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Live Updates
ABC News

Israel-Gaza-Lebanon live updates: American hostage's father makes plea to Biden and Trump

PHOTO: In this photo released by the Office of Governor Phil Murphy, Edan Alexander is shown.
3:16
Office of Governor Phil Murphy
Israeli-Hezbollah ceasefire takes effect as many in Lebanon are left homeless
By David Brennan, Julia Reinstein, Nadine El-Bawab, Ivan Pereira
Last Updated: December 2, 2024, 7:54 AM

A ceasefire went into effect at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday morning after Israel's Cabinet approved the U.S.-backed proposal to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah after prolonged negotiations.

The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza, particularly in the north of the devastated Palestinian territory.

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:

  • Hostage Edan Alexander's father makes an appeal to Biden, Trump and Netanyahu
  • White House reacts to video of American hostage
  • Hamas releases video of American hostage
  • Israeli airstrike targets World Central Kitchen vehicle, killing 5
  • IDF launches 4 more strikes in Lebanon
Here's how the news is developing.

Dec 02, 2024 7:54 AM

Hostage Edan Alexander's father makes an appeal to Biden, Trump and Netanyahu

The father of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander issued an emotional request on Sunday to President Biden, President-elect Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling the leaders to act now to bring the hostages home "before it's too late."

A day after seeing his son for the first time in a year in a propaganda video released by Hamas' military wing, Adi Alexander of New Jersey spoke at a rally in New York City's Central Park, saying, "No father should hear his child plead for his life like that."

PHOTO: In this photo released by the Office of Governor Phil Murphy, Edan Alexander is shown.
Office of Governor Phil Murphy
In this photo released by the Office of Governor Phil Murphy, Edan Alexander is shown.
Office of Governor Phil Murphy

"President Biden, President Trump, Prime Minster Netanyahu, I call on all of you to act," Alexander said. "This is not a moment for politics or hesitation. This is a moment of courage, collaboration and decisive action."

He appealed to Biden to use the United States' influence "to negotiate a deal before it's too late."

PHOTO: Adi Alexander, the father of American Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, speaks on Dec. 1, 2024, at a rally in New York City's Central Park.
WABC
Adi Alexander, the father of American Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, speaks on Dec. 1, 2024, at a rally in New York City's Central Park.
WABC

Directing his words to Trump, he said, "You do not have to wait until January to make an impact. The world is watching. Act now."

To Netanyahu, Alexander said, "The fate of the hostages, including my son, rests in your hands. You have the power to bring them home. Don't let this opportunity slip away."

Edan Alexander, 20, was serving in the Israeli military and stationed near Gaza when he was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023.

The White House issued a statement, saying, it has been in touch with the Alexander family and called the hostage video a “cruel reminder of Hamas’s terror against citizens of multiple countries, including our own.”

“The war in Gaza would stop tomorrow and the suffering of Gazans would end immediately-- and would have ended months ago-- if Hamas agreed to release the hostages,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement. "It has refused to do so, but as the President said last week, we have a critical opportunity to conclude the deal to release the hostages, stop the war, and surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza. This deal is on the table now."


Dec 02, 2024 7:54 AM

Netanyahu to hold meeting to discuss hostages, Lebanon, Syria tonight: Official

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a security meeting Sunday night to discuss the issue of the hostages, as well as Lebanon and Syria, an Israeli official told ABC News.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller


Dec 02, 2024 7:54 AM

UN pauses aid deliveries to Gaza amid safety concerns

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini on Sunday announced a pause to Gaza aid deliveries via the strip's main crossing point, citing serious threats to the safety of staff.

The road out of the Kerem Shalom crossing "has not been safe for months," Lazzarini said in a post to X.

PHOTO: A truck carries humanitarian aid destined for the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel on Nov. 11, 2024.
Amir Cohen/Reuters
A truck carries humanitarian aid destined for the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel on Nov. 11, 2024.
Amir Cohen/Reuters

"This difficult decision comes at a time hunger is rapidly deepening," Lazzarini said. "The delivery of humanitarian aid must never be dangerous or turn into an ordeal."

The UNRWA chief said a "large convoy of aid trucks was stolen by armed gangs" on Nov. 16, with several more aid trucks taken on Saturday.

Lazzarini also said that Israel's "ongoing siege" of Gaza, "hurdles" put in place by Israeli authorities and "⁠political decisions to restrict the amounts of aid" were among the other problems facing U.N. staff.

"The humanitarian operation has become unnecessarily impossible," he wrote. "The responsibility of protection of aid workers [and] supplies is with the state of Israel as the occupying power."

-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian



Dec 01, 2024 7:55 AM

Israel defense minister says US hostage video is 'psychological warfare'

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he spoke with the family of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, a video of whom was released by Hamas on Saturday.

PHOTO: Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American hostage kidnapped by Palestinian militants on Oct. 7, 2023, is seen in this screen grab taken from a Handout video by Hamas Military Wing released on Nov. 30, 2024.
Hamas Military Wing/via Reuters
Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American hostage kidnapped by Palestinian militants on Oct. 7, 2023, is seen in this screen grab taken from a Handout video by Hamas Military Wing released on Nov. 30, 2024.
Hamas Military Wing/via Reuters

"The brutal video that was released is part of psychological warfare, but it is an important and moving sign of life for us and for his family," Katz wrote on X.

"The hostages and their families are going through terrible suffering," he added. Israeli authorities "are working tirelessly to return all the kidnapped people home," Katz wrote.

Alexander, who grew up in New Jersey, was a serving Israeli soldier positioned on the Gaza frontier during Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack.


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