Israel-Gaza updates: IDF releases seized Hamas 'psychological terror' video

Hagari said the footage was recovered by IDF troops.

ByKevin Shalvey, Meredith Deliso, Nadine El-Bawab, Jon Haworth, and Ivan Pereira
Last Updated: May 18, 2024, 2:36 PM EDT

As the Israel-Hamas war crosses 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 Gazan town of Rafah.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
May 18, 2024, 2:36 PM EDT

Gantz gives Netanyahu ultimatum: approve post-war plan or he will resign

Israeli cabinet minister Benny Gantz has given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an ultimatum: approve a post-war plan by June 8, or he will resign, Gantz said at a press conference.

"While the Israeli soldiers show supreme bravery on the front, some of the men who sent them into battle behave with cowardice and irresponsibility," Gantz said.

A leader of the National Unity Party and a minister in the war cabinet, Gantz's resignation would not necessarily trigger the collapse of the government on its own, but would be politically significant.

The ultimatum come on the heels of a speech by defense minister Yoav Gallant, who is demanding a plan for the "day after" the war.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Dana Savir

May 18, 2024, 1:30 PM EDT

Body of hostage found, returned to Israel

Israel announced that it has identified the body of a fourth hostage this week. Ron Benjamin, 53, was killed during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and taken into Gaza, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

The bodies of three other hostages were also recovered in a tunnel in the same operation, according to the IDF.

In this photo released by the Hostages Families Forum, Ron Benjamin is shown.
Hostages Families Forum

Benjamin was a family man who loved cycling, the Hostages Families Forum said in a statement.

"He used to go out for a ride every Saturday, just as he did on that fateful Saturday when he was taken hostage from the Kibbutz Be’eri area while on a cycling trip," the statement said.

-ABC News' Victoria Beaule

May 18, 2024, 8:53 AM EDT

More than 630,000 fled Rafah since May 6, UN says

More than 630,000 people have fled Rafah since May 6 amid widening operations by Israel’s military, with many seeking refuge in Al-Mawasi and Deir al-Balah -- areas overcrowded with "dire conditions" -- according to the United Nations.

Displaced Palestinians walk around a puddle in front of destroyed buildings and tents in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, May 16, 2024.
AFP via Getty Images

-ABC News' Emma Ogao

May 17, 2024, 3:00 PM EDT

Gaza assistance through US maritime corridor not replacement for aid through land: USAID

Humanitarian assistance shipments delivered to Gaza through the U.S.’ maritime corridor should not replace aid coming into the enclave through land crossings where "barely 100 trucks of aid a day" entered over the last two weeks -- about a sixth of the level needed to stave off famine -- USAID Administrator Samantha Power said in a statement Friday.

"Every moment that a crossing is not open, that trucks are not moving, or where aid cannot safely be distributed, increases the terrible human costs of this conflict," Power said.

PHOTO: U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), U.S. Navy Sailors assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion 1, and Israel Defense Forces emplace the Trident Pier on the Gaza coast, May 16, 2024. T
U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), U.S. Navy Sailors assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion 1, and Israel Defense Forces emplace the Trident Pier on the Gaza coast, May 16, 2024. The temporary pier, part of the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore capability, will enable the maritime delivery of international humanitarian aid to the United Nations in Gaza for distribution to Palestinian people in need.
U.S. Central Command Public Affairs

Supplies coming into Gaza through the temporary pier Friday include contributions from the U.S., United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

But, the statement doesn’t say how much aid is now being moved through the corridor at this point or how much of it is sitting in Cyprus waiting to be shipped -- so it’s still unclear if and when these deliveries might have a substantial impact.

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford and Anne Flaherty

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