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Middle East live updates: Gaza death toll rises to 46,000, officials say

70 Gazans were killed in the last 24 hours of Israel strikes, officials said.

ByDavid Brennan
Last Updated: January 9, 2025, 8:42 AM EST

Rebel forces in Syria are building a transitional government after toppling the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.

The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza, particularly in the north of the strip around several Palestinian hospitals. A latest round of peace talks to end the 15-month-old war is set to resume in Qatar.

Meanwhile, the November ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group.

Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Jan 06, 2025, 5:54 AM EST

Blinken hopes for Gaza ceasefire in administration's final weeks

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Monday that the U.S. wants a ceasefire deal in Gaza and all remaining captives released within the next two weeks, before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves before he boards a plane at the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, on Jan. 6, 2025.
Lee Jin-man/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

"We very much want to bring this over the finish line in the next two weeks," Blinken told reporters while in Seoul, South Korea.

Blinken reported "intensified engagement," including by Hamas, on reaching a deal, though added "we are yet to see agreement on final points."

"We need Hamas to make the final necessary decisions to complete the agreement and to fundamentally change the circumstance for the hostages, getting them out, for people in Gaza, bringing them relief, and for the region as a whole, creating an opportunity to actually move forward to something better, more secure for everyone involved," Blinken said.

"If we don't get it across the finish line in the next two weeks, I'm confident that it will get its completion at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later," Blinken added.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti

Jan 04, 2025, 12:19 PM EST

WHO director calls for release of Kamal Adwan hospital director

Tedros Ghebreyesus, the director of the World Health Organization, said in a statement Saturday that WHO has received no updates about Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, the director of North Gaza's Kamal Adwan hospital, since he was detained by Israeli forces on Dec. 27th.

"We continue to urge Israel to release him. We repeat: attacks on hospitals and health professionals must end. People in Gaza need access to health care. Ceasefire!" he said in a statement.

-ABC News' Victoria Beaulé

Jan 04, 2025, 6:18 AM EST

Israeli strikes kill 150 in Gaza, officials say, as peace talks resume

More than 150 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip over the past three days, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Palestinians carry white sacks containing the bodies of those killed in overnight Israeli airstrikes on the Khan Younis refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Jan. 4, 2025.
Abdel Kareem Hana/AP

The series of airstrikes on dozens of Hamas targets came amid a renewed push to reach a ceasefire in the 15-month-old war and return Israeli hostages home before President-elect Donald Trump takes office later this month.

Delegations from both Israel and Hamas were dispatched to resume indirect negotiations in Doha on Friday. The talks will be brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

President Joe Biden's administration, which is helping to broker the talks, urged Hamas to agree to a deal. Hamas said it was committed to reaching an agreement deal, but it remains unclear how close the two sides are.

-ABC News Nasser Atta, Bruno Nota, Diaa Ostaz, Samy Zyara and Morgan Winsor

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