Israel-Gaza updates: IDF says it expects war to last all of 2024
The Israeli army said it destroyed a key hideout for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
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.
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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.
Netanyahu to hostage families: ‘We are not giving up’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with representatives of the families of hostages on Thursday and promised them, "We are not giving up."
The families shared their concerns about the conditions of their loved ones and their questions about what will be done to promote their release.
"We are in contact, even at this moment,” Netanyahu said at the beginning of the meeting.
"I cannot detail the status," he said, adding, "We are working to return everyone -- that is our goal."
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
IDF publishes findings into investigation of accidental killing of 3 hostages
The Israel Defense Forces has published the findings of its investigation into the accidental killing of three hostages by IDF soldiers in the Shejaiya area of Gaza on Dec. 15.
The IDF Chief of the General Staff concluded that "the IDF failed in its mission to rescue" them and "the entire chain of command feels responsible."
The three hostages -- 28-year-old Yotam Haim, 26-year-old Alon Shamriz and 22-year-old Samer Talalka -- were carrying a stick with a white cloth, and the IDF initially said its forces "mistakenly identified" the men as a threat. Soldiers opened fire, killing two of the men.
The third hostage, who was injured, ran back into the building where all three had emerged from, and someone cried "help" in Hebrew. The battalion commander ordered his troops to stop firing, but, despite the order, another burst was fired, killing the third hostage, according to the IDF.
The investigation “revealed that the command ranks had information about the presence of hostages in the Shejaiya area and even took actions to prevent strikes on locations suspected of having hostages inside," the findings said.
But the probe also revealed that "IDF soldiers involved in the incident experienced complex combat situations in the days preceding the incident and were in a state of high alert for a threat," the findings said. "During the battles, they encountered deceptions by the enemy and attempts to draw them into pits and buildings rigged with explosives."
Days before Dec. 15, IDF soldiers heard cries for help in Hebrew.
"The forces interpreted this as a terrorist deception attempt," the investigation said.
“Some of the forces heard the cries but suspected it was an attempt by the terrorists to draw the forces inside the building to harm them, as had happened in the past," the investigation said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
IDF says it found tunnel shaft inside mosque
The Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers found a tunnel shaft and rocket launcher inside a mosque, which was next to a school near Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
The soldiers, who destroyed the tunnel shaft, also found areas to store weapons, the IDF said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
2023 deadliest year on record for children in West Bank: UNICEF
Eighty-three children have been killed in the West Bank over the last 12 weeks -- which is more than double the number of children killed in all of 2022 and marks the deadliest year on record for children in the West Bank, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Adele Khodr said Thursday.
A total of 297 people have been killed in the West Bank since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
"As the world watches on in horror at the situation in the Gaza Strip, children in the West Bank are experiencing a nightmare of their own. Living with a near-constant feeling of fear and grief is, sadly, all too common for children affected. Many children report that fear has become a part of their daily life, with many scared even walking to school or playing outside," Khodr said in a statement. “The suffering of children in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, must not fade into the background of the current conflict -- it is part of it."
American-Israeli-Canadian hostage confirmed dead
Judy Weinstein, a 70-year-old American-Israeli-Canadian hostage, was confirmed dead on Thursday, Kibbutz Nir Oz said in a statement.
Weinstein was fatally wounded during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and her body remains held in Gaza, the kibbutz said.
Her husband, American-Israeli Gad Haggai, was also killed on Oct. 7 and his body also remains in Gaza, the kibbutz said. His death was confirmed last week.
Weinstein, a mother of four and grandmother of seven, was an English teacher who specialized in helping children with special needs, Kibbutz Nir Oz said.
"For the past few years she has also taught Mindfulness to children and teenagers who suffered from anxiety caused by the ongoing rocket fire from Gaza," the kibbutz said. "Judy was a poet, entrepreneur, and pursued many initiatives to advance peace in the region."
President Joe Biden said in a statement that he's "devastated" to learn of Weinstein's death.
"We are holding Judith and Gad’s four children, seven grandchildren, and other loved ones close to our hearts," Biden said. "I will never forget what their daughter, and the family members of other Americans held hostage in Gaza, have shared with me. They have been living through hell for weeks. No family should have to endure such an ordeal. And I reaffirm the pledge we have made to all the families of those still held hostage: we will not stop working to bring them home."
Weinstein was the last American woman being held hostage by Hamas who had not been released, according to the Hostage Families Forum.