Israel-Gaza updates: IDF says it has completed the 'dismantling of Hamas' military framework'
The IDF gave an assessment Sunday of the first three months of the war.
More than a month after a temporary cease-fire between Hamas and Israel ended, Israel continues 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.
Hezbollah leader warns of response for killing of top Hamas official
The head of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassam Nasrallah, said in a speech Wednesday that the killing of deputy Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri was a "serious and heinous crime that will not remain without response and punishment."
"Whoever thinks about war with us will regret it and it will be costly," al-Arouri said in Arabic.
Nasrallah said they did receive messages that the assassination of al-Arouri was "not targeting Lebanon and the southern suburbs."
The speech Wednesday was the first time the leader of the Lebanese group has spoken since Nov. 3. It followed the death Tuesday of al-Arouri in a bombing.
Israel has not claimed responsibility, but Hamas and Hezbollah have pointed the blame.
-ABC News' Ghazi Balkiz and Ellie Kaufman
Israel says it dismantled tunnels under Al-Shifa Hospital
The Israeli army said in a release Wednesday it had destroyed Hamas' tunnels underneath the Al-Shifa Hospital without causing damage to the hospital complex.
Israel said the tunnels under the hospital spanned over 250 meters and "led to a number of significant terrorist centers and was used for carrying out terrorist operations." It added that humanitarian operations continued at the hospital.
Hamas, as well as doctors at the hospital, has denied that terrorists were operating from the hospital complex.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller
US denounces Israeli officials' remarks on emigration from Gaza
The U.S. State Department is denouncing recent comments from Israel’s far right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calling for the emigration of Palestinians from Gaza, calling the officials' statements "inflammatory and irresponsible."
"The United States rejects recent statements from Israeli Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza," State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. "We have been told repeatedly and consistently by the Government of Israel, including by the Prime Minister, that such statements do not reflect the policy of the Israeli government. They should stop immediately."
-ABC News' Shannon K. Crawford
Top Hamas leader killed in Beirut strike, official says
A top Hamas leader and at least five others were killed in a strike in Beirut on Tuesday, a Hamas official said.
The leader, identified by the official as Saleh Arouri, was second in command in Hamas and the head of Hamas in the West Bank.
Lebanese Security Services said six people were killed in the strike, which Hamas blamed on Israel.
An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson declined to comment on the incident, but told ABC News that Israel "is on high alert and prepared for any scenario."
"I want to be clear we are focused on the fight against Hamas," the spokesperson, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, added.
Secretary Blinken to make another trip to Middle East
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be making a marathon trip to the Middle East -- his fourth visit to the region since the Oct. 7 attack, the State Department announced Thursday.
The trip, running from Jan. 4 to 11, will technically be his fifth visit to Israel since the war began; he stopped there twice on his trip in October.
"Throughout his trip, the Secretary will underscore the importance of protecting civilian lives in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza; securing the release of all remaining hostages; our shared commitment to facilitating the increased, sustained delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and the resumption of essential services; and ensuring that Palestinians are not forcibly displaced from Gaza," State Department Spokesperson Matt Miller said in a statement.
The last part of the agenda Miller lays out -- "ensuring that Palestinians are not forcibly displaced from Gaza" -- runs counter to the rhetoric put forth in recent days by Israeli Minister of National Security Ben Gvir and other far-right politicians, comments the Biden administration have already denounced.
"We don't expect every conversation on this trip to be easy. There are obviously tough issues facing the region and difficult choices ahead," Miller said in a briefing Thursday afternoon, adding that the U.S. intends to "tackle them head on."
As of now, Blinken is scheduled to spend time in eight countries: Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt. He will also be stopping in the West Bank.
"The secretary believes we need to try to make progress on getting humanitarian access in," Miller said. "The secretary believes we need to make progress on minimizing harm to Palestinian civilians. He believes we need to make progress on continuing to try to keep the conflict from escalating, which is why he is returning to the region."
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford