Israel-Gaza updates: IDF says 3,500 'terror targets' hammered in 10 days

The World Health Organization painted a bleak picture of the situation in Gaza on Monday night and called for Israel "to take every possible measure to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, as per the laws of war."

According to the latest information from the WHO, there are only 18 functioning hospitals in Gaza, with three only providing first aid and the remainder just partial services.

The WHO warned thousands are likely to be cut off from health care services due to increased ground operations by Israel in southern Gaza. The open hospitals are operating beyond capacity, with the bed occupancy rate at 171% and intensive care units at 221%, the WHO said, based on data from the Hamas-run Ministry of Health.
WHO workers called the situation at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis "catastrophic, with the building and hospital grounds grossly overcrowded with patients and displaced people seeking shelter."

The WHO said in a statement Monday night it has recorded 203 "attacks on hospitals, ambulances, medical supplies, and the detention of health-care workers attacks on hospitals, ambulances medical supplies" between Oct. 7 and Nov. 28.

"This is unacceptable," the WHO's statement read. "There are means to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and they should be instituted."

-ABC News' Jolie Lash and Jade Coburn

Israeli ground forces are now operating "in and around" the key southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, an Israeli military official confirmed to ABC News.

The official said the IDF's "intention" was to "encircle" the city and "eradicate Hamas strongholds within it."

-ABC News' Tom Soufi Burridge

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S. is still having "intensive discussions" with "Israel, Qatar and Egypt about how to best get traction on a strategy that will get all the hostages out."

“The President and I, along with Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken and [CIA] Director [William] Burns, will stay in touch with our Israeli and Qatari counterparts, as well as our Egyptian counterparts, to press Hamas on this issue," Sullivan said. "Right now, Hamas is refusing to release civilian women who should have been part of the agreement. And it is that refusal by Hamas that has caused the end of the hostage agreement, and therefore, the end of the pause in hostilities."

Over 100 people remain hostage in Gaza. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Sunday the U.S. thinks "about eight" Americans remain hostage.

"Of course, for the United States, the paramount priority is getting the American hostages out and we are talking to the president about all of his options in terms of securing the release of American hostages," Sullivan said. "Beyond that, I'm not going to comment because we need to be able to have those sensitive, diplomatic discussions behind closed doors."

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

In a heated exchange with a reporter, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that while it's proven Hamas deliberately targeted civilians to kill, he said he has not seen evidence that Israel is deliberately killing civilians.

6:17

Israel expands ground offensive into all parts of Gaza

ABC News foreign correspondent Tom Soufi Burridge and ABC News national security and defense analyst Mick Mulroy report on Israel’s latest military offensive in Gaza.

ABCNews.com

"I'm surprised I don't hear more people saying, 'Why doesn't Hamas lay down its arms? Why doesn't Hamas move out of schools?'" Miller said.

At a different point in the briefing, Miller said Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli officials during his recent trip to Israel that the U.S. would like to see more precision and restraint in Israel's operations in southern Gaza, compared to the initial bombardment in northern Gaza, to limit civilian casualties.

"We've seen a much more targeted request for evacuations here, where the Israeli Defense Forces have identified specific neighborhoods where they plan to conduct military operations, and urged in advance of those operations that people in those neighborhoods to move, rather than telling an entire city or an entire region to vacate their homes. So that is an improvement on what's happened before," he said.

Miller added, "They have instructed them to move to areas that we know are deconfliction zones. It's one of the things we discussed with them last week."

-ABC News' Matt Seyler