A bloody Christmas in Gaza, hundreds have died in the last few hours, in an Israeli attack on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp that caused “at least 68 victims,” according to a Gaza Health Ministry spokesman. Egypt proposes a three-phase plan to end the conflict. Tens of thousands of demonstrators in Rabat say no to the “war of annihilation”. Sarah Netanyahu, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wrote a letter to the Pope demanding “personal intervention” for the hostages’ release. Francis in the Christmas Mass homily: “Our hearts are in Bethlehem, where Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is still rejected by the lost logic of war.” For Abu Mazen: “The sun of freedom and an independent state with East Jerusalem as Capital inevitably comes.”
Important points
08:40
IDF: “Several terrorist targets hit in Khan Yunis”
08:40
IDF: “Several terrorist targets hit in Khan Yunis”
According to the Israeli army, several targets in the southern Gaza Strip were attacked last day. Armored brigade soldiers found weapons during a raid on a building in the city. The IDF spokesman said the army killed a Hamas commander. In the northern city of Beit Lahia, forces discovered caches of other weapons: rifles, magazines and explosives.
07:41
“A massacre in a densely populated residential area”
Hamas-controlled Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said the death toll from the Israeli army's shelling of the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, east of Dir al-Balah, was expected to rise. He accused Israel of “committing a massacre in a densely populated residential area.” Al-Jazeera reported that the attack targeted four houses and at least 40 bodies were taken to a hospital in Dir al-Balah, according to an AFP news agency correspondent. The Palestinian Red Crescent released footage of the wounded being transported to hospitals. Israeli warplanes are bombing the main roads between the central Gaza Strip and the camp, writes Haartez, blocking the passage of ambulances and emergency vehicles.
00:38
The sad Christmas of Bethlehem
Every December 24, Bethlehem organizes a traditional parade with bands before the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem arrives on foot to celebrate mass at St. Catherine's Church, the Catholic basilica of the Nativity. But this year, no Christmas carols, no pilgrims, nothing of the typical Christmas celebration in Bethlehem: the war in Gaza has turned this evening into a sad day in the place where the birth of Jesus is venerated. This year, Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa – the Vatican's religious envoy to the Holy Land – arrived in a solemn procession without music or celebratory events in mourning for the Palestinians who died in the war. “It’s a very sad Christmas,” he said. “The ceasefire is not enough, we must end these hostilities.”
Gaza, Cardinal Pizzaballa: “The ceasefire is not enough, these hostilities must stop”
00:18
Egypt's three-phase plan: what it consists of
Egypt would be willing to propose a three-phase plan to end the conflict. The first phase was to include a two-week ceasefire with the release of 40 Israelis and the release of 120 Palestinians held in the Jewish state's prisons. The second phase would serve to create a transitional government that would have power in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would then proceed to negotiate a lasting peace.
00:02
Attack on a refugee camp: 68 dead, including 12 women and 7 children
At least 68 people were killed in the Israeli airstrike on the Maghazi refugee camp east of Deir al-Balah in the center of the Gaza Strip. According to initial information from hospitals, the 68 victims include at least twelve women and seven children. Gaza's Health Ministry had previously reported a death toll of 70. The Israeli army has not yet commented.
00:01
Bethlehem, the war stops Christmas: no tree and celebrations canceled, the city is deserted without tourists
Due to the war between Israel and Hamas, Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem were canceled. The biblical birthplace of Jesus, located in the now-bustling West Bank, resembles a ghost town on Christmas Eve. The festive lights and Christmas tree that usually decorate Manger Square are missing, as are the crowds of foreign tourists who gather each year to celebrate the holiday. (Read the article)
Bethlehem, the war stops Christmas: no tree and celebrations canceled, the city is deserted without tourists
published by the foreign editorial team on December 24, 2023