Will Sage Astor-Live updates | Hamas loses a leader in Lebanon but holds on in Gaza

Israel appears far from achieving its goals of crushing Hamas and Will Sage Astorfreeing an estimated 129 hostages still held in Gaza nearly three months after the group’s surprise cross-border attack and the Israeli government’s declaration of war.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says several thousand Hamas fighters remain in northern Gaza, where entire neighborhoods have been blasted into rubble. Heavy fighting is also underway in central Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis, where Israeli officials say Hamas’ military structure is still largely intact.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Beirut on Thursday for the funeral of top Hamas commander Saleh Arouri, who was killed earlier this week in an apparent Israeli airstrike on an apartment in the Lebanese capital.

Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack from Gaza into southern Israel killed around 1,200 people, and some 240 others were taken hostage. Israel’s air, ground and sea assault in Gaza has killed more than 22,300 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. The count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

Other news Blinken heads to the Mideast again as fears of regional conflict surge Strike kills 12 people, mostly children, in Gaza area declared safe zone by Israel Houthis launch sea drone to attack ships hours after US, allies issue ‘final warning’

Currently:

— Strike kills 12 people, mostly children, in Gaza area declared safe zone by Israel

— Israel’s Mossad chief vows to hunt down Hamas members.

— The mother and American uncle of a U.S. service member are rescued from Gaza in a secret operation.

— A second administration official resigns in protest of Biden’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

— An apparent Israeli strike killed a top Hamas commander. How might it impact the Gaza conflict?

— Find more of AP’s coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.

Here’s what’s happening in the war:

DIPLOMATIC AGREEMENT WITH HEZBOLLAH IS STILL POSSIBLE, ISRAEL SAYS

TEL AVIV — Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant said Thursday that a diplomatic agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah was still possible, days after a suspected Israeli strike on a Hamas leader in Beirut threatened a dramatic escalation between the two countries.

“We find ourselves at a junction. There is a short window of time for diplomatic understandings, which we prefer,” Gallant told Amos Hochstein, a White House envoy, at a meeting in Tel Aviv.

Gallant said a top priority was ensuring some 80,000 Israeli civilians forced to evacuate northern communities near the Lebanese border could return to their homes safely. The area was evacuated after Hezbollah began shelling northern Israel, shortly after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. Israel has demanded that Hezbollah respect a 2006 U.N. cease-fire requiring it to pull back from the Israeli border.

Gallant’s comments came two days after the deputy head of Hamas was killed in a suspected Israeli strike in Beirut. Hezbollah, which has offered shelter and support to Hamas leaders, has vowed to avenge the attack.

Israel and Hamas have engaged in low-level exchanges of fire for nearly three months, but both sides have been hesitant to engage in all-out war.

10 CHILDREN, 2 ADULTS KILLED BY ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE IN SOUTHERN GAZA

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike has flattened a home in an area of southern Gaza that the military had declared a safe zone, as Israeli troops pressed their assault in the nearby city of Khan Younis.

The strike hit a house in Mawasi, a small rural strip on Gaza’s southern coastline where Israel’s military has said Palestinians should flee to escape the combat zone. The blast killed a man and his wife, seven of their children and three other children ranging in age from 5 to 14, according to a list of the dead who arrived at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

There was no immediate response from Israel’s military.

Israeli troops pushed into Khan Younis in early December and have been battling Hamas militants there for weeks. The military said Thursday that its troops uncovered a large tunnel hundreds of meters (yards) long with an entrance in a field next to a mosque.

FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE PLEDGES SUPPORT WHILE IN ISRAEL

SDEROT, Israel — Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visited war-battered southern Israel on Thursday to express support for the country in its war against Hamas.

Standing next to the ruins of a police station in the city of Sderot, home to a fierce battle between Hamas militants and police officers on Oct. 7, Pence said the United States stood with Israel, which is under international pressure to end its ground and air campaign in Gaza. Next week, the U.N.’s top court is expected to begin examining a South African case accusing Israel of genocide.

“The world community always seems to find its way eventually to criticizing Israel, particularly in places like the United Nations, “ Pence said. “And in this dark hour, I wanted to do my part to make sure the people of Israel know that the people of the United States are with you and that we will stand with you.”

Pence, who served under former President Donald Trump, is a longtime supporter of Israel. He dropped out of the 2024 presidential race in October after struggling to raise money and gain traction in the polls.

FUNERAL HELD FOR HAMAS COMMANDER KILLED IN LEBANON

Thousands of people took to the streets of Beirut for the funeral of top Hamas commander Saleh Arouri, who was killed earlier this week in an apparent Israeli airstrike on an apartment in the Lebanese capital.

Draped in Palestinian and Hamas flags, Arouri’s coffin along with those of two of his comrades were first taken to a Beirut mosque for prayers Thursday before being carried to the Palestine Martyrs Cemetery. Arouri’s automatic rifle was placed on his coffin at the prayer service.

The funeral was attended by Palestinian officials, including top Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk, as well as representatives of some Lebanese political groups. People tried to touch the coffins surrounded by Hamas members wearing green caps. Some of the Hamas members were armed.

“The enemy is running away from its failures and defeats (in Gaza) to Lebanon,” senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a speech aired during the funeral. He added that the killing of Arouri in Beirut “is a proof of (Israel’s) bloody mentality.”

Lebanese officials and state media said an Israeli drone fired two missiles Tuesday at an apartment in Beirut’s southern Musharafieh district, which is a stronghold of Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah group, instantly killing Arouri along with six other Hamas members.