The situation in Jenin “continues deteriorating” as it enters its third day under Israeli military siege; meanwhile, in Gaza, displaced Palestinians face frigid temperatures under heavy rainfall.
Casualties
18,608+ killed* and more than 50,594 wounded in the Gaza Strip.
286 Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
*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
- Gaza Health Ministry: 296 Palestinian medics killed by Israeli forces since October 7.
- Palestinian Ministry of Education: 3,714 students have been killed and 5,700 injured in Gaza and the occupied West Bank since October 7.
- PRCS: The situation in Jenin continues to deteriorate as the Israeli military maintains a siege on the area for the third consecutive day.
- Israeli authorities demolished four Palestinian buildings in occupied East Jerusalem, leaving 36 people homeless.
- Reports of Palestinian civilians killed execution-style while sheltering in a school in northern Gaza.
- Wafa: Israeli forces detained 18 Palestinians, including a 12-year-old boy and his father, during military raids in the West Bank overnight.
- 92% of Palestinians in the West Bank want Abbas to resign, according to a poll done by the Palestinian Center for Social Research.
- Gaza Health Ministry: Israeli forces shot several Palestinians after ordering them to leave Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip.
- UN: Almost half of Gaza’s 1.9 million population is now seeking shelter in the Rafah Governorate area in southern Gaza.
- Biden administration staffers hold a vigil outside the White House, call on Biden to support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Israel’s Genocide Continues in Gaza
The U.N. Humanitarian Office has warned Gaza is facing a public health disaster due to the lack of healthcare facilities and the spread of infectious disease. Reuters reports.
Heavy rain in Gaza raises concerns over the worsening health situation in the Strip, with the U.N. humanitarian affairs coordination office saying that the flooding is “worsening the struggle of displaced Palestinians,” according to U.N. News.
At least 11 Palestinians were killed during a days-long raid in Jenin, located in the occupied West Bank, the Hamas-run health ministry said today. Meanwhile the director of the Palestinian Red Crescent in Jenin, Mahmoud Al-Saadi, said Israel was not allowing ambulances to enter the Jenin refugee camp to transport patients. When asked about the deaths and reports of the military blocking ambulances, the Israeli military said there was “ongoing counterterrorism activity” in the city. Ali Sawafta reports for Reuters.
The U.N. Palestinian Refugee Agency said in a post on X that at least 288 people have been killed in its Gaza shelters since the Oct. 7 attacks, marking the “deadliest year for Palestinians killed in the West Bank.”
A post-war Gaza without Hamas is a “delusion,” said Ismail Haniyeh, who is widely viewed as a Hamas’ group leader. Haniyeh said “We are open to discuss any ideas or initiatives that could end the [Israeli] aggression and open the door for putting the Palestinian house in order both in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,” speaking in a televised address. BBC News reports.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message posted to X that “international pressures” will not stop Israel from continuing the war against Hamas. Netanyahu said “Nothing will stop us, we will go to the end, to victory, no less than that.” BBC News reports.
Israel has canceled a trip to Qatar which would have seen the head of Israel’s foreign intelligence service restart discussions on a possible second hostage release deal, according to familiar sources. Alex Marquardt reports for CNN.
INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
The UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has announced a ban on “those responsible for settler violence from entering the UK to make sure our country cannot be a home for people who commit these intimidating acts.” Cameron accused these individuals of “undermining security and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians” and accused them of “targeting and killing Palestinian civilians.” He added that “Israel must take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable.”
Israel’s ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, rejected ideas of a two-state solution and said Israel would not accept it as a prospect. When asked about how there could be peace without a two-state solution, Hotovley said “the world should know now that the Palestinians never wanted to have a state next to Israel.” BBC News reports.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak endorsed support for a two-state solution and said the “longstanding position remains the two-state solution is the right outcome here.” BBC News reports.
U.S. RESPONSE
Nearly half of the Israeli munitions used in Gaza have been unguided, imprecise, “dumb bombs,” according to a new U.S. intelligence assessment compiled by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The report follows President Biden’s criticism on Tuesday of Israel’s “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza. According to people familiar with the report, the assessment findings say that around 40-45% of the 29,000 air-to-ground munitions used by Israel have not been guided, while the rest have been guided munitions. Natasha Bertrand and Katie Bo Lillis report for CNN.
The U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan discussed “a number of bilateral and regional matters, including ongoing efforts to create new conditions for an enduring and sustainable peace” and the “humanitarian response in Gaza” at a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia yesterday, the White House has confirmed. Sullivan is scheduled to meet with Israeli officials today following rising tensions between the U.S. and Israel over Israel’s strategies in Gaza. Mary Mallonee reports for CNN.
Jake Sullivan will hold “extremely serious conversations” with Israeli officials today including discussions of the “next phase of the military campaign,” said John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesperson. Kirby said Sullivan will discuss with the Israelis “efforts to be more surgical and more precise and to reduce harm to civilians. That is an aim of ours. And the Israelis say it is an aim of theirs … But it’s the results that count.” Kevin Liptak reports for CNN.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to the Middle East next week in his second visit to the region since the Oct. 7 attacks, the Pentagon announced. Lara Seligman reports for POLITICO.
The Biden administration is delaying the licenses for selling more than 20,000 U.S.-made air rifles to Israel following concerns over the weaponry being possibly distributed to extremist settlers in the West Bank who would use the weaponry in violence against Palestinian civilians, according to U.S. officials. An official said, “This deal isn’t moving anywhere at the moment. We need more assurances from Israel about the steps it is going to take to curb attacks by violent settlers and to make sure no new U.S. weapons will reach settlers in the West Bank.” Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
The Jewish protester group If Not Now blocked traffic on a Los Angeles highway during yesterday’s rush hour, holding up placards demanding a cease-fire in Gaza. The California Highway patrol said around 75 protesters were detained when officers began clearing the highway. Reuters reports.
Several Biden administration staff members held a vigil outside the White House yesterday calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, an NBC senior White House correspondent said in a post on X. The vigil saw over three dozen people, with one including Josh Paul, the former State Department official who resigned in October. Paul said at the vigil, “The U.S. government’s decision to double down on fueling the violence has put our objectives … around the globe in jeopardy for us to achieve any movement on some of the most intractable issues we face today.” Camila DeChalus reports for CNN.
The United States announced yesterday new sanctions in coordination with Britain against Hamas targeting eight officials who oversee the groups’ financial network. The sanctions block access to U.S. bank accounts and property, and will preclude those designated from doing business with Americans. The Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence said Hamas uses “seemingly permissive jurisdictions to direct fundraising campaigns for the group’s benefit and funneling those illicit proceeds to support its military activities in Gaza.” He added that the two countries are focused on “leveraging our collective tools and authorities to degrade Hamas’s ability to fund additional attacks and further destabilize the region.” Fatima Hussein reports for AP News.
IRAN-BACKED MILITANTS
The United States shot down an aerial vehicle launched from a Houthi-controlled area, the U.S. Central Command confirmed in a post on X today. The post said the U.S. Navy destroyer was responding to a call from a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker in the southern Red Sea yesterday. No injuries or damage to the ship were reported. Urvi Dugar reports for Reuters.
The U.K.’s most senior military officer, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, said that Iran “does not want a direct war” but Tehran is “comfortable with how events have unfolded.” Referencing the possibility of a wider regional conflict, Radakin said, “There are multiple scenarios in which this crisis could escalate,” and added that the US “had shown commendable restraint” following targeting of U.S. forces by militant groups in Iraq and Syria. Radakin asserted the U.K.’s support of Israel’s right to defend itself, but also said the British government has “urged restraint” against fighting in densely-packed areas due to the risk of “causing immense harm to civilians,” Jonathan Beale reports for BBC News.