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

Families of Palestinian detainees and those killed by Israeli forces staged a protest in Tulkarm, in the occupied West Bank, against a decree by Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas cancelling welfare payments for the families. 

Abbas issued the decree to cancel the “Martyrs’ Fund” in February, following immense pressure from the United States and Israel.

Families of Palestinian detainees and those killed by Israeli forces stage a protest in Tulkarm, north of the occupied West Bank, in protest of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas's decree cancelling welfare payments for these families. pic.twitter.com/MRidfHeot3

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 30, 2025

Israeli settlers attacked a bulldozer driver in the town of Aqraba, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, according to Wafa news agency.

Anti-settlement activist Yousef Diriya said dozens of settlers assaulted the driver, who was affiliated with the Aqraba municipality, while he was working at a landfill near Khirbet Yanoun, east of the town.

The settlers reportedly seized the bulldozer and a truck operating in the area. They also kidnapped the driver, and ambulance crews were unable to reach him, Diriya added.

Israeli forces wounded a Palestinian woman with gunfire outside their deployment areas east of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera Arabic reported, citing Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

The network also said the Israeli army is carrying out extensive demolition operations in areas under its control in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian man was shot and wounded by Israeli forces on Tuesday near the separation wall in the town of Al-Ram, north of occupied Jerusalem, as he attempted to reach his workplace in Israeli territory, Wafa reported, citing Palestinian medics.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the young man was shot in the foot with live ammunition and was taken to hospital for treatment.

Al-Ram has seen frequent injuries among Palestinians in recent months, with Israeli forces often firing live ammunition and rubber-coated bullets at young men and workers near the wall, amid tightened security and daily harassment, according to Palestinian sources.

More than 500,000 Palestinian workers have lost their livelihoods since 7 October 2023, and unemployment in the West Bank has exceeded 50 percent, reaching about 44 percent in besieged areas frequently affected by military checkpoints and closed zones, the General Federation of Palestinian Trade Unions said.

The Israeli parliament on Tuesday gave final approval to legislation requiring the cutting of electricity and water supplies to the offices of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) in Jerusalem, with the law taking effect immediately.

The bill passed its second and third readings with 59 votes in favour and seven against, Israeli army radio reported. Under Israeli law, a bill must pass three readings in parliament to become law.

The legislation was initially approved in November and referred to the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee for review before Tuesday’s vote.

Unrwa provides services to more than 110,000 refugees in Jerusalem. The agency operates the Shuafat and Qalandiya refugee camps, and manages institutions including the Indian Corner Clinic at the Damascus Gate entrance and boys’ and girls’ schools in Jerusalem, Sur Baher, and the two camps.

Israeli forces wounded a Palestinian man and detained six others on Tuesday during raids in and around Ramallah and al-Bireh, Wafa news agency reported, citing Palestinian security sources.

Israeli troops entered al-Amari refugee camp, south of Ramallah, triggering confrontations in which a young man was shot with live ammunition and taken to the Palestine Medical Complex, the sources said.

Two residents, identified as Nael Abu Kweik and Majd Abu Rahma, were detained after soldiers raided and searched their homes, they said.

Three more Palestinians were detained in the village of al-Mazra'a al-Gharbiya, north of Ramallah, in what the sources described as another house-to-house raid.

A further raid in the Umm al-Sharayet neighbourhood of al-Bireh resulted in the detention of one Palestinian, they added.

قوات الاحتلال تعتقل الشبان مراد لدادوة ومحمود طعمة ومؤمن عمار شريتح بعد اقتحام منازلهم في بلدة المزرعة الغربية شمال غرب رام الله. pic.twitter.com/nDeC9LNxvH

— القسطل الإخباري (@AlQastalps) December 30, 2025

On Monday, Israel’s Supreme Court upheld lower court eviction orders in two of four appeals filed by Palestinian residents of Batn al-Hawa in the East Jerusalem district of Silwan, according to the Jerusalem Governorate.

The rulings affect two apartments belonging to the family of Abdel Fattah al-Rajabi, where 16 people live, and 11 apartments belonging to Yaqoub and Nidal al-Rajabi and their brothers, home to more than 100 residents, the governorate said in a statement.

Rulings on the other two appeals are still pending, the statement said. One was filed by Yousef al-Basbous and relates to four apartments with about 20 residents. The other, filed by Zuhair al-Rajabi, relates to seven apartments with roughly 50 residents.

Ateret Cohanim, an organisation that supports illegal Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, is backing the ownership claims at issue in the cases, according to the governorate.

The governorate described the eviction proceedings as violations of international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute, and alleged they form part of a policy of forcible displacement. 

Around 16 families have been forcibly evicted from Batn al-Hawa since 2015, the governorate added.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates from Gaza, where Israel continues to violate the ceasefire more than two months after it came into effect:

• US president Donald Trump and his top advisers asked prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change Israel's policies in the occupied West Bank during their meeting, Axios said on Monday.

• US President Donald Trump will receive Israel's highest civilian honour in 2026, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Monday that his country will break with decades of tradition to recognise a non-citizen.

• Israeli forces arrested journalist Ashwaq Awad at dawn today after raiding her family's home in the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, Al-Qastal News reported. The journalist was released from detention as part of the recent prisoner exchange deal.

• Washington on Monday pledged an initial $2 billion for United Nations humanitarian aid in 2026 -- far less than it has provided in recent years -- warning UN agencies to "adapt, shrink or die".

• Israeli airstrikes target areas so-called yellow zone, including east of Khan Younis, Rafah, Al-Maghazi camp, and Beit Lahia in the Gaza Strip

• Axios reported that Netanyahu has agreed to the US president's request to resume talks with the Syrian government on a possible security agreement.

• Netanyahu has agreed to move forward with the second phase of the Gaza agreement despite disagreements with the Trump team over its implementation mechanisms, Axios reported.

Our live blog will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are the day's key developments:

• The government media office in Gaza on Monday said that during the 80 days of the ceasefire agreement, Israeli forces committed 969 violations, resulting in 418 killings.

• The statement said more than 1,141 Palestinians have been wounded during the same period, in addition to 45 cases of illegal arrest.

• Gaza health ministry said on Friday that three Palestinians have died as strong winds and heavy rain batters the region, and reported a further 17 deaths due to building collapses. 

• Severe winter weather in Gaza has killed at least 25 people since the start of December, including six children, as powerful low-pressure systems batter the besieged enclave.

• The Palestinian health ministry on Monday said that births in Gaza have declined by 40 per cent, as Israel directly targeted the fertilisation centres, and that the bombing of the Al Basma centre led to the burning of nitrogen pipes and the destruction of about 4,000 fertilised embryos.

• Heavy rain and wind flooded the tents of displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis on Monday, where witnesses reported that floodwater destroyed what remained of the belongings of the displaced families.

• The UN said in a statement that approximately 235,000 people were directly affected during the period from December 10 to 17, as a result of the collapse of buildings and damage to thousands of tents.

• Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi on Monday said that the organisation demands that the US administration put pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu and implement the ceasefire agreement in all its aspects.

• The Japanese Ambassador to the State of Palestine, Araki Katsuhiko, on Monday announced a $167m support package to Palestine, comprising of $10m in direct support, $30m to fund development projects and the remaining directed towards humanitarian projects. 

The Jerusalem Governorate says Israel’s High Court has issued rulings in two of four petitions filed by Palestinian residents of Batn al-Hawa in Silwan, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, moving closer to their forced eviction in favour of the Israeli settler organisation Ateret Cohanim.

In a statement released on Monday, the governorate said the court upheld earlier decisions ordering the removal of families from their homes. The cases decided include the Abdel Fattah al-Rajabi family, which involves two apartments housing two families and 16 people, and the case of Yaqoub and Nidal al-Rajabi and their brothers, covering 11 apartments where more than 100 Palestinians live.

The court has yet to rule on two remaining files. These concern the Youssef al-Basbous family, which includes four apartments housing around 20 people, and the Zuhair al-Rajabi family, involving seven apartments with approximately 50 residents.

The Jerusalem Governorate condemned the rulings, saying Israeli authorities are using settler organisations and it called racist courts to enforce expulsions in occupied East Jerusalem. It said the measures violate international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute, and form part of an ongoing policy of ethnic cleansing through forced displacement.

Officials warned that the campaign aims to empty Jerusalem of its Palestinian population and replace them with settlers, accelerating Israel’s efforts to consolidate control over the city through dispossession and demographic engineering.

One of Hamas's most important public figures, Abu Obeida, served as the military spokesman for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the Palestinian group's military wing, for nearly two decades.

His profile increased dramatically since the Hamas-led surprise attack on Israel in October 2023, and the subsequent Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

Best known for his speeches, during which he provided battlefield updates, Abu Obeida would often boast about Hamas's military achievements, and taunt Israel, which in return made several attempts to kill him.

For that reason, Abu Obeida's real identity was never revealed. However on 29 December, Hamas formally announced his death and said that his birth name was Huthaifa Samir al-Kahlout.

Read more: Who was Abu Obeida, Hamas's military spokesman?

US President Donald Trump appeared to reference a May survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research suggesting that 49 percent of respondents would consider leaving Gaza.

The poll, however, did not clarify whether respondents meant leaving temporarily or permanently. 

Many Palestinians have repeatedly warned that departure could mean permanent exile, given Israel’s long record of denying the right of return. Those fears have intensified amid Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza and tightening control over population movement.

Trump previously floated the idea of mass displacement from Gaza in February, a proposal widely condemned as ethnic cleansing, before later stepping back from the position.

Speaking again on the issue, he said: “I’ve always said it. I said, if they were given the opportunity to live in a better climate, they would move. They are there because they sort of have to be.”

He added: “I think it would be a great opportunity, but let’s see if that opportunity presents itself. But we’re helping the people of Gaza a lot.”

Israeli settlers attacked the Khilat al-Sidra Bedouin community near the town of Mikhmas, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, on Monday evening, according to the Jerusalem Governorate.

Officials said settlers cut down olive trees surrounding the community and entered the area in vehicles carrying more than 15 people, creating fear and tension among residents.

The assault followed an earlier attack the previous night, when settlers stole solar-powered spotlights used by families in the community. On Tuesday morning, they escalated the pressure by blocking the only road linking Khilat al-Sidra to Mikhmas with dirt and stones.

Residents say the repeated attacks and movement restrictions form part of a broader campaign to isolate the community and force families from their land, amid growing settler violence across the occupied West Bank.

Israeli occupation forces pushed into eastern Nablus on Monday evening, clearing the way for a settler incursion under heavy military protection.

Wafa said large numbers of Israeli troops entered the area, accompanied by a military bulldozer, after moving in from the Awarta, Huwara and Beit Furik checkpoints.

The deployment came as Israeli forces prepared to secure access for settlers planning to storm Joseph’s Tomb and hold provocative Talmudic rituals at the site, a recurring flashpoint that often triggers raids, road closures and violence against Palestinians in the area.

Standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, US President Donald Trump again pressed Israel to pursue diplomacy with Syria’s new leadership, even as Israeli strikes continue across the country.

Trump spoke favourably about Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, urging Netanyahu to engage with Damascus rather than escalate militarily.

“I hope he’s going to get along with Syria, because the new president of Syria is working very hard to do a good job. He really is,” Trump said.

He added: “I know he’s a tough cookie, and you’re not going to get a choir boy to lead Syria. That’s the one thing I want to say.”

Trump suggested that repairing relations between Damascus and Tel Aviv would feature prominently in his discussions with Netanyahu.

“I hope they’re going to get along. Because, you know, I dropped the sanctions on Syria, because otherwise they wouldn’t have had a chance. We want to see Syria survive, so we’re going to be talking about Syria too,” he said.

The remarks come as Israel carried out fresh raids in Syria over the weekend, fuelling concerns that continued military aggression could undermine any move towards dialogue or a new security arrangement.