(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, efforts to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization are ongoing, and Israeli forces have launched an assault in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Here is how the news is developing:
Jul 07, 2024, 5:07 PM EDT
American hurt by Hezbollah rocket fire: US Embassy
A U.S. citizen was injured Sunday by one of multiple rockets fired into Israel from Lebanon by the terrorist group Hezbollah, according to the U.S. embassy in Israel.
Embassy officials said they received information regarding the injured private U.S. citizen. The embassy confirmed the individual does not work for the U.S. government.
The embassy was working to gather more information on the injured person, officials said.
Further details about the incident were not immediately disclosed.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Jul 06, 2024, 6:26 PM EDT
IDF gives more details on strike on school
Israel Defense Forces released details about a strike on a school in Nuseirat refugee camp that Gaza officials said killed 16 and wounded at least 50.
The IDF claimed its intelligence found that the site allegedly “served as a hideout and operational infrastructure from which attacks against IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip were directed and carried out.”
“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken in order to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise aerial surveillance and additional intelligence,” the IDF said without disclosing what steps were taken.
-ABC News’ Dorit Long
Jul 06, 2024, 4:19 PM EDT
IDF admits it’ll be fighting Hamas insurgency in Gaza for 5 years
Israel is planning for a long insurgency against Hamas, saying it expects Hamas to still exist in five years, but it said the group is no longer capable of perpetrating an Oct. 7-style attack.
“Will you and me be talking five years from now about Hamas as a terror organization in Gaza? The answer is yes,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari told ABC News.
Hagari is the first Israeli official to publicly admit that the insurgency will be long and difficult, in stark contrast to the bombast of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who continues to vow the quick destruction of Hamas.
Gaza, and even to some degree Hezbollah, are “perpetual wars” distracting Israel from what he called their main enemy, Iran, a senior Israeli official told ABC News.
-ABC News’ Matt Gutman
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