This photo provided by Jiji Press shows a Japan Airlines plane on fire on a runway of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Jan. 2, 2024. (STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images)
(TOKYO) — A Japan Airlines plane was engulfed in flames after landing at Haneda Airport on Tuesday.
The flight, JL516, which was travelling from Chitose, Hokkaido, may have struck a Japan Coast Guard plane as it was landing, officials told Japanese broadcaster NHK, saying it was a preliminary assessment. The aircraft landed at about 5:47 p.m. local time.
There were 367 passengers and 12 crew members onboard when the flight landed, NHK reported. All 379 have safely left the plane, the airline said, according to NHK.
Live video from the airport, an international hub on the outskirts of Tokyo, showed firefighters battling flames that have engulfed the aircraft’s fuselage.
The plane was an Airbus A350, according to flight tracker FlightAware.
(TOKYO and LONDON) — At least four people have died after a powerful earthquake struck Japan’s west coast on Monday afternoon, officials said.
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.5 struck at about 4:10 p.m. local time, with its epicenter on the Noto Peninsula, along the Sea of Japan, according to U.S. Geological Survey data.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said it measured the quake at a preliminary magnitude at 7.6, adding there had also been more 100 jolts in the region, including aftershocks.
Japanese officials had issued a major tsunami warning for the peninsula and evacuation warnings and surrounding Ishikawa Prefecture — where the four victims were from — before downgrading it about five hours later to a tsunami warning. The lesser warning said waves could be expected high as 3 meters, or about 10 feet, near the epicenter, down from 5 meters, or about 16 feet.
Authorities were urgently directing the population to move to higher ground. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s office issued a statement telling residents nearby to evacuate immediately. People were being urged not to go to the coast and to stay away from waterways.
Outside of the major tsunami warning area, a tsunami advisory has been issued for the entire Sea of Japan side of the main island of Honshu and Western Hokkaido island.
Monday’s warning is the first time a major tsunami warning has been issued since 2011, when a 9.0-magnitude quake struck Tohoku, causing disastrous and deadly tsunami waves.
Initial tsunami waves had begun striking land on Monday evening, with some reportedly reaching about 1.2 meters along the Noto Peninsula and the surrounding Ishikawa and Niigata prefectures. Tsunami waves were reported as far north as Hokkaido Prefecture.
Kishida appeared briefly before television cameras at his residence, saying the government was collecting information and assessing the situation. His administration set up a disaster response office, he said. He vowed to get an accurate assessment of the situation and said that saving lives was his utmost priority.
“I urge local residents in the affected areas to evacuate,” he said. “Others in the region must be vigilant, be on the lookout as further quakes may hit.”
The earthquake could be felt in Tokyo, where it sent power lines and light fixtures swaying.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said it had recorded within 90 minutes about 19 additional earthquakes above a magnitude of 1, including the largest one. The largest quake was “very shallow,” the agency said.
Video broadcast on local TV showed collapsed concrete statues and damage to buildings. Many homes have been damaged or collapses, according to NHK.
In Ishikawa Prefecture, on the Japanese island of Honshu, as many as 40,000 are without electricity. Additionally, hundreds if not thousands of people, will be spending the night outdoors Monday night, where temperatures will be below freezing.
Officials in Ishikawa’s Wajima City, a city near the epicenter, say a fire broke out in the center of the city damaging more than 50 stores and houses on a street that hosts a morning market, the country’s Fire Disaster Management Agency said. Additional fires in Kanazawa and Joetsu, cities on the mainland near the Noto Peninsula, were extinguished, the agency said.
Bullet trains in the region were suspended. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways reportedly cancelled flights to and from the region. Hospitals in the region were reporting power outages, perhaps complicating treatment of the injured.
No abnormalities in regional power reactors have been reported. Hokuriku Electric Power Company, which runs a nuclear power plant in Shika, in Ishikawa Prefecture, said in a press release that it was checking the status of its equipment.
Waves up to a meter were possible in North Korea and Russia, according to the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center.
“Don’t let your guard down, move away from the coast,” was the continuing message from Japanese authorities as night fell.
“Things can turn catastrophic in an instant,” authorities said. “The first wave may not be the largest.”
The White House said President Joe Biden received a briefing from his national security team on the earthquake in Japan, as well as developments in the Middle East, while vacationing in St. Croix with his family.
“Jill and I are praying for the people of Japan who have been impacted by the terrible earthquake,” Biden said in a statement. “My administration is in touch with Japanese officials, and the United States stands ready to provide any necessary assistance for the Japanese people. As close Allies, the United States and Japan share a deep bond of friendship that unites our people. Our thoughts are with the Japanese people during this difficult time.”
ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
(TOKYO and LONDON) — Japanese officials issued a tsunami warning and evacuation warnings after a powerful earthquake struck the west coast on Monday afternoon.
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.5 struck at about 4:10 p.m. local time, with its epicenter on the Noto Peninsula, along the Sea of Japan, according to U.S. Geological Survey data.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said it measured the quake at a preliminary magnitude at 7.6, adding there had also been more than a dozen smaller ones, including aftershocks.
Japanese officials had issued a major tsunami warning for the peninsula and surrounding Ishikawa Prefecture before downgrading it about five hours later to a tsunami warning. The lesser warning said waves could be expected high as 3 meters, or about 10 feet, near the epicenter, down from 5 meters, or about 16 feet.
Authorities were urgently directing the population to move to higher ground. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s office issued a statement telling residents nearby to evacuate immediately. People were being urged not to go to the coast and to stay away from waterways.
Tsunami threats were in effect along Japan’s west coast, according to the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center. Outside of the major tsunami warning area, a tsunami advisory has been issued for the entire Sea of Japan side of the main island of Honshu and Western Hokkaido island.
Monday’s warning is the first time a major tsunami warning has been issued since 2011, when a 9.0-magnitude quake struck Tohoku, causing disastrous and deadly tsunami waves.
Initial tsunami waves had begun striking land on Monday evening, with some reportedly reaching about 1.2 meters along the Noto Peninsula and the surrounding Ishikawa and Niigata prefectures. Tsunami waves were reported as far north as Hokkaido Prefecture.
Kishida appeared briefly before television cameras at his residence, saying the government was collecting information and assessing the situation. His administration set up a disaster response office, he said. He vowed to get an accurate assessment of the situation and said that saving lives was his utmost priority.
“I urge local residents in the affected areas to evacuate,” he said. “Others in the region must be vigilant, be on the lookout as further quakes may hit.”
The earthquake could be felt in Tokyo, where it sent power lines and light fixtures swaying.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said it had recorded within 90 minutes about 19 additional earthquakes above a magnitude of 1, including the largest one. The largest quake was “very shallow,” the agency said.
Video broadcast on local TV showed collapsed concrete statues and damage to buildings.
Firefighters were battling a blaze in Wajima, a city near the epicenter, the country’s Fire Disaster Management Agency said. Additional fires in Kanazawa and Joetsu, cities on the mainland near the Noto Peninsula, were extinguished, the agency said.
Bullet trains in the region were suspended. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways reportedly cancelled flights to and from the region. Hospitals in the region were reporting power outages, perhaps complicating treatment of the injured.
No abnormalities in regional power reactors have been reported. Hokuriku Electric Power Company, which runs a nuclear power plant in Shika, in Ishikawa Prefecture, said in a press release that it was checking the status of its equipment.
Waves up to a meter were possible in North Korea and Russia, according to the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center.
“Don’t let your guard down, move away from the coast,” was the continuing message from Japanese authorities as night fell.
“Things can turn catastrophic in an instant,” authorities said. “The first wave may not be the largest.”
(TOKYO and LONDON) — Japanese officials issued a major tsunami warning and evacuation warnings after a powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.5 struck the west coast on Monday afternoon.
The earthquake struck at about 4:10 p.m. local time, with its epicenter on the Noto Peninsula, along the Sea of Japan, according to U.S. Geological Survey data.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a major tsunami warning for the peninsula and surrounding Ishikawa Prefecture. The agency warned of waves up to about 5 meters, or about 16 feet.
Authorities were urgently directing the population to move to higher ground. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s office issued a statement telling residents nearby to evacuate immediately. People were being urged on Monday not to go to the coast and to stay away from waterways.
Tsunami threats were in effect along Japan’s west coast, according to the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center. Outside of the major tsunami warning area, a tsunami advisory has been issued for the entire Sea of Japan side of the main island of Honshu and Western Hokkaido island.
Monday’s warning is the first time a major tsunami warning has been issued since 2011, when a 9.0-magnitude quake struck Tohoku, causing disastrous and deadly tsunami waves.
Initial tsunami waves were already striking land on Monday evening, with some reportedly reaching about 1.2 meters along the Noto Peninsula, along with surrounding Ishikawa and Niigata prefectures. Tsunami waves have so far been reported as far north as Hokkaido Prefecture.
Kishida appeared briefly before television cameras at his residence, saying the government was collecting information and assessing the situation. His administration set up a disaster response office, he said. He vowed to get an accurate assessment of the situation and said that saving lives was his utmost priority.
“I urge local residents in the affected areas to evacuate,” he said. “Others in the region must be vigilant, be on the lookout as further quakes may hit.”
The earthquake could be felt in Tokyo, where it sent power lines and light fixtures swaying.
Video broadcast on local TV showed collapsed concrete statues and damage to buildings. Bullet trains in the region were suspended. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways reportedly cancelled flights to and from the region. Hospitals in the region were reporting power outages, perhaps complicating treatment of the injured.
No abnormalities in regional power reactors have been reported. Hokuriku Electric Power Company, which runs a nuclear power plant in Shika, in Ishikawa Prefecture, said in a press release that it was checking the status of its equipment.
Waves up to a meter were possible in North Korea and Russia, according to the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center.
“Don’t let your guard down, move away from the coast,” was the continuing message from Japanese authorities as night fell.
“Things can turn catastrophic in an instant,” authorities said. “The first wave may not be the largest.”
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark gives a New Year’s speech from Christian IX’s Palace, Amalienborg Castle, in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Dec. 31, 2023, announcing her upcoming abdication. (KELD NAVNTOFT/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — In a surprise New Year’s Eve announcement, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II said she plans to abdicate her throne more than five decades after succeeding her father King Frederik IX.
“I have decided that now is the right time. On 14th January, 2024 — 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father — I will step down as Queen of Denmark,” she said in her annual speech to her nation.
The 83-year-old monarch said she will hand the throne over to her son, 55-year-old Crown Prince Frederik.
The announcement came near the end of the queen’s speech. She concluded the address offering thanks for the “overwhelming warmth and support which I have received during all these years.”
“Thank you to the changing governments with whom the collaboration always has been rewarding, and thank you to The Parliament, who have always vested their confidence in me,” Queen Margrethe said. “Thank you to the many, many people who on special occasions and in everyday life have embraced me and my family with kind words and thoughts, turning the years into a string of pearls.”
She said a series of recent “ailments,” including extensive back surgery in February, prompted her decision to step down.
“In two weeks time, I have been Queen of Denmark for 52 years. Such an amount will leave its mark on anybody – also on me! The time takes its toll, and the number of ‘ailments’ increases. One cannot undertake as much as one managed in the past,” she said.
In her speech, the queen noted the “horrible terrorist attack on civilians in Israel,” calling it “incomprehensible.”
“The war makes antisemitism spread again. It is tragic and shameful,” she said. “Tonight, I wish to make a clear and unequivocal call for all of us in Denmark to treat each other with respect. We must approach each other more closely, not distance ourselves from each other. We must remember that we are all human beings. This applies to Jews as well as Palestinians.”
She also used her final New Year’s Eve speech to address climate change, saying, “The seriousness is obvious.”
“The globe’s climate is changing faster than we thought,” the queen said. “We need to address climate change. The consequences are not only in the future. They are here already, and they are extreme. Most people in Denmark are fully aware of this, even if it has been difficult for some of us to fully realize it. Together we must now find the hope and determination to do something.”
As usual, she signed off her New Year’s speech, saying, “God bless Denmark. God bless you all.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen issued a statement thanking the queen for her “lifelong dedication and tireless efforts for the Kingdom.”
“Queen Margrethe is the epitome of Denmark and throughout the years has put words and feelings into who we are as a people and as a nation,” Frederiksen said.
During her reign, Queen Margrethe, whose role has mostly been ceremonial, has been a popular public figure in Denmark as well as in Greenland and the Faeroe Islands, semi-independent territories that comprise the Danish Realm.
She garnered praise from her royal subjects beginning as a princess when she joined the Danish women’s air force unit. Her popularity reached new heights in 2011 when she visited Danish troops in southern Afghanistan wearing a military jumpsuit.
“In the new year, Crown Prince Frederik will be proclaimed king. Crown Princess Mary will become queen,” Frederiksen said, referring to the prince’s wife of 19 years. “The kingdom will have a new regent and a new royal couple. We can look forward to all of this in the knowledge that they are ready for the responsibility and the task.”
U.S. Navy photo by Mass communication Specialist 2nd Class Malachi Lakey
(WASHINGTON) — The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group will leave the eastern Mediterranean Sea, where it was sent just after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October, in the “coming days,” two U.S. officials tell ABC News.
The Ford is the U.S. Navy’s newest and largest aircraft carrier and was nearing the end of its first operational deployment when it was redirected to the eastern Mediterranean the day after Hamas terrorists launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent the carrier and the five other surface warships to deter Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran from broadening the conflict regionally, saying at the time: “As part of our effort to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’ attack on Israel.”
In December, Austin extended the carrier’s deployment for a third time to maintain that deterrence role as tensions in the region remained high.
A senior U.S. official and a U.S. official told ABC News that in the “coming days,” the carrier and other surface ships that make up the strike group will return to the carrier’s home port of Norfolk, Virginia, as originally scheduled so it could prepare for future deployments.
The senior U.S. official stressed that the carrier’s return will keep to that schedule and that even with the Ford’s departure, the United States will still have a lot of military capability in the region and flexibility, including the deployment of additional cruisers and destroyers in the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
“We have nothing to announce today,” said a Defense Department spokesman when contacted for comment.
Last week, the amphibious assault ships USS Bataan and USS Carter Hall arrived in the eastern Mediterranean from the Red Sea to reunite with the USS Mesa Verde.
The move reunited the three ships that had originally deployed together in July from North Carolina, as well as the 2,200 U.S. Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) aboard the ships.
In the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, other countries also sent warships to the eastern Mediterranean — creating the largest naval presence in that region in decades — as part of an effort to deter Hezbollah and Iran.
A second U.S. Navy carrier strike group, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, had originally been ordered to join the Ford in the eastern Mediterranean but was ordered to the Persian Gulf region to deter Iran from broadening the war between Israel and Hamas.
The Eisenhower remains deployed to the Middle East and is currently in the Gulf of Aden east of Yemen, where tensions have risen in recent weeks as Houthi militants have used drones and ballistic missiles to attack commercial shipping in the Red Sea region, purportedly as a show of support for Hamas.
Several U.S. Navy destroyers from both the Ford and Eisenhower strike groups have been deployed to the Red Sea, where they have brought down Houthi drones and missiles headed either in their direction or toward Israel.
Tensions escalated Sunday as U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire and sank three small boats carrying Houthi militants in the Red Sea, killing the crews, after U.S. warships responded to a distress call from a merchant vessel, military officials said.
Helicopters from the Eisenhower and the destroyer USS Gravely fired in self-defense after being shot at by Houthi militants aboard three fast small boats that were attacking a commercial vessel.
All the militants aboard three boats were killed, and a fourth boat fled, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command.
(NEW YORK) — The temporary cease-fire between Hamas and Israel ended on Dec. 1, 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. All times Eastern:
Dec 31, 4:47 PM EST
IDF says it expects war to last all of 2024
The war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group is expected to last all of 2024, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said Sunday.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a statement that the Israeli military is making adjustments to its deployment of troops in the Gaza Strip as it anticipates the war lasting for the entirety of 2024.
“We are adjusting the fighting methods to each area in Gaza, as well as the necessary forces to carry out the mission in the best way possible,” Hagari said. “Each area has different characteristics and different operational needs.”
Hagari added that as 2024 begins, “The goal of the war requires lengthy fighting, and we are prepared accordingly.”
The Israeli military, according to Hagari, will be carrying out “smart” management of its forces in Gaza, allowing reservists to return home to help boost the economy, and allowing standing army troops to train to become commanders.
“It will result in considerable relief for the economy, and will allow them to gain strength for operations next year, and the fighting will continue and we will need them,” Hagari said.
He said the adjustments are necessary for the IDF to endure the long road ahead.
“The IDF needs to plan ahead, out of the understanding that we will be needed for additional missions and continued fighting during the entire coming year,” Hagari said.
(NEW YORK) — U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire and and sank three small boats carrying Houthi militants in the Red Sea on Sunday, after U.S. warships responded to a distress call from a merchant vessel, military officials said.
A Maersk container ship, the Singapore-flagged Hangzhou, issued a distress call at about 6:30 a.m. local time, U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Sunday. The merchant vessel said four small boats were attacking it.
“The small boats, originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, fired crew-served and small-arms weapons at the Maersk Hangzhou, getting to within 20 meters of the vessel, and attempted to board the vessel,” Central Command said.
Helicopters from two U.S. ships — the USS Eisenhower and the USS Gravely — responded and issued verbal calls to the small boats, U.S. officials said.
While the helicopters were “in the process of issuing verbal calls to the small boats, the small boats fired upon the U.S. helicopters with crew served weapons and small arms,” Central Command said.
Service members aboard the Navy helicopters returned fire and sank three of the four small boats, killing the crews, U.S. officials said. The fourth boat fled the area.
In a statement Sunday, the Houthis said they lost 10 group members after U.S. forces fired on their vessels, referring to the engagement as “dangerous behavior” that will have “negative repercussions.”
The group also said it will continue operating in the Red Sea. “The American enemy bears the consequences of this crime and its repercussions,” the group said, in part.
The group also reiterated that it will “not hesitate to confront any aggression” against Yemen and renewed its “advice to all countries not to be drawn into the American plans aimed at igniting the conflict in the Red Sea.”
The U.S. does not seek to escalate the conflict, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on “Good Morning America” on Sunday.
“We don’t seek a conflict wider in the region and we’re not looking for a conflict with the Houthis,” Kirby told ABC News’ Whit Johnson. “The best outcome here would be for the Houthis to stop these attacks as we have made clear over and over again.”
Sunday’s incident was the second time in 24 hours that the Hangzhou had issued a distress call, U.S. Navy officials said.
The ship had been traveling on Saturday evening about 55 nautical miles southwest of Al Hudaydah, Yemen, when it was hit by an unknown object, a Maersk spokesperson told ABC News.
The 14,000-container vessel continued north afterward, heading toward its destination of Port Suez, Egypt.
“Maersk can also confirm that after the initial attack on the vessel, four boats approached the vessel and engaged fire in an expected attempt to board the vessel,” said Adhish Alawani, a Maersk spokesperson.
Maersk has delayed all transits through the area for the next 48 hours, as the incident is investigated, he said.
Kirby emphasized the importance of the Red Sea shipping corridor and the critical need to keep it safe and open for international commerce.
Asked if a pre-emptive strike is on the table, Kirby said “we’re not ruling anything in or out.”
“We have made it clear publicly to the Houthis and privately to our allies and partners, and we’re going to make the right decisions going forward,” he added.
(LONDON) — Dozens of Russian drones targeted civilian and military targets in Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian officials said, a day after Russia accused Ukraine of a deadly strike on a Russian border city.
Russia launched at least nine missiles and at least 49 drones before 6 a.m. Sunday, Ukrainian officials said. Ukraine’s military said it shot down 21 of the drones.
The assault targeted cities, including Kyiv, the capital, hitting administrative and residential buildings, Ukraine said. Four drones struck central Kharkiv, sparking fires that spread over about 1,000 square meters, the country’s State Emergency Service said on social media. No injuries or deaths had been reported, officials said.
The aerial assault followed two days of escalated shelling, including a strike on Saturday in Belgorod, Russia, that killed at least 21 people, according to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Dashcam video taken by a vehicle driving along a retail strip in Belgorod appeared to show a missile landing within the city, shattering nearby windows and sending pedestrians fleeing.
Ukraine has not claimed responsibility, but Russia blamed Ukraine for that deadly strike, which officials said injured another 111 people.
Russia a day earlier had launched one of its largest overnight aerial assaults on Ukraine since the war began. The attack began at about 11 p.m. on Thursday and lasted for several hours. It included at least 122 missiles and 36 drones, the Ukrainian Armed Forces said.
At least 41 people were killed and about 160 were injured, Ukrainian officials said.
The Ukrainian Air Force said it’s “never seen so many locations targeted simultaneously.”
ABC News’ Yulia Drozd and Edward Szekeres contributed to this story.
(NEW YORK) — The temporary cease-fire between Hamas and Israel ended on Dec. 1, 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. All times Eastern:
Dec 30, 1:44 PM EST
Refugee camps hit in Gaza amid fierce fighting
Palestinians reported fierce Israeli tank fire and aerial bombing in Khan Younis in southern Gaza overnight, and strikes appear to be continuing this morning.
Israel said its forces in Gaza eliminated “dozens of terror operatives” in the past day. Planes also carried out a series of air strikes on the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, according to medics and Palestinian journalists.
Residents in the urban refugee camp of Bureij, a recent hot spot of combat along with Nuseirat, also reported Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Saturday. Israeli forces have been pounding Khan Younis in preparation for an anticipated further advance into the main southern city, swaths of which they captured in early December.
Israel said Saturday its troops have advanced further in southern Gaza, while raiding Hamas sites in Khan Younis, including the headquarters of the terror group’s intelligence division in the city.
According to Israel, the intelligence HQ was responsible for all of Hamas’s intelligence activity in the Khan Younis area.
Dec 30, 1:22 PM EST
Fighting continues on the border with Lebanon
Israel said that it struck three terror cells in southern Lebanon on Saturday. The IDF also said it carried out strikes against Hezbollah infrastructure and shelled areas in southern Lebanon.
The strikes came amid Hezbollah rocket, missile and drone attacks on northern Israel on Saturday, according to the IDF. According to Israel, 80% of the launches fired by Hezbollah toward Israel fell in Lebanon.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir
Dec 29, 3:24 PM EST
Israel says it destroyed tunnels where Hamas general headquarters were located
The IDF said it has located and destroyed a hideout apartment of Yahya Sinwar — a Hamas leader — near Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip.
IDF soldiers examined the apartment using additional technological means and found that a strategic tunnel shaft was located on the basement floor. The soldiers inspected the tunnel shaft and reached a 715-foot, tunnel with a depth of over 65 feet that was apparently used by the senior officials of Hamas’ Military and Political Wing, according to the IDF.
The IDF said that the tunnel had an electrical network, ventilation and sewage infrastructure, hideout materials, prayer rooms and resting rooms. The IDF said the tunnel was built so that it would be possible to stay inside it and conduct combat for long periods of time.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir
Dec 29, 2:47 PM EST
Gaza woman with cancer can’t receive treatment because of border closure
A 50-year-old woman who has been a cancer patient for three years says she has not been able to receive her continuing treatment in Jerusalem since the war began, she told ABC News.
Rida Kaskeen, who now lives in a makeshift tent in Rafah, had received chemical treatment for her cancer in Jerusalem before the war began. But since it started, border closures have kept her from being able to get her treatment.
“I am a cancer patient. I used to go every two weeks to take my dose in Al-Mutalaa Hospital. They were all there with respect and appreciation. They provided me with everything, from a hotel or in the hospital, to everything I wanted and needed. They were doing their duty and more,” Kaskeen told ABC News.
“My last dose was a week before the war. Every two weeks is the dose, and I have not taken the treatment for three months, and I know my end because I didn’t take the treatment and I lost weight and my situation is miserable,” Kaskeen said.
-ABC News’ Sami Zayara
Dec 29, 1:06 PM EST
Hamas leader will not travel to Cairo to discuss potential cease-fire deal
Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said he would not travel to Cairo on Friday to discuss its proposed cease-fire and hostage deal.
“There will be no visit by a Hamas delegation to Cairo today,” Hamdan said.
Another Hamas leader said the terror group would not negotiate while “under fire.”
“Any negotiations on the exchange of prisoners will take place after the cease-fire and the occupation’s withdrawal from Gaza,” Hamas leader Musa Abu Marzouk said. “We will not negotiate under fire.”
ABC News’ Nasser Atta
Dec 28, 3:44 PM EST
2 security personnel stabbed in Jerusalem
A man armed with a knife stabbed two officers working at the Mazmuria Crossing in southern Jerusalem on Thursday night, according to Israeli police.
The suspect stopped his car near the crossing’s inspection station and then got out and stabbed two security personnel who were on duty, police said.
One of the victims, as well as a border police officer, “confronted the terrorist, neutralizing him with gunfire,” police said.
The victims suffered “light to moderate injuries,” police said.
Dec 28, 3:13 PM EST
Refugee camp to be established in Khan Younis
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it’s working to establish the first organized camp for displaced people in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
The camp would initially have 300 tents and later expand to 1,000 tents, the PRCS said.
Dec 28, 3:03 PM EST
Egypt puts forward proposal for new hostage, cease-fire deal
Egypt has put forward a new proposal for a hostage and cease-fire deal, Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt’s state information service, said.
The proposal “aims to bring viewpoints closer between all sides involved, in an effort to stop the Palestinian bloodshed, end the aggression against the Gaza Strip and restore peace and stability in the region,” Rashwan said in a statement Thursday.
Egypt said it has not yet received any responses to the proposed framework.
-ABC News’ Ayat Al-Tawy
Dec 28, 2:31 PM EST
American-Israeli-Canadian hostage confirmed dead
Judy Weinstein, a 70-year-old American-Israeli-Canadian hostage, was confirmed dead on Thursday, Kibbutz Nir Oz said in a statement.
Weinstein was fatally wounded during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and her body remains held in Gaza, the kibbutz said.
Her husband, American-Israeli Gad Haggai, was also killed on Oct. 7 and his body also remains in Gaza, the kibbutz said. His death was confirmed last week.
Weinstein, a mother of four and grandmother of seven, was an English teacher who specialized in helping children with special needs, Kibbutz Nir Oz said.
“For the past few years she has also taught Mindfulness to children and teenagers who suffered from anxiety caused by the ongoing rocket fire from Gaza,” the kibbutz said. “Judy was a poet, entrepreneur, and pursued many initiatives to advance peace in the region.”
President Joe Biden said in a statement that he’s “devastated” to learn of Weinstein’s death.
“We are holding Judith and Gad’s four children, seven grandchildren, and other loved ones close to our hearts,” Biden said. “I will never forget what their daughter, and the family members of other Americans held hostage in Gaza, have shared with me. They have been living through hell for weeks. No family should have to endure such an ordeal. And I reaffirm the pledge we have made to all the families of those still held hostage: we will not stop working to bring them home.”
Weinstein was the last American woman being held hostage by Hamas who had not been released, according to the Hostage Families Forum.
Dec 28, 1:58 PM EST
Netanyahu to hostage families: ‘We are not giving up’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with representatives of the families of hostages on Thursday and promised them, “We are not giving up.”
The families shared their concerns about the conditions of their loved ones and their questions about what will be done to promote their release.
“We are in contact, even at this moment,” Netanyahu said at the beginning of the meeting.
“I cannot detail the status,” he said, adding, “We are working to return everyone — that is our goal.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Dec 28, 1:50 PM EST
IDF publishes findings into investigation of accidental killing of 3 hostages
The Israel Defense Forces has published the findings of its investigation into the accidental killing of three hostages by IDF soldiers in the Shejaiya area of Gaza on Dec. 15.
The IDF Chief of the General Staff concluded that “the IDF failed in its mission to rescue” them and “the entire chain of command feels responsible.”
The three hostages — 28-year-old Yotam Haim, 26-year-old Alon Shamriz and 22-year-old Samer Talalka — were carrying a stick with a white cloth, and the IDF initially said its forces “mistakenly identified” the men as a threat. Soldiers opened fire, killing two of the men.
The third hostage, who was injured, ran back into the building where all three had emerged from, and someone cried “help” in Hebrew. The battalion commander ordered his troops to stop firing, but, despite the order, another burst was fired, killing the third hostage, according to the IDF.
The investigation “revealed that the command ranks had information about the presence of hostages in the Shejaiya area and even took actions to prevent strikes on locations suspected of having hostages inside,” the findings said.
But the probe also revealed that “IDF soldiers involved in the incident experienced complex combat situations in the days preceding the incident and were in a state of high alert for a threat,” the findings said. “During the battles, they encountered deceptions by the enemy and attempts to draw them into pits and buildings rigged with explosives.”
Days before Dec. 15, IDF soldiers heard cries for help in Hebrew.
“The forces interpreted this as a terrorist deception attempt,” the investigation said.
“Some of the forces heard the cries but suspected it was an attempt by the terrorists to draw the forces inside the building to harm them, as had happened in the past,” the investigation said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Dec 28, 11:01 AM EST
American-Israeli-Canadian hostage confirmed dead
Judy Weinstein, a 70-year-old American-Israeli-Canadian hostage, was confirmed dead on Thursday, Kibbutz Nir Oz said in a statement.
Weinstein was fatally wounded during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and her body remains held in Gaza, the kibbutz said.
Her husband, American-Israeli Gad Haggai, was also killed on Oct. 7 and his body also remains in Gaza, the kibbutz said. His death was confirmed last week.
Weinstein, a mother of four and grandmother of seven, was an English teacher who specialized in helping children with special needs, Kibbutz Nir Oz said.
“For the past few years she has also taught Mindfulness to children and teenagers who suffered from anxiety caused by the ongoing rocket fire from Gaza,” the kibbutz said. “Judy was a poet, entrepreneur, and pursued many initiatives to advance peace in the region.”
Dec 27, 3:33 PM EST
Israeli forces destroy tunnel near Gaza hospital: IDF
Israeli forces have destroyed an underground tunnel near the Rantisi Hospital in northern Gaza, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said at a briefing.
The tunnel infrastructure, several kilometers long, “connected different locations in the Strip,” Hagari said. “[Israeli] forces uncovered three tunnel shafts in the area of the hospital, with one of them coming out of a school.”
“The tunnel network included steel doors, command control rooms, emergency rooms, many weapons that were underground and other intelligence materials,” he said.
This comes as Israeli forces “are at a very high level of readiness for the expansion of the war” in northern Gaza, Hagari said.
“We are in the final stages of the attack in the Al Burj area in the northern Gaza Strip, where we killed many terrorists,” he said.
Hagari added that Israel is also “attacking all the infrastructure that Hezbollah has built near the [Lebanon-Israel] border.”
In southern Gaza, Israeli “forces are fighting in several areas,” Hagari said. “One in the area called Al Burj in the central [Gaza] camps, where we are attacking for a third day. The second is in Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip, a major terror center of Hamas. There we expanded the operation — today we added another division to this area and we continue to operate there with new combat methods above and below the ground.”
Dec 27, 1:54 PM EST
Egyptian president meets with King of Jordan, says ‘international community must push’ for cease-fire
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with King Abdullah II of Jordan in Egypt on Wednesday and said “the international community must push towards” a cease-fire.
“Both leaders affirmed their complete rejection of all attempts to liquidate the Palestinian issue or to displace the Palestinians from their lands or their internal displacement, stressing that the only solution that the international community must push towards implementing is an immediate cease-fire, and the entry of relief aid in the necessary quantities and at the speed that will make a real difference in alleviating the suffering of the people of the Gaza Strip,” according to a readout from the Egyptian spokesman for the Presidency Counselor Ahmed Fahmy.
“Talks also focused on regional developments, especially in the Gaza Strip and the humanitarian tragedy it faces, which resulted in thousands of deaths and injuries and the displacement of hundreds of thousands,” the readout added.
ABC News’ Ayat Al-Tawy
Dec 27, 1:43 PM EST
WHO delivers aid, supplies to Gaza hospitals
The World Health Organization said it delivered much-needed aid and supplies to Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza and the Palestine Red Crescent Society’s Al-Amal Hospital in southern Gaza on Tuesday.
Palestinians mourn relatives, who were killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, during a mass funeral at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Dec. 25, 2023, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Gaza’s militant rulers, Hamas.
Al-Shifa and Al-Amal hospitals are also operating as shelters for displaced residents, sheltering 50,000 people and 14,000 people respectively, according to the WHO.
Gaza has 13 partially functioning hospitals, two minimally functioning hospitals and 21 hospitals that are not functioning at all, causing the hospitals that are functioning to become overloaded with patients who need help, according to the WHO.
Displaced Palestinian children watch from inside a tent as a man mourns relatives, who were killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, during a mass funeral at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Dec. 25, 2023, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Gaza’s militant rulers, Hamas.
“Today I repeat my call on the international community to take urgent steps to alleviate the grave peril facing the population of Gaza and jeopardizing the ability of humanitarian workers to help people with terrible injuries, acute hunger, and at severe risk of disease,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.
Tedros said a cease-fire is needed “to spare civilians from further violence and begin the long road towards reconstruction and peace.”
Dec 27, 12:08 PM EST
20 killed in strike in Khan Younis
Twenty people have been killed in a strike on a building near the Red Cross Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, according the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. The death toll is likely to rise, the Gaza Ministry of Health said.
ABC News Nasser Atta
Dec 27, 11:07 AM EST
At least 241 killed in Gaza in 24 hours
At least 241 people have been killed in Gaza in a 24-hour period, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
This comes as Israeli forces expand their ground offensive to central Gaza, launching over 200 rockets in one day, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Dec 26, 4:36 PM EST
Gaza faces another telecommunications blackout: PRCS
Gaza is facing another telecommunications blackout, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
“This presents a significant challenge for emergency medical teams in reaching the wounded and injured,” the organization warned.
Dec 26, 4:27 PM EST
Israel’s war cabinet meets about possible hostage deals: Source
Israel’s war cabinet is meeting to discuss operational issues of the war as well as the hostages, according to an Israeli political source.
There are several hostage deals being discussed, the Israeli source said, including a proposal from Egyptians that would involve a cease-fire in exchange for the release of more hostages and lead to a broader agreement involving a permanent cease-fire, along with an overhaul of leadership in Gaza, according to an Egyptian source.
Dec 26, 3:00 PM EST
Israeli forces expand into central Gaza
Israeli forces have “expanded operations into central Gaza,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said.
In Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the Israelis “are fighting with new methods” and “constantly adjusting our tactics based on the needs of the military operations,” Hagari said.
And in northern Gaza, Israeli forces have “attacked an array of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon,” he said.
Dec 26, 12:41 PM EST
80,000 vials of vaccines delivered to Gaza
About 80,000 vials of the measles mumps and rubella vaccine, also called the MMR vaccine, have been delivered to Gaza, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
The MMR vaccine is routinely given to children starting at 12 months old to 15 months old and again at 4 years old to 6 years old.
Dec 26, 11:47 AM EST
120 aid trucks enter Gaza on Monday
On Christmas Day, 60 trucks crossed into Gaza via Egypt’s Rafah border crossing, and an additional 60 trucks entered Gaza through Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing, said Wael Abu Omar, the Palestinian spokesman for the Rafah crossing.
On Christmas Eve, the Royal Jordanian Air Force conducted its seventh airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the U.S. Embassy of Jordan said.
Dec 26, 11:35 AM EST
Israeli defense minister: Israel ‘under attack from 7 different sectors’
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in a special discussion of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said Israel is “under attack from seven different sectors: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Judea and Samaria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran.”
“We have already reacted and acted in six of them. And I say this in the most explicit way: Anyone who acts against us is a potential target,” Gallant warned. “There is no immunity for anyone.”
Dec 25, 4:36 PM EST
IDF says it found Hamas infrastructure in Indonesian Hospital in Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers have discovered “evidence connecting Hamas’ terrorist activities” to northern Gaza’s Indonesian Hospital.
The IDF said a white Toyota truck “of the same type used by Hamas” in the Oct. 7 attack was found “in the inner compound of the hospital,” “along with additional weapons.”
The IDF also said that in the hospital’s inner compound was a Toyota Corolla belonging to the family of Samer Talalka, who was one of the three Israeli hostages held in Gaza who was mistakenly killed by the IDF. Bloodstains belonging to another hostage were found in the car, the IDF said.
“The finding of the vehicle directly links the hospital to the brutal events of October 7th,” the IDF said.
ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Dec 25, 3:34 PM EST
Netanyahu heckled by families of hostages: Report
Families of hostages reportedly heckled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he gave a speech in Parliament on Monday, according to Reuters.
The families, sitting in the chamber, held posters of their loved ones and interrupted Netanyahu as he spoke, per Reuters.
Netanyahu said in his address that military pressure is needed to free the remaining people being held hostage by Hamas, Reuters reported.
Dec 25, 11:11 AM EST
Lebanon carries out launches toward Israel, IDF says
Lebanon has carried out a number of launches toward several locations in northern Israel over the last few hours, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
“A short while ago,” Israeli tanks hit Hezbollah infrastructure sites in Lebanon “used for directing terrorist activity,” according to the IDF.
ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Dec 25, 10:55 AM EST
Hamas, Islamic Jihad reject Egypt’s proposal for cease-fire, hostage release: Egyptian security source
Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have rejected an Egyptian proposal that they relinquish power in the Gaza Strip in return for a permanent cease-fire, an Egyptian security source confirmed to ABC News.
Egypt proposed a “vision,” also backed by Qatari mediators, that would involve a cease-fire in exchange for the release of more hostages and lead to a broader agreement involving a permanent cease-fire, along with an overhaul of leadership in Gaza, the Egyptian security source said. However, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad rejected the proposal, the source said.
The Israeli War Cabinet was planning on meeting to discuss this proposal Monday evening local time. It is unclear if they will still discuss the proposal.
