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.
Mar 1, 2024, 6:03 am
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.
Dec 20, 2023, 1:33 PM EST
IDF says it’s secured control over Hamas' ‘Elite Quarter’ of Gaza Strip
Israeli troops have secured control over Hamas' "Elite Quarter" in the center of Gaza City, including the area of the “Palestine Square,” the Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday.
"The complex includes a large network of tunnels that connects terrorist hideouts, bureaus, and residential apartments belonging to Hamas’ senior leadership,” the IDF said. “This complex, both above and below ground, was a center of power for Hamas’ military and political wings.”
Dec 20, 2023, 1:19 PM EST
Blinken: Conflict 'needs to move to a lower intensity phase'
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. is heading into next year focused on ensuring that Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel cannot happen again, as well as bringing the conflict in Gaza to an end as quickly as possible.
“We're more determined than ever to ensure that out of this horrific tragedy comes a moment of possibility for Israelis, for Palestinians, for the region, to live in lasting peace and lasting security,” Blinken said at his end-of-year news conference Wednesday.
Relatives of Ohad ben Ami, 65, an Israeli hostage held in the Gaza Strip since the October 7 attack by Hamas, pose for a picture with his portrait during a visit to Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel near the border with Gaza, Dec. 20, 2023.
Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images
Blinken spoke about the need to downshift the scale of warfare, but he didn’t set a firm timeline.
“It’s clear that the conflict will move and needs to move to a lower intensity phase. And we expect to see, and want to see, a shift to more targeted operations with a smaller number of forces that's really focused in on dealing with the leadership of Hamas, the tunnel network and a few other critical things,” Blinken said. “As that happens, I think you'll see as well, the harm done to civilians also decrease significantly.”
A young Palestinian injured in Israeli airstrikes arrives to be treated at Nasser Medical Hospital, Dec. 20, 2023, in Khan Yunis, Gaza.
Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
Blinken also addressed intense negotiations over an Arab-sponsored United Nations Security Council resolution to ramp up humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza and impose a halt in the fighting. That resolution is expected to come to a vote soon and it’s possible that the U.S. could veto it.
The secretary said the U.S. wanted to make sure the measure would actually advance the effort to move aid into Gaza and “doesn't do anything that could actually hurt the delivery of humanitarian assistance -- make it more complicated.”
Palestinians line up for a free meal in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Dec. 20, 2023.
Hatem Ali/AP
He added that the U.S. was engaged “in good faith with other countries.”
“We've been working this intensely. I've been on the phones about this for the last the last couple of days,” Blinken said. “So, I hope we can get to a good place.”
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Dec 20, 2023, 12:34 PM EST
Death toll in Gaza surpasses 20,000
The death toll in Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war has now surpassed 20,000, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
President Joe Biden called the death toll "tragic."
People mourn as they collect the bodies of Palestinians killed in an airstrike on Dec. 20, 2023, in Khan Yunis, Gaza.
Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
Dec 20, 2023, 11:49 AM EST
White House says it's working with Israel to bring down civilian death toll in Gaza
As the death toll in Gaza nears 20,000, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday that "the right number of civilian casualties is zero."
People mourn over the bodies of relatives, killed in Israeli bombardment, at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Dec. 20, 2023.
AFP via Getty Images
“There's no number of an innocent civilian killed or wounded that's acceptable, nor should it be acceptable by anybody, which is why we're going to continue to work with the Israelis about being more precise, more targeted, more delivered in their military operations," Kirby said.
He said Israel has “taken on our concerns, and they have been receptive, and they have adapted their military operations to try to bring the number of civilian casualties down.”
Women tend to the sister (C) of Palestinian journalist Adel Zorob, who was killed overnight during Israeli bombardment, as she mourns his death in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Dec. 19, 2023.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
“We want to see the number zero, but they have made some efforts,” Kirby added.
