Live: Major clashes break out near Bethlehem after Israeli raid

Three people were killed in an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in a Lebanese village located near the city of Sidon on Monday, in the latest violation of the ceasefire.

Three people were killed in an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in the Lebanese village located near the city of Sidon on Monday, in the latest violation of the ceasefire pic.twitter.com/gH53Ehyfln

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) December 23, 2025

Three Palestinians were wounded in an attack carried out by Israeli settlers on Tuesday in the town of as-Samu’, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. 

Armed settlers from the Susya colony, illegally built on the lands of Masafer Yatta, attacked the Wadi Ejheish area in as-Samu‘, activist Osama Makhmareha said. 

The report said that settlers attacked the home of resident Mahmoud al-Daghamin with stones, smashing its windows and causing damage to its contents, and physically assaulted members of the family.

Three Palestinians wounded in the attack were transferred to Yatta Governmental Hospital.

Good morning, Middle East Eye readers. Here are the latest updates:

• Israeli forces carried out extensive demolition operations in occupied Jerusalem, which led to the displacement of many Palestinian families.

• The Israeli military raided several villages and towns in the occupied West Bank, while illegal settlers attacked a Palestinian home south of Hebron.

• The Israeli army also stormed the city of Tubas in the northern West Bank, the towns of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah, and Kobar, north of the city, where they fired live ammunition. 

• An Israeli force also positioned itself around the Wadi Rahal village, south of Bethlehem, and set up a military checkpoint, preventing citizens from entering or exiting. 

• In the northern West Bank, the Israeli army raided the village of Kardala in the northern Jordan Valley, the villages of Shuweika, Anabta and Kafr al-Labad in the Tulkarm Governorate, and the towns of Madama, Beita and Beit Dajan in the Nablus Governorate.

• Palestinian media reported the firing of gas and sound bombs and the closure of shops across several regions in the West Bank. 

• Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians and activists from the Israeli human rights group Torat Tzedek with stones in the West Bank. 

• Three people were killed in an Israeli air strike in Lebanon, which hit a car in the southern province of Sidon. 

Facing starvation, Palestinians turn to the sea to feed their families, risking imprisonment or death, reporting by Maha Hussaini in Gaza City and Mohammed al-Hajjar in Nuseirat.

Even after Israeli bombardments destroyed his fishing boat and equipment, Ismail Farhat returned to the sea. Fishing was not a choice for him; it was how he kept his family fed.

On the morning of 8 October, he set out from the shore of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on a small punt he had built himself. Shortly after, an Israeli naval vessel approached and ordered him to “surrender”.

Farhat was then detained, tortured, and threatened with arrest if he returned to fishing, before being released more than two months later, on Tuesday.

“I was fishing with another fisherman when we were suddenly approached by an Israeli naval vessel. They ordered us to remove our clothes, jump into the sea, and swim towards their vessel,” Farhat told Middle East Eye one day after his release.

“Once we were on board, they began interrogating us, asking where we lived, where we had been before we were displaced, and requesting personal details such as our ID numbers, age and mobile phone numbers. One of the soldiers photographed me with his phone.”

Read more: ‘Treated as criminals’: Gaza fishermen risk everything at sea

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday said he expects the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal to begin in early 2026.

Fidan was speaking  in Damascus following his weekend talks with US, Qatari and Egyptian officials.

At least 70,937 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's genocide in Gaza, and 171,192 wounded since 7 October 2023, the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said on Monday.

The death toll includes at least 405 killed since the beginning of the ceasefire on 10 October, while 1,115 have been wounded in the same period, the ministry said in the latest tally.

Two pro-Palestine activists held in British prisons have been transferred to hospital after weeks without food, prompting mounting concern from their families and members of parliament over prison conditions and medical care.

Amu Gib, 30, who is being held on remand at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, entered hospital on Saturday after reaching day 50 of a hunger strike. Kamran Ahmed, 28, who has refused food for 42 days at Pentonville prison in London, has also been hospitalised.

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Monday, Ahmed's sister Shahmina Alam said that “at this point, there’s significant risk of organ damage”.

“We know that he’s rapidly been losing weight in the last few days, losing up to half a kilogram [1.1lbs] a day,” she added.

Ahmed was previously hospitalised in late November after collapsing in his cell with low blood sugar levels, indicating hypoglycaemia.

Read more: UK jails send Palestine Action hunger strikers to hospital 

The Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs on Monday called on the international community to urgently intervene to stop the demolition of Palestinian homes in the city. 

In a statement, the ministry said the demolition of a residential building in the Wadi Qadum area of Ras al-Amud in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan represents a "blatant example of the racial discrimination policy pursued by Israeli occupation authorities in Jerusalem", and forms part of a systematic campaign aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinian families and emptying the city of its original residents.

The ministry added that Israeli forces have demolished more than 464 structures and buildings in the Jerusalem governorate since the start of the year, including 229 inside the city.

Israel has announced the creation of 11 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, a decision that risks exacerbating tensions amidst efforts to begin the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza.

The government is also set to legalise and recognise eight outpost and neighbourhoods of existing settlements that were so far regarded as illegal under Israeli law.

The new settlements were approved by the security cabinet on 12 December and was proposed by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz.

This brings the total number of approved settlements under Smotrich's time in office since November 2022 to 69. 

The minister hailed the move as "a record like no other", adding in an X post that the "people of Israel are returning to their land, building it and strengthening their hold on it".

Read more: Israel announces establishment of 11 new settlements in the West Bank

The Israeli army on Monday conducted an air strike in southern Lebanon, despite a ceasefire agreement in place since late last year.

The military said in a statement that it killed a Hezbollah member in today's strike, and targeted two Hezbollah members in the Yater area of Bint Jbeil district on Sunday. 

The Lebanese health ministry confirmed on Sunday that one person was killed and two others were injured in two strikes targeting a car and motorcycle in Yater. 

Israeli forces on Monday arrested at least 20 Palestinians in raids across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Anadolu news agency reported, quoting local sources. 

Two Palestinians were arrested in Qalqilya, seven in Tulkarm, and seven others in Jenin in the northern West Bank, the report said. 

Israeli forces also assaulted two Palestinians in the southern city of Hebron and two others in the Wadi Qadum neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.

According to Palestinian officials, Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,102 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, while detaining around 21,000 others, since October 2023. 

Israeli forces on Monday brought military vehicles, heavy equipment, engineering tools and road-paving machinery into the Jenin refugee camp, Palestinian media reported. 

The report said that families in al-Zahraa building near the camp were also notified to evacuate their homes. 

According to official statements from the Jenin municipality, the occupation has demolished approximately 40 per cent of the Jenin refugee camp. 

An NHS doctor says she was “strangled” by police officers at a protest outside a British prison demanding an ambulance for a critically ill Palestine Action-linked prisoner on hunger strike.

Olivia Brandon, an Accident and Emergency doctor at a London hospital, told Middle East Eye that she was dragged by the hood of her coat by police, causing her airways to become restricted and resulting in her losing consciousness.

She also reported that another doctor, Ayo Moiett, who had been repeatedly demanding that Bronzefield prison call an ambulance for prisoner Qesser Zuhrah, was arrested by two police officers after he declined to attend a “voluntary interview” following allegations that he had assaulted a prison officer.

Both doctors were among a group of supporters who waited outside HMP Bronzefield throughout the night on 17 December, demanding an ambulance for Zuhrah, who had been on hunger strike for over 46 days.

She is among six prisoners who launched hunger strikes over their treatment and the proscription of the direct action group.

Read more: Police arrest and assault doctors supporting Palestine Action hunger striker

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza on Monday said that during the past 48 hours, 12 Palestinians were reported dead by hospital authorities, as Israeli attacks continued despite the ceasefire. 

The ministry said that four new killings were recorded in the past 48 hours and eight dead bodies were recovered from under the rubble during the same period, bringing the total number of recovered bodies to 649.

Many of the victims remain under the rubble and on the roads, as ambulance and civil defence teams are unable to reach them, the ministry said in a statement on Telegram. 

Since the ceasefire on 10 October 2025, a total of 405 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces, while 1,115 others were reported wounded. 

A total of 70,937 Palestinians were killed since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on 7 October 2023, while 171,192 others were wounded. 

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on Monday said that Israel’s new registration requirements for international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) will lead to hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza losing access to critical medical care, water and lifesaving support. 

In a statement, MSF said the new rules would prevent organisations, including MSF, from providing essential services in Gaza and the West Bank.

"With Gaza’s health system already destroyed, independent and experienced humanitarian organisations losing access to respond would be a disaster for Palestinians," the statement said.

"MSF calls on the Israeli authorities to ensure that INGOs can maintain and continue their impartial and independent response in Gaza." 

"If MSF loses its access to Gaza in 2026, due to the Israeli authorities, a large portion of people in Gaza will lose access to critical medical care, water, and lifesaving support. MSF’s activities serve nearly half a million people in Gaza through our vital support to the destroyed health system," the statement added.

The Israeli army has killed nearly 71,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,000 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023.