TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Fifteen Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting in Gaza over the weekend, the Israeli military said Sunday, as preliminary efforts continued to reach an agreement on another hostage exchange for Palestinians held by Israel.
As Christmas Eve arrived, smoke from the fighting was still rising over Gaza, while in Bethlehem in the West Bank there was silence and holiday celebrations were canceled.
The rising death toll among Israeli troops – 154 since the ground offensive began – could undermine public support for the war, which was sparked when Hamas-led militants stormed communities in southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 and taking 240 hostage took.
The war has devastated parts of the Gaza Strip, killing about 20,400 Palestinians and displacing nearly all of the besieged territory's 2.3 million people. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 166 people were killed in the coastal enclave last day.
Israelis still largely support the country's stated goals of dismantling Hamas's government and military capabilities and releasing the remaining 129 prisoners. This is despite increasing international pressure against Israel's offensive and the rising death toll and unprecedented suffering among Palestinians.
Hamas is demanding a price
“The war exacts a very high price from us, but we have no choice but to keep fighting,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
There was widespread anger against his government, which many criticize for failing to protect civilians on October 7 and for pursuing policies that have allowed Hamas to grow in strength over the years . Netanyahu has avoided taking responsibility for military and political failures.
“Over time, the public will find it difficult to ignore the high price that has been paid, as well as the suspicion that the loudly proclaimed goals are far from being achieved and that Hamas shows no signs of capitulating in the near future.” wrote Amos Harel, military commentator for Haaretz newspaper.
Negotiation efforts continued. On Sunday, Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah arrived in Egypt for talks. The militant group, which was also involved in the Oct. 7 attack, said it was prepared to consider releasing hostages only after fighting ends. Top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh traveled to Cairo for talks days earlier.
INSIDE GAZA
Israel's offensive was one of the most devastating military campaigns in modern history. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, which makes no distinction between civilians and combatants, more than two-thirds of the 20,000 Palestinians killed were women and children.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said a 13-year-old boy was shot dead in an Israeli drone strike at Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis, a part of Gaza where the Israeli military believes Hamas leaders are hiding.
An Israeli strike overnight hit a house in a refugee camp west of the city of Rafah on the Gaza-Egypt border. At least two men were killed at the hospital where the bodies were taken, according to Associated Press journalists.
At least two people were killed and six others injured when a rocket hit a building in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
And Palestinians reported heavy Israeli bombing and shooting in Jabaliya, an area north of Gaza City that Israel supposedly controlled. Hamas's military wing said its fighters fired on Israeli troops in Jabaliya and the Jabaliya refugee camp.
“The sounds of explosions and gunshots never stopped,” said Jabaliya resident Assad Radwan.
Israel has come under international criticism for its high civilian death toll, but it blames Hamas and points to the militants' use of crowded residential areas and tunnels. Israel has carried out thousands of airstrikes since October 7 and has largely refrained from commenting on specific strikes.
Israel is also accused of mistreating Palestinian men and teenagers detained in homes, shelters, hospitals and elsewhere during the offensive. It has denied allegations of abuse and said those who have no ties to militants will be released quickly.
Khamis al-Burdainy of Gaza City spoke to the AP from a hospital bed in Rafah after his release, saying Israeli forces had detained him after tanks and bulldozers partially destroyed his home. He said the men were handcuffed and blindfolded.
“We didn't sleep. We didn’t get food or water,” he said, crying and covering his face.
Another released detainee, Mohammed Salem from the Shijaiyah district of Gaza City, said Israeli troops beat her. “We were humiliated,” he said. “A female soldier came and beat an old man, 72 years old.”
Israel claims it has killed thousands of Hamas militants without providing evidence and says it is dismantling Hamas' vast network of tunnels and killing top commanders – an operation that leaders say could take months.
INTERNATIONAL PRINT
The United Nations Security Council has passed a watered-down resolution calling for the rapid delivery of humanitarian aid to hungry and desperate Palestinians and the release of all hostages, but not a ceasefire.
But it was not immediately clear how or when deliveries of food, medical supplies and other supplies, which were well below the prewar daily average of 500, would be accelerated. Trucks enter through two border crossings – Rafah and Kerem Shalom on the border with Israel. Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Border Crossing Authority, said 93 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip via Rafah on Saturday.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated U.N. calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, adding on social media that “the decimation of the health system in Gaza is a tragedy.”
Israel's allies in Europe are loudly calling for an end to the fighting. But the United States, Israel's main ally, appeared to remain firmly behind Israel despite its increased calls for more protection for civilians.
US President Joe Biden spoke to Netanyahu on Saturday, a day after Washington protected Israel from a tougher UN resolution. Biden said he had not asked for a ceasefire, while Netanyahu's office said the prime minister had “made clear that Israel will continue the war until all of its objectives are achieved.”
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Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip. Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Jack Jeffery in London contributed to this report.
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