Live blog: UN calls for urgent aid delivery to Gaza as winter sets in

Friday, December 6, 2024

1847 GMT — The UN has called for the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestine's Gaza, emphasising the dire conditions of over half a million Palestinians as winter approaches.

"As winter sets in, some 545,000 people in Gaza are living in damaged buildings and makeshift shelters, underscoring the urgency of ensuring that thousands of tarpaulins and repair materials can be safely brought into the enclave without delay," said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric during a news conference.

Citing the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Dujarric further reported that 50 of its trucks carrying critical supplies, which include blankets, generators, medicines, and surgical equipment, have been stuck at the Egyptian border for weeks.

More updates👇

1569 GMT — Death toll in fresh Israeli strikes on Gaza rises to six

Six Palestinians have been killed and three others wounded in the latest Israeli air strikes targeting civilians across Gaza which has been facing over a year of continuous genocide.

Medical sources told Anadolu that the strike on Maghazi refugee camp resulted in two fatalities and three injuries. The wounded were transported to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza for treatment. The attack targeted a gathering of civilians in the refugee camp, witnesses told Anadolu.

A medical source told Anadolu that three Palestinians were killed and four others injured in another Israeli airstrike on the Zeitoun neighbourhood in northeastern Gaza.

A Palestinian man was killed in an Israeli air strike on the Khirbat al-Adas area, northeastern Rafah city, in southern Gaza.

1538 GMT — Germany calls Amnesty report on Israel 'very serious'

Germany has said it was looking into the latest report by Amnesty International which accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.


Berlin takes the allegations in the report "very seriously and are in the process of analyzing them," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sebastian Fischer told the press in Berlin.

"We have been demanding for a long time that Israel acts within the framework of international humanitarian law in its attacks on the civilian population and the civilian infrastructure," he added.

1509 GMT — Fresh Israeli air strike kills two, wounds three in central Gaza

Two Palestinians have been killed and three others wounded in an Israeli air strike targeting a group of civilians in central Gaza, an area that has been facing over a year of continuous genocide.

Medical sources told Anadolu that the strike on Maghazi refugee camp resulted in two fatalities and three injuries. The wounded were transported to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza for treatment. The attack targeted a gathering of civilians in the refugee camp, witnesses told Anadolu.

1422 GMT — Israel urges Elon Musk to revive Gaza prisoner swap deal talks

Israel's President Isaac Herzog spoke to Elon Musk this week in a bid to enlist the world’s richest man to help revive the stalled negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages, the Financial Times reported.

1419 GMT — Negotiations on Gaza ceasefire have resumed: Hamas

A Hamas official has said international mediators have resumed negotiations with the resistance group and Israel over a ceasefire in Palestine's Gaza.

The official expressed the hope that a deal to end the 14-month Israeli war is within reach.

1336 GMT — Death toll from Israeli strikes near northern Gaza hospital rises to 29

Gaza's civil defence agency said 29 people have been killed in Israeli strikes near the Kamal Adwan hospital in the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahia, where Israel is pressing a major offensive.

"At least 29 people were killed and dozens were wounded in the northern Gaza Strip since dawn on Friday as a result of the continuing Israeli shelling around Kamal Adwan hospital," said civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal.

1159 GMT — Hamas condemns Israel's hospital bombardment in Gaza

Hamas has condemned an Israeli air strike on a residential neighbourhood near Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, which killed at least 24 Palestinians and wounded dozens more.

In a statement, Hamas slammed the Israeli army for its subsequent incursion into the hospital, where patients and medical staff were forcibly evacuated and several people were detained.

The resistance group described the ongoing attacks as "systematic destruction targeting Gaza's essential infrastructure, particularly hospitals, as part of a broader campaign of genocide."

1156 GMT — Hamas condemns Israel for seizing land in occupied West Bank

Hamas on Friday condemned the Israeli seizure of 24,000 dunams (5,930 acres) of land in the occupied West Bank, calling it part of the Israeli government's ongoing efforts to assert full control over the West Bank and block the establishment of a Palestinian state.

In a statement, Hamas said: "This decision by (Finance Minister Bezalel) Smotrich confirms the continuation of his government's fascist agenda to take control of the entire West Bank, thereby blocking the establishment of a Palestinian state."

"This is a clear sign of Israel’s colonial intentions and denial of the Palestinian people's national rights," Hamas added.

1139 GMT — Israeli forces raid Gaza hospital, expel staff, displaced people: director

Israeli forces stormed into Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia in north Gaza overnight on Friday and expelled some staff and displaced people before withdrawing, and bodies of people killed by air strikes littered the streets outside, its director has said.

The attack had begun with a series of air strikes on the western and northern sides of Kamal Adwan accompanied by intensive shooting, hospital director Hussam Abu Safiya said, speaking via an online chatroom monitored by Reuters.

He said troops who swept into the hospital ordered all staff, patients and displaced people into its courtyard before allowing them hours later to return inside, though some staff including its Indonesian emergency surgery team and some displaced were ordered to leave the premises for good.

1100 GMT — Death toll in Israel's war on Gaza tops 44,610

The Health Ministry in Palestine's Gaza has said that at least 44,612 people have been killed in nearly 14 months of the Israeli war in the Palestinian enclave.

The toll includes 32 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 105,834 people have been wounded in Gaza since Israel's invasion after the Hamas cross-border attack on October 7, 2023.

1049 GMT — Netanyahu is not interested in truce: Israel's former defence chief

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not interested in a comprehensive ceasefire agreement to end the war in Palestine's Gaza, a former Israeli defence minister has said.

"The entire defence establishment agrees that it is time to reach a comprehensive deal to end the Gaza war, but Netanyahu is not interested in that," Gadi Eisenkot said in an interview with the Israeli newspaper Maariv.

"There is nothing to wait for. After all, the achievements and conditions in Gaza are far better than those in Lebanon, and the threat from Gaza is significantly less than that from Lebanon. Yet, a cease-fire was agreed upon in Lebanon, but not in Gaza," he added.

1024 GMT — Death toll climbs to 24 in Israeli strikes on Palestinian residential areas

At least 24 Palestinians, including four medics, were killed when the Israeli army targeted homes in Gaza, medical sources and officials said.

Sources told Anadolu Agency that bodies of 18 Palestinians, who were killed in Israeli airstrikes targeting their homes in northern Gaza, were brought to the Kamal Adwan Hospital.

The Health Ministry separately confirmed the death of a Palestinian teenager in an Israeli drone strike that targeted the facility.

0803 GMT — Israel says struck Hezbollah 'smuggling routes' on Syria-Lebanon border

Israel's military said it carried out strikes overnight targeting Hezbollah "weapon-smuggling routes" on the Syria-Lebanon border, just over a week into a fragile ceasefire in its war with the Lebanese group.

Official media in both Lebanon and Syria reported that the air raid put the Al-Arida border crossing — already hit during the Israel-Hezbollah war — out of service.

Lebanon's official National News Agency said the strike "led to damage to infrastructure" and cut off the border road "again after the bridge was repaired" following a previous attack.

Israel has struck border crossings between Syria and Lebanon numerous times, saying it aims to prevent weapons smuggling from Syria into Lebanon.

0758 GMT — Israel bombs residential areas in northern Gaza, killing 18

Medical sources told Anadolu that the bodies of 18 Palestinians, who were killed in Israeli air strikes targeting their homes in northern Gaza, were brought to Kamal Adwan Hospital.

The situation inside the hospital and in its vicinity is catastrophic, says the director of the hospital, Hussam Abu Safiya, noting that there are a large number of Palestinians killed and wounded, and no surgeons are left.

"Four medical staff members, who are general practitioners, have been martyred."

"The only medical team that was performing surgeries was the Indonesian medical delegation, which was forced to leave to the checkpoint. Medical supplies are nearly depleted, and there are hundreds of casualties," he added.

0731 GMT — Israeli attacks kill dozens of Palestinians across Gaza

At least 23 Palestinians were killed when the Israeli army targeted homes in northern and southern Gaza.

Separately, in southern Gaza, three Palestinians were killed, and others wounded in an air strike targeting civilians in Khirbet Al-Adas near Gaza City.

0617 GMT — Israeli army surrounds Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza

The Israeli army encircled Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, advancing under heavy fire and imposing a siege from all directions, sources and witnesses said.

Military vehicles approached the hospital's vicinity, supported by intense gunfire and artillery shelling, effectively isolating the facility.

Intense gunfire and the sound of Israeli artillery shells were heard in the area around the facility.

Israel launched a large-scale ground operation in northern Gaza since October 5 to "prevent" the Palestinian resistance group Hamas from regrouping.

0136 GMT — EU organises medical evacuation of 8 patients from Gaza to Europe

Eight patients accompanied by 25 relatives have been transferred from Gaza to hospitals in Belgium, Romania and Spain, the European commissioner for equality, preparedness and crisis management said.

"The humanitarian tragedy continues in Gaza. The war has led to a near complete shutdown of the medical system," Hadja Lahbib wrote on X.

She noted that the transfer of the patients and relatives was made via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

0046 GMT — Israel confiscates 5,930 acres of land in occupied West Bank: Media

Israel announced the confiscation of 24,000 dunams (5,930 acres) of land in the occupied West Bank, declaring it "state land" with the aim of expanding several settlements in the area.

According to Israel’s Channel 14, Israeli authorities led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the move in what is described as one of the largest land appropriations in decades.

The broadcaster noted that the decision covers nearly half of the land declared as state land since the Oslo Accords in 1993.

The channel highlighted that the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim east of Jerusalem would be expanded by approximately 2,600 dunams (642 acres) to the south to create continuity with the settlement of Kedar.

0031 GMT — Hamas targets 50 Israeli soldiers in Gaza City

The Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian group Hamas, announced that they targeted 50 Israeli soldiers with an anti-personnel explosive device in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza City.

Al-Qassam said in a statement that its fighters "managed to target an Israeli foot patrol consisting of 50 soldiers with an anti-personnel explosive device near Al-Falah Mosque," without providing further details.

2300 GMT — Israel kills 25 people in Gaza, breaches Lebanon truce 137 times

Israel has carried out new strikes in Gaza, killing at least 25 Palestinians and wounding many others, medical sources told Anadolu Agency.

Israeli fighter jets struck a house next to Kamal Adwan Hospital in the town of Beit Lahia, leaving seven people dead and five others wounded, sources said.

Israel killed another 13 people and wounded eight in another strike targeting a home in the same town, AA reported.

In southern Gaza, Israeli strike on Rafah killed two Palestinians. Medics said three more people were killed in an air strike targeting a home in the Shejaiya neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City.

An Israeli airstrike targeted a house belonging to the Al-Muqid family on a street in the Beit Lahia project, where displaced Palestinians of the Shalfooh family were staying, resulting in the deaths and disappearances of 15 Palestinians, eyewitnesses told AA.

The witnesses added that the Israeli air strike destroyed the house and caused damage to surrounding homes.

2215 GMT — Israel wounds 5, breaches Lebanon truce 137 times

Israeli strike has wounded five people in the town of Aitaroun in Lebanon's Nabatieh Governorate, as Israeli forces continue to violate the November 27 ceasefire agreement signed with Beirut last week.

The Israeli army carried its onslaught on the town of Aitaroun in the Bint Jbeil district, Lebanon's National News Agency reported, without specifying the severity of the injuries.

According to an Anadolu Agency tally based on announcements from Lebanon's official news agency, the Israeli army violated the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon eight times on Thursday, bringing the total number of breaches since the deal went into effect eight days ago to 137.

2200 GMT — Israel frees 34 tortured Palestinians

Israel has released 34 Palestinian detainees from northern Gaza showing signs of torture as well as extreme weakness and exhaustion.

They were brought to the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza after being released via Israeli-occupied Karem Abu Salem crossing, a medical source told Anadolu Agency.

The source said the freed Palestinians appeared to be severely exhausted, weak and fatigued, with some showing signs of torture.

The source added the Palestinians were abducted by the Israeli military from various areas of northern Gaza, particularly from the town of Beit Lahia and the Jabalia camp, during Israel's ongoing genocidal campaign.

According to the Gaza officials, Israel has abducted and jailed more than 1,750 Palestinians from northern Gaza since October 5, 2024, part of some 10,100 Palestinians incarcerated in Israeli jails and torture sites.

2000 GMT — Hezbollah vows to help rebuild homes destroyed by Israel

Hezbollah chief Naim Kassem has said in a televised speech on Friday that the Lebanese group would provide financial assistance to families whose homes were destroyed by Israel.

Seated against the backdrop of a banner reading "reconstruction campaign," Kassem announced that Hezbollah, with support from Iran, will provide financial aid to families whose homes were completely destroyed by Israeli military.

In his second speech since the ceasefire — breached by Israel 137 times — that ended the Israeli war on Lebanon on November 27, Kassem reiterated that the UN Resolution 1701 "is not a new agreement," adding that it stipulates that "Israel must withdraw from all Lebanese territories."

"The agreement is limited to the area south of the Litani River and nothing else," Kassem said.

For our live updates from Thursday, December 5, 2024, click here