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Israel-Gaza live updates: Hamas to send a delegation to Cairo for negotiations

Hamas will send a delegation to Cairo for hostage and cease-fire negotiations.

ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: April 28, 2024, 5:13 PM EDT

As the Israel-Hamas war approaches the seven-month mark, renewed negotiations are underway to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization, as Israeli forces continue to prepare for an apparent invasion of the southern Gaza town of Rafah.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in a phone call over the weekend, discussing increasing the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza and plans for a possible military operation in Rafah, according to the White House.

Apr 27, 2024, 5:11 PM EDT

Hamas releases video appearing to show 2 hostages

A video released by Hamas on Telegram Saturday features two men who identify themselves as hostages captured on Oct. 7.

The heavily edited video cuts between the two men -- who identify themselves as American citizen Keith Siegel, 64, and Israeli citizen Omri Miran, 47, from Kibbutz Nahal Oz -- as they speak to the camera under duress.

A still from a video released on April 27, 2024, on a Hamas-run Telegram channel that showed a man who identified himself as Omri Miran.
Hamas Media Handout

The men express how much they miss their families and their sadness at missing Passover celebrations. They also ask their families to continue to pressure the Israeli government for a deal.

"I want to tell my family that I love you very much," Siegel says in the video.

"I have very, very beautiful memories of Passover last year when we all celebrated together, and I really hope we all have the best surprise possible," he says, before bursting into tears.

ABC News has not independently verified where or when the video was filmed, though in the video Miran says he has been in captivity for more than 202 days. Saturday marks 203 days since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.

A still from a video released on April 27, 2024, on a Hamas-run Telegram channel that showed a man who identified himself as Keith Siegel.
Hamas Media Handout

Siegel's wife, Aviva Siegel, was also taken hostage and released during the first cease-fire and hostage deal.

In a video message released on Saturday in response to the Hamas video, his wife said, "Keith, I love you, we will fight until you return."

She was joined in the video by the couple's two daughters.

"Seeing my father today only emphasizes to all of us how much we must reach a deal as soon as possible and bring everyone home," their daughter, Ilan Siegel, said. "I demand that the leaders of this country watch this video and see their father crying out for help."

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum said in a statement following the release of the latest video that the "proof of life from Keith Siegel and Omri Miran is the clearest evidence that the Israeli government must do everything to approve a deal for the return of all the hostages before Independence Day."

"Now is the time for the government and its leader to prove through actions their commitment to the citizens of Israel who await the return of the hostages," the statement continued. "The Israeli government must not miss this opportunity to bring them all home!"

The Israeli government did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment on the video.

The video comes three days after the release by Hamas of a video showing a man who identified himself as Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 24-year-old American who was captured at the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7.

Apr 26, 2024, 8:35 AM EDT

Scoop: Biden will not sanction 3 Israeli military units U.S. determined committed human rights violations

President Biden has decided not to sanction three Israeli military units it determined committed human rights violations in the West Bank, according to a letter from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to House Speaker Mike Johnson, obtained by ABC News.

The Biden administration determined that three military battalions with the Israeli Defense Force committed “gross human rights violations” against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.

But the units will remain eligible for US military aid anyway because of steps Israel says it's taking to address the problem, according to the letter.

The allegations involving each of the units occurred before the Oct. 7 war began, according to the letter, which notes, none of the cases involve operations against Hamas in Gaza or against Iran or its proxies.

Apr 25, 2024, 6:58 PM EDT

US pier in Gaza on track to begin humanitarian assistance in early May

A senior U.S. military official shared an update on the temporary pier intended to help deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza in a briefing for Pentagon reporters Thursday.

"We are on track to begin delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza from the sea in early May," the military official said.

This satellite picture taken by Planet Labs PBC show the construction of a new aid port near Gaza City, Gaza Strip, on Apr. 18, 2024.
Planet Labs Pbc/AP

Once operational, the U.S. expects the pier will be able to handle about 90 trucks a day and then quickly build up to 150 trucks worth of humanitarian aid, the official added.

The official explained how the flow of aid will be transferred via the pier, saying, supplies will be unloaded onto a floating platform located miles off the Gaza shore and then a smaller watercraft carrying five trucks will be offloaded onto the floating pier that will be anchored to the shore.

From there, the trucks will drop off their cargo in a secure area for future distribution and constantly repeat that process, according to the official.

The truck drivers will not be U.S. military personnel but the drivers, from an undisclosed country, will have their own security, according to the official.

Apr 25, 2024, 3:16 PM EDT

US begins building pier off coast of Gaza: Pentagon

The U.S. military has begun to build a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza to help deliver humanitarian aid, the Pentagon's top spokesperson confirmed at a press briefing Thursday.

"We are aware of the significant interest in this important effort and will provide much more information in the very near future as we work alongside the international community to rush aid to the people of Gaza," Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.

This satellite picture taken by Planet Labs PBC show the construction of a new aid port near Gaza City, Gaza Strip, on Apr. 18, 2024.
Planet Labs Pbc/AP

In the wake of a mortar attack in the general vicinity of where the pier is located near Gaza City earlier Thursday, Ryder said the pier and causeway are being built miles offshore and are "nowhere near mortar range."

The incident "in no way delays our efforts to establish the maritime corridor," Ryder said.

The pier should be ready to off-load humanitarian aid from ships by early May, he said.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez

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