Israel-Gaza updates: 22, including 18 children, reported dead in Rafah strikes

The IDF says it struck military targets of terrorist organizations in Gaza.

ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: April 21, 2024, 4:13 PM EDT

Israel launched a retaliatory strike against Iran early Friday morning local time, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.

The strike followed Iran's attack on Saturday, when Tehran sent a volley of more than 300 drones and missiles toward targets in Israel, according to Israeli military officials. All but a few were intercepted by Israel and its allies, including the United States, officials said.

Iran's weekend attack came more than six months after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, after which the Israeli military began its bombardment of Gaza.

Apr 14, 11:27 am

What to know about Iran's attack on Israel

Israeli officials said the country's Iron Dome defense system endured a big test from Iran's attack on Saturday, intercepting 99% of the 300 "threats of various types" thrown at it.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari, launched 170 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), more than 120 ballistic missiles and more than 30 cruise missiles in the attack.

Hagari said "99% of the threats launched towards Israeli territory were intercepted -- a very significant strategic achievement."

Hagari said the attack resulted in only one known Israeli casualty, a 7-year-old girl who was severely injured when she was struck by shrapnel apparently from an intercepted missile.

Apr 05, 2024, 10:05 AM EDT

US 'carefully' reviewing Israel's report on WCK attack, Blinken says

U.S. officials are reviewing Israel's report on the Israel military’s attack on World Central Kitchen aid workers "very carefully" and "will be discussing its conclusions with Israeli officials and with humanitarian organizations in the days to come," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters.

The Israel Defense Forces said its airstrike in Gaza that killed seven WCK aid workers on Monday came after Israeli forces misidentified a WCK worker in the convoy as a Hamas gunman.

A Palestinian man rides a bicycle past a damaged vehicle where employees from the World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Apr. 2, 2024.
Ahmed Zakot/Reuters

Blinken said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "indicated" to President Joe Biden in their Thursday call "that Israel would be making further changes to its procedures to make sure that those who are providing assistance to people who so desperately need it in Gaza are protected."

"It's very important that Israel is taking full responsibility for this incident. It's also important that it appears to be taking steps to hold those responsible accountable," Blinken said. "Even more important is making sure that steps are taken going forward to ensure that something like this can never happen again."

A picture of Damian Sobol is displayed as mourners gather to hold a vigil for the Polish aid worker Damian Sobol who was killed in Gaza while working for the charity World Central Kitchen, in Przemysl, Poland, Apr. 4, 2024.
Patryk Ogorzalek/Agencja Wyborczavia via Reuters

Blinken said the U.S. would be "looking to see not just what steps are being taken, but the results that follow" from potential changes to Israeli military operations.

-ABC News’ Chris Boccia

Apr 05, 2024, 9:43 AM EDT

Kirby: US must 'start seeing meaningful changes' from Israel

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby warned Friday that if the U.S. doesn’t "start seeing meaningful changes in the way Israel is prosecuting these [military] operations [in Gaza] and allowing for humanitarian assistance [in Gaza], and working toward a hostage deal and cease-fire, then we’re going to have to make changes in our Gaza policy."

In his interview with ABC News' "Good Morning America," Kirby would not say if those changes in Gaza policy would mean conditioning U.S. aid.

Palestinians ride bicycles past the ruins of houses and buildings destroyed during Israeli military offensive, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in the northern Gaza Strip Mar. 31, 2024.
Mahmoud Issa/Reuters

But Kirby said President Joe Biden was very clear on his call Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. must "see some changes."

"We’ve got to see the humanitarian situation improve in Gaza, or otherwise we will have to try to take a look at our own policy and make decisions, and change the way that we’re supporting Israel," Kirby said.

Top national security spokesperson John Kirby shares more details about President Joe Biden’s conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and what happens next.
3:07

White House official on how Israel must change conduct of Gaza war

Top national security spokesperson John Kirby shares more details about President Joe Biden’s conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and what happens next.
ABCNews.com

The U.S. still wants an immediate cease-fire in exchange for the release of the Israeli hostages and for getting more aid into Gaza, Kirby stressed. U.S. officials will be among the negotiators meeting this weekend in Cairo, he said.

Apr 05, 2024, 7:04 AM EDT

IDF says there were 3 strikes on WCK convoy, misidentified worker as Hamas gunman: 'Misjudgment'

Israel Defense Forces released a statement Friday about the deadly airstrike in Gaza that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers on April 1.

The IDF said it misidentified a WCK worker in the convoy as a Hamas gunman.

"After the vehicles left the warehouse where the aid had been unloaded, one of the commanders mistakenly assumed that the gunmen were located inside the accompanying vehicles and that these were Hamas terrorists. The forces did not identify the vehicles in question as being associated with WCK," the IDF said in a statement Friday.

"Following a misidentification by the forces, the forces targeted the three WCK vehicles based on the misclassification of the event and misidentification of the vehicles as having Hamas operatives inside them, with the resulting strike leading to the deaths of seven innocent humanitarian aid workers," the statement continued.

The report said there were three strikes on the convoy. It also said WCK workers hit in the first vehicle were hit again while moving to another vehicle in the convoy.

"The investigation's findings indicate that the incident should not have occurred. Those who approved the strike were convinced that they were targeting armed Hamas operatives and not WCK employees," the IDF said. "The strike on the aid vehicles is a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification, errors in decision-making, and an attack contrary to the Standard Operating Procedures."

It said WCK correctly coordinated its movements with the IDF prior to the night the workers were killed and that there was a "comprehensive plan" in place for the WCK movement on April 1.

Apr 05, 2024, 5:13 AM EDT

'The real test is results': Blinken reacts to Israel border crossing announcements

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked about the announcement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office's announcement overnight that additional crossings into Gaza would be opened up for aid to enter.

He said the U.S. "welcomed" the development but that "the real test is results, and that's what we're looking to see in the coming days, the coming weeks."

"Is the aid effectively reaching the people who need it throughout Gaza?" he said. "Do we have a much better system for deconfliction and coordination so that the humanitarian workers, the folks who are delivering the aid, can do it safely and securely? All of these things are critical."

Blinken said these aims would be measured by clear metrics "like the number of trucks that are actually getting in on a sustained basis," and the aid making it to those in need through the enclave — "including critically northern Gaza."

He said the administration would be closely watching to see if other measurements were reversed, including "the fact that almost 100% of the population is acutely food insecure" as well as indicators of potential famine.

"So really, the proof is in the results," he said.

ABC News' Shannon Crawford

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