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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, 3:10 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.

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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 08, 2023, 3:10 PM EST

No 'proof of life' for hostages: White House

Over one month since Hamas took more than 200 people hostage in Israel, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the administration is still "not aware of any specific proof of life."

"We don't have any indication to the contrary, that they aren't still alive. And so, we're certainly operating under that assumption," he said.

PHOTO: Families and supporters of hostages hold a demonstration to demand their immediate release, outside the Knesset, Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, Nov. 6, 2023.
Families and supporters of hostages who are being held in Gaza, after they were kidnapped from Israel by Hamas gunmen on October 7, hold a demonstration to demand their immediate release, outside the Knesset, Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, Nov. 6, 2023.
Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

"We don't have a perfect picture about where everybody is, what condition they're in, or how they're being held," Kirby continued. "We cannot rule out the possibility that other groups than Hamas may have hostages that they're holding."

-ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez

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.

PHOTO: Hadas Kalderon, whose 3 members of her family, two children Erez and Sahar, and their father, Ofir have been kidnapped, while her mother and niece were killed, cries in the burned-out remains of her mother's home in southern Israel, Oct. 30, 2023.
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

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