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Middle East conflict live updates U.N. report finds ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe people were sexually assaulted on Oct. 7

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A team of United Nations experts tasked with gathering information on sexual violence linked to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks on Israel found “reasonable grounds to believe” that people were sexually assaulted at “multiple locations” that day. As part of its inquiry, the U.N. team interviewed survivors and witnesses of the Oct. 7 attacks — though they did not speak with any survivors of the alleged sexual violence on Oct. 7, Pramila Patten, the U.N. special representative of the secretary general on sexual violence in conflict, said in a news conference.

Key updates
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Vice President Harris demanded Sunday that Israel allow more aid into Gaza and that Hamas agree to an immediate six-week cease-fire deal. “People in Gaza are starving,” she said. “Our common humanity compels us to act.” Harris is meeting Monday with Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet.
A new round of talks is underway in Cairo on a deal that would pause fighting and release Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Egyptian state media reported Sunday that Hamas, Qatari and U.S. officials were in Cairo. Israeli army radio reported that U.S. officials were set to join talks Monday.
Israel will not send a high-level delegation to Egypt until Hamas responds to questions about the deal’s framework, an Israeli official with knowledge of the talks told The Washington Post. The questions were about the number and identities of Hamas-held hostages and Israeli-detained prisoners, Israeli media reported.
Israel resisted pressure from Washington for months to allow more aid into Gaza. Weekend scenes of U.S. airdrops highlighted the growing rift between the United States and Israel over the war, The Post reported. Dropping aid from planes is expensive and inefficient, but aid groups say Gaza is on the brink of famine.
At least 30,534 people have been killed and 71,920 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and says 246 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.
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Vice President Harris demanded Sunday that Israel allow more aid into Gaza and that Hamas agree to an immediate six-week cease-fire deal. “People in Gaza are starving,” she said. “Our common humanity compels us to act.” Harris is meeting Monday with Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet.
A new round of talks is underway in Cairo on a deal that would pause fighting and release Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Egyptian state media reported Sunday that Hamas, Qatari and U.S. officials were in Cairo. Israeli army radio reported that U.S. officials were set to join talks Monday.
Israel will not send a high-level delegation to Egypt until Hamas responds to questions about the deal’s framework, an Israeli official with knowledge of the talks told The Washington Post. The questions were about the number and identities of Hamas-held hostages and Israeli-detained prisoners, Israeli media reported.
Israel resisted pressure from Washington for months to allow more aid into Gaza. Weekend scenes of U.S. airdrops highlighted the growing rift between the United States and Israel over the war, The Post reported. Dropping aid from planes is expensive and inefficient, but aid groups say Gaza is on the brink of famine.
At least 30,534 people have been killed and 71,920 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and says 246 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.
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Israel-Gaza war

Israel-Gaza war: Gaza health officials said more than 100 people were killed after a crowd converged on an aid convoy in Gaza City on Thursday. Palestinian officials and eyewitnesses blamed the casualties on Israeli gunfire; Israeli officials blamed a stampede near the aid convoy. President Biden said Friday that the United States would launch an airdrop campaign to deliver aid to Gaza.

Middle East conflict: Tensions in the region continue to rise. As Israeli troops aim to take control of the Gaza-Egypt border crossing, officials in Cairo warn that the move would undermine the 1979 peace treaty. Meanwhile, there’s a diplomatic scramble to avert full-scale war between Israel and Lebanon.

U.S. involvement: U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria killed dozens of Iranian-linked militants, according to Iraqi officials. The strikes were the first round of retaliatory action by the Biden administration for an attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members.