Live blog: Israel kills eight Palestinians in fresh Gaza shelter strike

Friday, December 20, 2024

1533 GMT — An Israeli air strike killed at least eight Palestinians in an apartment in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, medics have said.

Palestinian health officials told Reuters that Israeli military strikes across the enclave had killed a total of 15 people on Friday.

In a statement, the Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat said that the bodies of three more people and 16 injured people were brought to the hospital after the same attack, Anadolu reported.

Mediated ceasefire efforts have yet to secure a deal between Israel and the resistance group Hamas after more than a year in Israel's war on Gaza.

On Thursday, sources close to the discussions told Reuters that the Arab mediators, Qatar and Egypt, had been able to hammer out some differences but some sticking points remained unresolved and needed more discussion.

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1632 GMT — Israeli forces injure Palestinian child, disabled man in occupied West Bank

Two Palestinians were injured, including a 15-year-old child and a disabled man, by Israeli forces evening in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

In a statement, the organisation reported that the child was shot in the knee with live ammunition during confrontations in Beit Furik, east of Nablus.

Clashes erupted after Israeli forces stormed the Al Naqqar neighbourhood, firing live rounds, stun grenades and tear gas. Several others suffered from tear gas inhalation, witnesses confirmed.

Separately, a 25-year-old man with disabilities was shot in the knee during a raid in Wadi Qana, northwest of Salfit. He was transported to a hospital for treatment, though details about the circumstances remain unclear.

1602 GMT — Israeli army chief to resign by February: report

Israeli Army Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi is likely to step down from his position by the end of February, according to a local media report.

Israeli newspaper Maariv quoted an unnamed Israeli political official who said it was "estimated that Herzi Halevi will retire from his position at the end of February, one month after the investigations into the events of October 7 are concluded."

On Thursday, Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that investigations into the events that unfolded on October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian group Hamas attack took place, must be completed by the end of January.

1456 GMT — UK lawmaker highlights Britain's role in Israeli war crimes

Iqbal Mohamed, a Member of Parliament in the UK’s House of Commons, has accused the British government of directly and indirectly supporting Israel’s war crimes in Gaza, stating: “I'm afraid that the British government, when these war criminals are brought to justice, will also be indicted for being complicit in these war crimes.”

Mohamed, part of the “Independent Alliance” group of five MPs supporting Palestine including former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, spoke to Anadolu Agency about his opposition to the UK government’s support for Israel.

“It’s very simple. We need to stop the killing of innocent civilians in Gaza, north, south, across the region, in the West Bank, the settlements. How much more killing should there be before the British government will stop in its direct and indirect support of Israel committing war crimes? They don’t want to call it a genocide.

1445 GMT — Yemen's Houthis claim drone attacks on Israel

Yemen's Houthi group has said that it carried out multiple drone strikes on central and southern Israel, including a joint attack with an Iranian-Iraqi military group.

In a recorded statement posted on X, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said, “We conducted a joint operation with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq on vital Israeli targets in southern occupied Palestine using several drones."

"We also launched a significant military operation targeting an Israeli military site in occupied Jaffa with a drone,” he added.

1301 GMT — Netanyahu is ‘not fit’ to lead Israel: Former defence minister

Former Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz has said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "not the right person to lead the Jewish people."

"Netanyahu is the prime minister, but he is not suited to lead a community like the Israeli society,” Gantz said on X.

"The State of Israel and the Israeli society deserve a different leadership," he added.

Netanyahu has faced intense criticism for his refusal to negotiate a prisoner exchange agreement for Israeli captives in Gaza as well as corruption charges against him.

1247 GMT — Israeli bomb kills four in Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens

At least Four Palestinians were killed and several others injured in an Israeli air strike targeting a home in northern Gaza, according to eyewitnesses.

The strike hit a home in Beit Hanoon, where Israel’s military has intensified operations and ethnic cleansing for over two months, eyewitnesses said.

In southern Gaza, medical sources reported that an infant, Aisha Adnan Sufyan Al-Qassas, died early Friday due to extreme cold while sheltering in a tent in Khan Younis’s Al-Mawasi region.

Nearly 2 million displaced residents out of Gaza’s 2.4 million population are enduring severe humanitarian conditions, with critical shortages of food, water, and essential supplies.

1229 GMT — Israeli Embassy in Ireland takes down flag ahead of closure

The Israeli Embassy in Dublin has taken down its national flag, signaling the first steps toward its closure.

The development follows an announcement by Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar that the embassy would be shut down due to what it called Ireland’s “antisemitic rhetoric,” a claim Dublin denies.

Saar criticised Ireland’s recognition of State of Palestine and accused the country of attempting to redefine "genocide" in international law to support claims against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

The removal of the Israeli flag from the embassy’s location on Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge, occurred shortly after Saar’s announcement.

1054 GMT — Palestinian officials accuse Israeli settlers of mosque arson in West Bank

Palestinian officials reported that Jewish settlers had set fire to a mosque in the occupied West Bank, an act Israeli police said was under investigation.

The Palestinian foreign ministry in Ramallah condemned the incident, calling it a "blatant act of racism" and a reflection of the " widespread incitement campaigns against our people carried out by elements of the extremist right-wing ruling government" of Israel.

Israeli police and the domestic Shin Bet security agency described the incident as a matter of "great severity".

They said they would "act decisively to ensure accountability for those responsible", adding an investigation was underway, with authorities gathering testim ony and evidence from the scene.

1014 GMT — Death toll from Israel's ongoing onslaught in Gaza tops 45,200

At least 77 more Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, bringing the overall death toll since last year to 45,206, the Health Ministry in the enclave said.

A ministry statement added that some 107,512 others have been wounded in the ongoing assault.

“Israeli forces killed 77 people and injured 174 others in three massacres of families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.

“Many people are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.

0351 GMT — Israel continues to bomb Gaza, kills at least 19 Palestinians

Israeli forces have launched attacks on various parts of Gaza, killing 19 Palestinians and wounding many others, local reports said.

The Civil Defence Directorate said in a statement that air strikes in the Sabra neighbourhood in southern Gaza City targeted the homes of the Abu Shanab, Kiyyali and Al-Lawh families, killing nine people and wounding many others.

Health sources said that Israeli drones targeted two motorcycles in southern Gaza, killing three people.

Separate air strikes in central Gaza City and the southern city of Rafah left six more Palestinians dead and many wounded.

Additionally, an Israeli drone strike in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza killed one person and wounded others, according to local reports.

0351 GMT — At least 10 killed in Israeli attack on al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza

At least 10 Palestinians were killed and three wounded, two critically, in an Israeli attack on the Shati refugee camp in western Gaza City, health sources said.

Israeli forces targeted a group of Palestinians who were waiting in line for water at the camp, the sources said.

0238 GMT — Israel violates ceasefire with Lebanon 6 times on its 23rd day

The Israeli army violated a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon six times on its 23rd day, reports said.

Since the ceasefire was declared on Nov. 27, the total number of Israeli violations has risen to 259, with 31 people killed and 37 wounded during the incidents.

According to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA), Israeli forces demolished homes in the southern Lebanese town of Kafr Kila, causing tremors felt throughout the area.

2300 GMT — 'Nowhere is safe, no one is spared' in Gaza — MSF report

A new report by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), titled "Gaza: Life in a Death Trap," has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to save lives and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid.

The organisation has also demanded an end to Israel's targeted and indiscriminate attacks on civilians and called on its allies to act swiftly to protect Palestinian lives and uphold international law.

Highlighting the devastating impact of repeated Israeli military attacks on Palestinian civilians over the past 14 months, Christopher Lockyear, MSF secretary general, said, "People in Gaza are struggling to survive apocalyptic conditions, but nowhere is safe, no one is spared, and there is no exit from this shattered enclave."

2215 GMT — Israeli army imposes curfew in occupied West Bank

The Israeli army imposed a curfew on the Palestinian town of Deir Istiya in the occupied West Bank.

Bilal Mansour, an anti-settlement activist, told Anadolu that Israeli forces stormed the town, sealed its entrances and announced the curfew through loudspeakers.

He said the troops blocked the town’s main access points, patrolled its streets and ordered shopkeepers to close their businesses. They also restricted the movement of residents.

Soldiers also searched vehicles and pedestrians, claiming that stones had been thrown at settler vehicles near the town, Mansour added.

2150 GMT — Pentagon says there are 2,000 US troops in Syria

The Pentagon said there are 2,000 US troops in Syria, more than double the number it had previously acknowledged.

Spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said that in addition to the 900 troops that were deployed to Syria on a longer-term basis to aid in counter-Daesh operations, 1,100 others were sent on a "temporary" basis to help "meet shifting mission requirements" in the anti-Daesh fight.

"A certain element of this also goes into diplomatic and operational security concerns as it relates to the region. But again, given the difference in the number that we've been providing, I made the decision to go ahead and give you that number," he told reporters.

2100 GMT — Egypt resumes flights to Lebanon after 3-month suspension

Egypt's national carrier said that flights between Cairo and Beirut resumed after a three-month suspension.

“In light of the stability of the situation in Lebanon, we are pleased to announce the resumption of direct flights between Cairo and Beirut after a three-month hiatus," it said in a statement. The first flight was Thursday.

The suspension began Sept. 24, when EgyptAir announced it was halting flights to Beirut because of instability in Lebanon.

At the time, several Arab and international airlines followed suit amid Israeli airstrikes against Lebanon.

A fragile ceasefire has been in effect since Nov. 27 between Israel and Lebanon.

For our live updates from Thursday, December 19, 2024, click here.