Israel-Gaza updates: Israel says ground operation underway in southern Gaza

The IDF said it's carried out 10,000 airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.

Last Updated: November 29, 2023, 3:44 PM EST

The temporary cease-fire between Hamas and Israel ended early Friday, 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 01, 2024, 6:03 AM EST

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 29, 2023, 3:44 PM EST

Palestinian dad awaits daughter's release: 'I'm looking forward to hugging her again'

Dania Hanatsheh's name is on a list of 30 Palestinian women, girls and teenage boys expected to be released Wednesday as part of another exchange of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

The family said Hanatsheh, 21, was arrested on Nov. 21 when Israeli soldiers raided their home in the West Bank.

Palestinians prisoners (wearing grey jumpers) cheer among supporters after being released from Israeli jails in exchange for hostages released by Hamas from the Gaza Strip, in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank early on Nov. 26, 2023.
Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images

The Israeli Justice Department said Hantsheh is accused of "supporting terrorism."

Hantsheh's father, Saqer, believes his daughter was arrested because of her social media posts.

"I am proud of my daughter," he told ABC News. "When she posted asking people to stand with Gaza, I support her with that because it's her right to do that."

He said he's looking forward to "hugging my daughter again."

But his happiness is tinged with sadness for the suffering in Gaza.

"The prisoners are getting released, but the price of this is the blood of women and kids in Gaza," he said.

Palestinian girls sit on a couch at the remains of their house hit in Israeli strikes during the conflict, amid the temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Nov. 29, 2023.
Mohammed Salem/Reuters

-ABC News' Tom Soufi Burridge

Nov 29, 2023, 3:39 PM EST

Families of American hostages demand increased transparency

Eight relatives of American hostages spoke to reporters in Washington, D.C., before they address the House Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday afternoon and meet with national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday.

Israeli freed hostage Yocheved Lifshitz (L) takes part in a protest with her family members outside the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, Nov. 28, 2023.
Oren Ziv/AFP via Getty Images

Ronen Neutra, the father of 19-year-old hostage Omer Neutra, said he wants more pressure for soldiers and men held hostage to be released. Omer Neutra is a Long Island native and Israel Defense Forces soldier. His mother, Orna Neutra, said he was pulled from his IDF tank by Hamas and taken into Gaza.

Ruby Chen, father of missing IDF soldier Itay Chen, said having no knowledge of his son's condition is a living hell.

Liz Naftali, relative of 4-year-old Israeli-American hostage Abigail Edan who was released this week, said the families' approach to their meeting with Sullivan is not going to be advising the administration on how to conduct hostage negotiations, but instead to consult with them.

Released Israeli hostages Tal Goldstein Almog, 9, left, and his brother Gal, 11 are seen as they return to Israel in an IAF helicopter, after being held hostage by militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Nov. 27, 2023.
Israel Defense Forces/AP

"Abigail coming home is proof that it works -- proof that if we hope, we pray, and we do all the work, these hostages come home," she said. "But we still have a lot of work to do. And we hope that you all will leave here and continue to be partners in this incredibly challenging work."

Abigail Edan who returned last night to Israel, sits with her aunt Liron at the Schneider Children's Medical Center, Nov. 27, 2023.
Schneider Children's Medical Center/AP

-ABC News' Noah Minnie and Elizabeth Landers

Nov 29, 2023, 1:23 PM EST

2 Russian-Israeli hostages released by Hamas

The Israel Defense Forces said two Israeli-Russian hostages were released by Hamas on Wednesday and are on their way to Israel. The hostages, 50-year-old Yelena Trupanob and her mother, 73-year-old Irena Tati, were released in addition to the list of abductees scheduled to be released Wednesday, the IDF said.

Yelena Trupanob.
Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum

Irena Tati.
Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum

The mother and daughter, who had emigrated from Russia to Israel, were kidnapped from their home at the Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. Trupanob's husband was killed and her son, 28, and his girlfriend, 29, are still being held hostage, the IDF said.

Hamas officials said on Wednesday that they've released two female Russian hostages.

"They were handed over to the Red Cross a short while ago as a prelude to handing them over to representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry," Hamas said in a statement via Telegram.

Nov 29, 2023, 12:25 PM EST

'All my dreams were shattered,' bride in Gaza says

A young couple from southern Gaza planned to marry on Oct. 8 -- but the Israel-Hamas war changed all that.

Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip, Nov. 28, 2023, amid a truce in battles between Israel and Hamas.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli soldiers walk past Palestinians fleeing the north along the Salaheddine road in the Zeitoun district on the southern outskirts of Gaza City, Nov. 28, 2023.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images

The house they were going to live in was destroyed by Israeli bombs.

The couple -- not yet married -- spoke to ABC News as they sifted through the rubble, trying to salvage whatever they could.

"How do I feel? Sad. I wanted to be like any bride, to have a house," Heba Abu Taima told ABC News. "Everything was beautiful before the 7th of October. After the 7th of October, everything ended."

Heba Abu Taima, right, and her fiance, Saif Abu Taima, had planned to marry on Oct. 8. The couple returned to their home in Bani Suheila in southern Gaza on Nov. 29, 2023, to find it bombed during the Israeli campaign.
ABC News

"All my dreams were shattered," she continued. "Everything in the house is gone, the house in which we planned to have a sweet and happy life is gone."

"I dreamed of beautiful things, for example, children," said her fiancé, Saif Abu Taima. "I used to say, 'Boy,' and she used to say, 'No, girl.' And we also used to go out and [I'd] tell her, 'We will live a beautiful life and achieve our beautiful dream.'"

Saif Abu Taima had planned to marry his fiancee on Oct. 8 before the Hamas attacks the next day. The couple returned to their home in Bani Suheila in southern Gaza on Nov. 29, 2023, to find it bombed during the Israeli campaign.
ABC News

She added, "We desperately want to live in safety like other countries. To have a good life, to live freely and in peace."

-ABC News' Sami Zayara

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