Israel-Gaza updates: Police killed in border shooting, authorities say

The attack occurred at the Allenby Bridge crossing with Jordan.

Last Updated: September 8, 2024, 8:05 AM EDT

As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the latest round of cease-fire discussions appears to have reached an impasse.

Meanwhile, after six hostages were found dead in Gaza, protests erupted in Israel. Protesters have lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded the government bring the hostages home.

Sep 08, 2024, 2:40 PM EDT

Nearly 70% of children in Gaza vaccinated against polio, health ministry reports

The polio vaccination campaign continued today in south Gaza, Khan Younis and Rafah, after early issues in the region when vaccines could not be properly distributed to the eastern side of Gaza.

People queue with children for polio vaccinations in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, Sept. 5, 2024.
Bashar Taleb/AFP via Getty Images

The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced Sunday that 441,647 children in Gaza have received the first dose of the polio vaccine, so far.

This accounts for about 69% of the targeted population, according to the ministry.

According to the World Health Organization, 95% of children need to be vaccinated to prevent the spread of the disease effectively.

On Monday, vaccinations will be offered in northern Gaza where daily, eight-hour pauses in fighting and airstrikes will be instituted so children can be taken to one of the roughly 33 locations across Gaza City and north Gaza where the vaccine will be administered, according to the ministry.

-ABC News' Victoria Beaulé

Sep 08, 2024, 8:02 AM EDT

Israel closes Jordan border crossings after deadly shooting

Israel closed on Sunday the two land crossings between Jordan and Israel, as well as the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and the occupied West Bank, the Israel Airports Authority -- which oversees the crossings -- told ABC News.

The closures followed a shooting on Sunday morning at Allenby that killed three police officers.

The gunman -- who was shot dead by security forces -- came from the Jordanian side, but it was not immediately clear if he was affiliated with any militant group. Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad issued congratulatory statements about the shooting.

Netanyahu condemned the attack, saying it was attributable to the "murderous ideology led by Iran's 'Axis of Evil'."

Israel did not say how long the closures would last. The Allenby crossing is one of the key entries through which goods destined for Gaza pass.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller, Nasser Atta, Victoria Beaule and David Brennan

Sep 08, 2024, 7:48 AM EDT

Hamas rocket commander 'eliminated' in Gaza: IDF

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported the killing of a Hamas rocket commander in an airstrike last week.

The IDF wrote on social media on Sunday that its Southern Command "eliminated" Raef Omar Salman Abu Shab -- the commander of the rocket unit of the eastern Khan Younis Brigade -- in an airstrike on Tuesday

The commander was "responsible for launching rocket barrages from the area of Khan Younis toward southern and central Israel since the start of the war," the IDF said.

-ABC News' David Brennan

Sep 08, 2024, 6:05 AM EDT

Netanyahu links Iran, Hamas to border killings

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened his Sunday cabinet meeting by condemning the "despicable terrorist" that killed three Israeli police officers at the Jordanian border.

"It's a hard day," Netanyahu said. "We are surrounded by a murderous ideology led by Iran's 'Axis of Evil'. In recent days, despicable terrorists have murdered six of our abductees in cold blood and three Israeli police officers."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a press conference at the Government Press office in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024.
Abir Sultan/AP

"The murderers do not distinguish between us, they want to murder us all, until the last one; right and left, secular and religious, Jews and non-Jews."

Referencing a recent report by German newspaper BILD detailing Hamas' reported plan to build pressure on Israel, Netanyahu said the militant group aims "to tear us apart from the inside, and to continue the war until further notice."

"The vast majority of Israeli citizens do not fall into this trap of Hamas," Netanyahu said. "They know that we are committed with all our might to achieve the goals of the war -- to eliminate Hamas, to return all our abductees, to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel and to safely return our residents in the north and south to their homes."

"Some ask: 'Will you forever stand with a sword?' In the Middle East, without a sword there is no forever," Netanyahu added.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and David Brennan

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