Israel-Hamas war updates: More than 200 killed in Gaza in 24 hours
Gaza’s health ministry says 201 more people were killed and 368 others wounded over the past day.
- Gaza’s health ministry says 201 people have been killed over the past day and 368 wounded.
- A watered-down UN resolution boosting aid to Gaza has been criticised as “nearly meaningless”.
- Gaza’s health ministry says 201 people have been killed over the past day and 368 wounded.
- A watered-down UN resolution boosting aid to Gaza has been criticised as “nearly meaningless”.
- Israel continues its deadly bombardment of Gaza from north to south.
- The World Health Organization chief has reiterated his warning that “famine is looming in Gaza”.
- More than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office. The death toll from Hamas’s attack on Israel stands at nearly 1,140.
Thanks for joining us
This live page is now closed. Please follow along with all the latest updates of the Israel-Gaza war on our new page, here.
Here’s what happened today
We’ll soon be closing this live page. Here’s a recap of today’s events:
- US President Joe Biden says he “did not ask for a ceasefire” during a “private” call with Netanyahu.
- Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 201 people have been killed in 24 hours as Israeli bombardments of Gaza continue.
- Approximately 70 percent of the 20,057 people killed in Gaza due to Israel’s military onslaught are women and children, the UN reports.
- Gaza’s government media office has reported the 100th journalist to be killed by Israeli bombardments since the start of the war.
- Iran threatens the “closure of the Mediterranean” if the US and its allies continue to commit “crimes” in Gaza, without saying how.
- A merchant ship has been hit by a drone strike in the Indian Ocean, with the attack yet to be claimed by any group.
Israeli military raids town of Beita
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic have reported that Israeli forces have now entered the town of Beita just south of Nablus as overnight raids continue across the occupied West Bank.
Earlier, we reported that the Israeli military had also stormed the cities of Tulkarem and Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.
We will provide more details on this developing story as soon as we can.
WATCH: Carpet bombing in Jabalia
The Tal al-Zatar neighbourhood north of Gaza was under Israeli siege for more than 20 days, preventing medical teams from reaching the area.
Schools around the Indonesian hospital were also heavily bombarded.
You can watch our video report below:
Humanitarian aid a glimmer of hope for people in Gaza
Only today during the last 24 hours, more than 200 Palestinians have been killed alongside 360 others who have been wounded.
The attacks today included separate areas across the Gaza Strip, including the north, the middle areas, which was the main concentration of the Israeli attacks, and also Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip.
These attacks have continued despite the resolution taken by the UN Security Council in terms of scaling up the humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Palestinians see humanitarian aid as a significant glimmer of hope for them to survive and to cope with the aftermath of the Israeli destruction inside the Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces storm Bethlehem
We are getting reports from our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues that Israeli forces have entered the city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.
Earlier, we reported that an Israeli convoy had also entered the city of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank, resulting in fighting between Palestinians and the Israeli military.
We will provide more details on this developing story as soon as we can.
White House says Biden stressed protecting civilians in Netanyahu call
The White House readout of the call comes after Biden described the exchange as “long” and “private” while telling reporters he did not call for a ceasefire.
While offering few details, the readout underscores the Biden administration’s latest position towards Israel’s operations in Gaza. White House National Security Adviser John Kirby said earlier this week that Washington wanted to see Israel move to a “lower intensity” phase of the war but US officials would not be imposing terms or timelines on its ironclad ally.
The White House said Biden and Netanyahu discussed Israel’s “objectives and phasing” in Gaza.
Biden “emphasised the critical need to protect the civilian population including those supporting the humanitarian aid operation, and the importance of allowing civilians to move safely away from areas of ongoing fighting”, the White House said in a statement.
Israeli army ‘unaware’ of civilian execution accusations
The Israeli military says it is “currently unaware of the incident described” and insisted on more details to “produce a clearer picture”.
The army, a statement said, is “at war with the Hamas terrorist organisation who has proven that they do not value truth or accuracy”.
Earlier on Saturday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said dozens of Palestinians were killed this week and publicly “executed” during an Israeli military operation in the northern town of Jabalia.
Hamas says it gathered testimonies showing “the Israeli army carried out the summary execution of 137 Palestinian civilians” in the northern Gaza Strip.
Group calls for scholars to unite for ceasefire
A newly launched group, the Scholars Against the War on Palestine, is calling for academics across the world to unite in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The group is circulating a petition online demanding an end to the fighting, unrestricted access to aid and the halting of all attacks on Palestinian education and health institutions.
As of today, 325 scholars have signed the petition.
A coalition of Arab and Palestinian scholars in the United Kingdom has also given its support to the petition and has called on “all academics in the British universities to join us in opposing the targeted destruction of Palestinian universities in Gaza and the relentless assault on the wider Palestinian academic community”.
Scholars Against the War in Palestine Petition “All I Want for the Holidays is a Ceasefire”
Please read, sign and share the petition widely to your networkshttps://t.co/N5gDp556lz pic.twitter.com/92GMF2iwIE
— sawporg (@sawporg) December 23, 2023
Clashes reported between Palestinians and Israeli military in Tulkarem
We are hearing reports of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in Tulkarem. Earlier, we reported that an Israeli convoy led by bulldozers had entered the city in the north of the occupied West Bank.
The Wafa news agency has also reported reconnaissance aircraft hovering over the city and the nearby Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps.
We will bring you more details on this developing story as soon as we can.
لحظة استهداف آليات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي بعبوة ناسفة خلال اقتحام مخيم نور شمس في طولكرم بالضفة الغربية#فيديو #حرب_غزة pic.twitter.com/rkqOTIxpv4
— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) December 23, 2023
Palestine Red Crescent responds to more dead, wounded in Deir el-Balah
The emergency medical organisation posted photos of the most recent rescues in the central Gaza city, where many fled after being ordered by Israel to leave the nearby Bureij refugee camp.
PCRS said it transported many dead and wounded.
🚨The Palestine Red Crescent teams evacuated several martyrs and wounded individuals🚑today after a house was shelled in the Deir al-Balah refugee camp in the central #Gaza Strip.
📷Photo by volunteer: Fuad Khamash. pic.twitter.com/Rjvg3koJvw
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) December 23, 2023
David Cameron says UK won’t tolerate Iran’s ‘malign’ activities
The UK foreign secretary says Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah – groups he described as “proxies” of the Iranian government – are contributing to an “extremely high” level of “danger and insecurity”.
Speaking to The Telegraph, former UK Prime Minister Cameron said Iran must be sent “an incredibly clear message that this escalation will not be tolerated”.
On Friday, the US released intelligence it claimed showed Iran has provided drones, missiles and tactical intelligence to the Houthis, who have been responsible for a series of attacks on vessels off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister denied the allegations, saying the group “has its own tools”.
‘End the slaughter’: CAIR demands action on Israel’s attacks
US citizens must demand the government to act and end “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says.
“Ordinary Americans of all backgrounds should demand that the Biden administration act to stop the Israeli apartheid government’s genocidal campaign in Gaza,” CAIR’s Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement.
“Concrete actions – not just toothless resolutions – must be taken to end the slaughter, starvation and ethnic cleansing being imposed on the Palestinian people by Netanyahu’s apartheid government.”
UK agency reports drone explosion near ship off Yemen
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said there are multiple reports of a low-flying drone about 50 nautical miles (92km) west of the port city of Hodeidah in Yemen.
The agency said the drone appeared to explode about 1.5 nautical miles (2.7km) away from a ship and authorities are investigating the incident.
Several major shipping companies have rerouted operations from the arterial waterway after the Houthis threatened to attack any ships going to or from Israel, in solidarity with Gaza.
Since then, at least 20 countries have joined a US-led coalition to protect commercial shipping. The US Pentagon says the Yemen-based Houthis have launched at least 100 drones and missiles towards ships during the war.
‘I did not ask for a ceasefire’: Biden on Netanyahu call
The Israeli prime minister earlier said he thanked Biden for US actions this week at the UN Security Council.
The US delayed a vote on a resolution for several days over opposition to language calling for a halt or pause to the fighting to allow a scale-up of aid.
Speaking to reporters, Biden described the call with Netanyahu as “long” and “private”.
“I did not ask for a ceasefire,” he said, reiterating his administration’s entrenched position.
Israeli forces storm the city of Tulkarem
We are getting reports from our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues that an Israeli convoy led by bulldozers has entered the city of Tulkarem in the north of the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military has carried out nightly incursions across the occupied West Bank since the war in Gaza began.
We will bring you more details on this developing story as soon as we can.
آليات عسكرية إسرائيلية تقتحم مدينة طولكرم بالضفة الغربية pic.twitter.com/swI9C12UY6
— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) December 23, 2023
Netanyahu’s coalition threatened to dissolve: Analyst
Esmat Mansour, a researcher in Israeli affairs, says Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition is “threatened not by external forces but by the right-wing parties that were the original signatories to the government coalition”.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is “threatening to withdraw from the coalition and he is demanding the Israeli war cabinet be dissolved so decision-making goes back to the government”, Mansour told Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, “opposes the transfer of funds to the Palestinian Authority and contradicts Netanyahu, and this suggests the beginning of the disintegration and weakness of the coalition. The lack of discipline within it is evident”.
Mansour predicts that after the Gaza war ends, the government will head to the ballot box once again.
“The government cannot survive after the end of the war, regardless of its results. It will face demands to form investigation committees and there will be demonstrations against it, especially if there is a setback in the issue of the captive-prisoner exchange,” he said.
WATCH: Children displaced in Gaza, struggling to survive, forced to find work
Israel says mortars landed from Lebanon
The Israeli military says it identified mortar attacks from Lebanon on Kibbutz Manara, in the Upper Galilee of northern Israel, adjacent to the border.
This led to the injury of a reserve soldier, who was moderately wounded by shrapnel. He was evacuated to a hospital.
The military also said “a number of mortar launches were identified from Lebanon toward Metula”, the northernmost town in Israel.
The army said it struck the sources of fire. Earlier, an Israeli military jet attacked what it called “a military command centre” belonging to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
‘Endless nightmare’: Medic video shows aftermath of Deir el-Balah strike
The video, recorded by a volunteer with the Palestine Red Crescent Society, shows emergency responders moving through the rubble of a building in central Gaza City.
They are seen carrying a person onto a stretcher into a nearby ambulance. The attack, which came on Friday night, killed five and injured 27.
Israeli forces earlier told residents of nearby Bureij refugee camp to evacuate with many joining thousands of displaced living in Deir el-Balah.
“Like all nights in Gaza, as night falls, the occupation forces intensify their shelling of civilian homes, turning their nights into an endless nightmare,” the humanitarian organisation said in a post on X.
Photos: Gaza victims honoured in nativity scene in Bethlehem
Telecommunications sector in Gaza devastated
Laith Daraghmeh, executive director of the telecommunications regulatory authority in Palestine, says even before the war Gaza’s telecoms sector was lacking the needed equipment.
“Major Israeli restrictions on the cellular communications in Gaza also meant that people only had access to second generation services only,” he told Al Jazeera.
Even with landlines, residents were not given the option of fiber services, as is the case in the occupied West Bank, he said.
Since October 7, the communications network has been subject to devastating destruction. Not just in equipment but also in terms of financial losses, which exceed 100 million shekels ($27.7m).
Fifteen people working for the communications sector have also been killed in Israeli air raids or shelling, Daraghmeh said.
Gaza war has seen ‘unprecedented response’ from civil society
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Adam Shapiro, director of advocacy for the US-based Democracy for the Arab World Now organisation, said that response has been “not only in Palestine but globally”.
“Calls for ceasefire, to pressure our governments to take action in the streets, to create policy memos and articles and op-eds advertisements in newspapers calling for ceasefire and engaging with our governments,” he said.
“We’ve seen some response from governments, but unfortunately not from the one government that would make the most sense in terms of being able to change Israel’s decision-making and that’s the government of the United States,” he said.
“And it pains me, given the discussions that I and colleagues and others have had with Congress people, with people in the [Biden] administration, making clear what’s going on, and why a ceasefire is needed, that we’re not seeing the kind of change that we need.”
UNRWA calls for ‘unimpeded flow of aid’ into Gaza
The United Nations relief agency for Palestinian refugees has called for an “immediate and humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza” while also emphasising the need for an “unimpeded flow of aid” into the besieged enclave, regardless of ongoing political negotiations.
“It is extremely tragic that politics stand in the way of 2.2 million people’s survival in Gaza,” UNRWA spokesperson Tamara al-Rifai said at a press conference.
In a post on X, UNRWA also said it “cannot deliver meaningful aid” while the Israeli bombardment of Gaza continues.
There's already very few supplies allowed into📍#Gaza
Evacuation orders issued by Israeli authorities move people to areas where @UNRWA shelters are beyond capacity & there are ongoing airstrikes
We cannot deliver meaningful aid in these conditions, under continued bombardment. https://t.co/S2JIbuKPaP
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) December 23, 2023
Israeli miliary spokesman says southern Gaza operations expanding
During his daily update, Daniel Hagari said operations have particularly focused on Hamas underground infrastructure in Khan Younis.
More combat engineering units had been sent to the city. He added expanded ground operations were needed for the “thorough destruction” of Hamas weapons.
The spokesman also said about 30,000 explosives had been captured from Palestinian fighters since the fighting began.