Israel-Gaza live updates: Blinken, Abbas meet on restoring 'calm' in West Bank
The top U.S. diplomat made an unannounced stop in the West Bank on Sunday.
ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: October 31, 2023, 4:09 PM EDT
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.
Mar 01, 2024, 6:03 AM EST
What we know about the conflict
The latest outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, has passed the four-month mark.
In the Gaza Strip, at least 30,228 people have been killed and 71,377 others have been wounded by Israeli forces since Oct. 7, according to Gaza's Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.
In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured by Hamas and other Palestinian militants since Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
There has also been a surge in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have killed at least 395 people in the territory since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The ongoing war began after Hamas-led militants launched an unprecedented incursion into southern Israel from neighboring Gaza via land, sea and air. Scores of people were killed while more than 200 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. The Israeli military subsequently launched retaliatory airstrikes followed by a ground invasion of Gaza, a 140-square-mile territory where more than 2 million Palestinians have lived under a blockade imposed by Israel and supported by Egypt since Hamas came to power in 2007. Gaza, unlike Israel, has no air raid sirens or bomb shelters.
Oct 31, 2023, 4:09 PM EDT
Rafah border crossing to open Wednesday to 'receive injured Palestinians': Egypt state-linked TV
The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza will open Wednesday to receive injured Palestinians from Gaza, according to Egypt state-linked TV channels.
The Palestinian interior ministry’s border authority said it has been informed by Egyptian authorities that 81 critically injured Palestinians will be allowed entry from Gaza Wednesday to receive treatment at Egyptian hospitals.
7:53
Humanitarian group warns of urgent need for aid in Gaza
Sean Carroll, the CEO and President of Anera, discusses the desperate need for more food, water and medical supplies in Gaza.
More than 21,000 people have been injured in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Oct. 30, 2023.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman
Oct 31, 2023, 4:03 PM EDT
White House: 'It's obvious to us' that Israel is 'trying to minimize' civilian casualties in Gaza
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby would not discuss the Israeli strike that hit Gaza's Jabaliya refugee camp on Tuesday, but he did say broadly that the U.S. believes Israel is "trying to minimize" civilian casualties in Gaza.
"It's obvious to us that they are, that they are trying to minimize,” Kirby said.
Palestinians conduct search and rescue works at the site of air strikes in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Oct. 31, 2023.
Abed Sabah/Reuters
He said that assessment is based on the "daily conversation we are having with our counterparts about their goals, the strategies, and their plans."
"We’re not going to react to every event in real time, but will certainly recognize that civilians have been hurt, civilians have been killed, to the tune of many thousands, that infrastructure has been damaged by these airstrikes," Kirby said. "We’re not accepting of any single civilian death in Gaza. They’re all tragedies. And we continue to work … with the Israelis about the need to respect human life and to try to limit civilian casualties."
Following repeated warnings from President Joe Biden and his administration for Israel to follow the "rules of war," ABC News asked Kirby if a strike like this on a refugee camp would mean they violated that, but Kirby would not speculate on the explosion, saying he had no information on what occurred.
3:25
Massive blast in Jabaliyah refugee camp in Gaza
The Hamas-run Gaza Interior Ministry claims Israeli aircraft dropped six bombs on the residential area while an IDF spokesperson say they "are looking into the incident."
The Israeli Defense Forces has taken responsibility for the strike at the Jabaliya refugee camp, which is one of the most densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip. The IDF said the blast killed a Hamas official and claimed the official was one of the leaders of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
-ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez
Oct 31, 2023, 2:42 PM EDT
Austin: Iran had 'big part' in Hamas attack
At Tuesday's hearing before the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was asked several times about Iran's role in Hamas' Oct. 7 ambush on Israel.
Austin said that while Iran helped enable the attack, he has not seen evidence that Tehran played a direct role.
But Austin added that Iran has "funded, resourced, enabled, trained Hamas operatives," which "means that they have a big part in this."
1:06
What is Hamas?
Hamas is an Islamic political and militant organization that controls the Gaza Strip.
-ABC News' Matt Seyler
Oct 31, 2023, 2:38 PM EDT
66 aid trucks arrived in Gaza in last 24 hours
Another 66 aid trucks with food, water and medicine arrived in Gaza over the last 24 hours -- the "highest single-day delivery so far" -- and "dozens of more trucks are expected to clear today," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday.
But "it’s a trickle compared to what needs to get in," Kirby said, "and we’re gonna keep working that, very, very hard.”
4:59
People in Gaza dealing with limited resources
Aid workers are struggling with a lack of basic necessities and limited cell and internet service.
Kirby said the U.S. is continuing to push for safe passage for civilians in Gaza and the resumption of essential services, including water and fuel.
Kirby also said President Joe Biden is set to speak with Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday "to discuss further cooperation with Arab partners to address the worsening humanitarian situation."