reservists to return home to help boost the economy, and allowing standing army troops to train to become commanders.
“It will result in considerable relief for the economy, and will allow them to gain strength for operations next year, and the fighting will continue and we will need them,” Hagari said.
He said the adjustments are necessary for the IDF to endure the long road ahead.
“The IDF needs to plan ahead, out of the understanding that we will be needed for additional missions and continued fighting during the entire coming year,” Hagari said.
(NEW YORK) — For weeks, former President Donald Trump’s campaign teased a ramp-up in events in the new year ahead of the Iowa caucuses next Monday.
Yet, with only four weekend rallies scheduled, the Trump campaign continues to hold limited events, facing multiple hurdles, including weather delays, canceled surrogate events and, now, two voluntary courtroom appearances.
Though Trump will be back in the state Wednesday for a Fox News town hall, he doesn’t have any public campaign appearances until Saturday — holding two events on Jan. 13 then, and two events on Sunday — on the eve of the Iowa GOP caucus day.
Rather than spending time in the state in the final stretch of the Iowa caucuses, Trump instead has chosen to make two court appearances this week. While he wasn’t required to be present in the courtroom, Trump was attending Tuesday’s appeals court arguments on his efforts to dismiss the federal election subversion case over presidential immunity. He has also said he wants to attend closing arguments in his New York civil fraud trial expected to conclude this week, though he isn’t required to do so either.
As Trump deals with 91 felony charges across four indictments and multiple civil cases — in all of which he has denied wrongdoing — his legal schedule and campaign schedule are anticipated to continue to collide after that, forcing him to choose between court appearances and campaign appearances at pivotal moments in the election cycle.
On Jan. 16, the day after the first GOP contest of the year — just as Trump is expected to start campaigning for the first in the nation primary in New Hampshire on Jan. 23 — another civil trial is set to start in a second defamation case to determine damages Trump would have to pay after a jury found him liable in a case involving sexual abuse allegations made by columnist E. Jean Carroll.
Last week, Trump’s legal team’s request to delay the trial was denied. He isn’t required to be in the courtroom for the proceedings.
And on the day of the Nevada caucuses on Feb. 8, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments to determine whether Trump is eligible to access the Colorado Republican primary ballot.
The following month, on March 4, on the eve of Super Tuesday when sixteen states and territories are set to hold their GOP primary contests, a trial in special counsel Jack Smith’s election subversion case is set to begin at the federal court in Washington, D.C.
As a defendant in a criminal case, Trump would be expected to attend this trial unless the presiding judge grants a waiver. Whether Trump actually has to appear in person for the trial has not been settled yet.
Trump’s legal team is attempting to move the March 4 trial date but if the trial moves ahead as scheduled, it could significantly impede his campaigning — although some political experts have said that if Trump wins Iowa and New Hampshire, it might not impact his primary campaign so much.
On the campaign trail, Trump has claimed that the legal battles he faces are efforts by his political opponents to interfere with his campaign, though he has also claimed that the indictments and the court challenges have only boosted him in the polls and fundraising.
But Trump campaign advisers have already cautioned how tricky the balance will be juggling Trump’s political calendar with his legal one — the campaign calling it “a scheduling nightmare.”
“The goal is to take him off the trail at a very critical time and it’s our job to make it less of a critical time,” Susie Wiles, one of Trump’s top campaign advisers, told reporters last month.
Before going back to the Washington courthouse this week, Trump kicked off his 2024 election year campaign schedule with his four-stop Iowa swing last Friday and Saturday, facing weather delays that forced him to be nearly three-and-a-half hours late for his second stop of the day on Saturday.
Hopping from Sioux Center to Mason City and then from Newton to Clinton, Trump touted confidence in his lead over his Republican contenders who are far behind him in the polls according to 538’s polling average, but stressed to his supporters the importance of actually coming out to caucus for him on Jan. 15, saying he’s “not taking any chances.”
“Get out and vote — don’t listen to the polls,” Trump said at his Clinton rally Saturday night. “Pretend you’re one point down … You have to get out and you have to vote, vote, vote.”
Instead of Trump himself appearing before the voters, his campaign has planned for a blitz of surrogates to fan out across the state in order to spread Trump’s message for him in the final stretch in Iowa, urging people to caucus while telling their own personal interactions with the former president.
Stumping for his father last week, Eric Trump called his father mid-speech as he was emphasizing his point about how much of a family man he says Donald Trump is.
“He always picks up, he’s good with a cell phone,” Eric Trump said as he was calling.
“Every single day that he was in the White House, when I was governor, I got to be on offense,” South Dakota GOP Gov. Kristi Noem, whose name has been floated as a potential vice-presidential candidate pick, said at the first surrogate event of the year in Sioux City. “Ever since Joe Biden got into the White House, I’ve been on defense.”
But even those surrogate plans have not gone off without a hitch as a winter storm heading into Iowa caused the Trump team to have to cancel two events featuring Arkansas GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her father, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. A surrogate event on Tuesday was set to feature former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker and stand-up comedian Roseanne Barr; however, Barr also had to cancel her scheduled appearance due to weather issues.
Though the snowstorm is affecting multiple candidates who have had to alter their campaign schedules, with an already light schedule, the new holes in the Trump schedule is more glaring.
Though retail politicking and facetime has become a crucial part of winning in a state like Iowa, Trump’s absence seems to not have hindered support in the Hawkeye State as supporters either dismiss Trump’s lack of campaign events or point to one of his central campaign messages that his legal battles are only happening in order to interfere with his presidential chances.
“I’ve met President Trump twice, had like a 30 second conversation with him. He’s always on the run. And he’s a very smart, intelligent person. And I know what he’s doing is for the best of the interest for the office that he’s running for, the best interest for Iowa voters and for the entire nation,” Trenton Eilander, a Trump caucus captain, told ABC News.
Meanwhile, Trump’s legal battles have done little to turn his supporters away — many of them even say they’d vote for him even if he’s convicted.
“No, I’ll vote for him,” said Wanda Kruse from Marble Rock, Iowa, who attended his rally in Mason City, Iowa, on the eve of the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, when asked if her vote would be affected if he’s convicted in any of the charges he faces. “I feel that it’s trying to distract everyone from the election — maybe they’re trumped up.”
(NEW YORK) — The defective door plug on an Alaska Airlines plane that forced an emergency landing as a door-sized hole opened up in the plane mid-flight is just the latest dangerous incident to occur with this type of aircraft.
The Boeing 737 Max has been under public scrutiny for several years following multiple crashes and malfunctions.
The occurrences include a Lion Air Flight 610 that killed 189 people when it crashed in Indonesia in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 that killed 157 people when it crashed in waters northeast of Jakarta — both Boeing 737 Max 8 planes, a previous version of the aircraft.
Black box data from the Lion Air jet revealed the pilots struggled to fight the plane’s malfunctioning safety system from takeoff to the moment it nose-dived into the Java Sea. A report by Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee found that there were detrimental problems with the left angle of attack (AOA) sensor.
Following the Ethiopian Airlines crash, the entire fleet was grounded worldwide for more than 600 days. The 737 Max started flying again in January 2023.
The door plug for the fuselage of a Boeing 737 Max 9 fell off during a flight’s ascent on Friday, depressurizing the cabin and exposing passengers to open air thousands of feet above ground.
In statements released since Friday, Boeing has said it is aware of the incident and fully supports the FAA’s decision to require immediate inspections of certain 737 Max 9 planes.
Here is how the most recent incident unfolded: Friday, Jan. 5
5:07 p.m.: Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 takes off from Portland International Airport for Ontario, California, with 171 passengers and six crew members on board.
A few minutes after takeoff, as the plane reaches an altitude of 16,000 feet above sea level, a hole opens up next to seat 26A, prompting the pilot to declare an emergency.
Flight 1282 then initiates an emergency landing at Portland Airport. During the descent, terrified passengers captured footage showing the hole where the door plug came loose from.
The Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane has only been in operation since October 2023, FAA records show.
5:26 p.m.: Flight 1282 lands, less than 20 minutes after taking off.
5:34 p.m.: The plane arrives at the gate. Flight attendants instruct those who are injured to remain seated, and firefighters board the plane.
7:47 p.m. The NTSB posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it has started investigating the incident.
Saturday, Jan. 6
Midnight: Alaska Airlines temporarily grounds its Boeing 737 Max 9 fleet, totaling 65 planes, stating the aircraft will return to service “only after completion of full maintenance and safety inspections.”
9 a.m.: Alaska Airlines returns the 737-9 aircraft to service after inspections on more than a quarter of its 737 Max 9 fleet is complete “with no concerning findings.”
11 a.m.: United Airlines temporarily suspends service on select Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft to conduct an inspection required by the FAA, it announces. The airline has 79 of the aircraft in operation.
3 p.m.: Alaska Airlines removes 18 planes from service until details about possible additional maintenance work are confirmed with the FAA, the airline announces.
4 p.m.: The FAA issues an emergency airworthiness directive, temporarily grounding certain Boeing 737 MAX 9’s while operators conduct specific inspections before returning the aircraft to service — more than 170 planes worldwide.
6 p.m.: All of the passengers who sustained injuries aboard Flight 1282 are medically cleared, according to Alaskan Airlines.
7 p.m.: United temporarily suspends service on all 79 of its Boeing 737 Max 9 planes, the airline announces.
8 p.m.: During a press conference, the NTSB announced that no one was sitting in 26A or 26B — the two seats closest to the door — when the door plug fell out. The search for the door plug continues.
Sunday, Jan. 7
6:30 a.m.: Nearly 700 flights are canceled nationwide due to the Boeing 737 Max 9 groundings, according to data from FlightAware.
MORE: Passenger phone found on ground after Alaska Airlines emergency
11:30 a.m.: “Affected” planes will remain grounded until the FAA determines they are safe, the FAA said in a statement. Turkish Airlines, Copa Airlines and Aeroméxico all temporarily suspend service on their 737 Max 9s while doing inspections.
3:30 p.m.: A man finds a cellphone from a passenger on board Flight 1282 while on a walk in Portland.
9 p.m.: During a press conference, the NTSB announces that the door plug that fell out the fuselage has been found in a backyard in Portland.
Monday, Jan. 8
6:30 a.m.: Shares of Boeing Co. tumble 9% at the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange as the Boeing Max 9 remains grounded.
4 p.m.: United announces it has found loose bolts during its inspection of its 737 Max 9 fleet. The airline did not disclose how many planes the malfunction was found on.
ABC News’ Clara McMichael, Amanda Maile and Sam Sweeney contributed to this report.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump arrives for a “Commit to Caucus” rally in Clinton, Iowa, on Jan.6, 2024. (TANNEN MAURY/AFP via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Washington, D.C., Court of Appeals will hear arguments today over former President Donald Trump’s efforts to dismiss his federal election interference case based on his claim of presidential immunity.
Trump, who in August pleaded not guilty to charges of undertaking a “criminal scheme” to overturn the results of the 2020 election, is seeking the dismissal of the case on the grounds that he has “absolute immunity” from prosecution for actions taken while serving in the nation’s highest office.
The former president has denied all wrongdoing and denounced the charges as “a persecution of a political opponent.”
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jan 09, 9:54 AM EST
Prosecuting a president opens ‘Pandora’s box,’ Trump lawyer says
Echoing the words of Donald Trump, his lawyer D. John Sauer told the court that allowing the prosecution of a former president would open a “Pandora’s box.”
“To authorize the prosecution of a president for its official acts would open a Pandora’s box from which this nation may never recover,” Sauer said at the start of his prepared remarks.
“Could George W. Bush be prosecuted for obstruction of an official proceeding for allegedly giving false information to Congress to induce the nation to go to war in Iraq under false pretenses?” Sauer asked. “Can President Obama be potentially charged with murder for allegedly authorizing drone strikes targeting U.S. citizens located abroad?”
In response, Judge Florence Pan asked Sauer if presidential immunity could provide unlimited powers for actions outside a president’s official acts.
“You’re saying a president could sell pardons, could sell military secrets, could order SEAL Team Six to assassinate a political rival?” Pan said, suggesting actions that would not be official acts.
Jan 09, 9:36 AM EST
Hearing is underway
With all participants in place, the hearing has begun.
D. John Sauer, an attorney for Trump, is set to begin arguments on behalf of the former president.
Jan 09, 9:23 AM EST
Trump arrives in court
Donald Trump’s motorcade arrived at the courthouse at 9:15 a.m. ET.
He entered the building through an underground garage and did not make remarks.
Jan 09, 9:08 AM EST
Jack Smith and his legal team arrive in court
Special counsel Jack Smith and his legal team have entered the courtroom for today’s arguments before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Smith is with his top prosecutor in the case, Thomas Windom, as well as Michael Dreeben, a former deputy solicitor general who recently joined Smith’s team to assist in arguing through the appeals process.
Former President Trump has not yet entered the courtroom ahead of the 9:30 a.m. ET hearing.
Jan 09, 6:09 AM EST
Trump plans to attend today’s hearing
Donald Trump plans to attend today’s arguments on his efforts to dismiss his federal election interference case, the former president said in a social media post early Monday.
It will be the first time that Trump appears at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., since his arraignment on federal election subversion charges in August, when he pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Trump, who is seeking the dismissal of the case based on presidential immunity, wrote on social media, “Of course I was entitled, as President of the United States and Commander in Chief, to Immunity. I wasn’t campaigning, the Election was long over. I was looking for voter fraud.”
Bob Sauer appears on “Good Morning America,” on Jan. 9, 2024. (ABC News)
(PORTLAND, Ore.) — A teacher in Portland, Oregon, who found the door plug that was blown out of an Alaska Airlines plane says it has not been easy “to get to sleep” since his discovery.
Bob Sauer, a science teacher in Portland, Oregon, who teaches physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology and general science, spoke to ABC News’ Good Morning America on Tuesday about the surreal experience of finding the door plug when “all of Portland was looking for it.”
“I had heard about the incident on Friday when it happened, and I’ve been listening to the news all weekend, but I hadn’t realized…that the debris was in this neighborhood, so I hadn’t been paying much attention to that at all,” Sauer told GMA. “A friend of mine called me and said you should probably check your backyard because they’re still looking for the door. And so I thought about that for a while. And once I’d finished my work for the day, I came out to look for it, and that’s when I found it.”
The part fell off the plane, a Boeing 737 Max 9, around 5:11 p.m. local time Friday as the aircraft with 171 passengers, including three babies and four unaccompanied minors, had climbed to 16,000 feet after taking off from Portland International Airport, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The plug, measuring 26-by-46 inches and weighing 63 pounds, was discovered intact Sunday evening in Sauer’s backyard.
“When I encountered it, it was really just disbelief,” Sauer said. “It was very hard to to understand that what everybody was looking for in Portland was actually in my backyard, and I was the first one to actually see it.”
Sauer said he then contacted the NTSB to inform them of his discovery.
“We were very careful not to touch anything during that time because I figured the NTSB would want to see it in the condition that had fallen in,” Sauer said.
It didn’t take long for word to get around town about what happened to Sauer, who said school was a “madhouse” after people heard.
“There wasn’t a lot of teaching going on,” Sauer joked. “I didn’t get much schoolwork done because so many people wanted to come in to interview me. My students wanted to know the story so I taught them during part of our classes together. It was pretty incredible to find it in my backyard when all of Portland was looking for it.”
Sauer also said he was out when the door plug landed in his yard.
“I think I wasn’t here when it fell because I was out Friday night and so I didn’t hear anything at all,” Sauer said. “It was sitting here quietly in my backyard until I actually came back here on Sunday.”
“It’s been rather surprising to me how much interest there is in this event and I’ve been contacted by people from all over the world, by media, but also friends, colleagues, relatives — all interested to know if I was the one and indeed I was,” he added.
(NEW YORK) — Five months after the massive wildfires destroyed Maui and displaced thousands of residents, many are still facing hurdles when it comes to housing and rebuilding their homes.
Thousands of insurance claims are still being processed, leaving many policyholders with unanswered questions about their claims and not enough funds to cover their growing expenses, according to experts.
Mahealani Strong, a Lahaina native and insurance executive who is overseeing over 1,000 home and auto claims, told ABC News Live that, on average, policyholders need 40% more than what they were insured for “in order to cover the cost to rebuild.”
“Nobody bought their home thinking it would be completely toasted by a fire,” she said. “There are a lot of people that under-bought insurance because they didn’t plan for something like this to happen.”
As the wait continues, some displaced residents said they are feeling desperate as they are running out of options for temporary housing.
“Everything here is so expensive. So I’m just hoping and praying for the best,” Nelan Ceser, a displaced resident who has been living in a hotel shelter since August, told ABC News Live.
As of last October, more than 3,700 homeowners have filed insurance claims in the Maui fire, with nearly 1,500 of those properties suffering a total loss, according to Hawaii’s state insurance division. The agency’s data shows roughly 40% of claim money has not been paid, totaling more than $440 Million.
Strong said she and her team of six have been trying to help policyholders since the day of the fire and trying their best to quell their exasperation with the complicated process.
“I think some of my biggest frustrations are fighting for what I believe they should be getting and getting a kickback or having to wait until it goes through a process,” she said.
Strong said there are some cases where a current policyholder inherited their generational home from a family member and all of the insurance information wasn’t reviewed.
Another roadblock for some was homeowners who moved off the island and rented the home to tenants, but didn’t have the correct policy for rental properties.
Ceser said she has only received some money from her insurance company but is still waiting for when more money can be delivered.
“There’s no answer to that question we asked. We don’t know. We don’t know. So that’s the big problem and issue for me and for everyone,” she said.
The state stepped in to assist homeowners with insurance claims. Shortly after the fire, state insurance commissioner Gordon I. Ito urged insurers not to cancel policies or refuse renewals.
Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, told ABC News Live that that she and other elected officials are asking insurance companies to be more supportive.
“I think a message that we have to all the insurance companies, the carriers out there – we need your help. We need you to be a part of taking care of our people now in the disaster they have experienced,” she said.
However, carriers are making changes, according to Strong.
“The way that they are protecting themselves moving forward is by putting stipulations and conditions on the policy when it’s time for renewal,” she said of insurance companies.
As some homeowners wait for the money to rebuild, others are stuck in legal roadblocks when it comes to plans for emergency housing.
Alfy Basurto, a Maui businessman, plans to build 11 more mobile homes on the land he owns in an upscale gated community in Lahaina.
The mobile homes would be operated through his nonprofit organization, Rebuild Maui.
Basurto told ABC News Live before the fires he was planning on building five small homes on his land but changed his proposal after the fire.
“I want to share my land with people that would provide housing. Waiting for the government is not going to come in and make us whole. It is truly not. So I think our responsibility to help each other out, I believe in that so strongly,” he said.
However, the Pu’unoa Homeowners Association sued Basurto contending he doesn’t have the right to build on his property.
“The Maui County Code requires permits for the construction of residential building or structures,” the suit contended. “Defendants have failed to properly obtain such permits as are required.”
Basurto claimed he spoke with county executives about his mobile home proposal and was told “because it’s an RV and because it’s got registration for the DMV and it’s got a safety certificate, it doesn’t require permitting.”
A court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 11 about the matter.
Housing experts stressed that solutions need to be made soon, as more than 2,400 households remain displaced, with the governor pushing for 1,500 short-term rentals on Maui to convert to long-term housing by March 1.
Ceser said she is in forbearance on her mortgage until she gets more details and hopes that this year can bring closure to her tragedy.
“I want to rebuild our house. So I’ve been there for, like, seven years, and it’s so hard for me to leave Lahaina. My heart belongs to Lahaina,” she said.
(NEW YORK) — More than a month after a temporary cease-fire between Hamas and Israel ended, Israel continues its bombardment of Gaza.
The end of the cease-fire came after Hamas freed over 100 of the more than 200 people its militants took hostage during the Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel. In exchange, Israel released more than 200 Palestinians from Israeli prisons.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jan 09, 7:43 AM EST
Blinken meets with Herzog, Netanyahu in Israel
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with top officials in Israel on Tuesday during his fourth visit to the Middle East since the Oct. 7 terror attack.
Blinken met first with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and then with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. He was also expected to sit in on an Israeli war cabinet meeting.
Speaking to reporters alongside the Israeli president on Tuesday morning, Blinken said he valued Herzog’s leadership during these “incredibly challenging times” for Israel and other nations in the Middle East. The U.S. secretary said he would be sharing with Israeli officials what he had heard from leaders in regional countries.
Blinken’s latest weeklong trip is aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the neighboring Gaza Strip. The current conflict was sparked by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Jan 08, 3:05 PM EST
Blinken says he will press Israel on protecting civilians in Gaza
Just before he departed Saudi Arabia for Israel, Secretary of State Antony Blinken outlined what he hoped to accomplish during his time in the country.
Blinken said that while he was on the ground, he would have an opportunity to relate what he had heard in meetings during his several previous stops in the Arab world, as well as “talk to them about the future direction of their military campaign in Gaza.”
“I will press on the absolute imperative to do more to protect civilians and to do more to make sure that humanitarian assistance is getting into the hands of those who need it,” he said.
Summarizing his trip so far, he said that he found a united front among leaders in Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
“Everywhere I went, I found leaders who are determined to prevent the conflict that we’re facing now from spreading, doing everything possible to deter escalation — to prevent a widening of the conflict,” he said, adding they also agreed on the importance of Israel’s security, and that the West Bank and Gaza should be united as one state led by Palestinian governance.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Crawford
Jan 08, 2:38 PM EST
Hezbollah responds to Netanyahu visit to Lebanon border
A Hezbollah leader issued a threat to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after his visit to the Lebanon border on Monday.
“If you want a large-scale war in which you attack our country, we will go to the end and we are not afraid of your threats, your bombing, or your aggression, and we have prepared for you what you never imagined,” Muhammad Raad, head of the Hezbollah bloc of Lebanese parliament, said.
Israel said it hit military targets in southern Lebanon on Monday amid skirmishes that have been ongoing since October.
Netanyahu visited Kiryat Shmona, a city in northern Israel near the Lebanon border, on Monday, where he said Hezbollah got Israelis wrong in 2006 — a reference to the 34-day war between the two countries. He also added that he hopes to return Israeli evacuees to the region.
“We will do everything to restore security to the north and allow your families, because many of you are local, to return home safely and know that we cannot be messed with,” Netanyahu said. “We will do whatever it takes. Of course, we prefer that this be done without a wide campaign, but that will not stop us.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Nasser Atta
Jan 08, 1:12 PM EST
Biden says he’s working with Israel ‘to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza’
President Joe Biden’s speech at the Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina on Monday was interrupted by a handful of protesters who shouted, “Cease-fire now!”
Biden responded to the interruption by saying, “I understand their passion. And I’ve been quietly working … with [the] Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza, using all I can to do.”
ABC News’ Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Libby Cathey and Fritz Farrow
Jan 07, 8:38 PM EST
Blinken expresses concern about a wider conflict during Middle East visit
The Israel-Hamas war “could easily metastasize” beyond the Palestinian territory as “profound tension” in the region raises the prospect of a wider conflict, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday during an ongoing trip to the Middle East.
Such fighting would “cause even more insecurity and suffering,” Blinken told reporters in Doha, Qatar, alongside Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Blinken is roughly halfway through a nine-stop tour around the Middle East, his fourth diplomatic mission since the war began after Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel killed 1,200.
Looking ahead to his meetings with Israeli leaders in Tel Aviv and the West Bank set for early this week, Blinken said Sunday, “I will also raise the imperative of doing more to prevent civilian casualties. Far too many Palestinians, innocent Palestinians, have already been killed.”
The secretary of state, like other U.S. officials including President Joe Biden, have sought to stress their support for Israel’s retaliatory operations against Hamas while calling for Israel to do as much as possible to curb civilian casualties in light of the ongoing onslaught in Gaza and high death toll.
Jan 07, 2:52 PM EST
International Rescue Committee withdraws from Gaza’s Al Aqsa hospital
The International Rescue Committee and Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP) said Sunday they were “forced to withdraw and cease activities” at Gaza’s Al Aqsa hospital “as a result of increasing Israeli military activity” around the medical facility.
The Israeli military has dropped leaflets designating areas surrounding the hospital as a “red zone,” the relief organizations said in a statement.
“Given the recent history of attacks on medical staff and facilities in Gaza, the team is unable to return,” the statement said. “Many local health workers have also been unable to access the hospital to care for the hundreds of patients that remain due to the conflict.”
A MAP staff member is currently a patient at the hospital after she was injured and her three sisters were killed in an Israeli bombing of a house they were staying in, according to the statement.
ABC News reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.
Doctors Without Borders, or Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also said Sunday it was evacuating its staff and families from the neighborhoods around the Al Aqsa hospital.
-ABC News’ Zoe Magee
Jan 07, 1:43 PM EST
IDF says it has completed the ‘dismantling of Hamas’ military framework’
The Israel Defense Forces claimed on Sunday that it has “completed the dismantling of Hamas’ military framework” in the northern Gaza Strip, hitting hundreds of targets and taking out key leaders of the terrorist group.
In an assessment of the first three months of the war between Israel and Hamas, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesperson, said Israeli forces have met their goals through airstrikes, ground operations and intelligence gathering in the primary objective of eliminating Hamas.
He said the IDF’s efforts in northern Gaza have included a relentless barrage of missile strikes, most of them targeting Jabaliya, the onetime stronghold of Hamas. In Jabaliya alone, Hagari said IDF airstrikes had hit 670 targets before ground forces entered the area and another 300 targets after ground troops moved in and helped direct precision airstrikes.
“In these strikes in the Jabaliya area, we eliminated the battalion commander, the deputy brigade commanders, and 11 company commanders leading the terrorists in the field,” Hagari said during a news conference.
Among the Hamas commanders eliminated was Ahmad Randor, Hagari said, showing what he said was a photograph of Randor sitting with his command echelon in a bunker 40 meters, or about 131 feet, underground.
“We have completed the dismantling of Hamas’ military framework in the northern Gaza Strip and will continue to deepen the achievement, strengthening the barrier and the defense components along the security fence,” Hagari said.
Since the war started, IDF forces have located and destroyed 40,000 weapons across the Gaza Strip, some of which were found in schools, hospitals, mosques, and even under the beds of children, Hagari said. In Jabaliya, IDF troops also infiltrated about 5 miles of tunnels and more than 40 tunnel shafts leading to Hamas’ northern headquarters and retrieved the bodies of five hostages, according to Hagari.
“Hamas no longer operates in an organized manner in this area. We have deprived it of its main terror capabilities in the region,” Hagari said.
He noted that while there are still terrorists in the Jabaliya area, “they now operate without a framework and without commanders.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Jan 06, 3:17 PM EST
Blinken voices ‘real concern’ over Israel-Lebanon tensions
While taking questions on the tarmac in Greece before heading to Jordan in his latest round of Middle East shuttle diplomacy, Secretary of State Antony Blinken wouldn’t reveal diplomatic conversations on the latest flareup in northern Israel, where Hezbollah missiles struck early Saturday, but said the U.S. is “actively working” on the issue.
“One of the areas of real concern is the border between Israel and Lebanon,” he said, pointing to the “tens of thousands forced from their homes in northern Israel.”
“We are looking at ways diplomatically to try to defuse that challenge, that tension, so that people can return to their homes, that they can live in peace and security,” Blinken said.
Blinken said the broad priorities of his trip include “preventing this conflict from spreading,” to “maximize the protection for civilians, maximize humanitarian assistance, getting it to them, and also to get hostages out of Gaza,” and paving the way for a postwar, “Palestinian-led” Gaza.
He also praised U.S.-Greek cooperation, pointing to the Greeks’ help in Operation Prosperity Guardian to keep the Red Sea safe amid increasing Houthi attacks on commercial vessels.
“I can’t think of a time when the partnership, the friendship between our countries has been stronger,” he said.
-ABC News’ Chris Boccia
Jan 05, 2:00 PM EST
Refugee camp resident on conditions in Gaza: ‘Poverty, hunger and diseases’
Al Nuseirat Camp, a Palestinian refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, was home to about 100,000 people before the war. Now, only a few hundred remain.
Umm Ahmed, a mother of three, told ABC News she has evacuated three times but has returned to Al Nuseirat Camp.
“I see people sitting and sleeping in the streets,” Ahmed said. “The situation doesn’t allow movement from here to there. It is financially expensive.”
Ahmed said the situation in Gaza is “very, very, very bad.”
“The situation, in all honesty, is no food, no drinking, no water, not even drinkable water, poverty, hunger and diseases,” she said. “Skin diseases are also difficult for children.”
Abu Muhammad, another resident of the camp, told ABC News he did not sleep last night due to bombing. But he does not want to leave.
“My message to the world is that we are here, and this is our land and we will not abandon it,” he said.
ABC News’ Sami Zayara
Jan 05, 11:14 AM EST
Israeli kibbutz announces death of hostage initially believed to be alive
An Israeli man who was believed to be alive and held hostage by militants in the Gaza Strip has been confirmed dead, his community announced Friday.
Tamir Adar, 38, was killed during the Hamas-led assault on the kibbutz of Nir Oz in southern Israel on Oct. 7 before militants took his body back to neighboring Gaza, according to a statement from the kibbutz. His grandmother, Yaffa Adar, was abducted alive and later released during a weeklong cease-fire in November.
Tamir was “born and raised in the kibbutz and lived there with his family,” the statement from Nir Oz said. He is survived by his wife and two young children.
“Tamir was a family man, he loved people and nature,” the statement added.
ABC News’ Anna Brund, Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor
Jan 05, 7:37 AM EST
Israeli kibbutz announces death of hostage initially believed to be alive
An Israeli man who was believed to be alive and held hostage by militants in the Gaza Strip has been confirmed dead, his community announced Friday.
Tamir Adar, 38, was killed during the Hamas-led assault on the kibbutz of Nir Oz in southern Israel on Oct. 7 before militants took his body back to neighboring Gaza, according to a statement from the kibbutz. His grandmother, Yaffa Adar, was abducted alive and later released during a weeklong cease-fire in November.
Tamir was “born and raised in the kibbutz and lived there with his family,” the statement from Nir Oz said. He is survived by his wife and two young children.
“Tamir was a family man, he loved people and nature,” the statement added.
-ABC News’ Anna Brund, Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor
Jan 04, 6:10 PM EST
Mother, uncle of US service member rescued from Gaza
The mother and uncle of an American servicemember were rescued from Gaza in an operation involving Israel and Egypt — the first known mission of its kind to take place since the war broke out — U.S. officials confirmed on Thursday.
Zahra Sckak and her brother-in-law, Farid (a U.S. citizen), were shepherded out of Gaza days ago, though the details of the operation were kept quiet due to security concerns surrounding the operation.
The U.S. played a “liaison role” in the case, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
“There wasn’t an operational presence by any U.S. forces or U.S. personnel there to help these family members escape, but we were glad to see them make their way safely out of Gaza and we’ll continue to work to do what we can to facilitate the departure of others,” Miller told reporters Thursday.
Fadi Sckak, a brother of the U.S. servicemember, told ABC News Live last month that his mother was on the list of individuals approved to leave Gaza through the Rafah gate, but that she couldn’t get to the border crossing because of the heavy fighting surrounding the area where she was sheltering.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Crawford
Jan 04, 4:48 PM EST
3 missing Israeli citizens recognized as hostages: IDF
Three Israeli citizens previously considered missing are now recognized as hostages, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Thursday.
“This decision was made following the completion of search and investigation operations in Israel and after examining all plausible scenarios and the information we have,” he said during a briefing.
That brings the total number of Israeli hostages held in Gaza to 136, including 23 believed to be dead, officials said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Jan 04, 2:13 PM EST
Secretary Blinken to make another trip to Middle East
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be making a marathon trip to the Middle East — his fourth visit to the region since the Oct. 7 attack, the State Department announced Thursday.
The trip, running from Jan. 4 to 11, will technically be his fifth visit to Israel since the war began; he stopped there twice on his trip in October.
“Throughout his trip, the Secretary will underscore the importance of protecting civilian lives in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza; securing the release of all remaining hostages; our shared commitment to facilitating the increased, sustained delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and the resumption of essential services; and ensuring that Palestinians are not forcibly displaced from Gaza,” State Department Spokesperson Matt Miller said in a statement.
The last part of the agenda Miller lays out — “ensuring that Palestinians are not forcibly displaced from Gaza” — runs counter to the rhetoric put forth in recent days by Israeli Minister of National Security Ben Gvir and other far-right politicians, comments the Biden administration have already denounced.
As of now, Blinken is scheduled to spend time in eight countries: Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt. He will also be stopping in the West Bank.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Jan 04, 12:15 PM EST
Houthi leader calls for protests against Israel’s war in Gaza
The leader of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebel group has called for mass protests to take place on Friday against Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
“Let the dear Yemeni people make their voice and word heard to the whole world, in their steadfastness in their faith, moral and humanitarian stance in supporting the oppressed Palestinian people, against whom the Jewish Zionists are committing crimes of genocide, completely destroying their cities and homes in Gaza, and are creative in practicing the most heinous crimes against them, such as burying the living and crushing them,” Houthi leader Abdul Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi said in a statement on Thursday.
Houthi rebels, who have been at war with Yemen’s internationally recognized government since 2014 and currently control a large part of the country, have carried out attacks on ships in the Red Sea in recent weeks in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza, a territory ruled by Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas.
ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Morgan Winsor
Jan 04, 11:05 AM EST
Israeli defense minister warns of ‘short window’ for diplomacy with Hezbollah
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned Thursday that diplomatic solutions with Hezbollah are running out.
Gallant made the remark at the Israeli Ministry of Defense heaquarters in Tel Aviv during a meeting with Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden. The two discussed the situation in northern Israel and along the border with Lebanon, where Israeli forces have been exchanging fire with Hezbollah. The Lebanese militant group has voiced support for Palestinians amid Israel”s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
“There is only one possible result — a new reality in the northern arena, which will enable the secure return of our citizens,” Gallant said. “Yet we find ourselves at a junction — there is a short window of time for diplomatic understandings, which we prefer. We will not tolerate the threats posed by the Iranian proxy, Hezbollah, and we will ensure the security of our citizens.”
ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Morgan Winsor
Jan 04, 8:22 AM EST
IDF says it struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday morning that one of its fighter jets struck an “observation post and terrorist infrastructure” belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
An “anti-tank missile terrorist cell in the same area” was also identified and struck, according to the IDF.
The IDF said its soldiers fired mortar shells overnight “in order to remove a threat” in another area of southern Lebanon, which shares a border with Israel.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the Israeli strikes.
Jan 03, 3:21 PM EST
‘Hamas still has a significant force posture inside Gaza,’ White House says
The White House was pressed on Wednesday about how close Israel may be to its stated goal of eradicating Hamas, as the death count in Gaza surpasses 22,000.
Notably, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby declined to give specific stats on damage done to Hamas but said, “Hamas still has a significant force posture inside Gaza.”
“We have estimates. I’m loath to put the numbers out there now because they are just estimates but Hamas still has a significant force posture inside Gaza,” he said in response to a question about how many more Hamas fighters are left.
He added that Israel has said they’ve been successful “against a range of leadership” and have “without question” had an effect on “Hamas’ ability to command and control itself, to resource itself, and quite frankly to lead their troops.”
But he wouldn’t give specifics on how many members of Hamas have been killed or any measures of progress that Israel has made.
“I’ve been trying real hard not to give them a report card here and I think that is a wise thing for us to do, is to refrain from analyzing and armchair-quarterbacking their military operations,” Kirby said.
Still, on multiple occasions, he was asked if Israel can still eradicate Hamas, which has been the country’s stated goal.
“It can be done militarily. Are you going to eliminate the ideology? No. And are you likely going to erase the group from existence? Probably not. But can you eliminate the threat that Hamas poses to the Israeli people? Absolutely,” Kirby said.
Jan 03, 1:38 PM EST
Hezbollah leader warns of response for killing of top Hamas official
The head of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassam Nasrallah, said in a speech Wednesday that the killing of deputy Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri was a “serious and heinous crime that will not remain without response and punishment.”
“Whoever thinks about war with us will regret it and it will be costly,” al-Arouri said in Arabic.
Nasrallah said they did receive messages that the assassination of al-Arouri was “not targeting Lebanon and the southern suburbs.”
The speech Wednesday was the first time the leader of the Lebanese group has spoken since Nov. 3. It followed the death Tuesday of al-Arouri in a bombing.
Israel has not claimed responsibility, but Hamas and Hezbollah have pointed the blame.
ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Ellie Kaufman
Jan 03, 1:01 PM EST
Israel says it dismantled tunnels under Al-Shifa Hospital
The Israeli army said in a release Wednesday it had destroyed Hamas’ tunnels underneath the Al-Shifa Hospital without causing damage to the hospital complex.
Israel said the tunnels under the hospital spanned over 250 meters and “led to a number of significant terrorist centers and was used for carrying out terrorist operations.” It added that humanitarian operations continued at the hospital.
Hamas, as well as doctors at the hospital, has denied that terrorists were operating from the hospital complex.
ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Jan 02, 3:42 PM EST
US denounces Israeli officials’ remarks on emigration from Gaza
The U.S. State Department is denouncing recent comments from Israel’s far right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calling for the emigration of Palestinians from Gaza, calling the officials’ statements “inflammatory and irresponsible.”
“The United States rejects recent statements from Israeli Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. “We have been told repeatedly and consistently by the Government of Israel, including by the Prime Minister, that such statements do not reflect the policy of the Israeli government. They should stop immediately.”
ABC News’ Shannon K. Crawford
Jan 02, 2:11 PM EST
Top Hamas leader killed in Beirut strike, official says
A top Hamas leader and at least five others were killed in a strike in Beirut on Tuesday, a Hamas official said.
The leader, identified by the official as Saleh Arouri, was second in command in Hamas and the head of Hamas in the West Bank.
Lebanese Security Services said six people were killed in the strike, which Hamas blamed on Israel.
An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson declined to comment on the incident, but told ABC News that Israel “is on high alert and prepared for any scenario.”
“I want to be clear we are focused on the fight against Hamas,” the spokesperson, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, added.
Jan 02, 12:38 PM EST
Top Hamas leader killed in Beirut strike, official says
A top Hamas leader and at least five others were killed in a strike in Beirut on Tuesday, a Hamas official said.
The leader, identified by the official as Saleh Arouri, was second in command in Hamas and the head of Hamas in the West Bank.
Lebanese Security Services said six people were killed in the strike, which Hamas blamed on Israel.
ABC News did not immediately receive a response from Israeli officials on the incident.
The head of Hamas’ political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, said Tuesday the militant group has sent its conditions for a truce to Egypt and Qatar.
In a statement, Haniyeh said the position “is based on a comprehensive cessation of aggression against our people.”
Jan 02, 11:53 AM EST
Maersk halts all transit through Red Sea
Maersk, one of the largest shipping companies in the world, has decided to pause all transit through the Red Sea “until further notice,” the company said Tuesday morning.
The company made the announcement in the wake of an attack on its vessel Maersk Hangzhou by small boats carrying Houthi militants on Sunday.
U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire and sank three of the four small boats, killing the crews, U.S. officials said. The fourth boat fled the area.
Sunday’s incident was the second time in 24 hours that the Hangzhou had issued a distress call, U.S. Navy officials said.
Houthi leaders have said they will not stop the Red Sea attacks until Israel ceases its assault in Gaza.
Jan 02, 10:46 AM EST
What we know about the conflict
The Israel-Hamas war is nearing the three-month mark.
In the Gaza Strip, at least 22,185 people have been killed and over 57,000 others have been wounded by Israeli forces since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry and the Government Media Office.
In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured by Hamas and other Palestinian militants since Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
There has also been a surge in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have killed at least 297 people in the territory since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Jan 01, 8:31 PM EST
What we know about the conflict
The Israel-Hamas war is nearing the three-month mark.
In the Gaza Strip, at least 21,978 people have been killed and 57,697 others have been wounded by Israeli forces since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry and the Government Media Office.
In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured by Hamas and other Palestinian militants since Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
There has also been a surge in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have killed at least 297 people in the territory since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Jan 01, 1:30 PM EST
Some Israeli communities near Gaza can return soon: Defense minister
Some communities in southern Israel near the Gaza border will be able to return soon, Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said Monday.
“In accordance with the recommendations given by the IDF and the defense establishment, we will soon be able to return [displaced] communities home, in areas within a range of four to seven kilometers north of the Gaza Strip,” Gallant said during an operational situation assessment held in Kibbutz Dorot.
Gallant said the “gradual return” will start with communities within seven kilometers, before moving on to the remaining communities.
Earlier Monday, Gallant toured the kibbutz and discussed the security measures required for the return of its residents.
Jan 01, 10:29 AM EST
Israel to move some troops out of Gaza, IDF announces
The IDF announced Monday it is adjusting deployment plans for forces in Gaza and the reserve system.
Some reservists will return to their families and employment, while others will return to scheduled training. The IDF says this is expected “to significantly alleviate economic burdens and enable them to gather strength for upcoming activities in the next year, as the fighting will persist, and their services will still be needed.”
“These adaptations aim to ensure effective planning and preparation for the continuation of operations in 2024” in anticipation of further warfare into the year, according to the IDF statement.
Dec 31, 4:47 PM EST
IDF says it expects war to last all of 2024
The war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group is expected to last all of 2024, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said Sunday.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a statement that the Israeli military is making adjustments to its deployment of troops in the Gaza Strip as it anticipates the war lasting for the entirety of 2024.
“We are adjusting the fighting methods to each area in Gaza, as well as the necessary forces to carry out the mission in the best way possible,” Hagari said. “Each area has different characteristics and different operational needs.”
Hagari added that as 2024 begins, “The goal of the war requires lengthy fighting, and we are prepared accordingly.”
The Israeli military, according to Hagari, will be carrying out “smart” management of its forces in Gaza, allowing reservists to return home to help boost the economy, and allowing standing army troops to train to become commanders.
“It will result in considerable relief for the economy, and will allow them to gain strength for operations next year, and the fighting will continue and we will need them,” Hagari said.
He said the adjustments are necessary for the IDF to endure the long road ahead.
“The IDF needs to plan ahead, out of the understanding that we will be needed for additional missions and continued fighting during the entire coming year,” Hagari said.
(NEW YORK) — Two major storms are moving across the United States from west to east with blizzard conditions, flooding, tornadoes, strong winds and heavy snow.
There are currently 13 states on flood watch from Georgia to Maine as the storm is expected to reach the East Coast with severe weather for the Carolinas, Florida and Georgia with tornadoes and flash flooding possible.
Heavy rain will arrive in the Mid-Atlantic by around noon on Tuesday and will gradually move up the I-95 corridor through the afternoon as heavy rain is expected to begin in Philadelphia and New York City with a chance of flooding possible.
Additionally, New England is predicting heavy rain on Tuesday night into Wednesday with possible flooding as an estimated 2 to 4 inches of rain is forecast in the Northeast on top of all the melting snow.
Strong damaging winds are expected to accompany the heavy rain as, locally, 50 to 65 mph gusts are possible from the Virginia coast all the way up to Maine with power outages possible in swathes of the Northeast.
On the back side of this storm, heavy snow is also forecast from Missouri to Iowa and into Wisconsin and Michigan where, locally, up to 10 inches of snow could be possible.
The city of Chicago will be right on the line of rain and snow with only a few inches of sloppy snow possible in the city and up to 5 to 10 inches can be expected just west and north of the Windy City.
(NEW YORK) — A year featuring extreme events across the globe is now officially Earth’s hottest year on record, according to Copernicus, Europe’s climate change service.
2023 has been confirmed as the hottest year on record surpassing 2016, the previous hottest year, by a large margin, according to a new climate report released by Copernicus on Tuesday. The data for this record goes back to 1850.
The global average temperature for 2023 was 14.98 degrees Celsius (58.96 F). The previous record was 14.81 degrees Celsius (58.66 F) set in 2016.
Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus, said 2023 was an exceptional year “with climate records tumbling like dominoes.”
The record-breaking year, wrapped up with another new record. December 2023 was the warmest December on record globally.
The report also highlights that July and August were Earth’s two warmest months on record along with the Northern Hemisphere’s summer season also reaching new highs.
Analysis shows that 2023 was 1.48 degrees Celsius (2.66 F) warmer than the 1850-1900 pre-industrial reference level with close to half of the days in 2023 surpassing the 1.5°C warming limit. Two days in November featured days that were more than 2°C warmer for the first time on record, alarming experts.
“Not only is 2023 the warmest year on record, it is also the first year with all days over 1°C warmer than the pre-industrial period. Temperatures during 2023 likely exceed those of any period in at least the last 100,000 years,” Burgess said in a statement.
While this sets a dire precedent, researchers emphasize that temporarily exceeding limits set in the Paris Agreement do not constitute a failure to the agreement. The limit set forth in the agreement looks at the climate average over many years.
Average air temperatures were either the warmest on record or close to the record on every continent except Australia.
According to NOAA, the last time Earth recorded a colder-than-average year was in 1976.
Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and strong El Niño conditions over the equatorial Eastern Pacific both played a role in sending 2023 global temperatures to a record high and could push temperatures even higher in 2024.
The World Meteorological Organization says that the current El Niño event is expected to last through at least April and will fuel further temperature increases in the coming months. El Niño impacts on global temperatures typically play out in the year after its development, meaning 2024 will likely feature further spikes in temperatures on both land and in the ocean.
Marine heatwaves all over the globe, including the Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic, contributed to unprecedented ocean temperatures that set even more records.
Analysis of Copernicus’ ERA5 dataset shows that global average sea surface temperatures reached record levels from April through December.
Record highs set both on land and in the ocean contributed to what researchers called a “remarkable” year for Antarctic sea ice. Both the daily and monthly sea ice extents reached all-time minima in February 2023 with eight months of the year featuring record low extents.
An alarming number of extreme events were recorded across the globe last year, including record-breaking heatwaves, relentless droughts, catastrophic floods and devastating wildfires. According to researchers, the unprecedented 2023 wildfire season in Canada was a major contributor to a 30% estimated increase in global wildfire carbon dioxide concentrations last year.
“The extremes we have observed over the last few months provide a dramatic testimony of how far we are now from the climate in which our civilization developed,” Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change service, said in a statement.
Globally, concentrations of two major greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane, hit record highs in 2023 according to the report. Carbon dioxide levels in 2023 were 2.4 ppm higher than in 2022 with methane concentrations increasing 11 ppb year-over-year.
