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(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the U.S. military announced it is moving more forces to the Middle East.
The United States and its allies continue to plead for a cease-fire deal while Israel anticipates possible retaliatory action from Iran or Hezbollah following multiple assassinations of top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in recent weeks.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Biden says negotiations are ‘closer than we’ve ever been’
President Joe Biden says negotiators are “closer than we’ve ever been” on reaching a deal and “much, much closer” than they were three days ago.
3 Gazan children present symptoms of polio
Three children have presented with suspected acute flaccid paralysis, a common symptom of polio, weeks after poliovirus was detected in environmental samples from Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah.
International aid groups are calling for temporary humanitarian pauses in order to launch polio vaccination campaigns across the Gaza Strip at the end of August and September to prevent the spread of the circulating variant type 2 poliovirus.
“During each round of the campaign, the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and partners, will provide two drops of novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) to more than 640 000 children under ten years of age,” the WHO and UNICEF said in a statement.
Hamas said it supports a humanitarian pause in order to vaccinate thousands of children against quadriplegia.
“At least 95% vaccination coverage during each round of the campaign is needed to prevent the spread of polio and reduce the risk of its re-emergence, given the severely disrupted health, water and sanitation systems in the Gaza Strip,” the aid groups said.
Qatar, Egypt, US say new proposal was given to Israel, Hamas
A new “bridge proposal” was presented to Israel and Hamas, according to a joint statement from Qatar, Egypt and the U.S.
Israeli sources told ABC News progress has been made in negotiations and some of the gaps have narrowed. But Hamas said that the Israeli side did not abide by what was agreed upon on July 2 and Netanyahu even backed down from what was stated in the Israeli paper on May 27.
More talks will be held in Cairo next week to bridge the gap and complete the deal, the three countries said.
“Working teams will continue technical work over the coming days on the details of implementation including arrangements to implement the agreement’s extensive humanitarian provisions as well as specifics relating to hostages and detainees,” Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. said.
“There is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay,” the countries said.
IDF issues new evacuation orders, moves humanitarian zone in Khan Younis
Israel is calling on Palestinians sheltering in the humanitarian zone in northern Khan Yunis and eastern Deir al Balah to temporarily evacuate to the adjusted humanitarian area.
“The adjustment is being made following accurate intelligence information according to which the Hamas terrorist organization has established terrorist infrastructure in an area defined as a Humanitarian Area,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
Hamas said forcing thousands of Palestinian civilians to repeatedly displace has led to their overcrowding in harsh conditions that threaten their lives and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.
“Forcing our people in northern Khan Yunis and eastern Deir al-Balah by the criminal Zionist occupation army to flee to the so-called ‘humanitarian and safe areas’ is nothing but another means to deepen the collective punishment and genocide that our people have been subjected to for more than ten months. The occupation uses displacement as a weapon in its war against defenseless civilians, in an attempt to break their will and increase their human suffering,” Hamas political bureau member Izzat al-Rishq said in a statement.
Israel has continued to conduct strikes on humanitarian areas despite official designations that they are safe zones for civilians.
Hamas says Israeli evasion is obstacle to cease-fire agreement
As negotiations between Hamas and Israel continue in Qatar, Hamas said the obstacle to reaching a cease-fire in Gaza is continued Israel evasion.
Hamas said that any agreement must include a complete withdrawal from Gaza, the return of displaced people and the reconstruction, in addition to a prisoner exchange deal, according to Husam Badran, a member of the Hamas’ political bureau.
At least 1 dead, several injured after Israeli settlers raid West Bank village
At least one person was killed and several others were injured after Israeli settlers raided Jit, a village in the West Bank.
Dozens of Israeli citizens, some of them masked, entered the village of Jit in Samaria Thursday evening and set fire to vehicles and buildings in the village, threw stones and threw Molotov cocktails, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
IDF and Magav forces jumped into the village within minutes of receiving the report, dispersed demonstrations and shot into the air, and removed the Israeli citizens from the village.
Security forces arrested one Israeli citizen, who was handed over to the Israel Police for further treatment.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement on the attack saying “those responsible for any criminal act will be caught and prosecuted.”
Benny Gantz, chairman of Israel’s National United Party, also said those who commited acts of violence on Thursday should be behind bars and said they are “harming the state of Israel.”
“They deserve unequivocal condemnation from all parts of society and from the entire leadership in Israel,” Gantz said in a statement.
IDF claims more than 17,000 militants ‘eliminated’ in Gaza
The Israeli Defense Forces claimed it has “eliminated over 17,000 terrorists” in Gaza on Thursday.
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Negotiations between Israel, Hamas have started, US says
Negotiations are “just starting there in Doha,” Qatar, despite Hamas saying it will not attend the talks, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters during a call Thursday.
“We’re at a point now where the framework is generally accepted and where the gaps are in the execution of the deal, the individual muscle movements that go with putting the deal in place,” Kirby said.
“In the past, it has worked very similar to how it’s working in Doha today, where mediators will sit and discuss work things out, and then those mediators will be in touch with Hamas, and then the Hamas leaders in Doha then communicate directly with Mr. Sinwar for final answers,” Kirby said.
Netanyahu, IDF chief at odds over withdrawing from Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Forces chief Herzi Halevi are at odds over a key provision amid cease-fire negotiations — IDF withdrawing from the Gaza Strip.
The IDF chief of staff said that holding on to any part of Gaza or the Philadelphi corridor are conditions Israel should not break a potential deal with Hamas over. The IDF can deal with being out of Gaza and giving up the control on Philadelphi, Halevi said.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu firmly stands by the principle that the IDF will remain physically on the Philadelphi axis, according to a source close to Netanyahu.
Cease-fire talks resume in Qatar
A U.S. delegation is in the Qatari capital of Doha for the resumption of cease-fire talks related to Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
CIA chief Bill Burns is part of the U.S. group, while the head of Mossad — David Barnea — is with the Israeli delegation. High level Egyptian officials are also in attendance.
The talks are being hosted by Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Discussions will take place over two days.
Hamas is not taking part in the negotiations. The group announced on Wednesday it would not send a representative in protest of what it said was Israel’s failure to commit to negotiating on the basis of a July 2 cease-fire proposal.
Grim milestone of 40,000 killed in Gaza, says Hamas-run Health Ministry
Israel’s war in Gaza has hit another grim milestone after the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the strip declared that the death toll had passed 40,000 since the start of the war on Oct. 8.
On Thursday, officials in Gaza said a total of 40,005 people had been killed in the conflict.
That figure does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. However, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said there were more than 11,000 women and more than 16,000 children among the dead.
The true death toll in Gaza, after more than 10 months of war, could be significantly higher than the Health Ministry’s figure because officials in Gaza estimate that an additional 10,000 people in Gaza are unaccounted for because of the war.
Latest on the state of play for high-stakes Gaza cease-fire talks
On the eve of what is supposed to be a critical, final push to seal the Gaza cease-fire/hostage release deal, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is working the phones with key mediators as the U.S. works to make sure negotiations will indeed press on.
In his conversations with his Qatari and Egyptian counterparts, Blinken discussed efforts to reach an agreement and stressed that “no party in the region should take actions that would undermine efforts to reach a deal,” according to readouts of the calls.
This comes as Hamas continues to assert that it will not participate in the talks in Doha, Qatar — accusing Israel of moving the goal posts and insisting it will only move forward with the version of the deal it agreed to in early July.
Qatar has assured the Biden administration that it will drum up some sort of Hamas representative to fill the group’s seat at the negotiating table, U.S. officials said. However, Qatar has made no promise about the quality of said representation. Getting messages to Hamas’ ultimate power and deciding vote, Yahya Sinwar, can take days or even weeks, so to be effective in the talks, the intermediary needs to have a good idea of what Sinwar might ultimately sign off on and what’s a nonstarter.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is insisting on maintaining operational control over the Philadelphi Corridor — a narrow strip of land separating Gaza from Egypt — through the duration of any cease-fire, as well as implementing additional procedures for Gazans that would be returning to their homes in the North, according to officials familiar with the matter.
As for Hamas, the group has called for more than two dozen changes to the framework that was rolled out in May, which U.S. officials have repeatedly insisted is “nearly identical” to a deal Hamas previously agreed to.
Regarding Iran, U.S. officials don’t have a crystal-clear view of Tehran’s position, but the administration does put stock into the idea that Iran doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardize a peace deal and sees the looming talks as a potential reason there hasn’t yet been retaliation against Israel for the killing of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Two Hezbollah fighters killed, IDF and Hezbollah say
Israeli forces said they killed two Hezbollah members in Lebanon on Wednesday.
Hezbollah also confirmed the death of two of their fighters in statements released on Wednesday.
The IDF said an Israeli Air Force aircraft “eliminated two Hezbollah terrorists” in the area of Marjayoun in southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu gives negotiating team more flexibility: Israeli official
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expanded the mandate and positions of the Israeli negotiators, an Israeli official told ABC News, giving the team more flexibility ahead of the cease-fire talks in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday.
The development comes as he faces growing criticism to reach a cease-fire deal.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
White House expects cease-fire talks to ‘move forward as planned’
The White House expects Thursday’s cease-fire negotiations in Doha, Qatar, to “move forward as planned” and said the announcement of Hamas not sending a delegation is just “public posturing” in advance of those discussions.
“We expect these talks to move forward as planned. [CIA] Director [Bill] Burns and Brett McGurk, [White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa], will both travel to Qatar for these discussions. There’s always a lot of public posturing in advance. We’ve seen that before. It’s not new of these talks, and I’m not going to certainly weigh in on any of that, just like I’m not going to discuss the details of the negotiation,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday.
Israel closes humanitarian route through Rafah
Israeli forces “temporarily” closed the humanitarian route in the area of Rafah, in southern Gaza, on Tuesday, saying Hamas operatives “opened fire” toward the route.
This is the second time the IDF has closed this route in the past week.
The route is an 8-mile road going from the Kerem Shalom crossing, near Rafah, north near Khan Younis and the humanitarian zone.
Hamas not attending cease-fire negotiations in Qatar
Hamas said it will not be attending cease-fire negotiations in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday.
“The movement demands a clear commitment from the occupation to what was agreed upon on July 2, according to the clarifications conveyed by the mediators, and if that happens, the movement is ready to enter into the mechanisms for implementing the agreement,” Hamas Political Bureau Member Dr. Suhail al-Hindi told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed TV.
Israel to send delegation to Qatar to negotiate cease-fire
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the sending of an Israeli delegation to Doha, Qatar, on Thursday to continue negotiations for a cease-fire agreement.
This comes as Netanyahu is receiving pushback internally and externally amid reports he changed the parameters of what he would agree to.
Biden expects Iran to hold off on retaliatory attack if a cease-fire deal is reached
President Joe Biden addressed the rising tensions in the Middle East Tuesday after U.S. officials warned Iran could launch a retaliatory attack on Israel as early as “this week.”
Biden told reporters he expects Iran to hold off on carrying out a retaliatory attack against Israel if a cease-fire deal with Hamas is reached.
“That’s my expectation, but we’ll see,” Biden said after arriving in New Orleans, LA.
Last week, Biden along with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar jointly called for Israel and Hamas to return to the negotiating table and reach an agreement that would free hostages and end the war in Gaza.
Hamas leaders declined the new set of cease-fire conditions on Sunday, asking for negotiations to resume around what was presented in July.
US approves $20 billion more in arms sales to Israel
The U.S. State Department has signed off on several large arms transfers to Israel, notifying Congress on Tuesday that it has approved the sale of more than $20 billion worth of weaponry and military equipment.
All of the sales surpass the value threshold that requires the State Department to formally notify Congress 15 days before initiating the transfer process. Congress can move to reject the transaction by adopting a joint resolution of disapproval within that timeframe.
Some of the items aren’t scheduled to arrive in Israel for years.
Israeli forces kill two Hezbollah fighters, IDF says
Israeli forces killed two Hezbollah fighters from its Southern Front on Tuesday, the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement. Hezbollah has confirmed the death of two of their fighters on Tuesday.
These attacks come as Israel awaits a response from Hezbollah and Iran for killings in recent weeks.
CIA director, Biden aide to head to Middle East to salvage hostage talks
Several U.S. officials are headed to the Middle East this week in a bid to de-escalate regional tensions and try to salvage hostage negotiations, as the window for a deal appears to be closing.
CIA Director Bill Burns is expected to arrive in Doha, Qatar, this week, where he will lead a crucial meeting on the hostages, according to a U.S. official. It’s not clear, however, whether a representative of Hamas will attend.
Meanwhile, Brett McGurk, Biden’s top adviser on the Middle East at the White House, was expected to travel separately to Cairo, according to the U.S. official.
Axios first reported the travel plans for Burns and McGurk, noting that McGurk’s plan was to nail down a security plan for the Egypt-Gaza border.
The diplomatic trip also comes as the U.S. has been scrambling to revive a coalition of countries that helped to defend Israel last April during an attack by Iran.
Israel has been bracing for Iran to launch a retaliatory attack following the assassination of a senior Hamas official in Tehran.
The U.S. official acknowledged “there have been complications” with getting some of the Arab countries on board but added they’ve been “able to put in place preparations” to defend Israel successfully.
-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty
Western leaders call on Iran to ‘stand down’
The leaders of the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Italy called on Iran to “stand down” and expressed their support for Israel’s defense “against Iranian aggression” during a call on Monday, according to a joint statement released by the White House.
“We called on Iran to stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel and discussed the serious consequences for regional security should such an attack take place,” the statement said.
The leaders also expressed their support for ongoing efforts to reach a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza, according to the statement.
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Hostage deal talks expected to move forward: State Department
As the Middle East continues its uneasy wait for Iran’s response to the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, the State Department is pressing on with its high-stakes diplomatic campaign to constrain military action from Tehran amid fresh waves of uncertainty.
“We continue to work diplomatically to prevent any major escalation in this conflict,” deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters Monday. “We obviously don’t want to see any kind of attack or response happen in the first place.”
Multiple officials within the State Department said they are still cautiously optimistic that Iran will limit the scope of its retaliation, but that they increasingly expect the country will strike at Israel before Thursday — the date the Biden administration, along with Egypt and Qatar, set to relaunch hostage/cease-fire deal talks in hopes of bringing Israel and Hamas back to the table for a final push.
A joint statement issued by the mediators last week was designed not only to pressure the parties involved, but as a message to Iran that an agreement was in the offing meant to persuade the country against military action that could scuttle a deal, according to an official.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also publicly warned Monday that Iranian military action could impede progress at a critical point in the negotiations.
However, Hamas’ earlier announcement that it would not participate in the round of negotiations and public infighting among top Israeli officials have cast significant doubt over whether the Thursday meeting will even happen — undercutting the administration’s intended message to Tehran.
At the podium Monday, Patel said mediators “fully expect talks to move forward as they should” in order to “bring this deal to conclusion.”
He declined to say whether Hamas or Israel was the bigger impediment.
“I’m not going to color it one way or the other,” Patel said while noting that “the prime minister of Israel immediately welcomed this initiative and confirmed that the Israeli team will be there, and they’ll be prepared to finalize the details of implementing the deal.”
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Retaliatory attack on Israel could come ‘this week’: Kirby
A United States assessment shows a retaliatory attack by Iran and its proxies against Israel could be launched “this week,” the White House said Monday.
“We share the same concerns and expectations that our Israeli counterparts have with respect to potential timing here. Could be this week,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “We’re continuing to watch it very, very closely.”
Kirby said it’s difficult to ascertain what a potential attack could look like at this time but that “we have to be prepared for what could be a significant set of attacks.”
Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari told reporters on Monday that Israel remains “on high alert.”
“We take seriously the threats of our enemies and that is why we are on high alert offensively and defensively,” he said.
Hagari said the IDF will “work hard to give the public time to get organized.”
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Netanyahu accuses defense minister of ‘adopting anti-Israel narrative’
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant appeared to take a swing at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Knesset committee meeting about Israel’s response to ongoing cross-border tensions with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
“I hear all the heroes with the war drums, the ‘absolute victory’ and this gibberish,” Gallant reportedly said, alluding to Netanyahu’s slogan through the war, according to Israeli media.
Netanyahu’s office released a statement shortly after, saying Gallant too is bound by the policy of “absolute victory.”
“When Gallant adopts the anti-Israel narrative, he hurts the chances of reaching a deal for the release of the abductees,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said. “He should have attacked [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar, who refuses to send a delegation to the negotiations, and who was and remains the only obstacle to the kidnapping deal.”
National Unity Party Chairman Benny Gantz warned about internal divisions in Israel during an address on Monday.
“If we don’t come to our senses, there will be a civil war here,” Gantz said.
He said there have been “heroes,” from soldiers to volunteers, in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack, but also “leadership that dissolves, networks that poison the well from which we live.”
“The patriotic Israeli majority should stop the hatred and make amends,” Gantz said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Hezbollah says it is still determined to attack Israel
While the weekend passed with no direct retaliation from Hezbollah for the killings of several top leaders by Israeli strikes, the group said it still plans to strike.
“The response is coming and inevitable and there is no turning back from it,” Ali Damoush, the deputy chairman of the Executive Council of Hezbollah, said Monday.
The Hezbollah official saif America, Great Britain, Germany and everyone who supplies Israel with weapons is a partner in the Gaza massacres.
“Israel does not find any practical and serious response to its massacres, and this is what encourages it to continue committing crimes and massacres, and without effective pressure Netanyahu will not stop his crimes,” Damoush claimed.
Israeli Air Force bans travel abroad
Amid fears that an attack from Iran may be imminent, the commander of Israel’s Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, has issued an order barring servicemembers from traveling abroad. The directive applies to career officers and non-commissioned officers, not conscripts, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
US is ‘strengthening’ military force in Middle East over ‘escalating’ tensions
The U.S. is “strengthening” its capabilities in the Middle East by sending an additional guided missile submarine to the region “in light of escalating regional tensions,” according to a statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder issued on Sunday.
The update comes the same day Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
“Secretary Austin reiterated the United States’ commitment to take every possible step to defend Israel,” according to the statement.
Secretary Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, equipped with F-35C fighters, to accelerate its transit to the Middle East, which was previously expected to get there by the end of the month.
The Lincoln was already en route to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt, but will now add to the capabilities of the Roosevelt
Additionally, Austin has ordered the USS Georgia guided missile submarine to the Middle East.
The statement doesn’t say how soon the Lincoln or the USS Georgia will arrive in the region.
Israeli forces intercept ‘projectiles’ crossing from Lebanon, no injuries: IDF
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intercepted approximately 30 “projectiles” that were identified as crossing from Lebanon into northern Israel early Monday morning local time, the IDF said in a statement.
No injuries were reported from the attacks, the IDF said.
“The IDF is striking the sources of fire,” the IDF added.
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