Israel-Gaza live updates: Food convoy hit by Israeli naval gunfire, UNRWA says

(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.

Click here for updates from previous days.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Feb 05, 11:54 AM
UN secretary-general opens independent review into UNRWA

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced Monday that he has appointed an independent review group to determine whether the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is “doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches when they are made.”

The probe comes amid Israel’s allegations that a dozen UNRWA employees were involved in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terror attack.

“These accusations come at a time when UNRWA, the largest U.N. organization in the region, is working under extremely challenging conditions to deliver life-saving assistance to the 2 million people in the Gaza Strip who depend on it for their survival amidst one of the largest and most complex humanitarian crises in the world,” Guterres said in a statement.

The independent review group will begin its work on Feb. 14 and will provide an interim report by late March. A final report is due April 2024, according to Guterres.

The probe is separate from an investigation the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight is conducting into the allegations.

UNRWA has said it is investigating the allegations and took swift action against those accused of participating in the attack. However, the United States and other top donors have suspended their funding to the agency, which is the biggest humanitarian aid provider in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman and Morgan Winsor

Feb 05, 8:43 AM
Food convoy hit by Israeli naval gunfire in Gaza, UNRWA says

A food aid convoy waiting to move into the north of the Gaza Strip was struck by Israeli naval gunfire on Monday morning, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

“Thankfully no one was injured,” Tom White, director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

There was no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces.

-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor

Feb 03, 4:52 PM
House plans vote on standalone Israel aid bill next week

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on Saturday the House will vote on a standalone $17.6 billion Israel aid package next week.

“Next week, we will take up and pass a clean, standalone Israel supplemental package. During debate in the House and in numerous subsequent statements, Democrats made clear that their primary objection to the original House bill was with its offsets. The Senate will no longer have excuses, however misguided, against swift passage of this critical support for our ally,” Johnson said in a letter to colleagues obtained by ABC News.

This news is a major reversal after House Republicans previously approved a $14.3 billion Israel funding package that included cuts to IRS funding. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did not bring this legislation to the floor for vote because of Democrats’ opposition to IRS funding cuts.

Johnson again emphasized the Senate negotiated supplemental will face an uphill battle in the House and attacked Senators for excluding him and the House from the bipartisan talks.

-ABC News’ Lauren Peller

Feb 03, 3:21 PM
IDF deploys 3 divisions to northern border amid Hezbollah attacks

The Israeli military has deployed three divisions to the northern border amid Hezbollah’s attacks on northern Israel, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said at a press conference Saturday.

He said the IDF is working to “reshape the security reality” on the northern border, so that some 80,000 Israelis displaced by Hezbollah’s attacks can return to their homes.

“We do not choose war as our first option but are certainly ready, and preparing for it all the time, if need be,” Hagari said.

The IDF has struck more than 150 cells, killing some 200 terror operatives, mostly members of Hezbollah, and targeted more than 3,400 Hezbollah sites since the beginning of the war in Gaza, according to Hagari.

-ABC News’ Anna Burd

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