Live: Palestinian death toll in Gaza nears 26,000

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps have published the names of those killed in an Israeli attack on Syria's Damascus earlier today.

Those killed were identified as Hojjatollah Omidvar, Ali Aghazadeh, Hossein Mohammadi and Saeed Karimi.

Their ranks or any additional information has not yet been provided.

Israeli planes have dropped leaflets on Gaza's Khan Younis on Saturday, showing photos of captives and asking people to come forward with information on their whereabouts.

The leaflets have 69 photos of Israelis on them and contain a message and number, telling the Palestinians that if they want to return to their homes, they should inform the Israeli army if they recognise any of the captives.

Commanders from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Lebanon's Hezbollah group are on the ground in Yemen helping to direct and oversee Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, four regional and two Iranian sources told Reuters on Saturday.

An Israeli strike on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed two Hamas members who were travelling in a car, three security sources in Lebanon told Reuters.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed on Saturday that an Israeli air strike on Damascus has killed four military advisers.

The confirmation was made on Iran's Press TV. 

"Once more, the criminal Zionist regime has moved to violate the city of Damascus, the Syrian capital, and during an air strike by the fighter jets of the invading and occupying regime, a number of Syrian forces and four military advisers of the Islamic Republic of Iran were martyred," the IRGC said in a brief statement, saying more information would be published later.

Iranian state television called it a "terrorist" attack by Israel.

A vehicle near the southern Lebanese city of Tyre has been hit by an Israeli drone strike, al-Mayadeen news reported on Saturday.

There are no further details yet or comment from Israel.

Dozens of family members of captives held in Gaza and protesters continued to demonstrate outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home on Saturday, according to Haaretz. 

The protest started on Friday evening, with protesters camping outside his home in tents. 

The father of one of the captives also announced that he is on hunger strike, demanding to meet with Netanyahu.

A spokesman for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad told Reuters that no members of their group were wounded in the Israeli strike on Damascus.

The statement came following reports that some were killed in the bombed-out building.

​​The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said on Saturday that at least five people were killed in an Israeli attack.

According to reports, the Israeli air strike on Syria's capital Damascus killed a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and wounded others, a source told Reuters.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers.

Here's an overview of some of the latest developments from overnight and early this morning.

• At least 18 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli shelling in Gaza since dawn this morning. 
• Israeli forces bombed the al-Amal neighbourhood in Khan Younis, killing at least two and wounding several others.
• Israel continued its attacks on hospitals, including the vicinity of al-Shifa Hospital. 
• Residential towers were bombed in the al-Balad area of Khan Younis. The al-Amal and al-Katiba areas were also shelled. 
• More decomposed bodies of Palestinians have been recovered, according to Al Jazeera, as 30 were found in eastern Khan Younis.
• Israeli forces raided several cities across the occupied West Bank, including Bethlehem and towns near Qalqilya where they arrested people and destroyed civilian buildings. 

The latest updates come as the death toll in Gaza since 7 October has neared 25,000. 

In the occupied West Bank, Israel has killed 369 people, including 98 children, since the start of the war and wounded over 4,212. An additional 6,108 have been detained in the same time period

At least 24,937 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war on 7 October, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

An additional 62,300 have also been wounded in the same time period. 

After eight days of blackout, internet services are gradually being restored to Gaza on Friday. The ability for the enclave's residents to have telecommunications access was celebrated by many.

But also, it allowed the world to get a fuller image of the carnage left by Israeli forces over the past week in Gaza.

Earlier this month, Israel has said it shifted to a lower intensity phase of its war in Gaza, however daily tallies of the Palestinian death toll remain high. For example, these were the death tolls each day this past week.

• Monday: 132 Palestinians killed

• Tuesday: 158 Palestinians killed

• Wednesday: 163 Palestinians killed

• Thursday: 172 Palestinians killed

Here's an overview of today's developments:

• The UK's foreign secretary recommended arms sales to Israel despite "serious concerns" that Israel breached international law in Gaza. Read more on that here.

• Ajith Sunghay, the head of the UN Human Rights Office in occupied Palestine, said the treatment of some Palestinians from Gaza detained by Israel may amount to torture.

• A group of 60 lawmakers are urging Biden to reaffirm that the US strongly opposes "the forced and permanent displacement" of Palestinians from Gaza.

• Biden remains opposed to a ceasefire, according to a White House spokesperson.

• A White House spokesperson also said that the US has conducted three more strikes against the Houthis.

• A Palestinian American teenager was killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank. The US said it was "seriously concerned" about the news.

• Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the UN refugee agency for Palestinians, said the West Bank is witnessing its highest levels of violence yet.

David Cameron recommended British arms sales to Israel despite "serious concerns" in the Foreign Office that it had breached international law in Gaza, according to a government document filed in the High Court.

The document, which has been reviewed by Middle East Eye, was filed by the government in its defence to a challenge brought by legal and human rights groups attempting to stop UK arms sales to Israel for its ongoing campaign in Gaza.

In multiple reports between 10 November and 8 December, the unit raised several concerns about Israel's compliance with the law, according to the court filing.

To read the full story by our senior investigative reporter, Dania Akkad, click here.

US President Joe Biden has said that a two-state solution could still move forward while Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is still in office.

Biden said that there were “many” forms a two-state solution could take, and the Israeli leader wasn't against all of them.

In discussing the issue further, he also said there are UN member states that don’t have militaries, hinting at what a possible Palestinian state acceptable by Israel could look like.

Netanyahu said clearly on Thursday that he would oppose the creation of a Palestinian state, and said Israel should be in complete control "from the river to the sea".

Ajith Sunghay, the head of the UN Human Rights Office in occupied Palestine, has just returned from a trip to Rafah in the south of Gaza.

While there, Sunghay interviewed several Palestinians who were released from Israeli detention after being captured by the Israeli army during its military campaign.

"They described being beaten, humiliated, subjected to ill-treatment, and to what may amount to torture," he said.

"They reported being blindfolded for long periods – some of them for several consecutive days."

Sunghay added that some men were released without adequate clothing for the winter weather and were also released in diapers.