Live Updates: Israel continues to strike Gaza amid negotiations

Sunday, December 17, 2023

07:35 - Israel carries out fresh airstrikes on Gaza

Israel carried out fresh strikes on Gaza as its leaders came under growing pressure to secure the release of hostages still held in the Hamas-run territory more than two months after the October 7 attacks.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced protests on Saturday by relatives of hostages who called for an urgent deal to secure their freedom after the army admitted mistakenly killing three captives in Gaza.

The trio were among an estimated 250 people taken hostage during Hamas's October 7 raids into Israel.

07:00 GMT - Palestine demands probe into Israel burying Gaza victims alive

Palestine has demanded an investigation into reports of the Israeli army burying civilians alive in the courtyard of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

“Information and testimonies from citizens, medical crews, and media indicate that the occupation buried living civilians in the Kamal Adwan Hospital courtyard, and that some of them were seen alive before being besieged by the occupation,” according to Palestinian Health Minister Mai Al Kaila.

“The world should take serious action to uncover the details of this file and not tolerate or remain silent about the information coming from the Gaza Strip,” said Al Kaila as she urged an international inquiry into the reports.

06:40 - Dozen killed in Israeli strikes on the central city of Deir al Balah

According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, 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, Gaza's second city.

06:20 GMT - Three Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank

Two Palestinians from Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank were shot dead by Israeli forces on Sunday, and a third from Jenin died from injuries sustained a few days ago, the Palestinian health ministry said.

05:40 GMT - Israeli military chief takes responsibility for killing 3 hostages in Gaza

Israeli Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi took responsibility for 'mistakenly' killing three Israeli hostages by Israeli soldiers.

"The IDF (Israeli army) and I, as its commander, are responsible for what happened," Halevi said in a video statement, referring to the three hostages who were raising a white flag in the besieged Gaza Strip when they were killed.

He pointed out that during intense clashes in the Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza, Palestinian militants were able to approach Israeli soldiers in civilian clothes for days.

"A split-second decision could be a life-or-death decision,” he said.

05:00 GMT - UK lawmaker submits complaint to ICC for Israeli war crimes in Gaza

British Independent lawmaker Claudia Webbe submitted a complaint to the International Criminal Court (ICC) that urged an investigation and trial for Israel’s war crimes committed in Gaza.

Webbe announced during a parliamentary session that she lodged the complaint that includes genocide and crimes against humanity committed by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people.

04:13 GMT - Israeli air strike killed a USAID contractor in Gaza, his colleagues say

An Israeli air strike killed a US Agency for International Development contractor in Gaza last month, his colleagues said in a statement. The US development agency noted the death and urged greater protection for humanitarian workers in the fighting there.

Hani Jnena, 33, was killed November 5 along with his wife, their 2-year-old and 4-year-old daughters, and her family, the US-based humanitarian group Global Communities said.

An internet-technology worker, Jnena had fled his neighborhood in Gaza City with his family to escape the airstrikes, only to be killed while sheltering with his in-laws, the group said. His employer was an on-the-ground partner for USAID, the US agency said.

03:30 GMT - Israel says Gaza hospital military 'activity' over

The Israeli army claimed it had discovered weapons and arrested around 80 Hamas members in military "activity" at a hospital in Gaza, which Hamas described as a "horrific massacre".

The Gaza-based health ministry said on Wednesday that Israeli forces had "fired at patient rooms" and arrested staff at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza City during a "siege" that lasted several days.

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said the same day that the hospital director and about 70 other medical staff were "detained in an unknown location outside of the hospital".

For our live updates from Saturday, December 16, click here.