Death toll in Gaza reaches grim milestone: Live updates

The war in Gaza has killed more than 20,000 Palestinians, health officials in the Hamas-run territory said Friday, a new reflection of the staggering cost of Israel’s military offensive as pressure grows to scale it back.

The figure, amounting to nearly 1% of the territory’s prewar population, is just one measure of the devastation wrought by the conflict that over 11 weeks has displaced nearly 85% of Gaza’s people and leveled wide swaths of the tiny coastal enclave.

In response to the deepening crisis, a UN Security Council resolution calling for the delivery of crucial humanitarian supplies into Gaza may finally have U.S. support after days of negotiations. A vote on the resolution is expected on Friday.

The U.S. initially disagreed with language in an earlier draft brought forward by the United Arab Emirates that called for a "cessation of hostilities."

A later draft changed its language to call instead for “creating the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.” U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters on Thursday the U.S. would support the new language.

The 15-member council delayed the vote since Monday in hopes of gaining support from the U.S. for the resolution. 

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Developments:

∎ The Israeli military carried out a raid on Beit Hanoun, a city on the northeast edge of the Gaza Strip, the IDF announced via X. The IDF said the raid uncovered several tunnels, including one in a school, and many weapons were collected, including Kalashnikov rifles and grenades.

∎ The Israeli Air Force carried out a strike on Hezbollah targets within Lebanon's borders, the IDF said on X. Hezbollah announced on Friday that 121 of its members have been killed since the group first began launching attacks on Israel beginning in October, the Times of Israel reported.

∎ Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on the phone on Friday about de-escalation strategies and humanitarian relief efforts, the Kremlin announced, according to Reuters. The two reportedly agreed that Abbas would visit Russia at a future date.

 More journalists have been killed in the first 10 weeks of the Israel-Gaza war than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year, according to an analysis released Thursday by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. The analysis found that at least 68 journalists and media workers have been killed since the war began, 61 of them Palestinian, four Israelis, and three Lebanese. 

∎ Palestinian militants won't negotiate further prisoner-hostage swaps until the Israeli “aggression” on Gaza ends, Hamas said in a statement Thursday. 

Israeli believed to be hostage killed in Oct. 7 attack

A 73-year-old believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas was in fact killed during the events of Oct. 7, the kibbutz where he lived announced on Friday.

Gadi Hagi was thought to be among the more than 200 hostages kidnapped by Hamas, along with his wife, Judy Weinstein, 70, who is still being held by Hamas, according to Kibbutz Nir Oz. Hagi was a father of four and grandfather of seven.

Around 80 hostages were released in late November by Hamas in exchange for Israel's release of around 150 Palestinian prisoners.

The Israeli military faced heavy criticism last week after soldiers mistakenly shot and killed three Israeli hostages holding a makeshift white flag in Gaza.

UN Report: More than half of Gaza's population is starving

More than half a million people in Gaza — a quarter of the population — are starving, according to a report Thursday by the United Nations and other agencies highlighting the crisis since caused by the siege on the territory in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

The report estimated over 90% of Gaza's population faced high levels of food crisis between Nov. 24 and Dec. 7, with 40% classified as experiencing a state of "emergency" and 15% in "catastrophe."

“WFP has warned of this coming catastrophe for weeks," World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain said of the report in a press release on Thursday. "Tragically, without the safe, consistent access we have been calling for, the situation is desperate, and no one in Gaza is safe from starvation.”

At least five U.S.-funded projects in Gaza destroyed since Oct. 7

At least five community and youth projects supported by the U.S. have been destroyed in the conflict since Oct. 7, likely by attacks launched on Gaza by the U.S.-backed Israeli military.

They include the Gaza Sports Club, which received $519,000 in U.S. funding for an upgrade that included new basketball, volleyball and tennis courts, a soccer field, a running track, and accessible bathrooms.

More than $7 billion in U.S. funding has gone towards development and humanitarian aid projects in both Gaza and the West Bank since the establishment of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, in 1961.