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 02, 2023, 1:39 PM EDT

Total of 300 aid trucks have crossed into Gaza

Forty-five aid trucks crossed from Egypt into Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Thursday as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, the Palestinian spokesman for the border crossing, Wael Abu Omar, told ABC News.

A total of 300 trucks have now crossed from Egypt into Gaza since Oct. 21.

Trucks carrying aid enter through the Rafah crossing on Nov. 2, 2023 in Rafah, Gaza.
Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images

Palestinians take humanitarian aid from a truck near the Rafah border crossing in the Gaza Strip, Nov. 2, 2023.
Hatem Ali/AP

Nov 02, 2023, 1:35 PM EDT

677 foreign passport holders have crossed into Egypt: Border spokesman

At least 342 foreign passport holders crossed from Gaza into Egypt via the Rafah border crossing on Thursday, according to Wael Abu Omar, the Palestinian spokesman for the border crossing.

A total of 677 foreign passport holders have crossed into Egypt from Gaza since Wednesday, he said.

Civilians leaving Gaza display their documents as dual national Palestinians and foreigners prepare to cross the Rafah border point with Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Nov. 2, 2023.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images

Citizens with foreign passports wait to travel through the Rafah crossing on Nov. 2, 2023 in Rafah, Gaza.
Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images

Another 97 injured Palestinians have crossed into Egypt. Overall, 118 Palestinians have crossed into Egypt from Gaza, he said.

One of the first Americans out of Gaza, Barbara Zind, says people's desperation to get out even led to some fist fights.
3:37

American leaving Gaza describes chaos at Rafah border crossing

One of the first Americans out of Gaza, Barbara Zind, says people's desperation to get out even led to some fist fights.
ABCNews.com

Nov 02, 2023, 1:27 PM EDT

74 Americans, family members have left Gaza: White House

Seventy-four U.S. citizens and family members have crossed from Gaza into Egypt, a senior Biden administration official said, adding that the numbers are fluid and changing in real time.

President Joe Biden said at the White House Thursday, "We got out today 74 American folks, out that are dual citizens, and coming home."

Citizens with foreign passports wait to travel through the Rafah crossing on Nov. 2, 2023 in Rafah, Gaza.
Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images

Nov 02, 2023, 1:16 PM EDT

70 UNRWA staff killed

Seventy employees from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East have been killed since Oct. 7, the highest number of U.N. aid workers to die in a conflict in such a short time, the agency said.

ABC News’ Linsey Davis spoke with Steve Sosebee, president and co-founder of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, about aid efforts, his team helping on the ground and how trauma is impacting Gazans.
3:55

Humanitarian organization head: There is "overwhelming need" for resources in Gaza

ABC News’ Linsey Davis spoke with Steve Sosebee, president and co-founder of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, about aid efforts, his team helping on the ground and how trauma is impacting Gazans.
ABCNews.com

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