Israel-Gaza live updates: Israel pumping seawater into some Gaza tunnels

(NEW YORK) — The temporary cease-fire between Hamas and Israel ended on Dec. 1, and Israel has resumed 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.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Dec 12, 4:35 PM EST
Israel pumping seawater into some Gaza tunnels

Israel has recently started to pump seawater into Hamas’ underground network of tunnels, two U.S. officials confirmed to ABC News. It seems the flooding has been limited as Israel evaluates the effectiveness of this strategy compared to its other techniques.

The development was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. The Israeli Defense Forces has not publicly commented.

ABC News previously reported that Israel was exploring a range of options to take out Hamas’ tunnels, including flooding them with seawater — an approach some worried could have devastating long-term environmental impacts and other ramifications for Gaza’s civilian population.

In 2015, Egypt used seawater to flood a section of tunnels in the southern stretch of the enclave to disrupt smuggling activity, which led to complaints about damaged homes and crops, as well as contaminated water supplies.

ABC News’ Luis Martinez, Shannon Crawford and Justin Gomez

Dec 12, 3:44 PM EST
Biden says Netanyahu needs to ‘strengthen’ and ‘change’ the Israeli government

President Joe Biden said at a campaign reception that Israel is starting to lose support and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to “strengthen” and “change” the government to find a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“This is the most conservative government in Israel’s history,” Biden said, adding that the government “doesn’t want a two-state solution.”

“You cannot say there’s no Palestinian state at all in the future. And that’s going to be the hard part,” he said.

“Bibi’s got a tough decision to make,” Biden said, referring to Netanyahu.

Biden added, “In the meantime, we’re not going to do a damn thing other than protect Israel in the process.”

The president also recounted a recent conversation with Netanyahu, saying, “It was pointed out to me — I’m being very blunt with you all — it was pointed out to me that — by Bibi — that. ‘Well, you carpet-bombed Germany. You dropped the atom bomb. A lot of civilians died.'”

“I said, ‘Yeah, that’s why all these institutions were set up after World War II to see to it that it didn’t happen again — it didn’t happen again,” Biden said. “Don’t make the same mistakes we made at 9/11. There was no reason why we had to be in a war in Afghanistan at 9/11. There was no reason why we had to do some of the things we did.”

ABC News’ Molly Nagle, Mary Bruce and Justin Gomez

Dec 12, 1:34 PM EST
IDF recovers bodies of 2 more hostages

The Israel Defense Forces said it has recovered the bodies of two more hostages: 28-year-old Eden Zecharya, who was taken hostage from the Supernova music festival, and 36-year-old soldier Ziv Dado.

The IDF said its special forces recovered their bodies in Gaza and brought them back to Israel.

Dado was a husband and father of a 5-month-old girl.

“Ziv loved helping others, especially underserved populations,” the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said. “During his military service, he received certificates of excellence, was beloved by his commanders and superiors.”

Zecharya’s boyfriend died in the Oct. 7 attack while she was injured and kidnapped.

Zecharya “was filled with joy for life” and planned to study digital marketing, the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said.

She was devoted to her two dogs, and “in her last phone call, she managed to ask her father to look after her dogs,” the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said.

Dec 12, 1:16 PM EST
8-year-old girl in Gaza: ‘Save us’

As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens by the day, ABC News spoke with several children in Gaza whose lives have been upended.

“We started building tents with our own hands,” said Neda, an 8-year-old girl. “People became literally crazy. Whenever we found anything good or not, we would wear it.”

“Oh world, save us from this war,” Neda said. “We are young people, children who want to live like the rest of the children in the world.”

She wondered, “They wanted to remove Hamas, but what is our fault?”

Rama, a 9-year-old girl, said her “house was shaking” from “all the missiles.”

She asked, “If they bomb all the hospitals, where will we be treated?”

At a fundraiser in Washington, D.C., President Joe Biden said Israel is starting to lose support and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has to strengthen and change” the government to find a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“Bibi’s got a tough decision to make,” Biden said, referring to Netanyahu, according to a pool report.

“This is the most conservative government in Israel’s history,” Biden said, adding that the government “doesn’t want a two-state solution.”

ABC News’ Molly Nagle

Dec 12, 11:59 AM EST
IDF recovers bodies of 2 more hostages

The Israel Defense Forces said it has recovered the bodies of two more hostages: 27-year-old Eden Zakaria, who was taken hostage from the Supernova music festival, and 36-year-old soldier Ziv Dado.

The IDF said its special forces recovered their bodies in Gaza and brought them back to Israel.

Dec 12, 11:27 AM EST
Biden to meet with family members of American hostages

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden will hold a meeting at the White House with family members of Americans taken hostage by Hamas, according to a White House official.

This appears to be the first in-person meeting between Biden and relatives of hostages. The president held a Zoom call with the families on Oct. 13.

ABC News’ Molly Nagle

Dec 12, 10:41 AM EST
Kerem Shalom crossing at Israel-Gaza-Egypt border opens

The Kerem Shalom crossing at the Israel-Gaza-Egypt border opened on Tuesday to expand the amount of aid into Gaza, according to COGAT, the Israeli agency for civilian coordination with the Palestinians.

The first batch of humanitarian aid trucks underwent inspection at Kerem Shalom Tuesday morning and is now en route to the Gaza-Egypt Rafah border crossing, COGAT said.

The simultaneous security checks at the Kerem Shalom crossing and the Israel-Egypt Nitzana crossing will double the volume of aid delivered through Rafah and admitted into the Gaza Strip, COGAT said Monday.

Dec 12, 8:20 AM EST
Twenty killed in airstrikes on Rafah in southern Gaza, health ministry says

At least 20 people were killed in airstrikes on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.

The city has been designated a safe zone by the Israeli military for displaced civilians in war-torn Gaza.

Dec 12, 6:03 AM EST
IDF says 20 soldiers killed by accident in Gaza since start of war, most by friendly fire

Twenty Israeli soldiers have been killed by accident in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, most by friendly fire, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

The IDF confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday that a total of 105 soldiers have died since ground operations were launched in Gaza, 20 of which were considered accidents. Of those 20 accidental deaths, 13 were due to friendly fire, one was caused by firing irregularities and six were accidents involving weaponry, machinery or trampling, according to the IDF.

Dec 12, 5:19 AM EST
Biden says commitment to Israel is ‘unshakable,’ but warns ‘the whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight’

U.S. President Joe Biden hosted a Hanukkah reception at the White House on Monday evening, reaffirming his country’s support for Israel as the war in the Gaza Strip continues.

“My commitment to the safety of Jewish people, and the security of Israel and its right to exist, is independent — as an independent Jewish state is unshakable,” Biden said.

But the president cautioned that Israel has to “be careful” because “the whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight.”

“We can’t let that happen,” he said.

Biden also highlighted efforts his administration is taking to secure the release of hostages still being held by militants in Gaza and the continuation of military support for Israel “until they get rid of Hamas.”

“We’ve gotten more than 100 hostages out and we’re not going to stop till we get everyone on the home,” he added.

He also touted U.S. efforts to “lead the world in humanitarian assistance to innocent Palestinian civilians” in Gaza.

Dec 11, 5:17 PM EST
Physician shot inside Gaza Hospital: Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières said one of its surgeons inside the Al-Awda hospital was injured by a shot fired from outside the facility.

“Reports coming out of Al-Awda hospital are harrowing and we are gravely worried for [the] safety of patients and staff inside. Let us be clear: Al Awda is a functioning hospital with medical staff and many patients in vulnerable condition. Targeting medical workers as they care for their patients is utterly reprehensible, utterly inhumane,” Renzo Fricke, MSF’s head of mission, said in a statement.

The international humanitarian group said the attacks on the hospital have killed five staff so far including two of their members.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Dec 11, 4:28 PM EST
Israel targeting 2 hospitals in northern Gaza: Palestinian Health Ministry

Israeli forces are targeting and operating near two hospitals in northern Gaza, the Kamal Adwan Hospital and the Al-Awda Hospital, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The director of Al-Awda Hospital, Ahmed Muhanna, said Israeli tanks were surrounding the hospital.

Doctors Without Borders said one of its surgeons was injured inside Al-Awda Hospital by a shot fired from outside the facility.

“Reports coming out of Al-Awda hospital are harrowing and we are gravely worried for safety of patients and staff inside,” Doctors Without Borders said.

The Israel Defense Forces said it could not comment on troops’ locations.

-ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Jordana Miller and Cindy Smith

Dec 11, 4:15 PM EST
Israel doesn’t intend to stay permanently in Gaza: Defense minister

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that Israel “will take any measures in order to destroy Hamas, but we have no intention to stay permanently in the Gaza Strip.”

“We only take care of our security and the security of our citizens alongside the border with Gaza and elsewhere,” Gallant said.

Gallant said “a new civil body will be established to try and look after the welfare of the residents.”

“The key condition is that this body will not act with hostility towards the state of Israel,” Gallant said. “All the rest, in my opinion, can be discussed. It certainly will not be Hamas, and also will not be Israel. We will maintain our freedom to act, to operate militarily against any threat.”

Speaking directly to Hamas, Gallant said, “To the terrorists, to their commanders and to the battalion commanders: surrender. If you surrender, you can save your lives. If not, your fate is sealed.”

Dec 11, 3:09 PM EST
‘Cruelty I hadn’t seen before’: Psychiatrist who treated hostages

Dr. Renana Eitan, a psychiatrist who treated people held by Hamas, said some of the now-released hostages experienced “cruelty that I haven’t seen before.”

“I’ve been a psychiatrist for over 20 years,” she said. “We are [a] national center for sexual trauma and for PTSD for the refugees from Africa, so I thought I saw all the worst PTSD patients.”

Some hostages were held “in inhumane sanitary conditions” and “subject to severe physical, sexual and mental abuse,” Eitan said.

“I have never seen anything like that before,” Eitan said.

“One of the patients, she was kept in total darkness for four days. This is inhumane. She became psychotic. She had hallucinations,” Eitan said. “I’ve never seen such things in my life.”

According to the Israel Defense Forces, 137 people are still being held hostage by Hamas.

Dec 11, 2:58 PM EST
Kerem Shalom crossing at Israel-Gaza-Egypt border to open Tuesday

The Kerem Shalom crossing at the Israel-Gaza-Egypt border will open on Tuesday for security checks on aid shipments from Egypt, according to COGAT, the Israeli agency for civilian coordination with the Palestinians.

The simultaneous security checks at the Kerem Shalom crossing and the Israel-Egypt Nitzana crossing will double the volume of aid delivered through the Gaza-Egypt Rafah crossing and admitted into the Gaza Strip, COGAT said.

Dec 11, 2:21 PM EST
Protesters calling for cease-fire chain themselves to White House fence

A group of 18 protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza chained themselves to the White House fence on Monday.

The protesters were from Jewish Voice for Peace, a group that defines itself as “Jews organizing toward Palestinian liberation.” They chanted, “Biden, Biden pick a side, cease-fire not genocide,” and, “Cease-fire cannot wait, no Hanukkah to celebrate.”

U.S. Park Police said its officers used bolt cutters to remove the chains from the fencing and cleared the group from the area after roughly 30 minutes.

The demonstration came hours before President Joe Biden holds a Hanukkah reception at the White House.

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

Dec 11, 1:58 PM EST
134 UNRWA workers killed since beginning of the war, UN says

The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said 134 of its workers have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began two months ago.

Although northern Gaza was the first region intensely targeted by Israeli forces, the UNRWA said half of its killed staffers died in middle and southern Gaza.

There are 1.9 million people now displaced in Gaza, where conditions are continuing to deteriorate, the UNRWA said.

Dec 11, 12:21 PM EST
IDF says it recovered explosives, rifles in UNRWA-labeled bags in Gaza home

The Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers found explosives, AK-47 rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade hidden inside UNRWA-labeled bags in a home in Gaza.

The IDF said it also found long-distance rockets inside a truck near a school in Gaza.

The Israeli army has “directed aerial strikes on dozens of terrorists in the Gaza Strip” over the last day, the IDF said, and “in one incident, armed terrorists spotted exiting a medical clinic during operational activity were struck by the IDF.”

Dec 11, 6:43 AM EST
104 Israeli troops killed since fighting began, IDF says

At least 104 Israeli service members have been killed since the country’s war with Hamas began on Oct. 7, Israel Defense Forces officials said Monday.

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

Dec 10, 5:29 PM EST
Global health organizations call for immediate cease-fire over dire conditions in Gaza

Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and the World Health Organization released updates on a deteriorating situation in Gaza, imploring for an immediate cease-fire to allow aid to enter and civilians to take shelter.

The MSF is seeing a “complete collapse” in the healthcare system in Gaza, the organization said. It has been 10 days since MSF was forced to stop providing support to Martyrs and Beni Suheila clinics due to the Israeli forces’ evacuation orders for the area, according to the statement.

In Rafah, on the southernmost area of the Gaza Strip and where people from Khan Younis and central Gaza have been pushed to, health services are extremely limited, according to MSF.

“The United Nations Security Council must demand an immediate and sustained ceasefire, to lift the siege and ensure unrestricted aid to the entire Gaza Strip,” the MSF statement read.

Meanwhile, according to the WHO, a mission it conducted with partners to deliver essential trauma and surgical supplies to Al-Ahli hospital to cover the needs of 1500 people, and to transfer 19 critical patients, was successful.

The high-risk delivery was managed despite active shelling and artillery fire in the region, according to a statement from the organization.

The hospital itself has been substantially damaged, and in acute need of oxygen and essential medical supplies, water, food and fuel as well as medical personal, the WHO said.

“We cannot wait any longer for a sustained ceasefire and a safe, scaled-up humanitarian response,” WHO officials said in a statement.

-ABC News’ Will Gretzky

Dec 10, 4:49 PM EST
IDF claims it has struck 3,500 targets in Gaza since end of cease-fire

Since the end of the cease-fire on Dec. 1, the Israeli Air Force has struck 3,500 targets in the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces confirmed to ABC News on Sunday.

Many of the targets hit by the IAF were identified by IDF forces on the ground, IDF officials said in a statement.

Since beginning of the war, more than 22,000 “terror targets” have been struck in the Gaza Strip, according to the IDF.

Among the targets hit by the Israeli forces are ones in Jabalya, Shejaiya, Beit Hanoun and Khan Yunis, the IDF said. Troops are also conducting raids on Hamas terrorist strongholds across the Gaza Strip, according to the IDF.

Numerous terrorists have been killed in the raids and terrorist infrastructure has been destroyed, according to the IDF.

Additionally, IDF naval troops are operating off the coast of the Gaza Strip, striking terror targets from the sea and supporting IDF ground troops, according to the IDF.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Dec 09, 3:14 PM EST
Biden administration approves emergency tank ammunition sale to Israel

The Biden administration approved the possible sale of tank ammunition to Israel through an emergency order, circumventing Congress.

In a release, the State Department notified Congress about the emergency sale on Friday.

“The Secretary of State determined and provided detailed justification to Congress that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the above defense articles and services in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements under Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended,” the release states.

The sale — of 120mm tank cartridges and related equipment — is estimated to cost $106.5 million.

-ABC News’ Davone Morales and Shannon Crawford

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.