Israel intensifies its offensive in southern Gaza
The Israeli military announced on Sunday (December 23rd) that it was intensifying its operations against Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip, while the United States urged Israel to do more to spare civilians, who are threatened by hunger.
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In a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden "underscored the critical need to protect the civilian population," according to the White House. The head of state said he had "not asked for a ceasefire" between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement.
Read alsoThe United States calls on Israel to spare civilians in Gaza
The U.S. continues to show unwavering support for its historic ally, but recently it has been increasingly insisting that Israel move to a less intense phase of its offensive and favor more targeted operations against Hamas officials.
Israeli army reports 152 soldiers killed in Gaza since the start of the war
The Israeli military announced that 152 soldiers had been killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war.
Read also"Netanyahu is not ready to abandon his armed offensive": the delicate stakes of a new truce in Gaza
Nine soldiers were killed in fighting in Gaza on Saturday, the army said in a statement, one of the highest tolls for a day in the small territory since the conflict began on October 7.
More than 200 killed in Israeli operations in Gaza in 24 hours, according to Hamas
More than 200 Palestinians have been killed in the past 24 hours in Israel's relentless shelling and ground operations in the Gaza Strip, Hamas said, after a UN resolution on humanitarian aid stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.
The Islamist movement announced the discovery of the bodies of dozens of Palestinians killed, some of whom it said were "executed" during an Israeli ground operation in Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip. Hamas on Saturday called for an international investigation into "summary executions" it accuses the Israeli military of committing in the Gaza Strip, saying it has recorded at least 137 since the war began on Oct. 7.
Debris at the Shadia Abu Ghazaleh school after an Israeli raid, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, December 15, 2023. STRINGER/REUTERS
The Hamas government, which has ruled the Palestinian territory since 2007, said in a statement that it had collected testimonies that "the Israeli occupation army carried out the summary execution of 137 Palestinian civilians in Gaza City and the northern governorates," calling for the "establishment of international teams to investigate the crimes of the occupation and its summary executions». These accusations could not be independently verified.
New attacks on ships in the Red Sea and off the coast of India, Washington blames Iran
A chemical tanker was hit off the coast of India on Saturday by an "attack drone fired from Iran," and two U.S. oil tankers and a U.S. destroyer sailing in the Red Sea were also targeted by drones launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to the U.S. military.
These attacks on commercial ships since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7 have prompted major shipping companies to redirect their ships to the southern tip of Africa, despite higher fuel costs for much longer voyages.
The Houthis, who control swathes of Yemeni territory including the capital Sanaa, have repeatedly said they will continue their attacks until sufficient food and medicine enter the Israeli-besieged and bombed Gaza Strip.