12/17/2023–|Last updated: 12/17/202311:38 PM (Mecca time)
On the 72nd day of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the occupation army continued to bomb various areas in the Gaza Strip, coinciding with violent battles fought by the resistance. The Israeli War Council also met to discuss returning to negotiations to reach a new prisoner exchange deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
The toll of Palestinian martyrs since the start of the aggression on Gaza rose to 18,800 martyrs, while the number of wounded reached about 51,000, most of them women and children. In the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the number of martyrs who were killed by occupation bullets had risen since the beginning of this year to 505, including 297 martyrs after the seventh of last October.
The War Council is discussing a new exchange deal
Channel 12 said that the war council will discuss in tonight’s meeting a new direction for a new exchange deal, noting that the army’s killing of 3 hostages in the Shujaiya neighborhood had major repercussions on the Israeli decision-making circle.
War Council member Benny Gantz said that he spoke with the families of the prisoners about the possibilities of reaching an agreement, saying that there would be no problem in paying the price, but rather the problem lies in the ability to reach an agreement.
The Authority is ready to rule Gaza
Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein Al-Sheikh, confirmed that the Palestinian Authority will be ready to control the Gaza Strip after the end of the war.
The Sheikh, who is considered one of the most prominent names proposed to succeed Mahmoud Abbas, stressed that the Authority is the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, stressing that it is unacceptable for some to believe that the method of the Hamas movement and its approach to managing the conflict with Israel is the highest and best ideal, as he put it.
An international investigation into burying Palestinians alive
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor called for the opening of an independent international investigation into information about the occupation army burying wounded Palestinians alive in the yard of Kamal Adwan Hospital, in the town of Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip.
The Observatory said that it received “testimonies and complaints from medical and media teams confirming that Israeli bulldozers buried Palestinians alive in the hospital yard before they withdrew from it.”
The occupation announces the discovery of a “giant” tunnel in Gaza
The Israeli occupation army said that it discovered what it described as a giant tunnel network led by Muhammad al-Sinwar, brother of the leader of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, Yahya al-Sinwar.
According to the army statement, the tunnel extends in one of its parts to 4 kilometers from the Jabalia area, and reaches a distance of 400 meters from the Erez Beit Hanoun crossing to the north.
505 martyrs in the West Bank
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the number of Palestinian martyrs killed by Israeli occupation bullets in the occupied West Bank has reached 505 since the beginning of this year.
The Ministry said in a statement that among the martyrs were 111 children, but after the seventh of last October, the death toll reached 297, including 70 children.
Settlement projects in Gaza
15 Israeli organizations have begun preparing for settlement projects in the Gaza Strip, in the event that the occupation army is able to extend its control over the Strip, while an Israeli contracting and real estate marketing company has opened the door to reserving residential units there.
This took place during a conference held in Tel Aviv, on December 11, entitled “Practical preparation for settlement in the Gaza Strip,” organized by a coalition of settlement organizations funded by the Israeli government.
Israel transfers money to the Authority
Israeli Channel 12 said that Tel Aviv and the Palestinian Authority have agreed on a mechanism for the Authority to receive funds held by Israel.
The channel indicated that the agreed-upon mechanism allows Israel to see the names of those who will receive the Authority’s salaries in the Gaza Strip, and was approved after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas approved a proposal by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
The battle of Khan Yunis will take “months”
Israeli Army Radio reported army estimates indicating that resolving the battle against the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, will take months.
Anti-tunnel wall between Gaza and Egypt
Israeli Army Radio reported that Tel Aviv is planning to build an underground anti-tunnel wall on the Salah al-Din (Philadelphia) axis between the Gaza Strip and Egypt after the war, and that it has notified the Egyptian side of this.
The Golani Brigade loses a quarter of its forces
Former Golani Brigade commander Moshe Kaplinsky revealed that since October 7, the brigade has lost a quarter of its forces killed or wounded, as 82 officers and soldiers were killed during the aggression on Gaza.
American response to the Houthis
The American Politico website quoted American officials as confirming that the administration of US President Joe Biden is examining options to respond to the Houthis following attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
The Houthi group previously attacked Israeli ships and took some of them to Yemeni ports. Later, it announced a strategy to prevent cargo ships from arriving in Israel, regardless of the nationality of the ship and the party managing it.