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.


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Israel makes new cease-fire proposal, now awaiting Hamas response

Israel put forward a new cease-fire proposal and hostage release deal on Monday, which has now been passed on to Hamas, an Egyptian security source told ABC News.

Mediators are awaiting a response from Hamas within 24 hours, the source said.

This is the first time Israel has taken the first move to submit a draft proposal since the war began, according to the source. Previous proposals have been initiated by Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

The source said talks could resume soon, without providing an exact timeline.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy


'Tragic doesn't even begin to describe it,' Harris says of IDF strike in Rafah

Vice President Kamala Harris weighed in on the IDF strike in Rafah that killed 50 civilians and injured 249 more, saying, "The word 'tragic' doesn't even begin to describe it."

She did not comment when asked if this crosses a red line for the administration. President Joe Biden has yet to weigh in.


Aid for Gaza through pier paused after weather causes parts of port to detach: US official

The flow of humanitarian aid for Gaza over the U.S. Army’s temporary Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) system has paused after rough seas caused parts of the pier to detach, a U.S. official told ABC News on Tuesday.

“Due to high sea states in the North African weather system earlier today, a portion of the Trident pier separated from the pier that is currently anchored into the coast of Gaza. As a result, the Trident pier was damaged, and sections of the pier need rebuilding and repairing,” she said.

The pier will be removed from its place near the Gazan coast and towed back to Ashdod “over the next 48 hours,” where U.S. Central Command will make repairs, according to Singh.

“The rebuilding and repairing of the pier will take at least over a week,” Singh said, adding that after repairs, it will need to be re-anchored to the Gazan shore.

-ABC News’ Matt Seyler


IDF says fire was the cause of civilians' lives lost in Rafah strike

Remarking on the deadly Rafah strike that killed 50 Palestinians and injured 249 others, the Israel Defense Forces said “a fire ignited tragically taking the lives of Gazan civilians nearby,” in a statement Tuesday.

“Sadly, following the strike, due to unforeseen circumstances, a fire ignited tragically taking the lives of Gazan civilians nearby. Despite our efforts to minimize civilian casualties during the strike, the fire that broke out was unexpected and unintended,” IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said.

“This is a devastating incident which we did not expect. We are investigating what caused the fire that resulted in this tragic loss of life,” he added.

Hagari said earlier that the strike had killed the two Hamas commanders they targeted.

-ABC News’ Dana Savir


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