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Israel-Gaza live updates: 3 premature babies die at Al-Shifa Hospital, doctor says
The hospital has been treating thousands of wounded people.
Thousands of people have died and thousands more have been injured since the militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel retaliated with a bombing campaign and total siege of the neighboring Gaza Strip, leaving the region on the verge of all-out war.
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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.
Rafah crossing closed Wednesday over 'security circumstance': State Department
The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza was closed Wednesday due to a "security circumstance," Deputy State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said.
Patel said he could not give any details on the security situation.
"We're continuing to work with, in partnership with, the government of Egypt and the government of Israel toward safe passage for more U.S. citizens, eligible family members and lawful permanent resident,” he added.
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford
Hamas says it's ready to release hostages if 'suitable conditions are facilitated'
Hamas is ready to release civilian hostages if "suitable conditions are facilitated," a Hamas spokesperson said in a press conference Wednesday.
"From the beginning we have announced our position very clearly," said Hamas spokesman Bassem Naim at a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon. "We are ready to release all the civilians and foreigners inside the Gaza Strip, if the suitable conditions are facilitated, mainly by the Israelis ... in accepting an immediate cease-fire along the whole Gaza Strip."
Israeli media is reporting that Israel is in advanced talks to come to an agreement on releasing a group of hostages in exchange for a humanitarian pause. Israel wants a much larger group of hostages released than the 10 to 15 being proposed. Qatar and Egypt are leading the negotiations.
State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel declined to confirm or deny the reports on potential hostage negotiations.
"We've seen those reports" but won't "get into the specifics of any of our negotiations or discussions," he said. "I will just reiterate that we have been working around the clock to determine the whereabouts of these hostages. We're working with the Israeli government on every aspect of this including sharing intelligence experts, offering our insight."
Patel did, however, pour some cold water on the notion that Hamas was ready to release hostages or that Israel was refusing a reasonable deal to free them, dismissing recent statements from the group’s military leaders.
"The proof should be in the actions that they undertake, and so if they have a desire to release hostages, we would welcome that," he said.
IDF says it's destroyed 130 Hamas tunnels
The Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers have destroyed 130 Hamas tunnel shafts in northern Gaza since Oct. 7.
Kirby says US foresees 'period of time' where Israeli forces remain in Gaza post-conflict
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, explaining what Secretary of State Antony Blinken meant earlier when he said there would be a "transitional period" in Gaza, said a post-war Gaza will go through a "period of time" where Israeli forces remain on the ground.
"I think all of us can foresee a period of time after the conflict is over where Israeli forces will likely still be in Gaza and will have some initial security responsibilities. But for how long and where and to what size and scale and scope, I think it’s too soon to know that," he said on CNN.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir that Israel would have the "overall security responsibility" of Gaza for an "indefinite period."
-ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez
American diplomats send dire warnings about war's long-term impact
American diplomats abroad are giving stark warnings about the long-term ramifications of the war, telling their Washington counterparts in multiple diplomatic cables that their work and public opinion of the U.S. in the Arab world could be lost and denigrated for a generation, a State Department source told ABC News.
Diplomatic cables are how U.S. embassies around the world privately communicate with State Department leadership about what U.S. diplomats are seeing on the ground. While some are just regular updates, others contain candid assessments and analysis about what senior embassy staff are seeing on the ground and the potential impacts on U.S. foreign policy or the U.S. standing in the region.