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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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Israel considering Egypt-Qatar proposal for humanitarian pause: Sources

Israel is considering a proposal presented by Egypt and Qatar for a humanitarian pause in exchange for the release of hostages, sources tell ABC News.

The U.S. is in close coordination with all parties negotiating this possible deal, the sources said and no final deal has been reached yet.

No further details were available.


PRCS gives update on aid trucks

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it received 106 trucks loaded with aid, including food, water and medical supplies, from the Egyptian Red Crescent, Wednesday.

The trucks arrived via the Rafah crossing, PRCS said in a statement.

The group also said it received five ambulance vehicles from Kuwait.


Al-Shifa Hospital receives aid

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and World Health Organization announced Wednesday that medical supplies and medicines have been delivered to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.

This is the second delivery to the hospital since the attacks on Gaza began, the two organizations said in a joint statement.

"While welcome, the quantities we delivered are far from sufficient to respond to the immense needs in the Gaza Strip. The medical conditions at Al-Shifa - the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip and one of the oldest Palestinian health institutions - are disastrous." the UNRWA and WHO said.

The organizations said there are currently "almost two patients for every bed available."

"The emergency department and wards are overflowing requiring doctors and medical workers to treat wounded and sick patients in the corridors, on the floor and outdoors," NRWA and WHO said.


Hamas wants 'prisoner exchange deal' for hostages: Spokesperson

The issue of hostages remains a priority for Hamas in its conflict with Israel, the spokesperson of the group's armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, said Wednesday.

"The only clear path to this issue is a comprehensive or partial prisoner exchange deal," Abu Obeida said in a video statement on Telegram.

He said Hamas has its own civilians and fighters in Israeli prisons, and Israel has the same types of groups in Hamas’ group’s custody.

"There is absolutely no solution to this issue other than this path and a swap category by category or as a comprehensive process," he said.

Obeida accused Israel of "hindering and destroying all efforts to hand over foreign hostages" by refusing to create the right conditions to do so and jeopardizing captives' lives.

The group's fighters have completely or partially destroyed 136 Israeli military vehicles since the start of the ground invasion as they clashed with Israeli forces in northwest and southern Gaza City and the northern part of the Gaza Strip, he said.

-ABC News’ Ayat Al-Tawy


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