Live blog: Death toll rises to 20 in Israeli strikes on Gaza shelters

Thursday, December 19, 2024

1746 GMT — At least 20 Palestinians have been killed and over 30 others wounded in Israeli air strikes on two schools sheltering displaced people and a house in Gaza, medics said.

Most of the victims were women and children in the attack that targeted the Dar al-Arqam and Shaaban al-Rayes schools and a house in the al-Tuffah neighbourhood, they added.

The attack has caused massive destruction in the two schools and nearby residential buildings; witnesses told Anadolu.

Israel has systematically targeted civilian facilities, including schools, hospitals, and places of worship, in its ongoing offensive on Gaza.

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1820 GMT — UN seeks World Court opinion on Israel's aid duties for Palestine's Gaza

The United Nations General Assembly has voted to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an opinion on Israel's obligations to facilitate aid to Palestinians that is delivered by states and international groups including the UN.

The Norwegian-drafted resolution was adopted by the 193-member body with 137 votes in favour. Israel, the United States and 10 other countries voted no, while 22 countries abstained.

The move came in response to Israel's decision to ban the operation of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA in the country from late January and other obstacles faced by other UN agencies in their aid work in Gaza over the past year.

The ICJ, known as the World Court, is the United Nations' highest court, and its advisory opinions carry legal and political weight although they are not binding.

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1705 GMT — Türkiye-Egypt solidarity vital for Gaza aid: Erdogan

Türkiye's president has emphasised the benefits of his country's solidarity with Egypt in ensuring uninterrupted humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi on the sidelines of the 11th D-8 Summit in Cairo, Recep Tayyip Erdogan underlined the urgency of securing a sustainable ceasefire and ensuring uninterrupted humanitarian aid to the region, Türkiye's Communications Directorate said.

"During the meeting, President Erdogan stated that a lasting and sustainable ceasefire in Gaza should be achieved as soon as possible and that the solidarity between Türkiye and Egypt would be beneficial for the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to the region," the directorate said on X.

1425 GMT — Israel targets Gaza refugee camps, killing several Palestinians

Israeli air strikes killed at least 10 Palestinians at two shelters housing displaced families and wounded several other people in eastern Gaza, medics have told Reuters.

Separately, Anadolu Agency has also reported that eight Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike targeting a group of civilians while filling water in Gaza City, a medical source said.

Three other people were injured in the attack in the Shati refugee camp in western Gaza City, the source added. According to witnesses, Israeli forces struck a group of people who gathered to fill bottles of water in the camp.

1434 GMT — Netanyahu warns Yemen's Houthis of a 'heavy price'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Yemen's Houthis after they claimed responsibility for attacking military sites in Yafa.

In a video statement, Netanyahu responded to the Houthis' announcement of launching "Palestine 2" ballistic missiles at two military targets in the Israeli city.

"Houthis are learning the hard way that anyone who harms Israel will pay a very heavy price," Netanyahu declared. Netanyahu also said that Israel's attacks on Yemen are supported by the US and others, acting on behalf of the "international community".

1427 GMT — Four Israeli soldiers stabbed, weapons seized in Gaza: Hamas

Palestinian resistance group Hamas has said that one of its fighters stabbed four Israeli soldiers and seized their weapons in northern Gaza.

The group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said that the soldiers were stabbed at "point-blank range" and their weapons were taken in the Jabalia refugee camp. There was no comment from the Israeli army.

1426 GMT — Türkiye's Erdogan urges isolating Israel at D-8 summit

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for imposing an arms embargo on Israel, ending trade with the country, and isolating it internationally.

Speaking at the D-8 summit in Cairo, Erdogan described these measures as crucial steps to hold Israel accountable for its actions in the region.

"We see Israel's steps that disregard Syria's territorial integrity, including the expansion of illegal settlements in the Golan Heights," he said.

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1417 GMT — Israeli air strikes in Syria must stop: UN chief

Israeli air strikes on Syria are violations of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity and "must stop," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said.

Since a lightning internal offensive ousted Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad earlier this month, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes that it says are aimed at destroying strategic weapons and military infrastructure.

"Syria's sovereignty, territorial unity, and integrity must be fully restored, and all acts of aggression must come to an immediate end," Guterres told reporters.

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1344 GMT — UN membership vital for peace, Palestinian president at D-8 summit

Full Palestinian membership in the United Nations is the key to security and stability in the Middle East region, President Mahmoud Abbas has said.

Addressing the D-8 summit in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, Abbas said the Palestinian people are facing daily Israeli massacres, starvation, and attempts to displace them.

"This requires the immediate implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2735 demanding a cease-fire, the entry of aid, full withdrawal from Gaza and Palestine assuming its responsibilities in the enclave," he added.

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1244 GMT — Gaza death toll soars to 45,129 as Israel's brutal war continues

At least 32 more Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, bringing the overall death toll since last year to 45,129, the Health Ministry in the enclave said.

A ministry statement added that some 107,338 others were also wounded in the ongoing assault.

"Israeli forces killed 32 people and injured 94 others in four massacres of families in the last 24 hours," the ministry said.

1222 GMT — Israeli strike on occupied West Bank kills several Palestinians

The Palestinian Health Ministry has said that an Israeli air strike on a car killed four Palestinians and wounded three near the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem.

The ministry announced that the Palestinians were killed "as a result of the (Israeli) bombing of a vehicle in Tulkarem camp", which the Israeli army did not immediately confirm to AFP.

1202 GMT — Palestinians say two killed in Israeli raid on occupied West Bank

Palestinian officials have said that Israeli forces killed two people, one of them an 80-year-old woman, and injured several others during a raid near the occupied West Bank city of Nablus.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army said it was looking into the reported deaths.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah said Halima Abu Leil, 80, was fatally shot in the chest and leg during a raid in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus.

The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed her death after transporting her to the hospital. Later, the ministry announced the death of a second Palestinian, a 25-year-old man, whose passing was also confirmed by the Red Crescent.

1054 GMT — Israel is carrying out 'ethnic cleansing' in Gaza: MSF report

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has said that Israel is carrying out "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza in a report documenting the 14-month brutal war on the besieged enclave.

The report documents 41 attacks on MSF staff including air strikes on health facilities and direct fire on humanitarian convoys.

The NGO said it was forced to evacuate hospitals and health centres on 17 occasions.

"We are seeing clear signs of ethnic cleansing as Palestinians are forcibly displaced, trapped and bombed," said Christopher Lockyear, MSF's secretary general.

0949 GMT — Israeli army arrests 14 more Palestinians in West Bank raids

At least 14 more Palestinians were detained in fresh Israeli military raids in the occupied West Bank, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.

Two children and an injured man were among the detainees in the raids that targeted Hebron, Tulkarem, Nablus, Jenin, and Ramallah, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.

"The raids were marked by abuse, threats against detainees and their families, and acts of vandalism and destruction on citizens' homes," it added.

0947 GMT — Elderly Palestinian injured by Israeli fire in occupied West Bank

An elderly Palestinian has been injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank, medics said.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said a 65-year-old man was shot in the back by Israeli soldiers in the Balata refugee camp in eastern Nablus city.

According to witnesses, Israeli forces raided the camp early on Thursday, triggering clashes with angry residents.

0908 GMT — Israeli strikes in Yemen 'dangerous development': Hamas

Palestinian resistance group Hamas has said that Israel's strikes in Yemen after the Houthis fired a missile at the country were a "dangerous development," while its armed wing called for more attacks on Israel.

"We regard this escalation as a dangerous development and an extension of the aggression against our Palestinian people, Syria and the Arab region," Hamas said in a statement as Israel struck ports and energy infrastructure in Yemen after intercepting a missile attack by the Houthis.

"We commend the missile attack carried out by our loyal brothers, the Ansar Allah in Yemen, targeting the heart of the Zionist entity," the group said in a separate statement.

0837 GMT — Israeli overnight strikes kill more Palestinians in Gaza

At least 20 Palestinians, including several children, have been killed in overnight Israeli air strikes in Gaza, medics said.

Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal said the bodies of 18 people were retrieved from under the rubble of three homes after Israeli strikes in Gaza City and north of the enclave.

Seven children were among the victims, he said in a statement.

Separately, a husband and his wife have been killed in an Israeli strike on their home in the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, a medical source said.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army continued to blow up Palestinian homes in the northern towns of Beit Lahia and Jabalia by using explosive-laden robots, witnesses said.

0816 GMT — Israeli forces detain several Palestinians from the occupied West Bank

Israeli occupation forces have detained at least 14 Palestinians from various areas of the occupied West Bank since yesterday evening, continuing their ongoing crackdown on the local population.

According to the Palestinian Authority's Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoner's Society, the detention operations among the governorates of Nablus, Hebron, Jenin, Tulkarem and Ramallah.

Among the detainees was a woman from Gaza who was in the occupied West Bank for treatment, in addition to children and former detainees.

2108 GMT — Israel kills at least 10 Palestinians in northern Gaza strike

Israel has struck a house in Jabalia in northern besieged Gaza, killing at least 10 Palestinians, medics told the Reuters news agency.

2022 GMT — Israel allowed less than one-third of humanitarian aid into Gaza in December: UN

The UN reported that Israel has facilitated less than one-third of planned humanitarian aid operations in besieged Gaza in December.

Citing the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that Israeli authorities continue to deny UN aid operations to besieged parts of northern Gaza, including Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and areas of Jabalya.

Saying that most UN requests have been "denied outright" by Israel since its siege began 10 weeks ago, Dujarric said, "Across the strip, humanitarians continue to face severe access constraints as they try to reach huge numbers of people in need of food, water, shelter, essential and other essentials for them to survive."

"Throughout Gaza, we planned 339 aid movements that required coordination with the Israeli authorities between 1 and 16 December. They facilitated less than a third of those movements," he said.

2002 GMT — Palestine envoy urges UNSC to take decisive action to end Israel's war on Gaza

Palestinian envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, urged Security Council member states to take decisive action to end Israel's actions in besieged Gaza and occupied Palestinian territories.

"Over a year ago, and from this same chamber, we called for a ceasefire that would allow Palestinian and Israeli families to be reunited in life, not death," he said, noting vetoes by the US on resolutions.

Mansour said the Council has failed to achieve a ceasefire and, therefore, the UN General Assembly should take control and act under the framework of the "Uniting for Peace" mechanism.

For our live updates from Wednesday, December 18, 2024, click here.