Middle East live updates: Gaza death toll rises to 46,000, officials say

(LONDON) — 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.

Lebanon elects army chief as new president

Lebanese Armed Forces chief Joseph Aoun was chosen Thursday to be the country’s next leader.

Aoun’s election came after 12 failed attempts to choose a new president. He will now fill a head of state post left empty for more than two years amid political deadlock and myriad crises.

Aoun received 71 out of 128 votes in the first round of voting, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to clinch the role. Aoun won 99 votes in the second round.

Lawmakers committed to a fresh attempt to fill the presidential role following the recent Israel-Hezbollah conflict, which saw serious damage done to the capital Beirut and the south of the country.

Iran-backed Hezbollah also suffered materiel and personnel losses, its powerful leader Hassan Nasrallah among those killed during the fighting.

Hezbollah backed Suleiman Frangieh — the leader of a Christian party in northern Lebanon with ties to former Syrian President Bashar Assad — in the contest. Frangieh withdrew from the race on Wednesday, leaving Aoun as the likely victor.

Gaza’s displaced confined to ‘overcrowded’ schools, UNRWA says

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East warned on Thursday that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are still sheltering in “overcrowded” schools as Israel’s 15-month war on the enclave continues.

“Playgrounds for children are homes for the displaced,” UNRWA wrote on X. “More humanitarian aid must come into Gaza and a ceasefire is more critical than ever.”

UNRWA facilities in Gaza have been attacked frequently since the Israeli invasion began, as have school buildings doubling as shelter for Gazans displaced by the fighting.

The vast majority of Gaza’s pre-war population of 2.2 million has been displaced at least once since the fighting began.

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

Gaza death toll passes 46,000

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Hamas-run Gaza announced that 46,006 people have been killed in Gaza since the war with Israel began on Oct. 7, 2023.

The number of injured rose to 109,378, officials said Thursday morning.

At least 70 people were killed in the past 24 hours, the ministry said, and 104 more were injured by Israeli strikes across the Palestinian territory.

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

US bombs Houthi weapon sites in Yemen

U.S. Central Command conducted “multiple precision strikes” against two Houthi underground storage facilities in Yemen on Wednesday, the command said in a statement.

“The Houthis used these facilities to conduct attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” CENTCOM said. “There were no injuries or damage to U.S. personnel or equipment.”

U.S. and British forces — backed by a range of allies — have been bombing the Iran-aligned Houthi organization in Yemen since January.

The strikes are a response to Houthi attacks on commercial and military shipping in the Red Sea and elsewhere, launched in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza. The Houthis have also launched direct attacks on Israel and vowed to continue to do so while the war in Gaza continues.

Israel has launched several waves of strikes on Yemen in response. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that Israel would continue to act against the Houthis “with force, determination and sophistication.”

American hostage families to attend Trump inauguration

Families of American hostages who are still believed to be held in Gaza will attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration later this month, a release from the families said Wednesday.

“During the trip, the families plan to meet with officials from the incoming Trump administration, along with members of Congress and their staff,” the release said.

“The families are urging leaders to prioritize the safe return of their loved ones and to take decisive action to bring an end to their prolonged captivity,” it added.

There are seven American hostages still believed to be held captive inside Gaza, according to the families.

Trump said this week that “all hell will break out in the Middle East” if the remaining Gaza hostages are not released before his inauguration on Jan. 20.

-ABC News’ Nadine Shubailat and Ellie Kaufman

Israel recovers body of hostage found in Gaza tunnel

The Israeli Defense Forces and the Shin Bet “located and returned the kidnapped body” of hostage Yosef Al-Zaydani on Tuesday “from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area,” the army said in a release Wednesday. Israel said it has also recovered another body and are working to determine whether it is Al-Zaydani’s son, Hamza.

The Israel Defense Forces said they have identified the body of one hostage, Yosef Al-Zaydani, and are examining the identify of the second body.

The IDF believes the second body is likely Hamza Al-Zaydani, but they are not certain yet, so at this time the IDF is saying they’ve identified one body and are examining the findings of a second body.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his “deep sorrow for the bitter news that the Al-Zaydani received today,” in a statement Wednesday.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Ellie Kaufman

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

Israeli settlers attack West Bank Palestinian villages

There were multiple overnight attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in parts of the West Bank, following a shooting attack that killed three Israelis and injured eight others earlier on Monday.

The Palestinian Authority-run WAFA news agency reported at least two attacks by settlers on Palestinian communities in Bethlehem and Ramallah.

The Yesh Din human rights group reported as many as 100 settlers attacking Palestinian villages, some in the al-Funduq area where Monday’s attack occurred.

Israeli security forces are still searching for the suspected perpetrators of Monday’s shooting attack, which Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described as “an act of war.”

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

Blinken hopes for Gaza ceasefire in administration’s final weeks

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Monday that the U.S. wants a ceasefire deal in Gaza and all remaining captives released within the next two weeks, before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

“We very much want to bring this over the finish line in the next two weeks,” Blinken told reporters while in Seoul, South Korea.

Blinken reported “intensified engagement,” including by Hamas, on reaching a deal, though added “we are yet to see agreement on final points.”

“We need Hamas to make the final necessary decisions to complete the agreement and to fundamentally change the circumstance for the hostages, getting them out, for people in Gaza, bringing them relief, and for the region as a whole, creating an opportunity to actually move forward to something better, more secure for everyone involved,” Blinken said.

“If we don’t get it across the finish line in the next two weeks, I’m confident that it will get its completion at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later,” Blinken added.

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

3 Israelis killed in West Bank shooting

Three Israelis were killed in a shooting that targeted a bus and a vehicle in the occupied West Bank on Monday morning, security and emergency officials said.

The attack occurred in the village of Al-Funduq, on one of the main east-west roads crossing the Palestinian territory, much of which is under Israeli security control.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service confirmed the death of three victims — two women in their 60s and a man in his 40s. MDA said it provided medical treatment to seven injured people, including the bus driver who is in serious condition.

The Israel Defense Forces said it launched a manhunt for the suspected Palestinian shooters.

“Anyone who follows the path of Hamas in Gaza and sponsors the murder and harm of Jews will pay heavy prices, ” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a post on his X account, reacting to the attack.

Sending his condolences to the families of the victims, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attackers “will not get away.”

“We will find the abhorrent murderers and settle accounts with them and with all those who aided them,” his statement said.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah said in an extensive report Sunday that at least 838 Palestinians — including 173 children — have been killed by Israeli fire and over 6,700 have been injured in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Diaa Ostaz and Somayeh Malekian

WHO director calls for release of Kamal Adwan hospital director

Tedros Ghebreyesus, the director of the World Health Organization, said in a statement Saturday that WHO has received no updates about Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, the director of North Gaza’s Kamal Adwan hospital, since he was detained by Israeli forces on Dec. 27th.

“We continue to urge Israel to release him. We repeat: attacks on hospitals and health professionals must end. People in Gaza need access to health care. Ceasefire!” he said in a statement.

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé

Israeli strikes kill 150 in Gaza, officials say, as peace talks resume

More than 150 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip over the past three days, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The series of airstrikes on dozens of Hamas targets came amid a renewed push to reach a ceasefire in the 15-month-old war and return Israeli hostages home before President-elect Donald Trump takes office later this month.

Delegations from both Israel and Hamas were dispatched to resume indirect negotiations in Doha on Friday. The talks will be brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

President Joe Biden’s administration, which is helping to broker the talks, urged Hamas to agree to a deal. Hamas said it was committed to reaching an agreement deal, but it remains unclear how close the two sides are.

-ABC News Nasser Atta, Bruno Nota, Diaa Ostaz, Samy Zyara and Morgan Winsor

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