Sunday marks six months since Hamas launched a surprise terrorist attack in southern Israel and Israel responded by declaring war against Hamas.
Israel launched a ground offensive in late October, tightening its restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza and ordered civilians in the north to evacuate to the south.
Over the past 182 days, as Israel pursued its goal of destroying Hamas, a serious humanitarian crisis has unfolded in Gaza, with shortages of food, clean water and medicine, as well as a collapse of the health care system.
Here is a look at the tragic human toll of the Israel-Hamas war, by the numbers.
Killed and injured
Since Hamas’ surprise terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the death toll on both sides of the conflict has been steadily rising.
In Israel, at least 1,700 people have been killed and 8,700 others injured, according to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The death toll includes more than 800 civilians, about 600 IDF soldiers and 61 police.
More than 33,000 people have been killed in Gaza and about 76,000 others injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. The majority of those killed have been women and children, according to Hamas.
What we know about the hostages
When Hamas terrorists raided Israel on Oct. 7, more than 240 hostages were kidnapped and taken into the Gaza Strip.
So far, 112 surviving hostages have been released. The largest hostage release came on Nov. 24 during a pause in fighting in which 105 people were released, including 81 Israelis or dual Israeli citizens, 23 Thai citizens and one citizen of the Philippines. The bodies of 12 deceased hostages have also been recovered.
Currently, there are an estimated 131 hostages remaining in Gaza, which includes 33 bodies of those no longer alive, according to Israeli officials. There are at least eight dual U.S. citizens being held hostage still and three dual citizens among the bodies, officials said.
Collapse of the health care system
Prior to the conflict, 36 hospitals were functioning in Gaza.
As of April 2, 26 hospitals have stopped functioning and the remaining 10 are partially functioning, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) office in the occupied Palestinian territory. The organization said there are currently no fully functioning hospitals.
“Left without vital health care, ultimately it’s civilians who will pay the price,” the WHO office wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We repeat: health must not be militarized or attacked.”
Israel has claimed that Hamas uses hospitals to “conduct and promote” terrorist activity. Hamas has denied claims it is operating from within hospitals.
Struggle to get aid into Gaza
Since early March, an average of 140 trucks with food aid have entered Gaza every day, Israel’s Civil Department of the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said in a post on X on April 1. Northern Gaza gets an average of 10 food trucks entering per day.
In an attempt to meet the needs of Gazans, several countries, including the U.S., have airdropped food into the strip, with more than 166,000 meals since March 5.
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) previously said Israel doesn’t provide enough authorization to deliver sufficient aid and, even when it does give authorization, the fighting makes it difficult to deliver that aid. The group says it has not been allowed to distribute aid in northern Gaza since Israel made allegations that some of its members participated in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel.
UNRWA says it terminated the accused employees after the allegations were made public and an independent investigation by the U.N.’s Office of Internal Oversight is ongoing.
Israeli officials have said Hamas steals aid once it enters Gaza and claim looting is also a problem. Israel continues to deny all accusations that it isn’t letting enough aid into Gaza, and encourages other countries to send in aid, with Israeli officials saying the U.N., its partners and other aid agencies have created logistical challenges, resulting in a bottleneck. The U.N. disputes these claims.
A March report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative said famine is “imminent” in northern Gaza and may occur between mid-March and the end of May.
On the night of April 1, seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen were killed during an Israeli attack in central Gaza while traveling in a three-vehicle caravan, sparking outrage from the international community, including the U.S., and prompting increased pressure on Israel to protect aid workers and facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid.
On April 4, Israel approved the reopening of the Erez crossing into Gaza in the north and the temporary use of Ashdod port in southern Israel after the U.S. urged the country to increase the humanitarian aid getting into Gaza.
KYIV, Ukraine — As Ukraine aims to mobilize up to 500,000 troops in the third year of war against Russia, it needs six times more workers driving the economy at home to support the troops.
“Their salaries are paid by our people, who pay taxes. When we talk about mobilization, we must know that one soldier equals six people in civilian life who pay taxes. Therefore, the government, me, all of us, must find three million taxpayers from the month of January,” President Zelenskyy said during a press conference in December last year.
But finding a workforce has become a big challenge for businesses in Ukraine that has adapted to operate during the full-scale invasion.
“If last year we couldn’t find qualified specialists, now we’re facing a shortage even at the lowest positions,” the general manager of one of the hotels of an international chain told ABC News, asking not to mention his name.
The manager added, “There are physically no people. Thirty percent of our employees have left the country, and if any more of our male employees are called up for mobilization, it would be catastrophic for us. If this trend continues, we may have to scale back operations by the end of the year.”
Ukraine needs at least 4.5 million workers, the Ministry of Economy said. The biggest deficits are in defense industries, construction, medical services, agriculture and retail, officials said.
Silpo is one of the biggest chain of supermarkets in Ukraine, known for the variety of goods and fancy store design. Although the first days of the invasion were challenging for the company, primarily in terms of safety, Silpo opened 20 new stores in 18 cities during the Russian invasion, in particular in Kherson just a few weeks after the de-occupation.
But Russian missile strikes make it challenging to find employees in front-line cities, the company representatives told ABC News. Besides, 2,700 out of its 30,000 employees were called up to the army, the company said.
What helps Silpo stay attractive for the job seekers is their unique internal human-centered culture.
“We have a strong and dedicated team that, thanks to our unique internal culture, finds opportunities for creativity and experimentation. We believe that each of our employees can “surpass” themselves every day in their favorite business, generate non-standard ideas and have an inner sense of ‘wow,'” Ivan Palchevskyi, SIlpo representative, told ABC News.
The company not only established a support center for any kind of assistance for the employees — from evacuation to mental health support; it changed the way of training young professionals, launched a program for adaptation of war veterans and also started training women for positions usually occupied by men.
“One such project is called OnTrack, which we developed in collaboration with Swedish company Beredskapslyftet and Scania Ukraine,” Palchevskyi said. “This program provides women with the opportunity to train as truck drivers with us. We are proud to say that the first cohort of graduates have already started working.”
Small businesses also need a helping hand. It’s become difficult to find people for vocational jobs, like being a carpenter, driver or tailor.
Halyna Tymchenko runs a small atelier in one of the shopping malls in Kyiv. A job posting on the door of her office has been there for four months already, she told ABC News.
“I need a seamstress to help me with the orders, because people come every day. But I can’t find a good one and I’m already thinking of hiring a student,” Tymchenko said.
Many businesses are ready to hire people with little experience and train them. Others said they’ve retained employees by raising salaries by up to 30%.
Against the background of general lack of labor force, the unemployment rate in Ukraine stays at the pre-war level though, according to the state employment service. Around 15% of the population still struggle to find a job, but that may be mostly because their profession is not in high demand or the salary offered is lower than the job seeker expects.
Spheres like IT now offer fewer positions, while the number of candidates grew tenfold. The unemployment rate also differs from one region to another — it’s the lowest in the east, near the front line, where most infrastructure is damaged or destroyed, and is the lowest in the western regions, which are considered to be the safest, and where many businesses relocated in the past two years.
Despite the challenges, businesses in Ukraine remain optimistic about their future, the poll conducted by the Ukrainian Institute of Economic and Political Research.
About 45% of respondents invested in their reconstruction and development in 2023 and 44% are going to do the same this year. And that’s one of the highest rates since 2011, the report said. More businesses started operating at full power, but that, again, means they will need more people to join the workforce.
The government said it aims to stimulate Ukrainians to return home from abroad, including many of the about 6 million people who left since February 24, 2021, when Russia invaded. But there is not yet any complex program for bringing them back.
(NEW YORK) — Scott Paul, the associate director for peace and security at Oxfam America, spoke with ABC News Live about the crisis in Gaza and the necessary steps to protect civilians and aid workers.
Paul believes that the tragic deaths of seven employees of World Central Kitchen this week are a collective failure on everyone’s part, despite the fact that over 200 aid workers have been killed in the past six months after not being able to muster enough support to prevent such incidents from happening.
He stated that Gaza is the most dangerous place for aid workers and that it’s the deadliest conflict we have seen in quite some time, all because it appears to be a free fire zone, where there are no restrictions on the use of military force.
Paul sat down with ABC News Live to suggest a complete ceasefire in Gaza, along with malnutrition relief and medical interventions.
ABC NEWS LIVE: Joining us now for more is associate director for peace and security at Oxfam, Scott Paul. Scott, thanks for taking the time. Let’s dive right into this. Today, you called the killing of the World Central Kitchen workers systematic. What have you seen that’s led you to that?
SCOTT PAUL: What’s happened this week is tragic, but it is not anomalous. I think it’s a collective failure on all of our part that the outrage we have mustered for the seven people working for World Central Kitchen who are killed this week, we haven’t managed to muster for the more than 200 aid workers who were killed over the past six months.
I say it’s systematic because it’s part of an ongoing pattern. We know what the problems are. We know what the solutions are, and nothing is changing. And if we expect anything to change without a marked shift in policy on the part of the Israeli authorities, we should be prepared to be disappointed.
ABC NEWS LIVE: Well, let’s dig into that a little bit. The UN spokesperson says that they see a blatant disregard for international humanitarian law in Gaza. Do you think this amounts to war crimes?
PAUL: We’ve seen war crimes on the part of the Israeli authorities and, of course, on the part of Hamas going back to October the 7th. But yes, this is a particular kind of attack that we’ve seen, carried out on, if not daily, then certainly weekly basis. This is why now Gaza is the most deadly place for aid workers, not just now, but it’s the most deadly conflict that we have recorded for quite some time.
And the reason is because it appears to be a free-fire zone. There are processes that aid workers typically set up with militaries to make sure that the militaries know where aid workers are, to make sure they know that they’ll be safe. Those processes have failed. But let’s also remember that those processes are meant to be a last resort, a failsafe. The first resort is that militaries need to understand where the military targets are and only fire on those military targets.
ABC NEWS LIVE: Yeah. And when we get statistics like this that children are surviving trying to eat grass, 245 calories a day, now, in light of this, this latest attack, less aid will get in. You know, I hear what you’re saying, and I hear what everybody, you know, the world doesn’t want this to happen. But now what has to happen right now in Gaza for all of this to stop?
PAUL: There needs to be a ceasefire. Full stop. There is no alternative to a ceasefire. And the reason is because aid workers cannot safely provide for the basic needs of 2.2 million people in Gaza. While this level of hostilities continues. I should add, by the way, it’s not just humanitarian assistance that needs to flood the zone. It’s commercial activity, it’s basic services that have been cut off since October 8th because humanitarian assistance is never by itself going to meet the needs of 2.2 million people.
But, as a starting point, there needs to be. And this isn’t just an expression of our values and hope that people are safe, because we do hope the people are safe, but it’s simply not going to be possible to scale up, to manage what is likely already a famine in the north, and prevent what is likely to even, will be a larger famine in the middle and southern parts of Gaza. That we’re on track for at the moment.
ABC NEWS LIVE: And Chef [Jose] Andres has said that he was in contact with the IDF, and all of their movements were being relayed to the IDF. In lieu of a ceasefire, which, you know, people are trying to get their heads around right now. What actually has to happen to protect the aid workers who are still bringing that crucial humanitarian assistance to the people there in Gaza?
PAUL: Well, there is no in lieu of a ceasefire. I’ll accept the premise just for a moment to say, there is more that can be done to protect aid workers. For a start, the basic rules of engagement that the Israeli military is following has to change.
There can’t be an assumption that when you don’t, when you don’t know why someone is moving around, that they’re targetable or they’re considered military. It can’t just be left up to the process by which we transmit our coordinates to protect people, because even if we do that, it still means that the vast majority of Palestinians who are civilians, who are not combatants, who are not fighting against Israel, will still be vulnerable.
You need to flood the zone not just with food, but with malnutrition interventions, medical interventions. And that is not possible so long as this level of violence is present and so long as this level of obstruction is present.
ABC NEWS LIVE: Yeah. So people have to realize past the point of just food. There’s so much other aid that needs to get in there. Scott Paul, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us. Appreciate it.
(NEW YORK) — Since the outbreak of the Israeli-Gaza conflict, the United Nations agency representing Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has provided aid to Gazan civilians facing dire humanitarian conditions.
But the agency’s future is now in jeopardy after several nations, including the United States, suspended funding after the Israeli government published evidence allegedly showing that 16 UNRWA members were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack.
Despite calls for the group to be dissolved, UNRWA officials and humanitarian groups have pleaded for help, contending that aid for the Palestinians caught in the crossfire is needed now more than ever as the humanitarian crisis deepens.
“People’s lives are on the line because they would have no other alternative,” Adam Bouloukos, a UNRWA director, told ABC News.
UNRWA has been in operation since 1949 and has provided education, health care and other basic services in Gaza, the West Bank, and parts of Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
Since the Israeli-Hamas war began, agency leaders said they have been working around the clock to provide aid and shelter to the growing number of Gazan refugees.
“The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is like nothing we in the UN have seen,” Bouloukos said.
However, UNRWA’s integrity and future have been on the line since January after Israel Defense Forces initially accused 12 UNRWA employees of being directly involved with the Oct. 7 attacks.
Israeli officials say they now have evidence implicating four more UNRWA workers.
A dossier released by the IDF alleged six UNRWA staff members crossed into Israel on that day and four UNRWA workers were involved in the taking of hostages.UNRWA terminated the accused employees after the allegations were made public and an independent investigation by the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight is ongoing.
Israeli officials have released some evidence of the alleged terrorism by the accused members, including a video allegedly showing an UNRWA employee helping to move Oct. 7 victim Jonathan Samerano’s lifeless body into the trunk of an UNRWA vehicle before it was driven into Gaza.
UNRWA said it has no way of verifying the video and has urged Israeli officials to hand over all evidence to investigators.
Ayelet Samerano, Jonathan’s mother, told ABC News she is outraged that someone working for a UN body could be implicated in the murder and abduction of her son.
“It’s unbelievable. That’s a worldwide organization that should take care of people and should take care the human rights … and now it’s the opposite,” she said.
The U.S. and several Western allies paused funding to the agency following the Israeli report in January.
However, Israel’s accusations of ties between UNRWA and Hamas go beyond the October 7 allegations against a number of individuals.
The IDF has published several videos saying they show UNRWA food supplies were found in Hamas tunnels. In one video, they claim Hamas weaponry was stored in UNRWA sacks.
The IDF alleged Hamas tunnels ran underneath UNRWA properties, including the agency’s headquarters in Gaza.
UNRWA said it moved out of its Gaza headquarters weeks before those deep underground tunnels were discovered, and empty UNRWA sacks are often recycled and used in Gaza to store other goods.
In several statements, UNRWA has rejected any suggestion that it’s been aiding Hamas and accused Israel of attempting to demonize the agency.
The accusations against the agency have sparked protests from Israelis who have been blocking the route for aid trucks into Gaza.
Israeli officials have also publicly called for the group to be dissolved.
Despite the financial cuts and the opposition, UNRWA has continued to provide its services in Gaza, with many other humanitarian groups backing it.
“You know that many NGOs use UNRWA’s facilities to store their aid. They rely on UNRWA to deliver the aid that they procure,” Dr. Thaer Ahmad, of the American-based NGO MedGlobal, said in a statement.
Ahmad also refuted the allegations that the agency is helping Hamas.
“If you want to say that there have been allegations made against individual employees, I think that’s something that needs to be looked into. That’s very serious. But if you’re talking about the institution itself, I don’t think that anybody that has any sort of knowledge about what they do and how long they’ve existed for would make a similar accusation,” he said.
He and others noted that UNRWA has suffered major losses during the conflict.
More than 170 UNRWA workers have been killed since the war began, with one being killed by an Israeli air strike on a food distribution center last month, according to the agency.
The agency said dozens of its schools and its Gaza headquarters have been struck by the Israeli military.
Canada and the European Union have recently resumed funding to UNRWA and the agency has agreed to allow EU officials to help screen employees for possible extremist links.
However Congress has voted to block U.S. funding for at least a year, meaning UNRWA’s entire operation is in peril.
“They provide something like 30 to 40% of our funding,” Bouloukos said of the U.S. “It looks like we have funding through the end of April, and that’s very, very tight.”
Humanitarian groups have warned of a full-scale famine in Gaza if nothing is done.
Ahmad stressed that it would be impossible to replace UNRWA if it were dissolved.
“No one, not even if all of the NGOs combined came together, would be able to replicate what they’re doing on the ground,” he said.
(NEW YORK) — An Israeli attack in Gaza on a convoy of aid workers from World Central Kitchen, the relief organization providing desperately needed food to Palestinians, has generated outrage from the group’s founder, celebrity chef José Andrés and condemnation from around the world.
Israel has apologized for the strikes, which killed seven members of the group late Monday, saying it was an accident in “the fog of war.” They have promised a thorough investigation of the incident, which Andrés said was deliberate.
Nearly six months after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, the Israeli military continues its bombardment of the neighboring Gaza Strip. About 1,200 people were killed in the initial terrorist attack, according to Israeli officials, while Israel’s bombing of Gaza has killed more than 32,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Apr 05, 7:09 AM IDF says there were 3 strikes on WCK convoy, misidentified worker as Hamas gunman: ‘Misjudgment’
Israel Defense Forces released a statement Friday about the deadly airstrike in Gaza that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers on April 1.
The IDF said it misidentified a WCK worker in the convoy as a Hamas gunman.
“After the vehicles left the warehouse where the aid had been unloaded, one of the commanders mistakenly assumed that the gunmen were located inside the accompanying vehicles and that these were Hamas terrorists. The forces did not identify the vehicles in question as being associated with WCK,” the IDF said in a statement Friday.
“Following a misidentification by the forces, the forces targeted the three WCK vehicles based on the misclassification of the event and misidentification of the vehicles as having Hamas operatives inside them, with the resulting strike leading to the deaths of seven innocent humanitarian aid workers,” the statement continued.
The report said there were three strikes on the convoy. It also said WCK workers hit in the first vehicle were hit again while moving to another vehicle in the convoy.
“The investigation’s findings indicate that the incident should not have occurred. Those who approved the strike were convinced that they were targeting armed Hamas operatives and not WCK employees,” the IDF said. “The strike on the aid vehicles is a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification, errors in decision-making, and an attack contrary to the Standard Operating Procedures.”
It said WCK correctly coordinated its movements with the IDF prior to the night the workers were killed and that there was a “comprehensive plan” in place for the WCK movement on April 1.
Apr 05, 5:16 AM ‘The real test is results’: Blinken reacts to Israel border crossing announcements
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked about the announcement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office’s announcement overnight that additional crossings into Gaza would be opened up for aid to enter.
He said the U.S. “welcomed” the development but that “the real test is results, and that’s what we’re looking to see in the coming days, the coming weeks.”
“Is the aid effectively reaching the people who need it throughout Gaza?” he said. “Do we have a much better system for deconfliction and coordination so that the humanitarian workers, the folks who are delivering the aid, can do it safely and securely? All of these things are critical.”
Blinken said these aims would be measured by clear metrics “like the number of trucks that are actually getting in on a sustained basis,” and the aid making it to those in need through the enclave — “including critically northern Gaza.”
He said the administration would be closely watching to see if other measurements were reversed, including “the fact that almost 100% of the population is acutely food insecure” as well as indicators of potential famine.
“So really, the proof is in the results,” he said.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Apr 04, 10:18 PM Partner of killed aid worker calls for answers: ‘We need the truth of what happened’
The partner of one of the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza this week is pleading for answers into the deadly attack.
“We need some answers,” Sandy Leclerc, the partner of Jacob Flickinger, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen, told ABC News on Thursday, in her first television interview since the attack. “We need the truth of what happened because this situation is so unclear.”
“Please Mr. Biden, give us the truth of what happened,” she asked of President Joe Biden as she spoke with ABC News correspondent Phil Lipof.
Apr 04, 6:17 PM Israel to open another border crossing point after Biden-Netanyahu call: Official
Israel has decided to open another border crossing point — the Erez checkpoint — to allow humanitarian aid to cross into Gaza, according to an Israeli official.
The decision comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden spoke by phone earlier Thursday.
“This increased aid will prevent a humanitarian crisis and is necessary to ensure the continuation of the fighting and to achieve the goals of the war,” the official said in a statement. “In light of this, Israel will allow the temporary delivery of humanitarian aid through Ashdod (port) and the Erez checkpoint and will increase the Jordanian aid coming in through Kerem Shalom.”
The U.S. military’s emergency pier system to get humanitarian aid into Gaza is still en route, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Thursday.
Ryder said that USAID continues to work with organizations to finalize a distribution plan for the aid once it’s transferred by the system — known as JLOTS — to shore. He also acknowledged that the deadly Israeli strike that killed seven humanitarian aid workers this week “certainly doesn’t make that job easier.”
He added that it “has not deterred us from continuing to work with groups and NGOs to come up with solutions.”
Ryder confirmed that Israel has committed to providing security on shore for the pier and port system.
“I know Israel’s investigating in terms of the strike on World Central Kitchen and we trust that Israel will provide the security that we need on the shore,” he said.
Ryder said the system is expected to be operational by the end of April or early May.
“We’re not changing the mission. We’ve been tasked to provide a temporary pier. Everything is on track on schedule at this point,” he said.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Apr 04, 5:17 PM Child in Gaza ate grass to survive, UNICEF spokesperson says
A UNICEF spokesperson on the ground in Gaza told ABC News Live she is “shocked” by the conditions she has seen in hospitals, including malnourished children.
The spokesperson, Tess Ingram, said she recently visited Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza and met a 7-year-old boy who was “eating grass.”
“He was so sick and in so much pain,” Ingram told ABC’s Terry Moran Thursday. “Thankfully, the doctors there think he will make a full recovery, but he is one of hundreds of children they said that they’re treating for malnutrition at the moment.”
“This has to be unacceptable, particularly when the aid is just a few kilometers away, as is the nutrition treatments that we have that can save children’s lives,” she added.
Asked how to protect those providing humanitarian resources in Gaza, following the Israeli airstrike on an aid convoy that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers earlier this week, Ingram said “it’s called international humanitarian law.”
“That is what we are calling on the parties to the conflict to respect,” she said.
-ABC News’ Luis Rodriguez, Isabella Meneses, Kiara Brantley-Jones and Robinson Perez
Apr 04, 4:15 PM World Central Kitchen attack is part of pattern, NGOs operating in Gaza say
Officials from humanitarian organizations operating in the Gaza Strip stressed to reporters Thursday that they believe the Israeli airstrikes that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers on Monday is part of a pattern.
They said other humanitarian workers were targeted and killed before, including doctors, nurses and journalists, but they were Palestinians.
“The condemnation for the World Central Kitchen incident is right and just, but where is it for every other humanitarian worker, for every other hospital that is destroyed, for every attempt to manipulate the media?” said Christopher Lockyear, secretary general of Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières. “What happened to [World Central Kitchen] is part of a pattern. … This is about impunity and total disregard of rules of war.”
Asked if the World Central Kitchen attack will significantly decrease humanitarian work in Gaza, Lockyear responded, “We remain present in Gaza, but we are assessing the risks on a daily basis.”
-ABC News’ Camilla Alcini and Ellie Kaufman
Apr 04, 4:11 PM US warns of policy changes if Israel doesn’t take action to better protect civilians
President Joe Biden spoke Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, their first conversation since seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
Biden had strongly condemned the incident, which Israel’s said was unintentional, saying he was “outraged.”
Biden further expressed to Netanyahu that the strikes on the food relief workers and the overall humanitarian crisis in Gaza are “unacceptable,” according to a White House readout of the call.
For the first time, the White House hinted the president may consider a change in U.S. policy with respect to Gaza if Israel doesn’t take action to better protect civilians and aid workers.
“He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers,” the readout read. “He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.”
(NEW YORK) — An Israeli attack in Gaza on a convoy of aid workers from World Central Kitchen, the relief organization providing desperately needed food to Palestinians, has generated outrage from the group’s founder, celebrity chef José Andrés and condemnation from around the world.
Israel has apologized for the strikes, which killed seven members of the group late Monday, saying it was an accident in “the fog of war.” They have promised a thorough investigation of the incident, which Andrés said was deliberate.
Nearly six months after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, the Israeli military continues its bombardment of the neighboring Gaza Strip. About 1,200 people were killed in the initial terrorist attack, according to Israeli officials, while Israel’s bombing of Gaza has killed more than 32,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 05, 5:16 AM ‘The real test is results’: Blinken reacts to Israel border crossing announcements
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked about the announcement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office’s announcement overnight that additional crossings into Gaza would be opened up for aid to enter.
He said the U.S. “welcomed” the development but that “the real test is results, and that’s what we’re looking to see in the coming days, the coming weeks.”
“Is the aid effectively reaching the people who need it throughout Gaza?” he said. “Do we have a much better system for deconfliction and coordination so that the humanitarian workers, the folks who are delivering the aid, can do it safely and securely? All of these things are critical.”
Blinken said these aims would be measured by clear metrics “like the number of trucks that are actually getting in on a sustained basis,” and the aid making it to those in need through the enclave — “including critically northern Gaza.”
He said the administration would be closely watching to see if other measurements were reversed, including “the fact that almost 100% of the population is acutely food insecure” as well as indicators of potential famine.
“So really, the proof is in the results,” he said.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Apr 04, 10:18 PM Partner of killed aid worker calls for answers: ‘We need the truth of what happened’
The partner of one of the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza this week is pleading for answers into the deadly attack.
“We need some answers,” Sandy Leclerc, the partner of Jacob Flickinger, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen, told ABC News on Thursday, in her first television interview since the attack. “We need the truth of what happened because this situation is so unclear.”
“Please Mr. Biden, give us the truth of what happened,” she asked of President Joe Biden as she spoke with ABC News correspondent Phil Lipof.
Apr 04, 6:17 PM Israel to open another border crossing point after Biden-Netanyahu call: Official
Israel has decided to open another border crossing point — the Erez checkpoint — to allow humanitarian aid to cross into Gaza, according to an Israeli official.
The decision comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden spoke by phone earlier Thursday.
“This increased aid will prevent a humanitarian crisis and is necessary to ensure the continuation of the fighting and to achieve the goals of the war,” the official said in a statement. “In light of this, Israel will allow the temporary delivery of humanitarian aid through Ashdod (port) and the Erez checkpoint and will increase the Jordanian aid coming in through Kerem Shalom.”
The U.S. military’s emergency pier system to get humanitarian aid into Gaza is still en route, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Thursday.
Ryder said that USAID continues to work with organizations to finalize a distribution plan for the aid once it’s transferred by the system — known as JLOTS — to shore. He also acknowledged that the deadly Israeli strike that killed seven humanitarian aid workers this week “certainly doesn’t make that job easier.”
He added that it “has not deterred us from continuing to work with groups and NGOs to come up with solutions.”
Ryder confirmed that Israel has committed to providing security on shore for the pier and port system.
“I know Israel’s investigating in terms of the strike on World Central Kitchen and we trust that Israel will provide the security that we need on the shore,” he said.
Ryder said the system is expected to be operational by the end of April or early May.
“We’re not changing the mission. We’ve been tasked to provide a temporary pier. Everything is on track on schedule at this point,” he said.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Apr 04, 5:17 PM Child in Gaza ate grass to survive, UNICEF spokesperson says
A UNICEF spokesperson on the ground in Gaza told ABC News Live she is “shocked” by the conditions she has seen in hospitals, including malnourished children.
The spokesperson, Tess Ingram, said she recently visited Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza and met a 7-year-old boy who was “eating grass.”
“He was so sick and in so much pain,” Ingram told ABC’s Terry Moran Thursday. “Thankfully, the doctors there think he will make a full recovery, but he is one of hundreds of children they said that they’re treating for malnutrition at the moment.”
“This has to be unacceptable, particularly when the aid is just a few kilometers away, as is the nutrition treatments that we have that can save children’s lives,” she added.
Asked how to protect those providing humanitarian resources in Gaza, following the Israeli airstrike on an aid convoy that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers earlier this week, Ingram said “it’s called international humanitarian law.”
“That is what we are calling on the parties to the conflict to respect,” she said.
-ABC News’ Luis Rodriguez, Isabella Meneses, Kiara Brantley-Jones and Robinson Perez
Apr 04, 4:15 PM World Central Kitchen attack is part of pattern, NGOs operating in Gaza say
Officials from humanitarian organizations operating in the Gaza Strip stressed to reporters Thursday that they believe the Israeli airstrikes that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers on Monday is part of a pattern.
They said other humanitarian workers were targeted and killed before, including doctors, nurses and journalists, but they were Palestinians.
“The condemnation for the World Central Kitchen incident is right and just, but where is it for every other humanitarian worker, for every other hospital that is destroyed, for every attempt to manipulate the media?” said Christopher Lockyear, secretary general of Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières. “What happened to [World Central Kitchen] is part of a pattern. … This is about impunity and total disregard of rules of war.”
Asked if the World Central Kitchen attack will significantly decrease humanitarian work in Gaza, Lockyear responded, “We remain present in Gaza, but we are assessing the risks on a daily basis.”
-ABC News’ Camilla Alcini and Ellie Kaufman
Apr 04, 4:11 PM US warns of policy changes if Israel doesn’t take action to better protect civilians
President Joe Biden spoke Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, their first conversation since seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
Biden had strongly condemned the incident, which Israel’s said was unintentional, saying he was “outraged.”
Biden further expressed to Netanyahu that the strikes on the food relief workers and the overall humanitarian crisis in Gaza are “unacceptable,” according to a White House readout of the call.
For the first time, the White House hinted the president may consider a change in U.S. policy with respect to Gaza if Israel doesn’t take action to better protect civilians and aid workers.
“He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers,” the readout read. “He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.”
(TEL-AVIV, Israel) — An Israeli attack in Gaza on a convoy of aid workers from World Central Kitchen, the relief organization providing desperately needed food to Palestinians, has generated outrage from the group’s founder, celebrity chef José Andrés and condemnation from around the world.
Israel has apologized for the strikes, which killed seven members of the group late Monday, saying it was an accident in “the fog of war.” They have promised a thorough investigation of the incident, which Andrés said was deliberate.
Nearly six months after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, the Israeli military continues its bombardment of the neighboring Gaza Strip. About 1,200 people were killed in the initial terrorist attack, according to Israeli officials, while Israel’s bombing of Gaza has killed more than 32,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Apr 04, 4:15 PM World Central Kitchen attack is part of pattern, NGOs operating in Gaza say
Officials from humanitarian organizations operating in the Gaza Strip stressed to reporters Thursday that they believe the Israeli airstrikes that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers on Monday is part of a pattern.
They said other humanitarian workers were targeted and killed before, including doctors, nurses and journalists, but they were Palestinians.
“The condemnation for the World Central Kitchen incident is right and just, but where is it for every other humanitarian worker, for every other hospital that is destroyed, for every attempt to manipulate the media?” said Christopher Lockyear, secretary general of Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières. “What happened to [World Central Kitchen] is part of a pattern. … This is about impunity and total disregard of rules of war.”
Asked if the World Central Kitchen attack will significantly decrease humanitarian work in Gaza, Lockyear responded, “We remain present in Gaza, but we are assessing the risks on a daily basis.”
-ABC News’ Camilla Alcini and Ellie Kaufman
Apr 04, 4:11 PM US warns of policy changes if Israel doesn’t take action to better protect civilians
President Joe Biden spoke Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, their first conversation since seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
Biden had strongly condemned the incident, which Israel’s said was unintentional, saying he was “outraged.”
Biden further expressed to Netanyahu that the strikes on the food relief workers and the overall humanitarian crisis in Gaza are “unacceptable,” according to a White House readout of the call.
For the first time, the White House hinted the president may consider a change in U.S. policy with respect to Gaza if Israel doesn’t take action to better protect civilians and aid workers.
“He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers,” the readout read. “He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.”
A landslide blocks a road near Taroko national park following an earthquake in Hualien, Taiwan, on Thursday, April 4, 2024. (An Rong Xu/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The death toll from Wednesday’s powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan climbed to 10 people on Thursday, with hundreds more stranded or trapped, Taiwanese officials said.
At least 11 people were missing and some 705 people were in need of rescue, authorities said.
A total of 688 people, up from the previous tally of 611, were stranded near the Silks Palace Hotel and Tien Hsiang Youth Activity Center, officials said in a Thursday night local time update. The rescue team, which had set up a post there, will provide necessary aid in case of emergencies and find ways to get them out.
Ten Silks Palace Hotel employees were still stranded at the Jiuqu Cave area, but that total was down from 30 employees and 24 tourists earlier Thursday.
Six students at Tung Hua University also remained stranded, officials said.
The 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit just before 8 a.m. Wednesday, with an epicenter near Hualien, a city on the eastern coast. More than 100 aftershocks, including one with a preliminary magnitude of 6.5, also near Hualien, have struck the island, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Search and rescue personnel had reached some of those stranded at the Silks Palace Hotel early Thursday, including one who appeared to have broken legs, Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang said in a social media post.
Aerial cameras spotted others in a minibus on Taiwan Highway 8, a route that cuts through the area.
“Now, we are also asking the Meteorological Agency to make the latest weather forecast to see if the weather allows the aircrew to carry relevant personnel and supplies into the Tianxiang area,” Lin said. “As long as the weather allows, we will take every minute to rescue the people trapped and in need of rescue.”
A landslide blocks a road near Taroko national park following an earthquake in Hualien, Taiwan, on Thursday, April 4, 2024. (An Rong Xu/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The death toll from Wednesday’s powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake in Taiwan climbed on Thursday to 10 people, with dozens more missing, Taiwanese officials said.
At least 38 people were missing and some 660 people were trapped by rubble, authorities said in a 4:30 p.m. update.
The list of people who were trapped included 611 who were found on Thursday to be stranded in the mountainous area near the Silks Place Taroko hotel and Tien Hsiang Youth Activity Center.
A rescue helicopter had landed nearby, officials said.
Search-and-rescue personnel have reached seven of those missing at the hotel, including one who appeared to have broken legs, Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang said in a social media post.
Aerial cameras spotted others in a minibus on Taiwan Highway 8, a route that cuts through the area.
“Now, we are also asking the Meteorological Agency to make the latest weather forecast to see if the weather allows the aircrew to carry relevant personnel and supplies into the Tianxiang area,” Lin said. “As long as the weather allows, we will take every minute to rescue the people trapped and in need of rescue.”
Palestinians check a damaged vehicle after Israeli strikes in central Gaza Strip city of Deir el-Balah, on April 2, 2024. (Yasser Qudih/Xinhua via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — The foreign-aid organization World Central Kitchen called on Thursday for an independent and international investigation into the killing of seven of its workers in an Israel airstrike in Gaza.
“An independent investigation is the only way to determine the truth of what happened, ensure transparency and accountability for those responsible, and prevent future attacks on humanitarian aid workers,” the organization said in a statement.
The seven aid workers were killed Monday night when their three-vehicle convoy, including two armored cars, was struck after leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse in central Gaza, where the aid workers had helped unload more than 100 tons of humanitarian aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route, according to the statement from WCK, a humanitarian organization dedicated to delivering food aid.
The organization, which was founded by chef Jose Andres, described the airstrike that killed the workers as a “military attack that involved multiple strikes and targeted three WCK vehicles.”
“All three vehicles were carrying civilians; they were marked as WCK vehicles; and their movements were in full compliance with Israeli authorities, who were aware of their itinerary, route, and humanitarian mission,” the non-governmental organization said Thursday.
WCK said it had asked the U.S., Australian, Canadian and Polish governments to “join us in demanding an independent, third-party investigation into these attacks, including whether they were carried out intentionally or otherwise violated international law.”
A senior adviser for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said claims that the Israeli strike was intentional were “absurd.”
“The last thing we would want in the world is to endanger civilian lives,” Ophir Falk, the adviser, told ABC News on Wednesday.
WCK said Thursday that it had asked Israel to preserve all material — including documents and communications — that may be relevant to the strike.
