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 07, 2024, 11:54 AM EDT

2 killed, 6 injured in Israeli strike on southern Lebanon

At least two people were killed and six others were injured in an Israeli drone raid on the town of Joya in southern Lebanon Wednesday.

The attack comes as Israel awaits a military response from Hezbollah or Iran after it assassinated leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas.

Hezbollah said it carried out three retaliatory strikes on northern Israel on Wednesday -- attacking the Al-Raheb site with artillery shells, the Jal Al-Alam site with artillery shells and the Al-Malikiyah site with rockets.

Aug 06, 2024, 3:35 PM EDT

IDF calls Sinwar terrorist following appointment, remains committed to killing him

Shortly after Hamas announced it appointed Yahya Sinwar as a the head of its political bureau after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, a spokesperson for the IDF said Israel remains committed to killing him.

"Yahya Sinwar is a terrorist, who is responsible for the most brutal terrorist attack in history - October 7th. There is only one place for Yahya Sinwar, and it is beside Mohammed Deif and the rest of the October 7th terrorists. That is the only place we’re preparing and intending for him," Daniel Hagari said in an interview with Al-Arabia.

Aug 06, 2024, 2:43 PM EDT

Last Israeli designated missing after Oct. 7 attack confirmed dead

Bilha Yinon, the last hostage who was unaccounted for by the Israeli government, has now been confirmed dead.

Yinon was killed on Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

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