Israel-Gaza updates: 300,000 have fled Rafah, UN agency says
Israel called again on Saturday for civilians to leave parts of the city.
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:
- White House National Security Advisor speaks to Israeli counterpart, expresses concern over pending Rafah invasion
- 300,000 have fled Rafah, UN agency says
- Biden admin says it's 'reasonable to assess' Israel violated International law with US arms
- Hamas says cease-fire talks are 'back to square one'
- UNGA passes resolution calling on Security Council to reconsider Palestinian membership
State Department denies cease-fire talks were derailed
Amid reports that cease-fire negotiations between Hamas and Israel have fallen through, the U.S. State Department is saying hope still remains for a deal. The State Department also refuted the notion that President Joe Biden's decision to halt some arms transfers to Israel — and his assertion that he will cut off additional shipments if the country invades Rafah — had weakened its position at the negotiating table.
"That is not at all our assessment of the hostage talks. We actually think that a Rafah operation would weaken Israel’s position both in these talks and writ large," State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said, arguing a major incursion would "further weaken Israel’s standing in the world."
Although the paused arm shipments won’t impact Israel’s readiness to conduct a major operation in Rafah, some U.S. officials who have long been skeptical that Hamas will ever agree to a deal that involves handing over all of the hostages say the group could interpret the move (and Biden’s public warning) as a compelling sign that support for Israel among its closest allies is beginning to crumble.
Despite the heightened tensions between the Biden administration and Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, Miller said the U.S. would continue to work with Israel in the hopes of reaching a deal.
"We continue to engage with the Israeli government on the amendments to the proposal that Hamas submitted earlier this week,” Miller said. “We continue to work to try to finalize the text, try to get an agreement. And I will just say that any effort like this is incredibly difficult. This one has certainly been incredibly difficult, but we will continue to stay engaged because we believe it's in the interest of all parties."
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford
Netanyahu says Israel will 'stand alone' if they need to
Amid tensions between the U.S. and Israel over the invasion of Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will stand alone if it has to.
"Today we are much stronger. We are determined, and we are united to defeat our enemy and those who seek our souls. If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone," Netanyahu said in a statement Thursday.
"I already said that if we have to - we will fight tooth and nail," Netanyahu said.
IDF says they have arms they need for invasion of Rafah
Following threats from President Joe Biden to cut off arms to Israel if it launches a full-scale invasion of Rafah, the Israel Defense Forces say they have the armaments they need for operations in Rafah.
"The IDF has armaments for the missions it plans, and we also have what we need for the missions in Rafah. I say this in the context of everything that has come up with the United States and it is important to say it," Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the IDF, said Thursday.
"The United States has provided security assistance to the State of Israel and the IDF so far in an unprecedented way during the war, what is no less important than this is the military assistance and cooperation of the American Central Command and the IDF," Hagari said.
Israel says Rafah operation was sticking point in cease-fire talks
Israel's insistence on maintaining its ability to operate throughout Gaza against Hamas was a major sticking point in cease-fire negotiations that have fallen through, a senior Israeli official told ABC News.
The official said Israel will have to operate in Rafah, even if a deal is struck. One of the key problems Israel sees with the proposed deal is the demand for an end to the war when Hamas is still "well established" in Rafah.
-ABC News' Will Gretsky
Former State Department officials say US avoided legal obligations in arms report
An independent, self-formed task force of former State Department officials and international law experts say the U.S. "shirked" its legal obligations with Friday's National Security Memorandum-mandated report that examined Israel's use of U.S.-supplied arms.
"The Administration must come to terms with the fact that what it faces in its lethal military assistance to Israel's operations in Gaza - and beyond - is not a policy problem: it is a legal problem," the officials said Friday, adding, "The Administration’s report is at best incomplete, and at worst intentionally misleading in defense of acts and behaviors that likely violate international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes. Once again, the Biden Administration has stared the facts in the face - and then pulled the curtains shut."
More than 34,000 Palestinians have died, including 14,000 children, the officials said, noting that "most of them [were] killed by U.S. munitions."
-ABC News' Christopher Boccia