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.
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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.
New Jersey woman who fled Gaza says Gazans 'deserve life'
American Maha Elbanna woke up in Gaza on Thursday unsure if she'd be able to cross the border into Egypt. She found her name on the approved list and said she had enough fuel in her car for one shot at getting to the border.
Thursday night, from her hotel in Cairo, she told ABC News that she's been in Gaza for other wars, but this time is different.
"It's brutal," she said. "The total number of people killed is too high, too fast. Too many women and children -- can't be justified."
She said the decision to leave Gaza wasn't easy.
"I'm leaving everyone I know -- my brothers, sisters, nieces, my cousins, my friends, my co-workers," she said.
But she also has four children in New Jersey. She said she’s grateful she is able to go home to have Thanksgiving with them.
She said she wants people to know that Gazans are human.
"They're beautiful. They have dreams and hopes and aspirations. We do everything like all other normal people. We eat, we breathe, we play, we dance … we do yoga. we ride our bikes. It's normal life," she said. "It's people who deserve life."
-ABC News' Maggie Rulli
US flying unarmed drones over Gaza to help with hostage recovery
The U.S. has been flying unarmed MQ-9 Reaper drones above Gaza to assist with hostage recovery efforts, a U.S. official said.
The official would not discuss where the MQ-9 flights are originating for operational security reasons.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez
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.
UN secretary-general: 'I condemn the killing of civilians'
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement Tuesday that he's "deeply alarmed by the intensification of the conflict between Israel and Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza," including the Israeli military's expansion of ground operations in Gaza and continued airstrikes on Gaza.
He reiterated his call for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, for more humanitarian assistance allowed into Gaza and for the release of the hostages held by Hamas.
He also condemned both Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the killing of civilians in Gaza.
"International humanitarian law establishes clear rules that cannot be ignored. It is not an a la carte menu and cannot be applied selectively. All parties must abide by it, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution," Guterres said. "With too many Israeli and Palestinian lives already lost, this escalation only increases the immense suffering of civilians."
-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman