Live: Major clashes break out near Bethlehem after Israeli raid

Israel has confirmed the launch of work on a new border wall with Jordan, extending its expanding militarisation of surrounding areas and of the occupied West Bank. 

In the first stage, Israeli authorities will construct two separate stretches, each around 80 kilometres long, along the north-eastern section of the Israel-Jordan frontier, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

Officials estimate the project will cost about more than $1.7bn and form part of what it claims is a wider “multi-layered” security structure expected to run roughly 500 kilometres, from the southern occupied Golan Heights down to north of Eilat, further entrenching Israel’s securitised and colonial expansion across the region. 

Iran has begun the trial of a dual national holding European citizenship, accused of “intelligence cooperation and espionage in favour of the Zionist regime (Israel),” the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.

The Alborz provincial attorney general said the individual entered Iran about a month before Israel and the US launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day conflict in June. They were arrested on the fourth day by the elite Revolutionary Guards.

“Sophisticated spy and intelligence items and equipment were discovered in their villa in Karaj,” the attorney general added, noting that the charges carry penalties for “waging war against God” and “corruption on earth,” offences often punishable by death.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the second phase of a US plan to end the war in Gaza was close, but that several key issues still needed to be resolved, including whether a multinational security force would be deployed.

Speaking to reporters alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said that he would hold important discussions with US President Donald Trump at the end of the month on how to ensure the plan's second phase was achieved.

"We very shortly expect to move into the second phase, which is more difficult," he said.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in place since 10 October, has reduced fighting, but Israel has continued to bomb the besieged enclave. Some 600 ceasefire violations have been reported, in which more than 373 people were killed and around 900 wounded.

Netanyahu said that it was important to ensure that Hamas not only upholds the ceasefire but also follows through on "their commitment" to the plan, which includes disarmament and the demilitarisation of Gaza.

Read more: Netanyahu expects Gaza truce to move to second phase ‘shortly’

Israeli occupation soldiers killed a young Palestinian in Qalqilya, in the West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed, and seized his body, denying his family access.

The ministry reported that he succumbed to injuries sustained from Israeli gunfire.

Israeli spies have been monitoring US forces and allied personnel inside a newly established American base in the country’s south, triggering serious concerns over unauthorised surveillance and intelligence gathering, the Guardian reported on Monday.

According to the Guardian both open and covert recording reportedly took place at the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) which is monitoring the so-called Gaza ceasefire.

The extent of the monitoring reportedly forced the US base commander, Lt Gen Patrick Frank, to summon an Israeli official and make clear that “recording has to stop here”. Staff and visiting representatives from other countries also expressed alarm about Israel’s actions, with warnings issued to avoid sharing sensitive information inside the facility over fears it could be collected and exploited.

The incident once again highlights Israel’s track record of spying on even its closest allies, including the United States, most infamously in the Jonathan Pollard espionage case which saw him pass vast amounts of classified material to Israel while working as a US Navy analyst.

The scale of the breach shocked American intelligence officials and exposed how Israel was willing to spy aggressively even on its most powerful ally.

A young Palestinian man sustained injuries after Israeli forces opened live fire near the apartheid wall in the town of al-Ram, north of occupied Jerusalem. The Palestine Red Crescent said its teams responded at the scene and provided medical assistance to the wounded man.

In a separate escalation, Israeli occupation forces stormed the nearby town of Hizma, also north of Jerusalem, accompanied by military bulldozers.

According to Al Jazeera’s correspondent, the raid appears to be linked to preparations for house demolitions in the area, as Israeli troops tightened their control and secured the surroundings.

The Israeli army said around 22,000 officers and soldiers have been wounded since the start of Israel's war on Gaza in 2023, with more than half now suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The figures highlight the severe psychological and physical toll of Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza on its own forces.

The popular American children's content creator, Ms Rachel, has said that since being shortlisted by a pro-Israel group for "Antisemite of the Year", there has been a spike in threats towards her and her family. 

In a statement posted on Instagram on Thursday, Ms Rachel, also known as Rachel Griffin Accurso, revealed that constant attacks by the pro-Israel group StopAntisemitism had forced her to hire security amid false claims that she supported the Palestinian group Hamas.

"The Stop Antisemitism Now group should not be able to try to ruin people's lives, cause them to receive threats and need security, try to get all business partners to drop them, accuse them of a serious crime (being paid by HAMAS) and get news to cover it with no evidence," she said in a statement, before adding that the constant attacks had impacted her two young children.

"Remembering my son accidentally overhearing us talking about my safety and then him crying wanting to hold my hand all night scared something would happen to me," she said.

"This has taken such a toll on me and my family and all I've wanted was to help kids."

Read more: Social media users rally around Ms Rachel after spike in threats

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates from Israel's war on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank:

• Israeli occupation forces opened heavy fire near the Morag axis, north of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian sources on the ground.

• As Israel and Hamas edge towards a possible second phase of a United States-backed proposal to end Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, disputes centre on the undefined role of a potential international “stabilisation force” inside the besieged enclave.

• Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said on Sunday that the US proposal required “a lot of clarifications”. He added that while Hamas could consider “freezing or storing” its weapons during the current truce, it would not accept an external force taking control of disarmament.

• In the occupied West Bank, Israeli occupation forces carried out a fresh wave of raids and arrests after storming the town of Allar, north of Tulkarm, according to local sources.

• Israeli forces also pushed into the city of Nablus from the Huwara checkpoint, escalating military pressure in the northern West Bank.

• The Israeli army sent additional military reinforcements towards Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus, while soldiers deployed in the al-Hashashin neighbourhood, residents reported.

Our live blog will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are the day's key developments:

• Israeli military says its forces shot dead a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank.

• Unrwa said it has found children in Gaza suffering from acute malnutrition during routine screening.

• Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron launched a general strike to protest the killing of two Palestinians by Israeli forces a day earlier.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is close to completing the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan.

• The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said Israeli forces have killed at least 373 people and wounded 970 others since the start of the ceasefire in October. 

• The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had facilitated the transfer of five Palestinian detainees to Gaza.

• Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will remain in the territories it seized in Syria, Haaretz reported.

• Israeli soldiers shot at three Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and killed one of them, the Israeli military said.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society transported two children, aged 17 and 12, to the hospital with wounds following an attack by Israeli soldiers in the occupied Bank, Wafa news agency reported.

The two were attacked at the Beit Furik military checkpoint, which is east of the city of Nablus.

Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, toured a storage centre in Jordan with humanitarian aid supplies set for delivery to the Gaza Strip.

In a video posted on X, Waltz said Jordanian and UN partners are doing “vital work” to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, particularly as winter approaches.

"We're ready to move forward with rebuilding Gaza, the provision of security and providing not only the life-saving humanitarian goods, but eventually getting to the rebuilding that we absolutely need," he said.

Visited the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO) warehouse to see the vital work Jordanian and UN partners are doing to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, particularly as winter approaches.

The U.S. is proud to support Jordan’s efforts to address urgent needs and save… pic.twitter.com/pHkcmNBFjO

— Ambassador Mike Waltz (@USAmbUN) December 7, 2025