International aid groups demand end to Israel's attacks on Gaza hospitals

TNA’s live coverage of the latest from the war on Gaza concludes for today. Join us again tomorrow at 0800 GMT for updates from the besieged Palestinian enclave.
 

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reports that hospitals in northern Gaza are "completely inoperable" due to repeated hostilities, leaving civilians without critical medical care.

The ICRC urged respect for international humanitarian law, emphasising that protecting medical facilities is a legal and moral obligation to save lives.

Northern Gaza's last major hospital, Kamal Adwan, was shut down following an Israeli raid last week.

The military claimed it killed 20 fighters and detained 240 individuals during the operation, though these claims remain unverified.

Concerns persist over the safety of Kamal Adwan’s director and detained medical staff.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that late US president Jimmy Carter will be remembered for brokering peace between Israel and Egypt which has offered "hope for future generations".

"We will always remember president Carter's role in forging the first Arab-Israeli peace treaty signed by prime minister Menachem Begin of Israel and president Anwar Sadat of Egypt, a peace treaty that has held for nearly half a century and offers hope for future generations," Netanyahu said in a statement posted on his official account on X.

The Palestinian Authority's ministry for detainees and the Palestinian Prisoners' Club announced on Monday that they had received reports of the deaths of five Palestinians in Israeli detention.

Amani Sarahna, a spokesperson for the Prisoners' Club, confirmed to news agency AFP that two of the five died on Sunday, while the remaining three died earlier.

The club said the five prisoners were arrested during the Israel-Hamas war, some of them while fleeing from the north of the Gaza Strip southwards.

According to the two organisations, 54 Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli prisons since the start of the war in Gaza.

Thirty-five of the dead have been from the Gaza Strip, with the rest from the occupied West Bank.

The detainees ministry is an arm of the Palestinian Authority responsible for the welfare of Palestinians in Israeli jails and their families.

The two organisations named four of the dead prisoners as Mohammad Rashid Okka, 44, Samir Mahmoud al-Kahlout, 52, Zuhair Omar al-Sharif, 58, and Mohammad Anwar Labad, 57.

An additional prisoner, Ashraf Mohammad Abu Warda, 51, died in Israel's Soroka Hospital on Sunday, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club said.

They did not provide details of how the prisoners died.

In a joint statement, the two organisations accused Israel of "liquidation operations against prisoners and detainees".

They said the number of prisoners killed in Israeli jails was at a historic high, calling it "the most bloody phase". According to the statement, 291 Palestinian prisoners have died in custody since 1967, when Israel began occupying the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Currently, more than 10,000 Palestinians are being held in Israeli jails, including 89 women, at least 345 children and 3,428 administrative detainees who are held without trial.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations issued on Monday what he called a final warning to Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants to halt their missile attacks on Israel, saying they otherwise risked the same "miserable fate" as Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria's Bashar al-Assad if they persisted.

He also warned Tehran that Israel has the ability to strike any target in the Middle East, including in Iran, adding that Israel would not tolerate attacks by Iranian proxies.

Houthis have repeatedly fired drones and missiles towards Israel in what they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli fire in Gaza.

"To the Houthis, perhaps you have not been paying attention to what has happened to the Middle East over the past year. Well, allow me to remind you what has happened to Hamas, to Hezbollah, to Assad, to all those who have attempted to destroy us. Let this be your final warning. This is not a threat. It is a promise. You will share the same miserable fate," Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon told the U.N. Security Council.

Former rebels were promoted to officers in Syria's future army in a decree passed by de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa -- with a war monitor and experts identifying on Monday foreign fighters among them.

The new authorities in Damascus, who until recently were rebels fighting to overthrow Bashar al-Assad, last week unveiled an accord with armed groups in Syria on their dissolution and integration into the defence ministry.

A decree, published late Sunday on the Telegram account of Sharaa's General Command, listed 49 people to be made officers, including former rebels and ex-army officers who deserted to join the opposition in the early days of Syria's civil war.

Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, told AFP that "most of those who have been promoted are people within Ahmed al-Sharaa's inner circle".

The Britain-based Observatory with a network of sources inside Syria has identified at least "six foreign jihadists" among those promoted, including an Albanian, a Jordanian, a Tajik, a Uyghur and a Turk from HTS.

The Uyghur is a member of the Turkistan Islamic Party, a group whose fighters mostly hail from China's Uyghur minority.

France has condemned Israeli military operations targeting hospitals in Gaza, including Kamal Adwan, now out of service.

In a statement, the French Foreign Ministry voiced concern for the hospital's director, patients, and healthcare staff, urging Israel to adhere to international humanitarian law, which mandates the protection of medical infrastructure.

France also called for an immediate ceasefire to enable the entry of humanitarian aid, the release of hostages, and the protection of civilians amidst the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Kuwait's foreign minister and the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council have arrived in Syria, Kuwait's foreign ministry reported on Monday.

The Qatari pan-Arab Al Jazeera TV aired footage of the Kuwaiti diplomats meeting Syria's de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa. 

The Gaza Government Media Office has issued a statement accusing the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) of a "catastrophic error" on Sunday, which it claims led to the deaths of two people and injuries to dozens more.

The Media Office alleged that the WFP had "violated the correct protocol for securing aid trucks," but did not provide specific details about the alleged breach.

"We hold the WFP fully responsible for this serious operational failure and demand it assumes its ethical and humanitarian responsibilities for what occurred," the statement added.

Further information is awaited as the situation develops.

The Israeli army is saying that several Palestinian fighters have been killed in ambushes in northern Gaza's Jabaliya, according to a statement.

They were killed by Israeli army gunfire and tank shelling in an ambush following preliminary intelligence that they were planning an escape from the area, the statement said.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, appointed by the new rulers, said on X on Monday that he had accepted an invitation from his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah to visit, in what would be his first foreign trip. 

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen has reportedly threatened to assassinate Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of Yemen's Houthi movement, as regional tensions heighten over Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

Speaking to Israeli radio station 94 FM, Cohen warned, "If he continues with his actions, he will end up exactly like [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar and [Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan] Nasrallah."

Sinwar was reportedly killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in October, and Nasrallah was allegedly assassinated in Beirut in September.

Cohen added, "Our focus now is on Yemen and Iran. Unless Iran is harmed, instability in the Middle East will continue."

The remarks follow Israeli airstrikes last week targeting Houthi-held areas in Yemen, including the capital Sanaa and the coastal province of Hodeidah.

These strikes were in retaliation for Houthi drone and missile attacks.

Over the past year, the Houthis have launched missiles and drones in the Red Sea region, expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Ukraine’s foreign minister met with Syria’s de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus on Monday, days after Kyiv announced the delivery of a large shipment of wheat flour to the country following the ouster of Bashar Assad, Russia's ally.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said he hopes “that a new Syria would become a country that respects international law."

He said Ukraine is ready to share its experience in gathering evidence and conducting investigations to hold war criminals accountable.

"The Russian and Assad regimes supported each other because their foundation is violence and torture,” he said.

The Gaza Municipality reported that the emergency system at the sewage pumping station "7B" in the Al-Zaitoun neighbourhood, southeast of Gaza City, was severely damaged by Israeli artillery shelling.

In a statement, it added that the attack has caused a disruption to the alternative emergency plan, resulting in rising sewage water levels in the station and surrounding streets.

The situation was also reported to threaten a potential health and environmental disaster, creating conditions conducive to the spread of infectious diseases among residents.

Syria's new rulers have appointed Maysaa Sabrine, formerly a deputy governor of the Syrian central bank, to lead the institution, a senior Syrian official told news agency Reuters.

Sabrine did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Medical sources confirmed that one-month-old Ali al-Batran, the twin brother of Juma, who died a day earlier in a tent in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, also succumbed to the extreme cold on Monday morning.

This brings the total number of infant deaths due to freezing temperatures in Gaza to six in the past week, according to Wafa news agency.

The New Arab reported earlier that Gaza's health ministry announced the death toll from "bitter cold and frost waves" among displaced Palestinians living in tents has reached seven and is expected to rise.

Kamal Adwan Hospital's director, Hussam Abu Safya, who was detained by Israeli forces during a recent raid on the medical facility, is being held at an Israeli military detention centre, according to CNN, citing former prisoners recently released.

Two Palestinian prisoners, freed this weekend, reported seeing Abu Safiya at the facility, while another former detainee claimed to have heard his name being read out.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and Gaza authorities lost contact with Abu Safiya after the raid, which also involved the forced evacuation of medical staff and patients and the partial shutdown of the already struggling hospital in northern Gaza.

The Israeli military confirmed on Saturday that Abu Safiya was arrested on suspicion of being a "Hamas terrorist operative" and accused the hospital of serving as a "command and control centre."

However, the Israeli army has not provided further details or evidence to support these claims.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel's military offensive on Gaza has resulted in 45,541 Palestinian deaths and 108,338 injuries since October 7, 2023.

The death toll from "bitter cold and frost waves" among displaced Palestinians living in tents has reached seven and is expected to rise, according to a statement from Gaza’s government media office.

"We have repeatedly warned of the dangers posed by air depressions, winter storms, and frost waves," the statement read.

"These coincide with the tragic reality faced by our Palestinian people, who endure killings, genocide, the destruction of homes and vital infrastructure, as well as displacement and forced eviction."

The statement warned that heavy rains and freezing temperatures are expected to persist in the coming days, posing a severe threat to the lives of displaced individuals. Gaza authorities noted that "dilapidated tents" provide little protection against the harsh conditions.

"We hold the 'Israeli' occupation fully responsible for the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip," the statement added, also blaming the United States, Britain, Germany, and France for their roles in supporting or enabling the ongoing genocide.

The office called for an immediate end to the violence and atrocities.

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced on Sunday that Israeli forces arrested four Palestinian patients during their transfer from the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, facilitated by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

In a statement, the ministry said: "The occupation forces arrested four patients out of 10 during their transfer via the WHO for treatment at Al-Shifa Hospital. One of the arrested patients is in critical condition."

The ministry added that seven patients remain at the Indonesian Hospital along with 10 medical staff, enduring dire circumstances.

On Saturday, the ministry reported that the Israeli army destroyed key infrastructure at the Indonesian Hospital.

This followed the forced evacuation of patients from Kamal Adwan Hospital on Friday, with warnings that some may not survive due to severe shortages of medical supplies.

A civilian was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City’s Al-Zeitoun neighborhood, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Stay tuned for updates as more details emerge.

Syria's de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa met on Monday with a senior Ukrainian delegation led by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, the Syrian state news agency (SANA) reported. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday hailed Jimmy Carter as a mediator in the Middle East, following the death of the former US president at the age of 100.

"The United States lost a fighter for democracy. The world lost a great mediator for peace in the Middle East and for human rights," Scholz wrote in a post on X.

We join our American friends in mourning the loss of their former President Jimmy Carter. The US has lost a committed fighter for democracy. The world has lost a great mediator for peace in the Middle East and for human rights. pic.twitter.com/Wy0X0wgU52

— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) December 30, 2024