Gaza Dispute
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WATCH: Norwegian doctor criticises West’s double standards on Gaz
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) December 29, 2023
Denmark says it will send frigate to US-led operation against Red Sea shipping attacks
Denmark will send a frigate to participate in the US-led operation aimed at thwarting Houthi rebel attacks on shipping in the Red Sea in January 2024, Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen has said.
Led by the United States, several countries on December 19 agreed to patrol the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to safeguard commercial shipping against attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the area.
“We are concerned about the serious situation unfolding in the Red Sea, where unprovoked attacks against civilian shipping continue,” Lund Poulsen said in a statement.
The Danish government will submit a resolution to the parliament in January to contribute to Operation Prosperity Guardian with a frigate that can be deployed from the end of January, the government added.
Palestinians stream into southern Gaza town
Tens of thousands of Palestinians streamed into an already crowded town at the southernmost end of Gaza in recent days, according to the United Nations.
People arrived in Rafah in trucks, in carts and on foot. Those who haven’t found space in the already overwhelmed shelters have built tents on the roadsides.
“People are using any empty space to build shacks,” said Juliette Touma, director of communications at UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. “Some are sleeping in their cars, and others are sleeping in the open.”
Baby saved from Gaza rubble after mother killed in Israeli strike
The rescuers in orange vests shouted as they reached a baby girl still alive in the rubble of an Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip's Rafah city after yet another night of bombardment of the Palestinian enclave.
Baby Mariam Abu Akel's skin was grey with dust and she made little noises as the rescuers reached deep into the rubble to free her legs and lift her clear.
Israel sprays 'skunk water' on Jerusalem Muslims leaving for prayer
The Israeli forces sprayed "skunk water" on Palestinians leaving for Friday prayer as the tensions escalate in the Wadi al-Joz area of occupied Jerusalem, Al Jazeera reported citing Wafa news agency.
The worshippers were left gasping for breath due to the strong stench of the spray.
Meanwhile, worshippers were denied entry into the Al-Aqsa Mosque and were forced to pray in Wadi al-Joz, as the Israeli forces cracked down on them using rubber-coated metal bullets.
Only 12,000 worshippers managed to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform their prayer, which is a far lower number compared to 70,000 Muslims praying on a normal Friday.
What controversial weapons has Israel used in Gaza offensive?
An Israeli official has acknowledged that the country’s military used inappropriate munitions during an attack on the Maghazi refugee camp that killed at least 90 people earlier this week.
The official said that Israel’s military would investigate what happened. While little is known about the specific munitions used in Maghazi, this is far from the first time that Israel’s army has faced criticism over the alleged or confirmed use of controversial weapons in its military campaign in Gaza.
Al Jazeera looks at some of the weapons that have been used in Israel’s “indiscriminate” bombardment of the Gaza Strip such as dumb bombs, bunker buster bombs and more.
In Gaza, rows of white shrouds symbolise mounting civilian deaths
"My life, my eyes, my soul," a husband writes on the white shroud wrapped around his wife after the war devastating Gaza took her life.
A bereaved son writes "my mother and everything" on the burial cloth covering his mother, another of the more than 21,000 Palestinians killed in the Israel-Hamas confrontation.
At least 308 people killed in UNRWA shelters since Oct 7, says aid agency
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) December 29, 2023
Israel’s Gaza invasion ‘must not make us deviate from priorities’: Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron said that the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine should not distract the world from tackling climate change and poverty.
In an op-ed published in the newspaper Le Monde, Macron proposed a new global climate pact and reiterated his calls to reform global financial governance to better involve emerging countries.
He said that the Israel-Hamas conflict as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine “must not make us deviate from our priorities”.
“We must accelerate the ecological transition and the fight against poverty at the same time,” Macron said.
Israel claims destruction of tunnel shafts, weapons in southern Gaza
The Israeli army has posted an update on X regarding its “Operation Oz and Nir”, which was launched in late December and named after the Kibbutz Nir Oz, which was attacked by Hamas on October 7.
The statement said the forces involved in the operation had “eliminated terrorists, located dozens of tunnel shafts and anti-tank launching positions, as well as many weapons” in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Galaxy Maritime ltd ‘encouraged’ by reports of imminent release of crew
Galaxy Maritime Ltd, the owner of bulk carrier “Galaxy Leader”, which was hijacked by Yemeni Houthis on November 19, says it is encouraged by reports from the Philippines that the release of 17 of their seafarers is imminent.
The carrier’s crew comprised 25 seafarers from Bulgaria, Mexico, Romania, Ukraine and the Philippines.
The company also said it was committed to meeting all captive seafarers’ repatriation expenses.
The Houthis have upended shipping plans in the Red Sea by using drone and missile attacks and taking control of vessels to show their support for Palestinians in Israel’s war on Gaza.
Cross-border fire in southern Lebanon, northern Israel
The Israeli army said in a post on X that there were several launches from Lebanese territory towards northern Israel, and they had responded by striking the source of the attacks with artillery.
The Israeli Army Radio had earlier issued a warning stating that a “hostile aircraft” was spotted around the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona and the surrounding area. However, the Israeli army now says this had been a false alarm.
Pro-Palestine activists call for strike for Gaza
Pro-Palestine activists are using the hashtag #StrikeForGaza on social media to call on people not to go to work, schools, banking, or shopping in support of the Palestinians in Gaza who are facing mass Israeli bombardment and displacement.
The decision to affect the global economy is to pressure governments to find a solution to the war and stop the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.
“We consider strikes as a last resort when protests and negotiations fail, and even the threat of it moves things. It may or may not work, but we have to try it, let’s do it for the oppressed people of Gaza,” Zara Magnusson, an activist on X, said.
“We call and support the effectiveness of the comprehensive strike in order to lift the cessation of the aggression on Gaza. 29 December 2023. No to financial transactions, no to shopping in printing shops,… Holding events in support of Gaza,” Tariq al-Mandouj also said on X.
‘We were all beaten in sensitive areas’: Red Crescent member recounts arrest
Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has shared the testimony of Mohammed Saleh, a paramedic at the PRCS ambulance centre in Jabalia about the beating and humiliation he and his colleagues endured when Israeli forces invaded the centre and arrested them a week ago.
“We were all humiliated, we were all beaten in sensitive areas and on our heads and backs,” Saleh said.
“The Israeli forces assaulted our colleague Mohammad Abu Rukbeh. He is wounded due to the aggression and has sustained burns in his legs; he will likely need a skin transplant as one of the occupation’s soldiers threw rocks at his legs.”
Testimony of Mohammed Salah, a paramedic at the PRCS ambulance center in #Jabalia about the beating and humiliation he and his colleagues endured during their arrest by the Israeli forces after the invasion of the #Jabalia ambulance center in northern #Gaza a week ago.
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) December 29, 2023
The… pic.twitter.com/Hi9K192WzY
‘A martyr prays for a martyr’: Video shows prayer for those killed in Gaza
Journalist Mustafa Sarsour has shared a video on Instagram showing funeral prayers being held in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah for the dozens of people killed following violent night raids by Israeli forces.
“A scene every morning,” his caption read. “A few days ago, there was a young man carrying the martyr, and currently, he is a martyr.”
“A martyr helps a martyr, a martyr carries a martyr, and a martyr prays for a martyr.”
The video has been verified by Al Jazeera.
Fissures between Israel’s war cabinet and military elite evident
Ahmed Helal, MENA director at Global Counsel, says the cancellation of an Israel war cabinet meeting to discuss post-war Gaza has been a “long time coming” since the military establishment and political elite have grown further apart.
“The military elite has grown increasingly uncomfortable over the past ten years – and they’re not pacifists by any means, they are not doves. But, they understand what is strategically important for Israel, and they have been pushing against the overly militarist ambitions of the civilian government,” Helal told Al Jazeera.
“They have never been interested in going into Gaza because they realise that casualties for the IDF will be high and casualties for Palestinians will be high, which will ultimately be problematic for Israel,” he added.
Israeli security staff stabbed at checkpoint near Jersualem
The Israeli army has said that a 23-year old Palestinian man approached Israeli security staff and stabbed them at a checkpoint near Jerusalem. Both of them are in the hospital and one of them is quiet seriously injured.
The man [who attacked the Israeli forces] was shot dead at the scene. But just a short time later the Israelis went to his home and essentially ransacked the house and arrested his mother, his father and his sister. The reason they [the Israeli forces] do this is to ask them did you know about this and why didn’t you tell us. Most often they know nothing at all about this. Such incidents also runs the possibility that their house has to be demolished.
The arrests and house demolitions have been criticised by human rights organisations as collective punishment…But the Israelis still do it and they believe house demolition acts as a deterrent to attacks like this.
Israel to expand operations in southern Gaza
The Israeli army has said in a post on X that it is “expanding the operation in the Khan Younis area” of southern Gaza in its offensive against Hamas.
The army added that in one incident in Khan Younis, they identified a Hamas member some 100 meters from them, and directed a drone strike against him.
Death toll in Nuseirat, Maghazi refugee camps rises to 35
Earlier we reported that 30 people have been killed in Nuseirat and Maghazi refugee camps following Israeli bombing in central Gaza.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reporting from Rafah now reports that the death toll has risen to at least 35.
“The vast majority of them are women and children,” Mahmoud said. “Those who sustained injuries are likely to die because of the improper, insufficient medical intervention as there is a lack of medical supplies.”
Iran says four ‘saboteurs’ linked to Israel’s Mossad executed: Report
Iran has executed four “saboteurs” linked to Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, the judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency said on Friday.
“Four members of a sabotage team associated with the Zionist regime, who had committed extensive actions against the country’s security under the guidance of Mossad officers, were executed this morning following legal procedures,” it said, according to Reuters news agency.
Latest casualty figures
Gaza
Killed: 21,320
Injured: 55,603
Missing: More than 7,000
West Bank
Killed: 316
Injured: More than 3,800
Israel
Killed: 1,139 on October 7
Israeli soldiers killed: 167 (since the ground invasion on October 31)
Injured: 921 soldiers
Figures reported by the Palestinian Health Ministry, the Israeli army and the Israeli social security agency.
Bombed, then stabbed: West Bank doctors recall horrors of refugee camp raid
The Israeli army raids on the Nur Shams and Fawwar refugee camps followed a pattern of deadly assaults that have killed more than 300 people in the occupied West Bank since October 7, according to doctors and politicians.
Doctors recalled what they experienced during the Israeli army bombing of the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem during a raid that started on the night of December 26 and continued into the early hours of the following day.
30 people reported killed in Nuseirat and Maghazi refugee camps
The Israeli army seems to be stepping up its aerial bombardment across the Gaza Strip. There is a sense of frustration as this is happening days after the resolution was passed by the UN Security Council. People are now seeing more bombs, less food, and less humanitarian aid.
In the central part of Gaza, Nuseirat and Maghazi refugee camps are again the sites of major massive air strikes and artillery shelling. More residential homes have been targeted and destroyed.
The damage caused by those large bombs not only destroyed the targeted home, but also the surrounding homes. We’re talking about at least five to seven homes becoming unlivable.
So far, 30 people have been reported killed in those combined attacks.
Gaza Health Ministry says 20 seriously ill patients allowed to leave for treatment in Egypt
In an announcement posted on Telegram, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said 20 patients will be allowed to travel outside of the besieged enclave for emergency treatment in Egypt.
The announcement said the patients will be allowed to travel through the Rafah Crossing on Friday morning.
Among the 20 patients listed is a one-month infant girl who is suffering from a head injury.
Medical officials from Gaza, including the medical director of Abu Youssef Al Najjar Hospital, Dr Marwan al-Hams, have made repeated pleas that patients with serious medical conditions be allowed to leave Gaza for life-saving treatment outside the besieged territory.
Multiple casualties reported in Israeli strike on central Gaza refugee camp
Several people are feared dead and injured after an Israeli strike hit central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp, according to reporters on the ground.
Citing medical sources, the Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported that as many as 20 people were killed in the strike, with many others still missing and possibly trapped under rubble.
Earlier, we reported that several injured people from Nuseirat were brought to al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia for treatment.
Humanitarian crisis in Gaza: Displaced Palestinians queue for hours for food amid famine warning
Displaced and famished Palestinians are forced to queue for hours for food assistance in Rafah as acute shortages due to the Israeli military blockade of the Palestinian territory and restrictions on aid shipments imperil the health of hundreds of thousands.
Aid groups say the situation is desperate, and UN agencies have warned that 40 percent of Gaza’s population is facing the imminent risk of famine.
According to the latest report issued by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, more than 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is also facing high levels of acute food insecurity.
Hundreds of Palestinians killed; 100,000 crowd Rafah under Israeli military orders: UN
Some 210 Palestinians were reported killed and 325 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza in the 24-hour period between Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, the Palestinian territory’s Health Ministry said, as at least 100,000 displaced people crowd into Rafah following Israeli military clearance orders.
The latest UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) situation report also notes:
Half of all pregnant women in shelters in Gaza are suffering from thirst, malnutrition, and no access to medical care, while 50 percent of all displaced children are in danger of dehydration, malnutrition, respiratory and skin diseases, severe cold, and newborn infants are not being vaccinated.
Some 1.9 million people in Gaza, approximately 85 percent of the territory’s population, have been displaced by Israel’s military onslaught.
In the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, 304 Palestinians, including 79 children, have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers since October 7. A total of 504 have been killed since the start of 2023 – the deadliest year for Palestinians in the occupied territory in almost two decades.
Since launching its invasion of Gaza two months ago, 165 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 921 injured.
An estimated 100,000 people have moved over the past days to Rafah, #Gaza's most densely populated area. Their movement, often a repeated displacement, followed the intensification of hostilities and Israeli evacuation orders.
— OCHA oPt (Palestine) (@ochaopt) December 29, 2023
More in Flash Update #79:
https://t.co/RmgUHTJ7p5 pic.twitter.com/ef7t1PADDR
Injury, arrests reported as Israeli forces continue raids in occupied West Bank
One person was injured after Israeli forces fired live ammunition during a raid in the town of Kafr Aqab, north of occupied East Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The extent of the victim’s injury was not immediately known.
Israeli forces arrested another Palestinian after storming the city of Dura, southwest of Hebron, and two Palestinian youths reported detained in a separate raid in Qalqilya city.
Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces were reported amid raids in the Qalandiya and Balata refugee camps, east of Nablus, as well as in the city of Al-Bireh.
Israeli troops killed hostages, mistaking their cries for help as ambush - military
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli troops killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza on Dec. 15 when it mistook their cries for help as a ruse by Hamas to draw them into an ambush, the military said on Thursday, concluding that the soldiers acted rightly to the best of their understanding.
On Dec. 15, the military immediately took responsibility for killing the three hostages, who were reportedly abducted by Hamas during Oct. 7 attack on towns in southern Israel. They were among 240 people taken hostage by the Palestinian group.
The Israel military published its findings on Thursday and concluded "that there was no malice in the event, and the soldiers carried out the right action to the best of their understanding of the event at that moment."
UN’s Griffiths lists obstructions to aid entering Gaza
The UN’s humanitarian aid chief Martin Griffiths has expressed his frustration at how life-saving assistance is being hampered from entering war-torn Gaza safely and efficiently.
In a post on social media, Griffiths asks: “You think getting aid into Gaza is easy? Think again.”
Griffiths then lists obstructions to Gaza’s aid, including:
Constant bombardments and aid convoys coming under fire.
Three layers of inspections before an aid truck can enter the Palestinian territory.
A crossing designed for pedestrians is now being used by trucks, and another crossing where desperate people have blocked convoys.
Aid workers being killed and others displaced from their homes by the war.
“This is an impossible situation for the people of Gaza, and for those trying to help them. The fighting must stop,” he said.
You think getting aid into Gaza is easy? Think again. pic.twitter.com/CH4GuY6XUb
— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) December 29, 2023
UN report deplores 'rapid deterioration' of rights in West Bank
GENEVA (Reuters) - A United Nations report published on Thursday (Dec 28) deplored what it said was a "rapid deterioration" of human rights in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and urged Israeli authorities to end violence against the Palestinian population there.
The report, published by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said 300 Palestinians had been killed in the West Bank since Oct 7, the day Hamas gunmen went on a deadly rampage in southern Israel and took hostages back to Gaza.
Most of the killings occurred during operations by Israeli security forces or confrontations with them.
Hamas delegation to discuss Egypt's Gaza ceasefire plan
GAZA/CAIRO (AFP) - A Hamas delegation is due in Cairo Friday (Dec 29) to give its "observations" about an Egyptian plan for a ceasefire that would end the war in Gaza, a Hamas official said.
The plan was put last week to officials of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which is also battling Israeli forces in the territory when the chiefs of both movements visited the Egyptian capital.
Sources close to Hamas say Cairo's three-stage plan provides for renewable ceasefires, a staggered release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and ultimately a ceasefire to end the war sparked by the deadly Oct 7 attack on Israel.
Israel bombs Gaza as UN warns civilians face 'grave peril'
CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli tanks thrust deep into a town in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday (Dec 28) after days of relentless bombardment that forced tens of thousands of already displaced Palestinian families to flee in a new exodus.
A Palestinian journalist posted pictures of Israeli tanks near a mosque in a built-up area of Bureij, the armoured contingent having advanced from orchards on the eastern outskirts.
Three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli missile strike on a house in northeastern Maghazi camp in central Gaza, health officials said.
