Israel-Gaza updates: Blinken tells Israel onus is on Hamas to accept cease-fire

The 26-year-old was kidnapped from the Nova music festival.

Last Updated: June 1, 2024, 4:39 PM EDT

As the Israel-Hamas war crosses the seven-month mark, negotiations are apparently stalled to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization, and Israeli forces continue to launch incursions in the southern Gazan town of Rafah ahead of a possible large-scale invasion.

May 28, 2024, 3:01 PM EDT

Aid for Gaza through pier paused after weather causes parts of port to detach: US official

The flow of humanitarian aid for Gaza over the U.S. Army’s temporary Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) system has paused after rough seas caused parts of the pier to detach, a U.S. official told ABC News on Tuesday.

A truck carries humanitarian aid across Trident Pier, a temporary pier to deliver aid, off the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, near the Gaza coast, May 19, 2024.
U.S. Army Central/Handout via Reuters

“Due to high sea states in the North African weather system earlier today, a portion of the Trident pier separated from the pier that is currently anchored into the coast of Gaza. As a result, the Trident pier was damaged, and sections of the pier need rebuilding and repairing,” she said.

The pier will be removed from its place near the Gazan coast and towed back to Ashdod “over the next 48 hours,” where U.S. Central Command will make repairs, according to Singh.

“The rebuilding and repairing of the pier will take at least over a week,” Singh said, adding that after repairs, it will need to be re-anchored to the Gazan shore.

-ABC News’ Matt Seyler

May 28, 2024, 2:54 PM EDT

IDF says fire was the cause of civilians' lives lost in Rafah strike

Remarking on the deadly Rafah strike that killed 50 Palestinians and injured 249 others, the Israel Defense Forces said “a fire ignited tragically taking the lives of Gazan civilians nearby,” in a statement Tuesday.

“Sadly, following the strike, due to unforeseen circumstances, a fire ignited tragically taking the lives of Gazan civilians nearby. Despite our efforts to minimize civilian casualties during the strike, the fire that broke out was unexpected and unintended,” IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said.

“This is a devastating incident which we did not expect. We are investigating what caused the fire that resulted in this tragic loss of life,” he added.

Hagari said earlier that the strike had killed the two Hamas commanders they targeted.

-ABC News’ Dana Savir

May 28, 2024, 2:17 PM EDT

IDF details Sunday's Rafah strike

Israel said it killed two Hamas commanders — fulfilling its goal — in its strike on Rafah, which also killed 50 Palestinians and injured at least 249 others in a displaced persons camp on Sunday.

The explosion and subsequent inferno at the camp remains under investigation, IDF chief spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters Tuesday.

Hagari did not confirm reports of tanks in Rafah, but ABC News has confirmed there are Israeli tanks in central Rafah, according to an eyewitness report.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti

May 28, 2024, 10:09 AM EDT

'No justice in the world': Palestinian man's wife killed in Rafah strike

Days after a deadly strike on Rafah killed 50 Palestinians and injured at least 249 others, a father of five who lost his wife told ABC News his family fled from Beit Lahia to Deir al-Balah — in the south of Gaza — before heading to Rafah for safety.

"One of my disabled sons had his leg amputated and my wife was killed. What injustice is this?" Murid Saadi Agha told ABC News. "There is no justice in the world. Israel is above all the law."

"I hold America and Israel responsible. We are innocent," he said.

Palestinians search for food among burnt debris in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on an area designated for displaced people, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, May 27, 2024.
Mohammed Salem/Reuters

Three of Agha's children have already lost limbs in the war.

"After sunset, my wife and I were sitting here outside the shelter with our neighbors, and my disabled son was feeding his other disabled brother, who is older than him. Even the Indomie that he was eating was still here," he said, describing the aftermath of the deadly Rafah strike.

"There was a very intense explosion. My wife declared once that the shrapnel entered her chest and killed her. I went to my sons and found that one of them had an amputated foot, as the shrapnel entered from the top and from the side. There were many martyrs here. It was a massacre," he said.

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