Israel-Gaza updates: IDF to begin daily 'tactical pause' along Gaza aid route

Military action will be paused on the route from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Israel said.

ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: June 16, 2024, 6:35 PM EDT

As the Israel-Hamas war continues, negotiations are apparently stalled to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization, and Israeli forces continue to launch incursions in the southern Gazan town of Rafah ahead of a possible large-scale invasion.

Jun 11, 2024, 2:58 PM EDT

Hamas submits its response to cease-fire proposal

Qatar and Egypt have received a response from Hamas and the Palestinian factions regarding the truce proposal, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad said in a statement, "The response prioritizes the interest of our Palestinian people. The need to completely stop the ongoing aggression against Gaza. The Palestinian delegation expressed its readiness to deal positively to reach an agreement to end this war against our people, based on a sense of national responsibility."

Palestinians inspect the damage in a house after an overnight Israeli strike on Al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City, June 11, 2024.
Omar Al-qattaa/AFP via Getty Images

A U.S. official familiar with negotiations describes Hamas’ response as not an outright yes or no, but a counter with questions about provisions included in the proposal and some additional demands.

Another official said that while the U.S. is still analyzing Hamas’ response, mediators see the potential to bridge remaining gaps at this point and will coordinate with all parties involved on the next steps -- which will likely include another round of talks.

Israel received the Hamas response from the mediators Tuesday evening, according to a senior Israeli official. In its response, Hamas rejected the outline of the deal for the release of the abductees presented by President Joe Biden, the official said.

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford and Dana Savir

Jun 11, 2024, 1:02 PM EDT

4 hostages rescued from Gaza released from hospitals

All four hostages rescued from Gaza this weekend have been discharged from hospitals, local officials told ABC News.

The three male hostages -- Almog Meir Jan, 22; Andrei Kozlov,27; and Shlomi Ziv, 41 -- were discharged from Sheba Medical Center on Tuesday, according to the medical center.

Noa Argamani, 26, was transferred to Ichilov Medical Center on Saturday to be with her mother, who is in the hospital, officials said. Argamani was discharged on Tuesday morning, a hospital spokeswoman told ABC News.

Noa Argamani, a rescued hostage embraces her father, Yakov Argamani, after the military said that Israeli forces have rescued four hostages alive from the central Gaza Strip, in Ramat Gan, Israel, June 8, 2024.
Israel Defense Forces via Reuters

-ABC News Jordana Miller and Dana Savir

Jun 11, 2024, 10:36 AM EDT

US announces $404M in aid for Gaza

The U.S. announced $404 million in aid for Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the region, bringing the total amount of aid from the U.S. to over $674 million since the wore broke out, the State Department announced Tuesday.

PHOTO: Palestinians children search through the rubble of their home a day after an operation by the Israeli Special Forces in the Nuseirat camp, in the central Gaza Strip on June 9, 2024.
Palestinians children search through the rubble of their home a day after an operation by the Israeli Special Forces in the Nuseirat camp, in the central Gaza Strip on June 9, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group.
Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images

"This new funding will provide essential support to vulnerable Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and the region, including food, safe drinking water, health care, protection, education, shelter, and psychosocial support," the State Department said. "We urge other donors to contribute to the humanitarian response in Gaza and the region, increase support to those affected by the conflict, and work together to find lasting solutions to the crisis."

A woman and child walk among debris in aftermath of Israeli strikes at the area, where Israeli hostages were rescued on Saturday in Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, June 9, 2024.
Abed Khaled/Reuters

Jun 11, 2024, 6:23 AM EDT

Israel’s actions during hostage rescue may amount to war crimes, UN agency says

United Nation human rights officials said they were "profoundly shocked" by the Israeli operation that freed four hostages in central Gaza over the weekend, adding that actions by both Israel and Hamas "may amount to war crimes."

"The manner in which the raid was conducted in such a densely populated area seriously calls into question whether the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution -- as set out under the laws of war -- were respected by the Israeli forces," the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, or OHCHR, said in a statement on Tuesday.

PHOTO: A woman and child walk among debris, aftermath of Israeli strikes at the area, where Israeli hostages were rescued on Saturday, as Palestinian death toll rises to 274, June 9, 2024.
A woman and child walk among debris, aftermath of Israeli strikes at the area, where Israeli hostages were rescued on Saturday, as Palestinian death toll rises to 274, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, June 9, 2024.
Abed Khaled/Reuters

The rescue operation in a refugee camp in Nuseirat killed as many as 274 people, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday. Hundreds of others were injured, the ministry said. Many of those injured and killed were Palestinian civilians, OHCHR said on Tuesday.

A Palestinian man inspects the damage a day after an operation by the Israeli Special Forces in the Nuseirat camp, in the central Gaza Strip on June 9, 2024.
Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images

But OHCHR also said it was "deeply distressed" about the way the militant groups continue to hold hostages, "most of them civilians, which is prohibited by international law."

By holding those hostages in densely populated areas, Hamas militants are putting civilians and the hostages at risk, the agency said.

"All these actions, by both parties, may amount to war crimes," OHCHR said.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti and Kevin Shalvey

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