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(NEW YORK) — More than four months since Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, the Israeli military continues its bombardment of the neighboring Gaza Strip.

The conflict, now the deadliest between the warring sides since Israel’s founding in 1948, shows no signs of letting up soon and the brief cease-fire that allowed for over 100 hostages to be freed from Gaza remains a distant memory.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Feb 28, 3:36 PM
State Department urges Israel to allow access to Al-Aqsa during Ramadan

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller had no comment on Hamas’ calls for a march on Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, but Miller did call on Israel to allow worshipers to access the site during Ramadan, stressing it was in Israel’s national security interest to avoid fueling tension in the West Bank.

“I don’t have any comment on the call for marches,” Miller said. “I would just say, as it pertains to Al-Aqsa, we continue to urge Israel to facilitate access to Temple Mount for peaceful worshipers during Ramadan, consistent with past practice.”

Asked whether the U.S. had received assurances that the Israeli government would allow such access, Miller said the administration was aware of “plans under consideration,” but said he did not know if a final decision had been made.

“It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s not just a matter of granting people religious freedom that they deserve, to which they have a right, but it’s also a matter that directly is important to Israel’s security,” he said.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Feb 28, 3:14 PM
Israeli official says negotiations are slow

Progress toward reaching a hostage and cease-fire deal is slow, according to an Israeli political official with knowledge of the negotiations.

Gaps remain in the discussions surrounding the redeployment of Israeli forces to the Gaza Strip, residents returning to northern Gaza and how many Palestinian prisoners Israel is willing to release, the official said.

Israel’s war cabinet is expected to meet Thursday to discuss progress in the negotiations, the official said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Feb 28, 12:15 PM
Hamas says it’s showing ‘flexibility’ in talks but ‘ready’ to continue fighting

Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday that they are showing “flexibility” in their ongoing negotiations with Israel but are “ready” to continue fighting.

“Any flexibility we are showing in the negotiations is to protect the blood of our people and to put an end to their huge pains and sacrifices in the brutal war of extermination against it,” Haniyeh, chairman of Hamas’ political bureau, said in a statement. “In parallel, [we are] ready to defend our people.”

Haniyeh also called on Palestinians in Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank to “march toward Al-Aqsa mosque from the first day of the holy month of Ramadan,” which is March 10.

Israel has reportedly accepted a framework agreement of a six-week cease-fire with Hamas, during which 40 Israeli hostages being held in the war-torn Gaza Strip would be released in return for several hundred Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Hamas, on the other hand, has not commented on the specifics in that framework.

Hamas’ main demands are that any agreement should include a path toward a more permanent end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. However, Israel is not willing to accept that, which is why the framework it has reportedly agreed to would only see Israeli troops redeployed within Gaza and not withdrawn fully from the Hamas-ruled enclave.

-ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Will Gretsky, Tom Soufi Burridge and Morgan Winsor

Feb 28, 8:07 AM
IDF says it coordinated airdrop of humanitarian aid in southern Gaza

A supply of humanitarian aid was airdropped in the war-torn Gaza Strip on Tuesday in cooperation between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, France and the United States, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Approximately 160 packages of food, medical equipment and fuel were airdropped along Gaza’s southern coastline using American, Egyptian, Emirati, French and Jordanian planes, the IDF said. The packages were subsequently transferred to residents of southern Gaza and the Jordanian field hospital in Khan Younis, according to the IDF.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor

Feb 28, 8:04 AM
Hamas, Fatah to meet in Russia for talks on potential unity government, Gaza reconstruction

Representatives of Hamas and Fatah will meet in Russia’s capital city on Thursday to discuss the formation of a unified Palestinian government and the rebuilding of the war-torn Gaza Strip, according to Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti.

Fatah, the largest political party within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the dominating force behind the Palestinian Authority (PA), currently only controls the West Bank after being forced out of Gaza amid violent clashes with Hamas when the Palestinian militant group and political organization won legislative elections in 2007. Hamas, designated a terrorist group by several countries including the United States, is not part of the PLO and rejects the Fatah-controlled PA’s collaboration with Israeli authorities to maintain security in the West Bank.

-ABC News’ Ayat Al-Tawy and Morgan Winsor

Feb 27, 3:55 PM
Biden’s optimism for deal stems from ongoing negotiations: State Department

After President Joe Biden said Monday he “hopes” to see a cease-fire reached by March 4, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Tuesday that Biden’s optimism stemmed from “the broad outlines of a deal” agreed to by Israel, the U.S. and other partners last week, as well as “negotiations that are continuing through this week.”

But Miller said Hamas wields significant control over when and whether a deal is reached.

“Certainly, we’d welcome getting one by this weekend,” Miller said. “What I can say about the overall progress is that we made significant progress towards an agreement last week when we had officials from United States government engaging in the region. We continue to pursue further progress this week.”

“We are trying to push this deal over the finish line — we do think it’s possible,” Miller said.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
 

Feb 27, 1:29 PM
Netanyahu ‘surprised’ by Biden’s remarks on potential cease-fire deal, source says

A senior Israeli political source told ABC News on Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “surprised” by President Joe Biden’s remarks that he was hopeful a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas could be in place “by next Monday.”

Netanyahu said in a statement later on Tuesday, “Since the beginning of the war, I have been leading a political campaign whose purpose is to curb the pressures intended to end the war before its time, and on the other hand also to gain support for Israel.”

“We have significant successes in this area, because today the Howard-Harris survey is published in the United States, which shows that 82% of the American public supports Israel,” he continued. “This gives us two more strength to continue the campaign until the complete victory.”

-ABC News’ Zoe Magee, Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor

Feb 27, 9:52 AM
What we know about the conflict

The latest outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, has passed the four-month mark.

In the Gaza Strip, at least 29,878 people have been killed and 70,215 others have been wounded by Israeli forces since Oct. 7, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.

In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured by Hamas and other Palestinian militants since Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

There has also been a surge in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have killed at least 395 people in the territory since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The ongoing war began after Hamas-led militants launched an unprecedented incursion into southern Israel from neighboring Gaza via land, sea and air. Scores of people were killed while more than 200 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. The Israeli military subsequently launched retaliatory airstrikes followed by a ground invasion of Gaza, a 140-square-mile territory where more than 2 million Palestinians have lived under a blockade imposed by Israel and supported by Egypt since Hamas came to power in 2007. Gaza, unlike Israel, has no air raid sirens or bomb shelters.

Feb 27, 7:13 AM
UNRWA ‘needs to be dissolved,’ Israeli official says

An Israeli official told ABC News on Tuesday that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is “intertwined with terror and needs to be dissolved.”

“Their sole goal was to perpetuate the Palestinian refugee problem,” the official said. “Their compliance with Hamas terrorism and incitement was exposed. Any prospect for peace depends on dissolving UNRWA.”

The Israeli official said humanitarian aid in the war-torn Gaza Strip should be provided by people “who are not associated with Hamas or UNRWA.”

ABC News has reached out to UNRWA for comment.

In a dossier released in late January, the Israeli military alleged that 13 UNRWA employees participated in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel.

UNRWA has said it is investigating the allegations and took swift action against those accused of being involved in the attack. However, the United States and other top donors have suspended their funding to the agency, which is the biggest humanitarian aid provider in Gaza.

Feb 27, 5:54 AM
Netanyahu ‘surprised’ by Biden’s remarks on potential cease-fire deal, source says

A senior Israeli political source told ABC News on Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “surprised” by U.S. President Joe Biden’s remarks that he was hopeful a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas could be in place “by next Monday.”

Feb 27, 5:42 AM
Qatar says no breakthrough in talks between Israel, Hamas

A spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that there is no breakthrough to announce concerning a potential deal between Israel and Hamas on a cease-fire and hostage release.

“Many developments have occurred. Nothing to announce today, but we feel optimistic,” the spokesperson told reporters.

The spokesperson said the talks remain “ongoing” and they cannot comment on U.S. President Joe Biden’s remarks that a deal is expected by next Monday.

Qatar, along with Egypt and the United States, has been mediating talks between the warring sides.

Feb 27, 5:30 AM
Hamas’ demands in negotiations ‘are still delusional,’ Israeli official says

An Israeli official told ABC News on Tuesday that Hamas’ demands in ongoing negotiations “are still delusional.”

“Military pressure and determined negotiation have helped free 112 hostages to date. Israel will get the remaining hostages home,” the official said. “A deal was done in November and another deal can be made once Hamas comes to reality. Hamas demands are still delusional.”

Feb 26, 6:28 PM
Biden ‘hopes’ for cease-fire in Gaza by next Monday

President Biden said he “hopes” to have a cease-fire in Gaza by March 4.

“I hope by the end of the weekend,” the president told reporters Monday. “My national security advisor tells me that we’re close, it’s not done yet. My hope is by next Monday we’ll have a ceasefire.”

The comments came during a stop at Van Leeuwen’s ice cream shop in New York City as the president visited NBC Late Night host Seth Meyers.

Feb 26, 4:03 PM
State Department says there’s been ‘progress’ in hostage talks

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Monday that there’s been “progress” in hostage talks over the last few days, but he said it’s unclear whether Hamas would accept the latest proposal.

“We’ve had progress with the conversations we’ve had between Egypt, Israel, the United States and Qatar,” Miller said.

He was then asked if they might reach a deal before Ramadan, which begins on March 10.

“I can’t make that assessment because it depends on Hamas. We believe a deal is possible and we hope Hamas will agree to one,” he said.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Feb 26, 12:16 PM
Aid to Gaza has dropped by half since January, UNRWA says

Humanitarian aid to Gaza dropped by 50% from January to February, according to Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

“Aid was supposed to increase not decrease to address the huge needs of 2 million Palestinians in desperate living conditions,” Lazzarini said on social media Monday. “Among the obstacles: lack of political will, regular closing of the crossing points & lack of security due to military operations + collapse of civil order.”

Lazzarini stressed the need for a cease-fire.

Feb 25, 7:06 PM
Netanyahu’s office presents war cabinet with plan to evacuate Gazans from ‘areas of fighting’

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has presented Israel’s war cabinet with a “plan for evacuating the population from the areas of fighting in the Gaza Strip,” a release from the office said early Monday local time.

“In addition, the plan for providing humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip in a manner that will prevent the looting that has occurred in the northern Strip and other areas was approved,” the statement added.

-ABC News’ Dana Savir

Feb 24, 4:34 PM
Israel agrees to updated framework in cease-fire, hostage deal

Israel has agreed to an updated framework that would establish a six-week cease-fire in Gaza in exchange for the release of 40 hostages, an Israeli source told ABC News. The development follows talks in Paris, which includes officials from the U.S., Israel, Qatar and Egypt.

While Israel says it’s waiting to hear back from Hamas on whether it will accept the updated language from this weekend’s talks, Israel is pushing forward with plans to enter Rafah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X that operational plans and evacuation plans in Rafah are ready to be approved by his cabinet.

As part of the proposed deal, Israel has agreed to release jailed Palestinians at a higher ratio than the previous deal, which was 3 to 1. Up to 400 Palestinian prisoners could be released in this new deal.

The Israel Defense Forces will redeploy but not withdraw from Gaza.

-ABC News’ Marcus Moore

Feb 23, 1:23 PM
Blinken calls Israeli settlement expansion ‘inconsistent with international law’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is signaling a possible shift back to a long-standing U.S. policy rejecting Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, calling it “inconsistent with international law.”

Asked at a press availability in Argentina for his response to Israel’s purported plans to build thousands of new settlement homes in the area, Blinken responded, “We’ve seen the reports, and I have to say we’re disappointed in the announcement.”

“It’s been long-standing U.S. policy under Republican and Democratic administration alike that new settlements are counterproductive to reaching an enduring peace. They’re also inconsistent with international law,” Blinken said. “Our administration maintains firm opposition to settlement expansion, and in our judgment, this only weakens — doesn’t strengthen — Israel security.”

The Biden administration has condemned Israeli expansion in the West Bank for years, but the State Department had not yet gone so far as to say they ran afoul of international law after Blinken’s predecessor, Mike Pompeo, said in 2019 that the U.S. would no longer view Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Golan Heights and East Jerusalem as violations.

But before delivering his rebuke, Blinken made note of what he called a “horrific terrorist attack” on a Jewish settlement in the West Bank this week and said the U.S. would continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself and its people.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Feb 22, 2:57 PM
Over 85,000 people in Gaza could die in next 6 months if war escalates, report finds

More than 85,000 people in Gaza could die over the next six months if the war between Israel and Hamas escalates, epidemiologists from Johns Hopkins University and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found.

The epidemiologists presented findings about death tolls in three potential scenarios: if a cease-fire is reached, if the war remains as it is, and if the war escalates.

If a cease-fire is reached, more than 11,000 people will die over the next six months, the findings estimate, based on current conditions inside Gaza.

If the status quo of the war is maintained, more than 66,000 people will die during the same period, the findings show.

And in the worst-case scenario, if the war escalates, more than 85,000 people could die, the report found.

These numbers are in addition to the more than 29,000 people who have already died in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

Feb 22, 2:18 PM
Israeli war cabinet approves sending negotiators to Paris talks

The Israeli war cabinet on Friday approved sending Israeli negotiators to hostage and cease-fire talks in Paris. The war cabinet’s decision will be brought to the Israeli security cabinet for approval later on Friday night.

Qatari, Egyptian and U.S. officials are also expected to be at Friday’s talks in Paris, according to reports.

Feb 22, 12:18 PM
Israel concludes 1-week operation inside Nasser Hospital in Gaza

The Israeli Defense Forces said Thursday that its soldiers have concluded their one-week operation inside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where the IDF said it arrested at least 200 suspected Hamas members.

The World Health Organization said earlier this week that it helped evacuate some of the critically ill patients from the hospital.

On Wednesday, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said eight patients who died because of a lack of electricity at Nasser Hospital were still in their beds inside of the hospital among living patients. The IDF denied these claims.

Feb 22, 3:35 AM
One dead, several injured in shooting near Jerusalem, Israeli authorities say

At least one person was killed and several others were injured Thursday in a shooting on a main road just outside Jerusalem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to Israeli authorities.

Highway 1 was packed with cars when gunfire erupted Thursday morning near a checkpoint between Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. Three “terrorists” armed with automatic weapons pulled up in a vehicle, got out and opened fire at cars that were standing still in the traffic jam, according to the Israel Police.

Israeli security forces who were already on scene “neutralized” two of the suspects, police said. A third suspect who had tried to escape was later found and also “neutralized,” according to police.

Medics arrived and “ran from vehicle to vehicle” searching for victims, according to Israel’s rescue service MDA. A man in his 20s was pronounced dead at the scene while several others were transported to area hospitals, including four people who were moderately injured with gunshot wounds, MDA said.

Feb 21, 2:59 PM
Israeli Minister Gantz expresses cautious optimism about new hostage deal

Israeli Minister Benny Gantz on Wednesday expressed cautious optimism that a new outline for a possible hostage deal could move forward.

Gantz, a member of the Israeli war cabinet, said at Israel’s Defense Headquarters Wednesday that there are “attempts” to “promote a new outline” for a hostage deal, and there are “initial signs that indicate the possibility of moving forward.”

“We will not stop looking for the way, and we will not miss any opportunity to bring the girls and boys home,” Gantz said.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman and Dana Savir

Feb 21, 1:02 PM
8 bodies remain in Nasser Medical Complex among living patients, Gaza Ministry of Health says

Eight patients who died because of a lack of electricity at Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza are still in their beds inside of the hospital among living patients, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said Wednesday.

The Ministry of Health said the bodies are still in the hospital because Israeli forces refuse to remove them.

The bodies “have begun to swell and show signs of decomposition, posing a danger to other patients,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

Israeli authorities denied these claims and said no bodies are still inside Nasser Hospital.

The Israel Defense Forces has been operating inside of Nasser Hospital for the last week. On Monday, the IDF announced its soldiers had arrested 200 suspected Hamas members at Nasser Hospital.

ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman and Camilla Alcini

Feb 21, 8:28 AM
Israel considering sending delegation to Egypt for new round of talks, source says

Israel is weighing the possibility of sending a delegation back to Egypt for continued negotiations over a potential cease-fire or hostage deal with Hamas, an Israeli political source told ABC News on Wednesday.

There is some cautious optimism over the latest round of talks in Cairo, the source said.

Egypt, along with Qatar and the United States, has been mediating talks between the warring sides.

Feb 21, 8:14 AM
Israel preparing to reopen Karni border crossing to facilitate aid to northern Gaza, source says

Israel is preparing to reopen the Karni border crossing to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the northern Gaza Strip, an Israeli political source told ABC News on Wednesday.

Israel shuttered the Karni crossing, located on the border between southwestern Israel and northeastern Gaza, when Palestinian militant group Hamas came to power in the enclave in 2007 before permanently closing the crossing in 2011.

Northern Gaza has been isolated by the Israeli military and almost completely cut off from aid for weeks, according to the United Nations.

Feb 21, 7:56 AM
UN food agency pauses deliveries to northern Gaza

The World Food Program, the food assistance arm of the United Nations, announced Tuesday that it is pausing deliveries of food aid to the northern Gaza Strip “until conditions are in place that allow for safe distribution.”

The decision came after a WFP convoy heading north from Gaza City was “surrounded by crowds of hungry people close to the Wadi Gaza checkpoint” on Sunday, the agency said. The same convoy faced “complete chaos and violence due to the collapse of civil order” when it tried to resume its journey north on Monday, according to the WFP.

“Several trucks were looted between Khan Yunis and Deir al-Balah and a truck driver was beaten. The remaining flour was spontaneously distributed off the trucks in Gaza City, amidst high tension and explosive anger,” the WFP said in a statement Tuesday. “The decision to pause deliveries to the north of the Gaza Strip has not been taken lightly, as we know it means the situation there will deteriorate further and more people risk dying of hunger.”

An analysis released Monday by the Global Nutrition Cluster, a humanitarian aid partnership led by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), found that 15.6% of children under the age of 2 are acutely malnourished in northern Gaza, which has been isolated by the Israeli military and almost completely cut off from aid for weeks, compared to 5% in southern Gaza, where most aid enters the war-torn enclave. The acute malnutrition rate across Gaza was less than 1% before the war began last October, according to the report.

Feb 20, 2:21 PM
Hostages held in Gaza have received medicine, Qatar says

Qatari officials said hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have received the medication that was part of a deal brokered last month.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said it has asked Qatar for evidence that the medicine was delivered.

“Israel will examine the credibility of the report and will continue to work for the peace of our abductees,” the office said in a statement.

Feb 20, 12:21 PM
US draft resolution calls for temporary cease-fire

The U.S. voted against a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire at Wednesday’s United Nations Security Council meeting, The Associated Press reported.

The U.S. was the only nation of the 15 permanent Security Council members to vote against the measure, according to the AP.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said “an unconditional cease-fire without any obligation for Hamas to release hostages” was irresponsible.

“While we cannot support a resolution that would put sensitive negotiations in jeopardy, we look forward to engaging on a text that we believe will address so many of the concerns we all share — a text that can and should be adopted by the council, so that we can have a temporary cease-fire as soon as practicable, based on the formula of all hostages being released,” she said.

The U.S. has been circulating its own draft resolution on Gaza that calls for a temporary cease-fire conditioned on the release of all hostages, while also condemning Hamas for the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war, according to senior administration officials familiar with the matter.

If the proposal were to be adopted by the U.N. Security Council, it would mark the first time the body has formally condemned Hamas’ actions.

The officials say the draft also makes clear “that under current circumstances a major ground offensive into Rafah should not proceed” and that there can be no reduction in territory in the Gaza Strip or any forced displacement of Palestinians, while also calling on Israel “to lift all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance, open additional humanitarian routes, and to keep current crossings open.”

The senior officials signaled that American diplomats wouldn’t rush the text to a vote and that they intended on “allowing time for negotiations.”

While hostage talks have sputtered over the past couple of weeks, senior administration officials said they were making some progress.

“The differences between the parties, they have been narrowed. They haven’t been sufficiently narrowed to get us to a deal, but we are still hopeful and we are confident that there is the basis for an agreement between the parties,” one official said.

ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Feb 20, 11:34 AM
US votes against immediate cease-fire

The U.S. voted against a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire at Wednesday’s United Nations Security Council meeting, The Associated Press reported.

The U.S. was the only nation of the 15 permanent Security Council members to vote against the measure, according to the AP.

The U.S. has said an immediate cease-fire could impede the negotiations looking to free hostages and agree to a pause in fighting, the AP said.

Feb 20, 11:07 AM
IDF operating inside Al-Amal Hospital

Israeli forces, which already entered Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, are also now operating inside the nearby Al-Amal Hospital, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed to ABC News.

“Al-Amal Hospital is currently under multiple attacks, as Israeli forces have directly targeted the third floor of the hospital, resulting in the burning of two rooms,” and “the hospital’s water lines were targeted,” the Palestine Red Crescent Society said.

Over 8,000 patients were evacuated from the hospital earlier this month, but almost 100 patients still remain inside, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said.

Feb 20, 7:13 AM
WHO helps transfer 32 critical patients out of Gaza’s besieged Nasser Hospital

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that it has helped to successfully transfer 32 critically ill patients, including two children, from besieged Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip.

The WHO said its staff led two “life-saving,” “high-risk” missions at the medical complex in Khan Younis on Sunday and Monday, in close partnership with the Palestine Red Crescent Society and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “amid ongoing hostilities and access restrictions.” Staff at Nasser Hospital had requested the transfer of patients after the facility became “non-functional” following an Israeli military raid on Feb. 14 after a weeklong siege, according to the WHO.

“Weak and frail patients were transferred amidst active conflict near the aid convoy,” the WHO said in a statement. “Road conditions hindered the swift movement of ambulances, placing the health of patients at further risk.”

“Nasser Hospital has no electricity or running water, and medical waste and garbage are creating a breeding ground for disease,” the organization added. “WHO staff said the destruction around the hospital was ‘indescribable.’ The area was surrounded by burnt and destroyed buildings, heavy layers of debris, with no stretch of intact road.”

The WHO estimates that 130 sick and injured patients and at least 15 doctors and nurses remain inside Nasser Hospital. As the facility’s intensive care unit was no longer functioning, the only remaining ICU patient was transferred to a different part of the complex where other patients are receiving basic care, according to the WHO.

“WHO fears for the safety and well-being of the patients and health workers remaining in the hospital and warns that further disruption to lifesaving care for the sick and injured would lead to more deaths,” the organization said. “Efforts to facilitate further patient referrals amidst the ongoing hostilities are in process.”

Prior to the missions on Sunday and Monday, the WHO said it “received two consecutive denials to access the hospital for medical assessment, causing delays in urgently needed patient referral.” At least five patients reportedly died in Nasser Hospital’s ICU before any missions or transfers were possible, according to the WHO.

Nasser Hospital is the main medical center serving southern Gaza. Ground troops from the Israel Defense Forces stormed the facility last week, looking for members of Hamas who the IDF alleges have been conducting military operations out of the hospital. Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs Gaza and is at war with neighboring Israel, denies the claims.

“The dismantling and degradation of the Nasser Medical Complex is a massive blow to Gaza’s health system,” the WHO said. “Facilities in the south are already operating well beyond maximum capacity and are barely able to receive more patients.”

Feb 20, 5:26 AM
Aid groups warn of potential ‘explosion in preventable child deaths’ in Gaza

A new analysis by the Global Nutrition Cluster, a humanitarian aid partnership led by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, found that 90% of children under the age of 2 in the war-torn Gaza Strip face severe food poverty, meaning they eat two or fewer food groups a day.

The same was true for 95% of pregnant and breastfeeding women in Gaza, according to the report released Monday. And at least 90% of children under 5 are affected by one or more infectious disease, with 70% experiencing diarrhea in the past two weeks, the report said.

In Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where most humanitarian aid enters, 5% of children under 2 are acutely malnourished, compared to more than 15% in northern Gaza, which has been isolated by the Israeli military and almost completely cut off from aid for weeks, the report said. Before war broke out last October between Israel and Gaza’s militant rulers, Hamas, the acute malnutrition rate across the coastal enclave was less than 1%, according to the report.

The report also found that more than 80% of homes in Gaza lack clean and safe water, with the average household having one liter per person per day.

“The Gaza Strip is poised to witness an explosion in preventable child deaths which would compound the already unbearable level of child deaths in Gaza,” Ted Chaiban, deputy executive director for humanitarian action and supply operations at UNICEF, said in a statement. “We’ve been warning for weeks that the Gaza Strip is on the brink of a nutrition crisis. If the conflict doesn’t end now, children’s nutrition will continue to plummet, leading to preventable deaths or health issues which will affect the children of Gaza for the rest of their lives and have potential intergenerational consequences.”

Feb 19, 12:31 PM
Gaza’s health ministry accuses IDF of turning Nasser Hospital into ‘military barracks’

Israeli troops have turned Nasser Hospital, the main medical center serving the southern Gaza Strip, into a “military barracks” and are “endangering the lives of patients and medical staff,” according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.

The health ministry said Monday that patients and medical staff inside Nasser Hospital are now without electricity, water, food, oxygen and treatment capabilities for difficult cases since Israeli ground troops raided the facility in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis last week.

The World Health Organization, which warned on Sunday that Nasser Hospital “is not functional anymore,” said more than 180 patients and 15 doctors and nurses remain inside the hospital.

The WHO said it has evacuated 14 critical patients from the hospital to receive treatment elsewhere.

The Israel Defense Forces alleges that Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs Gaza, has been conducting military operations out of Nasser Hospital and other medical centers in the war-torn enclave — claims which Hamas denies.

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(PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA) — Rhino poaching increased in South Africa in 2023, the government said.

The new data, released by South African officials, shows 2023 saw a total of 499 Rhinos poached across the Southern African nation, an increase of 51 from to the previous year.

“During 2023, 499 rhinos were poached across South Africa, 406 were killed on state properties and 93 on privately owned parks/reserves/farms,” announced Barbara Creecy, South Africa’s minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.

“The pressure again has been felt in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province with Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park facing the brunt of poaching cases losing 307 of the total national poaching loss. This is the highest poaching loss within this province,” said Creecy.

Conservationists warn poaching syndicates have shifted their focus to KwaZulu-Natal province, where a total of 325 rhinos were killed in 2023. That’s “more than triple the number of deaths from two years prior and the highest ever recorded in this province,” says the International Rhino Foundation (IRF).

In a statement sent to ABC News, the IRF says the new statistics are a “stark reminder of the reality rhinos still face in the wild.”

South Africa is home to the world’s largest rhino population, with approximately 80% and 33% of the world’s 16,800 white and 6,500 black rhinos respectively, according to IRF figures.

But the latest figures also show South Africa’s Kruger National Park — the nation’s largest — once a hotspot for poaching, saw a decrease in poaching. The new data shows 78 Rhinos were poached there in 2023, a 3.7% decrease from 2022.

“The decrease seen in Kruger’s poaching numbers is commendable, but to see that progress cancelled out elsewhere in South Africa is devastating,” said Nina Fascione, executive director of the IRF.

Officials say they are working regionally and transnationally to combat poaching and wildlife trafficking, handing down verdicts in 36 cases, 35 of which resulted in guilty verdicts.

“The cases resulted in the conviction of 45 accused rhino poachers/rhino horn traffickers with a conviction rate of 97%,” said Creecy.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(SANTA BARBARA, C.A.) — The student body president at the University of California, Santa Barbara is calling out alleged antisemitism on campus after she says she was targeted in unauthorized signs displayed at the university’s multicultural center.

Reports of antisemitism and Islamophobia have flooded universities across the U.S. amid rising tensions over the Israel-Hamas war, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Tessa Veksler, a fourth-year student at the university and student body president, shared photos of the signs, with several including her by name, and wrote, “I do not feel safe on campus,” in an Instagram post Monday.

The messages on the signs included “Tessa Veksler supports genocide,” “Zionists not welcome” and “You can run but you can’t hide Tessa Veksler,” her post showed.

“How can Jewish students feel safe when they see a Jewish leader being explicitly targeted? This is dehumanizing and rooted in antisemitism,” Veksler wrote on Instagram. “This incident is not an isolated event but rather a culmination of neglecting to adequately address the implications of such speech and actions within our university.”

UC Santa Barbara’s Office of the Chancellor released a statement to the campus community Monday, saying the messaging was in “violation of our principles of community and inclusion.”

“The signage has been removed and the campus is conducting a bias incident review based on potential discrimination related to protected categories that include religion, citizenship, and national or ethnic origin,” the statement said.

Veksler and the multicultural center have not responded to ABC News’ request for comment.

Michael V. Drake, President of the University of California, provided one-time funding to help UC campuses address and combat antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of bias, bigotry, and discrimination, according to the statement.

UC Berkeley Hillel, an on-campus Jewish Organization, addressed a protest that broke out Monday when an Israeli speaker, Ron Bar-Yoshafat, came to Zellerbach Playhouse.

The organization condemned the protest that allegedly resulted in broken windows and heightened tensions.

“Breaking windows, intimidating students and inciting a mob are never acceptable and have no place in civil discourse,” the organization said in a statement posted to Instagram.

College campuses around the country have grappled with the fallout from conflicting views on the Israel-Hamas war since the surprise terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel on Oct. 7 in which at least 1,200 were killed, according to Israeli officials. In the Gaza Strip, at least 29,878 people have been killed by Israeli forces since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights is investigating at least 58 universities for complaints that included both antisemitic and anti-Muslim harassment, including at Harvard University, Northwestern University, Yale University, Brown University, Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Last week, Harvard University officials denounced a cartoon deemed antisemitic after it was posted and then deleted on social media by a student group collective.

In January, a group of Jewish students at Harvard filed a federal lawsuit claiming the school has “become a bastion of rampant anti-Jewish hatred and harassment” and alleging the administration has failed to protect them.

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(ROME) — Pope Francis on Wednesday visited Rome’s Gemelli hospital following his general audience at the Vatican, the Vatican said.

“After the general audience Pope Francis went to the Gemelli Isola Tiberina Hospital for some diagnostic tests,” a Vatican official said. “Afterwards, he returned to the Vatican.”

During his weekly appearance earlier in the day, Francis said he “still had a bit of a cold.” He asked one of his bishops to do a reading.

Francis, 87, had been admitted to the hospital several times last year. He had bronchitis in March and had intestinal surgery in early June, the Vatican said at the time.

Francis is scheduled on Saturday, March 2, to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, followed on Sunday by an appearance at a noontime prayer, according to the Vatican.

The pope’s official X account posted a message on Wednesday after his visit to the hospital.

“In this time of #Lent, let us strive not to put ourselves at the centre; rather, let us try to step aside to make room for others, to promote them, and to rejoice in their qualities and successes,” the account said.

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(WASHINGTON) — Federal and international law enforcement are warning of Russian cyber actors using “compromised” internet routers for cyber operations.

Russian state-sponsored hackers are exploiting Ubiquiti EdgeRouters and using their default credentials to break into them, the FBI and its international partners warned in a cyber alert dated Feb. 27.

“The U.S. Department of Justice, including the FBI, and international partners recently disrupted a GRU botnet consisting of such routers,” the alert says. “However, owners of relevant devices should take the remedial actions described below to ensure the long-term success of the disruption effort and to identify and remediate any similar compromises.”

The FBI says the routers are very popular for consumers and cyber criminals alike.

The Russian cyber actors, who are known collectively as APT28, have exploited various industries, including aerospace and defense, education, energy and utilities, governments, hospitality, manufacturing, oil and gas, retail, technology and transportation, according to officials.

Targeted countries have included Czech Republic, Italy, Lithuania, Jordan, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and the U.S., the alert said.

It is believed APT28 is the primary Russian group hacking into the routers, but there are other Russian groups as well.

“Additionally, the actors have strategically targeted many individuals in Ukraine,” the alert says.

The FBI urges consumers to update the devices as soon as they get them in order to not be compromised.

“Ubiquiti EdgeRouters have a user-friendly, Linux-based operating system that makes them popular for both consumers and malicious cyber actors. EdgeRouters are often shipped with default credentials and limited to no firewall protections to accommodate wireless internet service providers (WISPs). Additionally, EdgeRouters do not automatically update firmware unless a consumer configures them to do so,” the alert says.

“In summary, with root access to compromised Ubiquiti EdgeRouters, APT28 actors have unfettered access to Linux-based operating systems to install tooling and to obfuscate their identity while conducting malicious campaigns.”

A Ubiquiti representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

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(GAZA) — For the last 25 years, pediatrician Dr. John Kahler has participated in humanitarian aid missions around the world from Syria to Haiti to Tanzania.

Despite providing medical services for years, Kahler said treating people in Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war is incomparable to the work he’s done in other areas.

“This is just by far the worst situation I’ve ever seen,” he told ABC News. “The desperation is just beyond belief. All the children I saw were sick. All the children I saw were living in the cold, irrespective of whether intended or not.”

As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza grows, aid workers from several organizations have been deployed to help those in the strip and the surrounding area.

Medical staff who have returned from deployments spoke with ABC News about the poor hygiene conditions and inadequate water supply that have led to the spread of infections and diseases, children being disproportionately affected and often seemingly small injuries proving fatal.

Children suffering from breathing problems, intestinal infections
Since the early days of the conflict, women and children have borne the brunt both in mass casualties and in reduced access to health services, according to multiple United Nations agencies.

Kahler is a co-founder of the nonprofit MedGlobal, which has been conducting aid missions in Gaza. At the organization’s clinic in the southern city of Rafah, Kahler said staff saw 600 to 700 patients a day, about 200 of whom were children, mostly under 6 months old.

He said there were outbreaks of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) that often led to a wheezing illness called bronchiolitis in the youngest patients. He also saw children with breathing problems due to smoke, because fire is the only form of heating for many families living in tents.

“One hundred percent of the children under 6 months of age had a diarrheal illness,” he said. “The vast majority of those children had significant diaper dermatitis and you say ‘diaper dermatitis’ and it sounds relatively benign. But, in this particular situation, with no Pampers access, no clean water access, no hygiene access, In the cold, it can be a very, very difficult situation to deal with.”

His co-worker, Dr. Zaher Sahloul, president and co-founder of MedGlobal and a critical care specialist in Chicago, said he recalled a few children who came into the clinic, one being a 4-year-old girl name Lama.

According to Sahloul, Lama had been living in a tent with 15 other members of her family and had bloody diarrhea. He said Kahler examined her and gave her oral rehydration fluids, which improved her condition.

“Unfortunately, among innocent civilians, especially children, the impact of the war on children is probably something that we haven’t seen, I haven’t seen, in any other place.”

Lack of aid and poor hygiene

Amy Leah Potter, nursing activity manager for the Doctors Without Borders or Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) emergency team in Gaza, said some of the biggest issues she saw during her month-long deployment were poor hygiene conditions and inadequate water and sanitation.

“The hygiene conditions are deplorable, through no fault of the population,” she told ABC News. “It’s overcrowded, multiple people living in tents; there is no running water, there’s no proper drainage.”

These conditions often lead to sicknesses including gastrointestinal illnesses and skin infections, Potter said.

Potter estimated at the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, where she crossed into Gaza, there were about 2,000 aid trucks lined up to enter Gaza, but with only about 100 entering per day and some periods with no aid entering at all.

Israel, supported by Egypt, has restricted the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza since Hamas came to power in 2007. The restrictions have tightened since the war began with Israel saying it is trying to limit Hamas’ access to weapons, officials said.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said Israel does not provide enough authorization to deliver sufficient aid and, even when it does give authorization, the fighting makes it difficult to deliver aid.

“This is a desert so there’s no fresh water,” Potter said. “You have to get it from water distribution points, which are just trucks that drive up and then people queue for several hours to try and get water. But if you queue for water, that means you’re probably missing the queue for medicine that day or the queue for food. So you kind of have to make decisions.”

Temperatures in Gaza are also extremely cold. Potter said she was wearing four layers at a time during her first two weeks there. However, most families do not have as many clothes and sleep in poorly constructed tents, exposing themselves to the elements and the risk of smoke inhalation or injuries from the fires used to keep themselves warm.

“Every day it got worse and worse and worse, more and more tents,” Potter said. “When I first came, there were no tents on the beach, because the winds are so strong, you wouldn’t want to put a tent there. By the end [of the month-long deployment], the beach was full. There’s nowhere to put anybody.”

Treating injuries with limited supplies

Dr. Chandra Hassan, a general surgeon in Chicago who volunteers with MedGlobal, worked in Rafah as well as Khan Younis, another city in southern Gaza.

He said he saw many patients with chronic diseases who didn’t have access to medicine. This included diabetic patients who couldn’t get access to insulin and dialysis patients, who usually get dialysis three times a week but were getting dialysis once or twice a week at most.

Staff are often left to treat patients with few supplies and little to no room, Hassan said. One patient Hasan said he remembers very well was a pregnant woman who visited the clinic. Pregnant women and new mothers in Gaza in particular have been facing life-threatening challenges to accessing safe care, putting their health and the health of their babies at risk.

“We saw a six-month pregnant woman, completely dehydrated, and we were resuscitating her on a cold floor,” he told ABC News. “There is no bed, no mattress, nothing. She came to the emergency room because most of the other services are not available.”

Hassan said workers gave her fluids, checked her vital signs and after she reported feeling better, she was discharged. He doesn’t know what happened to her after she left the clinic.

He said he saw many patients with injuries from the war. Many of these wounds were small, about two- or three-millimeters long, but because resources are limited and people are often not able to seek care right away, they caused massive damage and proved sometimes fatal.

“These kind of innocent-looking wounds from these missiles could prove deadly,” he said in reference to one such patient who Hassan said initially received wound care for his injuries. He came back two days later, his condition having worsened and went into cardiac arrest and died.

“In a normal situation, they would have scanned him, admitted him, observed him. So, a lot of these kinds of injuries from the explosions, they are they are deadly immediately or they have bad consequences even with surgery, or sometimes just the delay is too much. It proves to be fatal,” Hassan said.

‘No safe place exists’

Nearly every aid worker interviewed by ABC News mentioned that, in past global conflicts, affected populations have been able to leave.

“In most situations, people who are fleeing conflict are able to seek safety and protection, maybe within their own country or maybe outside of their country,” Dr. Paul Spiegel, director of the Center for Humanitarian Health at Johns Hopkins University, told ABC News. He spent a month in Cairo supporting the UNRWA’s Gaza response. “But in this situation, that so far has not been the case.”

In January, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not consider the war over until the Philadelphi Corridor, an 8.7-mile-long narrow strip of land that consists of the border area between Gaza and Egypt, was closed.

Earlier this month Netanyahu said that his government was working on a plan to evacuate people from the city of Rafah in anticipation of an expected ground operation there and despite continued concerns about the ground assault from Israel’s allies.

Sahloul and Hassan said that in their past work in Syria and Ukraine, refugees were either able to flee to neighboring countries or move to safer regions within their own country but, in Gaza, they say there is no safe place.

“When you’re wounded, you need good nutrition, you need good rest to recover,” Hassan said. “You need a safe place. None of that exists.”

They added that many Gazans cannot safely seek shelter at hospitals and health care settings because they have been attacked, a violation of international humanitarian law.

Israel has said it has not conducted targeted attacks against hospitals and claims Hamas misuses hospitals — operating inside and underneath them in tunnels and using them as command centers as well as to store weapons. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has released videos it claims are evidence of Hamas operations. Hamas denies the accusations.

Both Sahloul and Hassan worked in the partially operating hospitals in Rafah, such as Nasser Hospital, and said they did not see any evidence of Hamas operations.

“We have not seen any signs of militarization, any suspects, any guns in the hospital … we have not seen any tunnels,” Sahloul said. “There might be some truth to what the IDF are saying, but we have not witnessed it. And people in the hospitals should not be punished.”

Fears of a ‘complete collapse’

Since the Hamas terrorist group’s surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, more than 29,600 have been killed in Gaza and more than 69,000 others injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

Israeli officials said 576 IDF soldiers have been killed, including 237 since the ground operations in Gaza began.

Additionally, there are about 134 hostages still believed to be in captivity in Gaza, 130 of them related to the current war and four related to the 2014 conflict. Of the 134, at least 32 are believed to be dead, according to the IDF and the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

Potter said she believes conditions in Gaza will only further deteriorate and the number of deaths will increase unless a cease-fire is agreed to.

“We’re not even putting a dent in what’s needed,” Potter said. “If we don’t get [more] aid into the country, if the invasion into Rafah continues, and there’s one and a half million people, there’s nowhere left to go. There’s nothing left to do.”

“It is just trying to survive. It’s like it’s a boat with a hole in it and this isn’t the time to fix the boat. This is the time to just bail the water as fast as you can, but they’ve been bailing for months, with no end in sight. And eventually, there’s going to be a complete collapse,” she continued.

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(MOSCOW) — One of Russia’s best-known human rights defenders was sentenced by a Moscow court Tuesday to two and a half years in prison for criticizing the war in Ukraine, amid a continuing crackdown by the Kremlin on dissent.

Oleg Orlov, 70, has long been a leading voice in Russia’s human rights movement and a fearless critic of repression under President Vladimir Putin. He has for two decades been one of the leaders of the Memorial rights group, which commemorates victims of political repression and in 2022 shared the Nobel Peace Prize before being outlawed in Russia.

He was sentenced for an op-ed in a French newspaper in which he condemned the war in Ukraine and criticized Russia’s current regime as “fascist.”

He was convicted under a law introduced after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion that forbids “discrediting Russia’s armed forces” and which has been used to criminalize criticism of the war or war crimes committed by Russian troops.

Orlov, in a powerful closing statement, dismissed the trial against him, saying it was now forbidden in Russia to criticize the authorities.

“I appeal to you, your honor, and to the members of the prosecution. Are you not yourselves frightened? Not frightened to observe what our country is turning into, which you probably also love? Not frightened that not only you and your children maybe will have to live in this absurdity, this anti-utopia but also, God forbid, your grandchildren?” he said.

Russia’s supreme court ordered the closure of Memorial in 2021, in what was seen by many observers as a watershed moment in Putin’s crackdown on freedoms in the country.

Russian authorities hand over Alexei Navalny’s body to his mother, spokeswoman says
Orlov in court Tuesday also condemned the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in prison last week and urged people to follow Navalny’s example and not despair.

“We remember the call of Alexey — ‘Don’t give up,'” he said. “From myself I add: and keep your spirits up, don’t lose optimism. For truth is on our side.”

Orlov said responsibility for Navalny’s death lay with Putin’s regime, saying “whatever the specific circumstances of his death might have been, this was murder.”

Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner and opposition leader who became Putin’s most formidable challenger, died in an Arctic prison colony last week after being held in Russian jails since 2021. His family and team have accused Putin of murdering him. Authorities finally handed over Navalny’s body to his mother on Sunday, but his team says they don’t yet know where or when a funeral will take place, saying funeral homes in Moscow are unwilling to help them over fears of the authorities.

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(NEW YORK) — It’s been over one week since an American couple went missing from their yacht in the Caribbean after three escaped prisoners boarded their boat.

Police said Monday that Ralph Hendry and his wife, Kathy Brandel, are likely dead, however, their bodies have not been found.

Here’s how the case has unfolded:

Feb. 18
Hendry and Brandel, from Falls Church, Virginia, were last seen alive by their boating neighbor at the dock in Grenada on Feb. 18, according to Hendry’s sister, Suellen Desmarais.

The couple, married for 27 years, had been living on their yacht, Simplicity, since they sold their home in 2013.

Feb. 19
On the morning of Feb. 19, the neighbor said the couple and their boat were gone, according to Desmarais.

Three escaped prisoners allegedly stole the couple’s boat before heading to the nearby island of St. Vincent, where they arrived on the yacht on Feb. 19, police said.

Feb. 21
The three suspects were arrested on Feb. 21 and are cooperating with investigators, police said.

Feb. 26
On Feb. 26, Junior Simmons, head of the public relations and complaints department at Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, said investigators determined “the suspects committed several criminal acts, including bodily harm, to the couple.”

Police processed the scene on the yacht and found signs of violence, Simmons said.

“Several items were strewn on the deck,” Simmons said, and in the cabin was “a red substance that resembled blood.”

“Based on the investigation thus far it is presumed that Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel are deceased,” Simmons said.

Their bodies have not been found.

The three suspects have appeared in a St. Vincent court on immigration-related charges and pleaded guilty, police said. Sentencing was scheduled for March 4, police said.

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(NEW YORK) — More than four months since Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, the Israeli military continues its bombardment of the neighboring Gaza Strip.

The conflict, now the deadliest between the warring sides since Israel’s founding in 1948, shows no signs of letting up soon and the brief cease-fire that allowed for over 100 hostages to be freed from Gaza remains a distant memory.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Feb 27, 5:54 AM
Netanyahu ‘surprised’ by Biden’s remarks on potential cease-fire deal, source says

A senior Israeli political source told ABC News on Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “surprised” by U.S. President Joe Biden’s remarks that he was hopeful a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas could be in place “by next Monday.”

Feb 27, 5:42 AM
Qatar says no breakthrough in talks between Israel, Hamas

A spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that there is no breakthrough to announce concerning a potential deal between Israel and Hamas on a cease-fire and hostage release.

“Many developments have occurred. Nothing to announce today, but we feel optimistic,” the spokesperson told reporters.

The spokesperson said the talks remain “ongoing” and they cannot comment on U.S. President Joe Biden’s remarks that a deal is expected by next Monday.

Qatar, along with Egypt and the United States, has been mediating talks between the warring sides.

Feb 27, 5:30 AM
Hamas’ demands in negotiations ‘are still delusional,’ Israeli official says

An Israeli official told ABC News on Tuesday that Hamas’ demands in ongoing negotiations “are still delusional.”

“Military pressure and determined negotiation have helped free 112 hostages to date. Israel will get the remaining hostages home,” the official said. “A deal was done in November and another deal can be made once Hamas comes to reality. Hamas demands are still delusional.”

Feb 26, 6:28 PM
Biden ‘hopes’ for cease-fire in Gaza by next Monday

President Biden said he “hopes” to have a cease-fire in Gaza by March 4.

“I hope by the end of the weekend,” the president told reporters Monday. “My national security advisor tells me that we’re close, it’s not done yet. My hope is by next Monday we’ll have a ceasefire.”

The comments came during a stop at Van Leeuwen’s ice cream shop in New York City as the president visited NBC Late Night host Seth Meyers.

Feb 26, 4:03 PM
State Department says there’s been ‘progress’ in hostage talks

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Monday that there’s been “progress” in hostage talks over the last few days, but he said it’s unclear whether Hamas would accept the latest proposal.

“We’ve had progress with the conversations we’ve had between Egypt, Israel, the United States and Qatar,” Miller said.

He was then asked if they might reach a deal before Ramadan, which begins on March 10.

“I can’t make that assessment because it depends on Hamas. We believe a deal is possible and we hope Hamas will agree to one,” he said.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Feb 26, 12:16 PM
Aid to Gaza has dropped by half since January, UNRWA says

Humanitarian aid to Gaza dropped by 50% from January to February, according to Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

“Aid was supposed to increase not decrease to address the huge needs of 2 million Palestinians in desperate living conditions,” Lazzarini said on social media Monday. “Among the obstacles: lack of political will, regular closing of the crossing points & lack of security due to military operations + collapse of civil order.”

Lazzarini stressed the need for a cease-fire.

Feb 25, 7:06 PM
Netanyahu’s office presents war cabinet with plan to evacuate Gazans from ‘areas of fighting’

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has presented Israel’s war cabinet with a “plan for evacuating the population from the areas of fighting in the Gaza Strip,” a release from the office said early Monday local time.

“In addition, the plan for providing humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip in a manner that will prevent the looting that has occurred in the northern Strip and other areas was approved,” the statement added.

-ABC News’ Dana Savir

Feb 24, 4:34 PM
Israel agrees to updated framework in cease-fire, hostage deal

Israel has agreed to an updated framework that would establish a six-week cease-fire in Gaza in exchange for the release of 40 hostages, an Israeli source told ABC News. The development follows talks in Paris, which includes officials from the U.S., Israel, Qatar and Egypt.

While Israel says it’s waiting to hear back from Hamas on whether it will accept the updated language from this weekend’s talks, Israel is pushing forward with plans to enter Rafah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X that operational plans and evacuation plans in Rafah are ready to be approved by his cabinet.

As part of the proposed deal, Israel has agreed to release jailed Palestinians at a higher ratio than the previous deal, which was 3 to 1. Up to 400 Palestinian prisoners could be released in this new deal.

The Israel Defense Forces will redeploy but not withdraw from Gaza.

-ABC News’ Marcus Moore

Feb 23, 1:23 PM
Blinken calls Israeli settlement expansion ‘inconsistent with international law’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is signaling a possible shift back to a long-standing U.S. policy rejecting Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, calling it “inconsistent with international law.”

Asked at a press availability in Argentina for his response to Israel’s purported plans to build thousands of new settlement homes in the area, Blinken responded, “We’ve seen the reports, and I have to say we’re disappointed in the announcement.”

“It’s been long-standing U.S. policy under Republican and Democratic administration alike that new settlements are counterproductive to reaching an enduring peace. They’re also inconsistent with international law,” Blinken said. “Our administration maintains firm opposition to settlement expansion, and in our judgment, this only weakens — doesn’t strengthen — Israel security.”

The Biden administration has condemned Israeli expansion in the West Bank for years, but the State Department had not yet gone so far as to say they ran afoul of international law after Blinken’s predecessor, Mike Pompeo, said in 2019 that the U.S. would no longer view Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Golan Heights and East Jerusalem as violations.

But before delivering his rebuke, Blinken made note of what he called a “horrific terrorist attack” on a Jewish settlement in the West Bank this week and said the U.S. would continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself and its people.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Feb 22, 2:57 PM
Over 85,000 people in Gaza could die in next 6 months if war escalates, report finds

More than 85,000 people in Gaza could die over the next six months if the war between Israel and Hamas escalates, epidemiologists from Johns Hopkins University and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found.

The epidemiologists presented findings about death tolls in three potential scenarios: if a cease-fire is reached, if the war remains as it is, and if the war escalates.

If a cease-fire is reached, more than 11,000 people will die over the next six months, the findings estimate, based on current conditions inside Gaza.

If the status quo of the war is maintained, more than 66,000 people will die during the same period, the findings show.

And in the worst-case scenario, if the war escalates, more than 85,000 people could die, the report found.

These numbers are in addition to the more than 29,000 people who have already died in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

Feb 22, 2:18 PM
Israeli war cabinet approves sending negotiators to Paris talks

The Israeli war cabinet on Friday approved sending Israeli negotiators to hostage and cease-fire talks in Paris. The war cabinet’s decision will be brought to the Israeli security cabinet for approval later on Friday night.

Qatari, Egyptian and U.S. officials are also expected to be at Friday’s talks in Paris, according to reports.

Feb 22, 12:18 PM
Israel concludes 1-week operation inside Nasser Hospital in Gaza

The Israeli Defense Forces said Thursday that its soldiers have concluded their one-week operation inside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where the IDF said it arrested at least 200 suspected Hamas members.

The World Health Organization said earlier this week that it helped evacuate some of the critically ill patients from the hospital.

On Wednesday, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said eight patients who died because of a lack of electricity at Nasser Hospital were still in their beds inside of the hospital among living patients. The IDF denied these claims.

Feb 22, 3:35 AM
One dead, several injured in shooting near Jerusalem, Israeli authorities say

At least one person was killed and several others were injured Thursday in a shooting on a main road just outside Jerusalem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to Israeli authorities.

Highway 1 was packed with cars when gunfire erupted Thursday morning near a checkpoint between Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. Three “terrorists” armed with automatic weapons pulled up in a vehicle, got out and opened fire at cars that were standing still in the traffic jam, according to the Israel Police.

Israeli security forces who were already on scene “neutralized” two of the suspects, police said. A third suspect who had tried to escape was later found and also “neutralized,” according to police.

Medics arrived and “ran from vehicle to vehicle” searching for victims, according to Israel’s rescue service MDA. A man in his 20s was pronounced dead at the scene while several others were transported to area hospitals, including four people who were moderately injured with gunshot wounds, MDA said.

Feb 21, 2:59 PM
Israeli Minister Gantz expresses cautious optimism about new hostage deal

Israeli Minister Benny Gantz on Wednesday expressed cautious optimism that a new outline for a possible hostage deal could move forward.

Gantz, a member of the Israeli war cabinet, said at Israel’s Defense Headquarters Wednesday that there are “attempts” to “promote a new outline” for a hostage deal, and there are “initial signs that indicate the possibility of moving forward.”

“We will not stop looking for the way, and we will not miss any opportunity to bring the girls and boys home,” Gantz said.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman and Dana Savir

Feb 21, 1:02 PM
8 bodies remain in Nasser Medical Complex among living patients, Gaza Ministry of Health says

Eight patients who died because of a lack of electricity at Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza are still in their beds inside of the hospital among living patients, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said Wednesday.

The Ministry of Health said the bodies are still in the hospital because Israeli forces refuse to remove them.

The bodies “have begun to swell and show signs of decomposition, posing a danger to other patients,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

Israeli authorities denied these claims and said no bodies are still inside Nasser Hospital.

The Israel Defense Forces has been operating inside of Nasser Hospital for the last week. On Monday, the IDF announced its soldiers had arrested 200 suspected Hamas members at Nasser Hospital.

ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman and Camilla Alcini

Feb 21, 8:28 AM
Israel considering sending delegation to Egypt for new round of talks, source says

Israel is weighing the possibility of sending a delegation back to Egypt for continued negotiations over a potential cease-fire or hostage deal with Hamas, an Israeli political source told ABC News on Wednesday.

There is some cautious optimism over the latest round of talks in Cairo, the source said.

Egypt, along with Qatar and the United States, has been mediating talks between the warring sides.

Feb 21, 8:14 AM
Israel preparing to reopen Karni border crossing to facilitate aid to northern Gaza, source says

Israel is preparing to reopen the Karni border crossing to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the northern Gaza Strip, an Israeli political source told ABC News on Wednesday.

Israel shuttered the Karni crossing, located on the border between southwestern Israel and northeastern Gaza, when Palestinian militant group Hamas came to power in the enclave in 2007 before permanently closing the crossing in 2011.

Northern Gaza has been isolated by the Israeli military and almost completely cut off from aid for weeks, according to the United Nations.

Feb 21, 7:56 AM
UN food agency pauses deliveries to northern Gaza

The World Food Program, the food assistance arm of the United Nations, announced Tuesday that it is pausing deliveries of food aid to the northern Gaza Strip “until conditions are in place that allow for safe distribution.”

The decision came after a WFP convoy heading north from Gaza City was “surrounded by crowds of hungry people close to the Wadi Gaza checkpoint” on Sunday, the agency said. The same convoy faced “complete chaos and violence due to the collapse of civil order” when it tried to resume its journey north on Monday, according to the WFP.

“Several trucks were looted between Khan Yunis and Deir al-Balah and a truck driver was beaten. The remaining flour was spontaneously distributed off the trucks in Gaza City, amidst high tension and explosive anger,” the WFP said in a statement Tuesday. “The decision to pause deliveries to the north of the Gaza Strip has not been taken lightly, as we know it means the situation there will deteriorate further and more people risk dying of hunger.”

An analysis released Monday by the Global Nutrition Cluster, a humanitarian aid partnership led by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), found that 15.6% of children under the age of 2 are acutely malnourished in northern Gaza, which has been isolated by the Israeli military and almost completely cut off from aid for weeks, compared to 5% in southern Gaza, where most aid enters the war-torn enclave. The acute malnutrition rate across Gaza was less than 1% before the war began last October, according to the report.

Feb 20, 2:21 PM
Hostages held in Gaza have received medicine, Qatar says

Qatari officials said hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have received the medication that was part of a deal brokered last month.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said it has asked Qatar for evidence that the medicine was delivered.

“Israel will examine the credibility of the report and will continue to work for the peace of our abductees,” the office said in a statement.

Feb 20, 12:21 PM
US draft resolution calls for temporary cease-fire

The U.S. voted against a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire at Wednesday’s United Nations Security Council meeting, The Associated Press reported.

The U.S. was the only nation of the 15 permanent Security Council members to vote against the measure, according to the AP.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said “an unconditional cease-fire without any obligation for Hamas to release hostages” was irresponsible.

“While we cannot support a resolution that would put sensitive negotiations in jeopardy, we look forward to engaging on a text that we believe will address so many of the concerns we all share — a text that can and should be adopted by the council, so that we can have a temporary cease-fire as soon as practicable, based on the formula of all hostages being released,” she said.

The U.S. has been circulating its own draft resolution on Gaza that calls for a temporary cease-fire conditioned on the release of all hostages, while also condemning Hamas for the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war, according to senior administration officials familiar with the matter.

If the proposal were to be adopted by the U.N. Security Council, it would mark the first time the body has formally condemned Hamas’ actions.

The officials say the draft also makes clear “that under current circumstances a major ground offensive into Rafah should not proceed” and that there can be no reduction in territory in the Gaza Strip or any forced displacement of Palestinians, while also calling on Israel “to lift all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance, open additional humanitarian routes, and to keep current crossings open.”

The senior officials signaled that American diplomats wouldn’t rush the text to a vote and that they intended on “allowing time for negotiations.”

While hostage talks have sputtered over the past couple of weeks, senior administration officials said they were making some progress.

“The differences between the parties, they have been narrowed. They haven’t been sufficiently narrowed to get us to a deal, but we are still hopeful and we are confident that there is the basis for an agreement between the parties,” one official said.

ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Feb 20, 11:34 AM
US votes against immediate cease-fire

The U.S. voted against a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire at Wednesday’s United Nations Security Council meeting, The Associated Press reported.

The U.S. was the only nation of the 15 permanent Security Council members to vote against the measure, according to the AP.

The U.S. has said an immediate cease-fire could impede the negotiations looking to free hostages and agree to a pause in fighting, the AP said.

Feb 20, 11:07 AM
IDF operating inside Al-Amal Hospital

Israeli forces, which already entered Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, are also now operating inside the nearby Al-Amal Hospital, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed to ABC News.

“Al-Amal Hospital is currently under multiple attacks, as Israeli forces have directly targeted the third floor of the hospital, resulting in the burning of two rooms,” and “the hospital’s water lines were targeted,” the Palestine Red Crescent Society said.

Over 8,000 patients were evacuated from the hospital earlier this month, but almost 100 patients still remain inside, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said.

Feb 20, 7:13 AM
WHO helps transfer 32 critical patients out of Gaza’s besieged Nasser Hospital

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that it has helped to successfully transfer 32 critically ill patients, including two children, from besieged Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip.

The WHO said its staff led two “life-saving,” “high-risk” missions at the medical complex in Khan Younis on Sunday and Monday, in close partnership with the Palestine Red Crescent Society and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “amid ongoing hostilities and access restrictions.” Staff at Nasser Hospital had requested the transfer of patients after the facility became “non-functional” following an Israeli military raid on Feb. 14 after a weeklong siege, according to the WHO.

“Weak and frail patients were transferred amidst active conflict near the aid convoy,” the WHO said in a statement. “Road conditions hindered the swift movement of ambulances, placing the health of patients at further risk.”

“Nasser Hospital has no electricity or running water, and medical waste and garbage are creating a breeding ground for disease,” the organization added. “WHO staff said the destruction around the hospital was ‘indescribable.’ The area was surrounded by burnt and destroyed buildings, heavy layers of debris, with no stretch of intact road.”

The WHO estimates that 130 sick and injured patients and at least 15 doctors and nurses remain inside Nasser Hospital. As the facility’s intensive care unit was no longer functioning, the only remaining ICU patient was transferred to a different part of the complex where other patients are receiving basic care, according to the WHO.

“WHO fears for the safety and well-being of the patients and health workers remaining in the hospital and warns that further disruption to lifesaving care for the sick and injured would lead to more deaths,” the organization said. “Efforts to facilitate further patient referrals amidst the ongoing hostilities are in process.”

Prior to the missions on Sunday and Monday, the WHO said it “received two consecutive denials to access the hospital for medical assessment, causing delays in urgently needed patient referral.” At least five patients reportedly died in Nasser Hospital’s ICU before any missions or transfers were possible, according to the WHO.

Nasser Hospital is the main medical center serving southern Gaza. Ground troops from the Israel Defense Forces stormed the facility last week, looking for members of Hamas who the IDF alleges have been conducting military operations out of the hospital. Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs Gaza and is at war with neighboring Israel, denies the claims.

“The dismantling and degradation of the Nasser Medical Complex is a massive blow to Gaza’s health system,” the WHO said. “Facilities in the south are already operating well beyond maximum capacity and are barely able to receive more patients.”

Feb 20, 5:26 AM
Aid groups warn of potential ‘explosion in preventable child deaths’ in Gaza

A new analysis by the Global Nutrition Cluster, a humanitarian aid partnership led by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, found that 90% of children under the age of 2 in the war-torn Gaza Strip face severe food poverty, meaning they eat two or fewer food groups a day.

The same was true for 95% of pregnant and breastfeeding women in Gaza, according to the report released Monday. And at least 90% of children under 5 are affected by one or more infectious disease, with 70% experiencing diarrhea in the past two weeks, the report said.

In Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where most humanitarian aid enters, 5% of children under 2 are acutely malnourished, compared to more than 15% in northern Gaza, which has been isolated by the Israeli military and almost completely cut off from aid for weeks, the report said. Before war broke out last October between Israel and Gaza’s militant rulers, Hamas, the acute malnutrition rate across the coastal enclave was less than 1%, according to the report.

The report also found that more than 80% of homes in Gaza lack clean and safe water, with the average household having one liter per person per day.

“The Gaza Strip is poised to witness an explosion in preventable child deaths which would compound the already unbearable level of child deaths in Gaza,” Ted Chaiban, deputy executive director for humanitarian action and supply operations at UNICEF, said in a statement. “We’ve been warning for weeks that the Gaza Strip is on the brink of a nutrition crisis. If the conflict doesn’t end now, children’s nutrition will continue to plummet, leading to preventable deaths or health issues which will affect the children of Gaza for the rest of their lives and have potential intergenerational consequences.”

Feb 19, 12:31 PM
Gaza’s health ministry accuses IDF of turning Nasser Hospital into ‘military barracks’

Israeli troops have turned Nasser Hospital, the main medical center serving the southern Gaza Strip, into a “military barracks” and are “endangering the lives of patients and medical staff,” according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.

The health ministry said Monday that patients and medical staff inside Nasser Hospital are now without electricity, water, food, oxygen and treatment capabilities for difficult cases since Israeli ground troops raided the facility in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis last week.

The World Health Organization, which warned on Sunday that Nasser Hospital “is not functional anymore,” said more than 180 patients and 15 doctors and nurses remain inside the hospital.

The WHO said it has evacuated 14 critical patients from the hospital to receive treatment elsewhere.

The Israel Defense Forces alleges that Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs Gaza, has been conducting military operations out of Nasser Hospital and other medical centers in the war-torn enclave — claims which Hamas denies.

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(WASHINGTON) — A group of “armed bandits” near the U.S. southern border attempted to rob migrants crossing illegally, according to U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens.

Owens posted images of a group of migrants in Chula Vista, California, attempting to cross the border on Sunday, only to encounter armed robbers.

“USBP surveillance technology near Chula Vista, CA captured these images of armed bandits robbing several groups as they attempted to enter the country illegally,” Owens said in the post. “Yet another example of the dangers these criminals & smugglers pose to the public, the migrants, and our agents.”

ABC News has reached out to Border Patrol about the incident.

Migrant encounters in the San Diego area, which encompasses Chula Vista, were down in January from November and December of 2023, according to Customs and Border Protection data.

Last week, the San Diego sector made over 7,500 apprehensions of migrants from 75 countries, according to Chief Patrol Agent Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel.

President Joe Biden is headed to the border on Thursday, according to a White House official. He is going to Brownsville, Texas.

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