Israel-Hamas war live: Israel kills ‘around 100 Palestinians’ in one day

Whenever a high-ranking official, whether European or American, comes to the region we see a surge in air attacks and mass bombardment

Since the visit of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, we’ve seen more Palestinians being killed at record numbers.

More women and children are being killed. More residential buildings and other public facilities – including hospitals and schools – are being destroyed.

Every time there is a visit (by a foreign official to the region) people in Gaza make similar observations. That’s why they have been largely skeptical of these latest visits of high American officials to the region.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that Hamas’s political leaders have been in discussions with their Palestinian rivals about a post-war future for Gaza and the West Bank.

Husam Badran, a member of Hamas’s Doha-based political bureau, spoke to the WSJ on the outskirts of the Qatari capital.

“We don’t fight just because we want to fight. We are not partisans of a zero-sum game,” he said in the interview.

“We want the war to end,” he added. “We want to establish a Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem.”

Israeli forces have destroyed a house near Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah.

On Tuesday, at least 13 people were reported killed and many wounded in the central Gaza City.

Deir el-Balah has come under repeated Israeli assaults since the war began on October 7.

The Freedom Theatre in Jenin, a popular symbol of peace and hope in the occupied West Bank, has experienced many attacks over the years.

Most recently, the theatre, which provides artistic programmes for traumatised children in the occupied West Bank, was raided and vandalised on December 13. Its Director Mustafa Sheta and acting trainer Jamal Abu Joas were arrested.

The pair are reportedly being detained in Megiddo prison, outside the occupied West Bank, according to an update from Freedom Theatre, which also said this may be in violation of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

You can read more about the importance of this iconic theatre company here.

Israeli forces carried out another dawn raid targeting the city of Tubas and the town of Tammoun, resulting in injuries and detentions, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

In Tubas, many military vehicles entered the city from the eastern side amid volleys of gunfire, Wafa said. At least two people related to released Palestinian prisoners have been detained.

In Tammoun, sources from the Red Crescent said, a 16-year-old was wounded in the firing by Israeli forces, who also bulldozed two homes in the area.

Earlier, we also reported about injuries and arrests following separate raids in Nablus and occupied East Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, more Israeli raids were carried out in the following areas:

• Town of Balaa in Tulkarem, where several young men were arrested
• Town of al-Lubban Asharqiya, south of Nablus
• Town of al-Yamoun, west of Jenin
• Town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron

[Translation: Sounds of gunfire exchange heard in the background as Israeli forces clashed with Palestinian youths during the storming of the town of al-Yamoun, west of the city of Jenin.]

It’s almost 7am (05:00 GMT) in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel.

Here are some of the key developments overnight:

• “Without safe water, many more children will die [in] coming days” in Gaza, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell says.
• Apparent “targeted” killings of journalists in Gaza need to be investigated, Jody Ginsberg, the president of the Committee to Protect Journalists, tells NPR.
• The Malaysian ban on Israeli shipping vessels is “effective immediately”, the office of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says.
• The UN Security Council humanitarian resolution vote has been postponed until at least Wednesday morning.

In an official statement, the office of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says the immediate ban on ZIM shipping company is in response to Israel’s actions against Palestinians in Gaza.

The statement said Israel is committing “massacre and brutality” against Palestinians.

At the same time, Malaysia said it has decided to no longer accept Israel-flagged ships to dock in the country.

In addition, Malaysia will also impose “a ban on any ship en route to Israel from loading cargo at Malaysian ports”.

“Both of these restrictions are effective immediately.”

Displaced children in southern Gaza have less water than their basic survival needs, the UN children agency’s Executive Director Catherine Russell said.

“Without safe water, many more children will die from deprivation and disease in the coming days,” Russell said.

“Children and their families are having to use water from unsafe sources that are highly salinated or polluted.”

In Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of people – half of them estimated to be children – have fled since the beginning of December, water and sanitation situation systems are “in an extremely critical state”, Russell added.

The water shortages have already contributed to 20 times the monthly average of cases of diarrhoea among children under the age of five, she said.

Volunteers from Khan Younis have initiated a programme that helps displaced children deal with the trauma they have experienced amid the continuing deadly Israeli attacks in the besieged enclave.

At the central yard of the Jenin Boys School, they play and sing with the children who come to the school with their displaced families.

“At the moment, we organise play sessions, especially for children, ranging from games to songs, in order to help them flush out the negative energy from their system in Gaza, because of the war and aggression that we are living in,” Dalia Elweah, a volunteer, told Reuters.

“This play activity flushes out negative energy from the children as well as their parents, because parents, when they see their children happy, they feel happier and the parents participate and join in,” Elweah said.

Joseph Tawadros is currently more than 15 hours into a 24-hour musical prayer vigil for Gaza at Kings College Chapel in London.

Tawadros is live-streaming his solo oud performance, which is free and open to the public.

Speaking to Al Jazeera before he began, Tawadros said he would hold “thoughts of courageous people” in Gaza as he played.

“The people of Gaza who are mostly children [are] living in constant fear, that the building they’re seeking refuge in – a church, a mosque, a hospital, a school, a family home – could perish at any moment,” he said.

“Can you imagine the anxiety of that uncertainty?”

He says he wants the performance, which is also raising funds for the Amos Trust’s Christmas Appeal for Gaza, to show that “even though many of us may feel helpless, we just cannot give up”.

Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/12/20/israel-hamas-war-live-israel-kills-around-100-palestinians-in-one-day