Israel-Hamas war: Funeral held for hostage mistakenly killed by Israeli army

US-based Semafor website reported that Washington is considering if it should attack Houthis in Yemen in response to the armed group's strikes on commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea.

Biden administration officials told the news site they are weighing the strategic value of targeting the Houthis against potentially fueling a wider conflict in West Asia.

US navy ships deployed to the region have also repeatedly shot done drones and missiles launched from Yemen, including earlier Saturday (Dec 16). 

Israel's President Isaac Herzog has released a statement on the accidental killings of the three Israeli hostages, saying, "We all embrace at this time the families whose worlds were destroyed, and mourn with them in their endless loss."

Herzog added:

"Together with them, we also embrace all the families of the abducted and the abductees who are in the middle of a continuous and shaking nightmare, and pledge to continue and do as much as possible to return them home."

He went on to say that the IDF is leading a “comprehensive investigation of the tragedy with full responsibility and transparency.”

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini while speaking to reporters at the Global Refugee Forum, said: "This war is also fought on TV screens and on social media. It’s also a media war. I am horrified at the smear campaigns that target Palestinians and those who provide aid to them…"

"I am asking you to help us push back against misinformation and inaccuracies. I know that some of you are constantly doing fact-checking but fact-checking is absolutely key if we want accurate information."

The US Central Command said that the destroyer USS Carney "successfully engaged 14 unmanned aerial systems" launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The drones "were shot down with no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries," Central Command wrote on X, formerly Twitter. 

In the United Kingdom, pro-Palestinian demonstrators have gathered again this weekend to call for an end to the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

Organisers Stop the War Coalition listed 57 separate pro-Palestinian events across the UK on Saturday.

It comes amid growing international concern about the Israeli operation in the region.

A hostage who was mistakenly killed by the Israeli military while being held hostage in Gaza by Islamist group Hamas was laid to rest at a funeral in southern Israel on Saturday (December 16). Around 300 people turned out to mourn Samer Fouad Al-Talalka, 25, a member of Israel's Bedouin Arab minority, in his hometown of Hura.

An Israeli helicopter landing near the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis. Vowing to destroy Hamas and bring back the hostages, Israel launched a massive military offensive against the Palestinian Islamist movement that has left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins. The territory's Hamas government says the war has killed at least 18,800 people, mostly women and children.
 

The three hostages killed by Israeli soldiers in Gaza were shot even as they carried a white flag and cried for help in Hebrew, an army official said on Saturday. Israel has been mourning the deaths of Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer El-Talalqa, who were killed in a neighbourhood of Gaza City on Friday when troops mistook them for a threat, the army said. Bringing back captives taken by Hamas militants on October 7 has been a key reason cited by the army for its assault on Gaza. The killing of the three hostages, all in their twenties, sparked protests in Tel Aviv.

Mossad chief David Barnea already met with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on efforts to find a new hostage deal, the Times of Israel reported citing the Walla news site reports.

Citing two sources, the report says the talks are “just a beginning” and the process would be “long, difficult and complicated.”

The war cabinet is expected to meet later this evening to discuss renewed efforts to reach a deal to free additional hostages, the Times Of Israel said citing Hebrew media reports.

Smoke billows in south Lebanon following an Israeli air strike, seen from the Israeli side of the border.

Wounded Gazans arrive and receive treatment at Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis, following strikes on the area. According to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, Israel's military operation has killed 18,800 people in the territory since October 7, when the group launched a deadly attack on the country. The attack killed 1,200 people in Israel, according to Israeli authorities, and saw a further 240 taken hostage.

A suspected attack drone was brought down by a UK destroyer in the Red Sea, said British Defense Minister Grant Shapps, amid increasing maritime tensions in the region.

“Overnight, HMS Diamond shot down a suspected attack drone which was targeting merchant shipping in the Red Sea. One Sea Viper missile was fired and successfully destroyed the target,” said Shapps, in a statement shared on X.

The families of the hostages, who were held by Hamas militants in Gaza, are holding meeting to discuss ways of stepping up protests against the Israel government so as to establish renewed talks which can lead to more release of captives.

“We are playing Russian roulette,” said Ruby Chen, whose son Itay has been taken as hostage, while speaking to reporters in Tel Aviv. “We can’t go on like this any longer. Each day we don’t know when we will be the one to get a knock on the door,” she said, the Times Of Israel reported.

Raz Matalon, whose two relatives Yossi and Eli Sahrabi have been taken as hostages, appealed the government to propose fresh proposals. “They have to put forward an Israeli proposal. I’m looking at the leaders in the eyes, this is on you, stop it. Give us a proposal now,” she said.

A man, who was in his 30s, was seriously injured when an explosion took place in his car, said the police and medics. The blast took place in the southern city of Ashkelon.

Police said that the incident is being investigated and it appears like a criminal incidentn and not terror. The Magen David Adom rescue service informed that the man was admitted to the city’s Barzilai hospital, where he is in serious condition.

A spokesperson, represnting the families of the hostages, said that the war cabinet did not establish any communication after IDF accidentally killed the three hostages.

“Despite the heavy disaster, no one from the war cabinet has spoken to the families, no one has explained how to prevent the next disaster, no one,” said Haim Rubinstein, a spokesperson for the families.

“Why do the families have to plead for something that should be obvious?” he added.

According to the IDF, two apparently explosive-laden drones were sent from Lebanon into the Israeli airspace which led to setting off sirens in the Galilee Panhandle.

As per the IDF, one drone was intercepted by the Iron Dome and the second hit an area close to northern community of Margaliot.

Internet and telephone lines that went off on Thursday evening were still inaccessible on Saturday morning, according to internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org, hampering aid deliveries and rescue efforts as Israel’s war against Gaza’s ruling militant group Hamas stretched into the 11th week.

The Israeli army said it raided two schools in Gaza City, north of the strip, following information about Hamas fighters hiding inside the facilities.

(With inputs from agencies)

Iran on Saturday executed a man who was sentenced to death after being convicted of working with Israel's intelligence services, the judiciary said.

"The death sentence was carried out this morning against a spy of the Zionist regime in Zahedan prison" in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, the judiciary's Mizan Online website said.

It did not identify the man but said he had been convicted of "intelligence cooperation and espionage for the benefit for the hostile Zionist regime (Israel)". He was also found guilty of "collecting and providing classified information to the Mossad spy service with the aim of disrupting public order", Mizan added.

Defence secretary Lloyd Austin has directed the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and another warship to remain in the Mediterranean Sea for several more weeks, maintaining a two-carrier presence near Israel amid its ongoing conflict with Hamas.

Two homes in northern Gaza were struck by an Israeli air raid, resulting in the deaths of 14 people and injuring others, claimed Al Jazeera.

Earlier, Palestine's Wafa news agency reported that dozens more were killed in an Israeli attack on a home in Jabalia.
 

After the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Samer Abudaqa, the Palestinian representative to the UN reportedly said “enough is enough” on Friday (Dec 15). The Al Jazeera cameraman died after an Israeli attack in Gaza’s Khan Younis, the media portal said. 

Israel on Saturday mourned the deaths of three Gaza hostages killed when troops mistook them for a threat, with the military expressing remorse over a "tragic" incident that sparked protests in Tel Aviv. 

The Israeli army said Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer El-Talalqa -- all aged in their twenties -- were shot during operations in a neighbourhood of Gaza City.

The United States on Friday urged the Israeli military to scale down its offensive and narrowly target Hamas leaders.

This message was carried by National Security Adviser (NSA) Jake Sullivan during his visit to Israel.

During his visit, Israeli officials publicly emphasised that they would continue the conflict until they achieve their aim of eradicating Hamas, which might take months.

Israel said on Friday that it was launching an investigation into the killing of two Palestinians at close range in the West Bank. The announcement comes after an Israeli human rights group posted videos that appeared to show Israeli troops killing the men during a military raid in a refugee camp. 

The Houthis said on Friday that any hostile move against Yemen will have dire consequences and great costs.

Speaking to  Al Mayadeen TV, the Houthis said, "The Houthis will not abandon the Palestinian cause, regardless of any US, Israeli, or Western threats."

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd- two of the world's largest shipping firms- said on Friday that they were suspending passage through a Red Sea strait vital for global commerce.

The announcement came following attacks by Houthis in the area. Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct 7, Houthis have been targeting shipping to pressurise Israel

"Hapag-Lloyd is interrupting all container ship traffic across the Red Sea until Monday," the company said in a statement sent to the news agency AFP.

"We have instructed all Maersk vessels in the area bound to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait to pause their journey until further notice," Danish firm Maersk said.

In a major development, Israeli army said in early hours of Saturday (Dec 16, IST) that its soldiers had shot dead three hostages "mistakenly" after considering them a threat. Read more

The Israeli military on Friday reopened an aid crossing into Gaza, allowing more aid to be delivered directly to Gaza through its Kerem Shalom border crossing. 

This comes as the Benjamin Netanyahu government faced weeks of pressure from aid agencies and Western allies to reopen Kerem Shalom as Egypt's Rafah crossing struggled to cope with the scale of need inside Gaza.