Israeli troops arrest dozens of Palestinian medical staff at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia. UNGA adopts ceasefire resolution. Israeli forces storm Jenin, killing 7. Netanyahu rejects prospect of PA rule in Gaza after war. Yemen fires on tanker.
Casualties
- 18,205+ killed* and more than 50,000 wounded in the Gaza Strip.
- 282 Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
- Israel revises its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,147.
- 444 Israeli soldiers killed since October 7, and 1,682 injured.
*This figure was confirmed by Gaza’s Ministry of Health on December 12. Due to breakdowns in communication networks within the Gaza Strip, the Ministry of Health in Gaza has not been able to regularly and accurately update its tolls since mid-November. Some rights groups put the death toll number closer to 20,000.
Key Developments
- UN General Assembly adopts by 153-vote majority resolution calling for immediate ceasefire in Gaza and release of all Israeli hostages.
- Israeli forces blow up UNRWA-affiliated school in Beit Hanoun, arrest tens of medical staff at Kamal Adwan Hospital, which remains under siege by tanks and sniper fire.
- Palestinians living under military siege in Jabalia refugee camp turn marketplace into graveyard due to inaccessibility of nearby cemeteries.
- UN Satellite Center says Israel destroyed 80 percent of buildings in Gaza and north Gaza governorates.
- Israeli forces bomb UNRWA-affiliated Abu Hussien school in Jabalia camp housing hundreds of displaced Palestinians, kill journalist Abdel Karim Odeh.
- French Foreign Ministry demands investigation into death of Agence France-Presse photojournalist Issam Abdullah, killed in Israeli airstrike in October in southern Lebanon.
- Israeli military announces 600 soldiers have been injured in battles in Gaza since beginning of ground invasion in late October.
- Israeli military says two soldiers killed in operation to retrieve dead bodies of two Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
- Yemen’s Ansar Allah (commonly known as Houthis) launch two missiles on Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Ardmore Encounter near Bab Al-Mandab in Red Sea.
- Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells cabinet minister to prepare attack on Palestinian Authority in West Bank.
Israel’s Genocide in Gaza Continues;
The U.N. General Assembly voted yesterday to pass a resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, with the Assembly’s president Dennis Frances saying, “Right now, what we are seeing is an onslaught on civilians, the breakdown of humanitarian assistance and profound disrespect for international law. Even war has rules, and it is imperative we prevent any deviation from these principles and values.” The resolution is nonbinding, unlike the U.N. Security Council’s ability to pass legally binding resolutions — which it attempted to do last week, but was vetoed by the US. The vote saw 153 members vote in favor, 10 against, and 23 abstentions. The countries which opposed included the US, Israel, Austria, Czech Republic, Guatemala, Liberia, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay. Brad Dress reports for The Hill.
The Palestinian Foreign Minister yesterday accused Israel of starving children in Gaza, saying, “As we speak, at least 1 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, half of them children, are starving, not because of a natural disaster or because of lack of generous assistance waiting at the border… they are starving because of Israel’s deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war against the people it occupied.” An Israeli official described the comments as “libellous, delusional level of allegations.” Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber reports for Reuters.
Israel has declared 19 of the 135 people still in captivity in Gaza as dead in absentia, after saying it recovered the bodies of two hostages. The list includes a Tanzanian national, although no names have been released. Dan Williams reports for Reuters.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that Gaza “will be neither Hamas-stan nor ‘Fatah-stan,” and added that he will not allow Israel to “repeat the mistake of Oslo,” referencing the 1993 Oslo Accords which established restricted Palestinian rule in the West Bank and Gaza. Reuters reports.
The Israeli ambassador to the U.N. said before the Assembly resolution vote that “If you want a real ceasefire, here is the right address – this is the phone number of Hamas’s office in Gaza… A ceasefire only serves to prolong Hamas’s reign of terror so I urge all member states to vote against this resolution.” BBC News reports.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said nine of its troops, including a battalion commander, were killed yesterday in northern Gaza. It is one of the largest losses of life in a single incident for Israel since their military campaign began. The total number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza currently stands at 115, according to CNN.
Fifty thousand people have been injured since the war broke out, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Meanwhile, the W.H.O. placed blame with Israeli forces for causing delays at checkpoints which disrupted emergency vehicles transporting wounded civilians. Medical staff reported several hours delay at Jenin hospital yesterday and said the hospital was surrounded by Israeli troops with tear gas bombs thrown just outside. BBC Newsreports.
A senior doctor in the northern Gazan hospital Kamal Adwan said that more than 70 medical staff were “arrested and taken to an unknown area” by the Israeli military. Meanwhile, the hospital’s director said that Israeli tank shells struck the maternity ward on Monday, killing two women and injuring two others so severely that their legs were amputated. When asked about the arrests, the IDF said it is taking “all feasible precaution to mitigate harm to non-combatants, and is fighting against the Hamas terrorist organization, and not the civilians in Gaza or the medical teams operating there.” Ibrahim Dahman, Tim Lister, and Tara John report for CNN.
The World Bank announced yesterday it would provide $20 million in new emergency aid to Gaza, including $10 million for food vouchers and parcels, as part of the total $35 million package deal offered. AP News reports.
INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
Far-right Polish lawmaker Grzegorz Braun of the Confederation party described Hanukkah as “satanic” and used a fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles in Poland’s parliament yesterday during an annual Hanukkah celebration event attended by members of the Jewish community. Footage showed people covered in powder from the extinguisher as security guards rushed people out of the vicinity. Anna Koper reports for Reuters.
The Netherlands raised its terrorism threat level to “substantial” yesterday for the first time since 2019, citing the Israel-Hamas conflict as a primary reason.“Organizations like ISIS and Al Qaeda are using the war in Gaza to urge sympathizers to carry out attacks in the West, the National Coordinator for Counter-terrorism and Security said. The agency added that if it had information of a specific planned attack, it would raise the threat level to “critical.” Reuters reports.
U.S. RESPONSE
President Biden said yesterday that Israel is losing global support over its “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza and said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must “change,” marking his most critical comments yet of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Biden alluded to a conversation he had with Netanyahu, who said: “You carpet bombed Germany, you dropped the atom bomb, a lot of civilians died.” Biden responded with, “Yeah, that’s why all these institutions were set up after World War Two to see to it that it didn’t happen again … don’t make the same mistakes we made in 9/11. There’s no reason why we had to be in a war in Afghanistan.” Biden said, “this government in Israel is making it very difficult,” adding that Israel “cannot say no” to a Palestinian state. Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland report for Reuters.
Netanyahu confirmed in a statement yesterday “there is disagreement about ‘the day after Hamas’” with Biden and his team, but added, “Following an intensive dialogue with President Biden and his team, we received full backing for the ground incursion and blocking the international pressure to stop the war.” The statement also thanked “ American support for destroying Hamas and returning our hostages.”
Biden hosted a Hanukkah reception at the White House Monday where he labeled the “surge of antisemitism” across the world as “sickening.” The attendees included Holocaust survivors, Jewish community leaders, and Congress members. Will Weissert reports for AP News.
Israel has begun pumping seawater into Hamas’ tunnels in Gaza, according to U.S. officials briefed on the operation. A spokesperson for the IDF declined to comment. Biden was asked on Tuesday about Israel’s leaked plan, and while he did not address the Israeli approach, he said, “there are no hostages in any of these tunnels…But I don’t know that for a fact.” Some U.S. officials have warned that using seawater may endanger Gaza’s water supply. Nancy A. Youssef, Carrie Keller-Lynn, Michael R. Gordon, and Dov Lieber report for the Wall Street Journal.
Almost three dozen bipartisan senators are urging the U.N. to open an “independent fact-finding” investigation into the reports of sexual violence by Hamas. “An independent investigation is a necessary step to hold perpetrators accountable, support survivors, and provide justice for victims,” the letter reads. A U.N. commision of inquiry already examining war crimes in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories said its investigation would probe accusations of sexual violence and provide evidence to the International Criminal Court, although Israel has refused to cooperate with such investigation as it accuses the U.N. of being bias. Julie Tsirkin and Zoë Richards report for NBC News.
IRAN-BACKED MILITANTS
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said yesterday it struck targets in Syria and Lebanon over the past 24 hours. In Syria, warplanes and tanks struck Syrian army infrastructure, in response to three launches from Syrian territory, the IDF said. It added that in Lebanon, an Israeli fighter jet hit a Hezbollah launch post yesterday, with spokesperson Daniel Hagari accusing Hezbollah of “operat[ing] from within the villages and urban areas of southern Lebanon.” Hagari also said more than 100,000 people have fled their homes in southern Lebanon amid the cross-border violence. Andrew Carey reports for CNN.
A senior official from Yemen Houthis against ships traveling toward the occupied Palestinian regions said that ships passing Yemen should ensure their radios are turned on and respond to all Houthi attempts at communication. The official also warned against ships who are “falsifying their identity” by raising flags from different countries to its cargo ship owner. Reuters reports.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for hitting a Norwegian tanker at the entrance of the Red Sea with at least one missile on Monday, in a show of support for Palestinians as they claimed the ship was delivering oil to Israel. The ship’s owners said it was traveling to Italy with feedstock for biofuel. All 30 members aboard were unharmed and a U.S. Navy Destroyer provided assistance after receiving a mayday call, U.S. officials confirmed. Robert Greenall reports for BBC News.
The IDF said yesterday in a post on X that: “For the second time this week, Hezbollah launched several rockets toward Israel yesterday. One being launched 130 meters from a U.N. compound, with additional launches toward Israel from the same area. By continuing to fire from areas near U.N. compounds, Hezbollah systematically violates UNSC Resolution 1701 and endangers the lives of UNIFIL soldiers.”
ISRAEL & PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
Israel’s “Saar 6” Warship and Iran’s ‘Sarir’ Satellite Launcher. Israel has deployed the “Saar 6” warship to the Red Sea, countering Houthi threats, while Iran has made significant progress with its ‘Sarir‘ Satellite Launcher. These developments mark major advancements in their respective military and technological capabilities. The “Saar 6”, equipped with sophisticated missile systems, bolsters Israel’s maritime defense, particularly in naval combat. Concurrently, Iran’s ‘Sarir’ enhances its capabilities in space exploration and missile technology, potentially reaching geostationary orbit. Each system underscores the distinct strategic posture of its nation; “Saar 6” in maritime operations, and ‘Sarir’ in long-range technological prowess.
Israeli Forces Suffer Major Casualties in Gaza Ambush. Ten Israeli soldiers, including two senior officers from the Golan Brigade and Air Force’s Unit 669, were killed in Gaza. The incident marks one of the deadliest in the ongoing ground operation, bringing the total Israeli military death toll to 115.
19 Hostages Confirmed Dead in Gaza Crisis. Israel confirms the death of 19 out of 135 hostages still held in Gaza, including a Tanzanian national. Two Tanzanian agricultural students were among the 240 hostages taken to Gaza in October. The Israeli military recovered the bodies of two hostages, identified as Edein Zakaria and (Soldier) Ziv Dadon, during a military operation. Dadon was killed in a Hamas attack, while Zakaria was abducted during the Nova Music Festival.
Israeli Army Conducts Over 250 Airstrikes on Gaza. The Israeli military carried out more than 250 airstrikes in Gaza, targeting Hamas elements and infrastructure, resulting in ten soldiers killed. The army thwarted a missile-launching cell in Gaza, releasing footage of the airstrike. The death toll from the ground incursion rises to 115, including two senior commanders.
Israel Vows to Continue War on Hamas with or Without International Support. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen states that agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza at this stage would be a mistake. Israel commits to pursuing its war on Hamas, with or without international backing, as the Foreign Ministry insists the General Assembly’s vote doesn’t signal a loss of international support.
World Bank Announces $20 Million Funding for Gaza Relief. The World Bank has revealed a new $20 million funding initiative, allocating $10 million for food vouchers and supplies, aiming to provide emergency relief to Gaza. The aid, benefiting approximately 377,000 people, is part of a larger $35 million relief package, with an initial disbursement of $15 million already delivered.
Polish Right-Wing Deputy Extinguishes Hanukkah Candles, Sparks Outrage. Gregorz Braun, a Polish far-right deputy, caused uproar by extinguishing Hanukkah candles in the parliament, disrupting proceedings ahead of a confidence vote in the new government. Braun’s actions prompted a break in the session, leading to his suspension for the day. The incident drew condemnation from various officials, including Poland’s parliament president, the Israeli ambassador, and the U.S. ambassador, highlighting concerns about rising anti-Semitism.
S-Israel Discord: Navigating Response to Houthi Threat. The US-Israel alliance faces a dilemma in responding to Houthi attacks supported by Iran. Washington discourages direct Israeli retaliation, fearing regional escalation, while emphasizing a cautious approach to protect fragile Yemen ceasefire. Military options remain on the table, but the Biden administration seeks to avoid broader conflict, reflecting concerns about regional stability and the vulnerability of international shipping routes.