from the online editorial team
The news from Monday, December 4th, on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, live. US Secretary of State’s Phone Call with Prime Minister Al-Thani: Committed to Promoting a Return to Calm
• 59th day of the war: According to Hamas, over 16,000 Palestinians have died, including 5,600 children. In Israel, 1,200 people died in the attack on October 7th.
• The Israeli army began ground operations in the southern Gaza Strip to north of Khan Yunis.
• The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has called on Israel and Hamas to respect international law and said his office will step up investigations into potential war crimes.
• American Muslim leaders in several key states have called on their communities to rally against the re-election of President Joe Biden because of his strong support for Israel’s war on Gaza
• The words and acronyms to understand the conflict: Here is the glossary.
• The history of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, explained here.
6:38 a.m. – Israel: A Hamas commander who coordinated the October 7 attack killed
The IDF and Shin Bet led an airstrike and killed the commander of Hamas’ Shati Battalion, Haitham Khuwajari. This was stated by the IDF spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. Khuwajari was not only the commander of Hamas forces in the Shati area, but also one of the perpetrators of the October 7 invasion of southern Israel.
06:36 a.m. – Israeli ground operations throughout the Gaza Strip
Another night of fighting in Palestine, with Israel expanding its ground operations across the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces announced this on Sunday: “The IDF is resuming and expanding ground operations against Hamas strongholds across the Gaza Strip,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a press conference on Sunday. Hagari also emphasized “the importance of the air force’s air support for the ground forces” and said that air strikes on terrorist headquarters, weapons production facilities, terrorist tunnels and terrorist missile launch sites limit the threat to the ground operation.
5:47 a.m. – Israel: Three of our soldiers killed in Gaza
The IDF spokesman announced that three soldiers lost their lives in fighting in the Gaza Strip yesterday. They are Sergeant Major (Reserve) Neriya Shaer, 36, from Yavné; Sergeant 1st Class (Reserve) Ben Zussman, 22, of Jerusalem; Sergeant Binyamin Yehoshua Needham, 19, of Zichron Ya’akov. The online site Haaretz reports about it.
4:27 a.m. – Gaza: 4 dead in raid near Jabalia Hospital
At least four people were killed and nine injured in an attack by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) near the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalia, northern Gaza, according to reports from the Arabic broadcaster Al Jazeera and the Palestinian news agency Wafa, stating that among the Victims would also include women and children.
1:19 a.m. – Unicef: We need a longer ceasefire to reach the children
The Gaza Strip is once again the most dangerous place in the world for children. This is what UNICEF Director General Catherine Russell said about the resumption of fighting in Gaza after seven days of ceasefire. Before the break, he added, more than 5,300 Palestinian children were reported to have been killed in 48 days of continuous bombing, a figure that does not include many children still missing and presumed buried under the rubble. If violence returns at this scale and intensity, we can expect hundreds more children to be killed and injured every day. And if we are unable to get water, food, medical supplies, blankets and warm clothing to those who need them, we face a humanitarian catastrophe. The humanitarian pause has allowed us to increase deliveries of vital aid to Gaza and the wider region. Unicef and its partners – explained the representative of the organization – were able to significantly increase their operations and programs. And we were able to begin reuniting separated children with their families. However, this was not enough to meet the scale of humanitarian needs. Now – added Catherine Russell – we need safer and more predictable access to reach injured, displaced and traumatized children. And we need to help children exposed to the cold, wet weather. Children need a permanent humanitarian ceasefire. We call on all parties to ensure that children are protected and supported in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law. All children of the State of Palestine and Israel deserve peace and the hope for a better future.
00:54 – Telephone conversation between Qatar and Blinken: ceasefire agreements discussed
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani received a call from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in which they discussed modalities for de-escalation and ceasefire in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. The Foreign Ministry in Doha announced this in a statement. During the call, the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories as well as methods for de-escalation and ceasefire were discussed, the note said. Qatar, together with its mediation partners, is committed to continuing efforts to restore calm, stressing that the continued bombing of the Gaza Strip after the end of the pause is complicating mediation efforts and exacerbating the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, the statement emphasizes.
12:40 a.m. – Hamas: The number of Palestinian victims rises to 15,523
The number of Palestinian victims of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7 has risen to 15,523. This was stated by the Hamas-run Ministry of Health. Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said during a news conference that the number of injured in the Palestinian enclave had exceeded 41,000 as health services collapsed. Al-Qidra said hundreds of injured were being treated on the ground with extremely limited medical resources as hospitals in northern Gaza became increasingly unable to provide necessary health care. He added that all Gaza hospitals were stretched beyond their medical and bed capacity and lacked the surgical resources needed to treat critical cases. Al-Qidra criticized the slow mechanism that allowed the wounded to receive treatment abroad, saying only 403 people had been allowed to leave the Gaza Strip since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began. He reiterated calls for safe humanitarian corridors to ensure the flow of medical supplies, medicines and fuel, and called for efforts to allow injured and patients to travel abroad for treatment.
12:35 a.m. – Israel: A Hamas commander defending militiamen in Shifa killed
Israeli forces said they killed Hamas commander Haitham Khuwajari in an air strike on the Gaza Strip. According to the IDF on Telegram, Khuwajari was the head of the Shati Battalion of Palestinian militiamen. Under his command, Hamas terrorists carried out some raids on Israeli territory on October 7, the IDF reported, adding that Khuwajari and his battalion defended Hamas terrorist activities at Shifa Hospital and were in command of Hamas troops who fought against IDF soldiers in the Shati area. He was also responsible for numerous terrorist attacks against Israelis.
00:03 – Bar (Shin Bet), we will eliminate Hamas wherever it is
Shin Bet security director Ronen Bar said the government wants to eliminate Hamas wherever it is. In a statement broadcast on public television, Kan added: This is our Monaco. Everywhere: in Gaza, the Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Turkey and Qatar. It will take a few years, but we will be there to make it happen. The Shin Bet chief also expressed his belief that the organization is growing and that we are learning lessons from these events and are already transferring them to other areas, not only in the Gaza Strip. Bar added that the level of threats facing the State of Israel over the past year, even before these events, was unprecedented. Here, too, the main thing is hidden from view. There’s a lot brewing beneath the surface.
December 4, 2023 (modified December 4, 2023 | 06:39)
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