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Middle East live updates: Biden, Trump teams 'collaborative' on Gaza, envoy says
Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas are again ongoing in Qatar.
Rebel forces in Syria are building a transitional government after toppling the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.
The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza, particularly in the north of the strip around several Palestinian hospitals. A latest round of peace talks to end the 15-month-old war is set to resume in Qatar.
Meanwhile, the November ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.
Latest headlines:
Israeli warplanes bomb West Bank
The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday its fighter jets "struck a terrorist cell" in the occupied West Bank Palestinian town of Tamun.
Unconfirmed reports by local media suggested that two children were among three Palestinians killed.
On Tuesday, the IDF said its aircraft struck and killed two armed Palestinian militants in the area of Tamun after an armed cell opened fire toward Israeli security forces there.
-ABC News' Nasser Atta, Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
Israeli strikes kill 51 people in Gaza, health officials say
At least 51 people were killed and 78 others were injured in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health.
In total, at least 45,936 people have been killed and another 109,274 have been injured by Israeli forces in Gaza since the ongoing war began on Oct. 7, 2023, the ministry in the Hamas-run territory said.
-ABC News' Diaa Ostaz, Samy Zyara and Joe Simonetti
Israeli, UAE foreign ministers meet amid Gaza talks
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar met with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayad on Tuesday, according to a release from Saar's office.
The Israeli Foreign Minister was invited by the UAE, the readout said, his visit coinciding with the resumption of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas in Doha, Qatar.
The UAE has discussed with Israel and the U.S. the idea of participating in a provisional administration of post-war Gaza until a reformed Palestinian Authority is able to take charge, Reuters reported this week.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Ellie Kaufman
Biden, Trump teams 'very collaborative' on Gaza push, envoy says
President-elect Donald Trump's incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, told reporters that President Joe Biden's team has been "very collaborative" on working towards a Gaza hostage release deal, with renewed talks ongoing in Qatar.
"We're just very collaborative together," Witkoff said following Trump's Tuesday Mar-a-Lago press conference. "I mean, this is a tense negotiation, so no one has pride of authorship. We are totally outcome oriented. Let's get them home."
Witkoff said he speaks every day with Brett McGurk, the top Biden White House official on Middle East policy.
During the press conference, Trump said "all hell will break loose" if the remaining hostages aren't released before Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.
Witkoff said "there was no exaggeration or embellishment with what the president said."
"If you get on the phone with the hostage families, it's harrowing to listen to them," Witkoff said. "There are people who just want the remains of their children back…it is withering to listen to this, and he [Trump] listens to them all."
Witkoff said the incoming administration "aspirationally" hopes for a 42-day ceasefire to be enacted before the inauguration.
"President Trump's persona is such that he's driving the narrative on these negotiations," Witkoff added. "He will be in office when that 42-day ceasefire is over. That's what Hamas cares about -- how we move to phase two. That's what the Israelis care about, how President Trump will be at the end of that ceasefire."
Witkoff said he's seen intelligence reports about how many hostages remain alive, and said it's "not a small amount."
-ABC News' Selina Wang