Flares fired by Israeli soldiers over Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on December 22, 2023. (Photo by Mahmud Hams / AFP)
Doha, Qatar: The UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for urgent measures to allow humanitarian aid to Gaza, on Friday, December 22, 2023. While 13 members voted in favor, the United States and Russia abstained.
Even as the UN Secretary General hoped that the Security Council could pave way to a humanitarian ceasefire, UNICEF warned that atleast 10,000 children in Gaza could suffer the most life-threatening form of malnutrition.
The Israeli troops continued deadly bombardment of Gaza with latest attacks reported in Nuseirat refugee camp and Khan Younis.
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[11:20pm Doha Time]
Footage from around #Gaza shows the extent of the damage caused by the unrelenting Israeli aggression on the besieged enclave.#Palestine pic.twitter.com/iACDQau04c
— The Peninsula Qatar (@PeninsulaQatar) December 23, 2023
[4:30pm Doha Time] Death toll of journalists rises to 99: Gaza government
The Government Media Office in Gaza has said on their Telegram channel that the number of journalists killed by Israeli forces has risen to 99 since the start of the war.
Muhammad Khalifa is the latest journalist to be killed in Gaza after Israeli forces bombed his family’s home in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
[2:40pm Doha Time] In Photos: Children wait to collect food at a donation point in a refugee camp
At a donation point in a refugee camp in in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian men and children line up to collect food on December 23, 2023.
Photos by Mahmud Hams / AFP
[2:15pm Doha Time] Nowhere safe in Gaza, UN says after Israeli evacuation order
Israel's latest evacuation order for civilians in the central Gaza Strip would force them to relocate to areas "where there are ongoing air strikes", the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Saturday.
In the evacuation order issued on Friday, the Israeli army instructed residents in the Bureij refugee camp and surrounding areas to "leave immediately for their own security" and head towards Deir al-Balah city further south.
"People in Gaza are people. They are not pieces on a checkerboard -- many have already been displaced several times," Thomas White, Gaza director for the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, wrote on social media.
"The Israeli army just orders people to move into areas where there are ongoing air strikes. No place is safe, nowhere to go."
After the evacuation order, thousands of Palestinians fled the central Gaza Strip to the south on Friday.
UNRWA tweeted that the latest order would affect more than 150,000 people.
An estimated 1.9 million have been displaced by the war, according to the UN.
[12:30pm Doha Time] PRCS urges for release of colleagues detained by Israeli forces
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says Israeli forces continue to detain its colleagues from the Jabalia ambulance centre in northern Gaza.
“More than a month has passed since the arrest of our colleague Awni Khattab, head of the PRCS ambulance centre in Khan Younis,” PRCS said on X.
“We urge the international community to exert pressure on the occupation authorities for the immediate release of our teams and to ensure their protection.”
[10:30am Doha Time] Palestinians in central Gaza flee along ‘death corridor’ after Israel order
Israel has ordered Palestinians to evacuate from parts of central Gaza in its latest such directive as it pushes more of the besieged enclave’s 2.3 million-strong population into a smaller area while widening its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military on Friday ordered families to flee for their “safety” to shelters in southern Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, from Bureij and areas of Nuseirat in central Gaza.
Residents of the refugee camp of Bureij arrive in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip following an evacuation order, on December 22, 2023. (Photo by AFP)
The announcement has incensed the region’s weary and exhausted residents, many of whom have already been internally displaced several times.
[10:20am Doha Time] Heavy bombardment reported in Jabalia
Al Jazeera reported that Israeli forces are trying to advance into the city of Jabalia from the west and east, and have disrupted all lines of communication in the region.
The correspondent also said there was heavy Israeli bombing on the al-Jarn area in Jabalia.
[10am Doha Time] Israeli occupation continues deadly bombardment of Gaza Strip
The Israeli occupation continued Saturday its deadly bombardment of Gaza Strip, with its warplanes and artillery bombing civilians across the Strip amidst catastrophic humanitarian conditions.
The occupation warplanes shelled several houses in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip, leaving a number of martyrs and injured.
The Israeli occupation also attacked Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis, leaving several martyred and injured.
Local sources reported that many injuries and martyrs remain under the rubbles, inside homes and on the streets due to the occupation force deliberately preventing medical teams from reaching the victims.
Meanwhile, fierce clashes erupted between the Palestinian resistance and the Israeli occupation forces in Jabalia Camp, north of Gaza Strip, as the occupation announced the start of the third phase of the war.
[9:30am Doha Time] At least 10,000 children in Gaza face most life-threatening form of malnutrition: UNICEF
At least 10,000 children under five years will suffer the most life-threatening form of malnutrition, known as severe wasting, and will need therapeutic foods, the International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) warned.
A Palestinian boy collects small pieces of debris following Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 22, 2023. (Photo by Mohammed Abed / AFP)
"This unacceptable risk comes at a time when the Gaza Strips food and health systems are facing complete collapse. More than 80% of young children are experiencing severe food poverty, and more than two-thirds of hospitals are no longer functioning because of the lack of fuel, water, and vital medical supplies or because they sustained catastrophic damage in attacks," UNICEF said in a statement.
"We are also particularly concerned about the nutrition of over 155,000 pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, as well as for over 135,000 children under two, given their specific nutrition needs, which are compounded by stress and trauma," it added.
The UNICEF statement follows the UN Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) which warned the world of the very high risk of famine in the Gaza Strip, increasing every day if the situation persists.
Specifically, the IPC report said at least 1 in 4 households in Gaza Strip, or more than half a million people, are facing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity, the highest level of warning.
"These entirely manmade, foreseeable, and preventable catastrophic conditions mean that children and families in the Gaza Strip are now facing violence from the air, and deprivation from the ground - with potentially the worst yet to come," the report said.
The report also said that almost 1.2 million people are experiencing emergency levels of acute food insecurity and acknowledged that famine thresholds for acute food insecurity have already been exceeded. In short, this means for many families in Gaza, the threat of dying from hunger is already real.
[9am Doha Time] Guterres hopes resolution on increased aid delivery to Gaza could pave way to ceasefire
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed hope that the Security Council resolution to get more aid into Gaza, adopted on Friday, could pave the way to a humanitarian ceasefire.
Guterres was speaking at a press briefing at UN Headquarters shortly after the 15-member Council passed the resolution following days of negotiation.
He told journalists that there has been no significant change in the way the war has been unfolding in Gaza, with no effective protection of civilians.
"A humanitarian ceasefire is the only way to begin to meet the desperate needs of people in Gaza and end their ongoing nightmare," he said. "I hope that todays Security Council Resolution may help this finally to happen but much more is needed immediately."
Guterres said it was a mistake to measure the effectiveness of the humanitarian operation in Gaza based on the number of aid trucks that are allowed to enter the enclave.
"The real problem is that the way Israel is conducting this offensive is creating massive obstacles to the distribution of humanitarian aid inside Gaza," he said.
He stressed that an effective aid operation there requires four elements that currently do not exist, namely security, staff who can work in safety, logistical capacity, and the resumption of commercial activity.
The Council on Friday passed a resolution to boost humanitarian aid to Gaza Strip, following several delays over the last week as the United States lobbied to weaken the language regarding calls for a ceasefire.
The resolution, which calls for steps "to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities", passed with 13 votes in favour, none against, and the US and Russia abstaining.
