Israel-Gaza updates: Kerem Shalom crossing closed to aid after rockets fired from Rafah, IDF says
The IDF said several people were injured Sunday.
As the Israel-Hamas war approaches the seven-month mark, renewed negotiations are underway to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization, as Israeli forces continue to prepare for an apparent invasion of the southern Gaza town of Rafah.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in a phone call over the weekend, discussing increasing the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza and plans for a possible military operation in Rafah, according to the White House.
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Turkey halts all trade with Israel
Turkey's Ministry of Trade announced Thursday that it would cease all exports and imports with Israel due to the deteriorating situation in the ongoing conflict.
"Turkey will strictly and decisively implement these new measures until the Israeli government allows the uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza," the ministry said in a statement.
-ABC News' Engin Bas
Israeli hostage confirmed dead
Dror Or, one of the Israeli citizens kidnapped on Oct. 7, is dead, Kibbutz Be’eri said Thursday.
Or, 49, a father of three, was killed during the Hamas attack that day and his body was taken into Gaza, according to the group.
Or's death was determined by several groups including the Israeli Ministry of Health, intelligence agencies, the Israel Police, the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the chief rabbi of Israel, according to Kibbutz Be’eri.
Or was kidnapped along with two of his children, Noam, 17, and Alma, 13, on Oct. 7. The teens were returned to Israel during an earlier deal, according to Kibbutz Be’eri.
There are currently 129 Israeli hostages still in captivity. Thirty-five hostages have been killed.
-ABC News' Dana Savir and Jordana Miller
Gaza's economic development set back by 20 years, UN report says
The toll of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Gaza is so severe that it has set economic development in Gaza back by 20 years, a report released Thursday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.
The poverty rate in the country is now at 58.4% and projections indicate it could rise in three months to 60.7%, according to the report. Roughly 1.86 million Gaza residents would be in poverty in that scenario, the report said.
The report also assessed a sharp decline in Gaza's Human Development Index (HDI), which the U.N. defines as a "summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and having a decent standard of living."
The "setback in human development" in Gaza may exceed the period before 2004 when HDI was first calculated for the country, the report said.
"Unprecedented levels of human losses, capital destruction, and the steep rise in poverty in such a short period of time will precipitate a serious development crisis that jeopardizes the future of generations to come," UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said in a statement.
-ABC News' Will Gretsky
Hamas is 'only barrier' to a cease-fire: State Department
The Biden administration is still in a holding pattern over the ongoing cease-fire negotiations between Hamas and Israel, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters Thursday.
Miller stressed that Hamas is the "only barrier" to a cease-fire and the world is awaiting their response to an offer from the Israelis.
"Every day that goes by without a cease-fire right now is on Hamas, because they are the ones that are holding up an answer to this proposal," he said. "They’re the ones holding up an immediate cease-fire that would help alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza."
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford