Live Updates: Israel to release some reservists as assault on Gaza grinds on

Monday, January 1, 2024

04:30 GMT - Israel to release reservists to families

The Israeli military will release some reservists who were called up to fight in Gaza, a move that it said would help the economy as the country prepares for a prolonged aggression on the tiny enclave.

"Some of the reservist soldiers will return to their families and their jobs already this week," said military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

"This will allow a significant relief for the economy, and will allow them to gather strength ahead of the coming activities in the next year, and the fighting will continue and we will need them."

04:00 GMT - Medical teams in Gaza exhausted dealing with large numbers of patients' injuries: Doctor

A British doctor of Palestinian origin said medical teams in Gaza are exhausted, dealing with large numbers of patients.

“The medical staff (at the European Gaza Hospital in the city of Khan Younis) is very exhausted, and the emergency department always receives patients with difficult and complex cases,” Basil Badir, an orthopedic specialist from the team IDEALS, affiliated with the Islamic Aid charity organisation in the UK, told Anadolu in an exclusive interview.

Badir, who arrived in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza on December 25 with four doctors, stressed that health teams in Gaza are exhausted, especially those working in hospital emergency departments.

03:40 GMT - Israel rings under barrage of rockets from Gaza

Several rockets fired from Gaza targeted Tel Aviv and southern Israel as the country rang in the New Year, according to AFP journalists on the ground.

Air-raid sirens sounded as journalists in Tel Aviv saw Israeli missile defence systems intercept the rockets.

People who had gathered on the streets to celebrate New Year's Eve took shelter, while others continued to party.

02:50 GMT - UN food agency urges long-term ceasefire in Gaza

The UN World Food Program (WFP) reiterated that only a long-term ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access could end the deteriorating situation in Gaza.

International organisations and agencies continue to urge an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and increasing flows of humanitarian aid amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

"As we count down to a new year, there is a different kind of countdown in #Gaza," the WFP said on X, adding: "We are racing against time to avert a complete collapse of even the most basic services and starvation for millions."

For our live updates from Sunday, December 31, click here.