- Gaza’s health ministry says Israeli attacks on the enclave killed 48 Palestinians and wounded 201 in the latest 24-hour reporting period.
- Israeli forces have again bombed the so-called “safe zone” in Gaza’s al-Mawasi, killing at least 21 people and wounding dozens more, according to Atif Al-Hout, the director of the Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis. Women and children were “incinerated” in the attack.
- Israeli forces have continued air raids on southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah, claiming an attack on what they called a launchpad in the Majdal Zoun area.
- Israel’s genocide in Gaza has killed at least 44,580 Palestinians and wounded 105,739 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.
- In Lebanon, at least 4,047 people have been killed and 16,638 wounded in Israeli attacks since the war on Gaza began.
Katz insists administrative detention policy for Israeli settlers unchanged
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has rebuked reports suggesting he was walking back on a controversial policy ending administrative detention for Israeli settlers.
“The policy I decided on regarding the administrative detention is in force and is fully implemented,” he said in a post on X.
In November, Katz announced that Israeli authorities would no longer issue administrative detention orders – in which suspects can be held without charge or a court appearance for up to six months – for Israeli settlers. Rights groups slammed the decision saying it would further embolden settlers to carry out attacks with impunity against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank.
The policy is mainly used to detain Palestinians but has on occasion been used against Israelis suspected of carrying out violence against Palestinians.
Katz’s comments came after Israeli media suggested that he reportedly said in a meeting there would be no discrimination between Palestinians and Jews.
Violence in the occupied territories has reached new heights since the start of the war on Gaza with Israeli and Palestinian monitoring groups accusing the government and the army of enabling settlers’ attacks and land grabs.
Palestinian PM pushes for statehood in call with EU’s Kallas
Palestinian PM Mohammad Mustafa has urged the need for concerted efforts to establish Palestinian statehood, Wafa news agency reported.
In a phone call with EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas, Mustafa emphasised the need for international efforts to push for a Palestinian state and implement a UN resolution for a mechanism to bring about lasting peace.
He also highlighted the importance of translating international efforts into practical steps to implement a two-state solution.
Mustafa stressed the need to end Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip, the immediate, unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid, and Gaza’s reconstruction once the war ends.
US lawmakers ‘can no longer deny that this is genocide’: Rashida Tlaib
The US congresswoman cites Amnesty International’s conclusion to renew calls for ending the transfer of weapons to Israel.
“My colleagues can no longer deny that this is genocide,” Tlaib wrote on X. “We must follow our own US laws. We need an Arms Embargo now.”
Amnesty says Israel committing genocide in Gaza
Amnesty International says Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza in a new report based on findings from months of analysing incidents and statements of Israeli officials.
“There is a genocide being committed. There is no doubt, not one doubt in our mind after six months of in-depth, focused research,”
Amnesty’s secretary-general, Agnes Callamard, said.
Amnesty said it concluded that Israel and its military committed at least three of the five acts banned by the 1948 Genocide Convention, including killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to bring about a group’s physical destruction.
She added that they had not set out to prove genocide. However, after reviewing the evidence, the only conclusion was that “Israel is intending and has intended to commit genocide”.