Israel-Gaza updates: Biden speaks with Netanyahu about hostages, Gaza aid

The hostages are two elderly women who are both Israeli nationals.

ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: October 23, 2023, 4:29 PM EDT

Thousands of people have died and thousands more were injured after 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.

At least 1,400 people have died and 4,629 others have been injured in Israel, according to Israeli authorities. In Gaza, 5,087 people have died and 15,273 have been wounded, according to the Palestinian Health Authority.

Aid workers and officials fear that Israel's call for an evacuation of the northern part of Gaza is precipitating a humanitarian disaster as electricity and other supplies have been cut off in preparation for what appears to be an imminent ground offensive.

Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to call off the evacuation and agree to a cease-fire, even as the country has asserted a right to defend itself -- a right the United States endorses.

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Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Oct 18, 2023, 2:25 PM EDT

70% of Gaza victims are children, women, the elderly

Of the more than 3,000 killed and 12,000 injured in Gaza, 70% are children, women and the elderly, said Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra, a spokesman for the Health Ministry in Gaza.

A Palestinian girl, wounded in Israeli strikes, lies on a bed at a hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza strip, Oct. 16, 2023.
Ahmed Zakot/Reuters

A woman reacts as people gather at the site of the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza, Oct. 18, 2023.
AFP via Getty Images

He said the Ministry of Health has received about 1,300 reports of missing people under the rubble, including 600 children. He said the ministry believes there are some survivors in the rubble.

Tuesday marked the largest single-day death toll in Gaza's history, he said, attributed to the explosion at the Al Ahli Baptist Hospital that killed at least 471. The blast injured another 314 people, including 28 patients who are in critical condition, he said.

Israel and Hamas have traded blame for the hospital explosion with the Israeli military claiming it was a result of a "failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization," while Hamas has said it was the result of an Israeli airstrike. Two U.S. officials told ABC News the Pentagon independently concluded the blast was likely caused by an errant Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket that fell short of its target.

At least 500 civilians are dead after an explosion at a hospital in Gaza that was sheltering thousands of Palestinians.
4:57

Hospital strike kills hundreds in Gaza

At least 500 civilians are dead after an explosion at a hospital in Gaza that was sheltering thousands of Palestinians.
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Oct 18, 2023, 2:18 PM EDT

Palestinian activist: 'US launching war on Palestinians'

Hundreds of protesters took to a square in the West Bank, calling for Hamas to take over and for more rockets to hit Tel Aviv.

Among them was Palestinian activist Jamal Juma, who told ABC News he supports increased fighting and doesn't believe that Hamas committed atrocities in Israel.

Despite the thousands of dead in Gaza and Israel tightening its security across the West Bank, Juma said the Oct. 7 Hamas attack gave many Palestinians hope, because, he said, the battle lines are now clearly drawn.

He said there's as much anger at the Palestinian Authority and the U.S. as Israel.

"It’s so clear the anger of the people against the PA -- in the middle of the massacres against Gaza, and [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas wanted to go meet [President Joe] Biden in Jordan … it’s so clear to Palestinians that what’s launching war against the Palestinians is not Israel, it’s [the] United States of America," he said. "They mobilized the world against the Palestinians. We do not differentiate at all between Israel and the U.S."

-ABC News' Matt Gutman and Becky Perlow

Oct 18, 2023, 2:12 PM EDT

Protests erupt across Middle East, Africa following Gaza hospital blast

Protests have erupted across the Middle East and North Africa following an explosion at a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds Tuesday night.

Israel and Hamas have traded blame for the explosion with the Israeli military claiming it was a result of a “failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization,” while Hamas has said it was the result of an Israeli airstrike.

Protests turned violent outside the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, where tear gas was deployed.

U.S. Embassy spokesperson Jake Nelson said protesters damaged private property in the neighborhood surrounding the U.S. Embassy, but Embassy personnel and facilities remain safe.

Lebanese security were forced to repel protestors as fires broke out near embassies.
4:04

Protests turn violent in Beirut at US and French embassies

Lebanese security were forced to repel protestors as fires broke out near embassies.
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At the U.S. consulate in Adana, Turkey, there were reports overnight of large-scale protests, attempts to breach the compound and demonstrators throwing stones and Molotov cocktails.

The State Department said the U.S. consulate in Adana will be closed to the public until further notice.

Crowds also gathered in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Jordan.

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Oct 18, 2023, 1:50 PM EDT

'Unprecedented catastrophe' unfolding in Gaza: UN

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Work Agency, is urging the foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation "to firmly and unconditionally support the humanitarian efforts to safeguard civilians in Gaza."

"An unprecedented catastrophe is unfolding" in Gaza, Lazzarini said in a statement on Wednesday.

Injured Palestinians lay at the al-Shifa hospital, following airstrikes, in Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Oct. 17, 2023.
Abed Khaled/AP

Thousands of civilians have been killed, including women and children, and at least 1 million people have been forced from their homes yet remain trapped in Gaza as food, water and medicine supplies dwindle.

"Not one shipment of aid has been allowed into the Gaza Strip since the start of this conflict due to the full siege imposed," he said.

Juliette Touma, the director of communications for the United Nations Relief and Works agency, breaks down what’s needed in the Gaza strip.
3:54

People living in Gaza Strip caught in the crossfire between Hamas and Israeli forces

Juliette Touma, the director of communications for the United Nations Relief and Works agency, breaks down what’s needed in the Gaza strip.
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Lazzarini asked for an immediate end to attacks "targeting civilians and civilian objects, including UN and humanitarian personnel and premises."

He said the delivery of the urgent aid that's needed "can be achieved through an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to allow without further delay, unimpeded and safe access to humanitarian assistance."

People inspect the remains of a destroyed building following Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis in the southern of Gaza Strip, Oct. 18, 2023.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images

He continued, "UNRWA must receive adequate resources. The Agency is short of US$ 100 million for its core budget for this year. … Additionally, UNRWA has issued a Flash Appeal of US$ 104 million for its immediate emergency response to more than a million displaced and vulnerable Palestine Refugees. This appeal will most likely soon be revised upwards."

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