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STORY: A top American diplomat on Tuesday said the United States is trying to avert a greater war along the border between Israel and Lebanon. "What (U.S.) President (Joe) Biden wants to do is to avoid a further escalation to a greater war. That is the effort here." U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein was in Beirut following an escalation in cross-border fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. Hochstein said he had been dispatched to Lebanon immediately following a brief trip to Israel because the situation was "serious." Iran-backed Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israel, in parallel with the Gaza war that broke out on Oct. 7. Last week, the group fired the largest volleys of rockets and drones in the last eight months after an Israeli strike killed a high-ranking militant commander. Hochstein has something of a track record in the region. In 2022 he helped negotiate the first ever Israel-Lebanese accord on a maritime boundary between the two countries. But Hezbollah says it will not halt its attacks on Israel unless there is a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Hochstein on Tuesday urged the Palestinian militant group Hamas to accept a U.S.-backed proposal for a truce. "A ceasefire in Gaza and/or an alternative diplomatic solution could also bring the conflict across the blue line to an end, creating conditions for displaced Lebanese civilians to go home in the south and for Israeli civilians to go home in their north." But a ceasefire in Gaza appears remote. The Israeli military on Tuesday released video showing what it said were its forces in Rafah, where it claimed it is trying to root out remaining Hamas brigades and recover hostages. The conflict erupted after Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 and taking more than 250 captives, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's devastating retaliation has killed more than 37,000 people in Gaza, according to Palestinian health ministry figures. Earlier this month, Israeli special forces staged a daring rescue that freed four hostages, who were taken by helicopter back to Israel. Israel's military on Tuesday released this video of one of the pilots in the operation describing his conversation with the newly freed Shlomi Ziv. "During the flight to the hospital I looked back and I saw Shlomi looking out of the window so I asked the crew chief that was beside him, if Shlomi wants to get in the cockpit and talk with us. So we let him in, we gave him earphones and we had a 10 minute conversation with an hostage that was just released from captivity." "Well yes, June 8, the day of the operation was my birthday, and I'm positive that it's the best present that I could get." But for Palestinians in Gaza, no such happy moments. At a hospital in Khan Younis, residents mourned those killed in an Israeli airstrike on a commercial street. Umm Mohammed Daloul is the aunt of one of the dead. "They are merchants, they have nothing to do with anything. They hit them with missiles. There is no safety, there is no safety…They are innocent people. They are honest people. They have nothing to do with anything. They are merchants. They killed the merchants, they killed people. They killed children. They killed women. They have mistreated us. God is our suffice and the best disposer of our affairs. I can’t say anything more than that.” Funerals were held in the Nuseirat refugee camp on Tuesday after airstrikes killed 17 people.

ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge reports on the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disbanded his war cabinet Monday after Benny Gantz, Netanyahu's leading moderate opponent, resigned from his post. This comes as Netanyahu faces political pressure from moderates and the far-right as the Israel-Hamas war continues. Jon Donnison with BBC News, a CBS News partner, has more.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disbanded his war cabinet, consolidating his influence over the Israel-Hamas war and likely diminishing the odds of a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip anytime soon. Major wartime policies will now be solely decided by Netanyahu's security cabinet — a larger body that is dominated by hard-liners who oppose the U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal and want to press ahead with the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disbanded his war cabinet, strengthening his influence over the Israel-Hamas conflict and reducing the likelihood of a Gaza cease-fire soon.

The Israel-Hamas war is roiling a primary election between two Democrats in New York, testing the party’s position on the conflict and the larger split between its progressive and centrist wings.

STORY: :: Palestinians in Khan Younis hold Eid al-Adha prayers among ruins :: as the city lacks signs of celebration amid Israel’s war with Hamas :: June 16, 2024 :: Nour al-Beheiry “This Eid we are in pain because of losing our beloved and a lot of martyrs. The occupation has destroyed our houses, there’s no celebration, the joy is incomplete, we lost our beloved and a lot of people have been killed. I hope God will compensate us and wish for a blessed Eid al-Adha.” People sat on prayer mats that they placed among the rubble of surrounding destroyed buildings, while few children wore the traditional jalabiya on their way to prayers. The war in Gaza erupted when Hamas militants stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel has responded with a military assault on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 37,296 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry and destroyed most of the enclave.

STORY: :: June 15, 2024 :: Tel Aviv, Israel :: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister "Israeli citizens, today we paid another heartbreaking price in our just war for the defense of the homeland. In deep sorrow, in heavy mourning, I bow my head together with all the citizens of Israel and mourn the fall of our heroic warriors." "Despite the heavy and staggering cost, we must stick to the goals of the war: the destruction of Hamas' military and governmental capabilities, the return of all our hostages, ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel and the safe return of our residents to their homes - both in the north and in the south." The eight soldiers were killed in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised news conference, as forces continued to push in and around the southern city of Rafah and strikes hit several areas of Gaza, killing at least 19 Palestinians. The deaths of the soldiers may complicate the political situation facing Netanyahu, a week after centrist former general Benny Gantz quit the government, accusing the PM of having no proper strategy for Gaza. The soldiers, all members of a combat engineering unit, were in an armored carrier that was hit by an explosion that detonated engineering materials being carried on the vehicle, apparently in contravention of standard practice, Hagari said. The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas said the vehicle had been trapped in a prepared minefield that set off the explosion.

STORY: :: Those in Gaza’s devastated Nuseirat camp struggle to feel festive for Eid-al-Adha :: which marks the climax of the annual Haj pilgrimage :: Ismail Allian, Nuseirat resident "Today, more than five million Muslims. They are standing on Arafat, they are praying and worshiping God to forgive them. And we as Palestinians, we are victimized. We are exposed to genocide. What kind of Eid tomorrow will be al-Adha Eid? What kind of Eid we will face? This is a miserable Eid, we have been killed. Thousands of people have been killed here. Who will handle it? Who will help them? Who will compensate them?" Eid al-Adha marks the climax of the annual Haj pilgrimage, when Muslims slaughter animals to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim, or Abraham, to sacrifice his son on God’s command, often distributing meat to the poor. The last Israeli strikes on the camp were carried out during the hostage rescue raid a week ago. 274 Palestinians were killed and 698 were injured, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Gazans do not feel the festive celebrations of Eid this year in the devastated strip, and according to the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), many people in Gaza were facing "catastrophic hunger and famine-like conditions". The war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and abducting some 250 others, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's response has left more than 37,000 Palestinians dead, according to Gaza health officials, and reduced much of the Hamas-ruled territory to ruins.

STORY: Palestinian swimmer Yazan Al Bawwab has one goal: he wants to make a splash at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. "We, as Palestinian athletes, are here to raise the flag and show people that we are here, and even if we face difficulties, we will be here and represent the Palestinian people." The 2.3 million Palestinians living in Gaza have been enduring extremely dire conditions, since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7. Israel says Hamas killed some 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. Israel responded with air and artillery strikes that have killed more than 37,000 people and reduced much of the Gaza Strip to rubble. 24-year-old Bawwab was born in Saudi Arabia to Palestinian refugees. He is chasing a dream that is not his alone. "My father’s dream was to learn how to swim and become a swimmer, but he couldn't do that, he never got the chance. He was a refugee, he didn't even have food. Thank God his dream came true through his son. He is proud that I was able to reach the stage that he never could." His father, Rashad Al Bawwab, says the upcoming games in Paris are an opportunity to represent the Palestinian cause. "This is a huge opportunity for Yazan, for him at a personal level to be at the Olympics, because it's not easy for a person to reach this level. But what's more important is that he represents oppressed people, whose rights are repressed. So for him to be at the swimming pool, perhaps people will understand that Yazan represents these people, and that these people exists in Palestine."

Muslim pilgrims have been streaming into Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca ahead of the start of the Hajj, but Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have been unable to travel for the pilgrimage due to the Israel-Hamas war. (AP Video shot by Abd Al Kareem Hana, Production by Wafaa Shurafa)

STORY: :: Palestinians are fleeing again as Israeli tanks advance in Rafah :: Al-Mawasi, Gaza :: June 13, 2024 :: Sami, Displaced Palestinian "We have been displaced for nine months. We were in the city of Rafah for eight months, a month and a half later we've been displaced - we can't anymore. May God protect the people of the north too, it's the same story - people's situation is terrible. Every day they tell you 'tomorrow there are negotiations, tomorrow there are negotiations' - solve this for us. I eat sand every day, I am sleeping on sand. People are not eating, there is nothing to encourage you to live. It's sinful. The world outside needs to see our situation and the situation of the Muslims - every day negotiations, everyday negotiations, who are you lying to? Solve this for us. We are emotionally tired. They tell you to leave this place and go to the city of Khan Younis, from the city of Khan Younis to Rafah - we feel like we are like toys." Israeli tanks advanced deeper into the western area of Rafah, amid one of the worst nights of bombardment from air, ground, and sea, forcing many families to flee their homes and tents under darkness, residents said on Thursday. The Israeli military denied in a statement it had launched any strikes inside the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone. Israel said its assault aimed to wipe out Hamas' last intact combat units in Rafah, a city which had sheltered more than a million people before the latest advance began. Most of those people have now moved north towards Khan Younis and Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip.

Relatives of hostages and other demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv on Wednesday to demand the Israeli government accept a deal to release those taken by Hamas on October 7. The protest comes as US Secretary of Sate Antony Blinken said that mediators would keep trying to close an elusive cease-fire deal which has global support but has not been fully embraced by Israel or Hamas.

About 200 people rallied as Dr. Julio Frenk became the next chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles. The change comes during continued protests on campus over the Israel-Hamas war. (AP video: Jaimie Ding/produced by Javier Arciga)