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.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
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 05, 2023, 5:13 PM EST
IDF says it's making progress in Gaza operation
The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday it had "reached the seashore in the southern part of the city of Gaza and encircled the city of Gaza," calling the encirclement a "significant step" in the fight against Hamas.
An Israeli army artillery howitzer moves at a position near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel, Nov. 3, 2023.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
"We will continue to attack strongly and continue to intensify our ground operation in the northern Gaza Strip and Greater Gaza City," the IDF said.
The IDF is still urging residents in northern Gaza to move south.
Palestinians evacuate families from their homes following an Israeli airstrike in Jabaliya refugee camp, on the outskirts of Gaza City, Nov. 5, 2023.
Mohammed Alaswad/AP
"We are intensifying our attack and this is already happening tonight significantly," the IDF warned.
Nov 05, 2023, 4:53 PM EST
Netanyahu: No cease-fire without return of hostages
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday at the Ramon Air Force Base in Israel that "there will be no cease-fire without the return of the hostages."
Israeli officials say 241 people have been taken hostage.
Families and supporters of hostages that are being held in Gaza after they were kidnapped from Israel by Hamas gunmen on Oct. 7, hold a demonstration to demand their immediate release, outside of the Houses of Parliament in London, Nov. 5, 2023.
Toby Melville/Reuters
Nov 05, 2023, 2:13 PM EST
Blinken meets with Iraqi prime minister
Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Iraq to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Sunday following the secretary's visits to Israel, Jordan and the West Bank.
Blinken told reporters that his meeting with the Iraqi prime minister was productive and said he emphasized the need to prevent spillover from the conflict in Gaza.
"I made very clear that the attacks, the threats coming from militia that are aligned with Iran are totally unacceptable," Blinken said. "We're not looking for conflict with Iran. We've made that very clear. But we'll do what's necessary to protect our personnel."
"We're working very hard to make sure that the conflict in Gaza does not escalate, does not spread to other places, whether it's here, whether it's elsewhere in the region," he said.
Fire and smoke rises from buildings following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, Nov. 5, 2023.
Abed Khaled/AP
Blinken was asked about Arab leaders' instance that nothing short of a total cease-fire would be acceptable.
"I think everyone would welcome humanitarian pauses -- there's no doubt about that," Blinken responded.
Men help toddlers to drink some water upon reaching the central Gaza Strip on foot via the Salah al-Din road on their way to the southern part of the Palestinian enclave on Nov. 5, 2023.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
He said pauses "advance things that we're all trying to accomplish," including getting more humanitarian aid into Gaza, getting people out of Gaza and getting hostages home.
On his meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Blinken said the PA was "playing a very important role right now in the West Bank in trying to keep stability there."
1:18
Blinken makes unannounced visit to West Bank
Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced stop in the West Bank to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the State Department said.
ABCNews.com
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford
Nov 05, 2023, 5:55 AM EST
Blinken visits West Bank, meets with Palestinian Authority leader Abbas
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the West Bank on Sunday, meeting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in an unannounced stop, the State Department said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at the Muqata in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 5, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
The two "discussed efforts to restore calm and stability in the West Bank, including the need to stop extremist violence against Palestinians and hold those accountable responsible," spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
