Israel-Gaza updates: Blinken, Abbas meet on restoring 'calm' in West Bank, State Department says

The top U.S. diplomat made an unannounced stop in the West Bank on Sunday.

ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: November 5, 2023, 5:13 PM EST

Thousands of people have died and thousands more have been injured since the militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel retaliated with a bombing campaign and total siege of the neighboring Gaza Strip, leaving the region on the verge of all-out war.

Click here for updates from previous days.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Mar 1, 2024, 6:03 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 passed the four-month mark.

In the Gaza Strip, at least 30,228 people have been killed and 71,377 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 395 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 2 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.

Nov 01, 2023, 1:31 PM EDT

More Americans expected to leave Gaza, Biden says

President Joe Biden posted on social media on Wednesday confirming that the U.S. "secured safe passage for wounded Palestinians and for foreign nationals to exit Gaza."

"We expect American citizens to exit today, and we expect to see more depart over the coming days," Biden wrote.

Medics carry an injured evacuee to a hospital after passing the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, in Rafah, Egypt, Nov. 1, 2023.
Khaled Elfiqi/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Five American aid workers are among the foreign nationals who crossed the Rafah border from Gaza into Egypt on Wednesday, according to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund.

A Rafah crossing spokesman said at least 335 foreign passport holders -- including dual nationals and foreigners -- have crossed from Gaza into Egypt.

Nov 01, 2023, 11:10 AM EDT

5 American aid workers cross from Gaza into Egypt

Five American aid workers have crossed the Rafah border from Gaza into Egypt, according to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund. They work for the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund, Catholic Relief Services and Doctors Without Borders.

Ramona Okumura and Barbara Zind have crossed the border from Gaza and are now in Egypt according to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund.
Palestinian Children's Relief Fund

Nov 01, 2023, 9:48 AM EDT

Rafah border crossing opens, allowing foreign nationals to exit Gaza

The border crossing between Gaza and Egypt opened on Wednesday, allowing some foreign nationals and injured Gaza residents to exit the enclave for the first time since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on Oct. 7.

Seventeen ambulances, each transporting one injured Gazan, have crossed the border into Egypt, ABC News has confirmed.

This picture taken on Nov. 1, 2023 shows a view of the gate to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images

The Rafah border crossing, which is controlled by Egypt, was expected to allow about 500 foreign passport holders to exit, according to the Gaza Borders and Crossings Authority, which released a list of names of those who would be allowed across.

Gaza residents cross to the Egyptian side of the border crossing with the Gaza Strip Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023.
Hatem Ali/AP

At least 110 dual nationals have crossed the Rafah border into Egypt, ABC News confirmed.

Palestinian health ministry ambulances cross the gate to enter the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip before crossing into Egypt on November 1, 2023.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images

Five American aid workers are among those at Rafah waiting to cross into Egypt, according to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund.

Nov 01, 2023, 9:02 AM EDT

Ground fighting between IDF, Hamas near Jabalia

The Israel Defense Forces said Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants fought overnight near Jabalia in northern Gaza. This comes as the IDF said it's "significantly" deepening its ground operations.

The IDF said it's hit more than 11,000 targets in Gaza since Oct. 7.

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