Israel-Gaza live updates: 3 premature babies die at Al-Shifa Hospital, doctor says
The hospital has been treating thousands of wounded people.
ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: November 8, 2023, 2:42 PM 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.
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 08, 2023, 2:42 PM EST
UN high commissioner for human rights: Hamas, Israel both committed war crimes
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said both Hamas and Israel have committed war crimes since Oct. 7.
Hadas Kalderon, whose 3 members of her family, two children Erez and Sahar, and their father, Ofir have been kidnapped, while Hadas' mother and niece were killed, cries in the burned-out remains of her mother's home in southern Israel, Oct. 30, 2023.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
"The atrocities perpetrated by Palestinian armed groups on 7 October were heinous, they were war crimes -- as is the continued holding of hostages," Turk said.
"The collective punishment by Israel of Palestinian civilians is also a war crime, as is unlawful forcible evacuation of civilians," he added.
Palestinians crowd together as they wait for food distribution in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Nov. 8, 2023.
Hatem Ali/AP
Nov 08, 2023, 2:31 PM EST
UN secretary-general: Something 'clearly wrong' with Israel's military operation
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Reuters NEXT conference that there's something "clearly wrong" with the Israeli military's operations when looking at the number of civilians killed in Gaza.
"There are violations by Hamas when they have human shields. But when one looks at the number of civilians that were killed with the [Israeli] military operations, there is something that is clearly wrong," Guterres said.
Palestinians flee the southern Gaza Strip on Salah al-Din street in Bureij on Nov. 5, 2023.
Hatem Moussa/AP
More than 4,000 children have died in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
Guterres added that it hurts the world's public opinion of Israel "to see every day the terrible image of the dramatic humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people."
Nov 08, 2023, 2:19 PM EST
Rafah crossing closed Wednesday over 'security circumstance': State Department
The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza was closed Wednesday due to a "security circumstance," Deputy State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said.
Patel said he could not give any details on the security situation.
"We're continuing to work with, in partnership with, the government of Egypt and the government of Israel toward safe passage for more U.S. citizens, eligible family members and lawful permanent resident,” he added.
People sit inside a car as Palestinians, including foreign passport holders, wait at Rafah border crossing after evacuations were suspended following an Israeli strike on an ambulance, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Nov. 5, 2023.
Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford
Nov 08, 2023, 1:58 PM EST
Hamas says it's ready to release hostages if 'suitable conditions are facilitated'
Hamas is ready to release civilian hostages if "suitable conditions are facilitated," a Hamas spokesperson said in a press conference Wednesday.
2:34
Hamas says it’s ready to release hostages
The terrorist group also blames Israel for the continued violence in Gaza.
"From the beginning we have announced our position very clearly," said Hamas spokesman Bassem Naim at a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon. "We are ready to release all the civilians and foreigners inside the Gaza Strip, if the suitable conditions are facilitated, mainly by the Israelis ... in accepting an immediate cease-fire along the whole Gaza Strip."
Israeli media is reporting that Israel is in advanced talks to come to an agreement on releasing a group of hostages in exchange for a humanitarian pause. Israel wants a much larger group of hostages released than the 10 to 15 being proposed. Qatar and Egypt are leading the negotiations.
A woman weeps as another shouts as family and friends of hostages taken from Kfar Aza demonstrate in Tel Aviv Museum Plaza, Nov. 2, 2023, in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Amir Levy/Getty Images
State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel declined to confirm or deny the reports on potential hostage negotiations.
"We've seen those reports" but won't "get into the specifics of any of our negotiations or discussions," he said. "I will just reiterate that we have been working around the clock to determine the whereabouts of these hostages. We're working with the Israeli government on every aspect of this including sharing intelligence experts, offering our insight."
A man embraces two women as he holds posters identifying one of the hostages during a vigil near the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem, Nov. 7, 2023.
Gil Cohen-magen/AFP via Getty Images
Patel did, however, pour some cold water on the notion that Hamas was ready to release hostages or that Israel was refusing a reasonable deal to free them, dismissing recent statements from the group’s military leaders.
"The proof should be in the actions that they undertake, and so if they have a desire to release hostages, we would welcome that," he said.
