25 Dec 2024
- Israeli forces continue to pound Gaza, killing at least two people in a drone strike on the headquarters of the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza City, and nine others in attacks on a home in the Jabalia refugee camp.
- Christians in Gaza mark a sombre Christmas, praying for an end to Israel’s death and destruction, while in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem – the birthplace of Jesus – many dedicate their prayers to the victims of Israel’s “genocide”.
- In Lebanon, Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on the United States and France-led ceasefire monitoring committee to pressure Israel to cease violating its truce with Hezbollah and withdraw from the south of the country.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 45,338 Palestinians and wounded 107,764 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.
Netanyahu says Houthis will ‘learn’ what Hamas, Hezbollah learn
After lighting the first candle for the Jewish celebration, Hanukkah, Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “We are striking at our enemies, and those who thought they could cut the thread of our lives here then, this will apply to them all.”
“The Houthis will also learn what Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime and others have learned, and this will also take time. This lesson will be learned across the Middle East.”
No health facilities in northern Gaza operational
Northern Gaza lacks any proper access to health facilities.The Indonesian Hospital, the largest health facility in northern Gaza, is out of service.
It’s now only a shelter with a minimum level of healthcare provided to people given the deliberate, constant attacks on its essential facilities, as well as arrests of a large number of medical staff.
The other health facility is known as al-Awda Hospital, operated by a charitable organisation. It worked in the past few weeks as a subordinate system for Kamal Adwan Hospital, in terms of providing medical staff and supplies – but not any more.
The upper floor of this hospital has been destroyed. The surrounding areas have become dangerous because of the constant attacks.
Israel says it conducted strike on Hamas members in Gaza City
TheIsraeli military says it conducted a “precise strike” on alleged Hamas members in Gaza City.
In a statement on Telegram, the army claimed that Hamas was planning on “executing an explosive drone attack” against troops.
At least 5 people killed in attack on Zeitoun neighbourhood
At least five Palestinians were killed and about 20 wounded by an Israeli raid on a house in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, south of Gaza City, our colleagues on the ground reported.
Palestinian killed by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank
A Palestinian man has been shot and killed by Israeli forces in the town of Qaffin, north of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank.
Security sources quoted by the Wafa news agency said 25-year-old Ahmed Mahmoud Khaled Amarneh was killed as his house in the area of Jabal Amarneh was raided.
With the killing of Amarneh, the number of Palestinians killed in Tulkarem since the ongoing aggression began at dawn on Tuesday has risen to nine.
Israeli security sources condemn statements by officials on ceasefire talks
Israeli media is reporting that comments by Netanyahu and the defence minister about a ceasefire deal are “harmful” and have caused “great damage” to the efforts being made.
The Yedioth Ahronoth news outlet, citing security sources, reported that the army would find it “difficult” to move forward if a deal were not reached soon.
The security sources added that it was “not reasonable” for ministers to declare the continuation of war and the army’s security control over Gaza.
Earlier, during a visit to the Philadelphi Corridor, the entire border area between Gaza and Egypt, Katz was quoted as saying that Israel would ensure “security areas, buffer zones and controlling positions that will guarantee the safety of the communities [near the border]”.
Hamas and Israel traded blame over failure to conclude a ceasefire agreement despite progress reported by both sides in past days.
Israel preparing to stay in southern Lebanon after 60-day ceasefire
The Israeli army is preparing to possibly stay in southern Lebanon after the 60 days agreed upon in the ceasefire agreement, Israeli news outlet Haaretz reported.
The report said that the army would stay in the area if the Lebanese army did not fulfil its agreements and achieve full control of southern Lebanon.
In that scenario, the army would remain in the territory until the Lebanese army took over.Thursday marks 30 days since the ceasefire was announced. During that time, Israel and Hezbollah have traded blame for several ceasefire violations.
Houthis claim attack on Ashkelon
Yemen’s Houthi group has claimed an attack on the Israeli industrial zone in the Ashkelon area.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the group said they had carried out another operation against a “sensitive enemy target” in the Jaffa area.
Infant freezes to death in Gaza amid Israeli blockade
A three-week-old baby girl froze to death overnight in al-Mawasi area outside Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Mahmoud al-Faseeh, the father of the infant Sila, told The Associated Press that he wrapped his baby in a blanket to keep her warm, but it wasn’t enough.
Al-Faseeh explained the tent was not sealed from the wind and the ground was cold. Temperatures on Tuesday night dropped to 9 degrees Celsius (48 degrees Fahrenheit).
“It was very cold overnight and as adults we couldn’t even take it. We couldn’t stay warm,” he said, adding that Sila woke up crying three times in the night. In the morning, they found her unresponsive.
“She was like wood,” said al-Faseeh, adding that they rushed her to a field hospital where doctors tried to revive her, but her lungs had already deteriorated, and she was pronounced dead from hypothermia.
Doctors told AP that Sila is the third baby to die from the cold in recent days.
In case you’re joining us now
Here are the latest developments:
- At least four people have been killed by an Israeli attack on tents for displaced people at Al Jazeera Sports Club in Gaza City.
- The Israeli army said that since October, it has confiscated “over 85,000 weapons, missiles and military items” allegedly belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
- Hamas said that Israel has laid down further conditions on a ceasefire deal, while Netanyahu accused the Palestinian group of going back on understandings already reached.
- At least three people were killed during an Israeli attack on a tent housing displaced people in Gaza City.
- Israeli media outlet Haaretz is reporting that during a visit to the Philadelphi Corridor, Defence Minister Israel Katz said that security control in Gaza will remain in the hands of the Israeli military.
‘World turning blind eye to killing of children’ in Gaza
Sohai Marouf, who has witnessed Israel’s overnight drone attack in Khan Younis, has told Al Jazeera that “the world does not care about the massacres and genocide being committed against Palestinians”.
“The world is silent about these massacres. The world is silent about the current genocide. The world is turning a blind eye to the killing of children, women and young girls,” he said.
“These people are basically fleeing death for the Israelis to come and kill them while they are sitting in the middle of a tent in the so described by the Israeli occupation as a safe humanitarian area,” Marouf said.
“What does the world need us to do in order to force Israel to stop killing us,” he added.
Two people killed in Israeli attacks in southern, central Gaza
At least two Palestinians have been killed in central and southern Gaza by Israeli air strikes.
The Wafa news agency reported that a female Palestinian was killed when Israeli warplanes bombed a group of people in al-Nazla neighbourhood.
The report said another person “was killed after a drone bombed the coast of Rafah city”.
The Israeli army also fired several artillery shells at tents belonging to displaced people in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis while its aircraft carried out a raid near Abu Iskandar Bakery, north of Gaza City.
Israel’s president calls on Netanyahu to agree to ceasefire
Israeli President Issac Herzog has called on Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire to return the captives held in Gaza.
“The lives of the hostages are in danger, so I call on the leadership to make a deal, as this is your role,” Herzog said.
Twenty-five people detained by Israeli forces across occupied West Bank
At least 25 people have been detained by Israeli forces across the occupied West Bank since Tuesday night, the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society say.
The groups said the detentions were accompanied by assaults and threats against detainees and their families.
They added that Israeli forces continued to storm the city of Tulkarem and soldiers carried out field investigations and detained dozens of citizens in the Amari camp south of Ramallah who were later released.
Since Israel began its war on Gaza in October 2023, more than 12,100 Palestinians have been detained from the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, according to local authorities.
Several people wounded in raids on West Bank’s Tulkarem camp
Several people have been wounded by Israeli forces in the Tulkarem camp in the occupied West Bank.
This comes amid the ongoing raid on the camp for the second day in a row, Wafa news agency reported.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said its crews dealt with an injury to a 69-year-old man who was wounded by shrapnel in the face and was transferred to the hospital.
A girl was also wounded by shrapnel in the shoulder and was transferred to hospital. Two other young men were also taken to hospital.
Israeli military reinforcements were stationed at the entrances of the Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps, while Israeli bulldozers continued to destroy and sabotage the infrastructure and citizens’ properties.
Israeli forces also blew up the Sarouji family home in al-Sawalma neighbourhood in Tulkarem camp.
Hamas, Israel trade blame over failure to conclude ceasefire agreement
Hamas said that Israel has laid down further conditions, while Netanyahu accused the Palestinian group of going back on understandings already reached.
“The occupation has set new conditions related to withdrawal, ceasefire, prisoners and the return of the displaced, which has delayed reaching the agreement that was available,” Hamas said.
It added that it showed flexibility and that the talks, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, were serious.
Netanyahu countered in a statement that Hamas was “reneging on understandings that have already been reached and is continuing to create difficulties in the negotiations”.
Israeli negotiators returned to Israel from Qatar on Tuesday evening for consultations about a deal to release captives after a significant week of talks, Netanyahu’s office said on Tuesday.
Kamal Adwan Hopsital under continued siege
We have received more updates coming from the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr Hussam Abu Safia.
He confirmed to Al Jazeera that the Israeli military had imposed a very heavy siege on the hospital, with the night being very bloody and Israeli attacks having destroyed water and fuel tanks.
He also said that all the doors and windows of the hospital have been blown out due to the explosions.
Israeli drones have dropped grenades on people and even their houses in the north of Nuseirat.
Three people killed in Israeli attack on Gaza City
At least three people have been killed during an Israeli attack on a tent housing displaced people in Gaza City, the civil defence teams are reporting.
A number of Palestinians have also been wounded in the attack.
Sirens sound in Israel after drone reported
Sirens are sounding in the Israeli city of Ashkelon and its surroundings following the infiltration of a drone.Israeli army radio is reporting that the drone was launched from Yemen.
Israeli forces destroy park near Bethlehem
Israeli forces have demolished a park in the town of Nahalin, west of Bethlehem.
A resident said the Israeli army broke into the town, specifically the Khallet al-Daliya area to the south, and began demolishing a park containing a swimming pool, restaurant, cafe and other facilities under the pretext that they were built without a permit, the Wafa news agency reported.
The report also said Israeli forces closed the area and prevented the owner of the park from approaching and removing its contents while firing tear gas and sound bombs at any person who tried to approach the demolition site.
Three weeks ago, Israeli forces demolished three houses and three agricultural facilities in Nahalin in the Qarnat al-Damas area.
Israeli raid continues in Tulkarem
Here is a reminder that there have been Israeli attacks and raids in Tulkarem in the northern West Bank since dawn on Tuesday.
Seven people have been killed in an Israeli drone attack and shooting by troops in the Tulkarem refugee camp. One person was killed in the nearby Nur Shams camp, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
The Palestine Red Crescent also reported that a Palestinian was wounded by Israeli gunfire during a raid today.
Local sources told our colleagues on the ground that Israeli special forces are raiding a house in the town of Qaffin, north of Tulkarem.
Katz says Israel to maintain security control of Gaza Strip: Report
newspaper Haaretz is reporting that during a visit to the Philadelphi Corridor, Defence Minister Israel Katz said that security control in Gaza will remain in the hands of the Israeli military.
The Philadelphi Corridor, also known as the Philadelphi Route, is the 14km (8.7-mile) long strip of land representing the entire border area between Gaza and Egypt.
Katz is quoted as saying Israel will ensure “security areas, buffer zones and controlling positions that will guarantee the safety of the communities [near the border]”.
Katz is also reported to have said Hamas will no longer exist in Gaza as a military or governing force.
If you’re just joining us
Here are the latest developments:
- The Israeli military says it has conducted a strike on a Hamas fighter in Gaza City, where several Palestinians have been reported killed, and has destroyed two tunnels in the Strip.
- Pope Francis denounces the “extremely grave” humanitarian situation in Gaza and appeals for the freeing of Israeli captives held by Hamas in his traditional Christmas address at the Vatican.
- Hamas and Israel have traded blame for a delay in reaching a ceasefire mediated by Qatar and Egypt with each side claiming that the other has added new conditions and obstacles.
- UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini says “one child gets killed every hour” in Gaza.
- At least four Palestinians, including a child, have been killed and 25 injured in an Israeli attack on a school in Gaza City, according to our team on the ground.
What’s happening in the occupied West Bank?
Israeli forces are raiding the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps.
At least eight Palestinians have been killed.
Residents say it all began in the early hours of Tuesday when Israeli soldiers came in with bulldozers, tearing up roads and other critical infrastructure leading into the city of Tulkarem and its refugee camps.
Now, local medical officials say they are having a hard time evacuating those who have been killed and wounded because the Israeli military is blocking off roads.
This is a theme we’ve seen over the last 14 months, since the Israeli military stepped up its raids across the occupied West Bank.
But elsewhere in the territory, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is conducting its own raids in Jenin, where at least seven Palestinians have been killed in the last two weeks. The fighters in Jenin say they are not going to let up against the PA.
The PA says it wants to crack down on armed resistance fighters in places like Jenin as well as Nablus.
Christmas in Bethlehem
Christmas celebrations have been muted across the occupied West Bank.In Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, many are dedicating prayers to the victims of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
The foreign tourists that usually visit the Palestinian city at this time of year are also absent amid the war in Gaza and escalating Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank.
In Gaza, Israeli attacks have hit the offices of the Palestinian Civil Defence, which is responsible for emergency services and search and rescue operations across the Palestinian territory.
Two staff members were killed in separate attacks, along with the son of one of the slain emergency workers.
Israeli commander wounded in Tulkarem blast
The Israeli military says the commander of the Menashe Brigade has been wounded after an explosive device detonated near his vehicle in the occupied West Bank camp.In a post on X, the military said Colonel Ayub Kayuf was taken to hospital and treated for mild injuries.The blast took place as the Israeli military conducts a sweeping raid on Tulkarem and the nearby Nur Shams refugee camp.The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least eight Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Tulkarem and Nur Shams.
Israel says fighter jets bombed near UN building in Gaza’s Shati refugee camp
Israel’s military said warplanes attacked a site near a United Nations building in the area of the refugee camp overnight, claiming their target was a “Hamas launch site”.
Warnings for residents to flee the area ahead of the attack were issued, the Israeli military claimed, adding that “a rocket was spotted being launched from the area”.
While the Israeli military included aerial video footage of a huge explosion after its apparent attack on the site in the Shati camp, it did not provide any evidence of the Hamas rocket it claimed had been launched.
The Israeli military also made no mention of likely civilian casualties resulting from its attack near the UN building.
One killed, four wounded in Israeli attack on central Gaza
Israeli forces bombed an apartment building in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least one person and wounding four others.
We’ll bring you more as soon as we get more information.
Death toll from Israel’s attack on North Gaza home rises
We have been covering an Israeli attack on the Abu Warda family home in Jabalia al-Nazla.
The Wafa news agency is reporting that the death toll has risen from six to nine, with the victims including a couple and five siblings from the Abu Warda family.
A recap of recent developments
- Israeli forces launched a drone strike on the headquarters of the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza City, killing a rescue worker and his son. Another Civil Defence member was killed in a separate attack on the northern city.
- In southern Gaza, at least seven Palestinians, including three children, have been wounded in an Israeli drone strike on a tent housing displaced people in Khan Younis.
- Hundreds of Palestinian Christians in Gaza City gathered at a church in the war-torn territory on Christmas Eve, praying for an end to Israel’s war, which has laid waste to the enclave and killed at least 45,338 people.
- Eight people have been confirmed killed in Israeli attacks on Tulkarem and the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
- An Israeli negotiating team has returned to Tel Aviv from Qatar after a “meaningful week” of talks on a ceasefire in Gaza, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said.
- Iran’s mission to the UN has called on the world body’s secretary-general to condemn Israel after it finally admitted to assassinating former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in July.
- Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati has called for ceasefire monitors to pressure Israel to withdraw forces from southern Lebanon and stop violating the truce agreement with Hezbollah.
Welcome to our live coverage
Hello, and thank you for joining our live coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza.
Stay with Mazzaltov World News’ Live team as we bring you all the latest developments, analyses and reactions.You can find all of our updates from December 24, here.