Live blog: Israel starving 2.2M Palestinians in Gaza — Israeli rights group

Monday, January 8, 2024

1838 GMT — An Israeli human rights group has accused the government of starving more than two million people in Gaza amid its deadly military offensive on the Palestinian enclave.

"The 2.2 million people of Gaza are going hungry. This is not a byproduct of war but a direct result of Israel’s declared policy, which denies them food," B'Tselem said in a statement.

The rights group said Israeli authorities are "letting in only a fraction of the amount entering before the war, with limitations on the types of goods" instead of allowing enough food into the territory.

"Allowing food into Gaza is not an act of kindness but a positive obligation under IHL (International Humanitarian Law)," B'Tselem said. "Refusing to comply with this duty constitutes a war crime.”

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1831 GMT — Leaders in Mideast determined to prevent wider conflict: Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he found leaders in the Middle East determined to prevent the conflict between Israeli army and Palestinian resistance fighters in Gaza from spreading.

Blinken, in the region for a week of shuttle diplomacy, told reporters in Saudi Arabia that all of those he spoke to realised the extent of the challenges, adding "no one thinks that anything will happen overnight."

1831 GMT — EU foreign policy chief calls for more support for UN Palestinian refugee agency

The EU foreign policy chief has called for more support for the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, amid the ongoing Israel attacks on Palestinians in Gaza.

Josep Borrell said on X that he had discussed the humanitarian situation in the region with Phillippe Lazzarini, the agency’s head, and his UN staff.

The top EU diplomat said 85 percent of Gazans have been displaced, hundreds of thousands were left without shelter, and 150 UNRWA staffers have been killed.

"We need to preserve and continue supporting UNRWA as an essential service provider to the Palestinians," Borrell stressed.

1800 GMT — Italian foreign minister discusses Gaza war with British, French counterparts

The Italian foreign minister discussed the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza with his British and French counterparts, the Italian Foreign Ministry has said.

Antonio Tajani proposed British Secretary of State David Cameron and French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna to define common forms of pressure at G7 level on the parties involved to achieve certain objectives, a statement by the ministry read.

"An absolute necessity is to immediately limit the number of Palestinian civilian victims. The second objective is to put pressure on the Israeli government to conclude the military operations, to give strength to the ‘difficult but unavoidable’ prospect of the ‘two states for two peoples’ solution," Tajani emphasised during the phone calls.

"The G7 countries are working with the Israeli government to develop a rapid way out of the military phase, to return to diplomacy and politics. The guarantee of the survival and security of the State of Israel must be achieved, but we must quickly exit this phase and focus on the support of the Arab countries of the region," he said.

1757 GMT — Sigrid Kaag begins UN role as Gaza humanitarian coordinator

Sigrid Kaag has officially begun her role as the United Nations' senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, according to an associate spokesperson.

"In her new capacity she will facilitate, coordinate, monitor, and verify humanitarian relief consignments to Gaza," Florencia Soto Nino told reporters.

In late December, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment of Kaag, a former Dutch minister, in accordance with a Security Council resolution on Gaza.

1752 GMT — Saudi crown prince stresses importance of stopping military operations in Gaza

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has stressed the importance of stopping the military operations in Gaza and forming a path for peace, the Saudi state news agency SPA has reported.

The crown prince's remarks came as he received visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Al Ula city.

He also underscored the need for working to create conditions for restoring stability and the peace track to ensure the Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights and achieve just and lasting peace.

1752 GMT — US working with Israel to 'significantly get out of Gaza': Biden

US President Joe Biden, responding to protesters shouting "ceasefire now," has said he had been working quietly with the Israeli government to encourage it to reduce its attacks and "significantly get out of Gaza."

Several protesters interrupted his remarks at the historic Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, where avowed white supremacist Dylann Roof gunned down nine Black parishioners in 2015.

"I understand their passion," Biden said of the protesters as security removed them from the church. "And I've been quietly working, quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza."

1726 GMT — Pro-Palestine demonstrators shut down key bridges, tunnel in New York City

Pro-Palestine protesters shut down three major bridges, and parts of a key tunnel, in New York City during the morning rush, causing widespread delays in America's largest city.

Protesters demanding an end to the siege on Gaza and an immediate halt to ongoing hostilities blocked traffic on the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges, as well as the New Jersey-bound lanes of the Holland Tunnel before being dispersed by police.

Dozens were seen at each location, many bearing signs calling for an end to US military assistance for Israel as they sat on the pavement, hands locked with one another, in protest. Protesters with the Shut it Down for Palestine group also rallied in front of the New York Stock Exchange.

Traffic between Brooklyn and Manhattan was largely stalled during the protest. Police made several arrests at the bridges and tunnel, according to multiple media reports.

1715 GMT — 2 more journalists killed in Gaza, bringing tally since Oct. 7 to 112

Two more Palestinian journalists were killed in fresh Israeli attacks in Gaza, pushing up the tally to 112 since Oct. 7, the government media office said.

A statement by the media office identified the slain journalists as Abdullah Breis and Mohammad Abu Dayer, but without providing any further details.

According to an Anadolu reporter, Abu Dayer was killed when Israeli fighter jets struck a house in Al Fakhour town in northern Gaza.

1658 GMT — Netanyahu 'not qualified to lead' Israel: Opposition leader

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is not qualified to lead the country,” opposition leader Yair Lapid has said.

In a statement on X, Lapid urged Israeli opposition lawmakers, including former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's current war council, to leave the ruling coalition.

“This is not a unity government, this is not an emergency government. They are not saving the State of Israel, they are saving Netanyahu," Lapid added.

The opposition leader said the 24 lawmakers of his Yesh Atid [There is Future] Party will support any move to change the current Israeli government.

Calls have grown for holding fresh elections in Israel amid criticism of Netanyahu over his failure to acknowledge responsibility for a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

Opinion polls conducted by Israeli media in the past few days suggested that if early elections were held now, Netanyahu would be unable to form a government, while Gantz is considered the most likely to succeed.

1639 GMT — Israel's Netanyahu threatens to turn northern Lebanon into Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Hezbollah against underestimating the Israeli army amid an exchange of cross-border fire with the Lebanese group.

"Hezbollah made a serious mistake about us in 2006 and is doing so again now. It thinks that we are weak as a spiderweb, and now sees what kind of spider we are," Netanyahu said as he met soldiers in Kiryat Shmona settlement in northern Israel.

The Israeli army will "do whatever is necessary to bring security back to the north, and I tell you that this is my policy," Netanyahu said.

"We have given Hezbollah an example of what happened to its friends in the south," the Israeli premier said, about Israel’s devastating onslaught against Gaza since Oct. 7.

"That is what will happen here in the north. We will do anything to bring back security," he added.

1613 GMT — Israel says 13,000 people injured since outbreak of Gaza war

Some 13,000 Israelis have been injured, including 2,500 soldiers, since the outbreak of the war on Gaza war on Oct. 7, Health Minister Uriel Busso has said.

Speaking during a session of the Knesset’s Health Committee, Busso said $538M have been allocated for the mental health and rehabilitation system to increase the number of beds from 900 to 1,500.

"An additional 2,300 hospital beds will be added and multiple resilience centres will be opened in the coming years," he added.

1552 GMT — Israeli settlements undermine peace in Middle East, German foreign minister

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has criticised Israel’s policy of constructing and expanding illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian territories.

"The construction of settlements is illegal. It undermines lasting peace and endangers the two-state solution and thereby endangers Israel's security," Baerbock told reporters during her visit to a village in the occupied West Bank.

"Palestinians must be able to live in security, dignity and self-determination, in their own land,” she added.

"It is the responsibility of the Israeli government to implement and enforce the rule of law when there are attacks on people who live here legitimately," she said.

1544 GMT — UN 'very concerned' by high journalist death toll in Gaza

The UN has voiced alarm at the many journalists killed in the war in Gaza, a day after two Al Jazeera reporters died in an alleged Israeli strike on their car.

Al Jazeera said two of its Palestinian journalists were killed in the southern city of Rafah, in what it claimed was an Israeli "targeted killing".

"Very concerned by high death toll of media workers in Gaza," the UN rights office said on X, formerly Twitter.

"Killings of all journalists, including Hamza Wael Dahdouh and Mustafa Abu Thuria in reported IDF strike on car must be thoroughly, independently investigated to ensure strict compliance with international law, and violations prosecuted," it said.

1536 GMT — Haaretz demands investigation into killing of Israeli hostages by tank fire

Israeli media outlet Haaretz has called for an investigation into the killing of Israeli hostages by a tank fire near the border with Gaza.

At least 12 hostages held by Hamas fighters were killed when an Israeli tank fired two shells at a house at Be’eri settlement on Oct. 7, according to Israeli media.

"There is no demand more justified than that of relatives of people killed in the hostage incident at Kibbutz Be'eri to investigate the army's actions and to receive answers about the circumstances of their loved ones' deaths," Haaretz said in an editorial.

The newspaper called on the Israeli army to explain the actions of Israeli soldiers during the settlement attack. It said an investigation will help explain if the “Hannibal Protocol,” which says a dead Israeli is preferable to enemy-held captives, was applied during the settlement attack.

1431 GMT — US' Blinken, EU's Borrell discuss Gaza conflict in Saudi

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed efforts to prevent the Gaza conflict from spreading during a meeting with the European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell in Saudi Arabia, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

1402 GMT — Israel targets southern Lebanon with phosphorus bombs

The Israeli army targeted several areas in southern Lebanon with phosphorus bombs, state media has reported.

The attacks targeted Al Awaida Hill between the towns of Odaisseh and Kfarkela in southern Lebanon, Lebanon's official news agency NNA reported.

An Israeli drone targeted a car with a guided missile on the Dabsheh road in Khirbet Salim in the Bint Jbeil district in southern Lebanon, the agency reported.

The attack resulted in injuries and caused the car to catch fire and veer off the road, it added without providing further details.

According to the report, Israeli warplanes flew at low altitudes above villages in the western and central regions of the borders, accompanied by reconnaissance aircraft.

Israeli fighter jets launched intense air strikes targeting the outskirts of the town of Khallet Warda near the border town of Ayta Shaab, according to the agency.

Jets also targeted the area between the towns of Marwahin and Blat in southern Lebanon, it added.

1358 GMT — Israel's 'brutal' war creates generation of Gaza orphans: Jordan's King Abdullah

Jordan's King Abdullah said that Israel had created a whole generation of orphans with its "brutal" war in Gaza, where he said over 30,000 people, mostly women and children, had been killed or were missing as a result of the conflict.

In remarks at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda, where the monarch spoke of "unspeakable crimes" during that African conflict, Abdullah said a lesson to be drawn was that Israel's "indiscriminate aggression" in Gaza would never guarantee its security. His remarks were carried on state media following a statement by the royal palace.

"More children have died in Gaza than in all other conflicts around the world this past year. Of those who have survived, many have lost one or both parents, an entire generation of orphans," he said.

"How can indiscriminate aggression and shelling bring peace? How can they guarantee security, when they are build on hatred?," Abdullah said of Israel's war on Gaza.

1325 GMT — Gaza belongs to Palestinians: Germany

Germany has repeated its opposition to any Israeli move to occupy Gaza and expel Palestinians.

Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sebastian Fischer said Germany opposes controversial proposals put forward by Israeli far-right ministers.

"We have reacted very clearly to the statements made by the two Israeli ministers, we have condemned them and stated that they are neither helpful nor move things forward," he told reporters.

Fischer said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has made this clear once again, during her meetings with Israeli officials in West Jerusalem on Sunday. "Gaza belongs to the Palestinians, they must not be driven out of Gaza, there must be no new settlement, no renewed Israeli occupation of Gaza, I think we are very clear on that," he stressed.

1236 GMT — Senior Hezbollah leader killed in Israeli strike in southern Lebanon

A senior Hezbollah leader was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, the group said.

The Lebanese group said Wissam al Hassan was killed in the town of Khirbet Selm, without providing any details about the circumstances leading to his death. Lebanon’s National News Agency earlier reported that two people were killed in an Israeli drone strike on a car in the town.

The killing of senior Hamas leader Saleh al Arouri in Beirut has stoked fresh fears of escalation. Arouri was killed in an airstrike last week, but Israel has not confirmed if it was behind the attack.​​​​​​​

1222 GMT — Israel says to shift to 'long' third phase of Gaza war

Israel plans to shift to a "long" third phase of the war in Gaza, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said.

Israeli forces will shift from the "intense manoeuvring phase of the war” toward “different types of special operations," Gallant told The Wall Street Journal, without providing details or dates for this phase.

The next phase in the war "will last for a longer time," he said.

1204 GMT — Palestinian death toll in Israeli war on Gaza tops 23,000

The health authorities in Gaza said at least 23,084 people have been killed in the besieged Palestinian territory since the Israeli war on the enclave began on October 7.

The Health Ministry said in a statement that it had recorded 249 deaths in the past 24 hours, while a total of 58,926 people had been wounded in Gaza during the more than three months of fighting.

1204 GMT — Knesset member supports South Africa's genocide hearings on Gaza

The Israeli government and its members are advocating for ethnic cleansing and even genocide in Gaza, lawmaker from the Arab-majority Hadas-Ta'al party and a Knesset member Ofer Cassif, who has supported South Africa's genocide proceedings against Tel Aviv, said.

"My constitutional duty is to Israeli society and all its residents, not to a government whose members and its coalition are calling for ethnic cleansing and even actual genocide," Cassif said on X. "Those who hurt the country and the people are the ones who led South Africa to turn to The Hague, not me and my friends."

Cassif has endorsed the petition supporting the lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. It calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Gaza and accuses Israel of committing genocide.

"When the government acts against society, the state, and its citizens, especially when it sacrifices them and commits crimes in their name on the altar of maintaining its existence, it is my right and even my duty to warn about this and do everything I can within the law to stop it," Cassif said.

"I will not give up the fight for our existence as a moral society. This is true patriotism … not unnecessary bloodshed, and not sacrificing kidnapped citizens and soldiers in senseless wars," he added.

Cassif is said to have faced sharp criticism from far-right lawmakers after signing a petition in support of the lawsuit, whose hearings will take place on Jan. 11 and 12.

1132 GMT — Majority of Israelis dissatisfied with Netanyahu's performance in war on Gaza

A recent poll has revealed that 65 percent of Israelis are dissatisfied with the performance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the ongoing fighting in Gaza.

The survey conducted by the Israeli Kantar Institute included 756 people and showed that 63 percent expressed satisfaction with the performance of Defense Minister Yuval Gantz in the conflict.

According to the survey, only 25 percent of Israelis wanted Netanyahu to stay in office as the prime minister.

1132 GMT — Israel detains 40 more Palestinians in occupied West Bank

The Israeli army has rounded up 40 more Palestinians in military raids carried out across the occupied West Bank since Sunday evening, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.

According to a joint statement by the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners Society, the new arrests brought the total number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli forces since October 7 to 5,730.

1116 GMT — Israeli strike kills top Hezbollah commander in Lebanon: security official

Israel has killed a top commander of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in a strike on south Lebanon, a security source told, adding to fears the conflict in Gaza could spill over.

The commander "had a leading role in managing Hezbollah's operations in the south," the security official said requesting anonymity for security concerns, adding he "was killed in an Israeli raid targeting his car in the south".

1115 GMT — 1.9M Palestinians displaced across Gaza since Oct 7: UN

Since October 7, 2023, up to 1.9 million people (or over 85 percent of the population) have been displaced across Gaza, some multiple times, said the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA.

"As of January 2, nearly 1.4 million internally displaced persons are sheltering in 155 UNRWA facilities across all five governorates of the Gaza Strip, including 160,000 in the north and Gaza City, and approximately 500,000 are in close vicinity of these installations and receiving assistance from UNRWA," the latest report by UNRWA showed.

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza on January 6, at least 22,835 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7.

About 70 percent of those killed are reported to be women and children. Another 58,416 Palestinians have been reportedly injured.

1111 GMT — Italy FM: G7 working with Israel on 'rapid' end to Gaza conflict

Italy's foreign minister Antonio Tajani has said G7 countries should try to limit Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza and pressure Israel to end its military operations.

Tajani said he discussed the issue with British and French counterparts.

1043 GMT — Pope: 'Indiscriminately striking' civilians is war crime

Pope Francis, tackling conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine in his yearly address to diplomats, has said that "indiscriminately striking" civilians is a war crime because it violates international humanitarian law.

Francis, 87, made his comments in a 45-minute address to Vatican-accredited envoys that is sometimes called his "state of the world" speech.

Expressing concern that Israel's war on Gaza could spread to the wider Middle East, he called for a "ceasefire on every front, including Lebanon".

1021 GMT — WHO axes medical aid delivery to north Gaza in absence of security guarantees

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it had been compelled to cancel a mission to bring medical supplies to northern Gaza after failing to receive security guarantees.

It was the fourth time WHO had had to call off a planned mission to bring urgently needed medical supplies to Al Awda Hospital and the central drug store in northern Gaza since December 26, it said.

"It has now been 12 days since we were last able to reach northern Gaza," the WHO office in the occupied Palestinian territories wrote on the X social media platform.

"Heavy bombardment, movement restrictions, and interrupted communications are making it nearly impossible to deliver medical supplies regularly and safely across Gaza, particularly in the north."

0922 GMT — US secretary of state ‘deeply sorry’ over Israel’s killing of journalist Hamza Dahdouh

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has conveyed his condolences over the killing of Hamza Dahdouh, the son of Wael Dahdouh, Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief, expressing he was “deeply, deeply sorry.”

"I am deeply, deeply sorry for the almost unimaginable loss suffered by your colleague, Wael Dahdouh. I am a parent myself, I can’t begin to imagine the horror that he has experienced, not once, but now twice," Blinken told a joint news conference with Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha.

Blinken is on a regional tour, his fourth since the latest conflict in Gaza on October 7. “This is an unimaginable tragedy,” he added.

He, however, did not condemn the incident or Israel over the killing of journalists and civilians in Gaza.

0918 GMT — China ‘deeply saddened’ over killing of Palestinian journalists

China has said it was “deeply saddened” over the death of Palestinian journalists, urging Israel to cease fire “immediately.”

“We express our condolences to Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief Wael Al Dahdouh, who lost his son,” said Mao Ning, spokeswoman of China’s Foreign Ministry.

Two Palestinian journalists were killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza on Sunday, bringing the death toll since October 7 to 109, the government media office said.

0859 GMT — 'We pray for end to war in churches damaged by Israeli attacks:' Palestinian Christians

Palestinian Christians taking shelter in the St. Porphyrius Church in Gaza, which witnessed great destruction as a result of Israel's violent attacks, have said they pray for the war to end.

Israeli attacks, which have been going on for more than three months, have destroyed the bells of the St. Porphyrius Church, which dates back to 425 AD and is considered the third-oldest church in the world.

Nowadays, no church bells are heard, only warplanes and bombing sounds.

0847 GMT — Eight Palestinians injured in Israeli gunfire in Ramallah

At least 8 Palestinians were injured by Israeli gunfire during raids in the city of Ramallah, occupied West Bank on Monday.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said it provided medical treatment to the wounded, adding that one was injured by live fire, while the others got hurt from rubber bullets and tear gas grenades.

Confrontations erupted when the Israeli army raided the cities of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, witnesses said, adding that the forces detained two doctors and a paramedic from Ramallah before withdrawing.

0756 GMT — Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 73 more Palestinians in 24 hours

At least 73 Palestinians have been killed and 99 injured by Israeli strikes on Gaza over the past 24 hours, the region's Health Ministry said in a statement.

Late on Sunday, Israeli fighter jets targeted a house in the city of Khan Younis housing displaced people, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said. At least 12 civilians were killed and 50 others injured in those strikes.

The warplanes also targeted a UN school that shelters displaced people in Al Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza claiming the lives of four civilians, including a woman, the news agency said.

0644 GMT — Israeli forces kill 10, bomb arms cache in Gaza: military

Israeli forces claim they have killed at least 10 Palestinian "fighters" in southern and central Gaza, bombed an arms cache and unearthed a tunnel shaft, the military said.

"The fighters were attacked in Khan Younis, where Israeli forces carried out strikes on 30 significant terror targets," added the statement.

0610 GMT — Colombian president decries killing of Palestinian journalists in Gaza

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has decried the killing of journalists by Israeli bombings in Gaza.

"108 journalists have been murdered in the Gaza Strip by bombing in their homes," Petro wrote on X, following the killing of two more journalists, Hamza Wael Al Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya, in Israeli attacks.

The two journalists were killed on Sunday as Israeli aircraft hit a vehicle carrying press members on duty in Khan Younis.

0357 GMT — Blinken due in Israel for tough Gaza talks

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken is due in Israel for difficult talks on the war in Gaza as fears grow that the conflict could engulf the wider region.

On his fourth tour of the region since the war began, the US secretary of state was scheduled to visit the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Monday before arriving in Israel, where he will hold talks with Israeli leaders on Tuesday.

Washington has said that Blinken will press Israel on its compliance with international humanitarian law and ask for "immediate measures" to boost aid to Gaza.

0322 GMT — Israel says Hezbollah struck sensitive air traffic base in the north and warns of 'another war'

Hezbollah has struck an air traffic control base in northern Israel, the Israeli military said, warning of "another war" with the Iran-backed militant group.

The Israeli military said Hezbollah fire hit the sensitive air traffic control base on Mount Meron on Saturday but air defences were not affected because backup systems were in place.

It said that no soldiers were hurt and all damage would be repaired.

Nonetheless, it was one of the most serious attacks by Hezbollah in the months of fighting that has accompanied Israel's war on Gaza and forced tens of thousands of Israelis to evacuate communities near the Lebanese border.

0104 GMT — Palestinian president visits Egypt for Gaza ceasefire efforts

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has arrived in Egypt's capital to discuss Israel's war on Gaza and make efforts for a ceasefire, reports say.

Abbas paid a visit to Cairo at the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

During their meeting, it is expected that "the work carried out for an immediate and permanent cessation of the genocidal war waged by Israel against the Palestinians" will be discussed, it said.

The meeting will also focus on preventing attempts to relocate the Palestinian people and stopping attacks by Israeli forces and radical Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

0015 GMT — Israel's chief of general staff says attacks on Gaza to continue throughout 2024

Israel's military chief said that the war in Gaza will likely continue throughout the year.

Army Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi spoke about Israel’s attacks on Gaza during a visit to the occupied West Bank, according to a statement from the Israeli army.

He said 2024 will be "tough."

"We will be at war in Gaza. We will fight in Gaza all year, that's for sure," he emphasised.

2330 GMT — The Qassam Brigades say they killed, wounded many Israeli soldiers in central Gaza

The Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, announced Sunday that they had killed and wounded a large number of Israeli soldiers in war zones in central parts of the blockaded Gaza.

In a statement, the group said that two Israeli Merkava tanks and a bulldozer were targeted with Yasin 105 rockets in Bureij district.

A large number of Israeli soldiers were killed and wounded in the attack, and two tunnels containing a total of seven Israeli soldiers were blown up, it said.

The resistance group also said it bombarded a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the Al Mahatta area of Khan Younis with mortars.

2300 GMT — 6,000 critically injured in Gaza need 'urgent treatment' abroad

The government in Gaza has announced that 6,000 critically injured people urgently need to be transported out of the enclave for treatment amid a humanitarian disaster due to Israel’s blockade and ongoing attacks.

In a statement, the media office in Gaza shared details about the "catastrophic situation" that the health sector is in due to the Israeli attacks since October 7.

It said 30 hospitals in the area are out of service as more than 58,000 people have been injured due to the attacks.

"We call on our brothers in Egypt to urgently open the Rafah border crossing and approve the immediate transfer of 6,000 critically injured people out of Gaza for treatment due to the inadequacy of hospitals in Gaza to respond to so many patients," it said.

For our live updates from Sunday, January 7, click here.