Hamas financier behind ‘tens of millions’ in funding killed
Israel has claimed to have killed a prominent Hamas financier behind “tens of millions” of funding for the terror group.
Subhi Ferwana was killed by a fighter jet in an airstrike in Rafah, the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) said in a joint statement.
They added: “Hamas’ military wing depends on these funds transferred to them via financiers and its capabilities are consequently diminished without them.”
The IDF and Shin Bet said Ferwana and his brother were involved in the transfer of “tens of millions of dollars” to Hamas.
It comes as President Isaac Herzog announced Israel would be prepared for another foreign-mediated truce, should it lead to the exchange of hostages from Gaza.
The Israeli President told a gathering of more than 80 ambassadors: “Israel is ready for another humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid in order to enable the release of hostages.
In response, a Hamas senior official rejected holding negotiations over a prisoner exchange but reiterated that the group was open to any initiative to end the war.
Earlier in the day, Rishi Sunak told the House of Commons liaison committee that too many civilians are being killed due to Hamas embedding itself in civilian communities.
The prime minister also warned Cabinet that malign actors are seeking to exploit the situation in the Middle East for their own ends, as Iran-backed Houthi rebels doubled down on attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
04:31 PM GMT
That's all for today
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04:18 PM GMT
Today's headlines:
The US defence secretary said the US will continue to arm Israel and condemned Houthi attacks on Red Sea tankers.
Israeli forces raided the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza overnight and into Tuesday.
UN officials voiced anger and disbelief about the situation in Gaza hospitals.
The Red Cross president criticised ‘moral failure’ of the international community.
Rishi Sunak told the Commons ‘too many civilians are dying’ due to Hamas embedding itself in civilian communities.
Israel President Isaac Herzog announced Israel would be ready for another foreign-mediated truce in exchange of hostages, and blamed the UN for a lack of aid to Gaza.
Foreign correspondents petitioned the Israel Supreme Court for Gaza access.
04:04 PM GMT
Pictured: Children gather at a food donation point in the southern Gaza Strip
03:39 PM GMT
Foreign correspondents petition Israel Supreme Court for Gaza access
The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem has filed a petition with the Israeli Supreme Court requesting international media access to the Gaza Strip.
While Israeli and international reporters have entered Gaza with the Israeli military, the association has dismissed this as “limited access” for it does not permit “access to where soldiers are not present”.
The FPA, which represents some 370 journalists from around 130 media outlets, said it had submitted multiple requests to the government for access but had not yet received a response.
03:16 PM GMT
Rishi Sunak warns of malign actors in the Red Sea
Updating Cabinet on the situation in the Red Sea, the prime minister said malign actors were seeking to exploit the situation in the Middle East for their own ends, such as Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacking commercial shipping in recent weeks.
The attacks have led to several companies suspending passage through the area.
Rishi Sunak said the UK has always stepped up to protect free trade and confirmed HMS Diamond and HMS Lancaster were in the region to provide necessary deterrence.
Meanwhile, a Houthi official told Iranian Al-Alam TV that any country to move against Yemen would face its ships being targeted in the Red Sea.
03:04 PM GMT
Pope Francis: A Christmas of pain and mourning for the Holy Land
For the inhabitants of the Holy Land, a #Christmas of pain and mourning looms. We do not want to leave them alone. May we stand by them in prayer and tangible aid. The suffering of Bethlehem is an open wound for the Middle East and the entire world.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) December 19, 2023
02:46 PM GMT
Israel President blames UN for lack of aid to Gaza
President Isaac Herzog has claimed “the amount of humanitarian aid can be tripled instantaneously” if inefficiencies are addressed by the United Nations.
The Israeli President told more than 80 ambassadors: “You can triple the amount of trucks easily if there was only an effort by the United Nations and its partners. The world has to know that you could have had tens of thousands of tons a day more going into Gaza.”
UN agencies are failing to keep up with Israel’s inspections of hundreds of trucks at the Nitzana Crossing each day, according to Mr Herzog.
Pushing back against this assertion, the UN said that Israeli bombing was disrupting its ability to deliver aid, while the US has argued that a bottleneck had been created by Israel’s refusal to reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing.
When this crossing was opened on Sunday, nearly 200 trucks of aid entered Gaza for the first time since the truce.
02:26 PM GMT
Israel ready for another humanitarian pause in Gaza so hostages can be recovered, says Israel President
President Isaac Herzog has announced that Israel would be prepared for another foreign-mediated truce, should it lead to the exchange of hostages from Gaza.
The Israeli President told a gathering of more than 80 ambassadors: “Israel is ready for another humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid in order to enable the release of hostages. And the responsibility lies fully with (Hamas leader Yahya) Sinwar and (other) Hamas leadership.”
He added: “We are not fighting the residents of Gaza, they are not our enemies – we are fighting Hamas, they are the enemy. Israel’s war is more just than ever.”
In response, a Hamas senior official rejected holding negotiations over a prisoner exchange but reiterated that the group was open to any initiative to end the war.
02:07 PM GMT
Sunak tells Commons ‘too many civilians are dying’ in Gaza
Too many civilians are being killed due to Hamas embedding itself in civilian communities, Rishi Sunak told the UK House of Commons liaison committee.
The prime minister told MPs: “Too many civilians are dying, of course too many civilians are dying. That is different from saying humanitarian law has been broken.
“Every civilian dying is a tragedy.”
Asked who was responsible for the high loss of civilian life, Sunak said: “There are two sides to this. Israel is trying to defend itself. If a terrorist organisation which is perpetrating these attacks is deliberately embedding itself inside civilian populations, then they have to accept responsibility for that.
“Israel, it’s right they should take every precaution to avoid harming civilians, but that will be very difficult if the precise organisation which has caused untold suffering for the Israeli people is hiding among civilians, knowingly doing so, knowingly putting them in harm’s way.”
01:59 PM GMT
Red Cross president criticises ‘moral failure’ of the international community
The conflict in Gaza is a “moral failure” of the international community, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday.
“I have been speaking of moral failure because every day this continues is a day more where the international community hasn’t proven capable of ending such high levels of suffering and this will have an impact on generations not only in Gaza,” ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric told journalists in Geneva.
The ICRC president also responded to commentary that the organisation is merely a ‘taxi service’ for Israeli hostages, labelling the criticism as ‘outrageous’.
01:47 PM GMT
Alec Baldwin shouts ‘shut the f--- up’ at Palestinian protesters
Alec Baldwin angrily confronted pro-Palestine protesters in New York on Monday evening, shouting at one to “shut the f--- up” before being led away by police.
The actor found himself in the heated encounter in Manhattan after being recognised by several demonstrators, who flocked towards him.
The rally began at Grand Central Station and targeted major transit hubs throughout the day, including Penn Station.
In footage of the incident, Mr Baldwin can be heard saying to one man: “You ask stupid questions. Ask me a smart question and I’ll answer your question.”
Read the full story here.
01:07 PM GMT
Italian navy to send frigate to boost Red Sea security
The Italian navy will “in the coming hours” send one of its frigates to help protect the Red Sea shipping route against attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militants, Italy’s defence ministry said.
The attacks, a response to Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip, target a key supply link between Asia and Europe, driving up the cost of shipping as companies seek alternative maritime routes and threatening the global economy.
“Italy will do its part, together with the international community, to counter the terrorist destabilisation activity of the Houthis,” Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said after a video call with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The US earlier announced it would lead a multinational effort to safeguard commerce in the Red Sea.
12:37 PM GMT
Cameron: UK and France working to find long-term political solution to Middle East crisis
The UK and France are working together to maintain support for Ukraine and find a long-term political solution to the crisis in the Middle East.
It was great to speak to President @EmmanuelMacron and @MinColonna in Paris today 🇬🇧🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/KXm2aTLM6d— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) December 19, 2023
12:10 PM GMT
War in Gaza fuelling drug-resistant infections among Israeli troops
Wounded Israeli soldiers are battling drug-resistant infections in the Gaza Strip, health officials have warned.
The Association for Infectious Diseases (AID) in Israel said that several drug-resistant pathogens have been found, mainly in limb injuries, including highly resistant bacterial strains of Klebsiella and Escherichia coli, and Aspergillus fungi.
“In all hospitals it is reported that soldiers have returned from the battlefield with resistant infections,” said Prof Galia Rahav, Chairman of the AID.
Read more here
11:53 AM GMT
Rafah in pictures:
11:38 AM GMT
Houthi attacks on Red Sea tankers 'threaten' global trade flow
Lloyd Austin, the US Defence Secretary, condemned “unprecedented” attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on international shipping in the Red Sea, saying they threaten global trade flows, according to a statement.
“Secretary Austin condemned Huthi attacks on international shipping and global commerce as unprecedented and unacceptable, noting the attacks threaten the free flow of commerce,” Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder said in a statement.
11:19 AM GMT
Health workers fear for their lives, says WHO
Girl killed, 2 children injured following attacks on Nasser Hospital in south #Gaza; health workers fear for their lives -- @WHO mission finds.
A WHO, @UNOCHA and @UNDSS team, on a mission to Nasser Hospital in south Gaza today, found deeply concerning conditions following…— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 18, 2023
10:46 AM GMT
UN agencies voice anger at attacks on Gaza hospitals
UN officials voiced anger and disbelief about the situation in Gaza hospitals, where injured people do not have basic supplies and children recovering from amputations are being killed in the ongoing conflict.
“I’m furious that children who are recovering from amputations in hospitals are then killed in those hospitals,” said James Elder, spokesperson for the UN children’s agency.
He added that the Nasser Hospital, the largest operational hospital left in the enclave, had been shelled twice in the past 48 hours.
Margaret Harris, World Health Organisation spokesperson, described the situation in Gaza hospitals as “beyond belief” and “unconscionable”.
10:06 AM GMT
Pictured: Firefighters spray water on the rubble of a building following Israeli bombardment in Rafah
09:42 AM GMT
At least 10 killed in strike on Jabaliya refugee camp
At least 10 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, a spokesperson for the Hamas-run health ministry said.
The ministry said 40 others were wounded in the strike.
09:09 AM GMT
Israeli troops raid hospital in Gaza City
Israeli forces raided the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City overnight and into Tuesday.
Don Binder, a pastor at St. George’s Anglican Cathedral in Jerusalem, which runs the hospital, said the raid left just two doctors, four nurses and two janitors to tend to over 100 seriously wounded patients, with no running water or electricity.
“It has been a great mercy for the many wounded in Gaza City that we were able to keep our Ahli Anglican Hospital open for so long,” Binder wrote in a Facebook post late Monday. “That ended today.”
He said an Israeli tank was parked on the rubble at the hospital’s entrance, blocking anyone from entering or leaving.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
08:43 AM GMT
Ceasefire protests around the world:
08:34 AM GMT
Houthis will not change stance on Gaza due to naval alliance, says official
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis will not change their stance on the Gaza conflict due to the establishment of a multinational naval alliance to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea, top Houthi negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters on Tuesday.
The naval alliance led by the United States was “essentially unnecessary”, he said, adding that all the waters adjacent to Yemen were safe except for Israeli ships, or ships heading to Israel, because of the “unjust aggressive war on Palestine”.
Lloyd Austin, the US Defence Secretary, announced the creation of a multinational operation to safeguard commerce in the Red Sea following a series of missile and drone attacks on shipping by the Houthis.
08:33 AM GMT
US will continue to arm Israel but pushes for ‘surgical’ war
The US will continue to arm Israel but is pushing for a more “surgical” war, Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, said in Tel Aviv on Monday.
On a visit to Israel intended to convey US pressure to limit the civilian toll in Gaza, Mr Austin said he had discussed with Israeli leaders how to “transition from higher intensity operations to low-intensity and surgical operations”.
Mr Austin, standing alongside Yoav Gallant, his Israeli counterpart, denied reports that the US was pushing for this transition to happen in three weeks.
“Regarding timeline, this is Israel’s operation and I’m not here to dictate timelines or terms,” he said.
Read more from Nataliya Vasilyeva here
08:28 AM GMT
At least 20 killed in Israeli strikes on Rafah
Israeli missiles and air strikes on the Rafah area in southern Gaza struck three houses killing at least 20 Palestinians, Gaza health officials said.
Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have crammed into Rafah on Gaza’s border with Egypt to escape Israeli bombardments further north, despite fears that they will also not be safe there.
Early on Tuesday, residents in Khan Younis, a city also in southern Gaza, reported fierce gun battles between Hamas fighters and Israeli forces. Israeli tanks and planes bombed areas near the city centre, residents said.
