Middle East conflict live updates: U.N. team finds credible claims of sexual abuse of hostages; U.S. to drop more aid

U.N. experts said in a report that they have “reasonable grounds to believe” some victims of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel were raped and sexually assaulted, and that some of the hostages taken into Gaza have been subjected to sexual violence and torture that “may be ongoing.” Hamas rejected the report’s findings. The United States is planning more airdrops of humanitarian aid into Gaza and working on a maritime route for ship deliveries, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.