Netanyahu says Israel will block Palestinian state

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday responded to a request from President Donald Trump that he grant a pardon to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu related to the latter's trial for alleged bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

"President Herzog holds President Trump in the highest regard and continues to express his deep appreciation for President Trump's unwavering support for Israel, his tremendous contribution to the return of the hostages, to reshaping the situation in the Middle East and Gaza especially, and to ensuring the security of the state of Israel," the statement by Herzog's office said.

"Alongside and not withstanding this, as the office of the president has made clear throughout, anyone seeking a presidential pardon must submit a formal request in accordance with the established procedures," Herzog's office added.

Trump's letter to Herzog described Netanyahu as "a formidable and decisive War Time Prime Minister" who is "leading Israel into a time of peace, which includes my continued work with key Middle East leaders to add many additional countries to the world changing Abraham Accords."

"I absolutely respect the independence of the Israeli Justice System," Trump wrote, before describing the charges against Netanyahu as a "political, unjustified prosecution."

Referring to the ceasefire and the recent releases of hostages from Gaza, Trump wrote, "Now that we have achieved these unprecedented successes, and are keeping Hamas in check, it is time to let Bibi unite Israel by pardoning him, and ending that lawfare once and for all."

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said in a Wednesday statement that the death toll in the strip since Oct. 7, 2023, rose to 69,185 people.

Three bodies were received by hospitals across Gaza in the previous 24 hours, the statement said, with another four people injured.

The death toll is still rising despite last month's ceasefire, amid sporadic Israeli strikes and shootings plus the discovery of missing people buried under rubble.

A total of 245 people have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the ceasefire on Oct. 11, the ministry said. Another 627 people have been injured, it added, while 523 bodies have been recovered from under rubble.

The Médecins Sans Frontières NGO said in a Tuesday statement that Palestinians in Gaza "continue to face tremendous hardship, including dire living conditions and insufficient aid," one month into the ceasefire.

"Living conditions in the strip remain desperate, with vital infrastructure destroyed, mass displacement and insufficient aid," the MSF said. "The ceasefire must be respected and accompanied by an immediate, massive, and sustained scale-up of aid into and across the strip."

Caroline Seguin, the MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza, said, "Palestinians are still being killed and injured by Israeli forces almost every day in the areas close to the yellow line, behind which Israel maintains control."

"Palestinians often risk their lives by going back to look for their houses, as this line is still not always clearly marked," Seguin said. "To make matters worse, some main hospitals are in areas controlled by Israeli forces, which means safe access to health care is reduced."

Many displaced Palestinians "are still living in makeshift tents and without access to running water and electricity, next to piles of rubbish and overflowing sewage," Seguin said, reporting subsequent respiratory, skin and gastrointestinal infections.

Israeli authorities, Seguin said, "continue to impose significant restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza." She called for Israel to "immediately allow a massive scale-up of unimpeded humanitarian assistance."

"Winter is coming soon, with temperatures dropping and heavy rains and wind expected," Seguin warned.

Four Palestinians were injured amid reports of "dozens of masked Israeli civilians attacking Palestinians and setting property on fire," in two villages in the West Bank on Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

"Four Palestinians were injured and evacuated for medical treatment and damage was caused," the IDF said in posts to social media.

Four Israelis were arrested in the ongoing investigation into the attacks, an Israeli Police spokesperson said in a statement.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the violence, calling the incident "shocking and serious," in a post on X. "Such violence against civilians and against IDF soldiers crosses a red line and I condemn it severely," Herzog said.

Violent incidents in the West Bank have increased over the past month.

October 2025 saw the highest number of Israeli settler attacks since the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs began recording them in 2006, the office said in an update on Nov. 6.

More than 260 attacks "resulting in casualties, property damage or both -- an average of eight incidents per day," were recorded in October, the OCHA said.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Ellie Kaufman