Israel escalates north Gaza attacks, occupied West Bank raids

Here are the most recent developments:

• Attending the funeral of their colleague Saed Nabhan, journalists in the Gaza Strip called on the international community and international bodies to protect them from Israeli targeting, according to video of the funeral seen and verified by Al Jazeera.
• Israel claimed to have intercepted a rocket fired from southern Gaza.
• Israeli forces have carried out an operation to “blow up a number of houses in the town of Aita al-Shaab” in Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil district, according to the country’s state-run National News Agency (NNA).
• Israeli forces have arrested a young man from the Umm ash-Sharayet neighbourhood in the city of el-Bireh in the occupied West Bank, according to sources cited by our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.
• The Israeli military has expanded “clearing operations” northwest of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, new satellite imagery from the US-based defence think tanks the Institute for Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP) shows.
  

  ‘This is the last phase of Zionism’: Israeli historian

• Ilan Pappe, the Israeli historian, political scientist and former politician, told Al Jazeera he believes Zionism could be in its final stage.“I am willing to say with some caution that this is the last phase of Zionism. Historically, such development in ideological movements – whether they are colonialists, or empires, it doesn’t matter – it’s usually the final chapter. The ruthless one, the most ambitious one, and then it’s too much – and then they fall and collapse,” Pappe said.He added, however, that the last stage, from a historical point of view, is “a long process”.

  “It’s not an immediate process. It’s not a question of if it will happen, but when will it happen.”

  He was speaking in Copenhagen, where dozens of academics, officials, activists and writers are gathering for the European Palestinian Network’s conference under the banner: “Together for Humanity, Freedom, Rights and Justice.”

  Pappe also told Al Jazeera he believes the genocide in Gaza will continue for at least months under US President-elect Donald Trump, but that ultimately, economic woes in the US may see the conflict scale down.

  Israel claims to have intercepted rocket fired from southern Gaza

  The Israeli military says air raid sirens sounded a short while ago near the Karem Abu Salem border crossing, known to Israelis as the Kerem Shalom crossing, after one rocket that was fired from southern Gaza was intercepted.

  The army did not report any injuries or casualties as a result of the interception.

  Israel aims to kill largest number possible in Gaza: Civil defence

  A spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defence has told Al Jazeera that Israel aims to kill as many civilians and medical personnel as it can as it continues its devastating war.

  Here are some of his comments, as reported by our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic:

  • Israeli forces use huge munitions that destroy entire residential squares.
  • Our crews cannot perform their work properly because they are targeted by Israeli forces.
  • The [Israeli] occupation refuses to bring in spare parts for our vehicles, rendering a large number of them unusable.
    

    Displacement worsening hunger crisis, malnutrition in children, say Gaza parents

    Parents of children suffering from malnutrition in Gaza have been trying to find relief at UN medical centres but say Israel’s forced evacuation orders are making their situation worse.

    “The reason behind my daughter’s condition is displacement. We fled from the north to Rafah and then to Deir el-Balah, where we lived in a tent,” said the mother of Misk al-Madhoun, a malnourished child.

    “Her malnutrition worsened due to prolonged displacement, lack of food, and financial hardship since my husband’s work stopped during the war”, she told Al Jazeera.

    Others say charitable measures are still not enough in the face of Israel’s blockade on food aid.