Israel-Palestine live: Deadly Israeli attacks across Gaza as West Bank raids continue

By Osama Kahlout

Israeli air strikes persist, targeting houses within the al-Maghazi Refugee Camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip.

"I was at the school when a barefoot child came running, informing me that my house had been bombed. I know from people that nephews were killed, but I also had people who had fled to our house staying here," a homeowner whose house was bombed in the al-Maghazi refugee camp told MEE.

The homeowner added that most of those killed are women and children.

"Israel is killing us, and the US supports the massacre with weapons. Although we considered moving to Rafah yesterday, we decided to stay due to the critical humanitarian conditions there. We are deeply distressed by the bombardment from warplanes, shelling, and snipers."

A growing number of wounded Israeli soldiers represent a significant portion of Israeli society, revealing a hidden toll of the war with long-term implications, Bloomberg reported.

According to Bloomberg, advocates are concerned that the country may not be adequately equipped to meet the needs of these numerous injured individuals.

According to the Israeli Defense Ministry, approximately 3,000 members of the nation's security forces have sustained injuries since 7 October.

In Gaza, the death toll exceeds 21,000 Palestinians, with more than 55,000 injured and amputations becoming a frequent occurrence. The vast majority of the small territory's residents have been displaced due to the hostilities, Bloomberg reported.

Despite these numbers, the majority of Israelis continue to support the goals of the war.

“There could be a long-term impact if we see a big rate of people with disabilities that Israel must rehabilitate, which can produce economic issues as well as social issues," Yagil Levy, who teaches civil-military relations at Israel’s Open University, told Bloomberg.

By Osama Kahlout

An escalating number of Palestinians continue to seek refuge in Rafah City, intensifying the humanitarian crisis in the city.

The growing exodus reflects the pressing challenges faced by the population amidst the worsening humanitarian conditions.

"Forty members of my family fell victim to Israeli air strikes, compelling us to flee Gaza and seek refuge in Unrwa Schools at Al-Nusairat Refugee Camp. The school was severely overcrowded, and the children were terrified by the bombardment, nervously biting their nails," Ftama al-Bahtini, a woman displaced from Gaza to Rafah, told Middle East Eye.

She added that they have not been able to receive any aid. Sanitation facilities are scarce and they are left to stay on the floor without any tents, she said.

Um Mohammed, who is now displaced in Rafah, told MEE that she fled from al-Shuga'ya to al-Shefa. She believed she would die there, but miraculously survived.

"My children were targeted by a sniper as they looked out from a window. As the tank shelling intensified, we were forced to flee the camp," she said. "Along the way, a pregnant woman in her ninth month was tragically hit by a shrapnel that severed her head. Fearing for our lives, we decided to come to this area in Rafah last night, with no tents or aids."

Ibtisam, 13, told MEE that they desperately need help."

I wish we could live like other children abroad. Please help us reach a ceasefire. I slept on the sand last night, and it was raining on me. I hope to sleep among the rubble of my house without feeling dehumanised here. Please save us. Some people pity us and allow us to sleep in their tents."

In a statement released by the German federal government, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a phone conversation with Benny Gantz, an Israeli minister and member of the war cabinet, on Friday.

During the call, Scholz emphasised the importance of safeguarding civilians and preventing the escalation of regional conflict, the statement said.

According to the statement, Gantz informed the chancellor of the latest developments in Gaza and on Israel's northern border. 

On Friday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO), said he was "very concerned" regarding the escalating threat of infectious diseases in the Gaza Strip.

"As people continue to be massively displaced across the south of Gaza, with some families forced to move multiple times and many sheltering in overcrowded health facilities, my WHO colleagues and I remain very concerned about the increasing threat of infectious diseases," Tedros said on X.

Israel dismissed South Africa's initiation of a genocide case at the International Court of Justice on Friday, labelling it as an unfounded and legally baseless accusation, and asserting its compliance with international law in its actions against Hamas in Gaza.

"South Africa is collaborating with a terrorist group that calls for Israel's destruction," a statement from the foreign ministry said.

"The people of Gaza are not an enemy of Israel, who is making efforts to limit harm to non-combatants," the statement added.

South Africa filed a case against Israel for alleged violations of the Genocide Convention at the International Court of Justice on Friday.

According to the application submitted by South Africa, “acts and omissions by Israel... are genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent... to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group".

It adds that “the conduct of Israel- through its State organs, State agents, and other persons and entities acting on its instructions or under its direction, control or influence- in relation to Palestinians in Gaza, is in violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention”.

According to the application, since 7 October, Israel has "failed to prevent genocide and has failed to prosecute the direct and public incitement to genocide".

South Africa has requested that the ICJ indicate provisional measures in order to “protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the Genocide Convention”.

Additionally, it wants a guarantee that Israel adheres to its responsibilities as per the Genocide Convention, which includes not committing genocide, and ensuring the prevention and punishment of genocide.

On Friday, US President Joe Biden extended the duty-free reciprocal trade agreement and concessions with Israel, covering specific amounts of certain agricultural products until 31 December 2024, the White House announced.

While on vacation in St Croix, Biden signed a proclamation stating that the extension would provide more time for both governments to finalise a new agreement, replacing the trade deal established in 2004.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Friday that its staff on the ground in Gaza believe that “staying alive is only a matter of luck”, as Israel intensifies air strikes all over the besieged enclave. 

In a post on X, the organisation said its teams continue to see burn victims, shrapnel injuries and gunshot wounds.

“There is also a dramatic increase in the secondary impacts of the conflict, such as infections, dehydration and malnutrition,” MSF added.
 

The Saudi Al Arabiya news website reported that 11 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed on Thursday night in an attack near Syria’s Damascus international airport, attributing it to Israel.

The report added that the attack was carried out as a delegation of commanders of the Revolutionary Guard in eastern Syria were arriving at the airport.

The aid group Mercy Corps has warned against "catastrophic starvation" in Gaza on Friday.

“The amount of lifesaving goods being allowed inside Gaza is a drop in the ocean and has not yet increased to the level necessary to meet Gazans’ basic and critical needs, even after the opening of the Kerem Shalom border crossing,” said Kate Phillips-Barrasso, vice president of global policy and advocacy for Mercy Corps.

The United Nations agency Unrwa said on Friday that Israeli forces have killed at least 304 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the start of the war on 7 October. 

The figure includes at least 79 children.

A spokesperson for the German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd said it will continue to divert vessels around the Suez Canal for security reasons, with further assessments to be made on 2 January, Reuters reported on Friday.

Japan’s largest shipping companies have also said their vessels with links to Israel are avoiding the Red Sea area.

Israeli forces killed a young man by the name of Amr Abu Hussein at the entrance to Wadi al-Shajna, east of the Dura city near Hebron, the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. 

More than 1,000 children in Gaza have had one or more limbs amputated since the Israeli onslaught began on 7 October, with many undergoing the procedure without anaesthetic, the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) revealed last week.

James Elder, a Unicef spokesperson, reported that children in Gaza were enduring "10 weeks of hell and not one of them can escape".

Elder, who has recently returned from the besieged enclave, reported that the few remaining hospitals in Gaza are overwhelmed with children and their parents, all of whom are bearing "the ghastly wounds of war". He said many of them were child amputees.

READ MORE: War on Gaza: Over 1,000 children in Gaza have limbs amputated, Unicef says