Israel-Gaza updates: 300,000 have fled Rafah, UN agency says

Israel called again on Saturday for civilians to leave parts of the city.

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.


IDF says it opened new crossing for humanitarian aid into Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces has announced that it has opened a new crossing to bring humanitarian aid into the famine-stricken Gaza.

The military announced in a Sunday press release the opening of the Western Erez crossing between Israel and northern Gaza in coordination with the U.S.

According to the military, the new crossing is located west of the Erez crossing, closer to the seashore. The crossing was constructed by the Israeli military "as part of the effort to increase routes for aid to Gaza, particularly to the North of the strip."

Earlier Sunday, IDF said it launched a large-scale operation in the area of Jabaliya in the North, while intensifying its military operations in the Eastern portion of Rafah and the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing. It said that it had called on the civilian population to evacuate from Jabaliya to shelters in the west part of Gaza City.

-ABC News' Dragana Jovanovic


White House National Security Advisor speaks to Israeli counterpart, expresses concern over pending Rafah invasion

In a phone call Sunday with his Israeli counterpart, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan expressed an "ironclad U.S. commitment" to Israel but also voiced the Biden administration's concerns about Israel's major military operations in Gaza, according to the White House.

During the call with Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, Sullivan reiterated President Joe Biden's "longstanding concerns over the potential for a major military ground operation into Rafah, where over one million people have taken shelter," according to a readout of the call that was released by the White House.

"He [Sullivan] discussed alternative courses of action to ensure the defeat of Hamas everywhere in Gaza," the readout said. "Mr. Hanegbi confirmed that Israel is taking U.S. concerns into account."

The White House said Sullivan also expressed condolences on Israel's Memorial Day, the first since Hamas' surprise Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. The Hamas attack killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, according to Israel's Prime Minister's Office.

Sullivan and Hanegbi also reviewed discussions by officials on both sides of the war about alternatives for a Rafah invasion and agreed to plan an in-person meeting soon, according to the White House.

-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart


300,000 have fled Rafah, UN agency says

More than 300,000 people have fled Rafah in the week since Israel issued a partial evacuation order, the United Nations agency operating in Gaza said on Sunday.

The U.N. Agency for Palestine Refugees called the evacuation "forced and inhumane."

"There is nowhere safe to go," the agency said on social media, repeating the phrase three times for emphasis.

The Israeli military late Saturday called again for civilians to evacuate from much of the eastern part of the city, which is in southern Gaza.

Israel Defense Forces entered Rafah last week, in what they called a "precise" operation ahead of potential invasion.

"Prior to our operations we urge civilians to temporarily move towards humanitarian areas and move away from the crossfire that Hamas puts them in," the Israel Defense Forces said on a post on Telegram. "Our war is against Hamas, not against the people of Gaza."

-ABC News' Dragana Jovanovic and Kevin Shalvey



Former State Department officials say US avoided legal obligations in arms report

An independent, self-formed task force of former State Department officials and international law experts say the U.S. "shirked" its legal obligations with Friday's National Security Memorandum-mandated report that examined Israel's use of U.S.-supplied arms.

"The Administration must come to terms with the fact that what it faces in its lethal military assistance to Israel's operations in Gaza - and beyond - is not a policy problem: it is a legal problem," the officials said Friday, adding, "The Administration’s report is at best incomplete, and at worst intentionally misleading in defense of acts and behaviors that likely violate international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes. Once again, the Biden Administration has stared the facts in the face - and then pulled the curtains shut."

More than 34,000 Palestinians have died, including 14,000 children, the officials said, noting that "most of them [were] killed by U.S. munitions."

-ABC News' Christopher Boccia


UNGA passes resolution calling on Security Council to reconsider Palestinian membership

The United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution calling on the Security Council to reconsider Palestinian membership in the U.N.

The motion passed overwhelmingly with 143 countries in favor, nine against and 25 abstaining.

"Granting Palestinian membership requires a recommendation from the Security Council. At the same time, the Assembly determines that the State of Palestine is qualified for such status and recommends that the Security Council 'reconsider the matter favourably,'" the U.N. said in a statement.

Despite broad support, the U.S. voted "no."

"President Biden has been clear that sustainable peace in the region can be achieved only through a two-state solution, with Israel’s security guaranteed, where Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side with equal measures of freedom and dignity. It remains the U.S. view that unilateral measures at the UN and on the ground will not advance this goal," Ambassador Robert Wood said in a statement Friday.

If approved, the new status would not take effect until the General Assembly opens in September.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky