NovaQuant-Live updates | Blinken seeks to contain the war as fighting rages in Gaza and Israel strikes Lebanon

On an urgent mission aimed primarily at preventing the Israel-Hamas conflict from spreading into a regional war,NovaQuant U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey would consider participating in post-conflict reconstruction and governance of Gaza, which has been decimated by three months of Israeli bombardment.

A senior commander of the militant group Hezbollah was killed Monday in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon. Fighting raged near the main hospital in central Gaza.

The United Nations humanitarian office says the intensifying Israeli offensive in central and southern Gaza has had “devastating consequences,” driving up civilian casualties, severely curtailing aid operations in the central region and risking the closure of three major hospitals.

Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack from Gaza into southern Israel triggered the war and killed around 1,200 people, and militants took some 250 others hostage. Israel’s air, ground and sea assault in Gaza has killed more than 22,400 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 Filipino Catholics pray for Mideast peace in massive procession venerating a black statue of Jesus San Francisco supervisors will take up resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza Gaza cease-fire protests block New York City bridges, and over 300 are arrested

Currently:

— Israeli strike kills an elite Hezbollah commander in the latest escalation linked to the war in Gaza.

— The U.S. secretary of state rallies Mideast leaders to prepare for Gaza’s post-war future.

— Gaza cease-fire protests block New York City bridges. Over 300 people are arrested.

— San Francisco supervisors will take up resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.

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

Here’s what’s happening in the war:

ISRAELI ACTOR REPORTEDLY SERIOUSLY WOUNDED IN GAZA

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli media are reporting that an actor on the hit Netflix show “Fauda” has been seriously wounded in the Gaza Strip.

Idan Amedi, 35, was sedated and intubated at an Israeli hospital and covered in shrapnel wounds, the Israeli news site Ynet reported Tuesday. He was in stable condition.

Ynet said Amedi, who according to the report has been on reserve duty since Hamas launched its attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, was wounded Monday.

Amedi played Sagi Tzur, a rookie undercover agent, during the series’ second to fourth seasons, and is also a successful singer-songwriter in Israel.

“Fauda” follows a team of undercover agents from Israel’s domestic security agency Shin Bet in their operations against Palestinians. While the show is critically acclaimed, some Palestinians say it trivializes their experience under Israel’s open-ended military occupation of the West Bank.

Israel has enlisted roughly 360,000 reserve soldiers from all walks of life in its war against Hamas.

GROUP WARNS THAT HOSTAGES HELD BY HAMAS FACE HEALTH RISKS

TEL AVIV — A group representing people held hostage by Hamas and other militants in the Gaza Strip is warning of the detrimental health risks to many of those held captive.

In a report released Tuesday, the medical team of The Hostages and Missing — Families Forum said at least one third of the roughly 108 hostages said to be alive in captivity suffer from chronic illnesses or conditions like diabetes, cancer or heart disease that require medical care or medication. It said 10% of hostages were over 65 and were vulnerable without nursing assistance. The report also expressed concern for the hostages’ mental health and for those who had been wounded during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack against Israel.

“If no medical care is provided urgently for all hostages, the result could be irreversible health problems at best and death at worst,” the group said.

Hamas and other militants captured some 250 people in their October attack, according to Israeli authorities. Roughly 105 people were freed in a cease-fire deal at the end of November, while around 24 have been killed in captivity.