(NEW YORK) — For three Israelis who have been waiting two months for the safe return of their families from Hamas captivity, this year’s Hannukah celebrations have been anything but joyful.
Hamas freed over 100 of the more than 200 people its militants took hostage during the Oct. 7 surprise terror attack on Israel.
In exchange, Israel released more than 200 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, the majority of whom were women and minors.
Still, there are at least 135 hostages still held by Hamas, and no immediate indications that more will be released.
“There [are] a kind of small moments of let’s say happiness and assurance that everything can happen and we can bring everyone home back because some of them got back, But besides that, it’s really horrible, horrific,” Or Gat, whose brother Carmel Gat is still held by Hamas, told ABC News.
Adva Adar is one of the many who were able to reunite with their loved ones after the terror group released them. Her grandmother Yaffa Adar was freed by Hamas during the cease-fire and later released from the hospital.
Even though Yaffa Adar is back home, Adva Adar said she is even more worried about those still in captivity, including another one of her relatives, based on what her grandmother experienced.
“It was very hard both physically and mentally and she survived hell,” Adva Adar said. “I really think that we should take everyone back home now. We have no time. They have no time.”
Gat expressed frustration with the Israeli government that they are not doing enough to free their families.
“We are feeling that we should do the negotiations. We should take care of our families because it’s not happening otherwise,” he said.
Adva Adar, whose relative Tamir Adar is also a hostage, agreed.
“I really believe that the Israeli government and the international community have to demand nothing else but the return of each and every one of the hostages,” she said.
As the three try to navigate through the holiday season, they are painfully aware they are without their loved ones and why.
“Right now, I don’t feel like it’s a special time when they’re going through Holocaust,” Ephrat Mor Carmel, relative of Omer Wenkert who is still held by Hamas, said. “I think this is the way to describe what they are going through: Holocaust.”
Gat said they are trying to find ways to find hope and light during the dark times.
“We’re not going to get out of it soon, but maybe we can start, you know, to try to heal the wound,” Gat said, but that is once the hostages are released alive and well. For now, he says “… we’re still in this Holocaust.”
(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 13, 6:27 AM EST
IDF commander among 10 killed overnight, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces reported the deaths of 10 service members overnight, including a high-ranking officer, making Tuesday one of the deadliest days for the country’s military since the ground invasion began in Gaza.
Nine troops died in a single incident, an ambush in northern Gaza, officials said, marking the deadliest incident over the past month for the IDF.
At least 115 service members have been killed since Israel’s ground invasion began. A total of 444 have been killed since Oct. 7, officials said.
Dec 12, 7:31 PM EST
Biden says he doesn’t know if there are hostages in Gaza tunnels
President Joe Biden said he does not know for a fact if there are any hostages in the tunnels under Gaza amid reports that Israel began flooding some of them to target Hamas.
“There [are] assertions being made that they’re quite sure there are no hostages in any of these tunnels, but I don’t know that for a fact,” Biden told reporters during a briefing on Tuesday. “I do know that, though, that every civilian death is a national tragedy.”
Asked if he has spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about how long he believes the operation in Gaza should last, Biden declined to give a timeline.
“I want to make sure that we don’t forget what we’re doing here. We have to support Israel because they’re an independent nation,” he said, adding that the “brutality” of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel is “beyond comparison.”
Dec 12, 4:35 PM EST
Israel pumping seawater into some Gaza tunnels
Israel has recently started to pump seawater into Hamas’ underground network of tunnels, two U.S. officials confirmed to ABC News. It seems the flooding has been limited as Israel evaluates the effectiveness of this strategy compared to its other techniques.
The development was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. The Israeli Defense Forces has not publicly commented.
ABC News previously reported that Israel was exploring a range of options to take out Hamas’ tunnels, including flooding them with seawater — an approach some worried could have devastating long-term environmental impacts and other ramifications for Gaza’s civilian population.
In 2015, Egypt used seawater to flood a section of tunnels in the southern stretch of the enclave to disrupt smuggling activity, which led to complaints about damaged homes and crops, as well as contaminated water supplies.
ABC News’ Luis Martinez, Shannon Crawford and Justin Gomez
Dec 12, 3:44 PM EST
Biden says Netanyahu needs to ‘strengthen’ and ‘change’ the Israeli government
President Joe Biden said at a campaign reception that Israel is starting to lose support and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to “strengthen” and “change” the government to find a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“This is the most conservative government in Israel’s history,” Biden said, adding that the government “doesn’t want a two-state solution.”
“You cannot say there’s no Palestinian state at all in the future. And that’s going to be the hard part,” he said.
“Bibi’s got a tough decision to make,” Biden said, referring to Netanyahu.
Biden added, “In the meantime, we’re not going to do a damn thing other than protect Israel in the process.”
The president also recounted a recent conversation with Netanyahu, saying, “It was pointed out to me — I’m being very blunt with you all — it was pointed out to me that — by Bibi — that. ‘Well, you carpet-bombed Germany. You dropped the atom bomb. A lot of civilians died.'”
“I said, ‘Yeah, that’s why all these institutions were set up after World War II to see to it that it didn’t happen again — it didn’t happen again,” Biden said. “Don’t make the same mistakes we made at 9/11. There was no reason why we had to be in a war in Afghanistan at 9/11. There was no reason why we had to do some of the things we did.”
ABC News’ Molly Nagle, Mary Bruce and Justin Gomez
Dec 12, 1:34 PM EST
IDF recovers bodies of 2 more hostages
The Israel Defense Forces said it has recovered the bodies of two more hostages: 28-year-old Eden Zecharya, who was taken hostage from the Supernova music festival, and 36-year-old soldier Ziv Dado.
The IDF said its special forces recovered their bodies in Gaza and brought them back to Israel.
Dado was a husband and father of a 5-month-old girl.
“Ziv loved helping others, especially underserved populations,” the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said. “During his military service, he received certificates of excellence, was beloved by his commanders and superiors.”
Zecharya’s boyfriend died in the Oct. 7 attack while she was injured and kidnapped.
Zecharya “was filled with joy for life” and planned to study digital marketing, the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said.
She was devoted to her two dogs, and “in her last phone call, she managed to ask her father to look after her dogs,” the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said.
Dec 12, 1:16 PM EST
8-year-old girl in Gaza: ‘Save us’
As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens by the day, ABC News spoke with several children in Gaza whose lives have been upended.
“We started building tents with our own hands,” said Neda, an 8-year-old girl. “People became literally crazy. Whenever we found anything good or not, we would wear it.”
“Oh world, save us from this war,” Neda said. “We are young people, children who want to live like the rest of the children in the world.”
She wondered, “They wanted to remove Hamas, but what is our fault?”
Rama, a 9-year-old girl, said her “house was shaking” from “all the missiles.”
She asked, “If they bomb all the hospitals, where will we be treated?”
At a fundraiser in Washington, D.C., President Joe Biden said Israel is starting to lose support and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has to strengthen and change” the government to find a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Bibi’s got a tough decision to make,” Biden said, referring to Netanyahu, according to a pool report.
“This is the most conservative government in Israel’s history,” Biden said, adding that the government “doesn’t want a two-state solution.”
ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Dec 12, 11:59 AM EST
IDF recovers bodies of 2 more hostages
The Israel Defense Forces said it has recovered the bodies of two more hostages: 27-year-old Eden Zakaria, who was taken hostage from the Supernova music festival, and 36-year-old soldier Ziv Dado.
The IDF said its special forces recovered their bodies in Gaza and brought them back to Israel.
Dec 12, 11:27 AM EST
Biden to meet with family members of American hostages
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden will hold a meeting at the White House with family members of Americans taken hostage by Hamas, according to a White House official.
This appears to be the first in-person meeting between Biden and relatives of hostages. The president held a Zoom call with the families on Oct. 13.
ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Dec 12, 10:41 AM EST
Kerem Shalom crossing at Israel-Gaza-Egypt border opens
The Kerem Shalom crossing at the Israel-Gaza-Egypt border opened on Tuesday to expand the amount of aid into Gaza, according to COGAT, the Israeli agency for civilian coordination with the Palestinians.
The first batch of humanitarian aid trucks underwent inspection at Kerem Shalom Tuesday morning and is now en route to the Gaza-Egypt Rafah border crossing, COGAT said.
The simultaneous security checks at the Kerem Shalom crossing and the Israel-Egypt Nitzana crossing will double the volume of aid delivered through Rafah and admitted into the Gaza Strip, COGAT said Monday.
Dec 12, 8:20 AM EST
Twenty killed in airstrikes on Rafah in southern Gaza, health ministry says
At least 20 people were killed in airstrikes on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.
The city has been designated a safe zone by the Israeli military for displaced civilians in war-torn Gaza.
Dec 12, 6:03 AM EST
IDF says 20 soldiers killed by accident in Gaza since start of war, most by friendly fire
Twenty Israeli soldiers have been killed by accident in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, most by friendly fire, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The IDF confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday that a total of 105 soldiers have died since ground operations were launched in Gaza, 20 of which were considered accidents. Of those 20 accidental deaths, 13 were due to friendly fire, one was caused by firing irregularities and six were accidents involving weaponry, machinery or trampling, according to the IDF.
Dec 12, 5:19 AM EST
Biden says commitment to Israel is ‘unshakable,’ but warns ‘the whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight’
U.S. President Joe Biden hosted a Hanukkah reception at the White House on Monday evening, reaffirming his country’s support for Israel as the war in the Gaza Strip continues.
“My commitment to the safety of Jewish people, and the security of Israel and its right to exist, is independent — as an independent Jewish state is unshakable,” Biden said.
But the president cautioned that Israel has to “be careful” because “the whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight.”
“We can’t let that happen,” he said.
Biden also highlighted efforts his administration is taking to secure the release of hostages still being held by militants in Gaza and the continuation of military support for Israel “until they get rid of Hamas.”
“We’ve gotten more than 100 hostages out and we’re not going to stop till we get everyone on the home,” he added.
He also touted U.S. efforts to “lead the world in humanitarian assistance to innocent Palestinian civilians” in Gaza.
Dec 11, 5:17 PM EST
Physician shot inside Gaza Hospital: Doctors Without Borders
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières said one of its surgeons inside the Al-Awda hospital was injured by a shot fired from outside the facility.
“Reports coming out of Al-Awda hospital are harrowing and we are gravely worried for [the] safety of patients and staff inside. Let us be clear: Al Awda is a functioning hospital with medical staff and many patients in vulnerable condition. Targeting medical workers as they care for their patients is utterly reprehensible, utterly inhumane,” Renzo Fricke, MSF’s head of mission, said in a statement.
The international humanitarian group said the attacks on the hospital have killed five staff so far including two of their members.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Dec 11, 4:28 PM EST
Israel targeting 2 hospitals in northern Gaza: Palestinian Health Ministry
Israeli forces are targeting and operating near two hospitals in northern Gaza, the Kamal Adwan Hospital and the Al-Awda Hospital, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The director of Al-Awda Hospital, Ahmed Muhanna, said Israeli tanks were surrounding the hospital.
Doctors Without Borders said one of its surgeons was injured inside Al-Awda Hospital by a shot fired from outside the facility.
“Reports coming out of Al-Awda hospital are harrowing and we are gravely worried for safety of patients and staff inside,” Doctors Without Borders said.
The Israel Defense Forces said it could not comment on troops’ locations.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Jordana Miller and Cindy Smith
Dec 11, 4:15 PM EST
Israel doesn’t intend to stay permanently in Gaza: Defense minister
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that Israel “will take any measures in order to destroy Hamas, but we have no intention to stay permanently in the Gaza Strip.”
“We only take care of our security and the security of our citizens alongside the border with Gaza and elsewhere,” Gallant said.
Gallant said “a new civil body will be established to try and look after the welfare of the residents.”
“The key condition is that this body will not act with hostility towards the state of Israel,” Gallant said. “All the rest, in my opinion, can be discussed. It certainly will not be Hamas, and also will not be Israel. We will maintain our freedom to act, to operate militarily against any threat.”
Speaking directly to Hamas, Gallant said, “To the terrorists, to their commanders and to the battalion commanders: surrender. If you surrender, you can save your lives. If not, your fate is sealed.”
Dec 11, 3:09 PM EST
‘Cruelty I hadn’t seen before’: Psychiatrist who treated hostages
Dr. Renana Eitan, a psychiatrist who treated people held by Hamas, said some of the now-released hostages experienced “cruelty that I haven’t seen before.”
“I’ve been a psychiatrist for over 20 years,” she said. “We are [a] national center for sexual trauma and for PTSD for the refugees from Africa, so I thought I saw all the worst PTSD patients.”
Some hostages were held “in inhumane sanitary conditions” and “subject to severe physical, sexual and mental abuse,” Eitan said.
“I have never seen anything like that before,” Eitan said.
“One of the patients, she was kept in total darkness for four days. This is inhumane. She became psychotic. She had hallucinations,” Eitan said. “I’ve never seen such things in my life.”
According to the Israel Defense Forces, 137 people are still being held hostage by Hamas.
Dec 11, 2:58 PM EST
Kerem Shalom crossing at Israel-Gaza-Egypt border to open Tuesday
The Kerem Shalom crossing at the Israel-Gaza-Egypt border will open on Tuesday for security checks on aid shipments from Egypt, according to COGAT, the Israeli agency for civilian coordination with the Palestinians.
The simultaneous security checks at the Kerem Shalom crossing and the Israel-Egypt Nitzana crossing will double the volume of aid delivered through the Gaza-Egypt Rafah crossing and admitted into the Gaza Strip, COGAT said.
Dec 11, 2:21 PM EST
Protesters calling for cease-fire chain themselves to White House fence
A group of 18 protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza chained themselves to the White House fence on Monday.
The protesters were from Jewish Voice for Peace, a group that defines itself as “Jews organizing toward Palestinian liberation.” They chanted, “Biden, Biden pick a side, cease-fire not genocide,” and, “Cease-fire cannot wait, no Hanukkah to celebrate.”
U.S. Park Police said its officers used bolt cutters to remove the chains from the fencing and cleared the group from the area after roughly 30 minutes.
The demonstration came hours before President Joe Biden holds a Hanukkah reception at the White House.
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Dec 11, 1:58 PM EST
134 UNRWA workers killed since beginning of the war, UN says
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said 134 of its workers have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began two months ago.
Although northern Gaza was the first region intensely targeted by Israeli forces, the UNRWA said half of its killed staffers died in middle and southern Gaza.
There are 1.9 million people now displaced in Gaza, where conditions are continuing to deteriorate, the UNRWA said.
Dec 11, 12:21 PM EST
IDF says it recovered explosives, rifles in UNRWA-labeled bags in Gaza home
The Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers found explosives, AK-47 rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade hidden inside UNRWA-labeled bags in a home in Gaza.
The IDF said it also found long-distance rockets inside a truck near a school in Gaza.
The Israeli army has “directed aerial strikes on dozens of terrorists in the Gaza Strip” over the last day, the IDF said, and “in one incident, armed terrorists spotted exiting a medical clinic during operational activity were struck by the IDF.”
Dec 11, 6:43 AM EST
104 Israeli troops killed since fighting began, IDF says
At least 104 Israeli service members have been killed since the country’s war with Hamas began on Oct. 7, Israel Defense Forces officials said Monday.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Dec 10, 5:29 PM EST
Global health organizations call for immediate cease-fire over dire conditions in Gaza
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and the World Health Organization released updates on a deteriorating situation in Gaza, imploring for an immediate cease-fire to allow aid to enter and civilians to take shelter.
The MSF is seeing a “complete collapse” in the healthcare system in Gaza, the organization said. It has been 10 days since MSF was forced to stop providing support to Martyrs and Beni Suheila clinics due to the Israeli forces’ evacuation orders for the area, according to the statement.
In Rafah, on the southernmost area of the Gaza Strip and where people from Khan Younis and central Gaza have been pushed to, health services are extremely limited, according to MSF.
“The United Nations Security Council must demand an immediate and sustained ceasefire, to lift the siege and ensure unrestricted aid to the entire Gaza Strip,” the MSF statement read.
Meanwhile, according to the WHO, a mission it conducted with partners to deliver essential trauma and surgical supplies to Al-Ahli hospital to cover the needs of 1500 people, and to transfer 19 critical patients, was successful.
The high-risk delivery was managed despite active shelling and artillery fire in the region, according to a statement from the organization.
The hospital itself has been substantially damaged, and in acute need of oxygen and essential medical supplies, water, food and fuel as well as medical personal, the WHO said.
“We cannot wait any longer for a sustained ceasefire and a safe, scaled-up humanitarian response,” WHO officials said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Will Gretzky
Dec 10, 4:49 PM EST
IDF claims it has struck 3,500 targets in Gaza since end of cease-fire
Since the end of the cease-fire on Dec. 1, the Israeli Air Force has struck 3,500 targets in the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces confirmed to ABC News on Sunday.
Many of the targets hit by the IAF were identified by IDF forces on the ground, IDF officials said in a statement.
Since beginning of the war, more than 22,000 “terror targets” have been struck in the Gaza Strip, according to the IDF.
Among the targets hit by the Israeli forces are ones in Jabalya, Shejaiya, Beit Hanoun and Khan Yunis, the IDF said. Troops are also conducting raids on Hamas terrorist strongholds across the Gaza Strip, according to the IDF.
Numerous terrorists have been killed in the raids and terrorist infrastructure has been destroyed, according to the IDF.
Additionally, IDF naval troops are operating off the coast of the Gaza Strip, striking terror targets from the sea and supporting IDF ground troops, according to the IDF.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Dec 09, 3:14 PM EST
Biden administration approves emergency tank ammunition sale to Israel
The Biden administration approved the possible sale of tank ammunition to Israel through an emergency order, circumventing Congress.
In a release, the State Department notified Congress about the emergency sale on Friday.
“The Secretary of State determined and provided detailed justification to Congress that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the above defense articles and services in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements under Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended,” the release states.
The sale — of 120mm tank cartridges and related equipment — is estimated to cost $106.5 million.
(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 12, 4:35 PM EST
Israel pumping seawater into some Gaza tunnels
Israel has recently started to pump seawater into Hamas’ underground network of tunnels, two U.S. officials confirmed to ABC News. It seems the flooding has been limited as Israel evaluates the effectiveness of this strategy compared to its other techniques.
The development was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. The Israeli Defense Forces has not publicly commented.
ABC News previously reported that Israel was exploring a range of options to take out Hamas’ tunnels, including flooding them with seawater — an approach some worried could have devastating long-term environmental impacts and other ramifications for Gaza’s civilian population.
In 2015, Egypt used seawater to flood a section of tunnels in the southern stretch of the enclave to disrupt smuggling activity, which led to complaints about damaged homes and crops, as well as contaminated water supplies.
ABC News’ Luis Martinez, Shannon Crawford and Justin Gomez
Dec 12, 3:44 PM EST
Biden says Netanyahu needs to ‘strengthen’ and ‘change’ the Israeli government
President Joe Biden said at a campaign reception that Israel is starting to lose support and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to “strengthen” and “change” the government to find a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“This is the most conservative government in Israel’s history,” Biden said, adding that the government “doesn’t want a two-state solution.”
“You cannot say there’s no Palestinian state at all in the future. And that’s going to be the hard part,” he said.
“Bibi’s got a tough decision to make,” Biden said, referring to Netanyahu.
Biden added, “In the meantime, we’re not going to do a damn thing other than protect Israel in the process.”
The president also recounted a recent conversation with Netanyahu, saying, “It was pointed out to me — I’m being very blunt with you all — it was pointed out to me that — by Bibi — that. ‘Well, you carpet-bombed Germany. You dropped the atom bomb. A lot of civilians died.'”
“I said, ‘Yeah, that’s why all these institutions were set up after World War II to see to it that it didn’t happen again — it didn’t happen again,” Biden said. “Don’t make the same mistakes we made at 9/11. There was no reason why we had to be in a war in Afghanistan at 9/11. There was no reason why we had to do some of the things we did.”
ABC News’ Molly Nagle, Mary Bruce and Justin Gomez
Dec 12, 1:34 PM EST
IDF recovers bodies of 2 more hostages
The Israel Defense Forces said it has recovered the bodies of two more hostages: 28-year-old Eden Zecharya, who was taken hostage from the Supernova music festival, and 36-year-old soldier Ziv Dado.
The IDF said its special forces recovered their bodies in Gaza and brought them back to Israel.
Dado was a husband and father of a 5-month-old girl.
“Ziv loved helping others, especially underserved populations,” the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said. “During his military service, he received certificates of excellence, was beloved by his commanders and superiors.”
Zecharya’s boyfriend died in the Oct. 7 attack while she was injured and kidnapped.
Zecharya “was filled with joy for life” and planned to study digital marketing, the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said.
She was devoted to her two dogs, and “in her last phone call, she managed to ask her father to look after her dogs,” the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said.
Dec 12, 1:16 PM EST
8-year-old girl in Gaza: ‘Save us’
As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens by the day, ABC News spoke with several children in Gaza whose lives have been upended.
“We started building tents with our own hands,” said Neda, an 8-year-old girl. “People became literally crazy. Whenever we found anything good or not, we would wear it.”
“Oh world, save us from this war,” Neda said. “We are young people, children who want to live like the rest of the children in the world.”
She wondered, “They wanted to remove Hamas, but what is our fault?”
Rama, a 9-year-old girl, said her “house was shaking” from “all the missiles.”
She asked, “If they bomb all the hospitals, where will we be treated?”
At a fundraiser in Washington, D.C., President Joe Biden said Israel is starting to lose support and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has to strengthen and change” the government to find a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Bibi’s got a tough decision to make,” Biden said, referring to Netanyahu, according to a pool report.
“This is the most conservative government in Israel’s history,” Biden said, adding that the government “doesn’t want a two-state solution.”
ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Dec 12, 11:59 AM EST
IDF recovers bodies of 2 more hostages
The Israel Defense Forces said it has recovered the bodies of two more hostages: 27-year-old Eden Zakaria, who was taken hostage from the Supernova music festival, and 36-year-old soldier Ziv Dado.
The IDF said its special forces recovered their bodies in Gaza and brought them back to Israel.
Dec 12, 11:27 AM EST
Biden to meet with family members of American hostages
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden will hold a meeting at the White House with family members of Americans taken hostage by Hamas, according to a White House official.
This appears to be the first in-person meeting between Biden and relatives of hostages. The president held a Zoom call with the families on Oct. 13.
ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Dec 12, 10:41 AM EST
Kerem Shalom crossing at Israel-Gaza-Egypt border opens
The Kerem Shalom crossing at the Israel-Gaza-Egypt border opened on Tuesday to expand the amount of aid into Gaza, according to COGAT, the Israeli agency for civilian coordination with the Palestinians.
The first batch of humanitarian aid trucks underwent inspection at Kerem Shalom Tuesday morning and is now en route to the Gaza-Egypt Rafah border crossing, COGAT said.
The simultaneous security checks at the Kerem Shalom crossing and the Israel-Egypt Nitzana crossing will double the volume of aid delivered through Rafah and admitted into the Gaza Strip, COGAT said Monday.
Dec 12, 8:20 AM EST
Twenty killed in airstrikes on Rafah in southern Gaza, health ministry says
At least 20 people were killed in airstrikes on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.
The city has been designated a safe zone by the Israeli military for displaced civilians in war-torn Gaza.
Dec 12, 6:03 AM EST
IDF says 20 soldiers killed by accident in Gaza since start of war, most by friendly fire
Twenty Israeli soldiers have been killed by accident in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, most by friendly fire, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The IDF confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday that a total of 105 soldiers have died since ground operations were launched in Gaza, 20 of which were considered accidents. Of those 20 accidental deaths, 13 were due to friendly fire, one was caused by firing irregularities and six were accidents involving weaponry, machinery or trampling, according to the IDF.
Dec 12, 5:19 AM EST
Biden says commitment to Israel is ‘unshakable,’ but warns ‘the whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight’
U.S. President Joe Biden hosted a Hanukkah reception at the White House on Monday evening, reaffirming his country’s support for Israel as the war in the Gaza Strip continues.
“My commitment to the safety of Jewish people, and the security of Israel and its right to exist, is independent — as an independent Jewish state is unshakable,” Biden said.
But the president cautioned that Israel has to “be careful” because “the whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight.”
“We can’t let that happen,” he said.
Biden also highlighted efforts his administration is taking to secure the release of hostages still being held by militants in Gaza and the continuation of military support for Israel “until they get rid of Hamas.”
“We’ve gotten more than 100 hostages out and we’re not going to stop till we get everyone on the home,” he added.
He also touted U.S. efforts to “lead the world in humanitarian assistance to innocent Palestinian civilians” in Gaza.
Dec 11, 5:17 PM EST
Physician shot inside Gaza Hospital: Doctors Without Borders
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières said one of its surgeons inside the Al-Awda hospital was injured by a shot fired from outside the facility.
“Reports coming out of Al-Awda hospital are harrowing and we are gravely worried for [the] safety of patients and staff inside. Let us be clear: Al Awda is a functioning hospital with medical staff and many patients in vulnerable condition. Targeting medical workers as they care for their patients is utterly reprehensible, utterly inhumane,” Renzo Fricke, MSF’s head of mission, said in a statement.
The international humanitarian group said the attacks on the hospital have killed five staff so far including two of their members.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Dec 11, 4:28 PM EST
Israel targeting 2 hospitals in northern Gaza: Palestinian Health Ministry
Israeli forces are targeting and operating near two hospitals in northern Gaza, the Kamal Adwan Hospital and the Al-Awda Hospital, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The director of Al-Awda Hospital, Ahmed Muhanna, said Israeli tanks were surrounding the hospital.
Doctors Without Borders said one of its surgeons was injured inside Al-Awda Hospital by a shot fired from outside the facility.
“Reports coming out of Al-Awda hospital are harrowing and we are gravely worried for safety of patients and staff inside,” Doctors Without Borders said.
The Israel Defense Forces said it could not comment on troops’ locations.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Jordana Miller and Cindy Smith
Dec 11, 4:15 PM EST
Israel doesn’t intend to stay permanently in Gaza: Defense minister
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that Israel “will take any measures in order to destroy Hamas, but we have no intention to stay permanently in the Gaza Strip.”
“We only take care of our security and the security of our citizens alongside the border with Gaza and elsewhere,” Gallant said.
Gallant said “a new civil body will be established to try and look after the welfare of the residents.”
“The key condition is that this body will not act with hostility towards the state of Israel,” Gallant said. “All the rest, in my opinion, can be discussed. It certainly will not be Hamas, and also will not be Israel. We will maintain our freedom to act, to operate militarily against any threat.”
Speaking directly to Hamas, Gallant said, “To the terrorists, to their commanders and to the battalion commanders: surrender. If you surrender, you can save your lives. If not, your fate is sealed.”
Dec 11, 3:09 PM EST
‘Cruelty I hadn’t seen before’: Psychiatrist who treated hostages
Dr. Renana Eitan, a psychiatrist who treated people held by Hamas, said some of the now-released hostages experienced “cruelty that I haven’t seen before.”
“I’ve been a psychiatrist for over 20 years,” she said. “We are [a] national center for sexual trauma and for PTSD for the refugees from Africa, so I thought I saw all the worst PTSD patients.”
Some hostages were held “in inhumane sanitary conditions” and “subject to severe physical, sexual and mental abuse,” Eitan said.
“I have never seen anything like that before,” Eitan said.
“One of the patients, she was kept in total darkness for four days. This is inhumane. She became psychotic. She had hallucinations,” Eitan said. “I’ve never seen such things in my life.”
According to the Israel Defense Forces, 137 people are still being held hostage by Hamas.
Dec 11, 2:58 PM EST
Kerem Shalom crossing at Israel-Gaza-Egypt border to open Tuesday
The Kerem Shalom crossing at the Israel-Gaza-Egypt border will open on Tuesday for security checks on aid shipments from Egypt, according to COGAT, the Israeli agency for civilian coordination with the Palestinians.
The simultaneous security checks at the Kerem Shalom crossing and the Israel-Egypt Nitzana crossing will double the volume of aid delivered through the Gaza-Egypt Rafah crossing and admitted into the Gaza Strip, COGAT said.
Dec 11, 2:21 PM EST
Protesters calling for cease-fire chain themselves to White House fence
A group of 18 protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza chained themselves to the White House fence on Monday.
The protesters were from Jewish Voice for Peace, a group that defines itself as “Jews organizing toward Palestinian liberation.” They chanted, “Biden, Biden pick a side, cease-fire not genocide,” and, “Cease-fire cannot wait, no Hanukkah to celebrate.”
U.S. Park Police said its officers used bolt cutters to remove the chains from the fencing and cleared the group from the area after roughly 30 minutes.
The demonstration came hours before President Joe Biden holds a Hanukkah reception at the White House.
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Dec 11, 1:58 PM EST
134 UNRWA workers killed since beginning of the war, UN says
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said 134 of its workers have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began two months ago.
Although northern Gaza was the first region intensely targeted by Israeli forces, the UNRWA said half of its killed staffers died in middle and southern Gaza.
There are 1.9 million people now displaced in Gaza, where conditions are continuing to deteriorate, the UNRWA said.
Dec 11, 12:21 PM EST
IDF says it recovered explosives, rifles in UNRWA-labeled bags in Gaza home
The Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers found explosives, AK-47 rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade hidden inside UNRWA-labeled bags in a home in Gaza.
The IDF said it also found long-distance rockets inside a truck near a school in Gaza.
The Israeli army has “directed aerial strikes on dozens of terrorists in the Gaza Strip” over the last day, the IDF said, and “in one incident, armed terrorists spotted exiting a medical clinic during operational activity were struck by the IDF.”
Dec 11, 6:43 AM EST
104 Israeli troops killed since fighting began, IDF says
At least 104 Israeli service members have been killed since the country’s war with Hamas began on Oct. 7, Israel Defense Forces officials said Monday.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Dec 10, 5:29 PM EST
Global health organizations call for immediate cease-fire over dire conditions in Gaza
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and the World Health Organization released updates on a deteriorating situation in Gaza, imploring for an immediate cease-fire to allow aid to enter and civilians to take shelter.
The MSF is seeing a “complete collapse” in the healthcare system in Gaza, the organization said. It has been 10 days since MSF was forced to stop providing support to Martyrs and Beni Suheila clinics due to the Israeli forces’ evacuation orders for the area, according to the statement.
In Rafah, on the southernmost area of the Gaza Strip and where people from Khan Younis and central Gaza have been pushed to, health services are extremely limited, according to MSF.
“The United Nations Security Council must demand an immediate and sustained ceasefire, to lift the siege and ensure unrestricted aid to the entire Gaza Strip,” the MSF statement read.
Meanwhile, according to the WHO, a mission it conducted with partners to deliver essential trauma and surgical supplies to Al-Ahli hospital to cover the needs of 1500 people, and to transfer 19 critical patients, was successful.
The high-risk delivery was managed despite active shelling and artillery fire in the region, according to a statement from the organization.
The hospital itself has been substantially damaged, and in acute need of oxygen and essential medical supplies, water, food and fuel as well as medical personal, the WHO said.
“We cannot wait any longer for a sustained ceasefire and a safe, scaled-up humanitarian response,” WHO officials said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Will Gretzky
Dec 10, 4:49 PM EST
IDF claims it has struck 3,500 targets in Gaza since end of cease-fire
Since the end of the cease-fire on Dec. 1, the Israeli Air Force has struck 3,500 targets in the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces confirmed to ABC News on Sunday.
Many of the targets hit by the IAF were identified by IDF forces on the ground, IDF officials said in a statement.
Since beginning of the war, more than 22,000 “terror targets” have been struck in the Gaza Strip, according to the IDF.
Among the targets hit by the Israeli forces are ones in Jabalya, Shejaiya, Beit Hanoun and Khan Yunis, the IDF said. Troops are also conducting raids on Hamas terrorist strongholds across the Gaza Strip, according to the IDF.
Numerous terrorists have been killed in the raids and terrorist infrastructure has been destroyed, according to the IDF.
Additionally, IDF naval troops are operating off the coast of the Gaza Strip, striking terror targets from the sea and supporting IDF ground troops, according to the IDF.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Dec 09, 3:14 PM EST
Biden administration approves emergency tank ammunition sale to Israel
The Biden administration approved the possible sale of tank ammunition to Israel through an emergency order, circumventing Congress.
In a release, the State Department notified Congress about the emergency sale on Friday.
“The Secretary of State determined and provided detailed justification to Congress that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the above defense articles and services in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements under Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended,” the release states.
The sale — of 120mm tank cartridges and related equipment — is estimated to cost $106.5 million.
(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 12, 1:34 PM EST
IDF recovers bodies of 2 more hostages
The Israel Defense Forces said it has recovered the bodies of two more hostages: 28-year-old Eden Zecharya, who was taken hostage from the Supernova music festival, and 36-year-old soldier Ziv Dado.
The IDF said its special forces recovered their bodies in Gaza and brought them back to Israel.
Dado was a husband and father of a 5-month-old girl.
“Ziv loved helping others, especially underserved populations,” the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said. “During his military service, he received certificates of excellence, was beloved by his commanders and superiors.”
Zecharya’s boyfriend died in the Oct. 7 attack while she was injured and kidnapped.
Zecharya “was filled with joy for life” and planned to study digital marketing, the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said.
She was devoted to her two dogs, and “in her last phone call, she managed to ask her father to look after her dogs,” the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said.
Dec 12, 1:16 PM EST
8-year-old girl in Gaza: ‘Save us’
As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens by the day, ABC News spoke with several children in Gaza whose lives have been upended.
“We started building tents with our own hands,” said Neda, an 8-year-old girl. “People became literally crazy. Whenever we found anything good or not, we would wear it.”
“Oh world, save us from this war,” Neda said. “We are young people, children who want to live like the rest of the children in the world.”
She wondered, “They wanted to remove Hamas, but what is our fault?”
Rama, a 9-year-old girl, said her “house was shaking” from “all the missiles.”
She asked, “If they bomb all the hospitals, where will we be treated?”
At a fundraiser in Washington, D.C., President Joe Biden said Israel is starting to lose support and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has to strengthen and change” the government to find a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Bibi’s got a tough decision to make,” Biden said, referring to Netanyahu, according to a pool report.
“This is the most conservative government in Israel’s history,” Biden said, adding that the government “doesn’t want a two-state solution.”
ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Dec 12, 11:59 AM EST
IDF recovers bodies of 2 more hostages
The Israel Defense Forces said it has recovered the bodies of two more hostages: 27-year-old Eden Zakaria, who was taken hostage from the Supernova music festival, and 36-year-old soldier Ziv Dado.
The IDF said its special forces recovered their bodies in Gaza and brought them back to Israel.
Dec 12, 11:27 AM EST
Biden to meet with family members of American hostages
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden will hold a meeting at the White House with family members of Americans taken hostage by Hamas, according to a White House official.
This appears to be the first in-person meeting between Biden and relatives of hostages. The president held a Zoom call with the families on Oct. 13.
ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Dec 12, 10:41 AM EST
Kerem Shalom crossing at Israel-Gaza-Egypt border opens
The Kerem Shalom crossing at the Israel-Gaza-Egypt border opened on Tuesday to expand the amount of aid into Gaza, according to COGAT, the Israeli agency for civilian coordination with the Palestinians.
The first batch of humanitarian aid trucks underwent inspection at Kerem Shalom Tuesday morning and is now en route to the Gaza-Egypt Rafah border crossing, COGAT said.
The simultaneous security checks at the Kerem Shalom crossing and the Israel-Egypt Nitzana crossing will double the volume of aid delivered through Rafah and admitted into the Gaza Strip, COGAT said Monday.
Dec 12, 8:20 AM EST
Twenty killed in airstrikes on Rafah in southern Gaza, health ministry says
At least 20 people were killed in airstrikes on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.
The city has been designated a safe zone by the Israeli military for displaced civilians in war-torn Gaza.
Dec 12, 6:03 AM EST
IDF says 20 soldiers killed by accident in Gaza since start of war, most by friendly fire
Twenty Israeli soldiers have been killed by accident in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, most by friendly fire, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The IDF confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday that a total of 105 soldiers have died since ground operations were launched in Gaza, 20 of which were considered accidents. Of those 20 accidental deaths, 13 were due to friendly fire, one was caused by firing irregularities and six were accidents involving weaponry, machinery or trampling, according to the IDF.
Dec 12, 5:19 AM EST
Biden says commitment to Israel is ‘unshakable,’ but warns ‘the whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight’
U.S. President Joe Biden hosted a Hanukkah reception at the White House on Monday evening, reaffirming his country’s support for Israel as the war in the Gaza Strip continues.
“My commitment to the safety of Jewish people, and the security of Israel and its right to exist, is independent — as an independent Jewish state is unshakable,” Biden said.
But the president cautioned that Israel has to “be careful” because “the whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight.”
“We can’t let that happen,” he said.
Biden also highlighted efforts his administration is taking to secure the release of hostages still being held by militants in Gaza and the continuation of military support for Israel “until they get rid of Hamas.”
“We’ve gotten more than 100 hostages out and we’re not going to stop till we get everyone on the home,” he added.
He also touted U.S. efforts to “lead the world in humanitarian assistance to innocent Palestinian civilians” in Gaza.
Dec 11, 5:17 PM EST
Physician shot inside Gaza Hospital: Doctors Without Borders
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières said one of its surgeons inside the Al-Awda hospital was injured by a shot fired from outside the facility.
“Reports coming out of Al-Awda hospital are harrowing and we are gravely worried for [the] safety of patients and staff inside. Let us be clear: Al Awda is a functioning hospital with medical staff and many patients in vulnerable condition. Targeting medical workers as they care for their patients is utterly reprehensible, utterly inhumane,” Renzo Fricke, MSF’s head of mission, said in a statement.
The international humanitarian group said the attacks on the hospital have killed five staff so far including two of their members.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Dec 11, 4:28 PM EST
Israel targeting 2 hospitals in northern Gaza: Palestinian Health Ministry
Israeli forces are targeting and operating near two hospitals in northern Gaza, the Kamal Adwan Hospital and the Al-Awda Hospital, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The director of Al-Awda Hospital, Ahmed Muhanna, said Israeli tanks were surrounding the hospital.
Doctors Without Borders said one of its surgeons was injured inside Al-Awda Hospital by a shot fired from outside the facility.
“Reports coming out of Al-Awda hospital are harrowing and we are gravely worried for safety of patients and staff inside,” Doctors Without Borders said.
The Israel Defense Forces said it could not comment on troops’ locations.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Jordana Miller and Cindy Smith
Dec 11, 4:15 PM EST
Israel doesn’t intend to stay permanently in Gaza: Defense minister
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that Israel “will take any measures in order to destroy Hamas, but we have no intention to stay permanently in the Gaza Strip.”
“We only take care of our security and the security of our citizens alongside the border with Gaza and elsewhere,” Gallant said.
Gallant said “a new civil body will be established to try and look after the welfare of the residents.”
“The key condition is that this body will not act with hostility towards the state of Israel,” Gallant said. “All the rest, in my opinion, can be discussed. It certainly will not be Hamas, and also will not be Israel. We will maintain our freedom to act, to operate militarily against any threat.”
Speaking directly to Hamas, Gallant said, “To the terrorists, to their commanders and to the battalion commanders: surrender. If you surrender, you can save your lives. If not, your fate is sealed.”
Dec 11, 3:09 PM EST
‘Cruelty I hadn’t seen before’: Psychiatrist who treated hostages
Dr. Renana Eitan, a psychiatrist who treated people held by Hamas, said some of the now-released hostages experienced “cruelty that I haven’t seen before.”
“I’ve been a psychiatrist for over 20 years,” she said. “We are [a] national center for sexual trauma and for PTSD for the refugees from Africa, so I thought I saw all the worst PTSD patients.”
Some hostages were held “in inhumane sanitary conditions” and “subject to severe physical, sexual and mental abuse,” Eitan said.
“I have never seen anything like that before,” Eitan said.
“One of the patients, she was kept in total darkness for four days. This is inhumane. She became psychotic. She had hallucinations,” Eitan said. “I’ve never seen such things in my life.”
According to the Israel Defense Forces, 137 people are still being held hostage by Hamas.
Dec 11, 2:58 PM EST
Kerem Shalom crossing at Israel-Gaza-Egypt border to open Tuesday
The Kerem Shalom crossing at the Israel-Gaza-Egypt border will open on Tuesday for security checks on aid shipments from Egypt, according to COGAT, the Israeli agency for civilian coordination with the Palestinians.
The simultaneous security checks at the Kerem Shalom crossing and the Israel-Egypt Nitzana crossing will double the volume of aid delivered through the Gaza-Egypt Rafah crossing and admitted into the Gaza Strip, COGAT said.
Dec 11, 2:21 PM EST
Protesters calling for cease-fire chain themselves to White House fence
A group of 18 protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza chained themselves to the White House fence on Monday.
The protesters were from Jewish Voice for Peace, a group that defines itself as “Jews organizing toward Palestinian liberation.” They chanted, “Biden, Biden pick a side, cease-fire not genocide,” and, “Cease-fire cannot wait, no Hanukkah to celebrate.”
U.S. Park Police said its officers used bolt cutters to remove the chains from the fencing and cleared the group from the area after roughly 30 minutes.
The demonstration came hours before President Joe Biden holds a Hanukkah reception at the White House.
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Dec 11, 1:58 PM EST
134 UNRWA workers killed since beginning of the war, UN says
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said 134 of its workers have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began two months ago.
Although northern Gaza was the first region intensely targeted by Israeli forces, the UNRWA said half of its killed staffers died in middle and southern Gaza.
There are 1.9 million people now displaced in Gaza, where conditions are continuing to deteriorate, the UNRWA said.
Dec 11, 12:21 PM EST
IDF says it recovered explosives, rifles in UNRWA-labeled bags in Gaza home
The Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers found explosives, AK-47 rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade hidden inside UNRWA-labeled bags in a home in Gaza.
The IDF said it also found long-distance rockets inside a truck near a school in Gaza.
The Israeli army has “directed aerial strikes on dozens of terrorists in the Gaza Strip” over the last day, the IDF said, and “in one incident, armed terrorists spotted exiting a medical clinic during operational activity were struck by the IDF.”
Dec 11, 6:43 AM EST
104 Israeli troops killed since fighting began, IDF says
At least 104 Israeli service members have been killed since the country’s war with Hamas began on Oct. 7, Israel Defense Forces officials said Monday.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Dec 10, 5:29 PM EST
Global health organizations call for immediate cease-fire over dire conditions in Gaza
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and the World Health Organization released updates on a deteriorating situation in Gaza, imploring for an immediate cease-fire to allow aid to enter and civilians to take shelter.
The MSF is seeing a “complete collapse” in the healthcare system in Gaza, the organization said. It has been 10 days since MSF was forced to stop providing support to Martyrs and Beni Suheila clinics due to the Israeli forces’ evacuation orders for the area, according to the statement.
In Rafah, on the southernmost area of the Gaza Strip and where people from Khan Younis and central Gaza have been pushed to, health services are extremely limited, according to MSF.
“The United Nations Security Council must demand an immediate and sustained ceasefire, to lift the siege and ensure unrestricted aid to the entire Gaza Strip,” the MSF statement read.
Meanwhile, according to the WHO, a mission it conducted with partners to deliver essential trauma and surgical supplies to Al-Ahli hospital to cover the needs of 1500 people, and to transfer 19 critical patients, was successful.
The high-risk delivery was managed despite active shelling and artillery fire in the region, according to a statement from the organization.
The hospital itself has been substantially damaged, and in acute need of oxygen and essential medical supplies, water, food and fuel as well as medical personal, the WHO said.
“We cannot wait any longer for a sustained ceasefire and a safe, scaled-up humanitarian response,” WHO officials said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Will Gretzky
Dec 10, 4:49 PM EST
IDF claims it has struck 3,500 targets in Gaza since end of cease-fire
Since the end of the cease-fire on Dec. 1, the Israeli Air Force has struck 3,500 targets in the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces confirmed to ABC News on Sunday.
Many of the targets hit by the IAF were identified by IDF forces on the ground, IDF officials said in a statement.
Since beginning of the war, more than 22,000 “terror targets” have been struck in the Gaza Strip, according to the IDF.
Among the targets hit by the Israeli forces are ones in Jabalya, Shejaiya, Beit Hanoun and Khan Yunis, the IDF said. Troops are also conducting raids on Hamas terrorist strongholds across the Gaza Strip, according to the IDF.
Numerous terrorists have been killed in the raids and terrorist infrastructure has been destroyed, according to the IDF.
Additionally, IDF naval troops are operating off the coast of the Gaza Strip, striking terror targets from the sea and supporting IDF ground troops, according to the IDF.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Dec 09, 3:14 PM EST
Biden administration approves emergency tank ammunition sale to Israel
The Biden administration approved the possible sale of tank ammunition to Israel through an emergency order, circumventing Congress.
In a release, the State Department notified Congress about the emergency sale on Friday.
“The Secretary of State determined and provided detailed justification to Congress that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the above defense articles and services in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements under Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended,” the release states.
The sale — of 120mm tank cartridges and related equipment — is estimated to cost $106.5 million.
(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 12, 11:59 AM EST
IDF recovers bodies of 2 more hostages
The Israel Defense Forces said it has recovered the bodies of two more hostages: 27-year-old Eden Zakaria, who was taken hostage from the Supernova music festival, and 36-year-old soldier Ziv Dado.
The IDF said its special forces recovered their bodies in Gaza and brought them back to Israel.
Dec 12, 11:27 AM EST
Biden to meet with family members of American hostages
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden will hold a meeting at the White House with family members of Americans taken hostage by Hamas, according to a White House official.
This appears to be the first in-person meeting between Biden and relatives of hostages. The president held a Zoom call with the families on Oct. 13.
ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Dec 12, 10:41 AM EST
Kerem Shalom crossing at Israel-Gaza-Egypt border opens
The Kerem Shalom crossing at the Israel-Gaza-Egypt border opened on Tuesday to expand the amount of aid into Gaza, according to COGAT, the Israeli agency for civilian coordination with the Palestinians.
The first batch of humanitarian aid trucks underwent inspection at Kerem Shalom Tuesday morning and is now en route to the Gaza-Egypt Rafah border crossing, COGAT said.
The simultaneous security checks at the Kerem Shalom crossing and the Israel-Egypt Nitzana crossing will double the volume of aid delivered through Rafah and admitted into the Gaza Strip, COGAT said Monday.
Dec 12, 8:20 AM EST
Twenty killed in airstrikes on Rafah in southern Gaza, health ministry says
At least 20 people were killed in airstrikes on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.
The city has been designated a safe zone by the Israeli military for displaced civilians in war-torn Gaza.
Dec 12, 6:03 AM EST
IDF says 20 soldiers killed by accident in Gaza since start of war, most by friendly fire
Twenty Israeli soldiers have been killed by accident in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, most by friendly fire, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The IDF confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday that a total of 105 soldiers have died since ground operations were launched in Gaza, 20 of which were considered accidents. Of those 20 accidental deaths, 13 were due to friendly fire, one was caused by firing irregularities and six were accidents involving weaponry, machinery or trampling, according to the IDF.
Dec 12, 5:19 AM EST
Biden says commitment to Israel is ‘unshakable,’ but warns ‘the whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight’
U.S. President Joe Biden hosted a Hanukkah reception at the White House on Monday evening, reaffirming his country’s support for Israel as the war in the Gaza Strip continues.
“My commitment to the safety of Jewish people, and the security of Israel and its right to exist, is independent — as an independent Jewish state is unshakable,” Biden said.
But the president cautioned that Israel has to “be careful” because “the whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight.”
“We can’t let that happen,” he said.
Biden also highlighted efforts his administration is taking to secure the release of hostages still being held by militants in Gaza and the continuation of military support for Israel “until they get rid of Hamas.”
“We’ve gotten more than 100 hostages out and we’re not going to stop till we get everyone on the home,” he added.
He also touted U.S. efforts to “lead the world in humanitarian assistance to innocent Palestinian civilians” in Gaza.
Dec 11, 5:17 PM EST
Physician shot inside Gaza Hospital: Doctors Without Borders
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières said one of its surgeons inside the Al-Awda hospital was injured by a shot fired from outside the facility.
“Reports coming out of Al-Awda hospital are harrowing and we are gravely worried for [the] safety of patients and staff inside. Let us be clear: Al Awda is a functioning hospital with medical staff and many patients in vulnerable condition. Targeting medical workers as they care for their patients is utterly reprehensible, utterly inhumane,” Renzo Fricke, MSF’s head of mission, said in a statement.
The international humanitarian group said the attacks on the hospital have killed five staff so far including two of their members.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Dec 11, 4:28 PM EST
Israel targeting 2 hospitals in northern Gaza: Palestinian Health Ministry
Israeli forces are targeting and operating near two hospitals in northern Gaza, the Kamal Adwan Hospital and the Al-Awda Hospital, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The director of Al-Awda Hospital, Ahmed Muhanna, said Israeli tanks were surrounding the hospital.
Doctors Without Borders said one of its surgeons was injured inside Al-Awda Hospital by a shot fired from outside the facility.
“Reports coming out of Al-Awda hospital are harrowing and we are gravely worried for safety of patients and staff inside,” Doctors Without Borders said.
The Israel Defense Forces said it could not comment on troops’ locations.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Jordana Miller and Cindy Smith
Dec 11, 4:15 PM EST
Israel doesn’t intend to stay permanently in Gaza: Defense minister
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that Israel “will take any measures in order to destroy Hamas, but we have no intention to stay permanently in the Gaza Strip.”
“We only take care of our security and the security of our citizens alongside the border with Gaza and elsewhere,” Gallant said.
Gallant said “a new civil body will be established to try and look after the welfare of the residents.”
“The key condition is that this body will not act with hostility towards the state of Israel,” Gallant said. “All the rest, in my opinion, can be discussed. It certainly will not be Hamas, and also will not be Israel. We will maintain our freedom to act, to operate militarily against any threat.”
Speaking directly to Hamas, Gallant said, “To the terrorists, to their commanders and to the battalion commanders: surrender. If you surrender, you can save your lives. If not, your fate is sealed.”
Dec 11, 3:09 PM EST
‘Cruelty I hadn’t seen before’: Psychiatrist who treated hostages
Dr. Renana Eitan, a psychiatrist who treated people held by Hamas, said some of the now-released hostages experienced “cruelty that I haven’t seen before.”
“I’ve been a psychiatrist for over 20 years,” she said. “We are [a] national center for sexual trauma and for PTSD for the refugees from Africa, so I thought I saw all the worst PTSD patients.”
Some hostages were held “in inhumane sanitary conditions” and “subject to severe physical, sexual and mental abuse,” Eitan said.
“I have never seen anything like that before,” Eitan said.
“One of the patients, she was kept in total darkness for four days. This is inhumane. She became psychotic. She had hallucinations,” Eitan said. “I’ve never seen such things in my life.”
According to the Israel Defense Forces, 137 people are still being held hostage by Hamas.
Dec 11, 2:58 PM EST
Kerem Shalom crossing at Israel-Gaza-Egypt border to open Tuesday
The Kerem Shalom crossing at the Israel-Gaza-Egypt border will open on Tuesday for security checks on aid shipments from Egypt, according to COGAT, the Israeli agency for civilian coordination with the Palestinians.
The simultaneous security checks at the Kerem Shalom crossing and the Israel-Egypt Nitzana crossing will double the volume of aid delivered through the Gaza-Egypt Rafah crossing and admitted into the Gaza Strip, COGAT said.
Dec 11, 2:21 PM EST
Protesters calling for cease-fire chain themselves to White House fence
A group of 18 protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza chained themselves to the White House fence on Monday.
The protesters were from Jewish Voice for Peace, a group that defines itself as “Jews organizing toward Palestinian liberation.” They chanted, “Biden, Biden pick a side, cease-fire not genocide,” and, “Cease-fire cannot wait, no Hanukkah to celebrate.”
U.S. Park Police said its officers used bolt cutters to remove the chains from the fencing and cleared the group from the area after roughly 30 minutes.
The demonstration came hours before President Joe Biden holds a Hanukkah reception at the White House.
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Dec 11, 1:58 PM EST
134 UNRWA workers killed since beginning of the war, UN says
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said 134 of its workers have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began two months ago.
Although northern Gaza was the first region intensely targeted by Israeli forces, the UNRWA said half of its killed staffers died in middle and southern Gaza.
There are 1.9 million people now displaced in Gaza, where conditions are continuing to deteriorate, the UNRWA said.
Dec 11, 12:21 PM EST
IDF says it recovered explosives, rifles in UNRWA-labeled bags in Gaza home
The Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers found explosives, AK-47 rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade hidden inside UNRWA-labeled bags in a home in Gaza.
The IDF said it also found long-distance rockets inside a truck near a school in Gaza.
The Israeli army has “directed aerial strikes on dozens of terrorists in the Gaza Strip” over the last day, the IDF said, and “in one incident, armed terrorists spotted exiting a medical clinic during operational activity were struck by the IDF.”
Dec 11, 6:43 AM EST
104 Israeli troops killed since fighting began, IDF says
At least 104 Israeli service members have been killed since the country’s war with Hamas began on Oct. 7, Israel Defense Forces officials said Monday.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Dec 10, 5:29 PM EST
Global health organizations call for immediate cease-fire over dire conditions in Gaza
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and the World Health Organization released updates on a deteriorating situation in Gaza, imploring for an immediate cease-fire to allow aid to enter and civilians to take shelter.
The MSF is seeing a “complete collapse” in the healthcare system in Gaza, the organization said. It has been 10 days since MSF was forced to stop providing support to Martyrs and Beni Suheila clinics due to the Israeli forces’ evacuation orders for the area, according to the statement.
In Rafah, on the southernmost area of the Gaza Strip and where people from Khan Younis and central Gaza have been pushed to, health services are extremely limited, according to MSF.
“The United Nations Security Council must demand an immediate and sustained ceasefire, to lift the siege and ensure unrestricted aid to the entire Gaza Strip,” the MSF statement read.
Meanwhile, according to the WHO, a mission it conducted with partners to deliver essential trauma and surgical supplies to Al-Ahli hospital to cover the needs of 1500 people, and to transfer 19 critical patients, was successful.
The high-risk delivery was managed despite active shelling and artillery fire in the region, according to a statement from the organization.
The hospital itself has been substantially damaged, and in acute need of oxygen and essential medical supplies, water, food and fuel as well as medical personal, the WHO said.
“We cannot wait any longer for a sustained ceasefire and a safe, scaled-up humanitarian response,” WHO officials said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Will Gretzky
Dec 10, 4:49 PM EST
IDF claims it has struck 3,500 targets in Gaza since end of cease-fire
Since the end of the cease-fire on Dec. 1, the Israeli Air Force has struck 3,500 targets in the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces confirmed to ABC News on Sunday.
Many of the targets hit by the IAF were identified by IDF forces on the ground, IDF officials said in a statement.
Since beginning of the war, more than 22,000 “terror targets” have been struck in the Gaza Strip, according to the IDF.
Among the targets hit by the Israeli forces are ones in Jabalya, Shejaiya, Beit Hanoun and Khan Yunis, the IDF said. Troops are also conducting raids on Hamas terrorist strongholds across the Gaza Strip, according to the IDF.
Numerous terrorists have been killed in the raids and terrorist infrastructure has been destroyed, according to the IDF.
Additionally, IDF naval troops are operating off the coast of the Gaza Strip, striking terror targets from the sea and supporting IDF ground troops, according to the IDF.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Dec 09, 3:14 PM EST
Biden administration approves emergency tank ammunition sale to Israel
The Biden administration approved the possible sale of tank ammunition to Israel through an emergency order, circumventing Congress.
In a release, the State Department notified Congress about the emergency sale on Friday.
“The Secretary of State determined and provided detailed justification to Congress that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the above defense articles and services in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements under Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended,” the release states.
The sale — of 120mm tank cartridges and related equipment — is estimated to cost $106.5 million.
(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 12, 6:03 AM EST
IDF says 20 soldiers killed by accident in Gaza since start of war, most by friendly fire
Twenty Israeli soldiers have been killed by accident in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, most by friendly fire, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The IDF confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday that a total of 105 soldiers have died since ground operations were launched in Gaza, 20 of which were considered accidents. Of those 20 accidental deaths, 13 were due to friendly fire, one was caused by firing irregularities and six were accidents involving weaponry, machinery or trampling, according to the IDF.
Dec 12, 5:19 AM EST
Biden says commitment to Israel is ‘unshakable,’ but warns ‘the whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight’
U.S. President Joe Biden hosted a Hanukkah reception at the White House on Monday evening, reaffirming his country’s support for Israel as the war in the Gaza Strip continues.
“My commitment to the safety of Jewish people, and the security of Israel and its right to exist, is independent — as an independent Jewish state is unshakable,” Biden said.
But the president cautioned that Israel has to “be careful” because “the whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight.”
“We can’t let that happen,” he said.
Biden also highlighted efforts his administration is taking to secure the release of hostages still being held by militants in Gaza and the continuation of military support for Israel “until they get rid of Hamas.”
“We’ve gotten more than 100 hostages out and we’re not going to stop till we get everyone on the home,” he added.
He also touted U.S. efforts to “lead the world in humanitarian assistance to innocent Palestinian civilians” in Gaza.
Dec 11, 5:17 PM EST
Physician shot inside Gaza Hospital: Doctors Without Borders
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières said one of its surgeons inside the Al-Awda hospital was injured by a shot fired from outside the facility.
“Reports coming out of Al-Awda hospital are harrowing and we are gravely worried for [the] safety of patients and staff inside. Let us be clear: Al Awda is a functioning hospital with medical staff and many patients in vulnerable condition. Targeting medical workers as they care for their patients is utterly reprehensible, utterly inhumane,” Renzo Fricke, MSF’s head of mission, said in a statement.
The international humanitarian group said the attacks on the hospital have killed five staff so far including two of their members.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Dec 11, 4:28 PM EST
Israel targeting 2 hospitals in northern Gaza: Palestinian Health Ministry
Israeli forces are targeting and operating near two hospitals in northern Gaza, the Kamal Adwan Hospital and the Al-Awda Hospital, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The director of Al-Awda Hospital, Ahmed Muhanna, said Israeli tanks were surrounding the hospital.
Doctors Without Borders said one of its surgeons was injured inside Al-Awda Hospital by a shot fired from outside the facility.
“Reports coming out of Al-Awda hospital are harrowing and we are gravely worried for safety of patients and staff inside,” Doctors Without Borders said.
The Israel Defense Forces said it could not comment on troops’ locations.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Jordana Miller and Cindy Smith
Dec 11, 4:15 PM EST
Israel doesn’t intend to stay permanently in Gaza: Defense minister
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that Israel “will take any measures in order to destroy Hamas, but we have no intention to stay permanently in the Gaza Strip.”
“We only take care of our security and the security of our citizens alongside the border with Gaza and elsewhere,” Gallant said.
Gallant said “a new civil body will be established to try and look after the welfare of the residents.”
“The key condition is that this body will not act with hostility towards the state of Israel,” Gallant said. “All the rest, in my opinion, can be discussed. It certainly will not be Hamas, and also will not be Israel. We will maintain our freedom to act, to operate militarily against any threat.”
Speaking directly to Hamas, Gallant said, “To the terrorists, to their commanders and to the battalion commanders: surrender. If you surrender, you can save your lives. If not, your fate is sealed.”
Dec 11, 3:09 PM EST
‘Cruelty I hadn’t seen before’: Psychiatrist who treated hostages
Dr. Renana Eitan, a psychiatrist who treated people held by Hamas, said some of the now-released hostages experienced “cruelty that I haven’t seen before.”
“I’ve been a psychiatrist for over 20 years,” she said. “We are [a] national center for sexual trauma and for PTSD for the refugees from Africa, so I thought I saw all the worst PTSD patients.”
Some hostages were held “in inhumane sanitary conditions” and “subject to severe physical, sexual and mental abuse,” Eitan said.
“I have never seen anything like that before,” Eitan said.
“One of the patients, she was kept in total darkness for four days. This is inhumane. She became psychotic. She had hallucinations,” Eitan said. “I’ve never seen such things in my life.”
According to the Israel Defense Forces, 137 people are still being held hostage by Hamas.
Dec 11, 2:58 PM EST
Kerem Shalom crossing at Israel-Gaza-Egypt border to open Tuesday
The Kerem Shalom crossing at the Israel-Gaza-Egypt border will open on Tuesday for security checks on aid shipments from Egypt, according to COGAT, the Israeli agency for civilian coordination with the Palestinians.
The simultaneous security checks at the Kerem Shalom crossing and the Israel-Egypt Nitzana crossing will double the volume of aid delivered through the Gaza-Egypt Rafah crossing and admitted into the Gaza Strip, COGAT said.
Dec 11, 2:21 PM EST
Protesters calling for cease-fire chain themselves to White House fence
A group of 18 protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza chained themselves to the White House fence on Monday.
The protesters were from Jewish Voice for Peace, a group that defines itself as “Jews organizing toward Palestinian liberation.” They chanted, “Biden, Biden pick a side, cease-fire not genocide,” and, “Cease-fire cannot wait, no Hanukkah to celebrate.”
U.S. Park Police said its officers used bolt cutters to remove the chains from the fencing and cleared the group from the area after roughly 30 minutes.
The demonstration came hours before President Joe Biden holds a Hanukkah reception at the White House.
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Dec 11, 1:58 PM EST
134 UNRWA workers killed since beginning of the war, UN says
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said 134 of its workers have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began two months ago.
Although northern Gaza was the first region intensely targeted by Israeli forces, the UNRWA said half of its killed staffers died in middle and southern Gaza.
There are 1.9 million people now displaced in Gaza, where conditions are continuing to deteriorate, the UNRWA said.
Dec 11, 12:21 PM EST
IDF says it recovered explosives, rifles in UNRWA-labeled bags in Gaza home
The Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers found explosives, AK-47 rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade hidden inside UNRWA-labeled bags in a home in Gaza.
The IDF said it also found long-distance rockets inside a truck near a school in Gaza.
The Israeli army has “directed aerial strikes on dozens of terrorists in the Gaza Strip” over the last day, the IDF said, and “in one incident, armed terrorists spotted exiting a medical clinic during operational activity were struck by the IDF.”
Dec 11, 6:43 AM EST
104 Israeli troops killed since fighting began, IDF says
At least 104 Israeli service members have been killed since the country’s war with Hamas began on Oct. 7, Israel Defense Forces officials said Monday.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Dec 10, 5:29 PM EST
Global health organizations call for immediate cease-fire over dire conditions in Gaza
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and the World Health Organization released updates on a deteriorating situation in Gaza, imploring for an immediate cease-fire to allow aid to enter and civilians to take shelter.
The MSF is seeing a “complete collapse” in the healthcare system in Gaza, the organization said. It has been 10 days since MSF was forced to stop providing support to Martyrs and Beni Suheila clinics due to the Israeli forces’ evacuation orders for the area, according to the statement.
In Rafah, on the southernmost area of the Gaza Strip and where people from Khan Younis and central Gaza have been pushed to, health services are extremely limited, according to MSF.
“The United Nations Security Council must demand an immediate and sustained ceasefire, to lift the siege and ensure unrestricted aid to the entire Gaza Strip,” the MSF statement read.
Meanwhile, according to the WHO, a mission it conducted with partners to deliver essential trauma and surgical supplies to Al-Ahli hospital to cover the needs of 1500 people, and to transfer 19 critical patients, was successful.
The high-risk delivery was managed despite active shelling and artillery fire in the region, according to a statement from the organization.
The hospital itself has been substantially damaged, and in acute need of oxygen and essential medical supplies, water, food and fuel as well as medical personal, the WHO said.
“We cannot wait any longer for a sustained ceasefire and a safe, scaled-up humanitarian response,” WHO officials said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Will Gretzky
Dec 10, 4:49 PM EST
IDF claims it has struck 3,500 targets in Gaza since end of cease-fire
Since the end of the cease-fire on Dec. 1, the Israeli Air Force has struck 3,500 targets in the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces confirmed to ABC News on Sunday.
Many of the targets hit by the IAF were identified by IDF forces on the ground, IDF officials said in a statement.
Since beginning of the war, more than 22,000 “terror targets” have been struck in the Gaza Strip, according to the IDF.
Among the targets hit by the Israeli forces are ones in Jabalya, Shejaiya, Beit Hanoun and Khan Yunis, the IDF said. Troops are also conducting raids on Hamas terrorist strongholds across the Gaza Strip, according to the IDF.
Numerous terrorists have been killed in the raids and terrorist infrastructure has been destroyed, according to the IDF.
Additionally, IDF naval troops are operating off the coast of the Gaza Strip, striking terror targets from the sea and supporting IDF ground troops, according to the IDF.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Dec 09, 3:14 PM EST
Biden administration approves emergency tank ammunition sale to Israel
The Biden administration approved the possible sale of tank ammunition to Israel through an emergency order, circumventing Congress.
In a release, the State Department notified Congress about the emergency sale on Friday.
“The Secretary of State determined and provided detailed justification to Congress that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the above defense articles and services in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements under Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended,” the release states.
The sale — of 120mm tank cartridges and related equipment — is estimated to cost $106.5 million.
(ISLAMABAD) — At least 22 people were killed and more than 30 were injured when a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into a security forces compound in Pakistan on Tuesday, local officials said.
A newly formed militant group Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, saying it targeted the officers who were at the compound.
Both police and army officers are stationed at the compound, which is in a city close to the border with Afghanistan.
Jailed Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny is seen on a screen via a video link from his penal colony during court hearings over the extremism criminal case against him at the Russia’s Supreme Court in Moscow on June 22, 2023. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Kremlin has claimed it does not know where the Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny is currently held and it has no intention of looking into his status.
The Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov also rebuffed expressions of concern from the U.S. over Navalny’s disappearance, calling it “unacceptable.”
“Here we are talking about one prisoner who, according to the law, was found guilty and is serving his sentence, and here we consider any intervention by anyone, including the United States of America, unacceptable and impossible,” he told reporters during his daily off-camera briefing.
A lawyer-turned-politician, Navalny has been in jail since 2021, when he returned to Russia after recovering in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. In 2022, a Russian judge added another nine years to Navalny’s sentence of 2 1/2 years for embezzlement and other charges.
Navalny was being held in Correctional Facility No. 6 in the Vladimir region, about 100 miles east of Moscow.
Navalny’s team on Monday said he had disappeared from the prison camp where he is held and accused authorities of refusing to say where he had been moved.
Peskov on Tuesday claimed the Kremlin is unable to track individual prisoners.
“We have neither the intention nor the ability to track the fate of prisoners and the process of their stay in the relevant institutions,” he said.
(WASHINGTON) — A merchant vessel sailing in the southern Red Sea was struck by a land-based cruise missile fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen, according to a U.S. official.
U.S. Central Command said in a post on X Monday night that there was “damage causing a fire on-board,” the merchant ship, but no casualties were reported.
The incident is the latest escalation from Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, who have launched missiles and drones targeting ships sailing in the region in a show of support for Hamas in the war with Israel.
In mid-November, Houthi commandos seized the Bahamian-flagged Galaxy Leader while it sailed in the Red Sea, claiming it was linked to Israel. The ship and its multinational crew remain in the port of Hodeida in Yemen, where they were taken after the seizure.
A U.S. official confirmed to ABC News on Monday that a land-based cruise missile launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen had struck the merchant ship — Motor Transport STRINDA — when it was about 60 nautical miles north of the Bab-al-Mandab, the narrow strait between Yemen and the northeast coast of Africa.
Earlier on Monday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations received a report of an attack on a commercial vessel sailing 15 nautical miles west of the port of Mocha, Yemen.
The attack caused some damage and a fire, but no casualties have been reported, according to the U.S. official.
No U.S. Navy ships were near the area when the attack occurred, but the destroyer USS Mason is now on the scene to render assistance.
In recent weeks, the Mason and the destroyer USS Carney have been involved in several incidents where they have shot down Houthi missiles or drones targeting commercial ships or Israel.
The U.S. is in discussions with other countries to form a multinational task force to protect commercial ships sailing in the region.
U.S. officials have also said publicly that the United States reserves the right to respond to the Houthi attacks at a time and place of its choosing.
(NEW YORK) — A Delta Air Lines flight carrying 270 people was diverted to a remote Canadian town for nearly 24 hours due to a problem with the plane’s de-icing equipment, according to the airline.
Delta flight 135 from Amsterdam to Detroit diverted to Goose Bay Airport in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador around 3:15 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 10.
The airport is located in the remote town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, which has a population of around 8,000 people.
According to Delta, crew duty times were impacted due to weather and runway conditions that caused the airport to suspend operations.
The airline sent a rescue aircraft but the crew of that plane timed out. Delta sent another flight to pick up the passengers — that flight had been scheduled to depart Goose Bay on Monday afternoon and bring the passengers to Detroit.
Delta said they worked with officials on the ground to provide food and accommodations for their customers. The passengers stayed in military barracks overnight.
“We apologize to customers for this inconvenience as we continue to work to make them comfortable,” Delta said.
