Israel-Gaza war updates: Israel steps up strikes in central Gaza; at least 70 killed in refugee camp

25/12/2023

Israel’s military stepped up strikes in central Gaza on Sunday, hitting the Bureij and Maghazi refugee camps, as well as the city of Deir al-Balah, where it had urged residents to flee two days before. At least 70 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a residential block in Maghazi, Gaza Health Ministry said. In Bethlehem, Christmas Eve was somber and quiet, with public celebrations canceled. At a midnight Mass, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem asked people to look for the light.

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Maersk will resume shipping in the Red Sea, the company said Sunday, after it received word that a U.S.-led coalition is guarding the waterways. The coalition is “welcome news for the entire industry and indeed the functionality of global trade,” Maersk said just days after announcing it would delay or reroute ships because of Houthi attacks on vessels the militants said were linked to Israel.
At least 20,424 people have been killed in Gaza and more than 54,000 wounded since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. About 1,200 people were killed in Israel in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. The Gaza figure doesn’t include those killed Maghazi.
Fifteen Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza over the weekend, the Israel Defense Forces said. The majority were killed in battles in southern Gaza, while four soldiers were killed in central Gaza.

1:58 AM: Pope’s patriarch observes somber Christmas Eve in Bethlehem

The Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land, arrives at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on Sunday.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — On Christmas Eve, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, entered into this ancient city through a clanking metal gate built into a high concrete wall beside an Israeli army watchtower scorched by petrol bombs and covered with graffiti.

The cardinal came in a procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank to say midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, the 6th century basilica built upon the grotto where tradition holds that Jesus was born.

In his homily, he spoke of “hatred, resentment and the spirit of revenge” in our hearts. He asked the people to look for the light. It was that kind of Christmas Eve here.

At this time of year, Bethlehem should be blazing with light and song. On Sunday the mood was quiet and dark, the public celebrations canceled because of the war in Gaza. There were no parades, no carols, no Christmas trees.

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By: William Booth and Sufian Taha

1:58 AM: Israel increases strikes in central Gaza, killing scores

Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip are brought to the hospital in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on Sunday.

BEIRUT — Israel on Sunday was broadening its military offensive in beleaguered Gaza, stepping up strikes in the enclave’s central region, and narrowing further the small amount of territory where it says Palestinians should seek safety from the fighting.

The Israel Defense Forces struck at least three areas in central Gaza on Saturday and Sunday, including the Bureij and Maghazi refugee camps, as well as the city of Deir al-Balah, where on Friday it had urged residents to flee.

Late on Sunday, the Gaza Health Ministry said 70 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a residential block in Maghazi. The Al Jazeera news network aired footage from what it said was the chaotic aftermath of the strike. In the dark, people scrambled to dig for survivors and directed the wounded, dazed and bloody, away from the site.

A flood of patients arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. “You can’t even walk in the corridors” of the hospital, Khalil al-Degran, a local doctor, told Al Jazeera. In the background, more than a dozen bodies covered in white shrouds were lined up on the ground.

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By: Sarah Dadouch, Miriam Berger and Hajar Harb

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