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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State Department tries to address 'breakdown in security' holding up Gaza aid
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Tuesday addressed concerns that the United Nations could suspend humanitarian operations in Gaza as the conditions its workers face in the enclave have devolved from bad to worse.
"I can tell you this is an issue we have been intensely focused on," Miller said, adding that the State Department’s special envoy for Middle Eastern humanitarian issues has coordinated with the U.N. and Israeli entities to "try to figure out a way to allow U.N. workers to safely do their jobs."
Miller noted while some aid was flowing into Gaza through various points of entry and moving through the north, the U.S. had observed "over the past few weeks, a big backlog" at Kerem Shalom -- the border between Israel and southern Gaza -- due to a "breakdown in security on the ground." This was caused not by the Israel Defense Forces or Hamas, but by "random looting, and criminal gangs and criminal actors who are attacking trucks," Miller said.
Miller said U.N. aid workers will be provided with "personal protective equipment, radios and other communication devices so they can communicate with each other and safely move around Gaza."
Miller said, "Long term, we want to see a cease-fire and the reestablishment of Palestinian-led governance. And ultimately, we have ideas for providing security inside Gaza, providing governance and reconstruction -- all of these things that would go to a restoration of law and order. ... But that is a long term that in no way accounts for the here and now."
Miller also argued that the U.S. had a limited role it could play in increasing security for aid workers at this stage, saying it was ultimately an issue that Israel and the U.N. would have to address.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Over 10,000 people need medical evacuation out of Gaza
Over 10,000 people need to be evacuated from Gaza to receive medical care due to the deteriorating conditions at hospitals in Gaza, according to the World Health Organization.
Among them are five children -- four cancer patients and one child with second-degree burns -- who were transferred Monday from Al-Ahli Hospital to Nasser Medical Complex, where they will stay for treatment until they’re able to leave Gaza, the WHO said.
Israel's top court rules state must draft ultra-Orthodox into IDF
Israel’s top court has ruled the state must draft the ultra-Orthodox into the Israel Defense Forces.
The move is a blow to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said, "Draft exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox are illegal. The defense minister must uphold the law and issue conscription orders to tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox youth who have so far evaded military service."
14 killed in IDF strikes on 2 Gaza schools, Gaza officials say
The Israel Defense Forces overnight conducted airstrikes on two schools where internally displaced people were sheltering in Gaza City, killing 14 people according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
The IDF said the strikes were on "terrorists operating inside two structures" and that the targets were "terrorists involved in holding hostages.”
An IDF statement said that "aerial surveillance checks, precise munitions, and additional intelligence measures were all used in order to mitigate harm to civilians."
Video filmed by a civil defense first responder at the Abdel Fattah Hamoud school in central Gaza City appears to show an unconscious girl being pulled from flaming rubble at one school. Burns appear to cover much of her body.
According to the Ministry of Health, eight people were killed in that strike, including five children.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
Netanyahu says he’s committed to Israeli deal proposal that Biden presented
While addressing Israel's parliament on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he remains "committed" to the Israeli hostage/cease-fire proposal that President Joe Biden had presented.
"Will not end the war until we return all the abductees -- 120 abductees -- both the living and the dead. We are committed to the Israeli proposal that President Biden welcomed. Our position has not changed," Netanyahu said.
He added, "We will not end the war until we eliminate Hamas and until we return the residents of the south and the north safely to their homes. … [And] we will thwart Iran's intentions to destroy us."
Senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya told Al Jazeera on Monday evening that "Netanyahu's statements confirmed our view that he does not want a cease-fire or the return of [Israeli] prisoners. … Netanyahu's real stance is that he wants to retrieve his prisoners and continue the war."
"We are ready for genuine negotiations if Netanyahu adheres to the principles outlined by President Biden," he said. "We are ready for negotiations that achieve a cessation of aggression and a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip."
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky