23 Dec 2024
- Israeli forces bombed the so-called “safe zone” of al-Mawasi in southern Gaza, causing tents to go up in flames and killing at least seven Palestinians. That took the death toll over the past day to at least 50.
- The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) decried Israel’s “escalation” in Gaza over the past 24 hours, noting attacks on schools and hospitals have become “commonplace”
- The director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in besieged North Gaza, says obeying an Israeli order to empty the facility would be “next to impossible” as nearly 400 civilians remain inside, including babies who need oxygen and incubators.
- In Lebanon, Israel’s military launched a “major bombing operation” on the town of Kfar Kila, in violation of a ceasefire agreed last month, according to local media.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 45,259 Palestinians and wounded 107,627 since October 7, 2023. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day, and more than 200 were taken captive.
US military says it is preparing for strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen
The US army’s Central Command (CENTCOM) has posted a picture of its sailors aboard the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier, who it says are preparing ordnance for strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.
On Sunday, the Houthi’s spokesperson claimed that a counter-attack launched by the group’s armed forces on Saturday had downed an F-18 jet.
The US, on the other hand, said the incident was “friendly fire” and that it struck several targets in the Yemeni capital on Saturday night.
How has Kamal Adwan Hospital been attacked since the war on Gaza began?
We have been reporting on Israeli attacks on the medical facility, which is an essential lifeline in Gaza’s besieged north.But it is not the first time it has come under attack. Here are some other instances:
- On December 4, 2023, four people were killed and nine wounded in an Israeli strike on the north gate of the hospital.
- On December 10, 2023, Israeli forces raided the hospital after besieging and shelling it for several days.
- On May 22, Israeli missiles struck the emergency department of the hospital, prompting panicked staff to rush patients on beds and stretchers onto the rubble-strewn street outside.
- On May 24, our correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum said the hospital was hit twice by Israeli artillery during a siege.
- On May 25, Dr Hussam Abu Safia, the facility’s director, told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces were still surrounding the hospital and the siege had put it out of service.
- On October 24, Israeli tanks fired shells at the hospital before raiding it the next day.
- On November 29, an Israeli drone killed Dr Ahmed al-Kahlout, the director of the hospital’s intensive care unit, as he was reportedly passing through the gate.
- On December 6, four staff members were killed when several air strikes hit the hospital and Israeli forces stormed the facility.
Civil Defence says bodies recovered after Israeli attack on Gaza City
The organisation says in a statement on Telegram that it recovered the bodies of four deceased people near the gold market in the centre of Gaza City.
The people were killed in an Israeli attack on a home belonging to the Siyam family, the statement said.
Overnight recap
- Israeli forces continued to pound Gaza, killing two Palestinians in an attack on a vehicle in southern al-Mawasi and another in northern Gaza City.
- Rescuers, who were prevented from accessing the site of an Israeli attack in the central Nuseirat refugee camp for hours, arrived at the scene to find cats gnawing on the bodies of dead Palestinians, according to footage verified by Al Jazeera.
- Oxfam says Israeli authorities have allowed only 12 aid trucks into the besieged North Gaza, where tens of thousands of people remain trapped, in the past two and a half months.
- An Israeli rights group says settlers have established seven illegal outposts in the Palestinian-controlled Area B of the West Bank this year. The move marks a first since the Oslo Accords of 1993.
- The Times of Israel is reporting that Hamas has provided proof of life of several captives held in Gaza as negotiations for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal continue.
Israeli forces kill 2 Palestinians in al-Mawasi
- Two Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli air raid targeting a car in the al-Mawasi area.
- Gaza’s Civil Defence said in a post on Telegram that its crews responded to an attack in the al-Mawasi area, taking the bodies of two people who had been killed, as well as two people who were wounded to the Nasser Hospital.
- The attack comes hours after Israeli forces bombed tents in al-Mawasi, killing at least seven people and causing fires to break out in the crowded area where many displaced Palestinians are staying.
Israeli soldiers hold dozens of detainees at Hebron stadium
Activists and local Palestinian platforms on social media have released footage, verified by Al Jazeera, showing Israeli forces detaining dozens of Palestinians in a stadium at Fawwar camp, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
The scenes show dozens of Palestinians standing in the stadium surrounded by Israeli soldiers. According to local platforms, the Israeli forces turned the youth club of the camp into a field investigation centre.
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said nearly 100 people were held at the stadium in what was the third raid on the camp within 24 hours, and that Israeli forces closed all entrances and exits of the camp and prohibited movement inside.