12 Dec 2024
- Israeli attacks kill at least 71 Palestinians, including children, across the Gaza Strip, medical sources tell Al Jazeera.
- US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who is visiting the region, says a ceasefire deal “can happen” as talks to end the war and release captives in Gaza continue.
- The Gaza Government Media Office says Israel killed 13 security officers guarding humanitarian aid “as part of the starvation policy against civilians”.
- Health authorities say Israel killed Saeed Joda, a top doctor who worked at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 44,835 Palestinians and wounded 106,356 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.
Brian Mast: Pro-Israel hawk set to lead US House foreign policy panel
Palestinian rights advocates in the United States are denouncing the selection of Republican Congressman Brian Mast to lead the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Mast, a pro-Israel hawk known for his incendiary remarks about Palestinians, was nominated on Monday by fellow Republicans to be the chair of the influential panel in the incoming Congress, prompting outrage.
Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the antiwar group Code Pink, described Mast as the “most cruel, heartless member of Congress”.
“His total disregard for Palestinian civilians fans the flames of violence. His position as chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee bodes ill for a foreign policy that strives to protect human life and promote peace,” she told Al Jazeera.
Mast previously suggested that all Palestinians in Gaza are legitimate targets for Israeli violence and starvation.
“I don’t think we would so lightly throw around the term ‘innocent Nazi civilians’ during World War II. It is not a far stretch to say there are very few innocent Palestinian civilians,” the US congressman said last year.
Nuseirat attacks death toll rises to 33
The Gaza Government Media Office says Israeli attacks on a residential area in the refugee camp in central Gaza have killed at least 33 people, most of whom from the al-Sheikh Ali family.
“The occupation army knew that this is a residential block with many apartment buildings housing dozens of civilians, children, women and displaced people,” the office said, calling the bombing a “barbaric and heinous massacre”.
It urged countries across the world to denounce Israel’s attacks against civilians.