Palestinians killed in last 24 hours
- Health Ministry in Gaza says 166 Palestinians killed, 384 wounded in Israeli attacks in last 24 hours.
- UNRWA says it “cannot deliver meaningful aid” under intense Israeli bombardments of Gaza after the UN Security Council called for increased access.
Muted Christmas as Palestinian Christians mourn for Gaza
In a traditional season of merriment, many Palestinian Christians – in Bethlehem and beyond – are gripped with helplessness, pain and worry amid Israel’s brutal war on Gaza.
Some are mourning, lobbying for the war to end, scrambling to get relatives to safety or seeking comfort in the Christmas message of hope.
Journalist death toll in Gaza rises to 103
At least 103 journalists have been killed by Israeli attacks since October 7, the Government Media Office in Gaza said in a post on Telegram.
Al Jazeera’s cameraman Samer Abudaqa is among those who have been killed in the conflict.
Death toll in Gaza hits 20,424
The Health Ministry in Gaza says at least 20,424 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in the besieged enclave since October 7. At least 54,036 people have been injured.
The toll included 166 deaths in the past 24 hours, it said.
Israeli strikes kill UN staff, more than 70 of his extended family in Gaza
A UN official has been killed along with more than 70 members of his extended family in an Israeli air strike near Gaza City.
Issam Al Mughrabi, 56, who worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for three decades was killed along with his wife and children in an Israeli air strike on Friday.
“For almost 30 years, Issam has worked with UNDP through our Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People,” UNDP administrator Achim Steiner said in a statement. “The loss of Issam and his family has deeply affected us all. The UN and civilians in Gaza are not a target.”
Israel-Hamas war: List of key events, day 79
It’s day 79 of the war on Gaza. This is where things stand:
- Israeli air raids killed more than 400 people in Gaza in the past 48 hours.
- At least 101 journalists have been killed since the war began, more than 50 media offices have been completely or partially destroyed by Israeli attacks.
- During a meeting in Doha, Qatar’s PM and Jordan’s FM discussed the war in Gaza and called for an end to Israeli attacks.
- The US says Iran launched a drone from its soil that struck a Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned chemical tanker in the Indian Ocean.Over the past few hours, there were several Israeli air raids in the hills that are overseeing Naqoura.There were a couple of attacks from Hezbollah that also took place in the morning. No casualties have been reported.
Israel is trying to push Hezbollah behind the Litani River which is some 20km (12 miles) from the border. This is where the fighting is concentrated.
Israel is using this opportunity to hit… Hezbollah’s infrastructure that has been developed over the years since the 2006 war.
At the same time, Hezbollah is attempting to hit Israeli intelligence gathering apparatuses on the border, whether it’s communication apparatuses or cameras as well as Israeli infantry.
Netanayahu says military acts based on Israeli calculations
PM Netanyahu has dismissed reports that the US convinced Israel not to expand its military activity during a weekly cabinet meeting.
“I have seen false publications claiming that the US prevented and is preventing us from operational operations in the region,” Netanyahu said. “This is not true. Israel is a sovereign state. Our decisions in the war are based on our operational considerations, and I will not elaborate on that.”
On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Netanyahu was persuaded by Biden not to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon out of concerns it would launch an attack on Israel, similar to the October 7 attack by Hamas.
Netanyahu added that the war is exacting a “heavy price” as Israeli soldier deaths mount, but indicated the fighting would continue until Hamas is eliminated and the captives returned.
