Israel-Gaza updates: US making progress toward escape for Americans in Gaza
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.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Latest Developments
Oct 26, 6:37 PM
What the US is requesting before Israel launches Gaza invasion
A senior U.S. official said Thursday the administration has requested that Israel allow the U.S. to get forces in place before Israel launches an expected ground invasion in Gaza.
The U.S. has also requested that Israel get a better handle on the hostage and humanitarian situation in Gaza, where cases of dysentery from people drinking contaminated water are being reported, the official said.
Additionally, the U.S. told the Israelis that it is still not convinced they have a good plan for what they want to do in Gaza, the official said.
Oct 26, 4:23 PM
US explains wanting a 'temporary pause' for humanitarian reasons
White House national security council spokesman John Kirby explained during a briefing what the U.S. meant by wanting a "temporary pause" in the action.
"As Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken said, we do think that there should be consideration made right now for humanitarian pauses," Kirby said. "These are localized, temporary, specific pauses on the battlefield so that humanitarian assistance can get in to people that need it or the people can get out of that area in relative safety. That's what a humanitarian pause is, and we think it's an idea worth exploring."
"Now, it could also be more than one spot, right?" he added. "So, I mean, it depends, but we think it's a valuable idea that's worth looking at to help alleviate the humanitarian suffering in Gaza."
Kirby said 74 trucks carrying humanitarian aid have entered Gaza since the Rafah border crossing was opened on Oct. 21, but added it was "not enough." Twelve trucks have crossed with supplies in the last 24 hours, he said.
-ABC News' Ben Gittleson
Oct 26, 3:59 PM
US to send 2 Iron Dome systems to Israel
The U.S. will be sending its two Israeli-made Iron Dome air defense systems to Israel, the Pentagon said Thursday.
"We're also planning to provide the two U.S. Iron Dome systems currently in our inventory to Israel to help further bolster their air defense capabilities and protect citizens from rocket attacks," Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters today at his briefing.
Ryder said he would not provide delivery timelines due to operational security and would only say that all of the air-defense systems being sent by the U.S. would be "online soon."
Ryder also told reporters that 900 U.S. troops have been deployed or will be deploying to the Middle East, making care to say they will not be going to Israel itself. This includes the THAAD air defense unit, the Patriot missile systems and an air-defense headquarters -- some of which were part of the original 2,200 placed on Prepare to Deploy Orders a few weeks ago.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez
Oct 26, 4:07 PM
US making progress toward escape route for Americans in Gaza: State Dept.
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said the U.S. was continuing "close consultations with both the Israeli government and the Egyptian government as well as the United Nations" on opening the Rafah border crossing to American citizens, but that those still talks hadn't crossed the finish line yet.
"We have been making progress. I can't get into the details of that progress because they are very sensitive negotiations, but it's something that we are focused on and hope to have American citizens and other foreign nationals able to move through in the coming days," Miller said.
Miller said the State Department sent a message to American citizens Wednesday telling them that they were continuing "to work out a solution." And while the administration still hasn't given an estimate on how many Americans it is in contact with in Gaza, for the first time Miller said the State Department was speaking with "several hundred."
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford
Oct 26, 3:22 PM
IDF claim to have killed terror attack co-architect
The Israel Defense Forces claim to have killed the co-architect of the Oct. 7 terror attack in an aerial strike.
IDF fighter jets struck Shadi Barud, the head of intelligence relations for Hamas, the Israeli military said in a statement Thursday. The statement did not specify when the attack occurred.
IDF accused Barud of planning the attack with Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza.
Oct 26, 2:31 PM
There's 'significant evidence' Israel committed war crimes: Amnesty International
Paul O'Brien, the executive director of Amnesty International USA, told ABC News Live that "there is significant evidence" that Israel is "committing war crimes" in its targeting of the Gaza Strip.
"Israel is not taking the measures that it needs to take in order to protect civilians now," O'Brien told ABC News' James Longman. "Dropping leaflets into a densely populated area and forcing people to move or threatening them if they don't is a war crime."
O'Brien pointed not just to the issue of collective punishment, but also to the "indiscriminate targeting of civilians," and demanded an immediate investigation and accountability. The executive director also said that Amnesty has denounced Hamas' actions on Oct. 7 as a war crime, but that "the answer to that is not the further commission of war crimes by the state of Israel."
In a letter released Thursday, Amnesty International Senior Crisis Response Adviser Donatella Rovera said, in part, "Amnesty International reiterates its call on the Israeli authorities to immediately rescind the forced 'evacuation' orders and to put an end to threats designed to sow fear and panic among Gaza’s civilian population. All conditions on the distribution of humanitarian aid must be urgently lifted and aid, including fuel, must be allowed into Gaza in sufficient quantities to meet the dire needs of the civilian population."
Israel has allowed in limited resources through the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt and says Hamas is stockpiling fuel that could be used for humanitarian needs in the region. Israel has also asserted it has a right to defend itself in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attack.
-ABC News' Luis Rodriguez
Oct 26, 2:16 PM
What a potentially wider Israel-Hamas war could mean for the US economy
A potential escalation of the Israel-Hamas war and the possibility that it could widen into a regional conflict could send gas prices above $5 a gallon, trigger an overall surge of inflation and plunge the U.S. economy into a recession, economists and oil industry analysts told ABC News.
A conflict that ensnares the Middle East could send oil prices soaring, which in turn would hike costs not only for gasoline but also for many consumer products that depend on diesel and jet fuel for transport, the experts said.
Click here to read more.
-ABC News' Max Zahn
Oct 26, 12:27 PM
Iran issues warning to United States
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the minister of foreign affairs for Iran, chastised the United States and issued a warning in a speech at the United Nations during an emergency session to discuss the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Amir-Abdollahian said that America was "managing the genocide" of Palestinians and "that we do not welcome the expansion of war in the region, but I warn if the genocide in Gaza continues, they will not be spared from this fire."
The U.S. has cautioned against Iran becoming directly involved in the conflict and sent two aircraft carriers to the region to serve as a deterrent.
There have, however, been smaller skirmishes between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon and the U.S. shot down cruise missiles fired by the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Both groups are backed by Iran.
Oct 26, 6:24 AM
Israeli military briefly enters northern Gaza, IDF says
Israeli tanks and infantry personnel briefly entered northern Gaza in "preparation for the next stages of combat," the Israel Defense Forces said early Thursday.
"IDF tanks & infantry struck numerous terrorist cells, infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch posts," the military said in a post on social media.
The post included a video that appeared to show bulldozers breaking through a barricade-like structure, followed by footage of a military convoy traveling along dirt roads and then several explosions.
"The soldiers have since exited the area and returned to Israeli territory," IDF said. The video could not be independently verified.
Oct 25, 5:46 PM
House passes resolution defending Israel
The House of Representatives passed a resolution defending Israel and condemning Hamas after the group's attack earlier this month and the escalating war in the Gaza Strip.
The resolution passed in a 412-10 vote. Six members voted present. Nine of the 10 "no" votes came from progressive Democrats, while Rep. Thomas Massie, Ky., was the only Republican to vote against the resolution.
-ABC News' Lauren Peller and Tal Axelrod
