Israel-Gaza updates: Poliovirus detected in wastewater across Gaza, WHO says

Houthis took responsibility for a drone that flew into Tel Aviv undetected.

Last Updated: July 21, 2024, 11:52 AM EDT

As the Israel-Hamas war continues, efforts to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization are ongoing, and Israeli forces have launched an assault in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Jul 21, 2024, 11:52 AM EDT

Netanyahu to meet with Biden on Tuesday in Washington

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with President Joe Biden in Washington on Tuesday, Netanyahu's office said in a statement Sunday.

The meeting between the two leaders is scheduled to occur at noon on Tuesday, Netanyahu's office said.

Netanyahu's flight to Washington is scheduled to leave Israel on Monday morning, the prime minister's office said.

The meeting between Biden and Netanyahu will come ahead of the Israeli prime minister's July 24 address to a joint session of Congress.

The two governments had tentatively scheduled a meeting between Biden, who is recovering from COVID, and Netanyahu on Monday.

However, a Biden administration official on Sunday disputed that a date and time have been set for the meeting with Netanyahu, and that an exact date and time are still dependent on when the president tests negative for COVID and returns to Washington, D.C. Biden has been self-isolating in Rehoboth, Delaware.-ABC News' Victoria Beaulé and Justin Ryan Gomez

Jul 20, 2024, 2:05 PM EDT

Houthis say 'multiple' dead, injured in Israeli airstrike on Yemen

Multiple people were killed and others have been injured in an Israeli strike on oil storage facilities in the port of Hodeidah in Yemen, according to the Houthis who said the attack will "only increase the resolve [...] of the Yemeni people."

The Houthis accused Israel of an attack that "targeted civilian facilities, oil tanks and the electricity station in Hodeidah, with the aim of doubling people’s suffering and pressuring Yemen to stop supporting Gaza."

Israel said its attack came in response to over 200 projectiles that the Houthis have launched toward Israel, saying they targeted the port as as the main supply route for weapons transfers with Iran.

-ABC News' Ahmed Bader, Dana Savir and Bruno Nota

Jul 20, 2024, 1:18 PM EDT

Israel strikes Yemen in retaliation after drone attack

Israel has officially taken responsibility for airstrikes that hit Hodeidah, Yemen, Saturday saying it is in retaliation for the "hundreds of attacks carried out against" Israel in the last few months.

A strike reportedly hit the port city of Hodeidah, on the country's western coast, hitting oil storage tanks near the port, according to Al Masirah TV, a media outlet affiliated with the Houthis, and Yemeni national news agency Saba news.

PHOTO: A handout picture obtained from Yemen's Huthi Ansarullah Media Center show a huge column of fire erupting following reported strikes in the Yemeni rebel-held port city of Hodeida on July 20, 2024.
A handout picture obtained from Yemen's Huthi Ansarullah Media Center show a huge column of fire erupting following reported strikes in the Yemeni rebel-held port city of Hodeida on July 20, 2024. A series of strikes targeted Hodeida on July 20, said an AFP correspondent and Huthi-run media, which reported a fuel depot in the port had been hit.
Ansarullah Media Centre/AFP via Getty Images

The airstrike comes after the Houthis took responsibility for a drone that flew into Tel Aviv undetected on Friday, killing one person and injuring 10 others.

-ABC News' Dana Savir, Bruno Nota and Victoria Beaule

Jul 19, 2024, 5:06 PM EDT

Israeli soldier who refuses to serve in Gaza speaks out

Yuval Green, a 26-year-old reservist who was called up to fight in southern Gaza, told ABC News he decided to leave the Israel Defense Forces when his unit was asked to set fire to a Palestinian house there.

Green served as a combat medic in Khan Younis, Gaza, last November and December.

Yuval Green, seen here in an undated picture from his time in Gaza served as a combat medic as a combat medic.
Courtesy of Yuval Green

"They gave us an order to burn down a house, and I went to my commander and asked him, 'Why are we doing that?'" Green said. "And the answers he gave me were just not satisfying enough, were not even close to being satisfying enough. And I said, 'I'm not willing to participate in that. If we're doing that, I'm leaving.'"

In June, Green cosigned a letter with 40 other reservists, who remained anonymous, refusing to serve in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

He said he refused to serve any more in the IDF after his commander was unable to explain why they burned down a house.
Courtesy of Yuval Green

The IDF told ABC News that its "actions are based on military necessity and in accordance to international law" and there was "no IDF doctrine that aims at causing maximal damage to civilian infrastructure regardless of military necessity."

Exceptional incidents were investigated by an independent body, the IDF said.

-ABC News' Guy Davies and Britt Clennett

Related Topics