(RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA) — The foster parents who took in several of the Turpin children after they were rescued from their home of abuse in 2018 were sentenced on child abuse charges Friday.
Marcelino Olguin was sentenced to seven years in state prison and was taken away in handcuffs after his sentencing was read in court in Riverside County, California.
His wife, Rosa Olguin, and their daughter, Lennys Olguin, were sentenced to four years each of probation. They cried during the sentencing.
The judge ordered that the defendants not make contact with the nine victims, which included several of the Turpin siblings.
None of the victims or their attorneys were in court for the sentencing.
A victim impact statement from one of the victims, identified by the initials JT, was read aloud in court during the sentencing hearing.
“All I wanted was to finally have a loving family and recover from my trauma but unfortunately I did not receive that,” the statement read in part.
Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin, whose office prosecuted the case, said the sentencing “marks a significant step in delivering justice to the victims who endured unimaginable abuse.”
“These children were placed in a position of vulnerability after surviving intense trauma, only to be further exploited by someone who was entrusted with their care,” he said in a statement. “We are committed to holding accountable those who prey on innocent children. Our office remains steadfast in pursuing justice for all victims of abuse and ensuring that those who violate the trust placed in them are held accountable.”
The three foster parents pleaded guilty last month to child endangerment and false imprisonment. Marcelino Olguin was the only one charged with three counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14.
The three foster parents were arrested in 2021 and initially pleaded not guilty.
The six youngest Turpin children were placed with the Olguin family at various times beginning in 2018, a lawyer for one of the Olguins previously told ABC News. Four were still living there at the time of the arrests, according to the attorney.
Six Turpin siblings filed a lawsuit in 2022 against Riverside County and ChildNet, the private foster care agency tasked with protecting them, alleging they suffered “severe abuse and neglect” for years in the care of the foster family.
Elan Zektser and Roger Booth, legal representatives for the Turpin family victims, said they plan to hold a press conference on Monday to address the sentencing as well as where the civil case stands.
“This press event comes at a pivotal moment, as the public has awaited further details on both the criminal outcomes and the civil action involving the County’s oversight of the foster care system,” a press release from the attorneys stated.
A spokesperson for Riverside County told ABC News after the civil complaint was filed that it does not comment on pending legal matters or specific juvenile cases due to confidentiality laws.
A ChildNet spokesperson also told ABC News at the time that the organization was unable to disclose facts or discuss the allegations in the complaint.
A 2022 report issued by outside investigators hired by Riverside County found that the 13 Turpin siblings had been “failed” by the social services system that was supposed to care for them and help transition them into society.
“Some of the younger Turpin children were placed with caregivers who were later charged with child abuse,” the 630-page report found. “Some of the older siblings experienced periods of housing instability and food insecurity as they transitioned to independence.”
In response to the report upon its release, Riverside County Supervisor Karen Spiegel said in a statement, “This is the time to act and I will support all efforts to meet the challenge.”
The Turpin case garnered national attention following the children’s rescue from captivity in their parents’ Perris, California, home in January 2018.
The 13 Turpin siblings were rescued after Jordan Turpin, then 17, executed a daring escape in the middle of the night and called 911. Authorities subsequently discovered that their parents had subjected the siblings, who ranged in age from 2 to 29 at the time, to brutal violence and deprived them of food, sleep, hygiene, education and health care.
Their parents, David and Louise Turpin, pleaded guilty to 14 felony counts in 2019 and were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
(TEL AVIV, Israel and GAZA STRIP) — The situation in northern Gaza is “beyond horrific” as people experience intense levels of hunger and overcrowded hospitals struggle to care for patients amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, international aid organizations warn.
Last week, Israeli forces ordered evacuations of several regions in the north, including Beit Hanoun, Jabalia and Beit Lahia, as they work to surround Hamas fighters who are allegedly in the area.
Medical staff in the north say they are getting calls from all over northern Gaza asking for help, but ambulances are unable to reach the injured.
“The situation is beyond horrific and is very difficult and indescribable,” Dr. Taghreed Al-Imawi, a member of the Palestinian NGO Juzoor for Health and Social Development and an OB-GYN doctor at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, said in a statement. “We have seen more than 23 pregnant women among the injured coming to the hospital since last week, wounded either by shrapnel or gunfire, suffering from fractures.”
Kamal Adwan was one of three hospitals that doctors say were ordered to evacuate last week, but medical staff have refused to do so. The Israel Defense Forces has not confirmed if hospitals were ordered to evacuate.
In an audio message sent in Arabic to ABC News, Dr. Eid Sabah, the director of the nursing department at Kamal Adwan Hospital, said the maternity ward is overflowing with children who were transferred from the ICU to accommodate the growing number of patients.
“Medical supplies are dwindling to nothing — especially medical supplies related to surgery, maternity and critical care,” he said. “This is very dangerous and hard. The medical staff is exhausted and are not enough to cover critical patient care. They work 24/7 nonstop.”
He went on, “We only have seven or eight beds in the critical care ward. This is terrifying. Patients on artificial respirators are suffering … we emphasize that we don’t have food. The medical staff can’t eat, and they have to take care of suffering patients.”
Gazans in the north say they are cut off from access to food, medicine and clean drinking water, and are unable to feed their families.
“We have not gotten any food or water for the past 11 days, the suffering is getting worse by the day,” Ismail, a father of two currently in the vicinity of Jabalia, said through the nonprofit organization CARE International. “All the necessities for survival are lacking here in the north, no hospitals, no safe place, no safe drinking water, no medications for our children.”
A new report released Thursday from the U.N.-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification initiative warned that the risk of famine persists across the entire Gaza Strip, adding that the “worst case scenario may materialize.”
If humanitarian aid delivery continues to be restricted, concerning levels of food insecurity and malnutrition will intensify, the IPC said.
The entire Gaza Strip has been classified as Phase 4 under the IPC, meaning there are large food consumption gaps that “are reflected in very high acute malnutrition and excess mortality” and that only emergency strategies can mitigate those gaps.
Nearly 133,000 people, or about 6% of the population, are classified as Phase 5, the highest stage of food insecurity. The report estimates the number of people classified as Phase 5 — the equivalent to famine levels of starvation — is expected to triple between November 2024 and April 2025, with the north and Rafah, on the southern border with Egypt, being the most affected.
Although there was a temporary surge in humanitarian aid being delivered between May and August 2024, September had the lowest volume of humanitarian supplies entering Gaza since last March.
“This sharp decline will profoundly limit food availability and the ability of families to feed themselves and access services in the next few months,” the IPC report said.
The report also warned that about 60,000 cases of acute malnutrition among children ages 6 months to under 5 years old are expected to occur between September 2024 and August 2025 without significant intervention. Of those cases, 12,000 are predicted to be severe acute malnutrition.
The Israeli government has denied that conditions causing malnutrition exist inside Gaza and has said it works with international organizations to ensure necessary aid crosses the border into Gaza from Israel.
(NEW YORK) — Details about the murder of two teenage girls in Delphi, Indiana, in 2017 were revealed for the first time Friday during the trial of the man accused of killing them.
Richard Allen is charged in the murders of Abby Williams, 13, and Libby German, 14. The two friends were found dead a day after they went out for a walk on a hiking trail in February 2017.
Allen has pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder.
Police have never released how the eighth graders were killed. During opening statements Friday in the long-awaited trial in Carroll County, Indiana, the prosecutors provided the jurors with details about the murders.
“You’re going to see the crime scene,” prosecutor Nick McLeland said. “It was a gruesome scene. Libby was completely naked. Her throat was cut, blood all over. Abby’s throat was also cut.”
McLeland said the case is about three things: the “bridge guy,” an unspent bullet found at the crime scene and the brutal murders of Libby and Abby, who were found dead near the Monon High Bridge.
According to McLeland, Libby posted a photo of Abby on Snapchat while they were crossing over the Monon High Bridge. After the girls crossed the bridge, they saw a man behind them, so Libby started a recording on her phone at 2:13 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017, he said.
McLeland said the man pulled out a gun and ordered the girls “down the hill.” The girls complied and then, the video on the cellphone stopped recording.
According to McLeland, Allen testified that he was on the trail that day. Investigators also found a gun in his house, and testing showed a bullet found at the crime scene cycled through that gun.
McLeland said Allen also confessed to committing the crime to his wife and mother voluntarily while in jail.
Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin said in his opening statement that there is reasonable doubt in the case, arguing that the state’s investigation was botched from the beginning.
Baldwin questioned the timeline and cellphone evidence in the state’s case, holding up a phone to the jury and saying, “Forensic data on these phones don’t lie.”
Baldwin said the prosecution claims Abby and Libby were dead by 4 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017, and their bodies were never moved until they were recovered the next day. He said the prosecution’s timeline puts Allen in a parking lot near the trial at 1:30 p.m. but his cellphone data shows he was gone by 2:15 p.m.
Addressing the unspent round found at the crime scene, Baldwin said law enforcement commonly used that type of bullet, but police never investigated if an officer was missing one. He also said the owner of the property where the girls were found owns a similar weapon but his gun was never tested.
The defense also argued Allen’s mental health was in decline while in prison, which led to him to confess to the crime.
The defense told jurors they believe the girls were killed somewhere else and their bodies were returned to the crime scene — that searchers saw no bodies or girl’s clothing in the creek on the night of Feb. 13, and witnesses near the crime scene also never heard any screams.
Baldwin also said hair found in Abby’s hand was a possible match to a female relative of Libby, and not Allen. The defense revealed the evidence for the first time during proceedings earlier in the week.
Ahead of opening statements, Judge Frances Gull ruled the composite sketches of a person of interest in the case released by the Indiana State Police early in the investigation will not be used during the trial.
Prosecutors had filed a motion seeking to prevent defense attorneys from referencing the sketches, arguing they were for generating leads in the case and were not used to identify Allen as a suspect in the case.
(NEW YORK) — The Menendez brothers face the possibility of freedom after serving more than 30 years in prison, with their case being reviewed for possible resentencing by the Los Angeles County District Attorney following the emergence of significant new evidence.
On Aug. 20, 1989, Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, gunned down their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion. Jose Menendez was a wealthy 45-year-old entertainment executive, while 47-year-old Kitty Menendez was a homemaker.
The brothers were sentenced to life in prison after being convicted at their second retrial, following mistrials in the first trial.
“It was from the jump, one of the biggest cases in Los Angeles and in the country; no one could believe that these two young men had killed their parents this way,” ABC’s Terry Moran, who covered the trial, told “Impact X Nightline.”
The fact that they killed their parents 36 years ago was always clear. However, the reason they did it has always divided and captivated the nation.
During their initial trial, defense attorney Leslie Abramson contended that Lyle and Erik shot their parents in self-defense. She argued that the brothers feared their parents would kill them if they disclosed the years of alleged molestation they had suffered at their father’s hands.
The first trial ended in a mistrial on Jan. 13, 1994, due to a deadlocked jury. After a second trial, the brothers were found guilty of first-degree murder in 1996 and received two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole.
A fresh legal filing has been submitted with even more distressing details of Jose Menendez’s alleged abuse.
According to the brothers’ attorneys, Erik Menendez penned a letter describing his father’s alleged abuse to his cousin.
Another alleged victim of their father, a former member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, also spoke out in 2023 Peacock documentary “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.” Roy Rosselló alleged that he was abused by José Menendez when he was 14.
The Menendez brothers have seemingly gone from public enemies to victims as a powerful movement builds online to set the brothers free.
Their story is now under a modern lens, casting a new perspective on an alleged trauma that was barely understood at the time — that men could also be victims of sexual abuse. Some people say this reexamination challenges long-held beliefs and prompts people to rethink their understanding of this complex issue.
“I have always thought that if the Menendez brothers were the Menendez sisters, they’d be free today, would have been convicted,” Moran said. “But an abuse victim often gets some kind of clemency.”
Prison reform advocate Kim Kardashian called for their release.
‘We are all products of our experiences,” Kardashian wrote in a personal essay about the brothers. “Time changes us, and I doubt anyone would claim to be the same person they were at 18.”
Actor Rosie O’Donnell has befriended the brothers.
“They were not horrible kids,” O’Donnell told “Impact X Nightline.” “They were severely, sadistically tortured by a pedophile predator father, and a very compliant and also involved mother, who had no interest in them.”
In the ’90s, Dr. William Vicary, a former psychiatrist, was a key witness for the defense in the case after defense attorney Leslie Abramson hired him to evaluate Erik Menendez. Vicary later received probation of his medical license for admitting to altering notes from those meetings.
“In the ’80s and ’90s, the public had very little knowledge about this type of sexual abuse, especially fathers abusing their own sons,” Vicary told “Impact X Nightline.” “Back then, there were many people that just dismissed this outright.”
Others like Alan Abrahamson, who covered the trial for the LA Times, still believe the brothers killed their parents for money and that the jury got it right, given their lavish spending spree in the aftermath of the killings.
“The parents were sitting in the den watching TV,” Abrahamson told “Impact X Nightline.” “Did they have any weapons? No.”
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced earlier this month that he was reviewing new evidence in the case against the brothers.
Some family members said the Menendez brothers should have been charged with manslaughter instead of murder. A group of relatives, including Kitty Menendez’s sister, agree.
The family members held a news conference in LA on Wednesday, hoping it would influence the appeal of their sentencing. The court has scheduled one hearing for November 2024.
(NEW YORK) — The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s federal election interference case on Friday unsealed the redacted appendix of evidence gathered by special counsel Jack Smith, offering a glimpse of the evidence that could be seen by a jury if the former president’s case goes to trial.
The highly redacted appendix is an attachment to the immunity motion filed earlier this month by Smith that included new details about Trump and his allies’ actions leading up to the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol.
The majority of the appendix’s 1,889 pages are redacted, and the remaining documents are largely comprised of public materials, including transcripts released by the House select committee on Jan. 6, court transcripts, Trump’s social media posts, excerpts from Vice President Mike Pence’s autobiography, and fraudulent electoral certificates signed by Trump’s “fake electors.”
The patchwork of evidence includes a portion of an interview between a former White House employee and an investigator from the House Jan. 6 committee regarding Trump’s conduct when he learned of the riot at the Capitol.
According to the employee, Trump inquired why he could not watch the entirety of his speech at the Ellipse earlier that day.
“‘Sir, they cut it off because they’re rioting down at the Capitol.’ And he was like, ‘What do you mean?'” the employee said.
The employee told congressional investigators that he set up a television in the Oval Office dining room and brought Trump a Diet Coke while he watched his speech, which was interrupted by coverage of the riot.
“I said, ‘It’s like they’re rioting down there at the Capitol,'” the employee said. “And he was like, ‘Oh really?’ And then he was like, ‘All right, let’s go see.'”
The unsealing of the appendix came a day after the judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, denied Trump’s last-minute request to delay the release of the material until after the presidential election.
Chutkan, in Thursday’s ruling, pushed back on Trump’s argument that the release was politically motivated to influence the 2024 presidential election.
“There is undoubtedly a public interest in courts not inserting themselves into elections, or appearing to do so. But litigation’s incidental effects on politics are not the same as a court’s intentional interference with them,” Chutkan wrote in her order.
“As a result, it is in fact Defendant’s requested relief that risks undermining that public interest: If the court withheld information that the public otherwise had a right to access solely because of the potential political consequences of releasing it, that withholding could itself constitute — or appear to be — election interference,” she wrote.
Trump last year pleaded not guilty to federal charges of undertaking a “criminal scheme” to overturn the results of the 2020 election in order to remain in power.
Smith subsequently charged Trump in a superseding indictment that was adjusted to respect the Supreme Court’s July ruling that Trump is entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts undertaken as president — a decision that effectively delayed any potential trial until after the November election.
(LOS ANGELES) — Lyle and Erik Menendez are currently serving life behind bars for the murders of their parents in the family’s Beverly Hills home. But after more than three decades in prison, a renewed interest in the headline-grabbing trial has the brothers pursuing two tracks to potential freedom.
The Menendez case dates back to August 1989, when Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, shot and killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez.
Prosecutors alleged Lyle and Erik Menendez killed their wealthy parents for financial gain, while the defense argued the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father.
Their first trials — which captured the nation’s attention with cameras in the courtroom — ended in mistrials.
In 1996, at the end of a second trial — in which the judge barred much of the sex abuse evidence — Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole.
The sensational case gained new attention this fall with the release of the Netflix drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” and the Netflix documentary “The Menendez Brothers.”
The brothers currently have two potential paths to their release before the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Resentencing
One track involves a review of their sentence based on factors including rehabilitation, which Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is evaluating.
Gascón said he plans to make his resentencing decision this month. If Gascón recommends resentencing, his recommendation will go to a judge to decide whether the brothers will be released, receive a lesser sentence or get a new trial.
Gascón told ABC News in October any recommendation for resentencing would take into account the decades the brothers already served and their behavior in prison.
Mark Geragos, the Menendez brothers’ lawyer, called Erik and Lyle model prisoners who worked tirelessly to reform themselves with no expectation they’d be released.
“Given the totality of the circumstances, I don’t think that they deserve to be in prison until they die,” Gascón told ABC News.
Gascón said since he’s been in office, they have resentenced over 300 people, of which four have reoffended.
The other track concerns the brothers’ petition filed last year for a review of new evidence not presented at the original trial. Through the habeas corpus petition, the court could reverse the conviction or reopen proceedings.
Gascón said his office is evaluating allegations from a member of the boy band Menudo who said he was molested by Jose Menendez, and a letter Erik Menendez wrote to a cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse.
Erik Menendez’s cousin testified about the alleged abuse at trial, but Erik Menendez’s letter — which would have corroborated the cousin’s testimony — wasn’t unearthed until several years ago, according to Geragos.
“The combination of those two we believe provide more than ample basis to set aside the result of the second trial,” Geragos said at a press briefing earlier this month.
Geragos said the district attorney could either oppose the habeas and decide to litigate it, or “they could concede the habeas and say, give them a new trial.”
“I’m hoping that sometime before Thanksgiving, which is when the next response is due, that the DA will either concede the habeas or join us in asking for resentencing,” Geragos said.
The next court date in the case is scheduled for Nov. 26, Gascón said.
Family calls for release
Nearly two dozen relatives have urged the district attorney to recommend the brothers be resentenced and released.
Lyle and Erik Menendez “were failed by the very people who should have protected them — by their parents, by the system, by society at large,” Kitty Menendez’s sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen, said at a news conference on Wednesday.
“Their actions, while tragic, were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable cruelty of their father,” she said of the murders. “As their aunt, I had no idea of the extent of the abuse they suffered.”
Behind bars, the siblings “persevered,” Anamaria Baralt, niece of Jose Menendez, said. “They have sought to better themselves and serve as a support and inspiration for survivors all over the world. Their continued incarceration serves no rehabilitative purpose.”
(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continued intense air and ground campaigns against Hezbollah in Lebanon and against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The uptick in offensive operations came after Israel marked the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault, and as Israeli leaders planned their response to Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack.
White House says Sinwar’s death is ‘inflection point’ for cease-fire negotiations
National security communications adviser John Kirby called Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s death an “inflection point” in this war, providing a new opportunity to reach a cease-fire deal.
“So Hamas is in a much, much, much weakened position than it ever was before,” Kirby told reporters in Berlin, where he is visiting alongside Joe Biden. “The president believes that certainly with Sinwar’s killing yesterday, that there’s a unique opportunity here for us all to kind of grab hold of to see what we can do to end the war and to get a cease-fire. And we still believe that a cease-fire, actually in the north too, but we still believe a cease-fire is important for Gaza to get those hostages home.”
When pressed by reporters on what makes the White House so confident that Sinwar’s death truly does open the door to achieve a deal that had not been possible for months, Kirby said that it’s a “unique opportunity” to take the intensive diplomacy to the next level. Kirby also explained why it was difficult to negotiate with Sinwar.
“Every time his political advisers would — we would negotiate with and through them to come up with a proposal, it would have to get to him,” Kirby said. “Of course, that took time because of the communications challenges, and then he would just, he would just refute it and refuse to move forward.”
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart
White House says Sinwar’s death is ‘inflection point’ for cease-fire negotiations
National security communications adviser John Kirby called Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s death an “inflection point” in this war, providing a new opportunity to reach a cease-fire deal.
“So Hamas is in a much, much, much weakened position than it ever was before,” Kirby told reporters in Berlin, where he is visiting alongside Joe Biden. “The president believes that certainly with Sinwar’s killing yesterday, that there’s a unique opportunity here for us all to kind of grab hold of to see what we can do to end the war and to get a cease-fire. And we still believe that a cease-fire, actually in the north too, but we still believe a cease-fire is important for Gaza to get those hostages home.”
Biden says Sinwar killing is ‘a moment of justice’
President Joe Biden met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday afternoon to discuss the war in Ukraine and security threats in the Middle East.
Ahead of that meeting, Biden called Israel’s killing of Yahya Sinwar “a moment of justice.”
“He had the blood of Americans, and Israelis, Palestinians and Germans, and so many others, on his hands,” Biden said. “I told the prime minister of Israel yesterday, let’s also make this moment an opportunity to seek a path to peace, a better future in Gaza without Hamas.”
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
US Central Command congratulates Israel on Sinwar killing
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla issued a statement Thursday congratulating the Israel Defense Forces on the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
“U.S. Central Command’s support to the Israel Defense Forces remains ironclad,” said Kurilla. “Our commitment to countering terrorists throughout the Middle East, with allies and partners, continues to be a top priority. Those who choose the path of terrorism should expect the same fate as Sinwar.”
CENTCOM is the combatant command that oversees U.S. missions in the Middle East.
An earlier statement from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called Sinwar’s killing a “major achievement in counterterrorism” and said it provides an opportunity for a lasting cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
“Our top and most urgent priority is to secure the release of each and every hostage, including our own American citizens,” Austin said in a statement. “The hostages should not have to suffer for another hour in the clutches of Hamas and other terrorists. Those who are holding them should release them now.”
Hezbollah announces ‘escalated’ phase in conflict with Israel after Sinwar’s death
Hezbollah said Thursday they are transitioning into a “new, escalated phase” in the “confrontation with the Israeli enemy,” after Israeli forces and officials announced the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
This new phase in the conflict “will be revealed by the developments and events in the coming days,” Hezbollah said in the statement.
-ABC News’ Josiane Hajj Moussa
IDF releases drone footage they say shows Sinwar before his death
The Israel Defense Forces released drone footage they say shows Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Wednesday before he was killed.
A damaged building and a man sitting in a chair with his face covered can be seen in the footage.
IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel said Sinwar was wounded in a shooting and is shown in the footage throwing a wooden plank at the drone.
Netanyahu says Israel will continue ‘with all our strength’
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrated the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by Israeli forces on Thursday, but vowed to continue the war “with all our strength” until the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza are returned.
“I would like to say again, in the clearest way: Hamas will no longer rule Gaza. This is the beginning of the day after Hamas, and this is an opportunity for you, the residents of Gaza, to finally break free from its tyranny,” Netanyahu said in a recorded message.
“The war, my dears, is not over yet. And it is difficult, and it exacts heavy prices from us,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu said Sinwar was killed when he fled IDF soldiers in a panic on Thursday.
“Now it is clear to everyone, in Israel and in the world, why we insisted on not ending the war. Why did we insist, in the face of all the pressures, to enter Rafah, the fortified stronghold of Hamas where Sinwar and many of the murderers hid,” Netanyahu said.
“We are in a war for our existence. Big challenges are still ahead,” Netanyahu said.
Israeli President Herzog, Israeli Defense Minister comment on Sinwar’s death
Israeli leaders celebrated the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was assassinated by Israeli forces on Thursday.
Israel President Isaac Herzog commended the Israel Defense Forces for the killing and said Israel must act in every way possible to bring back the remaining 101 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.
“Sinwar, the mastermind behind the deadly October 7th attack, has for years been responsible for heinous acts of terrorism against Israeli civilians, citizens of other countries, and the murder of thousands of innocent people. His evil endeavors were dedicated to terror, bloodshed, and destabilizing the Middle East,” Herzog said in a statement.
Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant also saluted IDF soldiers.
“The elimination of Sinwar joins a long series of eliminations — from Nasrallah to Muhammad Deif and many more. We will pursue and eliminate our enemies. Sinwar died while beaten, persecuted and on the run — he didn’t die as a commander, but as someone who only cared for himself,” Gallant said in a statement.
“This is a clear message to all of our enemies — the IDF will reach anyone who attempts to harm the citizens of Israel or our security forces, and we will bring you to justice,” Gallant said.
Benny Gantz, the former IDF chief of staff and former minister of defense, applauded the killing, but said “the mission is not over.”
“The IDF will continue to operate in the Gaza Strip for years to come, and now the series of achievements and the elimination of Sinwar must be taken advantage of to bring about the return of the abductees and the replacement of Hamas’ rule. On this day, we will also remember the painful price of the war, all the murdered and martyrs, and we will strengthen all our heroic soldiers who have been working for over a year in all arenas to ensure that never again,” Gantz said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Yahya Sinwar killed in Israeli attack
Hamas political leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces on Thursday, Israel Foreign Minister Israel Katz confirmed in a statement.
“The master murderer Yahya Sinwar, who is responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was killed today by IDF soldiers,” Katz said.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
Egypt replaces head of general intelligence agency
Egypt replaced the head of its general intelligence agency — who played an instrumental role in brokering a Gaza cease-fire deal — amid stalled negotiations. Deputy Hassan Rashad was named as new head of the agency.
Abbas Kamel, a longtime confidant and close aide to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, had headed the general intelligence agency since 2018 and was seen as the country’s second-most powerful figure.
Sisi relied heavily on Kamel for managing foreign policy affairs, including conflicts in Gaza and Sudan, as well as domestic security issues such as a wide-scale crackdown on dissent.
The change comes amid stalled negotiations for a cease-fire in the ongoing war in Gaza, which has spread into Lebanon. Kamel was a lead negotiator in the mediation efforts by Egypt, the U.S. and Qatar to end to the yearlong conflict. He played a key role in the diplomacy that led to a weeklong truce in November 2023.
Kamel will now take up a post of presidential adviser and envoy, as well as general coordinator of security services, according to a presidency statement.
-ABC News’ Ayat Al-Tawy
Israel ‘checking the possibility’ that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces are “checking the possibility” that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is one of the three militants it killed in Gaza on Thursday.
“At this stage, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed,” the IDF wrote in a post to X. “In the building where the terrorists were eliminated, there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area. The forces that are operating in the area are continuing to operate with the required caution.”
The 62-year-old has served as Hamas’ leader in Gaza since 2017 and assumed leadership of the group’s political bureau after the Israeli assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran this July.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
28 killed, 160 wounded in Israeli strike on school in northern Gaza
At least 28 people were killed and 160 others were wounded in an Israeli strike on the Abu Hussein School in northern Gaza where displaced people were sheltering, according to the Hamas-run Government Media Office.
In a statement, Hamas said Israel’s claims “that Abu Hussein School is being used for resistance purposes are mere lies, and it is a systematic policy of the enemy to justify its crime.”
-ABC News’ Samy Zyara
German warship downs drone off Lebanon
The German Ludwigshafen am Rhein corvette — which is operating as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon — downed an unidentified drone off the Lebanese coast on Thursday, a spokesperson at the German Ministry of Defense told ABC News.
The spokesperson did not describe how the aircraft was shot down, but said the ship acted in self defense.
There are approximately 60 crew members on board the vessel.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said that “electronic countermeasures were used and the UAV fell and exploded on its own.”
-ABC News’ Dragana Jovanovic and Guy Davies
Hezbollah fires projectiles towards Israel
Hezbollah said it launched a missile salvo towards Israel on Thursday morning.
The Israel Defense Forces said sirens sounded in northern Israel and “two projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory.” One was intercepted and the other fell in an open area, the IDF said.
Fighting continues in southern Lebanon. There, Hezbollah claimed to have attacked two Israeli tanks near the border village of Labbouneh.
The IDF, meanwhile, said it killed a commander of Hezbollah’s Kana sector.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
WHO warns of cholera risk in Lebanon
The World Health Organization has warned of a “very high” risk of cholera in Lebanon following the wave of mass displacement caused by Israel’s nationwide airstrike campaign and southern ground offensive.
The WHO warning came after Lebanon’s Health Ministry confirmed the first cholera case in the north of the country on Wednesday.
WHO “has activated a preparedness and response plan to strengthen surveillance and contact tracing,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
–ABC News’ Dragana Jovanovic and Guy Davies
IDF claims destruction of 150 Hezbollah targets in 24 hours
The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that its troops and warplanes “eliminated more than 45 terrorists and destroyed more than 150 targets” in Lebanon in the previous 24 hours
Among the Hezbollah targets were “weapons warehouses, launchers and military buildings of the organization,” the IDF said in a post on X.
US bombs Houthi weapons storage sites
U.S. Central Command said it conducted “precision airstrikes on numerous Iran-backed Houthi weapons storage facilities” on Wednesday.
The sites “contained various advanced conventional weapons used to target U.S. and international military and civilian vessels navigating international waters throughout the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
CENTCOM said the strike was intended to degrade the Houthis’ ability to launch “reckless and unlawful attacks on international commercial shipping and on U.S., coalition, and merchant personnel and vessels” in the region.
B-2 stealth bomber aircraft were among the assets involved in the mission, CENTCOM said. “The employment of the B-2 bomber demonstrates U.S. global strike capabilities to reach these targets, when necessary, anytime, anywhere,” it added.
CENTCOM said its analyses of the strikes “are underway and do not indicate civilian casualties.”
-ABC News’ Matthew Seyler
Defense Secretary Austin speaks with Israeli counterpart about Lebanon The Pentagon released a readout Wednesday evening following a phone call between Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
The two discussed “Israel’s operations in Lebanon and broader regional security matters,” according to the readout.
“Secretary Austin and Minister Gallant discussed the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery as an operational example of the United States’ ironclad support to the defense of Israel. The Secretary encouraged the Government of Israel to continue taking steps to address the dire humanitarian situation, noting the recent action by Israel to increase the amount of humanitarian assistance entering Gaza,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
Austin also “raised the need to pursue a diplomatic pathway to provide security for civilians on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border as soon as feasible,” the Pentagon said.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler
Israeli forces targeting UNIFIL position ‘under examination,’ IDF says The Israel Defense Forces said an incident of an Israeli tank firing at a UNIFIL position in southern Lebanon is “under examination” when asked by ABC News.
“The Hezbollah terrorist organization has been devising and taking forward attacks against the State of Israel and IDF soldiers from terror infrastructure sites that have been built within and adjacent to UNIFIL posts for many years,” the IDF said in a statement when asked about the incident.
This is the first time the IDF has said Hezbollah infrastructure has been built “within and adjacent” to UNIFIL posts. In the same statement, the IDF said UNIFIL “infrastructure sites and forces are not a target.”
Israel’s attacks on UNIFIL sites in southern Lebanon have been widely condemned by the international community.
-ABC News’ Dorit Long
Netanyahu approves set of targets for Israel’s reprisal strike on Iran, Israeli source says
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved a set of targets for the planned Israeli reprisal strike on Iran, an Israeli source told ABC News.
Israel is planning to respond after Iran attacked Israel with more than 200 missiles on Oct. 1.
The source would not give more details on specific targets and would not comment on whether they are strictly Iranian military targets.
No timeline has been given for the strikes to be carried out.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Risk of cholera outbreak ‘very high’ in Lebanon after confirmed case: WHO
The risk of spread of cholera in Lebanon is “very high” after a case of the acute and potentially deadly diarrheal infection was detected in the country, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
“If the cholera outbreak … spreads to the new displaced people, it might spread very fast,” Abdinasir Abubakar, the WHO representative in Lebanon, said in a press conference.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Netanyahu says Israel won’t accept ‘unilateral cease-fire’ in Lebanon
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is opposed to a “unilateral cease-fire” in Lebanon during a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office.
“The Prime Minister said in the conversation that he is opposed to a unilateral cease-fire, which does not change the security situation in Lebanon, and which will only return it to the way it was,” the statement said.
Netanyahu “made it clear” that Israel won’t accept a cease-fire deal in Lebanon “that would not prevent Hezbollah from reorganizing and rearming,” the statement said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Israel says it killed Hezbollah commander in strike on southern Lebanon
Israel said it killed Hezbollah commander Jalal Mustafa Hariri in a strike on southern Lebanon Wednesday. Hezbollah has not confirmed the death of the commander.
Three people were killed and 54 others were injured in a strike in the Qana and Nabatieh areas, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
-ABC News’ Dorit Long and Josiane Hajj Moussa
US announces more sanctions against Hezbollah, Syrian regime
The U.S. has announced another round of sanctions targeting several individuals and companies it accuses of generating funds for Hezbollah’s operations by helping the terror group evade existing financial restrictions.
The Biden administration also announced sanctions against three individuals allegedly involved in the production and trafficking of captagon, a synthetic amphetamine-type stimulant that it says “harms communities and countries across the region and beyond and is a source of funding for the Syrian regime and its backers,” which include Hezbollah.
“The United States is steadfast in our commitment to disrupt Hizballah’s access to the international financial system and its various methods of generating revenue, which the Iran-backed group uses to fund its violence. We will also continue to target the illicit captagon trade in the region, which has become an illicit billion-dollar enterprise operated in part by senior members of the Syrian regime,” the administration said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
At least 6 killed in strike on Lebanese town headquarters
At least six people were killed and 43 injured in an Israeli strike on Nabatieh, Lebanon, which hit the town’s municipal headquarters during a meeting, according to Lebanese Minister of the Interior Bassam Mawlawi. The city’s mayor was among those killed.
“The targeting of the municipality building in Nabatieh occurred during the coordination of relief work and the preparation of aid for distribution to the residents in the cities and villages of the region who are steadfast in the face of the war they are being subjected to and against Lebanon,” Mawlawi said in a statement.
Local mayor killed in Israeli airstrike in south Lebanon
At least six people were killed and 43 injured in an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on Wednesday — including the city’s mayor — according to Lebanese health officials.
The strike hit the town’s municipal headquarters and came as officials met to coordinate relief efforts, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said.
“The targeting of the municipality building in Nabatieh occurred during the coordination of relief work and the preparation of aid for distribution to the residents in the cities and villages of the region who are steadfast in the face of the war they are being subjected to and against Lebanon,” Mawlawi said in a statement.
Search and rescue teams are continuing to search for survivors under the rubble of the two buildings targeted in the strike.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Guy Davies
Aid trucks enter Gaza, Israeli authorities say
Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories organization said more than 145 aid trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday and 50 on Wednesday, amid allegations that Israel has failed to facilitate humanitarian relief in the northern part of the strip.
COGAT said that four bakeries are operational in northern Gaza, though it is unclear whether humanitarian organizations have been able to distribute any aid into the north.
Dozens of aid organizations published a joint statement Wednesday saying no aid has been allowed into northern Gaza since Oct. 1.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Diaa Ostaz, Jordana Miller and Guy Davies
Aid organizations condemn ‘horrifying level of atrocity’ in Gaza
Thirty-eight NGOs signed a new appeal to the international community to stop Israel’s latest military operation in northern Gaza, which they said has “escalated to a horrifying level of atrocity.”
“Northern Gaza is being wiped off the map,” the organizations said, describing the Israel Defense Forces’ order for civilians to leave the northern part of the territory as “forced displacement under gunfire.”
Around 400,000 people are estimated to be subject to the north Gaza evacuation order. Hospitals — already “overwhelmed” according to the NGOs — and their staff are also being ordered to evacuate, with the IDF declaring the area a dangerous combat zone.
Israeli officials have denied they are implementing the so-called “Generals’ Plan,” a proposal by retired Israeli military leaders to put north Gaza under siege and declare anyone who does not evacuate to be a valid military target.
“The world cannot continue to stand by as the Israeli government commits these atrocities,” the NGOs wrote. “We demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to Israel’s illegal occupation.”
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
IDF claims killing of Hamas drone commander in Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday it killed a Hamas drone commander in an airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip.
The IDF said Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was Hamas’ UAV commander in the northern part of the territory.
The IDF said on social media that Mabhouh was responsible for launching unmanned aircraft towards Israel and against Israeli forces.
Israel resumes Beirut airstrikes
Israel launched its first airstrike on Beirut in nearly a week early on Wednesday.
The Israel Defense Forces claimed a strike “on strategic weapons belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization” in the capital’s southern Dahiya suburb. It was the first such attack in the capital since a strike killed 22 people on Oct. 10.
“These weapons were stockpiled by Hezbollah in an underground storage facility in the area of Dahiya, a key Hezbollah terrorist stronghold in Beirut,” the IDF wrote on X.
The strike came shortly after a new evacuation order issued online by IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee for residents of the Haret Hreik area of southern Beirut.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Hezbollah has the right to ‘target any point’ within Israel, acting leader says
Hezbollah’s acting leader Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem said Hezbollah has the “right to target any point within the enemy’s entity” in a prerecorded video address released Tuesday.
“The occupation seeks to destroy and eliminate everything that stands in its way, but the resistance is prepared to confront it and establish a new equation based on inflicting pain on the enemy,” Qassem said. “We have the right to target any point within the enemy’s entity, and we will choose the appropriate time and place to do so.”
Delta pauses JFK-Tel Aviv flights through March 31
Delta will pause flights between New York’s JFK International Airport and Tel Aviv through March 31 due to “ongoing conflict in the region,” the airline said Tuesday.
Travel waivers will be issued to customers impacted by the change, the airline said.
“As always, the safety of customers and crew remains paramount,” Delta said. “Customers should be prepared for possible adjustments to Delta’s TLV flight schedule, including additional cancellations on a rolling basis.”
UK issues sanctions in response to continued violence in the West Bank
The United Kingdom announced sanctions against Israeli settler outposts and four organizations in response to “continued violence by extremist Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank,” Tuesday, according to a release from the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The sanctions target outposts and organizations “that have supported, incited and promoted violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank,” the U.K. said in a statement.
“When I went to the West Bank earlier this year, on one of my first trips as Foreign Secretary, I met with Palestinians whose communities have suffered horrific violence at the hands of Israeli settlers. The inaction of the Israeli government has allowed an environment of impunity to flourish where settler violence has been allowed to increase unchecked. Settlers have shockingly even targeted schools and families with young children,” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement.
“Today’s measures will help bring accountability to those who have supported and perpetrated such heinous abuses of human rights. The Israeli government must crack down on settler violence and stop settler expansion on Palestinian land. As long as violent extremists remain unaccountable, the UK and the international community will continue to act,” Lammy said.
Gazan soccer player killed alongside 9 family members
Emad Abu Tai’ma, a 20-year-old Gazan soccer player, was killed alongside nine members of his family, after a strike hit a house in Bani Sahalia where the family was sheltering early Tuesday morning, according to local health officials.
It took rescuers over two hours to free Abu Tai’ma’s body from the rubble, a Gaza Ministry of Health spokesperson told ABC News.
Abu Tai’ma was a soccer player for the Khan Yunis-Tokyo Union for about a year before he was killed, his friend, 19-year-old Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Muzain, told ABC News.
“We studied together in one of the Bani Suhaila schools east of Khan Younis. Imad was a smart student, and he was a famous player even in school. I have not seen him for eight months due to the repeated and continuous displacement. I feel very sad for his loss. He was displaced in a house belonging to the Baraka family, and he is a civilian,” Al-Muzain said.
The Palestinian Football Association confirmed Emad’s death and reflected on his soccer career playing for Ittihad Khan Yunis Club and the Palestinian national soccer team.
“With the passing of Abu Taima, the number of martyrs of the Palestinian sports and scouting movement, as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression since October 7, has risen to 455 martyrs, including 314 in football (87 children, 227 young men), in addition to 90 martyrs from the Olympic sports federations, and 50 martyrs from the scouting movement. The occupation forces also destroyed 57 sports facilities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” the association said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Dia Ostaaz
At least 29 killed in northern Israel amid fighting with Hezbollah
At least 29 civilians were killed in northern Israel amid fighting with Hezbollah, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office.
Twenty-nine Israeli soldiers were also killed in the north, according to the prime minister’s office.
Attacks on hospitals, health workers jeopardize health care in Lebanon, WHO warns
Nearly half of the health care centers and dispensaries in conflict-affected areas in Lebanon are now closed, jeopardizing access to health care, according to the World Health Organization
“Increasing conflict, intense bombardment and insecurity are forcing a growing number of health facilities to shut down, particularly in the south,” the WHO said in a statement Tuesday. “Hospitals have had to close or evacuate due to structural damage or their proximity to areas of intense bombardment.”
The World Health Organization said it has verified 23 attacks on health care in Lebanon, killing 72 and injuring 43 health workers and patients since the escalation of hostilities on Sept. 17.
Fifteen incidents impacted health facilities and 14 impacted health transport, according to WHO.
Northern Gaza cut off from food aid, health systems have ‘all but collapsed,’ aid groups warn
Escalating violence in northern Gaza is having “a disastrous impact on food security for thousands of Palestinian families,” the United Nations World Food Programme warned on Tuesday as aid groups issue sharp warnings.
“The north is basically cut off and we’re not able to operate there,” Antoine Renard, WFP country director for Palestine, said in the release. “WFP has been on the ground since the onset of the crisis. We are committed to delivering life-saving food every day despite the mounting challenges, but without safe and sustained access, it is virtually impossible to reach the people in need.”
Over 90,000 children in Gaza vaccinated in second round of polio vaccine campaign
Over 92,800 children in Gaza were vaccinated on Monday, the first day of the second phase of the polio vaccine campaign, the United Nations Children’s Fund said Tuesday.
“Despite the incredibly complex situation in Gaza, the second phase of Gaza’s polio vaccination campaign began smoothly yesterday, reaching over 92,800 children with polio vaccines and administering Vitamin A to more than 76,000 children between the ages of 2 and 10,” UNICEF said in a statement Tuesday.
“This campaign is crucial not only for preventing the resurgence of polio but also for safeguarding the long-term health of Gaza’s children, who are already facing huge vulnerability due to ongoing conflict, restricted access to healthcare, and malnutrition. Each dose of the vaccine is a lifeline, in an environment where every safeguard counts,” UNICEF said.
The health systems in northern Gaza have “all but collapsed,” United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said.
Lazzarini said they are “unable to reach” UNRWA teams in northern Gaza “due to telecommunications cuts.”
The Israel Defense Forces said they are assisting patients, personnel and hospital staff from Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza “to other functioning hospitals in Gaza,” in a statement Tuesday. An Israeli agency that manages logistics inside of Gaza, including the flow of aid into Gaza, is leading the transfer of patients and staff, the IDF said.
Three hospitals in northern Gaza are inside of the zone where Israeli forces have asked people to evacuate.
The IDF also acknowledged they have been operating “in the Jabalia area” in northern Gaza for “over a week,” in a statement Tuesday. The IDF claims they conducted “targeted raids on dozens of terrorist infrastructure sites in the area, eliminated dozens of terrorists, and confiscated numerous weapons,” in the Jabaliya area during operations there, the statement said.
-ABC News’ Sami Zyara, Diaa Ostaz and Jordana Miller
US sends letter to Israel demanding it improve humanitarian situation in Gaza
U.S. officials sent a letter to Israeli officials demanding that Israel take steps within 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, or Israel will face consequences with a potential change in U.S. policy, two Israeli sources confirmed to ABC News.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin sent a letter to Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant Monday focusing on increasing the supply of humanitarian aid into Gaza by the beginning of winter, facilitating the aid delivery route through Jordan and ending the “isolation” of northern Gaza.
“Failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing and maintaining these measures may have implications for US policy under NSM-20 and relevant US law,” the letter stated.
The National Security Memorandum, or NSM-20, states the secretaries of State and Defense are “responsible for ensuring that all transfers of defense articles and defense services” by the departments under “any security cooperation or security assistance authorities are conducted in a manner consistent with all applicable international and domestic law and policy, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” according to the law.
Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh confirmed Austin and Blinken sent a letter to their Israeli counterparts over humanitarian conditions in Gaza, but refused to give additional details.
“I can confirm that Secretary Austin with Secretary Blinken, they co-signed a letter that went to their Israeli counterparts. This was personal, private correspondence, so I’m not going to get into more specifics of it, other than it was expressing concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza,” Singh said on Tuesday.
The letter was first reported by Israeli media and Axios reporter Barak Ravid.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Dorit Long and Matt Seyler
25% of Lebanon under Israeli evacuation orders, UN says
Over 25% of Lebanon is now under Israeli evacuation orders as Israeli airstrikes continue to increase the number of areas impacted, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
“We have over 25% of the country under a direct Israeli military evacuation order. Just yesterday, we had another 20 villages issued with an evacuation order in the south of the country,” Rema Imseis, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees director for the Middle East, said Tuesday.
“In a country of that size, which is relatively small, and a population that’s estimated around 5 million people, you can imagine how dramatic it is that over 1 million people are now without shelter and on the move … being forced to flee their homes in search of safety,” Imseis said.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
‘Impossible’ to separate conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza, Hezbollah leader says
Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said it is “impossible to separate Lebanon’s front from Palestine,” in a recorded video address released on Tuesday.
There had been speculation over whether Hezbollah would be open to a cease-fire agreement that didn’t include Gaza.
Israeli officials have asserted that the aim in Lebanon is to return Israelis home to the north and separate the war in the north from the war in Gaza.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
US troops arrive in Israel to support THAAD deployment
Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement Tuesday that American troops are already in Israel to support the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to the country.
“An advance team of U.S. military personnel and initial components” required to operate the system arrived in Israel on Monday, Ryder said.
“Over the coming days, additional U.S. military personnel and THAAD battery components will continue to arrive in Israel,” he added.
“The battery will be fully operational capable in the near future, but for operations security reasons we will not discuss timelines,” Ryder said.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
10 members of 1 family killed in Khan Younis strike
Ten members of the same family were killed in an airstrike in southern Gaza early on Tuesday, a health ministry official told ABC News.
The strike hit a house in Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis, at 12:30 a.m. local time Tuesday morning, local health officials said.
Ten members of the Abu Tai’ma family were killed, including three children aged 7, 8 and 11, a spokesperson for the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry told ABC News.
The Israel Defense Forces is yet to comment on the strike.
-ABC News’ Dia Ostaaz and Guy Davies
Israeli police officer killed in shooting attack
The Israel Police said in a statement Tuesday that an officer was killed in a shooting attack near the southern city of Ashdod.
The attacker shot the officer and then “continued on a shooting spree and wounded four more civilians,” police said. The attacker was then “neutralized by a civilian,” police said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Netanyahu listening to US ‘opinions’ in Iran attack planning
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday “our national interests” will be the prime consideration in Israel’s response to Iran’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack.
Netanyahu was responding to a Washington Post report suggesting he had assured the U.S. that Israel would target Iranian military — and not nuclear or oil infrastructure — targets in its planned retaliation for Tehran’s recent missile barrage.
“We listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interests,” the prime minister’s office said in a post on X.
Iran accuses Israel, US of ‘psychological operation’
Iran’s mission to the United Nations has denied “any role in the planning, decision-making, or execution” of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack against Israel, as Tehran braces for an expected Israeli response to its Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack.
In a statement posted to social media, the mission said Iran’s assistance to the “Resistance Front” — which includes forces like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen — is “a matter of common knowledge and an obvious fact.”
“However, dragging Iran or Hezbollah into the Oct. 7 operation represents a fabricated conclusion and a cynical attempt to mislead public opinion — all aimed at covering up the Israeli regime’s major intelligence failure in relation to Hamas,” the mission said.
The mission accused “certain American media outlets” of having “morphed into tools for disseminating this psychological operation.”
Hezbollah began firing into Israel on Oct. 8 in support of Hamas. The group has vowed to continue its attacks until Israeli forces conclude a cease-fire in Gaza and withdraw from the devastated Palestinian territory.
Israel targeting civilian infrastructure in north Gaza, UNRWA chief says
Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, said Tuesday that “two long weeks” of Israeli military operations have “all but collapsed” the health system in northern Gaza.
“Hundreds of Palestinians are reported killed, among them children,” Lazzarini wrote on X. “More than 400,000 people continue to be trapped in the area.”
“We are not able to reach our teams due to telecommunications cuts,” he added. “The U.N. has not been allowed to provide any assistance, including food” since Sept. 30, he said. “The two crossing points into northern Gaza have been closed since.”
The Israel Defense Forces is pressing its operation in north Gaza around the Jabalia refugee camp, which the Palestinian Civil Defense said has been put under “complete siege.” The IDF said Tuesday it had “eliminated dozens of terrorists over the past day” there with the assistance of airstrikes.
Lazzarini said the camp is the worst affected part of northern Gaza. Around 50,000 people have fled, while basic UNRWA services have been interrupted or forced to halt, he added.
“Such attacks, the sabotage of civilian infrastructure and the deliberate denial of critical assistance continue to be used as a tactic by the Israeli authorities to force people to flee,” he said.
“Civilians are given no choice but to either leave or starve.”
“In Gaza, too many red lines have been crossed,” Lazzarini said. “What might constitute war crimes can still be prevented.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
IDF claims 230 strikes in Lebanon, Gaza in 24 hours
The Israel Defense Forces said in a Tuesday statement it struck “over 230 terrorist targets throughout the past day” as it continues its operations in Lebanon and Gaza.
The force claimed to have “eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters combat” and airstrikes in southern Lebanon, along with the dismantling of “Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure” and the discovery of “vast quantities of weaponry.”
In north Gaza, the IDF continued its intense operation around the Jabalia refugee camp. The Palestinian Civil Defense said the area has been put under “complete siege.”
The IDF said its forces “have eliminated dozens of terrorists over the past day” with the assistance of airstrikes.
Fighting is also ongoing in the south of the strip. There, “troops eliminated multiple terrorists and dismantled terrorist infrastructure,” the IDF said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
100 US soldiers will go to Israel with THAAD deployment
On Monday, U.S. Army leaders said the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to Israel will include approximately 100 soldiers to operate it.
“The THAAD deployment is going to have about 100 soldiers who will go over to Israel,” Christine Wormuth, the secretary of the U.S. Army said at the Army’s annual AUSA conference.
Wormuth did not provide operational or timing details about the deployment of the THAAD system or its deployment for security and force protection reasons.
“I think we should view this THAAD deployment as for what it is, which is another visible statement of our commitment to the security of Israel as it deals with everything that’s coming at it from Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon,” said Wormuth.
A U.S. official told ABC News that discussions about deploying the THADD system to Israel in order to shore up its defenses against ballistic missile barrages have been underway for months.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Shannon Kingston
Northern Gaza still waiting for food supplies, group says
Thirty trucks carrying flour and food entered Gaza on Monday, according to Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli agency that oversees logistical coordination within the Gaza Strip.
This aid was meant for northern Gaza, COGAT said. However, a spokesperson for the World Food Programme told ABC News it has not yet reached the people there.
“Israel is not denying the entry of humanitarian aid, with an emphasis on food, into the Gaza Strip,” COGAT said in response to an inquiry from ABC News.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Guy Davies
IDF claims it killed head of Hamas Aerial unit
Samer Abu Daqqa, the head of Hamas’ Aerial Unit, has been killed, the Israel Defense Forces claimed in a statement Monday.
Abu Daqqa was killed during an Israeli airstrike in September, the IDF said, but did not say where the attack took place.
— ABC News’ David Brenna and Julia Reinstein
54 killed, 258 wounded in Lebanon in past 24 hours
In the past 24 hours, 54 people have been killed and 258 have been wounded in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
The total number of casualties since Israel’s increased attacks on Lebanon in mid-September is now 2,309 people killed and 10,782 people injured, the ministry said.
A situational report from the Lebanese Prime Minister’s Office on Monday said 200 airstrikes and shellings were recorded in various parts of Lebanon over the past 48 hours.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a release Monday that they found an underground compound in southern Lebanon stocked with “weapons, ammunition and motorcycles ready to be used in an invasion into Israel.”
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Jordana Miller
Netanyahu: ‘We will continue to hit Hezbollah mercilessly in all parts of Lebanon’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “will continue to hit Hezbollah mercilessly in all parts of Lebanon” while visiting the Golani camp, which was hit by a Hezbollah drone Sunday evening, killing four IDF soldiers and injuring dozens.
“I want to make it clear: We will continue to hit Hezbollah mercilessly in all parts of Lebanon — also in Beirut, all according to operational considerations. We have proven this in recent times, and we will continue to prove it in the coming days as well,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu extended his condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers and said he would visit the injured later on Monday.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Doctors Without Borders staffer killed in northern Gaza
A Doctors Without Borders staffer has been killed in northern Gaza, the organization announced Monday.
Nasser Hamdi Abdelatif Al Shalfouh, 31, was struck by shrapnel Tuesday and died of injuries to his legs and chest two days later, according to the organization.
He is survived by his wife and two children.
In a statement, Doctors Without Borders condemned Israeli forces for having “systematically dismantled the health system in Gaza, impeding access to life-saving care for people.”
“He was unable to receive the necessary level of care due to the hospital’s lack of capacity and an overwhelming number of patients in the facility,” the organization said of Al Shalfouh.
Al Shalfouh joined Doctors Without Borders as a driver in March 2023, but had not been able to work for them recently as operations have been impacted by the war, the group said.
He is the seventh Doctors Without Borders staffer to be killed in Gaza since the war began, the organization added.
“We are horrified by the killing of our colleague which we strongly condemn and call yet again for the respect and protection of civilians,” the NGO said. “In this tragic moment, our thoughts are with his family and all colleagues mourning his death.”
Americans in Lebanon should ‘depart now,’ embassy says
American citizens in Lebanon “are strongly encouraged to depart now,” the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said in a new alert Monday.
The embassy has been urging Americans to depart Lebanon via commercial flights in recent weeks. Monday’s warning was the starkest yet.
The embassy noted it had helped add thousands of extra seats to commercial flights to help Americans leave amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
“Much of this capacity has gone unused,” Monday’s alert said. “Please understand that these additional flights will not continue indefinitely.”
“U.S. citizens who choose not to depart at this time should prepare contingency plans should the situation deteriorate further,” the embassy said.
“These alternative plans should not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuation,” the notice read.
The embassy has been warning citizens not to travel to Lebanon since July.
Airstrike kills 18 in north Lebanon, Red Cross says
Eighteen people were killed and four wounded in an airstrike in the town of Aitou in northern Lebanon on Monday, the Lebanese Red Cross wrote on X.Seven Red Cross teams were dispatched to the area in the Zgharta district, the organization said. “Our teams are working to provide first aid and evacuate the wounded,” it added.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Guy Davies
Hezbollah launches dozens of cross-border attacks, marking daily record
Hezbollah issued 38 statements claiming cross-border attacks into Israel on Sunday — the highest tally since renewed fighting began on Oct. 8, 2023, per ABC News’ count.
The attacks included the drone strike on an Israel Defense Forces training base in northern Israel, which killed four soldiers and injured 55.
Hezbollah has expanded its attacks into Israel despite the IDF’s monthslong campaign of targeted killings of top commanders and airstrikes on Hezbollah military facilities and weapons caches.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Guy Davies
IDF claims killing of Hezbollah anti-tank commander
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday it killed a Hezbollah commander responsible for anti-tank missile forces.
The IDF said in a statement posted to social media that Muhammad Kamal Naim was killed in an airstrike in the Nabatieh region of southern Lebanon.
Naim, it said, was responsible for the elite Radwan Force’s anti-tank weapons.
Naim “was responsible for planning and carrying out many terrorist plots, including firing anti-tank missiles at the Israeli rear,” the IDF wrote.
Israel kills 20 in strike on UNRWA school, health ministry says
At least 20 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East school-turned-shelter in central Gaza, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said.
The school was being used to shelter displaced people in Nuseirat camp, health authorities said. It was bombed on Sunday.
The school was earmarked for use in the planned second round of the Gaza polio vaccination campaign, which was due to begin on Monday.
-ABC News Diaa Ostaz and Guy Davies
10 killed amid ‘total siege’ in northern Gaza
Ten people were killed in shelling at an aid distribution center in the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza on Monday morning, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the strip.
The area has been the focus of intense recent Israeli military activity, with the Israel Defense Forces reporting fierce fighting with Hamas militants there.
The IDF has ordered residents of northern Gaza — of whom there are an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 — to leave the region, which it has classified as a military zone.
Hamas is urging residents to stay, suggesting Israel will not allow those who leave to return.
Gaza’s Civil Defense said there was a “complete siege” of Jabalia. Aid agencies have said that no food has been allowed to enter the north of Gaza since Oct. 1.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Guy Davies
Israel to probe deadly drone attack on troops, Gallant says
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the scene of a deadly Hezbollah drone strike in northern Israel on Monday, telling soldiers there the incident “was a difficult event with painful results.”
Four troops were killed and 55 wounded in Sunday’s attack on the Golani Training Base close to the town of Binyamina, some 20 miles south of Haifa.
“We must investigate it, study the details and implement lessons in a swift and professional manner,” Gallant said, according to a Defense Ministry readout.
“We are concentrating significant efforts in developing solutions to address the threat of UAV attacks,” he added
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
IDF claims 200 strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday its warplanes targeted around 200 “Hezbollah terror targets” in its continuing operation against the Iranian-backed group in southern Lebanon.
The targets included “launchers, anti-tank missile launch posts, terrorist infrastructure and weapons storage facilities containing launchers, anti-tank missiles, RPG launchers and munitions,” the IDF wrote on X.
Ground forces, meanwhile, “eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters encounters and aerial strikes” in their ongoing cross-border incursion, the force reported.
The IDF is still describing its ground operation as consisting of “limited, localized, targeted raids” in southern areas close to the border.
Airstrikes, though, continue across southern Lebanon. Around a quarter of all Lebanese territory is under IDF evacuation orders and some 1.2 million civilians are displaced, according to the government in Beirut.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Hezbollah drone attack on IDF base ‘painful,’ commander says
The Israel Defense Forces identified the four soldiers killed in a Hezbollah drone attack on a training base in the north of the country on Sunday.
Sgt. Omri Tamari, Sgt. Yosef Hieb, Sgt. Yoav Agmon and Sgt. Amitay Alon were killed, an IDF press release said. The strike occurred at the Golani Training Base close to the town of Binyamina, some 20 miles south of Haifa.
Around 55 more are reported to have been injured.
IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi addressed Golani Brigade troops on Sunday night following the attack.
“We are at war, and an attack on a training base in the rear is difficult and the results are painful,” the commander said according to a post on the IDF’s official Telegram channel.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Israel strike on Gaza hospital kills 4, wounds dozens
At least four people were killed and 40 others wounded Monday in an Israeli airstrike on tents housing displaced Palestinians inside the Al-Aqsa Hospital in the central Gaza’s city of Deir al-Balah, health officials said.
The Israeli military said it targeted militants operating from a command center inside the compound. Israel accuses Hamas of routine use of civilian facilities such as hospitals for military purposes — a charge Hamas denies.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Defense Secretary Austin discusses safety of UNIFIL forces with Israel’s Gallant
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant by phone on Sunday to express his condolences for the IDF soldiers killed in a Hezbollah drone attack and discuss the IDF’s military operations in Lebanon.
According to a readout of the call from the Pentagon, Austin, “reinforced the importance of Israel taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of UNIFIL forces and Lebanese Armed Forces, and the need to pivot from military operations in Lebanon to a diplomatic pathway to provide security for civilians on both sides of the border as soon as feasible.”
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon established by the U.N. Security Council.
The conversation comes after the IDF has repeatedly fired on the UNIFIL headquarters in southern Lebanon.
Additionally, Secretary Austin “reaffirmed the deep U.S. commitment to Israel’s security,” which he says is demonstrated by the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).
According to the Department of Defense, THAAD employs interceptor missiles, using “hit-to-kill” technology, to destroy threat missiles.
During the call, Austin “again raised concern for the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and stressed that steps must be taken soon to address it,” the Pentagon said.
At least 3 killed in IDF strike on Gaza hospital
At least three people were killed and dozens more were injured after Israel Defense Forces struck Al Aqsa Hospital in Gaza on Sunday.
(NEW YORK) — Shares of Netflix climbed about 9% in early trading on Friday after a strong earnings report propelled by hit shows like “Nobody Wants This” and “The Perfect Couple.”
The company added about 5 million subscribers over a three-month period ending in September, which marked a roughly 40% decline from the same period one year prior.
Even so, the subscriber gains contributed to revenue totaling nearly $10 billion, in part due to the growth in popularity a subscription tier that includes advertisements, the earnings report on Thursday said. That sales figure marked 15% jump when compared with the same period one year prior.
In all, Netflix boasts about 282 million subscribers worldwide, making it the most popular streaming service by a wide margin. By comparison, Warner Bros. Discovery counts roughly 103 million subscribers across its services HBO, HBO Max and Discovery +, an earnings report in August showed.
“We’re feeling really good about the business,” Ted Sarandos, the company’s co-CEO, said on a conference call with Wall Street analysts.
Notable programs from the most recent quarter included the latest season of “Emily in Paris,” as well as movies like “Monster High 2” and “Rebel Ridge.” The company also expanded its live broadcasts, featuring a face-off between hot dog-eating rivals Takeru Kobayashi and Choey Chestnut in September.
On the earnings call, Netflix touted viewership of about two hours per user each day, which the company said indicated an increase so far this year when compared to last year.
The company expects continued growth next year due to a slate of programming that includes new seasons of top shows like “Wednesday” and “Squid Game,” as well as an additional installment in the “Knives Out” film series, Netflix said.
Netflix forecasted as much as $44 billion in revenue next year, which would amount to about a 13% increase over current performance.
Even after expanding its audience, Netflix still captures less than 10% of television viewership in the countries where the platform is most popular, Netflix said.
“There’s a huge opportunity to grow,” Gregory Peters, a co-CEO at Netflix, said on Thursday.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump has proposed tariffs as the solution for a host of perceived ills: the decline of U.S. manufacturing, the arrival of undocumented immigrants and the costs of childcare, among others.
“To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is ‘tariff,'” Trump said this week during an appearance at the Economic Club of Chicago.
On the campaign trail, Trump has rarely mentioned the threat of a potential trade war, in which foreign nations could respond to tariffs by slapping U.S. imports with taxes of their own.
Economists who spoke to ABC News said Trump’s tariff proposals would all but certainly trigger a global trade war, diminishing sales for U.S. exporters, which account for about 10% of the nation’s economy. The disruption would likely trigger job cuts and slow the nation’s economic performance, economists added.
On the other hand, the move would bring more of the supply chain back to U.S. soil, economists said, and it would likely spur growth and hiring at some firms by protecting them from foreign competition. But the same experts cautioned that such benefits would be far outweighed by the consequences.
“The essence of a trade war is you impose tariffs and other countries respond by putting high tariffs on your exports. It’s tit for tat,” Douglas Irwin, a professor of economics at Dartmouth College who specializes in the history of U.S. trade policy, told ABC News.
“Tariffs are easy to impose but hard to remove,” Irwin added.
In response to ABC News’ request for comment, the Trump campaign pointed to a series of statements about tariffs made by Trump and his allies, including remarks from Trump Campaign Senior Advisor Brian Hughes.
“Time warp alert! Just like 2016, Wall Street and so-called expert forecasts said that Trump policies would result in lower growth and higher inflation, the media took these forecasts at face value, and the record was never corrected when actual growth and job gains widely outperformed these opinions,” Hughes said.
“These Wall Street elites would be wise to review the record and acknowledge the shortcomings of their past work if they’d like their new forecasts to be seen as credible,” he added.
On the campaign trail, Trump has promised a sharp escalation of tariffs during his first term. He has proposed tariffs of between 60% and 100% on Chinese goods.
Envisioning a far-reaching policy, Trump has proposed a tax of between 10% and 20% on all imported products. On Tuesday, he told the audience at the Economic Club of Chicago that such a tariff could reach as high as 50%.
Economists widely expect that tariffs of this magnitude would increase prices paid by U.S. shoppers, since importers typically pass along the cost of higher taxes to consumers. Trump’s tariffs would cost the typical U.S. household about $2,600 per year, according to an estimate from the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Meanwhile, there could be a second wave of consequences if foreign countries were to impose retaliatory tariffs, economists said.
“You might see a dramatic decrease in U.S. exports, which could then have employment effects for people working in those sectors,” Kara Reynolds, an economist at American University, told ABC News. She pointed to the manufacturing and farming as industries especially vulnerable to a trade war.
For evidence of such an outcome, one need look no further than Trump’s first term, during which a slew of tariffs often induced a retaliatory response.
Tariffs imposed during Trump’s first term often induced retaliatory tariffs. The European Union and Canada responded to tariffs on steel and aluminum with tariffs of their own. Trump slapped tariffs on about $360 billion worth of Chinese goods, but China responded with tariffs on tens of billions of dollars worth of U.S exports.
Chinese tariffs on U.S. soybean exports caused a steep decline in sales to Chinese customers, dropping exports from $12.3 billion in 2017 to $3.1 billion in 2018, according to the Georgetown University Journal of International Affairs. In response, the Trump administration paid billions of dollars in direct aid to farmers to make up for the losses.
“He felt obligated to bail out the farmers,” Robert Lawrence, a professor of trade and investment at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, told ABC News. “Now, we’re talking about potential actions on a much grander scale.”
Alongside retaliatory tariffs, many countries would seek suppliers in places where such tariffs are not on the books, Lawrence added.
“Trump is likely to isolate the U.S. and drive other countries to do business with each other,” Lawrence said. “This would have a very adverse effect.”
On the campaign trail, Trump has sharply disagreed with such fears, saying large-scale tariffs would rejuvenate U.S. manufacturing and propel economic growth.
At the Chicago Economic Club on Tuesday, Trump said tariffs would force companies to locate factories in the U.S. as a way of circumventing the tariffs, which in turn would boost domestic production and employment.
“We’re going to have thousands of companies coming into this country,” Trump said. “We’re going to grow it like it’s never grown before, and we’re going to protect them when they come in because we’re not going to have somebody undercut them.”
Economists said higher tariffs could expand certain areas of U.S. manufacturing that face stiff competition from abroad, but the policy also risks raising input costs and slowing output at U.S. producers that import their raw materials.
Trump’s tariffs decreased U.S. employment by 166,000 jobs, according to a study from the nonprofit Tax Foundation, which cited an increase in import costs for U.S. employers. A separate study from the U.S.-China Business Council estimated up to nearly 250,000 lost jobs as a result of the tariffs.
“It certainly would make the U.S. more self-reliant, but it would come with far greater costs,” Lawrence said.
Everoak Farms volunteers harvest sugar cane that could be salvaged after heavy winds and water from Hurricane Milton wrecked and flooded crops on the Orlando, Florida, farm. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
(TALLAHASSEE, Fla. ) — Florida’s agricultural fields — including the state’s iconic orange groves and berry farms — are routinely damaged by strong storms that roll through the state.
Some of the Sunshine State’s most important farms are now recovering from two of the 2024 season’s most powerful hurricanes, which struck one after the other.
On Sept. 27, Hurricane Helene became the strongest hurricane to strike Florida’s Big Bend. Less than two weeks later, on Oct. 10, Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key. After both Category 4 storms brought life-threatening storm surge to the Gulf Coast, they turned toward the heart of the state, destroying farmland with strong winds and heavy rains, experts told ABC News.
While the state is no stranger to hurricanes, its agriculture industry is threatened every time a strong hurricane rolls in, Angela Lindsay, associate professor and disaster specialist at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), told ABC News.
Florida’s groves were heavily impacted by the recent hurricanes, which tore through regions with some of the most productive citrus acreage in the state, Matt Joyner, executive vice president and CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, the state’s largest citrus trade association, told ABC News.
Hurricane-force winds caused defoliation — or the leaves to fall off — damaged limbs and branches and even downed entire trees, snapping them at the roots, Lindsay said. While oranges are not yet ready for harvest, they are currently near maturity and heavier, making it easier for high winds to pull the fruit from their branches, Joyner said.
“We know that we have a lot of fruit on the ground for this year’s crop,” Joyner said.
At Showcase of Citrus, an orange grove in Clermont, Florida, near Orlando, the gusts from Milton bent some trees at a 45-degree angle, owner John Arnold told ABC News.
Floods often kill the citrus groves, especially young orange trees planted in low-lying areas, Arnold said, adding that several of his young orange trees were lost to flooding.
Mitigation is difficult, the farmers said. Complicating matters even further is the uncertainty of the forecast up until just a few days before landfall, making it difficult to tend to hundreds and thousands of acres in a short amount of time, Michael Hill, co-founder and CEO of H&A Farms in Mount Dora, Florida, told ABC News.
Citrus trees can be staked in order to provide support from the hurricane-force winds, Lindsay said. Some farmers have tried wrapping the trees in tarp-like material, but that technique is not commonly used, Lindsay added.
“I’ve seen storms that tipped over entire groves of mature trees,” Arnold said.
There’s not much that can be done to protect crops in the ground, said Hill, who grows strawberries and blueberries — two of the most vulnerable crops in the state, after citrus, experts say.
A tree fell on Hill’s home in Eustis, Florida, but once the storm passed, all he cared about was the state of his fields.
“That’s the least of my worries,” he said of the downed tree.
About 60% of the plastic mulch the strawberries were planted in on Hill’s farm were torn up by Milton, he said. Hill and his workers are attempting to re-lay the plastic while keeping the plants alive in a cooler.
For the dairy industry, the cows still need to be milked, but the stressed cows likely produce much less, Jeb Smith, president of the Florida Farm Bureau Federation, told ABC News.
“It may be a month before they’re able to get back to where production should be,” Smith said.
Structural damage often includes buildings and fences that require re-building, Smith said. Showcase of Citrus sustained some damage to its screen buildings for growing grapefruit, Arnold said. A barn at H&A Farm was destroyed by Milton’s hurricane-force winds, and the entire facility lost power for days, Hill said.
Once the storm rolls through, farmers try to save whatever fruit fell to the ground and attempt to stake damaged trees in an attempt to support what’s remaining, Lindsay said.
Milton was the fourth named storm to hit many of the farms in Central Florida in 14 months, following Hurricane Irma in September 2023 and Debby in early September 2024, Smith said.
“It leads to more impact, when you have blow after blow,” Smith said.
In 2022, Florida’s agriculture industry generated $182.6 billion in revenue and supported more than 2.5 million jobs, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. While citrus is Florida’s signature crop, the state is an important producer of many other agricultural products. Florida is the second-largest producer of all oranges, strawberries, sweet corn and non-Valencia oranges in the country. More than 40 vegetables are grown commercially in the state, which ranks in the top three on production value of tomato, bell pepper, snap bean, squash, cabbage and cucumber, according to the University of Florida.
Sugarcane, timber, cattle and dairy are also major commodities for the state, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Other storms in the recent past have been just as devastating, the experts said.
Farmers were in disbelief over the amount of fruit that had been blown to the ground after Hurricane Irma in 2017 and Hurricane Ian in 2022, Lindsay said. The citrus industry saw a 1,000% loss as a result of Ian, Smith said.
In 2018, after Hurricane Michael struck the panhandle, researchers and officials couldn’t even get to some of the fields — many of which contain row crops of tomatoes and cotton — to assess the damage because of the damaged roadways, Lindsay said.
“We were using drones to look at them,” she said. “There wasn’t a lot there.”
Hurricane Ian in 2022 led to an estimated $7.9 billion in agricultural losses and impacted nearly 5 million acres, a report by the university found. Hurricane Irma in 2018 caused about $1.3 billion in losses, impacting about 1.9 million acres, according to an IFAS report.
Milton resulted in losses between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion, in addition to the estimated $1.5 billion in damage caused by Idalia, Debby and Helene in the 13 months prior, according to a preliminary assessment by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services released Thursday.
Every named storm in recent memory that has passed through central Florida has caused damage to Arnold’s farmland, he said.
“Just as we replant trees and rehabilitate groves and look to recover and move into better seasons, we’re getting hit with these storms,” Joyner said. “It’s really been difficult for growers to kind of regain their footing and move forward.”
In addition to crop insurance, there are several programs in place for farmers, including loan and recovery programs by the USDA’s Farm Service Agency, Lindsay said. The data collected by IFAS is sent to federal officials, who then determine the amount of aid to be distributed to farmers.
Once the damage is assessed, farmers then must make long-term decisions on how to move forward, Smith said.
“Some of these producers will have impacts years down the road,” Smith said, adding that the adverse impacts on the citrus industry can even last for decades.
Hurricanes are just one of the hazards Florida farmers face regularly. The last few years have been tough on the industry, with citrus farmers experiencing widespread greening, a disease that impacts citrus trees, Arnold said.
Combined with freezes, market prices, other diseases, labor challenges and inflation, farmers in the state have left many farms struggling to keep afloat, Hill said.
“When you see Florida strawberries in your stores this year, know that it came from a farmer that chose not to give up,” Hill said.
