Israel-Hamas war Dec 14 updates: War in Gaza will 'last more than several months', says Israel defence minister

 Israel declared 19 of 135 people still in Gaza captivity dead in absentia on Tuesday, after announcing its forces had recovered the bodies of two hostages.

The list of 19 includes a Tanzanian national, the government press office said. It did not name him.

Tanzania has said that two of its citizens, both farming students, had been among some 240 people taken hostage by Hamas in the militant group's Oct 7 cross-border rampage. One of the Tanzanians was confirmed dead last month.

Mirjana Spoljaric, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has landed in Israel, BBC reported. She is slated to meet government officials, families of the hostages and even to visit West Bank. The ICRC has previously been received flak for its failure to meet families of the hostages.

A statement issues by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has claimed that suspects arrested in Denmark were "acting on behalf of the Hamas". The Danish authorities have said that they have foiled a "terror" attack.

The security forces in Denmark "arrested seven terrorists acting on behalf of the Hamas terrorist organisation, and thwarted an attack, the goal of which was to kill innocent civilians on European soil," said a statement from Netanyahu's office.

In light of heavy death toll among journalists covering Israel-Hamas conflict, France has said that it was taking steps to get Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists out of Gaza.

"We are keeping up our efforts regarding AFP employees," said Christophe Lemoine, deputy spokesman for French foreign ministry.

He said that this was "a complex operation".

"Since October, we have been working to allow French citizens on the ground to leave Gaza, as well as their dependants," Lemoine said further.

The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) has alleged that Israeli soldiers killed an unarmed teenager inside Jenin hospital in West Bank, away from Gaza.

MSF has also said on X (formerly Twitter that Israeli soldiers were stopping ambulances which were taking discharged patients home.

Israel Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who is know for his hawkish stance and public statements, has said that Gaza war will 'last more than several months'.

"It will require a period of time -- it will last more than several months, but we will win and we will destroy them," said Gallant as per his office. 

Gallant met US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan who is currently in Israel.

Palestinian Authority (PA) prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has told Reuter that global pressure on the PA for an overhaul and reforms was a distraction from the main issue. In the interview, he called for global intervention to end Israel-Palestine issue.

What we need is a day-after for all of the Palestinian territories. What we need is to see an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the materialization and manifestation of a two-state (solution),' he said.
 

International pressure on the Palestinian Authority (PA) to overhaul its leadership and step up reforms are a distraction from the need for a political horizon to lay the basis for peace after the Gaza war, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said. In an interview with Reuters, Shtayyeh called for international intervention to end the decades-long conflict, saying that the United States, the country with the most regional clout, had so far failed to use its influence effectively. 'What we need is a day-after for all of the Palestinian territories. What we need is to see an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the materialization and manifestation of a two-state (solution),' he said.

"We risked our life to flee" says a women from Jenin amid an ongoing Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. Violence has escalated in the occupied territory since the war broke out, with around 270 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire and settler attacks there since October 7, Palestinian officials say. 

Wounded Palestinians arrive at the Nasser hospital following an Israeli strike in the Al-Balad area in central Khan Yunis. 

Palestinians inspect the damage after an overnight Israeli operation in West Bank's Jenin. The Israeli army is carrying out a raid in Jenin for more than a day. 

People injured by Israeli strikes are rushed to the Kuwaiti hospital in southern Gaza's Rafah. Israel bombs Gaza in its war against Hamas militants as a top White House adviser travelled to Jerusalem with a rift growing over civilian casualties. The war, now in its third month, began after Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attacks on Israel that Israeli officials say killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. 

Ashraf al-Qudra, the Health Ministry's spokesperson in Gaza, reports that Israeli attacks have resulted in a minimum of 179 fatalities and 303 injuries in the past day.

The total death toll since October 7 has now reached 18,787, with 50,897 people wounded. Al-Qudra noted that many victims remain trapped under debris and on the streets, according to Al Jazeera.

The military arm of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, Al-Quds Brigades, claimed its fighters "sniped" an Israeli soldier in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighborhood.

The group also reported launching mortar shells at Israeli military forces near a hill in the central governorate's east, said Al Jazeera.

Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, while speaking at the start of a European Union summit in Brussels, said that while the bloc should condemn "terrorism perpetrated by Hamas", it should also call for peace for Palestinians.

"We have lost credibility at the Global South, which actually is most of the world, because of what is perceived to be double standards. And there’s some truth in that, quite frankly," he added.

Israel’s parliament has approved a wartime budget which adds $7 billion to the national budget.

The additional funds will help cover costs of the Gaza war, such as compensation for military reservists and emergency housing for the internally displaced, Reuters reported.

The amendment, ratified by a vote of 59 lawmakers in favour and 45 opposed, increased the 2023 budget to 510 billion shekels ($139 billion), a Knesset spokesperson said.

Israel passed the original 2023 budget along with a 2024 budget in May.

The Israeli military has reportedly expanded its raids in the rural areas of Gaza Strip in the south of Jenin, local media reports said. 

According to Palestinian Prisoners Society, about 400 of 500 men rounded up by Israeli authorities in the area have now been released after initial rounds of questioning. 

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reasserted two-state solution for Israel-Palestine conflict after row over comment by Israeli ambassador in London.

Israeli ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, rejected the two-state solution in an interview with Sky News.

Speaking to the Sky News broadcaster on Thursday morning, Sunak said: "Our longstanding position remains that the two-state solution is the right outcome here. More immediately, what’s going on is incredibly concerning. I’ve said consistently far too many innocent people have lost their lives. Nobody wants this conflict to go on for a moment longer than is necessary."

A footafe was circulating online in which IDF soldiers were seen taking over the loudspeaker system which was in a local mosque in the West Bank’s Jenin and singing Hanukkah songs as well as the Jewish prayer of Shema Yisrael.

As per media outlets, unnamed military sources have said that they will take disciplinary action over the incident.
 

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced lawmaker Hasan Bitmez's death, as per local media reports. This happened two days after he collapsed in parliament and suffered a heart attack while he was at the end of a livestreamed parliamentary speech in which he cursed Israel and said it wouldn’t be able to “escape the wrath of Allah.”

53-year-old Hasan Bitmez, who was from the conservative Felicity Party, delivered an address at the Turkish parliament's General Assembly and ended it by saying that “we can perhaps hide from our conscience but not from history,” and by calling the Jewish state: “You will not escape the wrath of Allah.”

He further said, “I salute you all,” immediately before  he collapsed at the ground at the podium. 

British Foreign Minister David Cameron said that the violent Israeli settlers will now be banned from entering the UK, “to make sure our country cannot be a home for people who commit these intimidating acts.”

In a tweet, Cameron said “extremist settlers, by targeting and killing Palestinian civilians, are undermining security and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians. Israel must take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable.”

Tanzania's foreign ministry on Thursday confirmed the death of one of its nationals who was "killed immediately after being captured by Hamas" during the October 7 attacks in southern Israel.

According to the Israeli government two students from Tanzania had been captured, 22-year-old Clemence Felix Mtenga and 21-year-old Joshua Loitu Mollel. Tanzania's foreign ministry announced Mtenga's death last month, without giving any details. 

Tanzania's Foreign Minister January Makamba said authorities had been "informed by the Israeli government that Joshua Mollel, a young Tanzanian who was studying in Israel and with whom we have lost contact since October 7, 2023... was killed immediately after being captured by Hamas".

Tanzanian authorities were making arrangements for Mollel's relatives, including his father, to travel to Israel with a government official to "meet with our ambassador and Israeli officials and obtain more details" on the circumstances of his death.

Iran has warned the United States against forming a multinational force to protect ships passing through the Red Sea after attacks against it by Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. 

This comes after the US said last week that they may form a naval task force to escort commercial ships in the Red Sea after Houthis have repeatedly attacked ships with supposed ties to Israel. 

Iran’s Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani told the official ISNA news agency that "if they make such an irrational move, they will be faced with extraordinary problems," reported Reuters. 

"Nobody can make a move in a region where we have predominance," he added. 

Hamas' military wing, Qassam Brigades claimed to have killed at least 10 Israeli army personnel in Gaza's Shujayea neighbourhood with "highly explosive devices". 

In a statement posted on Telegram, Hamas' military wing said its forces attacked four Israeli Merkava tanks and four military personnel carriers in the Sheikh Radwan area of Gaza. 

It also claimed to have used al-Yassin 105 rockets in the attack.

The Israeli army said that it continued operations overnight in northern Gaza’s Shejaiya and Jabaliya and southern Gaza's Khan Younis.

During which it "eliminated many terrorists" and armored troops identified Hamas fighters tracking them, shot toward them and killed them. 

Separately, forces raided a school compound where Hamas fighters were supposedly operating from and shot toward soldiers, they were later killed, claimed the Israeli army. 

In Khan Younis, Israeli forces raided several locations and found weapons, including grenades and Kalashnikov rifles and the army has allegedly destroyed two tunnels shafts, an arms warehouse and a rocket launching pit.

Iran's Defence Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani warned that a proposed US-backed multinational task force to protect shipping in the Red Sea would face "extraordinary problems", official Iranian media reported on Thursday. Ashtiani's comments came after the United States said last week it was in talks with other countries to set up a task force following a spate of attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on ships in the Red Sea.

Yemen's Houthis, which are aligned with Iran, have waded into the Israel-Hamas conflict by attacking vessels in vital shipping lanes and firing drones and missiles at Israel more than 1,000 miles from their seat of power in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that has intensified after the expiry of the second truce deal, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are under constant state of dread. Their problems have been compounded by the winter rains that have swept across the Strip, washing away the tents and flooding the areas, including refugee camps. 

Read full story 

Israeli strike in Rafah kills 24, Hamas media says, as Gaza barrage continues
Israel kept up its barrage of the Gaza Strip on Thursday despite intensifying international calls to reduce civilian casualties and address a mounting humanitarian catastrophe.

Reuters reports that in central Rafah, in the south, 24 people were killed in an Israeli strike that hit two houses, according to Hamas media early on Thursday.

A 38-year-old reservist was killed during a confrontation between IDF and Palestinian fighters on Wednesday (Dec 13). With this, the latest casualty count is now at least 116 since the Gaza invasion started.
 

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday (Dec 13) held his first in-person meeting with the families of Americans taken hostage by the Hamas militant group during its October 7 attack on Israel, media reports said citing the White House statement. 

"Your choice to go to battle, is by itself huge heroism. The actions you took in which you were injured, are true heroism, which is why I tell you, not as a cliche, I see in you a model Israeli generation. Your heroism, and of those who unfortunately fell and we couldn’t bring them to this state of rehabilitation, are the light which repels the darkness, and in this room there is so much light. I’d like you to know, I meet plenty of fighting forces. They look upon you, they want to know how you’re doing, they admire you, fighters are looking at you and at your story, amongst all of us, each one with their own story, brings much pride to us all, endless appreciation to you and what you’ve done, and much more than that, it drives us to continue and operate, with the strength and values we get from you."

Wearing masks and sunglasses to protect their anonymity, a group of staff members of the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris administration lay down flowers outside the White House during a vigil to call for Gaza ceasefire.

"Over 800 of us have signed a letter to the president, vice president and cabinet members demanding a ceasefire and de-escalation," says Josh Paul, a former senior State Department staffer who quit to protest US arms transfers to Israel amid the conflict in Gaza, as he reads a statement on behalf of the Administration Staffers for Ceasefire coalition, media reports said.  

Even as the civilian casualties in Gaza continue to rise, Israeli citizens say that the army should not back off its unrelenting offensive to crush the militant group Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Wednesday, echoed the sentiments and announced that the country will continue to fight.

This is despite the international calls for a ceasefire and the fading global sympathy for Israel.

Read more here

Despite the rising civilian casualties in Gaza, Israeli citizens say that the army should not back off its unrelenting offensive to crush militant group Hamas.

Polls conducted in recent weeks show overwhelming support for the war. Talking to Reuters on Wednesday, four Israelis said that regardless of fading global sympathy for Israel — reflected in Tuesday's UN resolution — now was not the time to back down.

Even as international pressure for a ceasefire builds, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while talking to soldiers, said they will continue fighting.

"We're continuing until the end, until victory, until Hamas is annihilated," he told soldiers in Gaza over radio. 

"I say this in the face of great pain but also in the face of international pressures. Nothing will stop us."
 

Most of the Israeli casualties as per Reuters were reported from the Shejaia District of Gaza City. 

There, as per the military, troops were ambushed while trying to rescue another group of soldiers who had attacked Hamas fighters in a building.

Following the ambush, Hamas warned Israel, saying "The longer you stay there, the greater the bill of your deaths and losses will be, and you will emerge from it carrying the tail of disappointment and loss, God willing."

In a televised address, Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh stressed that any future arrangement in Gaza without Hamas was a "delusion". 

Israel has announced its worst combat losses in more than a month. It reported that 10 of its soldiers had been killed in the past 24 hours. This, as per Reuters, includes a full colonel commanding a forward base and a lieutenant-colonel commanding a regiment.

It was Israel's worst one-day loss since 15 soldiers were killed on Oct 31.