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EXPLANER
Unprecedented raid breaks out in Ramallah as Gaza continues to be hit – here are the latest updates.
Here’s how things are going on Thursday, December 28, 2023:
Latest developments
- A large fire broke out in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, after an Israeli strike targeted tents sheltering displaced people in the Tal az-Zohour neighborhood.
- Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hamdah Salhut reports that Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said additional reinforcements had been sent to the suburb of Khan Younis, in the south of the Palestinian territory.
Raids in the West Bank
- Raids continue across the occupied West Bank, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Bernard Smith and Imran Khan reported, adding that the raids hit central Ramallah, which is the administrative headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, on Wednesday evening.
- It is not usual for raids to hit the city center. Violent clashes were reported in al-Manara Square in central Ramallah.
- An Israeli soldier was reportedly injured during the raid. One Palestinian was reportedly killed while 15 others were injured during the Ramallah raid.
- According to Palestinian figures, an average of 42 raids have taken place in the occupied West Bank since October 7.
- Tel Aviv Tribune’s Khan reported that there are unconfirmed reports that currency exchange shops are being targeted for raids in Ramallah.
- Palestinian journalist Salman al-Khatib was shot in the thigh while covering the violence in Ramallah.
- Live ammunition from Israeli forces injured a 17-year-old Palestinian and two young men in their 20s in the town of Bani Naim, east of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, Wafa reported.
- Hasan Brijiyeh, of the Separation Wall and Settlements Committee in Bethlehem, told Wafa that Israeli settlers dumped acid from a drone on a family’s tent east of Bethlehem on Wednesday.
- The family of nine living in the town of Rashaydeh survived the acid attack by escaping from their tent.
Human impact and fighting
- Local sources reported that at least seven civilians, mostly women and children, were killed Wednesday evening in Israeli shelling on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, the Gaza news agency reported. Palestinian press Wafa.
- Another house was bombed in the az-Zawayda area while the occupation planes also attacked Khan Younis and Rafah, Wafa added.
- The UN reports that 22 Israeli soldiers were killed Tuesday and Wednesday in Gaza, bringing the total number of Israeli forces killed in the Palestinian territory to 162 since the violence began.
Diplomacy
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler, drawing parallels between the war in Gaza and the genocide carried out by Nazi Germany.
- In response, Netanyahu pointed to alleged human rights violations in Turkey.
- French President Emmanuel Macron urged Netanyahu to work toward a lasting ceasefire.
- As hunger and disease continue to ravage Gaza, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the recent UN Security Council resolution must become a reality in an article published Thursday.
Day after day, the needs of #GazaThe people ravaged by the war are growing. Peril, poor health, hunger, thirst, lack of shelter should not be the norm for millions of people. But unfortunately, they are.@WHO and our partners have undertaken additional missions in northern and southern Gaza to… pic.twitter.com/pf1nHqoC9n
– Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 27, 2023
