From Le Figaro with AFP
Published 1 hour ago, updated 1 hour ago
A photo taken in Rafah shows flares fired by Israeli soldiers over Khan Younes in the southern Gaza Strip on December 22, 2023. MAHMUD HAMS / AFP
UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – After Gaza City, “we are pivoting south and concentrating our main operations on another Hamas stronghold, Khan Younes,” an Israeli army spokesman, Jonathan Conricus, told American broadcaster Fox News.
Israel is stepping up its offensive in the southern Gaza Strip
The Israeli army announced on Sunday, December 23, that it would intensify operations against Hamas in the south of the besieged Gaza Strip, as the United States urged Israel to make greater efforts to spare civilians at risk of starvation.
During a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden emphasized “the critical need to protect civilians,” according to the White House. The head of state made it clear that he had “not called for a ceasefire” between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement.
Also read: United States calls on Israel to spare civilians in Gaza
The United States continues to show unwavering support for its historic ally, but has recently increasingly insisted that Israel move to a less intense phase of its offensive, favoring more targeted operations against Hamas leaders.
The Israeli army announces the number of 152 soldiers killed in Gaza since the start of the war
The Israeli army announced that 152 soldiers had been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war.
Also read: “Netanyahu not ready to give up his armed offensive”: the thorny issues of a new ceasefire in Gaza
Nine soldiers were killed in fighting in Gaza on Saturday, the army said in a statement. This is one of the highest casualties for a day in the small area since the conflict began on October 7th.
According to Hamas, more than 200 people were killed in Israeli operations in Gaza within 24 hours
More than 200 Palestinians have been killed in relentless Israeli bombardment and ground operations in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, Hamas said, after shelving a UN humanitarian aid resolution to call for a ceasefire.
The Islamist movement announced the discovery of the bodies of dozens of killed Palestinians, some of whom it said were “executed” during an Israeli ground operation in Jabaliya, northern Gaza. Hamas called on Saturday for an international investigation into the “snap executions” it accuses the Israeli army of carrying out in the Gaza Strip, saying it had recorded at least 137 executions since the war began on October 7.
Debris at the Shadia Abu Ghazaleh school after an Israeli raid in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, December 15, 2023. STRINGER/Portal
The Hamas government, which has been in power in the Palestinian territory since 2007, claimed in a statement to have collected testimony that “the Israeli occupation army carried out the summary execution of 137 Palestinian civilians in Gaza City and the northern governorates “, and called for “the establishment of international teams to investigate the crimes of the occupation and their summary executions.” These allegations could not be independently verified.
Washington accuses Iran of new attacks on ships in the Red Sea and off India
A chemical tanker was hit by an “attack drone fired by Iran” off the coast of India on Saturday, and two oil tankers and a U.S. destroyer traveling in the Red Sea were also attacked by drones fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen US military.
These attacks on commercial vessels since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7 have prompted major shipping companies to redirect their ships toward the southern tip of Africa for long-distance voyages despite higher fuel costs.
The Houthis, who control swathes of Yemeni territory including the capital Sanaa, reiterate that they will continue their attacks unless food and medicine return in sufficient quantities to the Gaza Strip, which is besieged and bombed by Israel.