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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.


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Biden calls for longer pauses, says no possibility of a cease-fire

President Joe Biden confirmed that he has pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a three-day pause in Gaza. Biden said he's also asked for an even bigger window to get the remaining hostages out.

Biden told reporters his message to the families of hostages is: "We're not going to stop until we get them out."

Israeli officials say Hamas had 239 hostages in Gaza. Four hostages were released from Gaza over the last few weeks: two American women and two Israeli women. The Israel Defense Forces said a fifth hostage, a female Israeli soldier, was rescued during the Israeli military's ground operations in Gaza.

Asked if there would be a cease-fire, Biden responded, "None. No possibility."

-ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez and Tia Humphries


CIA director meets about potential hostage deal: US official

CIA Director William Burns took part in a meeting in Qatar regarding a potential hostage deal, a U.S. official confirmed.

Burns also traveled to Egypt "where he met with his intelligence counterparts and country leaders," the official said. "They discussed issues of mutual concern, including the situation in Gaza and the USA commitment to ensuring humanitarian aid there."


'General' cease-fire would benefit Hamas, US official says

A "general" cease-fire would benefit Hamas and "legitimize" the group's Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday.

"A general cease-fire means everybody lays your arms down and you talk about the end of this conflict," Kirby told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America." "To do that right now would be a benefit to hamas. It would give them time. It would also legitimatize what they did on October 7th."

He said Israeli military forces were in the middle of an "operational campaign" targeting Hamas leadership.

"We believe Israel has a right to do that and we'll continue to make sure they get the tools and capabilities," Kirby said.

But there may be a need for a "pause" if some of the about 240 hostages taken by Hamas are to be released, Kirby said

"What we want to make sure is not only can we secure their release, George, but that when we get that release secured, that we can get them safely out of Gaza and into Israel, into safer hands," he said. "That requires this idea of a temporary humanitarian pause."

-ABC News' Kevin Shalvey


About 72,000 have fled northern Gaza in 4 days, U.N. says

About 72,000 people have fled northern Gaza in the last four days, moving south along a corridor opened by Israeli military forces, the United Nations said Thursday.

About 50,000 traveled along Salah al-Din Road in the hours the corridor was opened on Wednesday, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

“Clashes and shelling on and around the road reportedly continued, endangering evacuees with reports of corpses alongside the road,” the U.N. statement said.

Many have arrived at the corridor on foot. Some who’ve driven there have been told to leave their vehicles along the outskirts of Gaza City, the U.N. said. Videos and photos released by the Israel Defense Forces have shown crowds marching while waving white flags.

“The evacuees then walk 4-5 kilometres down the corridor, with an estimated distance of up to 20 kilometres for those traveling farthest,” the U.N. said.

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule


Biden, Netanyahu discus possibility of 'tactical pauses' in Gaza: White House

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed Monday the possibility of "tactical pauses" in strikes on Gaza to help civilians reach safer locations, allow for more humanitarian aid to get in and help work toward the possibility of hostages being released, according to the White House.

"We consider ourselves at the beginning of this conversation, not at the end of it, so you can expect that we're going to continue to advocate for temporary vocalized pauses in the fighting," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

He said less than 30 trucks of humanitarian assistance arrived in Gaza over the past 24 hours, which he said wasn't enough.

“In the early goings here, Israel was very resistant to humanitarian assistance getting in at all, and we persisted. We continue to persist," Kirby said. "Humanitarian aid is getting in, again, not to the degree we want it to, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. But, but, my goodness, based on our constant engagement, we've been able to make a big difference."

Kirby said "more Americans" will be leaving Gaza on Monday but he did not provide specific numbers.

Kirby said Biden and Netanyahu also discussed the situation in the West Bank and "reducing threats from terrorist groups that are operating there."

Kirby said their talks would continue and the leaders agreed to speak "in the coming day."

-ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez