1 dead, 19 injured in strikes on Lebanon's Beqaa Valley
One person was killed and 19 others have been injured from Israeli strikes on the Beqaa Valley, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Tuesday.
Separately, Hezbollah officials announced that four of their fighters were killed Tuesday.
-ABC News’ William Gretsky
Aug 20, 2024, 4:44 PM EDT
'Time is of the essence,' Blinken says of cease-fire talks
Before wrapping up his trip to the Middle East, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to members of the media on a tarmac in Qatar, emphasizing the urgency behind the latest push for a hostage release and cease-fire agreement in Gaza.
"Our message is simple, it's clear, and it's urgent. We need to get the cease-fire and hostage agreement over the finish line, and we need to do it now," he said.
"Time is of the essence, because with every passing day, the well-being and lives of the hostages are in jeopardy. Time is of the essence, because every single day, women, children, men in Gaza are suffering," he said. "And time is of the essence because with every passing day, there's the danger of escalation in the region."
Blinken said Qatar and Egypt remain "in direct contact with Hamas working to bring it along" with the bridging proposal, but he again made clear that even if that were to happen, all sides would still need to complete "detailed implementation agreements that go along with putting the cease-fire into effect."
Aug 20, 2024, 4:41 PM EDT
Netanyahu throws cold water on reaching a cease-fire deal, hostage forum says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told representatives of the hostage families that "Israel will not under any circumstances withdraw from the Philadelphie axis and the Netzer Corridor despite tremendous pressure to do so," according to a release from the Tikva Forum of hostage families.
"I'm not sure there will be a deal, but if there is a deal -- the deal will be one that preserves the interests that I repeat over and over again, which are the preservation of Israel's strategic assets. The demand that there be negotiations, even in the future -- a demand that is unacceptable, even if there is a deal -- after 42 days, we will return to fighting immediately, until the elimination of Hamas, even while negotiating the next steps," Netanyahu told hostage families.
"The military pressure will continue with full force, this is the only thing that makes Hamas drop its unreasonable demands," Netanyahu added.
Asked by ABC News, Netanyahu's office said they had nothing to add beyond a press release that did not include the comments.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Dana Savir
Aug 20, 2024, 3:38 PM EDT
Bodies of hostages found in area where IDF had previously operated, IDF spokesman says
The bodies of six hostages recovered by Israeli Defense Forces were found in an area where Israeli forces had previously operated in Khan Younis, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in remarks to the press Tuesday.
The circumstances of the hostages' deaths are being investigated, Hagari added.
"The operation was led by the 98th Division, which returned to operate in the Khan Younis area for the third time a few weeks ago, this time with new intelligence and new targets," Hagari said.