- At least 35 people have been killed in Nuseirat and Maghazi refugee camps following Israeli bombings in central Gaza.
- An Israeli attack has hit a residential building near the Kuwaiti hospital in southern Gaza, killing at least 20.
- Israeli soldiers have fired at an aid convoy as it returned from northern Gaza along a route designated by the Israeli army, according to Thomas White, director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza.
- Israel’s security forces say they have “neutralised” a man who they say stabbed two people in an attack at the Mazmoria checkpoint, south of occupied East Jerusalem.
- In Gaza, at least 21,320 people have been killed and 55,603 injured in Israeli attacks since October 7. The death toll from Hamas’s attack on Israel stands at 1,139.
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Hapag Lloyd will continue to divert vessels due to recent Red Sea attacks: Report
A spokesperson for the German container shipping company, Hapag Lloyd, has informed Reuters news agency that they will continue to divert their vessels around the Suez Canal for security reasons.
A recent spate of attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen on vessels in the Red Sea has resulted in a number of shipping companies opting for alternative routes.
Hapag Lloyd would make another security assessment on January 2, the spokesperson said.
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Israel claims destruction of tunnel shafts, weapons in southern Gaza
The Israeli army has posted an update on X regarding its “Operation Oz and Nir”, which was launched in late December and named after the Nir Oz kibbutz, which was attacked by Hamas on October 7.
The statement said the forces involved in the operation had “eliminated terrorists, located dozens of tunnel shafts and anti-tank launching positions, as well as many weapons” in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Skunk water sprayed at worshippers near Al-Aqsa MosqueThere has been a skunk water truck which has been spraying water towards Palestinians and Muslim worshippers. This produces an awful smell, which has been drifting in the air. People have also been attacked with tear gas grenades.
The reason why there are these confrontations is that, since October 7, there have been vast restrictions on Muslims entering the place they revere as the third holiest place in Islam, the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
The Israelis are only allowing people over 45 years old, but even then, they can restrict them. We have only seen about 3,00 to 4,000 worshippers in the past two weeks. Usually, you’d have between 50,000 and 60,000 people praying in the mosque. So there’s been real tension here.
Al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyard on December 15, 2023 [Mohammad Hamad/Anadolu Agency] -
Detainee recounts ‘barbaric’ arrests in Deir Abu Mesha’al
From the village of Deir Abu Mesha’al near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces detained more than 30 Palestinians overnight, Mohammed Wajeeh, 21, recounts his experience to Al Jazeera.
“They were very barbaric in their intervention. [After forcing open the door to the house,] they searched everything. They destroyed the kitchen. They went upstairs and downstairs, [searched] all the closets. They did not leave anything,” Wajeeh said.
Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim said Israeli forces went door to door arresting Palestinians. They blindfolded them, tied their hands and took them to an open building on the street where they were detained for hours.
Wajeeh said they interrogated him about the number of people at his home and seized all their phones.
“They said some provoking words, and then they just threw me in the middle of nowhere, and it was very cold, and they asked me to stay there,” he said.
Ibrahim said that according to Palestinians, the “main goal of these arrests is to instill fear” in the younger generation.
“[It’s] to tell them that if anyone wants to oppose Israel’s occupation, then the result will be arrests and intimidation,” she said.
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Key events on day 84 of the war on Gaza
It’s day 84 of the war, and here is where things stand:
- Gaza’s Ministry of Health has announced 20 patients will be allowed to travel outside the besieged enclave via the Rafah crossing for emergency treatment in Egypt.
- An Israeli strike has hit a residential building near the Kuwait Specialty Hospital in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, killing at least 20 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
- The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has warned that not enough aid is entering the Gaza Strip, leaving 40 percent of its population “at risk of famine”.
- A delegation from Hamas is to visit Cairo to discuss Egypt’s ceasefire plan.
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip [Arafat Barbakh/Reuters] -
Galaxy Maritime ‘encouraged’ by reports of imminent release of crew
Galaxy Maritime, the owner of the bulk carrier Galaxy Leader, which was hijacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on November 19, says it is encouraged by reports from the Philippines that the release of 17 of its seafarers is imminent.
The 25-member crew is from Bulgaria, Mexico, Romania, Ukraine and the Philippines.
The company also said it is committed to meeting all the captive seafarers’ repatriation expenses.
The Houthis have upended shipping in the Red Sea by using drone and missile attacks and taking control of vessels to show their support for Palestinians in Israel’s war on Gaza.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels use a helicopter to’ take over the Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea off Hodeidah on November 19, 2023 [Houthi Movement via Getty Images] -
Residents of Sderot to remain in hotels during January: Report
The Israeli city of Sderot, which is located near the Gaza Strip, is expected to extend its evacuation protocol until the end of January.
Israeli Channel 12 reported that the government is set to approve the extension, allowing residents to stay in hotels or find alternative housing.
Many residents of Sderot have relocated to major Israeli cities such as Tel Aviv or seaside resorts in the south of the country due to the heightened security risk.
Israelis queue as they are evacuated from the southern city of Sderot near Israel’s border with Gaza on October 15, 2023 [Amir Cohen/Reuters] -
Israeli forces detain 14 Palestinians in raids across the occupied West Bank: Report
Israeli forces have detained at least 14 Palestinians, including a child, in a series of raids across the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency reports.
In Tulkarm, Israeli forces stormed the village of Qaffin and detained four Palestinians.
In Jericho, the Israeli army stormed Ein as-Sultan refugee camp and detained a 16-year-old, identified as Hani Sarafandi, after searching his family home.
In Ramallah province, forces raided the town of Deir Abu Meshaal and detained several local residents. Two residents from the al-Amaari refugee camp in Ramallah were also jailed
Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/12/29/israel-hamas-war-live-israel-kills-at-least-20-in-attack-on-rafah
