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ABC News

US aircraft carrier strike group arrives in Middle East

PHOTO: In this image shared by the U.S. Central Command on Dec. 15, 2024, the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HSTCSG) is seen.
0:24
U.S. Central Command/Twitter
At least 15 dead after Israeli airstrike on school in Gaza
By David Brennan, Meredith Deliso, Nadine El-Bawab, Ivan Pereira
Last Updated: December 15, 2024, 10:38 PM

Rebel forces in Syria captured the capital Damascus and toppled the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.

Meanwhile, the 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. The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza.

Tensions also 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.

Latest headlines:

  • 15 reportedly killed in Israeli strike on school in southern Gaza
  • Gaza hospital director says his facility is being bombed 'around the clock'
  • Netanyahu says he spoke with Trump on Syria
  • US aircraft carrier strike group enters Middle East
  • Syrian leader says country looking for stability, talks Israel, Iran and Russia
Here's how the news is developing.

Dec 15, 2024 10:38 PM

15 reportedly killed in Israeli strike on school in southern Gaza

At least 15 people, including children, were killed in an Israeli strike on a school in Khan Younis, according to Gaza Civil Defense.

The airstrike hit the Ahmed Abdul Aziz School near Nasser Hospital, within the humanitarian zone designated by Israel, the Gaza Civil Defense said.

The Israel Defense Forces has yet to comment on the strike.

PHOTO: An airstrike Sunday on the Ahmed Abdulaziz school near Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza has killed 15 people, including children, according to Gaza Civil Defense.
Hasan Eslaih
An airstrike Sunday on the Ahmed Abdulaziz school near Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza has killed 15 people, including children, according to Gaza Civil Defense.
Hasan Eslaih

Video verified by ABC News captured the chaos that unfolded when the strike caused a fire that spread throughout the top floor of the school. The footage showed a body on the ground near the school and captured people spilling out from a stairwell, including a woman carrying a child.

-ABC News' Samy Zyara


Dec 15, 2024 10:09 PM

Gaza hospital director says his facility is being bombed 'around the clock'

The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza said Sunday night that his medical complex and its surroundings are being bombed "around the clock."

Dr. Hossam Abu Safia, the hospital's director, alleged that his facility is under siege by Israeli quadcopters or armed drones.

On Sunday, all the hospital generators were damaged in the bombings, Safia said. He said people who tried to go fix the generators were targeted.

"We are being killed daily in the hospital, and we are currently suffering direct bombardment without any prior warning," Safia said.

He said there were 50 patients at the hospital, including people who were injured within the hospital complex.

The Israel Defense Forces has not issued recent comments about attacks on Kamal Adwan Hospital.

-ABC News' Samy Zyara


Dec 16, 2024 9:08 AM

Netanyahu says he spoke with Trump on Syria

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday night released a video in Hebrew addressing Israel's actions in Syria. He says he discussed this with President-Elect Trump "last night." He called it a "very friendly, very warm and very important conversation," and said they spoke about "the need to complete Israel's victory," as well as freeing the hostages in Gaza.

On Syria, Netanyahu said he has instructed the Israel Defense Forces "to thwart potential threats from Syria, and to prevent terrorist elements from taking over near our border." He also said the IDF's airstrikes in Syria have destroyed "capabilities that the Assad regime had built over decades," as well as the "arms supply routes from Syria to Hezbollah."

Netanyahu said Israel has "no interest in confronting Syria" but also said Israel will continue to act to stop Hezbollah from rearming "as much as necessary, in every arena and at any time."

-ABC News' Bruno Nota



Dec 15, 2024 4:28 PM

US aircraft carrier strike group enters Middle East

The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier strike group has arrived in the Middle East, according to U.S. Central Command.

On Dec. 14, the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HSTCSG) consisting of the flagship USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75); Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1 with nine embarked aviation squadrons; Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 28; the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser, USS Gettysburg… pic.twitter.com/mtfsiBvCyh

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 15, 2024

The move from the Mediterranean was planned before the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, a U.S. official told ABC News.

The Truman replaces the USS Abraham Lincoln, which left the region last month.

PHOTO: The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman leaves the French Mediterranean port of Marseille, on Dec. 3, 2024.
Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images, FILE
The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman leaves the French Mediterranean port of Marseille, on Dec. 3, 2024.
Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images, FILE

-ABC News' Matt Seyler


Dec 10, 2024 11:31 AM

IDF denies reports of Israeli tanks near Damascus

The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday denied reports that Israeli tanks had been spotted on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, amid the nascent Israeli operation inside a border buffer zone separating the two nations.

PHOTO: Israeli soldiers stand near tanks along the border with Syria on Dec. 9, 2024, in the occupied Golan Heights.
Amir Levy/Getty Images
Israeli soldiers stand near tanks along the border with Syria on Dec. 9, 2024, in the occupied Golan Heights.
Amir Levy/Getty Images

Lebanese news network Al Mayadeen reported that Israeli armor advanced into the Damascus countryside, while other unverified reports suggested that Israeli forces occupied several villages south of the capital.

The IDF rejected the reports. "The reports circulating in the media about the alleged advancement of Israeli tanks towards Damascus are false," an IDF official told ABC News.

"IDF troops are stationed within the buffer zone, as stated in the past," the official added.

Israeli forces entered the border buffer zone over the weekend amid the collapse of Bashar Assad's regime in Damascus. The area was demilitarized per a 1974 agreement between the two neighbors.

Israeli leaders say the deployment -- and the ongoing nationwide airstrike campaign -- is intended to prevent "extremist" groups using the country as a springboard for cross-border attacks.

Israel still occupies the Golan Heights plateau, which overlooks Damascus from the southwest. Israeli forces seized the strategic region during the 1967 war. Israel unilaterally annexed the area in 1981, a move recognized by the U.S. in 2019.

The vast majority of the international community still recognizes the Golan Heights as Syrian territory.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti


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