At least 100 dead in central Gaza, while nighttime raids injured 17 people in occupied West Bank – here’s the latest.
Here’s how things go on Sunday, December 31, 2023:
Latest updates and human impact:
- Israeli military attacks on homes in central Gaza have killed at least 100 people and injured 286 in less than 24 hours, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
- Continued Israeli bombardment has now destroyed more than 70 percent of Gaza’s homes, according to the government media office.
- The occupied West Bank saw another night of raids and drone attacks, with at least 17 Palestinians injured in the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps.
- There is a growing exodus of displaced Palestinians to the city of Rafah, in the far south of the country, where some 100,000 people have fled in just a few days, according to the United Nations.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel should control the border area between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. Egypt has rejected the prospect of ceding this territory to Israel.
- According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, twenty-three Syrian fighters have been killed by airstrikes believed to be carried out by Israeli forces, as hostilities escalate between Israel and Iran-aligned groups in the region.
- Israel has also exchanged strikes with Hezbollah. The Lebanese group claimed four attacks on Israeli territory over the past day, while Israeli strikes killed at least one Hezbollah fighter.
- The Palestinian Public Broadcasting Corporation has strongly condemned Israel for hacking into a local radio station and broadcasting “threatening messages” to Gaza residents already traumatized by the war.
- In Gaza, at least 21,822 people have been killed and 56,451 injured in Israeli attacks since October 7. The revised death toll from the Hamas attack on Israel stands at 1,139.
Diplomacy:
- The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has welcomed South Africa’s decision to file a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), saying the charge is justified due to “indiscriminate targeting of the population.” civil” by Israel.
- Several genocide experts also welcomed the move, with Britain’s war crimes prosecutor Geoffrey Nice telling Tel Aviv Tribune it was a “courageous” step.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked US President Joe Biden’s administration for its continued support during the war, including approving a new emergency arms sale, the second this month.
- Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told Israeli media that the government bears some responsibility for its failure to prevent the Hamas attack on October 7. He called for the formation of a committee of inquiry to hold those who showed “negligence” to account.
- Israel is ready to let ships deliver aid to Gaza “immediately” via a proposed sea corridor from Cyprus, according to Cohen.
Commercial vessels targeted in the Red Sea:
- Yemen’s Houthi rebels have carried out multiple attacks on a container ship belonging to global shipping giant Maersk, according to the US military, prompting the company to suspend operations in the Red Sea for 48 hours.
- In the latest suspected Houthi attack on the Maersk ship, U.S. helicopters returned fire and fired on Houthi boats, sinking three of them and killing several crew members, according to U.S. Central Command.
- British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he had conveyed to Iran’s foreign minister that Tehran shared “a responsibility to prevent these attacks, given its long-standing support for the Houthis.”
I talked to @Amirabdolahian today on Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, which threaten innocent lives and the global economy. I have made clear that Iran shares responsibility for preventing these attacks, given its long-standing support for the Houthis.
– David Cameron (@David_Cameron) December 31, 2023