Israel-Gaza updates: Harris to meet with Israeli war Cabinet member on Monday
Kamala Harris will meet with Benny Gantz at the White House, an official said.
More than four months since Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, the Israeli military continues its bombardment of the neighboring Gaza Strip.
The conflict, now the deadliest between the warring sides since Israel's founding in 1948, shows no signs of letting up soon and the brief cease-fire that allowed for over 100 hostages to be freed from Gaza remains a distant memory.
Click here for updates from previous days.
Latest headlines:
- Netanyahu adviser says Israel helped coordinate US airdrops in Gaza
- VP Harris to hold White House meeting with Israeli war Cabinet member: Official
- Malnutrition reportedly kills at least 10 children in northern Gaza: UNICEF
- Ceasefire deal talks underway amid plans for future Gaza aid
- Food drop part of ‘sustained effort’ to get more aid into Gaza: CENTCOM
- US dropped aid into Gaza, two officials confirm
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.
State Department says there's been 'progress' in hostage talks
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Monday that there’s been "progress" in hostage talks over the last few days, but he said it’s unclear whether Hamas would accept the latest proposal.
"We’ve had progress with the conversations we've had between Egypt, Israel, the United States and Qatar," Miller said.
He was then asked if they might reach a deal before Ramadan, which begins on March 10.
"I can't make that assessment because it depends on Hamas. We believe a deal is possible and we hope Hamas will agree to one," he said.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Aid to Gaza has dropped by half since January, UNRWA says
Humanitarian aid to Gaza dropped by 50% from January to February, according to Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
"Aid was supposed to increase not decrease to address the huge needs of 2 million Palestinians in desperate living conditions," Lazzarini said on social media Monday. "Among the obstacles: lack of political will, regular closing of the crossing points & lack of security due to military operations + collapse of civil order."
Lazzarini stressed the need for a cease-fire.
IDF presents war cabinet with plan to evacuate Gazans from 'areas of fighting'
The Israel Defense Forces has presented Israel's war cabinet with a "plan for evacuating the population from the areas of fighting in the Gaza Strip," a release from the prime minister's office said early Monday local time.
"In addition, the plan for providing humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip in a manner that will prevent the looting that has occurred in the northern Strip and other areas was approved," the statement added.
Editor's Note: This post has been updated to reflect that the IDF presented the plan, not the prime minister's office, as originally reported.
Israel agrees to updated framework in cease-fire, hostage deal
Israel has agreed to an updated framework that would establish a six-week cease-fire in Gaza in exchange for the release of 40 hostages, an Israeli source told ABC News. The development follows talks in Paris, which includes officials from the U.S., Israel, Qatar and Egypt.
While Israel says it's waiting to hear back from Hamas on whether it will accept the updated language from this weekend's talks, Israel is pushing forward with plans to enter Rafah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X that operational plans and evacuation plans in Rafah are ready to be approved by his cabinet.
As part of the proposed deal, Israel has agreed to release jailed Palestinians at a higher ratio than the previous deal, which was 3 to 1. Up to 400 Palestinian prisoners could be released in this new deal.
The Israel Defense Forces will redeploy but not withdraw from Gaza.
-ABC News' Marcus Moore
Biden 'hopes' for cease-fire in Gaza by next Monday
President Biden said he "hopes" to have a cease-fire in Gaza by March 4.
"I hope by the end of the weekend," the president told reporters Monday. "My national security advisor tells me that we’re close, it's not done yet. My hope is by next Monday we’ll have a ceasefire."
The comments came during a stop at Van Leeuwen’s ice cream shop in New York City as the president visited NBC "Late Night" host Seth Meyers.