Closing summary
It’s just turned 5.20am in Gaza City and Tel Aviv and we’re about to shut this blog. Our live coverage will resume later in the day. Here’s an overview of the latest developments. And you can see all our Israel-Gaza war coverage here. Thanks for reading.
The White House went on the defensive over President Joe Biden’s comments to Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel was losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing” and that Netanyahu should change his hard-right dominated government. US security spokesman John Kirby was evasive at a press briefing when asked if Biden’s comments were the official position of the US government.
Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant acknowledged the differences with the US but said he was confident the two sides would find a way for Israel’s military operation to continue. Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen said earlier that his country would continue its war in Gaza “with or without international support”.
The Biden administration is delaying the sale of more than 20,000 US-made rifles to Israel over concerns about attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, two sources familiar with the matter have said. The state department sent an informal notification for the sale to Congress several weeks ago but the sale has not gone ahead, despite being cleared by Senate and House committees.
Israel has announced its worst combat losses in six weeks after an ambush in the ruins of Gaza, saying on Wednesday that 10 of its soldiers had been killed over the past 24 hours. Two senior Israeli commanders and seven other soldiers were killed by Hamas in a complex ambush in the Gaza City suburb of Shejaiya, in one of the most lethal incidents for Israeli soldiers during the two-month-long war.
The head of the United Nations relief and works agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said conditions in Gaza were “a living hell”. Philippe Lazzarini told a meeting of the UN global refugee forum in Geneva that his third visit to Gaza since 7 October was distressing. “There is no more food to buy, even for those who can pay. In the shops, the shelves are empty,” he said. Lazzarini’s comments came amid fears of a rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis in the territory as heavy winter rains and cool weather hit.
Israel’s army website was briefly hacked on Wednesday by a pro-Palestinian group that warned of more attacks against Israeli forces, including further cyber-attacks.
Family members of Israeli hostages held in Gaza say they are “shocked” by a report that Israel’s war cabinet has decided against sending the head of Mossad to Qatar for negotiations on a new hostage deal and are demanding an “immediate explanation” from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Times of Israel is reporting.
US president Joe Biden was “moved” by a White House meeting with families of some of the eight US hostages being held by Hamas, said John Kirby, the US security spokesman. Secretary of state Antony Blinken was also present. Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, told reporters: “It was a terrific meeting and conversation.”
Discussions over a possible ceasefire hit a dead end, according to a “senior US official” quoted by CNN. The news network said Qatar, which helped broker the previous week-long pause in hostilities that led to the release of more than 100 hostages, had been active in pursuing a new deal but Hamas had “not been responsive”.
A United Nations study said economic cost of the war on Arab neighbours Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan could rise to at least $10bn (£7.9bn) this year and push more than 230,000 people into poverty. The cost for the three states in terms of loss of GDP may amount to $10.3bn, or 2.3%, and could double if the conflict lasts another six months, the UN development program (UNDP) paper reveals.
Updated
In case you missed this report from Peter Beaumont and Julian Borger earlier, heavy winter rains have lashed Gaza, washing out tents and flooding some areas, as the head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees described deteriorating conditions in the coastal strip as a “living hell”.
Amid escalating shortages of food, spreading waves of communicable disease and the near collapse of Gaza’s health system while heavy fighting continues across the territory, the winter storm turned large areas to mud and drenched many of those sleeping in makeshift plastic tents.
The rapidly worsening humanitarian situation comes as Israel’s air and ground war – after Hamas’s attack on 7 October – has pushed nearly 85% of Gaza’s population from their homes.
Among those caught in the open was Ameen Edwan, camped with thousands of others in the grounds of al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in central Gaza, who said his family had been unable to sleep.
“Rainwater seeped in. We couldn’t sleep,” he told the AFP news agency. “We tried to find nylon covers but couldn’t find any so we resorted to stones and sand” to keep the rain out.
See the full report here:
Israel’s army website was briefly hacked on Wednesday by a pro-Palestinian group that warned of more attacks against Israeli forces, including further cyber-attacks.
In a short letter that covered the main page of the Israeli army website, the group, calling itself “Anonymous Jo”, said the military’s “arrogance and injustice toward our people in Gaza will only harm you through terror, killing and war, whether by land, air or electronically”, Associated Press reports.
The letter went on to call for the “liberation of Palestine”.
The Israeli army confirmed the hack.
Little is known about Anonymous Jo, although the group or individual behind the attack indicated they were of Jordanian origin. One of the lines read:
From your brothers in Jordan to our people in Gaza and Palestine.
Jordan, which borders the occupied West Bank, has a large Palestinian population and the public is very sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians.
Israeli hostages' families demand 'explanation' from PM over talks
Family members of Israeli hostages held in Gaza say they are “shocked” by a report that Israel’s war cabinet has decided against sending the head of Mossad to Qatar for negotiations on a new hostage deal and are demanding an “immediate explanation” from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Times of Israel is reporting.
It said Israel’s Channel 13 news reported that Mossad chief David Barnea, who helped negotiate last month’s hostage-release deal, had offered to go to Qatar again but the war cabinet decided against sending him amid cabinet disagreements over efforts being made on talks towards a new agreement.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement on Wednesday night that “families were shocked by the report on the rejection of the director of Mossad’s request to formulate an agreement for the release of the hostages”, which comes “in addition to the ignoring of the parents’ request to meet with the prime minister and the defence minister, which has not yet been answered”, the Times of Israel reports.
The forum said:
The families demand an immediate explanation from the prime minister and cabinet members and to break the deadlock in negotiations.
Israel has said it believes nearly 140 people remain captive after being seized during Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel.
Updated
US delays weapons sale to Israel amid concerns at settler violence – sources
The Biden administration is delaying the sale of more than 20,000 US-made rifles to Israel over concerns about attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, two sources have said.
Reuters reports the state department sent an informal notification for the sale to Congress several weeks ago. But the sale has not gone ahead, despite being cleared by the leaders of the Senate foreign relations and House of Representatives foreign affairs committees in early November.
A former US official familiar with the sale said on Wednesday:
Other members of Congress became aware of this case, and reached out to the administration to demand they obtain assurances from Israel that the firearms will not go to settlers.
The administration has been engaged with Israel in trying to get satisfactory assurances in that regard prior to formally notifying it. Under the license as drafted, these firearms can also go to Israeli police units about which the department has significant human rights concerns.
The state department did not have a comment on the sale.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Middle East war and has built Jewish settlements there that most countries deem illegal, which Israel disputes.
The Biden administration is specifically worried that some of the rifles could end up in the hands of Israeli settlers, the two sources said.
President Joe Biden and other senior US officials have warned repeatedly that Israel must act to stop settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
The administration last week began imposing visa bans on people it said were involved in the violence, which this year has risen to its highest level in more than 15 years.
Updated
Israeli citizens have said the military army should not back off its unrelenting offensive to crush Hamas, despite the UN general assembly’s ceasefire call, increasing troop casualties and a spiralling Palestinian death toll, Reuters reports.
Israel’s military suffered one of the deadliest days in the two-month-old Gaza war on Tuesday, with 10 soldiers killed, bringing the toll to 115 – almost double the number killed during clashes in the territory nine years ago.
Polls in recent weeks show overwhelming backing for the war despite the rising human costs. Six Israelis who spoke to Reuters on Wednesday said now was not the time back down, regardless of fading global sympathy reflected in Tuesday’s UN resolution.
Hamas’s killing of about 1,200 people on 7 October revived something Israel previously felt when Arabs staged a surprise attack in 1973 – fears that its neighbours and enemies could do away with the Jewish nation all together, political scientist Tamar Hermann said.
The sense of the people is that this is a threat to the very existence of Israel.
Hermann, of the Israel Democracy Institute, which conducts regular opinion polls on the war, said people were prepared for more deaths of soldiers.
Speaking in Jerusalem, retired former IT worker Ben Zion Levinger said Israel’s enemies would view any slowdown in fighting Hamas as a sign of weakness.
If we don’t take this fight to the end, then tomorrow morning we’ll have battles in the north and in the east and the south and maybe Iran. Therefore, we have no choice.
Updated
Israel reports 10 soldiers killed in worst combat losses since late October
Israel has announced its worst combat losses in six weeks after an ambush in the ruins of Gaza.
Israel said on Wednesday that 10 of its soldiers had been killed over the past 24 hours, including a colonel commanding a forward base and a lieutenant colonel commanding a regiment, Reuters reports.
The toll was an increase of one on the military’s earlier figure and is the worst one-day loss since 15 soldiers were killed on 31 October.
Most of the deaths came in the Shejaia district of Gaza City in the north, where troops were ambushed trying to rescue another group of soldiers who had attacked Hamas fighters in a building, the military said.
Hamas said the episode showed that Israeli forces could never subdue Gaza.
In a televised address, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said any future arrangement in Gaza without Hamas was a “delusion”.
Updated
Palestinians seeking safety in overcrowded shelters in Gaza are facing the spread of infectious diseases as well as inadequate food, water and basic services, the United Nations says, renewing calls for a humanitarian ceasefire.
Its post on X (formerly Twitter) came after a top official said a ceasefire was “the only way forward” to help desperate people in need.
Lynn Hastings, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in the Palestinian territories, said on Wednesday that the war threatened peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis for years or even decades to come
She said the hostilities had pushed almost half of Gaza’s population – or about a million people – into Rafah in the south, compounding the dire health and hunger crisis.
People seeking safety in overcrowded shelters in Gaza are facing the spread of infectious diseases as well as inadequate food, water and basic services.
— United Nations (@UN) December 13, 2023
A humanitarian ceasefire is the only way to help desperate people in need. https://t.co/IJ3rZGfXE6pic.twitter.com/NDqRljYFeA
Hastings said:
The reason why Gaza is not safe is not just because of the airstrikes but also because of these conditions created by the massive displacement of the population into smaller and smaller areas.
Hastings also said a ceasefire could be conducive to the release of hostages taken by Hamas during its deadly 7 October attack on Israel and reiterated calls for access to those hostages.
This is Adam Fulton picking up our live coverage – stay with us for the latest developments as they unfold
Updated
Summary
This is Richard Luscombe in the US handing over the Israel-Gaza war blog to my colleagues in Australia, who will guide you through the next few hours.
It’s 1am Thursday in Tel Aviv and Gaza City. Here’s a summary of what we’ve been following:
The White House went on the defensive over Joe Biden’s eye-raising comments to Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel was losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing”, and that Netanyahu should change his hard-right dominated government. John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, was evasive at a press briefing when asked if Biden’s comments were the official position of the US government, and what changes the US president wanted to see in Israel’s government.
Biden was “moved” by a White House meeting with families of some of the eight US hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, Kirby said. Also present was US secretary of state Antony Blinken, who is leading US efforts to get the hostages released. Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, told reporters: “It was a terrific meeting and conversation. We could have no better friend in Washington, or in the White House, than President Biden himself, and his administration.”
Israel’s foreign minister said his country will continue its war in Gaza irrespective of international backing. “Israel will continue the war against Hamas with or without international support,” Eli Cohen said. “A ceasefire at the current stage is a gift to the terrorist organization Hamas, and will allow it to return and threaten the residents of Israel.”
A United Nations study said economic cost of the war on Arab neighbors Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan could rise to at least $10bn (£7.9bn) this year and push more than 230,000 people into poverty. The cost for the three states in terms of loss of GDP may amount to $10.3bn, or 2.3%, and could double if the conflict lasts another six months, the UN development program (UNDP) paper reveals.
The United Nations general assembly overwhelmingly backed an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The assembly passed a resolution with 153 in favor, 10 against and 23 abstentions. The non-binding vote is largely symbolic, but serves as an important barometer of world opinion. None of the major powers joined Israel and the US in their opposition to the ceasefire.
Discussions over a possible ceasefire hit a dead end, according to a “senior US official” quoted by CNN. The news network said Qatar, which helped broker the previous week-long pause in hostilities that led to the release of more than 100 hostages, has been active in pursuing a new deal, but Hamas has “not been responsive”.
Israel’s agency responsible for coordinating government activity in the occupied territories (Cogat) posted to X, formerly Twitter, footage of what it says are Hamas militants seizing a humanitarian aid convoy and firing at civilians. “Gaza deserves better,” it says in the tweet. It is unclear where and when the video was taken.
Two senior Israeli commanders and seven other soldiers were killed by Hamas in a complex ambush in the Gaza City suburb of Shejaiya, an area that has seen intense urban fighting in recent days. In one of the most lethal incidents for Israeli soldiers during the two-month long war, a Lt Col and several of his senior officers were killed in fighting involving improvised explosive devices, while they were fired on from buildings.
The latest Israeli combat deaths came amid fears of a rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza as heavy winter rains and cool weather hit the region. Aid agencies reported dwindling food stocks for the vast number of Palestinians who have been displaced to southern Gaza.
The commissioner general of the United Nations relief and works agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said conditions in Gaza are “a living hell”. Philippe Lazzarini told a meeting of the UN global refugee forum in Geneva he had returned last night from his third visit to Gaza, which he described as distressing, since the war started on 7 October. “There is no more food to buy, even for those who can pay. In the shops, the shelves are empty,” he said.
The Israeli military carried out a raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian news agency Wafa said seven Palestinians were killed and there were a “number of wounded civilians with various injuries”.
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, gave her backing to the idea of the EU imposing sanctions on Israeli settlers responsible for attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Pope Francis renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire, saying “may this great suffering for the Israelis and the Palestinians be over”.
Ceasefire protest closes busy Los Angeles freeway
Police in Los Angeles arrested a group of protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza after they shut down a busy stretch of freeway in the city’s downtown, the Guardian’s Dani Aguiano reports.
Dozens of people assembled on the 110 on Wednesday morning, bringing traffic to a standstill during the morning commute for more than an hour. There were tense physical confrontations as commuters attempted to remove people from the road.
The California highway patrol detained 75 people in association with the protest, NBC Los Angeles reported. The demonstration blocked all six southbound lanes of traffic, creating gridlock that stretched for miles.
The US has seen a slew of major protests about the war since the conflict began in October. At least 50 people were arrested in Washington DC on Monday at a protest calling for the US to push for a permanent ceasefire.
In California, hundreds of people assembled outside the office of the US senator Alex Padilla on Tuesday to demand an immediate ceasefire. Last month, a demonstration in Los Angeles shut down a portion of Hollywood Boulevard, while in San Francisco dozens of protesters calling for a ceasefire were arrested after blocking traffic on the Bay Bridge.
Video posted by IfNotNow, the group behind Wednesday’s protest in LA, showed people singing as they linked arms in front of stopped cars while wearing shirts that read “not in our name” and “Jews say ceasefire now”.
Read the full story:
Updated
Hospitals in Gaza reported an uptick in civilian casualties on Wednesday, Palestinian health officials said.
Al-Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, close to heavy fighting and airstrikes in Khan Younis, gave the names of 45 people killed, CNN reported.
Medical staff at al-Kuwaiti hospital in Rafah, also in southern Gaza, said 19 bodies were recovered after two houses in the area were hit by airstrikes, the network said.
Earlier Wednesday, Gaza’s health ministry said at least 18,608 people have been killed and 50,594 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October.
Updated
Parts of Gaza were flooded on Wednesday, after a night of heavy rains and strong winds.
The rainwater soaked and damaged the tents of people already displaced by Israeli offensives, exacerbating Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.
At least 85% of Gaza’s population of 2 million have been displaced since fighting started in October, raising urgent concerns about the spread of disease, as well as scarce supplies of water, electricity and food.
Read the full story here:
Updated
Economic cost of war rising for neighbors: UN
The economic cost of the Israel-Gaza war on Arab neighbors Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan could rise to at least $10bn (£7.9bn) this year and push more than 230,000 people into poverty, according to a United Nations study reported by Reuters.
The three Arab countries already face a struggle with fiscal pressures, slow growth and steep unemployment, and the war has deterred much-needed investment as well as hitting consumption and trade, the research says.
The humanitarian system in #Gaza stands on the edge of collapse.
— UN Development (@UNDP) December 13, 2023
If the war continues, the ripple effect to neighboring counties in the region will have lasting socioeconomic setbacks.
More in our 🆕 rapid assessment on #GazaWarImpact with @UNESCWA: https://t.co/Bi0TPatV8Z pic.twitter.com/iFyB30nf5p
The cost of the conflict for the three states in terms of loss of GDP may amount to $10.3bn, or 2.3%, and could double if it lasts another six months, the UN development program (UNDP) paper reveals.
“The crisis was a bomb in an already fragile regional situation. It soured sentiment with fear of what could happen and where things are going,” Abdallah Al Dardari, UN assistant secretary general and UNDP’s director of the regional bureau for Arab states told Reuters.
Updated
Here are some images from the Israel-Hamas war sent to us over the news wires:
Updated
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society says it is still working to save lives in Gaza, despite the United Nations reporting the “near or total collapse” of Gaza’s healthcare system.
“Despite the horrific violations against our emergency medical services teams in Gaza, our paramedics and volunteers are still working tirelessly and selflessly to save lives,” the organization said in a tweet.
🚨Despite the horrific violations against our emergency medical services teams in #Gaza. Our paramedics and volunteers are still working tirelessly and selflessly to save lives.🫶#NotATarget ❌#IHl pic.twitter.com/qKkK3ZDh3h
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) December 13, 2023
The post was accompanied by video footage of what appeared to be Red Crescent personnel pulling wounded colleagues from a damaged ambulance that looked like it had been struck by a missile.
Updated
The Times of Israel is reporting that the family of Gaza hostage Tal Chaimi was told by Israeli government authorities and officials of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak where he lived that he was murdered by Hamas on 7 October.
His body is believed to still be held by Hamas in Gaza, the newspaper said.
Chaimi, 41, was married with nine-year-old twins and a six-year-old.
“Tal is the third generation of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak and was connected with every fiber of his soul to the kibbutz and was one of the pillars of the community,” the kibbutz in a statement. “May his memory be blessed.”
Updated
A visit to Israel on Thursday by US national security advisor Jake Sullivan will likely be followed by others stops in the Middle East, the White House said Wednesday without specifying where they might be.
Sullivan will “discuss the next phase in the military campaign and efforts to be more surgical and more precise and to reduce harm to civilians”, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said at a White House briefing.
The US is continuing to work with partners in the Middle East to try to secure the release of eight US hostages held by Hamas, as well as about 130 others in captivity, Kirby said.
Updated
White House on defensive over Biden's 'indiscriminate bombing' comments
The White House went on the defensive Wednesday afternoon over Joe Biden’s eye-raising comments to Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel was losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing”, and that Netanyahu should change his hard-right dominated government.
John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, attempted to downplay the remarks of the US president at a lunchtime press briefing from the White House.
Biden’s comments were the sharpest public disagreement yet between the allies over the conduct and future of the war against Hamas.
Kirby was evasive when asked if it was the official US government position that Israel was indiscriminately bombing civilians:
The president was expressing concerns about the civilian casualties that we’ve seen. It’s reflective of our constant efforts to urge the Israelis to be as precise and careful as possible.
We know they’ve stated their intent to reduce the casualties and they have acted on that. They are making efforts and they are taking steps, but we want to see, of course, more results in that regard. That’s what he’s referring to.
Similarly, Kirby avoided a question about what specific changes in the Israeli government Biden wanted to see:
It’s not for us to to dictate terms to a foreign sovereign government. Israel is a democracy. And the Israeli people get to decide what that government looks like and they did. And we respect that. That’s what democracy is all about. We’re not dictating terms to the Israelis one way or the other.
Updated
White House official: Biden ‘moved’ by meeting hostages’ families
Joe Biden was “moved” by his meeting on Wednesday with families of some of the eight US hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, a senior government official said
John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, was speaking at a briefing at the White House, where the US president met the families in person earlier:
He was moved by their stories, by the love they feel, by the hope that they still harbour, and he harbours that hope too. He’s acting on that.
The other thing that he made sure to do was to promise them that we’re going to keep them informed every single step of the way.
These are are difficult days for these families. But as we all prepare for the holiday season that’s already upon us, we would do well to remember that for them there’s going to be an empty chair at the table, there’s going to be a still and silence in the room, and there’s going to be irrepressible ache, and worry, and fear.
The president understands that, the whole team here understands that. So we should all keep them in our thoughts.
Updated
Hamas’s senior political leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a televised address on Wednesday that any arrangement to end the war in Gaza without the involvement of Hamas would be a “delusion”.
According to Reuters, Haniyeh said Hamas was ready to talk, but had to have a seat at the discussions, and be a part of any settlement to end the conflict and administer Gaza following it:
We are open to discuss any ideas or initiatives that could end the [Israeli] aggression and open the door for putting the Palestinian house in order both in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Israel, meanwhile, has promised to eliminate Hamas.
An Israeli lawmaker has said his government is seeking to use diplomatic channels to push Lebanon’s Hezbollah fighters away from the border to avoid a war there, Reuters reports.
In response, an official close to Hezbollah said such an idea was “unrealistic”.
Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Israeli parliament’s foreign affairs and defence committee, said Wednesday that his country was determined to bring an end to Hezbollah’s presence on the border with Israel. He told the news agency:
This is a goal we are trying to reach through diplomatic channels. We are turning to every normal country, be it the US, France, Arab countries, anyone who could somehow influence the situation and has some influence in Lebanon.
Israel has been trading fire since October on the Lebanese frontier with Hezbollah, which like the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza is backed by Iran.
Reuters said that sources familiar with Hezbollah’s thinking have said the attacks so far have been designed to avoid an all-out conflict.
A senior Lebanese official told the agency that US and French officials had visited Beirut to discuss ideas to provide Israel with security assurances based on limiting Hezbollah’s role on the border. He did not say when the visits took place.
Updated
US hostages’ families have ‘terrific’ meeting with Biden
Families of the eight American hostages held by Hamas in Gaza say they had a “terrific” meeting with Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday.
Speaking at a lunchtime press conference immediately after meeting with the US president and other government officials including secretary of state Antony Blinken, the families would not discuss specifics of what they talked about.
But Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of American-Israeli hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, told reporters he believed the Biden administration was doing all it could to secure their release:
It was a terrific meeting and conversation. I think we all came away feeling that as families of American-Israeli hostages, which are eight out of a total of 138 hostages, we felt before and it was only reinforced, seeing is believing, that we could have no better friend in Washington, or in the White House, than President Biden himself, and his administration.
Updated
Here’s Lynn Hastings, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator, speaking on Wednesday, renewing calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
“The mentally and physically exhausted people of Gaza are in urgent need of relief,” she said.
The only way forward in #Gaza is to have an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
— UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) December 13, 2023
The mentally and physically exhausted people of Gaza are in urgent need of relief.
Listen to Humanitarian Coordinator @LynnHastings for more ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/BtQIpCvGG1
Earlier, Hastings said the healthcare system in Gaza was “at or near” total collapse.
Updated
Biden meets families of US hostages
Joe Biden has met in person with the families of some of the eight Americans still unaccounted for and presumed taken captive by Hamas during its 7 October attack on Israel, the Associated Press reports.
Secretary of state Antony Blinken and principal deputy national security adviser Jon Finer joined the US president at the White House where they met with 13 family members in person, and three others who attended by phone.
It was the first in-person meeting with families for Biden, who has previously hosted virtual meetings and spoken with others by phone.
We’ll bring you details of what was discussed when the White House releases them, but Biden was expected to provide an update on American efforts to secure the release of those held by Hamas.
“He’ll guarantee them that we are not going to lose sight of their loved ones, we’re not going to stop trying to get them home,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told CNN ahead of the meeting.
Updated
Summary of the day so far...
It’s just after 7pm on Wednesday in Tel Aviv and Gaza City. Here’s what we’ve been following so far today:
Israel’s foreign minister said his country will continue its war in Gaza irrespective of international backing. “Israel will continue the war against Hamas with or without international support,” Eli Cohen said. “A ceasefire at the current stage is a gift to the terrorist organisation Hamas, and will allow it to return and threaten the residents of Israel.”
The United Nations general assembly overwhelmingly backed an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The assembly passed a resolution with 153 in favor, 10 against and 23 abstentions. The non-binding vote is largely symbolic, but serves as an important barometer of world opinion. None of the major powers joined Israel and the US in their opposition to the ceasefire.
Israel and the US have shown their sharpest public disagreement yet over the conduct and future of the war against Hamas as the two allies became increasingly isolated by global calls for a ceasefire. President Joe Biden said he told the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that Israel was losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing” and that Netanyahu should change his government, which is dominated by hard-right parties.
Discussions over a possible ceasefire hit a dead end, according to a “senior US official” quoted by CNN. The news network said Qatar, which helped broker the previous week-long pause in hostilities that led to the release of more than 100 hostages, has been active in pursuing a new deal, but Hamas has “not been responsive”.
Israel’s agency responsible for coordinating government activity in the occupied territories (Cogat) posted to X, formerly Twitter, footage of what it says are Hamas militants seizing a humanitarian aid convoy and firing at civilians. “Gaza deserves better,” it says in the tweet. It is unclear where and when the video was taken.
Two senior Israeli commanders and seven other soldiers were killed by Hamas in a complex ambush in the Gaza City suburb of Shejaiya, an area that has seen intense urban fighting in recent days. In one of the most lethal incidents for Israeli soldiers during the two-month long war, a Lt Col and several of his senior officers were killed in fighting involving improvised explosive devices, while they were fired on from buildings.
The latest Israeli combat deaths came amid fears of a rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza as heavy winter rains and cool weather hit the region. Aid agencies reported dwindling food stocks for the vast number of Palestinians who have been displaced to southern Gaza.
The commissioner general of the United Nations relief and works agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said conditions in Gaza are “a living hell”. Philippe Lazzarini told a meeting of the UN global refugee forum in Geneva he had returned last night from his third visit to Gaza, which he described as distressing, since the war started on 7 October. “There is no more food to buy, even for those who can pay. In the shops, the shelves are empty,” he said.
The Israeli military carried out a raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian news agency Wafa said seven Palestinians were killed and there were a “number of wounded civilians with various injuries”.
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, gave her backing to the idea of the EU imposing sanctions on Israeli settlers responsible for attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Pope Francis renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire, saying “may this great suffering for the Israelis and the Palestinians be over”.
Updated
Church of England bishops have said the loss of life and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza cannot be morally justified.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the bishops said: “We do not believe that the devastating loss of civilian life and humanitarian catastrophe resulting from Israel’s bombardment and siege of Gaza can be morally justified.
“The nature and scale of death and destruction we are witnessing across the region is horrific … This war has claimed too many lives and destroyed too many homes.”
"As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ this Advent, we are dismayed that the place of our saviour’s birth is once again wracked by violence, death and destruction."
— The Church of England (@churchofengland) December 13, 2023
A statement from the House of Bishops on the ongoing War in Gaza: https://t.co/ahKXD4SKsg.
They appealed for the bloodshed and destruction to stop, calling for “intensified diplomatic efforts [to] seek to secure the release of all remaining hostages, the protection of civilians and full humanitarian access to Gaza, alongside steps to establish a reinvigorated political track to address the overarching conflict”.
Referring to settler violence and increased military activity in the West Bank, they said: “Israel’s security cannot be achieved by continuing with a system of occupation that denies millions of Palestinians their rights and freedoms.”
The bishops said the UK government should appoint a dedicated minister or peace envoy for the Middle East “to signal a long term commitment to support any future peace process”.
The war in Gaza “risks sowing the seeds of the next several generations of vengeance and violence unless it is resolved equitably now,” they said.
Updated
Israel’s agency responsible for coordinating government activity in the occupied territories (Cogat) has posted to X, formerly Twitter, footage of what it says are Hamas militants seizing a humanitarian aid convoy and firing at civilians.
“Gaza deserves better,” it says in the tweet. It is unclear where and when the video was taken.
The Israel Defense Forces have previously accused Hamas of exploiting civilians and seizing aid to advance their own war goals.
WATCH: Hamas violently seize a humanitarian aid convoy and shoot civilians on their way.
— COGAT (@cogatonline) December 13, 2023
Gaza deserves better.#FreeGaza from Hamas pic.twitter.com/2Nyl1CGPny
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A poll of Palestinians published Wednesday shows a rise in support for Hamas and an overwhelming rejection of the president of the state of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, who has the backing of western nations.
In the survey of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, 90% of respondents said Abbas must resign, the Associated Press reports.
The findings signal difficulties ahead in postwar planning for Gaza. The Biden administration wants the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, led by Abbas, to eventually assume control of Gaza and run both territories as a precursor to statehood.
Arab allies of the US say they will be involved in postwar reconstruction only if there is a credible push toward a two-state solution, which is unlikely under the government of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, which is dominated by opponents of Palestinian statehood.
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UN official: Gaza conditions 'a living hell'
Conditions in Gaza are “a living hell”, according to the commissioner general of the United Nations relief and works agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
Philippe Lazzarini told a meeting of the UN global refugee forum in Geneva he had returned last night from his third visit to Gaza, which he described as distressing, since the war started on 7 October, :
Most of Gaza’s population has been forcibly displaced, largely into the southern part of the strip. Rafah is now hosting well over a million people. It used to be home to 280,000 people.
It lacks the infrastructure and resources to support such a population. Inside our own warehouses, families live in tiny spaces that are separated by blankets hung on thin wooden structures.
I arrived at the Global Refugee Forum straight from #Gaza & I have to say, it is a living hell.
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) December 13, 2023
People of Gaza are running out of time & options as they face bombardment, deprivation & disease in an ever-ever-shrinking space.
My full remarks 👇 #GRF2023https://t.co/UtJVXHBNQd pic.twitter.com/2NOdex4718
Out in the open, flimsy shelters have emerged everywhere. Rafah has become a tented community.
The spaces around UNRWA buildings are congested with shelters and desperate, hungry people. Aid can no longer reach those who could not move to the south.
There is no more food to buy, even for those who can pay. In the shops, the shelves are empty.
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Report: Hamas 'unresponsive' to ceasefire talks
Discussions over a possible new ceasefire agreement in Gaza appear to have hit a dead end, according to a “senior US official” quoted by CNN.
The news network says Qatar, which helped broker the previous week-long pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas that led to the release of more than 100 hostages held in Gaza, has been active in pursuing a new deal.
But Hamas has “not been responsive”, it says. Qatar is pushing for a deal that would see the release of the remaining women that Hamas is holding, plus elderly, sick or disabled men.
“There’s not an active negotiation, but there’s a real exploration of ideas for how to get this going,” the US official told CNN on condition of anonymity.
Israel insists it has “offered every possible help” to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, responding to an earlier statement from the UN humanitarian office that the healthcare system in the occupied Palestinian territory had collapsed.
Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Israeli parliament’s foreign affairs and defence committee, and a close ally of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, told reporters that field hospitals had been erected within Gaza by the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, Reuters reports.
Edelstein said:
We offered every possible help [and] we are prepared to do more. But one thing has to be clear. There is overlapping between medical system and hospitals and Hamas terrorist activities. This is not something that we will tolerate.
Lynn Hastings, United Nations deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said earlier on Wednesday that almost half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million was now in Rafah to escape Israeli bombardment.
“This is leading to nothing but a health crisis,” she said.
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The Israeli military claimed on Wednesday that troops operating in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank seized weapons, ammunition and explosives, and uncovered tunnel shafts, observation posts and six explosive laboratories, Associated Press reports.
The Palestinian health ministry said seven Palestinians had been killed during the Israeli raid.
Hamas earlier issued a statement that the continuing raid in Jenin will not “succeed in stopping the rising path of resistance”.
The Times of Israel is reporting that Israeli police have arrested a man who set fire to a tent belonging to one of the families of hostages that have been camping as a protest outside government buildings in Jerusalem.
It reports:
He was angered by social media posts showing protest signs he disagreed with. The man, identified in court as Noah Yohanan, a 59-year-old resident of Kiryat Gat, is ordered to remain behind bars for at least five more days. Authorities do not say why Yohanan may have been angered by the signs, or what they said, but some media reports claim he is a backer of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Police say formal charges are expected in the coming days.
In a statement Israel’s military has said that it has struck at what it described as “Hezbollah terror targets” inside Lebanon.
On its official Telegram channel, the IDF said:
Following the siren that sounded in kibbutz Rosh HaNikra in northern Israel, a number of launches from Lebanon toward Israel were identified. The launches fell inside Lebanon. Several other launches from Lebanon toward a number of locations in northern Israel were also identified.
Earlier today, IDF tanks and fighter jets struck Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon. IDF soldiers also struck a number of terrorist cells in different locations along the Lebanese border.
Since the surprise 7 October Hamas attack inside southern Israel, the IDF and anti-Israeli forces in Lebanon have frequently exchanged fire across the UN-drawn blue line that separates the two countries.
Death toll inside Gaza raised to 18,608 Palestinians with more than 50,000 injured
At least 18,608 people have been killed and 50,594 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, according to the latest figures issued by Gaza’s health ministry, which is run by Hamas.
Israel’s military has also issued updated casualty figures. It said that the number of personnel injured in the war has increased to 1,704. That includes 619 soldiers who have been wounded – 139 of them seriously – inside Gaza during the ground operation. The military said 115 soldiers have been killed in the ground offensive.
According to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, almost 1.9 million people in Gaza, or nearly 85% of the population, are internally displaced.
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The Biden administration in the US has announced that national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, will travel to Israel on Thursday for a two-day trip, during which he will meet with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu; the war cabinet and the president, Isaac Herzog, to discuss the latest developments in the war.
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The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has posted on social media about new sanctions imposed by the UK on seven individuals linked to Hamas and other Palestinian groups.
Cameron, a former British prime minister, wrote:
Hamas can have no future in Gaza. Today’s sanctions on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad will continue to cut off their access to funding and isolate them further. We will continue to work with partners to reach a long-term political solution so that Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace.
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Biden to host families of hostages at the White House
President Joe Biden is expected to hold his first in-person meeting on Wednesday with the families of eight Americans still unaccounted for and presumed to have been captured by Hamas.
One woman and seven men from the US are believed to be hostages in Gaza. Israel has said it believes nearly 140 people remain captive after being seized on 7 October.
Associated Press reports that a senior administration official said family members of all eight would participate in the Biden meeting either in person or virtually.
The president has previously spoken to some family members virtually and to others on the phone. Biden also met the families of some victims of the attack when he visited Israel in October.
The White House has said that at least 31 Americans were killed by Hamas and other Palestinian groups during the 7 October surprise attack inside southern Israel.
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, and Jon Finer, deputy national security adviser, are expected to join the meeting later today.
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Israel's foreign minister: war will continue 'with or without international support'
Israel’s foreign minister has said his country will continue its war in Gaza whether or not it has international support.
“Israel will continue the war against Hamas with or without international support,” Reuters reports the foreign minister, Eli Cohen, said. “A ceasefire at the current stage is a gift to the terrorist organisation Hamas, and will allow it to return and threaten the residents of Israel.”
A resounding vote at the UN general assembly on Tuesday called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, and President Joe Biden of Israel’s closest ally, the US, has warned the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that he was losing international support.
Biden said Israel “has the European Union, it has Europe, it has most of the world supporting them, but they’re starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place”.
Israel’s military campaign has already left much of northern Gaza obliterated. More than 18,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza authorities, and more than 80% of the population of 2.3 million have been pushed from their homes, according to UN agencies.
Cohen also called on the international community to act “effectively and aggressively” in order to protect global shipping lanes. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have warned that they consider shipping destined for Israel, or with Israeli links, legitimate targets in the Red Sea.
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The US and the UK have imposed a fourth round of sanctions on individuals in Turkey and elsewhere linked to Hamas, Reuters reports the US treasury department has said.
Summary of the day so far …
It has just gone 2.30pm in Gaza City and in Tel Aviv. Here are the latest headlines …
Two senior Israeli commanders and seven other soldiers have been killed by Hamas in a complex ambush in the Gaza City suburb of Shejaiya, an area that has seen intense urban fighting in recent days. In one of the most lethal incidents for Israeli soldiers during the two-month long war in Gaza, a Lt Col and several of his senior officers were killed in fighting involving improvised explosive devices, while they were fired on from buildings.
The latest Israeli combat deaths came amid fears of a rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza as heavy winter rains and cool weather lashed the region. Aid agencies reported dwindling food stocks for the vast number of Palestinians who have been displaced to southern Gaza.
The United Nations general assembly’s overwhelming backing for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza came as the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees described the situation in Gaza as “hell on earth”. The UN general assembly passed a resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire by a vote of 153 in favour, 10 against and 23 abstentions. The non-binding vote is largely symbolic, but it serves as an important barometer of world opinion. None of the major powers joined Israel and the US in their opposition to the ceasefire.
Israel and the US have shown their sharpest public disagreement yet over the conduct and future of the war against Hamas as the two allies became increasingly isolated by global calls for a ceasefire. President Joe Biden said he told the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that Israel was losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing” and that Netanyahu should change his government, which is dominated by hard-right parties.
The UN humanitarian office has reiterated its message that Gaza faces a “public health disaster” after the collapse of its health system. The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip said it had exhausted its supply of children’s vaccines. The Gaza health ministry called on international institutions to deliver urgently needed vaccines “to prevent disaster”. The ministry did not specify which vaccinations had run out.
Israeli authorities are continuing to carry out a raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that seven Palestinians have been killed and there are a “number of wounded civilians with various injuries”.
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has given her backing to the idea of the EU imposing sanctions on Israeli settlers responsible for attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Pope Francis has renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire, saying “may this great suffering for the Israelis and the Palestinians be over”.
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Hoda Abdel-Hamid reports for Al Jazeera from the occupied West Bank that the Israeli raid on Jenin is now in its 32nd hour.
She reports that witnesses told her Israeli forces were carrying out house to house searches “leading to a lot of destruction of those residences”.
She said: “People are also describing the destruction done to infrastructure by armoured bulldozers that entered the refugee camp when this all started.”
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The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has given her backing to the idea of the EU imposing sanctions on Israeli settlers responsible for attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
She said: “I am in favour of sanctioning those involved in the attacks in the West Bank. They must be held accountable. This violence has nothing to do with the fight against Hamas and must stop.”
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Here are some of the latest images sent to us over the news wires from Gaza and Israel.
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AFP reports that the Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip said it had exhausted its supply of children’s vaccines. The Gaza health ministry called on international institutions to deliver urgently needed vaccines “to prevent disaster”. The ministry did not specify which vaccinations had run out.
Two senior Israeli commanders killed in Hamas ambush
Peter Beaumont reports for the Guardian from Jerusalem:
Two senior Israeli commanders and seven other soldiers have been killed by Hamas in a complex ambush in the Gaza City suburb of Shejaiya, an area that has seen intense urban fighting in recent days.
In one of the most lethal incidents for Israeli soldiers during the two-month long war in Gaza, a Lt Col and several of his senior officers were killed in fighting involving improvised explosive devices, while they were fired on from buildings.
Among the dead, announced by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Wednesday, were another colonel, three majors, and several members of a combat rescue force.
The latest Israeli combat deaths came amid fears of a rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza as heavy winter rains and cool weather lashed the region and after reports by aid agencies of dwindling food stocks for the vast number of Palestinians who have been displaced to southern Gaza.
The war ignited by Hamas’s 7 October attack in Israel has already brought unprecedented death and destruction to the impoverished coastal territory, with much of northern Gaza obliterated, more than 18,000 Palestinians killed, according to Gaza authorities, and more than 80% of the population of 2.3 million pushed from their homes.
Read more of Peter Beaumont’s report from Jerusalem here: Israeli commanders among nine soldiers killed in Hamas ambush
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The UN humanitarian office has reiterated its message that Gaza faces a “public health disaster” after the collapse of its health system.
“We all know that the health care system is or has collapsed,” said Lynn Hastings, the UN Humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian Territory.
“We’ve got a textbook formula for epidemics and a public health disaster,” Reuters reports she added.
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The Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja has pledged to fight a decision by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to bar him from displaying human rights messages on his shoes while representing Australia this summer in support of people in Gaza.
Khawaja was pictured at training on Tuesday with the words “all lives are equal” and “freedom is a human right” written across his Nike-branded footwear. Captain Pat Cummins said Khawaja would not wear the shoes in the first Test against Pakistan in Perth starting on Thursday.
Later, Khawaja posted a video on social media in which he said he would continue to pursue what he described as a “humanitarian appeal”.
Read more here: Usman Khawaja vows to fight ICC mandate after shoe slogan ban
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There has been heavy rain in Gaza today. This video, via the Haaretz journalist Jack Khoury, shows the impact on the displaced people living in makeshift camps there.
He writes:
Most of the attention is focused on the battles, the losses, the targets and the statements and the debate about the day after, but for hundreds of thousands to get a standard tent is like a villa. Most of the time there are no tents and on a rainy day like this the situation is deplorable. In Gaza there are also queues and [people] standing for hours to get pita or a bag of flour [or] even charge the phone.
תיעוד שיוצא מרצועת עזה הבוקר.רוב תשומת הלב ממוקדת בקרבות,באבידות במטרות ובהצהרות והוויכוח על היום שאחרי,אבל עבור מאות אלפים לקבל אוהל תקני זה כמו וילה.לרוב אין אוהלים וביום גשום כזה המצב מחפיר.בעזה יש גם טורים ולעמוד שעות כדי לקבל פיתה או שקית קמח ואפילו להטעין את הטלפון. pic.twitter.com/JcYjlDBRvp
— Jack khoury.جاك خوري (@KhJacki) December 13, 2023
Images being sent over the news wires from Rafah show the conditions that people are having to endure.
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The Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that the Israeli military is active in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin for a second consecutive day.
It reports that seven Palestinians have been killed, and there are a “number of wounded civilians with various injuries”. It states there were “confrontations between Palestinian youths and the occupation forces, which … launched a campaign of arrests among citizens”.
It wrote:
This morning, the occupation forces continued to bomb homes in Jenin camp, destroying its infrastructure, shooting at everyone who wandered around the city and its camp, and launched a campaign of house raids and arrests of citizens.
Wafa reports that schools have been closed as a result of the violence.
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The UN refugee chief has said he foresees further displacement in the Middle East due to the conflict in Gaza.
“The events that have occurred in Israel and Gaza since 7 October are outside the mandate of UNHCR,” Reuters reports Filippo Grandi said in Geneva.
“Tragically, however, we foresee more civilian deaths and suffering and also further displacement that threatens the region.”
In its latest update, the UN agency for Palestine, UNRWA, stated that “almost 1.9 million people in Gaza, or nearly 85% of the population, are estimated to be internally displaced, including people who have been displaced multiple times”.
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Pope Francis has renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Reuters reports that during his Wednesday audience the pope said: “I renew my appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. May this great suffering for the Israelis and the Palestinians be over.”
Francis also urged the release of all Israeli hostages and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Israel believes 137 people are still being kept in captivity by Hamas after being seized and abducted into Gaza on 7 October.
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The Times of Israel is reporting a little more detail on the incident in the Red Sea earlier, which caused the UK maritime trade operations (UKMTO) agency to issue a warning. [See 7.46 GMT]
Citing US officials, it reports that two missiles fired from Yemen missed a commercial tanker near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. It also reports that a US navy vessel shot down a drone that was heading towards it.
More details soon …
Patrick Wintour is the Guardian’s diplomatic editor.
The statement by Joe Biden that Israel is losing support globally was borne out at the UN general assembly, which revealed a decisive shift in the pattern of voting.
153 countries voted yes to a humanitarian ceasefire, with 10 opposed and 23 abstaining. In the previous comparable vote on 27 October, 120 voted yes, 14 opposed and 45 abstained.
Within the EU the tide has also turned, after the countries making up the bloc were previously split three ways. Deep divisions remain, but a majority view now exists. Last night, 17 EU states voted yes to a ceasefire call, only two opposed, and eight abstained – including some of the larger states such as Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Hungary.
In the previous vote, the EU split eight for a ceasefire, four opposed and 15 abstained.
The UK has continued to abstain, and the US continues to reject any ceasefire, but it is left increasingly aware that it is paying a diplomatic price, and soon, like Israel, it will run out of capital.
The United Arab Emirates, the leading Arab country on the 15 strong security council, is also stating for the first time explicitly that the price for providing reconstruction funds for Gaza will be a clear roadmap to a two-state solution. This quid pro quo is now the firm position of the big Gulf states.
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Hani Mahmoud reports for Al Jazeera that “heavy confrontations” are taking place in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. He reports that there are clashes in the east of the city, and that it is under intense Israeli aerial bombardment.
In the last hour the UK maritime trade operations (UKMTO) agency has reported an incident in the Red Sea, where shipping has previously come under attack from Houthi rebels based in Yemen.
UKMTO WARNING 005/DEC 23
— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) December 13, 2023
INCIDENThttps://t.co/a6eYax4Zi0#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/xXSK6mh1hV
The Houthis have said they consider shipping associated with Israel to be legitimate targets, and yesterday said that they had mounted a military operation against a Norwegian ship that was due to dock in Israel.
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Returning to reports of the Israeli military pumping seawater into Hamas’s tunnel complex in Gaza, the Wall Street Journal and US ABC News said on Tuesday the actions had begun, citing unnamed US officials.
The WSJ reported the process would likely take weeks, while ABC said the flooding appeared to be limited as Israel evaluated the strategy’s effectiveness, Reuters reports.
Israel’s military did not provide comment on the reports and an Israeli defence ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Some Biden administration officials have said the process could help destroy the tunnels, where Israel believes Hamas is hiding hostages, fighters and munitions, the WSJ said. Other officials expressed concerns the seawater would endanger the supply of Gaza’s fresh water.
Joe Biden, the US president, declined to directly answer a question on the reports Israel was pumping seawater into the tunnels, referring only to assertions that there were no hostages in the areas targeted and saying: “I don’t know that for a fact.”
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Here are some of the latest images coming in from southern Gaza, which is being heavily hit in Israeli airstrikes that the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said on Wednesday had killed at least another 50 people in the latest wave.
The United Nations general assembly’s overwhelming backing for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza came as the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees described the situation in Gaza as “hell on earth”.
Philippe Lazzarini posted on X (formerly Twitter) at the end of a visit to the territory:
Back in Gaza, endless deepening tragedy. People are everywhere, live in the street, need everything. They plead for safety & for an end to this hell on earth.
Agence France-Presse also reports that in Gaza City, militant group Hamas said via Telegram that Israeli forces raided a hospital and detained its director.
The military did not immediately comment, but Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals, schools, mosques and tunnels beneath them as military bases – claims it has denied.
The World Health Organisation’s chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on X he was “extremely worried” by reports of the raid, adding that his agency “urgently calls for the protection of all persons inside the hospital”.
Earlier, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA had said fighting had been reported near the hospital for three consecutive days.
It also said two mothers were killed in a strike on the maternity ward, and that about 3,000 displaced people were trapped in the facility.
US-Israel divisions emerge as UN votes for ceasefire
Israel and the United States have shown their sharpest public disagreement yet over the conduct and future of the war against Hamas as the two allies became increasingly isolated by global calls for a ceasefire.
Associated Press reports the dispute emerged on Tuesday while Israeli forces carried out strikes across Gaza, crushing Palestinians in homes.
President Joe Biden said he told Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel was losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing” and that Netanyahu should change his government, which is dominated by hard-right parties.
Just hours later, the UN general assembly passed a resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire by a vote of 153 in favour, 10 against and 23 abstentions.
The non-binding vote is largely symbolic, but it serves as an important barometer of world opinion. None of the major powers joined Israel and the US in their opposition to the ceasefire.
Biden’s comments came as the White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan heads to Israel this week to discuss with Netanyahu a timetable for the war – and what happens if Hamas is defeated.
Defence secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Israel next week for a visit the Pentagon said aims to show U.S. support for Israel but also to press the need to avoid more civilian casualties in Gaza.
The Palestinian Authority welcomed the UN resolution and urged countries to pressure Israel to comply, Reuters reports. A Hamas official in exile, Izzat El-Reshiq, echoed that reaction in a statement on Telegram, saying Israel should “stop its aggression, genocide and ethnic cleansing against our people”.
The US and Israel say a ceasefire only benefits Hamas.
Regiment commander among eight more Israeli soldiers killed, military says
Israel has announced the deaths of eight more soldiers in Gaza fighting, including a lieutenant-colonel who had commanded a Golani infantry regiment.
The military said a total of 114 soldiers had been killed since Israel began Gaza ground operations on 20 October, Reuters reports.
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Opening summary
Welcome to our continuing live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war. This is Adam Fulton and I’ll be with you for the next while.
In our top story, Israel is facing growing diplomatic isolation over the war after a United Nations vote demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and US president Joe Biden told its longtime ally that its “indiscriminate” bombing of civilians was hurting its international support.
The UN general assembly resolution for a ceasefire passed by an overwhelming margin, with 153 members voting in favour, 10 – including Israel and the US – voting against and 23 abstaining.
The result – highlighting the toughening consensus around the world for the need to stop the war – came as Israeli forces carried out strikes across the territory. The Hamas-run health ministry said at least 50 people had been killed.
More on those stories soon. In other headlines as it turns 7.20am in Gaza City and Tel Aviv:
The leaders of Canada, Australia and New Zealand called for a ceasefire, saying in a joint statement: “The price of defeating Hamas cannot be the continuous suffering of all Palestinian civilians.”
Israeli tank shelling on Tuesday was focused on the centre of Khan Younis, southern Gaza’s main city, residents said. Israeli airstrikes there killed 11 Palestinians, including two children, health officials said. Further south in Rafah, bordering Egypt, strikes killed 22 people including children, officials said.
Israeli forces killed six Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday, Palestinian health officials said. Five were killed in an Israeli operation in the morning, the health ministry said, while a sixth died later. The Israeli military said it carried out an operation in Jenin targeting an explosives-manufacturing facility on Tuesday and uncovered “explosive devices planted under roads to attack the security forces”.
A senior official from Yemen’s Houthis has warned cargo ships in the Red Sea to avoid travelling towards Israel and the occupied territories, after the Iran-aligned group claimed an attack on a commercial tanker earlier in the day.
US president Joe Biden declined to directly answer a question on reports that Israel was pumping seawater into Hamas’s tunnel complex in Gaza, referring only to assertions that there were no hostages in the areas targeted. Citing unnamed US officials, the Wall Street Journal has reported that Israel recently began pumping seawater into the tunnels in a process that would likely take weeks. Responding in Washington to a question about the reports, Biden said on Tuesday: “With regard to the flooding of the tunnels. I’m not at lib – well, there [are] assertions being made that ... there’s no hostages in any of these tunnels. But I don’t know that for a fact.”
Biden will speak on Wednesday to the families of Americans who were taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October, his first in-person meeting with families, Reuters reported, citing a White House official.
Palestinians who have been injured during the war in Gaza are facing potentially fatal delays both in getting treatment within the territory as well as in being evacuated abroad, caused by Israeli bureaucracy and military checkpoints, the UN and aid organisations say. The delays come amid a claim by the UN World Health Organisation that Palestinian ambulance staff involved in a recent high-risk evacuation were detained at gunpoint, stripped and beaten by Israeli soldiers.
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