Live blog: Israel engaging in systematic theft, looting in Gaza – Euro-Med

Saturday, December 30, 2023

1504 GMT — Israel, while attacking Gaza, is also 'systematically' engaging in "property theft and looting," a human rights monitor has said.

"The Israeli army has unleashed its soldiers in Gaza to not only kill but to engage in immoral activities such as property theft and looting during raids on Palestinian civilian homes," the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said in a statement.

Citing reports and testimonies, the rights group said Israeli soldiers are participating in the "deliberate theft of the assets and money" of Palestinian civilians, including computers, gold and cash.

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1850 GMT — Israel fighting on 'all fronts,' war to last many months: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address that Israel was fighting on "all fronts" in a war that he said would last many more months until 'victory' is achieved.

1816 GMT — Israeli army reports deaths of 2 more soldiers in Gaza

The Israeli army reported that two of its soldiers were killed and five of its soldiers were injured in the clashes in Gaza.

In the written statement made by the Israeli army, information was given about the new losses in Gaza.

1705 GMT — Palestinian group says 'hostage Israeli soldier' killed in Gaza by Israeli air strike

The armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has said that an Israeli soldier being held captive by the group in Gaza had been killed in an Israeli air strike that had also wounded some of his captors.

In an audio speech broadcast by Al Araby television, a spokesperson for the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades group said the air strike took place following a failed attempt by Israeli commandos to free the soldier.

The spokesperson gave no details of when the soldier had been taken hostage, or where he was being held in Gaza. He said the group is still holding the body of the slain soldier. The Israeli military spokesperson's office declined to comment.

1539 GMT — Israeli forces kill Palestinian after 'car ramming': Palestinian health ministry

Israeli forces have shot dead a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, after the army reported he allegedly carried out a car ramming.

The Israeli military said soldiers "neutralised" the driver who rammed the car into a military post near Fawwar refugee camp, south of Al Halil.

An AFP journalist saw Israeli forces surrounding a vehicle with soldiers and military vehicles deployed in the area. The Palestinian health ministry, meanwhile, said Mohammed Masalmeh was shot dead by Israeli troops at the camp entrance.

1516 GMT — Pro-Palestine rally planned for New Year's Eve in Berlin banned

Police has banned a planned pro-Palestine march on New Year's eve in the German capital.

The "no celebration during genocide" demonstration, which was scheduled to take place in the Neukolln district from 2130GMT on Sunday is prohibited, Berlin police said in a statement.

It pointed out an "imminent danger" that there could be anti-Semitic slogans and glorification of violence during the protest, "based on the experiences of the past few years."

1404 GMT — Hamas condemns US 'emergency' sale of munitions to Israel

Hamas has condemned the US approval of a $147.5M sale of high explosive artillery munitions and related equipment to Israel.

The United States announced the sale of the 155mm artillery munitions on Friday under an emergency provision that waives the normal requirement for a congressional review.

Hamas said the sale was "clear evidence of the American administration's full sponsorship of this criminal war." President Joe Biden's administration "conspicuously aligns itself with and actively supports all atrocities perpetrated" by Israel, the group said in a statement.

1240 GMT — Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 165, wound 250 in 24 hours

At least 165 Palestinians killed and 250 wounded in Israeli strikes in Gaza during the past 24 hours, the Palestinian health ministry in the besieged enclave said.

Residents in the urban refugee camps of Nuseirat and Bureij, two recent hot spots of Israeli attacks, reported Israeli air strikes overnight and into Saturday.

With Israeli forces pushing deeper into Khan Younis and the camps of central Gaza, tens of thousands of Palestinians have streamed into the already crowded city of Rafah at the southernmost end of Gaza in recent days.

1239 GMT — 21,672 Palestinians killed, 56,165 wounded in Gaza since Oct 7: Health Ministry

Israel's war in besieged Gaza has killed at least 21,672 Palestinians and wounded 56,165 as Tel Aviv continues its rampant air strikes.

The Gaza health ministry announced the updated death toll in its daily bulletin on Saturday after Israeli strikes on Gaza killed 165 more and wounded 250 in the last 24 hours.

1055 GMT — Israeli army detains 14 more Palestinians in occupied West Bank

The Israeli army detained 14 more Palestinians in various areas of the occupied West Bank.

According to a joint statement issued by the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners Society, the new arrests brought the total number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli forces since October 7 to 4,860.

The latest arrests took place in the governorates of Al Khalil, Nablus, and Jalazone camp north of Ramallah.

1050 GMT — 4 more fighters killed in clashes with Israel: Hezbollah

Lebanese group Hezbollah said that four more of its fighters were killed in clashes with the Israeli army along the border between Lebanon and Israel.

In a statement, Hezbollah “mourned Hassan Moussawi, Haydar al-Muzawi, Rakan Saifeddine and Abbas Ajemia” who were killed in clashes with Israeli forces without providing further details.

0931 GMT — Hamas welcomes international forces only 'to liberate Palestine'

A senior Hamas leader said his movement will welcome the deployment of post-war international forces to Gaza to liberate Palestine, but rejected international forces as an alternative to "Zionist occupation."

In an interview with Anadolu, Osama Hamdan said: "If the international forces want to liberate Palestine and end the occupation, they are welcome."

Responding to a question about the Palestinian resistance group's stance on post-war international forces in Gaza, including ones from the Arab states, he said if these forces came in place of occupation (forces), "the answer is no." "Who said the Palestinians want to replace the Zionist occupation with another occupation?"

0636 GMT — Israeli army conducts raids in West Bank, injuring, detaining Palestinians

At least four Palestinians have been injured, and several others have been detained in raids conducted by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank.

According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, Israeli forces raided Hebron, Nablus, Qalqilya, and Ramallah in the early hours.

In the town of Yatta in the south of Al Halil, an Israeli military raid resulted in injuries to four Palestinians. The Israeli military entered homes and conducted searches during the raids. A raid was also conducted in the town of Azzun to the east of Qalqilya.

0109 GMT — Israel kills 106th journalist in war on Gaza: officials

The Israeli army has killed another journalist in Gaza, local officials said, taking the tally of journalists killed in blockaded enclave by invading troops to 106.

The journalist working for Al Quds TV was killed along with a number of his family members in an Israeli air strike on their house in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, health officials and fellow journalists said.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said last week that the first 10 weeks of the Israel's war on Gaza were the deadliest recorded for journalists, with the most journalists killed in a single year in one location.

2343 GMT — Vigil in London for 'Holocaust of 2023' in Gaza

Health workers and journalists have held a vigil in front of 10 Downing Street to pay tribute to colleagues killed by Israel in besieged Gaza and demanded an immediate ceasefire.

Participants, including prominent figures like Omar Adel-Mannan, a pediatric neurologist, and Lemis Andoni, a seasoned Palestinian journalist, not only paid respects but urged the government to advocate for lasting peace.

Adel-Mannan, who had previously worked in Gaza, delivered a stirring message to the "silent majority," urging them to "break their silence and take action in response to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza." "This is a basic humanitarian crisis. This is a genocide. This is a holocaust of 2023 because that is the reality," he said, underlining the severity of the atrocities occurring in Gaza.

For our live updates from Friday, December 29, click here.