Israel-Gaza updates: Blinken tells Israel onus is on Hamas to accept cease-fire

The 26-year-old was kidnapped from the Nova music festival.

As the Israel-Hamas war crosses the seven-month mark, 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.


0

Hamas says they will agree to cease-fire deal when Israel agrees to stop war in Gaza

Hamas released a new statement about the proposed cease-fire deal, saying if Israel agreed to "stop its war and aggression" in Gaza, they would "reach a complete agreement that includes a comprehensive exchange deal," Hamas said in the statement.

"Today, we informed the mediators of our clear position that if the occupation stops its war and aggression against our people in Gaza, our readiness to reach a complete agreement that includes a comprehensive exchange deal," Hamas added.

Israel had said it submitted a cease-fire proposal to Hamas earlier this week and was awaiting the group's review of the deal. Israel officials then said that they expect the war in Gaza to last until the end of this year.

-ABC News' Diaa Ostaz


Egyptian source denies Israeli claim of tunnels in the Philadelphi corridor

A high-level Egyptian source denied Israeli reports about the existence of tunnels on the Egyptian border with Gaza, Egyptian state-run Al-Qahera News said.

The source dismissed the reports as “lies” promoted by Israel to "cover up its military failure." It added that there were "no communications with the Israeli side" regarding the allegations.

There has been no official comment from Cairo since the announcement.

Egypt has over the past decade destroyed hundreds of smuggling tunnels along its eastern border with Gaza as part of its fight against Islamist militants in its border Sinai region.

Egyptian officials have said a potential Israeli takeover of Philadelphi, a largely demilitarized buffer zone along the Gaza-Egypt border, could violate the 1979 peace deal between Egypt and Israel.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy


Gaza pier built by US Army expected to be working again within a week

The damaged components of the U.S. pier built to funnel aid into Gaza are back at the Port of Ashdod undergoing repairs, a U.S. official confirmed to ABC News.

The system is expected to be back in operation on Gaza's coast within a week, the official said.

-ABC News' Matt Seyler


2 Red Crescent paramedics killed in Israeli strike on ambulance

Two members of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society were killed in the bombing of an ambulance in Rafah as the Israel Defense Forces operation continues, according to the PRCS.

"The PRCS paramedics Haitham Tubasi and Suhail Hassouna were killed as a result of the Israeli occupation's direct bombing of a Palestine Red Crescent ambulance in the Tal Sultan area, west of Rafah, while they were performing their humanitarian duty," the PRCS said in a statement Wednesday.

The paramedics were heading to evacuate the wounded and martyrs in the Abu Al-Saeed roundabout area in Tal Al-Sultan, west of Rafah, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

-ABC News' WIll Gretsky


Israeli government says it wasn’t told Biden would mention permanent cease-fire

An Israeli government official said the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office wasn’t informed that President Joe Biden’s Friday remarks would include a permanent end to the fighting.

“If you listen to what Biden said, you come to the impression that we agree to a permanent cease-fire without, or, without our conditions being met, and that's not the case,” the official said.

The official said the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was informed 30 minutes before that Biden was giving a speech. The official said Netanyahu was told that the speech would focus on the hostages, with no mention of implementing a permanent cease-fire.

A senior U.S. official said the Biden administration "engaged with the Israelis at multiple levels before the president delivered the speech." The official said the U.S. specifically engaged with the Israeli Prime Minister's Office and the Israeli war cabinet.

The official also pointed to when Biden said in his speech that it was a proposal that the Israelis agreed to. The official noted that Netanyahu himself said that it was an Israeli proposal.

An Israeli official and two other Israeli sources who are familiar with the matter told ABC News that what Biden presented is indeed the outline of the Israeli proposal. The sources said the proposal was approved by all war cabinet members, including Netanyahu, and sent to the mediators earlier in the week.

The sources added that there are “interpretation gaps,” referring to the way the outline was presented by Biden.

Biden presented on Friday what he said was an Israeli proposal to draw the war in Gaza to a close.

Biden said the deal had been transmitted to Israel and Hamas, through Qatar.

The president said the first phase would last for six weeks and include a "full and complete cease-fire, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza [and] release of a number of hostages." Palestinians would also be able to return to their homes and 600 trucks of humanitarian aid would be delivered to Gaza every day.

The second phase would include a release of all remaining living hostages and the temporary cease-fire would become a permanent cease-fire with Israel withdrawing all forces from Gaza "as long as Hamas lives up to its commitments," Biden said.

In phase three, there would be a major reconstruction of Gaza.

-ABC News’ Britt Clennett, Dana Savir and Michelle Stoddart