Israeli airstrikes kill 100 in certainly one of warfare’s deadliest nights

CAIRO/
JERUSALEM/
GAZA:

At a funeral in Gaza on Monday a line of Palestinians touched white shrouds containing the our bodies of no less than 70 individuals who Palestinian well being officers stated have been killed by an Israeli airstrike focusing on Maghazi within the centre of the besieged strip.

It adopted one of many enclave’s deadliest nights within the 11-week-old battle between Israel and Hamas. One man hugged a useless little one and others have been hysterical.

“The partitions and the curtains fell on us,” stated one man. “I reached all the way down to my four-year-old little one however all I discovered have been rocks.”

Strikes that started hours earlier than midnight persevered into Monday. Palestinian media stated Israel stepped up air and floor shelling in central Gaza.

Well being ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qidra stated lots of these killed at Maghazi have been ladies and youngsters. Eight others have been killed as Israeli planes and tanks carried out dozens of airstrikes on homes and roads in close by al-Bureij and al-Nusseirat, well being officers stated.

Medics stated an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza killed 23, bringing complete Palestinian fatalities in a single day to greater than 100.

Pope Francis stated in his Christmas message on Monday that kids dying in wars, together with in Gaza, are the “little Jesuses of immediately” and that Israeli strikes have been reaping an “appalling harvest” of harmless civilians.

A few of Gaza’s small Christian neighborhood took a break from the battle and struggling to have a good time Christmas.

A number of residents made pleas on social media for folks to offer them shelter as they’ve change into homeless after leaving their houses in Bureij.

“I’ve 60 folks in the home, individuals who arrived at my home believing that central Gaza space was secure. Now we’re looking for a spot to get to,” stated Odeh, a resident of the refugee camps.

The Israeli military stated it was reviewing the report of a Maghazi incident and was dedicated to minimising hurt to civilians. Hamas denies the Israeli cost that it operates in densely populated areas or makes use of civilians as human shields.

The Palestinian Crimson Crescent revealed footage of wounded residents being transported to hospitals. It stated Israeli warplanes have been bombing foremost roads, hindering the passage of ambulances and emergency automobiles.

In his Christmas Day “Urbi et Orbi” (to the town and world) deal with, Francis additionally referred to as the Oct. 7 assault on Israel by Hamas fighters “abominable” and once more appealed for the discharge of round 100 hostages being held in Gaza.

Clergy cancelled celebrations in Bethlehem, the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Financial institution metropolis the place Christian custom says Jesus was born in a steady 2,000 years in the past.

Palestinian Christians held a candle-lit Christmas vigil in Bethlehem with hymns and prayers for peace in Gaza, as a substitute of the same old celebrations.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a departure from his ordinary observe that mirrored the present gloom over Gaza, didn’t attend the midnight vigil, and as a substitute despatched a consultant.

There was no giant tree, the same old centrepiece of Bethlehem’s Christmas observances. Nativity collectible figurines in church buildings have been positioned amongst rubble and barbed wire in solidarity with the folks of Gaza.

Catastrophic situations

Palestinians collect on the website of Israeli strikes on homes on the Maghazi camp within the central Gaza Strip December 25, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS

Hamas and smaller ally Islamic Jihad, each sworn to Israel’s destruction, are believed to be holding greater than 100 hostages from amongst 240 they captured throughout their Oct. 7 rampage by means of Israeli cities, once they killed 1,200 folks.

Since then, Israel has besieged the slim Gaza Strip and laid a lot of it to waste. Almost 20,700 folks have been killed by Israeli airstrikes, together with 250 within the final 24 hours, in response to authorities in Hamas-ruled Gaza on Monday. 1000’s extra are believed to be useless beneath the rubble.

The overwhelming majority of the two.three million Gazans have been pushed from their houses, and the United Nations says situations are catastrophic.

Since a week-long truce collapsed at the beginning of the month, combating has solely intensified on the bottom, with warfare spreading from the north to the total size of the densely populated strip.

The Israeli navy stated on Monday that two of its troopers had died within the final day, bringing to 158 the quantity killed since floor operations started on Oct. 20.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed lawmakers from his Likud social gathering on Monday that the warfare was removed from over and dismissed what he solid as media hypothesis that his authorities may name a halt to the combating towards the enclave’s Hamas group.

Israel has been beneath stress from its closest ally the US to shift operations to a lower-intensity section and scale back civilian deaths.

On Saturday, Israel’s navy chief of employees stated his forces had largely achieved operational management within the north of Gaza and would develop operations additional within the south.

However residents say combating has solely intensified in northern districts.

Diplomatic efforts, mediated by Egypt and Qatar, on a brand new truce to free the remaining hostages held in Gaza have yielded little public progress, though Washington described the talks final week as “very severe”.

Netanyahu was attributable to attend a parliamentary dialogue of the difficulty on Monday after which to convene a session of his warfare cupboard, Israeli officers informed Reuters.

Islamic Jihad stated a delegation led by its exiled chief Ziad al-Nakhlala was in Cairo on Sunday. His arrival adopted talks attended by Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in current days.

The teams have stated they might not focus on any launch of hostages until Israel ends its warfare in Gaza, whereas the Israelis say they’re keen to debate solely a pause in combating.