Israel-Hamas war
Israel acts wherever it has to, army chief says after Syria strike
Israel’s military chief, asked about a reported Israeli strike that killed a senior adviser in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in Syria, has declined to comment but said Israeli forces work throughout the region.
“I will not comment on various actions we take. The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) is working together with other security organisations throughout the Middle East, within the borders of the state, around the borders of the state,” Herzi Halevi told reporters near Gaza when asked about the strike.
“We take whatever action necessary to make it very clear that we are very determined to defend the country, are willing to go far,” Chief of the General Staff Halevi said.
Gravely concerned by Israeli strikes on central Gaza: UN
The United Nations has said it is “gravely concerned” by Israel’s continued bombardment of the central Gaza Strip and has urged Israeli forces to take all available measures to protect civilians.
The UN Human Rights Office said all attacks had to adhere to international humanitarian law.
“We are gravely concerned about the continued bombardment of Middle Gaza by Israeli forces,” rights office spokesman Seif Magango said in a statement.
“It is particularly concerning that this latest intense bombardment comes after Israeli forces ordered residents from the south of Wadi Gaza to move to Middle Gaza and Tal al-Sultan in Rafah.”
Israeli army says nine wounded in Hezbollah strike
Israel’s military has said an anti-tank missile fired by the Lebanese Hezbollah group wounded nine soldiers as they rescued a civilian who was injured in another cross-border strike.
One of the soldiers was in “serious condition”, the army said, after the group was hit when rescuing a civilian injured by an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon amid the Gaza conflict.
That missile had hit a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Iqrit, the army had said in an earlier statement.
The hilltop church is located in Iqrit, an abandoned Palestinian Christian village whose people were forced to leave during the 1948 war and the creation of Israel.
The army accused the Iran-backed Hezbollah of constant firing at Israeli “civilian and religious sites”.
WATCH: Pamphlets with names of children killed by Israel dropped in mall
Why cricketer Usman Khawaja barred for supporting Gaza?
The Australian cricketer, Usman Khawaja, has accused the International Cricket Council (ICC) of double standards — this time after being denied permission to display the image of a dove of peace on his bat, in solidarity with Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.
Khawaja planned to show his support for Palestine by decorating his bat with the image of the dove accompanied by the message “01: UDHR”, a reference to the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that human rights are universal and inalienable.
The ICC Code of Conduct forbids players from wearing, displaying, or conveying messages through arm bands or other items on clothing or equipment without prior approval, especially for “political, religious, or racial” causes.
However, Khawaja and his supporters point out that this rule has not stopped other players from displaying such messages in the past.
WHO says UN resolution's implementation in Gaza is critical
The World Health Organisation Emergency Medical Teams Coordinator in Gaza, Sean Casey, says the situation at the hospitals at the moment is “quite dire” as facilities are overwhelmed and so many have closed completely.
Following the UN Security Council resolution last week which called for scaled-up humanitarian aid, Casey says the hostilities have continued for the past few days.
“I was at al-Aqsa hospital in the middle area where the night before they received a huge number of injuries, 100 plus injuries and many deceased brought to the hospital from the night before,” Casey told Al Jazeera.
“We’re seeing significant numbers in the hospitals and it’s really important to reiterate the UN Security Council resolution called for humanitarian pathways […] It’s really critical we see that realised because we’re seeing many civilians losing their lives, we’re seeing hospitals lose functionality, we’re seeing health workers displaced and unable to care for the many patients that are put before them,” he added.
Senior Palestinian lawmaker Khalida Jarra arrested by Israel
The Israeli army has said it arrested senior Palestinian politician Khalida Jarrar in the occupied West Bank, along with other activists of her leftist party.
Jarrar, 60, is a prominent figure in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a faction in the Palestine Liberation Organisation considered a “terrorist” group by Israel, the United States and the European Union.
“Khaleda Jarrar, a wanted terrorist, was arrested… along with other PFLP activists,” the army said in a statement.
Jarrar had been previously arrested by Israeli forces in October 2019 and released in September the following year, after being held without trial.
Activists display 8,000 pair of shoes in Gaza children memorial
Drone attacks increase across Red Sea: report
Drone attacks are intensifying across the Red Sea, particularly close to the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, which connects Djibouti with Yemen and is quite a crucial pathway for global maritime trade, says Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar reporting from Djibouti.
The UK Office of Maritime Trade Operations says at least two drones exploded near a shipping vessel that was cruising across the strait, but so far, they say that the crew and the ship are safe, and now they’re in communication with the naval coalition, formed by the US.
“We’ve seen the naval forces also increase and intensify here in Port of Djibouti. You can see that USS Mason, a missile-guided US destroyer, just arrived in Port of Djibouti and is now refuelling before its next mission,” Serdar adds.
‘Iran’s retaliation will be based on calculations’, says analyst
Following the death of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Sayyed Razi Mousavi on Monday, Ali Akbar Dareini, a researcher at the Centre For Strategic Studies, says there is “no way Iran is not going to respond to this act of terrorism”.
“Killing a top Iranian general in a foreign land is a violation of international law. Israel has stepped one move further into the red zone, it has crossed the red line, so Iran will retaliate. But how Iran is going to retaliate to this assassination is not clear at this point,” Dareini told Al Jazeera.
“It could be in terms of Iranian allies attacking Israel, it could be an act of revenge from within Israel, and it could be an Iranian expansion of its nuclear programme. So there are a number of options Iran has, but Iran is not going to show any emotional reaction. Iran’s retaliation will be based on calculations,” Dareini added.
Israeli military update from border with Lebanon
The spokesperson for the Israeli military, Daniel Hagari, regularly posts updates regarding activity along the border with Lebanon. Here is a summary of what he has posted on X today:
A number of launches were detected from Lebanon towards northern Israel.
In the morning, the Israeli military attacked a number of targets in Lebanon, including a Hezbollah target which was struck by an Israeli fighter jet.
An air-to-air missile was fired at an Israeli aircraft from Lebanon but did not hit its target according to Hagari.
More on Israeli raid on Nur Shams refugee camp
About 40 armoured vehicles were part of this raid that began around 11 last night and ended at about 8 this morning.
They also had 200 soldiers on foot and four armoured bulldozers, but interestingly enough, they didn’t arrest anybody from the Nur Shams refugee camp.
Now, that’s something that concerns the residents of the camp because usually, when raids like this happen, they arrest people, and then the people of the camp can understand why this raid took place. When they don’t … it seems as simply being a campaign of harassment.
Extensive destruction in northern Gaza city
Footage obtained and verified by Al Jazeera reveals widespread destruction of homes and residential buildings in the city of Beit Lahiya.
The visuals show entire residential blocks levelled to the ground as a result of Israeli attacks, causing significant damage to schools, shelters and mosques in the vicinity.
Some of the most intense Israeli attacks have taken place in northern Gaza since the war began on October 7.
We lost the war against Hamas: Former Israeli chief of staff
Dan Halutz has said that Israel has lost the war against Hamas and that victory can only be achieved when Netanyahu steps down.
His comments were recorded from a conversation he had with antigovernment protestors in Haifa and aired on Israeli Channel 14. Many members of the audience applauded his statement.
More than 50 arrested by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank
At least 55 people have been detained by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank in overnight raids, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Society Prisoner’s Club said in a statement.
The raids took place across the occupied West Bank, including Nablus, Tubas and Tulkarem, the prisoner rights groups said.
The total number of arrests made by Israeli forces since October 7 stands at 4,785, the statement added.
Palestinian teenager killed in occupied West Bank: Reports
Ahmad Yousef Yaghi, 17, was killed after he was shot by Israeli forces during a raid in the al-Fawwar refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Wafa news agency is reporting.
One person was also injured in the raid, Wafa added, citing the Palestine Ministry of Health.
Overnight Israeli raids have also taken place in Bethlehem, Tulkarem, and Qalqiya.
Netanyahu’s goals make the Egyptian proposal ‘very difficult’
Tamer Qarmout, a professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says as Israeli PM Netanyahu entrenches his positions on the war, it makes it more challenging to reach the Egyptian ceasefire proposal.
“Yesterday, Netanyahu published an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal, and he listed three prerequisites, according to him, for achieving peace in Palestine, and these are destroying Hamas, demilitarised Gaza and deradicalise the whole of the Palestinian society,” Qarmout told Al Jazeera.
“The whole, meaning the West Bank and wherever Palestinians live in occupied land. The fact that he’s stuck with these goals, he keeps repeating them, I think this makes it very difficult to achieve any substantial progress in this proposal.”
Qarmout explained Hamas also have no incentive to engage in the proposal, especially if it does not include a permanent ceasefire as the minimum prerequisite.
Several injured in Israeli shelling targeting aid organisation: Red Crescent
The Palestine Red Crescent Society says several people have been injured in Israeli artillery shelling that targeted the upper floors of the aid organisation’s headquarters in Khan Younis.
Thousands of internally displaced people are sheltering in the building, it said on X.
Urgent: Artillery shelling targets the upper floors of the PRCS headquarters in #KhanYounis, causing several injuries among the displaced individuals, as thousands of IDPs are sheltering in the building.#Gaza#NotATarget pic.twitter.com/zCHyva5Pu7
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) December 26, 2023
Israel will ‘pay’ for killing of IRGC adviser: Ministry
Iran’s ministry of defense in a statement has said that Israel “will pay the price” for the death of Sayyed Razi Mousavi, a member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in an Israeli air attack in Syria.
“Our response will be strict and effective, but will not provide room for any Israeli exploitation,” the statement added.
Mousavi was a senior adviser in the IRGC, responsible for coordinating the military alliance between Syria and Iran.
The strike comes amid fears that Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza could expand into a wider regional conflict, pulling in Iran-backed groups such as Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
‘I want a warm blanket’: Children receive treatment at hospital
Local photographer Amr Tabash has published videos on Instagram showing children receiving treatment in a hospital after Israeli forces shelled the house of the al-Najjar family in the Qizan al-Najjar area in Khan Younis.
The footage shows a Palestinian child shivering from the cold and asking to be warmed with a blanket, while in another video, a nurse wipes blood off a child’s foot with water.
US refusing Israeli requests for combat helicopters: Reports
Israeli news outlet Yedioth Ahronoth (ynet) is reporting that Washington has rejected Tel Aviv’s request to obtain Apache helicopters as it continues its ongoing war on Gaza.
“The US is currently refusing the request. However, security sources said that the last word on the sensitive issue has not yet been said, and Israeli pressure to bring more Apache helicopters to the IDF continues,” the outlet said.
According to ynet, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant brought the issue up with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin, during his visit to Tel Aviv last week.
Austin’s visit came amid growing concern from foreign governments and international organisations over civilian deaths in Gaza and a deepening humanitarian crisis.
‘We cry for Palestine’: Indonesian homemakers mobilise support for ‘family’
At a pro-Palestine rally in the city of Medan in North Sumatra on Sunday, a sizeable number of self-declared homemakers were in attendance, who have built a movement to collect aid for Palestine.
Among them was 51-year-old Normala Sari, who told Al Jazeera that homemakers view the support for Palestine as an extension of their roles as mothers and wives.
“We consider the Palestinians our family too,” she said. “If they are sad, we are sad. If they are afraid, we feel afraid.”
Sari said she had attended four other demonstrations across North Sumatra and that she would continue to do so until a permanent ceasefire has been called in Gaza.
Indian navy deploys destroyers to Arabian Sea after attack on ship
The Reuters news agency is reporting that India’s navy will deploy guided missile destroyers to the Arabian Sea after an Israel-affiliated merchant vessel was attacked off the Indian coast over the weekend.
A drone attack was suspected but investigations were ongoing into the incident involving the vessel, MV Chem Pluto, which docked in Mumbai on Monday, Reuters reports.
The Pentagon claimed that a drone launched from Iran struck the ship in the Indian Ocean. Iran has dismissed the US’s claims as “baseless”.
The incident comes as a US-led task force attempts to counter similar attacks in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels in Yemen who have attacked shipping linked to Israel amid the war on Gaza.
“Considering the recent spate of attacks in the Arabian Sea, Indian Navy has deployed Guided Missile Destroyers, INS Mormugao, INS Kochi and INS Kolkata …in various areas to maintain a deterrent presence,” the Indian navy said in a statement late on Monday.
Israeli raid continuing in Nur Shams refugee camp
The operation has been ongoing for eight hours now.
It certainly is the largest incursion into Nur Shams in Tulkarem since October 7. We’re being told that not only were drones in the air, but also helicopters.
Several homes were surrounded and at least one house was blown up by the Israeli military. They say there have been several arrests.
There have also been sustained clashes with fighters firing towards the Israeli soldiers. The Israelis had snipers on the roof and they too have been responding with fire toward civilian areas.
This is just part of a pattern that we’ve seen across the occupied West Bank. There have also been raids in Nablus, Tubas, Qalqilya and Hebron.
Latest casualty figures
Gaza
Killed: 20,674
Injured: 54,536
Missing: More than 7,000
Occupied West Bank
Killed: 303
Injured: More than 3,450
Israel
Killed: 1,139 killed on October 7
Israeli soldiers killed: 158
Injured: 834 wounded soldiers
Casualties from latest Israeli strikes on Rafah arrive at Kuwaiti Hospital
Casualties have arrived at the hospital in southern Gaza following an Israeli strike on a residential home near Al-Najma Square in the centre of Rafah city, Wafa reports.
Wafa also reports that a separate Israeli strike hit the Shaboura refugee camp in central Rafah.
Intense Israeli air attacks hit different parts of the Gaza Strip overnight, including Khan Younis in the south and Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
We will bring you more updates on this latest development as soon as we can.
Israel says two more soldiers killed, four injured in fighting in Gaza
The Israeli military said the soldiers, aged 24 and 25, were reservists and both were killed in fighting in southern Gaza on Monday.
The military also said that two soldiers from Israel’s 82nd Battalion and an officer from the 75th Battalion were also injured in fighting in southern Gaza, while another was injured in the north of the Gaza Strip.
The wounded were evacuated to receive medical treatment in a hospital in Israel, the military said.
About 160 Israeli soldiers have now been killed since the ground invasion of Gaza began two months ago.
Israeli forces arrest Palestinian politician Khalida Jarrar
We are getting reports from our Al Jazeera team in the occupied West Bank that Khalida Jarrar, 60, was arrested in Ramallah.
Jarrar, is a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and the political group, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
She had been detained multiple times by Palestinian authorities, the last one being in September 2021.
Israeli airstrike in Syria kills senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards member
BEIRUT, Dec 25 (Reuters) - An Israeli airstrike outside the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday killed a senior adviser in Iran's Revolutionary Guards, three security sources and Iranian state media said.
The sources told Reuters that the adviser, known as Sayyed Razi Mousavi, was responsible for coordinating the military alliance between Syria and Iran.
"I won't comment on foreign reports, these or others in the Middle East," IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in response to a reporter's question at a nightly press conference. "The Israeli military obviously has a job to protect the security interests of Israel."
Israel's Netanyahu vows no let-up in war against Hamas as Gaza deaths mount
CAIRO/GAZA/JERUSALEM, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep up the fight against Hamas militants on Monday while Palestinians mourned more than 100 people who Gaza health officials said were killed overnight in Israeli airstrikes.
Netanyahu visited Israeli troops in the northern Gaza Strip just hours after one of the besieged enclave's deadliest nights in the 11-week-old battle between Israel and Hamas.
Retaliating against Hamas for its deadly Oct. 7 cross-border rampage, Israel has been under pressure from its closest ally the United States to shift operations in Gaza to a lower-intensity phase and reduce civilian deaths.
'Harrowing': WHO decries deadly strike on Gaza refugee camp
GENEVA (AFP) – World Health Organization staff visited Monday a Gaza hospital receiving casualties from deadly strikes on a refugee camp, hearing distressing stories of entire families killed and seeing dying children.
"WHO's team heard harrowing accounts shared by health workers and victims of the suffering caused by the explosions," the UN health agency chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, formerly Twitter.
"One child had lost their whole family in the strike on the camp. A nurse at the hospital suffered the same loss," he said.
