Live: Arab and Muslim countries urge Israel to allow 'permanent' shelter into Gaza as weather worsens

The Israeli military said it shot at three Palestinians - and killed one of them - for allegedly throwing rocks near a West Bank highway in the early hours of Thursday morning.

One Palestinian man died and five others were injured after a fire broke out in a tent housing a displaced family in Gaza City on Thursday, Wafa news agency reported. 

The family were staying in the Yarmouk Stadium camp. 

The vast majority of Palestinians have been displaced as a result of Israel's two year wat on Gaza, their homes destroyed and are in the midst of a harsh winter without adequate shelter, heat, and food. 

A young displaced girl living in a tent died of hypothermia in the Nuseirat refugee camp on Thursday in central Gaza as winter temperatures drop, multiple media outlets reported.

The girl has been identified as Malak Rami Ghoneim.

Separately, local journalists say four Palestinians wounded by Israeli fire have arrived at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, after being shot at two different locations in the southern Gaza city.

Several hospitals and health facilities in the Gaza Strip will reduce services or cease operations due to an Israel's blockade on fuel entering the strip, Al Jazeera reported, citing the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.

Hospitals are unable to offer continuous operations and services such as surgery and intensive care due to limited quantities of diesel. This impacts the health and wellbeing of Palestinians overall, and patients in particular. 

The restrictions are also in violation of international law.

The communications minister of Israel's Likud party said on Thursday he will boycott interviews with television news channel, Channel 12, after they leaked a video of Israeli soldiers sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee. 

Channel 12 broadcast a leaked video of soldiers at Sde Teiman detention center gang-raping a Palestinian detainee last August, sparking international condemnation. 

Shlomo Karhi said he would boycott the channel until Channel 12 "issues a clear and public apology to Force 100 fighters and to the citizens of Israel for the smear campaign."

More than 200 Israeli settlers stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem on New Year's Day, Al Jazeera reported

At least 201 settlers are said to have stormed the mosque compound under military and police proptection in both morning and evening incursions.

Settlers also conducted stormed the mosque compound multiple times in December. 

A Palestinian detainee died on Thursday inside the Israeli prison of Be'er Sheva, Wafa news agency reported.

Hassan Issa al-Qash'ala, from Rahat in the Negev region, had been detained for over 13 months.

He was supposed to be released six months ago. The cause of his death has not been reported. 

His death comes as the number of Palestinian detainees dying in prisons has soared since  Israel's was on Gaza began in October 2023.

Detainees are typically subjected to starvation, physical abuse, medical neglect, sexual abuse, and torture in Israeli prisons.

Israeli forces demolished several buildings in Jabalia, in northern Gaza, on Thursday, in its latest violation of the ceasefire agreement, after advancing beyond the prescribed yellow line.

The demolition came hours after a Palestinian child was killed by Israeli gunfire in the same area.

Hamas has called on Palestinians and Muslims worldwide to perform funeral prayers for several senior commanders of its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, killed during Israel’s war on Gaza.

In a statement posted on its Telegram channel, the group named Mohammed Sinwar, its chief of staff and de facto leader following the killing of Mohammed Deif; Mohammed Shabanah, commander of the Rafah Brigade; Hikmat al-Essa, who oversaw weapons and combat services units; and Raed Saad, commander of the manufacturing unit.

Hamas also named Huthaifa al-Kahlout, a former spokesperson for the brigades known as Abu Obeida, whose real identity and death the group confirmed earlier this week.

Following statements made by the president of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, that Somaliland had accepted certain conditions in exchange for Israel's recognition, Somaliland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X that the republic firmly rejects the "false claims".

These claims include an agreement for resettlement of Palestinians to its territory, the establishment of military bases on its coast with the Gulf of Aden, and normalisation with Israel through the Abraham Accords.

In the X post, the MFA said that "Somaliland's engagement with the State of Israel is purely diplomatic, conducted in full respect of international law," and called the allegations "baseless".

Of the three conditions, only that of willingness to enter into the Abraham Accords has been publicly acknowledged, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated earlier this week that Somaliland would join the Accords.

The Government of the Republic of Somaliland firmly rejects false claims made by the President of Somalia alleging the resettlement of Palestinians or the establishment of military bases in Somaliland.

— MFA Somaliland (@somalilandmfa) January 1, 2026

Somaliland's president, Abdurrahman Mohamed Abdullahi, known as Cirro, is set for an official visit to Israel in the coming weeks.

Somalia's president said Israel would "export its problem in Gaza" to the Horn of Africa and described the move as opening "a box of evils in the world," Al Jazeera reported.

Read more: Somaliland: How Trump, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and others reacted to Israeli recognition

Israeli bulldozers are levelling an agricultural road east of Salfit, occupied West Bank, Wafa news agency reported.

The head of the Yasuf village council, Wael Abu Madi, said bulldozers entered the eastern area of the village and began destroying the agricultural road which grants farmland access to dozens of farmers.

A Palestinian child was killed by Israeli forces in Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip, according to sources at Al-Shifa hospital.

The death toll in Gaza has risen to at least 417 Palestinians killed since the ceasefire was announced on 10 October 2025. 

The government media office in Gaza outlined its top priorities for the new year in a press statement.

Chief among these demands is an immediate end to the Israeli genocide in the strip, followed by a comprehensive humanitarian recovery and reconstruction effort. The statement stressed the need to establish a fair and sustainable foundation to guarantee the Palestinian people’s right to a safe and dignified life.

Other key priorities include the full and permanent opening of all crossings to allow unimpeded access for humanitarian and relief aid, shelter, fuel and medical supplies, as well as the free movement of civilians without restrictions; urgent support for the collapsing health system, which the statement said is on the brink of total collapse; and holding Israel accountable for alleged crimes under international law, while ending what it described as a culture of impunity.

The statement concluded with an urgent appeal to the leaders of Arab and Muslim countries, the international community and the UN to "save what remains of life in the Gaza Strip".

Israeli forces demolished two Palestinian homes in Jericho, in the eastern occupied West Bank, as the army stormed the city with military vehicles and bulldozers, reported Wafa news agency. The army also issued a demolition order for a third home in the same area of Jericho. 

This comes a day after Israel began demolishing 25 residential buildings in the Nur Shams refugee camp, in Tulkarm, leaving about 100 families displaced. 

Israeli army vehicles are advancing beyond their area of deployment amid gunfire and shelling, Al Jazeera reported.

This follows drone attacks on the area earlier today and the partial closure of Salah al-Din Street, the main road linking North Gaza to Rafah.