Live blog: Israel said to be pumping seawater into Gaza tunnels

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

2100 GMT — Israel's military has begun pumping seawater into the tunnel network allegedly used by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas in Gaza, according to the Wall Street Journal.

WSJ, citing US officials briefed on Israeli military invasion, said the move to flood the tunnels with water from the Mediterranean Sea is part of a broader strategy employed by Israel to destroy the tunnels.

The effort is reportedly in its infancy stage.

The tunnel system extends for 300 miles and the use of thick blast doors is being assessed by the Israelis, according to US officials.

Initiating the flooding, a process expected to span several weeks, began concurrently with Israel's installation of two additional pumps to supplement the five pumps added in the previous month.

Preliminary tests were conducted last month, said the US officials.

The move, which was first announced by the newspaper earlier this month, has drawn criticism, with some saying it would create an environmental catastrophe and worsen the situation with fresh water in Gaza.

Several officials from the Biden administration have voiced concern and said using seawater might not be effective and could endanger Gaza's freshwater supply, according to the report.

More updates👇

1514 GMT — Palestine accuses Israel of deliberately starving Gaza residents

The Palestinian foreign minister has accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war against around 1 million people in Gaza and condemned the "international failure" to respect Palestinians' rights at a UN meeting in Geneva.

As we speak, at least 1 million Palestinians in Gaza, half of them children, are starving, not because of a natural disaster or because of lack of generous assistance waiting at the border," Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al Maliki told a UN event to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"They are starving because of Israel's deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war against the people it occupied," he said.

"Rather than insisting on respecting the Palestinian people's basic right to eat and drink water, we are living through this dystopian reality that excludes Palestinians from the basic, most basic rights afforded to all human beings," he said, describing it as an "utter international failure" to protect Palestinians.

1459 GMT — World Bank announces $20M in Gaza aid financing

The World Bank announced $20 million in new financing to provide emergency relief for people in Gaza, including $10 million for food vouchers and parcels.

The aid, which will reach an estimated 377,000 people, is part of a larger $35 million Gaza relief package, the Bank said in a statement.

An initial $15 million in emergency relief was already delivered, the statement said.

1448 GMT — Netanyahu: Israel, US differ about post-war Gaza rule

Israel enjoys US support for in its war on Gaza and recovering hostages held by Hamas fighters but the allies differ about what might follow the Gaza war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Reiterating his past refusal to countenance a return to Gaza rule of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas, Netanyahu said in a statement that Gaza "will be neither Hamas-stan nor 'Fatah-stan' "(Abbas' faction).

1444 GMT — Gaza death toll from Israeli attacks surpasses 18,400

The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza has mounted to 18,412, the Health Ministry in the enclave said.

Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al Qudra said that 50,100 other people were injured in the Israeli onslaught.

“Some 326,000 cases of infectious diseases were detected by health teams in various shelter centers,” Al Qudra told a press conference.

1432 GMT — Israeli interceptor missile falls on grounds of school in southern Lebanon

An Israeli interception missile fell on the grounds of a government school in the town of Yater in southern Lebanon, damaging a car belonging to its principal.

No casualties were reported, the Lebanese News Agency (NNA) said in a statement.

1232 GMT — France: 'Light must be shed' on Oct 13 strike on journalists in Lebanon

France said "all light" must be shed on the strike in southern Lebanon on October 13 that killed a Reuters journalist and injured six others, including two from AFP.

"All light must be shed on this tragedy," a French foreign ministry statement said, adding that international humanitarian law obliged warring parties to "protect civilians, and in particular journalists, who must be able to exercise their profession freely and in complete safety."

1226 GMT — Palestinians detained in occupied West Bank rises to 3,810

The Israeli army has detained 51 more Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, taking the tally to 3,810 since October 7, according to a local nongovernmental organization.

Most of the detainees were taken into custody in Jenin city, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement.

Separately, Israeli forces raided the town of Silwad east of Ramallah and questioned several residents before setting them free, according to an Anadolu reporter on the ground.

1214 GMT — Hezbollah strikes Israeli military site near Lebanese border

Lebanese group Hezbollah said that it had struck the Israeli outpost of Al Malkieh near the border with southern Lebanon.

A statement by the group said that the attack on the military site had resulted in “a direct hit.”

The Israeli army, for its part, said it responded with artillery shelling to the source of fire from Lebanon.

1155 GMT — ‘War must stop now:’ UN envoys visit Rafah border with Gaza

The UN Security Council envoys called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, as they visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the besieged Palestinian enclave.

“We saw the long queue of trucks waiting for passage to Gaza. We met with medical workers who were helping the Palestinians with courage and dedication,” said Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the UN.

He said the UN diplomats paid the field trip on Monday to the Rafah border, Gaza’s only entry for aid, calling it a “great” initiative by the UN diplomatic mission of the United Arab Emirates.

“We heard the strong voice calling for peace from the young volunteers.”

1132 GMT — UN labels Gaza 'hell on earth' as Israel continues bombing

Israeli forces have bombed more targets in the devastated Gaza as the UN General Assembly was due to vote on a new demand for a ceasefire.

More than two months into the war sparked by the October 7 attack, the visiting chief of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, likened Gaza to "hell on earth".

UN agencies and aid groups fear the Palestinian territory will soon be overwhelmed by starvation and disease and are pleading with Israel to boost efforts to protect civilians.

1116 GMT — Israel admits possession of munitions containing white phosphorus

The Israeli army has said it owns munitions with white phosphorus for other purposes rather than attacks.

“We have smoke shells containing white phosphorus, intended for camouflage, and not for the purpose of attacking or starting fires,” the official Israeli Army Radio said on Monday.

The Israeli statement came after the White House expressed concern on Monday over a report suggesting that Israel used US-supplied white phosphorus in an attack in southern Lebanon.

“Like many Western armies, the Israeli army also possesses smoke shells containing white phosphorus, which is legal according to international law,” the Israeli Army Radio said.

It added that the munitions “are not legally defined as incendiary weapons.”

1108 GMT — WHO chief expresses concern over detention of health workers in Gaza

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concern over "prolonged checks" and detention of health workers in Gaza after an incident led to the death of a patient in critical condition.

"We received greater detail on Saturday’s high-risk WHO-led mission in Gaza to Al Ahli Hospital. We are deeply concerned about prolonged checks and detention of health workers that put lives of already fragile patients at risk," Tedros Ghebreyesus said on X.

The mission, he said, was stopped twice at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint, on the way to north Gaza and on the way back. He said some Palestine Red Crescent Society staffers were detained both times.

"As the mission entered Gaza City, the aid truck carrying the medical supplies and an ambulance were hit by bullets," he added.

1024 GMT — Israeli troops storm north Gaza hospital, 'round up men'

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said Israeli forces were raiding a hospital in the north of the besieged territory.

"Israeli occupation forces are storming Kamal Adwan hospital after besieging and bombing it for days," ministry spokesman Ashraf al Qudra said in a statement.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request to comment.

Qudra said the troops were rounding up men in the hospital courtyard, including medical staff.

"We fear their arrest and the arrest of the medical teams or their killing," the health ministry spokesman added, calling for international intervention.

1023 GMT — WHO official pleas for Gaza's southern hospitals to be spared

A World Health Organization official said only 11, or less than a third, of Gaza's hospitals remain partially functional and pleaded for them to remain intact.

"In just 66 days the health system has gone from 36 functional hospitals to 11 partially functional hospitals - one in the north and 10 in the south," Richard Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told a UN press briefing by videolink from Gaza.

"We cannot afford to lose any health care facilities or hospitals," he said. "We hope, we plea that this will not happen."

1010 GMT — Zara regrets 'misunderstanding' over photoshoot after Gaza boycott calls

Fashion brand Zara said it regretted the "misunderstanding" over an ad campaign featuring statues wrapped in white that triggered calls for a boycott by some pro-Palestinian activists, and it had removed the images.

People left tens of thousands of complaints about the campaign on Zara's Instagram account, saying the images resembled photos of corpses in white shrouds in Gaza. "#BoycottZara" trended on messaging platform X.

Zara said the campaign, which also featured mannequins with missing limbs, had been conceived in July and photographed in September, before the conflict erupted in October, and was meant to show unfinished sculptures in a sculptor's studio.

0917 GMT — Kremlin restates concern over Gaza situation, says aid not getting in

The Kremlin reiterated its concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, saying it was practically impossible to deliver aid to Palestinians there while fighting between Israel and Hamas continued.

0906 GMT — WHO voices concern about health worker detentions in Gaza

The head of the World Health Organization said he was concerned about the prolonged checks of medical supply convoys in Gaza and the detention of health workers after such an incident led to the death of a patient in critical condition.

In a post on the X social media platform, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a WHO-led mission to Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza on Saturday was stopped twice at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint, run by the Israeli Defence Forces, on the way to north Gaza and on the way back.

He said some staff of the Palestine Red Crescent Society also were detained on both occasions. "We are deeply concerned about prolonged checks and detention of health workers that put lives of already fragile patients at risk," Tedros said.

0838 GMT — Israel says additional border crossing to examine Gaza aid

Israel said more humanitarian aid will enter Gaza as it announced an additional checkpoint for examining relief supplies before dispatching them to the Palestinian territory through the Rafah gateway

International aid organisations have struggled to get supplies to desperate Gaza residents under Israeli bombardment, with only the Rafah crossing in Egypt open.

No new direct crossings will be opened, Israel stressed, but the Kerem Shalom crossing will be used to carry out checks before sending the trucks through Rafah.

0555 GMT — Israel kills several Palestinians in West Bank's refugee camp

Four Palestinians were killed in a drone strike during an Israeli raid on the occupied West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp, the Palestinian health ministry and the Palestinian official news agency WAFA has said.

One other person was injured in the attack on the al Sibat neighbourhood in the city of Jenin, WAFA reported.

Jenin hospital director told the agency the Palestinians were directly targeted.

0501 GMT — UN General Assembly set to demand Gaza ceasefire

The UN General Assembly appeared set to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the two-month-long Israeli war on Gaza after the United States vetoed such a move in the Security Council.

No country has a veto power in the 193-member General Assembly, which is due to vote on a draft resolution that mirrors the language of one that was blocked by the United States in the 15-member Security Council last week.

General Assembly resolutions are not binding but carry political weight and reflect global views on the war in Gaza, as health authorities in the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave say the death toll from Israel's offensive had passed 18,000.

0319 GMT — Israel claims Hamas near 'dissolution', continues war on Gaza

Israel has pressed on with its bombing of Gaza after saying its campaign to destroy Hamas has left the Palestinian resistance group on "the verge of dissolution".

Humanitarian leaders fear the besieged territory will soon be overwhelmed by disease and starvation, and are piling diplomatic pressure on Israel to boost efforts to protect civilians.

Fighting raged on Tuesday, with Hamas saying clashes had taken place in central Gaza and witnesses reporting deadly Israeli strikes in the south of the territory.

0256 GMT — Palestinian rights groups ask Israel to end forced displacement in Gaza

Palestinian human rights organisations have called on Israeli authorities to end the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

In a joint statement, the organisations, including the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, said Israeli authorities are forcibly displacing hundreds of Palestinians arrested in Gaza, including dozens of women.

On Sunday, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said Israeli prison authorities are holding 142 Palestinian females, including infants.

0149 GMT — Ship attacked in Red Sea as Gaza reels under Israeli onslaught

A ship off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea has been attacked, private intelligence firms said. The attack on the vessel comes as threats have increased from Yemen's Houthi rebels on commercial shipping in the area over Israel's war on besieged Gaza.

The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack, though rebel military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said an important announcement would be coming from them in the coming hours.

The private intelligence firms Ambrey and Dryad Global confirmed the attack happened near the crucial Bab al-Mandeb Strait separating East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula, but said they had no other details.

0134 GMT — Israel ready for new swap deal with Hamas: local media

Israel is ready to resume contact with mediators for the possible release of other Israeli captives held in besieged Gaza, local media have reported.

The new exchange deal would be carried out within the framework of a humanitarian truce and include women still in captivity, patients and the wounded and elderly people, said Israel’s Channel 12.

According to Israeli media, Hamas still holds 137 captives, including 126 Israelis and 11 foreigners.

0134 GMT — Biden alludes to disagreements with Israel's Netanyahu

US President Joe Biden has alluded to the complex relationship he has with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, suggesting the prime minister is in a "tough spot" and that the two have had their share of disagreements over the years and at present.

Biden, speaking at a White House reception for the Jewish Hanukkah festival, recalled his decades-long relationship with Netanyahu.

He noted he made an inscription on an old photograph of the two men, using a nickname for the Israeli leader.

2130 GMT — US calls for war law compliance as Israel gets 14K tank shells

Israel is no exception to US policy that any country receiving its weapons must comply with the laws of war, the State Department has said after Washington sold about 14,000 tank shells to Israel without congressional review.

The US expects every country receiving its military assistance to use it "in full compliance with international humanitarian law and the laws of war, and Israel is no exception," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a news briefing.

Miller was asked if Washington has assessed whether Israel has complied the Biden administration's February 2023 Conventional Arms Transfers (CAP) policy. That requires the State Department to determine arms are unlikely to be used to for genocide, crimes against humanity, breaches of the Geneva conventions or serious violations of international law.

2100 GMT — Israeli army raids shelters in northern Gaza, kicks displaced Palestinians out

The invading Israeli army has raided several schools where displaced Palestinians have been taking shelter and kicked them out in the cold of northern Gaza.

Israeli troops stormed into a number of schools in the Al Faluja area in Jabalia, kicked the women and children out, and arrested the men, eyewitnesses told the Anadolu Agency.

A state of panic and fear prevailed among the women and children who left the schools under the Israeli bullets and shelling, the eyewitnesses added. They also said they were forced to leave the shelters completely empty-handed, without even water, food, or even blankets to protect them from the December cold.

For our live updates from Monday, December 11, click here.