Israel-Gaza updates: Blinken, Abbas meet on restoring 'calm' in West Bank, State Department says
The top U.S. diplomat made an unannounced stop in the West Bank on Sunday.
Thousands of people have died and thousands more have been injured since the militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel retaliated with a bombing campaign and total siege of the neighboring Gaza Strip, leaving the region on the verge of all-out war.
Click here for updates from previous days.
Latest headlines:
- Blinken meets with Iraqi prime minister
- Blinken visits West Bank, meets with Palestinian Authority leader Abbas
- Blinken in Jordan reaffirms need for 'increased, sustained' humanitarian aid for Gaza
- ABC News' Ian Pannell embeds with IDF in Gaza
- Doctors Without Borders says conflict has reached ‘new low’ after ambulance strike
What we know about the conflict
The latest outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, has passed the four-month mark.
In the Gaza Strip, at least 30,228 people have been killed and 71,377 others have been wounded by Israeli forces since Oct. 7, according to Gaza's Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.
In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured by Hamas and other Palestinian militants since Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
There has also been a surge in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have killed at least 395 people in the territory since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The ongoing war began after Hamas-led militants launched an unprecedented incursion into southern Israel from neighboring Gaza via land, sea and air. Scores of people were killed while more than 200 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. The Israeli military subsequently launched retaliatory airstrikes followed by a ground invasion of Gaza, a 140-square-mile territory where more than 2 million Palestinians have lived under a blockade imposed by Israel and supported by Egypt since Hamas came to power in 2007. Gaza, unlike Israel, has no air raid sirens or bomb shelters.
Blinken and Netanyahu meet again
Secretary Blinken and Prime Minister Netanyahu met earlier this morning behind closed doors and are now meeting with the Israeli War Cabinet, according to the pool producer on the ground.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now holding a private meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, at the Kirya in Tel Aviv. They will also meet with the members of the War Cabinet," the Israeli PM tweeted.
Secretary Blinken arrives in Israel
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken descended the plane stairs and greeted newly sworn-in Ambassador Jack Lew and the former Chargé d’Affaires, now Deputy Chief of Mission Stephanie Hallett, as he arrived in Tel Aviv on Friday morning.
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Chief of State Protocol Gil Haskel and MFA North Americas Bureau Director Yaron Sideman also welcomed the secretary.
Blinken will meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu, members of the Israeli War Cabinet and President Herzog this morning and will hold a press availability at 8 a.m. ET (2 p.m. local) after the meetings.
Hezbollah leader to give speech Friday in Beirut, Lebanon
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is scheduled to speak publicly Friday to people in Ashura Square in Beirut, Lebanon.
The speech is expected to start 3 p.m. local time
Nasrallah will likely appear to the crowd in Beirut via a screen and not in person. He has not appeared in person on the street since 2006.
-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman, Marcus Moore and Bruno Roeber
Ceasefire would allow Hamas to regroup: Pentagon spokesperson
Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder reiterated the administration's calls for a humanitarian pause over a ceasefire.
We do not support a ceasefire, in that gives time for Hamas to regroup which is something that again, would put Israeli citizens and others in danger," he said. "You have heard however, the president say that the U.S. government does support humanitarian pauses to enable humanitarian aid to get in, for hostages to get out as well as other citizens."
"So in the [Defense] Secretary's discussion with his counterparts, ensuring that innocent civilians in Gaza are able to get humanitarian assistance, whether that be water fuel, medical aid ... that continues to be something that we continue to emphasize regularly," Ryder added.
Ryder added that the U.S. continues to speak to Israel about the importance of safeguarding civilian lives in its operations in Gaza, which includes the principle of proportionality, while acknowledging that Israel has a right to self-defense and is dealing with an existential threat.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez
Israeli forces 'fighting deep inside the Gaza Strip': IDF
The Israeli military is "fighting deep inside the Gaza Strip," killing "terrorists in close range combat" and "conducting coordinated strikes on terror targets from land, air and sea," the Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday.
The IDF said it has "eliminated many terrorists and destroyed terror infrastructure."
On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers killed terror leader Ibrahim Biari, the IDF said.
"Striking Biari caused the collapse of adjacent buildings because of the expansive infrastructure there whose purpose was to launch terror attacks against our forces," the IDF said. "During the battle, the entire infrastructure collapsed and many terrorists were killed."
"The Hamas terrorists continue to use civilian population as protective armor. This is intentional and devastatingly barbaric," the IDF continued. "Once again, today, we call on the citizens of Northern Gaza to move Southward. … We will act forcefully in the city of Gaza and in the Northern Gaza Strip. We will continue to act against any terrorist in every part of the Gaza Strip."
-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman