(NEW YORK) — Thousands of people have died and thousands more have been injured since the militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel retaliated with a bombing campaign and total siege of the neighboring Gaza Strip, leaving the region on the verge of all-out war.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Oct 25, 2:35 PM EDT
Biden says Israel has right to defend itself while urging country to follow ‘laws of war’
President Joe Biden on Wednesday emphasized U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself, while also urging the country to do “everything in its power” to protect innocent people in Gaza.
“We will ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself,” Biden said during a press conference at the White House with Australia’s prime minister.
Biden said Hamas is using Palestinian civilians as human shields, putting an “added burden on Israel while they go after Hamas,” but Israel should still do everything it can to follow the “laws of war.”
“Israel has to do everything in its power, as difficult as it is, to protect innocent civilians,” he said.
Biden also said the flow of aid to Gaza needs to increase and that he was working “around the clock” to secure the release of hostages.
He reiterated his support for a two-state solution, saying that the status quo will never return after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
“I’m convinced one of the reasons Hamas attacked when they did — I have no proof of this, my instinct tells me — is because of the progress we were making toward regional integration for Israel and regional integration overall. And we can’t leave that work behind,” Biden said, repeating a claim he’s made before about his efforts to broker a broader deal between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia that would lead to Saudi Arabia recognizing Israel.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Oct 25, 2:23 PM EDT
Israel readying for ground operation, won’t reveal date: Netanyahu
Israeli forces are getting ready for the ground operation into Gaza, but will not tell anyone when it will be, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday.
When soldiers enter Gaza, they’ll “exact the full price from these murderers,” Netanyahu said in Hebrew.
“I once again call on the uninvolved population in Gaza to evacuate to the southern strip,” he said.
Netanyahu also said Israel will “do everything possible to bring hostages home.”
“We are gathering the support of world leaders,” he added. “Our fight against Hamas is also their fight.”
Oct 25, 12:52 PM EDT
Gaza shelters 4 times over their capacities: UNRWA
Shelters in Gaza are four times over their capacities, forcing many people to sleep in the streets, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Nearly 600,000 displaced Gaza residents are sheltering at 150 UNRWA facilities, the agency said.
Oct 25, 12:41 PM EDT
Tuesday marks deadliest day in Gaza since conflict began
Tuesday marked the deadliest day in Gaza since the Hamas-Israel conflict began on Oct. 7, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
At least 700 people died on Tuesday, OCHA said.
Over 6,500 people have died in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
Oct 25, 11:40 AM EDT
Gaza to run out of fuel Wednesday night: UNRWA
Gaza is set to run out of fuel Wednesday night, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
“If we do not get fuel urgently, we will be forced to halt our operations in the Gaza Strip” Wednesday night, UNRWA said.
Oct 25, 11:29 AM EDT
UN secretary-general responds to Israeli ambassador’s criticism
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is responding to the Israeli ambassador’s call for him to resign, saying it’s false to accuse him of “justifying” Hamas’ attacks.
At the U.N. Security Council meeting on Tuesday, Guterres asserted that “the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” sparking immediate backlash from Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Gilad Erdan.
“The Secretary-General is completely disconnected from the reality in our region and that he views the massacre committed by Nazi Hamas terrorists in a distorted and immoral manner,” Erdan said. “His statement that, ‘The attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,’ expressed an understanding for terrorism and murder.”
Experts breakdown Israel-Hamas conflict
“It’s truly sad that the head of an organization that arose after the Holocaust holds such horrible views,” Erdan said.
Guterres said at the U.N. Wednesday, “I am shocked by the misinterpretations by some of my statement yesterday in the Security Council, as if I was justifying acts of terror by Hamas. This is false. It was the opposite. In the beginning of my intervention yesterday, I clearly stated — and I quote: ‘I have condemned unequivocally the horrifying and unprecedented 7 October acts of terror by Hamas in Israel. Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians, or the launching of rockets against civilian targets.'”
“Indeed, I spoke of the grievances of the Palestinian people,” Guterres continued. “And in doing so, I also clearly stated, and I quote: ‘But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas.'”
Oct 25, 11:10 AM EDT
Gaza hospital ‘will turn into a big morgue,’ doctor warns
In Gaza, where the “health system is collapsing,” doctors “cannot offer much” to their hundreds of severely wounded patients, Dr. Mohammed Ghandil from Gaza’s Nasser Hospital told ABC News.
“The hospital door is open, but the health care is not provided,” Ghandil said.
“We are just giving some peaceful words for them to die,” he said.
The World Health Organization said Tuesday that one-third of hospitals in Gaza and two-thirds of clinics were not functioning.
More than 17,000 people in Gaza have been wounded since Oct. 7.
“Even the medical patient [who] was not wounded, who came with heart attack, with stroke, with sepsis, we’re just sending them home because there is no bed in the hospital,” he said. “The hospital corridors, the hospital backyards, the hospital balcony are fully, fully packed with the severely wounded.”
Gaza is set to run out of fuel Wednesday night, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
“If the fuel is zero,” Ghandil said, “the doctors and the nurses will go home and the hospital will turn to a big morgue.”
ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
Oct 25, 10:31 AM EDT
‘Some progress’ in hostage negations, Qatar says
“Some progress” has been made as Qatar continues its hostage negotiations with Hamas, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said at a news conference.
“If we compare where we started and where we are right now, there is some progress and some breakthrough and we will remain hopeful,” he said. “The negotiations are still ongoing and at any moment of time, I think that if we will be able to get along between the two parties, I think we will see some breakthroughs hopefully soon.”
Israel reported that 222 hostages were taken by Hamas. Four hostages have been released in the last week: two American women and two Israeli women.
Oct 25, 10:01 AM EDT
UN meeting Thursday to debate Israel-Hamas war
The United Nations General Assembly will be called back into an emergency special session in New York on Thursday morning to debate the Israel-Hamas war.
The general assembly could vote on moves, including a humanitarian pause in Gaza and the establishment of an international protective presence in Gaza.
Oct 25, 5:35 AM EDT
IDF says it targeted Hamas, Hezbollah, Syrian military in ‘wide-scale strikes’
The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday morning that it has carried out “wide-scale strikes” in the neighboring Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours.
The Israeli airstrikes hit Hamas infrastructure, including tunnels, military headquarters and weapons warehouses, as well as “several terrorists,” including a Hamas commander, according to the IDF.
The IDF said it also killed five Hezbollah militants in neighboring Lebanon who tried to launch missiles and rockets against Israeli forces in the last day.
Two rockets were fired into Israel from neighboring Syria and the IDF said it responded by attacking infrastructure and positions of the Syrian military.
Oct 24, 7:28 PM EDT
US intelligence assess ‘with high confidence’ that Israel was not responsible for Gaza hospital explosion
An official with the U.S. Office of the Director of Intelligence told reporters Tuesday that the office has updated its assessment of last week’s explosion of al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, which killed hundreds, and stated “with high confidence that Israel was not responsible for the explosion.”
The official added, “We assess with low confidence that Palestine Islamic Jihad, PIJ, was responsible for launching the rocket that landed on the hospital,” the official added, noting that they suspect based on their analysis that the rocket responsible likely suffered a “catastrophic motor failure.”
The intelligence official said they were drawing on “intelligence, missile activity, open-source video and images of the incident,” including an examination of the blast effects.
“If an Israeli munition was responsible for this blast, we would expect that Palestinian militants would be very directly and clearly showing what they thought was an Israeli munition,” the official said. “We’ve looked at all of the images and in none of them do we assess that there are remnants, Israeli munitions.”
Oct 24, 5:45 PM EDT
US engaging in ongoing talks to release a number of hostages: Source
Talks are ongoing between the U.S. and regional partners, including Israel, Egypt, and Qatar to secure the release of a large number of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, a source with knowledge told ABC News.
The U.S. is still advising for a delay to have more time for the hostages to be released and for aid to get out, but does not want to appear to be dictating what to do to the Israelis, according to the source.
-ABC News’ Selina Wang
Oct 24, 4:12 PM EDT
Blinken updates number of Americans killed
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that 33 Americans were confirmed dead after the Hamas terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Oct 24, 3:39 PM EDT
How the ‘law of war’ could apply to an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza
With Israel appearing to be on the cusp of a ground invasion into Gaza, President Joe Biden and other world leaders this week said the Jewish state has the right to defend itself against the recent brutal attacks by Hamas.
At the same time, they warned, Israel must abide by the “law of war” in protecting innocent Palestinians living in Gaza.
But with the prospect of hundreds, if not thousands more Palestinian civilians killed, can Israel do both? And could either Israel or Hamas be prosecuted for war crimes?
Click here to read what you need to know about international humanitarian laws and how they apply in the Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty
Oct 24, 3:28 PM EDT
Kirby: Israel needs to ‘consider possibility of humanitarian pause’
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday a “ceasefire right now really only benefits Hamas.”
When asked if the U.S. has set or discussed any red lines with the Israelis, he said simply, “No.”
But when pressed to elaborate on Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s comments that “humanitarian pauses must be considered,” he said, “pauses in operation is a tool and a tactic” that can protect civilians for temporary periods of time.
Later when asked, Kirby said Blinken talked about the need to “consider the possibility of a humanitarian pause, to allow aid to get in — and get in unfettered — and to allow for the safe movement of people out.”
-ABC News’ Selina Wang
Oct 24, 2:12 PM EDT
Gaza to run out of fuel Wednesday night: UNRWA
Gaza is set to run out of fuel Wednesday night, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
“If we do not get fuel urgently, we will be forced to halt our operations in the Gaza Strip as of tomorrow night,” the agency said.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan said, “We know for sure that there’s plenty of fuel in Gaza. Hamas has stored fuel in advance, and is stealing fuel from both civilians and the U.N. to power its war machine against Israel.”
Oct 24, 1:45 PM EDT
20 more aid trucks cross Rafah: Egyptian officials
Twenty more aid trucks crossed the Egypt-Gaza Rafah border on Tuesday and are now headed to the Israel-Egypt Nitzana Border Crossing for inspection, according to Egyptian officials.
It is not clear if the trucks have reached Gaza yet, where humanitarian conditions are worsening by the day, but these new trucks will bring the total to 74 aid trucks crossing through over the last four days.
The Rafah border crossing was shut on Oct. 10 after it was hit by Israeli warplanes on the Palestinian side three times on Oct. 9 and 10.
The crossing has briefly opened each day since Saturday, permitting a small amount of aid to enter Gaza.
Asked by a reporter if humanitarian aid is getting to Gaza fast enough, President Joe Biden said Tuesday, “Not fast enough.”
Oct 24, 1:26 PM EDT
Israeli, Palestinian Authority foreign ministers speak out at UN Security Council meeting
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and the Palestinian Authority’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad al-Maliki, gave long, impassioned speeches at the United Nations Security Council meeting about the suffering their people are experiencing.
Cohen began by holding up photographs of the Israeli children kidnapped by Hamas, reading out their names and ages.
“They are just a few the many children and babies that have not seen evil. They have not caused evil. But they are victims of evil,” he said.
Cohen described Hamas as “the new Nazis” and said Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel should serve as “a wakeup call against extremism.”
Al-Maliki purported that Israel’s retaliation had equated to “ongoing massacres being deliberately, systematically, and savagely” perpetrated against Palestinians civilians.
“The Security Council has a duty to stop them,” he said. “It is our collective human duty to stop them now.”
He suggested that Israel’s campaign would ultimately lead to more conflict, saying “more injustice and more killing will not make Israel safer.”
The foreign minister argued that everyone on the council should be united behind one goal.
“We should be on the same side — all of us who believe in justice and peace,” he said. “We should stand shoulder to shoulder in these moments. But that is only possible if everyone recognizes the value of Palestinian life — the need to uphold Palestinian rights.”
ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Oct 24, 1:17 PM EDT
Blinken backs Israel but says ‘humanitarian pauses must be considered’
Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered a forceful defense of Israel’s military actions at the United Nations Security Council, but Blinken said “humanitarian pauses must be considered” to protect civilians in Gaza — the administration’s strongest statement of a support for any type of halt in Israel’s efforts to vanquish Hamas.
“We must affirm the right of any nation to defend itself and to prevent such heart from repeating itself. No member of this council, no nation in this entire body. could or would tolerate the slaughter of its people,” Blinken said.
The secretary said every member of the U.N. has a “responsibility to denounce the member states that arm, fund and train Hamas or any other terrorist group that carries out such horrific acts,” reminding them that many other foreign nationals were also killed and kidnapped in its attacks.”
Blinken then turned to ongoing efforts to protect civilian lives, first emphasizing that Hamas is responsible for putting the innocent in harm’s way, before shifting to Israel’s responsibilities.
“Hamas must cease using them as human shields,” he said. “Israel must take all possible precautions to avoid harm to civilians. It means means food, medicine and water and other assistance must flow into Gaza and to the areas people need them. It means civilians must be able to get out of harm’s way. It means humanitarian pauses must be considered for these purposes.”
Previously, the State Department and other U.S. officials flatly rejected calls for any kind of ceasefir, arguing, as State Department spokesperson Matt Miller did Monday, that it would “give Hamas the ability to rest, to refit and to get ready to continue watching terrorist attacks against Israel.”
In his remarks, Blinken also detailed the administration’s efforts to prevent the conflict from spreading in the Middle East, but emphasized the threat posed by Iran and promised the U.S. would not allow attacks on Americans to go unanswered.
“We do not want this war to widen, but if Iran or its proxies attack U.S. personnel anywhere, make no mistake — we will defend our people, we will defend our security–swiftly and decisively,” he vowed.
ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Oct 24, 11:54 AM EDT
784 slain in Israel identified, Israeli police say
The Israeli police said they’ve identified at least 784 people killed by Hamas.
Police said some bodies were in such bad condition that they have not yet been identified.
At least 1,400 people have died and 4,629 others have been injured in Israel since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, according to Israeli authorities.
Oct 24, 11:35 AM EDT
US sends 3-star Marine general to advise Israel
The Biden administration has sent Lt. Gen. James Glynn, a three-star Marine general who is currently serving as the head of Marine personnel, to Israel to advise the country on its military operations, according to a U.S. official.
The news was first reported by Axios on Monday.
Glynn is “not directing operations” but rather is “purely there to provide military advice and pose hard questions to help [the Israel Defense Forces] think through various scenarios,” the U.S. official told ABC News.
The official said Glynn was in Israel “temporarily” and was not expected to still be there when a ground operation starts.
ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Oct 24, 11:30 AM EDT
Fuel ‘most vital commodity’ in Gaza, WHO says
Fuel is now the “most vital commodity” in Gaza, according to the World Health Organization.
The limited aid trucks trickling into Gaza have not included any fuel, the organization said. Before Oct. 7, hundreds of trucks entered Gaza every day, including about 45 trucks bringing fuel, said Tamara Alrifai, spokesperson for the U.N. agency for Palestine refugees.
Without fuel, “trucks can’t move and generators can’t produce electricity for hospitals, bakeries and water desalination plants,” said Alrifai.
Alrifai said the United Nations Relief and Works Agency would be responsible for delivering the fuel to hospitals and water desalination plants and keeping it out of Hamas’ hands.
The WHO said one in three hospitals in Gaza and two in three clinics are not functioning, with the health system overwhelmed by more than 16,000 injured people.
Dr. Rick Brennan, WHO emergencies director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, said he’s begging “all those in a situation to make a decision or influence decision makers, to give us the humanitarian space to address this human catastrophe.”
Oct 24, 11:03 AM EDT
Underground hospital prepares to treat wounded IDF soldiers
In just two weeks, the space below Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital has been converted into an underground hospital, bracing for an influx of war casualties.
Rows of hospital beds and medical equipment have been set up in what was meant to be used as a parking garage.
“We have up to 130 beds here, including intensive care beds,” Dr. Tamar Elram, director of the Hadassha Mount Scopus Hospital, told ABC News. “Everything that we do here is in total cooperation and agreement with the army and with police and all the other security forces.”
The hospital has also been treating civilian victims, like Michal Alon, who was shot in the hand and chest by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 and is now embarking on the long road to recovery, both physically and emotionally.
Israeli hospital prepares for war casualties
“We’ve already got soldiers and civilians who are turning to our ERs, two and a half weeks after the terror attack, starting to suffer from acute post-traumatic syndrome,” Elram said.
Elram says one of the biggest challenges they’ve faced in preparing for what’s to come includes manpower. Some staffers are leaving the hospital to go serve in the Israeli military.
ABC News’ Guy Davies and Ines De La Cuetara
Oct 24, 9:07 AM EDT
Hostages influencing Israeli military’s operational plans, spokesperson says
Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col Peter Lerner confirmed that hostages are influencing the plans of Israel’s forces.
“Of course the presence of the hostages is at the top of our priority list,” Lerner told ABC News. “It is obviously influencing our operational capabilities, operational plans.”
Lerner said that while the military has been given the “green light” to go into Gaza, they have not officially been given the command to “go” from the government.
Asked if the window for an operation into Gaza will close, Lerner responded, “There is no choice for Israel.”
Learner also said Israeli forces are actively trying to assassinate Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahye Sinwar, but they haven’t found him yet.
As the humanitarians conditions in Gaza become more dire by the day, Lerner said fuel will not be among the aid trickling into Gaza.
“Hamas has over a million liters of fuel in their stockpiles in Gaza — they are actually not far away from Rafah. All they need to do is give some to the hospitals,” he said.
Oct 24, 8:29 AM EDT
Parents describe watching video of Hamas taking son hostage
The father of 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was taken hostage by Hamas at the Supernova music festival, said he has gained some “strength” from seeing a video of his son on the day of the attack.
“No parent should ever be subjected to this sight,” Jon Polin said on ABC News’ Good Morning America on Tuesday.
Polin and Rachel Goldberg’s son was wounded in the Oct. 7 attack. He had been hiding with a group in a bomb shelter and witnesses saw him being loaded into the back of a Hamas pickup truck, his parents told ABC News earlier this month.
Goldberg-Polin’s parents said on Tuesday they have since seen a video in which their son leaves the bomb shelter.
“Knowing he spent an hour to an hour and a half being subjected to this massacre and he then gets up with an arm freshly blown off and walks on his own two feet, under his own strength, towards this truck and uses his weak hand, his only hand now, to pull himself onto the truck while bloodied, but looking sort of composed,” Polin said. “It gives me a sense of, he’s got a perseverance and fortitude that we hope carries him through this.”
Oct 24, 8:25 AM EDT
Gaza hospitals as ‘dire as it can be’
Hospitals in Gaza are “horrific scenes,” filled with killed and injured children and “medical staff working 24/7 with almost nothing in terms of resources and equipment,” said Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra, a spokesman for the Health Ministry in Gaza.
Seventy-percent of the victims are children, women and the elderly, according to the health ministry.
The ministry said 12 hospitals and 32 health centers are out of service, with those numbers expected to rise as airstrikes continue and Gaza runs out of fuel.
“It’s dire as it can be. The scenes inside the hospital are almost indescribable — one of our doctors recently had to do an operation on the floor, in the corridor of the hospital, because there was nowhere to do it. The situation is untenable, absolutely horrific,” al-Qudra said.
Oct 24, 6:52 AM EDT
‘Through hell,’ released Hamas hostage says of days in captivity
After Yocheved Lifschitz, 85, was taken hostage by Hamas militants, she was brought into a “huge network” of underground tunnels, which she described on Tuesday as being “like a spider’s web.”
“I’ve been through hell,” Lifschitz told gathered reporters in the lobby of the Tel Aviv hospital where she’s being treated.
As Lifschitz spoke in Hebrew, her daughter translated her words into English.
The 85-year-old had been taken by motorcycle on Oct. 7, carried away through fields while her captors struck her with sticks and removed her watch and jewellery, she said. She was made to walk a few kilometers to the entrance of one of the many tunnels Hamas has built under Gaza.
She said she was kept during her captivity in a “clean” location, where doctors visited every few days. Medicine was available, she said.
She slept on a mattress on one of the tunnel’s floors. She ate white cheese, cucumbers and pita bread, she said.
Oct 24, 1:06 AM EDT
Three Hamas deputy commanders killed: IDF
The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday morning that three Hamas deputy commanders were killed Monday night.
“During the night, IDF aircraft also attacked operational headquarters used by operatives of the terrorist organization Hamas and assembly points of the terrorist organization located inside mosques,” the IDF said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
The deputy commander of the Nusirat battalion, the deputy commander of the Shati battalion and the deputy commander of the Alfurkan battalion of Hamas were killed, the IDF said in the post.
Oct 23, 10:27 PM EDT
Biden speaks with Netanyahu about hostages’ release, humanitarian assistance for Gaza
President Joe Biden spoke with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday afternoon, once again addressing his commitment to efforts to “secure the release of all remaining hostages taken by Hamas – including Americans – and to provide for safe passage for U.S. citizens and other civilians in Gaza,” according to a White House readout of the call. Biden welcomed the news of the two hostages who were released earlier on Monday, per the readout.
During the call, Biden also “underscored the need to sustain a continuous flow of urgently needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” according to the readout.
Biden also spoke with Netanyahu about U.S. support for Israel and what the White House said was “ongoing efforts at regional deterrence, to include new U.S. military deployments.”
Oct 23, 6:06 PM EDT
Kirby warns of uptick in Iran-linked attacks
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday that in recent days there had been “an uptick in rocket and drone attacks by Iranian-backed proxy groups against military bases housing U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria.”
“We know Iran continues to support Hamas and Hezbollah, and we know Iran is closely monitoring these events and in some cases, actively facilitating attacks and spurring on others who may want to exploit for their own good, or for that of Iran,” Kirby said.
Kirby said Iran tries to “maintain some level of deniability here, but we’re not going to allow them to do that.”
He added that there is still no direct evidence that Iran was involved in Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
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