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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 08, 2025, 12:28 PM EST

Israel recovers body of hostage found in Gaza tunnel

The Israeli Defense Forces and the Shin Bet "located and returned the kidnapped body" of hostage Yosef Al-Zaydani on Tuesday "from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area," the army said in a release Wednesday. Israel said it has also recovered another body and are working to determine whether it is Al-Zaydani's son, Hamza.

The Israel Defense Forces said they have identified the body of one hostage, Yosef Al-Zaydani, and are examining the identify of the second body.

PHOTO: This undated photo shows Yosef Al Zayadni, 53. Israel said Wednesday that troops have recovered the body of an additional hostage from Gaza. The military said the body of Yosef Al Zaydani was recovered in an underground tunnel in southern Gaza.
This undated photo shows Yosef Al Zayadni, 53. Israel's military said Wednesday that troops have recovered the body of an additional hostage from Gaza. The military said the body of Yosef Al Zaydani was recovered in an underground tunnel in southern Gaza.
Hostages Families Forum Headquarters via AP

The IDF believes the second body is likely Hamza Al-Zaydani, but they are not certain yet, so at this time the IDF is saying they've identified one body and are examining the findings of a second body.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his "deep sorrow for the bitter news that the Al-Zaydani received today," in a statement Wednesday.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Ellie Kaufman

Jan 08, 2025, 7:06 AM EST

Israeli warplanes bomb West Bank

The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday its fighter jets "struck a terrorist cell" in the occupied West Bank Palestinian town of Tamun.

Palestinian men stand in front of a bullet riddled wall after a raid by Israeli forces, in the village of Tamun near Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, on Jan. 8, 2025.
Zain Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images

Unconfirmed reports by local media suggested that two children were among three Palestinians killed.

On Tuesday, the IDF said its aircraft struck and killed two armed Palestinian militants in the area of Tamun after an armed cell opened fire toward Israeli security forces there.

-ABC News' Nasser Atta, Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

Jan 08, 2025, 6:54 AM EST

Israeli strikes kill 51 people in Gaza, health officials say

At least 51 people were killed and 78 others were injured in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health.

People pull out bodies from the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli strike on the Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on Jan. 8, 2025.
Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images

In total, at least 45,936 people have been killed and another 109,274 have been injured by Israeli forces in Gaza since the ongoing war began on Oct. 7, 2023, the ministry in the Hamas-run territory said.

-ABC News' Diaa Ostaz, Samy Zyara and Joe Simonetti

Jan 08, 2025, 5:47 AM EST

Israeli, UAE foreign ministers meet amid Gaza talks

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar met with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayad on Tuesday, according to a release from Saar's office.

United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan shakes hands with Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar during a meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Jan. 7, 2025.
Wam/via Reuters

The Israeli Foreign Minister was invited by the UAE, the readout said, his visit coinciding with the resumption of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas in Doha, Qatar.

The UAE has discussed with Israel and the U.S. the idea of participating in a provisional administration of post-war Gaza until a reformed Palestinian Authority is able to take charge, Reuters reported this week.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Ellie Kaufman

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