Netanyahu signals openness to Trump's Gaza ceasefire plan: Sources

Netanyahu is scheduled to sit down with Trump at the White House on Monday.

Last Updated: September 28, 2025, 7:25 PM EDT

The Israel Defense Forces is continuing its operation to take control of Gaza City, the largest urban area in the Gaza Strip, despite international outcry over the deteriorated humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory.

Meanwhile, in protest of Israel's continuation of its military operations in Gaza, several nations including France, the U.K. and Canada recognized Palestinian statehood as leaders gathered in New York last week for meetings at the United Nations General Assembly.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the leaders on Friday, again saying Israel will not allow an independent Palestinian state to exist.

Sep 24, 2025, 3:14 PM EDT

Netanyahu says Israel will retaliate after Houthi drone strike

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will retaliate after a Houthi drone strike on southern Israel injured 22 people.

"The Prime Minister wished a speedy recovery to the wounded, and said that any attack on Israeli cities will be met with a severe and painful blow to the Houthi terrorist regime, as has already been proven in the past," Netanyahu's office said in a statement Wednesday.

"The Prime Minister informed [Eilat] Mayor [Eli Lankari] that he spoke this evening with the IDF's senior command in order to examine ways to improve the response to aerial threats to the city," Netanyahu's office said.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

Sep 24, 2025, 1:55 PM EDT

Italy naval ship sent to help Gaza aid flotilla after drone attack

An Italian naval ship has been sent to aid the Sumud Flotilla carrying aid to Gaza after it suffered a drone attack. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto condemned the attack on the flotilla, which has Italian citizens aboard.

"In a democracy, even demonstrations and forms of protest must be protected when they are conducted in compliance with the rules of international law and without resorting to violence," he said in a statement.

The Global Sumud Flotilla suffered an attack while sailing in international waters, according to Anabel Montes Mier, the mission chief of the ship "Life Support," the Italian nongovernmental organization EMERGENCY's support vessel.

"We saw straight a high presence of drones in the air which approached from different directions. We also saw the flashing light of the explosion that hit some boats. The Flotilla told us that no one was injured but it only suffered small damage to some of the boats," Mier said in a statement.

"We remind all that this is a humanitarian non-violent mission and we condemn strongly any act of violence or attack to the Global Sumud Flotilla," Mier said.

-ABC News' 'Will Gretsky

Sep 24, 2025, 11:52 AM EDT

22 injured in drone strike on southern Israel

At least 22 people were injured, including two seriously, after a Houthi drone strike in Eilat, in southern Israel, officials said Wednesday.

Search and rescue teams are working the area where a UAV launched from Yemen came down, according to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces.

Sirens sounded and interception attempts were made before the drone came down, the IDF said.

Five of the injured had “shrapnel injuries” and were transported to Yoseftal Hospital, according to a spokesperson for the MDA, Israel’s national EMS organization said. Others were being treated for injuries at the scene, according to the spokesperson.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Sep 24, 2025, 6:10 AM EDT

Israel closes West Bank crossing to Jordan indefinitely

Israel on Wednesday closed the bridge connecting the occupied West Bank to Jordan "until further notice."

A notice posted Tuesday on the Israel Airports Authority's website read: "For public awareness, under the directive of the political echelon, the Allenby crossing will be closed to passenger and cargo traffic starting tomorrow morning until further notice."

Road signs point to the closed Allenby Bridge crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Sept. 24, 2025.
Ammar Awad/Reuters

The Allenby Bridge, or the King Hussein Bridge as it is known in Jordan, is the only official border crossing between Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It is the sole gateway for Palestinians to travel abroad from the West Bank without entering Israel, which has occupied the territory since 1967.

The Jordanian Public Security Directorate also announced the closure, saying in a social media post Tuesday that the bridge was shuttered "to passenger and cargo traffic by the other side until further notice."

The head of the Palestinian Crossing and Borders Authority told WAFA, the official news agency of the Palestinian Authority, that Israel informed them the crossing will be closed in both directions from Wednesday morning until further notice.

ABC News' Nasser Atta and Morgan Winsor

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