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.
Meanwhile, the 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. The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza.
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.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office has announced that Benjamin Netanyahu will undergo surgery Sunday to remove his prostate after he was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection resulting from a benign prostate enlargement.
Netanyahu underwent hernia surgery under full anesthesia in March.
Per a March 2024 government decision, Justice Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin will be the person temporarily in charge when the prime minister is physically unable to perform his duties.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota
Dec 28, 2024, 11:57 AM EST
IDF issues statement on Kamal Adwan Hospital raid
The IDF released a statement outlining their operations in and around Kamal Adwan Hospital in the last few days.
The Israel Defense Forces said the hospital was a "command center" for Hamas "military operations in Jabaliya," although the statement and attached media do not provide corroborating evidence of this.
The statement says the IDF faced heavy fighting in areas near the hospital, and says the IDF detained 240 terrorists, including the director of the hospital, Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, whom it says is is "suspected of being a Hamas terrorist operative.”
Wounded Palestinians evacuated from Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, after Israeli forces raided the medical facility, arrive at Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Dec. 28, 2024.
Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters
Abu Safiya was one of the only male staff members at the hospital not detained during the IDF's raid of the hospital in October, and he would have helped coordinate numerous resupply and patient evacuations with Israel over the last several months.
Kamal Adwan is the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza and is operating at a limited capacity due to a lack of medical supplies and the repeated attacks on the hospital.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
Dec 27, 2024, 1:37 PM EST
Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza under attack: Health ministry
Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza came under attack again on Friday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The ministry reported a siege was ongoing at the hospital and Israeli forces were "forcibly transferring the sick and injured" to other locations.
Kamal Adwan Hospital is the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza and is operating at a limited capacity due to a lack of medical supplies and the repeated attacks on the hospital.
A view of destruction following the Israeli attack on the courtyard of Kamal Adwan Hospital and its surrounding buildings in Beit Lahia, Gaza, Dec. 25, 2024.
Khalil Ramzi Alkahlut/Anadolu via Getty Images
The director of field hospitals at the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, Marwan Al-Hams, said 25 patients remain inside Kamal Adwan Hospital.
Israeli forces said the hospital "serves as a Hamas terrorist stronghold in northern Gaza" in a release about the attacks.
"Following prior IDF and ISA intelligence regarding the presence of terrorist infrastructure and operatives carrying out terror activities in the area of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabaliya, soldiers of the 401st Brigade under the command of the 162nd Division began operating in the area in the last few hours," the IDF said in a statement Friday.
"In order to mitigate harm to the civilian population in the area, IDF troops facilitated the secure evacuation of civilians, patients, and medical personnel prior to the operation," the IDF said in the statement.
-ABC News' Sami Zyara, Diaa Ostaz and Bruno Nota
Dec 27, 2024, 12:53 PM EST
White House 'actively' working on ceasefire deal: Kirby
The White House is "actively working" on reaching a ceasefire-hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, national security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters Friday, but noted that "we are not there yet" and "Hamas is the obstacle."
"Our backs are to it, and we are continuing to work on this as hard as we can to try to get a ceasefire deal in place before we leave office," Kirby added.
