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Israel-Gaza live updates: Israeli forces strike another school in Gaza, killing 2

Fifteen others were injured in a strike on the Salah al-Din school in Gaza City.

Last Updated: August 21, 2024, 12:56 PM EDT

As the Israel-Hamas war continues, cease-fire discussions are occurring in the Middle East, with officials hoping to bring an end to the conflict.

The United States and its allies continue to plead for a cease-fire deal, with discussions set for this week.

12:56 PM EDT

1 killed in Lebanon as tensions continue to rise

One man was killed in an Israeli strike on Sidon in southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health. Hezbollah also announced the death of another of its members on Wednesday.

Hezbollah also released statements taking responsibility for 10 attacks on northern Israel.

Lebanese firefighters put out a fire in a car after an Israeli strike in the southern city of Sidon on Aug. 21, 2024.
Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP via Getty Images

About 50 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon toward northern Israel, a number of which struck the town of Katzrin, where about 8,000 people live, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

One person was injured and is in moderate condition, according to Israeli emergency services.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Ghazi Balkiz

Aug 20, 2024, 6:31 PM EDT

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, 4:47 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.

Relatives of hostages taken by Hamas militants to the Gaza Strip and their supporters gather to honor the memories of six men whose bodies were returned and to call for a deal to release the remaining captives, in Tel Aviv, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024.
Ariel Schalit/AP

"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