World

(LONDON) — Rebel forces in Syria are building a transitional government after toppling the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.

The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza, particularly in the north of the strip around several Palestinian hospitals.

Meanwhile, the November 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.

Tensions 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. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.

Israel intercepts missile from Yemen, threatens Houthi leaders

A missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by Israeli air forces, the Israel Defense Forces said in a Monday night statement, amid continued Israeli and Houthi long-range attacks.

Sirens sounded “due to the possibility of falling shrapnel from the interception,” the IDF said.

The latest missile launch came shortly after Danny Danon — Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations — said Israelis “have had enough” of attacks from the Houthis in Yemen, ongoing since October 2023 in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza.

“Israel will not stand by waiting for the world to act,” Danon said.

Addressing the Houthi leadership, he added, “Let me remind you what happened to Hamas, to Hezbollah, to [former Syrian President Bashar] Assad and to all those who thought to destroy us.”

“This is not a threat, it is a promise,” Danon said. “You will share the same miserable fate.”

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky, Dana Savir and Ellie Kaufman

Ukraine foreign minister meets Syrian leader in Damascus

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Monday met with Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa — also known by nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani.

Sybiha became the latest foreign representative to meet with Sharaa in Damascus, where the latter’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham forces and their allies are establishing a transitional government having toppled former President Bashar Assad.

Sybiha wrote on X that he “personally conveyed the message” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “We are with you and ready to assist in restoring normal life, stability and food security,” Sybiha said.

“We rely on the new Syria respecting international law, including Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added. “This will pave the way to fully restoring our diplomatic ties, political dialogue and diplomatic presence. We are ready to develop cooperation in a number of areas.”

The visit came days after Zelenskyy announced Kyiv’s dispatch of 500 tons of wheat flour to Syria as part of the “Grain from Ukraine” humanitarian program in cooperation with the World Food Program.

Gaza hospitals become ‘battlegrounds,’ WHO chief says

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said early Monday that Gaza’s beleaguered hospitals “have once again become battlegrounds and the health system is under severe threat.”

Ghebreyesus said the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north Gaza town of Beit Lahia “is out of service,” following an Israeli raid which itself came after several weeks of encirclement and bombardment.

Israeli forces raided the compound on Friday, forcibly evacuating all remaining patients and staff. The Israel Defense Forces said it detained 240 alleged militants, among them hospital director Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya. The IDF said the hospital was a “command center” for Hamas “military operations” in the surrounding area.

Ghebreyesus said Safiya’s “whereabouts are unknown. We call for his immediate release.”

Kamal Adwan patients were transferred to the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, both of which have also reported repeated Israeli attacks. The latter “is itself out of function,” Ghebreyesus said.

“Seven patients along with 15 caregivers and health workers remain at the severely damaged Indonesian Hospital, which has no ability to provide care,” he added.

Four patients were detained by the IDF during their transfer out of Kamal Adwan Hospital, the WHO chief said.

Two other facilities — the Al-Ahli Hospital and Al-Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital in Gaza City — were also attacked and sustained damage on Monday, Ghebreyesus said.

“We repeat: stop attacks on hospitals,” he wrote. “People in Gaza need access to health care. Humanitarians need access to provide health aid. Ceasefire!”

Family of Gaza hospital director asks international community to help find him

The family of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip, is pleading with the international community to help learn his whereabouts, alleging he was detained by Israeli forces during a recent raid on the medical facility.

The family posted a message on Abu Safiya’s official Instagram page, on which the doctor had been posting updates about the hospital’s functioning, pleading, “We do not know the fate of our father.”

“We appeal to every compassionate individual and all international organizations and institutions to take action,” said the family, asking the international community to apply media pressure and make appeals to “help us push for his swift release from captivity.”

The message said Abu Safiya is still recovering from injuries he suffered a month ago while working at the hospital.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement released on Saturday that Abu Safiya is suspected of being a Hamas terrorist and is being held in Gaza.

Abu Safiya had not been arrested in previous IDF raids of the hospital.

-ABC News’ Camilla Alcini and Nadine Shubailat

IDF issues statement on Kamal Adwan Hospital raid

The IDF released a statement outlining their operations in and around Kamal Adwan Hospital in the last few days.

The Israel Defense Forces said the hospital was a “command center” for Hamas “military operations in Jabaliya,” although the statement and attached media do not provide corroborating evidence of this.

The statement says the IDF faced heavy fighting in areas near the hospital, and says the IDF detained 240 terrorists, including the director of the hospital, Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, whom it says is is “suspected of being a Hamas terrorist operative.”

Abu Safiya was one of the only male staff members at the hospital not detained during the IDF’s raid of the hospital in October, and he would have helped coordinate numerous resupply and patient evacuations with Israel over the last several months.

Kamal Adwan is the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza and is operating at a limited capacity due to a lack of medical supplies and the repeated attacks on the hospital.

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule

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(LONDON) — The Pacific island nation of Kiribati was the first country to ring in 2025, with its 133,500 citizens celebrating the new year at 5 a.m. ET on Tuesday.

The Micronesian nation was soon followed into 2025 by the Chatham Islands in New Zealand at 5:15 a.m. ET.

Most of the rest of New Zealand crossed the International Date Line at 6 a.m. The islands of Tokelau, Samoa, Tonga and parts of Antarctica were among those joining the party shortly after.

Auckland, New Zealand

New Zealand’s capital Wellington and its largest city of Auckland — both located on the country’s North Island — welcomed 2025 at 6 a.m. ET. Fireworks lit up the Auckland skyline as massed crowds watched.

Sydney, Australia

Residents of the western Australian city of Sydney enjoyed a fireworks display three hours ahead of midnight local time, which will be at 8 a.m. ET.

The famed Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House provided a familiar backdrop for New Year revellers in the country’s largest city.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — The Pacific island nation of Kiribati was the first country to ring in 2025, with its 133,500 citizens celebrating the new year at 5 a.m. ET on Tuesday.

The Micronesian nation was soon followed into 2025 by the Chatham Islands in New Zealand at 5:15 a.m. ET.

Most of the rest of New Zealand crossed the International Date Line at 6 a.m. The islands of Tokelau, Samoa, Tonga and parts of Antarctica were among those joining the party shortly after.

Auckland, New Zealand

New Zealand’s capital Wellington and its largest city of Auckland — both located on the country’s North Island — welcomed 2025 at 6 a.m. ET. Fireworks lit up the Auckland skyline as massed crowds watched.

Sydney, Australia

Residents of the western Australian city of Sydney enjoyed a fireworks display three hours ahead of midnight local time, which will be at 8 a.m. ET.

The famed Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House provided a familiar backdrop for New Year revellers in the country’s largest city.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(SEOUL) — A team of U.S. investigators arrived in South Korea to assist local aviation officials as they comb the wreckage of the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 aircraft that crashed Sunday, killing 179 people.

Three members of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board are leading the U.S. team, which also includes advisers from the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and CFM International, a jet-engine manufacturer. Some of those advisers will be on site and others will remain in the U.S., the NTSB said.

“Additional NTSB investigative staff are standing by to assist if needed, including specialists in recorders, powerplants, and survival factors, among other specialties,” the board said in a statement.

In the wake of the deadly plane crash at Muan International Airport, local officials are also now investigating similar aircraft models that are operating in airports around the country.

Jeju Air Flight 2216 was landing just before 9 a.m. when the plane went off the runway and crashed into a wall. There were a total of 175 passengers and six crew members aboard the Boeing 737, which had taken off from Bangkok, Thailand.

A total of 179 people aboard the flight were killed, with two flight attendants — a man and a woman — being the only survivors of the crash.

Officials were continuing to identify the victims of the crash. Five of the remains were still unidentified as of Tuesday, local officials said. The remains of four individuals being transported to their respective families for funeral.

Authorities are conducting a full investigation into over 100 aircraft that are the same model, B737-800. The planes are currently operating in six local airlines, officials said.

The investigation includes reviewing the maintenance history of the engines, landing gears and the aircraft’s operation records.

“There are no plans to suspend operations, but they will examine those parts once more and check them thoroughly during the inspection process,” said Song Kyung-hoon, head of Jeju Air’s Management Support Division.

The Muan International Airport runway will be closed for the investigation until Jan. 7, officials said.

The two flight attendants who survived the crash were recovering at separate hospitals in Seoul on Monday, according to the Korean Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport.

Neither survivor had life-threatening injuries, the ministry said, adding that both had awoken in the hospital without a clear recollection of what had happened after they heard a blast during the landing.

The man, who was identified only by his surname Lee, was receiving treatment for fractures in an intensive care unit. He was alert and speaking with medical staff, Ju Woong, director of the Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital, said at a press conference on Monday.

“[Lee is] fully able to communicate,” Woong added. “There’s no indication yet of memory loss or such.”

The woman, a 25-year-old flight attendant named Koo, was also recovering, though not in intensive care, according to hospital staff and officials, as well as the Korean Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport.

ABC News’ Sam Sweeney and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.

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(SEOUL) — A team of U.S. investigators arrived in South Korea to assist local aviation officials as they comb the wreckage of the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 aircraft that crashed Sunday, killing 179 people.

Three members of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board are leading the U.S. team, which also includes advisers from the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and CFM International, a jet-engine manufacturer. Some of those advisers will be on site and others will remain in the U.S., the NTSB said.

“Additional NTSB investigative staff are standing by to assist if needed, including specialists in recorders, powerplants, and survival factors, among other specialties,” the board said in a statement.

In the wake of the deadly plane crash at Muan International Airport, local officials are also now investigating similar aircraft models that are operating in airports around the country.

Jeju Air Flight 2216 was landing just before 9 a.m. when the plane went off the runway and crashed into a wall. There were a total of 175 passengers and six crew members aboard the Boeing 737, which had taken off from Bangkok, Thailand.

A total of 179 people aboard the flight were killed, with two flight attendants — a man and a woman — being the only survivors of the crash.

Officials were continuing to identify the victims of the crash. Five of the remains were still unidentified as of Tuesday, local officials said. The remains of four individuals being transported to their respective families for funeral.

Authorities are conducting a full investigation into over 100 aircraft that are the same model, B737-800. The planes are currently operating in six local airlines, officials said.

The investigation includes reviewing the maintenance history of the engines, landing gears and the aircraft’s operation records.

“There are no plans to suspend operations, but they will examine those parts once more and check them thoroughly during the inspection process,” said Song Kyung-hoon, head of Jeju Air’s Management Support Division.

The Muan International Airport runway will be closed for the investigation until Jan. 7, officials said.

The two flight attendants who survived the crash were recovering at separate hospitals in Seoul on Monday, according to the Korean Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport.

Neither survivor had life-threatening injuries, the ministry said, adding that both had awoken in the hospital without a clear recollection of what had happened after they heard a blast during the landing.

The man, who was identified only by his surname Lee, was receiving treatment for fractures in an intensive care unit. He was alert and speaking with medical staff, Ju Woong, director of the Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital, said at a press conference on Monday.

“[Lee is] fully able to communicate,” Woong added. “There’s no indication yet of memory loss or such.”

The woman, a 25-year-old flight attendant named Koo, was also recovering, though not in intensive care, according to hospital staff and officials, as well as the Korean Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport.

ABC News’ Sam Sweeney and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.

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(SEOUL) — A 33-year-old flight attendant, one of just two survivors of the Jeju Air plane crash in South Korea that killed 179 people, is awake and talking to medical staff, according to a hospital official.

The survivor, who was only identified by his surname Lee, told doctors he had “already been rescued” when he regained consciousness following Sunday’s fiery crash at the Muan International Airport, Ju Woong, director of the Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital, said during a news conference on Monday.

Lee and another flight attendant on Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, who was identified by her surname Koo, were the only ones aboard the aircraft to live through what authorities said was South Korea’s deadliest plane crash in decades and one of the worst in aviation history.

The 25-year-old Koo is reportedly in stable condition at a different hospital than the one where Lee is being treated. Koo suffered injuries to her ankle and head, medical staff at the hospital told the Yonhap News Agency. The medical staff treating her declined to answer further questions about her condition.

Ju said Lee is being treated in the intensive care unit for multiple fractures.

He said Lee is “fully able to communicate.”

“There’s no indication yet of memory loss or such,” Ju said.

The hospital director said Lee is under special care due to the possibility of total paralysis.

Ju said he did not question Lee about the details of the crash, saying he didn’t believe it would be helpful with the patient’s recovery.

Lee was initially taken to a hospital in Mokpo before being transferred to the Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital.

The crash unfolded just before 9 a.m. local time on Sunday at the Muan International Airport after the air traffic control tower gave the flight crew permission to land on a south-to-north runway, according to an official timeline by the Korean Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport.

Three minutes later, the flight control tower issued a warning of a possible bird strike, the transport ministry said. About two minutes after that warning, a pilot sent a distress signal, saying, “Mayday, mayday, mayday, bird strike, bird strike, going around,” the ministry said.

The plane ascended and made a 180-degree turn before descending from the north side, crash-landing and slamming into a wall at 9:03 a.m., the ministry said.

The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, skidded along a runway, crashed into a wall and burst into flames, officials said. A total of 181 people were onboard.

The flight had originated before dawn Sunday at the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand, according to Flightradar24, a flight tracker.

An official cause of the crash is under investigation by South Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board.

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(SEOUL and LONDON) — The two survivors of South Korea’s deadliest plane crash in decades were recovering at separate hospitals in Seoul on Monday, as investigators began far-reaching probes into both the fatal crash and the country’s broader aviation operations.

The only survivors, a man and a woman, were among the six crew members onboard the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 when it skidded along a runway, crashed into a wall and burst into flames on Sunday morning, officials said. A total of 181 people were onboard.

The man who survived, who was receiving treatment for fractures in an intensive care unit, was alert and speaking with medical staff, Ju Woong, director of the Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital, said at a press conference on Monday.

The man, a flight attendant identified only by his surname, Lee, had “already been rescued” when he woke up, the hospital official said. “(Lee’s) fully able to communicate,” Woong added. “There’s no indication yet of memory loss or such.”

The woman, 25-year-old flight attendant named Koo, was also recovering, though not in intensive care, hospital staff and officials with the Korean Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport said. Neither survivor had life-threatening injuries, the ministry said, adding that both had awoken in the hospital without a clear recollection of what had happened after they heard a blast during the landing.

Authorities were working on Monday to confirm the identities of more than three dozen of the 179 people who were killed when the plane crash-landed. The bodies of 141 people had been identified through their fingerprints or DNA, but 38 of the dead remained unidentified, local officials said.

Officials had recovered the flight’s data recorders from the wreckage and were releasing information. The acting president, Choi Sang-mok, who has been leading the country since Friday, ordered an emergency safety inspection of South Korea’s entire air fleet and operations.

The transport ministry said it will conduct a full inspection of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft in use in South Korea. Six low-cost airlines operate a total of 101 of that model aircraft, including the 39 operated by Jeju Air. But the airline said it would not suspend operations of those planes.

“There are no plans to suspend operations, but they will examine those parts once more and check them thoroughly during the inspection process,” said Song Kyung-hoon, head of Jeju Air’s Management Support Division.

Flight 7C2216 had taken off from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand before dawn on Monday, according to Flightradar24, a flight tracker.

As the aircraft approached South Korea’s Muan International Airport at 8:54 a.m., the control tower gave it permission to land on a south-to-north runway, according to an official timeline by the transport ministry.

Three minutes later, the flight control tower issued a warning of a possible bird strike, the transport ministry said. About two minutes after that warning, a pilot sent a distress signal, saying, “Mayday, mayday, mayday, bird strike, bird strike, going around,” the ministry said.

The plane ascended and made a 180-degree before descending from the north side, crash-landing and crashing into the wall at 9:03 a.m., the ministry said.

The official death toll, provided by the National Fire Agency, climbed steadily in the hours after the crash. By nightfall on Sunday, local officials said all but two of the 181 people onboard had died in the crash.

The aircraft’s voice and data recorders, or “black boxes,” were recovered from the wreckage, the Air and Railway Investigation Committee said. The flight data recorder was found partially damaged and the cockpit voice recorder was collected intact, officials said.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said on Sunday it would send an investigative team — which was to include members from Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration — to assist South Korean officials. The results of that investigation will be released by the Republic of Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board, or ARAIB.

Efforts were being made to speed up the identifications of the remaining 38 people who died, but some bodies were too damaged for their fingerprints to be used.

Others were the bodies of minors, whose prints were not on file to compare, authorities said. According to the flight manifest, the youngest passenger on board was 3 years old. The manifest recorded five children under 10 years old on the flight.

Jeju Air, which operates an all-Boeing fleet, is a popular low-cost carrier in South Korea. The airline operated about 217 flights a day and carried more than 12 million people during 2023.

More than 68,000 Jeju Air tickets have been canceled since the crash, according to Jeju Air. All will be fully refunded, the airline said.

ABC News’ Sam Sweeney, Hakyung Kate Lee, Jack Moore, Will Gretsky, Victoria Beaule and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.

 

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(SEOUL) — South Korean investigators are seeking an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law, according to the Yonhap news agency.

A joint investigation team reportedly announced on Monday they sought the warrant on insurrection and abuse of power charges after Yoon ignored three summonses to appear for questioning.

Under South Korea’s constitution, if a sitting president is accused of insurrection, the police have the authority to arrest him while he is still in office.

A court will decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for Yoon, which would mark the first presidential arrest in the country’s history.

Yoon declared martial law in a televised speech on Dec. 3. The president said the measure was necessary due to the actions of the country’s liberal opposition, the Democratic Party, which he accused of controlling parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing the government.

The move sparked protests, and hours after the declaration, the National Assembly voted to demand that the president lift the martial law order. A majority of parliament — all 190 members who were present, out of the 300-person body — voted to lift the decree — requiring that it then be lifted, under the South Korean constitution.

Following the National Assembly’s vote, Yoon said he withdrew the troops that had been deployed to carry out martial law and “will lift martial law as soon as we have a quorum in the cabinet.” The State Council then convened to vote to officially lift it.

The country’s Democratic Party called on Yoon to resign following what it called the “fundamentally invalid” declaration of martial law. Without Yoon resigning, the opposition party worked to enact impeachment proceedings against the president.

Yoon has been suspended from his position since Dec. 14, when the National Assembly voted for his impeachment in a 204-85 vote.

Earlier this month, however, Yoon vowed to “fight until the last moment” and said that he had never intended to disrupt the “constitutional order” when he ordered hundreds of troops into the National Assembly on Dec. 3.

The public reaction has been complex and varied, reflecting the deep political, social, and generational divides in South Korea. But overall there is a mass consensus that putting the country under martial law was an inexcusable action, no matter what motivated the president to do so.

“It was an unthinkable, unimaginable situation,” Seo Jungkun, a professor at Kyunghee University in Seoul, previously told ABC News. “President Yoon attempted to suspend the functions of the national assembly. He ordered the removal of lawmakers, therefore he could be charged with treason,” Seo explained, referring to a testimony by Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-geun, who oversaw the special forces dispatched to the National Assembly on the night of the martial law declaration.

ABC News’ Joohee Cho and Hakyung Kate Lee contributed to this report.

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(LONDON) — Rebel forces in Syria are building a transitional government after toppling the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.

The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza, particularly in the north of the strip around several Palestinian hospitals.

Meanwhile, the November 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.

Tensions 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. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.

Ukraine foreign minister meets Syrian leader in Damascus

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Monday met with Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa — also known by nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani.

Sybiha became the latest foreign representative to meet with Sharaa in Damascus, where the latter’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham forces and their allies are establishing a transitional government having toppled former President Bashar Assad.

Sybiha wrote on X that he “personally conveyed the message” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “We are with you and ready to assist in restoring normal life, stability and food security,” Sybiha said.

“We rely on the new Syria respecting international law, including Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added. “This will pave the way to fully restoring our diplomatic ties, political dialogue and diplomatic presence. We are ready to develop cooperation in a number of areas.”

The visit came days after Zelenskyy announced Kyiv’s dispatch of 500 tons of wheat flour to Syria as part of the “Grain from Ukraine” humanitarian program in cooperation with the World Food Program.

Gaza hospitals become ‘battlegrounds,’ WHO chief says

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said early Monday that Gaza’s beleaguered hospitals “have once again become battlegrounds and the health system is under severe threat.”

Ghebreyesus said the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north Gaza town of Beit Lahia “is out of service,” following an Israeli raid which itself came after several weeks of encirclement and bombardment.

Israeli forces raided the compound on Friday, forcibly evacuating all remaining patients and staff. The Israel Defense Forces said it detained 240 alleged militants, among them hospital director Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya. The IDF said the hospital was a “command center” for Hamas “military operations” in the surrounding area.

Ghebreyesus said Safiya’s “whereabouts are unknown. We call for his immediate release.”

Kamal Adwan patients were transferred to the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, both of which have also reported repeated Israeli attacks. The latter “is itself out of function,” Ghebreyesus said.

“Seven patients along with 15 caregivers and health workers remain at the severely damaged Indonesian Hospital, which has no ability to provide care,” he added.

Four patients were detained by the IDF during their transfer out of Kamal Adwan Hospital, the WHO chief said.

Two other facilities — the Al-Ahli Hospital and Al-Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital in Gaza City — were also attacked and sustained damage on Monday, Ghebreyesus said.

“We repeat: stop attacks on hospitals,” he wrote. “People in Gaza need access to health care. Humanitarians need access to provide health aid. Ceasefire!”

Family of Gaza hospital director asks international community to help find him

The family of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip, is pleading with the international community to help learn his whereabouts, alleging he was detained by Israeli forces during a recent raid on the medical facility.

The family posted a message on Abu Safiya’s official Instagram page, on which the doctor had been posting updates about the hospital’s functioning, pleading, “We do not know the fate of our father.”

“We appeal to every compassionate individual and all international organizations and institutions to take action,” said the family, asking the international community to apply media pressure and make appeals to “help us push for his swift release from captivity.”

The message said Abu Safiya is still recovering from injuries he suffered a month ago while working at the hospital.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement released on Saturday that Abu Safiya is suspected of being a Hamas terrorist and is being held in Gaza.

Abu Safiya had not been arrested in previous IDF raids of the hospital.

-ABC News’ Camilla Alcini and Nadine Shubailat

IDF issues statement on Kamal Adwan Hospital raid

The IDF released a statement outlining their operations in and around Kamal Adwan Hospital in the last few days.

The Israel Defense Forces said the hospital was a “command center” for Hamas “military operations in Jabaliya,” although the statement and attached media do not provide corroborating evidence of this.

The statement says the IDF faced heavy fighting in areas near the hospital, and says the IDF detained 240 terrorists, including the director of the hospital, Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, whom it says is is “suspected of being a Hamas terrorist operative.”

Abu Safiya was one of the only male staff members at the hospital not detained during the IDF’s raid of the hospital in October, and he would have helped coordinate numerous resupply and patient evacuations with Israel over the last several months.

Kamal Adwan is the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza and is operating at a limited capacity due to a lack of medical supplies and the repeated attacks on the hospital.

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule

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(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden announced on Monday that the United States would offer almost $2.5 billion in defense assistance to Ukraine, a move that will bring an “immediate influx of capabilities” as the country defends itself against Russia’s assault.

“At my direction, the United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in this war over the remainder of my time in office,” Biden said in a statement.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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