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Day 68 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Dec. 13

Family members of Americans who were taken hostage by Hamas during the terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, including (L-R) Yael Alexander, Orna Neutra, Adi Alexander and Liz Naftali, talk to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House on Dec. 13, 2023 in Washington, D.C.
Family members of Americans who were taken hostage by Hamas during the terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, including (L-R) Yael Alexander, Orna Neutra, Adi Alexander and Liz Naftali, talk to reporters outside the White House on Dec. 13, 2023, in Washington, DC. — Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

US President Joe Biden hosted families of American hostages currently held by Hamas while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to press on with the Gaza war despite mounting international pressure.

Rina Bassist, Ezgi Akin, Beatrice Farhat, Elizabeth Hagedorn, Adam Lucente, Jack Dutton, Jared Szuba and Al-Monitor’s contributors on the ground in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel contributed to this blog.


Click here for our most recent updates.


Live updates (all times EDT):

Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023

3:50 pm: Romanian-Israeli citizen, Tanzanian citizen kidnapped by Hamas declared dead 

Romanian-Israeli Tal Haimi, who was thought to be held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, has been declared dead, said the headquarters of the families of the abductees. It is now known that Haimi was killed on Oct. 7 in Hamas' attack on southern Israel and his body taken to Gaza.

The family of Joshua Loitu Mollel, a Tanzanian citizen, was informed that he had also been killed Oct. 7 by Hamas and his body taken to Gaza. He had been working at the Nahal Oz kibbutz.

2:00 pm: CIA chief to meet with families of American hostages

Israel’s Channel 13 reported that CIA chief William Burns will meet in Washington with families of American nationals held hostage in Gaza, his first such meeting. Burns has largely led the United States' negotiation efforts with Qatar over the release of hostages held by Hamas.

11:20 am: Biden hosts relatives of Israeli-Americans kidnapped in Gaza

US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken met at the White House with relatives of dual Israeli-American citizens kidnapped by Hamas and held hostage in Gaza. Since Oct. 7, Biden has spoken on the phone several times with relatives of those abducted, and he met some family members in person when he visited Israel in mid-October. 

The relatives of six captives attended in person, and  those of two other hostages participated via phone. Of the remaining hostages in Gaza, seven are US citizens and one is a green card holder: Idan Alexander, Itay Chen, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Gad Haggai, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Omer Neutra, Keith Siegel and Judi Weinstein.

10:00 am: Israeli foreign minister says war will continue ‘with or without international support’

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in a statement, “Israel will continue the war against Hamas with or without international support.” He added, “A cease-fire at the current stage is a gift to the terrorist organization Hamas.” His words come one day after US President Joe Biden warned at a private event that Israel was losing international support for its war in Gaza.

7:04 am: US, UK impose new sanctions on Hamas, Islamic Jihad

The United States and United Kingdom have implemented a new round of sanctions against figures linked to  Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the US Treasury Department announced. The measures targeted several officials and leaders from Hamas “who perpetuate Hamas’s violent agenda by representing the group’s interests abroad and managing its finances,” according to the Treasury. The latest move is the fourth round of US sanctions since the Hamas-Israel war erupted.

4:04 am: Two vessels come under fire in the Red Sea

Two vessels came under fire in the Red Sea near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to a British maritime security firm. The company, Ambrey, said that in two separate incidents, a Marshall Islands–flagged chemical tanker and a Malta-flagged bulk carrier were transiting off the coast of Yemen's Red Sea port of Hodeidah, under Houthi control, when a speedboat with armed men aboard approached them. An exchange of fire was reported. A US official told the Associated Press that the Marshall Islands–flagged Ardmore Encounter escaped two missiles fired from Houthi-held territory in Yemen. Another suspected Houthi drone was shot down by an American ship during the incident, according to the official. The Iran-backed Houthis have claimed a series of attacks against vessels in the Red Sea that they say are linked to Israel. The strikes are in retaliation for the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.

3:00 am: 10 Israeli soldiers killed overnight in Gaza 

Ten soldiers, including the commander of the Golani Brigade’s Battalion 13 and the head of the commander’s team, were killed in northern Gaza overnight, said Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari. Nine of the ten were soldiers in the Golani Brigade and were killed in the same battle, in Shajaiyah, east of Gaza City. The troops reportedly came under heavy fire in a densely populated area. Some of them were killed by direct fire from Hamas fighters emerging from a tunnel shaft, and others were killed by an explosive device activated inside a building.


Click here for our most recent updates.


For our previous live coverage, see:

Day 67 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Dec. 12

Day 66 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Dec. 11

Day 65 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Dec. 10

Day 64 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Dec. 9

Day 63 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Dec. 8

Day 62 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Dec. 7

Day 61 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Dec. 6

Day 60 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Dec. 5

Day 59 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Dec. 4

Day 58 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Dec. 3

Day 57 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Dec. 2

Day 56 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Dec. 1

Day 55 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Nov. 30

Day 54 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 29

Day 53 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Nov. 28

Day 52 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Nov. 27

Day 51 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Nov. 26

Day 50 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Nov. 25

Day 49 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Nov. 24

Day 48 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Nov. 23

Day 47 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 22

Day 46 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Nov. 21

Day 45 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Nov. 20

Day 44 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Nov. 19

Day 43 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Nov. 18

Day 42 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Nov. 17

Day 41 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Nov. 16

Day 40 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 15

Day 39 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Nov. 14

Day 38 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Nov. 13

Day 37 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Nov. 12

Day 36 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Nov. 11

Day 35 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Nov. 10

Day 34 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Nov. 9

Day 33 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 8

Day 32 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Nov. 7

Day 31 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Nov. 6

Day 30 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Nov. 5

Day 29 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Nov. 4

Day 28 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Nov. 3

Day 27 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Nov. 2

Day 26 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 1

Day 25 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Oct. 31

Day 24 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Oct. 30

Day 23 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Oct. 29

Day 22 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Oct. 28

Day 21 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Oct. 27

Day 20 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Oct. 26

Day 19 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Oct. 25

Day 18 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Oct. 24

Day 17 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Oct. 23

Day 16 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Oct. 22

Day 15 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Oct. 21

Day 14 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Oct. 20

Day 13 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Oct. 19

Day 12 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Oct. 18

Day 11 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Oct. 17

Day 10 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Oct. 16

Day 9 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Oct. 15

Day 8 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Oct. 14

Day 7 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Oct. 13

Day 6 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Oct. 12

Day 5 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Oct. 11

Day 4 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Oct. 10

Day 3 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Oct. 9

Day 2 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Oct. 8

Day 1 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Oct. 7

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