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.
IDF suffers heavy losses
Fifteen Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in the Gaza Strip over the weekend, the Israeli military said Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the fatalities a "very heavy price."
This weekend’s fatalities bring the total number of Israeli soldiers killed since the ground offensive began to 153, the Israel Defense Forces said.
Israel ‘deepening the war’ in Gaza: Netanyahu
Israel is "deepening the war" in Gaza, and Israeli soldiers "will continue to fight until the complete victory over Hamas," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address Sunday.
"This is the only way to return our abductees, eliminate Hamas and ensure that Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel," Netanyahu said. "It will take time, but we are united -- the fighters, the people and the government."
Biden says he did not ask for cease-fire on call with Netanyahu
President Joe Biden said he did not ask for a cease-fire during a call earlier Saturday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"I had a long talk with Netanyahu today. It was a private conversation," he told reporters while leaving the White House for Christmas at Camp David.
He later said, "I did not ask for a cease-fire."
The leaders discussed Israel's military operation in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and securing the release of the remaining hostages, according to a readout of the call released by the White House. The two agreed to remain in "regular consultation," the readout stated.
Biden also did not respond to questions about a new Wall Street Journal report that in the days after the Oct. 7 attack he convinced Netanyahu against a preemptive strike on Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
ABC News has not confirmed the report.
-ABC News' Lauren Peller and Jay O'Brien
US hostage confirmed dead
Gadi Hagi, a 73-year-old American-Israeli hostage and member of Kibbutz Nir Oz, has been confirmed dead, the kibbutz said.
Hagi was killed on Oct. 7 at the kibbutz and his body was taken to Gaza where it's still being held, according to a kibbutz spokesperson.
Hagi’s wife, 70-year-old Judy Weinstein, is wounded and still being held hostage, the kibbutz said.
Hagi and his wife were shot and kidnapped on Oct. 7, according to the Hostage Center.
"Gadi was a man full of humor who knew how to make those around him laugh," the Hostage Center said in a statement. "A musician at heart, a gifted flautist, he played in the IDF Orchestra and was involved with music his whole life."
Hagi was a father of four and a grandfather of seven.
Hagi reportedly has ties to New York.
"May Gadi's memory be a blessing," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote on social media. "There are still many hostages -- including many with New York connections -- being held in Hamas captivity."
President Joe Biden said he was "heartbroken by the news."
"We continue to pray for the well-being and safe return of his wife, Judy," Biden said in a statement. "We are praying for their four children, seven grandchildren, and other loved ones and are grieving this tragic news with them."
Biden said Hagi's daughter joined, via phone, his meeting last week with families of hostages.
"Those families bravely shared with me the harrowing ordeal that they have endured over the past months as they await news of their loved ones," Biden said. "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."
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.