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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.

Mar 1, 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 11, 2023, 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, 2023, 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.

Israeli soldiers take positions near the Gaza Strip border, in southern Israel, Dec. 11, 2023.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP

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."

A picture taken from southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke rising during an Israeli strike on the Palestinian territory on Dec. 10, 2023, amid ongoing battles with the Palestinian Hamas group.
Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images

Dec 11, 2023, 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.

People hold candles and signs with photos of Israeli hostages, who are being held in the Gaza Strip during a torch march as the country observes the Jewish festival Hanukkah, in Tel Aviv, Israel Dec. 7, 2023.
Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters

Dec 11, 2023, 2:19 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."

Activists with Jewish Voice for Peace, gather to protest the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and chain themselves to the fence outside the White House, Dec. 11, 2023, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP

Activists with Jewish Voice for Peace, gather to protest the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and chain themselves to the fence outside the White House, Dec. 11, 2023, in Washington.
Susan Walsh/AP

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.

Activists with Jewish Voice for Peace, gather to protest the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and chain themselves to the fence outside the White House, Dec. 11, 2023, in Washington.
Susan Walsh/AP

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

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