World

Israel-Gaza live updates: IDF says it struck 200 Hamas targets overnight, including school

Posted today at 10:02am

(NEW YORK) -- The temporary cease-fire between Hamas and Israel ended early Friday, and Israel has resumed its bombardment of Gaza.

The end of the cease-fire came after Hamas freed over 100 of the more than 200 people its militants took hostage during the Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel. In exchange, Israel released more than 200 Palestinians from Israeli prisons.

Here's how the news is developing:

Dec 04, 9:14 AM EST
Israeli defense minister expects at least 2 more months of war at this intensity

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told ABC News this weekend that he predicts the war in its current intensity will last at least another two months.

After that, Gallant thinks Israel will be fighting in Gaza for multiple months doing mop-up operations and "taking out pockets of terrorist resistance."

Gallant said the only way Israel would consider resuming any negotiation talks with Hamas is if "Hamas fulfills the original agreement and returns the 15 women and two children it is still holding" hostage, with no preconditions and nothing in return.

Gallant said he's committed to bringing home the rest of the more than 100 people who remain hostage in Gaza.

He added, "The only way with Hamas is to use force. Eventually they will give you something. … Hamas has two options: to die in the tunnels or on the surface, or surrender with no conditions.”

Gallant said Israel's goals for the war are to kill Hamas’ Gaza leader and Oct. 7 architect Yehye Sinwar, "break [Hamas'] chain of command" and ensure Hamas will “no longer function as a military organization that can launch organized attacks against Israel."

-ABC News' Matt Gutman

Dec 04, 8:34 AM EST
Journalists witness one of the heaviest bombardments of Gaza since war began

Journalists on the ground in southern Israel witnessed an incredibly heavy and constant barrage of artillery fire and airstrikes in the neighboring Gaza Strip on Monday afternoon.

From their position in the southwestern Israeli city of Sderot, which overlooks Gaza, the ABC News team could feel nearby residential buildings shake when the heaviest strikes occurred. Loud bangs were also heard overhead as a barrage of militant rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel and intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system.

Other journalists who have been living in Sderot since the war began almost two months ago told ABC News that the Israeli bombardment in Gaza on Monday was one of the heaviest they have heard or seen there thus far. Monday's strikes were far more intense than at the same time on Sunday and Saturday.

The heavy bombardment coincides with the Israeli military's announcement that its ground forces are now operating in all areas of Gaza and that it is "pursuing Hamas," the Palestinian militant group that rules the strip, in both the north and south.

-ABC News' Tom Soufi Burridge

Dec 04, 7:33 AM EST
IDF expands ground offensive to all of Gaza in 'new phase' of war

The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that it is expanding its ground offensive to the entire Gaza Strip amid its ongoing war against Hamas.

"We have entered a new phase in our war against Hamas," IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a video statement. "We pursued them in northern Gaza. We're now pursuing Hamas in southern Gaza, too."

"As we expand our operation in Gaza, we remain committed to our goals: secure the release of our hostages and dismantle Hamas," he continued. "We will operate in maximum force against Hamas terrorists and infrastructures while minimizing harm to the civilians that Hamas places around them as shields."

Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs Gaza, which is home to 2.3 million people, has denied Israel's claims that it deliberately shelters behind civilians by hiding its fighters, infrastructure and weapons in hospitals, schools and other areas populated by civilians.

Hagari said the IDF used the seven-day pause in hostilities with Hamas last week "to increase readiness, review intelligence and refine operational procedures."

"We are implementing lessons learned for the new phase of this war, improving the efficiency and precision of our operations on the ground," he added. "We are pursuing Hamas wherever Hamas is hiding, in the north and in the south. Every rocket launcher, weapons depot, command and control center, senior commander, underground infrastructure and any hideout where our hostages may be held."

Hagari maintained the Israel's "war is against Hamas, not against the people of Gaza" and that "every civilian death is a tragedy -- a tragedy that the IDF does not want and is taking extensive measures to avoid." More than 15,500 people have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to figures released by Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health and the Hamas government media office.

The IDF is "dropping leaflets with QR codes that opens a map guiding Gazans to safer areas," according to Hagari. However, the Israeli bombardment has disrupted telecommunications in Gaza and a majority of the population does not have access to internet or phone service.

"The map is divided into neighborhood numbers indicating where civilians in a specific area should go to avoid being in the crossfire," he said. "We call on international organizations in Gaza to assist us with this effort. It can help save lives."

-ABC News' Morgan Winsor

Dec 04, 5:59 AM EST
IDF says it struck 200 Hamas targets in Gaza overnight, including school

The Israel Defense Forces said Monday morning that its aircraft bombed "approximately 200 Hamas terror targets" in the Gaza Strip overnight as troops continued operations on the ground.

Israeli ground troops struck "terror infrastructure" that was located inside a school in Gaza’s northeastern city of Beit Hanoun, while Israeli fighter jets struck "military infrastructure" as well as "vehicles containing missiles, mortar shells, and weapons," according to the IDF.

Israeli ground troops also directed an aircraft to bomb a "cell of terrorists" and a "weapons storage facility from which the terrorists exited," the IDF said.

Meanwhile, Israeli warships struck "a number of Hamas terror targets" overnight, including "observation posts belonging to the Hamas naval forces and terrorist infrastructure at the Gaza harbor" as well as "Hamas military compounds," according to the IDF.

-ABC News' Morgan Winsor

Dec 03, 2:46 PM EST
Hundreds of Americans, Canadians approved to leave Gaza

Over 600 foreign passport holders -- nearly half of whom are Americans and Canadians -- were on a list of people approved to leave Gaza on Sunday. Some 566 foreign passport holders, whose nationalities were not released, later exited the Gaza Strip through Egypt’s Rafah border crossing on Sunday, crossing spokesman Wael Abu Omar told ABC News.

Thirteen wounded Gaza residents and 11 of their family members also left Gaza and entered Egypt on Sunday, the spokesman said.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy

Dec 03, 2:29 PM EST
Israel says it's started 'powerful' ground operation in southern Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces has started a ground operation in southern Gaza that "will be no less powerful than" the operations in northern Gaza, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said.

"We have the capabilities to do it in the most thorough way, and just as we did it with strength and thoroughly in the north of the Gaza Strip, we are also doing it now in the south of the Gaza Strip, and we also continue to deepen the achievements in the north of the Gaza Strip," Halevi said.

The IDF said it's carried out 10,000 airstrikes in the Gaza Strip since fighting began.

"The forces ‘closed circles’ and thwarted terror cells, terror infrastructure, operational apartments, tunnel shafts, weapons warehouses and more,” the IDF said in a statement.

-ABC News' Dana Savir

Dec 03, 10:15 AM EST
'About 8' Americans remain hostage: Kirby

With the temporary Israel-Hamas cease-fire now over, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told ABC News' "This Week" that the U.S. is "working at this literally by the hour … if we can get these discussions back going" to get a new pause in place.

Kirby said the Israel-Hamas agreement "fell apart because Hamas was unwilling and refused to come with additional [hostage] lists of women and children -- which we know they are holding -- and put them on the list so that Israel can evaluate that and we can get them exchanged."

Kirby said the U.S. thinks "about eight" Americans remain hostage.

He added, "We don’t have perfect visibility on where they all are, we certainly don’t have perfect visibility on their physical or mental condition."

When asked Sunday about The New York Times report alleging Israel knew about Hamas' attack plan a year in advance, Kirby said the U.S. had no knowledge of the Hamas planning document.

He added, "The focus has got to be on making sure Israel has what it needs to go after Hamas leadership."

Dec 03, 9:47 AM EST
Record amount of fuel enters Gaza

The United Nations said 138,000 liters of fuel entered Gaza on Saturday -- the highest amount in one day since the Israel-Hamas war began.

Trucks with food, water, medicine and medical supplies also entered Gaza on Saturday, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Dec 02, 5:05 PM EST
1st anti-government protest since Oct. 7 held in Tel Aviv

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on Saturday at the first anti-government protest held in Tel Aviv since Oct. 7.

"We don't want a radical government. We didn't want it before, and we don't want it now," Moshe Radman, who helped organize the protest, told ABC News. "We are telling them we want a new government as soon as possible."

Radman says people were scared to protest in the early days of the war -- but that things have changed in the last few weeks. He predicts the demonstrations will grow.

"We gave them 57 days, and week after week we saw that they are not doing the right thing. And I think we understand that we are headed towards a long war, so we have to do it now," he said.

Protesters Sharon and Eyal Eshel said their 19-year-old daughter Roni, an Israel Defense Forces soldier, was killed in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants while stationed at the Nahal Oz kibbutz. Her family said they have yet to receive a single phone call from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"We are looking for answers, we want answers from the IDF, we want answers from the government. And we want the man who is in charge, we need him to take responsibility," Sharon Eshel told ABC News.

"It's not the time to say, 'It's not the time,'" Eyal Eshel told ABC News, calling on Netanyahu to sit down with him and answer his questions. "Enough is enough."

In response to criticism and pool polling numbers, Netanyahu has previously said he has no plans of stepping down.

-ABC News' Dragana Jovanovic, Dorit Long, Kuba Kaminski and Ines De La Cuetara

Dec 02, 4:38 PM EST
Sec. Austin calls on Congress to pass Israel, Ukraine aid

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called on Congress to pass aid to Israel and Ukraine during a keynote speech Saturday at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California.

He said support for Israel's security is "non-negotiable."

"We still urgently need bipartisan support in Congress to pass the supplemental to rush security assistance to our partners in Ukraine, in Israel and elsewhere," he said.

Austin said peace is "not self-executing" and that America should remain involved and in leadership.

"From Russia to China, from Hamas to Iran, our rivals and foes want to divide and weaken the United States -- and to split us off from our allies and partners," he said. "So at this hinge in history, America must not waver."

-ABC News' Kelly Livingston

Dec 02, 3:08 PM EST
Kamala Harris meets with Arab leaders to discuss Israel-Gaza at COP28

While in Dubai for the COP28 meetings, Vice President Kamala Harris met with Arab leaders -- United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, Jordan's King Abdullah, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani -- to discuss what Gaza will look like once the fighting stops.

"We all want this conflict to end as soon as possible, and to ensure Israel's security, and ensure security for the Palestinian people, we must accelerate efforts to build an enduring peace," Harris said.

In addition to the five principles in President Joe Biden's Washington Post op-ed, the Vice President laid out three new focus points she discussed to ensure the success of long-lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, which will also require "regional consensus and support" to accomplish.

"One, reconstruction. The international community must dedicate significant resources to support short- and long-term recovery in Gaza," Harris said.

"Second, security. The Palestinian Authority security forces must be strengthened to eventually assume security responsibilities in Gaza. Until then, there must be security arrangements that are acceptable to Israel, the people of Gaza, the Palestinian Authority, and the international partners," Harris said.

"Third, governance. The Palestinian Authority must be revitalized, driven by the will of the Palestinian people, which will allow them to benefit from the rule of law and a transparent responsive government," Harris said.

Harris refused to go into details but remains hopeful for another pause. Harris also said that Israel must limit as many civilian casualties as possible.

"As Israel defends itself, it matters how. The United States is unequivocal; international humanitarian law must be respected. Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering, and the images and videos coming from Gaza are devastating," Harris said.

-ABC News' Tia Humphries

Dec 02, 11:15 AM EST
Israel plans to put 'security arrangements' along fringes of Gaza Strip

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's advisor, Mark Regev, told reporters at a briefing Saturday that they plan to put in place "security arrangements" along the fringes of the Gaza strip to ensure that Hamas could not threaten Israel again.

"Call it what you want," Regev told ABC News in an interview after the briefing. "Israel will have to have a security envelope."

Regev told reporters that Israel does not plan to take territory from Gaza or occupy the strip, but he spoke about establishing "security zones."

"There will have to be security arrangements on the ground to prevent future attacks," Regev told the briefing.

-ABC News' Tom Soufi Burridge and Angus Hines

Dec 02, 9:51 AM EST
Israel recalls its negotiation team from Qatar

After reaching an "impasse" in negotiations with Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israel's negotiation team to return from Doha, Qatar, Israeli officials said.

"The terrorist organization Hamas did not fulfil its part of the agreement, which included the release of all children and women according to a list that was forwarded to Hamas and approved by it. The head of the Mossad thanks the head of the CIA, the Egyptian Minister of Intelligence and the Prime Minister of Qatar for their partnership in the tremendous mediation efforts that led to the release of 84 children and women from the Gaza Strip in addition to 24 foreign citizens," according to a statement issued on behalf of Israel's Intelligence and Special Tasks Agency.

-ABC News' Edward Szekeres

Dec 01, 2:54 PM EST
Kirby says humanitarian aid will be going back into Gaza

Following the end of the temporary cease-fire, humanitarian aid stopped flowing into Gaza through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed Friday.

But Kirby added, "I just saw some reporting that looks like a spokesman for the Israelis have now said that the trucks were going to be allowed into Gaza at our [U.S.] request, and certainly with the approval of their government."

"They [Israel] stressed that all the trucks going in, of course, had to be done with this inspection regime in Israel before entering Gaza," he said. "That looks like a good sign going forward."

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said earlier Friday that Israel was not letting aid pass through Rafah to Gaza.

"Israeli occupation forces informed all organizations and entities operating at the Rafah border crossing that the entry of aid trucks from the Egyptian side to the Gaza Strip is prohibited, starting from today until further notice," the Palestine Red Crescent Society said.

Dec 01, 2:50 PM EST
White House says it can't 'verify' New York Times reporting

Pressed about The New York Times report alleging Israel knew about Hamas' attack plan a year in advance, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told ABC News that the U.S. "can't verify the reporting."

Kirby did not provide any details when asked if President Joe Biden had seen the report, if the Biden administration has or will raise the document with the Israelis or if this report strains trust with the Israelis.

"I’m just not gonna go into more details than what I did before,” Kirby said. "We can’t verify the reporting … and I’m just going to leave it at that."

A U.S. official said "there are no indicators at this time that the [U.S.] Intelligence Community was provided" the document referenced in The New York Times report.

When asked about a possible timeline to resume the pause in fighting, Kirby said, "We are working at this literally by the hour to try to see if we can get [the temporary cease-fire] restored."

"We have every expectation that another pause could be executed," he said.

-ABC News' Selina Wang

Dec 01, 2:35 PM EST
Gaza death toll rises as war resumes

At least 178 people died and another 589 were wounded in the Gaza Strip on Friday, according to Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health, as Israel resumed its bombardment of the war-torn territory, after a cease-fire with Hamas ended.

"Medical teams are dealing with large numbers of wounded with the end of the truce and renewed bombing of civilians this morning," health ministry spokesperson Dr. Ashraf Al-Qudra said in a statement. "The wounded are lying on the ground in emergency departments and in front of operating rooms as a result of the accumulation of cases."

"The health situation in Gaza and the northern Gaza Strip is extremely disastrous as a result of major hospitals being out of service," he added. "Medical and clinical capabilities in Gaza and the north are very limited. The three remaining hospitals in Gaza and the north are small and not qualified to receive large numbers of wounded."

More than 15,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war broke out on Oct. 7, according to the health ministry.

-ABC News' Nasser Atta, Emma Ogao and Morgan Winsor

Dec 01, 12:43 PM EST
Red Cross ready to help with hostages if Israel, Hamas reach more agreements

International Committee for the Red Cross Director-General Robert Mardini said the Red Cross "offered our role of neutral intermediary to facilitate any negotiated release of hostages," and that "offer still stands."

"We hope that the parties will reach more agreements to free hostages on one side and Palestine detainees on the other," Mardini said.

As the fighting between Israel and Hamas resumes, he stressed that hospitals should be spared.

"It is very unfortunate what we were seeing over the past weeks -- hospitals becoming battlegrounds, fighting happening inside and around hospitals. And this is why we keep and we will keep on repeating … that hospitals should be preserved," he said.

Dec 01, 10:57 AM EST
IDF says they killed 1 of the Jerusalem bus stop shooting victims by mistake

When Hamas militants opened fire at a Jerusalem bus stop Thursday morning, Hamas killed three of the victims, and an Israeli Defense Forces soldier at the scene mistakenly shot and killed the fourth victim, the IDF said.

The deadly incident unfolded around 7:40 a.m. local time when a pair of heavily armed assailants drove up to the bus stop, got out of their vehicle and opened fire on civilians, killing three and injuring others. Both gunmen were killed by two off-duty Israeli soldiers and armed Israeli civilian Yuval Doron Castleman who were near the scene, according to Israeli police.

Israeli police identified the two suspects as brothers in their 30s from the Sur Baker neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Both Israeli police and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the gunmen as "terrorists."

Hamas claimed responsibility for the deadly shooting, saying in a statement that the attack was in response to Israel's "unprecedented crimes" including "brutal massacres" in Gaza and the killing of children in the occupied West Bank.

The IDF said Friday that, during the attack, one of the IDF soldiers at the scene "mistakenly suspected" that Castleman, the armed Israeli civilian "who acted bravely and courageously to neutralize the terrorists," was a third terrorist.

"The same soldier also fired at him which led to his serious injury and tragic death," the IDF said.

The investigation of the attack continues," the IDF said. "We share in the grief of the family members of the late Yuval who acted bravely and saved lives, and in the grief of other families murdered in the attack and wish for the speedy recovery of the injured."

Dec 01, 10:48 AM EST
Blinken on New York Times report: 'There will be accountability looking at what led up to Oct. 7'

As Secretary of State Antony Blinken left Israel on Friday, he was asked about a report by The New York Times alleging Israel knew about Hamas' attack plan a year in advance.

"There's going to be plenty of opportunity for a full accounting of … looking back to see what happened [and] who knew what, when -- Israel has been very clear about that," Blinken said.

"Right now, the focus is on making sure that [Israel] can do everything possible to ensure that it doesn't happen again, make sure that civilians are protected, and that humanitarian assistance gets in, and as I said, to also look at what happens once this conflict is over -- what happens in Gaza, what happens more broadly getting us on a path to lasting security," Blinken continued. "So we're focused on on all of that. I think there'll be time, and I know this will happen -- there will be accountability, looking at what led up to Oct. 7."

ABC News' Nate Luna

Dec 01, 9:55 AM EST
'Children lying on the floor with limbs missing' in Gaza: UNICEF

As fighting between Israel and Hamas resumes, Israel's "relentless bombardment" in Gaza on Friday has been "utterly terrifying" -- and has had an immediate impact “on the faces of children," UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told ABC News.

"I feel I was starting to see childhood return when you chat to them -- that’s been replaced by fear again," Elder said. "There’s a trauma which returns very quickly."

Elder described seeing "children lying on the floor with limbs missing." He said some children who had already been injured were being moved around hospitals to make room for other casualties to come in.

He said sanitation "has broken down" and Gaza’s hospitals are now "on life support."

“Disease threatens just as many children" as the bombings, he said.

Over the last seven days, aid has been reaching Gaza, he said, but, "seven days was never ever enough.”

Elder said he’s "terrified" that if the fighting continues for even another couple of weeks, “many, many more thousands of people" could be killed.

-ABC News' Tom Soufi Burridge, Zoe Magee, Angus Hines and Nicky De Blois

Dec 01, 9:40 AM EST
Israel, Hamas trade blame for reigniting the war

As a truce ended between Israel and Hamas on Friday, both sides traded blame for reigniting the war.

Israel accused Hamas of violating the cease-fire by firing rockets toward Israeli territory just after 7 a.m. local time, as negotiations failed to further extend the truce. The Israeli military has since resumed combat in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, with ground, air and naval forces striking more than 200 "terror targets" in the north and south thus far, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Meanwhile, Hamas accused Israel of "persistently rejecting" all its offers to release more hostages in Gaza amid negotiations to extend the cease-fire agreement on Thursday night. Hamas alleged that it had offered to hand over more Israeli detainees, including the elderly, as well as the bodies of those who have died in captivity, which the militant group claimed was a result of previous Israeli bombings.

"However, the [Israeli] occupation, driven by a predetermined decision to resume criminal aggression, remained unresponsive," Hamas said in a statement.

-ABC News' Morgan Winsor

Dec 01, 8:51 AM EST
Israeli kibbutz confirms deaths of 3 Hamas-held hostages in Gaza

An Israeli kibbutz confirmed Friday the death of three of its residents who were taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack.

Kibbutz Nir Oz announced that 85-year-old resident Aryeh Zalmanovich has died in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip. Zalmanovich was one of the founders of the kibbutz, which is located in southern Israel near the border with Gaza.

“Father of two sons and grandfather of five grandchildren. Aryeh was a man of the land all his life who was engaged in agriculture and field crops,” the kibbutz said in a statement. “A man of books and has a wide knowledge of history and knowledge of the country.”

Gaza's militant rulers, Hamas, released a video in mid-November that appeared to show Zalmanovich looking ill. The group claimed he had later died.

Kibbutz Nir Oz also announced that 54-year-old resident Ronen Engel has died in Hamas captivity in Gaza. The kibbutz described Engel as a "photographer, MDA volunteer and motorcycle enthusiast." His wife and two daughters were also kidnapped to Gaza on Oct. 7 and released this week, according to the kibbutz.

A third resident of kibbutz Nir Oz, 56-year-old resident Maya Goren, was also confirmed to have died in Hamas captivity in Gaza. Her husband was among those killed on Oct. 7, according to the kibbutz.

"Maya was a hardworking and dedicated kindergarten teacher, and gave loving care to the kibbutz children for many years," the kibbutz said in a statement.

-ABC News' Yael Benaya and Morgan Winsor

Dec 01, 8:50 AM EST
Gaza death toll rises as war resumes

More than 100 people were killed in the Gaza Strip on Friday as Israel resumed its bombardment of the war-torn territory, after a cease-fire with Hamas ended.

Within hours of the truce ending on Friday morning, at least 32 people were killed by Israeli strikes. That number had increased to at least 109 by Friday afternoon and hundreds more were wounded, according to Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health.

More than 15,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war broke out on Oct. 7, according to the health ministry.

-ABC News' Nasser Atta, Emma Ogao and Morgan Winsor

Dec 01, 8:22 AM EST
Israel will no longer hold fire amid negotiations, source says

Israel will no longer hold fire as negotiations with Hamas progress, an Israeli security source told ABC News on Friday.

The source said Israeli forces will only cease-fire for 24 hours if Hamas sends a list of at least 10 hostages to be released, the list is approved by Israel and everyone on that list is safely returned home.

-ABC News' Matt Gutman

Dec 01, 7:38 AM EST
UN human rights chief says war in Gaza is 'beyond crisis point'

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warned Friday that the resumption of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip is "catastrophic," with the situation now "beyond crisis point."

"I urge all parties and states with influence over them to redouble efforts, immediately, to ensure a ceasefire -- on humanitarian and human rights grounds," Turk said in a statement.

-ABC News' Edward Szekeres and Morgan Winsor

Dec 01, 5:27 AM EST
Qatar says efforts to renew Israel-Hamas truce 'are continuing'

Qatar announced Friday morning that efforts to renew a truce between Israel and Hamas "are continuing," despite the resumption of Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip.

Qatar, along with Egypt and the United States, have mediated the talks between Israel and Hamas.

"The State of Qatar expresses its deep regret at the resumption of the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip following the end of the humanitarian pause, without reaching an agreement to extend it," the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms that negotiations between the two sides are continuing with the aim of returning to a pause. It also clarifies that the State of Qatar is committed, along with its mediation partners, to continuing the efforts that led to the humanitarian pause, and will not hesitate to do everything necessary to return to calm."

"The Ministry stresses that the continued bombing of the Gaza Strip in the first hours after the end of the pause complicates mediation efforts and exacerbates the humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip, and in this context calls on the international community to move quickly to stop the violence," the statement continued. "The State of Qatar reiterates its condemnation of all forms of targeting civilians, the practice of collective punishment, and attempts to forcibly displace and displace citizens of the besieged Gaza Strip, and its demand for an immediate ceasefire and to ensure the continuous and unhindered flow of relief convoys and humanitarian aid, in a way that meets the actual needs of the residents of the Strip."

-ABC News' Edward Szekeres and Morgan Winsor

Nov 30, 5:11 PM EST
Death toll rises to 4 in shooting at Jerusalem bus stop

Four people have died from a shooting at a Jerusalem bus stop Thursday morning, according to the Shaaeri Tzedek hospital.

The death toll initially stood at three. The fourth death was reported Thursday night.

The deadly incident unfolded around 7:40 a.m. local time when a pair of heavily armed assailants drove up to the bus stop, got out of their vehicle and opened fire on civilians. Both gunmen were killed by two off-duty Israeli soldiers and a civilian who were near the scene, according to Israeli police.

"The quick reaction of two fighters and a civilian who eliminated the terrorists prevented an even more serious attack. I salute them," Netanyahu wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. "The government headed by me will continue expanding the distribution of weapons to citizens. This is a measure that proves itself time and time again in the war against murderous terrorism."

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy, Jordana Miller, Joe Simonetti and Morgan Winsor

Nov 30, 4:42 PM EST
Blinken: Death, destruction in northern Gaza cannot be repeated in southern Gaza

At a news conference in Israel on Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that "Israel has the right to do everything it can to ensure that the slaughter Hamas carried out on Oct. 7 can never be repeated."

"Hamas cannot remain in control of Gaza," Blinken said, but he reiterated Israel’s obligation to minimize civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip.

He said he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Netanyahu's war cabinet that it's imperative that "the massive loss of civilian life and displacement of the scale that we saw in northern Gaza not be repeated in [southern Gaza]."

"We made clear the imperative that before any operations go forward in southern Gaza, that there'd be a clear plan in place that puts a premium on protecting civilians, as well as sustaining and building on the humanitarian assistance that's getting into Gaza," Blinken said. "And the Israeli government agrees with that approach.”

-ABC News' Nate Luna

Nov 30, 4:36 PM EST
6 more Israeli hostages released

Six more Israeli hostages were released Thursday evening and are back in Israel, according to the Israeli prime minister's office.

They were identified as: 29-year-old Shani Goren, 41-year-old Nili Margalit, 30-year-old Ilana Griczewski Kimchi, 29-year-old Sapir Cohen, 18-year-old Bilal Elziadna and 17-year-old Aisha Alziadna.

This comes hours after two other Israeli hostages were released: 21-year-old Mia Schem and 40-year-old Amit Sosna.

In exchange for the eight hostages released Thursday and two Russian citizens who were released Wednesday, Israel will release 30 Palestinian prisoners -- 23 minors and seven women -- on Thursday, according to the Qatari foreign minister.

Nov 30, 4:27 PM EST
Israel prepared to strike at any hour: IDF

Amid the cease-fire, the Israeli military is prepared to continue the war and forces are prepared to strike at any hour, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said.

Israel insisted on continuing the cease-fire -- which was extended by one day early Thursday morning -- "to bring back the hostage women and children, and this is what we will do [Thursday night] for tomorrow, as well," Hagari said in Hebrew.

"The mediators, Qatar and Egypt, are also obligated to carry out the set agreement in order for the pause to continue," he said.

Nov 30, 4:20 PM EST
6 more Israeli hostages in Red Cross custody: IDF

Six more Israeli hostages are in Red Cross custody and are on their way to Israel Thursday evening, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

This comes hours after two other Israeli hostages were released: 21-year-old Mia Schem and 40-year-old Amit Sosna.

Nov 30, 2:49 PM EST
US doesn't know where last unaccounted for American woman is: Kirby

The U.S. does not know where the last unaccounted for American woman is or what her condition is, according to National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

Since the cease-fire began several days ago, only one American woman and one American child have been released by Hamas.

Asked by ABC News if the U.S. believes Hamas does not know where all the hostages are -- or if they're propagating that information as a delay tactic -- Kirby said even though some other groups also took hostages, "That’s not to say that Hamas doesn’t have visibility on that, or doesn’t have a way to find out about it."

Kirby said Israel has made clear that "when these pauses are over, they intend to go back at it."

"And as they make that decision, they’ll continue to find support from the U.S. in terms of tools and capabilities, the weapons systems they need, as well as the advice and the perspectives that we can offer in terms of urban warfare," Kirby said.

He added that he believes the U.S. approach has had a "practical effect" on the way Israel is conducting its operations. Kirby said the U.S. shared experiences with urban warfare in places like Fallujah and Mosul in Iraq, and that the Israelis were "receptive" to those lessons learned.

-ABC News' Selina Wang

Nov 30, 2:40 PM EST
Kirby: Jerusalem attack does not 'technically' violate cease-fire agreement

Thursday morning's shooting carried out by Hamas at a Jerusalem bus stop did not violate the cease-fire agreement because "this attack happened in Jerusalem" and "the pause is in the fighting more specific to Gaza," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.

"It didn't technically violate the deal that was in place, but obviously it's a stark reminder of who they’re facing and what kind of enemy they’re opposing," Kirby continued.

"If anybody's guessing and wondering whether Hamas still has murderous intentions against the Israeli people, just look at what happened in Jerusalem," Kirby said.

At least three people were killed and six others were injured in Thursday's shooting. The two gunmen were killed by two off-duty Israeli soldiers and a civilian who were near the scene, according to Israeli police.

Hamas claimed responsibility, saying the shooting was in response to Israel's "unprecedented crimes" including "brutal massacres" in Gaza and the killing of children in the occupied West Bank.

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow

Nov 30, 10:55 AM EST
Gaza families brace for winter

About 80% of Gaza’s population is now homeless, with many people forced to live in make-shift shelters, largely exposed to the elements, according to the United Nations.

The bad weather is compounding an already difficult situation, several Gaza residents told ABC News in interviews conducted during the last two weeks. People living in tents are struggling to make them watertight. They are patching them up as best they can with tarpaulin. The rainy season in Gaza usually begins in late November or early December and temperatures can get as low as 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

"At 6 in the morning, we woke up to rain falling and the place was soaked with water," Iqbal Saleh Mohsen Abu Al-Saud, one resident, told ABC News, when the winter rains first came to Gaza last week.

"We are 30 people in this tent,“ he explained. "We were displaced from Gaza City from the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood. We went from home to schools, then to tents, from place to place. Without food or shelter, we only left our homes because of the bombing."

Nov 30, 10:36 AM EST
2 more Israeli hostages released in Gaza, IDF says

Two Israeli hostages released in the Gaza Strip -- 21-year-old Miya Shem and 40-year-old Amit Sosna -- have been transferred to the Red Cross and are now on their way to Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said Thursday evening.

More hostages are expected to be released in the coming hours, according to the IDF.

Nov 30, 10:08 AM EST
427 attacks on health care in Gaza, West Bank since Oct. 7: WHO

The World Health Organization said Thursday that it has documented 427 attacks on health care in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank since Oct. 7.

Those attacks have resulted in 566 fatalities and 758 injuries, according to the WHO.

“Health care and civilians must be actively protected,” the WHO wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Morgan Winsor

Nov 30, 9:36 AM EST
Video shows fatal shooting of two Palestinian children in West Bank

Video has emerged purportedly showing the moment two Palestinian children were shot dead in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said two children -- identified as 8-year-old Adam Samar Al-Ghoul and 15-year-old Basel Sulaiman Abu Al-Wafa -- were gunned down by Israeli soldiers in the city of Jenin.

The Israel Defense Forces said its troops had killed two terrorists during a counter-terror raid in Jenin, including a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group whom the IDF identified as Muhammad Zubeidi.

When asked about reports that two children were also killed, the IDF told ABC News that during the raid its soldiers had also shot suspects who threw explosive devices toward them.

Surveillance video from the scene reviewed by ABC News appeared to show one of the boys was holding a small object before the pair were fatally shot. The other didn't appear to be holding anything. The children are not seen throwing anything in the video, which begins only a few seconds before the shooting.

Video also showed IDF troops in armored vehicles on the street adjacent to the location of the shooting.

Nov 30, 6:41 AM EST
More Israeli hostages, Palestinian prisoners to be released Thursday

Ten Israeli hostages and 30 Palestinian prisoners are expected to be freed on Thursday as part of the extended truce between Hamas and Israel, according to Diaa Rashwan, head of Egypt's State Information Service.

Rashwan said Egyptian-Qatari mediation efforts are ongoing with the aim of further extending the truce by another two days to allow for a longer cease-fire and the release of more hostages and prisoners.

An Israeli political source told ABC News that at least eight hostages are expected to be freed by Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.

Nov 30, 6:39 AM EST
Three killed, six injured in shooting in Jerusalem, police say

At least three people were killed and six others were injured in a shooting at a bus stop in Jerusalem on Thursday morning, Israeli authorities said.

Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules the nearby Gaza Strip, later claimed responsibility for the deadly shooting in Jerusalem, saying in a statement that the attack was in response to Israel's "unprecedented crimes" including "brutal massacres" in Gaza and the killing of children in Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

The shooting, which Israeli police said remains under investigation, occurred amid surging violence between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank while Israel is at war with Hamas.

Nov 30, 12:34 AM EST
Cease-fire between Israel and Hamas extended

The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas has been extended, the Israel Defense Forces announced early Thursday morning.

In a post on X, the IDF said that due to the work of the mediators, who are continuing to work on deals to get the hostages released, the cease-fire would "continue."

Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson also confirmed the news, saying in a statement, “The Palestinian and Israeli sides have reached an agreement to extend the humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip by an additional day (today, Thursday) under the same previous terms, which are a ceasefire and the entry of humanitarian aid."

In a statement to state news agency QNA, the spokesman affirmed mediators continue to "intensify efforts with the aim of reaching a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip."

Nov 29, 5:54 PM EST
American-Israeli hostage 'safe' in Egypt, Biden says

President Joe Biden said Liat Beinin Atzili, an American-Israeli dual national who was one of 16 hostages released from Gaza on Wednesday, is "safe" in Egypt and that he has spoken to her parents.

"I've got some very good news to report. Liat Beinin is safe in Egypt. She's crossed the border," Biden told reporters as he was boarding Air Force One in Pueblo, Colorado.

"I talked with her mother and father and they're very appreciative and things are moving well," Biden said. "She'll soon be home with her three children. That's all I have to say for right now."

The president did not respond when asked for an update on other Americans who might be released.

Nov 29, 4:54 PM EST
16 hostages released Wednesday including American-Israeli woman

Ten hostages in Gaza were released Wednesday night in exchange for 30 Palestinian prisoners, according to the Qatari foreign minister. This comes hours before the truce is set to expire.

Among the 10 hostages exchanged was 49-year-old Liat Atzili, an American-Israeli dual national.

In addition, two Russian-Israeli citizens and four Thai citizens were also handed over to the Red Cross outside the framework of the agreement, the Qatari foreign minister said.

According to officials, 145 people remain hostages.

Nov 29, 4:17 PM EST
US envoy to UN hopeful truce can be extended: 'All in the hands of Hamas'

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. representative to the United Nations, said the U.S. is "hopeful" that the truce between Israel and Hamas -- set to expire Wednesday night -- will be extended.

Another extension "is all in the hands of Hamas," she said. "The Israelis have said if they continue to release 10 hostages a day, they will extend by a day. So it truly is … it is in their hands. But I do think there is a potential for that, and we're actively working to extend the deal."

"We will not rest until all hostages are free," she continued. "And if Hamas chooses to continue to release hostages, then Israel is prepared to continue the pause in the fighting."

Nov 29, 3:44 PM EST
Palestinian dad awaits daughter's release: 'I'm looking forward to hugging her again'

Dania Hanatsheh's name is on a list of 30 Palestinian women, girls and teenage boys expected to be released Wednesday as part of another exchange of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

The family said Hanatsheh, 21, was arrested on Nov. 21 when Israeli soldiers raided their home in the West Bank.

The Israeli Justice Department said Hantsheh is accused of "supporting terrorism."

Hantsheh's father, Saqer, believes his daughter was arrested because of her social media posts.

"I am proud of my daughter," he told ABC News. "When she posted asking people to stand with Gaza, I support her with that because it's her right to do that."

He said he's looking forward to "hugging my daughter again."

But his happiness is tinged with sadness for the suffering in Gaza.

"The prisoners are getting released, but the price of this is the blood of women and kids in Gaza," he said.

-ABC News' Tom Soufi Burridge

Nov 29, 3:39 PM EST
Families of American hostages demand increased transparency

Eight relatives of American hostages spoke to reporters in Washington, D.C., before they address the House Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday afternoon and meet with national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday.

Ronen Neutra, the father of 19-year-old hostage Omer Neutra, said he wants more pressure for soldiers and men held hostage to be released. Omer Neutra is a Long Island native and Israel Defense Forces soldier. His mother, Orna Neutra, said he was pulled from his IDF tank by Hamas and taken into Gaza.

Ruby Chen, father of missing IDF soldier Itay Chen, said having no knowledge of his son's condition is a living hell.

Liz Naftali, relative of 4-year-old Israeli-American hostage Abigail Edan who was released this week, said the families' approach to their meeting with Sullivan is not going to be advising the administration on how to conduct hostage negotiations, but instead to consult with them.

"Abigail coming home is proof that it works -- proof that if we hope, we pray, and we do all the work, these hostages come home," she said. "But we still have a lot of work to do. And we hope that you all will leave here and continue to be partners in this incredibly challenging work."

-ABC News' Noah Minnie and Elizabeth Landers

Nov 29, 1:23 PM EST
2 Russian-Israeli hostages released by Hamas

The Israel Defense Forces said two Israeli-Russian hostages were released by Hamas on Wednesday and are on their way to Israel. The hostages, 50-year-old Yelena Trupanob and her mother, 73-year-old Irena Tati, were released in addition to the list of abductees scheduled to be released Wednesday, the IDF said.

The mother and daughter, who had emigrated from Russia to Israel, were kidnapped from their home at the Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. Trupanob's husband was killed and her son, 28, and his girlfriend, 29, are still being held hostage, the IDF said.

Hamas officials said on Wednesday that they've released two female Russian hostages.

"They were handed over to the Red Cross a short while ago as a prelude to handing them over to representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry," Hamas said in a statement via Telegram.

Nov 29, 12:25 PM EST
'All my dreams were shattered,' bride in Gaza says

A young couple from southern Gaza planned to marry on Oct. 8 -- but the Israel-Hamas war changed all that.

The house they were going to live in was destroyed by Israeli bombs.

The couple -- not yet married -- spoke to ABC News as they sifted through the rubble, trying to salvage whatever they could.

"How do I feel? Sad. I wanted to be like any bride, to have a house," Heba Abu Taima told ABC News. "Everything was beautiful before the 7th of October. After the 7th of October, everything ended."

"All my dreams were shattered," she continued. "Everything in the house is gone, the house in which we planned to have a sweet and happy life is gone."

"I dreamed of beautiful things, for example, children," said her fiancé, Saif Abu Taima. "I used to say, 'Boy,' and she used to say, 'No, girl.' And we also used to go out and [I'd] tell her, 'We will live a beautiful life and achieve our beautiful dream.'"

She added, "We desperately want to live in safety like other countries. To have a good life, to live freely and in peace."

ABC News' Sami Zayara

Nov 29, 11:59 AM EST
UN calls for 'irreversible' move toward 2-state solution

Tatiana Valovaya, director-general of the United Nations at Geneva, is calling for an "irreversible" move toward a two-state solution.

"We must be united in demanding an end to the occupation and the blockade of Gaza," Valovaya said. "It is long past time to move in a determined, irreversible way towards a two-state solution, on the basis of United Nations resolutions and international law, with Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states."

Nov 29, 11:54 AM EST
Hamas says it released 2 Russian female hostages

Hamas officials said on Wednesday that they've released two female Russian hostages.

"They were handed over to the Red Cross a short while ago as a prelude to handing them over to representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry," Hamas said in a statement via Telegram.

Nov 29, 11:39 AM EST
Hamas claims 3 hostages, including 10-month-old, were killed by previous Israeli strikes on Gaza

Hamas' military wing al-Qassam Brigades alleged Wednesday that three hostages have died as a result of the Israeli military's previous bombings in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement posted on a Telegram channel associated with the al-Qassam Brigades, the slain hostages were identified as Shiri Silverman Bibas, Kfir Bibas and Ariel Bibas. It was unclear when the trio had allegedly died and ABC News was unable to verify the claim.

Several members of the Bibas family, including 32-year-old Shiri, her 4-year-old son Ariel and her 10-month-old son Kfir, were kidnapped from their kibbutz in southern Israel during Hamas' attack on Oct. 7 and taken hostage to Gaza, according to relatives and Israeli authorities.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed in a statement Wednesday that it is investigating the reports of their deaths.

"IDF representatives spoke with the Bibas family following the recent reports and are with them at this difficult time. The IDF is assessing the accuracy of the information," the IDF said. "Hamas is wholly responsible for the security of all hostages in the Gaza Strip. Hamas must be held accountable."

In a statement obtained by ABC News, the Bibas family said Wednesday that they are "updated on the latest Hamas publication."

"We are waiting for the news to be confirmed or hopefully refuted soon by military officials," the family added. "We thank the people of Israel for the warm embrace but ask to maintain our privacy at this complex time."

ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy, Anna Brund, Jordana Miller, Dana Savir and Morgan Winsor

Nov 29, 11:31 AM EST
Returned hostages not in immediate danger: Israel hospital director

Itai Pessach, director of Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital at Sheba Medical Center, praised the newly released hostages who arrived at the hospital Tuesday, calling them "extraordinary women" who "endured the hardships of their captivity in a remarkable fashion."

"Some of them had complex underlying illnesses and some suffered injuries when they were abducted or during their time in captivity," Pessach said. "They will need further medical treatment and attention, but there's no immediate danger to any of them."

Twelve hostages were released on Tuesday in the most recent prisoner swap: 10 Israelis and two foreign nationals from Thailand. Nine of the Israelis were women. One was a 17-year-old girl, Maya, and her dog, Bella.

Pessach called Maya "a very brave young woman. "

"Bella also was examined last night by the veterinarian service of the Sheba Medical Center, and she's also fine, and she would stay with Maya for as long as she needs while they are still here," Pessach said.

Nov 29, 10:37 AM EST
Hamas claims 3 hostages, including 10-month-old, were killed by previous Israeli strikes on Gaza

Hamas' military wing al-Qassam Brigades alleged Wednesday that three hostages have died as a result of the Israeli military's previous bombings in the Gaza Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed in a statement Wednesday that it is investigating the reports of their deaths.

ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy, Jordana Miller, Dana Savir and Morgan Winsor

Nov 29, 9:17 AM EST
Israel receives list of hostages to be released Wednesday, notifies families

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office confirmed that it has received the list of hostages due to be released by militants in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

The families of the hostages on Wednesday's list have all been notified, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said.

The truce between Gaza's militant rulers, Hamas, and Israel is set to expire on Thursday morning, but the possibility of extending it further is reportedly under negotiation.

Nov 29, 9:04 AM EST
Israeli forces allegedly kill two Palestinian children in West Bank

Two Palestinian children were allegedly gunned down by Israeli soldiers operating in the militant stronghold of Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Wednesday, according to Palestinian health officials.

The Palestinian Authority, the Fatah-led governing body that oversees parts of the West Bank, identified the two victims as an 8-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy who it said "were killed by occupation bullets in Jenin."

The Palestine Red Crescent Society confirmed that its crews had transported the younger child from Jenin's al-Basateen neighborhood before he was pronounced dead.

Surveillance footage reviewed by ABC News purportedly shows the moment both boys were shot, but the perpetrators were out of sight.

ABC News has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

The alleged incidents occurred as the Israeli military carried out hourslong raids on the Jenin refugee camp.

Deadly violence has surged in the West Bank since Hamas, the rival Palestinian faction that governs the Gaza Strip, carried out an unprecedented attack on neighboring Israel on Oct. 7, prompting Israeli forces to retaliate.

Nov 29, 7:23 AM EST
Cease-fire is 'matter of life or death' for 1.3 million displaced in Gaza, WHO warns

Approximately 1.3 million people are currently living in shelters in the war-torn Gaza Strip, according to the head of the World Health Organization, who warned Wednesday that "a sustained ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas is "a matter of life or death for civilians" in Gaza.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "overcrowding and lack of food, water, sanitation and basic hygiene, waste management and access to medication are resulting in a high number of cases of" various contagious diseases, including 111,000 cases of acute respiratory infections, 12,000 cases of scabies, 11,000 cases of lice, 75,000 cases of diarrhoea, 24,00 cases of skin rash, 2,500 cases of impetigo, 2,500 cases of chickenpox and 1,100 cases of jaundice.

"On top of all this: heightened risk of disease outbreaks," Tedros wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

"Given the living conditions and lack of health care, more people could die from disease than bombings," he added. "We need a sustained ceasefire. NOW. It's a matter of life or death for civilians."

Gaza, a 140-square-mile territory governed by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, is home to more than two million people.

Nov 29, 5:32 AM EST
Israel says 161 hostages, including children, remain in Gaza

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said Wednesday that 161 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip.

Of the 161 remaining hostages, 126 are male and 35 are female. Among them are 146 Israelis and 15 foreigners, including Americans. Ten of them are age 75 and older, four are 18 or 19, and four are under the age of 18, according to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.

So far, 86 hostages -- 66 Israelis and 20 foreigners -- have been freed since last Friday in exchange for the release of dozens of Palestinians from Israeli prisons as part of a cease-fire agreement between Gaza's militant rulers, Hamas, and Israel. Another prisoner swap is expected to take place Wednesday.

Nov 29, 4:28 AM EST
America's top hostage negotiator travels to Israel

The United States' Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, often referred to as the country's top hostage negotiator, will travel to Israel on Wednesday, according to a senior official in the U.S. Department of State.

The official said that Carstens "will support Secretary Blinken's visit to the region, meet with Israeli government counterparts and visit the families of Americans held hostage in Gaza."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to arrive in Israel on Wednesday night.

It will be Carstens' first known trip to Israel since Oct. 7, when Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel and took hundreds of people hostage back to the neighboring Gaza Strip. Carsten's deputy, Steven Gillen, visited Israel shortly after the war broke out and has spent a substantial amount time in the region during the weeks that followed, largely coordinating with Israeli officials on efforts to free the hostages.

Earlier this month, Carstens met with family members of some of the hostages in Washington, D.C.

Nov 28, 6:47 PM EST
Kirby: No indication Hamas using American hostages as leverage

White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said there's no indication that Hamas is trying to keep Americans as hostages in order to use them as leverage.

"There's no indication that Hamas is trying to play some sort of game here in terms of the Americans," Kirby told reporters Tuesday.

He added that the first test case of getting hostages out involved two Americans, including a teenager from the Chicago area, and that 4-year-old American-Israeli hostage Abigail Idan was released over the weekend.

In the latest exchange on Tuesday, 12 hostages -- 10 Israelis and two foreign nationals from Thailand -- were released, the Israeli government said.

Kirby reiterated that the pool of American hostages is "pretty small, and the pool of Americans that qualify right now, women and children, is smaller still."

He also noted that there are issues locating the hostages, who may be held by various groups.

The U.S. believes there are eight or nine Americans still being held in Gaza, Kirby said on Monday.

Nov 28, 6:18 PM EST
Hostage release to be 'prime' focus of Blinken's Middle East trip, Kirby says

Releasing more hostages will be a "prime" focus of Secretary of State Antony Blinken's latest trip to the Middle East, the White House said.

"We're up around 70 or so hostages out so far, which is good. It's a good start, but it's just a start. There are many more," White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Tuesday. "We want to get them all back."

Blinken will also meet with his Israeli counterparts to reassure them of U.S. support and talk about getting humanitarian assistance to Gaza, Kirby said.

This week's trip will be Blinken's fourth to the region since the Oct. 7 attack.

Nov 28, 5:30 PM EST
White House: Over 54K pounds of aid delivered to Egypt for Gaza on 1st of 3 flights

The United States delivered more than 54,000 pounds of medical and food aid for Gaza in a flight to Egypt earlier Tuesday, according to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

Two more planes are set to make deliveries in the coming days, he said.

"The ongoing humanitarian pause has enabled the international community to surge significant additional assistance as part of that effort, providing urgently needed relief to civilians in Gaza," Sullivan said in a statement.

"The humanitarian needs in Gaza demand that the international community do much more," Sullivan continued, adding that the U.S. is committed to keeping that aid up.

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett

Nov 28, 2:31 PM EST
4-year-old American-Israeli released from hospital

Abigail Idan, the 4-year-old American-Israeli hostage who was released by Hamas on Sunday, has been discharged from Schneider Children's Medical Center, hospital officials said.

"Since her arrival, the medical and psychosocial team at Schneider accorded her all-embracing medical and emotional care," officials said.

President Joe Biden said Monday that he "spoke with Abigail’s family following her release, and we are working closely with our Israeli partners to ensure she gets the care and support she needs as she begins to recover from this unspeakable trauma."

Nov 28, 2:13 PM EST
12 hostages released in latest exchange: IDF

Twelve hostages are back in Israeli territory in the latest exchange, according to the Israeli government.

The hostages include 10 Israelis and two foreign nationals, both from Thailand, officials said.

The Israeli citizens were identified as Tamar Metzger, 78; Ditza Hayman, 84; Norlin Babdila, 60; Ada Sagi, 75; Ophelia Edith Roitman, 77; Rimon Kirsht, 36; Merav Tal, 53; and the Leimberg family -- Gabriella Leimberg, 59, Mia Leimberg, 17, and Clara Marman, 63.

The IDF said the hostages were taken through Egypt before heading to a meeting point in Kerem Shalom, in Israel. Families of the hostages are being updated on the latest available information, Israel said.

Thirty Palestinian prisoners were released in exchange for the hostages, according to Qatari officials.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

Nov 28, 12:45 PM EST
IDF, Hamas accuse each other of violating cease-fire

Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces have accused each other of violating the cease-fire agreement.

The IDF said three explosives have been detonated near Israeli troops in two different locations in the northern Gaza Strip, leaving Israeli soldiers "lightly injured."

The IDF said terrorists opened fire in one of the locations, and the Israeli army fired back in response.

Hamas said in a statement, "As a result of a clear violation by the enemy of the truce agreement in the northern Gaza Strip today, field friction occurred and our mujahideen dealt with this violation."

Hamas said it calls on the mediators to pressure Israel to adhere to the truce.

Nov 28, 12:39 PM EST
US aid for Gaza arrives in Egypt

A Department of Defense plane carrying humanitarian aid -- including health supplies and winter clothes -- has arrived in Egypt to help the 1.8 million displaced residents in Gaza.

"More is on the way," USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance said.

Nov 28, 12:23 PM EST
Gaza residents return home for 1st time

The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas has allowed some residents of Gaza to return home for the first time to survey what was left.

"I said I would go back to my house and tidy it up and sweep ... but I came and found it destroyed. I am very shocked by what I saw," Um Raed Al-Najjar told ABC News.

Another resident, Muhammad Al-Najjar, said his 80-year-old cousin lost his two-story house.

"His life's work was gone," he said.

"We are civilians and have nothing to do with anything," Muhammad Al-Najjar continued. "This whole street has nothing to do with anything 'political.'"

Muhammad Al-Najjar added, "We were all waiting for the truce because we were psychologically tired -- we became mentally ill. The majority of people will lose their minds. … What is the fault of a child who is 2, 4 or 3 years old? Did he participate in the war?"

Nov 28, 11:39 AM EST
5th hostage transfer begins, Israeli source says

The process of transferring a fifth group of Hamas-held hostages has begun, an Israeli political source told ABC News on Tuesday evening.

It was unclear how long the process would take to be completed. The hostage transfer on Monday night took about an hour.

ABC News' Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor

Nov 28, 10:51 AM EST
All 50 hostages part of original agreement have been released: Netanyahu

All 50 women and children hostages who were in the original swap agreement have been released, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

"We are obliged to complete this outline and bring about the release of all our abductees -- women and children and later, everyone -- without exception," he said.

Nov 28, 9:46 AM EST
IDF says it's 'prepared to continue fighting'

The Israel Defense Forces "is prepared to continue fighting" in the Gaza Strip and is "using the days of the pause as part of the framework to learn, strengthen our readiness and approve future operational plans," according to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi.

"The return of the hostages is a bright light for us all," Halevi said in a statement on Tuesday. "It is also further evidence of the results of significant military pressure and resolute ground operations, which created the conditions for the return of our civilians home."

Halevi vowed "to apply the same strength" if needed in northern Israel, where he said some residents have been evacuated from their homes amid clashes along the border between Israeli forces and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

"The IDF's ground operations in Gaza City, a dense and complex area, aim to achieve a worthy and necessary goal," he said. "We know, if required, how to apply the same strength in the north, in order to return you safely to your communities, cities and this beautiful and important region of the country."

Nov 28, 9:21 AM EST
Over 80% of Gaza residents are displaced: UN

About 1.8 million Gaza residents -- over 80% of the population -- are now displaced, according to the United Nations.

Nearly 1.1 million of those displaced residents have sought shelter from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

But the shelters are so overcrowded that they may have just one toilet for every 125 people and one shower for every 700 people, the U.N. said.

Instead of staying at the shelters, many residents are instead camping at the sites of their destroyed homes, the U.N. said.

Nov 28, 8:50 AM EST
French warship to serve as hospital for wounded Palestinians off coast of Egypt, source says

A French warship has arrived in Egypt's norther port city of El-Arish, near the border with the war-torn Gaza Strip, to serve as a hospital for wounded Palestinians, a diplomatic source told ABC News on Tuesday.

The Dixmude, the first Western military ship to dock in Egypt, has around 40 hospital beds and two surgical operation rooms. The vessel is expected to remain in El-Arish for about a month, the source said.

The ship carries military medics as well around two dozen civilian pediatricians and surgeons. Patients with permits are expected to leave Gaza for Egypt through the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing, before being transported to the Dixmude for medical treatment, according to the source.

From there, patients should be transferred to Egyptian hospitals for later stages of treatment, the source said, but French officials have not yet reached an agreement with Egyptian authorities on that.

Nov 28, 8:31 AM EST
Israeli woman speaks about young family still held hostage in Gaza: 'It's psychological torture'

Yifat Zailer, a relative of one of the youngest Israeli hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip, said Tuesday that she has yet to hear whether her missing family members will be among those released by Hamas as part of the truce.

"The pain of not having them back yet is incredible. Tomorrow is the last day of this deal of cease-fire and we are very concerned," Zailer told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in an interview on Good Morning America.

Zailer said there has been no word from Israeli officials or others on whether her loved ones will be included in the prisoner swap with Hamas. The last thing she heard about her missing relatives was in a recent statement released by the Israel Defense Forces that stated there was a possibility of another Palestinian militant group holding them hostage.

"We are completely at loss," she said. "We don't know about their condition, we don't know if they're still alive even and it’s unbearable. They promised in this deal they signed, all the sides, that all mothers and children are supposed to be released."

"Prisoners are being released," she noted. "Where's my family?"

Four of Zailer's relatives -- her 32-year-old cousin Shiri Babas, Shiri's 34-year-old husband Yarden and the couple's children, 4-year-old Ariel and 10-month-old Kfir -- were kidnapped from their kibbutz in southern Israel during Hamas' attack on Oct. 7 and taken hostage to Gaza. Zailer said she doesn't understand why they -- especially the baby -- are still being held hostage and wondered whether it was for "leverage."

"Kfir is going to be 11 months [old] soon. He was kidnapped when he was 9 [months old]. We don't know how he's being fed," she told ABC News. "Why aren't they on any list? Every night we receive that phone call that they're not coming back tomorrow is torture -- it's psychological torture."

When asked whether she would support a deal for Israel to release all of its Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages in Gaza, Zailer said: "That's a really hard question, but I must say I am."

"All those hostages are fathers, mothers, injured people and, of course, my family members as well among them," she continued. "So there's no price for our loved ones."

Zailer said she wants the world to know that her captive relatives "are and always were people of peace" and "innocent civilians."

"My uncle raised his daughter to love who's different from her," she added. "She's an incredible mother, her husband is an incredible father."

Nov 28, 7:43 AM EST
More Palestinians detained than released during truce, rights group says

The Palestinian Prisoners Society, a local nongovernmental rights group, said Tuesday that Israeli forces have detained 168 Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since last Friday, when the truce with Hamas went into effect.

During that same period, 150 Palestinians have been released from Israeli jails as part of the cease-fire agreement, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society.

Nov 28, 7:09 AM EST
CIA director returns to Qatar for meetings on Israel-Hamas war

A U.S. official confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday that CIA Director Bill Burns is in Qatar's capital for meetings regarding the Israel-Hamas war that include discussions on hostages.

The CIA has not officially commented on the director's schedule.

Burns was previously in Doha for similar meetings earlier this month.

The United States, Qatar and Egypt have mediated the talks between Israel and Hamas.

Nov 28, 6:47 AM EST
Talks underway to further extend truce, Israeli source says

Israel is open to extending the cease-fire with Hamas even further, as long as the militant group can free at least 10 Israeli hostages per day, an Israeli political source told ABC News on Tuesday.

The source confirmed that talks are underway on the Israeli side to further extend the truce, which went into effect last Friday and was set to expire Tuesday but both sides agreed to extend it by two days.

Nov 28, 5:35 AM EST
Israel adds 50 more Palestinian prisoners to list of possible releases

Israel announced Tuesday morning that it has agreed to possibly release more Palestinian women from its prisons over the next two days amid an extended truce with Hamas.

"The government has approved the inclusion of 50 female prisoners in the list of possible prisoners for release, given that additional Israeli abductees will be released," the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

Nov 28, 5:00 AM EST
US to send relief flights to Egypt with aid for Gaza

The United States will send three relief flights into Egypt on Tuesday to keep up the flow of humanitarian aid into the war-torn Gaza Strip, which has reached its highest levels as officials take advantage of the current humanitarian pause.

"The movement over the last four or five days of assistance has been so significant in volume that a backfill in El Arish [International Airport in Egypt] is now needed, and these planes are part of that backfill," a senior Biden administration official told reporters during a telephone call on Monday afternoon.

Some 800 trucks carrying aid have crossed into Gaza during the first days of the pause, officials said, which is a huge increase from the days prior. So far, a total of about 2,000 aid trucks have entered Gaza since Oct. 7, meaning that 40% of them had gone in in just the last four days.

The planes on Tuesday will be carrying medical aid urgently needed in Gaza as well as food, particularly for children, and winter clothing as the rainy season begins, according to officials.

The aid will be delivered by the United Nations to civilians.

Two more planeloads are expected to follow in the coming days, officials said. Previously, there were also five commercial flights of aid coordinated by the U.S. government, according to officials.

The officials emphasized this aid as part of U.S. President Joe Biden’s commitment to helping the Palestinian people, saying that he has made sure America is the largest single donor both to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and to Palestinian territories.

Going forward, the officials said the goals for humanitarian aid in Gaza will be expanding access, pushing for restoration of essential services, especially water, and keeping civilians out of harms way.

"The president has also consistently stressed the importance of ensuring military operations are conducted in a manner consistent with international humanitarian law, including with respect to the protection of civilians," the senior Biden administration official told reporters.

Officials did not offer any new information on the hostage negotiations between Gaza's militant rulers, Hamas, and Israel but reiterated that they hope to see Americans released in the coming days.

Nov 27, 9:27 PM EST
Former hostages in 'stable condition,' children's hospital director says

The 11 former hostages who were released by Hamas on Monday are all in stable condition following an initial medical evaluation, Prof. Dror Mandel, director of Dana-Dwek Children's Hospital at Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel, told media early Tuesday morning local time.

Mandel said staff will continue to conduct medical evaluations of the nine children and two mothers, who are currently spending time with their families "in a quiet environment."

Nov 27, 4:39 PM EST
Gaza is 'complete and utter carnage'

In Gaza, where the humanitarian crisis is worsening by the day, 68% of the people killed are women and children, while four out of five residents are displaced, according to U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths.

"I don't think I've seen anything like this before. It's complete and utter carnage," he told CNN on Sunday.

"Nobody goes to school in Gaza. Nobody knows what their future is. Hospitals have become a place of war, not of curing," Griffiths said.

"It's not just a crisis about Gaza. It's a crisis about humanity," Griffiths said. "War has become the option of the day, and the suffering that comes from it is astronomical."

Nov 27, 4:13 PM EST
11 more hostages, including 2 toddlers, released

Eleven more hostages who were abducted from Israel on Oct. 7 have been released and are in the custody of the Red Cross, an Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson said.

The 11 hostages released from Gaza Monday were dual citizens -- from Israel as well as France, Germany and Argentina -- while the 33 released Palestinians are comprised of 30 minors and three women, Qatari officials said.

Israel identified the returned hostages as 12-year-old Eitan Yahami, 51-year-old Karina Engelbert, 18-year-old Mika Angle, 12-year-old Yuval Engel, 34-year-old Sharon Aloni-Kunyo, 3-year-old Yuli Konyo, 3-year-old Emma Kunio, 16-year-old Sahar Calderon, 12-year-old Erez Calderon, 16-year-old Or Yaakov and 12-year-old Yigil Yaakov.

11 more hostages released from Gaza in exchange for 33 Palestinians

Nov 27, 3:39 PM EST
11 more hostages released

Eleven more hostages were released from Gaza on Monday in exchange for 33 Palestinians held in Israel, Qatari officials said.

The 11 hostages released from Gaza Monday included three French citizens, two German citizens and six Argentinian citizens, while the 33 released Palestinians are comprised of 30 minors and three women, Qatari officials said.

No Americans are being released Monday, according to National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

Nov 27, 2:44 PM EST
Pause allowed record amounts of aid to reach Gaza: Kirby

The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas "has allowed for a surge of humanitarian assistance into Gaza," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby noted.

Two-hundred trucks were dispatched to Gaza on Sunday -- the biggest convoy of aid since Oct. 7, Kirby said. Over 2,000 trucks have now entered Gaza, he said.

With two more days now added to the cease-fire, there's "the chance for dozens more trucks, and tens of thousands of more gallons of fuel, that can get into Gaza to people in need," Kirby said. "We're going to take advantage of every hour of every day that there's a pause to try to help the people of Gaza."

ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett

Nov 27, 2:34 PM EST
Biden: 'We will not stop until all of the hostages … are released'

President Joe Biden touted the extension of the humanitarian pause in Gaza, saying in a new statement that he has "remained deeply engaged over the last few days to ensure that this deal -- brokered and sustained through extensive U.S. mediation and diplomacy -- can continue to deliver results."

Fifty-eight hostages -- 40 Israelis and 18 foreign citizens -- have been released so far, including 4-year-old American-Israeli Abigail Idan. Abigail was released on Sunday, two days after her 4th birthday.

Biden said he "spoke with Abigail’s family following her release, and we are working closely with our Israeli partners to ensure she gets the care and support she needs as she begins to recover from this unspeakable trauma."

Biden also noted, "We are taking full advantage of the pause in fighting to increase the amount of humanitarian aid moving into Gaza, and we will continue our efforts to build a future of peace and dignity for the Palestinian people."

The president thanked leaders from Israel, Qatar and Egypt for their continued work, and vowed, "We will not stop until all of the hostages held by Hamas terrorists are released."

ABC News' Molly Nagle

Nov 27, 1:30 PM EST
Hamas benefitting from cease-fire is a 'real risk': Kirby

While the cease-fire extension is expected to bring the release of additional hostages, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby acknowledged there's a "real risk" that Hamas could benefit the longer the cease-fire continues.

"Without getting into intelligence issues," Kirby said, "any pause in the fighting could benefit your enemy in terms of time to refit, to rest your fighters, to rearm them, reequip them."

Kirby said the cease-fire is a "calculated risk" that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to take to get hostages out, and that military operations will resume against Hamas leadership.

ABC News' Molly Nagle

Nov 27, 1:21 PM EST
8 to 9 Americans still believed to be held: Kirby

The U.S. believes there are eight or nine Americans still being held in Gaza, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said, adding that the U.S. does not have "solid information on each and every one of them."

Asked if Americans were expected to be released in the coming days, Kirby said the administration "certainly hope[s] so," but did not say more.

"I mean, we're going to watch this very, very closely. We're certainly hoping that another batch of hostages gets released today as part of the fourth and final day of the original agreement. We’re going to be watching closely to see if any Americans are in that group," Kirby said.

"We don't really know until you get into the end game who's going to be actually on that list and then, even then, you got to watch closely [to see] if who's on the list is folks that actually come out," he said.

Kirby was asked specifically about the two American women who were expected to be part of the first round of releases, and he reiterated his hope they would be released Monday.

ABC News' Molly Nagle

Nov 27, 12:51 PM EST
3 Palestinian women, 30 kids expected to be released from Israel: Hamas

Hamas officials said they've received a list of Palestinian prisoners who are expected to be released from Israel on Monday in exchange for hostages. The list includes three women and 30 children, Hamas officials said.

Nov 27, 12:02 PM EST
Palestinians return home during cease-fire to find destruction

Muhammad Ibrahim Asfour was among the Gaza residents who returned home during the cease-fire to find destruction where homes used to be.

"I was shocked, and when I saw the house I started crying," Asfour told ABC News. "There were 50 people in the building here -- all of my brothers and father were living here."

"The situation here is more difficult than you can imagine," Abdelkader Darma told ABC News. "When I came home I was shocked."

"People do not know where to go," Darma said. "I and six other people slept on two mattresses and two pillows, which means you do not know how to sleep. They sleep three against three, and you find his feet in front of your face."

“I hope the truce will be extended and a solution will be found because it is enough. People are sleeping in the street," Darma said. "How can you bear it?"

ABC News' Zoe Magee and Sami Zayara

Nov 27, 11:24 AM EST
Agreement reached to extend truce for 2 more days: Qatar foreign minister

Majed Al-Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas for two more days.

Hamas said this truce is "under the same conditions as the previous truce."

Diaa Rashwan, chairman of Egypt's State Information Service, said earlier on Monday that the deal would involve the release of 10 Israeli women and children being held hostage by Hamas in exchange for 30 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons each day of the extension.

Nov 27, 11:06 AM EST
84-year-old Israeli hostage who was freed remains in critical condition

Alma Avraham, an 84-year-old Israeli hostage freed by Hamas on Sunday, remains hospitalized in critical condition, Israeli officials said Monday.

She suffers from preexisting conditions and was receiving regular medication before she was kidnapped, said Dr. Tzachi Slotsky, deputy administrator of Soroka Medical Center.

"If she hadn’t been transferred to us yesterday, or any other delay in her transfer, it would’ve worsened her condition even more," Slotsky said. "She is intubated and sedated at the emergency room and her life is still in danger."

Without care, she soon would have died, said Avraham's daughter, Tali Amano.

"My mother did not deserve to return this way -- my mother was medically neglected," Amano said. "She didn’t get any of her medication."

"The only reason we are standing here today ... is to save those who are left there [in Gaza]," Amano said.

ABC News' Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor

Nov 27, 10:56 AM EST
1st photo released of 4-year-old hostage Abigail Idan after her return home

The family of 4-year-old hostage Abigail Idan has released the first photo of the little girl following her return home from Gaza.

Abigail, an American-Israeli citizen, had been held hostage by Hamas since Oct. 7. She was released on Sunday, two days after her 4th birthday.

Abigail Idan’s aunt, Ella Mor, said in a video Sunday, "She just landed in the hospital and she’s being checked and taken care of."

"I'm so happy that she's here," Mor told ABC News. "The people of Israel are amazing … everybody's so happy like she's their own little girl."

Israel has taken issue with the list of hostages that Hamas said it would release on Monday because it includes children without their mothers, an Israeli source told ABC News.

However, the source said there is optimism that the issue will be resolved by Monday night and an extension to the four-day truce, set to expire Tuesday morning, will be approved.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office confirmed in a statement that negotiations with Hamas on Monday's hostage list "are continuing."

ABC News' Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor

Nov 27, 9:49 AM EST
Egypt says Israel, Hamas are close to reaching deal on truce extension

Egypt's State Information Service (SIS) announced Monday that Egyptian-Qatari mediation between Israel and Hamas is close to reaching an agreement to extend a four-day truce by two days.

The deal would also involve the release of 10 Israeli women and children being held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip in exchange for 30 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons each day of the extension, totaling 20 Israeli hostages and 60 Palestinian prisoners, according to SIS chairman Diaa Rashwan.

A cease-fire, the halt of air raids as well as the entry of aid and fuel into war-torn Gaza would continue during the additional two days of the truce, Rashwan said.

Rashwan also said that the fourth group of releases Monday would include 11 Israelis and 33 Palestinians.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy and Morgan Winsor

Nov 27, 9:15 AM EST
Israel says negotiations on Monday's hostage list 'are continuing'

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office announced Monday afternoon that negotiations with Hamas "on the list of those slated to be released under the framework of the hostages release outline are continuing."

"We are aware of the tension in the families and will release additional information when possible," the office said in a statement. "We request to refrain from disseminating rumours and unreliable information."

A fourth prisoner swap between the warring sides was expected to take place Monday between 4 and 6 p.m. local time on the final day of the agreed upon cease-fire, which is set to expire Tuesday at 7 a.m. local time.

-ABC News' Dana Savir and Morgan Winsor

Nov 27, 9:09 AM EST
84-year-old Israeli hostage who was freed remains in critical condition

Alma Avraham, an 84-year-old Israeli hostage freed by Hamas over the weekend, remains hospitalized in critical condition, Israeli officials said Monday.

Avraham was one of more than 200 people who were abducted from southern Israel during Hamas' attack on Oct. 7 and taken back to neighboring Gaza. After being released in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, she was transported to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Israel, with very low vital signs, according to Israeli officials.

During a press briefing at the hospital on Monday afternoon, officials said Avraham's life was still in danger.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor

Nov 27, 8:26 AM EST
Kirby talks possible release of more American hostages in Gaza

U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Monday that an estimated seven to 10 American hostages remain in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

"We know that there are other Americans being held hostage. We're certainly going to do everything we can hour by hour to get them released," Kirby told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in an interview on Good Morning America.

"We know that there were 10 unaccounted for, missing Americans," he added. "We think that the large majority of them are in this hostage population. But we don't have great fidelity past that."

Kirby noted that it’s also "difficult to know" exactly how many total hostages are in Gaza and which groups are currently holding them.

"We have to assume there are a couple hundred or so," he said. "We also have to assume, George, that Hamas isn't holding all of them -- that the other groups, potentially the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, for instance, another radical extremist terrorist group there operating out of Gaza, could be holding some. But it's going to be up to Hamas now to track all them down and see if we can arrange for their exchange."

With a four-day cease-fire between Gaza's militant rulers, Hamas, and Israel set to expire Tuesday morning, a fourth and final prisoner swap is expected to take place Monday between 4 and 6 p.m. local time, according to Israeli authorities.

"We're into day four now and so our hope and expectation is yet another instalment of hostages will get released sometime later today," Kirby told ABC News. "There have been delays in the past couple of days. We'll see if we have to work through any delays today."

"We would very much like to see this pause continue and more hostages exchanged as a result," he continued. "Isreal has said they're willing to do that. It's really going to be up to Hamas now to determine whether they're willing to come up with more hostages in coming days."

-ABC News' Morgan Winsor

Nov 27, 5:48 AM EST
Sources say there are 'problems' with Monday’s hostage list

Discussions are being held on a list that was received overnight regarding the final group of hostages who are expected to be released by Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Monday, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

The office said in a statement on Monday morning that the list "is now being evaluated in Israel" and "additional information will be issued when possible."

Sources told ABC News that there are "problems" with the current list for Monday.

Monday's prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel -- the fourth round amid a four-day cease-fire -- is expected to take place between 4 and 6 p.m. local time.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller, Dana Savir and Morgan Winsor

Nov 26, 6:14 PM EST
Israel’s President Herzog to meet with Elon Musk Monday

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog is set to meet with Elon Musk on Monday afternoon, his office said Sunday.

"Against the background of the ongoing war with Hamas, President Isaac Herzog will tomorrow (Monday), meet with businessman Elon Musk, who is visiting Israel," the president's office said in a statement Sunday evening.

"[R]epresentatives of the families of hostages held by Hamas, who will speak about the horrors of the Hamas terror attack on October 7, and of the ongoing pain and uncertainty for those held captive," the statement continued. "In their meeting, the President will emphasize the need to act to combat rising antisemitism online."

The meeting will be closed to the media.

The Tesla boss also owns social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Nov 26, 11:27 PM EST
Abigail Idan’s aunt asks for privacy for the family as they reunite

Abigail Idan’s aunt, Ella Mor, has asked for privacy for the family as they reunite with the 4-year-old, who was released earlier Sunday after being held hostage since Oct. 7 by Hamas.

“She just landed in the hospital and she’s being checked and taken care of,” Mor said in the video. “I want to thank everybody for all of your love and support. It’s amazing, and thank you so much.

“I just want to say she has family, and we’re taking care of her, so don’t worry about it, and it’s very important to let her be now with the family, and no press and photographs and paparazzi,” she continued. “It’s very important for her safety and health right now, so thank you so much.”

Nov 26, 4:10 PM EST
Hamas says it would be willing to extend truce

"The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas is seeking to extend the truce after the end of the four-day period, by seriously considering increasing the number of released detainees as stated in the humanitarian truce agreement," Hamas said in a statement Sunday.

The AFP news agency reported that a source close to Hamas said the group also informed mediators of its willingness to extend the current truce.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy

Nov 25, 4:45 PM EST
17 hostages transferred to Egypt, IDF says

According to the Israel Defense Forces, Red Cross representatives have transferred 17 hostages to Egypt -- including 13 Israeli detainees and four foreigners.

Qatar had previously said seven foreigners would be released Saturday, though has also since updated that figure to four.

The released hostages' convoy is currently making its way through Egypt to the meeting point with IDF soldiers in Kerem Shalom, where the IDF will verify the list, the military said.

The families of the hostages are being updated by IDF representatives with the latest available information.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Nov 25, 3:54 PM EST
'Significant progress' in Saturday's hostage release, IDF says

Following a delay by Hamas, there has been "significant progress" in the efforts to release the hostages from the Gaza Strip Saturday night, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said.

"The effort to return the hostages is our moral and ethical duty. We are determined to fulfil this in any way," the spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, said at a press briefing Saturday evening. "The effort tonight is progressing and we will inform the families and the public when things happen. Patience is required."

"There is significant progress," he continued, though noted that "nothing is final until it actually happens."

Hagari said Israel will "go back to fighting" if the hostage agreement is not fulfilled.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Nov 25, 2:23 PM EST
Deal is back on: 13 Israeli Detainees, 7 foreigners to be swapped for 39 Palestinians

After Hamas' armed wing announced that it will be delaying the scheduled release of hostages, it said it is going ahead following mediation by Qatar and Egypt. Hamas also released a list of the Palestinians set to be released -- six women and 33 teenagers.

"Hamas has responded to the Egyptian and Qatari efforts made throughout the day to ensure the continuation of the temporary truce agreement after they affirmed the occupation’s commitment to all terms set out in the agreement," the terrorist group said Saturday.

Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the swap will happen Saturday night.

"After a delay in implementing the release of prisoners from both sides, the obstacles were overcome through Qatari-Egyptian communications with both sides, and tonight 39 Palestinian civilians will be released in exchange for the release of 13 Israeli detainees from Gaza in addition to 7 foreigners outside the framework of the agreement," Majed Al Ansari, the Qatari MFA spokesperson, said in a statement on X on Saturday.

-ABC News' Matt Gutman and Ayat Al-Tawy

Nov 25, 2:04 PM EST
Biden administration says it is 'working' on implementation of deal after hostage release delay

In response to news that Hamas will delay the release of hostages, with the terrorist group accusing Israel of violating the cease-fire agreement, the Biden administration said it is working on the implementation of the deal.

"We are working with Qatar, Egypt, and Israel on implementation of the deal," a senior administration official told ABC News.

Nov 25, 2:01 PM EST
Doctors Without Borders says 4-day cease-fire is not 'nearly enough'

Doctors Without Borders released a statement calling for an extension for a sustained ceasefire, saying that four days is not enough.

"After being under relentless bombing for more than six weeks, any respite for the people in Gaza is welcome, especially if it allows them to have access to medical supplies, food, and water," Doctors Without Borders said in a statement.

"Four days, however, is not nearly enough to organize a delivery of aid that can measure up to the immense needs. We remain deeply concerned at the prospect that after a short-lived relief, people will fall back into a sealed-off complete war zone," it added. "We continue to call for a sustained ceasefire as the only way to stop indiscriminate killings and civilian harm and allow the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid on a meaningful scale."

-ABC News' Zoe Magee

Nov 25, 1:59 PM EST
IDF troops won't leave Gaza until all hostages released, Israeli defense minister says

Israeli Defense Forces' Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said the military will immediately return to striking the Gaza Strip once the ceasefire with Hamas ends. Halevi told soldiers the ceasefire and hostage deal would not have happened without the IDF’s pressure on Hamas.

"We do not intend, do not want, and are not ready to stop this effort before we return all the hostages… it is our moral duty to bring them back,” he said. adding the IDF will use the pause in fighting to "study, to better prepare our abilities and also to rest a little."

"And we will return immediately at the end of the ceasefire to attacking Gaza, to maneuver in Gaza. We will do it to dismantle Hamas and also to create great pressure to return as quickly as possible and as many hostages as possible, down to the last one of them," he said. "We have an obligation to fight and also to risk our lives so that [Israeli citizens] can return to live in safety, and we have hostages that we will do everything to bring them home."

As he toured the Gaza Strip Saturday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Israeli commanders and soldiers that its forces will not leave the Gaza Strip until all of the hostages are returned to Israel, and any future negotiations with Hamas will be carried out amid the fighting.

"We will not leave Gaza until all the hostages are brought back home. We will find the opportunity to bring [home] additional hostages; any negotiation will be held under fire," he said. "We cannot leave Gaza and stop the war until we reach a situation in which we bring back all the hostages -- because we have many more [held captive]."

Nov 25, 1:13 PM EST
Hamas delays release of hostages over alleged 'violations' of cease-fire agreement

Hamas announced that it will be delaying the release of Israeli hostages, accusing Israel of violating the cease-fire agreement regarding aid trucks and the agreed-upon terms for the release of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.

The Al-Qassam Brigades -- the armed wing of Hamas -- said it had decided to delay Saturday's scheduled second round of hostage releases until Israel committed to allowing aid trucks to enter northern Gaza. Hamas was expected to release 13 Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of 39 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel on Saturday, sources told ABC News.

"The Al-Qassam Brigades decides to delay the release of the second batch of hostages until the occupation adheres to the terms of the agreement regarding the entry of relief trucks into the northern Gaza Strip, and due to its failure to adhere to the agreed-upon criteria for releasing prisoners," Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.

Hamas leader Osama Hamdan, who is based in Lebanon, said relief trucks that arrived in northern Gaza today were half of the number that was agreed upon.

"There are violations committed by the Israelis in implementing the terms of the truce, some of which occurred yesterday and were repeated today," Hamdan said Saturday, adding that another issue at stake was the reported shooting of two Palestinians on Friday as they tried to reach northern Gaza.

A senior Israeli political source told ABC News that Israel did not violate the agreement. The IDF said about 200 trucks carrying humanitarian aid are expected to enter Gaza today, after 200 trucks with aid entered Gaza yesterday via the Rafah crossing and delivered their cargo to international aid organizations.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said 61 trucks carrying food, water and medical supplies headed to northern Gaza on Saturday, the largest aid convoy to reach the area since the start of the war.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy, Nasser Atta, Jordana Miller

Nov 25, 11:29 AM EST
Americans held among hostages not expected to be released Saturday, US official says

American citizens are not expected to be among the hostages released Saturday, according to a U.S. official. No Americans were released Friday in the first group.

A senior administration official said they are still "hopeful" that three Americans will be released in this four day pause.

"The president secured the release of two American citizens as the pilot to this larger release of hostages. We are early in the process that will see at least 50 women and children released during the first phase of the agreement. We are hopeful that will include three dual national women and children, who are American citizens. This will unfold over the coming days. We will not comment on individual cases as the process is underway," the official said

A mother and daughter from Illinois, Judith and Natalie Raanan, were released last month after almost two weeks in captivity.

On Friday, President Joe Biden said it’s his "hope and expectation" that Americans will be released soon. But the president said he doesn’t know the condition of all the American hostages.

-ABC News' Justin Gomez and Selina Wang

Nov 25, 7:13 AM EST
13 Israeli hostages, 39 Palestinians expected to be released Saturday

Hamas is expected to release 13 Israeli hostages in exchange for Israel freeing 39 Palestinian prisoners Saturday as part of an ongoing swap during a four-day cease-fire, sources told ABC News.

Egyptian officials have released the same numbers, saying Egypt has received a list of 13 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and 39 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel planned to be released Saturday.

Egypt is currently holding intensive talks with the Palestinian and Israeli sides to "secure the release of a larger number" of captives in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners, the head of the State Information Service Diaa Rashwan said.

Earlier, the Israel Prison Service said that it received a list of 42 Palestinian prisoners to be released today -- as part of the agreement between Israel and the Hamas terror group, three prisoners are to be freed for each Israeli let go. Israel said Friday it received the list of abductees who are to be released today following the schedule.

It was not immediately clear if any non-Israeli captives may also be released Saturday.

Nov 24, 5:02 PM EST
Israel gets new list of hostages to be released Saturday

A new list of hostages to be released on Saturday was handed over to the Israel Defense Forces and Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, Israeli officials said.

The number of hostages to be released was not disclosed. Israeli officials said the list follows the schedule negotiated for freeing the captives in groups over a four-day cease-fire.

On Friday, 24 hostages, including 13 Israelis, were released by Hamas.

Lt. Col. Gal Hirsh, appointed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure the release of Israeli captives in Gaza, has shared the list with family members of the hostages set to be released, Israeli officials said.

Israeli security officials are checking the list, officials said, adding that more information will be released as needed.

-ABC News Matt Gutman

Nov 24, 4:24 PM EST
151 more patients evacuated from Al-Shifa Hospital: WHO

At least 151 patients at the Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, which has been under siege for days, have been transferred to other medical facilities, the World Health Organization said Friday.

The mission to transfer the patients occurred on Wednesday, according to a statement from WHO.

It was the third mission undertaken in less than a week to move patients, including 31 infants, according to WHO.

The Israel Defense Forces, which raided the hospital last week, claimed Hamas was using the hospital to conceal its military operations and to hold hostages.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society joined WHO in carrying out the transfer of patients, according to the WHO statement.

Most of the patients were transferred to the European Gaza Hospital, according to WHO.

The patients moved in the latest mission included 73 severely ill patients, 18 of whom are dialysis patients, 26 with serious spinal injuries and eight with severe chronic conditions, according to WHO.

The evacuation was described by WHO as a "high-risk mission," saying it occurred over a 20-hour period as intense fighting and shelling continued in proximity of the hospital.

About 100 patients remain at the hospital, according to WHO.

-ABC News' Eric Strauss

Nov 24, 3:39 PM EST
Biden says release of hostages 'just the beginning'

President Joe Biden said Friday that the release of 24 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza is "just the beginning" of a plan to free 50 of the more than 230 captives over four days.

“It's only a start, but so far it's gone well,” Biden said in a televised address from Nantucket, Massachusetts, where he and first lady Jill Biden are vacationing.

He said Friday's hostage release is part of a deal "reached by extensive U.S. diplomacy, including numerous calls I've made from the Oval Office to leaders across the region," including calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the emir of Qatar.

“All of these hostages have been through a terrible ordeal, and this is the beginning of a long journey of healing for them,” Biden said. “Today has been a product of a lot of hard work and weeks of personal engagement.”

Biden said that under the deal, more hostages would be released over the next three days with 50 being "our goal." But he added, "We also will not stop until we get these hostages brought home and an answer to their whereabouts.”

The president said U.S. officials do not know when Americans -- including two women and 4-year-old Abigail Edan, whose parents were killed by Hamas terrorists -- will be among those that are released or their conditions. He added, “We expect it to occur” and that it’s his “hope and expectation” that it “will be soon.”

Biden said the four-day cease-fire that was negotiated for the release of the hostages will allow time to "accelerate and expand humanitarian assistance going into Gaza."

Speaking of the children freed on Friday, one just 2 years old, Biden said, “The teddy bears waiting to greet those children at the hospital are a stark reminder of the trauma these children have been through at such a very young age.”

-ABC News' Justin Gomez

Nov 24, 3:24 PM EST
200 trucks enter Gaza with humanitarian aid during pause: UN

There were 200 trucks carrying aid that entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Friday -- the first day of the humanitarian pause.

Of those 200 trucks, 137 unloaded goods at the reception point for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the aid organization said. It was the largest single-day delivery of aid since Oct. 7, the agency said.

Also, 129,000 liters of fuel and four trucks of gas crossed into Gaza through the border, the U.N. said. President Joe Biden said Friday both fuel and cooking gas were delivered to Gaza.

Twenty-one critically injured patients from northern Gaza were also evacuated through the border.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

Nov 24, 2:39 PM EST
Released hostages flown by helicopter to Israel hospitals

Twenty-two of the 24 Israeli and foreign citizens released by Hamas on Friday were first taken to the Hatzerim Air Force base in Israel before being transferred by military helicopters to hospitals, where they are to be reunited with their families, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Two Israeli citizens were taken directly to hospitals by ambulance, the IDF said.

The returning hostages were escorted by IDF personnel, including medical personnel, the IDF said. IDF representatives were with the family members of the hostages to give them regular updates on the release of their loved ones, the IDF said.

Israeli Air Force helicopters were waiting at Hatzerim base to fly the returnees to the hospitals, according to the IDF.

-ABC News' Matt Gutman

Nov 24, 1:47 PM EST
Israel releases info on freed Palestinian prisoners

Thirty-nine Palestinian prisoners were released Friday evening in accordance with the deal between Hamas and Israel to free hostages in Gaza.

"Tonight we finished the first day of our mission to bring the abductees home," Rabbi Gondar Cathy Perry, commissioner of prisons, said in a statement. "We will continue in the coming days to act as much as is required of us in order to support the national effort."

Those who were released included female security prisoners and minor security prisoners, according to the Israel Prison Service.

They were released from three prisons: Damon, Megiddo and Ofer. Perry visited the prisons to oversee the operations, according to the Israel Prison Service.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

Nov 24, 1:43 PM EST
IDF releases video of moment hostages reached Israeli territory

The Israel Defense Forces has released a video of the exact moment vehicles returned the group of hostages freed Friday back to Israeli territory.

BREAKING: IDF releases video showing the moment Israeli hostages released by Hamas amid cease-fire cross into Israeli territory.

Live updates on the Israel-Hamas cease-fire: https://t.co/MZuUkRYnPw pic.twitter.com/fAZKPy3PbH
— ABC News (@ABC) November 24, 2023

The group of Israeli hostages, held for 47 days in Gaza, crossed into Egypt from Gaza via the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing. They will be transported to hospitals in Israel, sources told ABC News.

Nov 24, 1:14 PM EST
Names released of the freed Israeli hostages

The Israeli government released the names of the Israeli hostages released on Friday by Hamas.

All of the hostages released Friday were abducted from the Nir Oz kibbutz, according to a spokesperson.

The freed hostages, according to the Israeli Office of the Prime Minister, are:

Doron Katz-Asher, 34, and her children, Raz Asher, 4, and Aviv Asher, 2;
Daniel Aloni, 45, and her 5-year-old daughter, Amelia;
Ruth Munder, 78, and her 54-year-old daughter, Keren Monder, and Karen's 9-year-old son, Ohad Monder;
Adina Moshe, 72
Hana Katzir, 76
Margalit Mozes, 77
Hanna Perry, 79
Yaffe Adar, 85

The government together with all the security forces will accompany them and their families.

Nov 24, 12:46 PM EST
Netanyahu confirms return of first group of hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed in a statement that the transfer to Isreal of the first group of hostages has been completed.

"We have now completed the return of the first of our abductees. Children, their mothers and other women. Each and every one of them is a whole world," Netanyahu said in his statement.

Netanyahu emphasized to the families of the hostages and to all Israeli citizens, "We are committed to the return of all our abductees."

"This is one of the goals of the war and we are committed to achieving all the goals of the war," Netanyahu said.

-ABC News' Matt Gutman

Nov 24, 12:18 PM EST
Freed hostages in hands of IDF Special Forces in Israeli territory

The released hostages have now been transferred to Israel Defense Forces Special Forces inside Israeli territory, an IDF spokesperson said.

IDF Special Forces and ISA Forces are currently with the released hostages, who underwent an initial medical assessment inside Israeli territory, according to the IDF. The released hostages will continue to be accompanied by IDF soldiers as they make their way to Israeli hospitals, where they will be reunited with their families, Israeli officials said.

The IDF, together with the entire Israeli security establishment, will continue operating until all the hostages are returned home, Israeli officials said.

An IDF spokesperson reiterated the importance of demonstrating patience and sensitivity during this time out of respect for the released hostages and their families.

-ABC News' Matt Gutman

Nov 24, 11:46 AM EST
Hamas releases total of 24 hostages on Friday as part of truce

A total of 24 hostages were freed by Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Friday as part of a temporary truce with Israel, ABC News has learned.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which is facilitating the release and transfer of the hostages, issued a statement confirming "the safe release of 24 hostages."

"We have facilitated this release by transporting them from Gaza to the Rafah border, marking the real-life impact of our role as a neutral intermediary between the parties," the ICRC added.

Qatar, which along with Egypt and the United States mediated the negotiations between Hamas and Israel, also issued a statement from its foreign ministry confirming that the hostages who were released on Friday "include 13 Israeli citizens, some of whom are dual citizens, in addition to 10 Thai citizens and one Filipino citizen."

"We also confirm the release of 39 women and children detained in Israeli prisons accordance with the terms of the first day of the agreement," a spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Earlier, Thailand said 12 of its nationals held by Hamas were freed on Friday.

All 24 hostages crossed into Egypt from Gaza via the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing. They will be transported to hospitals in Israel, sources told ABC News.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy, Will Gretsky, Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor

Nov 24, 11:28 AM EST
1st group of Israeli hostages released by Hamas reach Egyptian soil

The first group of Israeli hostages released by Hamas in the Gaza Strip are now on Egyptian soil and in the custody of Israeli security services, two sources in the Israeli prime minister's office with direct knowledge of the operation told ABC News on Friday evening.

Israel's emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, also confirmed with the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is facilitating the release and transfer of hostages, that they have crossed into Egypt from Gaza.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy, Will Gretsky, Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor

Nov 24, 11:18 AM EST
12 Thai hostages released by Hamas enter Israel

Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Friday that 12 of its nationals who were held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip have entered Israel.

The 12 Thai hostages crossed into Egypt from Gaza via the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing before being taken to Israel, according to the Thai foreign ministry.

"They are being transported to the processing point at Hatzerim Air Force Base," the ministry said in a statement. "At this time, the gender and names of these Thais are not known."

The Thai nationals will be transferred to Shamir Medical Center southeast of Tel Aviv, where they will be met by Thai embassy officials

"They are required to be under medical supervision for a period of 48 hours, without access to outsiders," the ministry said, adding that it "will do all possible to expedite their return to Thailand."

-ABC News' Will Gretsky and Morgan Winsor

Nov 24, 11:03 AM EST
Red Cross confirms start of prisoner exchange between Hamas, Israel

The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed Friday that its teams have begun "carrying out a multi-day operation to facilitate the release and transfer of hostages held in Gaza and of Palestinian detainees to the West Bank."

The operation, which is taking place during a four-day cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, will also "include the delivery of additional, much-needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza," according to the ICRC.

"In its role as a neutral intermediary, the ICRC over several days will transfer hostages held in Gaza to Israeli authorities and ultimately their families, and transfer Palestinian detainees to authorities in the West Bank, to be reunited with their families," the organization said in a statement. "The ICRC will also bring in additional medical supplies to be delivered to hospitals in Gaza, reinforcing the aid deliveries the ICRC has already carried out."

The ICRC urged both sides in the war to treat all hostages and detainees "with humanity" and to respect "humanitarian principles ... at all times, including during the releases and transfers."

"The parties to the conflict agreed to the details of the operation, including who would be released and when," the organization added. "The ICRC was not involved in the negotiations, and its role is to help facilitate the agreement as a neutral intermediary."

-ABC News' Will Gretsky and Morgan Winsor

Nov 24, 9:44 AM EST
1st group of Israeli hostages freed by Hamas in Gaza, sources say

The first group of Israeli hostages have been released by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, two sources briefed on the matter told ABC News.

The sources said the Red Cross has the hostages and that the "operation" to get them home has begun.

It was expected that 13 Israeli hostages would be freed by Hamas near Gaza's border with Egypt on Friday in a prisoner exchange deal. But it was unclear exactly how many were handed over to the Red Cross.

-ABC News' Matt Gutman and Morgan Winsor

Nov 24, 9:36 AM EST
Thailand says 12 of its nationals were released in Gaza

Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced Friday that 12 Thai hostages have been released in the Gaza Strip near the border with Egypt and will be picked up by Thai embassy officials.

"It has been confirmed by the Security Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that there are 12 Thai hostages already released. Embassy officials are on their way to pick them up in another hour. Their names and details should be known. Please stay tuned," Thavisin wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Egyptian authorities confirmed earlier that 12 Thai nationals held by Hamas in Gaza would be freed at the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing on Friday, in addition to 13 Israeli hostages.

There was no immediate confirmation from Israel on whether any of its nationals were released alongside the 12 Thai hostages.

-ABC News' Morgan Winsor

Nov 24, 9:16 AM EST
12 Thai nationals to be freed alongside 13 Israeli hostages on Friday, Egypt says

Twelve Thai nationals held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip will be released on Friday in addition to 13 Israeli hostages, according to Egypt's State Information Service.

The Israeli hostages will be freed by Hamas at the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, and they will be received by Egyptian authorities before being transferred to Israel, the State Information Service said.

The State Information Service credited "intense Egyptian efforts" for resulting in the agreement with Hamas to release 12 Thai nationals on the sidelines of the prisoner exchange deal between Gaza's militant rulers and Israel.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy

Nov 24, 8:07 AM EST
Scores of Palestinians move north in Gaza despite Israel's warning

Scores of Palestinians who had fled to the southern Gaza Strip amid Israeli bombardment were seen trying to return to the north on Friday, following the start of a four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

This came despite a warning from the Israeli military not to head toward the main combat zone in northern Gaza and there are Israeli checkpoints in place to prevent people from doing so.

"The northern Gaza Strip area is a dangerous war zone and it is forbidden to move around," the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on Friday morning. "For your safety, you must remain in the humanitarian zone in the south of the Strip. It is only possible to move from the north of the Strip to its south via Salah al-Din Road."

-ABC News' Nasser Atta, Morgan Winsor and Sami Zayara

Nov 24, 7:24 AM EST
Aid trucks arrive in Gaza via Egypt

Footage from the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing showed aid trucks entering the war-torn Gaza Strip on Friday morning.

Egypt's State Information Service said earlier Friday that 200 trucks transporting humanitarian aid, four trucks carrying gasoline and 130,000 liters of diesel would be allowed to enter Gaza via the Rafah border crossing during each day of the agreed upon cease-fire between Hamas and Israel.

That would be an increase from an initial average of around 70,000 liters of diesel that Israel agreed to deliver into Gaza over the past week to meet humanitarian needs set by the United Nations, but would still be well below what aid organizations say is required for daily critical needs.

Egypt will also allow hundreds of Palestinians stranded in the country to re-enter Gaza for the first time since the war broke out, according to the State Information Service.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy and Morgan Winsor

Nov 24, 7:06 AM EST
Israel says transfer of Palestinian prisoners has begun

The transfer of 39 Palestinian inmates from Damon and Megiddo prisons to the Ofer camp in the West Bank has begun, a spokesperson for the Israel Prison Service told ABC News on Friday afternoon.

Once in the West Bank, the Palestinian prisoners will be released within two hours after the confirmation that 13 Israeli hostages were freed by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and returned home, the spokesperson said.

-ABC News' Yael Benaya and Morgan Winsor

Nov 24, 5:51 AM EST
Israel details protocol for hostage release in Gaza

Thirteen people are on a list of hostages who are expected to be released by Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Friday amid a temporary cease-fire, but it remains unclear exactly how many the militant group will free, according to Israel's Government Press Office.

During a press briefing on Friday morning, the Israeli Government Press Office said that the hostages who are released will be received by staff from the International Committee of the Red Cross, who will then take the hostages across the border and hand them over to the Israeli military. It was unknown which of Gaza's borders the hostages would cross -- either into Egypt or Israel.

From there, the Israel Defense Forces will identify each hostage who was released and the individuals will undergo medical examinations. Then they will be allowed to speak with their families via telephone, according to the Israeli Government Press Office.

The hostages will be transferred to one or more of five designated hospitals, depending on their medical needs. They will be physically reunited with their families at the hospitals, the Israeli Government Press Office said.

Among the freed hostages, children will not be debriefed by Israeli authorities but their mothers and other women who are capable will be, according to the Israeli Government Press Office.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller, Dana Savir and Morgan Winsor

Nov 24, 3:53 AM EST
4-day cease-fire begins Friday morning

The first pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas in nearly seven weeks came into effect on Friday morning.

The four-day cease-fire started slightly later than the planned 7 a.m. local time, as the Israeli military carried out last-minute airstrikes on the war-torn Gaza Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces released a statement announcing the completion of "its operational preparations according to the combat lines of pause." Amid the early morning hours in the area of Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa, Israeli troops destroyed a "route of underground tunnels and a number of tunnel shafts" that the IDF alleged was used by Hamas, which rules the enclave.

"The war is not over yet," the IDF added. "The suspension of fires for humanitarian purposes is temporary. The northern Gaza Strip area is a dangerous war zone and it is forbidden to move around."

"For your safety, you must remain in the humanitarian zone in the south of the Strip," the IDF continued. "It is only possible to move from the north of the Strip to its south via Salah al-Din Road. The movement of residents from the south of the Strip to the north will not be allowed in any way."

The release of some hostages being held by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in Gaza, in exchange for the release of some Palestinian prisoners in Israel, is expected to begin at 4 p.m. local time.

-ABC News' Bruno Nota, Joe Simonetti and Morgan Winsor

Nov 23, 11:21 AM EST
Gaza to receive medical supplies, fuel during cease-fire

All areas of the Gaza Strip will receive medical supplies and fuel and cooking gas during the cease-fire, according to Hamas.

In a statement, Hamas said Israeli planes will stop flying over the southern Gaza Strip entirely during the cease-fire. Planes will stop flying over the northern Gaza Strip for six hours a day during the cease-fire.

Israel confirmed that it has received a list of hostages who will be released and officials are in contact with the hostages' families.

Nov 23, 9:36 AM EST
Qatar says cease-fire to start Friday at 7 a.m. local time

The Qatar Foreign Ministry announced that the cease-fire will begin on Friday at 7 a.m. local time and will last for four days.

The first hostages will be released at 4 p.m. local time, according to Dr. Majid bin Mohammed Al Ansari, the Qatar Foreign Ministry's spokesperson. Thirteen women and children from the same families will be among the first to be released.

Fifty hostages will be released over four days, Qatar said.

Nov 23, 8:58 AM EST
Palestinian Red Crescent accuses IDF of arresting ambulance service director in Gaza

The Palestine Red Crescent Society has accused Israeli authorities of arresting the head of an ambulance service in the Gaza Strip, among other medical staff, during the evacuation of patients and the injured from Al-Shifa Hospital.

"We are deeply concerned about our colleague Awni Khattab, director of the Khan Yunis Ambulance Center, who was arrested yesterday evening and taken to an unknown destination, while a convoy evacuating the wounded from Al-Shifa Hospital passed through the barrier that separates the northern Gaza Strip from its southern one," the PRCS said in a statement on Thursday.

"We hold the [Israeli] occupation authorities fully responsible for the safety of our colleague Khattab, and we demand the immediate release of him and all the medical teams who were detained," the PRCS added. "We call on the international community to provide urgent protection for medical personnel, in accordance with international humanitarian law, as humanitarian and medical personnel must not be a target under any circumstances."

There was no immediate confirmation or comment from the Israel Defense Forces, which has been conducting a ground raid of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City for days. However, the IDF confirmed earlier Thursday that the director of Al-Shifa Hospital, Dr. Muhammad Abu Salamiya, was apprehended for questioning amid accusations that “there was extensive Hamas terrorist activity” at Gaza's largest medical complex while “under his management” -- claims which Hamas denies.

ABC News' Nasser Atta and Morgan Winsor

Nov 23, 8:07 AM EST
Israel confirms arrest of Al-Shifa Hospital director in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Securities Authority has confirmed the arrest of the director of Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in the Gaza Strip.

"The director of the Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip was apprehended and transferred for ISA questioning following evidence showing that the Shifa Hospital, under his direct management, served as a Hamas command and control center," the IDF and the ISA said in a joint statement on Thursday. "The Hamas terror tunnel network situated under the hospital also exploited electricity and resources taken from the hospital. In addition, Hamas stored numerous weapons inside the hospital and on the hospital grounds."

The IDF and the ISA alleged that Hamas militants "sought refuge within the hospital, some of them taking hostages from Israel with them," in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack. The IDF and the ISA also claimed that a "pathological report" confirms 19-year-old Israeli soldier Noa Marciano, who was taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, was killed on the premises of Al-Shifa Hospital.

"In the hospital, under his management, there was extensive Hamas terrorist activity," the IDF and the ISA said of the Al-Shifa Hospital director, Dr. Muhammad Abu Salamiya. "Findings of his involvement in terrorist activity will determine whether he will be subject to further ISA questioning."

Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, has denied Israel's allegations that it has placed its command centers under Al-Shifa and other hospitals in the enclave and is deliberately sheltering behind Palestinian civilians.

ABC News' Dana Savir and Morgan Winsor

Nov 23, 6:41 AM EST
Hamas accuses IDF of arresting Al-Shifa Hospital director, staff in Gaza

Hamas has accused the Israeli military of arresting the director of Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in the Gaza Strip, along with several other staff members "who remained at the facility to help patients and wounded evacuate."

"We see this move by Israel as nothing less than despicable, lacking any sense of humanity and morals," Hamas said in a statement on Thursday morning. "It is also a flagrant violation of international norms and charters, given obligations to ensure that medical personnel are never harmed, including in times of war."

Hamas noted that Al-Shifa Hospital's director, Dr. Muhammad Abu Salamiya, was in contact with International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Health Organization "to evacuate the remaining patients and wounded." The militant group, which rules Gaza, called on the ICRC, the WHO and other international bodies "to exert pressure on the Israeli occupation army to secure his release, along with the medical personnel who were arrested simply for continuing to fulfil their humanitarian duty."

In a separate statement on Thursday, Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health said the arrests occurred Wednesday as the United Nations and its health arm, the WHO, led a convoy of evacuated patients and medical staff from Al-Shifa Hospital. Israeli soldiers "stopped the convoy at a checkpoint separating the northern and southern Gaza Strip for seven hours" before arresting the hospital director and other staff members, according to the health ministry.

"The [Israeli] occupation bears full responsibility for the lives and safety of detained colleagues," the ministry added. "The United Nations bears full responsibility for what happened, and we await measures on their part to address this. We decided to stop coordination with the World Health Organization until a report on what happened was submitted and all detainees were released."

There was no immediate confirmation of the event or comment from the U.N. or the WHO.

There was also no immediate confirmation of the arrests or comment from the Israel Defense Forces, which has been conducting a ground raid of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City for days.

The IDF alleges that Hamas has placed its command centers under Al-Shifa and other hospitals in Gaza and is deliberately sheltering behind Palestinian civilians -- claims that the militant group denies.

ABC News' Nasser Atta and Morgan Winsor

Nov 23, 6:25 AM EST
IDF says it struck more than 300 Hamas targets in Gaza over past day

The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday morning that it has carried out airstrikes on more than "300 Hamas terror targets" in the Gaza Strip over the past day.

The targets that were struck included Hamas "military command centers, underground terror tunnels, weapon storage facilities, weapon manufacturing sites, and anti-tank missile launch posts," according to a statement from the IDF.

ABC News' Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor

Nov 23, 5:33 AM EST
Start of cease-fire to be 'announced within the next few hours,' Qatar says

The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Dr. Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari, announced Thursday morning that the talks between Israel and Hamas on the details of the implementation plan for the humanitarian pause deal in the Gaza Strip "are continuing and progressing positively."

"Dr. Al Ansari affirmed that the start of the pause agreed upon will be announced within the next few hours," a statement from the ministry read. "Work continues with both parties, and with our partners in the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States in order to ensure rapid start of the pause and provide what is necessary to ensure the parties adherence to the agreement."

The temporary truce was expected to begin Thursday morning, while a prisoner swap was to start no earlier than Friday. But a senior Israeli official told ABC News late Wednesday that neither will happen before Friday.

The deal between Israel and Hamas, reached Wednesday morning, was mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S.

ABC News' Zoe Magee and Morgan Winsor

Nov 23, 12:45 AM EST
Doctor in Egypt says some of evacuated Gaza premature babies are in 'critical' condition

A doctor at Al-Arish Hospital in Egypt shared an update on the condition of the premature babies evacuated from Gaza earlier this week, saying about 10% of them are in "critical" condition.

"When the babies arrived at our hospital … they were facing a lot of bad conditions during transfer, taking their medical history, not accompanying families for them, so you are dealing with … very critical conditions for them," Dr. Ahmed Mahdy told ABC News Wednesday.

Sixteen premature babies were brought to Al-Arish Hospital in Egypt near the border after Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza ran out of fuel to run their incubators and came under attack by IDF forces. Dr. Mahdy said they all had low weight when they arrived at Al-Arish, ranging from 1-2.3 kilograms (2.2 lbs – 5 lbs).

Dr. Mahdy said some of the babies "are very critical," estimating about 10% of them are in that condition. The other infants are "less critical."

One of the struggles doctors at Al-Arish Hospital have run into is that there aren't families or mothers with most of the babies to ask about their history or the mother's history during her pregnancy. Out of 16 babies, only three mothers are accompanying four babies. Still, the doctors persevere to treat the infants.

"They may be at risk, but we are doing our best for them," Dr. Mahdy said. "We are giving them the medications they need, the feeding. You know, the babies need feeding, feeding assessment and feeding progress."

Nov 22, 4:57 PM EST
No Israeli hostages will be released before Friday, Israel says

The cease-fire is expected to begin Thursday at 10 a.m., Israeli National Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi said.

No Israeli hostages will be released before Friday, Hanegbi said.

Nov 22, 2:57 PM EST
Israeli cabinet has list of hostages expected to be released

The Israeli cabinet now has the list of hostages expected to be released, according to an Israeli official.

Hamas and Israel agreed to a cease-fire lasting for at least four days to allow the release of at least 50 hostages -- women and children -- captured by Hamas from Israel on Oct. 7, in exchange for at least 150 Palestinians -- women and teenagers -- currently being held in Israeli prisons.

It is expected that the cease-fire and the prisoner swap will begin Thursday morning.

Families of the hostages held by Hamas will only be notified after the hostages are in Israeli hands, the Israeli official said.

Nov 22, 12:12 PM EST
Israeli Supreme Court rejects appeal against hostage deal

Israel's Supreme Court rejected the only appeal submitted thus far against the hostage deal, clearing the way for the deal to go through.

Israeli law requires a 24-hour waiting period after the vote before the agreement can be put into action.

It is expected that the cease-fire and the prisoner swap will begin Thursday morning.

Nov 22, 11:44 AM EST
Families of American hostages speak out

The families of American hostages said they are "thrilled" 50 hostages are expected to be released, but added, "We are not going to rest until every single hostage is returned"

The families also said they "request an immediate update on whether our family members are alive and well."

The families thanked President Joe Biden for his work on the hostage deal, adding, "We call on all world leaders to continue prioritizing this goal."

The whereabouts of nine U.S. citizens and one U.S. permanent resident are unknown, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. He said it's unclear whether they were among the hundreds of people who were taken hostage by Hamas.

"We don't know for certain that all 10 are still alive and we’ve been honest about that -- what we know and what we don't know," Sullivan told ABC News' "Good Morning America" on Wednesday. "We know that among those 10, three are women and children -- two women one child. And we believe that those three will be among the 50 who are released."

"Until we actually see them come out, be in the arms of their loved ones, get home safely, we cannot be fully confident," he added.

Nov 22, 11:30 AM EST
75 women among Palestinian prisoners in Israel: Advocacy group

Approximately 75 Palestinian women, five teenage girls and 200 boys -- mostly teenagers -- are detained in Israel, according to a spokesperson for Addameer, a group which monitors the treatment of Palestinian prisoners.

Before the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7, about 150 Palestinian boys, as well as 30 women and girls, were in Israeli prisons, the spokesperson said.

According to the newly brokered deal, 150 Palestinian prisoners would be released by Israel in exchange for at least 50 hostages released by Hamas. The deal also includes a four-day pause in hostilities.

Nov 22, 11:00 AM EST
Norwegian Refugee Council: 4-day pause not enough

Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said in a statement that the planned four-day pause in hostilities "is not enough time to address the immense needs after six weeks of fighting, bloodshed, and destruction."

Egeland said the pause "must pave the way for a lasting cease-fire."

"Small shelters have housed scores of people, with little food and water and mounting health hazards. Children are traumatized, and many face a future without their parents and siblings," Egeland said. "They need urgent, long-term help. This can only happen through a sustained cease-fire."

Nov 22, 10:39 AM EST
Israeli Hostage Center: 'No victory until every last hostage returns home'

In the wake of the approved hostage deal, in which Hamas would release 50 of the approximately 236 people taken hostage from Israel, the Israeli Hostage Center said in a statement, "There is no victory until every last hostage returns home."

The release of the at least 50 hostages would come over the course of a four-day pause in hostilities, Israel's prime minister said, and as a part of this deal, 150 Palestinian prisoners will also be released by Israel.

The hostage center said it demands "the current cease-fire terms ensure both security and welfare for remaining hostages held by Hamas, including the promised Red Cross visits."

Nov 22, 7:54 AM EST
IDF continues to bombard Gaza despite reaching deal on truce, hostages

Despite reaching an agreement with Hamas on a temporary cease-fire in exchange for the release of dozens of hostages, the Israeli military continued to bombard the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed in a statement that it "is continuing to operate in the Gaza Strip, including striking terrorist infrastructure, killing terrorists, and locating weapons."

"This morning, IDF troops neutralized a terror tunnel shaft from which a Hamas terrorist exited and fired at the soldiers," the IDF said. "Moreover, IDF troops identified terrorists and located weapons in a structure used by the Hamas terrorist organization. The troops killed the terrorists and destroyed the structure."

Nov 22, 7:45 AM EST
White House official talks 'key' moment that led to 'breakthrough' in hostage deal

The "key" to securing the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas "was bearing down on both sides" to "get specific" on the details, according to U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

The agreement that was reached on Wednesday was mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

"The big move happened late last week when [U.S.] President [Joe] Biden spoke first with [Israeli] Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and then with the emir of Qatar to say, how many hostages, for how any days in return for how many Palestinian prisoners," Sullivan told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in an interview Wednesday on Good Morning America.

"And it was really the work to refine those details that finally produced the breakthrough that we now see resulting in the announcement of a pause of hostilities and the first return of prisoners, of hostages," he added.

Nov 22, 7:37 AM EST
US 'very hopeful' but 'cannot be fully confident' in hostage deal, official says

The United States is "very hopeful" in the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas but "cannot be fully confident" until the abductees return home safely, according to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

"You can never have full confidence until you actually see hostages back in the arms of their families," Sullivan told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an interview Wednesday on Good Morning America.

"But I am very hopeful that there will be a pause, these hostages will begin to be released," he continued, "and then I am hopeful that we can build on the release of this initial 50 to get more hostages home so that every last person currently being held by the terrorist group Hamas gets home safely to their family."

The whereabouts of nine U.S. citizens and one U.S. permanent resident, or green card-holder, remains unknown in the wake of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to Sullivan, who said it's unclear whether they were among the hundreds of people who were taken hostage and brought back to the neighboring Gaza Strip.

"We don't know for certain that all 10 are still alive and we’ve been honest about that -- what we know and what we don't know,” he added. "We know that among those 10, three are women and children -- two women one child. And we believe that those three will be among the 50 who are released."

But Sullivan cautioned: "Until we actually see them come out, be in the arms of their loved ones, get home safely, we cannot be fully confident. So we are going to wait as the families are waiting with bated breath until they come but and then until every last American comes out."

Nov 21, 11:42 PM EST
Biden confirms four-day pause 'should bring home additional American hostages'

President Joe Biden released a statement Tuesday night thanking Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar and President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt for their "critical leadership and partnership" in helping to broker a deal between Hamas and Israel over the release of hostages.

Biden also thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his commitment to the temporary pause ensuring the deal can be carried out and "bring home additional American hostages." Biden said he "will not stop until they are all released."

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was "pleased and relieved" over being "close" to seeing the release of the first 50 out of 240 hostages.

Schumer said he will continue working for the release of the remaining hostages, and called it a "positive development" that the pause in fighting will allow aid to flow to Palestinians in Gaza.

Biden said as president he has "no higher priority than ensuring the safety of Americans held hostage around the world."

Nov 21, 9:50 PM EST
Three Americans expected to be part of initial group of released hostages: US official

Three Americans are expected to be part of the initial group of hostages that will be released as part of a deal negotiated between Hamas, Israel, Qatar and the United States, according to a senior administration official.

They include 3-year-old Abigail Mor Idan, who was orphaned by the Oct. 7 attack and whose birthday is on Friday, the official said.

The deal will see the release of 50 hostages -- women and children -- over the course of several days.

Officials would not get into specifics about the number of additional Americans believed to be held hostage -- only reiterating that there are 10 unaccounted-for Americans.

Nov 21, 9:55 PM EST
Israel's Cabinet votes to approve deal for hostage release

Israel's Cabinet has approved a deal that would allow for the release of at least 50 hostages over the course of a four-day pause in hostilities, Israel's Prime Minister said early Wednesday morning. As a part of this deal, 150 Palestinian prisoners will also be released by Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a release the “Israeli government has approved the outline to the first phase” of bringing hostages home, with at least 50 being released over the course of the four-day pause in fighting.

The Government of Israel, the IDF and the Israeli security forces will continue to fight the war for the return of all hostages, the elimination of Hamas and to ensure that Gaza will not pose a threat to Israel, according to Netanyahu.

Earlier, sources told ABC News 42 hostages would be released.

A short while later, Hamas released its own statement early Wednesday morning local time, which had some of the same terms announced by Netanyahu.

Hamas confirmed via Telegram a temporary cease-fire of four days, with the release of 50 women and children who’ve been held hostage.

In exchange, Hamas said Israel agreed to release 150 Palestinian women and children. Hamas said the juveniles released would be under 19 years old.

Nov 21, 4:04 PM EST
3-year-old Israeli-American may be among hostages freed: US official

The U.S. expects that Abigail Edan, an orphaned 3-year-old Israeli-American who was kidnapped by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, would be among the hostages released as part of any initial deal between Israel and Hamas, according to a U.S. official familiar with negotiations. However, the Biden administration hasn’t received any reliable guarantee that she or any of the missing Americans will be freed in the arrangement, the official said.

The official said there are many significant concerns surrounding the hostages' passage out of Gaza, and that moving the hostages out of the enclave as quickly as possible would be necessary for their protection and to facilitate ongoing talks.

While American negotiators are currently zeroed-in on securing an initial deal -- rather than focusing on subsequent swaps that might happen in exchange for a longer pause -- Hamas is expected to provide information about the conditions of hostages that will remain in custody, which could be critical in shaping the strategy going forward, the official said.

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford

Nov 21, 3:30 PM EST
Netanyahu: War against Hamas will not stop after cease-fire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking ahead of Tuesday's cabinet meeting and vote on a potential hostage deal, said Israel's war against Hamas will not stop after a cease-fire.

He said the war will continue until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages are brought home.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant added that without the continuation of Israel's operations in Gaza, there'd be no chance of bringing home more hostages.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

Nov 21, 1:38 PM EST
Kirby: 'Could take hours, if not days' for hostage release to be complete

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby remained tightlipped on the possible hostage deal, telling reporters Tuesday, "We're all hopeful, but we won't say and do not want to say, anything in these delicate hours that could put a deal at greater risk."

If a deal is reached, Kirby said the first step would be to secure safe passage for the hostages into Israel, where many would likely need immediate medical attention before they return to their home countries.

Pressed by ABC News about how long it could take for the safe passage to be secured and hostages released after a deal is reached, Kirby said, "Depending on if we get a deal, depending on how many hostages are arranged for, depending on where they are, depending on their physical condition and their mobility, I think we all need to be humble in terms of the appropriate amount of time it could take to physically move them to safety."

"Some of these people could be in pretty rough shape. I think we all need to be prepared for the fact that it could take hours, if not days, to complete their release," he said.

ABC News' Molly Nagle

Nov 21, 1:33 PM EST
3 doctors killed in strike at Al-Awda Hospital

Three doctors were killed in a strike at northern Gaza's Al-Awda Hospital, according to Doctors Without Borders.

The hospital said only medical personnel, patients and the injured were inside the facility at the time.

Hospital officials called on the international community to provide a safe corridor for the evacuation of patients and medical staff.

"We mourn the loss of our colleagues," Doctors Without Borders said in a statement. "We condemn this strike in the strongest terms, and call yet again for the respect and protection of medical facilities, staff and patients. We reiterate our call for an immediate cease-fire to prevent more deaths in Gaza."

Nov 21, 12:23 PM EST
Israel hopes 50 hostages will be released within 4 days: Senior official

Israel hopes to secure the release of at least 50 hostages within four days, according to a senior Israeli official with knowledge of the negotiations.

The official told ABC News on Tuesday that all Israeli security forces and agencies are in favor of the proposed deal with Hamas, which was brokered by Qatar.

For two weeks, Israel was against accepting Qatar's original offer, the official said. Among other things, the government did not want to allow people to return to northern Gaza during the cease-fire period, the official said. Israel also wanted to limit the entry of fuel into Gaza to only the days of the cease-fire, according to the official.

ABC News' Jordana Miller

Nov 21, 12:09 PM EST
Hostage deal would involve pause in fighting lasting 4 or 5 days: US official

A U.S. official told ABC News the hostage deal would involve Hamas releasing 50 women and children in exchange for a pause in fighting that would last four or five days. The deal would also involve the release of three Palestinian prisoners for each Israeli hostage, the official said.

The official cautioned that the deal is not done. President Joe Biden has been personally involved in the negotiations, urging the emir of Qatar to press Hamas to accept the deal and urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the deal, according to the official.

ABC News' Selina Wang

Nov 21, 11:24 AM EST
'We're now very close' on hostage deal, Biden says

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that "we're now very close" on a deal to release the hostages being held by Hamas, but the president did not discuss more details.

"We could bring some of the hostages home very soon, but I don't want to get into the details of things because nothing is done until it's done. And when we have more to say we will, but things are looking good," Biden said.

ABC News' Molly Nagle

Nov 21, 10:57 AM EST
WHO says it's planning to evacuate 3 hospitals in Gaza

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that at least three hospitals in the war-torn Gaza Strip have requested help with evacuating patients.

Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said planning was underway to evacuate Al-Shifa Hospital, Indonesian Hospital and Al-Ahli Hospital in northern Gaza, but that such an event was a last resort.

"It's robbing the entire population of the north of the means to seek health [care]," Lindmeier told reporters.

ABC News' Will Gretsky and Morgan Winsor

Nov 21, 10:49 AM EST
Israeli strikes reportedly kill 2 journalists, 1 civilian in southern Lebanon

Two journalists were killed by Israeli bombing near the Lebanon-Israel border on Tuesday, according to Al-Mayadeen, the Beirut-based television channel they worked for.

Al-Mayadeen confirmed that reporter Farah Omar and photojournalist Rabie Al-Maamari were both killed near the southern Lebanese town of Tir-Harfa, about a mile from the Israeli frontier.

"The occupation targeted the Al-Mayadeen team directly and definitely intentionally," the channel said in a statement on Tuesday. "I tell the Israeli enemy that you will not be able to silence the voices of Al-Mayadeen. We will remain and continue our coverage and our honorable journalistic work, whose priority is covering the crimes of the occupation in Gaza, the West Bank, Palestine and Lebanon."

The Lebanese National News Agency reported that a civilian -- an 80-year-old woman -- was also killed by an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Kafr Kila, about 35 miles northwest of Tir-Harfa.

Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has voiced support for Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip and has been clashing with Israeli forces along the Lebanon-Israel border in recent weeks, released a statement on Tuesday "strongly condemning" the deaths.

"This aggression and the accompanying martyrdom of other citizens will not pass without a response from the fighters of the Islamic Resistance who are fighting in the field," the group added.

ABC News' Ghazi Balliz, Marcus Moore, Bruno Roeber and Morgan Winsor

Nov 21, 9:17 AM EST
Israeli government to vote on hostage deal on Tuesday night, source says

Israel’s government will begin voting to approve a hostage deal with Hamas on Tuesday, an Israeli senior political source told ABC News.

Voting will likely be completed on Wednesday, according to the source.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday that, "in light of the developments regarding the release of our abductees," Netanyahu will convene the war cabinet at 6 p.m. local time, the political-security cabinet at 7 p.m. local time and the full government at 8 p.m. local time.

Both cabinets would have to approve a hostage deal before it could be brought to the full government for a final vote.

Earlier Tuesday, while visiting Israeli troops, Netanyahu told reporters that his government was "making progress" on an agreement with Hamas.

"I don't think it's worth saying too much, not even at this moment,” he added, "but I hope there will be good news soon."

Nov 21, 9:04 AM EST
Hostage negotiations in 'critical and final stage,' Qatar says

Negotiations to free some of the people who were taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel are closer than they have ever been before, according to Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari.

"Mediation has reached a critical and final stage and has gone past key issues. What remains are limited issues and therefore we are the closest we have come to reaching an agreement since the beginning of this crisis," Al-Ansari said during a press briefing in Doha on Tuesday, adding that "we hope and seek to make this happen soon."

Al-Ansari noted that it is very important to "choose the right time to announce the details" of Qatar's mediation efforts in the latest outbreak of war between Israel and the Gaza Strip's militant rulers, Hamas.

A Hamas leader in Beirut, Osama Hamdan, told ABC News on Tuesday morning that they are "waiting for the Israeli side to accept the deal." However, he added a caveat: "Many times in the past, we were close to a deal and Netanyahu undermined the deal. By the end of the day things will clear and we will see what the results of it."

Hamdan would not expand on details of the deal, including how many hostages would be released, telling ABC News: "No specifics on the numbers but it's around what the media is talking about, which is around 50. But nothing is final."

Meanwhile, there will likely be three separate steps of approval for an agreement to go through on the Israeli side. The Israeli government will announce that a deal has been reached that needs to be voted on. Then, Israel's security cabinet will vote to approve said agreement. Finally, Israeli law requires a 24-hour waiting period during which time the Supreme Court of Israel may need to be involved, to defend the deal from anyone who attempts to contest it.

Sources have told ABC News that a potential deal would involve the release of around 50 hostages, all women and children, in exchange for a five-day cease-fire, the release of dozens of Palestinian women and children from Israeli prison and a large influx of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including fuel. It may take multiple days for hostages to be released because they are not all being held together and some are held by splinter groups, according to sources.

Nov 21, 7:56 AM EST
Hundreds trapped in Gaza's Indonesian Hospital amid fierce fighting

Hundreds of patients are trapped inside another major hospital in the Gaza Strip amid fierce fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants, as fears grow that the situation could turn into a repeat of what happened at Al-Shifa Hospital.

The Indonesian Hospital is located in the northern edge of north Gaza, right on the frontline of Israel's advance. Al Jazeera reported that there are 700 people currently stuck inside the besieged hospital, including medical staff and wounded civilians.

At least 12 people, including patients and their companions, were reportedly killed on Monday when the Indonesian Hospital came under fire, according to the World Health Organization, which said it was "appalled by the attack." Doctors in the hospital told Al Jazeera that the facility was hit by artillery shells, while others suggested an Israeli tank may have fired at it.

"Health workers and civilians should never have to be exposed to such horror, and especially while inside a hospital," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Dr. Marwan Al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital, told BBC News that Israeli troops were only about 20 meters (66 feet) away. The Israeli military said its forces targeted "terrorists" who had opened fire at them from within the hospital, according to BBC News.

ABC News has not confirmed that Israeli troops were responsible for strikes on the Indonesian Hospital. The Israel Defense Forces said it was operating in specific areas outside the hospital due to enemy fire and that no shells were launched toward the facility.

Gaza's Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health said 200 patients were evacuated from the Indonesian Hospital by bus to southern Gaza and that the International Committee of the Red Cross was trying to coordinate the evacuation of the remaining 400 patients, according to BBC News.

Video purportedly taken inside the Indonesian Hospital shows injured people and others sheltering on the floor. Additional footage appears to show damage to the hospital and heavy bombardments landing close to the facility in recent days.

Nov 20, 3:45 PM EST
Over 1,200 Americans and relatives trying to leave Gaza: State Department

A little more than 1,200 Americans and their eligible family members are waiting to leave Gaza, according to State Department spokesperson Matt Miller.

About 800 Americans and eligible family members have already left Gaza, Miller said.

Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7, another six Americans have died: one was an Israeli national police border officer and five were members of the Israel Defense Forces, Miller said. At least 33 Americans were killed in Israel on Oct. 7 during Hamas' attack, according to American officials.

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford

Nov 20, 2:43 PM EST
Biden says he believes hostage deal is near

President Joe Biden said Monday he thinks negotiators are close to reaching a deal to release hostages from Gaza.

When asked at the White House turkey pardon if a deal is near, Biden responded, "I believe so, but I’m not prepared to talk to …"

"You believe so?" reporters followed up, cutting off Biden's initial comment. Biden replied, "Yes," before holding up crossed fingers.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday, "We believe we’re closer than we’ve ever been, so we’re hopeful. But there’s still work to be done, and nothing is done until it's all done, so we’re gonna keep working on this."

Kirby wouldn't say if the deal was focused on securing the release of women and children and wouldn't discuss a potential timeframe the administration was looking at for a deal to be announced.

"I think the less said the better as we get into ... what we hope is the end game here on negotiations. It's probably safer if I don’t go into much speculating," Kirby said.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Nov 20, 11:44 AM EST
Israeli forces will be operating in southern Gaza soon: Source

While southern Gaza is deemed safer than northern Gaza, Israel will be operating in southern Gaza soon, according to an Israeli official.

The official said operations in southern Gaza will be more "targeted."

The official said the actual "safe" zone would be in the sparsely populated Muwassi area in southwest Gaza.

But the official said Israeli forces would still strike there if need be.

Nov 20, 11:36 AM EST
Al-Qaida calls for attacks against US, Israeli targets

Al-Qaida, citing Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, 9/11 and Benghazi, released a new statement calling for its followers to attack U.S. and Israeli targets, especially embassies, and to attack where they are without warning.

Nov 20, 11:11 AM EST
More aid passes through Rafah crossing

About 40 trucks carrying equipment for a Jordanian field hospital crossed from Egypt into Gaza via the Rafah border crossing on Monday, a border official told ABC News.

The convoy included 180 medics and nurses.

Health officials said the hospital will be set up in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

Nov 20, 6:17 AM EST
28 premature babies to be transported from Gaza to Egypt

Dozens of premature babies are expected to be transported from the war-torn Gaza Strip into neighboring Egypt on Monday to receive emergency medical treatment.

The babies arrived on Gaza's side of the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing on Monday afternoon. Egyptian television footage showed Egyptian doctors moving the babies from Palestinian ambulances into mobile incubators. The infants will then be taken via Egyptian ambulances to nearby hospitals in the North Sinai province of northeastern Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society confirmed that its ambulance teams had transferred 28 premature babies to Egyptian medics at the Rafah border crossing on Monday afternoon. The process was done in coordination with the World Health Organization and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

At least 12 of the babies who are said to be in deteriorating condition will be airlifted to Egypt's capital, Cairo, according to Egyptian media.

Earlier Monday, Egyptian TV footage showed medics with incubators at the Rafah border crossing as they prepared to receive the tiny patients. Egypt's heath minister was also seen on site inspecting the preparations.

The babies were evacuated on Sunday from Gaza's largest medical complex, Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, and brought to Emirati Hospital in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza close to the border with Egypt.

Like many hospitals in Gaza, Al-Shifa has been struggling to function with a lack of electricity as well as limited fuel and medical supplies amid Israel's continued bombardment of the territory. In recent days, Israeli ground troops have been carrying out a raid at Al-Shifa Hospital, searching for evidence that Gaza's militant rulers, Hamas, were using the complex as a command center. The WHO described Al-Shifa Hospital as a "death zone" and urged a full evacuation after leading an assessment mission there on Sunday.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy, Guy Davies and Morgan Winsor

Nov 20, 5:27 AM EST
Israel claims to have killed 3 more Hamas commanders

The Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Securities Authority announced in a joint statement Monday that their troops have killed three more Hamas commanders while continuing ground operations in the Gaza Strip.

"IDF fighter jets, directed by IDF and ISA intelligence, killed three additional Hamas company commanders," the statement read in part. "In addition, IDF troops identified a terrorist cell as they entered a nearby building. As a result of the strike carried out by an IDF aircraft, the terrorists were killed and a weapons depot in which they hid was struck."

There was no immediate confirmation or comment from Hamas.

-ABC News' Dorit Long and Morgan Winsor

Nov 19, 2:37 PM EST
IDF says it exposed tunnel under Shifa Hospital

Israel Defense Forces troops exposed a 180-foot tunnel 32 feet deep underneath the Shifa Hospital, the IDF and Israel Securities Authority (ISA) said in a joint statement Sunday.

"A deep staircase leads to the entrance of the tunnel shaft, which consists of various defense means including a blast-proof door and a firing hole," the statement continues. "This type of door is used by the Hamas terrorist organization to block Israeli forces from entering the command centers and the underground assets belonging to Hamas. The tunnel shaft was uncovered in the area of the hospital underneath a shed alongside a vehicle containing numerous weapons including RPGs, explosives and Kalashnikov rifles.

"IDF and ISA forces are continuing to uncover the route of the tunnel," the statement adds.

The IDF said it expects to find more tunnels and underground facilities, and that the operation is ongoing and will take some time. About 300 people remain in the hospital, according to the IDF.

-ABC News' Yael Benaya

Nov 19, 12:13 PM EST
31 premature babies evacuated from Al-Shifa Hospital: WHO

The World Health Organization confirmed earlier claims by the Palestinian Health Ministry that 31 "very sick" babies were safely transported from Al-Shifa Hospital to another hospital in southern Gaza on Sunday.

The premature infants were evacuated to the Emirates Hospital in Rafah, WHO officials said.

The babies were "clinging to life," the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement, and their "condition was rapidly deteriorating."

The babies are expected to be transferred to another hospital in Egypt, said Dr. Ashraf al Qwadwa, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Health Ministry. He said nine premature babies have died since the start of a fuel crisis in Gaza prompted by the ongoing conflict.

Six health workers at the Al Shifa Hospital and 10 family members of staff there were also evacuated on Sunday along with the babies, according to the WHO statement, adding that further missions are planned to "urgently transport" the remaining patients and health staff out of the hospital.

-ABC News' Nasser Atta

Nov 18, 10:18 AM EST
IDF denies it ordered evacuation of Al-Shifa hospital amid exodus of patients

The IDF denied Saturday that it ordered an evacuation of Al-Shifa's patients, claiming the hospital's director requested to allow people in the hospital to leave and that the IDF agreed and offered to assist.

The director of the Gaza Health Ministry -- who said he is leading the exodus of patients -- said in an interview with Al Jazeera that Israel issued the order and that Israel refused to allow ambulances to assist in the evacuation.

The IDF said Saturday it "acceded to the request of the director of the Shifa Hospital to enable additional Gazans who were in the hospital, and would like to evacuate, to do so via the secure route. At no point, did the IDF order the evacuation of patients or medical teams and in fact proposed that any request for medical evacuation will be facilitated by the IDF. Medical personnel will remain in the hospital to support patients who are unable to evacuate."

However, another spokesman, Lt. Col Elad Goren, in his evening briefing Friday night said the IDF was urging anyone left in Al-Shifa to leave and that it hoped it would take place in the "next few hours."

Officials and doctors at Al-Shifa hospital say almost all patients and civilians there have been forced to leave the hospital this morning, after Israeli forces gave them one hour to get out.

Dr. Munir Al Barsh, director general from the Gaza Health Ministry, told Al Jazeera, he and hundreds of patients, many seriously injured, were now on the road on foot, making their way south.

He said around 450 patients and wounded had left following the Israeli order. He painted a harrowing picture, saying many patients have open wounds, are missing limbs, some are still in beds and wheelchairs.

According to Al Barsh, around 120 patients who are unable to move are still in the hospital, including the nearly three dozen premature babies. Five medical staff have remained to care for them.

He said the column of hundreds of patients are now trying to make their way to the first hospital they can find on route.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell

Nov 17, 4:32 PM EST
Telecom services partially restored in Gaza

Telecommunications services have been partially restored in Gaza thanks to fuel reaching the region, the Palestinian Authority Communications Ministry said.

About 17,000 liters of diesel entered Gaza on Friday via the Egypt-Gaza Rafah border crossing, according to border crossing spokesman Wael Abu Omar.

Two fuel trucks are expected to enter Gaza daily beginning on Saturday, according to Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.

Nov 17, 1:45 PM EST
What we know about the conflict

The war, which has now moved into its second stage, according to Israel, has passed the one-month mark.

In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured since Oct. 7, according to Israeli officials. In the neighboring Gaza Strip, at least 12,000 people have been killed and over 30,000 have been injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Aid workers and officials fear that Israel's call for an evacuation of the northern part of Gaza is precipitating a humanitarian disaster as electricity and other supplies have been cut off in preparation for what appears to be an imminent ground offensive.

Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to call off the evacuation and agree to a cease-fire, even as the country has asserted a right to defend itself -- a right the United States endorses.

Nov 17, 1:13 PM EST
Fuel 'used as a weapon of war,' UN Gaza relief agency says

The Israeli government said Friday that it will allow two fuel trucks per day to enter Gaza. But no fuel was delivered Friday due to the latest communications blackout, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said.

Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for UNRWA, told ABC News that fuel has been "used as a weapon of war" since the Israel-Hamas conflict began.

“Seventy percent of people do not have clean drinking water because there is no fuel. … Sewage is starting to overflow in some parts of Gaza. It's a disaster," she said. "[We] should not be forced to beg for fuel just to be able to do our work. It's unacceptable."

UNRWA's shelters are currently housing 800,000 people, which Touma said is "way over the capacity."

"We planned for less than one quarter of what we have," she said. "And with the restrictions that we have on fuel and the little aid that has been coming in that we are not able to even collect or pick up, the situation is becoming tragic by the hour."

ABC News' Patrick Reevell

Nov 17, 8:44 AM EST
UNRWA says no fuel delivered to Gaza on Friday due to blackout

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) confirmed that no fuel was delivered to the Gaza Strip on Friday due to the latest communications blackout.

The agency said it was forced to suspend its operations there after telecommunications companies ran out of generator fuel, plunging the war-torn territory into another blackout on Thursday afternoon.

"We are unable to operate due to the lack of communications," an UNRWA spokesperson told ABC News in a statement on Friday afternoon. "We have no communications with Gaza. Transport of aid trucks, water desalination and pumping and sewage treatment activities have been halted."

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy and Zoe Magee

Nov 17, 8:26 AM EST
Israel says it will allow 2 fuel trucks per day to enter Gaza

The Israeli government announced Friday that it will allow two fuel trucks per day to enter the war-torn Gaza Strip.

The Israeli War Cabinet said in a statement that it has "unanimously approved a joint recommendation" of the Israel Defense Force and Israel's Shin Bet internal security agency "to comply with the U.S. request and allow the entry of two diesel tankers a day for the needs of the U.N. to support water and sewer infrastructure."

The trucks will pass through the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing with the help of the United Nations, delivering the fuel to civilians in southern Gaza, "provided that it does not reach Hamas," according to the Israeli War Cabinet.

"This action allows Israel the continued international maneuvering space necessary to eliminate Hamas," the cabinet said. "This action is intended, among other things, to minimally support water, sewage and sanitation systems, in order to prevent the outbreak of epidemics that could spread throughout the entire area, harm both the residents of the Strip and our forces, and spread even into Israel."

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Nov 17, 8:44 AM EST
UNRWA says no fuel delivered to Gaza on Friday due to blackout

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) confirmed that no fuel was delivered to the Gaza Strip on Friday due to the latest communications blackout.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy and Zoe Magee

Nov 17, 8:26 AM EST
Israel says it will allow 2 fuel trucks per day to enter Gaza

The Israeli government announced Friday that it will allow two fuel trucks per day to enter the war-torn Gaza Strip.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Nov 17, 7:33 AM EST
Hostage negotiations are ongoing and fluid, sources say

Negotiations for a hostage deal with Hamas are still ongoing, Israeli and U.S. sources told ABC News on Friday.

The potential agreement would involve Hamas releasing a certain number of hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting of some length of time in the Gaza Strip. But many of the details are still up in the air, according to U.S. sources.

The discussions are intense and remain fluid, according to an Israeli source. A disagreement has unfolded inside Israel’s defense cabinet with some ministers wanting to accept a deal to free about 50 women and children, while other ministers want all of the women and children as well as their family members released -- about 80 hostages in total, ABC News has learned.

Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, took more than 200 people hostage -- including Americans -- while carrying out an unprecedented attack on neighboring Israel on Oct. 7, according to Israeli and U.S. authorities.

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford and Matt Gutman

Nov 17, 5:46 AM EST
150,000 liters of fuel for hospitals reportedly entering Gaza

An additional 150,000 liters (40,000 gallons) of fuel will be delivered to the Gaza Strip on Friday, according to Egyptian media.

The fuel, which is earmarked for Gaza's hospitals, will enter the war-torn enclave from neighboring Egypt through the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing, according to Egyptian state-allied television channel Al-Qahers News.

Al-Qahers News reported that "Egyptian pressure on all parties have succeeded in increasing the volume of aid" and "restoring the flow of fuel" to Gaza.

World Health Organization spokesperson Tarik Jašarević had said last month that 150,000 liters of fuel are required to offer basic services in Gaza's five main hospitals.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy

Nov 16, 7:58 PM EST
Discussions over release of hostages remain fluid, source says

Many details remain up in the air regarding a deal to release the Hamas-held hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting in Gaza, according to U.S. officials.

One of the biggest sticking points is the number of hostages that will be released, according to an Israeli source.

Israel wants all the children, their mothers and all of their family members released, the source said. If you count just women and young children, that's about 50 hostages; if you add the family members, you get up to about 80 hostages, according to the source.

The discussions remain fluid, the source said.

It's too soon to tell if a deal will come together, but people participating in negotiations have yet to throw in the towel, the U.S. officials said.

Asked about the deal by "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir on Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. is focused "intensely" on bringing hostages home.

"But having said that, honestly the less that I say the better at this moment because we don't want to jeopardize anything that we're doing to try to bring people home," he said. "I'm hopeful that we can bring people home."

-ABC News' Shannon K. Crawford and Matt Gutman

Nov 16, 6:32 PM EST
Discussions over release of hostages remain fluid, source says

Many details remain up in the air regarding a deal to release the Hamas-held hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting in Gaza, according to U.S. officials.

One of the biggest sticking points is the number of hostages that will be released, according to an Israeli source.

The discussions remain fluid, the source said.

It's too soon to tell if a deal will come together, but people participating in negotiations have yet to throw in the towel, the U.S. officials said.

-ABC News' Shannon K. Crawford and Matt Gutman

Nov 16, 4:29 PM EST
State Department: 'Impossible' to safely evacuate patients from Al-Shifa Hospital

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller, who said earlier that the U.S. supported evacuating patients from Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital and was liaising with partners who could potentially carry that out, said Thursday the conditions in Gaza wouldn't allow for it.

"There are third parties that have expressed an interest to do so," he said, however, "it’s been impossible to ensure that they could move safely to conduct these evacuations."

He later specified that "the problem has been Hamas."

Miller again expressed confidence in U.S. intelligence supporting the assertion that Hamas was using Al-Shifa Hospital as cover for a command-and-control center.

Miller disagreed with the assertion that the evidence supplied by the Israel Defense Forces -- like weapons recovered from the hospital -- was not compelling.

“I saw a host of assault rifles," Miller said. "I’m not aware that there’s a sort of acceptable threshold level for assault rifles held in hospitals -- that’s not general humanitarian practice."

Miller later added, "It is an ongoing operation. I think people should wait until the operation is finished to draw their own conclusions.”

About 300 American citizens as well as approximately 600 legal, permanent U.S. residents and their eligible family members remain in Gaza, Miller said.

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford

Nov 16, 2:07 PM EST
Body of 65-year-old hostage found near Al-Shifa Hospital, IDF says

The body of Yehudit Weiss, a 65-year-old woman who was abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, was found at a "structure adjacent" to Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement Thursday.

Her body was "extracted" and "transferred to Israeli territory," the IDF said.

"In the structure in which Yehudit was located, military equipment including Kalashnikov rifles and [rocket-propelled grenades] were also found," the IDF said.

"For us, it is too late," Weiss' daughter-in-law told The Times of Israel. "But it is important for us to support all the families of the hostages, and to tell the world -- bring them home now."

Nov 16, 1:19 PM EST
IDF says it found Hamas intelligence material, information on hostages at Al-Shifa Hospital

The Israel Defense Forces said it's still operating at Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, searching the hospital floor-by-floor as doctors and patients remain sheltered inside.

The IDF said during its searches at the hospital forces have found Hamas intelligence material, weapons and information about the hostages.

Nov 16, 12:21 PM EST
Kirby says US 'still convinced of the soundness' of intelligence on Al-Shifa Hospital

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby reiterated that the U.S. is "still convinced of the soundness" of its intelligence that Hamas is using Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital as a command center.

"We have our own intelligence that convinces us that Hamas was using Al-Shifa as a command-and-control node, and most likely as well as a storage facility," Kirby said. "And they were sheltering themselves in a hospital, using the hospital as a shield against military action and placing the patients and medical staff at a greater risk. We are still convinced of the soundness of that intelligence."

ABC News' Molly Nagle

Nov 16, 12:11 PM EST
70% of people in southern Gaza have no clean water

Seventy percent of the population in southern Gaza had no access to clean water as of Wednesday, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, told Al Jazeera.

He said raw sewage is "starting to flow in the streets," and if fuel isn't brought into Gaza soon, he warned, "We run the risk to have to suspend the entire humanitarian operation."

Nov 16, 11:54 AM EST
What we know about the conflict

The war, which has now moved into its second stage, according to Israel, has passed the one-month mark.

In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured since Oct. 7, according to Israeli officials. In the neighboring Gaza Strip, at least 11,320 people have been killed and another 29,200 have been injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to call off the evacuation and agree to a cease-fire, even as the country has asserted a right to defend itself -- a right the United States endorses.

Nov 16, 10:53 AM EST
Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital 'a disaster,' doctor says

Dr. Sara Al Saqqa, a surgeon at Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, fled the hospital complex several days ago "because everything was pretty horrific and terrifying," she told ABC News.

She said most of her colleagues and patients evacuated the hospital, where Israeli troops are carrying out a dayslong raid, but she said nearly 100 doctors remain there, along with more than 700 patients and thousands of people seeking refuge.

"The situation now is a disaster at Al-Shifa," she said. "Israeli occupational forces have invaded Shifa Hospital with their tanks and destroyed most of the medical equipment there. … They shot a lot of people and they arrested more."

The Israeli army alleges that Hamas has placed its command centers under Al-Shifa and other hospitals in Gaza and is deliberately sheltering behind Palestinian civilians -- claims that the militant group denies.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. has intelligence that Hamas has used Gaza's hospitals, including Al-Shifa, to support its military operations and hold hostages.

Progress being made on deal to free at least 50 Hamas hostages: officials

The IDF's operations at the hospital are ongoing Thursday.

The Israelis said that they found explosives inside the medical complex, but Al Saqqa said the Israelis "didn't find the things that they are looking for because there is no military activity inside the hospital. And this is something that's obvious to all of us, the ones working there for several years."

Nov 16, 9:41 AM EST
Clashes intensify along Israel-Lebanon border amid fears of wider war

The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that its "soldiers struck a terrorist cell in Lebanon that attempted to launch anti-tank missiles toward Israeli territory."

"In addition, terrorists attempted to carry out a number of launches toward the area of Misgav Am in northern Israel, as well as IDF posts in the areas of Metula and Yiftah," the IDF said in a statement. "No injuries were reported."

"In response, IDF soldiers are striking with artillery fire toward the sources of the launches," the IDF added.

In recent weeks, there have been continued exchanges between Israeli forces and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border. Although the clashes remain within the notional 10-kilometer corridor along the shared border, they are now a daily occurrence and have intensified in recent days, which raises the potential for escalation as each side responds to the other's strikes.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been walking a delicate line with regard to the group's response to the latest outbreak of war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. In remarks made a couple weeks ago, Nasrallah effectively distanced himself from Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, saying it was wholly a Palestinian conceived, planned and undertaken operation. At the same time, he has pledged support to the Palestinians in their struggle amid Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip. He also said that Hezbollah had joined the fight against Israeli forces from Oct. 8 with strikes across the border, but ruled out a full-scale war at this time.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah has been scrupulously issuing regular statements taking responsibility for strikes on northern Israel and providing precise details.

The types of ordinance used in these cross-border strikes are also ramping up. The Lebanese Armed Forces recently posted on their official Facebook page "general guidelines for avoiding the dangers of phosphorus munitions." Lebanon has repeatedly accused Israel of using incendiary and phosphorus munitions in their attacks.

But Hezbollah's leader made clear in his speech last Saturday that the group does not want a war with Israel right now. Acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has indicated the same and has praised the patriotism and restraint of Hezbollah.

For now, there appears to be a slow-burn battle between Israel and Hezbollah but within the 10-kilometer corridor of the border and therefore contained. It's unclear how long that will last.

Nov 16, 8:52 AM EST
US 'hopeful' in securing release of remaining hostages, Kirby says

U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told ABC News on Thursday that "there's still working going on, literally by the hour," to secure the release of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"We've got folks on the ground. We've been talking to them, our negotiators are talking to their negotiators and we're working on this really, really hard," Kirby said during an interview on ABC News' Good Morning America.

"I don't have an announcement to make today," he added. "But, as the president said yesterday, we're hopeful that we can actually get a good result here."

Nov 16, 8:48 AM EST
US maintains Hamas is using Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital

During an interview Thursday on ABC News' Good Morning America, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby was asked whether Israel's raid on the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip was justified.

"Well, the raid, they're going in on the ground here. They're not bombing it," Kirby said. "They're going after the Hamas leadership that is there. This presents a real dilemma for them."

"Hamas is using that hospital as a command and control mode and as a way to store weapons, and even house their fighters. Israel has to do something about that threat," he continued. "But they also have an added burden of protecting the civilians, the medical staff, the doctors and the patients that are at that hospital. And they are trying hard to strike that balance."

Kirby told a press gaggle on Tuesday that the U.S. has intelligence that Hamas has used Gaza's hospitals, including Al-Shifa, to support its military operations and hold hostages.

Nov 16, 6:39 AM EST
IDF raid on Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital continues for second day

Israeli ground troops continued to carry out a raid on the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip for a second day.

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces told ABC News that, as of 1 p.m. local time on Thursday, soldiers were still inside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, some 34 hours after launching the raid.

The IDF spokesperson also confirmed that they found explosives inside the medical complex.

Nov 15, 5:46 PM EST
Negotiations progressing in hostage release deal, officials say

Negotiations are progressing towards a U.S. and Qatari-brokered hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas, according to multiple officials in the U.S. and Israel.

The potential deal could see Hamas free dozens of Israeli hostages taken on Oct. 7 in exchange for Israel's release of jailed Palestinians and occur during a multi-day cease-fire in Gaza, the officials said.

The contours of that deal are still being worked out, including how many Israeli hostages would be released and how long a cease-fire would last.

Multiple officials in the U.S. and Israel told ABC News that the current figure is at least 50 Israeli hostages -- women, children and the elderly -- would be released, though the exact number is not yet final. This would likely take place in batches, with hostages released in exchange for a yet unspecified number of Palestinian women and minors held in Israeli jails, the officials said.

The cease-fire could last between three and seven days though the length is being negotiated and remains a sticking point, the officials said.

There would be other Israeli concessions as well, potentially including the delivery of fuel into Gaza, according to the officials.

Two U.S. officials told ABC News that an agreement seems to be within reach, but that multiple similar proposals have fallen apart just before reaching the finish line in recent weeks.

-ABC News' Matt Gutman, Jordana Miller and Shannon K. Crawford

Nov 15, 5:03 PM EST
1st fuel truck enters Gaza

A fuel truck crossed the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into Gaza on Wednesday, marking the first time fuel entered Gaza since Oct. 7, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority said, according to The Associated Press.

Fuel has been drying up in Gaza as the war continued.

Smoke from shelling rises above the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Nov. 15, 2023.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine said their trucks -- which deliver aid from Egypt to Gaza -- ran out of fuel Tuesday.

In hospitals, a lack of fuel has prevented doctors for running incubators for babies.

And without fuel, many residents of Gaza have been trapped, unable to drive south toward the Egyptian border.

Nov 15, 3:39 PM EST
43 patients died in Al-Shifa Hospital as ICU oxygen ran out, doctor says

At Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, 43 out of the 63 intensive care patients have died as oxygen in the intensive care unit runs out, according to Dr. Ahmed Mokhallalati, head of the hospital's plastic surgery department.

Mokhallalati told ABC News the mission of burying bodies is ongoing as more people die inside and outside the hospital.

Mokhallalati said he could still hear the Israeli tanks at the hospital gates Wednesday night.

Nov 15, 2:42 PM EST
Over half of Gaza's hospitals are non-functional: WHO

Twenty-two of Gaza's 36 hospitals are now "non-functional," the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

The "14 hospitals remaining open have barely enough supplies to sustain critical and lifesaving surgeries and provide inpatient care," the WHO warned.

The organization in a statement reiterated its calls for a cease-fire, protection of civilians and "respect for international humanitarian law."

Nov 15, 2:01 PM EST
Operation at Al-Shifa hospital complex ongoing, IDF says

The Israel Defense Forces said its operation at Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital complex is ongoing.

The IDF said its forces "engaged with" and killed "a number of terrorists" when entering the hospital complex.

Following searches in the hospital, the IDF said its troops "located a room with technological assets, along with military and combat equipment used by the Hamas terrorist organization."

Palestinian journalist Khadr al Zanoon, who is at the hospital, told ABC News no fighting has taken place inside, but he can hear tanks outside.

He said Hamas fighters are not in the hospital but are in the area around it and are fighting with Israeli forces.

He said Israeli forces have detained some Palestinians who were inside the hospital.

The raid on Al-Shifa Hospital began early Wednesday around 3 a.m. local time, after Israeli forces had moved closer to the medical complex for several days.

Thousands of civilians, along with hundreds of patients -- most of whom are seriously ill -- have been sheltering at Al-Shifa, according to hospital staff and Gaza health officials.

Nov 15, 12:46 PM EST
Kirby says US did not give 'OK' on Israel's hospital operation

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby on Wednesday denied that the U.S. gave any "OK" for the Israeli operation at Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital.

"These are Israeli military operations that they plan and they execute on, you know, in accordance with their own established procedures, that the United States is not, was not, involved in," Kirby said.

He also denied that the U.S. confirming intelligence that Hamas uses the hospital as a control center had anything to do with the timing of the Israeli military operation at the hospital, which began only hours after Kirby's announcement.

Kirby also said Israel's hospital operation was "not a focus" of President Joe Biden's Tuesday night conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and would not say if the U.S. got a heads up about the operation.

"Again, we don't expect the Israelis to advise us or inform us when they are going to conduct operations," Kirby said. "We talked to them routinely every day, and certainly we talked to them about our continued concerns over civilian casualties and sharing our perspectives on the best way to minimize, but these are their operations."

ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky

Nov 15, 12:12 PM EST
Israeli forces have left Al-Shifa hospital complex, hospital director says

The director of Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital said Israeli forces have now left the hospital complex following an hourslong raid, but said "tanks and forces are completely stationed in its surroundings."

The raid on Al-Shifa Hospital began early Wednesday around 3 a.m. local time, after Israeli forces had moved closer to the medical complex for several days.

Thousands of civilians, along with hundreds of patients -- most of whom are seriously ill -- have been sheltering at Al-Shifa, according to hospital staff and Gaza health officials.

Nov 15, 10:01 AM EST

Al-Shifa Hospital doctor describes Israeli raid: 'They told us no one should look through the windows'

As Israeli ground forces continue to carry out an hour-long raid on the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, staff there told ABC News that none of the patients have been moved out.

There are about 600 patients admitted to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, many of whom are seriously ill or wounded. Thousands of other people have been sheltering in the vast medical complex amid Israel's bombardment of the area.

Speaking to ABC News via telephone from inside the hospital, Dr. Ahmed Mokhallalati described the moment Israeli troops arrived at the complex before dawn on Wednesday.

"They told us no one should look through the windows," said Mokhallalati, who is the head of the hospital's plastic surgery department.

"The whole situation is really horrible," he added. "They are just scaring everyone here."

ABC News' Dragana Jovanovic

Nov 15, 8:06 AM EST
IDF suggests it has not yet encountered Hamas fighters inside Al-Shifa Hospital

A senior Israeli defense official said Wednesday that so far Israeli troops have not engaged in combat inside Al-Shifa Hospital itself and suggested they have not yet encountered Hamas fighters within the vast medical complex, the largest in the Gaza Strip.

However, the Israel Defense Forces' ground operation at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City is ongoing and they have allegedly found evidence -- specifically weapons -- that Hamas, the militant group that rules the strip, is operating inside there, according to the official. More details will be revealed later Wednesday, the official said.

Hamas has since released a statement calling Israel's claim that it found weapons inside Al-Shifa Hospital "a blatant lie."

The senior Israeli defense official told reporters that Israeli soldiers went into Al-Shifa Hospital to destroy Hamas infrastructure, not to go after Hamas leaders.

The official noted that four Hamas fighters were killed near the medical complex as Israeli troops approached, but said they are still investigating if they came from inside the hospital.

The official said Israeli forces are currently operating only in "one area" of the hospital but warned that they will enter other areas as needed. The IDF has "no intention" of sending its soldiers to fight "among the patients or the active personnel of the hospital," according to the official.

The official told reporters that the hospital's youngest patients -- dozens of premature babies -- are in a building of the complex not where Israeli troops are currently operating. Israeli soldiers delivered incubators and baby food at the front gate of the hospital in hopes that the staff there would take them, according to the official.

The official declined to say where exactly Israeli forces were operating within the complex, citing operational security.

Al-Shifa Hospital was designed by Israeli architects decades ago and the IDF knows its layout well.

Nov 15, 5:50 AM EST
UN official 'appalled' by Israeli raid on Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital

The head of the United Nations' humanitarian relief operations condemned on Wednesday the Israeli military’s ongoing raid on the Gaza Strip's largest hospital, saying he is “appalled” by the reports of the operations.

"I'm appalled by reports of military raids in Al Shifa hospital in #Gaza. The protection of newborns, patients, medical staff and all civilians must override all other concerns. Hospitals are not battlegrounds," U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Nov 15, 5:23 AM EST
IDF continues hourslong raid on Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital

The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday morning that its ground troops are continuing to carry out "a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area" of the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip.

"The activity in this specified area is based on operational necessities, as well as intelligence information that indicates Hamas terrorist activity is being directed from the area," the IDF said in a statement. "Prior to their entry, the IDF troops encountered explosive devices and terrorist cells, and an engagement began in which terrorists were killed."

The raid on Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City began after midnight local time, after Israeli forces had moved closer to the medical complex for several days. Gaza's Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health said gunfire was heard on the hospital grounds and Israeli troops entered through the main building and the emergency department.

Thousands of civilians, along with hundreds of patients -- most of whom are seriously ill -- have been sheltering at Al-Shifa, according to hospital staff and Gaza health officials.

The IDF alleges that Hamas has placed its command centers under Al-Shifa and other hospitals in Gaza and is deliberately sheltering behind Palestinian civilians -- claims which the militant group denies.

The IDF said Wednesday that its troops "are conducting searches for Hamas terror infrastructure and weapons" at Al-Shifa Hospital. They also "delivered humanitarian aid to the entrance of the hospital," according to the IDF.

Doctors at Al-Shifa Hospital have been warning of its imminent collapse due to a lack of electricity as well as limited fuel and medical supplies.

Nov 14, 7:19 PM EST
IDF says it's carrying out 'targeted operation' in Al-Shifa Hospital

The Israel Defense Forces said they are carrying out a "precise and targeted operation against Hamas" in an area in the Al-Shifa Hospital.

"The IDF forces include medical teams and Arabic speakers, who have undergone specified training to prepare for this complex and sensitive environment, with the intent that no harm is caused to the civilians being used by Hamas as human shields," IDF said in a statement.

IDF called upon Hamas militants in the hospital to surrender.

The operation comes after IDF called for military activities in the hospital to "cease within 12 hours," IDF said, adding: "Unfortunately, it did not."

Nov 14, 6:35 PM EST
IDF says it will storm Al-Shifa Hospital soon, Gaza Health Ministry says

The Israel Defense Forces have informed the Gaza Health Ministry that they will storm the Al-Shifa Hospital in several minutes, Dr. Ashraf al Qadra, spokesman of the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, said on Al-Jazeera TV.

-ABC News' Nasser Atta

Nov 14, 5:53 PM EST
State Department grappling with dissent over US handling of conflict: Sources

State Department employees have sent multiple internal communications in recent days expressing concerns over the administration’s approach to the Israel-Hamas war, including at least one dissent cable, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

The dissent channel is a system that allows diplomats to confidentially register their opposition to specific policies with department leadership, but employees can also formally express their disagreement to high-level officials through other avenues.

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller confirmed Tuesday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent a department-wide email on Monday where he noted the tensions and different views among employees.

"He did address in that email...all the issues underlying our policy and made clear people understood what our policy is, just as he has done in meetings he’s had with a number of employees in the department," Miller told reporters.

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford

Nov 14, 4:29 PM EST
Nearly 1,000 Americans and family members still possibly waiting to leave Gaza: State Department

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Tuesday that just under 1,000 Americans and their family members may be waiting to leave Gaza, as hundreds have left so far through the Rafah border crossing.

"There are now over 600 American citizens and lawful permanent residents and their family members who have departed Gaza through Rafah gate," Miller said during a briefing. "There are a little under 1,000 that we know of that are left now whose departure we hope to facilitate over the coming days should they wish to depart."

The number of eligible individuals who may be looking to leave the enclave is higher than previously anticipated, based on previous State Department figures. Before the Rafah gate opened to outbound traffic, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said some 400 Americans and roughly 600 of their eligible family members were in contact with the department about leaving Gaza.

-ABC News' Shannon K. Crawford

Nov 14, 4:11 PM EST
Israel claims Hamas has 'lost control of Northern Gaza'

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said during a briefing Tuesday that "Hamas has lost control of Northern Gaza."

"We control Northern Gaza, especially Gaza City," Gallant said.

Gallant said the Israel Defense Forces have uncovered 500 tunnels, including in schools, mosques and hospitals, as it seeks to remove Hamas' leadership and military from Gaza.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Nov 14, 2:56 PM EST
Breakthrough in hostage deal could come in next 48-72 hours: Israeli source

A senior Israeli political source said Tuesday that progress has been made on a hostage deal and a breakthrough could come in the next 48-72 hours.

The Israeli War Cabinet is meeting Tuesday night to discuss the deal, the source said.

Israeli officials have said as many as 239 Israelis are being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Nov 14, 2:55 PM EST
US intelligence shows Hamas using hospitals to support military operations, hold hostages: Kirby

The U.S. has intelligence that shows Hamas has used hospitals in Gaza to support its military operations and hold hostages, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby confirmed Tuesday.

"I can confirm for you that we have information that Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, used some hospitals in the Gaza Strip -- including Al-Shifa -- and tunnels underneath them to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages," Kirby said during a gaggle on Air Force One.

Kirby said Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad operate a command and control node from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City where "they have stored weapons there, and they're prepared to respond to an Israeli military operation against that facility."

Kirby said the information comes from a "variety" of intelligence sourcing.

He cautioned again that these actions by Hamas "do not lessen Israel's responsibilities to protect civilians in Gaza."

"This is something that we obviously are going to continue to have an active conversation with our counterparts about," he said.

During a Pentagon briefing Tuesday, deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh described the information as an independent U.S. intelligence assessment and "newly downgraded information that we felt was important to get out today because there have been a lot of questions about the hospital and how Hamas operates."

Singh did not go into specifics on the intel but said "we feel very confident in our sourcing and what the intelligence community has gathered on this topic."

-ABC News' Justin Gomez and Luis Martinez

Nov 14, 2:42 PM EST
Fuel shortage stalls aid deliveries from Egypt into Gaza Strip, official says

A fuel shortage has stalled aid deliveries from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, a Rafah border crossing official told ABC News on Tuesday.

"No aid got in today because [the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees] trucks have no fuel," Wael Abu Omar, the Palestinian spokesman for the Rafah border crossing, said.

The UNRWA, which is responsible for receiving and distributing humanitarian aid coming from Egypt in Gaza, said Monday its trucks ran out of fuel and it would not be able to to receive aid coming through Rafah on Tuesday.

Tuesday marks the first day no aid trucks crossed into Gaza through Egypt since Oct. 21 amid the war.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said it received the last convoy of trucks from Egypt on Monday, including 155 trucks, following the UNRWA's announcement.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy

Nov 14, 12:28 PM EST
Mass grave dug inside Al-Shifa Hospital, official says

A mass grave has been dug inside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza to bury dozens of corpses after Israeli forces banned the Red Cross from collecting the bodies, according to Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, the director general of the Palestinian Health Ministry.

"There are approximately 100 corpses lying on the hospital courtyard that have rotted and decomposed," Al-Bursh told Al-Hadath TV on Tuesday, speaking from inside the hospital, the largest in Gaza. "We are walking on worms and we fear there will be an epidemic."

Medical staff and people sheltering inside the medical complex have dug a "large hole" to bury the dead bodies, he said. Dozens of other bodies stored in refrigerators at the facility will also be buried in the mass grave, he said.

"Israel tanks are at the gates of the hospital and we are burying bodies under gunfire and with tanks around," Al-Bursh said.

The hospital ceased to function on Saturday after it ran out of fuel, and staff and health ministry officials inside say the facility has been under siege by Israeli forces for five days, with drones and snipers firing into it.

"We are trying to dig a mass grave to bury the martyrs inside Al-Shifa Hospital. Our efforts to remove the bodies of the martyrs from Al-Shifa complex have failed," said Dr. Youssef Abu Al-Rish, undersecretary of the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.

Israeli officials have said Hamas is operating a command center from under the hospital, something denied by Hamas.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy and Morgan Winsor

Nov 14, 11:31 AM EST
Humanitarian corridor in Gaza is less than 1.5 miles long, Israeli officer says

One of two humanitarian corridors that the Israeli military has temporarily opened in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday is less than 1.5 miles long, according to an executive officer of an Israeli battalion in charge of the route.

The officer told ABC News that the corridor is a 2-kilometer stretch of Salah al-Din, the main highway connecting the north and south of Gaza. He said his troops have come under sniper fire and that "there were casualties."

The Israeli military has distributed leaflets directing civilians in the north to routes that take them to the corridors, offering safe passage to evacuate to the south of the war-torn enclave within a designated window of time on Tuesday.

ABC News' Matt Gutman, Becky Perlow and Juan Rentaria

Nov 14, 7:53 AM EST
IDF says it's offered to transfer incubators to Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces announced Tuesday morning that it "is in the process of coordinating the transfer of incubators from a hospital in Israel to Gaza."

"We are doing everything we can to minimize harm to civilians, assist in evacuation, and facilitate the transfer of medical supplies and food," the IDF wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. "Our war is not with the people of Gaza."

It was unknown whether the process to transfer incubators was underway and there was no confirmation of Israel's offer from health officials or medical staff in the Gaza Strip. It was also unclear how the incubators would be powered at Gaza's hospitals with little to no electricity and fuel.

The announcement came amid worldwide calls to save dozens of premature newborn babies at Gaza's second-largest hospital.

Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City had been struggling to run with limited fuel for days as doctors warn of its imminent collapse. On Friday, fighting in the area intensified and a strike hit the courtyard outside the hospital.

Three of the 39 babies that were being cared for in Al-Shifa's neonatal unit have died since their incubators stopped working on Saturday, according to the hospital's head of plastic surgery, Dr. Ahmed Mokhallalati. The hospital staff has been trying their best to look after them, swaddling them and using what power is left to heat the room they are in.

In recent days, several hospitals across Gaza said they have been under attack as heavy fighting occurs between Israeli troops and the militant group that rules the enclave, Hamas. The IDF alleges that Hamas has placed its command centers in tunnels under hospitals in Gaza and is deliberately sheltering behind Palestinian civilians -- claims which the group denies.

Nov 14, 5:11 AM EST
IDF announces two evacuation corridors open in Gaza on Tuesday

The Israel Defense Forces announced Tuesday the temporary opening of evacuation corridors in the war-torn Gaza Strip to allow more people in the north of the Hamas-run enclave to move south.

A "safe passage" will be open "for humanitarian purposes" via the Salah al-Din highway toward the area south of Wadi Gaza on Tuesday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time, according to the IDF.

The IDF said it will also temporarily suspend military activities "for humanitarian purposes" in the neighborhoods of Al-Daraj and Al-Tuffah on Tuesday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. local time.

"Please, for your safety, join the hundreds of thousands of residents who have moved south in recent days," the IDF said in a statement. "We encourage you to seize the time and move south!"

The IDF also urged Gaza residents to "not surrender to Hamas," alleging that the militant group "has lost control over the northern Gaza Strip area and is trying to do everything it can to prevent you from moving south and protect yourselves."

Nov 13, 8:36 PM EST
Israel claims to have evidence of Hamas headquarters at hospital

Israeli military officials brought several journalists, including ABC's Matt Gutman, into the Al-Rantisi Hospital inside Gaza, which had been hit with artillery.

The hospital, Gaza's sole children's hospital, was allegedly a Hamas command center, Israel’s chief military spokesperson Daniel Hagari, who led the tour, claimed.

The hospital was surrounded by Israeli tanks from Thursday into Friday, the director of Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital said on Friday.

Inside the basement of the hospital, which officials said has been evacuated, were abandoned AK-47s, grenades and what Hagari said were suicide vests. In another room of the basement was a chair where Hagari claims a hostage was kept.

The spokesperson said the Israeli military was set to detonate the grenades and vests they claim they found inside and a forensic team was going to probe the hospital for more evidence.

The tour came after the hospital's resources deteriorated due to nearby attacks, according to UNICEF.

The hospital’s operations almost ceased between Thursday and Friday, according to UNICEF.

By Friday, Al-Rantisi Hospital had only a small generator powering the intensive care and neonatal intensive care units, UNICEF said.

Remains, wreckage found in search for crashed Osprey in Yakushima, Japan, US Air Force says

Posted today at 5:13am

(YAKUSHIMA, Japan) -- Wreckage and remains were discovered from the CV-22 Osprey that crashed last week off the shore of Yakushima Island, Japan, the U.S. Air Force said Monday.

The remains of five crew members were found, but have not yet been identified, in the vicinity of Yakushima, the Air Force said. U.S. and Japan are working together to recover the remains of the Nov. 29 crash.

"Currently two crew members of the five located today have been successfully recovered by the attending teams," the Air Force said Monday. "There is an ongoing combined effort to recover the remaining crew members from the wreckage."

The identities of those found on Monday "have yet to be determined and will be released at a later date," officials said.

Eight crew members were onboard when the aircraft crashed. The remains of U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob "Jake" M. Galliher, 24, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, were recovered on Dec. 1.

The other seven crew members were last in DUSTWUN status, meaning "duty status-whereabouts unknown."

"The main priority is bringing the Airmen home and taking care of their family members. Support to, and the privacy of, the families and loved ones impacted by this incident remains AFSOC's top priority," Air Force officials said in a press release.

ABC News' Chad Murray and Kevin Shalvey contributed to this story.

3 commercial ships attacked in Red Sea; Houthis claim responsibility, citing Israel-Hamas war

Posted yesterday at 2:24pm

Oguz Yeter/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) -- Three commercial ships came under attack in the international waters of the Red Sea on Sunday, U.S. military officials said -- as Houthi militants claimed responsibility for the latest incursion in the Middle East, where tensions have been high since the Israel-Hamas war began.

"These attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security," U.S. Central Command said in a statement. "They have jeopardized the lives of international crews representing multiple countries around the world."

A major shipping lane runs through the sea, between Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Since Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel sparked the war, there have been a number of missile attacks from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen on ships in the Red Sea, the Pentagon has said.

Officials on Sunday laid blame with Iran.

"We ... have every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran. The United States will consider all appropriate responses in full coordination with its international allies and partners," CENTCOM said.

U.S. forces have been repeatedly attacked by Iran-backed proxies in Iraq and Syria since the Israel-Hamas war began, according to the Pentagon, and American forces have carried out multiple retaliatory strikes as a result.

The three commercial ships, or merchant vessels, were identified in Sunday's statement as the Unity Explorer, which is U.K.-owned but flagged (or registered) in the Bahamas; the Number 9, which is flagged in Panama and owned and operated in Bermuda and the U.K.; and the Sophie II, which is also registered in Panama.

The missile attacks were carried out over the course of more than seven hours on Sunday, according to CENTCOM: first on the Unity Explorer, though that missile detonated nearby; and a second time on the Unity Explorer, which took "minor damage" from that strike. The Number 9 was then struck by a missile and about an hour later, the Sophie II was also hit.

No casualties were reported, according to CENTCOM.

The USS Carney, a Navy destroyer that has been patrolling in the area, intercepted and shot down two drones from Houthi areas of Yemen while assisting the vessels on Sunday, CENTCOM said.

The warship took no damage. It's not clear if the Carney -- which has intercepted multiple such missiles in the previous weeks -- was the intended target of the drones.

In a statement, the Houthis said they had targeted two of the commercial ships because they were linked to Israelis and had "rejected warning messages" from Houthi forces.

A U.S. official told ABC News that some of the commercial vessels involved are believed to have connections to Israel.

The Houthis will "continue to prevent Israeli ships from navigating the Red and Arab Seas until the Israeli aggression against our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip stops," the statement continues, referring to the conflict with Hamas after its terror attack.

ABC News' Nasser Atta contributed to this report.

Seven crew members remain missing after US Osprey crash that killed One: Japan Coast Guard

Posted Saturday afternoon

Riccardo Niccoli/Stocktrek Images/Getty Images/STOCK

(KAGOSHIMA, Japan) -- The search for the seven crew members missing after a U.S. military Osprey crashed off the shore of Yakushima Island in southern Japan has yielded no new clues, the Japanese Coast Guard said Saturday.

Dive searches were conducted in areas identified by side-scan sonar, both in the morning and afternoon, yet no new information has surfaced after the CV-22 Osprey aircraft crashed on Wednesday, the 10th Regional Coast Guard told ABC News.

At least one U.S. airman who had been onboard the aircraft was recovered from the ocean and later died, Japanese officials said.

The airman was identified by the Air Force on Friday as Staff Sgt. Jacob "Jake" M. Galliher, 24, a direct support operator assigned to the 43rd Intelligence Squadron.

The crash took place during a "routine training mission," according to the U.S. Air Force, which added that the cause is currently unknown.

The Osprey, a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or VTOL, is manufactured by Bell Boeing.

The search, involving patrol vessels, is scheduled to continue Sunday.

Why Hamas could emerge stronger militarily from the temporary cease-fire with Israel

Posted Friday afternoon

Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) -- While much attention has been paid to the humanitarian relief enabled by the weeklong truce between Hamas and Israel, national security experts note that the pause may have given Hamas the opportunity to strengthen and resupply its forces for when hostilities resumed Friday.

The truce has led to the successful release of dozens of Israeli and other foreign hostages and hundreds of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons. But both Israeli and U.S. officials had previously advocated for "pauses" in the fighting instead of a general cease-fire, suggesting publicly in the weeks before the truce that a general cease-fire would benefit Hamas.

However, as those short-term pauses were extended daily over the past week, they amounted to at least a temporary cease-fire.

The concern was that Hamas would emerge strengthened so its forces could respond to Israel's devastating ground and aerial assault in northern Gaza, and potentially in southern Gaza, where many of the enclave's 2 million civilian residents are now located after heeding Israel's warnings to leave northern Gaza before Israeli forces attacked there.

Those questions of whether Hamas has benefited from the temporary truce may be answered soon as Israel resumed its offensive operations on Friday by launching airstrikes in the Gaza Strip after it said Hamas had violated the terms of the cease-fire.

Earlier this week, a U.S. top national security spokesman acknowledged "a real risk" that Hamas may have benefited from the daily truce extensions to enable the continued transfer of Israeli and other foreign hostages and Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons.

"We are watching that closely and our Israeli counterparts, you can bet [they] are watching that closely," John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman told White House reporters on Monday.

"I would just say that without getting into intelligence issues that any pause in the fighting could benefit your enemy in terms of time to refit, to rest your fighters, to rearm them, re-equip them," said Kirby. "A pause in the fighting can be seen as a benefit but again, I want to stress this was always part of the calculus."

That calculus weighed against the benefits Israel and the U.S. would gain from the return of hostages held by Hamas, according to Kirby.

Mick Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East and ABC News contributor, described the pause in fighting as a "net win" for Hamas "both militarily and politically."

"I believe Israel knew this would be the case, but it was worth it for them to recover their hostages," he added.

Mulroy and other national security analysts who spoke with ABC News concur that Hamas has likely used the temporary truce to refit, re-arm, and reposition its forces in Gaza.

"This has stopped the IDF's momentum, allowing Hamas to maneuver to gain a tactical advantage," according to Mulroy.

There have been 15,000 people killed in Gaza and 36,000 injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 have been injured, according to the Israeli prime minister's office.

While the scale of the destruction to buildings in northern Gaza caused by Israel's airstrikes and ground offensive is very visible, what is uncertain is how much of Hamas' military infrastructure has been destroyed.

"One of the disadvantages that we have is we actually don't know how much of the military apparatus of Hamas has been destroyed or dismantled," said retired U.S. Army Gen. Robert Abrams, former commander of U.S. Forces Korea and an ABC News contributor.

"We don't know how many command posts have been destroyed. We don't know how much of their arms, ammunition, or explosives have been captured or destroyed. The longer there's a cease-fire, it's going to give Hamas an opportunity to rearm, rethink, and reestablish," Abrams said.

But the pause also likely brings risks for Hamas, according to Eric Oehlerich, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL and ABC News contributor, who believes the hostages returned to Israel could have provided intelligence useful to Israel's military.

"When debriefed by IDF planners, the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will now have increased information on 'how' they were being held. Potentially, 'where' can be figured out if the IDF planners are deliberate and smart, and the hostages most importantly will be able to talk about Hamas' status, motivation, fears etc." said Oehlerich.

But Israeli intelligence gains may have been offset by Israel's agreement to stop flying reconnaissance drones above Gaza at specific times during the truce, Oehlerich added.

"They're going to make their own assessment of where the Israelis are going to strike next. They're going to position their forces to try and not be where they don't want to be and to try and put themselves in a position where they can attack or slow down the Israelis. So, I am sure there is some very furious activity going on," he said.

"Israeli use of overhead surveillance, which they're very good at, is going to be diminished during this time," retired Army Lt. Gen. William Troy told ABC News, speaking while the cease-fire was still in effect. "I would guess that it might frustrate some IDF commanders on the ground, but that's what they're going to have to contend with."

"I'm sure a lot of their weapons are in storage areas that maybe have not been accessible, but now that the Israelis can't fly surveillance all the time, they can get to those places and then they can reposition their forces," Troy added.

Regardless of the success of continued diplomatic efforts to continue the daily truces that have enabled the hostage and detainee exchanges, he said both sides have learned from the previous weeks of fighting in northern Gaza.

"Both sides have already taken lessons as to what works and what doesn't work, and both sides will be trying to adjust their tactics and employ different weapons in different ways," said Troy. "And they will quickly disseminate that information to their forces. And then, when this picks up again -- and it seems like it's inevitable that it will -- they'll try to employ those lessons."

Palestinian brothers freed under Israel-Hamas temporary truce agreement thrilled to be home, but wary about ongoing practice of detentions

Posted Friday morning

(NEW YORK) -- Palestinian teenage brothers Nasrallah, 17, and Qassam Al-Awar, 18, still can't believe they're home after being imprisoned by the Israeli government for 17 months.

"I didn't know my name was on the list until 30 minutes before I was released," Qassam Al-Awar told ABC News Tuesday. "I still couldn't believe it until I arrived here and saw my house."

The two brothers were released on Sunday as part of the recent humanitarian pause agreement struck between Israel and Hamas. So far, 210 Palestinian prisoners and detainees have been released. Meanwhile, Hamas has released 102 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

"We were thrilled to see our families and friends again, but we're torn because of what's happening in Gaza," Nasrallah Al-Awar said.

The brothers expressed wariness about the ongoing Israeli practice of arresting and detaining Palestinian civilians, which has garnered renewed attention amid the hostage-prisoner exchange deal, with human rights groups underscoring what they say is a lack of due process.

The brothers said they had their first run-in with Israeli police at just 5 and 6 years old when they were detained for a few hours, and then released. They were again arrested in 2022 for what they say was an altercation with Israeli settlers in their East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan.

According to a list of 300 Palestinian prisoners eligible for release made public by the Israeli government, some of the offenses they were initially accused of include "supporting terrorism" and "negligently causing damage to property." The brothers told ABC News they denied those allegations.

In civil court, Qassam Al-Awar was sentenced to 30 months in prison, and Nasrallah Al-Awar to 26 months.

And while offenses like "supporting terrorism" may sound more serious, rights groups say they're often open to interpretation.

Human rights groups warn the Israeli judicial system lacks basic due process protections.

"A lot of the charges in the military justice system are vaguely defined and leave a lot of discretion, in particular to military officials who are the judges and prosecutors in these cases to interpret them as they wish, including vague charges like supporting terrorism, like endangering public security, like disrupting public order," Sari Bashi, program director at Human Rights Watch in the West Bank, told ABC News.

“When you don’t have due process, then the authorities can try children for anything and everything,” she added.

According to Bashi, of the estimated 7,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees being held by Israel, about 2,000 are people in pretrial detention, more than 2,000 were convicted of "security crimes," and over 2,000 are being held without being charged in "administrative detention," which is when someone is held under the presumption they might commit a criminal offense in the future.

The Israeli government has not responded to ABC News' request for comment on detained Palestinians or its detention policies without due process.

And then there are the hundreds of Palestinians who are detained without ever being charged and without trial, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club. The group also reports an uptick in the number of recent arrests: over 3,365 Palestinians have been arrested since the war broke out.

Among Palestinians released from Israeli prisons who ABC News spoke to, they described dire conditions, which they say worsened after the beginning of the war.

"From the first day, it was humiliating -- beating us, threatening us with our house, that they will demolish our house. It got even worse after Oct. 7th," Qassam Al-Awar said, referring to the day Hamas launched a surprise terror attack on Israel, precipitating the current war.

In the Gaza Strip, more than 15,000 people have been killed and over 36,000 have been wounded by Israeli forces since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas Government Media Office.

In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured by Hamas and other Palestinian militants since Oct. 7, according to Israeli officials.

"We weren't surprised; this is occupation. They don't respect anyone, the young, the old," Nasrallah Al-Awar said.

Despite being freed, the brothers said they fear for others in the ongoing war and if anything will change.

"We want to live in peace but the situation does not allow that," Nasrallah Al-Awar said. "They demolish our houses, beat us up and crack down on us."

"Even those who have not been imprisoned are afraid," he said. "Some people are helpless. Like me, 24 hours before [the arrest] I would only go from my home to the school, and from school back home. From school to work, from work to school, from school to home. I would not go anywhere. Even if I went out, I’d visit friends at their home, not on the street."

The two are now spending time at home, with friends and family stopping by to celebrate their return. Nasrallah Al-Awar said he's most excited to go back to school, since he couldn't study in jail and is about to graduate. However, he said his future remains uncertain.

"I'm afraid what happened to me will happen to others, or that they will arrest us again," he said.

The brother did not comment on Hamas' actions on Oct. 7.

Death of world's 'saddest' elephant shines light on zoo animal welfare

Posted Friday morning

Josefiel Rivera/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

(LONDON) -- Mali, an elephant dubbed as the world's "saddest" has died at a Philippine Zoo, Manila's Mayor Honey Lacuna has announced.

Vishwa Ma'ali -- commonly known as Mali -- was the only captive elephant in the Philippines. She passed away aged 43.

"Just to set the record straight, Mali died yesterday at 3:45 pm here at Manila Zoo," Honey Lacuna announced during a news conference on Wednesday. "She is about 43 years old. She was given to city government of Manila in 1981 by the Sri Lankan government."

Tributes have poured in for Mali in the Philippines and on social media, many sharing their memories seeing the Asian elephant, considered one of Manila Zoo' "star attractions."

Often referred to as the "world's saddest elephant," Mali was a resident at the Manila Zoo for over 40 years. Manila zoo's chief veterinarian announced Mali died from pancreatic cancer, as well as a blockage in her aorta.

At the start of the week Manila Zoo's chief veterinarian Dr. Heinrich Pena-Domingo said the zoo spotted indicators that Mali was in pain and the elephant spotted repeatedly rubbing her trunk against a wall. She was administered with antihistamines and vitamins but died shortly after on Tuesday afternoon. "We were her family," said Pena-Domingo.

Through the years, Mali has been the focal point of a global relocation campaign and her captivity has drawn the attention of animal welfare activists and organizations around the world. In a statement sent to ABC News, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said Mali "suffered" for decades in confinement.

"World-renowned elephant experts, and [other] people from around the world all pleaded for her release to a sanctuary, where she could have enjoyed the company of other elephants," said PETA. "The Manila Zoo and the City of Manila sentenced Mali to decades of solitary confinement – torture for female elephants, who in nature spend their lives among their mothers and sisters, protecting one and other and raising each other's calves."

In 2013, the Beatles' Paul McCartney penned a letter to then-Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, calling on Mali's release to a sanctuary on health grounds following news on her ailing plight.

"I have great regard for governments that intervene in behalf of animals, just as yours did with the May 2012 directive ordering that Mali be evaluated and considered for transfer," McCartney said at the time. "With the stroke of a pen, you can bring an end to her suffering, and I urge you, with all my heart, to please direct that Mali be given that joy now."

According to researchers, the median life expectancy for a female Asian elephant is around 47 years old.

Animal welfare organization Four Paws tells ABC News that common behavior in captive elephants include pacing, rocking their bodies back and forth, repeatedly weaving or bobbing their head or swinging their trunks.

"Many suffer from injuries or diseases associated with captive conditions, such as foot infections and musculoskeletal disorders," the organization said. "For an elephant to spend their life alone is akin to a person living their life in isolated confinement."

"She might seem alone, but she had us beside her," Lacuna said. "She was the face that greeted everyone who visited Manila Zoo. She is a part of our lives."

Why it matters what happens at COP28, the UN climate conference being held in Dubai

Posted Thursday morning

(NEW YORK) -- The most important discussions around climate change are set to begin in the United Arab Emirates, where world leaders, scientists and environmental advocates will discuss strategies for best ways to efficiently mitigate climate change in the coming years.

The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP28, kicks off Thursday in Dubai. The conference is the forefront of establishing ambitious policies at a global scale to promote the rapid mitigation of warming temperatures.

The awareness and accountability that established at the climate conference is one of its most important purposes, experts told ABC News.

In 2023, headline after headline from scientific reports confirmed how the effects of climate change are already here. Earlier this month, the Fifth National Climate Assessment, issued every five years by the U.S. government, found that climate change is making it harder to "maintain safe homes and healthy families." Earth capped off its hottest 12-month span on record at the close of October, a report by nonprofit Climate Central that analyzed international climate data found. And a study published in Nature Climate Change in October found that the planet may be unable to remain below the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming at current emissions projections.

Extreme weather events such as record-breaking wildfires, coastal erosion, more intense storms and droughts have been plaguing regions all over the world in recent years.

"Everybody in the world has, in the last year, seen the effects of climate change," Austin Whitman, CEO and founder of The Change Climate Project, a nonprofit that aims to drive the demand for voluntary decarbonization, primarily with consumer brands, told ABC News.

This is why COP28 will be integral in the fight against climate change.

What is COP28?

COP stands for Conference of the Parties, referring to the annual meeting of countries that are part of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This year is the 28th time they have met, which is why it is called COP28.

This body has been responsible for the most significant international steps on addressing climate change, including the Paris Agreement and the Kyoto Protocol.

A growing awareness to the effects of climate change is what makes this year's climate conference different, Whitman said.

"Unfortunately, that's a function of global temperatures rising to levels that they've never seen before," he said. "This cop is especially important, just given that the urgency is now being felt by people every day."

The world cannot afford to "kick the can down the road any longer," Jean Flemma, director of Ocean Defense Initiative, a marine conservation nonprofit, told ABC News.

"We have seen the implications of climate change happening right now in real time before our eyes: the flooding this summer, the heat waves, the droughts," she said. "It's all happening, and we need to act. It is urgent that we act now."

Who's in charge of the climate conference?

The United Arab Emirates is hosting COP28. The summit rotates through different parts of the world, and the UEA successfully won the bid to host this year.

The president-designate of the conference is Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, who also serves as CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

There has been intense criticism that Al Jaber's role with a fossil fuel company is a conflict of interest with the climate conference. There have also been reports that the UAE has used the COP28 meetings to broker oil deals, Al Jaber denied those allegations on Wednesday.

"These allegations are false, not true, incorrect and not accurate," Al Jaber told journalists during a live news conference, according to The Associated Press.

Al Jaber has defended the role of fossil fuel industry representatives in the talks, saying they must also be held accountable. As president of COP28, his role will be to coordinate the summit and keep the final agreement on track.

In a statement in January, after he was designated as president-designate, Al Jaber said, "The UAE is approaching COP28 with a strong sense of responsibility and the highest possible level of ambition."

Al Jaber echoed that statement on Wednesday.

"Please for once, respect who we are, respect what we have achieved over the years and respect the fact that we have been clear open and clean and honest and transparent on how we want to conduct this COP process," he said.

"There was a lot of talk about marching into the lion's den," Whitman said of the host country's ties to the oil industry. "You're basically trying to negotiate agreements, to curb carbon emissions in a country whose economy is a hundred percent driven by fossil fuels which generate carbon emissions."

What is on the schedule at COP28?

The conference officially begins on Thursday, but the main events will occur on Friday and Saturday, with statements from world leaders in attendance. The summit is scheduled to end on Dec. 12, but these talks famously go into overtime and wrap later than scheduled.

U.S. President Joe Biden is not expected to attend, but Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry and Vice President Kamala Harris will represent the U.S. The presidents of Israel and Palestine are expected to speak early Friday morning, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also speak later that day.

What's on the climate conference agenda?

The biggest ticket item this year is the global stocktake, the first official "report card" for how well countries are doing at meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. The short answer is, the world is far off track.

Recent reports from the U.N. and independent groups have pointed to a major gap between countries’ promises on reducing emissions and scaling up clean energy, and what needs to happen to fulfill the Paris Agreement goals to limit warming to 1.5℃. This includes tripling the amount of renewable energy by 2030.

"Greenhouse gas emissions are still rising," Flemma said. "The promises that countries have made to cut pollution remain, at this point, insufficient to address the risks of warming."

The dream of a broadly and globally coordinated policy is likely no longer a reality, as the last move in that direction occurred in 2015 when the Paris Agreement was enacted, Whitman said. The U.S. also needs to take a look at drastically reducing its own emissions, since it is the second-largest emitter in the world, Flemma said.

"What we'll see is smaller bilateral agreements between countries," he said. "We'll see pledges and promises made by companies to take voluntary action. We'll see hopefully loud voices from activists standing up for folks who aren't heard from typically in the main stage at these conferences."

Fossil fuels will be at the center of that debate with conversations about whether to move to phase them out as quickly as possible or lean on technologies like carbon capture to reduce their emissions. There will likely be a lot of talks and disagreement around specific language like "phase out" or "phase down," but ultimately it comes down to questions about whether fossil fuel-supporting countries are going to make significant steps to move away from coal, oil and gas.

There will also be conversations about the role of carbon capture and nuclear energy in achieving global climate goals.

Finance is another big item on the agenda. Last year, at COP27, the parties agreed to create a fund to help developing countries with irrevocable losses linked to climate change -- known as "loss and damage." Developing countries are expected to lose between $290 and $580 billion per year by 2030, so COP attendees will be pushing for richer countries to contribute much more to that fund.

There will also be a lot of attention on any deal negotiated between the U.S. and China as the biggest emitters, with many expected to keep an eye on how global tensions around the wars between Israel and Palestine or Russia and Ukraine affect the talks.

United Nations: 2023 set to be hottest year on record

Posted Thursday morning

(LONDON) -- There may still be an entire month to go in 2023 but the United Nations announced on Thursday that 2023 is set to be the warmest on record.

“While 2023 is not yet over, a provisional report from the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed that it is set to be the warmest on record, with global temperatures rising 1.4 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, according to a statement from the U.N. released on Thursday.

The world is heating up at an unprecedented pace, according to new climate data, and U.N. chief António Guterres called on leaders who are gathered for the COP28 conference -- which opened in Dubai on Thursday -- to get us out of “deep trouble.”

“We are living through climate collapse in real time – and the impact is devastating,” he warned in a video statement accompanying the launch of the report on the first day of this year’s annual U.N. climate talks.

Guterres said that the race is on to keep alive the 1.5-degree limit agreed by world leaders in Paris in 2015 but that the challenges remain as potent as ever.

According to the new report, the maximum Antarctic Sea ice extent for the year was one million square kilometres less than the previous record low, at the end of southern hemisphere winter.

Meanwhile, glaciers in western North America and the European Alps also experienced an “extreme melt season.”

“From deadly Cyclone Daniel in Libya in September to devastating floods in the Horn of Africa following five consecutive seasons of drought and severe smoke pollution from Canada’s forest blazes, [the] report highlights the grim effects of climate upheaval on lives, health and livelihoods,” the U.N. said in their statement.

“These are more than just statistics,” said World Meteorological Organization chief Petteri Taalas, as he called for action to “limit the risks of an increasingly inhospitable climate in this and the coming centuries.”

However, the report indicated that carbon dioxide levels are now 50% above the pre-industrial era and that the gas’ long lifetime “means that temperatures will continue to rise for many years to come.”

“Record global heat should send shivers down the spines of world leaders,” Guterres said. “And it should trigger them to act.”

Guterres pointed to the existing roadmap to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and urged governments to set “clear expectations” for the next round of climate action plans and invest in their implementation.

Meanwhile, as the COP 28 conference gets underway, the plan is to do the first-ever “global stocktake” to assess collective progress on cutting emissions and ramping up adaptation efforts and support to developing countries hard hit by a warming climate, according to the U.N.

The UN Secretary-General said that countries must “go further and faster in protecting people from climate chaos.”

This includes ensuring that every person on Earth is covered by early warnings against extreme weather by 2027 and operationalizing a “loss and damage fund” to assist vulnerable hit hard by floods, droughts and other climate disasters with “generous, early contributions” from richer nations, he said.

“Developed countries must honour the promise to deliver $100 billion per year in climate finance, which was first made at COP15 in 2009, and double the amount of funding going towards adaptation efforts,” the U.N. said.

The U.N. climate conference will take place from Thursday until Dec. 12 in Dubai and is the 28th Conference of Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which entered into force in 1994. Over 60,000 delegates are expected to attend, including the member states of the UNFCCC, industry leaders, youth activists and representatives of indigenous communities.

US military aircraft crashes off Japan's coast, officials say

Posted Wednesday morning

(NEW YORK) -- A U.S. military Osprey aircraft carrying eight airmen crashed off the Japanese coast at about 3 p.m. Wednesday, U.S. officials said.

The crash took place during a "routine training mission," according to the U.S. Air Force, which added that the cause is currently unknown.

At least one airman who had been on board was located, Japanese officials said, although there was no immediate confirmation on the person's condition.

"The crew's conditions are unknown at this time," the U.S. Air Force added.

Japanese officials had previously said six people were on board the CV-22B Osprey.

The Japan Coast Guard deployed search and rescue vessels to the area off Kagoshima prefecture in southern Japan.

The wreckage of the aircraft was spotted at about 4 p.m., about an hour after the crash had been reported, in the water southeast of the airport on Yakushima Island, officials said.

The search continued into the night on Wednesday, with Coast Guard ships and helicopters active in the search area at about 7 p.m. local time.

The Osprey, a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or VTOL, is manufactured by Bell Boeing.

An Osprey crash in Australia in August killed three U.S. service members, Marine officials said. In June 2022, an Osprey crash killed five Marines in Glamis, California. Four U.S. Marines were killed in March 2022 in an Osprey crash during training exercises in Norway.

ABC News' Anthony Trotter and Joe Simonetti contributed to this story.

US warns Israel to fight in a more targeted way in Gaza, officials say

Posted about a week ago

Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) -- The U.S. is warning Israel to fight in a more targeted way once the pause ends in order to avoid displacing more Palestinians and worsening the humanitarian crisis, senior administration officials say.

If the sort of displacement that happened in northern Gaza happens in the south -- where Israeli forces are now on the ground -- it would cause a crisis beyond the ability of any humanitarian support network, one official said on a call with multiple officials and reporters Monday evening, noting it would be "beyond disruptive."

The current pause in fighting was brokered to enable the release of some of the more than 200 people taken hostage during Hamas' Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel in exchange for Palestinians released from Israeli prisons.

"You cannot have the sort of scale of displacement that took place in the north replicated in the south," the senior administration official said on the call. "It can't happen, which means that the manner of the campaign has to be extremely carefully thought through to minimize this consequence of further, significant displacement."

The Biden administration has strongly backed Israel in its right to defend itself and in Israel's stated mission to eradicate Hamas terrorists in response to the Oct. 7 attack. But with mounting criticism over the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza under Israel's offensive, the Biden administration has been steadily increasing its warnings to Israeli officials about retraining their military operations, and the latest statements from U.S. officials mark some of the most forceful warnings yet.

Israel had previously instructed Gazans to evacuate from northern Gaza, where the majority of the fighting has been focused, to the south to minimize civilian casualties.

"We have reinforced this in very clear language with the government of Israel -- very important that the conduct of the Israeli campaign, when it moves to the south, must be done in a way that is to a maximum extent not designed to produce significant further displacement of persons," the official added.

The official also said the U.S. has made clear to Israel that the U.S. expects the increased amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza to continue even when the fighting resumes, adding that the surge in aid is not contingent on hostage releases.

The official said the Israeli military campaign should not impact the ability of aid to get into Gaza or the operations of hospitals or U.N.-supported shelters throughout south and central Gaza.

Israel seems to be "receptive" in conversations with the U.S., the official said.

"There is an understanding that a different type of campaign has to be conducted in the south than was conducted in the north," the official said.

Israel has vowed to resume the war with "full force" when the pause is over.

The White House has said the administration believes there are eight or nine Americans still being held hostage, but officials stress the lack of information. U.S. officials do not know where these Americans are, who is holding them, their conditions -- or even whether they're alive.

Separately, a second official told ABC News that CIA Director Bill Burns visited Qatar on Tuesday for meetings with Qatari officials as well as his Israeli and Egyptian counterparts. The conversations include discussions on the hostages, that source said.

U.S. officials have maintained that Israel has the right to defend itself. However, they have been increasingly emphasizing the need to protect civilian life, allow passages for humanitarian aid and consider how any actions could impact the hundreds of hostages Israeli officials say Hamas seized following the Oct. 7 terror attacks.

Eight-hundred trucks have gone into Gaza during the first days of the pause, officials said, which is a huge increase from the days prior. Two-thousand trucks have gone into Gaza in total so far, meaning that 40% of the aid trucks have gotten to Gaza in just the last four days.

However, the United Nations says that some communities in northern Gaza have been cut off from aid for weeks and the current aid "barely registers against the huge needs of 1.7 million displaced people."

"The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is getting worse by the day," said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general.

ABC News' Zoe Magee and Cindy Smith contributed to this report.

Virgin Atlantic makes maiden transatlantic flight using 100% green fuel

Posted about a week ago

(LONDON) -- The Virgin Boeing 787 took off from London’s Heathrow Airport en route to New York on Tuesday.
Virgin Atlantic just became the first airline to power a transatlantic flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuel.

The Boeing 787 passenger jet – dubbed Flight 100 – left London's Heathrow Airport Tuesday morning bound for John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, with Virgin Atlantic billionaire founder Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic Chief Executive Shai Weiss, and U.K. Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper on board, Reuters reported.

The flight marks the first time a commercial long-haul flight was powered using only sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). It's scheduled to land at JFK at 2:40 p.m. EST.

The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority granted permission for Virgin Atlantic and its partners, including Rolls-Royce, Boeing and BP, to fly using only SAF following a series of technical reviews last year.

Sustainable aviation fuel is a low-carbon energy source made from non-petroleum feedstocks, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Intended to reduce emissions from air transportation, sustainable aviation fuel has properties similar to conventional jet fuel, but with a smaller carbon footprint.

"Flight 100 proves that Sustainable Aviation Fuel can be used as a safe, drop-in replacement for fossil-derived jet fuel and it's the only viable solution for decarbonizing long haul aviation," Virgin Atlantic's Weiss said in a statement. "It's taken radical collaboration to get here and we're proud to have reached this important milestone, but we need to push further."

The fuel used for Tuesday's flight was a blend of mostly processed cooking oil and waste animal fat, according to Virgin Atlantic. The fuel also contained 12% synthetic aromatic kerosene that was made from waste corn.

The low-carbon fuel is expected to keep the airline industry running on lower emissions before electric and hydrogen-powered flights become a reality. It is already being used in jet engines, but is blended with traditional fuel.

Air travel accounted for 2% of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2022, according to the International Energy Agency.

"The world will always assume something can't be done, until you do it," Branson said in a statement about Tuesday's flight. "The spirit of innovation is getting out there and trying to prove that we can do things better for everyone's benefit."

Ukrainian forces under intense pressure in key eastern battle

Posted about a week ago

(NEW YORK) -- Ukrainian forces are under intense pressure around a strategically important city in eastern Ukraine, where the Russian military has made some of its greatest gains this year, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defense.

Over the last two months Russia has been assaulting heavily fortified Ukrainian positions around Avdiivka, which is situated just a few miles north of Donetsk, the largest Russian-occupied city in eastern Ukraine.

Since the beginning of October Russian forces have advanced by more than a mile, however U.K. officials claimed the Russian units involved have sustained "thousands of casualties" during that period.

It is impossible for independent journalists to verify the numbers of casualties sustained by either side in the war, however ABC News has verified some videos of the fighting around Avdiivka which appear to show significant numbers of destroyed Russian armored vehicles.

A Ukrainian official confirmed to ABC News that its forces had recently lost control of part of an industrial zone on the edge of the city, but insisted fighting in that area was ongoing.

Control of Avdiivka allows Ukrainian troops to more easily strike Russian transport hubs around the city of Donetsk. However, if the city were to fall to the Russians, Ukrainian transport hubs in the region would become more vulnerable to Russian fire.

Russian forces have encircled Avdiivka from the east, north and south for months, however Ukrainian officials say Russia is now targeting Ukraine's remaining western supply routes in and out of the city.

Harsh winter weather has swept across Ukraine this week and that could slow the Russian offensive down.

Ukrainian and Russian forces continued clashing in and near Avdiivka on Tuesday, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

“Russian sources reiterated claims that Russian forces captured all of the industrial zone southeast of Avdiivka and reached Avdiivka’s southeastern outskirts,” ISW said.

The battle for this eastern city matters officials have said.

Deeply entrenched Ukrainian positions on the outskirts of Avdiivka have withstood nearly a decade of fighting, first in the Donbas war which began in 2014 and then throughout Russia's full-scale invasion which began in February 2022.

If Ukraine was to lose control of the city, it would be a bitter blow to Ukrainian morale.

There is also a giant settlement-sized industrial plant in Avdiivka, which had until May 2022 produced coke, a key ingredient in the steel-making process. Steel is vital for arms production and both side's future ability to produce weaponry may help shape the long-term trajectory of the war.

Ukrainian Tavria Group of Forces Spokesperson Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun said on Tuesday that “Russian forces are attacking in six directions in the Avdiivka area, and that heavy fighting is ongoing near the Avdiivka Coke Plant in northeastern Avdiivka and the industrial zone southeast of Avdiivka."

What's not clear is how long the battle could drag on. Ukrainian troops fiercely resisted a Russian offensive on the eastern city of Bakhmut for about a year, before Moscow captured it.

However Russia is increasingly assertive in the war and the Kremlin seems determined to take Avdiivka at any cost. As it has done to other Ukrainian cities it has captured, Russian is bombarding Avdiivka with artillery and air strikes and reducing the city to a mess of smoldering rubble.

Taking Avdiivka would also open a road for Russians to move on to Pokrovsk, a larger city with thousands of civilians living in it.

Despite the fierce fighting, around 1,300 civilians remain in Avdiivka, according to Ukrainian officials.

"WSJ" reporter's pre-trial detention in Russia extended into January

Posted about a week ago

(LONDON) -- A Moscow court extended on Tuesday the pre-trial detention of a Wall Street Journal reporter accused of spying.

Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter in the newspaper's Moscow bureau, was arrested in March.

"By a court decision of November 28, the period of detention in relation to Evan Gershkovich was extended by 2 months, and in total up to 10 months, that is, until January 30, 2024," Lefortovo Court said, according to Interfax.

Gershkovich, his newspaper and the U.S. government deny the espionage charges that have been brought against the reporter. He stands accused of "acting on the instructions of the American side" and collecting state secrets about the military."

He's appeared in Moscow courtrooms several times for hearings to appeal his detention, which had been approved through Aug. 30. Under Russian law, prosecutors are required to request his pre-trial detention be continued every few months.

The detention had been extended in August through at least Nov. 30, the press service of the court said at the time.

"The baseless accusations against him are categorically false, and we continue to push for his immediate release. Journalism is not a crime," the Wall Street Journal said in an emailed statement following the August hearing.

Pentagon says Somali pirates likely behind seizure of commercial ship near Yemen

Posted about a week ago

Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Taylor A. Elberg/U.S. Navy photo

(WASHINGTON) -- Attackers who seized a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden this weekend appear to have been Somali pirates, the Defense Department's top spokesman told reporters at the Pentagon Monday.

A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer and allied ships belonging to a counter-piracy task force on Sunday responded to a distress call from the crew of the Central Park, which had been boarded by five armed individuals, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said on Monday.

"They attempted to access the crew cabin. The crew, essentially, were able to lock themselves into a safe haven. These individuals attempted to access and take control of the ship," he said.

The U.S. and coalition ships arrived on scene and demanded release of the vessel, according to U.S. Central Command.

"When the combined task force responded, they essentially fled," Ryder said.

A "visit board search and seizure" (VBSS) team from the USS Mason gave chase and fired warning shots at the fleeing assailants, who surrendered and were detained. The VBSS team then boarded the Central Park to clear the vessel and ensure the crew was safe, according to Ryder. The five are currently aboard the USS Mason, he said.

Ryder said there were three Chinese navy ships in the area of the Central Park, but they did not respond to the commercial vessel's distress call.

"Supposedly, those ships are there as part of a counter-piracy mission, but they did not respond," he said.

About an hour and 40 minutes after U.S. forces boarded the Central Park to check on its crew, two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen "toward the general location" of the Mason and Central Park, which were still near each other, according to Central Command.

The Mason tracked the projectiles, but did not need to take defensive measures, as they fell into the Gulf of Aden about 10 nautical miles from the ships, according to defense officials.

"It is not clear at this time what they were targeting," Ryder said of the missiles.

The two incidents do not seem to be directly related, a U.S. defense official told ABC News on Monday.

The ship seizure was "clearly a piracy-related incident," according to Ryder, who said that while the U.S. continues to assess the situation, "we know that they're not Houthi."

Earlier this month, Iran-backed Houthi militants downed an American Reaper drone as it was flying in international airspace near Yemen, a U.S. defense official said at the time.

"We can confirm that a U.S. military MQ-9 remotely-piloted aircraft was shot down off the coast of Yemen by Houthi forces," the official said.

Meanwhile, other Iran-backed groups have launched at least 73 drone and rocket attacks against U.S. troops based in Iraq and Syria since mid-October, after the Hamas terror attack on Israel. At least 70 American service members have been injured in this ongoing spate of attacks, the last three of which occurred on Thanksgiving, according to U.S. defense officials.

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