Israel-Gaza updates: Hostage speaks 1st time since release

Noa Argamani is one of the four hostages rescued in a deadly IDF raid on June 8.

As the Israel-Hamas war continues, negotiations have stalled to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization, and Israeli forces continue to launch incursions in the southern Gazan town of Rafah ahead of a possible large-scale invasion.


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Number of children missing, separated from families in Gaza may be as high as 21,000: Report

The number of children who are missing or separated from their families in Gaza may be as many as 21,000, according to humanitarian aid group Save the Children.

This organization -- which has been providing support for Palestinian children in the region since 1953 -- reports that likely 17,000 children are unaccompanied and separated, and another 4,000 children are likely buried under the rubble based on data from the United Nations and the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza.

"Children who are missing but living are vulnerable, face grave protection risks and must be found. They must be protected and reunited with their families," said Save the Children’s Regional Director for the Middle East Jeremy Stoner. "For the children who have been killed, their deaths must be formally marked, their families informed, burial rites respected, and accountability sought."

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-ABC News’ Kiara Alfonseca


Blinken meets with Israel’s defense minister

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Secretary of State Antony Blinken is emphasizing several points in his ongoing meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday afternoon.

"No. 1, our ongoing commitment to Israel's security," Miller said. "No. 2, the importance of Israel developing robust, realistic plans for the day after the conflict, plans that include a path towards governance, towards security, towards reconstruction."

"He's going to emphasize the need to avoid further escalation of the conflict, and then he will, as always, emphasize the need to improve humanitarian access [in Gaza], where we have seen somewhat of a slowdown in access in the south," Miller continued, adding that Blinken hoped to hear "concrete commitments from [Gallant] to work on that problem."

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford


Pentagon: Only the 1 shipment of 2,000-pound bombs has been delayed

Following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments alleging a U.S. slowdown in military aid to Israel, the Pentagon continues to say that only the one shipment of 2,000-pound bombs has been suspended.

"Again, just to clarify, we have paused one shipment to Israel," Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Monday.

"Everything else continues to flow on schedule as normal. It is not diminished," he said.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who is in Washington, D.C., for meetings with U.S. officials, will meet with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon on Tuesday, Ryder said.

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez


IDF 'approaching the point' of dismantling Hamas' Rafah Brigade

The Israeli military said it is winding down the intensity of fighting in the Rafah area of Gaza.

"We are clearly approaching the point where we can say we have dismantled [Hamas’] Rafah Brigade, that it is defeated not in the sense that there are no more terrorists, but in the sense that it can no longer function as a fighting unit," the IDF chief of the general staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said Sunday night. "It has suffered many casualties, and you will ensure until the completion of the mission here, to eliminate as many terrorists and destroy as much terrorist infrastructure as possible going forward."

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky


Israel's Gallant addresses military aid after US visit: 'Obstacles were removed'

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant shared an update with reporters Wednesday after meeting with U.S. officials on the latest in the Israel-Hamas conflict and rising tensions with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Gallant met with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and several other U.S. officials in Washington, D.C. this week.

"During the meetings we made significant progress, obstacles were removed, and bottlenecks were addressed, in order to advance a variety of issues and more specifically the topic of force build-up and supply of munition,” Gallant said.

Gallant said he discussed "several issues," including "Lebanon, Gaza, Iran, the hostage issue, the transition to the next phase in Gaza, and how this will impact the region."

During Gallant's visit to the U.S., Hezbollah released a video message in which the group threatened to attack crucial Israeli buildings if a full-scale conflict were to break out in Lebanon.

“Hezbollah understands very well that we can inflict massive damage in Lebanon if a war is launched,” Gallant said

Over the past months, the Israeli Defense Forces have eliminated 400 Hezbollah terrorists, according to Gallant.

Regarding the conflict with Hamas, Gallant said, "Hamas as a military formation has been mostly dismantled. We have destroyed most of the Hamas battalions and formations and are now fighting pockets of resistance."

Gallant thanked the U.S. government and the American public "for their enduring support for the State of Israel.