Israeli strike on south Gaza hospital kills senior Hamas official
Interior view of destroyed Nasser Hospital following the Israeli attack in Khan Yunis, Gaza/Abdallah F.s. Alattar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — A senior Hamas official was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a hospital in southern Gaza on Sunday, the terror group and the Israel Defense Forces said, as Israel expanded its renewed campaign into the Palestinian territory.
Ismail Barhoum, a senior member of Hamas’ political bureau, was killed in the strike on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Hamas confirmed, describing the attack as a “cowardly” assassination. Hamas said Barhoum was receiving medical treatment in the hospital when he was killed.
The IDF and Israeli Security Agency said in a joint statement that the attack targeted a “key terrorist in the Hamas terrorist organization” who was “operating inside” the hospital, which is the largest in southern Gaza.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said the Israeli strike targeted the hospital’s surgical wing and occurred when “many patients and wounded” were inside the hospital. Videos from the scene showed a fire inside the building following the strike.
The ministry said that “many others” — including medical personnel — were wounded in the strike, “with varying degrees of injuries.” The attack, it added, “also caused panic and forced the complete evacuation of the department after a large portion of it was destroyed.”
Nasser Hospital has been shelled several times by Israeli forces since war broke out in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, following Hamas’ surprise attack into southern Israel.
IDF forces raided the hospital in February 2024, when the IDF said it had intelligence that hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attack had been held there. Israel has repeatedly alleged that Hamas was using the facility as a “command-and-control center.” Hamas has denied using Nasser and other Gaza hospitals for military purposes.
Israel resumed its air and ground campaign in Gaza last week, ending the ceasefire agreed with Hamas in January.
At least 673 people have since been killed and 1,233 injured by Israeli strikes since the ceasefire ended, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The total death toll in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, is now at 50,021, according to the ministry.
ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz, Will Gretsky and Victoria Beaule contributed to this report.
After being held by Hamas terrorists for 470 days, the first three hostages released on Sunday as part of the ceasefire deal were reunited with their mothers and airlifted to a hospital, according to Israeli officials.
The now-former captives — Romi Gonen, 24; Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31 — were turned over by Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross as part of the ceasefire and hostage release deal that has been in the works for months.
“Today’s ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages is a result of a principled and effective policy that we’ve presided over for months,” President Joe Biden said in an address from the White House on Sunday. “And we got it — we got here without a wider war in the Middle East [that] many predicted.”
The first phase of the deal will see the release of 33 hostages being held in Gaza, dead and alive, starting with women, children and the elderly, officials said. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel will also be released in exchange for the hostages. Biden said that by the 16th day of the deal, talks will begin about the second phase of the agreement, which will include releasing remaining Israeli male hostages, civilians and soldiers.
Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal on Wednesday, marking an end to more than 15 months of deadly conflict. The agreement was announced in Doha, Qatar, after months of negotiations between Israel and Hamas were mediated by facilitators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar. It was approved by the Israeli Cabinet on Friday.
Here’s what we know about the freed hostages so far:
Romi Gonen, 24
Gonen was kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, from the Nova music festival that was attacked by Hamas terrorists, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.
Gonen, of Kfar Vradim in northern Israel, is known for her love of dancing, traveling and enjoying life, according to the organization. One of five children of Meirav and Eitan Gonen, Romi Gonen was described by the organization as energetic, funny, family-oriented and full of life.
Doron Steinbrecher, 31
Steinbrecher is a veterinary nurse who has cared for animals since childhood when she helped at the school’s petting zoo, the organization said. She loves sports and was known to jog every Saturday morning around her kibbutz, according to the group. Her family described her as a devoted aunt, who is beloved by her nephews. Her parents are Roni and Simona, and she has one sister, Yamit, and a brother, Dor.
Steinbrecher is an Israeli-Romanian dual national who turned 31 in captivity, officials said.
Steinbrecher and Damari were both captured on Oct. 7 by Hamas militants who attacked their Kfar Aza kibbutz close to the Gaza border.
Emily Damari, 28
Damari is a British citizen who was living at the Kfar Aza kibbutz. Her friends describe her as well-loved and popular, a friend to everyone, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters. The organization said Damari enjoys barbecuing and karaoke nights, and loves hats.
Damari was also a central figure in the local Kfar Aza youth community and was praised for always being there for her friends, the group said.
Damari was kidnapped from her home along with Steinbrecher and two other friends, Gali and Ziv Berman, who remain in captivity, the organization said.
In over a year of war between Israel and Hamas, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza and almost 110,000 injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. That figure does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. However, more than 14,000 children and 8,000 women have been killed, according to the health ministry.
The Israel Defense Forces said they have killed more than 15,000 combatants throughout the course of the war, which was sparked by the unprecedented Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, in southern Israel. More than 1,200 people were killed and another 253 were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities.
During a weeklong ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in late November 2023, Hamas freed more than 100 people. In exchange, Israel released more than 200 Palestinians from Israeli prisons. Several hostages in Gaza have also been freed in the months since, while the bodies of others have been recovered.
The release of three American-Israeli hostages who are alive will be included in the ceasefire agreement, though in two different phases, a senior White House official told reporters on Wednesday.
Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, and Keith Siegel, 65, are both expected to be released, with Sigel qualifying for release due to age, and Dekel-Chen qualifying because of injury, according to the official, who said Dekel-Chen was shot on Oct. 7, 2023, when the conflict began with a terrorist attack by Hamas in southern Israel.
Edan Alexander, 20, will be in the second phase of releases because of his service with the IDF, according to the official. The official said he spoke with Alexander’s father recently and that the U.S. remains fully committed to getting him released.
“We are committed to getting all Americans, these are American-Israeli citizens, all of them out of Gaza, whether living or remains. That is our commitment,” the official said.
Following the ceasefire announcement last week, Biden released a statement noting how American citizens held hostage by Hamas will be included in the ceasefire release agreement.
“This deal will halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much-needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity,” Biden said in a statement.
Biden said he is determined to bring seven American hostages home, three of whom are believed to be alive, he said.
Hostages with American citizenship who have died and whose bodies are believed to remain with Hamas include Itay Chen, 19; Omer Neutra, 22, and married couple Judith Weinstein, 70, and Gadi Haggai, 73.
ABC News’ Molly Nagle and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza went into effect on Sunday morning. Hostages held in the strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails will be freed in the first phase of the deal.
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. Israeli forces also remain active inside the Syrian border region as victorious rebels there build a transitional government.
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.
4 injured in Tel Aviv stabbing attack
At least four people were injured in a stabbing attack in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency services organization, said in a release.
Two men, ages 28 and 24, are being treated with upper-body stab wounds and are in moderate condition. Two other patients, ages 24 and 59, are in mild condition, the MDA said.
The injured are being taken to Ichilov Hospital.
The stabbing occurred on Nahalat Binyamin Street in Tel Aviv, the Israeli Police Spokesperson’s Unit said. The attacker has been killed by police, the spokesperson’s unit added.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Nasser Atta
At least 21 Palestinians injured in West Bank settler violence
At least 21 Palestinians were injured, 11 severely, after dozens of Israeli civilians, some of whom were masked, arrived at the area of Al Funduq, in the West Bank, and “instigated riots, set property on fire and caused damage,” according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Three homes were burned down and five cars were torched as well, the IDF said.
The civilians hurled rocks and attacked the security forces dispatched to the scene, according to the IDF.
Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz, despite freeing settlers who committed the same types of crimes, said he condemns the violence.
Over 1,500 aid trucks entered Gaza on day 1 and 2 of ceasefire, UN says
More than 1,500 trucks with humanitarian aid have entered the Gaza Strip in the first two days of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
That includes more than 630 trucks on Sunday and 915 trucks on Monday, according to OCHA. Of the ones that crossed into Gaza on Sunday, OCHA said at least 300 trucks went to the north, which the U.N. has warned is facing imminent famine.
OCHA cited “information received through engagement with Israeli authorities and the guarantors for the ceasefire agreement.”
“There is no time to lose,” the U.N.’s aid chief, Tom Fletcher, said in a statement Monday. “After 15 months of relentless war, the humanitarian needs are staggering.”
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
IDF says riots in the West Bank have dispersed
Israel Defense Forces and Israel Border Police Forces were dispatched to Al Funduq in the West Bank after reports of rioting in the area, the IDF said on Monday.
The alleged incident occurred shortly after Israel’s defense minister released all settlers being detained under administrative detention orders, though it cannot be certain that any of those settlers were involved in the reported riots. ABC News was able to confirm that fires had ignited in that location.
Shortly thereafter, the IDF confirmed that it had successfully dispersed rioters.
There have been no confirmed reports as to the extent of the damage or any injuries. Israeli officials are expected to conduct a formal inquiry in the area tonight.
-ABC News’ William Gretsky
Israeli forces recover body of fallen soldier in Gaza
Israeli forces recovered the body of Oron Shaul, an Israel Defense Forces soldier who was killed in 2014, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF announced Monday.
Shaul was killed during a battle in Gaza on July 30, 2014, and his body had been held by Hamas for the past 10 years, the IDF said.
“The recovery of Staff Sergeant, Oron Shaul’s body, was made possible due to a decade-long ongoing intelligence effort, which intensified during the war,” the IDF wrote in a statement about the operation on Monday.
Netanyahu spoke with Oron Shaul’s mother, Zehava Shaul, after the operation was successfully completed, a statement from his office said.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman and Jordan Miller
Next hostage exchange expected to take place Saturday
Both Israel and Hamas have confirmed the next hostage release will take place on Saturday.
A senior Israeli official confirmed the deal must take place on Jan. 25, as outlined in the ceasefire agreement. Hamas confirmed the date, saying “the second batch of prisoner exchange will take place on the scheduled date.”
Three hostages, all Israeli women, were released on Sunday, while 90 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israel in exchange.
Houthis say attacks on Israeli shipping will continue
Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced that they will limit their attacks in the Red Sea to only Israel-affiliated ships, signaling a temporary easing of their broader assault on commercial vessels.
The decision coincided with the ceasefire and hostage-release deal agreed between Israel and Hamas that went into effect on Sunday.
The announcement was made via an email sent to shipping companies by the Houthi Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center, the Associated Press reported.
Attacks on Israeli-linked vessels will end “upon the full implementation of all phases” of the ceasefire, the Houthis said, adding that attacks on U.S.- or U.K.-linked shipping may resume if the two nations continue airstrikes in Yemen.
The Houthis have targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023, significantly affecting global shipping, particularly through Egypt’s Suez Canal.
The Houthis have also attacked American and allied military shipping in the region, plus launched drone and ballistic missile strikes into Israel.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
10,000 bodies may be under Gaza rubble, Civil Defense says
The Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza said there could be as many as 10,000 bodies buried under rubble all across the strip, as many displaced Gazans try to return to their homes under a nascent ceasefire agreement.
The Civil Defense said in a post to Telegram that 10,000 missing people are believed to be “under the rubble of destroyed homes, buildings and facilities.” They are not counted in the 38,300 fatalities listed by the Civil Defense since Oct. 7, 2023.
The Gaza Ministry of Health — which has separately tracked deaths during the conflict — said on Sunday that 46,913 people had been killed in the Hamas-run territory during the war with Israel.
The Civil Defense said Israeli forces prevented its crews from accessing large areas of the strip during the fighting, “where there are hundreds of bodies” that have not yet been recovered.
The Civil Defense called for the entry of foreign rescue workers “to support us in carrying out our duty to deal with the catastrophic reality left behind by the war, which exceeds the capacity of the civil defense apparatus in the Gaza Strip.”
The organization called on Gazans to assist rescuers “with all necessary capabilities, including rescue, firefighting, and ambulance vehicles and equipment, as well as heavy machinery and equipment that will help us retrieve the bodies of martyrs from under the rubble of thousands of destroyed buildings and homes.”
Freed hostage is ‘happiest girl in the world,’ mother says Mandy Damari, the mother of Emily Damari — who was among the three Israeli captives freed from Gaza on Sunday — released a statement thanking all those involved in her daughter’s release “from the bottom of my heart.”
“Yesterday, I was finally able to give Emily the hug that I have been dreaming of,” Mandy said in a statement shared by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.
“I am relieved to report that after her release, Emily is doing much better than any of us could ever have anticipated,” she added.
“In Emily’s own words, she is the happiest girl in the world; she has her life back,” Mandy said.
“In this incredibly happy moment for our family, we must also remember that 94 other hostages still remain,” she added. “The ceasefire must continue and every last hostage must be returned to their families.”
-ABC News’ Anna Burd
Red Cross details ‘complex’ hostage release operation
The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement that Sunday’s operation to collect three freed Israeli hostages from Gaza “was complex, requiring rigorous security measures to minimize the risks to those involved.”
“Navigating large crowds and heightened emotions posed challenges during the transfers and in Gaza, ICRC teams had to manage the dangers posed by unexploded ordnances and destroyed infrastructure,” the ICRC said in a Monday statement.
“More families are waiting anxiously for their loved ones to come home,” ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said. “We call on all parties to continue to adhere to their commitments to ensure the next operations can take place safely.”
The ICRC also stressed that “urgently needed humanitarian assistance must enter Gaza, where civilians have struggled for months to access food, drinkable water and shelter.”
Released Palestinian prisoners arrive in the West Bank amid high tensions
Tensions were high as people waited in Beitunia, in the West Bank, for the arrival of the 90 Palestinian prisoners who were released from Israeli custody just after 1 a.m. local time.
Israeli forces used cars and tear gas to attempt to clear the roads, ABC News reporters on the scene said.
ABC News’ team saw flash bangs where people were gathered waiting for the prisoners’ release.
Israeli Police did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment on the matter.
The prisoners were released from Ofer Prison in Ramallah, West Bank, as a part of the hostage exchange and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
People were seen on top of the buses waving flags and chanting as the prisoners arrived in Beitunia at approximately 1:42 a.m.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman, as well as Tom Soufi Burridge and Hugo Leenhardt in the West Bank
Photos show 3 Israeli former hostages reunited with their mothers
Photos were released by Israeli officials on Sunday showing the three released hostages hugging their mothers as they were reunited.
The images showed former hostages Romi Gonen, 24; Emily Damari, 28; and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, all sharing emotional embraces with their mothers.
(WASHINGTON) — President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico plans on Monday to announce her country’s “Plan B” response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on imported goods.
Trump told reporters he would speak on Monday with Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, prior to imposing import tariffs on their goods. The U.S. president is expected to sign executive orders on Tuesday putting in place 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada and 10% tariffs on those from China, according to the White House.
Sheinbaum in a video posted to social media on Sunday said her government was calling for “reason and law” among “individuals as well as among nations.”
‘This measure of 25% tariffs has effects for both countries but it has very serious effects for the U.S. economy,” she said, “because it will raise the costs of all the products that are exported from Mexico to the U.S., it will have a 25% higher cost.”
Trudeau responded to the planned tariffs on Saturday evening, announcing his country will implement 25% tariffs on 155 billion Canadian dollars, or about $107 billion, of U.S. goods. The prime minister said he has not talked to Trump since his inauguration.
Sheinbaum, who was elected in June, offered little detail on how her government’s “Plan B” would respond to the tariffs.
She instructed her economic secretary to “implement Plan B that we have been working on, which includes tariff and non-tariff measures in defense of Mexico’s interests,” she said in a statement written in Spanish and translated by ABC News.
She also sought to remind the White House that the current trade free agreements between the U.S. and Mexico have been in place for about three decades.
“The last free trade agreement was signed by President López Obrador and President Trump himself,” she said.
Trump on Sunday told reporters he was unconcerned about the potential impact of imposing tariffs on close trading partners, saying the American people would understand.
“We may have short term, some, a little pain, and people understand that, but, long term, the United States has been ripped off by virtually every country in the world,” he told reporters on Sunday, as he departed Air Force One at Maryland’s Joint Base Andrews.
He added, “We have deficits with almost every country, not every country, but almost. And we’re going to change it. It’s been unfair. That’s why we owe $36 trillion we have deficits with everybody.”
Canada has been taking advantage of the U.S., Trump said, calling the relationship with the country a “one-way street.”
“They don’t allow our banks. Did you know that Canada does not allow banks to go in, if you think about it, that’s pretty amazing,” he said. “If we have a U.S. bank, they don’t allow them to go in.”
Trump added, “Canada has been very tough on oil, on energy. They don’t allow our farm products in. Essentially, they don’t allow a lot of things in, and we allow everything to come in. It’s been a one-way street.”
ABC News’ Matt Rivers, Max Zahn, Kelsey Walsh, Victoria Beaule and William Gretsky contributed to this report.
