Netanyahu, Biden speak on ceasefire and hostage deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today met with President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.

Exact details about the prime minister's meeting with the real estate investor, who does not need Senate approval for his appointment, were not immediately revealed.

Netanyahu's office also said the prime minister "held a situation assessment this evening on the issue of hostages with the Minister of Defense, the heads of the security establishment, and with the negotiators on behalf of the outgoing and incoming American administrations."

"At the end of the discussion, the Prime Minister instructed the head of the Mossad, the head of the Shin Bet, Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, and the political advisor Ofir Falk to depart for Doha in order to continue promoting a deal for the release of our hostages," the office said in a statement.

-ABC News' Anna Burd

Lebanese Armed Forces chief Joseph Aoun was chosen Thursday to be the country’s next leader.

Aoun’s election came after 12 failed attempts to choose a new president. He will now fill a head of state post left empty for more than two years amid political deadlock and myriad crises.

Aoun received 71 out of 128 votes in the first round of voting, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to clinch the role. Aoun won 99 votes in the second round.

Lawmakers committed to a fresh attempt to fill the presidential role following the recent Israel-Hezbollah conflict, which saw serious damage done to the capital Beirut and the south of the country.

Iran-backed Hezbollah also suffered materiel and personnel losses, its powerful leader Hassan Nasrallah among those killed during the fighting.

Hezbollah backed Suleiman Frangieh -- the leader of a Christian party in northern Lebanon with ties to former Syrian President Bashar Assad -- in the contest. Frangieh withdrew from the race on Wednesday, leaving Aoun as the likely victor.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East warned on Thursday that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are still sheltering in "overcrowded" schools as Israel's 15-month war on the enclave continues.

"Playgrounds for children are homes for the displaced," UNRWA wrote on X. "More humanitarian aid must come into Gaza and a ceasefire is more critical than ever."

UNRWA facilities in Gaza have been attacked frequently since the Israeli invasion began, as have school buildings doubling as shelter for Gazans displaced by the fighting.

The vast majority of Gaza's pre-war population of 2.2 million has been displaced at least once since the fighting began.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Hamas-run Gaza announced that 46,006 people have been killed in Gaza since the war with Israel began on Oct. 7, 2023.

The number of injured rose to 109,378, officials said Thursday morning.

At least 70 people were killed in the past 24 hours, the ministry said, and 104 more were injured by Israeli strikes across the Palestinian territory.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti