Live: Israel kills at least 58 Palestinians in 24 hours

At least four Palestinians were killed and several others injured on Friday by Israeli strikes on Gaza City, according to Palestinian news agency, Wafa. 

Medical sources told Wafa that four people were killed as a result of an Israeli air strike that hit a group of people near the Italian Complex in the neighbourhood of al-Nasr in western Gaza City. 

At least one of the killed people was a disabled man with an amputated leg. 

Footage shows the moment Israeli soldiers beat a Palestinian man before detaining him at the Lion’s Gate in occupied East Jerusalem on Friday pic.twitter.com/pYtDcGWITJ

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) December 13, 2024

A disabled Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Friday during an incursion into the town of Beit Awwa, in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, Wafa news agency reported. 

The director of Dura Governmental Hospital in Hebron identified the man as 23-year-old Mohammed Ahmed Maslameh. 

He was brought to the emergency department with gunshot wounds to his chest on Friday, and succumbed to his wounds shortly after.

On Saturday, Israeli soldier Avraham Ben Pinchas, a platoon commander in the Armoured Brigade, died after being hit by an anti-tank missile fired at the tank he was in during an Israeli operation in the southern Gaza Strip.

Many have eulogised Ben Pinchas, a settler from the settlement of Harsha, northwest of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

His neighbour, Yaakov, said of Ben Pinchas: "One of the last times you were at home you were bothered a lot because in your opinion we should look at the issue of war like a passage in the Talmud.

"You demanded that we go into the depth of the issue and see things as you see them – this is the order of the war – to conquer the Land of Israel and save the people of Israel."

Another eulogy was published on the WhatsApp group of Hilltop News, a chat that reports news from radical Israeli settlers in the West Bank settlements.

Read about this story, and others in the Israeli media over recent days, in the press review below. 

Israeli press review: Eulogies for slain Israeli soldier who 'wanted to kill'

An Israeli air strike on a house in the Sabra neighbourhood, south of Gaza City, has left two Palestinians dead and several others injured, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that Israeli forces carried out three deadly attacks in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, leaving 40 people dead and 98 others injured.

Hospitals in the besieged territory are overwhelmed by the casualties, with health officials stating that the death toll from Israeli assaults on Gaza has reached 44,875 since October 2023. The number of people wounded now exceeds 106,454, highlighting the catastrophic scale of the ongoing violence.

The situation has drawn international condemnation, with calls for accountability for what many describe as grave violations of human rights in Gaza.

The Al-Qassam Brigades announced it had launched a heavy barrage of mortar shells targeting Israeli occupation forces in the Jabalia refugee camp, located in northern Gaza.

The attack reportedly focused on Israeli units that had advanced into the camp’s post office area. The escalation comes as part of ongoing resistance against Israel’s military incursions in the Gaza Strip.

The Qassam Brigades framed the strikes as a direct response to the occupation forces’ intensified actions in the area.

Two Israeli soldiers, Omer Berger, 24, and Ella Berger, 22, have not been able to fly to Australia after being asked to complete an extensive 13-page document, typically required for military personnel involved in war, the Israeli paper Ynet reported.

The pair were among six family members who applied for visas two months ago. While all other family members were approved quickly, Omer and Ella were instructed to fill out the extended form. The questions included whether they had been involved in physical or psychological abuse, worked as guards or officials in detention facilities, or participated in war crimes or genocide.

Ella, granted a week's leave from her military duties, opted to return to Israel after the delays, while Omer, a reservist, remains in Thailand.

Australia's Department of Home Affairs denied any special treatment for Israeli citizens during the ongoing conflict. A spokesperson clarified that the additional form is a standard procedure, occasionally requested for individual applications, and emphasised that 11,000 Israeli visas had been granted in the past year.

At least 66 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, including 30 who were sheltering in a post office in central Gaza. The attack also left 50 others wounded.

The Israeli military has yet to comment on the strikes.

Earlier in the day, two additional air strikes in southern Gaza killed 13 Palestinians. Gaza medics and Hamas officials claimed they were members of a force protecting humanitarian aid trucks. The Israeli military, however, stated that those killed were Hamas militants attempting to seize the shipment.

Sources close to Hamas indicated that many of those killed in the Rafah and Khan Younis areas were linked to the group.

The Israeli military justified the strikes, saying they were aimed at ensuring the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and preventing Hamas from hijacking shipments to continue its activities.

An arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has overshadowed his current visit to the United States.

In a show of defiance Gallant has posted non-stop on X, formerly Twitter, about this meetings with US politicians including the US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The ICC issued arrest warrants last month for Gallant and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Gallant, who was dismissed from his position on 6 November, began his US visit earlier this month to engage in talks with American officials about the ongoing Gaza conflict and broader regional issues.

On Tuesday, Gallant met with US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk at the White House, where he expressed optimism, saying there was a “real possibility for a breakthrough” in negotiations for a hostage deal with Hamas.

Palestinian American Mufid Abdulqader was released after serving nearly two decades in US prison in a controversial terrorism case known as the Holy Land Five, which civil liberties groups argue highlighted the disproportionate targeting of Muslims post-9/11.

Abdulqader, 64, was released on Thursday to a halfway house, a facility used to transition prisoners and reintegrate them back into society, where he will spend one year, the Coalition for Civil Freedoms told Middle East Eye.

While he was never granted early release and ended up serving his full sentence, the news of Abdulqader being taken out of federal prison was celebrated by Palestinian rights groups and civil liberties organisations.

"We at CCF are very happy that Mufid was given a whole year of halfway house time, which rarely happens in our experience. Now he will be able to be with his family and that is wonderful," Kathy Manley, the legal director for the Coalition for Civil Freedoms (CCF), told Middle East Eye.

"We still need to work hard with everyone concerned about this egregious case to find a way to get Shukri Abu Baker and Ghassan el-Ashi released as well."

Read more: Holy Land Five: Palestinian American released to halfway house after two decades in prison

Israeli authorities have taken control of 5.5 hectares of Palestinian land in the towns of Qatanna and Biddu, located northwest of Jerusalem, reported the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission stated that the land seizure, carried out under the pretext of “state lands,” appears to be part of a larger effort to expand the nearby "Har Adar" settlement, which is built on stolen Palestinian land.

The seized land is located behind the controversial separation wall, which has separated local residents from their properties for over two decades. This barrier has effectively prevented access to these lands, paving the way for their appropriation for settlement expansion.

Saudi Arabia has urged an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which has endured over 14 months of what it described as Israeli genocide. The kingdom also called for enhanced support for the UN agency for Palestine refugees, Unrwa.

Abdulaziz al-Wasil, Saudi Arabia’s representative to the United Nations, delivered the remarks during an emergency session of the UN General Assembly in New York, as reported by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

“The arbitrary use of the veto and the selectivity in applying international law contributed to the continuation of the war of genocide and the persistence of Israeli crimes in Gaza,” al-Wasil stated.

He emphasised the importance of Unrwa’s role while condemning Israeli actions against the agency, including what he described as “systematic targeting” and restrictive legislation. 

Reaffirming the kingdom’s steadfast support for Palestinian rights, al-Wasil highlighted the need for a two-state solution based on the Arab Peace Initiative and international resolutions, reiterating that “peace is the strategic choice”.

At least 33 people were killed in an Israeli air strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, Palestinian authorities confirmed.

The Government Media Office in Gaza condemned the Thursday attack as a “barbaric and heinous massacre,” adding that most of the victims were members of the al-Sheikh Ali family.

Key incidents:

• Gaza attacks: Israel continues its air strikes across Gaza, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the strip. An Israeli air strike targeted a tent housing displaced individuals in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, killing three people, Al Jazeera's correspondent has reported

• Clashes in Nablus: In the West Bank, a Palestinian was injured by Israeli forces during clashes in Nablus's Old City, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Since 7 October 2023, daily attacks by Israeli forces in the West Bank have led to hundreds of fatalities

• Ceasefire violations in Lebanon: The Israeli army committed eight ceasefire violations with Hezbollah on Thursday, one of which killed one person and injured another. Since the ceasefire began 15 days ago, there have been 215 reported violations, resulting in 29 deaths and 31 injuries, as per Lebanese Ministry of Health and Lebanese News Agency figures compiled by Anadolu Agency

Good evening Middle East Eye readers, 

The death toll from an Israeli attack on Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday has risen to 33, according to Palestinian officials, making Thursday another bloody day for Gaza. 

Lebanon said an Israeli strike on the border town of Khiam killed one person on Thursday, hours after Washington announced Israel had withdrawn from the area as Lebanon's army deployed under a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah.

Other developments: 

• US national security advisor Jake Sullivan said that a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release may be close, adding that "we see movement from Hamas" 
• Israeli air strikes targeting a house in northern Gaza's Jabalia al-Nazla killed two Palestinians 
• The United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees warned about "appalling and apocalyptic" conditions in Gaza