Live blog: Gaza death toll soars to 45,227 as Israel escalates its assault

Saturday, December 21, 2024

1111 GMT — At least 45,227 Palestinians have been killed and 107,573 wounded in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since October 7, 2023, the Gaza Health Ministry has said.

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1036 GMT — Israel leaves Palestinian bodies for stray dogs: Gaza Civil Defense

Gaza’s Civil Defense reported that Israeli forces killing Palestinians and leaving their bodies in the streets where stray dogs feed on them is a clear violation of international law.

In a statement, the Civil Defense explained that Israeli forces have repeatedly targeted rescue teams and ambulances, specifically when they attempt to approach the bodies of those killed.

It added that it had found several Palestinian bodies that had been reduced to skeletons.

In other instances, it described seeing stray dogs feeding on the bodies in several neighbourhoods, including Zeitoun, Shujaiya, Tel al-Hawa, the Jabalia area, Tal al-Zaatar, Beit Hanoun, and parts of the eastern areas of Khan Younis and Rafah.

0923 GMT — Israel continues to kill forcibly displaced Palestinians in Gaza

Five Palestinians were killed and several others wounded in Israeli air strikes targeting civilian gatherings in western Gaza City and eastern Rafah in southern Gaza.

“Four Palestinians were killed, and others were wounded in an Israeli drone strike on a group of civilians in Al-Shati Camp west of Gaza City,” a medical source told Anadolu.

In a separate incident, Gaza’s Civil Defense said their teams recovered “the body of a Palestinian targeted by an Israeli drone in the Khirbat al-Adas area, northeastern Rafah."

0522 GMT — Houthis confirm targeting central Israel with ballistic missile

Yemen's Houthis have said they had hit a "military target" in central Israel's Jaffa area with a ballistic missile.

2300 GMT — Israeli air strike levels Gaza home, killing 10, mostly children

At least 10 Palestinians, including seven children, were killed and another eight wounded in an Israeli air strike on a home in northern Gaza as Tel Aviv's genocidal war on the besieged coastal enclave continues unabated.

The Palestinian Civil Defense said in a statement that seven of the 10 victims killed in the Israeli attack on Friday evening were children.

A medical source in the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City told Anadolu that the bodies of 10 people and eight others who received injuries were brought to the hospital after the Israeli airstrike on the home in the Jabalia Nazla neighbourhood.

According to witnesses, an Israeli warplane struck the "Khilla" family's home, destroying it and killing and wounding those inside.

2214 GMT — More Israeli violations of Israel-Lebanon cease-fire

The Israeli army has committed at least three more violations to a cease-fire that took effect last month to end the year-long fighting between the Israeli army and Hezbollah.

The official Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) said the Israeli army blew up several homes in the neighbourhood of Naqoura town in southern Lebanon on Friday.

It added that Israeli forces opened gun machines toward the valleys located between the Qabrikha area and near the town of Al-Ghandourieh in southern Lebanon.

The Lebanese broadcaster reported more explosive operations to several houses and properties in Yaroun town of the southern Bint Jbeil district.

2130 GMT — Deutsche Welle insiders accuse outlet of pro-Israel bias: report

Senior figures in the newsroom at Germany's international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, are fostering a climate of fear for journalists covering Israel's war on the Gaza, according to a report.

Al Jazeera said 13 staffers, freelancers, and a former long-term correspondent have exposed the network.

They accuse Deutsche Welle of having a pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian bias.

They claim to have overheard colleagues making Islamophobic and dehumanising remarks about Palestinians and protesters in the Berlin office, without facing consequences.

2100 GMT — University of California resolves Gaza discrimination complaints

US Department of Education said it has reached an agreement with the University of California resolving complaints from Muslim and Jewish students of discrimination and harassment during protests last spring over the war in Gaza.

The department’s Office for Civil Rights said it investigated nine complaints against University of California schools in Los Angeles (UCLA), Santa Barbara, San Diego, Davis and Santa Cruz.

For our live updates from Friday, December 20, 2024, click here.