Israeli forces kill two in West Bank
Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said, after the Israeli military announced a soldier had also been killed in the territory.
The Ramallah-based ministry said in a statement that "two citizens, whose identities are not yet known, were killed by the occupation forces' bullets in Jenin camp this evening".
Israeli forces launched a major offensive this month in the Jenin area that has been dubbed Iron Wall.
During a visit to the Jenin refugee camp on Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the assault was aimed at destroying "terror infrastructure" built there "with funding and armament from Iran".
Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli military announced the killing of a soldier in the northern West Bank. The Times of Israel reported he was killed in combat in Jenin.
- AFP
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OCHA concern after another Gaza baby freezes to death
OCHA on Monday expressed concern over reports that a one-month-old baby in Gaza died from hypothermia, as reported by the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
“This is the eighth such child death due to the cold in less than three weeks. These deaths were preventable had the items required to protect these children been accessible to their families,” OCHA said in a statement.
“OCHA continues to receive daily reports of civilians being killed and injured across Gaza due to ongoing hostilities, which are also causing widespread destruction and displacement,” it added.
Israel stops lawyers from meeting Kamal Adwan medical chief in detention, rights group says
The Israeli military is refusing to allow lawyers to meet Hussam Abu Safiya, who was arrested during a raid on the Kamal Adwan Hospital on December 27, according Israeli rights group, Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI).
The group said in a post on X that "despite our urgent requests to send an attorney, the military says he's barred from lawyer visits until 10.01.2025".
The group said the Israeli military also continues to withhold information about Dr Abu Safiya's detention location, despite retracting their earlier claim that he isn’t being held in Israel, said PHRI.
US envoy says Israeli forces begin pullout from second south Lebanon town
Visiting US envoy Amos Hochstein said Israeli forces began withdrawing on Monday from a south Lebanon border town more than halfway into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
It is the second pullout since a November 27 ceasefire, and came after United Nations peacekeepers and Lebanon's prime minister last month called on the Israeli army to speed up its withdrawal from Lebanon's south.
"The Israeli military started its withdrawal from Naqura... and back into Israel proper today, south of the Blue Line," Mr Hochstein told reporters, referring to the UN-demarcated boundary between the countries.
"These withdrawals will continue until all Israeli forces are out of Lebanon completely, and as the Lebanese army continues to deploy into the south and all the way to the Blue Line," he added after meeting with Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.
-AFP
Israel says Hamas knows exactly where hostages are after offer
Israel said Monday that Hamas had yet to clarify whether 34 hostages it said it was ready to free were dead or alive, throwing doubt on the group's assertion that it needed time to ascertain their fate.
"They know precisely who is alive and who is dead. They know precisely where the hostages are," Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told journalists.
"Gaza is a very small place. Hamas know exactly where they are."
- AFP
UN accuses Israel of shooting aid convoy
Adla Massoud reports from the UN in New York:
The UN World Food Programme on Monday accused Israeli troops of opening fire on its convoy in Gaza the previous day.
The “horrifying incident” involved 16 bullets hitting three vehicles, which were carrying eight staff members near the Wadi Gaza checkpoint. There were no injuries reported.
The WFP said the convoy was marked clearly and had previously obtained the necessary security clearances from Israeli authorities.
"This unacceptable event is just the latest example of the complex and dangerous working environment that WFP and other agencies are operating in today. Security conditions in Gaza must urgently improve for lifesaving humanitarian assistance to continue," it said.
WFP chief Cindy McCain called the incident "absolutely unacceptable", and insisted on safety for humanitarian work in Gaza.
"I don't think there's an explanation for shooting at a clearly marked convoy from the World Food Programme, whose movements have been completely coordinated with the Israeli security forces," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE: A @WFP convoy, clearly marked & carrying 8 team members, was shot at by Israeli forces near Wadi Gaza despite prior clearances. Humanitarians are #NotATarget!
— Cindy McCain (@WFPChief) January 6, 2025
We MUST have safe, secure access to continue delivering life-saving aid. https://t.co/ai10NBO7re pic.twitter.com/ut73Eg4wKl
Patients trapped inside besieged Indonesian Hospital
Nagham Mohanna reports: Israel intensified attacks on northern Gaza's Indonesian Hospital on Monday, putting it out of service and trapping patients without food, water or heating.
“This past Saturday, the [Indonesian] hospital completely ceased operations and is no longer providing any services to patients, despite patients and others still being trapped inside," Munir Al Bursh, general director of Gaza's Ministry of Health, told The National.
“There are no medical supplies, electricity, water, or any other resources necessary to treat patients and provide them with adequate care."
The attack on the Indonesian Hospital, in Beit Lahia, follows the destruction last month of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the same area.
There, Israel forced patients and medical staff to leave the hospital during that operation – with more than 240 people detained.
They included the hospital's director, Hussam Abu Safiya, whose whereabouts remain unknown.
The destruction of Kamal Adwan means it is vital that the Indonesian Hospital reopens, said health officials.
About 75,000 Gazans are at risk from the "systematic dismantling of the health system and a siege for over 80 days on north Gaza", the World Health Organisation said in December.
Most of the patients forced to leave Kamal Adwan fled to the Indonesian Hospital.
Blinken optimistic of Gaza truce 'in next two weeks', despite impasse
Hamza Hendawi reports from Cairo:
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Washington wanted to see a ceasefire deal in Gaza concluded and the hostages freed in the next two weeks.
But sources told The National that Israel and Hamas remain at odds, despite a renewed bid under way in Qatar to broker a deal.
“We very much want to bring this over the finish line in the next two weeks, the time we have remaining,” Mr Blinken told a news conference in South Korea.
The renewed push to reach a deal to pause the 15-month Gaza war between Israel and Hamas comes as US president-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on January 20. He has said that there will be “hell to pay” if the hostages were not released by the time he takes over the presidency from Joe Biden.
Macron says Israel must end war on Gaza
Sunniva Rose reports:
Israel must stop its war on Gaza and work with international partners for a two-state solution, French President Emmanuel Macron has said.
“Israel must immediately end the war, admit that it has partners for peace and commit to a just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question by co-ordinating with all the countries of the region on the Gaza issue,” he told French ambassadors in a speech during their annual meeting in Paris.
He also called on Israel to “preserve political conditions in the West Bank and Gaza for the construction of a Palestinian state".
Mr Macron has defended Israel’s security interests, including by ordering the French military personnel in Jordan to intercept Iranian missiles fired at Israel in October last year. But he has also criticised the humanitarian consequences of its war on Gaza.
“In Gaza, there is no military justification for the continuation of Israeli operations, the deliberate obstruction of humanitarian aid and the situation of hunger and extreme destitution to which the civilian population is reduced," Mr Macron said.
“Targeted Israeli interventions in Lebanon, Syria and Iran have changed the strategic situation in the Middle East. We must collectively draw the consequences and open up the prospect of a solid, lasting and secure peace in the region.”
Jordan and Turkey to work together to end Israeli aggression in Gaza
Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi expressed his country's support for the Palestinian people and said it would co-operate with Turkey to tackle "Israel's brutal aggression" in Gaza.
In a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Mr Safadi said he discussed issues concerning the region, including the war in Gaza and the rebuilding of Syria.
He said the discussions reflected a keenness to increase co-operation to address the challenge of "putting an end to Israel's brutal aggression against Gaza and the absence of any atmosphere to give justice and sovereignty to the Palestinian people".
Gaza death toll increases to 45,854
The Ministry of Health in Gaza on Monday said that at least 45,854 people have been killed and 109,139 wounded in Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023.
Its update said that 49 people were killed and 75 injured in three separate attacks during the 24 hours to noon on Monday.
Three killed and seven wounded in occupied West Bank shooting
Thomas Helm in Jerusalem reports:
Three people have been killed and seven wounded in a shooting at a bus and two other vehicles in the occupied West Bank on Monday morning, the Israeli ambulance service said.
Two women in their sixties and a man, aged about 40, were killed.
Paramedics said they provided treatment to a further eight people on the bus, including the driver.
All three vehicles had Israeli licence plates.
The attack took place on Route 55 at the Palestinian village of Al Funduq, which is close to the illegal settlements of Kedumim and Karnei Shomron. Israel’s military is searching for two suspected attackers, who fled.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent condolences to the families of those killed and vowed that Israel “will reach the abominable murderers”.
Eighth child freezes to death in Gaza
A 35-day-old boy is the latest child to have died from severe cold in Gaza, health authorities reported on Monday. It takes the total number of infant fatalities from hypothermia to eight in the past several weeks.
The boy was named as Yousef Ahmed Anwar Kalloub.
Hamas's list of 34 hostages to be released includes women and children, says report
A list of 34 Israelis provided by Hamas for release as part of a hostage deal with Israel includes young children, 10 women and 11 men aged between 50 and 85, the BBC reported.
The broadcaster claims a senior Hamas official shared a provisional list of 34 hostages that the group says it is willing to release. It is unclear how many of the about 250 hostages taken on October 7, 2023, remain alive. Several that Hamas says are sick are also on the list, said the report. However, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied reports that Hamas provided Israel with a list of hostages.
Dozens killed in Israeli air strikes across Gaza since Sunday
Nagham Mohanna reports:
About 30 people were killed and dozens injured in Israeli air strikes, artillery shelling, and gunfire from drones and military vehicles across the Gaza Strip since Sunday morning and continuing into Monday.
A woman and a child were killed early on Monday morning in an Israeli air strike on a house near Al Omari Mosque in the Al Daraj neighbourhood in central Gaza city. Local sources also reported that four people were killed and several others injured in another air strike, this time on a house in Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, north of Gaza City. The victims were identified as Imad Qassem Barakat, his wife, Mahmoud Imad Barakat, and Ahmed Imad Barakat.
In another incident on Monday morning, two farmers were also killed in an Israeli drone strike in the Masbah area, north of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Israeli attacks were reported in central Gaza, where military vehicles fired shots north of Al Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps. Additionally, Israeli warships fired on the western part of Nuseirat.
Two more people were reported to have been killed in an Israeli air strike near Kof Meraj, north of Rafah. Meanwhile, Al Mawasi, west of Rafah, was under artillery shelling and gunfire from Israeli military vehicles.
On Sunday evening, it was announced that Dr Thabat Saleem, a volunteer at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, was killed as a result of an Israeli strike on a house in Al Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip.
Israeli artillery repeatedly shelled areas to the south-east of Al Zaytoun neighbourhood of Gaza city. Several artillery shells also struck the vicinity of the Abu Sharia area of Al Sabra neighbourhood, south of the city.
Blinken aims to 'cross finish line' on Gaza ceasefire and hostages deal
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Washington wanted a ceasefire deal in Gaza to be concluded and the hostages released in the next two weeks.
A renewed push is under way to reach a ceasefire in the war and return Israeli hostages, before US president-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.
"We very much want to bring this over the finish line in the next two weeks, the time we have remaining," Mr Blinken told a press conference in South Korea.
-Reuters
UN rights monitor welcomes Brazil's inquiry into Israeli soldier's actions in Gaza
UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese said legal action against Israelis suspected of crimes in Gaza were "necessary and overdue".
Her comments came after the Belgium-based Hind Rajab Foundation announced that a Brazilian court had acted on a complaint it filed against Israeli solider Yuval Vagdani and ordered the police to launch an investigation.
"#Apartheid Israel will go to great lengths to shield its soldiers since a conviction abroad for crimes against Palestinians is a precedent it cannot afford. Yet, justice is unstoppable," Ms Albanese said on X.
Israeli media later reported that Israel flew Mr Vagdani out of the South American country to avoid arrest.
In #Brazil and elsewhere, legal actions against Israelis suspected of crimes in Gaza are necessary and overdue. #Apartheid Israel will go to great lengths to shield its soldiers since a conviction abroad for crimes against Palestinians is a precedent it cannot afford. Yet,… https://t.co/y9nNd9GqN3
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) January 5, 2025
Palestinian teenager killed by Israel during Nablus raid
A teenager was killed on Sunday evening by Israeli forces in Askar Al Jadeed camp, east of Nablus, Wafa reported.
The Ministry of Health identified him as Moataz Madani, who was 17.
The occupation forces stormed the Askar Hill area and fired live bullets, flares and tear gas, which resulted in Moataz being hit in the chest by a bullet, the report said.
He was transferred by the Palestine Red Crescent Society to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, where he died of his injuries.
Israeli forces bomb Lebanese town of Taybeh
Israeli forces bombed the town of Taybeh in the Marjayoun district late on Sunday evening, according to the National News Agency (NNA) in Lebanon.
The Lebanese government has accused Israel of breaking the ceasefire deal at least 392 times since it came into effect on November 27.
The agreement gives Israel 60 days to withdraw from south Lebanon and hand over control to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers. It also requires Hezbollah to move north of the Litani River.