According to the Israeli military, a total of 203 hostages have been taken from Israel since the attack by Hamas militants on October 7th.
A woman looks at posters with images of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants since the October 7 attack near the Azrieli shopping center in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images
At least 306 Israeli military personnel were killed, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said.
-Morgan Winsor from ABC News
Israeli forces announced Thursday morning that they had struck Hezbollah targets on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
“Among the targets, an observation post facing the sea was attacked, from which anti-tank fire was fired on Rosh Hankara yesterday,” the IDF said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
The IDF said the attacks resulted from “firing on Israel over the last day.”
-Ellie Kaufman from ABC News
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will visit Israel on Thursday and meet with Israeli leaders, his office announced.
The two-day trip will include meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog “before traveling to a number of other regional capitals,” his office said in a statement.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak leaves 10 Downing Street to go to the House of Commons for weekly Prime Minister’s Questions in London on October 18, 2023.Kin Cheung/AP
“The attack on Al-Ahli Hospital should be a turning point for leaders in the region and around the world to come together to prevent a further dangerous escalation of the conflict. “I will ensure the UK is at the forefront of this effort,” Sunak said in a statement.
The prime minister “will emphasize that every civilian death is a tragedy and communicate this to his counterparts as the international community,” a statement from Sunak’s office said.
-Mike Trew and Ellie Kaufman from ABC News
White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson released a statement Wednesday providing further details of her assessment that Israel was not responsible for the hospital explosion in Gaza that killed over 500 people.
“Intelligence information suggests that some Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip believed that the explosion was likely caused by a faulty rocket or missile launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The militants were still investigating what happened,” she said in the statement.
Watson reiterated that intelligence officials “continue to work to confirm whether this was a failed PIJ missile.”
-Ben Gittleson from ABC News