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Israel-Gaza live updates: Israel 'deepening the war' in Gaza: Netanyahu

Israel "will continue to fight until the complete victory over Hamas."

ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: December 24, 2023, 1:13 PM EST

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.

Click here for updates from previous days.

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.

Dec 22, 2023, 3:28 PM EST

UN Security Council passes Gaza humanitarian resolution

The United Nations Security Council has passed a resolution calling for urgent steps to allow safe, unhindered and expanded humanitarian access throughout Gaza.

Thirteen nations voted in favor, none voted against and two -- the U.S. and Russia -- abstained.

The resolution called for urgent steps to allow safe, unhindered and expanded humanitarian aid throughout Gaza.
4:11

UN Security Council passes Gaza aid resolution

The resolution called for urgent steps to allow safe, unhindered and expanded humanitarian aid throughout Gaza.
ABCNews.com

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the U.S. abstained from the vote because "the Council was not able to condemn Hamas' horrific terrorist attack on Oct. 7."

"I can’t understand why some Council members are standing in the way, and why they refuse to condemn these evils unequivocally," she said. "I will never understand why some Council members have remained silent in the face of such evil."

Family and friends of Israeli soldier Lt. Yaacov Elian mourn over his grave during his funeral at Kiryat Shaul cemetery in Tel Aviv, Israel, Dec. 22, 2023.
Oded Balilty/AP

In response to the resolution passing, the Red Cross said in a statement that it welcomes the demands for humanitarian access, the release of hostages and for international humanitarian law to be upheld.

But with the Gaza death toll climbing and the living conditions continuing to deteriorate, "much more is clearly needed," the statement said. "The only way fully to protect Palestinian lives, enable a sufficient humanitarian response, and offer the best chance of hostage release, is to stop the fighting."

Palestinian children collect small pieces of debris following Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Dec. 22, 2023.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images

"The failure of the [U.N. Security Council] to demand an immediate and sustained ceasefire is unjustifiable," the Red Cross said.

Palestinian women cry where a relative is believed to be trapped in debris following Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip Dec. 21, 2023.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images

Dec 22, 2023, 2:05 PM EST

IDF preparing to expand operations to more areas in southern Gaza

Israeli forces -- which are "almost in full operational control" of northern Gaza -- are continuing to fight on the ground in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, and are now "preparing to expand operations" to more parts of southern Gaza, said Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.

Israeli troops walk in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Dec. 21, 2023.
Leo Correa/AP

This week, in Issa in the south of Gaza City, Hagari said Israeli forces found and destroyed an underground tunnel that was hundreds of meters long and had command and control rooms.

Asked about Israel’s investigation into how Hamas pulled off its Oct. 7 attack, Hagari noted, "Some areas of [Hamas'] tunnels were attacked in the past and restored -- we will examine why we estimated that the restoration would take longer."

PHOTO: Israeli army operates in a location given as Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza strip, Dec. 22, 2023
Israeli army operates in a location given as Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza strip, Dec. 22, 2023.
Israel Defense Forces/via Reuters

Dec 21, 2023, 4:24 PM EST

Kibbutz Reim survivors move together to Tel Aviv in first-of-its-kind ‘urban kibbutz’

The surviving members of Kibbutz Reim have relocated as a unified group to temporary housing in Tel Aviv. The move creates a "first-of-its-kind urban kibbutz," according to a statement from the kibbutz.

The families will live in a compound that includes two buildings and a community center, similar to what the original kibbutz had. The new temporary housing will also connect the survivors to services including psychological support and a local school.

-ABC News’ Becky Perlow

Dec 21, 2023, 4:11 PM EST

White House on Gaza humanitarian crisis: 'Nobody can look at the images … [and] not feel sense of pain'

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. is “leading the world” in getting humanitarian aid to Gaza, where the crisis worsens by the day.

“Nobody can look at the images coming out of Gaza and … not feel a sense of pain and anguish for so many innocent people that have been displaced from their homes, families killed, many wounded,” Kirby said.

Palestinian children stand in front of a pile of debris following Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Dec. 21, 2023.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images

Relatives of Palestinians, killed during Israeli strikes, mourn at the EU hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, Dec. 21, 2023, as the bodies are transported for their burial in Rafah.
Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images

ABC News asked Kirby about a letter sent to President Joe Biden this week from a group of House Democrats that raised concerns with Israel's military operation in Gaza. The lawmakers called the civilian death toll in Gaza unacceptable and urged Biden to work to shift Israel’s strategy.

Kirby acknowledged, “We don't believe you're going to be able to wipe out the ideology that inspires Hamas through military action."

ABC New’s foreign correspondent Britt Clennett reports from Tel Aviv, Israel, on the latest cease-fire and hostage negotiations as the humanitarian crisis gets worse in Gaza.
2:18

UN says more than half a million people in Gaza are starving

ABC New’s foreign correspondent Britt Clennett reports from Tel Aviv, Israel, on the latest cease-fire and hostage negotiations as the humanitarian crisis gets worse in Gaza.
ABCNews.com

-ABC News’ Lauren Peller

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