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, 2:12 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.
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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."

Oct 18, 2023, 11:44 AM EDT

Biden departs Israel after 8.5 hours on the ground

President Joe Biden is on his way back to the United States after spending 8.5 hours on the ground in Israel meeting with Israeli officials, first responders and families of the victims and hostages from the terror attacks.

The president met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders Wednesday as Gaza reeled from a deadly hospital blast.
18:44

Biden gives remarks following visit with Israeli leaders

The president met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders Wednesday as Gaza reeled from a deadly hospital blast.
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Oct 18, 2023, 11:29 AM EDT

Treasury sanctions key members of Hamas

The Treasury Department announced new sanctions on key members of Hamas, as part of a "continuous effort by the United States to root out Hamas’s sources of revenue in the West Bank and Gaza and across the region."

"The United States is taking swift and decisive action to target Hamas’s financiers and facilitators following its brutal and unconscionable massacre of Israeli civilians, including children," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

A view shows the remains of a family home, following a deadly infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel, October 17, 2023.
Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

The sanctions target six individuals associated with Hamas’ secret investment portfolio, two senior Hamas officials, and a Gaza-based virtual currency exchange, along with the operator of that exchange.

This is part of a "broad campaign" that is being done with American allies and partners over the coming months that will involve sanctions and "other tools."

"What we're doing today is we're cutting them off from access to their money," a senior administration official said on a call with reporters Wednesday morning. "It'll mean that they have fewer resources to pay their fighters to buy the weapons to support their destabilizing activities."

Hamas is an Islamic political and militant organization that controls the Gaza Strip.
1:06

What is Hamas?

Hamas is an Islamic political and militant organization that controls the Gaza Strip.
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"Our goal was to make sure that we cut them off from as many sources as possible, make it as hard for them as possible to continue their destabilizing activities in the region," they added.

To date, the Treasury Department says it has targeted nearly 1,000 individuals and entities connected to terrorism and terrorist financing by the Iranian regime and its proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah and others.

-ABC News' Justin Gomez and Elizabeth Schulze and Sarah Kolinovsky

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