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: November 5, 2023, 5:13 PM EST

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.

Click here for updates from previous days.

Mar 1, 6:03 am

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.

Nov 04, 2023, 5:47 PM EDT

Biden says progress is being made on a humanitarian pause

President Joe Biden on Saturday said progress was being made on a humanitarian pause -- something his administration has pushed for to get hostages out and aid into Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Answering a shouted question on if progress was being made, Biden gave a thumbs up and said, "Yes," as he was departing church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed U.S. support for temporary pauses in the Israel-Hamas war during remarks at a summit in Jordan on Saturday. He again rejected the idea of a ceasefire being promoted by many Middle Eastern officials at the summit in Amman.

"It's our view that a ceasefire now would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on Oct. 7. And you don't have to take my word for it -- just a few days ago that a senior Hamas official said it was their intent to do Oct. 7 again and again and again," Blinken said. "No nation would accept that. None of us would find that tolerable."

The remarks capped off an afternoon of talks with Egyptian, Jordanian, Saudi, Qatari and Emirati diplomats and a senior Palestinian official.

Despite the divide, Blinken thanked the other officials for their partnership.

"We appreciate the engagement of every country, and we're particularly grateful to Jordan and to Egypt," said Blinken, noting that both countries have "long worked toward a two-state solution," which he later called "the sole viable solution" to the overarching conflict.

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow and Shannon K. Crawford

Nov 04, 2023, 5:03 PM EDT

Hamas' military arm claims 60 hostages killed in bombings

Hamas' military arm, al-Qassam Brigades, claimed Saturday that 60 Israeli hostages have been killed in the Israel Defense Forces' bombing of Gaza since Oct. 7.

It further claimed that 23 of the hostages' bodies are missing in the rubble from the airstrikes.

Hamas is believed to be holding 241 captives, according to Israeli officials.

Nov 04, 2023, 4:12 PM EDT

ABC News' Ian Pannell embeds with IDF in Gaza

ABC News' senior foreign correspondent Ian Pannell reports from inside Gaza with IDF forces.

ABC News’ senior foreign correspondent Ian Pannell reports from inside Gaza with IDF forces.
0:56

ABC News embeds with IDF inside Gaza

ABC News’ senior foreign correspondent Ian Pannell reports from inside Gaza with IDF forces.
ABCNews.com

Nov 04, 2023, 10:41 AM EDT

Doctors Without Borders says conflict has reached ‘new low’ after ambulance strike

Doctors Without Borders called for a ceasefire Saturday saying the conflict has reached "a new low in an endless stream of unconscionable violence." The organization, which has been providing medical care to people in Gaza, also condemned world leaders for not calling for a ceasefire.

"The deadly attack outside the gate of Al-Shifa hospital impacting an ambulance is horrendous. This is a lethal attack outside Gaza's main and busiest hospital, where our staff work daily to provide lifesaving medical care. We have repeatedly called for an immediate and total ceasefire, for the protection of healthcare facilities, as well as medics, patients and people who are taking shelter there," Doctors Without Borders said in a statement Saturday.

"This is a new low in an endless stream of unconscionable violence. The repeated strikes on hospitals, ambulances, densely populated areas and refugee camps are disgraceful. How many people have to die before world leaders wake up and call for a ceasefire?" Doctors Without Borders said.

A screen grab captured from a video shows a street following the Israeli attacks on the entrance of the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Gaza on Nov. 3, 2023.
APAImages via Polaris

This comes as the Palestinian death toll rises to 9,488 -- including 3,900 children and 3,509 women -- and 24,158 Palestinians were injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

One physician described seeing an ambulance hit outside Al-Shifa hospital.

"We were standing inside the hospital gate when the ambulance was directly hit in front of us. There were bloody bodies everywhere. Many were killed immediately, while we rushed others to the operating room for emergency care," Dr. Obaid, a Doctors Without Borders doctor at Al Shifa hospital, said.

The Israel Defense Forces claimed its aircraft hit an ambulance that it believes was being used by Hamas and called for civilians to move south for safety.

-ABC News' Cindy Smith and Emma Ogao

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