Israel-Gaza updates: US is 'strengthening' military force in Middle East

Israel alleges the Khan Younis area is being used by Hamas terrorists.

ByNadine El-Bawab, Julia Reinstein, and Bill Hutchinson
Last Updated: August 11, 2024, 3:45 PM EDT

As the Israel-Hamas war continues, tensions are escalating after the assassinations of two Hamas and Hezbollah leaders this week.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Aug 06, 2024, 2:24 PM EDT

Yahya Sinwar will replace Haniyeh as head of Hamas political bureau

Hamas has announced that Yahya Sinwar will replace Ismail Haniyeh as the head of the group's political bureau after Israel's assassination of Haniyeh. Sinwar was the head of Hamas in Gaza.

PHOTO: Yahya Sinwar (2nd R), the new leader of the Hamas Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip and senior political leader Ismail Haniyeh (L), sits next to the son of Mazen Faqha, a Hamas leader who was killed, on March 27, 2017, in Gaza City.
Yahya Sinwar (2nd R), the new leader of the Hamas Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip and senior political leader Ismail Haniyeh (L), sits next to the son of Mazen Faqha, a Hamas leader who was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the Gaza Strip, during a memorial on March 27, 2017, in Gaza City.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images, FILE

Sinwar has a $400,000 bounty on his head following the group's Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Sinwar was chosen unanimously in negotiations managed by leadership, according to a top Hamas official.

-ABC News' Nasser Atta and Ghazi Balkiz

Aug 06, 2024, 12:01 PM EDT

'Hezbollah is obligated to respond' to Israel, Nasrallah says

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has vowed to respond to the Israeli assassination of senior official Fouad Shukr, and predicted a response from Iran after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran last week.

PHOTO: Supporters listen to the speech of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah via a video display, during a commemorative ceremony marking the first week since the killing of Hezbollah's top commander Fuad Shukr, in Beirut, Lebanon Aug. 6, 2024.
Supporters listen to the speech of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah via a video display on screen, during a commemorative ceremony marking the first week since the killing of Hezbollah's top commander Fuad Shukr, in Beirut, Lebanon Aug. 6, 2024.
Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters

"After the assassination of Commander Sayyed Fouad Shukr, Hezbollah is obligated to respond, and the enemy is waiting, anticipating, and calculating that every shout at him is a response. This Israeli weeklong waiting in anticipation -- for a Hezb response -- is part of the punishment, part of the response," Nasrallah said in a speech Tuesday.

Aug 06, 2024, 11:46 AM EDT

Multiple IDF troops injured in Rafah, humanitarian road closed

Several Israeli troops were injured and a humanitarian road was shut down after anti-tank missiles were fired toward them during operations in Rafah.

Injured troops have been evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment.

The Kerem Shalom Crossing and the other entry routes for humanitarian aid are operating, according to the IDF.

Aug 06, 2024, 11:32 AM EDT

Lebanon aims to prevent Hezbollah response to avoid wider war, says foreign minister

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said the country is working to ensure that Hezbollah's response to Israel does not trigger a total war, saying, "It would not benefit any of the countries involved."

"Only those who want to incite conflict would gain from such a situation. We, as officials, do not want any war. Therefore, if a response is necessary, it should not be collective or so severe that it escalates into a broader conflict," Bou Habib said.