Israel-Gaza updates: 22, including 18 children, reported dead in Rafah strikes
The IDF says it struck military targets of terrorist organizations in Gaza.
Israel launched a retaliatory strike against Iran early Friday morning local time, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.
The strike followed Iran's attack on Saturday, when Tehran sent a volley of more than 300 drones and missiles toward targets in Israel, according to Israeli military officials. All but a few were intercepted by Israel and its allies, including the United States, officials said.
Iran's weekend attack came more than six months after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, after which the Israeli military began its bombardment of Gaza.
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What to know about Iran's attack on Israel
Israeli officials said the country's Iron Dome defense system endured a big test from Iran's attack on Saturday, intercepting 99% of the 300 "threats of various types" thrown at it.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari, launched 170 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), more than 120 ballistic missiles and more than 30 cruise missiles in the attack.
Hagari said "99% of the threats launched towards Israeli territory were intercepted -- a very significant strategic achievement."
Hagari said the attack resulted in only one known Israeli casualty, a 7-year-old girl who was severely injured when she was struck by shrapnel apparently from an intercepted missile.
Sullivan to meet with hostage families on Monday
National security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet families of hostages at the White House on Monday, which is one day after the war reaches the six-month mark, a senior administration official said.
President Joe Biden on Friday wrote letters to the president of Egypt and the emir of Qatar on the state of the talks, and he urged them to secure commitments from Hamas to agree to and abide by a deal, the official added.
"The president made clear that everything must be done to secure the release of hostages, including American citizens, now held by Hamas terrorists for nearly six months," the senior administration official said.
"They discussed the importance of fully empowering Israeli negotiators to reach a deal, which in its first phase would secure the release of women, elderly, sick and wounded hostages," the official said.
A new round of talks will take place this weekend in Cairo.
-ABC News’ Selina Wang
Strike on World Central Kitchen workers was 'a terrible chain of errors,' IDF says
The Israeli Defense Forces issued a new statement in English calling the Israeli military’s strikes that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers on Monday a "tragedy."
"It was a terrible chain of errors and it should never have happened," the IDF said. "The IDF takes full responsibility for this regrettable loss of life."
The IDF said earlier that the airstrike came after Israeli forces misidentified a WCK worker in the convoy as a Hamas gunman.
The IDF said WCK correctly coordinated its movements with the IDF prior to the night the workers were killed and that there was a "comprehensive plan" in place for the WCK workers’ movements on Monday.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
US 'carefully' reviewing Israel's report on WCK attack, Blinken says
U.S. officials are reviewing Israel's report on the Israel military’s attack on World Central Kitchen aid workers "very carefully" and "will be discussing its conclusions with Israeli officials and with humanitarian organizations in the days to come," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters.
The Israel Defense Forces said its airstrike in Gaza that killed seven WCK aid workers on Monday came after Israeli forces misidentified a WCK worker in the convoy as a Hamas gunman.
Blinken said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "indicated" to President Joe Biden in their Thursday call "that Israel would be making further changes to its procedures to make sure that those who are providing assistance to people who so desperately need it in Gaza are protected."
"It's very important that Israel is taking full responsibility for this incident. It's also important that it appears to be taking steps to hold those responsible accountable," Blinken said. "Even more important is making sure that steps are taken going forward to ensure that something like this can never happen again."
Blinken said the U.S. would be "looking to see not just what steps are being taken, but the results that follow" from potential changes to Israeli military operations.
-ABC News’ Chris Boccia
Kirby: US must 'start seeing meaningful changes' from Israel
White House national security communications adviser John Kirby warned Friday that if the U.S. doesn’t "start seeing meaningful changes in the way Israel is prosecuting these [military] operations [in Gaza] and allowing for humanitarian assistance [in Gaza], and working toward a hostage deal and cease-fire, then we’re going to have to make changes in our Gaza policy."
In his interview with ABC News' "Good Morning America," Kirby would not say if those changes in Gaza policy would mean conditioning U.S. aid.
But Kirby said President Joe Biden was very clear on his call Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. must "see some changes."
"We’ve got to see the humanitarian situation improve in Gaza, or otherwise we will have to try to take a look at our own policy and make decisions, and change the way that we’re supporting Israel," Kirby said.
The U.S. still wants an immediate cease-fire in exchange for the release of the Israeli hostages and for getting more aid into Gaza, Kirby stressed. U.S. officials will be among the negotiators meeting this weekend in Cairo, he said.
Iran says issue 'closed' after retaliatory strike on Israel
The Iranian envoy to the United Nations said Sunday that "the issue can be considered closed," referencing Iran's attack on Israel.
The envoy also warned the U.S. to "stay away" from the escalating conflict between the two countries.
"If the Israeli regime makes another mistake, the response of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be considerably more severe," the envoy said, referring to Israel's strike earlier this month on Iran's Consulate in Damascus, Syria, that killed a top Iranian military leader. "This is a conflict between Iran and the rogue regime of Israel, and America should stay away from it."
Iran's state news agency IRNA also reported Sunday that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a stern warning to the U.S. "against supporting and participating in any action that harms Iranian interests. In its statement, the IRGC threatened "a reciprocal and proportional response to American and Israeli threats originating from any country."
The Iranian foreign minister posted on his X account: "Exercising the right of legitimate defense shows Iran's responsible approach to regional and international peace and security. At this point, the Islamic Republic of Iran has no intention of continuing defensive operations, but if necessary, it will not hesitate to protect its legitimate interests against any new aggression."
-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian and Dana Savir