Israel-Gaza updates: Gaza to run out of fuel Wednesday night, UNRWA says

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 Developments

Oct 24, 7:28 PM

US intelligence assess 'with high confidence' that Israel was not responsible for Gaza hospital explosion

An official with the U.S. Office of the Director of Intelligence told reporters Tuesday that the office has updated its assessment of last week's explosion of al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, which killed hundreds, and stated "with high confidence that Israel was not responsible for the explosion."

The official added, "We assess with low confidence that Palestine Islamic Jihad, PIJ, was responsible for launching the rocket that landed on the hospital,” the official added, noting that they suspect based on their analysis that the rocket responsible likely suffered a "catastrophic motor failure."

The intelligence official said they were drawing on “intelligence, missile activity, open-source video and images of the incident,” including an examination of the blast effects.

"If an Israeli munition was responsible for this blast, we would expect that Palestinian militants would be very directly and clearly showing what they thought was an Israeli munition," the official said. "We've looked at all of the images and in none of them do we assess that there are remnants, Israeli munitions."

-ABC News' Cindy Smith

Oct 24, 5:45 PM

US engaging in ongoing talks to release a number of hostages: Source

Talks are ongoing between the U.S. and regional partners, including Israel, Egypt, and Qatar to secure the release of a large number of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, a source with knowledge told ABC News.

The U.S. is still advising for a delay to have more time for the hostages to be released and for aid to get out, but does not want to appear to be dictating what to do to the Israelis, according to the source.

-ABC News' Selina Wang

Oct 24, 5:15 PM

American death toll rises to 33: Blinken

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that 33 Americans were confirmed dead after the Hamas terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford

Oct 24, 3:39 PM

How the 'law of war' could apply to an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza

With Israel appearing to be on the cusp of a ground invasion into Gaza, President Joe Biden and other world leaders this week said the Jewish state has the right to defend itself against the recent brutal attacks by Hamas.

At the same time, they warned, Israel must abide by the "law of war" in protecting innocent Palestinians living in Gaza.

But with the prospect of hundreds, if not thousands more Palestinian civilians killed, can Israel do both? And could either Israel or Hamas be prosecuted for war crimes?

Click here to read what you need to know about international humanitarian laws and how they apply in the Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza.

-ABC News' Anne Flaherty

Oct 24, 3:28 PM

Kirby: Israel needs to 'consider possibility of humanitarian pause'

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday a "ceasefire right now really only benefits Hamas."

When asked if the U.S. has set or discussed any red lines with the Israelis, he said simply, "No."

But when pressed to elaborate on Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s comments that "humanitarian pauses must be considered," he said, "pauses in operation is a tool and a tactic" that can protect civilians for temporary periods of time.

Later when asked, Kirby said Blinken talked about the need to "consider the possibility of a humanitarian pause, to allow aid to get in -- and get in unfettered -- and to allow for the safe movement of people out."

-ABC News' Selina Wang

Oct 24, 2:12 PM

Gaza to run out of fuel Wednesday night: UNRWA

Gaza is set to run out of fuel Wednesday night, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

"If we do not get fuel urgently, we will be forced to halt our operations in the Gaza Strip as of tomorrow night," the agency said.

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan said, "We know for sure that there's plenty of fuel in Gaza. Hamas has stored fuel in advance, and is stealing fuel from both civilians and the U.N. to power its war machine against Israel."

Oct 24, 2:25 PM

20 more aid trucks cross Rafah: Egyptian officials

Twenty more aid trucks crossed the Egypt-Gaza Rafah border on Tuesday and are now headed to the Israel-Egypt Nitzana Border Crossing for inspection, according to Egyptian officials.

It is not clear if the trucks have reached Gaza yet, where humanitarian conditions are worsening by the day, but these new trucks will bring the total to 74 aid trucks crossing through over the last four days.

The Rafah border crossing was shut on Oct. 10 after it was hit by Israeli warplanes on the Palestinian side three times on Oct. 9 and 10.

The crossing has briefly opened each day since Saturday, permitting a small amount of aid to enter Gaza.

Asked by a reporter if humanitarian aid is getting to Gaza fast enough, President Joe Biden said Tuesday, "Not fast enough."

Oct 24, 2:23 PM

Israeli, Palestinian Authority foreign ministers speak out at UN Security Council meeting

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and the Palestinian Authority’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad al-Maliki, gave long, impassioned speeches at the United Nations Security Council meeting about the suffering their people are experiencing.

Cohen began by holding up photographs of the Israeli children kidnapped by Hamas, reading out their names and ages.

"They are just a few the many children and babies that have not seen evil. They have not caused evil. But they are victims of evil," he said.

Cohen described Hamas as "the new Nazis" and said Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel should serve as "a wakeup call against extremism."

Al-Maliki purported that Israel’s retaliation had equated to "ongoing massacres being deliberately, systematically, and savagely" perpetrated against Palestinians civilians.

"The Security Council has a duty to stop them," he said. "It is our collective human duty to stop them now."

He suggested that Israel's campaign would ultimately lead to more conflict, saying "more injustice and more killing will not make Israel safer."

The foreign minister argued that everyone on the council should be united behind one goal.

"We should be on the same side -- all of us who believe in justice and peace," he said. "We should stand shoulder to shoulder in these moments. But that is only possible if everyone recognizes the value of Palestinian life -- the need to uphold Palestinian rights."

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford

Oct 24, 2:26 PM

Blinken backs Israel but says 'humanitarian pauses must be considered'

Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered a forceful defense of Israel’s military actions at the United Nations Security Council, but Blinken said "humanitarian pauses must be considered" to protect civilians in Gaza -- the administration’s strongest statement of a support for any type of halt in Israel’s efforts to vanquish Hamas.

"We must affirm the right of any nation to defend itself and to prevent such heart from repeating itself. No member of this council, no nation in this entire body. could or would tolerate the slaughter of its people," Blinken said.

The secretary said every member of the U.N. has a "responsibility to denounce the member states that arm, fund and train Hamas or any other terrorist group that carries out such horrific acts,” reminding them that many other foreign nationals were also killed and kidnapped in its attacks."

Blinken then turned to ongoing efforts to protect civilian lives, first emphasizing that Hamas is responsible for putting the innocent in harm’s way, before shifting to Israel’s responsibilities.

“Hamas must cease using them as human shields,” he said. “Israel must take all possible precautions to avoid harm to civilians. It means means food, medicine and water and other assistance must flow into Gaza and to the areas people need them. It means civilians must be able to get out of harm's way. It means humanitarian pauses must be considered for these purposes.”

Previously, the State Department and other U.S. officials flatly rejected calls for any kind of ceasefir, arguing, as State Department spokesperson Matt Miller did Monday, that it would “give Hamas the ability to rest, to refit and to get ready to continue watching terrorist attacks against Israel.”

In his remarks, Blinken also detailed the administration’s efforts to prevent the conflict from spreading in the Middle East, but emphasized the threat posed by Iran and promised the U.S. would not allow attacks on Americans to go unanswered.

“We do not want this war to widen, but if Iran or its proxies attack U.S. personnel anywhere, make no mistake -- we will defend our people, we will defend our security -- swiftly and decisively,” he vowed.

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford

Oct 24, 1:06 PM

Israeli UN ambassador calls on UN Secretary General to resign

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, is calling on U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres to resign, saying he's "completely disconnected from the reality in our region."

At the United Nations Security Council meeting, Gutteres delivered some of most forceful rhetoric on the Israel-Hamas war to date, demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire “to ease epic suffering, make the delivery of aid easier and safer and facilitate the release of hostages.”

The Secretary-General’s speech, especially his assertion that “the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum," sparked immediate backlash from Erdan.

"The shocking speech by the UN Secretary-General at the Security Council meeting, while rockets are being fired at all of Israel, proved conclusively, beyond any doubt, that the Secretary-General is completely disconnected from the reality in our region and that he views the massacre committed by Nazi Hamas terrorists in a distorted and immoral manner," Erdan said. "His statement that, 'The attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,' expressed an understanding for terrorism and murder."

"It’s truly sad that the head of an organization that arose after the Holocaust holds such horrible views," Erdan said.

"There is no justification or point in talking to those who show compassion for the most terrible atrocities committed against the citizens of Israel and the Jewish people," Erdan said.

Guterres' spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, told ABC News, "The Secretary said what he said. Spokesman is not responding further."

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford

Click here to read the rest of the blog.