• It is the 69th day of the war: According to Hamas, over 18,787 Palestinians have been killed, including 7,112 children. In Israel, 1,200 people died in the attack on October 7th.
• Tensions still between the United States and Israel. Facing American calls for a horizon of “more weeks, not more months” for the war, the Netanyahu government reiterated that “the war will be long, but we will defeat Hamas.”
• 4 Hamas members arrested in Germany and Holland for planning terrorist attacks
• Mossad thanks Denmark for arresting seven Hamas-sympathizing terrorists
• The words and acronyms to understand the conflict: Here is the glossary.
• The history of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, explained here.
7:43 a.m. – Tense meeting between family members of the hostages and UN chief Guterres
Representatives of the families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza met in New York with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Israeli media reported this, emphasizing that the meeting was particularly tense: the relatives of the people kidnapped and taken to Gaza by Hamas and Jihad put pressure on him to do much more to ensure the return of the hostages and criticized him for the comments made on the facts of October 7th that appear to justify Hamas' attacks. Guterres was also criticized for not visiting Israel after the massacre.
According to Channel 12, Yeela David, whose brother Eviatar is imprisoned in Gaza, told Guterres: “If you want peace, that's fine, but you can't say anything that justifies the massacre…Look me in the eyes.” She need to come to the kibbutzim and rave sites, visit Israel and see what our loved ones have been through. That's what a true leader does.” Other family members expressed similar sentiments, the Times of Israel reports. Guterres told the families that he expressed his “complete solidarity” and called the kidnappings “a terrible crime,” but added that unfortunately he does not have the power to bring their loved ones home. However, he stated that he was making every effort through his channels to ensure their release and that this must happen as soon as possible.
7:39 a.m. – Sullivan in Ramallah to meet with Abbas
United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is traveling to the West Bank today where he will meet Palestinian Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. This was announced by CNN, quoting an American official who said that Sullivan will discuss “ongoing commitment to promoting stability in the West Bank, including through counterterrorism efforts, support for Palestinian Authority security forces” and “initiatives.” “To hold extremist settlers accountable for violence against Palestinians.” Yesterday, Sullivan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other War Cabinet officials in Tel Aviv. The meeting between Sullivan and Abbas comes amid a rift between US President Joe Biden and Netanyahu, who have different positions on whether the Palestinian Authority should rule Gaza once Israel's war with Hamas ends. The United States believes the Palestinian Authority should assume government responsibility in Gaza after Israeli military operations end, but Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected that assumption.
6:56 a.m. – The flooded tunnel and Hamas' response
Israeli forces have made a first attempt to flood a Hamas military tunnel in the northern part of the Gaza Strip with water from the sea. This was reported by the Kan public television, according to which this attempt was crowned with success. To carry out this project, the broadcaster said, Israel installed large pumps in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. “We operate underground in a variety of ways,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in response to a question. “Terrorists must know that they are not protected even in the tunnels.”
However, Hamas responded that it had built its tunnels to resist possible attempts to pump water into them, said the Palestinian Islamist group's spokesman Osama Hamdan, quoted by Arab media.
“The tunnels – assured the Hamas spokesman – were built by well-trained and educated engineers who took into account all possible attacks by the crew members, including pumping water.” The tunnels are an integral part of the resistance and all consequences and planned attacks have been taken into account.”
6:49 a.m. – The current state of affairs
(Elena Tebano) Seven people, including four suspected Hamas members, were arrested in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands on suspicion of planning terrorist attacks against Jewish institutions in Europe. Three of the suspects arrested in Berlin and the suspect arrested in the Netherlands are long-time Hamas members with close ties to the organization's military leaders, German prosecutors say. Nazih R., a Dutch citizen, was arrested by police in Rotterdam at the request of the German authorities, while Abdelhamid Al A. and Ibrahim El-R., originally from Lebanon, and Mohamed B., an Egyptian citizen, were arrested in the German capital. Abdelhamid Al A., the indictment says, was commissioned by Hamas leaders in Lebanon to find weapons suppliers who would be brought to Berlin and kept ready for possible terrorist attacks on Jewish institutions.
“Following the terrible attacks by Hamas on the Israeli population, attacks on Jews in Jewish institutions have also increased in our country in recent weeks,” said Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann in a statement about the detentions. “We must therefore do everything we can to ensure that the Jews in our country no longer have to fear for their safety.”
Hamas denies this. “We deny that Hamas members are imprisoned in Denmark, Germany or any other European country. “The publication of these allegations aims to influence mass demonstrations in support of Palestine in Europe,” said one of the leaders, Sami Abu Zuhri.
Danish police said their arrests resulted from investigations carried out in close cooperation with partners abroad that uncovered a network of people preparing a terrorist attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office instead said, citing sources from Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, that Denmark had uncovered “a Hamas infrastructure on European territory.”
The operation in Gaza continues
Meanwhile, Israel's operation to destroy Hamas in the Gaza Strip, launched after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by militants from the Palestinian Islamist movement that left 1,200 dead, continues. Since then, Israeli forces have besieged Gaza, destroying large parts of it and killing about 19,000 people. It is feared that thousands more may be buried under the rubble. Almost all of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been forced to leave their homes several times.
“We are meeting more and more people who have not eaten for one, two or three days,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces have made a first attempt to flood a Hamas military tunnel in the northern part of the Gaza Strip with water from the sea.
However, the massacre in Gaza, which primarily affected civilian victims, is raising increasing doubts in the international community about the method chosen by Israel to pursue the legitimate goal of destroying Hamas. Even among the allies. According to the New York Times, the Biden administration – which continues to support the Israeli campaign with weapons and diplomatic support – has called on the Israeli government to end its large-scale ground campaign in the Gaza Strip by the end of the year and move to a more targeted phase of its war against Hamas to minimize civilian casualties. But Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the war against Hamas would “take more than a few months,” signaling his willingness to continue bombing Gaza. Meanwhile, a poll conducted in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in late November shows that popular support for Hamas has actually increased significantly in the territories, while the popularity of Palestinian President Abu Mazen is at an all-time low.
(This analysis was published in PrimaOra, one of the newsletters that the Corriere has for its subscribers. To receive it you must subscribe to Il Punto: you can do this here.)
5:44 a.m. – A lifeless hostage is recovered by the Israeli army in Gaza
The Israeli army announced that it had recovered the body of Elia Toledano from the Gaza Strip and brought it back to Israel for burial. Haaretz reports this and states that the family has been informed. The 28-year-old boy was kidnapped by terrorists on October 7 at the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Reim.
5:35 a.m. – Red Crescent, 10 dead in Israeli raid on Deir al-Balah
The Palestinian Red Crescent further said
05:08 – The Palestinian Football Association says it has documented the murder of 85 athletes
The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) says it has documented the murder of 85 Palestinian athletes, including 55 soccer players and 30 other athletes, since the start of the war in Gaza. This was reported by the Wafa news agency. According to the PFA, the Israeli army “targeted Palestinian athletes and sports facilities, particularly football players and club presidents, administrators, referees and others.” The Palestinian Football Association report states that 18 children were among the players killed. According to the PFA, Israeli bombings resulted in the destruction of nine sports facilities: four in the West Bank and five in the Gaza Strip. The report said Israel had arrested three athletes in the West Bank, while the number in Gaza “is infinitely high given the number of missing people.”