Israel-Palestine War
Live Reporting
Iran calls on Security Council to act against Israel’s attacks on Syria
Iran’s foreign ministry has called on the UN Security Council to take action after Israel’s killing of a top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander in Syria last week.
“Through Iran’s representative office, we communicated with the UN secretary general [Antonio Guterres] and called on the Security Council to commit to its duty of maintaining international peace and preventing regional peace from being compromised,” spokesman Nasser Kanani said in his weekly press conference.
Kanani described the assassination of Razi Mousavi as a “blatant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and said both countries reserve the right to respond at a time of their choosing.
Bureij under heavy air attack, ground forces expand fight to southern Khan Younis
As Gazans were counting the last hours of 2023, they were hoping for a safer new year, the one that would bring prosperity to their families and not seeing their children displaced or in white sheets.
Unfortunately, as of overnight and in the early hours of this morning, we are seeing more displaced Palestinians, more children and women under the rubble and more people wrapped in white sheets.
We are seeing constant massive attacks on the Bureij refugee camp within the past hour and early hours of this morning. According to reports coming from the central Gaza, the entire refugee camp, a densely populated area, is not only under heavy bombardment but is also coming under siege of barrel bombs.
In Deir el-Balah, where people were told within the past few days to evacuate to from the refugee camps in the central area to avoid getting bombed, people are getting bombed in the safe area designated by the Israeli military. Five members of one family were killed there within the first few hours of their arrival last night as a residential building was targeted.
In Khan Younis, there is more intense fighting going on under heavy Israeli bombardment as invading forces on the ground are expanding to the southern part of Khan Younis. That’s on the edge of Rafah city and within the vicinity of the Gaza European hospital near where five people were killed in heavy aerial bombardment.
Israeli army sees Gaza war continuing throughout 2024
The Israeli military’s spokesperson has said Tel Aviv’s war on Gaza will continue throughout 2024 in a new year’s message, insisting that tens of thousands of reservists would be needed for fighting.
The army “must plan ahead, understanding that we will be required for additional tasks and warfare throughout this year”, Daniel Hagari told reporters. “The objectives of the war require prolonged fighting and we are preparing accordingly.”
Hagari said the army is currently planning how to deploy troops in the months ahead and “some of the reservists will return to their families and employment this week” in order to ease the burden of the war on the Israeli economy and allow reservists to replenish their strenght ahead of another deployment.
Thousands protest in Turkey against Israel’s Gaza attack
Turkey has seen a series of huge protests in solidarity with the Palestinians [Emrah Gurel/AP Photo]
Israel says it wants to destroy Hamas in Gaza, from where it launched its October 7 attack [Francisco Seco/AP]
Israeli air raids in central Gaza killed at least 35 people on Sunday as fighting raged across the tiny enclave [Emrah Gurel/AP]
First deaths in Red Sea standoff risks escalation
Tensions are rising, particularly after the US killed 10 members of the Houthis in the Red Sea. This was the first time since the beginning of escalation in the Red Sea that we have seen killings.
A Houthi statement says that the US bears full responsibility and there will be consequences. The UK defence secretary, Grant Shapps, says the UK is ready to take direction action against the Houthis in the region, and he says continued Red Sea aggression is risking miscalculations which could trigger a region-wide conflict.
The deputy foreign minister of Houthis says Yemeni has been shed, but it’s not wasted and its prize is quite high. So now, we see more and more militarisation taking place. There are now concerns about what the way out will look like for this crisis since there are almost no diplomatic talks happening.
Mr Security’ faces internal and external pressure over war
Mahjoob Zweiri, professor of Middle East politics at Qatar University, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces an increasingly precarious situation domestically and internationally over the war.
“Let’s not forget Netanyahu has been called Mr Security. He ran the country for 16 years. Despite all of this, in a matter of 87 days, Israel has become vulnerable economically, politically, and socially,” Zweiri told Al Jazeera.
“After the first month, it became clear to me that Israel will try to extend the war as long as it can. Netanyahu will go on with this war until he cannot go on further. He’s worried about the ‘day after’ internally. He’s worried he’s not achieving his goals politically and the goal of Israel militarily – he’s not weakening Hamas as promised.
Israel troop withdrawal: What does it mean?
Israel has faced stiff resistance from Hamas since it began its ground offensive in late October, and the military says 172 soldiers have been killed during that time.
Daniel Hagari, chief military spokesman, says Israel is withdrawing some forces from Gaza as part of its “smart management” of the war. He did not say how many and held out the possibility they would return at a later point in the war.
Israeli media reported up to five brigades, numbering thousands of soldiers, would be pulled out, but it is not immediately clear if it represented a normal troop rotation or a new phase in the fighting.
Hagari also said some reservists would return to civilian life to bolster Israel’s wartime economy.
UK defence chief threatens ‘direct action’ against Houthis
Writing in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: “We are willing to take direct action, and we won’t hesitate to take further action to deter threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.”
“The Houthis should be under no misunderstanding: we are committed to holding malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks,” he said.
Earlier on Sunday, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he told Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a call that Iran should help stop the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
March for Gaza under way at Istanbul’s Galata Bridge
A march in support of Gaza is getting under way in Istanbul.
The 29 civil society groups that are organising the event hope it will attract thousands of people.
Ibrahim Besinci, president of the Turkish Youth Foundation (TUGVA) which is one of the organisers, earlier told an Istanbul news conference that the event was about being “Palestine’s voice” in a “struggle for humanity and justice”.
“We are aware we’re standing at a historic turning point and in such a time, we will raise our voice and spread our message,” Besinci said. We’ll bring you more details as we get them.
Palestinians were ‘running for their lives’ as world celebrated arrival of 2024
As the world was celebrating a new year with fireworks and festivities, Palestinians in Gaza were running for their lives and looking for places to shelter. Overnight, the central area of the Gaza Strip has been pounded repeatedly. We’re looking at an area that was designated a safe zone for Palestinians to evacuate to. There are reports of five people killed.
As of now, we’re looking at more than 85 percent of the population displaced. Most of them are living in tents [in Rafah]. We are seeing people queue for long hours [for food and essentials] in Rafah – the centres are very small compared with the number of who need aid. The amount of food is a trickle – a small amount of rice, a small amount of bread. There are reports of people here having just one meal a day. But sometimes they go for one or two days without any food.
March for Gaza getting underway at Istanbul’s Galata Bridge
A march in support of Gaza is getting underway in Istanbul.
The 29 civil society groups that are organising the event hope it will attract thousands of people.
Ibrahim Besinci, president of the Turkish Youth Foundation (TUGVA) which is one of the organisers, earlier told an Istanbul press conference that the event was about being “Palestine’s voice” in a “struggle for humanity and justice”.
“We are aware we’re standing at a historic turning point and in such a time, we will raise our voice and spread our message,” Besinci said. We’ll bring you more details as we get them.
US sinks 3 ships, kills 10 after Houthi Red Sea attack
COPENHAGEN/DUBAI/CAIRO (Reuters) – US helicopters repelled an attack by Iran-backed Houthi militants on a Maersk container vessel in the Red Sea, sinking three ships and killing 10 militants, according to accounts by American, Maersk, and Houthi officials on Sunday.
The naval battle occurred around 0330 GMT on Sunday as the attackers sought to board the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou, Maersk and US Central Command (CENTCOM) said. Helicopters from the USS Eisenhower and USS Gravely joined the ship's security team in repelling the attackers after receiving a distress call, CENTCOM said.
Maersk said it was pausing all sailing through the Red Sea for 48 hours after the attack.
Fresh Israeli strikes in central Gaza kill at least 35
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes in central Gaza killed at least 35 people Sunday, hospital officials said, as fighting raged across the tiny enclave a day after Israel’s prime minister said the war will continue for “many more months,” resisting international calls for a cease-fire.
The military said Israeli forces were operating in Gaza’s second-largest city, Khan Younis, and residents reported strikes in the central region, the latest focus of the nearly three-month air-and-ground war that has raised fears of a regional conflagration.
The US military said its forces shot and killed several Iran-backed Houthi rebels when they tried to attack a cargo ship in the Red Sea, an escalation in a maritime conflict linked to the war. And an Israeli Cabinet minister suggested encouraging Gaza’s population to emigrate, remarks that could worsen tensions with Egypt and other friendly Arab states.
Five new UNSC members begin two-year terms
Five newly-elected members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) have started two-year terms on the body, which is made up of five permanent and 10 rotating members.
The new members are:
Algeria
Guyana
Sierra Leone
Slovenia
South Korea
The outgoing members of the council include the United Arab Emirates, which put forward a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza in December that the US vetoed.
In a post on X, Palestine’s mission to the UN congratulated the UAE for “representing the Arab world” and “advancing the cause of Palestine” during its term.
We congratulate the #UAE for concluding their #SC term & for representing the #Arab world & Arab causes during one of the most challenging times for peace & security all while advancing the cause of #Palestine @UAEMissionToUN #Gaza @pmofa @UAEUNSpox @UN https://t.co/AHT2HEiF0S
— State of Palestine (@Palestine_UN) December 31, 2023
US must repudiate Israeli minister’s calls for ‘ethnic cleansing of Gaza’: CAIR
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has said the Biden administration must repudiate remarks made by Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on the removal of Palestinians from Gaza.
Earlier we reported that Smotrich told Israeli Army Radio “let’s make the desert bloom” as he discussed two million Palestinians “emigrating” from Gaza.
“If there are 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs in Gaza and not two million Arabs, the entire discussion on the day after will be totally different,” Smotrich said.
The US-based advocacy organisation CAIR described Smotrich’s remarks as the “latest open call for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.”
“It has always been the Israeli government’s plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza. Smotrich just made it official,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad in a statement.
“The Biden’s administration failure to explicitly condemn such genocidal rhetoric has emboldened Israeli leaders to escalate their genocidal words into genocidal actions,” Awad added.
Israeli overnight raids across West Bank
Israeli forces are raiding many areas across the occupied West Bank tonight.
There are raids reported in several places including:
Al Bireh City, south of Qalqilya
Biet Iybia, west of Nablus City
Beit Ummar north of Hebron, targeting the neighbourhood adjacent to the Kermi Tsur settlement
Barta’ah in Jenin
Settlers handcuff and blindfold shepherd near Hebron: WAFA
Israeli settlers handcuffed and blindfolded two men in the Masafer Yatta area, south of Hebron, in the southern occupied West Bank, the Palestinian news agency WAFA is reporting, citing a local official.
Nidal Yunis, the head of the Masafer Yatta village council said that the settlers were dressed in army clothing and attacked one of the men – Mahmoud Issa Mohammed – while he was herding his sheep.
The settlers then led Mohammed and one other man to a place where they were detained and interrogated, said Yunis according to WAFA.
Another man – Mohammed Al-Jabareen – was reportedly forced to tear down the metal roof of his home in Shaab al-Batam, east of Yatta, before Israelis demolished it.
Israeli settlers also chased Palestinian shepherds grazing their sheep in Wadi al-Jawaya and Khallet al-Adra areas, and attacked sheep in the Khirbet Touba area, WAFA added.
Yunis said that the attacks were part of a pattern of escalating settler violence and expansion, including demolitions, detentions and damage to water wells, with communities in Masafer Yatta forming guard committees to try to protect themselves.
In pictures: New Year’s Eve protests for Palestine around the world
People have marked New Year’s Eve with protests for peace in Palestine.
In Lahore, Pakistan, people took to the streets on rollerblades and motorbikes, waving Palestinian flags.
In Istanbul, Turkey, demonstrators gathered outside the US consulate.
In Tahrir Square, Baghdad, a Christmas tree decorated with items resembling children wrapped in shrouds was displayed in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
People wearing roller blades and on bikes wave Palestinian flags
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched to the US consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Sunday, December 31
Iraqis walk by a Christmas tree decorated with items resembling children wrapped in shrouds in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, at Tahrir Square in Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday, December 31
Biden recognises ‘murderous images doing him damage’: Analyst
As Biden looks to the November 2024 election, he “recognises that the most murderous images” from Gaza “are doing him damage”, says American author and political scientist Norman Finkelstein, speaking to Al Jazeera from New York.
“Biden is concerned not about ending the Israeli genocide, but that it doesn’t look so bad in the media,” Finkelstein said, noting that US voters aged 18 to 34 mostly oppose the war.
But, Finkelstein says, that while there are reports that “Israel will agree to Biden’s demand that certain aspects of the genocide will be reduced”, this may “not have a major impact on the essence of the Israeli assault on the people of Gaza”.
Gazans 'exhausted' as Israel's Netanyahu says war will last 'many months'
GAZA (AFP) - Fighting raged across Gaza, where displaced Palestinians said they were "exhausted" with no end in sight to the war between the besieged territory's Hamas rulers and Israel, now in its 13th week.
Smoke billowed over the Gaza Strip's southern city of Khan Younis, the focus of recent fighting in the grinding war, which was triggered by Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct 7.
Further south, the border city of Rafah near Egypt was teeming with Gazans seeking safety from Israel's relentless bombardment in its fight against Palestinian militants.
Israelis and Palestinians end dark year, with no end in sight to war
GAZA STRIP (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Israeli strikes pounded Gaza on Sunday as both sides near the end of a dark year and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the war sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack will last for "many months".
At least 48 Palestinians were killed in overnight bombing in Gaza City, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said, with many still buried under the rubble.
"After the explosion we arrived at the scene of the strike and saw martyrs everywhere," said one resident after a building was hit. "Children are still missing, we can't find them."
