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(LONDON) — 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.

IDF launches 4 more strikes in Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces has announced carrying out four more airstrikes Saturday in Lebanon, where a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is tentatively in place.

In all four attacks, the IDF says they hit Hezbollah-affiliated targets where they believed operatives were near to, or handling, weapons. It does not appear that Hezbollah has fired any weapons since the start of the ceasefire, nor has the IDF accused them of doing so.

This makes five total IDF strikes in Lebanon on Saturday alone. The IDF announced conducting one on Friday, and one on Thursday.

The Lebanon Ministry of Health said in a statement that a 7-year-old child was among three injured in an Israeli strike on a car earlier Saturday, and an additional person was injured in a separate strike.

The IDF said it is “deployed in the southern Lebanon area, operating against any threat to the State of Israel and enforcing any violation of the ceasefire agreement understandings.”

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule

75 killed in 2 Beit Lahia strikes: Gaza Civil Defence

At least 75 people were killed in two air strikes in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, according to Gaza’s Civil Defence.

Video circulating online shows bodies under rubble, which the group said they are unable to reach as they remain trapped.

-ABC News’ Samy Zyara

MSF: Crisis in Gaza worsens as entry of medicine, supplies blocked

Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French name Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), is warning that people in Gaza with medical conditions are facing mounting catastrophes this winter.

Shortages of food, medicine, water, shelter and other crucial supplies are at critical levels, the humanitarian group said, and could worsen aid workers’ means to provide care.

“Shortages of critical supplies have reached such levels that we are now forced to turn away patients in some facilities,” Caroline Seguin, MSF’s emergency coordinator in Gaza, said in a statement. “Restrictions and obstacles to the entry of aid by the Israeli authorities continue to severely hamper our ability to provide care. Meanwhile, the looting of aid trucks within the enclave is making it difficult for that small amount of aid allowed by Israeli authorities to reach those in need. Ultimately, it’s the patients who suffer the consequences.”

Another IDF airstrike in southern Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces launched another airstrike in southern Lebanon on Friday after it said they identified “terrorist activity and movement of a Hezbollah portable rocket launcher.”

The IDF said the “threat was thwarted in an IAF strike.”

“The IDF is deployed in southern Lebanon and will actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement,” it said in a statement.

-ABC News’ Dana Savir

Netanyahu threatens ‘intensive’ war if Hezbollah violates ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened an “intensive” war if Hezbollah violates the ceasefire agreement, according to an interview he did with a local reporter.

“I gave the IDF instructions,” Netanyahu said, speaking to the right-wing Channel 14. “If there is a massive violation of the agreement … we [will] operate surgically like we are doing now, and with force … I instructed the IDF to prepare for an intensive war.”

Israel conducts airstrike during ceasefire

The Israel Defense Forces said it fired at suspected terrorists Thursday. Hezbollah has not yet commented on the strike and there have been no indications rockets have been fired into Israel from the north.

“The IDF remains in southern Lebanon and acting to enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement,” the IDF said in a statement.

The Lebanese Army confirmed the strikes hit within its territory, saying Israel “violated the agreement several times” on Wednesday and Thursday.

“After the ceasefire agreement was announced, the Israeli enemy violated the agreement several times, through air violations and targeting Lebanese territory with various weapons. ‎The Army Command is following up on these violations in coordination with the relevant authorities,” the Lebanese army said in a statement.

2,500 children in Gaza need to be evacuated: UNICEF

Over 2,500 children in the Gaza Strip need “urgent medical evacuation,” according to the United Nations Children’s Fund.
“The situation in the northern Gaza Strip is extremely difficult and tragic and is getting worse,” UNICEF spokesperson Kazem Abu Khalaf said in a statement.

“Thirty percent of children in the Gaza Strip suffer from severe malnutrition,” Abu Khalaf said. “Ninety-five percent of the schools that house displaced people in the Gaza Strip have been completely destroyed,” he said.

Nearly all attempts to deliver aid to northern Gaza have been thwarted, UNRWA says

Nearly all of the 100 attempts to deliver aid to northern Gaza over the last two months have failed, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

“Out of the 91 attempts the UN has made to deliver aid to besieged north #Gaza between 6 October and 25 November, 82 have been denied and 9 impeded,” the UNRWA said in a statement

“The conditions for survival are diminishing for the 65,000-75,000 people estimated to remain there,” the UNRWA said.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

IDF fires at ‘suspects’ in southern Lebanon, alleging ceasefire violation

The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday morning it fired at “suspects, some with vehicles” arriving in several areas of southern Lebanon.

The IDF did not give information on the identity of the targets but said their presence in the area “constitutes a violation.”

There have been sporadic reports of firing in several areas of southern Lebanon since the IDF-Hezbollah ceasefire went into effect early Wednesday morning.

The IDF has warned evacuated citizens of southern Lebanese towns and villages not to return to their homes until told to do so. Around 1.2 million people in Lebanon — roughly a quarter of its population — have been displaced by Israeli attacks and evacuation orders.

IDF says residents returning to south Lebanon are ‘in danger’

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee again urged south Lebanon residents not to return to their homes in a post to X on Thursday morning.

Adraee listed 10 villages in the south as still off limits to evacuated residents, despite Wednesday’s ceasefire.

“The IDF does not intend to target you and therefore you are prohibited at this stage from returning to your homes,” he wrote.

Anyone who travels south regardless will be “in danger,” Adraee added.

Israeli forces are expected to withdraw from their positions in southern Lebanon in phases during the 60-day ceasefire that came into effect on Wednesday morning.

They will be replaced by Lebanese Armed Forces troops, who will be tasked — with United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon assistance — with preventing the return of Hezbollah forces in the area between the Litani River and the Israeli border.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Hezbollah claims victory, says they will remain ‘fully prepared’ to deal with Israel’s ‘ambitions’

Hezbollah said it continued its war against Israel for “more than 13 months,” and it was “able to achieve victory over the delusional enemy,” the militia said in its first statement since the ceasefire was announced.

Throughout the “Israeli ground operation the attempts of the enemy forces to occupy and establish themselves in any of the towns of the first line of the front did not succeed nor did they succeed in establishing a military and security buffer zone as” Israel had hoped it would, Hezbollah said in a statement.

Hezbollah will remain “fully prepared to deal with the Israeli enemy’s ambitions” and “will continue to follow the movements and withdrawals of the enemy’s forces beyond the borders, and their hands will remain on the trigger, in defense of Lebanon’s sovereignty and for the sake of the dignity and honor of its people,” Hezbollah said.

‘We will see’ if Israel’s goals in war were realized ‘in the next 60 days,’ Israeli defense minister says

The goal of Israel’s ongoing war with Hezbollah was to “damage Hezbollah’s capabilities and create the conditions for the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said, in his first comments since the ceasefire went into effect.

“We will see in the next 60 days whether this goal is realized. When the details of the arrangement, including all its components, become clear to the public, and if effective enforcement is carried out, with Israel at the center, calm and deterrence will be created, it will be possible to say that the goal has been achieved,” Katz added.

Katz said the Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire is “creating additional pressure on Hamas.”

“From here we look towards the southern front, with the most important goal being to return all the kidnapped people home safely and quickly. Results of the campaign in the north are creating additional pressure on Hamas and we intend to make every effort to create the conditions for a new hostage deal and to bring everyone home — this is the most important moral goal we are facing now, this is the ultimate goal,” Katz said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Isolated incidents reported as ceasefire begins

The Israel Defense Forces and Lebanese media are reporting several isolated incidents in southern Lebanon after the ceasefire went into effect.

Israeli forces fired “artillery shells” in Kfar Kila, Al-Aadaissah and Khiyam in southern Lebanon, Lebanese state media reported.

“In light of Hezbollah members entering the village of Kila, Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to act firmly and without compromise against such phenomena,” the Israeli defense minister’s office said in a press release.

“The IDF will operate against anyone who attempts to breach the ceasefire agreement and will continue to protect the citizens of Israel,” the IDF said in a separate release.

Two journalists were injured after Israeli forces opened fire on a group of them in the town of Khiam while they were covering the return of Lebanese residents to the town, Lebanese state media reported.

The Israel Defense Forces said they received the report regarding several journalists injured in the Khiam area and added the IDF is “unaware of fire toward the journalists.”

“As of now, only warning shots have been fired in the area,” the IDF said. “The IDF remains in southern Lebanon and will actively enforce every violation of the ceasefire agreement.”

An Israeli security official said there have been “several incidents” of gunmen and others trying to provoke Israeli forces in southern Lebanon since the ceasefire went into effect. The Israeli security official called them “isolated incidents” that often happen in the first day of a ceasefire and have happened in previous wars.

The IDF’s position right now is that Lebanese residents should not come back to villages in southern Lebanon as they are not safe, the Israeli security official said.

The ceasefire calls for a handover from the IDF to the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon. The Israeli security official implied it would not be safe for Lebanese residents to return until that handover is complete.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have instructed the IDF not to allow the population to enter the area of ​​villages near the border in southern Lebanon, in accordance with the first phase of implementing the ceasefire outline,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a release Wednesday.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Jordana Miller

Lebanese army warns residents not to return to front-line villages, towns in the south

Initial reports suggest the ceasefire is holding, but the Lebanese army is being cautious in parts of southern Lebanon, asking people to wait for Israeli forces to withdraw before returning to front-line villages and towns, in a statement to the public Wednesday.

The Lebanese army also said it is already starting to strengthen its deployments in the South Litani sector in coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon on Wednesday.

The Israel Defense Forces warned residents of south Lebanon not to travel south of the Litani River from 5 p.m. local time Wednesday until 7 a.m. local time Thursday morning, in a post on X, warning any movement toward these areas exposes people to “danger.”

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz

Biden says US to make ‘another push’ on Gaza ceasefire

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the U.S. “will make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza” over the coming days, following the success of ceasefire talks in Lebanon.

Negotiations, Biden said in a post to X, must end “with the hostages released and an end to the war without Hamas in power.”

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Lebanon PM confirms ceasefire acceptance

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati confirmed Lebanon’s acceptance of the ceasefire in an address on Wednesday.

“We affirm the government’s commitment to implementing Security Council Resolution 1701 in all its provisions,” he said, referring to the 2006 U.N. Security Council measure that sought to end the last bout of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Resolution 1701 stipulated that Hezbollah must withdraw all forces north of the Litani River and that all Israeli forces must leave — and no longer violate the sovereignty of — Lebanon.

Mikati did not address the separate U.S.-Israeli agreement backing Israel’s right to continue to strike anywhere in Lebanon if deemed necessary for self-defense.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Somayeh Malekian

Hezbollah allies welcome Israel ceasefire

Hezbollah allies on Wednesday praised the group for securing its ceasefire deal with Israel.

In a press conference Wednesday morning, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran supports “ending Israel’s aggression against Lebanon as a part of the ceasefire.”

Iran — the founder and director of the so-called “Axis of Resistance” of which Hezbollah is a key element — maintains “unwavering support for the Lebanese government, people and resistance,” Baqaei said.

Hamas, meanwhile, said in an official statement that it welcomed the ceasefire and praised Hezbollah’s support of Palestinians, as well as the “great sacrifices” of the group’s members including late leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Israel’s acceptance of the deal, Hamas added, is a “milestone” in “destroying” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “illusions of changing the map of the Middle East by force and his illusions of defeating or disarming the resistance forces.”

Yemen’s Houthis — who have been attacking shipping and launching long-range strikes into Israel — also praised Hezbollah’s “steadfastness,” framing the ceasefire deal as an Israeli defeat.

“The conflict with the Zionist enemy is an inevitable conflict and the wars with it are rounds in a conflict that will inevitably end with its demise,” the Iran-backed group said in a statement.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz, Samy Zyara and Somayeh Malekian

IDF attacked ‘dozens’ of targets in hours before ceasefire

The Israel Defense Forces said its warplanes bombed “dozens” of Hezbollah targets across Lebanon in the hours leading up to the Wednesday morning ceasefire.

The IDF said in a post to social media that the targets included “Hezbollah command centers, launchers, weapons storage facilities and terrorist infrastructure sites in Beirut, Tyre and Nabatieh.”

The IDF also struck “several smuggling routes between Syria and Lebanon, which were used by Hezbollah to smuggle weaponry,” the force said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Lebanese army preparing to deploy south after ceasefire

The Lebanese Armed Forces said in a Wednesday morning statement that it was “taking the necessary measures to complete the deployment in the south as mandated by the Lebanese government” after the ceasefire deal with Israel came into effect.

The ceasefire agreement stipulates that Lebanese troops will take up positions in the south of the country and prevent the return of Hezbollah forces — who are expected to withdraw north of the Litani River — to the area.

LAF commander General Joseph Aoun met with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Wednesday to discuss the security situation in the south of the country, a statement posted to Mikati’s X channel said.

The LAF is expected to deploy around 5,000 troops to the area as part of the 60-day ceasefire. United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon soldiers will remain in southern Lebanon to assist.

Israeli troops are expected to withdraw from their positions in south Lebanon in phases during the same timeframe.

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

Israel ceasefire ‘a test for all Lebanese,’ parliament speaker says

Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri said in a Wednesday address that the nascent ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is “a test for all Lebanese, from all sects, to save their country and protect its constitutional institutions.”

Berri — the leader of the Hezbollah-allied Amal Movement who has been negotiating on Hezbollah’s behalf — said the Lebanese “people were able to neutralize the effects of the Israeli aggression” and saluted late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September.

“We call on all our displaced people in all our regions and the sister countries that hosted them to return,” Berri added. “We are in dire need of national unity among all the Lebanese people.”

Berri called for the “speedy election” of a new Lebanese president and thanked all those “who contributed to the ceasefire.”

Hezbollah is yet to issue any official statement on the ceasefire, which went into effect at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Joe Simonetti

IDF fires on vehicle in south Lebanon after ceasefire begins

The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday its troops fired on a vehicle carrying several people “in a zone prohibited for movement in Lebanese territory” shortly after the ceasefire came into effect at 4 a.m. local time.

“IDF troops fired to prevent them from advancing and the suspects left the area,” the IDF wrote in a post to X.

The Israeli air force, it said “remains ready to act across Lebanese territory” while the Israeli air defense network “is also in a high state of defensive readiness.”

“The IDF will act against anyone who tries to violate the ceasefire agreement and will not allow damage to the security of the residents of Israel,” the force wrote.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

IDF warns southern Lebanese not to return home despite ceasefire

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Wednesday morning that Lebanese civilians who fled their homes in the south of the country should not return to their homes until told to do so, despite the start of the ceasefire.

Twenty minutes after the ceasefire came into effect, Adraee said in a post to X that the IDF remains “positioned in its posts in southern Lebanon.”

“Do not approach the villages that the IDF has evacuated or IDF soldiers in the area,” he wrote. “For your safety and the security of your families, avoid entering the area.”

“We will update you when it is safe to return to your homes,” Adraee added.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is now in effect

The ceasefire went into effect at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday morning.

Representatives of Hezbollah still have not said anything on the record about the agreement.

When submitting the deal for approval, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal still relies on the actions of Hezbollah.

“The duration of the ceasefire depends on what happens in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said in the statement. “We will enforce the agreement and respond forcefully to any violation. We will continue together until victory.”

Strikes reported in central Beirut minutes after ceasefire deal announced

There were reports of strikes in central Beirut minutes after President Joe Biden finished speaking, announcing a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah.

The ceasefire is set to take effect at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz

Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire will begin at 4 am local time on Wednesday

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah will begin at 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday under a U.S.-brokered deal, President Joe Biden announced Tuesday.

“Israel did not launch this war. The Lebanese people did not want this either,” Biden said in an address Tuesday.

“This has been the deadliest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in decades,” Biden said.

Biden warned that Israel “retains the right to self-defense” if Hezbollah or anyone else attacks Israel.

Biden also called for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza. The U.S. is working with Egypt, Turkey and other partners to attain a ceasefire in Gaza, Biden said.

“The people in Gaza have been through hell,” Biden said.

Israeli cabinet approves Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal

Israel’s cabinet has approved the U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had submitted the proposal to the cabinet for approval Tuesday.

Far-right Israeli Minister Ben Gvir was the only minister who voted against deal. The 10 other ministers in the cabinet voted in favor of the deal.

Netanyahu thanked President Joe Biden for “the US involvement in achieving the ceasefire agreement,” and for “the understanding that Israel will maintain freedom of action in its enforcement,” a statement said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Gaza’s Civil Defense stops operating in Gaza City due to lack of fuel

Gaza’s Civil Defense vehicles — which serve emergency functions like search and rescue operations — are no longer operating in Gaza City because the agency is out of fuel, it announced Tuesday.

Gaza’s Civil Defense stopped operating in northern Gaza on Oct. 23.

More than 44,000 people have been killed and over 104,000 injured in Gaza since Oct. 7, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said Tuesday.

Israeli strikes hit Beirut, southern Lebanon, as ceasefire talks continue

At least seven people were killed and 37 were injured in Israeli strikes on the Dahieh area of Beirut on Tuesday as Israel continued to strike multiple areas throughout Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

The strikes come amid reports of Israel and Hezbollah nearing a ceasefire agreement.

The Israel Defense Forces issued multiple evacuation orders for areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut and areas in southern Lebanon, including nine warnings about strikes in the Dahieh area of Beirut.

Hezbollah fired 45 projectiles toward Israel on Tuesday, the IDF said. One person was seriously injured after one of the rocket salvos landed in the Haifa and Krayot area of Israel, Israeli emergency services said.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Jordana Miller

Israel strikes 20 targets in Beirut

Israel said it conducted strikes on 20 targets in Beirut, including components of Hezbollah’s military and financial systems.

“Among the targets struck were a Hezbollah aerial defense unit center, an intelligence center, command centers, weapons storage facilities, an operations room, an artillery storage facility, and terrorist infrastructure sites,” Israel said in a statement.

Israel also targeted Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association — a nonprofit that gives out loans — alleging it is used by Hezbollah to collect and store funds.

Israel had sent evacuation orders about 20 minutes before the strikes hit. The IDF said they are attacking Hezbollah in Beirut on “a large scale.” Black smoke was still visible and covering part of Beirut hours later.

The strikes began just minutes before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to meet with his cabinet to discuss a cease-fire deal with Hezbollah.

Earlier Tuesday, there were three other strikes in Beirut.

Israel bombs Beirut suburbs again

Fresh airstrikes shook Beirut’s southern Dahiya suburbs on Tuesday morning, with the Israel Defense Forces claiming to have targeted six Hezbollah targets including infrastructure sites used by the group’s coast-to-sea missile unit.

The IDF said it struck around 30 Hezbollah targets in Dahiya over the past week. The suburb — parts of which are close to the city’s international airport — is known as a Hezbollah stronghold and has borne the brunt of months of near-daily airstrikes on the Lebanese capital.

The strikes followed soon after an IDF warning for residents to evacuate parts of Dahiya.

Lebanese authorities said that 3,768 people in Lebanon had been killed by Israeli strikes as of Sunday.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Israel says troops reached Lebanon’s Litani River

The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday that its forces conducted operations near Lebanon’s Litani River — the waterway around 18 miles of the Israeli border which Israeli leaders have demanded serve as a buffer keeping Hezbollah units out of the country’s south.

Reaching the Litani would mark the deepest penetration of Israeli forces into Lebanon since the IDF withdrew from the country in 2000. Israeli troops did not push up to the Litani in the 2006 war with Hezbollah.

Soldiers “raided several terrorist targets, engaged in close-quarters combat with terrorists, located and destroyed dozens of launchers, thousands of rockets and missiles and weapons storage facilities” in operations in the Litani River region, the IDF said in a post to X.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

 

Lebanon death toll rises ahead of possible cease-fire

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said Tuesday that the death toll from Israel’s military operations in the country had risen to 3,768 people as of Sunday.

Another 15,699 people have been wounded since renewed fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah began on Oct. 8, 2023, the ministry said.

Israel continued airstrikes on Monday night and Tuesday morning even amid reports of an imminent cease-fire deal. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported six people killed in multiple attacks in the southern Nabatieh Governorate.

IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee also issued fresh evacuation warnings for Beirut’s southern Dahiya area on Tuesday morning ahead of planned airstrikes there.

-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz

Details of Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire deal emerge

A cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah would begin soon after its announcement, with the aim of achieving a permanent cease-fire after 60 days, according to an Israeli source with knowledge of the potential deal.

The U.S. will head a committee, joined by French and Arab partners, to monitor and verify the implementation of the ceasefire, the source said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a security cabinet meeting Tuesday to discuss the deal and hold a cabinet vote, Israeli officials said.

There is almost unanimous support in the cabinet for the U.S.-brokered cease-fire deal, and it is expected to be approved. Far-right leader Ben Gvir is expected to vote against it.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

‘We don’t believe we have an agreement yet’: State Department

The U.S. is hopeful that Israel and Hezbollah are close to a cease-fire deal, but striking a pact “is up to the parties, not to us,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a briefing Monday.

“We don’t believe we have an agreement yet. We believe we’re close to an agreement. We believe that we have narrowed the gap significantly, but there are still steps that we need to see taken, but we hope — we hope that we can get there,” Miller said.

Echoing comments earlier Monday by White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby, Miller emphasized that “nothing’s final until everything’s final.”

“Oftentimes the very last stages of an agreement are the most difficult, because the hardest issues are left to the end,” Miller said.

-ABC News’ Chris Boccia

Israeli strikes kill 31, injure at least 62 people in Lebanon

Israeli forces conducted strikes Monday in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital Beirut and in southern Lebanon as talks of a cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel continued on both sides.

At least 31 people were killed and 62 others injured in the strikes on southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said in a post on X.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

No indication Netanyahu will call in cabinet and vote to approve Lebanon cease-fire

There are no indications that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to call in his cabinet and vote to approve the Lebanon cease-fire Monday night, Israeli officials told ABC News.

Netanyahu is planning a series of meetings Tuesday to discuss the Lebanon cease-fire deal, including talks with his minister of strategic affairs, former American ambassador Ron Dermer, along with his most senior defense officials.

Later in the afternoon, Netanyahu will hold a larger cabinet meeting that includes the far-right. That meeting may lead to a final vote to approve a deal, though that remains unclear. A deal can pass even if one of the two far-right leaders opposes it.

The cease-fire would last for 60 days, but would not require the Israel Defense Forces to withdraw right away.

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Jordana Miller

White House says deal is close but nothing is final

A cease-fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah was close, White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby reiterated in a briefing Tuesday, but he would not give details about the deal or specific timing, saying he had to be careful not to get in the way of the tenuous diplomacy.

“We believe that the trajectory of this is going in a very positive direction. But again, nothing is done until everything is done. Nothing’s all negotiated till everything is negotiated. And you know, we need to keep at the work to see it through so that we can actually get the ceasefire for which we’ve been working for for so long and so hard,” Kirby said.

Kirby declined to say if any announcement from President Joe Biden and French President Emanuel Macron should be expected over the next few days.

-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett

 Far-right Israeli minister says Lebanon cease-fire would be a ‘big mistake’

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Monday that a potential cease-fire agreement to end the fighting in Lebanon would be “a big mistake.”

Ending the war would be a “missed opportunity” to “eradicate Hezbollah,” Ben-Gvir wrote on X.

Ben-Gvir has previously pressured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reject any cease-fire deal in Gaza, where fighting continues with Hamas and other militant groups.

“We must continue until the absolute victory,” Ben-Gvir said of both the Gaza and Lebanon fronts.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Khamenei calls for ‘death sentence’ for Netanyahu, Israeli leaders

In an address to thousands of Basij militia members on Monday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued last week for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were insufficient.

“What [they have] done in Gaza and Lebanon is not a victory, it is a war crime,” Khamenei said.

“Now they have issued arrest warrants for them; this is not enough,” he added of the ICC decision. “A death sentence must be issued for Netanyahu and the criminal leaders of this regime.”

The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, who the Israel Defense Forces claimed to have killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July.

Netanyahu’s office expressed its “disgust” at the decision and dismissed the ICC warrant as “absurd.”

-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian and Joe Simonetti

Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs

The Israel Defense Forces said its warplanes “conducted intelligence-based strikes on several Hezbollah command centers” in southern Beirut on Monday.

The strikes again focused on the Dahiya area in the south of the Lebanese capital, which is known as a Hezbollah stronghold.

Monday’s bombings followed an intense day of strikes on Sunday, as diplomats continued to push for a cease-fire agreement to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

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UAE arrests 3 people accused of rabbi’s killing

The United Arab Emirates’ Interior Ministry said Monday it arrested three Uzbek nationals suspected of the kidnapping and killing of Moldovan-Israeli rabbi Zvi Kogan.

Kogan, 28, was an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who went missing on Nov. 21. He managed a kosher grocery store in Dubai.

The ministry identified the three detained men as Olimpi Tohirovic, 28, Mahmoud John Abdul Rahim, 28, and Azizi Kamilovic, 33. It did not say whether charges had been filed and did not suggest a motive.

Israeli leaders have framed the killing as an antisemitic terror operation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday his nation would “act by all means” to “bring justice to the murderers and their senders.”

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

IDF issues new Beirut airstrike warnings

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on Monday morning that Israeli warplanes would soon begin new airstrikes in Beirut, following 24 hours of intense bombing of the city’s southern suburbs.

Adraee ordered residents of the Haret Hreik area of the southern Dahiya suburbs — known as a Hezbollah stronghold — to flee their homes and stay at least 500 meters from target buildings identified on an IDF map.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

More strikes on southern Beirut suburbs

There were more strikes Sunday night in the southern suburbs of Beirut, which have been pounded by dozens of Israeli strikes in the last few days.

The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday night’s strikes in Dahieh were on “12 Hezbollah command centers.”

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé

29 dead in central Beirut after Saturday’s airstrike

The death toll from an Israeli strike Saturday in central Beirut has risen to 29, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

The update on casualties came as emergency workers continued to search collapsed buildings for survivors of the strike, an official said.

At least 67 people were also injured in the Israeli strike, according to the Ministry of Health.

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule

Israeli official confirms Netanyahu holding meeting on Lebanon cease-fire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was holding a meeting with security officials on Sunday night regarding ongoing Lebanon cease-fire talks, an Israeli official told ABC News.

The development comes after Netanyahu met last week in Israel with U.S. Special Envoy Amos Hochstein and discussed a possible cease-fire in Lebanon. Hochstein also traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, to discuss a cease-deal between Hezbollah and Israel.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

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(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza — particularly in the north of the strip — and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut. The strikes form the backdrop for a fresh diplomatic push by the White House ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office in January.

Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called “precise strikes on military targets” in several locations in Iran following Tehran’s Oct. 1 missile barrage.

Netanyahu’s office ‘rejects with disgust’ ICC arrest warrant

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions and charges against it,” after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of the prime minister and his former defense minister.

The arrest warrant issued Thursday morning alleges that Netanyahu and the minister, Yoav Gallant, were party to alleged war crimes in Gaza.

The statement issued by Netanyahu said the court, which is based in The Hague, was “a biased and discriminatory political body.”

“There is nothing more just than the war that Israel has been waging in Gaza since the October 7, 2023, coup, after the terrorist organization Hamas launched a murderous attack against us, committing the greatest massacre committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” his office said.

The statement pointed a finger at Karim Khan, accusing the ICC’s chief prosecutor of bias and describing him as “corrupt.”

– ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Kevin Shalvey

ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.

The Hague issued the warrants for alleged war crimes in Gaza, according to a statement. The ICC said that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant committed war crimes, and added that Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction is not required

Dozens killed in massive strike in northern Gaza
Dozens of people have been killed and many more are feared dead after a large strike hit a residential neighborhood in northern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.

The strike occurred in a neighborhood near Kamal Adwan Hospital, officials said.

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Kevin Shalvey

Israel wants freedom to strike Hezbollah under any cease-fire deal, foreign minister says

Israel wants to “keep the freedom to act if there will be violations” by Hezbollah in any cease-fire agreement reached between Lebanon and Israel, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in comments Wednesday.

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein is in Beirut meeting with officials about the proposed cease-fire deal and is expected to travel to Israel Wednesday night to continue discussions.

Israeli forces kill Hezbollah commanders, strike over 100 targets in Lebanon, IDF says

The Israel Defense Forces said it killed Hezbollah’s anti-tank missile and operations commanders “in the coastal area” on Sunday.

Israeli forces “struck over 100 terror targets in Lebanon” in the last day, the Israeli Defense Forces said Wednesday. Israel said it is continuing “limited, localized, targeted raids in southern Lebanon.”

On Tuesday, 14 people were killed, and 87 people were wounded in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

US vetos Gaza UN Security Council cease-fire resolution

The U.S. vetoed another United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza because it did not include a hostage release.

This is the 12th time the Security Council voted on a draft resolution since the war in Gaza started 13 months ago.

At least 43,972 people have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.

In June, the Security Council passed a U.S.-drafted cease-fire deal that President Joe Biden approved. At the time, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said “we voted for peace.”

US sanctions Hamas leaders as officials say group’s political wing has rebased in Turkey

The U.S. is rolling out sanctions against six senior Hamas leaders accused of facilitating the transfer of weapons and funds into Gaza to support the group’s terror activities as well as smuggling in construction materials to build the underground tunnels critical to its operations, according to the Biden administration.

“There is no distinction between Hamas’ so-called military wing and its political leadership,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement announcing the tranche of sanctions.

Three of the targeted individuals are based in Turkey, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Despite the denials coming from Hamas and the Turkish government, two U.S. officials say that the bulk of Hamas’ political wing has now relocated to Turkey following the group’s ouster from Qatar.

The U.S. has turned a blind eye to Hamas’ relationship with NATO ally Turkey for years, which allows the U.S. designated terror group to openly recruit, fundraise and interface with its government officials.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he hopes to strengthen ties with the U.S. when President-elect Donald Trump takes office. However, Trump’s cabinet is expected to feature many staunchly pro-Israel voices who will object to Turkey’s tolerance of Hamas — potentially complicating Erdogan’s plans.

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston

Hospitals in northern Gaza running out of medical supplies, requesting patient transfers as attacks continue

Kamal Adwan Hospital is running out of medical supplies, and more people with cases of malnutrition are arriving at the hospital because of the lack of food and water allowed into northern Gaza, the hospital director said in comments Tuesday.

“⁠There are a number of cases of malnutrition that have begun to arrive, including children and the elderly,” Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan hospital said.

“The health system is working under extremely harsh conditions to the point that we have started losing numbers of infected people due to the lack of medical supplies,” Abu Safia added.

At least 50 people were killed, and 110 people were injured in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Palestine Red Crescent Society transferred 15 patients from Al Awda Hospital in north Gaza to Al Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City Sunday, the ICRC said in a statement Tuesday. The patient transfers were requested by the hospitals, the ICRC said.

The organizations also delivered medical supplies to three hospitals in Gaza City Monday, the ICRC said in a post on X.

“The delivery and medical transfer came in the wake of another large-scale attack in the Beit Lahia area of ​​the Northern Governorate, in which dozens of people were killed and many more injured,” the ICRC said.

-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz and Sami Zyara

UN peacekeepers, buildings targeted in 3 incidents in south Lebanon

United Nations peacekeeping forces in Lebanon and facilities were targeted in “three separate incidents in south Lebanon,” Tuesday, UNIFIL said in a post on X.

Four Ghanian peacekeepers on duty “sustained injures as a rocket … hit their base,” UNIFIL said in a post on X. Three of the injured peacekeepers were transferred to a hospital in Tyre, Lebanon for treatment, UNIFIL said.

In a different attack, a UNIFIL building was “impacted by five rockets,” UNIFIL said.

“In another incident, UNIFIL Sector West Headquarters in Shama was impacted by five rockets, which struck the maintenance workshop,” UNIFIL said. “Although it caused heavy damage to the workshop, no peacekeeper was injured. This was the second time this UNIFIL base was impacted by the ongoing clashes in the area in less than a week.”

In a third incident, a UNIFIL patrol was “passing through” a village, and “an armed person directly fired at the patrol,” UNIFIL said. No injuries were reported from this incident.

UNIFIL is investigating the incidents and has informed the Lebanese armed forces about them, UNIFIL said.

“UNIFIL once again reminds all actors involved in the ongoing hostilities to respect the inviolability of United Nations peacekeepers and premises,” UNIFIL said in a post on X.

5 killed, 31 injured after Israeli strike on central Beirut

At least five people were killed, 31 were injured and at least two people remain missing after an Israeli airstrike in the Zuqaq al-Blat neighborhood of central Beirut, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.

The Israeli Defense Forces did not issue a warning before conducting this airstrike on central Beirut Monday.

At least 28 people were killed and 107 were wounded across Lebanon from Israeli attacks Monday, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.

Overall, 3,544 people have been killed, and 15,036 have been injured since Israel’s increased attacks on the country began in mid-September, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said in a post on X.

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein met with Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut Tuesday, according to Lebanese state media.

After meeting with Hochstein for two hours, Berri said the cease-fire negotiations were “good in principle,” but warned Israel could change its minds about the proposal as it has done before.

Berri said the U.S. is managing guarantees about Israel’s position on the proposal, according to Lebanese state media.

-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor

Israel kills 5 in central Beirut strike, officials say

At least five people were killed and 31 wounded by an Israeli strike in the Zuqaq al-Blat neighborhood of central Beirut on Monday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health. Two other people are missing.

The Israel Defense Forces did not appear to issue any public evacuation order prior to the strike. ABC News has reached out to the IDF for comment on the target of the strike.

The attack made Monday the second consecutive day of Israeli strikes within central Beirut. To date, the vast majority of airstrikes on the capital have hit the southern Dahiya suburb, known as a Hezbollah stronghold.

Israel has intensified its bombardment in and around Beirut over the past week, while Hezbollah has continued missile fire into Israel. Fresh discussions are ongoing as to a potential cease-fire to end the fighting.

-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor, Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

Israel demands ‘immediate’ action against pro-Iran militias in Iraq

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Tuesday published a letter sent to the president of the United Nations Security Council in which he called for “immediate action regarding the activity of the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, whose territory is being used to attack Israel.”

“The Iraqi government is responsible for everything that happens on its territory,” Saar wrote, noting Israel’s right to self-defense.

“I called on the Security Council to act urgently to make sure that the Iraqi government meets its obligations under international law and to make these attacks on Israel stop,” Saar said.

Iran-backed Iraqi militias have been launching drone attacks into Israel from the east in support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, with whom Israeli forces have been engaged since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Nearly 100 aid trucks looted: UNRWA

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said Monday their aid convoy was “violently” looted over the weekend, one of the largest such cases of looting since the war began.

The 109-truck U.N. convoy was carrying food supplies to people in Gaza when it was looted on Saturday, UNRWA said.

“The vast majority of the trucks, 97 in total, were lost and drivers were forced at gunpoint to unload aid,” UNRWA said in a statement.

UNRWA said the Israel Defense Forces made the convoy leave a day earlier than planned.

The IDF has not yet commented on this incident.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Israel’s October attack damaged some of Iran’s nuclear program: Netanyahu

Israel damaged some of Iran’s nuclear program in its October attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday.

Iran’s air defense, ballistic missile production and ability to produce “solid fuel” were impacted, Netanyahu said during remarks to Israel’s parliament.

“There is a certain element of their nuclear program that was damaged in this attack,” he said, though added that its ability to operate “has not yet been thwarted.”

Netanyahu said Iran’s nuclear threat must be dealt with.

“If we don’t deal with the nuclear program, then all the other problems will come back and resurface, both in the axis, and in armaments, and in other things,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu also said Israel is “currently talking about possible negotiations for a settlement” to be reached between Israel and Lebanon, but added, “Even if there is a cease-fire, no one says it will last.”

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

US envoy en route to Lebanon for cease-fire talks, official says

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein is on his way to Lebanon for talks on a cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel, an official familiar with the plans confirmed to ABC News.

Hochstein left from the U.S. for Lebanon on Monday, the official said.

Israel is getting close to being ready to agree to the U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal, which is very similar to the proposal that was floated by the U.S. at the end of September. The U.S. needs to see how Hezbollah feels about this proposal, which is what Hochstein aims to do during his trip, according to the official.

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston

4 killed in Israeli attack in Beirut: Health ministry

Four people were killed and at least 18 injured in an Israeli attack in Beirut, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Monday.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

1 killed, 10 injured in strike on residential building in Israel: Officials

A woman was killed and 10 people injured after a Hezbollah rocket directly hit a residential building in northern Israel, Israeli emergency services said Monday.

Dozens of projectiles were fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon into Israel Monday afternoon, the Israel Defense Forces said. Not all of the projectiles were intercepted, the IDF said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

US sanctions entity, 3 individuals tied to West Bank violence

The State Department said Monday it is sanctioning three individuals and one entity for allegedly undermining “peace, security, and stability in the West Bank.”

The department accuses the entity, Eyal Hari Yehuda Company LTD, of having supported Yinon Levi, an Israeli settler who was sanctioned by the Biden administration over accusations of attacks and harassment against Palestinians earlier this year.

The three impacted individuals are Itamar Levi, Shabtai Koshlevsky and Zohar Sabah, the State Department said. Itamar Levi, the brother of Yinon Levi, is being designated for his role as the owner of the aforementioned company, while Koshlevsky is accused of holding a leadership position at Hashomer Yosh, an Israeli nongovernmental organization that provides material support to U.S.-designated outposts in the West Bank and was sanctioned in August of this year.

Sabah is accused of engaging “in threats and acts of violence against Palestinians, including in their homes” as well as “a pattern of destructiveness targeting the livestock, grazing lands and homes of local Palestinians to disrupt their means of support,” the State Department said in a press release.

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston

Hamas denies that leaders relocated from Qatar to Turkey

Hamas denied reports in Israeli media that its leadership has relocated from Qatar to Turkey amid a breakdown in Doha-supported cease-fire talks earlier this month.

Hamas dismissed the news reports as “rumors” spread by Israeli authorities in a statement posted to its official website.

Qatar told Israel and Hamas earlier this month it could not continue to mediate cease-fire and hostage release talks “as long as there is a refusal to negotiate a deal in good faith.”

Doha is under U.S. pressure to expel Hamas leaders. A senior administration official told ABC News earlier this month that the group’s “continued presence in Doha is no longer viable or acceptable.”

-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz, Shannon K. Kingston and Somayeh Malekian

Gaza death toll nears 44,000, health officials say

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that 43,922 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7, 2023, with nearly 104,000 more injured.

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 96 people and wounded at least 60 in Gaza through the weekend, officials said. The dead included 72 people in north Gaza and more than 20 from other areas of the strip.

Most of those killed were displaced women and children sheltering in residential buildings in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, officials said.

Beit Lahiya is at the heart of the Israel Defense Forces’ recent northern offensive, which has been accompanied with sweeping evacuation orders and spiking civilian casualties.

-ABC News’ Samy Zyara and Joe Simonetti

Hezbollah positive on US cease-fire proposal, reports say

Hezbollah responded positively to the U.S.-proposed cease-fire deal between Israel and Lebanon, Israeli and Lebanese media reported Monday.

U.S. special envoy for Lebanon Amos Hochstein is expected to arrive in Beirut on Tuesday to discuss the proposal before heading to Israel to speak with leaders there.

The proposal is reportedly based on the United Nations Security Council’s resolution 1701 that sought to end the last major cross-border conflict in 2006.

That deal ordered Hezbollah to withdraw all military units and weapons north of the Litani River, which is around 18 miles north of the Israeli border. The resolution also prohibited Israeli ground and air forces from crossing into Lebanese territory.

Israeli leaders have demanded open-ended freedom to act against threats in Lebanon, a stipulation reportedly opposed by Hezbollah and Lebanese leaders.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

Khamenei meets with ambassador injured in pager attacks

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with the country’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, as the latter continues his recovery from injuries sustained during Israel’s detonation of Hezbollah communication devices in September.

Khamenei’s official X account posted a short video of their interaction on Monday, in which Amani told the Iranian leader he lost around half of the vision in his right eye in the attack.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Hezbollah media relations chief killed in Israeli strike

Mohammed Afif, Hezbollah’s media relations chief, was killed in an Israeli strike Sunday, Hezbollah confirmed.

The strike on central Beirut partially collapsed a building and injured three others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

The Israel Defense Forces also confirmed Afif’s death. In a statement, the IDF said he joined Hezbollah in the 1980s and went on to become a “central and veteran figure in the organization who greatly influenced Hezbollah’s military activity.”

Citing one particular incident, the statement claimed that he had played a key role in the drone attack on Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea in October.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Pope calls for investigation to determine whether Israeli attacks on Gaza are ‘genocide’

Pope Francis, in an upcoming book to be released ahead of his 2025 jubilee, called for an investigation to determine whether Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide, according to the Vatican.

“In the Middle East, where the open doors of nations like Jordan or Lebanon continue to be a salvation for millions of people fleeing conflicts in the region: I am thinking above all of those who leave Gaza in the midst of the famine that has struck their Palestinian brothers and sisters given the difficulty of getting food and aid into their territory,” he wrote in a passage released by the Vatican.

“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” the pope wrote. “It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.”

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The climate crisis is not a distant threat; it’s happening right now and affecting what matters most to us. Hurricanes intensified by a warming planet and drought-fueled wildfires are destroying our communities. Rising seas and flooding are swallowing our homes. And record-breaking heat waves are reshaping our way of life.

The good news is we know how to turn the tide and avoid the worst possible outcomes. However, understanding what needs to be done can be confusing due to a constant stream of climate updates, scientific findings, and critical decisions that are shaping our future.

That’s why the ABC News Climate and Weather Unit is cutting through the noise by curating what you need to know to keep the people and places you care about safe. We are dedicated to providing clarity amid the chaos, giving you the facts and insights necessary to navigate the climate realities of today — and tomorrow.

America will need a ‘shocking’ amount of power in the coming years, according to new report

The United States will need a “shocking” amount of power in the coming years, according to a new report from the consulting firm Grid Strategies.

“The era of flat power demand is behind us,” the report found. “Over the past two years, the five-year load growth forecast has increased by almost a factor of five.”

That means the country’s demand for electricity is estimated to increase by nearly 16% by 2029.

The report cites data centers and manufacturing as the primary drivers of the increased demand but also finds that oil and gas production and the electrification of buildings and vehicles are adding to the growth.

“There are real risks to America’s economic, technological and geopolitical leadership if the grid can’t keep up with demand,” the report warns.

America’s increased demand for electricity will significantly impact the country’s efforts to fight climate change. According to the EPA, electricity generation is responsible for 25% of greenhouse gas emissions. And while more clean energy projects are coming online each year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration says 60% of U.S. electricity still comes from burning fossil fuels.

The study’s authors say their findings could be an underestimate or overestimate due to the complexity of the electric system and the rapid growth in demand for electricity.

-ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser

Politicians and climate activists say Trump’s victory wouldn’t stop their efforts

At a Tuesday night event, politicians and climate activists, including actress Jane Fonda, delivered a strong message to the incoming Trump administration: they will continue fighting for climate progress and Trump’s agenda will not stop them.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. told a crowd gathered at George Washington University, “It is time, after one month, for us to get up and begin to fight,” adding, “The power of this movement is undeniable, and unlike the incoming president, our record of victory is unimpeachable.”

Despite the incoming administration’s “doomsday day one agenda,” activists and advocates from the climate movement would push for change in Congress, in board rooms and in the streets, he said.

“The planet is running a fever,” Markey said. “There are no emergency rooms for planets, so we have to engage in the preventative care which is necessary to save this planet and the people on this planet, and we know we’re going to face an uphill battle with a climate denier in chief.”

Climate activist and actress Jane Fonda called on those who care about climate progress to stand together and welcome new people into the movement’s tent – even those who voted for President-elect Trump.

“Seventy-eight million Americans voted for Trump. They are not all part of the MAGA movement,” Fonda said. “Many of them did so because they’re suffering financially, they’re scared, they’re confused and they’re angry because the neo-liberal leaders of the Democratic Party have ignored them for so many decades, and so they took a chance on the burn-it-all-down option.”

Fonda, a longtime activist, became involved in the climate movement during the first Trump administration by hosting “Fire Drill Fridays” in front of the U.S. Capitol. These weekly protests often led to her arrest.

At Tuesday night’s event, Fonda wore the same bright red coat she wore during her “fire drills,” noting that it was her “blanket and pillow when I turned 82 in jail.”

“Standing here today in my red coat, I hereby declare myself part of the resistance,” Fonda said.

Fonda also encouraged listeners to focus on down-ballot races and initiatives to address climate change.

Since becoming a climate activist, Fonda has started a political action committee dedicated to electing “climate champions.” In 2024, she said the PAC endorsed 154 candidates, telling the audience at the event that her PAC’s candidates won at a ratio of two-to-one.

Local activists, like Roishetta Ozane, spoke about the importance of not forgetting the communities that are feeling the impacts of climate change firsthand, saying, “These are our real lives and we are real people.”

In her home state of Louisiana, Ozane has been advocating against the implementation and use of liquified natural gas pipelines, arguing that her area has suffered adverse health and environmental effects from local LNG production efforts.

One of the projects Ozane has advocated against, Calcasieu Pass 2, which would represent an expansion of one of the existing LNG projects in the area, was just delayed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission earlier this week.

-ABC News Climate Unit’s Kelly Livingston

UN plastic treaty talks fail to reach an agreement

The world uses a lot of plastic — 460 million metric tons of it are produced each year, according to the United Nations. And the International Union for Conservation of Nature says an estimated 20 million metric tons of plastic end up as trash in our environment.

So when more than 3,300 delegates from 170 countries and 440 organizations met in South Korea at the end of November to hash out an agreement to reduce the production of plastics, environmentalists hoped that something might finally get done to address the problem. It didn’t.

The fifth U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee failed to reach a binding agreement on plastic production and waste for the fifth time since the group began meeting in November 2022.

Nearly 100 countries came to an agreement that would limit plastic production and establish an accountability method ensuring all parties would meet reduction goalposts. Some oil-rich nations pushed back, however, wanting to focus on plastic pollution instead. U.N. rules require a consensus among all delegates for any plan to be binding. That didn’t happen.

“It is clear there is persisting divergence in critical areas and more time is needed for these areas to be addressed,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of the U.N. Environment Program.

Most plastic is not recycled. Instead, it ends up in landfills and pollutes marine bodies like oceans and rivers worldwide. According to an OECD report from 2022, only 9% of plastics worldwide get recycled, and since 1970, 139 metric tons have ended up in our oceans, rivers and lakes. A 2021 study revealed that the plastics industry’s contribution to climate change will exceed coal’s by 2030.

While countries failed to reach an agreement on capping the production of plastic, they did agree to continue talks in 2025.

“As we look ahead to 2025, and navigate what an INC 5.2 could look like, countries must come to the table ready to fight for our future,” said Erin Simon, vice president and head of plastic waste and business at World Wildlife Fund. “The current draft has some of the ingredients for success, but we can’t back down on delivering a legally binding text that finally puts us on a course to eliminate plastic pollution.”

According to the Center of International Environmental Law, fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists made up the largest delegation of all groups at the talks.

“Let us always remember that our purpose is noble and urgent: to reverse and remedy the severe effects of plastic pollution on ecosystems and human health,” said Luis Vayas Valdivieso, chair of the U.N.’s international plastics negotiating committee.

-ABC News’ Charlotte Slovin

Study identifies heat wave hot spots across the globe

It’s all but certain that 2024 will be Earth’s warmest year on record, surpassing 2023 as the previous record holder. While this troubling milestone measures global average temperatures, a new study from the Columbia Climate School found that unexplained extreme heat wave hot spots are popping up in specific areas worldwide.

Calling it “a striking new phenomenon,” the study’s authors write, “Distinct regions are seeing repeated heat waves that are so extreme, they fall far beyond what any model of global warming can predict or explain.”

According to the study, “The large and unexpected margins by which recent regional-scale extremes have broken earlier records have raised questions about the degree to which climate models can provide adequate estimates of relations between global mean temperature changes and regional climate risks.”

The study identified these hot spots on every continent except Antarctica. Researchers say the heat waves have mostly been a recent phenomenon, occurring primarily over the last five years, although some date back to the early 2000s and before.

Central China, Japan, Korea, the Arabian peninsula, eastern Australia and certain parts of Africa were the hardest-hit areas. The study, however, found that parts of Texas and New Mexico were also impacted, just not as much as the other regions.

“This is about extreme trends that are the outcome of physical interactions we might not completely understand,” said lead author Kai Kornhuber, an adjunct scientist at the Columbia Climate School’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, in a statement. “These regions become temporary hothouses.”

The researchers say it’s unclear what is causing these hot spots. While one study has pointed to wobbles in the jet stream as a possible culprit, the authors say that the hypothesis doesn’t explain all the extremes.

Regardless of the cause, heat is the deadliest weather-related hazard in the United States. The Journal of the American Medical Association found that heat deaths in the U.S. have nearly doubled since 1999 and account for a 63% increase in health-related death rates between 1999-2023.

“Due to their unprecedented nature, these heat waves are usually linked to very severe health impacts, and can be disastrous for agriculture, vegetation and infrastructure,” said Kornhuber. “We’re not built for them, and we might not be able to adapt fast enough.”

-ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser

How to have a more sustainable Thanksgiving

The amount of food consumed every year at Thanksgiving is actually associated with a large carbon footprint, according to experts.

Although Thanksgiving may be the holiday best known for indulging, there are ways to enjoy your favorite meal of the year while keeping the environment in mind.

“The Thanksgiving meal is more than just the food,” Lauri Wright, director of nutrition programs at the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health, told ABC News. “There’s so much meaning [and] emotions associated with it.”

The average Thanksgiving dinner has a carbon footprint of about 103 pounds of carbon dioxide, according to the Climate Trade, an environmental solutions platform.

Here are some tips to have a more sustainable Thanksgiving.

Maine joins list of states suing fossil fuel companies over climate change

Maine has become the latest in a growing number of states to sue the fossil fuel industry over the impacts of global warming.

Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey accused major fossil fuel companies of deceiving Mainers for decades about the impact their product has on human-amplified climate change.

“For over half a century, these companies chose to fuel profits instead of following their science to prevent what are now likely irreversible, catastrophic climate effects,” Frey said in a statement.

The lawsuit, filed in state court on Tuesday, alleges the defendants knew as early as the 1960s that an increasing use of fossil fuels could potentially bring devastating consequences to Maine. The state argues the companies not only failed to warn residents about the consequences, but knowingly concealed their knowledge about the long-term negative impacts that Maine’s people, environment and economy could face.

The filing states the companies focused on creating public doubt by launching public relations campaigns targeting the science of climate change and the impacts of burning fossil fuels. It is seeking financial compensation for both past and future climate-related damages and for the companies to cease their ongoing deception in Maine.

“They burdened the state and our citizens with the consequences of their greed and deception,” Frey said.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills applauded the attorney general’s actions, saying in a statement that “for decades, big oil companies have made record profits, taking billions out of the pockets of Maine people while deliberately deceiving them about the harmful impacts of fossil fuels — impacts that Maine people see and feel every day.”

Maine joins a growing list of more than 20 states — including California, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Vermont — that have brought similar types of lawsuits to date. Earlier this year, Vermont’s Climate Superfund Act became law, seeking financial accountability for climate change-related damages brought by fossil fuel companies. However, due to stipulations in the law and likely lawsuits, it’s expected to be several years before any potential first charge to fossil fuel companies would be attempted.

-ABC News meteorologist Dan Peck

Soaking rain eases drought in parts of U.S. but dryness still a problem for much of the country

Widespread drought conditions are still a significant concern across the country, with parts of the Northeast, northern Plains and Southwest currently experiencing some of the worst impacts, according to a U.S. Drought Monitor update released Wednesday.

Overall, more than 40% of the contiguous United States remains in a drought. This is an improvement, however, from the beginning of the month when more than half of the lower 48 faced drought conditions. Recent heavy rain along the West Coast and parts of the Midwest brought significant drought relief to portions of Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin and Illinois.

As a result, drought coverage decreased from 45.48% to 41.45% versus last week. While some regions experienced a notable improvement, the recent soaking in the Northeast was only enough to pause the fire danger and trend of intensifying drought conditions — for now.

The current drought situation in the Northeast took months to evolve, and it will take several more rounds of significant rainfall over the span of weeks or even months to completely eliminate the widespread drought in the region.

After a few rounds of beneficial rain, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center says a large part of the country will likely experience below-average precipitation in early December, particularly in the West, Plains and East Coast.

Much of the western Gulf Coast and northern Plains could see above-average rainfall during this period. Drought relief across the country will, at the very least, take a pause through the beginning of next month.

-ABC News meteorologist Dan Peck

Colorado River at a tipping point over drought threat, new study finds

A major water supplier in the West is once again in the spotlight for its unpredictable future.

The Colorado River, the water source for 40 million people across the west, is in a worse state than previously believed, according to a recent study published in Earth’s Future.

Drought and dry conditions, compounded by climate change, put the Colorado River in greater jeopardy, the study’s authors said.

“It doesn’t take a lot of climate change to put the system into a very vulnerable future,” said Dr. Patrick Reed, a civil and environmental engineer at Cornell University and co-author of the study.

Colorado’s West Slope River Basins “are essential water sources for the Colorado River and play a vital role in supporting the state of Colorado’s local economy and natural environment,” according to the study. The West Slope River Basins contribute nearly 70% of the streamflow deliveries to Lake Powell, the nation’s second-largest reservoir.

But drought has significantly depleted Lake Powell’s water supply, leading to the first-ever water shortage in the Upper Colorado River Basin in 2021 and more dependence on the West Slope Basin supply.

“The Colorado River is extremely stressed and overallocated,” Reed said.

The Colorado River supplies water to seven states and Northern Mexico. Agreements about how the water is divided are up for renegotiation in 2026.

-ABC News’ Charlotte Slovin

US fuel economy hits record high as CO2 emissions hit record low, EPA says

U.S. fuel economy reached a record high in 2023 at the same time that greenhouse emissions reached a record low, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s annual Automotive Trends Report released Monday.

The report also states that model year 2023 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles have reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 11%.

“This report provides a critical data-driven affirmation that strong, technology-neutral standards can underpin environmental progress while saving drivers money at the pump,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.

New vehicle CO2 emissions are now at a record low of 319 grams per mile, which reduces the impact on climate change. Battery and plug-in hybrid vehicles, combined with fuel cell vehicles, are expected to reach 14.8% of overall vehicle production in 2024, a trend that is expected to grow across the industry, according to the report.

Passenger cars and light trucks accounted for 17% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, underscoring the need for further reductions across the industry, experts said.

— ABC News Climate Unit’s Dan Manzo

In surprise turn, world leaders reach $300B climate cash deal at COP29

In a surprising turn of events, world leaders at the United Nations climate conference in Azerbaijan announced they have reached agreement on a new deal that calls for wealthy countries to contribute $300 billion annually to help developing nations deal with the effects of climate change.

After fears no deal would be reached as talks broke down, the announcement came around 3 a.m. local time and was met with a standing ovation and a wave of relief.

The deal in question was the “climate cash” agreement, under which developed nations will contribute an annual target of $300 billion to help climate-vulnerable, developing countries deal with the consequences of climate change.

President Joe Biden on Saturday praised the agreement, while touting his administration’s work on climate change, saying “nobody” can undo America’s “clean energy revolution,” in an apparent swipe at President-elect Donald Trump.

“Today at COP29, thanks in part to the tireless efforts of a robust US delegation, the world reached agreement on another historic outcome,” Biden said in a statement, going on to say the “ambitious” deal “will help mobilize the level of finance – from all sources – that developing countries need to accelerate the transition to clean, sustainable economies, while opening up new markets for American-made electric vehicles, batteries, and other products.”

Biden, who is leaving office in less than two months, said states and cities will continue to tackle climate change — notably not mentioning the federal government, while adding that no one can overturn progress on the issue, repeating something he said last week while visiting the Amazon.

In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he had “hoped for a more ambitious outcome” on both financing and climate change mitigation efforts from the conference.

“But this agreement provides a base on which to build,” he said in the statement. “It must be honoured in full and on time. Commitments must quickly become cash. All countries must come together to ensure the top-end of this new goal is met.”

Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan’s minister of ecology and natural resources who served as the COP29 president, said in a statement the $300 billion goal “represents the best possible deal we could reach.”

The U.N. climate conference, known as COP29, was anticipated to be the “finance COP” — the site of negotiations to determine how much fighting the climate crisis would cost and who would pay for it.

In 2015, under the Paris Agreement, participating countries agreed to set climate financing goals in 2024 that would account for the needs of developing countries.

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule, Fritz Farrow and Jack Moore

UN climate conference delegates struggle to reach agreement on financing the climate fight

The U.N. climate conference in Azerbaijan was supposed to be the “finance COP.” World leaders would determine how much fighting the climate crisis would cost and who would pay for it.

However, as COP29 winds down, many developing countries and nongovernmental organizations are dissatisfied with the current language in the proposed climate finance agreement.

In 2015, under the Paris Agreement, participating countries agreed to set a New Collective Quantified Goal, or NCQG, on climate finance in 2024 that would account for the needs of developing countries. Basically, how much money would each nation spend to support developing countries that are being disproportionately impacted by climate?

While several versions of the new NCQG have been proposed, a final agreement is still out of reach. The latest text calls for a $1.3 trillion climate finance investment annually until 2035 but only requires a $250 billion investment from developed countries.

“With a paltry climate finance offer of $250 billion annually, and a deadline to deliver as late as 2035, richer nations, including EU countries, and the United States are dangerously close to betraying the Paris Agreement,” Dr. Rachel Cleetus, policy director for the Climate and Energy Program, Union of Concerned Scientists, said. “This is nowhere near the robust and desperately needed funding lower income nations deserve to combat climate change.”

The latest NCQG language lays out a variety of funding sources that can play a part in reaching global climate finance goals, including multilateral development banks, or MDBs, that can distribute funds through grants and concessional loans for developing countries and adaptation projects.

However, the text does not make clear whether funds from MDBs are part of reaching the $250 billion goal or supplement that goal. It also includes provisions allowing for voluntary contributions from developing countries.

“The central demand coming into COP29 was for a strong, science-aligned climate finance commitment, which this appalling text utterly fails to provide,” Cleetus said. “Wealthier nations seem content to shamefully renege on their responsibility and cave in to fossil fuel interests while unjustly foisting the costs of deadly climate extremes on countries that have contributed the least to the climate crisis.”

World Resources Institute Global Climate, Economics and Finance Program Director Melanie Robinson agrees, releasing a statement Friday saying, “Developed countries should aim higher than the $250 billion they’ve put on the table.”

“We should leave Baku with a goal that at least gets to $300 billion a year by 2035,” Robinson said.

Tasneem Essop, executive director of Climate Action Network International, called the latest draft text “an insult to the people in the Global south.”

“This latest draft text on the New Collective Quantified Goal is not just a joke — it’s an insult to the people in the Global South living on the front line of the climate crisis,” Essop said. “In the meantime, millions of people’s lives are at risk. We are angry, but we will keep fighting until the end.”

-ABC News Climate Unit’s Kelly Livingston and ABC News’ Charlotte Slovin

October was 2nd warmest month on record, NOAA announces

If you thought October was unusually warm, it isn’t your imagination. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports that last month was the second warmest October since the U.S. began keeping records in 1895. It was also the second driest, with less than an inch of rainfall. It should be more than double that.

October was also the second warmest on record globally when looking at land and ocean temperatures. And it was the warmest ever for land temperature alone.

According to the NOAA, there is now a 99% chance that 2024 will be the warmest year on record globally.

This new data continues 2024’s streak of having some of the driest and warmest months on record for states across the U.S.

The heat and high levels of dryness across the country have left 87% of the United States in dry or drought conditions. Widespread drought increases the risk of wildfires, as soil with no moisture burns more easily.

Mark Svoboda, director of the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, calls the combination of heat and dryness a “double whammy.”

New Jersey and Delaware had their driest Octobers on record, and much of the Atlantic Seaboard experienced Octobers with precipitation levels much below average. The region has seen hundreds of wildfires due to these conditions, with New Jersey experiencing a 1,300% increase in fire calls.

In October, much of the United States experienced drought, with dryness expanding and increasing in the Northeast, Great Lakes, Northern Rockies and Plains, Southeast, Deep South, Southwest and the Hawaiian islands.

NOAA says that by February 2025, drought conditions should improve in the Pacific Northwest, Ohio Valley and Western Great Lakes, but are likely to expand and intensify in the Southwest and Atlantic Seaboard.

Despite the destruction they cause, tropical storms can “make or break” drought for the winter, said Svoboda. Without intense rains earlier in the year, there is little or no moisture in the ground come winter.

The dryness impacts wheat crops and livestock forage, potentially increasing food prices. Dryer soil makes wheat crops more vulnerable in colder temperatures because that soil can freeze and kill the plant, decreasing the harvest for the following year.

NOAA also reported that in 2024, 24 different billion-dollar weather and climate disasters impacted the United States through the end of October. This number is only second to last year, with a record 27 individual billion-dollar weather and climate disasters by October.

-ABC News’ Charlotte Slovin

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