By Abdul Adil
(AA, Al Jazeera, Wafa, NNA, The Muslim News):
GAZA
At least 30 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, bringing the overall death toll since last year to 45,514, the Health Ministry in the enclave said on Sunday.
A ministry statement added that some 108,189 others were injured in the ongoing assault.
“Israeli forces killed 30 people and injured 99 others in three massacres of families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.
“Many people are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
A 20-day-old baby died on Sunday due to severe cold and a lack of heating in refugee tents in the central Gaza Strip, the Health Ministry said.
The infant, Jumaa al-Batran, “passed away due to the intense cold” in Deir al-Balah city, the ministry explained in a statement.
“His twin brother remains in critical care in the neonatal intensive care unit at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza,” it added.
The new fatality brings the number of babies who froze to death in Gaza to five in the past week, according to local health authorities.
Israeli military’s attack on the upper floor of al-Wafaa Hospital in Gaza City has killed at least seven people and wounded others, some critically, according to Gaza’s civil defence.
Aid agencies, rights groups and observers say Israel appears to be employing the “General’s Plan”, a strategy touted by a retired member of the Israeli military suggesting the army
forcibly empties northern Gaza of its entire population and regards anyone remaining as an enemy fighter.
Last week, the UN aid coordination office reported that Israeli authorities denied another UN request to reach besieged areas of North Gaza governorate to deliver food and water.
According to Wafa News Agency, nine civilians were killed and at least 15 others, including women and children, were injured on Sunday evening in an Israeli shelling of an area northwest of Nuseirat refugee camp in the central war-torn Gaza Strip.
The Israeli authorities also ordered the evacuation of several areas and neighborhoods northwest of Gaza City in preparation for further bombardment. Thousands of civilians were instructed to immediately relocate to shelters in the center of Gaza City.
Aid agencies, rights groups and observers say Israel appears to be employing the “General’s Plan”, a strategy touted by a retired member of the Israeli military suggesting the army
forcibly empties northern Gaza of its entire population and regards anyone remaining as an enemy fighter.
A witness at the scene of Israel’s bombing of al-Wafaa Hospital in Gaza City says he saw bodies “ripped to pieces”.
“I am here making [and selling] tea and coffee, and suddenly, an Israeli missile landed on the tents behind me,” Majad Malek told Al Jazeera.
“Almost a dozen were killed and many more injured. We pulled out a couple of dead bodies from this side and five or six from there, all ripped to pieces. All that we recovered were body parts, pieces of flesh.”
The attack was on the upper floor of the hospital and killed at least seven people.
Earlier this evening, seven civilians were killed and several others were injured in a new killing in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the home of the Shabat family in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.
Israeli Quadcopter drones also resumed firing, targeting the Al-Mufti area north of the Nuseirat refugee camp.
WAFA correspondent confirmed that one civilian was injured by Israeli gunfire targeting homes in the western part of Nuseirat camp. Residents also sent appeals for medical teams to rush to the camp after an Israeli attack targeted the Abu Salmiya family’s home, causing several injuries
Furthermore, heavy artillery shelling struck a large number of homes in the central Nazla neighborhood of Jabalia, in the north.
Fighter jets hit a home in the northern town of Beit Hanoun, leaving six people dead, the source said.
Another Palestinian detainee from Gaza died in an Israeli hospital on Sunday, prisoners’ affairs groups said.
Ashraf Fakhri Abu Warda, 51, breathed his last at Soroka Medical Center in the southern city of Beersheba, two days after he was transferred from the Negev Desert Prison in southern Israel, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.
His family said that Abu Warda, who was detained by Israeli army forces in Gaza on Nov. 20, 2023, had no known health issues before his detention.
His death brought the number of Palestinians who died in Israeli custody since Oct. 7, 2023, to 50, according to Palestinian figures.
The Israeli army targeted the Baptist Hospital in Gaza on Sunday, escalating the ongoing destruction in the northern areas of the Gaza Strip.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that an Israeli artillery shell struck the top floor of the Baptist Hospital.
The hospital remains the last functioning medical facility in northern Gaza after the Kamal Adwan Hospital was rendered inoperable after the Israeli army destroyed and partially burned the Kamal Adwan Hospital, according to Anadolu’s correspondent.
On Friday, the Israeli army stormed the Kamal Adwan Hospital, set it ablaze, and forced it completely out of service.
More than 350 people inside the hospital, including its director, Hussam Abu Safiya, 180 medical staff, and 75 patients and their companions, were detained and taken to an unknown location, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.
In October 2023, the Baptist Hospital was bombed by the Israeli army, killing 500 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, Israel’s over 80-day siege of northern Gaza endangers the lives of the 75,000 Palestinians still in the area, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement on Saturday.
The UN agency’s statement came after Israel’s attack on the Kamal Adwan Hospital resulted in the loss of the last fully functioning medical facility in northern Gaza.
Nearly 50 Palestinians were killed Thursday in an Israeli airstrike on a building opposite the headquarters of Kamal Adwan Hospital, including three medical staff and workers.
“WHO is appalled by yesterday’s raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital, which put the last major health facility in North Gaza out of service,” it said.
“Initial reports indicate that some areas of the hospital were burnt and severely damaged during the raid, including the laboratory, surgical unit, engineering and maintenance department, operations theatre, and the medical store.”
It added: “Earlier in the day, twelve patients and a female health staff were reportedly forced to evacuate to destroyed and non-functional Indonesian Hospital where it is not possible to provide any care, while the majority of the staff, stable patients and companions were moved to a nearby location.”
Israeli soldiers, part of the military’s 92nd Battalion, were filmed torching homes belonging to forcibly displaced residents of Beit Hanoun.
The footage, captured using drones, depicted widespread destruction in the targeted area.
The racist song “Let your village burn” has been a recurring element in Israeli celebrations and demonstrations.
Following massacres carried out by Israeli forces in Rafah in southern Gaza, Israelis in Jerusalem were seen celebrating to the same song.
The chant has also been popular among supporters of certain Israeli football clubs, who frequently direct it at Palestinians during matches.
WEST BANK
A journalist was killed in the West Bank city of Jenin amid a Palestinian security operation in the area, her family said on Sunday.
In a statement, the family said Shatha Sabbagh was shot dead by gunfire from Palestinian security forces Saturday evening in the Jenin refugee camp.
It held the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority responsible for “this full-fledged crime,” calling on local and international human rights organizations to “immediately investigate this crime and hold those involved in planning and execution accountable.”
Palestinian security spokesman Anwar Rajab, however, denied responsibility for the journalist’s death.
He said preliminary investigations and witness accounts confirmed that security forces were not present at the scene.
The spokesman called the journalist’s killing a “heinous crime committed by outlaws,” saying the Palestinian Authority “is committed to upholding the rule of law and will pursue those responsible for Sabbagh’s death to bring them to justice swiftly.”
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, for its part, called for an independent investigation into the killing and the inclusion of a representative from the syndicate to ensure transparency and accountability.
Palestinian security forces launched an operation nearly three weeks ago against what they call “outlaws” in the Jenin refugee camp.
According to local media, at least ten people have so far been killed in the campaign, including five security personnel and five civilians.
The operation has triggered accusations from several Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, for the Palestinian Authority of targeting resistance fighters in the camp.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces raided several towns in the occupied West Bank, injuring and detaining one Palestinian, reports said Saturday.
The Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported that the raids targeted the towns of Tuqu and Al-Khader near Bethlehem.
Clashes erupted between soldiers and Palestinians, with Israeli forces using live ammunition, stun grenades and tear gas against residents.
In the south of Tulkarm city, Israeli soldiers opened fire on a Palestinian vehicle, injuring the driver before detaining him.
The identity and condition of the Palestinian remains unknown.
Arif Jabareen, a member of the Defense Committee in Hebron, told Anadolu that Israeli forces also raided Palestinian homes near the Kiryat Arba settlement, east of Hebron.
Jabareen reported that 70 Palestinians, including children, were forcibly removed from their homes.
Illegal Israeli settlers seized six tents and an agricultural room today in the village of al-Mughayer, east of Ramallah, after forcibly evicting their owners.
Local resident Rabea Abu Naeem told WAFA that the settlers protected by Israeli forces, took control of four residential tents, two tents for livestock, and an agricultural room containing solar panels and equipment in the Khalayel al-Lawz area, south of al-Mughayer. The settlers forced the owners to leave their property under the threat of gunfire.
The seized properties belong to citizens Ayham Rizq Abu Naeem, Hammam Rizq Abu Naeem, and Rizq Abu Naeem.
Israeli soldiers, operating in the heavily besieged area of the northern Gaza Strip, posted footage on social media Saturday showing homes in the town of Beit Hanoun being set on fire, accompanied by the racist song “Let your village burn.”
LEBANON
Lebanon on Saturday condemned Israeli attacks targeting agriculture and the destruction of a sapling propagation project implemented in Wadi Houjeir with support from the UN World Food Program (WFP) and funding from the EU.
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) said the Agriculture Ministry issued a statement condemning the damage caused by the Israeli military to the country’s agricultural sector.
“The Israeli military razed the sapling propagation project established in Wadi Houjeir in 2020 with bulldozers, destroying it completely,” it said. “This project was vital for enhancing food security in Lebanon and supporting local farmers. “
It also emphasized that the destruction of the project constitutes a blatant violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and the rights of its people to live in dignity and security.
Additionally, it breaches international laws and treaties protecting civilians and critical facilities in conflict zones.
The Israeli military violated the cease-fire with Lebanon six times on its 32nd day, marking ongoing tensions in the region, the authorities said on Saturday.
Since the cease-fire was declared on November 27, the Israeli army has committed a total of 325 violations, resulting in 33 deaths and 37 injuries.
According to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA), the violations included bombardments, arson, detonations, and gunfire, primarily targeting the southern regions of Tyre and Nabatieh.
In Nabatieh’s Kafr Kila and Yaroun towns, Israeli soldiers detonated numerous homes, while in Tayne, they conducted house searches before setting the properties ablaze.
Additionally, Israeli forces opened machine gun fire near the towns of Qantara and Tayne.
In Tyre’s Naqoura town, Israeli soldiers fired shots and prevented Lebanese fishermen from retrieving their boats and belongings from the shore.
Meanwhile, Israeli army might stay in southern Lebanon beyond the 60-day deadline set in last month’s cease-fire agreement, according to Israeli media on Sunday.
Israel Hayom newspaper said Tel Aviv is looking into keeping its forces at some points of control in southern Lebanon beyond the 60 days outlined in the cease-fire deal.
This suggestion was discussed at the highest political and security levels in Israel, the daily said.
The Israeli outlet attributed the move to what it called the “slow deployment of the Lebanese army in the region.”
“This is in addition to the large amount of Hezbollah weapons and infrastructure that are still being found in the area and the group’s efforts to rebuild its strength with Iran’s help,” it claimed.
YEMEN
Houthi [Ansar Allah] forces carried out 13 attacks against Israeli targets in the past 10 days, the Yemeni group said on Sunday.
The local 26 September website, an outlet linked to the Houthi-run Defense Ministry, said most of the attacks targeted Tel Aviv in central Israel using hypersonic ballistic missiles during the period from Dec. 19 to 28.
On Saturday, a Houthi missile targeted the Nevatim Air Base in southern Israel’s Negev region with the Houthis saying that the attack “hit its target successfully.”
On Thursday, Israel launched airstrikes against Houthi-held positions in the capital Sanaa, and the coastal province of Al-Hudaydah.
[Photo: Palestinian children try to protect themselves from the cold weather by lighting a fire in the Gaza Strip’s Deir al-Balah city, Gaza on December 27, 2024. Photojournalist: Ashraf Amra/AA]
