Live: At least 137 people killed by Israel recovered from rubble in Rafah

The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that Israeli forces carried out four massacres in the Gaza Strip within 24 hours, resulting in 61 deaths and 281 injuries.

Medical sources reported to Al Jazeera Arabic that at least 20 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip since dawn today, with 12 of the victims in Khan Younis.

The strikes follow a violent day in which at least 50 Palestinians lost their lives in what have been described as new massacres by the Israeli occupation army in Gaza.

Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed bin Mohammed al-Ansari provided a detailed update on the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, highlighting progress while urging a resolution to end the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Key points include:

• "We have reached the final stages of the agreement," al-Ansari said, calling the discussions "fruitful, positive and focused on the final details".

• He expressed hope for a swift resolution: "We hope to get good news about the Gaza deal."

• Major obstacles in the talks have reportedly been resolved, and discussions in Doha are ongoing to finalise the agreement.

• Al-Ansari stressed the urgency of action: "We urge both sides to reach an agreement and end the tragedy in Gaza."

• The ceasefire will be announced immediately once an agreement is finalised, with implementation to follow shortly thereafter.

• Drafts of the agreement have already been submitted, and remaining details primarily concern its execution.

• Qatar commended the efforts of both the Biden and Trump administrations in facilitating the talks but underscored its unwavering stance: "We affirm our firm position to end the occupation in Gaza and all Palestinian territories and for the decision to be Palestinian."

• Mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and the United States remain committed to ensuring the success of the ceasefire agreement.

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has called for an immediate end to the ongoing Israeli onslaught against Gaza, emphasising that halting the violence is crucial for progress.

Safadi stated that the success of the Doha ceasefire talks represents a key step toward achieving this goal.

A new round of ceasefire negotiations has kicked off in Qatar, with reports suggesting that a deal may be closer than ever.

Sources familiar with the talks indicated to Reuters that efforts are focused on finalising the final details of the agreement.

An AFP source disclosed that the ongoing meetings are crucial for ironing out remaining points of contention. Key players in the discussions include the heads of Israel’s intelligence agencies, Middle East envoys from both the outgoing and incoming US administrations, and Qatar's prime minister.

Academics, activists and alumni are criticising Columbia University this week after tenured professor Katherine Franke announced that the institution pressured her to retire over her vocal criticism of Israel and support for pro-Palestinian protests on campus.

Franke founded the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law and served on the executive committee of Columbia's Center for Palestine Studies.

Late last week, she announced in a statement that she had "reached an agreement" with the university to retire after serving 25 years as a law faculty member. But while the university may call this change in status "retirement", Franke said, it should be "understood as a termination dressed up in more palatable terms".

Read more: 'Persecution': Outpouring of anger after 'termination' of pro-Palestine Columbia professor

At least 28 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza since this morning, with medical sources confirming 24 fatalities across the besieged Strip.

Of these, 19 were reported from the central and southern areas.

In a separate incident, an Israeli bombardment targeted a house in the Al-Daraj neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, killing four and injuring several others.

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has sharply criticised a potential ceasefire deal, calling it "awful" and claiming it "erases" Israel’s achievements in the ongoing war.

In a video shared on X, Ben Gvir argued that the deal "not only does not lead to the release of all the hostages, but it also seals the fate of the remaining hostages."

He called on his far-right colleague, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, to join him in rejecting the deal, urging them both to tell Prime Minister Netanyahu that they would resign from the government if the deal proceeds.

Before anything else happened, Maryam al-Muqayad says male Israeli troops told to take off her clothes.

Then, the soldiers took the 13-year-old Palestinian girl, dragged her by her hair and made her kneel down. When they had stopped abusing her, they forced her to leave northern Gaza, her home, and make her way south.

She was not alone.

Dozens of Palestinian women and girls reported similar sexual abuses committed against them by Israeli forces during the storming of Kamal Adwan hospital in the north of the wartorn coastal enclave last month. 

The incursion was preceded by nearly three months of a blockade preventing the entry of aid, medicine and food, as well as heavy bombardment in the hospital’s complex and vicinity.

Read more: ‘Forced us to undress’: Palestinian women detail Israeli sexual assaults in Kamal Adwan raid

Israeli forces launched a major raid on the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, abducting 13 individuals, according to the Wafa news agency.

The operation, which remains ongoing, has seen snipers deployed on rooftops, homes raided, and field interrogations conducted.

Wafa also reported that Israeli troops carried out additional raids and arrests in several villages within the Tulkarem governorate, intensifying an already fraught situation in the occupied territories.

Journalist Mohammad Basheer al-Talmas succumbed to injuries sustained during an Israeli air strike on Gaza City, Al Jazeera Arabic reported. The deadly attack occurred on Monday.

Since 7 October 2023, Israel’s relentless campaign has devastated Palestinian media.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate reports that 88 media outlets have been destroyed, while dozens of journalists have been abducted by Israel or wounded.

More than 170 media professionals have been killed, many alongside their families, in what has been a deliberate effort to silence Palestinian voices.

The military spokesman for the Houthis announced that the group had carried out its third military operation in 12 hours, striking the central Israel area with a ballistic missile.

Since the outbreak of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis have escalated their offensive, firing missiles and drones towards Israel. The group asserts that these attacks are acts of solidarity with the people of Gaza, while also targeting ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which they say are linked to Israel, the United States, or the United Kingdom.

In retaliation, Israel has launched airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, including the capital Sanaa. Meanwhile, Washington and London have joined the fray, conducting air strikes and missile attacks against Houthi targets since the beginning of 2024 in defense of Israel's actions in Gaza.

US President-elect Donald Trump has claimed a major deal on a Gaza ceasefire is nearing completion, suggesting it could be finalised by the end of the week.

Speaking to Newsmax, he stated, “We are very close to closing the deal, maybe by the end of the week.”

In typical Trump fashion, he issued a stark warning to those dragging their feet, declaring, “They have to do it, and if they don’t, there will be a lot of problems that they probably haven’t seen before.”

The President-elect hinted at a verbal agreement already being in place, signalling the negotiations were now centred on tying up loose ends.

Medical officials have confirmed that at least 20 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip since dawn, with 12 of the victims reported in Khan Yunis.

Al Jazeera Arabic described the strikes as part of an intensifying military campaign against the besieged territory.

This latest violence comes on the heels of a deadly day in which Israeli forces allegedly killed at least 50 Palestinians in what critics have labelled as new massacres.