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.


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.


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US Central Command leader to meet with Israel about Iran threat, building piers

Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, the commander of U.S. Central Command, is set to meet with officials in Israel about Iran and the Joint logistics over-the-shore floating piers which U.S. military officials currently on the ground in Israel have been working to coordinate with Israeli military officials, an Israeli official told ABC News.

The official said there has been a "marathon of calls" between Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the National Security Council, the State Department and the Pentagon, which the official credits with increasing statements of support by the administration for Israel in case it’s attacked by Iran. Those talks were an extension of the meetings two weeks ago when the White House summoned Israeli officials to Washington to discuss the urgent need to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza.

After months of U.S. calls for Israel to massively increase aid, multiple Israeli security officials tell ABC News that Israel heard the message loud and clear this time.

"We heard what they said about the humanitarian effort," the official told ABC News, noting Gallant came back from his trip to the U.S. and gave a "directive: 'We need to make an immediate impact on the scope and speed of the humanitarian aid going into Gaza,' and that's what we've done."

-ABC News' Matt Gutman


US skeptical that Hamas has enough hostages to fulfill 1st phase of proposed deal: Source

U.S. officials are skeptical that Hamas is holding enough Israeli hostages to meet the requirements for the first phase of the proposed deal currently on the table, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.

The proposal calls for Hamas to hand over 40 hostages who are either: children; women not affiliated with the Israel Defense Forces; sick adults; or adults over 50 years old, according to the officials.

In exchange, Israel would free an undefined number of Palestinian prisoners and implement a cease-fire of at least six weeks.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford


World Central Kitchen worker hurt in separate IDF strike

World Central Kitchen said one of its workers was injured in a separate airstrike in Gaza on the same day that seven WCK workers were killed.

Fifteen minutes before the Israeli attack that killed seven workers on April 1, "One of our brave Palestinian staff members was gravely injured in a reportedly deadly airstrike at al-Bashir Mosque in Deir al-Balah," World Central Kitchen said in a statement.

The two attacks were within miles of each other, WCK said.

The Palestinian staff member, Amro, suffered "serious head and hand injuries while he was off duty in a home close to the mosque in the area surrounding our warehouse and newly established kitchen in Deir al-Balah," WCK said.

He was in a coma for some time and is now recovering, the agency said.

"Amro joined the WCK team just after the start of the year," WCK said. "He was given rare opportunities to leave Gaza for Egypt several times, but he refused. He always says, 'I am here serving people hot food every day. I will not leave my job and let them suffer.'"


3 sons of Hamas political chief killed in Israeli strike, Hamas says

Three sons of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, according to a statement from Hamas.

Three of the brothers’ children were also killed in the strike.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the strike and said the sons were part of Hamas' military wing.


Kirby says it's up to Israel on how to respond to Iran's attack

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told ABC's "Good Morning America" Sunday that any response to Iran's Saturday night attack is up to Israeli forces.

But Kirby stressed that President Joe Biden does not want the situation to escalate or have the U.S. drawn further into any conflict.

When asked by ABC News' Whit Johnson about a response from Israel, Kirby said that it is up to the Israeli government to decide how to respond. He added that "the damage was extremely light," and the defenses in place proved Israel can defend itself.

"I won't speak for the Israelis. It's going to be up to them to decide whether and how they'll respond to this," Kirby said. "They showed last night, an incredible military capability on their own, but certainly in concert with friends."

When pressed about reports that Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the U.S. would oppose a counterattack on Iran, Kirby said it was "not an accurate reading" of the president's message. He emphasized that the White House does not "want to see the situation escalate further."

"The president understands the prime minister runs a government for a sovereign state of Israel, and that they'll decide whether and how they're going to respond to what Iran did last night," Kirby said.

Kirby reiterated the White House's message that the president will do "whatever he has to protect our troops and our facilities, our people in the region." He said there is no current threat to U.S. service members and facilities, noting that more U.S. forces moved into the region after Oct. 7 to help defend Israel and shipping channels in the Red Sea.

"We're going to obviously be vigilant to any potential threat to our forces in the region," Kirby said. "But the president has been clear we are not looking for a wider war. We're not looking for a second front or a third front. We're not looking to see escalation and we're certainly not looking for a war with Iran."

Kirby added that good intelligence about the attack helped the U.S. and Israel prepare.

"We've been watching as closely as we could the intelligence picture, we had a pretty good indication of the size and the scale and the scope of what Iran was planning," Kirby said. "That is why, because we had a good sense of what they were going to do and with how much, we were able to really help Israel knock down almost everything that Iran threw at them."