Live Updates: Gaza cannot afford to lose another hospital bed – WHO

Friday, December 8, 2023

12:25 GMT — Gaza cannot afford to lose another hospital bed – WHO

Gaza's health system is on its knees and cannot afford to lose another ambulance or a single hospital bed more, the World Health Organization warned.

"The situation is getting more and more horrible by the day... beyond belief, literally," WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told a press briefing in Geneva.

"The health system is on its knees. Gaza cannot afford to lose any more health facilities, another single ambulance, any more hospitals... or even a single hospital bed more."

Lindmeier said children and people are "begging and crying for water."

"We're at that level, where the most normal and basic supplies are not available any more," he said. "Right now the calculation for Gaza is one to two litres of fresh water a day – that's water for everything, not only for drinking. Civilisation is about to break down."

12:47 GMT — Six killed in the Israeli military's latest West Bank raid: health officials

Israeli forces stormed into a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank to arrest suspected Palestinians, unleashing fighting with local gunmen in which six Palestinians were killed, health officials said.

Among the dead were a 14-year-old boy and a local commander of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, an offshoot of the nationalist Fatah party, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Thousands of men poured into the streets for their funeral, chanting with the bodies held aloft.

Israeli undercover forces sneaked into the Faraa camp near the northern town of Tubas on Friday morning and set up sniper positions on top of buildings, residents said. They described Israeli soldiers trading staccato gunfire with Palestinian fighters and young boys throwing stones at armoured vehicles and setting tires on fire in the streets.

12:45 GMT — Hamas condemns Israel over images showing semi-naked Palestinian prisoners

A senior Hamas official accused Israeli forces of carrying out a "heinous crime against innocent civilians" after images of Palestinian men stripped to their underwear in Gaza circulated on social media.

Izzat El Reshiq, who is in exile abroad, urged international human rights organisations to intervene to show what happened to the men and help secure their release.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was concerned by the images and that all detainees must be treated with humanity and dignity in accordance with international humanitarian law.

12:03 GMT — Four injured as Israeli army fires at mosque in northern Jerusalem

At least four Palestinians were injured by Israeli army gunfire targeting a mosque in northern Jerusalem, according to medical sources.

In a statement, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that its crews dealt with four injuries from Israeli gunfire in the town of Hizma.

"The Israeli army opened fire at a mosque in the town of Hizma, northern Jerusalem," the official Palestine TV reported, indicating the outbreak of confrontations between dozens of Palestinians and the Israeli army.

11:22 GMT - Several people wounded in Israeli bombing

Scores of people have been killed and injured in an Israeli bombing that targeted the Shujaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City, according to the Palestinian media.

The Israeli bombing of several areas in Gaza continued, official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Israeli attacks are mostly carried out in the eastern areas of Khan Younis and on the beaches of Rafah in southern Gaza, while Israeli warplanes targeted the central areas of Gaza, the agency said.

10:21 GMT - Israel storms refugee camp, kills several several Palestinians in West Bank

At least six Palestinians were killed by Israeli army gunfire in the Al-Far'a refugee camp in the northeast of the occupied West Bank. In a statement, the Palestinian Health Ministry said that “six Palestinians were killed and many others were wounded in the Al-Far’a refugee camp near Tubas.”

With this latest violent incident, the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army in the West Bank since Oct. 7 has risen to 271, while 3,250 others were injured, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society also said its crews are dealing with some injuries in the Al-Far’a refugee camp, including a “serious case.” The Israeli army is blocking Red Crescent crews from giving medical aid in the camp, it added.

09:37 GMT - Hamas’ armed wing says Israeli soldier held in Gaza killed

An Israeli soldier held in Gaza has been killed in a clash with the Israeli military when it tried to set him free, the armed wing of Hamas said.

The Israeli army’s attempt to reach the captured soldier led to his death and the killing and wounding of several Israeli soldiers, the Al Qassam Brigades said in a statement.

“A special Israeli force was found trying to advance to set free an enemy prisoner,” it said. “Clashes with the Israeli forces led to the killing of the captured soldier Sa'ar Baruch, 25, carrying ID number 207775032.”

“Israeli warplanes intervened and bombed the place with a series of raids to cover their withdrawal,” it added. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the development.

08:40 GMT - Two more Israeli soldiers killed in ongoing battles in Gaza

At least two more Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza, bringing the death toll of Israeli soldiers since October 7 to 418, local media reported.

The two soldiers are First Sergeant Kobi Dvash, 41, a reserve soldier in the Armored Corps from Tiberias, and First Sergeant Eyal Meir Berkovitch, 28, from the 699th Battalion of the 551st Brigade from Jerusalem, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation quoted the Israeli army as saying.

06:40 GMT - Palestinian Authority works with US on Gaza's postwar plan

The Palestinian Authority is working with US officials on a plan to run besieged Gaza after the war is over, Bloomberg News reported, citing Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.

The preferred outcome of the conflict would be for Hamas which controls Gaza to become a junior partner under the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), helping to build a new independent state that includes the occupied West Bank, besieged Gaza and East Jerusalem, Ramallah-based Shtayyeh said in an interview to Bloomberg News.

"If they (Hamas) are ready to come to an agreement and accept the political platform of the PLO, then there will be room for talk. Palestinians should not be divided," Shtayyeh said, adding that Israel's aim to fully defeat Hamas is unrealistic.

05:32 GMT - Journalists' rights group counts alarming rate of journalists killed in Gaza

A leading organisation representing journalists worldwide has expressed deep concern at the number of media professionals killed around the globe doing their jobs in 2023, with Israel’s war on Gaza claiming more journalists than any conflict in over 30 years.

In its annual count of media worker deaths, the International Federation of Journalists said 94 journalists had been killed so far this year and almost 400 others had been imprisoned.

The group said 68 journalists had been killed covering the war on Gaza since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 — more than one a day and 72 percent of all media deaths worldwide. It said the overwhelming majority of them were Palestinian journalists in Gaza, where Israeli forces continue their air and ground assault.

04:15 GMT- No place in Gaza is safe - UN

The United Nations humanitarian chief has said that efforts to provide food, water and other supplies to millions in Gaza are in tatters.

Martin Griffiths said no place in the territory is safe because the pace of the Israeli military onslaught in southern Gaza is similar to the assault in the north.

"What's happening in Gaza is forcing the people of Gaza to choose where to be and to choose on the basis of violence — and pressure," Griffiths said.

04:00 GMT - US says Israel needs to do more to protect Palestinian civilians

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said there is “a gap” between what Israel pledged to do to protect Palestinian civilians and the results so far since it began intensive bombardment and land invasion of Gaza.

Blinken said that it remains "imperative" that Israel do more to ensure civilians are not killed or wounded. He recalled that Israeli officials had assured him on a visit to Israel last week that "they would take extra precautions to protect civilian life." He said he raised the issue again on Thursday.

"As we stand here almost a week into this campaign in the south and after the end of the humanitarian pause, it is imperative, it remains imperative, that Israel put a premium on civilian protection," Blinken told reporters at a joint news conference in Washington with visiting British Foreign Secretary David Cameron.

03:26 GMT - Israel agrees to open Karem Abu Salem fence crossing with Gaza

Israel has agreed, at US request, to open Karem Abu Salem fence crossing for only screening and inspection of humanitarian aid delivered into Gaza via Rafah crossing, a senior US official said.

Washington has been discussing with the Israelis for weeks the possible opening of the crossing to speed up the inspection process of the aid trucks. The US official did not give a timeframe on when the crossing would open.

03:00 GMT - UAE asks UNSC to vote on Friday on demand for ceasefire

The United Arab Emirates has asked for the UN Security Council to vote on Friday morning on a draft resolution that demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Israel's relentless bombardment on Gaza, diplomats said.

To be adopted, a resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the five permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, France or Britain.

The US has said it does not support any further action by the council at this time.

For our live updates from Thursday (December 7), click here.