United Nations Security Council again delays aid resolution; Gaza death toll tops 20K

Editor's Note: For the latest news on the Israel-Hamas conflict, please see our live updates file here.

The United Nations Security Council again Wednesday delayed the vote on a resolution calling for more humanitarian aid into the devastated Gaza Strip and for a halt in fighting as members negotiate over the text's wording.

The vote — which has been delayed three times this week — will now take place on Thursday. According to Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh of the United Arab Emirates, high-level discussions are underway to try to reach an agreement on a text that can be adopted.

The United States is seeking to avoid using its veto power by changing the resolution's references calling for a "cessation of hostilities" and putting the U.N. in charge of inspecting humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, which Israel currently controls.

President Joe Biden told reporters on his way back from Milwaukee that "we’re negotiating right now at the U.N. the contours of a resolution that we may be able to agree to."

Meanwhile, the leader of the Hamas political wing was in Cairo on Wednesday for talks toward a truce that could allow more prisoner-hostage exchanges and increased humanitarian aid. Ismail Haniyeh was holding "critical discussions" with Egyptian officials, Egypt Today reported, as the Palestinian death toll surpassed a staggering 20,000.

The Gaza Government Media Office said the figure included 8,000 children and 6,200 women. 

A weeklong cease-fire that ended three weeks ago resulted in the release of more than 100 militant-held hostages and more than 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. More than 100 hostages remain under militant control. All were taken on Oct. 7, when a Hamas-led attack into Israeli border communities killed 1,200 people. Within hours, Israel struck back.

UN Security Council vote on Gaza:Resolution delayed; most US voters disapprove of Biden's handling of war

Developments:

∎ The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel was offering a one-week pause in the fighting in return for the release of 40 hostages. Other media outlets reported similar negotiations. Earlier this week, CIA Director William Burns met in Warsaw with the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and the prime minister of Qatar for talks.

∎Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured Israelis on Wednesday that the military won't stop fighting until Hamas is crushed, all hostages are released and the threat to Israeli security posed by Gaza is extinguished.

∎ Israel had no rocket launch alerts from Gaza for 24 straight hours, a first since the war began except for during last month's cease-fire. The quiet skies fueled hopes that another temporary truce could be negotiated soon.

∎ Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was in Tel Aviv on Wednesday to visit with families of hostages, including U.S. citizens. "These hostages are innocent civilians," he said. "It’s evil to hold them. Full stop. Bring them home."

∎ The U.N. Security Council vote on a resolution calling for a cease-fire to allow for the delivery of crucial humanitarian aid into Gaza was delayed until Wednesday as negotiators worked to avoid a U.S. veto. A similar resolution drew a veto less than two weeks ago.

∎ Mobile phone and internet service was down across most of Gaza again on Wednesday, adding to the difficulties of funneling humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave.

'We know they were raped':Chilling details of what Hamas hostages faced

IDF dog's body cam captured audio recording of 3 hostages killed

A military search dog with a body camera captured audio of three Israeli hostages shouting for help in Hebrew, five days before they were mistakenly shot to death by Israeli troops, the army’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said.

The dog captured the audio on Dec. 10, according to new information released Wednesday as part of an ongoing investigation. In the audio, the hostages can be heard shouting in Hebrew the words “help,” “hostages” and two of their names, “Alon” and “Yotam.”

Soldiers had sent the dog into a building in the Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City, suspecting that militants were in inside. The dog was shot to death by the militants. The militants were killed in a firefight with Israeli forces. The Israeli military believes this is how the hostages were able to escape.

The dog’s recording was not reviewed until after the hostages were killed days later as they tried to make themselves known to Israeli forces.

The hostages were shirtless and held a stick with a white cloth as they emerged Friday from a building about a mile from the location that had been searched by the dog. An Israeli sniper killed the first two hostages and the third hostage ran back into the building but was killed by other soldiers chasing him.

− The Associated Press

'World would welcome' a second Israel-Hamas truce, Blinken says

The U.S. would welcome another pause in Gaza fighting, but the problem remains with Hamas, which reneged on promises it made during the first hostage deal, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.

"But certainly, it's something that we would welcome, I know that Israel would welcome, and I think the world would welcome," he said. "We remain very actively engaged in seeing if we can get a pause back on and hostages moving out again of Gaza. That's something we're on every single day."

And he reiterated the long-held administration position that the war would end today if Hamas put down its weapons. The world is putting far more pressure on Israel than the militants to stop fighting, he said.

"What is striking to me is that ... we hear many countries urging the end to this conflict, which we would all like to see," he said. "I hear virtually no one saying, demanding of Hamas that it stop hiding behind civilians, that it lay down its arms, that it surrender. This is over tomorrow if Hamas does that."

− Francesca Chambers

Some Israeli officials critical of truce talks

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich expressed outrage at negotiations for another hostage release deal with Hamas. Smotrich was upset that Israel's War Cabinet allowed Mossad chief David Barnea to discuss freeing high-risk Palestinian prisoners in return for Israeli hostages.

"The War Cabinet should send the head of the Mossad to thwart the leaders of Hamas wherever they are and not talk to them and negotiate with them," Smotrich said.

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was even tougher, saying any talks should "immediately stop" and calling for the execution of imprisoned militants for each day Israeli prisoners of war are held.

"This is not the time for pauses, this is the time for decisions!" he wrote on Twitter.

'Their bodies tell the tale': Hostages were sexually assaulted, Israelis say

Evidence is mounting of rape, sexual violence and mutilation of women and men during the Hamas attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7. And sexual assault was not confined to Oct. 7, two Israeli doctors say. The physicians, who have been treating released hostages, and an Israeli military official familiar with the matter confirmed to USA TODAY that some released hostages revealed they suffered violent sexual assaults in captivity. One of the doctors assessed that "many" of the released Israeli female hostages 12 to 48 − there are about 30 of them − were sexually assaulted while held by Hamas in Gaza. Read more here.

“The voices of so many of these women and girls were stolen by Hamas, but their bodies tell the tale,” said Carly Pildis, director of community engagement at the Anti-Defamation League. “Broken pelvises. Mutilated genitals. Brutalized bodies. Then we have eyewitnesses coming forward with stories of gang rape, of torture, of murder."

− Kim Hjelmgaard

Contributing: Francesca Chambers; The Associated Press