A woman injured in an Israeli strike sits amid the rubble in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 3, 2023. (Photo by Said Khatib / AFP)
Doha, Qatar: After eight weeks of war, including a week-long humanitarian pause that ended on December 1, 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza continues to escalate, with the occupation forces widening its ground offensive in southern Gaza.
Meanwhile the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani affirmed that Qatar will continue its efforts with other countries to resume truce and reach a permanent ceasefire in Gaza Strip.
The Prime Minister also had a discussion via phone call on Sunday with the Secretary of State of the United States of America HE Antony Blinken on the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories, means of de-escalation, and ceasefire.
The latest casualty figures in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank as of today, December 4, 2023 reached over 15,000 with more than 41,300 injured.
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[11:36 pm Doha Time] The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it completely lost contact with the central operations room in the Gaza Strip as well as all its teams due to the fourth telecommunications blackout since the start of war on Gaza. “We feel extreme concern about the possibility of our teams continuing to provide emergency services,” PRCS posted on X.
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[11:09 pm Doha Time] "Every time we think things cannot get any more apocalyptic in Gaza, they do," Martin Griffiths, the UN chief for humanitarian affairs posted on X. The UN humanitarian chief said "nowhere is safe in Gaza. Not hospitals, not shelters, not refugee camps. Such blatant disregard for basic humanity must stop.”
An Israeli air force attack helicopter firing a missile while flying over the border with the Palestinian territory on December 4, 2023. (Photo by Jack Guez / AFP)
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[9:45 pm Doha Time] Paltel, the Palestinian telecommunication company, announced on its Facebook page that the communication networks in the Gaza Strip are completely cut off again after continuous Israeli bombardments.
"We regret to announce a complete disruption of all communication and internet services within the Gaza Strip due to the main paths that were previously reconnected were disconnected again," said Paltel.
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[7:38 pm Doha Time] Here's a quick look at how much of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged.
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[6:30 pm Doha Time] First batch of wounded Palestinians from Gaza arrived in Qatar for treatment
The Minister of State for International Cooperation at Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, HE Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater, announced today that the first group of Palestinians from Gaza who need treatment has arrived in the country on board a medical evacuation plane belonging to the Amiri Air Force. Read more.
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[4:13 pm Doha Time] Red Cross chief visits Gaza, makes urgent plea for aid
The Red Cross chief has arrived in Gaza and is pleading for an end to the “intolerable” human suffering in the besieged enclave.
In a post on X, Mirjana Spoljaric urgently called “for civilians to be protected in line with the laws of war and for aid to enter unimpeded”.
She also urged for captives to be released and for the Red Cross to be “allowed to safely visit them”.
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[2:14 pm Doha Time] ‘Flooded with dead bodies’
Since the early morning, hospitals in Gaza have been receiving dozens of bodies as Israeli air strikes continue to pound the Strip for a fourth consecutive day after the collapse of the truce.
“We are flooded with an influx of dead bodies,” Munir al-Barsh, director general of Gaza’s Health Ministry, told Al Jazeera.
“All our hospitals can no longer offer any kind of help to victims. All our medical equipment was destroyed by the Israeli occupation soldiers,” al-Barsh said.
In a few hours, he said, the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza will be out of electricity. Ambulances and medics have repeatedly been targeted, including a healthcare worker who was shot while carrying a victim towards al-Awda Hospital.
Out of 40,000 injured, only 400 reached the Rafah crossing in the south, the director said.
“This is a belligerent murderous enemy; with one target only: killing civilians in cold blood,” he added.
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[1:15pm Doha Time] Massive child casualties in Gaza: UNICEF
The Spokesperson for the United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF) James Elder said "This is the worst bombardment of the war right now in south Gaza. I am seeing massive child casualties." Read more
[12:50pm Doha Time] Two Palestinians martyred, others injured in Israeli Army raid of Qalqilya
Two Palestinians were martyred Monday morning and others were injured and arrested during an Israeli army raid of the city of Qalqilya in the north of the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and local sources. Read more
[12:30pm Doha Time] QFFD pledges contribution in support of UNRWA for 2023-2024
The Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) signed a contribution agreement to finance the Agency through a multiyear agreement for 2023-2024. Read more
[11:05 am Doha Time] Latest casualty figures in Gaza as of December 4, 2023
[8:15 am Doha Time] Shelters seeing significant increase in infectious diseases: UN
About 316 people were killed and another 664 injured by Israeli bombardments in the 24 hours between the afternoon of December 2 and the afternoon of December 3, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
Aid trucks carrying humanitarian supplies entered from Egypt on December 3, though their number and contents were unclear, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) also reports in its latest situation assessment.
