News

(LONDON) — The ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group.

The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza, particularly in the north of the devastated Palestinian territory.

Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides.

Amnesty accuses Israel of ‘genocide’ in Gaza

Amnesty International released a new report Thursday accusing Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip amid its ongoing war with Hamas.

Israel, Amnesty alleged, has sought to intentionally destroy Palestinians via direct attacks, the destruction of vital infrastructure and the prevention of food, medicine and other aid deliveries.

Israeli conduct, the report suggested, cannot be justified by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel, or the presence of Palestinian militants among civilians in Gaza.

“Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now,” Agnes Callamard, the secretary general of Amnesty International, said.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry rejected the report as “fabricated,” “entirely false and based on lies.” In a statement to X, the ministry said Amnesty was a “deplorable and fanatical organization.”

“The genocidal massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, was carried out by the Hamas terrorist organization against Israeli citizens,” the ministry wrote. “Since then, Israeli citizens have been subjected to daily attacks from seven different fronts.”

“Israel is defending itself against these attacks acting fully in accordance with international law,” it added.

The ministry also shared an image of a bloodied room which it said was a photo of a child’s bedroom immediately after Oct. 7. The image, the ministry said, “tells you everything you need to know about Amnesty’s report.”

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman and Zoe Magee

Body of Israeli hostage recovered in Gaza

Israeli forces have recovered the body of Israeli hostage Itay Svirsky from Gaza, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

Svirsky was declared dead in January. His parents were also killed on Oct. 7.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

At least 20 killed in strike outside Khan Younis

At least 20 people were killed in a large strike in Al-Mawasi, west of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

A camp where displaced people were staying was hit in the attack, injuring many. A search and rescue operation is underway.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

IDF confirms another strike in southern Lebanon

After warning people this morning to stay away from southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces said they had carried out a strike in Majdal Zoun on a rocket launcher they said violated the ceasefire.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Israeli defense minister signals some optimism about hostage deal

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz visited the Tel Nof airbase Wednesday, where he signaled some optimism about the hostage deal.

“The pressure on the monstrous organization Hamas is increasing — there is a chance that this time we will really be able to advance a hostage deal,” Katz said.

“We will not stop the war until we return all the kidnapped men and women and until we achieve the goals,” he later added.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Massive evacuation ordered in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza

A massive evacuation is underway Wednesday in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, with a Palestinian Civil Defense official telling ABC News more than 10,000 people were forced to leave in the last 24 hours.

About 225,000 people lived in Beit Lahia before the war, and less than 40,000 remain there now, the official said.

The area is facing relentless bombing and an unknown number of people are believed to be dead or injured.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Israeli West Bank settlers riot, attack Palestinians and security forces

The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday said security forces personnel faced “violent” scenes while evacuating an illegal Israeli settler outpost in the Palestinian West Bank town of Huwara, close to the city of Nablus.

Dozens of settlers rioted, setting fire to Palestinian buildings, vehicles and attacking Palestinian residents after Israeli security forces moved in to conduct the evacuation.

The IDF said several Israelis were arrested.

“The IDF views with great seriousness any violence against its servants and the security forces, who commit nights and days to the security of the citizens of the region,” its statement read. “These events must be condemned and the violators of the law brought to justice.”

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

UN chief says Gaza aid ‘outrageously’ blocked

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a post to X on Tuesday that much-needed humanitarian aid for Gaza is being “outrageously blocked.”

Guterres said aid agencies are facing “gigantic humanitarian needs” in Gaza, where the Israel Defense Forces continue military operations — particularly in the north of the devastated territory.

UN officials have repeatedly demanded that Israel do more to facilitate aid flows into Gaza.

“The nightmare is not a crisis of logistics,” Guterres said. “It’s a crisis of political will and of respect for fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.”

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Israeli forces conduct strike in Syria

The Israel Defense Forces said it conducted a strike in Damascus on Tuesday, to target Salman Nemer Jamaa, Hezbollah’s representative to the Syrian military.

“The Syrian regime has actively supported Hezbollah, enabling weapon smuggling to Lebanon and by that endangering Syrian and Lebanese civilians. Jamaa was a key Hezbollah figure supporting these operations,” the IDF said in a statement.

This Israeli strike is separate from active ongoing fighting between Syrian rebel forces and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Diseases spreading in Gaza as winter bites

Doctors Without Borders on Tuesday reported a significant spread of respiratory diseases, pneumonia, skin diseases and diseases resulting from immunodeficiency among citizens in Gaza.

The organization’s medical director, Fadi Al-Madhoun, warned of acute respiratory infection among children in the Gaza Strip due to the winter weather and their presence in tents that do not protect against the winter cold.

Last month, MSF described conditions in Gaza as “appalling” and said its teams treated more than 10,000 children under the age of 5 for upper respiratory tract infections like tonsillitis and the common cold.

-ABC News’ Samy Zyara and Joe Simonetti

Airstrike targets car near Damascus airport

Syria’s SANA news agency reported an Israeli airstrike targeting a car on a main road close to Damascus airport on Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties from the strike, or who the target was.

The Israel Defense Forces has not yet commented on the report.

-ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

IDF claims killing of Oct. 7 militants

The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday that it killed seven militants it accused of participating in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, infiltration attack into southern Israel.

The IDF said in a statement that troops of the 99th Division’s 990th Brigade killed the fighters during operations in central Gaza over the past two weeks.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Trump’s Israel ambassador pick demands ‘severe’ response to hostage death

Mike Huckabee, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be the next American ambassador to Israel, said the U.S. must “exact severe consequences” after the Israel Defense Forces announced the death of missing American-Israeli soldier Omer Neutra.

Neutra, 21, was killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel and his body was taken back into Gaza, the IDF said Monday. He was previously thought to have been abducted alive.

Huckabee wrote on X, “There must be serious consequences for holding any hostage but America needs to exact severe consequences for kidnapping and murdering AMERICAN hostages.”

Trump said on Truth Social on Monday that there would be “ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East” if remaining hostages are not released from Gaza by the time he takes office on Jan. 20.

There are believed to be three surviving Americans still being held hostage in Gaza.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

9 killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, health ministry says

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said that Israeli airstrikes in the south of the country killed nine people on Monday, as last week’s fragile ceasefire continues despite renewed cross-border fire.

The ministry said in posts to X that an Israeli attack on the town of Haris killed five people and injured two. A strike on the town of Talousa killed four and injured one, the ministry said.

The Israel Defense Forces said Monday it was striking targets in southern Lebanon and accused Hezbollah of “severe violation of the ceasefire.”

IDF says it’s hitting targets in Lebanon

The IDF said it is striking targets in southern Lebanon on Monday after Hezbollah officials said earlier they fired on an Israeli target.

“We will respond decisively to Hezbollah’s severe violation of the ceasefire —and will continue to do so. We have plans and targets ready to be carried out and at any given moment,” the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, said Monday.

Hezbollah says it fired on Israeli target in southern Lebanon

Hezbollah officials said Monday they fired on an Israeli target in southern Lebanon, accusing Israel of “repeated violations” of the ceasefire agreement.

The Israel Defense Forces said Hezbollah launched two projectiles toward the area of Har Dov. There were no injuries, with the projectiles falling in open space, the IDF said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened a forceful response, calling it a “serious violation of the ceasefire.”

“We are determined to continue enforcing the ceasefire, and to respond to any violation by Hezbollah — minor or serious,” Netanyahu said.

Family of dead Israeli-American soldier release statement

The family of Omer Maxim Neutra, the Israeli-American soldier who had been believed to be in Hamas captivity, released a statement Monday after it was confirmed he was killed Oct. 7.

“Our hearts are shattered with this devastating news,” the family said. “The Neutra family is deeply grieving and are requesting the public, who has shown great support throughout this journey, to please respect their privacy until they are formally ready to announce the next steps.”

“May Omer’s memory be a blessing,” they added.

Netanyahu vows to recover body of US-Israeli soldier from Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, said in a joint statement Monday they “will not rest or be silent” until the body of killed U.S.-Israeli soldier Omer Neutra is recovered from the Gaza Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Monday that Neutra, 21, was killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel and his body taken back into Gaza. Neutra — who was originally from New York — was previously thought to have been taken hostage. He was serving as a tank platoon commander at the time of the attack.

Neutra “fought fiercely at the head of his soldiers to defend the settlements surrounding Gaza, until he fell.” Netanyahu’s statement said. “We share in the family’s heavy grief,” it added.

“We will continue to act resolutely and tirelessly until we return all of our captives — the living and the dead,” the statement said.

There are still three American citizens thought to be alive as hostages inside Gaza.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

Israeli drone strike injures Lebanon soldier, army says

The Lebanese Armed Forces said on Monday that an Israeli drone “targeted an army bulldozer while it was carrying out fortification work” at a military center in the northeastern Hermel region close to the border with Syria.

The attack “resulted in one soldier being moderately injured,” the army wrote in a post to X.

The Israel Defense Forces has not yet commented on the alleged strike.

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule

IDF confirms death of US-Israeli hostage

The Israel Defense Forces on Monday confirmed that missing U.S.-Israeli soldier Omer Maxim Neutra, 21, was among those killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel.

Neutra was believed taken into Gaza as a hostage by militants during the attack. But the IDF said Monday he was killed during the Oct. 7 assault and his body was taken by militants.

Neutra — originally from New York — was serving as a tank platoon commander in the 77th Battalion of the 7th Brigade at the time of the Hamas attack. He was among hundreds of security forces personnel killed during the assault.

Neutra’s parents have been campaigning for a hostage release deal in the U.S., their activity including public appearances at the White House and the Capitol.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

IDF reports ‘several operations’ against Hezbollah in Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday it launched “several operations” targeting Hezbollah fighters that it claimed posed a direct threat to Israel “in violation of the ceasefire agreement.”

Among the operations was an attack on armed militants operating close to a church in southern Lebanon, the IDF said.

Those killed “were active in the ground defense, anti-tank and artillery formations in the sector, and took part in the fighting while using the church,” it wrote in a post to X.

The 60-day ceasefire that went into effect last week is holding despite continued sporadic fighting and Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon.

The deal stipulates that IDF troops will withdraw from their positions in Lebanon during the 60-day window and that Hezbollah forces will withdraw from the region south of the Litani River.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Hostage Edan Alexander’s father makes an appeal to Biden, Trump and Netanyahu

The father of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander issued an emotional request on Sunday to President Biden, President-elect Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling the leaders to act now to bring the hostages home “before it’s too late.”

A day after seeing his son for the first time in a year in a propaganda video released by Hamas’ military wing, Adi Alexander of New Jersey spoke at a rally in New York City’s Central Park, saying, “No father should hear his child plead for his life like that.”

“President Biden, President Trump, Prime Minster Netanyahu, I call on all of you to act,” Alexander said. “This is not a moment for politics or hesitation. This is a moment of courage, collaboration and decisive action.”

He appealed to Biden to use the United States’ influence “to negotiate a deal before it’s too late.”

Directing his words to Trump, he said, “You do not have to wait until January to make an impact. The world is watching. Act now.”

To Netanyahu, Alexander said, “The fate of the hostages, including my son, rests in your hands. You have the power to bring them home. Don’t let this opportunity slip away.”

Edan Alexander, 20, was serving in the Israeli military and stationed near Gaza when he was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023.

The White House issued a statement, saying, it has been in touch with the Alexander family and called the hostage video a “cruel reminder of Hamas’s terror against citizens of multiple countries, including our own.”

“The war in Gaza would stop tomorrow and the suffering of Gazans would end immediately– and would have ended months ago– if Hamas agreed to release the hostages,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement. “It has refused to do so, but as the President said last week, we have a critical opportunity to conclude the deal to release the hostages, stop the war, and surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza. This deal is on the table now.”

Netanyahu to hold meeting to discuss hostages, Lebanon, Syria tonight: Official

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a security meeting Sunday night to discuss the issue of the hostages, as well as Lebanon and Syria, an Israeli official told ABC News.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

UN pauses aid deliveries to Gaza amid safety concerns

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini on Sunday announced a pause to Gaza aid deliveries via the strip’s main crossing point, citing serious threats to the safety of staff.

The road out of the Kerem Shalom crossing “has not been safe for months,” Lazzarini said in a post to X.

“This difficult decision comes at a time hunger is rapidly deepening,” Lazzarini said. “The delivery of humanitarian aid must never be dangerous or turn into an ordeal.”

The UNRWA chief said a “large convoy of aid trucks was stolen by armed gangs” on Nov. 16, with several more aid trucks taken on Saturday.

Lazzarini also said that Israel’s “ongoing siege” of Gaza, “hurdles” put in place by Israeli authorities and “⁠political decisions to restrict the amounts of aid” were among the other problems facing U.N. staff.

“The humanitarian operation has become unnecessarily impossible,” he wrote. “The responsibility of protection of aid workers [and] supplies is with the state of Israel as the occupying power.”

-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — The ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group.

The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza, particularly in the north of the devastated Palestinian territory.

Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides.

Israeli defense minister signals some optimism about hostage deal

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz visited the Tel Nof airbase Wednesday, where he signaled some optimism about the hostage deal.

“The pressure on the monstrous organization Hamas is increasing — there is a chance that this time we will really be able to advance a hostage deal,” Katz said.

“We will not stop the war until we return all the kidnapped men and women and until we achieve the goals,” he later added.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Massive evacuation ordered in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza

A massive evacuation is underway Wednesday in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, with a Palestinian Civil Defense official telling ABC News more than 10,000 people were forced to leave in the last 24 hours.

About 225,000 people lived in Beit Lahia before the war, and less than 40,000 remain there now, the official said.

The area is facing relentless bombing and an unknown number of people are believed to be dead or injured.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Israeli West Bank settlers riot, attack Palestinians and security forces

The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday said security forces personnel faced “violent” scenes while evacuating an illegal Israeli settler outpost in the Palestinian West Bank town of Huwara, close to the city of Nablus.

Dozens of settlers rioted, setting fire to Palestinian buildings, vehicles and attacking Palestinian residents after Israeli security forces moved in to conduct the evacuation.

The IDF said several Israelis were arrested.

“The IDF views with great seriousness any violence against its servants and the security forces, who commit nights and days to the security of the citizens of the region,” its statement read. “These events must be condemned and the violators of the law brought to justice.”

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

UN chief says Gaza aid ‘outrageously’ blocked

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a post to X on Tuesday that much-needed humanitarian aid for Gaza is being “outrageously blocked.”

Guterres said aid agencies are facing “gigantic humanitarian needs” in Gaza, where the Israel Defense Forces continue military operations — particularly in the north of the devastated territory.

UN officials have repeatedly demanded that Israel do more to facilitate aid flows into Gaza.

“The nightmare is not a crisis of logistics,” Guterres said. “It’s a crisis of political will and of respect for fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.”

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Israeli forces conduct strike in Syria

The Israel Defense Forces said it conducted a strike in Damascus on Tuesday, to target Salman Nemer Jamaa, Hezbollah’s representative to the Syrian military.

“The Syrian regime has actively supported Hezbollah, enabling weapon smuggling to Lebanon and by that endangering Syrian and Lebanese civilians. Jamaa was a key Hezbollah figure supporting these operations,” the IDF said in a statement.

This Israeli strike is separate from active ongoing fighting between Syrian rebel forces and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Diseases spreading in Gaza as winter bites

Doctors Without Borders on Tuesday reported a significant spread of respiratory diseases, pneumonia, skin diseases and diseases resulting from immunodeficiency among citizens in Gaza.

The organization’s medical director, Fadi Al-Madhoun, warned of acute respiratory infection among children in the Gaza Strip due to the winter weather and their presence in tents that do not protect against the winter cold.

Last month, MSF described conditions in Gaza as “appalling” and said its teams treated more than 10,000 children under the age of 5 for upper respiratory tract infections like tonsillitis and the common cold.

-ABC News’ Samy Zyara and Joe Simonetti

Airstrike targets car near Damascus airport

Syria’s SANA news agency reported an Israeli airstrike targeting a car on a main road close to Damascus airport on Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties from the strike, or who the target was.

The Israel Defense Forces has not yet commented on the report.

-ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

IDF claims killing of Oct. 7 militants

The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday that it killed seven militants it accused of participating in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, infiltration attack into southern Israel.

The IDF said in a statement that troops of the 99th Division’s 990th Brigade killed the fighters during operations in central Gaza over the past two weeks.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Trump’s Israel ambassador pick demands ‘severe’ response to hostage death

Mike Huckabee, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be the next American ambassador to Israel, said the U.S. must “exact severe consequences” after the Israel Defense Forces announced the death of missing American-Israeli soldier Omer Neutra.

Neutra, 21, was killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel and his body was taken back into Gaza, the IDF said Monday. He was previously thought to have been abducted alive.

Huckabee wrote on X, “There must be serious consequences for holding any hostage but America needs to exact severe consequences for kidnapping and murdering AMERICAN hostages.”

Trump said on Truth Social on Monday that there would be “ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East” if remaining hostages are not released from Gaza by the time he takes office on Jan. 20.

There are believed to be three surviving Americans still being held hostage in Gaza.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

9 killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, health ministry says

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said that Israeli airstrikes in the south of the country killed nine people on Monday, as last week’s fragile ceasefire continues despite renewed cross-border fire.

The ministry said in posts to X that an Israeli attack on the town of Haris killed five people and injured two. A strike on the town of Talousa killed four and injured one, the ministry said.

The Israel Defense Forces said Monday it was striking targets in southern Lebanon and accused Hezbollah of “severe violation of the ceasefire.”

IDF says it’s hitting targets in Lebanon

The IDF said it is striking targets in southern Lebanon on Monday after Hezbollah officials said earlier they fired on an Israeli target.

“We will respond decisively to Hezbollah’s severe violation of the ceasefire —and will continue to do so. We have plans and targets ready to be carried out and at any given moment,” the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, said Monday.

Hezbollah says it fired on Israeli target in southern Lebanon

Hezbollah officials said Monday they fired on an Israeli target in southern Lebanon, accusing Israel of “repeated violations” of the ceasefire agreement.

The Israel Defense Forces said Hezbollah launched two projectiles toward the area of Har Dov. There were no injuries, with the projectiles falling in open space, the IDF said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened a forceful response, calling it a “serious violation of the ceasefire.”

“We are determined to continue enforcing the ceasefire, and to respond to any violation by Hezbollah — minor or serious,” Netanyahu said.

Family of dead Israeli-American soldier release statement

The family of Omer Maxim Neutra, the Israeli-American soldier who had been believed to be in Hamas captivity, released a statement Monday after it was confirmed he was killed Oct. 7.

“Our hearts are shattered with this devastating news,” the family said. “The Neutra family is deeply grieving and are requesting the public, who has shown great support throughout this journey, to please respect their privacy until they are formally ready to announce the next steps.”

“May Omer’s memory be a blessing,” they added.

Netanyahu vows to recover body of US-Israeli soldier from Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, said in a joint statement Monday they “will not rest or be silent” until the body of killed U.S.-Israeli soldier Omer Neutra is recovered from the Gaza Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Monday that Neutra, 21, was killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel and his body taken back into Gaza. Neutra — who was originally from New York — was previously thought to have been taken hostage. He was serving as a tank platoon commander at the time of the attack.

Neutra “fought fiercely at the head of his soldiers to defend the settlements surrounding Gaza, until he fell.” Netanyahu’s statement said. “We share in the family’s heavy grief,” it added.

“We will continue to act resolutely and tirelessly until we return all of our captives — the living and the dead,” the statement said.

There are still three American citizens thought to be alive as hostages inside Gaza.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

Israeli drone strike injures Lebanon soldier, army says

The Lebanese Armed Forces said on Monday that an Israeli drone “targeted an army bulldozer while it was carrying out fortification work” at a military center in the northeastern Hermel region close to the border with Syria.

The attack “resulted in one soldier being moderately injured,” the army wrote in a post to X.

The Israel Defense Forces has not yet commented on the alleged strike.

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule

IDF confirms death of US-Israeli hostage

The Israel Defense Forces on Monday confirmed that missing U.S.-Israeli soldier Omer Maxim Neutra, 21, was among those killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel.

Neutra was believed taken into Gaza as a hostage by militants during the attack. But the IDF said Monday he was killed during the Oct. 7 assault and his body was taken by militants.

Neutra — originally from New York — was serving as a tank platoon commander in the 77th Battalion of the 7th Brigade at the time of the Hamas attack. He was among hundreds of security forces personnel killed during the assault.

Neutra’s parents have been campaigning for a hostage release deal in the U.S., their activity including public appearances at the White House and the Capitol.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

IDF reports ‘several operations’ against Hezbollah in Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday it launched “several operations” targeting Hezbollah fighters that it claimed posed a direct threat to Israel “in violation of the ceasefire agreement.”

Among the operations was an attack on armed militants operating close to a church in southern Lebanon, the IDF said.

Those killed “were active in the ground defense, anti-tank and artillery formations in the sector, and took part in the fighting while using the church,” it wrote in a post to X.

The 60-day ceasefire that went into effect last week is holding despite continued sporadic fighting and Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon.

The deal stipulates that IDF troops will withdraw from their positions in Lebanon during the 60-day window and that Hezbollah forces will withdraw from the region south of the Litani River.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Hostage Edan Alexander’s father makes an appeal to Biden, Trump and Netanyahu

The father of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander issued an emotional request on Sunday to President Biden, President-elect Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling the leaders to act now to bring the hostages home “before it’s too late.”

A day after seeing his son for the first time in a year in a propaganda video released by Hamas’ military wing, Adi Alexander of New Jersey spoke at a rally in New York City’s Central Park, saying, “No father should hear his child plead for his life like that.”

“President Biden, President Trump, Prime Minster Netanyahu, I call on all of you to act,” Alexander said. “This is not a moment for politics or hesitation. This is a moment of courage, collaboration and decisive action.”

He appealed to Biden to use the United States’ influence “to negotiate a deal before it’s too late.”

Directing his words to Trump, he said, “You do not have to wait until January to make an impact. The world is watching. Act now.”

To Netanyahu, Alexander said, “The fate of the hostages, including my son, rests in your hands. You have the power to bring them home. Don’t let this opportunity slip away.”

Edan Alexander, 20, was serving in the Israeli military and stationed near Gaza when he was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023.

The White House issued a statement, saying, it has been in touch with the Alexander family and called the hostage video a “cruel reminder of Hamas’s terror against citizens of multiple countries, including our own.”

“The war in Gaza would stop tomorrow and the suffering of Gazans would end immediately– and would have ended months ago– if Hamas agreed to release the hostages,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement. “It has refused to do so, but as the President said last week, we have a critical opportunity to conclude the deal to release the hostages, stop the war, and surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza. This deal is on the table now.”

Netanyahu to hold meeting to discuss hostages, Lebanon, Syria tonight: Official

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a security meeting Sunday night to discuss the issue of the hostages, as well as Lebanon and Syria, an Israeli official told ABC News.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

UN pauses aid deliveries to Gaza amid safety concerns

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini on Sunday announced a pause to Gaza aid deliveries via the strip’s main crossing point, citing serious threats to the safety of staff.

The road out of the Kerem Shalom crossing “has not been safe for months,” Lazzarini said in a post to X.

“This difficult decision comes at a time hunger is rapidly deepening,” Lazzarini said. “The delivery of humanitarian aid must never be dangerous or turn into an ordeal.”

The UNRWA chief said a “large convoy of aid trucks was stolen by armed gangs” on Nov. 16, with several more aid trucks taken on Saturday.

Lazzarini also said that Israel’s “ongoing siege” of Gaza, “hurdles” put in place by Israeli authorities and “⁠political decisions to restrict the amounts of aid” were among the other problems facing U.N. staff.

“The humanitarian operation has become unnecessarily impossible,” he wrote. “The responsibility of protection of aid workers [and] supplies is with the state of Israel as the occupying power.”

-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The climate crisis is not a distant threat; it’s happening right now and affecting what matters most to us. Hurricanes intensified by a warming planet and drought-fueled wildfires are destroying our communities. Rising seas and flooding are swallowing our homes. And record-breaking heat waves are reshaping our way of life.

The good news is we know how to turn the tide and avoid the worst possible outcomes. However, understanding what needs to be done can be confusing due to a constant stream of climate updates, scientific findings, and critical decisions that are shaping our future.

That’s why the ABC News Climate and Weather Unit is cutting through the noise by curating what you need to know to keep the people and places you care about safe. We are dedicated to providing clarity amid the chaos, giving you the facts and insights necessary to navigate the climate realities of today — and tomorrow.

UN plastic treaty talks fail to reach an agreement

The world uses a lot of plastic — 460 million metric tons of it are produced each year, according to the United Nations. And the International Union for Conservation of Nature says an estimated 20 million metric tons of plastic end up as trash in our environment.

So when more than 3,300 delegates from 170 countries and 440 organizations met in South Korea at the end of November to hash out an agreement to reduce the production of plastics, environmentalists hoped that something might finally get done to address the problem. It didn’t.

The fifth U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee failed to reach a binding agreement on plastic production and waste for the fifth time since the group began meeting in November 2022.

Nearly 100 countries came to an agreement that would limit plastic production and establish an accountability method ensuring all parties would meet reduction goalposts. Some oil-rich nations pushed back, however, wanting to focus on plastic pollution instead. U.N. rules require a consensus among all delegates for any plan to be binding. That didn’t happen.

“It is clear there is persisting divergence in critical areas and more time is needed for these areas to be addressed,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of the U.N. Environment Program.

Most plastic is not recycled. Instead, it ends up in landfills and pollutes marine bodies like oceans and rivers worldwide. According to an OECD report from 2022, only 9% of plastics worldwide get recycled, and since 1970, 139 metric tons have ended up in our oceans, rivers and lakes. A 2021 study revealed that the plastics industry’s contribution to climate change will exceed coal’s by 2030.

While countries failed to reach an agreement on capping the production of plastic, they did agree to continue talks in 2025.

“As we look ahead to 2025, and navigate what an INC 5.2 could look like, countries must come to the table ready to fight for our future,” said Erin Simon, vice president and head of plastic waste and business at World Wildlife Fund. “The current draft has some of the ingredients for success, but we can’t back down on delivering a legally binding text that finally puts us on a course to eliminate plastic pollution.”

According to the Center of International Environmental Law, fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists made up the largest delegation of all groups at the talks.

“Let us always remember that our purpose is noble and urgent: to reverse and remedy the severe effects of plastic pollution on ecosystems and human health,” said Luis Vayas Valdivieso, chair of the U.N.’s international plastics negotiating committee.

-ABC News’ Charlotte Slovin

Study identifies heat wave hot spots across the globe

It’s all but certain that 2024 will be Earth’s warmest year on record, surpassing 2023 as the previous record holder. While this troubling milestone measures global average temperatures, a new study from the Columbia Climate School found that unexplained extreme heat wave hot spots are popping up in specific areas worldwide.

Calling it “a striking new phenomenon,” the study’s authors write, “Distinct regions are seeing repeated heat waves that are so extreme, they fall far beyond what any model of global warming can predict or explain.”

According to the study, “The large and unexpected margins by which recent regional-scale extremes have broken earlier records have raised questions about the degree to which climate models can provide adequate estimates of relations between global mean temperature changes and regional climate risks.”

The study identified these hot spots on every continent except Antarctica. Researchers say the heat waves have mostly been a recent phenomenon, occurring primarily over the last five years, although some date back to the early 2000s and before.

Central China, Japan, Korea, the Arabian peninsula, eastern Australia and certain parts of Africa were the hardest-hit areas. The study, however, found that parts of Texas and New Mexico were also impacted, just not as much as the other regions.

“This is about extreme trends that are the outcome of physical interactions we might not completely understand,” said lead author Kai Kornhuber, an adjunct scientist at the Columbia Climate School’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, in a statement. “These regions become temporary hothouses.”

The researchers say it’s unclear what is causing these hot spots. While one study has pointed to wobbles in the jet stream as a possible culprit, the authors say that the hypothesis doesn’t explain all the extremes.

Regardless of the cause, heat is the deadliest weather-related hazard in the United States. The Journal of the American Medical Association found that heat deaths in the U.S. have nearly doubled since 1999 and account for a 63% increase in health-related death rates between 1999-2023.

“Due to their unprecedented nature, these heat waves are usually linked to very severe health impacts, and can be disastrous for agriculture, vegetation and infrastructure,” said Kornhuber. “We’re not built for them, and we might not be able to adapt fast enough.”

-ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser

How to have a more sustainable Thanksgiving

The amount of food consumed every year at Thanksgiving is actually associated with a large carbon footprint, according to experts.

Although Thanksgiving may be the holiday best known for indulging, there are ways to enjoy your favorite meal of the year while keeping the environment in mind.

“The Thanksgiving meal is more than just the food,” Lauri Wright, director of nutrition programs at the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health, told ABC News. “There’s so much meaning [and] emotions associated with it.”

The average Thanksgiving dinner has a carbon footprint of about 103 pounds of carbon dioxide, according to the Climate Trade, an environmental solutions platform.

Here are some tips to have a more sustainable Thanksgiving.

Maine joins list of states suing fossil fuel companies over climate change

Maine has become the latest in a growing number of states to sue the fossil fuel industry over the impacts of global warming.

Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey accused major fossil fuel companies of deceiving Mainers for decades about the impact their product has on human-amplified climate change.

“For over half a century, these companies chose to fuel profits instead of following their science to prevent what are now likely irreversible, catastrophic climate effects,” Frey said in a statement.

The lawsuit, filed in state court on Tuesday, alleges the defendants knew as early as the 1960s that an increasing use of fossil fuels could potentially bring devastating consequences to Maine. The state argues the companies not only failed to warn residents about the consequences, but knowingly concealed their knowledge about the long-term negative impacts that Maine’s people, environment and economy could face.

The filing states the companies focused on creating public doubt by launching public relations campaigns targeting the science of climate change and the impacts of burning fossil fuels. It is seeking financial compensation for both past and future climate-related damages and for the companies to cease their ongoing deception in Maine.

“They burdened the state and our citizens with the consequences of their greed and deception,” Frey said.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills applauded the attorney general’s actions, saying in a statement that “for decades, big oil companies have made record profits, taking billions out of the pockets of Maine people while deliberately deceiving them about the harmful impacts of fossil fuels — impacts that Maine people see and feel every day.”

Maine joins a growing list of more than 20 states — including California, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Vermont — that have brought similar types of lawsuits to date. Earlier this year, Vermont’s Climate Superfund Act became law, seeking financial accountability for climate change-related damages brought by fossil fuel companies. However, due to stipulations in the law and likely lawsuits, it’s expected to be several years before any potential first charge to fossil fuel companies would be attempted.

-ABC News meteorologist Dan Peck

Soaking rain eases drought in parts of U.S. but dryness still a problem for much of the country

Widespread drought conditions are still a significant concern across the country, with parts of the Northeast, northern Plains and Southwest currently experiencing some of the worst impacts, according to a U.S. Drought Monitor update released Wednesday.

Overall, more than 40% of the contiguous United States remains in a drought. This is an improvement, however, from the beginning of the month when more than half of the lower 48 faced drought conditions. Recent heavy rain along the West Coast and parts of the Midwest brought significant drought relief to portions of Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin and Illinois.

As a result, drought coverage decreased from 45.48% to 41.45% versus last week. While some regions experienced a notable improvement, the recent soaking in the Northeast was only enough to pause the fire danger and trend of intensifying drought conditions — for now.

The current drought situation in the Northeast took months to evolve, and it will take several more rounds of significant rainfall over the span of weeks or even months to completely eliminate the widespread drought in the region.

After a few rounds of beneficial rain, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center says a large part of the country will likely experience below-average precipitation in early December, particularly in the West, Plains and East Coast.

Much of the western Gulf Coast and northern Plains could see above-average rainfall during this period. Drought relief across the country will, at the very least, take a pause through the beginning of next month.

-ABC News meteorologist Dan Peck

Colorado River at a tipping point over drought threat, new study finds

A major water supplier in the West is once again in the spotlight for its unpredictable future.

The Colorado River, the water source for 40 million people across the west, is in a worse state than previously believed, according to a recent study published in Earth’s Future.

Drought and dry conditions, compounded by climate change, put the Colorado River in greater jeopardy, the study’s authors said.

“It doesn’t take a lot of climate change to put the system into a very vulnerable future,” said Dr. Patrick Reed, a civil and environmental engineer at Cornell University and co-author of the study.

Colorado’s West Slope River Basins “are essential water sources for the Colorado River and play a vital role in supporting the state of Colorado’s local economy and natural environment,” according to the study. The West Slope River Basins contribute nearly 70% of the streamflow deliveries to Lake Powell, the nation’s second-largest reservoir.

But drought has significantly depleted Lake Powell’s water supply, leading to the first-ever water shortage in the Upper Colorado River Basin in 2021 and more dependence on the West Slope Basin supply.

“The Colorado River is extremely stressed and overallocated,” Reed said.

The Colorado River supplies water to seven states and Northern Mexico. Agreements about how the water is divided are up for renegotiation in 2026.

-ABC News’ Charlotte Slovin

US fuel economy hits record high as CO2 emissions hit record low, EPA says

U.S. fuel economy reached a record high in 2023 at the same time that greenhouse emissions reached a record low, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s annual Automotive Trends Report released Monday.

The report also states that model year 2023 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles have reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 11%.

“This report provides a critical data-driven affirmation that strong, technology-neutral standards can underpin environmental progress while saving drivers money at the pump,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.

New vehicle CO2 emissions are now at a record low of 319 grams per mile, which reduces the impact on climate change. Battery and plug-in hybrid vehicles, combined with fuel cell vehicles, are expected to reach 14.8% of overall vehicle production in 2024, a trend that is expected to grow across the industry, according to the report.

Passenger cars and light trucks accounted for 17% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, underscoring the need for further reductions across the industry, experts said.

— ABC News Climate Unit’s Dan Manzo

In surprise turn, world leaders reach $300B climate cash deal at COP29

In a surprising turn of events, world leaders at the United Nations climate conference in Azerbaijan announced they have reached agreement on a new deal that calls for wealthy countries to contribute $300 billion annually to help developing nations deal with the effects of climate change.

After fears no deal would be reached as talks broke down, the announcement came around 3 a.m. local time and was met with a standing ovation and a wave of relief.

The deal in question was the “climate cash” agreement, under which developed nations will contribute an annual target of $300 billion to help climate-vulnerable, developing countries deal with the consequences of climate change.

President Joe Biden on Saturday praised the agreement, while touting his administration’s work on climate change, saying “nobody” can undo America’s “clean energy revolution,” in an apparent swipe at President-elect Donald Trump.

“Today at COP29, thanks in part to the tireless efforts of a robust US delegation, the world reached agreement on another historic outcome,” Biden said in a statement, going on to say the “ambitious” deal “will help mobilize the level of finance – from all sources – that developing countries need to accelerate the transition to clean, sustainable economies, while opening up new markets for American-made electric vehicles, batteries, and other products.”

Biden, who is leaving office in less than two months, said states and cities will continue to tackle climate change — notably not mentioning the federal government, while adding that no one can overturn progress on the issue, repeating something he said last week while visiting the Amazon.

In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he had “hoped for a more ambitious outcome” on both financing and climate change mitigation efforts from the conference.

“But this agreement provides a base on which to build,” he said in the statement. “It must be honoured in full and on time. Commitments must quickly become cash. All countries must come together to ensure the top-end of this new goal is met.”

Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan’s minister of ecology and natural resources who served as the COP29 president, said in a statement the $300 billion goal “represents the best possible deal we could reach.”

The U.N. climate conference, known as COP29, was anticipated to be the “finance COP” — the site of negotiations to determine how much fighting the climate crisis would cost and who would pay for it.

In 2015, under the Paris Agreement, participating countries agreed to set climate financing goals in 2024 that would account for the needs of developing countries.

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule, Fritz Farrow and Jack Moore

UN climate conference delegates struggle to reach agreement on financing the climate fight

The U.N. climate conference in Azerbaijan was supposed to be the “finance COP.” World leaders would determine how much fighting the climate crisis would cost and who would pay for it.

However, as COP29 winds down, many developing countries and nongovernmental organizations are dissatisfied with the current language in the proposed climate finance agreement.

In 2015, under the Paris Agreement, participating countries agreed to set a New Collective Quantified Goal, or NCQG, on climate finance in 2024 that would account for the needs of developing countries. Basically, how much money would each nation spend to support developing countries that are being disproportionately impacted by climate?

While several versions of the new NCQG have been proposed, a final agreement is still out of reach. The latest text calls for a $1.3 trillion climate finance investment annually until 2035 but only requires a $250 billion investment from developed countries.

“With a paltry climate finance offer of $250 billion annually, and a deadline to deliver as late as 2035, richer nations, including EU countries, and the United States are dangerously close to betraying the Paris Agreement,” Dr. Rachel Cleetus, policy director for the Climate and Energy Program, Union of Concerned Scientists, said. “This is nowhere near the robust and desperately needed funding lower income nations deserve to combat climate change.”

The latest NCQG language lays out a variety of funding sources that can play a part in reaching global climate finance goals, including multilateral development banks, or MDBs, that can distribute funds through grants and concessional loans for developing countries and adaptation projects.

However, the text does not make clear whether funds from MDBs are part of reaching the $250 billion goal or supplement that goal. It also includes provisions allowing for voluntary contributions from developing countries.

“The central demand coming into COP29 was for a strong, science-aligned climate finance commitment, which this appalling text utterly fails to provide,” Cleetus said. “Wealthier nations seem content to shamefully renege on their responsibility and cave in to fossil fuel interests while unjustly foisting the costs of deadly climate extremes on countries that have contributed the least to the climate crisis.”

World Resources Institute Global Climate, Economics and Finance Program Director Melanie Robinson agrees, releasing a statement Friday saying, “Developed countries should aim higher than the $250 billion they’ve put on the table.”

“We should leave Baku with a goal that at least gets to $300 billion a year by 2035,” Robinson said.

Tasneem Essop, executive director of Climate Action Network International, called the latest draft text “an insult to the people in the Global south.”

“This latest draft text on the New Collective Quantified Goal is not just a joke — it’s an insult to the people in the Global South living on the front line of the climate crisis,” Essop said. “In the meantime, millions of people’s lives are at risk. We are angry, but we will keep fighting until the end.”

-ABC News Climate Unit’s Kelly Livingston and ABC News’ Charlotte Slovin

October was 2nd warmest month on record, NOAA announces

If you thought October was unusually warm, it isn’t your imagination. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports that last month was the second warmest October since the U.S. began keeping records in 1895. It was also the second driest, with less than an inch of rainfall. It should be more than double that.

October was also the second warmest on record globally when looking at land and ocean temperatures. And it was the warmest ever for land temperature alone.

According to the NOAA, there is now a 99% chance that 2024 will be the warmest year on record globally.

This new data continues 2024’s streak of having some of the driest and warmest months on record for states across the U.S.

The heat and high levels of dryness across the country have left 87% of the United States in dry or drought conditions. Widespread drought increases the risk of wildfires, as soil with no moisture burns more easily.

Mark Svoboda, director of the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, calls the combination of heat and dryness a “double whammy.”

New Jersey and Delaware had their driest Octobers on record, and much of the Atlantic Seaboard experienced Octobers with precipitation levels much below average. The region has seen hundreds of wildfires due to these conditions, with New Jersey experiencing a 1,300% increase in fire calls.

In October, much of the United States experienced drought, with dryness expanding and increasing in the Northeast, Great Lakes, Northern Rockies and Plains, Southeast, Deep South, Southwest and the Hawaiian islands.

NOAA says that by February 2025, drought conditions should improve in the Pacific Northwest, Ohio Valley and Western Great Lakes, but are likely to expand and intensify in the Southwest and Atlantic Seaboard.

Despite the destruction they cause, tropical storms can “make or break” drought for the winter, said Svoboda. Without intense rains earlier in the year, there is little or no moisture in the ground come winter.

The dryness impacts wheat crops and livestock forage, potentially increasing food prices. Dryer soil makes wheat crops more vulnerable in colder temperatures because that soil can freeze and kill the plant, decreasing the harvest for the following year.

NOAA also reported that in 2024, 24 different billion-dollar weather and climate disasters impacted the United States through the end of October. This number is only second to last year, with a record 27 individual billion-dollar weather and climate disasters by October.

-ABC News’ Charlotte Slovin

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