(NEW YORK) — More than 100 days since Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, the Israeli military continues its bombardment of the neighboring Gaza Strip.
The conflict, now the deadliest between the warring sides since Israel’s founding in 1948, shows no signs of letting up soon and the brief cease-fire that allowed for over 100 hostages to be freed from Gaza remains a distant memory.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 02, 2:23 PM
Blinken to travel to the Middle East next week
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East next week, making stops in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank, the State Department announced.
This will be Blinken’s fifth visit to the region since Oct. 7.
During this trip, Blinken will focus on reaching “an agreement that secures the release of all remaining hostages and includes a humanitarian pause that will allow for sustained, increased delivery of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza,” State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said.
Blinken is also looking to prevent the conflict from spreading while “reaffirming that the United States will take appropriate steps to defend its personnel and the right to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea,” Miller said.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Feb 02, 4:41 AM
Framework of proposed hostage deal with Hamas not yet agreed upon, Israeli sources say
The framework of a new proposed hostage deal between Hamas and Israel has not yet been agreed upon by either side, two Israeli sources close to the negotiations told ABC News on Friday.
Talks remain ongoing, the sources said.
Israel is still waiting to hear Hamas’ response to the framework. Hamas will then likely request changes to the framework, requiring more negotiations to iron out the details.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor
Feb 01, 2:27 PM
Hamas receives proposed hostage deal: Qatari official
Hamas has received a new proposed hostage deal but has not yet responded, a Qatari official told ABC News.
“There is no deal yet,” said a Qatari official with knowledge of the negotiations. “Hamas has received the proposal positively but we are waiting for their response.”
Feb 01, 1:26 PM
Some Gazans say they’re forced to use bird feed in place of flour
The possibility of a “full-fledged famine” looms large across the entire Gaza Strip, humanitarian groups have warned — especially in northern Gaza, where some people there say they’re using bird feed in place of flour to stave off starvation.
Northern Gaza has been largely cut off for months now, according to the United Nations, and aid trucks carrying flour arrive sporadically and are swarmed by hundreds of hungry people.
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East officials also say Israel provides too few authorizations to make deliveries into some areas and that heavy fighting often makes it too dangerous for aid workers to operate. The aid arriving in northern Gaza has been particularly restricted, the U.N. says. Israel disputes the criticisms.
“For more than two months, we have not received flour due to the difficulty of aid entering and the scarcity of flour in the area,” Sami Abu Sweilem, a 55-year-old father who is sheltering in a UNRWA school in northern Gaza, told ABC News.
“Children almost died of hunger, so we thought of a way to save our children from death,” he said, explaining how he’s been using bird feed and animal fodder in place of precious flour.
Feb 01, 12:00 PM
Executive order targets four Israeli settlers involved in attacks on Palestinians in West Bank
President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order Thursday to sanction four Israeli settlers involved in attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the State Department. The sanctions will prohibit them from accessing the U.S. financial system and property in the U.S. and will block them from receiving financial transactions from U.S. citizens.
The move escalates U.S. posture against the hardline elements in Israeli society amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In December, the U.S. imposed a visa ban on Israelis linked to violence and unrest in the West Bank that impacted “dozens” of settlers in the Israeli-occupied territory, according to the State Department.
Feb 01, 11:05 AM
Biden to sign executive order targeting Israeli settlers involved in attacks on Palestinians
President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order to sanction Israeli settlers involved in attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, two sources familiar with the plans confirmed to ABC News. The news was first reported by Axios.
The move would escalate U.S. posture against the hardline elements in Israeli society amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
It was not immediately clear how many Israelis would be targeted by the administration’s actions. In December, the U.S. imposed a visa ban on Israelis linked to violence and unrest in the West Bank that impacted “dozens” of settlers in the Israeli-occupied territory, according to the State Department.
Feb 01, 7:40 AM
UNRWA warns operations will be shut down by end of February without funding
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East warned Thursday that it “will most likely be forced to shut down” its operations in the war-torn Gaza Strip and the wider region “by the end of February” if funding does not resume.
Sixteen donor countries, including the United States, have suspended financial support to the U.N. agency over Israel’s allegations that 13 UNRWA staff members were involved in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terror attack. UNRWA said it is investigating the accusations and that “full accountability and transparency are expected out of this process, should the allegations be substantiated.”
“As the war in Gaza is being pursued unabated, and at the time the International Court of Justice calls for more humanitarian assistance, it is the time to reinforce and not to weaken UNRWA. The Agency remains the largest aid organization in one of the most severe and complex humanitarian crises in the world,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement Thursday. “I echo the call of the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres to resume funding to UNRWA. If the funding remains suspended, we will most likely be forced to shut down our operations by end of February not only in Gaza but also across the region.”
Feb 01, 6:21 AM
What we know about the conflict
The latest outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, has reached the three-month mark.
In the Gaza Strip, at least 27,019 people have been killed and 66,139 others have been wounded by Israeli forces since Oct. 7, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.
In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured by Hamas and other Palestinian militants since Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
There has also been a surge in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have killed at least 297 people in the territory since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The ongoing war began after Hamas-led militants launched an unprecedented incursion into southern Israel from neighboring Gaza via land, sea and air. Scores of people were killed while more than 200 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. The Israeli military subsequently launched retaliatory airstrikes followed by a ground invasion of Gaza, a 140-square-mile territory where more than two million Palestinians have lived under a blockade imposed by Israel and supported by Egypt since Hamas came to power in 2007. Gaza, unlike Israel, has no air raid sirens or bomb shelters.
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