Israel-Gaza updates: Gantz rejects Netanyahu's request, resigns

He said Netanyahu is "preventing us from progressing towards a true victory."

Last Updated: June 3, 2024, 1:27 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 03, 2024, 1:27 PM EDT

White House: Biden outlined Israel’s cease-fire offer accurately

President Joe Biden outlined Israel’s cease-fire proposal accurately in his Friday speech, the White House maintained Monday, pushing back on suggestions he miscommunicated the offer.

"The Israeli foreign minister himself acknowledged that this was the Israeli proposal ... and we're confident that it accurately reflects that proposal, a proposal that we worked with the Israelis on," White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters.

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, June 3, 2024.
Mohammed Salem/Reuters

Kirby also argued that Biden "felt it was important" to reveal details from ongoing cease-fire negotiations for the first time, saying it was meant to apply pressure on Hamas, not to corner Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"We don't typically go through the details of these kinds of proposals," Kirby said. "But in this case, given where we are, given how much longer the hostages have now been held, given the fact that Hamas has reneged on several past occasions, on proposals that were sent to them, and given the fact that the Israelis really did work hard to come up with this proposal, and did so in good faith, the president felt it was important for the first time to publicly lay that out."

"This wasn't about jamming the prime minister or the war cabinet," Kirby added. "This was about laying bare for the public to see how well and how faithfully and how assertively the Israelis came up with a new proposal, how it shows how much they really want to get this done."

Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in an Israeli bombardment on a residential building owned by the Akel family in Bureij refugee camp, at al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, June 3, 2024.
Abdel Kareem Hana/AP

Kirby said Biden delivered the speech on Friday afternoon because the deal was presented to Hamas the night before.

"We're awaiting an official response by them now to take the deal," Kirby said. "This gives them what they've been looking for, which is a cease-fire and over time, and through the phases, the potential withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza."

-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow

Jun 03, 2024, 12:35 PM EDT

Netanyahu: Israel must work to bring hostages home, dismantle Hamas at same time

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has released his first public statement since President Joe Biden's Friday speech endorsing the original Israeli cease-fire deal.

"We are working in countless ways to return our abductees," Netanyahu said in Hebrew on Monday. "That's why we went a long way to bring them back, but in the process of this action we maintained the goals of the war, chief among them the elimination of Hamas."

PHOTO: Israel Palestinians
Israeli soldiers stand on top of tanks in a staging area near the Israeli-Gaza border in southern Israel, June 3, 2024.
Leo Correa/AP

"We insist that we complete both this and that. It's part of the outline, it's not something I'm adding now, it's not something I'm adding because I was pressured in the coalition, it's something we unanimously agreed on in the war cabinet," Netanyahu added.

-ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Dana Savir

Jun 03, 2024, 3:57 AM EDT

1 million have fled Rafah, UNRWA says

More than 1 million people have fled Rafah in the weeks since Israel issued evacuation orders, the local U.N. agency said Monday.

Smoke billows in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 2, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group.
Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images

"Thousands of families now shelter in damaged & destroyed facilities in Khan Younis, where UNRWA keeps providing essential services despite increasing challenges," the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said in a statement.

The agency added, "Conditions are unspeakable."

-ABC News' Kevin Shalvey

Jun 02, 2024, 10:52 PM EDT

Sec. Blinken tells Israel onus is on Hamas to accept cease-fire deal

Sec. of State Anthony Blinken spoke to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday about the proposal for a ceasefire-hostage deal.

The deal would secure the release of the hostages and ensure a surge in humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza.

"The Secretary commended Israel’s readiness to conclude a deal and affirmed that the onus is on Hamas to accept," according to a readout of the call.

During the call, Blinken also reaffirmed America's commitment to Israel's security.

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