Sarah Netanyahu, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has written a letter to Pope Francis asking for “personal intervention” in the Israeli hostage-taking by Hamas in Gaza.
“Your Holiness,” he wrote, “I ask for your personal intervention in this matter. I ask you to use your influence to demand his unconditional and immediate release.”
“I also ask you,” he added, “to appeal to the Red Cross to visit all the hostages and give them vital medicines.” “His intervention – he explained – could make the difference and save precious lives.”
Netanyahu: “We are intensifying the war in the Gaza Strip”
“We are escalating the war in Gaza. We will continue to fight until the final victory over Hamas.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this, adding: “This is the only way to bring back the hostages, eliminate Hamas and ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to the country .” “It will take some time, but we are united: soldiers, people and government. We are united and determined to fight to the end.” “The war – he stressed – exacts a high, very high price on the lives of our heroic soldiers and we will do everything to protect them. But one thing we won’t do is we won’t stop until we win.”
An aid truck is attacked, two dead by shots fired by Hamas agents
The number of incidents that occurred today in Rafah (south of the Gaza Strip) worsened when, according to local sources, Hamas operatives shot at people trying to confiscate humanitarian supplies entering the Sultan district by truck. In the first phase of the incidents, a teenager was killed by these shots. A second person later died in hospital, according to sources. Meanwhile, a similar incident occurred in nearby Khan Yunis, where a person who also tried to steal aid was injured by Hamas agents. “There is an atmosphere of anarchy on the streets,” the sources said.
After intensive bombing from Lebanon towards Mount Naftali (Upper Galilee), the Israeli Air Force today attacked “Hezbollah military targets.” These include “terrorist infrastructure, military structures and missile launch pads,” said a military spokesman. The alarm sirens then sounded again in Avivim in northern Israel. Meanwhile, Israel's Alma Center for Strategic Studies, based in the Upper Galilee, said that “Hezbollah operatives are taking up positions near Christian villages in southern Lebanon.” He specifically mentioned the village of Deir Mimas, which, according to Alma, would be used by Hezbollah as a kind of “human shield.”
Warning sirens sounded in the Upper Galilee town of Shlomi after rocket fire from southern Lebanon. The army had previously ordered the residents of around twenty border towns in the Upper Galilee to close the entrance gates and ban everyone from entering and leaving the country until further notice. Meanwhile, the army has closed to traffic some arteries in northern Israel that are believed to be exposed to Hezbollah fire. According to media reports, over 60,000 people have been displaced from northern Israel in recent weeks following sustained attacks by Hezbollah. Significant property damage was reported in the areas of Israel closest to the border with Lebanon.
Abu Mazen, “The Sun of Freedom Comes”
“The sun of freedom and an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital is inevitably coming and is even just around the corner.” This is what President Abu Mazen said in his Christmas speech, quoted by the Wafa agency. “The river of blood, the enormous sacrifices, the suffering and the heroic steadfastness of our people on their land, he added, are the path to freedom and dignity.” Abu Mazen said the Palestinians “will continue the struggle for the legitimate “To obtain the right to live on the soil of Palestine in a free, independent and fully sovereign state.”
According to the Hamas Ministry of Health, the death toll rises to 20,424
Hamas' health ministry announced that the death toll in the Gaza Strip had risen to 20,424.
Netanyahu: “It is not true that the US prevented military action”
At the opening of the government meeting in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to the already denied news that the USA had prevented an attack by Hezbollah in Lebanon after the October 7 attack. “I have seen false publications according to which – explained Netanyahu – the USA prevented military operations. That's not true. Israel is a sovereign state, our decisions in the war are based on our considerations.” Netanyahu then recalled that yesterday in his conversation with President Biden he confirmed that Israel would continue the war “until victory.”
Israel, military operations in Gaza continue
IDF operations in the Gaza Strip continue with heavy fighting throughout the Gaza Strip. The military spokesman said that around 200 Hamas targets had been hit in the last 24 hours. In the northern Gaza Strip, according to the same source, troops discovered “a Hamas weapons depot in a civilian building. Inside the complex, which was located next to schools, a mosque and a medical clinic, were dozens of children's explosive belts. “Mortar shells, hundreds of grenades and intelligence documents were found.” In Jabalya, also in the north, the troops killed loudly According to the same source, “seven terrorists and destroyed four Hamas observation posts scattered in the area.” Weapons were also “found” in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Haaretz, protests in Caesarea and Tel Aviv against Netanyahu
Yesterday evening there were protests against Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv and in Caesarea, where the Israeli prime minister's private residence is located, demanding his resignation. This was reported by Haaretz newspaper, according to which the demonstrations denounced the responsibility of Netanyahu and his government for failing to prevent the October 7 Hamas attack.
Israel, 8 soldiers killed in Gaza, toll rises to 152
The Israeli army announced the deaths of eight soldiers killed in fighting in the north and central Gaza Strip. The number of soldiers killed in combat since the ground operation began is now 152.
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