Israel-Gaza updates: IDF says it exposed Hamas tunnel under Shifa Hospital

World Health Organization officials visited the hospital in Gaza on Saturday.

ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: November 19, 2023, 11:27 AM EST

Thousands of people have died and thousands more have been injured since the militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel retaliated with a bombing campaign and total siege of the neighboring Gaza Strip, leaving the region on the verge of all-out war.

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Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
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.

Nov 16, 2023, 2:07 PM EST

Body of 65-year-old hostage found near Al-Shifa Hospital, IDF says

The body of Yehudit Weiss, a 65-year-old woman who was abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, was found at a "structure adjacent" to Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement Thursday.

Her body was "extracted" and "transferred to Israeli territory," the IDF said.

"In the structure in which Yehudit was located, military equipment including Kalashnikov rifles and [rocket-propelled grenades] were also found," the IDF said.

ABC News’ Patrick Reevell has the details as the IDF announces the body of another has been found near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
4:23

Body of a hostage found in Gaza, IDF says

ABC News’ Patrick Reevell has the details as the IDF announces the body of another has been found near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
ABCNews.com

"For us, it is too late," Weiss' daughter-in-law told The Times of Israel. "But it is important for us to support all the families of the hostages, and to tell the world -- bring them home now."

Nov 16, 2023, 1:52 PM EST

IDF says it's 'quite close' to destroying Hamas' military system in northern Gaza

The Israel Defense Force's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, claimed his forces are "quite close" to completely destroying Hamas' military system in northern Gaza.

"We will complete it. We have some finishing to do, but we are getting close to it nicely," Halevi told commanders in a video published by the IDF.

Israeli troops move forward during a military operation in the Gaza Strip in a picture released by the Israeli army, November 16, 2023.
Israeli Defense Force/AFP via Getty Images

Halevi said the IDF will continue its activity in the Gaza Strip and will "kill [Hamas] commanders and operatives and destroy the infrastructure."

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Thursday that "over the last 24 hours we have gained [operational] control of the western area of Gaza City. The next phase has begun -- the forces are acting precisely and decisively."

Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023.
Leo Correa/AP

"The further we take this operation, [the more we] increase the pressure on Hamas and succeed in eliminating their terror infrastructure including headquarters and tunnels, while also taking down [Hamas] leadership and operatives," he added.

Senior Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh stressed Thursday that its forces will defeat the Israelis, saying, "Our people and their strong resistance have thwarted the enemy’s goals and plans to displace our people or recover their hostages by force."

Hamas is an Islamic political and militant organization that controls the Gaza Strip.
1:06

What is Hamas?

Hamas is an Islamic political and militant organization that controls the Gaza Strip.
Getty

Nov 16, 2023, 1:19 PM EST

IDF says it found Hamas intelligence material, information on hostages at Al-Shifa Hospital

The Israel Defense Forces said it's still operating at Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, searching the hospital floor-by-floor as doctors and patients remain sheltered inside.

The IDF said during its searches at the hospital forces have found Hamas intelligence material, weapons and information about the hostages.

Weapons are laid out on the ground that were located in a vehicle of Hamas terrorists that was planned to go to the massacre of October 7, at the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, Nov. 16, 2023.
Israel Defense Forces

Nov 16, 2023, 12:21 PM EST

Kirby says US 'still convinced of the soundness' of intelligence on Al-Shifa Hospital

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby reiterated that the U.S. is "still convinced of the soundness" of its intelligence that Hamas is using Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital as a command center.

"We have our own intelligence that convinces us that Hamas was using Al-Shifa as a command-and-control node, and most likely as well as a storage facility," Kirby said. "And they were sheltering themselves in a hospital, using the hospital as a shield against military action and placing the patients and medical staff at a greater risk. We are still convinced of the soundness of that intelligence."

An Israeli officer points at what he describes as a grab bag containing a rifle and other munitions belonging to a Hamas fighter that was discovered behind an MRI machine at the Al Shifa hospital complex in Gaza City, Nov. 15, 2023.
Israel Defense Forces via Reuters

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

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