Israel-Gaza updates: Gaza sees deadliest day since conflict began
At least 700 people died in Gaza on Tuesday, OCHA said.
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.
US intelligence assess 'with high confidence' that Israel was not responsible for Gaza hospital explosion
An official with the U.S. Office of the Director of Intelligence told reporters Tuesday that the office has updated its assessment of last week's explosion of al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, which killed hundreds, and stated "with high confidence that Israel was not responsible for the explosion."
The official added, "We assess with low confidence that Palestine Islamic Jihad, PIJ, was responsible for launching the rocket that landed on the hospital,” the official added, noting that they suspect based on their analysis that the rocket responsible likely suffered a "catastrophic motor failure."
The intelligence official said they were drawing on “intelligence, missile activity, open-source video and images of the incident,” including an examination of the blast effects.
"If an Israeli munition was responsible for this blast, we would expect that Palestinian militants would be very directly and clearly showing what they thought was an Israeli munition," the official said. "We've looked at all of the images and in none of them do we assess that there are remnants, Israeli munitions."
-ABC News' Cindy Smith
US engaging in ongoing talks to release a number of hostages: Source
Talks are ongoing between the U.S. and regional partners, including Israel, Egypt, and Qatar to secure the release of a large number of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, a source with knowledge told ABC News.
The U.S. is still advising for a delay to have more time for the hostages to be released and for aid to get out, but does not want to appear to be dictating what to do to the Israelis, according to the source.
-ABC News' Selina Wang
Israel readying for ground operation, won't reveal date: Netanyahu
Israeli forces are getting ready for the ground operation into Gaza, but will not tell anyone when it will be, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday.
When soldiers enter Gaza, they'll "exact the full price from these murderers," Netanyahu said in Hebrew.
"I once again call on the uninvolved population in Gaza to evacuate to the southern strip," he said.
Netanyahu also said Israel will "do everything possible to bring hostages home."
"We are gathering the support of world leaders," he added. "Our fight against Hamas is also their fight."