After the killing of one of the Pasdaran generals in a raid in Syria, a new front opens up, the Iranian one. Israel “must begin the countdown”: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian threatened Tehran’s reaction in a note.
Meanwhile, yesterday in the Holy Land there was a Christmas under the bombs. At least 70 people were killed in an Israeli attack on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza on Sunday, the Hamas-controlled health ministry said. According to Gaza authorities, more than 20,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in early October.
Israel's war in Gaza “will be a long battle” and is far from over, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on his return from a trip to the enclave. But Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, said in his first message since October 7 that the Islamist group would not give up.
Learn more:
What happened yesterday
Important points
08:00
West Bank: Media and Israel arrest Palestinian politician Jarrar
There are updates 09:59
Raid on Khan Yunis Red Crescent headquarters: There are injured
Several people were injured in the bomb attack on the headquarters of the Palestinian Red Crescent in the town of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. The humanitarian organization itself announced this on its official account on the social network “displaced”, as thousands of people were in the building.
09:42
Iraq: Baghdad and US attack “hostile and non-constructive act”.
The US attack on Iraqi military sites was “a clearly hostile and non-constructive act that does not serve long-term common interests”: It was the reaction of the Iraqi government that condemned the US attack on Iraqi military sites, which led to the death of one person and – according to Baghdad – the wounding of 18 other people. This was reported by the Egyptian news site Al Qahera.
09:35
USA: Pro-Gaza protests in front of the houses of Austin and Sullivan
There were protests in the US against members of the Biden administration over their support of the war in Gaza. A few dozen demonstrators protested outside the homes of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, hoping to disrupt the Christmas morning of President Biden's two senior advisers.
08:31
Israel: More than 100 Hamas targets were hit overnight in the southern Gaza Strip
The Israeli Air Force said it struck more than 100 Hamas targets in the southern Gaza Strip overnight in preparation for a ground operation in the area; this was announced by the Tsahal Army. According to the army with Favid's star, the targets included “tunnels, wells, military sites and other infrastructure used by terrorists to attack Israeli forces.”
08:00
West Bank: Media and Israel arrest Palestinian politician Jarrar
Sources at Arabic broadcaster Al Jazeera say Palestinian politician Khalida Jarrar has been arrested by Israeli forces in Ramallah in the West Bank. The 60-year-old has been arrested several times and is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). In 2021, she was released from Israel after two years of preventive detention, arrested following a terrorist attack that claimed the life of 17-year-old Israeli Rina Shnerb. As a political and military movement with a Marxist-Leninist orientation, the PFLP is viewed as a terrorist organization by Israel – but also by the USA and the EU.
07:22
Al Jazeera: Night of raids in Gaza, clashes in West Bank
There was heavy Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip overnight. This was reported by the al-Jazeera channel, according to which there were attacks in the al-Maghazi refugee camp and near Bureij and Nuseirat in the center of the enclave, as well as in Rafah and Khan Younis in the south. Palestinian media also reported heavy clashes with Israeli forces in the Nur Shams camp in Tulkarem in the West Bank, in the city of Tammun and in the Aida camp in Bethlehem.
11:58 p.m
Israeli minister expected in Washington for talks on Gaza
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a close confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is expected in Washington for talks on the next phase of the Gaza war. Axios reports it. The United States is calling on Israel to reduce intense fighting against Hamas in Gaza, which is causing a growing number of casualties. According to our understanding, Dermer will meet with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and some members of Congress. According to Axios reports, the discussions will also address the question of who will govern the Gaza Strip after the war. An American official, who preferred to remain anonymous, says the main point of discussion between the two countries is “how and in what time frame to complete things.” Dermer is a former Israeli ambassador to the United States.