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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Netanyahu: Israel 'will make our own decisions' on how to respond to Iran

After meeting with U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he appreciates their advice, but added, "We will make our own decisions and the State of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself."

Cameron told reporters after the meeting in Jerusalem, "It's clear the Israelis are making a decision to act."

"We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible, and in a way that -- as I said yesterday -- is smart as well as tough," Cameron added.

Cameron also reiterated that the "real need is to refocus back on Hamas, back on the hostages, back on getting the aid in, back on getting a pause in the conflict in Gaza."

"That's why I'm here today to talk to the Israeli government, to talk to the Palestinian Authority to try and push those things forward," Cameron said.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman


US says it will impose new sanctions on Iran in coming days

The United States announced Tuesday it will impose new sanctions targeting Iran in the coming days following its "unprecedented air attack against Israel."

The sanctions include targeting Iran's missile and drone program and new sanctions against entities supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran’s Defense Ministry, according to the White House's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.

"We anticipate that our allies and partners will soon be following with their own sanctions,” Sullivan said in a statement. "We will not hesitate to continue to take action, in coordination with allies and partners around the world, and with Congress, to hold the Iranian government accountable for its malicious and destabilizing actions."

The U.S. is telegraphing its sanction plan in advance to underscore the large international response that the U.S. is coordinating and to signal to Iran there will be diplomatic costs to what they've done, a senior administration official told ABC News. The official said they believe this will have an impact, in part, by bringing other countries on board.

-ABC News' Selina Wang


IDF's conduct, ethics under scrutiny following soldiers' social media posts

Six months into the Israel-Hamas conflict, the conduct and ethics of some Israel Defense Forces members have increasingly come under the microscope.

Incidents ranging from pranks to potentially criminal acts are being exposed to the world, often by videos soldiers themselves have posted online, according to critics and Israeli officials.

In many pictures and videos that have circulated since the conflict began, and which were reposted by pro-Palestinian activists to millions of followers, IDF soldiers are seen blowing up buildings in Gaza while in combat, waving women’s underwear like flags and rifling through the possessions of Gazans with gleeful expressions.

Younis Tirawi, a Palestinian activist, says he’s seen thousands of videos of IDF soldiers reportedly behaving improperly.

"You can see all the soldiers liking their posts," Tirawi told ABC News.

Click here to read more.


Blinken to Israeli war cabinet: 'We do not want to see further escalation'

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, during which Blinken "continue[d] to send the same messages in all his conversations -- which is we do not want to see further escalation of the conflict," according to spokesperson Matt Miller.

Miller declined to say whether the U.S. assessed the threat of escalation had fallen, but an administration official said the amount of time that has already elapsed since Iran’s weekend attack had boosted hopes that Israel would exercise constraint.

Miller batted down reports that Iran and the U.S. were communicating through intermediaries in the wake of Tehran’s attack on Israel.

"There have not been such messages delivered. It's been days since we've communicated -- since we've sent messages to the government of Iran," Miller said. "And I say that as a reminder of something we've said before: Oftentimes, the Iranian government has misled the world about either messages they've passed to us or messages that we have passed to them."

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford


US sanctions 16 people, 2 groups after Iran attacks

The U.S. is sanctioning two groups and 16 people it says enabled Iran's drone production following Iran's attack on Israel last weekend.

"Today, in coordination with the United Kingdom and in consultation with partners and allies, we are taking swift and decisive action to respond to Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. "We’re using Treasury’s economic tools to degrade and disrupt key aspects of Iran’s malign activity, including its UAV program and the revenue the regime generates to support its terrorism."

The Treasury Department said it’s sanctioning Khuzestan Steel Company, Iran's largest steel producer. The Treasury Department said Iran's metals sector generates "several billion dollars in revenue annually."

The U.S. is also targeting the Iranian carmaker Bahman Group for its role in making vehicles used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for military operations.

The sanctions also target people who work for Iran-based drone manufacturers, including executives of the Mado Company, which the U.S. says produced drone engines used in Iran's Shahed UAVs. The U.S. also sanctioned members of the IRGC who it says help supply proxy groups, like the Houthis in Yemen, with drones that have attacked U.S. service members in the Red Sea.

Yellen added that the U.S. would "continue to deploy" sanctions to counter any further action by Iran, with the goal of making it harder and more expensive for Iran to undertake destabilizing actions.

President Joe Biden said in a statement that these sanctions are "holding Iran accountable."

Biden emphasized that the sanctions are in coordination with the international community, and he said the other G7 countries are committed to increasing "economic pressure" on Iran alongside the U.S.

Biden said he has instructed his team to continue to impose sanctions that will degrade Iran's military capabilities.

Biden also reiterated his ironclad support for Israel, and issued a warning to Iran and those who "enable" Iran's attacks.

"We are committed to the security of our personnel and partners in the region," Biden said. "And we will not hesitate to take all necessary action to hold you accountable."

-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart and Justin Gomez