Biggest Hamas tunnel with 4km long network found under Gaza, claims Israel

The Agam Labs at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Gaza War Omnibus revealed that 33 percent express support for reoccupying Gaza, while 11 percent remain undecided. Regarding post-war governance, 23 percent suggest moderate Arab countries should oversee it, 22 per cent support Israeli military rule, and 18 per cent favor an international force taking control. Another 18 per cent lean towards Israel annexing Gaza, 7 per cent propose holding elections, and 11 per cent support the Palestinian Authority assuming control of the coastal enclave.

During her visit to the village of Mazraa al-Gharbiyya near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, Catherine Colonna expressed condemnation for the "dangerous acts" of Israeli settlers. She emphasized that these actions undermine the potential for a political resolution to the conflict. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported her warning that such actions by settlers could lead to new developments and destabilize the West Bank, ultimately working against Israel's interests.

Hezbollah fighters reportedly attacked an Israeli force on the outskirts of Hanita, a kibbutz near the Lebanese border in northern Israel, resulting in "confirmed casualties," according to the group's statement.

Additionally, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a second assault on an outpost manned by Israeli soldiers in the border area of Birkar Rishah, alleging further casualties, reported Al Jazeera.

The Israel Defense Forces disclosed on Sunday (Dec 17) the largest-ever Hamas attack tunnel found near the Erez border crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. IDF uncovered approximately four kilometers (2.5 miles) of the tunnel, reaching depths of about 50 meters (165 feet) in some areas, with the capacity for vehicles, but it did not extend into Israeli territory.

Phones and internet partially restored in Gaza: telecom firm

Yair Lapid on Sunday said Netanyahu “cannot continue to be prime minister”.

“We have a prime minister who lost the trust of the people, lost the trust of the world and lost the trust of the security establishment,” he said in a post on X, calling for elections.

Israel's closest European allies were pushing for a cease-fire in the war with Hamas, media reports said Sunday (Dec 17). The Israeli allies underscored growing international unease with the devastating impact of the conflict on Gaza's civilian population. The concerted push by top European diplomats comes ahead of a visit to Israel on Monday by US defence secretary Lloyd Austin.

Palestinians mourn over bodies, through rubble, in the yard of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Gaza City. On Saturday, the Israeli army said it had "completed its activity in the area of the Kamal Adwan hospital", which it charged "had been used by Hamas as a command and control centre." Hamas accused Israel of carrying out a "horrific massacre" at the hospital, where they claimed Israeli forces "fired at patient rooms", arrested staff, and destroyed tents of displaced people with bulldozers.

Injured Gazans arrive at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis after Israeli strike. According to Hamas, Israel's retaliatory offensive, including over two months of sustained aerial bombardment and a ground invasion, has killed 18,800 people, mostly women and children. 
 

French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna arrived in Israel on Sunday (December 17) for a one-day visit during which she will meet with Israeli and Palestinian leadership as well as families of Israel-French hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen welcomed his counterpart at Israel's International Ben Gurion Airport and thanked Colonna and French President Emmanuel Macron "for their support for Israel and our war to annihilate the Hamas organisation."

The families of hostages held in Gaza set up a campsite near Israel's defence ministry in Tel Aviv, vowing to stay there until the government secures a deal with Hamas to release their loved ones. The accidental killing of three hostages by Israeli forces has put increased pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to find a way to secure the release of those held.

Pope Francis on Sunday deplored the death of two women in a Catholic parish in Gaza, where he said "defenceless civilians" were targeted by shootings and bombings.

"I continue to receive very serious and painful news from Gaza," he said at the end of the Angelus prayer. "A mother and her daughter... were killed and other people injured by sniper fire."

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on Sunday urged all parties including Israel to 'deescalate' on the volatile Israel-Lebanon border where tensions have risen amid the Gaza war.

"The risk of escalation remains... and if things were to spiral out of control, I don't think anyone would benefit, and I say this to Israel too," she said on a visit to the Shura military base in central Israel. "This call for caution and deescalation applies to everyone." 

French foreign minister urged all parties to 'deescalate' on Israel-Lebanon border, news agency AFP reported.

Catherine Cohen meanwhile said "France could play a positive and significant role to prevent a war in Lebanon".

Israel has been engaged in regular cross-border exchanges of fire with armed groups in southern Lebanon, notably with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

"Israel has no intention to start another front on our northern border, but we will do what whatever it takes to protect our citizens," said Cohen.

The UK’s deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, said that Hamas needs to be removed as a "threat" from Israel for a ceasefire to be sustainable, British media reported.

France’s foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, arrived in Israel. Colonna called for an "immediate and durable" truce in the war with Hamas.

"Too many civilians are being killed," Colonna was quoted by AFP during remarks in Tel Aviv with her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen.

She also stressed that the victims of Hamas attacks must not be forgotten, including those subjected to sexual violence.

The emergency department at the al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza is "a bloodbath" , the World Health Organization has warned.

The WHO said "tens of thousands of displaced people are using the hospital building and grounds for shelter", and that there is "a severe shortage" of drinking water and food.

In a statement, the WHO said:

"Patients with trauma injuries were being sutured on the floor, and limited to no pain management is available at the hospital."

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Saturday (Dec 16) that reports claiming he went back on the Oslo Accords were correct. This means that for the first time in nearly three decades, an Israeli leader is not asserting a two-state solution to resolve Israel-Palestine conflict. 

"You and your journalist friends have been blaming me for almost thirty years for putting the brakes on the Oslo Accords and preventing the Palestinian state. That is true," Netanyahu told reporters at a Tel Aviv conference.

Nearly 200 Hamas sites have been hit over the past day, Israel Defence Forces said adding that more tunnels were located in area of UNRWA school. 

IDF said Paratroopers Brigade raided several apartments used by Hamas in Gaza City’s Shejaiya, and discovered firearms, explosive devices, and other military equipment. 

At least five Palestinians were killed on Sunday in an Israeli attack on Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Two were shot dead by Israeli forces on Sunday, the ministry had said. Another Palestinian has also died on Sunday from injuries sustained after an Israeli attack in the West Bank city of Jenin a few days ago, the Palestinian health ministry said. 

The emergency department at the Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, devastated by Israeli bombardments, is "a blood bath" and is "in need of resuscitation", the WHO said Sunday (Dec 17).

A team from the World Health Organisation and other United Nations agencies was able to deliver medical supplies Saturday (Dec 16) to the hospital, the largest in the Palestinian territory.
 

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna arrived in Israel Sunday (Dec 17) where she was due to press for an "immediate and durable" truce in the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, reports said. Colonna will meet her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen in Tel Aviv. 

Reports said that a video released by the Palestine Red Crescent is said to show ambulances being blocked by the Israeli army in West Bank's Tulkarm. 

Two Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army in the West Bank on Sunday (December 17), according to the Palestinian health ministry. A third man was reported to have died of wounds that he sustained a few days ago in the West Bank city of Jenin.

The Israeli army spokesperson unit told Reuters it was checking into the report and will issue a comment once it has more information. At least 290 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank over the past two months since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack from Gaza into southern Israel.
 

Four Palestinians have been killed in overnight airstrikes in the Nur Shams camp near the West Bank city of Tulkarem, the PA’s official Wafa news agency reports.

According to Hebrew-language media reports, the strikes were carried out after Israeli troops operating in the area were attacked with explosive devices. Channel 12 news says that some of those killed were wanted terrorists.

According to reports, the US is planning to strike back at Yemen’s Houthis amidst repeated attacks by the Iran-backed group to disrupt international shipping through a key Red Sea waterway.

Two unnamed US officials told Politico that the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group was moved into the Gulf of Aden so that it is in position to support a potential US response.

The Houthis say their attacks aim to end Israel’s war with the Hamas terror group. However, the links to the ships targeted in the rebel assaults have grown more tenuous as the attacks continue.

Qatar-govt Al Jazeera news channel has said that it will refer the killing of its cameraman Samer Abudaqa in Gaza to the International Criminal Court.

In a statement on Saturday, the Qatar-based network said it has instructed its legal team to “urgently” refer the case of “the assassination” of cameraman Samer Abudaqa to the court in The Hague.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the death of two more soldiers during ground operations in Gaza taking the total death toll since the beginning of the operations to 121. 

Shalev Zaltsman, 24, from Ramat Yishai, was killed in southern Gaza while fighting with the 55th Paratroopers Brigade, said the Israeli army. 

Master Sergeant Joseph Avner Doran, 26, from Jerusalem who was a part of the IDF’s mobility unit and served in the Shayetet 13 commando force, was killed in fighting in the north of the Strip, reported the Times of Israel, ,

A new poll by Harvard CAPS/Harris found that more than half of young Americans surveyed amid the ongoing war indicated that they believe that the Jewish state should no longer exist, and instead become Palestinian territory ruled by the Hamas. 

Around 51 per cent of Americans between the age of 18 to 24 said Israel should be replaced by a Hamas or Palestinian entity while 58 per cent said Hamas should be removed from running Gaza.

The survey also found 66 per cent in the age group think the October 7 attacks constitute genocide and 60 per cent believe that the attacks were justified by Palestinian grievances. 

As many as 67 per cent of young Americans also view Jews as a class are oppressors and should be treated as oppressors. Overall the survey finds that 81 per cent of respondents back Israel.

The survey was conducted among about 2,000 registered voters in the US. 

Three Israeli hostages mistakenly killed by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops were shirtless and waving a makeshift white flag when they were fatally shot after Israeli troops mistook them for militants, according to an IDF official. 

Three Israeli hostages – Yotam Haim (28), Samer Talalka (22), and Alon Shamriz (26) – were killed in Gaza’s Shejaiya on Friday (Dec 15) around 10:00 am (local time), said an Israeli military official.

The case, according to the IDF, was “against our rules of engagement” and had prompted an investigation at the “highest level”. 

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Israel carried out fresh strikes in Gaza on Sunday. According to a report by the news agency AFP, the health ministry in the Palestinian region said at least 12 people were killed in Israeli strikes on the central city of Deir al-Balah.

Witnesses also reported Israeli air and artillery strikes on the southern municipality of Bani Suhaila east of Khan Yunis.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday hinted that negotiations were on to recover hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, raising hopes of a second truce deal between the warring factions.

The Israeli military is facing flak after it admitted that it mistakenly killed three hostages in the Gaza Strip. According to a report by NBC News late Saturday (Dec 16), mounting anger at the Benjamin Netanyahu government spilled onto the streets of Tel Aviv. 

In a plaza in downtown Tel Aviv, as Israeli woman, who was released from Hamas captivity last month, told a crowd of hundreds that she “warned” the Israeli government that military operations in Gaza were putting hostages at risk and had “unfortunately” been proven right.

The Canadian police on Saturday charged an Ottawa youth with directing terrorist activities against Jewish people and giving instructions on explosives. The accused was not identified due to their young age. 

UK Foreign Minister David Cameron and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock said on Saturday the "need is urgent" for a "sustainable ceasefire" in Gaza.

"We must do all we can to pave the way to a sustainable ceasefire, leading to a sustainable peace. The sooner it comes, the better — the need is urgent," Cameron and Baerbock wrote in a joint Sunday Times article, pointing out that too many civilians had been killed in the conflict. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that his country would continue its offensive against Hamas until complete victory.

"With all the deep sorrow, I want to clarify: the military pressure is necessary both for the return of the kidnapped and for achieving victory over our enemies," Prime Minister Netanyahu said.