Live: Israel kills at least 58 Palestinians in 24 hours

Palestinian medics reported that Israeli air strikes overnight killed at least 20 people in Gaza, including children.

A strike on a tent camp in Muwasi, designated a "humanitarian zone" by Israel, killed eight people, including two children, according to Khan Younis' Nasser Hospital.

Six others died while attempting to secure an aid convoy, and two were killed in a strike on a vehicle in Muwasi.

Another air strike on a school-turned-shelter in Nuseirat refugee camp left three dead, said Deir al-Balah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Despite claims of targeting militants, Israel’s air strikes continue to devastate civilian areas, raising questions about its disregard for non-combatant safety.

It was the winter of 2008 when Israel launched a punishing new offensive on Gaza.

As the bombs rained down and the sonic bombs sent shivers across the strip, the young writer Refaat Alareer, a lecturer at the Islamic University of Gaza, found himself preparing - optimistically - for class the following semester.

Between the the screams, the smell of burning flesh and the wails of ambulance sirens - he focused on trying re-read the 17th Century English novel Robinson Crusoe, the classic tale about an Englishman who finds himself marooned on an island in the Pacific.

But this time, the novel hit a little differently.

Alareer observed how Crusoe, the key protagonist in the novel, would wield control over the story of Friday, his Black and indigenous "companion" on the island.

Read more: 'If I must die': An anthology of a stubborn, brilliant life in Gaza

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi is set to visit Damascus on Monday for discussions with Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria's de facto new ruler..

The Jordanian foreign ministry confirmed the visit in a post on X.

Militias in Iraq have reportedly decided to cease their attacks on Israel, according to Lebanon's pro-Hezbollah newspaper Al-Akhbar.

These groups had been launching drones at Israel since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, under the umbrella of Iran's axis of resistance. One such attack in October killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded 24 others at a base in the Golan Heights.

A leader of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba revealed that the decision aligns with an agreement with the Iraqi government to avoid further involvement in Syria.

He warned of potential repercussions: “There may be an intention to drag the country into a scenario worse than the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which could lead to the resurgence of terrorism in Iraq.”

A senior figure in Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada suggested the halt was also influenced by the ceasefire in Lebanon. He noted that the factions' actions against Israel were closely tied to Hezbollah's operations, adding, “There are partners in Iraq with reservations about these operations, and their voices must be considered.”

The number of Palestinians wounded by Israeli gunfire during the ongoing raid on Qalandiya camp in the occupied West Bank has risen to three, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

In the Fawwar refugee camp, south of Hebron, Israeli forces have launched a “large-scale arrest campaign,” conducting field interrogations in the camp’s main square. According to Shehab news agency, dozens of detainees were allegedly subjected to abuse during the raid.

Meanwhile, Wafa news agency reported that Israeli forces arrested at least 25 Palestinians from the town of Tuqu, east of Bethlehem, as part of the escalating crackdown across the occupied West Bank.

Al Jazeera Arabic has confirmed that Israeli shelling in the new camp, located north of Nuseirat in central Gaza, resulted in the deaths of at least four people and left several others wounded.

Al Jazeera Arabic has reported that an Israeli air raid targeting a vehicle in the al-Mawasi area of Gaza has killed two Palestinians.

Gaza’s Civil Defence confirmed in a Telegram post that their crews retrieved the bodies of the two victims and transported two wounded individuals to Nasser Hospital for treatment.

This attack occurred just hours after Israeli forces bombed tents in the same area, killing at least seven people. The air strike sparked fires in the densely populated zone, where numerous displaced Palestinians have sought refuge amid the ongoing bombardment.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers, 

Here are some of the latest updates from the Israeli war on Gaza, now in its 443rd day:  

• Israeli forces intensified their bombardment of Gaza, killing two Palestinians—one in a vehicle targeted in southern al-Mawasi and another in northern Gaza City

• Rescuers, delayed for hours by Israeli restrictions, discovered horrific scenes in the central Nuseirat refugee camp

• Oxfam criticised Israeli authorities for permitting only 12 aid trucks into North Gaza over the past two and a half months. Tens of thousands remain trapped under dire conditions in the besieged area

• An Israeli rights group reported that settlers have established seven illegal outposts in Area B of the West Bank this year. This marks the first occurrence of such activity in the Palestinian-administered zone since the Oslo Accords of 1993

• According to the Times of Israel, Hamas has shared proof of life for several captives held in Gaza as negotiations over a ceasefire and a potential prisoner exchange deal continue

Our liveblog will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are the day's key developments:

-Aljazeera, citing medical sources in Gaza, says Israel has killed at least 50 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip in airstrikes on Sunday.

-A previously declared "safe zone" in southern Gaza for forcibly displaced Palestinians was bombed by Israel on Sunday. Video shared to X showed a fiery blaze in Al-Mawasi, a crowded tent camp area at night. 

-Israel ordered the closure and forced displacement on Sunday of one of the last hospitals still partly functioning in a besieged area on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip, forcing medics to search for a way to bring hundreds of patients and staff to safety. The head of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, Husam Abu Safiya, told Reuters via text message that obeying the order to shut down was "next to impossible" because there were not enough ambulances to get patients out. Israel also killed three civilians in the area on Sunday. 

-The first phase of a potential ceasefire and prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas may see 250 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli prisons in exchange for the children and five female soldiers held in Gaza, as well as some of the elderly. That's according to reporting by Egyptian broadcaster Al-Ghad, citing unnamed sources.  Israel reportedly also wants 11 male captives to be released from Gaza during this exchange. 

-In a new video released Sunday by the Hamas military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, a fighter who says he is in northern Gaza warns that Israeli forces will be "scattered and burnt" by the booby traps and explosions that await them. Another fighter adds that Israel has yet to declare any victories inside Gaza, and that its people remain steadfast after 14 months of bombardment.

-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would continue acting against the Houthis in Yemen, whom he accused of threatening world shipping and the international order, and called on Israelis to be steadfast. "Just as we acted forcefully against the terrorist arms of Iran's axis of evil, so we will act against the Houthis," he said in a video statement.

Graphic video emerged late on Sunday showing the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike on Nuseirat camp in Gaza, where cats gathered to feast on the bodies of those killed just hours earlier. 

This is a most shocking video. The first responders finally could arrive at a neighborhood in Nuseirat Camp hours after Israel’s intense bombing and gunfire in the area.
Please amplify.
This is utterly shocking. pic.twitter.com/jgRLQdsrlv

— Mosab Abu Toha (@MosabAbuToha) December 22, 2024

Aljazeera, citing medical sources in Gaza, says Israel has killed at least 50 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip in airstrikes on Sunday. 

Aljazeera is reporting that a previously declared "safe zone" in southern Gaza for forcibly displaced Palestinians was bombed by Israel on Sunday. One of the broadcaster's Gaza correspondents shared a video to X showing a fiery blaze in what appears to be a crowded camp at night. 

Breaking | Israeli occupation forces bomb the tents of displaced people in the so-called “safe zone” in southern Gaza. pic.twitter.com/RcpNhNZFwM

— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) December 22, 2024

Israel ordered the closure and evacuation on Sunday of one of the last hospitals still partly functioning in a besieged area on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip, forcing medics to search for a way to bring hundreds of patients and staff to safety.

The head of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, Husam Abu Safiya, told Reuters via text message that obeying the order to shut down was "next to impossible" because there were not enough ambulances to get patients out.

"We currently have nearly 400 civilians inside the hospital, including babies in the neonatal unit, whose lives depend on oxygen and incubators. We cannot evacuate these patients safely without assistance, equipment, and time," Abu Safiya said.

"We are sending this message under heavy bombardment and direct targeting of the fuel tanks, which if hit will cause a large explosion and mass casualties of the civilians inside," he said.

The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on Abu Safiya's remarks. It said that on Friday it had sent fuel and food to the hospital and helped evacuate more than 100 patients and caregivers to other Gaza hospitals, some in coordination with the Red Cross, for their own safety.

-Reporting by Reuters

The first phase of a potential ceasefire and prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas may see 250 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli prisons in exchange for the children and five female soldiers held in Gaza, as well as some of the elderly.

That's according to reporting by Egyptian broadcaster Al-Ghad, citing unnamed sources. 

Israel reportedly also wants 11 male captives to be released from Gaza during this exchange. 

For weeks now, both sides have indicated that they are close to arriving at an agreement, but it's unlikely to include any kind of Israeli withdrawal from northern Gaza, which is being seen as a key concession from Hamas. 

In a new video released Sunday by the Hamas military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, a fighter warns that Israeli forces will be "scattered and burnt" by the booby traps and explosions that still await them inside Gaza.

Another fighter adds that Israel has yet to declare any victories inside Gaza, and that its people remain steadfast after 14 months of bombardment. 

⚡️BREAKING

Al-Qassam Brigades: engaging with enemy forces and vehicles in the northern Gaza Strip pic.twitter.com/GOQ7x1ZTQ8

— Warfare Analysis (@warfareanalysis) December 22, 2024