Live blog: No negotiation until aggression stops in Gaza — Hamas

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

1724 GMT — There will be no negotiations or exchange of detainees until Israel's aggression against Gaza stops, Hamas official Osama Hamdan said in a press conference.

"We hold (Israeli Prime Minister) Netanyahu fully responsible for the lives of the Israeli hostages and for obstructing the completion of the exchange deal", he added.

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2035 GMT — UK's Sunak tells Netanyahu in call of disappointment at new fighting in Gaza

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has expressed his disappointment about the breakdown of the pause in fighting in besieged Gaza in a call with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his office said in a readout.

"The Prime Minister spoke to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this afternoon. He expressed disappointment about the breakdown of the pause in fighting in Gaza, which had allowed hostages to be released," a Downing Street spokesperson said.

"The leaders discussed urgent efforts to ensure all remaining hostages are safely freed and to allow any remaining British nationals in Gaza to leave."

Sunak's spokesperson said the British prime minister stressed the need for Israel to take greater care to protect civilians in besieged Gaza and for humanitarian aid to be allowed to enter the Palestinian enclave.

1839 GMT — US to impose visa bans on those tied in occupied West Bank violence

The US State Department is preparing to impose visa bans against those who have committed violence in the occupied West Bank.

"Today, the State Department is implementing a new visa restriction policy targeting individuals believed to have been involved in undermining peace, security, or stability in the West Bank, including through committing acts of violence or taking other actions that unduly restrict civilians’ access to essential services and basic necessities," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Blinken added that immediate family members of those who are sanctioned may be subject to the restrictions.

1808 GMT — There are no UN-designated safe zones in Gaza: UN

"Let's be clear. There are no UN-designated safe zones in Gaza. All my senior colleagues have been very clear, including the Secretary-General (Antonio Guterres) saying there are no safe places in Gaza," Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

His remarks came one day after a US State Department spokesman said, "People should go to the UN-designated sites where - that are on Israeli lists as deconfliction zones that should not be the target of military campaigns."

"They are shelters that fly the UN flag that are sheltering, thousands and thousands and thousands of people, men, women and children who are trying to stay alive and get some food or get some water," said Dujarric. "We have seen since the beginning of this conflict, that those places that fly the UN flag are not safe either.”

1712 GMT — Palestinian death toll in Gaza surpasses grim 16,000 mark

Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks mounts to 16,248 since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza.

The death toll includes 7,112 children, 4,885 women, Gaza's health officials said.

At least 43,616 people have been injured and at least 7,600 people are missing, it said.

1651 GMT — 7,800 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails: NGO

The detainees include 33 women, 166 children, and 2,873 people held without trial or charge under Israel’s notorious policy of administrative detention, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement.

"Israeli forces detained 3,580 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since Oct. 7,” the NGO said.

1646 GMT — Israel revises number of Gaza hostages to 138

Israel now counts 138 hostages held by Hamas, authorities said, after adding to the list one person previously considered missing since October 7.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office provided the updated number but gave no details concerning the 138th confirmed hostage or how Israeli authorities were able to verify their status.

Previously, Israeli officials had said 137 hostages were still inside the Gaza and included 20 women and two children.

1633 GMT — France condemns attacks by illegal Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank

"France strongly condemns the attacks by groups of settlers in the West Bank on Palestinians, particularly the attack in Qarawat Bani Hassan on Sunday, in the presence of the Israeli armed forces, during which a Palestinian was killed," a French Foreign Ministry statement said.

The ministry urged Israel to take the necessary measures to stop the attacks and to protect civilian populations.

"The international community has a role to play in stopping this violence, which undermines prospects for peace," the ministry added.

1630 GMT — Forces encircling Khan Younis: Israeli army

Israeli forces are surrounding the city of Khan Younis in the south of Gaza as the war moves into a new phase following the 7-day pause to allow a return of some hostages, Israel's top military commander said.

"Sixty days after the war began, our forces are now encircling the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza" said Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, chief of the General Staff.

"We have secured many Hamas strongholds in northern Gaza, and now we are operating against its strongholds in the south," he said.

1627 GMT — Gulf summit calls for pursuing mediation efforts for Gaza ceasefire

"We will continue to make efforts to restore the truce and release hostages and prisoners," Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told a press conference following the conclusion of the GCC summit in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Qatar’s Foreign Minister, said participants in the GCC summit underlined the importance of “continuing mediation to reach a durable and sustained cease-fire and opening crossings and safe corridors for the delivery of humanitarian and relief aid and the essential necessities to Gaza’s population.”

They also unanimously agreed on the necessity of “launching a political process that leads to a lasting, comprehensive, and just peace for the Palestinian people with their legitimate rights based on international legitimacy resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital,” he added.

1550 GMT — Hamas claims it killed 10 Israeli soldiers in southern Gaza

The Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, said it killed 10 Israeli soldiers in southern Gaza.

The group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said the soldiers were killed by its fighters at "point-blank range" in eastern Khan Younis.

The group said fighters also struck three Israeli tanks, two personnel carriers and three military bulldozers with anti-armour shells east and north of Khan Younis.

1427 GMT — Paramedic injured in Israeli artillery shelling in central Gaza

"Israeli tank artillery targets the vicinity area of two PRCS ambulances, while injured persons and martyrs were being transported," the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said on X.

The attack took place in the Im Al Thuheir area, south of Deir Al Balah city.

"One paramedic was lightly injured and the ambulances were damaged,” it added.

1420 GMT — Israeli strike kills Lebanese soldier: Lebanese army

A Lebanese soldier was killed by Israeli fire near the country's southern border and 3 others were injured, Lebanon's army said, the first such death since cross-border hostilities began in October.

"An army military position in the... Adaysseh area was bombarded by the Israeli enemy, leaving one soldier martyred and three others injured," the Lebanese army said in a statement.

1414 GMT — Eighty Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza offensive

The Israeli army said that 80 soldiers had been killed since the start of its offensive on Gaza.

After weeks of heavy bombing, Israel launched a ground offensive in the territory on October 27.

1406 GMT — 19 South Africans evacuated from Gaza

Nineteen South African nationals who had been stuck in Gaza since the start of the conflict have crossed into Egypt and are set to return home, the Foreign Ministry said.

Clayson Monyela, the ministry spokesman, wrote on X that the group safely crossed into Egypt after South African diplomats in Palestine and Egypt worked with authorities there to facilitate the process.

"Our nationals will now be coming home," he wrote.

1349 GMT — Israel hits Gaza with over 100,000 artillery shells in 39 days

“More than 100,000 artillery shells have been fired since the start of the ground manoeuvre,” the Israeli army said in a statement.

It stressed that the artillery plays a “central role” in the fighting as they “provide intense fire cover for the forces participating in the ground manoeuvre in Gaza."

The army said that its ground forces are conducting military operations in the Jabalia area in northern Gaza.

1234 GMT — Israel used US-made munitions to kill 43 civilians in Gaza: rights group

The Israeli military killed 43 Palestinians using US-made munitions in two documented air strikes in the blockaded Gaza, Amnesty International said in a report.

"A new investigation by Amnesty International has found US-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) were used by the Israeli military in two deadly, unlawful air strikes on homes full of civilians in occupied Gaza," the organisation said in a post on X.

"The two strikes killed a total of 43 civilians. In both cases, survivors said there had been no warning of an imminent strike," the watchdog added.

"These strikes were either direct attacks on civilians or civilian objects or indiscriminate attacks. They must be investigated as war crimes," Amnesty further said.

The organisation also called upon the US to stop arms supply to Israel.

1220 GMT — More than 15,900 Palestinians killed in Gaza

More than 15,900 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the outbreak of war on October 7, the Palestinian health minister Mai Al Kaila said, adding that 250 health workers were among the dead.

More than 40,900 people in Gaza have been injured in Israeli air strikes, according to a report his ministry issued after the briefing.

1208 GMT — No Palestinian rule in Gaza after war — Netanyahu to US

Contrary to stated US wishes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will exclude any Palestinian authority from administering Gaza in the post-war period, Israeli media reported.

According to the Israeli public broadcaster KAN, Netanyahu recently told the US that "there won't be a Palestinian authority in Gaza after the war." Netanyahu has already ruled out any rule by the Palestinian group Hamas, which has administered Gaza since 2007.

KAN said Netanyahu declared at a closed meeting of his Likud Party that he opposes Palestinian National Authority control of Gaza after the war, and had informed Washington.

"There will be no Palestinian authority in Gaza at all," Netanyahu was quoted as saying.

1208 GMT — Israeli army arrests 40 more Palestinians in occupied West Bank

At least 40 Palestinians were detained by the Israeli army in military raids carried out in the occupied West Bank, according to a local non-governmental organisation.

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

Ten workers from Gaza were among those arrested, the official news agency Wafa reported.

1101 GMT — 'Not possible' to create 'safe zones' in Gaza: UN

The United Nations warned that it was impossible to create so-called safe zones for civilians to flee to inside Gaza amid Israel's bombing campaign.

Israel had initially focused its offensive on the north of the territory, but the army has now also dropped leaflets on parts of the south, telling Palestinian civilians there to flee to other areas.

"The so-called safe zones... are not scientific, they are not rational, they are not possible, and I think the authorities are aware of this," James Elder, spokesperson for the UN children's agency UNICEF, told reporters in Geneva via video-link from Cairo.

Elder insisted that the safe zones declared by Israel "cannot be safe nor humanitarian when unilaterally declared". The pretence that there is somewhere safe for people to flee to is "callous", he said.

He stressed that in a proper safe zone, "you can guarantee the conditions of food, water, medicine and shelter".

1032 GMT — Over 270 Palestinians killed, 3,200 wounded: Health ministry

At least 270 people have been killed and 3,200 wounded in the occupied West Bank since October 7, the Palestinian Health Minister Mai al Kaila said at a press conference in Ramallah.

1009 GMT — Israel's designated safe zones 'tiny patches of barren land'

United Nations children's agency describes the Israeli-designated safe zones in Palestine's besieged Gaza as "tiny patches of barren land" without food, shelter, medicines and sanitation.

"Without water, sanitation, shelter, so-called and ‘not rational’ safe zones declared by Israel risk becoming zones of disease in Gaza" says UNICEF.

"The so-called safe zones... are not scientific, they are not rational, they are not possible, and I think the authorities are aware of this," James Elder, spokesman for the UNICEF, told reporters in Geneva via video-link from Cairo.

1004 GMT — Qatar emir slams 'shameful' inaction on Israel's Gaza war

Qatar calls on the UN Security Council to force Israel to return to the negotiating table over its Gaza war, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani said during a Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Doha.

He also labelled "shameful" international inaction over the Israeli attacks.

"It is shameful for the international community to allow this heinous crime to continue for nearly two months, during which the systematic and deliberate killing of innocent civilians continues, including women and children," al Thani said.

1001 GMT — Situation in Gaza 'getting worse by the hour': WHO

A World Health Organization official in Gaza has said the situation there is deteriorating by the hour as Israeli bombing has intensified in the south of the enclave around the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah.

"The situation is getting worse by the hour," Richard Peeperkorn, WHO representative on the occupied Palestinian territory, told reporters via video link from Gaza.

"There's intensified bombing going on all around, including here in the southern areas, Khan Younis and even in Rafah."

The official also noted that the health body is deeply concerned about the vulnerability of the health system in southern Gaza.

On average one child is killed every 10 minutes in Gaza, said the representative, calling the situation "humanity's darkest hour."

0938 GMT — Israel expects difficult new stage in Gaza: spokesperson

Israel expects difficult fighting in the new phase of its war in Gaza but is open to "constructive feedback" on reducing harm to civilians as long as the advice is consistent with its aim of destroying Hamas, a government spokesperson has said.

"We're moving ahead with the second stage now. A second stage that is going to be difficult militarily," spokesperson Eylon Levy told reporters in a briefing.

0839 GMT — Israeli bombs kill many Palestinians in Khan Younis, Deir Belah

At least 50 Palestinians have been killed in the recent Israeli bombardment of the towns of Khan Younis in the southern region and Deir al-Belah in the central part of Gaza, as per initial estimates.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported the devastating attacks that left a significant toll on the civilian population.

The strikes executed by Israeli warplanes, targeted the city of Khan Younis in the southern sector of Gaza. Reports indicate that at least 40 Palestinians were killed during the attack, marking a distressing escalation in civilian casualties.

The Israeli army extended its strikes to the Nuseyrat Refugee Camp in the city of Deir el-Belah. Following the assault at least 10 Palestinians lost their lives.

The international community is closely monitoring the situation, as civilian casualties continue to mount in the face of intensified hostilities.

0455 GMT — Satellite images show Israeli deployment in Gaza's Khan Younis

Satellite photos analysed by The Associated Press show that the Israeli military has begun its ground offensive in the southern reaches of Gaza as part of its war in the enclave.

The satellite photos released by Planet provide the first clear look at the intensity and scope at which the Israelis are fighting.

The images, shot Sunday by Planet Labs PBC, show Israeli tanks and armoured personnel carriers just under 6 kilometres north of the heart of Khan Younis, the major city of the southern part of Gaza. Many who fled the Israeli offensive and airstrike campaign in Gaza City's north now live around Khan Younis and other nearby areas after the Israeli military ordered them to evacuate.

The Israeli deployment sits just to the west of Salah Al Din, a main north-south corridor within Gaza that many used to flee.

An AP analysis found positions in four clusters, with some 150 armoured personnel carriers, tanks and other vehicles in the area. Israeli soldiers have created packed dirt berms around some of their positions, which can be used for cover.

Fresh tank tracks could be seen chewed through the ground there, suggesting the movements were recent.

0123 GMT — Palestine Red Crescent loses contact with its teams in Gaza

The Palestine Red Crescent Society has said that it lost contact with its medical teams in besieged Gaza.

The statement came after the Palestine Telecommunications Company [PalTel] said that all communication and internet services in besieged Gaza have been completely cut off.

"We completely lost contact with the operations room of the Gaza Strip and with all our teams in light of the Israeli cutting of the telecommunications networks," the Red Crescent said in the statement.

It expressed concern over the safety of its teams in Gaza from the heavy Israeli shelling across the enclave.

It added that the interruption of communications will hinder the work of emergency services across Gaza in reaching bombarded areas and will affect people's ability to reach the ambulance service through the central emergency call line 101.

0109 GMT — Israeli forces kill 2 Palestinians in southern occupied West Bank

The Israeli army has killed two Palestinians in the southern occupied West Bank.

Anas al Farroukh, 23, and Mohammad al Farroukh, 22, both suffered severe injuries before being pronounced dead at a hospital, the official WAFA news agency reported, citing a statement from the Palestinian Health Ministry.

WAFA added that the incident took place in the Ras Al Aroud area of the town of Sa'ir northwest of the city of Hebron.

0051 GMT — Israeli army denies telling WHO to empty aid warehouse in southern Gaza

The Israeli army has denied telling the World Health Organization to empty an aid warehouse in southern besieged Gaza within 24 hours before ground operations in the area render it unusable.

"The truth is that we didn't ask you to evacuate the warehouses, and we also made it clear (and in writing) to the relevant #UN representatives," the Israeli Defence Ministry body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, COGAT, said on X, formerly Twitter.

"From a #UN official, we would expect, at least, to be more accurate," it added.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X: "Today, WHO received notification from the Israel Defense Forces that we should remove our supplies from our medical warehouse in southern Gaza within 24 hours, as ground operations will put it beyond use".

"We appeal to Israel to withdraw the order, and take every possible measure to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and humanitarian facilities," he wrote.

0038 GMT — Israel considers flooding Gaza tunnels with seawater: WSJ

Israel has assembled a large system of pumps that may be used to flood tunnels used by resistance group Hamas under besieged Gaza in a bid to drive out fighters, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials.

Around the middle of November, Israel's army completed the set-up of at least five pumps about a mile north of the Al Shati refugee camp that could move thousands of cubic meters of water per hour, flooding the tunnels within weeks, the report said.

It was not clear whether Israel would consider using the pumps before all captives were released, according to the story. Hamas has previously said it has hidden captives in "safe places and tunnels."

When asked about the story, a US official said it made sense for Israel to render the tunnels inoperable and that the country was exploring a range of ways to do that.

The Wall Street Journal said an Israel Defense Forces [IDF] official declined to comment on the flooding plan but was quoted as saying: "The IDF is operating to dismantle Hamas’s terror capabilities in various ways, using different military and technological tools."

Israel first informed the United States of the option last month, the Wall Street Journal said, reporting that officials did not know how close Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government was to carrying out the plan.

For our live updates from Monday (December 4), click here.