Live blog: France says Israel has no right to dictate Gaza's destiny

Friday, January 5, 2024

2127 GMT — The French foreign minister has said that "it's not up to Israel to determine the future of Gaza, which is a Palestinian land" and noted Paris' support for two-state solution to Middle East's decades-old dispute arising out of Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands.

Catherine Colonna made the comments to CNN and rejected the suggestion from Israeli extremist ministers that the expulsion of Palestinians outside of besieged Gaza is a possibility.

Those calls are "irresponsible" and "bring us away from a solution," said Colonna as she noted the suggestions are also against the long-term interests of Israel.

"We need to return to the principle of international law and respect it," said Colonna.

She noted France's support for a two-state solution, which is "the only viable option," and underlined that "Gaza and the West Bank must together be part of the future Palestinian state."

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2112 GMT — Illegal Jewish settlements in occupied West Bank increasing: watchdog

Illegal Jewish settlers have quietly established an unprecedented number of unauthorised outposts in the occupied West Bank since the start of Israel's war on besieged Gaza, according to a new report from Peace Now, an Israeli watchdog.

The report found that illegal settlers have built nine illegal settlement outposts since the start of the war.

The group estimates it's the largest number of settlements built over a three-month time frame since outposts began to be established in the 1990s.

Most of the new outposts are primitive. Most consist of only a few tents and an Israeli flag, the report said.

But many such outposts have evolved into more permanent developments over the years, often with tacit government support.

The report said the outposts sit in parts of the occupied West Bank that are under full Israeli control according to interim peace accords signed in the 1990s.

The international community considers all Jewish settlements illegal.

"The three months of war in Gaza are being exploited by settlers to establish facts on the ground," the report said.

2048 GMT — Families of Israeli captives in Gaza arrive in Qatar

A group of family members of Israeli captives held in besieged Gaza have arrived in Qatar in an attempt to push for a new swap deal between Israel and Hamas.

Qatar is the main mediator between Israel and Hamas, which, alongside Egypt and the US, reached a one-week humanitarian pause in fighting in Gaza that included an exchange deal.

According to Israeli Channel 12, the group consists of members of six captives and will meet officials involved in the mediation efforts.

The channel reported that the delegation, for the first time in Qatar, will meet with Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and US Ambassador to the Gulf nation, Timmy Davis.

2035 GMT — Germany warns against occupation, expulsions in Gaza

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has voiced concern over the deteriorating situation in besieged Gaza, saying there should be no occupation and expulsions.

"There should be no occupation of the Gaza Strip, no expulsions and no reduction in the size of the territory," Baerbock told a press conference in Berlin.

Germany has so far not called for a ceasefire in Gaza.

1806 GMT — 'Gaza has become a place of death and despair' — UN relief chief

The UN’s relief chief has warned that besieged Gaza has become "uninhabitable" since the October 7 attacks and called for an immediate end to the war.

"Three months since the horrific 7 October attacks, Gaza has become a place of death and despair," Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said in a statement.

He warned that a public health disaster is unfolding and that famine is around the corner.

"Gaza has simply become uninhabitable. Its people are witnessing daily threats to their very existence – while the world watches on," he stressed.

The UN will continue to demand an immediate end to the war, not just for the people of Gaza and its threatened neighbours, "but for the generations to come who will never forget these 90 days of hell and of assaults on the most basic precepts of humanity," he said.

1833 GMT — Israeli residents in Berlin rally for ceasefire

The MSF on Friday shared a witness account of its project coordinator Jacob Burns, who entered southern Gaza on Dec. 17 to see the horrific situation for Palestinians on the ground.

"Gaza is gone basically, there’s nothing left. And it's difficult for them to see a life here again, which is very, very sad," Burns, who has worked in Gaza before, said in his voice notes, now shared by the MSF on X.

"It was still a massive shock to cross at Rafah and immediately find ourselves in encircled by people looking in the cars to see if we were bringing food or water, finding the streets of Rafah just absolutely full of people building shelters," he added.

Burns mentioned how the condition is difficult for people who are trying to survive in "sort of shelters are fortune made out of this thin, most transparent plastic sheeting."

He said hospitals are "chaotic" and "more like a camp... the place is just filled with people milling around trying to sleep, trying to find a corner to make their own, trying to find something to eat, to drink."

"When people are coming in, they're literally kneeling in the blood on the floor, to try to save the life of the person putting in a chest tube, even incubating on the floor, which is just really, really extreme," the MSF staffer said.

1715 GMT — French, Jordanian airforces drop medical aid to Gaza

1440 GMT — Hezbollah conducted 670 operations against Israel in last 3 months: Nasrallah

The Hezbollah leader said that the Lebanese group carried out 670 operations against Israel over the past three months.

"What is happening on the Lebanese-Israeli border is unprecedented since 1948," Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

“The enemy (Israel) does not acknowledge either fatalities or injuries, and this is part of its policy of general secrecy regarding its losses since Oct. 8,” he added.

1416 GMT — Israeli far-right ministers criticise committee investigating Oct. 7 attacks

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, both known for their far-right political views and settler backgrounds, criticised a committee formed by Israeli army chief to investigate the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas.

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation said earlier Friday that the investigation committee formed by Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and headed by former Defense Minister and former Chief of General Staff Shaul Mofaz also includes Reserve Maj. Gen. Yoav Har-Even and Reserve Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeevi-Farkash.

"The investigation should also include the issue of the historical mistake of the deportation, and certainly not appoint its architects to examine the failure that is a result of their actions," Ben Gvir said.

"These are people whose actions need to be investigated. These should not be the investigators,” Ben Gvir added.

For his part, Smotrich said: “My position: Operative investigations designed to draw lessons relevant to the continuation of the war must be done during the war, all the rest after the war. As far as I understand, this is also the position of the Chief of Staff.”

1400 GMT — Northern Israel residents first to pay price of war — Hezbollah

Hezbollah has declared that residents of northern Israel, including settlers, will be first to pay the price of a war.

Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech that all of Lebanon would be exposed if the group did not react to the assassination of deputy Hamas chief Saleh al Arouri in Beirut.

Nasrallah added that its current operations on the southern borders opened a "historic opportunity" for Lebanon to liberate its land occupied by Israel and that the Islamic Resistance in Iraq also has a "historic opportunity" to get rid of the US presence in that country.

1323 GMT — 15 Israeli soldiers injured in past 24 hours in Gaza battles

At least 15 Israeli soldiers were injured in the past 24 hours during ground battles in Gaza, the army said.

The number of wounded officers and soldiers since the beginning of the war on Oct. 7 has risen to 2,324, according to the Israeli army.

These numbers do not include soldiers who are routinely evacuated and those who arrive at the emergency room but are not transferred to the hospital, the army said in a statement.

1248 GMT — Israel imposes restrictions on Al Aqsa Mosque worshippers

The Israeli police imposed strict restrictions on the entry of worshipers to Al Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem to perform Friday prayers.

An official in the Islamic Waqf (Endowments) Department in Jerusalem told Anadolu that only 15,000 people were able to perform Friday prayers in the mosque compared to over 50,000 in a regular Friday prayer.

The official, who preferred not to disclose his name, added: “The prayer halls and courtyards of the mosque were almost empty of worshipers due to Israeli restrictions.”

Witnesses told Anadolu that the Israeli police only allowed elderly people to enter the mosque to perform prayers.

They added that the police attacked worshipers at the Asbat Gate and the Sahira Gate after preventing them from reaching Al Aqsa Mosque.

Israeli police were deployed throughout occupied East Jerusalem, setting up barriers at the entrances to the Old City and at the external gates of Al Aqsa Mosque.

Israeli measures forced hundreds of worshipers to perform prayers in the streets.

1211 GMT — Israel provides conflicting figures for Palestinians arrested in West Bank

The Israeli army announced that it had arrested 2,600 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the beginning of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, with an additional five detained in various parts of the larger of the two Palestinian territories on Thursday night.

However, the latest Israeli army figures are disputed by two Palestinian rights organisations, which recorded 5,630 arrests since Oct. 7 as of Thursday.

The Israeli army said in a statement posted on X, "Since the beginning of the war, approximately 2,600 wanted persons have been arrested throughout the Judea and Samaria Division and the Bekaa and Valleys Division."

1203 GMT — 162 Palestinians killed, 296 injured in past 24 hours in Gaza

At least 162 Palestinians have been killed and 296 others injured in the last 24 hours as the Israeli forces continued their onslaught on the besieged Gaza, the Health Ministry in the blockaded enclave said.

"The Israeli occupation (forces) committed 15 massacres against families in Gaza, resulting in 162 casualties and 296 injuries during the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement.

1155 GMT — Israeli opposition leader slams quarrelling ministers, urging them to resign

The Israeli opposition leader condemned the fighting within the Cabinet concerning the investigation into the events of Oct. 7, calling it a disgrace and urging the ministers to resign.

Yair Lapid's remarks came after a heated verbal brawl during a Cabinet meeting to discuss security and political affairs on Thursday evening, the Israel Broadcasting Authority reported.

"The leaks from the Cabinet last night constitute a disgrace and provide further evidence of the peril posed by this government," Lapid posted on X.

He added: "Israel must replace the government and its leadership; these people are unworthy of the sacrifices and valour exhibited by the men and women of the Israeli armed forces. They are incapable of steering strategic decisions and, as such, should tender their immediate resignations."

1134 GMT — Palestinian death toll in Gaza tops 22,600 — ministry

The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza has climbed to 22,600, while 57,910 others are injured, said the Health Ministry in Gaza.

0653 GMT — EU's Borrell visits Lebanon amid conflict with Israel

EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell will be in Lebanon from Jan. 5 to Jan. 7 to discuss the situation at the Israeli-Lebanese border and the importance of avoiding regional escalation, the EU has said in a statement.

"(Borrell) will re-emphasise the need to advance diplomatic efforts with regional leaders", the statement said.

0425 GMT — Israeli forces kill Palestinian child in occupied West Bank

Israeli forces killed one Palestinian child and injured seven others during a raid in the town of Beit Rima northwest of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

A high school student, 17-year-old Aseed Tariq Anis Al-Rimawi, was shot in the chest with a live bullet during the raid, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa has said, citing health sources. He died after sustaining the wound.

Seven Palestinians injured in the raid were transferred to Salfit Governmental Hospital in the West Bank.

At least two Palestinians were injured with live bullets during an Israeli raid on the Balata Refugee Camp in the West Bank city of Nablus.

0035 GMT — UAE condemns ethnic cleansing calls in Gaza by Israeli ministers

The United Arab Emirates [UAE] has condemned Israeli ministers' calls for the mass expulsion and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza and demanded an end to Israeli war in the besieged enclave.

"The United Arab Emirates strongly condemns the extremist statements of the Israeli Ministers of Finance and National Security calling for the displacement of Palestinians outside Gaza, reoccupation of the [Gaza] Strip, and the construction of settlements in it," said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, referring to extremist Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

It emphasised "the UAE's categorical rejection of these offensive statements and all practices and procedures carried out in contravention of resolutions on international legitimacy, which threaten further escalation and instability in the region."

The UAE called for an "urgent humanitarian ceasefire" to end the bloodshed and to facilitate the immediate, safe, sustainable and unhindered delivery of relief and humanitarian aid.

The UAE statement urged the international community to intensify efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire "and to advance all efforts to achieve a comprehensive and just peace while preventing a regional spill-over that risks further violence, tension and instability."

2336 GMT — Pro-Palestine protesters stage rally in Berlin under heavy rain

A group of pro-Palestine protesters have staged a rally in the German capital Berlin to protest Israel's ongoing aggression in Gaza, which has killed more than 22,400 Palestinians and left the coastal enclave in ruins.

Despite heavy rain, the protesters gathered outside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's office to express solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Carrying Palestinian flags, the crowd chanted slogans such as "Free Palestine" and "Stop the genocide."

Speeches at the demonstration demanded an end to the Israeli attacks and called on the international community to make an effort in this regard.

2325 GMT — Gaza hospital received 155 dead, 357 wounded after December attacks

Gaza's Al Aqsa Hospital received 155 dead and 357 wounded following Israeli attacks on two refugee camps in December, the medical charity Doctors Without Borders [MSF] has said, reiterating its call for a ceasefire.

"From the hospital, we can hear the bombing in the neighbourhoods northeast of Al Aqsa Hospital in Gaza’s Middle Area, near the Al Bureij and Al Maghazi refugee camps," it quoted Carolina Lopez, MSF emergency coordinator in the besieged enclave, as saying on its X account.

"No one and nowhere is safe in Gaza," the MSF said.

"We need a sustained #ceasefire now to prevent more deaths and injuries, to ensure the delivery of unhindered aid, and a massive scale-up of health care to meet Gazans' medical needs," it added.

For our live updates from Thursday, January 4, click here.