Gaza Live: Israeli air strike takes out 25 members of same family

The Gaza health ministry reports that Israeli attacks since 7 October 2023, have killed at least 44,466 people and wounded 105,358.

In the past 24 hours alone, 37 Palestinians were killed and 108 wounded, the ministry added.

Al Jazeera Arabic reported that Israeli forces opened fire east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, killing two people and injuring several others.

The United Nations reports that Gaza has the highest number of child amputees per capita globally, following over a year of Israel’s war on the enclave.

“Gaza now has the highest number of child amputees per capita anywhere in the world — many losing limbs and undergoing surgeries without even anaesthesia,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in remarks delivered by his deputy at a Cairo conference focused on accelerating humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir voiced support for occupying Gaza and establishing Jewish settlements there during a Sunday radio interview.

He also advocated for "encouraging emigration," claiming: "Hundreds of thousands of people there want to leave. We can do that, and we should do it."

When asked if he would move to a settlement in Gaza, Ben Gvir recalled his past involvement in the Gush Katif struggle, saying, "It's certainly not a bad idea." Pressed for a clear statement, he added: "Occupying territory and encouraging emigration are solutions that can create a different reality in Gaza."

Lufthansa and its subsidiaries have announced that they will continue suspending flights to Tel Aviv until 31 January. Swiss Air also confirmed its decision to cancel flights to and from the Israeli city, effective through the end of January.

Israeli forces launched air strikes on homes in northern Gaza overnight, killing at least 15 people in a building in Beit Lahia, according to Palestinian medics on Monday.

Several others were wounded, and some remain missing after a house that was sheltering displaced people was hit.

Rescue workers struggled to reach the site immediately, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service reported.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has once again called for the occupation of Gaza and the establishment of settlements there, reiterating his opposition to a prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas and the cessation of Israel's ongoing military actions.

Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party, stated in an interview with the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation: "I am a right-wing person who believes in settling the Land of Israel."

He also commented on discussions about Gaza's future, emphasising that it is not part of the war's objectives but is being assessed for the post-war scenario.

The US military’s Central Command (Centcom) claimed that its warships successfully repelled a missile and drone attack by Yemen's Houthis while escorting three American-owned merchant ships through the Gulf of Aden.

Centcom confirmed that the attacks caused no injuries or damage to the two destroyers or the three US-operated vessels, despite the Houthi reports of launching 16 missiles and a drone targeting a US destroyer and military supply ships.

The Yemeni rebels said their actions were in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

A Lebanese soldier was injured when an Israeli drone targeted an army bulldozer in the Hawsh al-Sayyid Ali area in eastern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese army.

The army had recently intensified its operations in the south, Bekaa Valley, and southern suburbs, including setting up checkpoints, clearing roads, and detonating unexploded ordnance, as part of efforts to support the return of displaced people and ensure their safety following the ceasefire agreement.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, has directed police to ban mosques from broadcasting the adhan, or Islamic call to prayer, claiming it "disturbs" Jewish residents.

He has instructed authorities to confiscate loudspeakers and fine mosques for broadcasting the brief call, which lasts about two minutes.

Ben Gvir defended the move as necessary to combat "unreasonable noise" and lawlessness.

In an interview with the Israeli media outlet, Channel 12, Ben Gvir said that he was “proud” to move forward with a policy of “stopping unreasonable noise from mosques and other sources that has become a hazard for Israel’s residents”.

“In our debates, it arose that most western countries, and even some Arab countries, limit the noise and have many laws on the matter. It’s only neglected in Israel,” Ben Gvir’s office said in a statement.

Read more: Israel bans Islamic call to prayer, escalating discrimination

Former Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon clarified that his recent comments on Israel pursuing "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza were aimed at politicians, not the Israeli army.

Speaking to Channel 12, Ya’alon stood by his statement, criticising politicians who boast of such actions, and expressed hope that his remarks would prevent the government from committing war crimes, shifting responsibility to Israeli commanders.

At their meeting in Kuwait on Sunday, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders called for an "immediate and permanent" ceasefire in Gaza.

They voiced strong support for the ICC's arrest warrants for Israeli leaders Netanyahu and Gallant, rejecting Israel’s claims of self-defense and condemning the violence in Gaza as part of a "genocide and ethnic cleansing agenda."

The leaders cited the killing of civilians, torture, summary executions, forced displacement, and looting as part of these crimes.

The death toll from the bombing of a house in the Beit Lahia on Sunday has risen to 25, according to Al Jazeera Arabic. In recent weeks, the Israeli military has forced Palestinians in northern Gaza to flee, with many heading to Beit Lahia where they face dire conditions due to a lack of food, water, and ongoing bombardment.

Since October 5, Israel has launched a ground invasion in northern Gaza, claiming it aims to prevent Hamas from regaining strength. However, Palestinians argue that Israel's true intention is to occupy the region and turn it into a buffer zone after cleansing its residents.

France has accused Israel of violating its ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah 52 times, including a Saturday attack that killed three Lebanese civilians, according to a report by Israel’s Ynet News.

The Israeli military has defended its actions, claiming they were responses to Hezbollah violations. However, Ynet News, citing French officials, reported that Israel acted without consulting the international committee overseeing compliance with the agreement.

A French official stated, “The Lebanese are fully committed to maintaining the ceasefire and preventing Hezbollah from re-establishing its presence in southern Lebanon, but they must be given time to prove themselves.”

Israeli officials countered by saying the international monitoring committee would not be fully operational until Monday or Tuesday, insisting that their operations would continue until then.

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli forces used machine guns to fire at houses in the town of Naqoura, located in southern Lebanon.

The attack marks the latest in a string of Israeli actions following the implementation of a ceasefire with Hezbollah on Wednesday.

France, a member of the international group overseeing the truce, has accused Israel of violating the agreement 52 times. French officials warned that such actions risk undermining the fragile ceasefire.