Israel-Hamas war live: ‘Massacre’ in Gaza as 70 killed in Israeli strikes

Khalil al-Degran, a spokesman from al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, has spoken to Al Jazeera about the situation at the hospital following Israeli air attacks on central Gaza overnight, which also targeted al-Maghazi and al-Bureij refugee camps.

Here are his translated comments:

• A large number of people, both killed and injured, are still under the rubble.
• The massacres come within the framework of a policy of genocide against our people.
• Several wounded people lost their lives because there were no supplies to treat them with.
• We appeal to the world to stop the aggression and send medical and food supplies.

It’s past 10am (08:00 GMT) in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel.

If you’re just joining us, here are the latest developments in the past few hours:

• Some 100 people have been killed in the last 12 hours in Gaza, with the vast majority of them women and children.
• Israeli forces have bombed Aita al-Shaab and its surroundings in southern Lebanon.
• At least 20 people arrested after Israeli forces storm the village of Burqa, northwest of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
• Israel’s war cabinet is discussing Egypt’s proposed formula for a truce.
  

  

The Israeli army came down here and raided at least 10 houses. They said they were looking for Palestinians to arrest but interestingly enough, they didn’t make any arrests.

Israeli forces did call for Palestinian fighters to come out and give themselves up but that didn’t happen either.

Residents are telling us that this is simply a campaign of harassment. Jenin refugee camp is now the most raided camp in the occupied West Bank. Israeli forces are destroying any symbol of resistance or nationalism in the camp.

Egypt is reported to have proposed a formula for a truce. They’re proposing seven to 10 days where all civilians would be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

There are a couple of extra elements that might be more challenging for the Israeli government to agree to. There’s another stage that suggests the release of all female soldiers in exchange for Palestinian prisoners – that would get another seven-day ceasefire. And then a month of negotiations to discuss the release of all military personnel held by Hamas in exchange for a lot more prisoners and Israel pulling back to Gaza’s borders.

Israel’s war cabinet will continue to discuss that today. But there are a lot of political considerations here in Israel. The cabinet is not particularly united. There’s one minister criticising the government for having a large ground operation instead of air strikes, resulting in the deaths of 17 soldiers since Friday.

Israeli forces have stormed the village of Burqa, northwest of the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

At least 20 people have been arrested, including senior citizens.

Earlier, we reported that Israeli forces carried out several overnight raids, including in the city of Jenin and the Balata refugee camp.

Israeli forces have detained more than 4,600 people in the occupied West Bank since October 7.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has been slammed for showing a “lack of moral standing” after it refused to allow an Australian cricketer to show on-field support for Gaza where more than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks.

Australia’s Usman Khawaja had “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” written on his boots in the colours of the Palestinian flag in a training session ahead of the first match against Pakistan earlier this month. He was not allowed to wear those during the match.

“If it had been most other organisations that showed some semblance of consistency with their attitude and behaviour on issues I could claim surprise, but not them. Once again, they show their hypocrisy and lack of moral standing as an organisation,” said former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding.

Videos posted by Lebanese accounts on X show Israeli bombardment on the town of Aita al-Shaab and its surroundings in southern Lebanon a short while ago.

Israeli Channel 12 reported that the Israeli army targeted several Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon.

Translation: “Raids on Aita al-Shaab … Markaba … Mays al-Jabal.”

Translation: “This is what the morning looks like in Aita al-Shaab.”

There was more death and destruction in the central Gaza Strip overnight concentrated in the Maghazi and Bureij refugee camps.

Some 100 people have been killed in the last 12 hours, with the vast majority of them women and children.

The bombs fell on homes and buildings … destroying neighbourhoods and infrastructure, such as roads leading in and out of the refugee camps.

Since the UN Security Council resolution passed on Friday (boosting aid to Gaza), the scale of air raids has only increased in magnitude. There is a huge gap between the sheer level of destruction being caused by Israeli forces and the promise of more aid.

People are going hungry. There is a severe shortage of necessities including clean drinking water and medical supplies.

The UN says nearly two million people in Gaza are facing severe food and water shortages.

It is estimated that 96 percent of the available water supply is unfit for human consumption. Israeli forces have bombed wells and desalination plants in north Gaza.

As we’ve been reporting, at least 70 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air raid on the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza.

Here is what we know about the attack:

• Footage captured by Palestinian journalists and verified by Al Jazeera show an infant was among the victims.
• Dozens of bodies have been taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza.
• Israeli air attacks hit the main roads between refugee camps in central Gaza, hindering ambulances and paramedic crews from attending and rescuing injured people.

Israel’s military believes it could take months to take control of Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis.

In a report published on Sunday, the Wall Street Journal cited a senior Israeli military officer as saying it could take months to assert control in the same way that Israeli forces have done in northern Gaza as Hamas is using guerrilla tactics to inflict mounting Israeli casualties.

The report comes amid rising casualties among Israeli forces in Gaza, with at least 16 Israeli soldiers killed in the enclave between Friday and Sunday.

Gaza
Killed: 20,424
Wounded: 54,036

Occupied West Bank
Killed: 303
Wounded: 3,450

Israel
Killed on October 7: 1,139 (revised down from 1,400)
Soldiers killed since ground invasion: 157
Wounded: 8,730

Figures reported by the Palestinian Health Ministry, the Israeli army and the Israeli social security agency.

Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/12/25/israel-hamas-war-live-intense-israeli-strikes-hit-al-bureij-and-al-maghazi