People inspect the rubble of a building destroyed by Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 24, 2023. (Photo by Said Khatib / AFP)
Doha, Qatar: Despite growing calls for restraint and for more aid to reach war-stricken Palestinians, Israel showed little sign of modulating its strike in Gaza, that has killed more than 200 in 24 hours, as the Palestinian authorities said on Saturday.
The bombardment is now centred on Gaza City and the southern city of Khan Yunis, where reports of heavy shelling, gray and black smoke rose over the territory.
Meanwhile UNRWA said it “cannot deliver meaningful aid” under intense Israeli bombardments of Gaza after the UN Security Council called for increased access.
As per the casualty figures released today, December 24, 2023, 20,424 have been killed while over 53,688 wounded in Gaza and in West Bank 303 have been killed and 3,450 injured.
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[11:33pm Doha Time] More than 800 settler attacks in occupied West Bank
Al Jazeera reports that Amir Daoud, director general of the Documentation and Publication department in the Wall and Settlements Resistance Commission, said that 812 settler attacks, including the killing of 10 Palestinians at the hands of settlers, hav3e been observed ever since October 7.
Ghada Marei, mother of 27-year-old Leena Marei (L on the poster) who was killed in Gaza December 10 with her two children Adam (R on the poster) and Layan (L on the poster), stands next to relatives at their home in the Jenin refugee camp, in the city of Jenin in the Israeli occupied West Bank, on December 23, 2023. (Photo by MARCO LONGARI / AFP)
“The attacks were generally concentrated in the south of Nablus, northeast of Ramallah, and the south of Hebron,” Daoud said.
Daoud said that the attacks deprived Palestinian farmers from harvesting during the olive season adding that over 4,000 olive trees were uprooted in the past 79 days.
[3pm Doha Time] Health ministry in Gaza says war death toll hits 20,424
The health ministry in Gaza said on Sunday that at least 20,424 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war with Israel.
The toll included 166 deaths in the past 24 hours, it said, as fighting continued.
[1:00pm Doha Time] "No one deserves to live like this"
A relentless Israeli military campaign has upset the lives of most, if not all, residents of the Gaza Strip.
Three Palestinian women - a doctor, a housewife and a student- share details on how the conflict has upended their lives. Read more
[10am Doha Time] Child killed by Israeli drone attack in southern Gaza
A 13-year-old child was killed by an Israeli drone near al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said.
More than 8,000 children have been killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7.
[9am Doha Time] Events in Gaza stem from ‘institutionalised impunity’
The UN special rapporteur on the right to housing says events in Gaza stem from “institutionalised impunity” that encompass “war crimes”, “genocide” and “crime against humanity”.
“If the International Criminal Court does not act very soon, we need a special tribunal for Gaza and action by States,” Balakrishnan Rajagopal posted on X.
Despite the mounting evidence and ongoing atrocities, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan has shown little interest in seriously probing Israel, according to Palestinian officials, victims and legal scholars.
[7:30am Doha Time] Immediate unconditional humanitarian ceasefire must be reached in Gaza: UNRWA
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) underlined that there is a need for immediate ceasefire in Gaza Strip, as well as unhindered access of assistance and unconditional political negotiations.
In a press conference, UNRWA Spokesperson Tamara Alrifai added that it is extremely shocking that politics stands in the way of survival of 2.2 million people in Gaza, stressing the significance of reaching an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza Strip and allow the flow of humanitarian aid with unconditional political negotiations.
In remarks on UNRWA's website, Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza Tom White, has so far, said that the Israeli occupation forces issued further evacuation orders to the population in central Gaza ordering them to head to Deir Al Balah to expand the incessant military operation.
People is Gaza are not chess pieces, many of whom were displaced multiple times by the Israeli occupation army which ordered them to head to areas where airstrikes are continuing, White pointed out, stressing that there are no safe locations for Palestinians and nowhere to go.
