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Israel-Gaza live updates: Hamas to send a delegation to Cairo for hostage and cease-fire negotiations
Hamas will send a delegation to Cairo for hostage and cease-fire negotiations.
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.
Latest headlines:
- Hamas to send a delegation to Cairo for hostage and cease-fire negotiations
- Biden and Netanyahu speak: White House
- FBI examining hostage video that appears to show American Keith Siegel, White House says
- Video of kidnapped son brings 'total mix' of emotions, say parents of Hamas hostage
- New video claims to show American hostage in Gaza
State Department considers Gaza a 'severe humanitarian crisis'
The State Department has released its annual assessment of human rights across the globe.
The U.S. assessed that Israelis have killed or injured nearly 80,000 Palestinians in Gaza -- accounting for 3% of the population.
The State Department stressed that Israel "must conduct military operations in accordance with international law and take every feasible precaution to protect civilians."
"We continue to urgently raise concerns surrounding the deaths of and injuries to tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, including women, children, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable persons," the U.S. said. "We repeatedly have pressed concerns about Palestinian civilians’ access to humanitarian assistance, displacement of the majority of the population of Gaza, and the unprecedented number of journalists killed."
The U.S. continues to review allegations that Israel violated international laws of war in Gaza and the West Bank, and part of that review will look into whether U.S. weapons were involved, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference Monday.
Blinken said the process will be fair, whether a country is "an adversary or competitor, a friend or an ally."
-ABC News’ Chris Boccia
Israeli intelligence chief resigns over Oct. 7
Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, the head of Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate, has submitted his resignation in the wake of the Oct. 7 surprise terror attack, the Israel Defense Forces said on Monday.
"The Chief of the General Staff thanked Major General Aharon Haliva for his 38 years of service in the IDF, during which he made significant contributions to the security of the State of Israel as both a combat soldier and commander," IDF officials said in a post on social media.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian and Kevin Shalvey
US drops 50,000 meals over Northern Gaza
The U.S. military on Sunday dropped 50,688 ready-to-eat meals into northern Gaza, Central Command said.
The humanitarian aid, which was dropped from four Air Force aircraft, brings the total U.S. assistance supplied by air to about 1,001 tons, CENTCOM said.
"The DoD humanitarian airdrops contribute to ongoing U.S. and partner-nation government efforts to alleviate human suffering," CENTCOM said on social media. "These airdrops are part of a sustained effort, and we continue to plan follow-on aerial deliveries."
-ABC News' Lauren Minore and Kevin Shalvey
3 injured in 'ramming terror attack' in Jerusalem, police say
Three people were "lightly" injured after being struck by a vehicle in a "ramming terror attack," Israeli police said on Monday morning. The two suspects allegedly fled the scene.
The pedestrians were struck at about 8 a.m. on Mordechai Tekhelet Street, police said.
"Immediately afterward, two terrorists emerged from the vehicle armed with 'Carlo' type weapon, and attempted to open fire, unsuccessfully," police said.
Investigators recovered a weapon from the area following the incident, police said.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller, Guy Davies and Kevin Shalvey
Israel responds to report released on UNRWA
Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, is claiming that more than 2,135 workers at UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, are members of Hamas or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
"Hamas has infiltrated UNRWA so deeply that it is no longer possible to determine where UNRWA ends and where Hamas begins," Erdan said. "Israel calls on the donor countries to refrain from transferring their taxpayers' money to UNRWA-Gaza, as these funds will go to the Hamas terrorist organization, and that violates legislation in the donor countries themselves."
This comes after an independent review of UNRWA released on Monday found the agency had policies in place to back up its principle of neutrality, but also found UNRWA had "serious gaps in implementation," The Associated Press reported. The report made recommendations to improve the agency’s neutrality.
The report also found that Israel hadn’t provided evidence to back up its claim that a significant number of UNRWA employees were members of Hamas or PIJ, the AP said.