Live

Israel-Gaza live updates: IDF says it's discovered one of Hamas' biggest tunnels

The 2 1/2-mile-long tunnel is large enough to drive a car through, the IDF said.

ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: December 17, 2023, 5:01 PM EST

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.

Click here for updates from previous days.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Mar 1, 2024, 6:03 am

What we know about the conflict

The latest outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, has passed the four-month mark.

In the Gaza Strip, at least 30,228 people have been killed and 71,377 others have been wounded by Israeli forces since Oct. 7, according to Gaza's Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.

In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured by Hamas and other Palestinian militants since Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

There has also been a surge in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have killed at least 395 people in the territory since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The ongoing war began after Hamas-led militants launched an unprecedented incursion into southern Israel from neighboring Gaza via land, sea and air. Scores of people were killed while more than 200 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. The Israeli military subsequently launched retaliatory airstrikes followed by a ground invasion of Gaza, a 140-square-mile territory where more than 2 million Palestinians have lived under a blockade imposed by Israel and supported by Egypt since Hamas came to power in 2007. Gaza, unlike Israel, has no air raid sirens or bomb shelters.

Dec 12, 2023, 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."

People search building rubble for items to salvage following an early morning Israeli strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Dec. 12, 2023.
Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images

"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?"

People mourn as they collect the bodies of Palestinians killed in an airstrike, Dec. 11, 2023 in Khan Yunis, Gaza.
Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images

Dec 12, 2023, 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.

A woman touches a poster on a message board with pictures of hostages, who are being held in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Dec. 6, 2023.
Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters

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, 2023, 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.

The United Nations General Assembly held an emergency session on the growing humanitarian crisis
2:27

Israel opens second border crossing to allow more aid into Gaza

The United Nations General Assembly held an emergency session on the growing humanitarian crisis
ABCNews.com

Dec 12, 2023, 8:20 AM EST

20 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.

-ABC News' Nasser Atta and Joe Simonetti

Related Topics