Israel-Gaza updates: IDF releases Hamas 'psychological terror' video of young hostages
Hagari said the footage was recovered by IDF troops.
As the Israel-Hamas war crosses 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 Gazan town of Rafah.
Latest headlines:
IDF confirms they sent more troops into Rafah
The Israel Defense Forces' Commando Brigade was deployed to southern Gaza’s Rafah overnight, joining the 162nd Division that has been operating in the eastern part of the city since earlier this month.
The move comes as the Israeli government is expected to approve widening the offensive there.
"Additional troops will join the ground operation in Rafah," Israel Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said Thursday, in remarks after completing an operational situation assessment at the Gaza border in Rafah.
"Several tunnels in the area have been destroyed by our troops and additional tunnels will be destroyed soon. This activity will intensify," he said.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Will Gretsky
Floating pier designed to increase aid to Gaza now in place
A floating pier designed to increase the amount of aid getting into Gaza -- known as a Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) system -- was successfully anchored to the central Gazan shore on Thursday morning, according to IDF Spokesperson Nadav Shoshani.
The Israeli Navy will be securing an aid ship to JLOTS and Israeli soldiers from the 99th Division will be on the ground securing the port area, according to the IDF.
The United Nations, led by the World Food Programme, will be responsible for distributing the aid from JLOTS, the IDF said.
Putin and Xi discuss Ukraine, Israel and Hamas war
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping held several hours of talks on Thursday in China, with Putin saying both Russia and China want political solutions to the “Ukrainian crisis” and Xi calling for a two-state solution to stop the war between Israel and Hamas.
Xi also took a moment to praise China's “everlasting friendship” with Russia.
President Putin was welcomed with pomp expected on his state visit to China, complete with red carpet, military band and hundreds of Chinese militaries standing at attention to welcome him to the Great Hall of the People.
Israel has amassed enough troops for full-scale incursion of Rafah: US officials
The U.S. has assessed that Israel has amassed enough troops on the edge of Rafah to move forward with a full-scale incursion into the city, but the U.S. is not sure if Israel has made a final decision to actually do so, according to two U.S. officials.
One official added that the U.S. does not have a timeline or estimate on when Israel could potentially move forward with operations.
The official stressed the U.S. continues to have the same concerns for civilian safety in Rafah.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez and Selina Wang
White House says world should be calling on Hamas to accept hostage proposal
National security adviser Jake Sullivan stressed the U.S. is working "urgently and relentlessly" to get a hostage deal in place, but did not have any major progress to share Monday.
Sullivan noted that he met with the families of American hostages this past Friday, and that "they know how hard the president is working on this."
On where the hostage negotiations stand currently, Sullivan turned to the architect of the Good Friday agreement in Ireland.
"Sen. [George] Mitchell said quite famously, "'Negotiations are 1,000 days of failure and one day of success.' And right now, we're in the former days rather than the latter day," he said.
"[T]here could be a cease-fire tomorrow if Hamas simply released women, wounded and elderly hostages, all innocents. Israel put a forward-leaning proposal on the table for a cease-fire and hostage deal. The world should be calling on Hamas to come back to the table and accept a deal," Sullivan said.
-ABC News' Molly Nagle