Israel-Gaza updates: US ambassador to Israel demands return of hostages

The war is the deadliest conflict between the two sides in recent history.

ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: January 15, 2024, 4:59 AM EST

More than a month after a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas ended, the Israeli military continues its bombardment of the neighboring Gaza Strip.

The end of the cease-fire came after Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs Gaza, freed over 100 of the more than 200 people its militants took hostage during the Oct. 7 surprise attack on southern Israel. In exchange, Israel released more than 200 Palestinians from Israeli prisons.

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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.

Jan 12, 2024, 12:59 PM EST

Deal reached to get medicine to hostages, Israel says

A deal has been reached to get medicine to the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza over the next few days, according to the Israeli Prime Minister's office.

PHOTO: Relatives of Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian Hamas movement carry pictures of Michel Nisenbaum, 59 and Tal Shoham 38, in Kibbutz Nirim along the fence on the Gaza border, as their time in captivity nears to 100 days, on Jan. 11, 2024.
Relatives of Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian Hamas movement carry pictures of Michel Nisenbaum, 59 and Tal Shoham 38, in Kibbutz Nirim along the fence on the Gaza border, in an effort to get messages of hope across to them as their time in captivity nears to 100 days, on Jan. 11, 2024.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

The families of the hostages are insisting that the Israeli war cabinet “demand visual proof that the medications did indeed reach the abductees, as a condition for any return from Israel.”

"After 98 days in the Hamas tunnels, all the abductees are in immediate danger and need life-saving medication,” the families said in a statement.

PHOTO: Relatives of Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian Hamas movement carry pictures of their loved ones in Kibbutz Nirim along the Gaza border as their time in captivity nears to 100 days, Jan. 11, 2024.
Relatives of Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian Hamas movement carry pictures of their loved ones in Kibbutz Nirim along the Gaza border, in an effort to get messages of hope across to them as their time in captivity nears to 100 days, Jan. 11, 2024.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

Jan 12, 2024, 9:30 AM EST

Israel rejects genocide charges at UN's top court

Israel on Friday called on the United Nations' top court to dismiss South Africa's request to halt its offensive in the Gaza Strip amid "grossly distorted" accusations of genocide.

During opening statements to a panel of judges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Israeli legal adviser Tal Becker said the country is fighting a "war it did not start and did not want."

"In these circumstances, there can hardly be a charge more false and more malevolent than the allegation against Israel of genocide," Becker added.

PHOTO: Tal Becker, legal adviser to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, looks on at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, on Jan. 12, 2024, prior to a hearing of the genocide case against Israel brought by South Africa.
Tal Becker, legal adviser to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, looks on at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, on Jan. 12, 2024, prior to the start of a hearing of the genocide case against Israel brought by South Africa.
Remko De Waal/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

He noted that "Israel is in a war of defense against Hamas, not against the Palestinian people," and that the suffering of civilians during wartime does not amount to genocide.

"The key component of genocide, the intent to destroy a people in whole or in part, is totally lacking," he said.

-ABC News' Edward Szekeres and Morgan Winsor

Jan 11, 2024, 12:18 PM EST

Blinken says he found new willingness to discuss Gaza's future, denies conflict is escalating

As Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up his trip to the Middle East, he said he encountered a new appetite among Middle Eastern leaders to discuss contributing to what he often refers to as "the day after" in Gaza.

"I have to say what was different about this trip is that on our previous trips here, I think there was a reluctance to talk about some of the day after issues and long-term stability and security on a regional basis, but now we’re finding that our partners are very focused on that and wanting to engage on those questions," Blinken said.

Palestinian women react following an Israeli strike, at the European Hospital, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Jan. 9, 2024.
Arafat Barbakh/Reuters

On his major goal of preventing the Israeli-Hamas war from spreading across the region, Blinken was optimistic.

"I don’t think the conflict is escalating. There are lots of danger points; we’re trying to deal with each of them," he said.

An Israeli soldier looks through a hole in the wall as he operates, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Gaza, Jan. 8, 2024
Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Jan 11, 2024, 12:11 PM EST

Hostage families beg for Israel to 'take the deal': 'This is hell'

The families of hostages held by Hamas came together for a news conference Thursday demanding that the Israeli war cabinet prioritize their loved ones’ return and approve any deal that would lead to their release.

PHOTO: Family members of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas gunmen during the deadly October 7 attack demonstrate near the Kerem Shalom crossing
Family members of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas gunmen during the deadly October 7 attack demonstrate against the entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip until the hostages are freed, near the Kerem Shalom crossing, in Israel, Jan. 9, 2024.
Tyrone Siu/Reuters

“I demand the cabinet take any deal on the table,” said Shay Wenkert, whose son, Omer Wenkert, was kidnapped from the music festival on Oct. 7.

"My son has colitis," Wenkert said. "This is hell. I'm begging you -- you had opportunities for other deals and didn’t take them. Take action. You have to take the deal. Bring them home now."

"No one is doing us any favors in Israel. They must do everything to release the hostages, at any price,” said Gilad and Nitza Corngold, parents of Tal Shoham, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be'eri. “I suggest anyone who says ‘It's not worth it’ to bring a family member of theirs and make a personal exchange with me -- to give me their son and take mine out. Their time is running out."

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