Israel’s war on Gaza live: Children among 20 killed in Gaza City, Nuseirat
- Israeli forces continue deadly assaults across Gaza, killing at least 10 people in Nuseirat camp as well as targeting Gaza City’s Zeitoun and Sheikh Radwan neighbourhoods where another 10 people, including children, were killed.
- Israeli settlers assault students and teachers at school in Muarrajat, an area northwest of Jericho in the occupied West Bank.
Twenty Palestinians arrested across West Bank
Israeli forces have arrested 20 Palestinians, including a child and former prisoners, since yesterday, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.
The group said arrests took place across the occupied West Bank, with Israeli forces also threatening detainees and their families.
At least 10,700 people have been arrested in the occupied territory, including East Jerusalem, since Israel’s war on Gaza started last October.
Settler attacks intensifying in West Bank with army protection
Settler attacks have been on the rise in the Jordan Valley area and in Jericho. This is also the case where we are now, which is called H2 located in Hebron to the south of the occupied West Bank.
Palestinians cannot use their cars on the road and this has been the case for years. But what has changed recently is that Palestinians have a curfew from around 10pm to 9am the next day.
On Fridays and Saturdays, Palestinians in Hebron are not allowed to move in these streets.
We’ve been hearing difficult testimonies from people in the area, talking about the intimidation they face from settler attacks. The latest was an attack on Sunday when settlers came here with protection from Israeli forces and started shooting, forcing many Palestinians to leave the area.
Settlers are getting increasing access to arms. And settlers have taken over a building here, raising a flag. The goal is to depopulate these areas by making life so difficult that people will leave.
Number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza rises
We’ve just received the official daily update by the Health Ministry in Gaza with the number of Palestinian casualties caused by Israeli attacks since the start of the war.
In a statement, the ministry said at least 20 people were killed in the last 24-hour reporting period, bringing the overall toll to 41,226.
A further 76 were wounded, with the total number of injured people rising to 95,413.
Thousands more, meanwhile, are missing under the rubble of bombarded buildings.
Israeli settlers attack school in West Bank
Israeli settlers have attacked a school in the Muarrajat area, northwest of Jericho, Wafa is reporting.
Students and teachers were assaulted by the settlers during the attack on al-Ka’abneh Bedouins School, injuring several people before they were detained.
According to the report, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said its workers attended to three wounded people, who were taken to a hospital.
At least 704 people, including 159 children, have since been killed and more than 5,700 injured in Israeli raids and settler attacks across the occupied West Bank since the war on Gaza began.
Israeli army arms citizens in the north with 9,000 assault rifles
The Israeli army and the defence ministry have finished arming citizens in the northern part of the country with some 9,000 IWI Arad assault rifles.
This is on top of the 5,000 weapons provided at the start of the war on Gaza, according to a ministry statement cited by The Times of Israel.
Eyal Zamir, director-general of the ministry, reportedly said this is part of an ongoing project to “strengthen civilian defence squads that fought bravely on October 7”.
The assault rifles were bought for 50 million shekels (about $13m) and distributed among 97 communities in the north.
If you’re just joining us
Let’s get you up to speed with the latest developments:
- At least 10 Palestinians killed and 15 wounded in another Israeli attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza.
- Israeli soldiers raided several locations across the occupied West Bank overnight and this morning, while also making arrests.
- The Palestinian Civil Defence says its crews recovered the bodies of two people following an attack on a home in the southern city of Rafah.
- A 27-year-old Palestinian man has died from injuries sustained in a drone strike in Tubas earlier this month in the West Bank.
Israeli military report on captives puts pressure on Netanyahu
The decision by the Israeli army to acknowledge that its strikes killed three captives in Gaza in November should be understood within the context of current rifts in Israeli society and military, according to Hassan Barrari, professor of international affairs at Qatar University.
“I would say it has been politicised and the release of the investigation is political now given the fact that Gallant is supported by the army and trying to do something different from Netanyahu,” he told Al Jazeera in reference to Israel’s defence minister and the PM.
Barrari added that Gallant is backed by the army chief of staff Herzi Halevi and other commanders, who have been increasingly at odds with Netanyahu as the war has dragged on.
“I think the timing is also important and they want to put more pressure on Netanyahu to kill the idea that the military push will release the captives. Now it’s obvious that the more the Israelis will fight, the riskier it will become for the captives.”
Generations lost amid ongoing Israeli attacks
Overnight, there were more wholesale mass killings of civilians. And what’s really concerning, as seen over the past couple of months, are the deliberate attacks on families.
Every time we see a funeral procession here at the hospital, we find at least two or three generations of family members killed – the grandparents, parents and their children.
There are also many injuries here at the hospital with tens of people in line to access medical care. Some of them are at risk of dying as the medical staff here is under immense pressure.
The hospital is almost running out of medical supplies too. Items as simple as bandages and antiseptic are not available here.
Houthis claim downing third US drone in a week
The military spokesman for the Houthis says the group has downed another MQ-9 Reaper drone of the US military.
Yahya Saree said in his latest prerecorded televised address that the aircraft, which costs more than $30m, was shot down over the Dhamar governorate. This marks the third such claimed downing in a week, and the 10th since the start of the war on Gaza.
“Our operations will not stop until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in Gaza is lifted,” the spokesperson added.
On Sunday, the Houthis launched a ballistic missile that started a fire in central Israel’s Tel Aviv, saying it was a new hypersonic projectile that travelled more than 2,040km (1,267 miles) in less than 12 minutes.
