• It is the 69th day of the war: over 18,787 Palestinians dead, including 7,112 children, according to Hamas. In Israel 1,200 died in the attack on October 7.
• Still tension between the United States and Israel. Faced with the American request for a horizon of “more weeks, not more months” for the war, the Netanyahu government reiterated that “the war will last a long time, but we will beat Hamas”.
• 4 Hamas members arrested in Germany and Holland for planning terrorist acts
• Mossad thanks Denmark for the arrest of 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.
07.59 am – Israeli raid on UNRWA school in Khan Yunis, 5 dead
The death toll from an Israeli air raid on a school run by UNRWA, the United Nations agency that deals with Palestinian refugees, where displaced Palestinians have taken refuge in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, is five dead. The broadcaster al-Jazeera reported this, explaining that dozens of people were injured in the attack.
07.43 am – Tense meeting between family members of the hostages and UN chief Guterres
Representatives of the families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza met with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York. The Israeli media reported this, underlining that the meeting was particularly tense: the relatives of the people kidnapped by Hamas and Jihad and taken to Gaza put pressure on him to do much more to ensure the return of the hostages, criticizing him for the comments made on the events of October 7 which seem to justify the Hamas attacks. Guterres was also criticized for not visiting Israel after the massacre.
According to Channel 12, Yeela David, whose brother Eviatar is detained in Gaza, told Guterres: ‘If you want peace that’s fine, but you can’t say something that justifies the massacre… Look me in the eyes. You need to come to the kibbutzim and rave site, visit Israel and see what our loved ones have been through. This is what makes a true leader.” Other family members shared similar sentiments, the Times of Israel reports. Guterres told the families that he expresses “full solidarity”, calling the abductions “a terrible crime”, but added that unfortunately he does not have the power to bring their loved ones home. However, he explained that he is making every effort through his channels for their release and that this must happen as soon as possible.
07.39 am – Sullivan in Ramallah to meet with Abbas
United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan travels to the West Bank today where, in Ramallah, he will meet the President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Mahmoud Abbas. This was announced by CNN, quoting an American official according to whom Sullivan “will discuss the ongoing commitment to promote stability in the West Bank, including through efforts to counter terrorism, support for the security forces of the Palestinian Authority” in addition to “initiatives to hold extremist settlers accountable for violence against Palestinians.” Yesterday Sullivan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other representatives of the war cabinet 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 PA should govern Gaza once Israel’s war with Hamas ends. The United States believes that the PA should assume governance responsibilities in Gaza after the end of Israeli military operations, but Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected this notion.
06.56 am – The flooded tunnel, and Hamas’ response
The Israeli armed forces have made a first attempt to flood a Hamas military tunnel in the northern sector of the Gaza Strip with water taken from the sea. This was announced by public television Kan, according to which this attempt was crowned with success. To carry out this project, the broadcaster specified, Israel has installed large pumps in the northern sector of the Strip. “We operate in a variety of ways below ground level,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in response to a question. “The terrorists must know that they will not be protected even in the tunnels.”
Hamas replied, however, that it had built its tunnels to resist possible attempts to pump water into them, said the spokesman for the Palestinian Islamist group Osama Hamdan quoted by Arab media.
«The tunnels – the Hamas spokesperson assured – were built by well-trained and educated engineers who considered all possible attacks by the occupation, including pumping water. The tunnels are an integral part of the resistance and all consequences and planned attacks have been taken into account.”
06.49 am – The point of the situation, so far
(Elena Tebano) Seven people, including four alleged Hamas members, have been 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 one arrested in the Netherlands are longtime Hamas members with close ties to the organization’s military leaders, German prosecutors say. Nazih R., a Dutch citizen, was arrested by the 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 capital German. Abdelhamid Al A., according to the indictment, had been tasked by Hamas leaders in Lebanon with finding suppliers of weapons, which were to be brought to Berlin and kept ready for potential terrorist attacks against Jewish institutions.
“After the terrible attacks by Hamas against the Israeli population, attacks against Jews in Jewish institutions have also increased in our country in recent weeks,” said German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann in a statement on the detentions. “We must therefore do everything possible to ensure that Jews in our country no longer have to fear for their safety.”
Hamas denies it. “We deny that there are any Hamas members detained in Denmark, Germany or any other European country. The publication of these accusations aims to influence mass demonstrations in support of Palestine in Europe”, declared one of the leaders, Sami Abu Zuhri.
Danish police said their arrests followed investigations conducted in close cooperation with partners abroad, which revealed a network of people preparing a terrorist attack. The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, citing sources from the Israeli spy agency Mossad, instead declared that Denmark had highlighted “a Hamas infrastructure on European territory”.
The operation in Gaza continues
Meanwhile, Israel’s operation to destroy Hamas in the Gaza Strip continues, launched after the October 7 attack against Israel by militants of the Palestinian Islamist movement, which caused 1,200 deaths. Since then, Israeli forces have laid siege to Gaza, destroying much of it and killing around 19,000 people. Thousands more are feared buried under the rubble. Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been forced to leave their homes, many more times.
“We are meeting more and more people who have not eaten for one, two or three days,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees.
Meanwhile, the Israeli armed forces have made a first attempt to flood a Hamas military tunnel in the northern sector of the Strip with water taken from the sea.
The carnage in Gaza, which mainly affects civilian victims, however, raises ever more doubts in the international community about the method chosen by Israel to pursue the legitimate aim of annihilating 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 year and to move to a more focused phase of its war against Hamas, to minimize civilian casualties. But Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the war against Hamas “will last more than a few months”, signaling a willingness to continue bombing Gaza. Meanwhile, a survey conducted in the West Bank and Gaza at the end of November indicates that in the Territories the population’s support for Hamas has grown, even significantly, 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 reserves for its subscribers. To receive it you need to subscribe to Il Punto: you can do it Who)
05.44 am – A lifeless hostage 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, explaining that the family has been informed. The boy, 28, was kidnapped by terrorists at the Supernova music festival, near Kibbutz Reim on 7 October.
05.35 am – Red Crescent, 10 dead in Israeli raid on Deir al-Balah
The Palestinian Red Crescent said on
05:08 – The Palestine Football Federation says it has documented the killing of 85 athletes
The Palestine Football Federation (PFA) says it has documented the killing of 85 Palestinian athletes, including 55 football players and 30 other sports players, since the start of the war in Gaza. This was reported by the Wafa news agency. According to the PFA, the Israeli army “has targeted Palestinian athletes and sports facilities, in particular football players and club presidents, administrators, referees and others”. The Palestinian Football Federation’s report specifies that 18 children were among its players killed. According to the PFA, Israeli bombings led to the destruction of nine sports facilities: four in the West Bank and five in the Gaza Strip. The report states that Israel arrested three athletes in the West Bank, while in the Strip the number “is infinite in light of the missing people”.
2023-12-15 06:00:00
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