Israeli strikes kill 150 in Gaza as peace talks resume

PHOTO: Palestinians carry white sacks containing the bodies of those killed in overnight Israeli airstrikes on the Khan Younis refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Jan. 4, 2025.

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Abdel Kareem Hana/AP

Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Israeli custody: IDF

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.

Jan 06, 2025 7:51 AM

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

Jan 06, 2025 7:51 AM

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.

Abdel Kareem Hana/AP

Palestinians carry white sacks containing the bodies of those killed in overnight Israeli airstrikes on the Khan Younis refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Jan. 4, 2025.

Abdel Kareem Hana/AP

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

Jan 03, 2025 6:15 PM

77 killed in Gaza in past 24 hours: Health ministry

Approximately 77 people were killed and 145 injured over the past 24 hours in Gaza, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said Friday.

Israeli air forces struck "approximately 40 Hamas terrorist gathering points" throughout the Gaza Strip over the past day, the Israel Defense Forces said in a release Friday.

"Prior to the strike, numerous measures were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence," the release stated.

-ABC News' Bruno Nota and Sami Zyara

Jan 03, 2025 11:46 AM

Amnesty 'extremely alarmed' by Gaza doctor's detention

Agnes Callamard, the secretary general of Amnesty International, said on Thursday that the organization is "extremely alarmed" by the detention of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya -- the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

PHOTO: A woman holds a sign that reads "Free Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, Free Gaza" during a protest in front of the Shin Bet offices in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Jan. 1, 2025.

Matias Delacroix/AP

A woman holds a sign that reads "Free Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, Free Gaza" during a protest in front of the Shin Bet offices in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Jan. 1, 2025.

Matias Delacroix/AP

"He should now be considered as victim of enforced disappeared and as such at great risk of torture and ill-treatment," Callamard wrote in a post to X. Israeli authorities "must urgently disclose" his location, she added.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed to ABC News on Thursday that Abu Safiya was in the custody of Israeli authorities and is currently being interrogated "for suspected involvement in terrorist activities and for holding a rank in the Hamas terror organization."

The IDF has alleged that Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives were hiding inside the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia. Abu Safiya was initially detained on Dec. 27 during an IDF raid on the medical facility, which has been besieged multiple times by Israeli forces.

-ABC News' Anna Burd, Bruna Nota, Dana Savir and Joe Simonetti

Dec 30, 2024 9:24 AM

Gaza hospitals become ‘battlegrounds,’ WHO chief says

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said early Monday that Gaza's beleaguered hospitals "have once again become battlegrounds and the health system is under severe threat."

Omar Al-qattaa/AFP via Getty Images

Ambulances transport wounded Palestinians from the Kamal Adwan Hospital to the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, on Dec. 28, 2024.

Omar Al-qattaa/AFP via Getty Images

Ghebreyesus said the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north Gaza town of Beit Lahia "is out of service," following an Israeli raid which itself came after several weeks of encirclement and bombardment.

Israeli forces raided the compound on Friday, forcibly evacuating all remaining patients and staff. The Israel Defense Forces said it detained 240 alleged militants, among them hospital director Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya. The IDF said the hospital was a "command center" for Hamas "military operations" in the surrounding area.

Ghebreyesus said Safiya's "whereabouts are unknown. We call for his immediate release."

Kamal Adwan patients were transferred to the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, both of which have also reported repeated Israeli attacks. The latter "is itself out of function," Ghebreyesus said.

"Seven patients along with 15 caregivers and health workers remain at the severely damaged Indonesian Hospital, which has no ability to provide care," he added.

Four patients were detained by the IDF during their transfer out of Kamal Adwan Hospital, the WHO chief said.

Two other facilities -- the Al-Ahli Hospital and Al-Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital in Gaza City -- were also attacked and sustained damage on Monday, Ghebreyesus said.

"We repeat: stop attacks on hospitals," he wrote. "People in Gaza need access to health care. Humanitarians need access to provide health aid. Ceasefire!"