Live blog: Gaza needs humanitarian ceasefire — UN chief

Friday, December 22, 2023

1817 GMT — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said a humanitarian ceasefire is needed in Gaza, even as efforts to call for such a ceasefire in the UN Security Council again fell short.

"I do believe that we need a humanitarian ceasefire … but of course, we are favourable to any pause that can lead to improvements in humanitarian aid and to the exchange of prisoners," Guterres told reporters.

His remarks came on the heels of the UN Security Council passing a resolution calling for "urgent steps" to immediately allow "safe, unhindered and expanded" humanitarian access to besieged Gaza, but lacking any call for a ceasefire, due to the US voting such language down.

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1815 GMT — Reporters Without Borders files second complaint with ICC on Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza

Paris-based NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it has filed a second complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) on seven Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza from October 22 to December 15.

In response to the continuing tragedy in Gaza, the RSF filed its latest complaint ... this one concerning "probable war crimes" by Israeli forces, it said in a statement.

The "RSF has urged the ICC prosecutor (Karim Khan) to investigate all of the deaths of Palestinian journalists killed by the Israeli military since 7 October, currently totalling 66," it added.

1750 GMT — Israeli soldier killed, another seriously hurt in Hezbollah attack

The Israeli army said one of its soldiers was killed and another seriously injured by a rocket attack from the Hezbollah group in northern Israel.

In a statement, the Israeli army said the morning attack took place in the Shtula area. It identified the slain soldier as Sgt Amit Hod Ziv, 19, who served in the 188th Armoured Brigade's 71st Battalion.

The military, however, did not specify the number of soldiers killed or injured in clashes with Hezbollah since the beginning of the latest conflict in Gaza after the October 7 attack by Hamas.

1736 GMT — Israeli settlers vandalise Palestinian farms, olive trees in Nablus

Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farms and olive trees in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, Wafa news agency reported.

Local activist Fuad Hassan said the settlers ploughed more than 30 dunums (equivalent to 7.4 acres) in the village's Al Furn area. The settlers, protected by Israeli forces, also uprooted and seized dozens of olive trees, he added.

Estimates indicate that about 700,000 Israeli settlers are living in 164 settlements and 116 outposts in the occupied West Bank, adjacent to East Jerusalem. Under international law, all Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are considered illegal.

1712 GMT — UNSC passes resolution to boost Gaza humanitarian aid

The UN Security Council has passed a resolution calling for "urgent steps" to immediately allow "safe, unhindered, and expanded" humanitarian access to Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli war on the besieged enclave.

After several days of intense negotiations and nail-biting delays, the resolution submitted by the United Arab Emirates passed by a vote of 13-0, with the US and Russia — both permanent council members — abstaining.

The resolution demands the parties to the conflict allow and facilitate the use of all available routes to and throughout Gaza, including border crossings, to ensure humanitarian personnel and assistance reach the civilian population in need.

1550 GMT — Israeli army arrests Red Crescent workers in northern Gaza

After storming the ambulance centre of the Palestinian Red Crescent aid group in Jabalia, Gaza, the Israeli army arrested eight of its staffers, the group said in a statement, adding that the staff was moved to an unknown location.

The Israeli army also reportedly destroyed the Red Crescent ambulances and part of its headquarters in the northern city of Jabalia, about 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) north of Gaza City.

The statement added that the Israeli army assaulted 47 men who were inside its building before stripping them naked and arresting them.

1509 GMT — Israel has used 'biggest, most destructive' bombs in Gaza, report says

Since October 7, Israel has used one of its "biggest and most destructive" bombs in areas in Gaza which were designated as safe for civilians, according to a report by The New York Times.

The publication shared an analysis of visual evidence focusing on the use of 2,000-pound bombs in an area of southern Gaza, where Israel had ordered civilians to move for safety.

"While bombs of that size are used by several Western militaries, munitions experts say they are almost never dropped by US forces in densely populated areas anymore," the NYT said.

1457 GMT — 2/3 of Israelis support deal to release hostages in exchange for ceasefire: poll

Some two-thirds of Israelis, or 67%, support a new deal to release Israeli hostages from Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire in the besieged enclave, says a new public opinion poll.

Only 22% of Israelis opposed a deal to return the hostages in exchange for a ceasefire, while 11% had no view, said the results of the poll, published by Israeli daily Maariv.

The Lazar Institute poll, done on a random sample of 502 Israelis with an estimated error rate of 4.3 percent, also said that 73 percent of Israeli agree to a ceasefire only after a deal has been reached, and only 11 percent agree to a ceasefire while negotiating.

1432 GMT — China slams Israel for building settlements in occupied Palestinian territories

China slammed Israel for building settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and said Beijing opposes any unilateral change to Jerusalem's status and status quo shaped by history.

"We believe that the issue of Jerusalem's status should be settled through negotiations by parties concerned in accordance with relevant UN resolutions," Wang said.

"As Palestinian-Israeli tensions continue to escalate and the risk of spillover of the conflict in Gaza heightens, relevant parties need to be prudent and avoid any move that might lead to escalation or get the situation to spiral out of control," he added.

1421 GMT — Turkish FM, Jordanian counterpart discuss recent developments in Gaza

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi discussed recent developments in Gaza, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.

In a phone call, Fidan and Safadi exchanged views on a UN Security Council resolution on humanitarian aid to Gaza, said the sources.

Amid continued questions about the body's handling of international crises, the UN Security Council on Thursday postponed for the fourth time this week a vote on the resolution.

1358 GMT — New Israeli strikes kill dozens from single family in Gaza

Dozens of members of a single family were killed and injured in two Israeli air strikes on Thursday and Friday, targeting their homes in the town of Jabalia in northern Gaza.

Munir Al Bursh, the general director of the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza, told Anadolu that he was injured, and his daughter was killed. Additionally, several members of his Al Bursh family and the family of his brother were injured due to an Israeli airstrike that targeted his brother's house in Jabalia on Thursday evening.

In another air strike, Palestinian medical sources informed the Anadolu correspondent that 16 Palestinians were killed, and around 50 others injured, all belonging to the Al Bursh family. This was a result of an airstrike targeting a family home in Jabalia.

1335 GMT — Israel seeks to 'permanently alter' composition of Gaza's population: UN expert

A UN expert warned that Israel seeks to "permanently alter" the composition of Gaza's population with ever-expanding evacuation orders and widespread attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in the south of Gaza.

"Israel has reneged on promises of safety made to those who complied with its order to evacuate northern Gaza two months ago. Now, they have been forcibly displaced again, alongside the population of southern Gaza," Paula Gaviria Betancur, the special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, said in a statement.

"Where will the people of Gaza … go tomorrow?" Gaviria Betancur asked, saying that Israel's military operation in Gaza "aims to deport the majority of the civilian population en masse."

1150 GMT — Putin vows aid, urges halt to Gaza fighting in call with Abbas: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to continue to supply Gaza with humanitarian aid and urged a peaceful resolution to the Israeli war on Gaza.

"Russia will continue to supply the Gaza Strip with essential goods, including medicines and medical equipment," Putin told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a telephone call, the Kremlin said.

It added that Putin urged the "importance of a quick cessation of the bloodshed and the resumption of the political process."

1126 GMT — EU adopts $130M aid plan for Palestinian Authority

The European Commission said it had adopted a 118 million euros ($130 million) aid package to support the Palestinian Authority.

The commission said the aid would help pay salaries and pensions of civil servants in the occupied West Bank, social allowances for vulnerable families and the payment for medical referrals to occupied East Jerusalem hospitals.

The commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has drawn criticism for her unconditional support for Israel's brutal war on Gaza.

1100 GMT — Israel's war pushing Gaza toward famine: UN

Israel's war on Gaza is pushing the besieged Palestinian enclave towards famine, the United Nations warned ahead of an expected Security Council on a resolution to boost aid to the territory.

Separate diplomatic efforts were also under way for a fresh pause in the worst-ever Israeli onslaught in Gaza, which was triggered by an unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel in October.

With aid workers running out of words to describe conditions in Gaza, the UN Security Council has been locked all week in negotiations over how to phrase a resolution about the ongoing conflict.

1055 GMT — 170 container ships rerouted, 35 docked due to Houthi attacks in Red Sea

The American shipping company Flexport Inc said that nearly 170 ships have been diverted from the Bab el Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea and 35 ships have been halted, awaiting instructions from their operating companies.

According to a statement by the San Francisco-based company, about 170 container ships have been rerouted around Africa, with 35 other ships docked due to attacks in the Red Sea.

Concurrently, the Houthi group in Yemen persisted in its threats to target ships associated with Israel passing through the strait, located south of the Red Sea, in solidarity with the Palestinians in bombarded Gaza.

1020 GMT — Israel's military campaign in Gaza seen as among the most destructive in recent history, experts say

The Israeli military campaign in Gaza, experts say, now sits among the deadliest and most destructive in recent history. In just over two months, the offensive has wreaked more destruction than the razing of Syria's Aleppo between 2012 and 2016, Ukraine's Mariupol or, proportionally, the Allied bombing of Germany in World War II. It has killed more civilians than the US-led coalition did in its three-year campaign against Daesh.

The Israeli military has said little about what kinds of bombs and artillery it is using in Gaza. But from blast fragments found on-site and analyses of strike footage, experts are confident that the vast majority of bombs dropped on the besieged enclave are US-made.

They say the weapons include 2,000-pound (900-kilogramme) "bunker-busters" that have killed hundreds in densely populated areas.

0751 GMT — Rockets reportedly fired from Lebanon towards Israel

A barrage of rockets was launched towards northern Israel from Lebanon, according to Israeli media.

Initial reports suggest that at least 24 rockets may have been fired, according to Israeli Army Radio. As of now, there are no reported injuries or damage resulting from the rocket attacks.

Separately, unconfirmed reports are emerging of Israeli army strikes within Lebanon, Times of Israel reported. The Israeli army has not yet officially confirmed the strikes.

0746 GMT — Israeli forces detain eight medical staff in Gaza: Red Crescent

Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has said Israeli forces have released a number of their paramedics, volunteers and women who were arrested yesterday evening in the Jabalia Ambulance Center.

Some of them were "beaten and tortured," it said on X, adding that Israeli forces continue to detain eight medical staff.

"The occupation soldiers destroyed the central radio communication device and destroyed all ambulances present in the branch," PCRS said.

0631 GMT — Israeli troop death toll reaches 471

At least two more Israeli soldiers were killed in battles in Gaza, the army has said.

In a statement, the Israeli army revealed the identity of the two soldiers as Lt. Shai Ayeli, 21, from Ashkelon, and Mj Gen Tal Shua, 31, from Be'er Sheva.

It raised the Israeli army death toll in the ongoing conflict since October 7 to 471.

0509 GMT — Israel killed 20,057 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7

The Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza has soared to 20,057, the Health Ministry in the blockaded enclave said on Friday.

At least 53,320 others were injured in the Israeli attacks since October 7, the ministry added.

"At least 390 people have been killed and 734 others have been injured in the last 48 hours in which communications were disrupted in the Gaza Strip," it said in a statement.

0455 GMT — Israeli sharpshooter kill woman working in hospital

Israeli snipers killed a woman who was working in the Al Awda Hospital in northern Gaza, which has been under siege by the army in recent days, according to the government in the enclave.

Those in the hospital have been unable to access "water, food, and medicine" and were subjected to detention and torture, the Health Ministry in Gaza said in a statement.

0444 GMT — Israel pounds Palestinian refugee camps, killing many in Gaza

A considerable number of Palestinians were killed late Thursday in attacks by Israel on besieged Gaza, according to media reports.

Israeli forces bombed civilian areas, including the Jabalia Refugee Camp, Rafah and Khan Younis in Gaza from the air and the ground, said the Palestinian news agency, WAFA.

At least six victims were killed and others injured in attacks on Khan Younis. The bodies of the deceased and injured were transferred to Nasser Hospital. Meanwhile, casualties and injuries were reported in the bombing of houses of Palestinians in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in central Gaza, where at least nine victims, most of them children, were killed, and others injured in the attacks on the Jabalia Refugee Camp in northern Gaza.

0054 GMT — UNSC vote delayed again as Israel rains down bombs on Gaza

The United Nations Security Council has once again pushed back a vote on a much-delayed resolution on Israel's war on besieged Gaza, diplomatic sources said.

The postponement to Friday came even as the United States, which has opposed a number of proposals during the resolution's, said it was ready to support it in its current form.

The UNSC had scheduled the long-delayed vote on a new resolution to halt the fighting in some way, which would allow for an increase in humanitarian aid deliveries.

0110 GMT — 'Ready' to vote on Gaza resolution: US envoy

The UN Security Council is ready to vote on a Gaza humanitarian aid draft resolution, the US envoy to the UN has said.

"I just want to share with you that we have worked hard and diligently over the course of the past week with the Emiratis, with others, with Egypt, to come up with a resolution that we can support. And we do have that resolution now. We're ready to vote on it," Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters after a closed-door Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East.

She said it is a resolution that will bring humanitarian assistance to those in need.

2017 GMT — Hamas releases video of 3 Israeli captives 'killed by Israel'

Hamas's Al Qassam Brigades has released a video of three Israeli captives, saying they were killed by the Israeli army in besieged Gaza.

The video, posted on Telegram by Al Qassam, showed footage of the three captives, identified as Eliya Tolidano, Nek Birz, and Ron Sherman.

"Despite our efforts to preserve their lives, Netanyahu insists on killing them," Al Qassam said in the video. After displaying scenes of the three captives together, Al Qassam added, "All three were killed by the weapons of your army," without specifying the location of their killing.

2000 GMT — Israel kills fence crossing chief, three others in new attack

An Israeli strike in the southern besieged Gaza has killed the head of the Karem Abu Salem fence crossing and three others, Hamas government said.

Crossing director Bassem Ghaben was killed as Israeli planes targeted the infrastructure, the crossings authority and the Health Ministry in Gaza said.

Israel on Friday approved the temporary delivery of aid into Gaza via the crossing, opening a new route for supplies on top of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza after weeks of pressure.

2155 GMT — More than 20 countries join Red Sea coalition

More than 20 countries have joined the US-led coalition to protect Red Sea shipping from attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels, the Pentagon has said.

Houthis have repeatedly targeted vessels in the vital shipping lane with strikes in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is relentlessly attacking civilians.

"We've had over 20 nations now sign on to participate" in the coalition, Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder told journalists. Ryder said the Houthis are "attacking the economic wellbeing and prosperity of nations around the world," effectively becoming "bandits along the international highway that is the Red Sea."

2141 GMT — Canada to welcome citizens' extended families from Gaza

Canada will take in extended families of Canadians in besieged Gaza for up to three years, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced.

The move, which is due to take effect on January 9, will allow Canadians to reunite with spouses or common-law partners, children and grandchildren regardless of age, siblings and their immediate families, as well as parents and grandparents.

Miller said the aim of the policy change is "to get people safe" as the humanitarian crisis caused by Israeli relentless attacks has made Gaza "unlivable."

2023 GMT — Israeli army raids Ramallah, central West Bank: Witnesses

An Israeli military has invaded several neighbourhoods in the city of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank.

An Anadolu Agency correspondent quoted eyewitnesses as saying that "a force of about 30 military vehicles invaded several neighbourhoods in the city of Ramallah."

Witnesses said that the Israeli forces were "raiding homes and stores" without providing further details as of 1700 GMT.

1911 GMT — US says 'actively working' for UN resolution on Gaza

The United States is still working in hopes of a UN Security Council resolution on besieged Gaza, the White House said, after repeated delays over language opposed by Israel on aid monitoring.

"We're still actively working with our UN partners about the resolution and on the language itself," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

The deputy US envoy at the UN, Robert Wood, earlier said that the United States was not yet at a point where it could support a draft text proposed by the United Arab Emirates.

For our live updates from Thursday, December 21, click here.