- Israelis are still largely behind the country’s stated goals of crushing Hamas’s regime and military capabilities and freeing the remaining 129w prisoners.
- The Israeli military said it had completed dismantling Hamas’ underground headquarters in northern Gaza, part of an operation to dismantle a vast network of tunnels and kill top commanders that Israeli leaders said could take months.
- Israel’s offensive was one of the most destructive military campaigns in recent history.
At least 70 people were killed in an Israeli attack in central Gaza, health officials said on Sunday, while the number of Israeli soldiers killed in the weekend battle rose to 15. Associated Press journalists at a nearby hospital saw frantic Palestinians carrying the dead and wounded, including a child, following a strike at the Maghazi refugee camp east of Deir al-Balah.
A bloodied young woman stood stunned as the body examined the broken bones.”We were all targeted,” said Ahmad Turkomani, who lost several family members, including his daughter and grandson. “There is no safe place in Gaza anyway.”As Christmas Eve fell, smoke rose over the besieged territory, while Bethlehem on the West Bank was quiet, its holiday celebrations on hold.
Hamas is the right price
In neighboring Egypt, tentative attempts continued to broker another exchange of hostages for Palestinians captured by Israel.The war has devastated parts of Gaza, killed approximately 20,400 Palestinians and displaced nearly all of the territory’s 2.3 million inhabitants.
The growing death toll amongst Israeli troops — 156 since the ground offensive started out — ought to erode public aid for the struggle, which used to be sparked on Oct. 7 when Hamas-led militants attacked communities in southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages.
Israelis are still largely behind the country’s stated goals of crushing Hamas’s regime and military capabilities and freeing the remaining 129 prisoners. That’s despite mounting international pressure against Israel’s offensive, a rising death toll and unprecedented suffering among Palestinians.
There may be sizeable anger in opposition to his authorities, which many criticize for failing to protect civilians on October 7 and promoting regulations which have allowed Hamas to gain electricity for years. Netanyahu does not accept responsibility for military and policy failures.
The Israeli military said it had completed dismantling Hamas’ underground headquarters in northern Gaza, part of an operation to dismantle a vast network of tunnels and kill top commanders that Israeli leaders said could take months.
Attempts at negotiation continued. The head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Organization, Ziad Al Naqla, arrived in Egypt for talks. The militant group that took part in the October 7 attack said it was ready to consider releasing the hostages only after the fighting ended. Hamas’s top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, went to Cairo for talks a few days ago.
Israel’s offensive was one of the most destructive military campaigns in recent history. Extra than two-thirds of the 20,000 Palestinians killed were girls and toddlers, in keeping with the Ministry of fitness in Gaza, which did not distinguish between civilians and militants.
On Friday, Israeli airstrikes on two homes in Gaza killed 90 Palestinians, including dozens of members of a large family, rescue workers and hospital officials.
Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesman for Gaza’s civil defense department, said one of the deadliest airstrikes of the war hit a house in Gaza City after 76 members of the al-Mughrabi family were killed.
A 13-year-old boy was shot dead by an Israeli drone strike while he was at Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis, a part of Gaza where the Israeli military believes Hamas leaders are hiding, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
An overnight Israeli strike hit a house in a refugee camp west of the town of Rafah on the Gaza border with Egypt. As a minimum 2 guys have been killed, according to related Press journalists at the clinic where the our bodies have been taken.
At least two people were killed and six others wounded when a missile hit a building in Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.Palestinians reported heavy Israeli shelling and shelling in Jabaliya, which Israel said was under control, north of Gaza City. Hamas’s military wing said its fighters shelled Israeli troops in Jabaliya and the Jabaliya refugee camp.
Israel faces global complaint for the civilian loss of life toll, however it blames Hamas, citing the militants’ use of crowded residential areas and tunnels. Israel has released lots of airstrikes due to the fact October 7.It says it has killed thousands of Hamas fighters without presenting evidence.
Israel faces allegations of mistreatment of Palestinian men and teenage boys detained in homes, shelters, hospitals and other locations during the offensive.It has denied allegations of abuse and said those not linked to militants would soon be released.
Speaking to the AP from his hospital bed in Rafah after his release, Gaza City’s Khamis al-Burdainy said Israeli forces detained him after tanks and bulldozers partially destroyed his home. He said the men have been handcuffed and blindfolded.
“We didn’t sleep. We do not get meals and water,” he cried and included his face.any other freed prisoner, Mohammed Salem, from the Gaza city neighborhood of Shijaiyah, said Israeli troops attacked them.”We were humiliated,” he said. “A woman soldier comes and beats a 72-year-old man.”
The United Nations Security Council has passed a watered-down resolution calling for the swift delivery of humanitarian aid to hungry and desperate Palestinians and the release of all hostages, but not a ceasefire.
But it was not immediately clear how and when food, medical supplies and other aid would be distributed, far below the pre-war average of 500 a day. Trucks enter through two crossings: Rafah and Kerem Shalom at the border with Israel. Wael Abu Omar, spokesman for the Palestinian Authority for Crossings, said 123 aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, called for a U.N. humanitarian ceasefire. He reiterated the calls, saying on social media that “the destruction of the Gaza health system is a tragedy.”
The Iran-backed Houthis say their attacks targeted ships linked to Israel in an attempt to stop Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
