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

Human Rights Watch has urged member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to address mounting threats against the tribunal ahead of the ICC’s annual Assembly of States Parties in The Hague.

The organisation warned that the court has faced “extreme pressure” since judges issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif. Threats include proposed sanctions by US legislators targeting ICC officials and those cooperating with the court.

“ICC warrants, whether against Vladimir Putin or Benjamin Netanyahu, send a critical message that no one is above the law,” said Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

She added that ICC member states must use their annual meeting to pledge strong measures ensuring the court’s essential work for justice proceeds without interference.

Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has instructed police to ban mosques from broadcasting the call to prayer, also known as the adhan.

In a video posted on X, Ben-Gvir stated that the decision was meant to “address and enforce the issue of noise in mosques.”

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Ben-Gvir directed police to confiscate loudspeakers and issue fines to enforce the ban.

Good morning, Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the some of the latest updates:

• Israeli forces killed 10 Palestinians in an assault on Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, and four others in a raid on the occupied West Bank village of Sir
• Dr Munir al-Bursh, director of the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza has reported that Israeli forces are using “internationally prohibited weapons” that cause entire bodies to “vaporise”
• Unrwa has halted aid deliveries via the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing between Gaza and Israel, citing escalating insecurity. There are report that groups attacking aid trucks are supported by Israel
• US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told US media that while efforts for a Gaza ceasefire and captive release are ongoing, no agreement has been reached
• Despite new Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, Hezbollah’s ceasefire with Israel has largely held, although the Israeli military claims it has killed several of the group’s fighters
• Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced attacks on a US warship and three supply vessels, hours after claiming to launch a hypersonic missile at central Israel

Hello MEE readers. On Sunday, Hamas' armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, released a video showing a multi-pronged attack on Israeli forces, using sniper and rocket fire.

It was unclear whether there were any Israeli casualties in the attack, which was named after former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar who was killed by Israeli forces in October.

However, the attack showed that the Qassam Brigades have the capability to pose a significant threat to Israeli forces more than a year into Israel's war on Gaza.

The Qassam Brigades also said they targeted an Israeli military bulldozer, killing the soldiers inside, and a Merkava tank operating in Gaza City.

Here's what else you need to know about Sunday's developments in Israel's war on Gaza and its escalations in the occupied West Bank:

• The spokesperson for Yemen's Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, said that the group's forces launched an attack on Sunday that targeted a US destroyer warship along with three cargo ships it said were linked to the American military.

• Earlier on Sunday, the Houthis said they used a hypersonic missile to launch an operation against a target in central Israel.

• At least 10 people were killed in an Israeli air strike that targeted a house in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. The bombing was one of several that took place across Gaza on Sunday.

• Fourteen-year-old Ayham al-Salaymeh began his one-year prison sentence in Israel, after being placed on house arrest for 14 months over charges of throwing stones at settlers. His older brother Ahmed was put in Israeli prison last year for the same charge, but was released as a part of the prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas last November.

• Maysara Ahmed Salah, a journalist with the Quds News Network, was killed in Gaza, increasing the number of journalists killed by Israel to 192 since the war on Gaza began.

• Four Palestinians were killed in an Israeli raid near the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

• The Gulf Cooperation Council met in Kuwait, and released a statement following its summit. Much of the discussions focused on the issue of Gaza. You can read more about that here.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, and the two top officials discussed ongoing humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza.

A statement from the State Department said they discussed "the need to bring the war to an end and secure the release of all hostages".

Blinken and Fidan also discussed the situation in Syria, where rebel forces recently took over the city of Aleppo.

The Gulf Cooperation Council released a statement following its meeting of regional leaders in Kuwait.

The war on Gaza was a main point of discussion during the summit. Here are some of the main points Gulf leaders agreed to on Gaza:

• The council condemned Israel's aggression in Gaza, and said it reaffirmed its stance demanding an "immediate and permanent cessation of Israeli military operations" and lifting the blockade on Gaza.

• The council said Israel bears "full responsibility" for its targeting and assault on civilians in Gaza, and said these attacks were war crimes and crimes against humanity.

• The council welcomed the International Criminal Court's decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant.

• The council said Israel's ongoing war on Gaza is a part of "a genocide and ethnic cleansing agenda", and condemned Israel's attacks on hospitals and on aid workers in Gaza.

• It called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and praised Qatar for the role it played in facilitating negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

• The council called for the creation of a plan to see the Palestinian Authority return to power in Gaza, and serve as a unified government for a future Palestinian state.

• It welcomed the UK's decision to suspend licences for arms exports to Israel. The council also welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron's call for an end to offensive weapons shipments to Israel.

• The council commended South Africa for filing a complaint against Israel at the International Court of Justice, in which Pretoria says the ICJ needs to investigate whether Israel is facilitating a genocide in Gaza.

• The GCC welcomed the several countries who recently recognised Palestine as a state, and called on others to do so as well.

• The council said it welcomed the signing of a reconciliation agreement by rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah in Beijing, China.

The spokesperson for Yemen's Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, said that the group's forces launched an attack on Sunday that targeted a US destroyer warship along with three cargo ships it said were linked to the American military.

The spokesperson said the attack was conducted in coordination with the group's naval, missile, and drone units.

He said its forces launched 16 "ballistic and winged" missiles and a drone in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden, adding that the attacks were accurate.

It said the three cargo ships it targeted were the "Stena Impeccable ship", the "Maersk Saratoga" ship, and the "Liberty Grace".

US Central Command has yet to publicly comment on the announcement by the Yemeni group.

In an earlier address on Sunday, the Houthi spokesperson said the group launched a military operation on a "vital target" in central Israel using a hypersonic missile.

The group said it will continue targeting ships linked to the US and Israel until Israel ends its war on Gaza and lifts its blockade of the enclave.

The number of Palestinians killed in an Israeli raid on Jenin in the occupied West Bank has increased to four.

The Israeli operation took place in the village of Sir in the area of Jenin.

The Palestinian health ministry released the names of the four killed: Montaser Jalal Aziz Naeem, 35; Ismail Muhammad Ismail Abu al-Rab, 25; Wael Hassan Lahlouh, 31; and Abdul Salam Nabeel Abu Al-Rab, 23.

In addition to the latest Israeli bombardment of Beit Lahiya that has killed at least 10 Palestinians, here are several other Israeli attacks that have taken place today:

• On al-Thawra Street in the west of Gaza City in the north, at least seven Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombing. Bodies could be seen strewn across the street.

• Nearby in the same area, Israeli forces bombed al-Wahda street killing and wounding at least three Palestinians.

• Four Palestinians were killed and several others were wounded in an Israeli strike in Khan Younis.

• One Palestinian was killed and another wounded by an Israeli strike on a gathering near a mosque in Gaza City.

At least 10 people were killed in an Israeli air strike that targeted a house in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, according to an Al Jazeera correspondent on the ground in Gaza.

US President-elect Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Lebanese American businessman Massad Boulos will serve in his administration as a senior adviser.

Boulos, who is also the father-in-law of Trump's daughter Tiffany, played a key role in connecting Trump's campaign with Arab American leaders.

Last month, Boulos met with the head of Lebanon's Kataeb Party, a right-wing Christian party. 

Boulos also met with Nadim Gemayel, the son of assassinated pro-US and pro-Israeli Lebanese President Bachir Gemayel.

Hamas' armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, released a video showing a complex operation involving a series of ambushes against Israeli forces in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city.

The operation consisted of Palestinian snipers and fighters using anti-tank rockets against the Israeli forces, and the video released by the Qassam Brigades showed three different ambushes along the same route being used by Israel's military.

It's unclear whether there were any Israeli casualties in the attack. However, the video showed that Hamas still has the capability of launching attacks on Israeli forces throughout Gaza.

Fourteen-year-old Ayham al-Salaymeh began a one-year prison sentence in Israel on Sunday, after being placed under house arrest for 14 months over charges of throwing stones at settlers.

Before entering the prison, his father, Nawwaf al-Salaymeh, gave him one last tour of Jerusalem, and told him to stay strong throughout his sentence.

Salaymeh's brother, Ahmed, who is one year older than Ayham, was released from an Israeli prison last November under the ceasefire agreement brokered between Hamas and Israel. He was also charged with throwing stones.

Throughout Ahmed's imprisonment, his family was not allowed to visit him because his father, Nawwaf, is a former prisoner, and his mother holds a West Bank ID and was refused a visitation permit.

It is unlikely that the father of the two boys will be able to visit Ayham during his incarceration.

You can read more about the story of Ahmed al-Salaymeh's imprisonment, and release, here.

⚡️BREAKING: 14-year-old child Ayham al-Salaymeh begins prison sentence in Israel for allegedly throwing stones at settlers.

Ayham al-Salaymeh, just 14 years old, has become the youngest person to ever be imprisoned in Israel. His one-year sentence begins today, December 1, 2024.… pic.twitter.com/B4iFkadUkX

— Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws) December 1, 2024

The number of journalists killed by Israel in Gaza has risen to 192 after the government media office said Maysara Ahmed Salah, a journalist with the Quds News Network, was killed.

The office didn't offer details regarding how Salah died, but said in its statement that it holds Israel "fully responsible for committing this heinous crime".

Hamas' armed wing the Qassam Brigades said in a statement that its fighters targeted a military bulldozer in Gaza City with explosives, killing the soldiers seated inside.

The statement also said that Qassam fighters targeted and destroyed an Israeli Merkava tank using an anti-tank bomb.

The bulldozer attack took place on Friday, while the tank attack happened on Saturday.