Israel-Gaza updates: IDF says 3,500 'terror targets' hammered in 10 days
"Civil order is breaking down in Gaza," a UNRWA official said.
The temporary cease-fire between Hamas and Israel ended on Dec. 1, 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.
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Latest headlines:
- IDF claims it has struck 3,500 targets in Gaza since end of cease-fire
- Yemen says no ships bound for Israel will pass Red Sea
- Turkish president denounces UN Security Council after US vetoes ceasefire resolution
- Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place to be a child: UNICEF
- Families confirm death of hostage
- IDF confirms it failed to rescue hostages in special operation
- Society in Gaza on 'brink of full-blown collapse,' UNRWA warns
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.
Turkish president denounces UN Security Council after US vetoes ceasefire resolution
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the United Nations Security Council after the U.S. vetoed a ceasefire resolution for Gaza. He called the international body the "Israel protection council," according to the Times of Israel.
"Since October 7, the Security Council has become an Israel protection and defense council," Erdogan said, according to the Times.
"Is this justice?" Erdogan asked, adding that “the world is bigger than five,” a reference to the five veto-wielding nations in the U.N. Security Council, according to the Times.
U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told the council on Friday that the resolution "was divorced from reality" and "would not move the needle forward on the ground in any concrete way" in explaining why the U.S. could not support it.
Blinken speaks with International Committee of the Red Cross president
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger on Friday to "emphasize the importance of the ICRC's humanitarian response to the conflict in Gaza," a statement from the agency said.
Blinken thanked the ICRC for delivering "life-saving assistance and protection of civilians," according to the statement.
"The Secretary and ICRC President also discussed efforts to strengthen civilian protections and expand the flow of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza. The Secretary reiterated the call for the immediate release of all hostages and highlighted the need for the ICRC to be granted access to the remaining hostages," Blinken said.
Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place to be a child: UNICEF
As the death toll continues to climb, UNICEF called the Gaza Strip the most dangerous place in the world for children.
"The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them," UNICEF said in a statement.
Close to 1 million children in Gaza have been "forcibly displaced from their homes," according to UNICEF.
"They are now being pushed further and further south into tiny, overcrowded areas without water, food, or protection, putting them at increased risk of respiratory infections and waterborne disease. Their lives are further threatened by dehydration, malnutrition and disease," UNICEF said.
"UNICEF and other humanitarian actors have been ringing the alarm for weeks. Our team on the ground describe meeting children with missing limbs and third-degree burns, and children left shell-shocked by the continuing violence that surrounds them," UNICEF said.
UNICEF called for an immediate ceasefire.
"An immediate, long-lasting humanitarian ceasefire is the only way to end the killing and injuring of children, the only way that civilians can be protected, and the only way to enable the urgent delivery of desperately needed lifesaving aid," UNICEF said.
Families confirm death of hostage
The death of Sahar Baruch was confirmed in a statement by Kibbutz Be'eri and the families of the hostages. Baruch, 25, was from kibbutz Be'eri and abducted by Hamas from his home on Oct 7.
The statement does not mention the circumstances of Baruch's death, but his name and images were mentioned in the Hamas statement and video announcing his death following the failed special ops raid.
Over 1,000 Americans and family members seeking to depart Gaza: State Department
More than 1,000 Americans and their family members are still stranded in Gaza, more than a month after the Rafah border crossing first opened to outbound traffic, according to the State Department.
"We know of approximately 1,050 individuals (about 350 U.S. citizens, plus lawful permanent residents and family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents) who we are in touch with and who are seeking to depart Gaza," a State Department spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News, adding it "remains a fluid and quickly evolving situation."
These figures come a day after State Department spokesperson Matt Miller told reporters that the number of American citizens trying to exit the area stood at 220, and that there were 750 individuals eligible to leave Gaza who had not yet been able to depart.
-ABC News' Shannon K. Crawford