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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
Scoop: Biden will not sanction 3 Israeli military units U.S. determined committed human rights violations
President Biden has decided not to sanction three Israeli military units it determined committed human rights violations in the West Bank, according to a letter from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to House Speaker Mike Johnson, obtained by ABC News.
The Biden administration determined that three military battalions with the Israeli Defense Force committed “gross human rights violations” against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.
But the units will remain eligible for US military aid anyway because of steps Israel says it's taking to address the problem, according to the letter.
The allegations involving each of the units occurred before the Oct. 7 war began, according to the letter, which notes, none of the cases involve operations against Hamas in Gaza or against Iran or its proxies.
US pier in Gaza on track to begin humanitarian assistance in early May
A senior U.S. military official shared an update on the temporary pier intended to help deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza in a briefing for Pentagon reporters Thursday.
"We are on track to begin delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza from the sea in early May," the military official said.
Once operational, the U.S. expects the pier will be able to handle about 90 trucks a day and then quickly build up to 150 trucks worth of humanitarian aid, the official added.
The official explained how the flow of aid will be transferred via the pier, saying, supplies will be unloaded onto a floating platform located miles off the Gaza shore and then a smaller watercraft carrying five trucks will be offloaded onto the floating pier that will be anchored to the shore.
From there, the trucks will drop off their cargo in a secure area for future distribution and constantly repeat that process, according to the official.
The truck drivers will not be U.S. military personnel but the drivers, from an undisclosed country, will have their own security, according to the official.
US begins building pier off coast of Gaza: Pentagon
The U.S. military has begun to build a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza to help deliver humanitarian aid, the Pentagon's top spokesperson confirmed at a press briefing Thursday.
"We are aware of the significant interest in this important effort and will provide much more information in the very near future as we work alongside the international community to rush aid to the people of Gaza," Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.
In the wake of a mortar attack in the general vicinity of where the pier is located near Gaza City earlier Thursday, Ryder said the pier and causeway are being built miles offshore and are "nowhere near mortar range."
The incident "in no way delays our efforts to establish the maritime corridor," Ryder said.
The pier should be ready to off-load humanitarian aid from ships by early May, he said.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez
US, 17 other countries call for immediate release of hostages
President Joe Biden and the leaders of 17 other countries -- Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand and the U.K. -- are calling for the release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in a new statement released Thursday.
“The fate of the hostages and the civilian population in Gaza, who are protected under international law, is of international concern," they said in a statement released Thursday. "We emphasize that the deal on the table to release the hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged cease-fire in Gaza, that would facilitate a surge of additional necessary humanitarian assistance to be delivered throughout Gaza, and lead to the credible end of hostilities."
"Gazans would be able to return to their homes and their lands with preparations beforehand to ensure shelter and humanitarian provisions. We strongly support the ongoing mediation efforts in order to bring our people home. We reiterate our call on Hamas to release the hostages, and let us end this crisis so that collectively we can focus our efforts on bringing peace and stability to the region," the statement read.
-ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez and Michelle Stoddart
World Central Kitchen will resume operations in Gaza on Monday, it says
The World Central Kitchen said it will resume operations in Gaza on Monday.
"The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire," CEO Erin Gore said Sunday in a press release. "We are restarting our operation with the same energy, dignity and focus on feeding as many people as possible. To date, we have distributed more than 43 million meals, and we are eager to deliver millions more."
"We will continue to get as much food into Gaza, including northern Gaza, as possible -- by land, air or sea," Gore added, in part.
Chef José Andrés' aid group had paused operations on April 2, when seven workers were killed in Gaza during an Israel Defense Forces drone strike, the food-relief organization has said.
Andrés, in an exclusive sit-down interview with "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz earlier this month, said the strike is "unforgivable" and that Israel is committing a "war against humanity itself."
An investigation by the Israeli military into how the WCK strike occurred found that the decision to hit the aid convoy was a "serious violation" of their rules. It noted in its report the team that carried it out lacked sufficient evidence to do so, twice violating operating rules. In response, the IDF said it dismissed two officers, suspended two commanders and reprimanded three others. An Israeli military spokesman said it was "a terrible chain of errors, and it should never have happened."
Israeli officials have repeatedly defended their military operations in Gaza, insisting they take steps to curb civilian deaths while allowing aid to flow in that cannot benefit Hamas.