- UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passes non-binding resolution urging humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza as Israeli bombardment continues.
- US President Biden says Israel “starting to lose support by [the] indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza.
- WHO chief raises concerns after Israeli forces raid northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, calls for the protection of patients and staff.
- UN agency for Palestinian refugees says Gaza has become “one of the most dangerous places in the world” amid deepening humanitarian crisis.
- At least 18,412 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel stands at 1,147.
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Israeli forces have been raiding Jenin for more than 29 hours
An Israeli military raid on Jenin and the Jenin refugee camp has been going on for 29 hours, and there are still no signs of it ending.
Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, said videos showed one residential home being surrounded by the Israeli army, which put out warnings for its occupants to leave. There was at least one arrest made in that location.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said that up to 100 Palestinians may have been arrested in the raid so far, and about 30 of those initially detained may have been released.
Raids are also taking place across the West Bank in the cities of Nablus, Hebron, Bethlehem and the Ramallah outskirts.
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Flooding tunnels in Gaza will be ‘disastrous’
Flooding a network of tunnels used by Hamas with seawater will have “devastating consequences” on the environment and the water aquifer in the enclave, Tamer Qarmout of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies has said.
The Wall Street Journal and ABC News, citing anonymous US officials, reported that flooding had begun to flush out Hamas fighters and the process could take weeks.
“Historically, since the creation of Israel, Gaza used to have a key river called the Gaza Valley River, which crossed through Gaza. Israel cut the flow of this river and deprived Gaza of a major source of drinking water,” he told Al Jazeera.
“With Gaza being a very small area with 2.3 million people, the water has been over-exploited. The quality of drinking water is really bad, and salinity is a real issue.”
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Biden warns Israel risks losing support over ‘indiscriminate’ Gaza bombing
US President Joe Biden has warned that Israel risks losing international support over its “indiscriminate bombing” of civilians in its war against Hamas in the besieged Gaza Strip.
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Yemen’s Houthis attacking civilian ships with no connection to Israel: HRW
Human Rights Watch says Yemen’s Houthis are targeting several commercial ships carrying civilian crews in the Red Sea that have no connection to Israel.
“The Houthis are claiming that they’re carrying out attacks on behalf of Palestinians, when the reality is that they’re attacking, arbitrarily detaining, and endangering civilians on ship crews who have zero connection to any known military target,” Michael Page, Middle East and North Africa deputy director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
“The Houthis should immediately release the hostages and end their attacks on civilians caught in the crosshairs of their declared war on Israel.”
The watchdog said the Norwegian-flagged Strinda, which was hit by a missile on Tuesday, was carrying palm oil to Italy rather than oil to Israel, as stated by the Houthis. On December 3, two other bulk cargo carriers were attacked despite not being bound for Israel.
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Buildings demolished in occupied West Bank’s Anata and Marj Na’ja: UN
Palestinian-owned buildings were demolished by Israeli forces in Anata and Marj Na’ja in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the UN reports.
In total, at least 1,001 Palestinian-owned structures have been demolished in the occupied West Bank this year alone, displacing at least 1,870 people, according to the latest figures from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Senior PLO official says UN General Assembly vote shows Israel’s isolation
In a brief statement posted on social media, Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s executive committee, has said Israel is isolated internationally over its war on Gaza.
Al-Sheikh issued the statement after 153 UN member states voted in favour of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with only 10 countries, including the US, opposing the resolution and 23 others abstaining.
The resolution, however, is considered as non-binding.
[Translation: “The UN resolution in the General Assembly calling for stopping the aggression against the Palestinian people demonstrates Israel’s isolation internationally, and requires international will to implement this resolution immediately”.]
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If you’re just joining us
It’s nearly 7am local time (05:00 GMT) in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel.
Here are the latest developments overnight:
- UN General Assembly overwhelmingly votes for a non-binding resolution urging a ceasefire in Gaza.
- Some 8,000 people are missing or trapped under the rubble in Gaza, a civil defence official says.
- Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank’s Jenin continues after 24 hours.
- Eight more Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza over the past day.
- Israel deploys four new warships to the Red Sea.
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Israeli military says 8 more soldiers killed in Gaza over past day
Those killed included a 35-year-old lieutenant colonel, two 23-year-old majors, a 19-year-old sergeant and a 22-year-old captain all serving with the Israeli infantry’s Golani Brigade. All were killed in fighting in northern Gaza.
Two majors – one 26 years old and another 20 years old – with the 669 Special Rescue Tactical Unit were also killed in fighting in the north of the Gaza Strip, according to the Israeli military.
And a 19-year-old sergeant in the combat engineers was also killed in the north of the Palestinian territory, it said.
On Tuesday, the UN reported that a total of 105 Israeli soldiers had been killed since Israel invaded Gaza and that 600 had been injured, citing the Israeli military.
It was not known if that total figure included the latest eight deaths reported.
Netanyahu has rejected the possibility of the Palestinian Authority (PA) running Gaza – a public repudiation of Biden’s wish for the PA to take over after the war.
Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, says now is the time for Biden to pressure Netanyahu into changing course on Gaza, including implementing an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
“Biden is more popular than Netanyahu within Israel. Netanyahu does not have the trust of most Israelis,” Bishara said.
“Biden needs to pull the plug on Netanyahu” if he refuses to abide by the US stance, he adds.
Bishara says Biden needs to pull the plug on Netanyahu -
Israel sends four new warships to Red Sea
Four new Israeli warships have “sailed for the first time to the Red Sea”, the Israeli army has said in a post on social media.
Israel deployed the new ships as a senior Houthi official in Yemen warned vessels in the Red Sea against navigating towards Israel. The deployment also follows a missile attack on a Norway-flagged tanker on Tuesday travelling in the narrow strait that links the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The new warships are part of Israel’s growing fleet of Sa’ar 6-class corvettes, which the Times of Israel reported earlier this year was “tasked with protecting [Israel’s] gas field and shipping lanes”.
Fitted out with Israeli weapons, the ships are made in Germany, which has significantly increased its military exports to Israel since launching its war on Gaza.
An Israeli Navy Sa’ar 6-class corvette warship fires a missile at Gaza from an unspecified location on October 14, 2023 [IDF/Handout via Reuters]
Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/12/13/israel-hamas-war-live-world-calls-for-ceasefire-as-israel-bombards-gaza
