Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Gaza Strip on Monday and vowed to step up the army's assault in the Palestinian territory, his party said, despite international efforts to halt the fighting. The announcement came after at least 68 people in the Palestinian enclave were killed in Israeli strikes Monday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Read our live blog to see how all the day's events unfolded.
Summary:
- Christmas was a sombre holiday for Palestinians this year as Israel pursued its relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip. At least 68 Palestinians were killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza on Monday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Gaza Strip on Monday and vowed to step up the army's assault in the Palestinian territory in the coming days.
- An Israeli air strike in a Damascus neighbourhood killed a high-ranking Iranian general, Iranian state media said. Iranian officials and allied militant groups in the region vowed revenge for the killing.
- At least 20,674 people have been killed and 54,536 injured in Israel's ensuing assault on the Gaza Strip, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. Israeli officials say 1,139 were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in southern Israel, among them 695 Israeli civilians including 36 children.
- Israeli forces are going deeper into the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a video statement on Sunday, adding that they will fight on until achieving "total victory" over Hamas.
- At least 60 were killed in Gaza in one of the deadliest strikes of the war, while Israel’s leaders acknowledged the “very heavy price” after 15 soldiers were killed in combat over the weekend.
- The military said five Israeli hostages killed in Hamas captivity were recovered from an underground tunnel network in the northern Gaza Strip. The reason of their deaths remain unclear.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”.
The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
