More funerals in Gaza as incessant Israel bombing continues
- Israel’s relentless bombardment of Gaza continues with at least 31 Palestinians killed and 57 injured over the past 24 hours, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.
- Tom Fletcher, the UN’s relief chief, says efforts to save the lives of survivors in Gaza is “at breaking point” because of continued Israeli attacks on aid workers, including an assault on a World Food Programme convoy and the collapse of law and order in the war-torn enclave.
‘I think we’re making a lot of progress’: Trump’s Middle East envoy
President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has said there has been “a lot of progress” when speaking about the Gaza ceasefire deal at a press conference held by Trump in Palm Beach, Florida in the US.
“I don’t want to say too much because I think they’re doing a really good job back in Doha. I’m leaving tomorrow back… to Doha,” he said.
“I think that we’ve had some … really great progress, and I’m really hopeful that by the [presidential] inaugural, we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president.”
“I actually believe that we’re working in tandem in a really good way, but it’s the president [-elect], his reputation, the things that he’s that he has said, that … are driving this negotiation and so hopefully it’ll all work out.”
Four children killed in Israeli strike on a tent camp near Khan Younis
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that four children have been killed in an Israeli bombardment of a tent camp in the so-called “safe zone” of al-Mawasi in the south of the Gaza Strip.
We will bring you more information as we get it.
What is the Kfir Brigade?
As we recently reported, the Israeli army has announced its Kfir Brigade (900th) has been withdrawn from northern Gaza after three months stationed there.
Here is a bit more information about the Israeli brigade:
- The Brigade formed in 2005 is the youngest and largest of the Israeli military’s five infantry brigades.
- It operates under the Israeli military’s Central Command and comprises five battalions stationed in the occupied West Bank.
- The Brigade has a presence in most Palestinian cities in the occupied West Bank and had been in the Gaza Strip before the Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave in 2005.
- The Kfir Brigade has been fighting in the Gaza Strip since Israel’s war on Gaza began and has been primarily stationed in the north of the enclave.
- The Brigade was part of the siege of the Gaza Strip’s north, which began in October 2024.
- The Israeli military says that today, the Brigade has ended 64 days of operations in the Palestinian towns of Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoon and the Sheikh Zeid neighbourhood. The Times of Israel reports that 12 soldiers in the brigade were killed in six separate incidents during those operations.
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UAE, Israeli foreign ministers meet to discuss Gaza humanitarian crisis: Report
The foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nayan, has held talks with his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar in the Gulf nation, UAE state news agency WAM reports.
The two men discussed the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and regional and international efforts to reach a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, it said.
A ‘crisis of severe and multi-dimensional proportions’
The Israeli military is still ramping up attacks across in Gaza, where in the past 24 hours, there have been blistering strikes on residential homes. Eastern Gaza has been the recent epicentre of the conflict [between Hamas and Israeli armed forces].
We’re also getting reports from northern Gaza that suggest the continuation of obliteration operations by the Israeli military. At least 14 Palestinians were killed today due to Israel’s repeated attacks on Gaza.
Satellite images have shown severe destruction and widespread devastation in the far north of the Strip. There has been extensive bulldozing in that part of the enclave. The Israeli military is looking to clear that area under the pretext of dismantling [Hamas’s] military infrastructure.
Such operations, however, have led to significant displacement waves from northern Gaza.
The humanitarian situation has reached what observers describe as a “breaking point”. That’s part of what we’re seeing on the ground. The absence of basic services has led to a crisis of severe and multi-dimensional proportions.
There have been attacks on the [UN World Food Programme], [UN agency for Palestinian refugees] UNRWA and World Central Kitchen. There has also been deliberate elimination of law enforcement agencies, which has led to a surge in criminal gang activity, which is also undermining aid work.
‘All hell will break out in the Middle East’ if captives are not released: Trump
US President-elect Donald Trump has been holding a news conference in Florida where he addressed some questions about the Gaza ceasefire talks.
He said if the captives are not back by the time he gets into office, “all hell will break out in the Middle East, and it will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone”.
Trump has used this line previously, saying in a December 2 social media post that there will be “hell to pay” if a ceasefire deal isn’t signed by the time he is in office.
Donald Trump will be inaugurated for his second US presidential term on January 20, 2025.
