Hezbollah claims strike on Israel's Iron Dome launchers
Hezbollah claims to have carried out strikes on Israel’s Iron Dome air-defence system, causing “substantial damage”.
The Lebanon-based group said it had hit two missile launchers in Kabri, northern Israel, on Monday afternoon.
The claim came amid reports that an Israeli missile strike hit a building opposite a Hezbollah fighter’s funeral procession in southern Lebanon, without causing casualties.
Israel has not yet commented on the alleged strike. It has previously warned it would “destroy” Lebanon if Hezbollah, which backs Hamas, entered the war.
Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah have traded fire along the border nearly every day since the conflict erupted in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack.
04:00 PM GMT
Today's liveblog is now closed
Thanks for following today’s liveblog.
We will be back tomorrow with all the latest updates.
03:56 PM GMT
Lebanon-Israel border in 'dangerous' state, says UN peacekeeping chief
The situation on Lebanon’s border with Israel is “dangerous” with ongoing exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel, the head of the United Nations peacekeeping force in the country has warned.
“The situation now, as everybody knows, it is tense. It is difficult, it is dangerous,” said Aroldo Lazaro, head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Since October 8, the day after the Israel-Hamas conflict started, the frontier between Lebanon and Israel has seen escalating cross-border fire, mainly between the Israeli army and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which says it is acting in support of Hamas.
“We are trying to continue with our liaison and coordination role... in order to avoid miscalculations, misinterpretations that could be another trigger for escalation,” Mr Lazaro told journalists ahead of a meeting in Beirut with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.
03:48 PM GMT
BP suspends shipments through the Red Sea after Houthi attacks
BP has paused all shipments of oil and gas through the Red Sea following a series of attacks on vessels by Houthi militants.
The British oil giant said it had taken the decision “in light of the deteriorating security situation” in the Middle East, which has been caused by the war between Hamas and Israel.
The move comes after several other shipping companies also re-routed vessels to avoid the region, including Maersk, MSC and Hapag Lloyd.
Read more from Chris Price and Melissa Lawford here
03:31 PM GMT
Watch: Sunak says too many civilian lives lost as he calls for 'sustainable' Gaza ceasefire
03:17 PM GMT
Israeli-linked hacker group behind major cyber-attack on Iran’s petrol stations
An Israeli-linked hacker group claims to have carried out a major cyber-attack on Iranian petrol stations, knocking 70 per cent of them offline on Monday.
Predatory Sparrow, or “Gonjeshke Darande” in Persian, said it launched the “controlled” attack in response to “aggression” by the Islamic Republic and its proxies in the region.
“This cyber attack was carried out in a controlled manner to avoid potential damage to emergency services,” the group said.
Read more from James Rothwell here
03:06 PM GMT
Gaza war 'threat to national security,' says Egyptian president
The Israel-Hamas war is a threat to national security, the Egyptian president has said.
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said: “This ongoing war on our eastern borders, which calls for the mobilisation of all our efforts to prevent its continuation, represents a threat to Egyptian national security in particular and to the Palestinian cause in general.”
He made the comments in a televised speech after securing a third term with 89.6 per cent of the vote.
02:55 PM GMT
Israel strikes near Hezbollah funeral in Lebanon
An Israeli strike hit a building opposite a Hezbollah fighter’s funeral procession in southern Lebanon on Monday without causing casualties, official media reported.
Israel “targeted people who were participating in the funeral procession” of Hezbollah fighter Hassan Srur in the border town of Aita al-Shaab, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.
The strike hit a building less than 40 metres from the procession, causing damage but no casualties, the agency said, adding that “the Israeli enemy was trying to intimidate hundreds” of mourners, who nonetheless continued with the ceremony.
The frontier between Lebanon and Israel has seen regular exchanges of fire, mainly between the Israeli army and Hamas ally Hezbollah, since the conflict in the Gaza Strip began on October 7.
02:22 PM GMT
Freed Gaza hostage says captors treated her like a 'trophy'
A woman kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 has spoken of how she was she was held in a house under constant guard by men who treated her like a “trophy.”
Yarden Roman-Gat. 36, told CBS: “I was watched and seen at all times.”
The physical therapist tried to make her captors see her as a fellow human.
“They did not want to protect me. They wanted to guard their trophy,” she said, describing how she was dragged across the ground after they realised she was only pretending to be dead.
Ms Roman-Gat also described seeing crowds of celebrating people when she was driven into Gaza.
01:50 PM GMT
Pictured: Atara visits a memorial of those killed or kidnapped during the October 7 attack
01:29 PM GMT
EU's Borrell slams Israel's 'appalling lack of distinction' in Gaza
Israel’s military is showing “an appalling lack of distinction” in its targeting in Gaza, the EU’s top diplomat has said.
Far too many civilians have been killed in Gaza, as pointed out among others also by the French, German and UK Foreign Ministers.
Certainly, we are witnessing an appalling lack of distinction in Israel's military operation in Gaza.— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) December 18, 2023
12:57 PM GMT
Watch: Inside the Hamas tunnel network
What strikes you first about the tunnel is its size. Jutting out from the desert sand at a gradient of about 25 degrees, the rusty tubular steel opening is just big enough to drive a car through, reports The Telegraph’s Paul Nuki.
That is far from an accident. Hamas, as it proved on Oct 7, is a mobile terror group and this vast tunnel network, running 50m deep in places and emerging just shy of the Erez Crossing at Gaza’s northern tip, is believed to have been designed for a wider invasion of Israel.
“From here you can be in Tel Aviv in 50 minutes and Jerusalem in an hour,” says one of the soldiers charged with taking us into it.
Read: Inside the Hamas tunnel network
12:50 PM GMT
Pictured: An Israeli soldier plays the violin while sitting on a military vehicle
12:34 PM GMT
Sir Keir Starmer: A 'sustainable' ceasefire is clearly needed
Sir Keir Starmer has called for a “sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza as quickly as possible.
Visiting a hospital in Leeds, the Labour leader said: “A sustainable ceasefire is what everyone should be arguing for, certainly what we’re arguing for, and, if we can get as much support for that as possible, I think that’s the most realistic way forward.”
Sir Keir added: “And, I think the route to that is to get back to where we were just two weeks ago, where hostilities ceased, there’s an opening that allows the remaining hostages to be freed, which they must be straight away - allows humanitarian aid to get in - desperately needed - but, also, is a foot-in-the-door to a process, it will have to be a political process, to a two-stage solution which, in the end, is the only way that this is going to be resolved.”
12:29 PM GMT
Sunak says too many civilian lives lost as he calls for 'sustainable' Gaza ceasefire
Rishi Sunak has called for a “sustainable ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war as he said “too many civilian lives have been lost”.
The Prime Minister said during a visit to Scotland this morning that “nobody wants to see this conflict go on a day longer than it has to”.
Mr Sunak said this morning: “Israel obviously has a right to defend itself against what was an appalling terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas, but it must do that in accordance with humanitarian law.
“It’s clear that too many civilian lives have been lost and nobody wants to see this conflict go on a day longer than it has to.
“And that’s why we’ve been consistent – and I made this point in Parliament last week – in calling for a sustainable ceasefire, whereby hostages are released, rockets stop being fired into Israel by Hamas and we continue to get more aid in.”
11:52 AM GMT
CIA chief to meet Israeli and Qatari officials for hostage deal talks
CIA director Bill Burns is set to meet the Qatari Prime Minister and the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency in Warsaw to discuss a potential new deal to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, Axios reported.
According to the outlet, Israeli officials say they expect it will be trickier to agree on the terms of a potential new deal on this occasion.
The reported meeting comes days after the head of the Mossad intelligence agency held talks with the Qatari prime minister.
11:25 AM GMT
Gaza church killings 'at odds with war on Hamas,' Italy tells Israel
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani criticised Israeli forces for allegedly shooting and killing people in a Christian compound in the Gaza Strip, saying such actions would not help in its war to defeat Hamas.
“An (Israeli) sniper shot two women inside a church. This has nothing to do with the fight against Hamas because the terrorists are certainly not hiding in Christian churches,” Mr Tajani said.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Catholic authority in the Holy Land, said at the weekend the two women, named as Nahida Khalil Anton and her daughter Samar, were shot dead in the compound of the Holy Family Parish in Gaza.
The Patriarchate statement said seven other people were shot and wounded as they tried to protect others.
Mark Regev, an adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu, told Sky News: “We don’t shoot people who are going to church to pray, it just doesn’t happen, that’s not the way the IDF operates.”
He said he did not know whether the Israel Defense Forces killed the women, and said an investigation was underway.
11:01 AM GMT
Pictured: A man carrying a child, injured following Israeli bombardment, arrives to Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis
10:50 AM GMT
110 killed in Jabaliya, claims Hamas-run health ministry
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said that at least 110 Palestinians had been killed since the previous day in Israeli strikes on a northern part of the territory.
In a brief statement, the ministry said “there were 50 martyrs in occupation strikes on houses in Jabaliya,” bringing the number of deaths to 110 in the area since Sunday.
AFP could not independently verify the toll.
“When planning a target, the IDF (Israeli army) devotes significant time and resources to preparing the attack and where feasible, uses various tools, including advance warnings, roof knocking, street knocking, target clearing operations and a variety of professional calculations,” the army told AFP when asked about the strikes in Jabaliya.
10:20 AM GMT
'Sustainable ceasefire needed,' says Foreign Office minister
Shocked that civilians taking refuge in a church in northern Gaza have been killed & others injured. A further tragedy in Gaza. Israel must abide by IHL. Civilians must be protected. A sustainable ceasefire, leading to sustainable peace, is urgently needed. #ParhwayToPeace
— Lord (Tariq)Ahmad of Wimbledon (@tariqahmadbt) December 17, 2023
10:10 AM GMT
Israel 'doesn't shoot churchgoers,' says Netanyahu adviser
Israel does not shoot people going to church to pray as it is “not the way the IDF operates,” a senior adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu has said.
Mark Regev was responding to reports that a Christian mother and daughter were killed in “cold blood” by an Israeli sniper in the grounds of a Catholic church in Gaza City [see post at 08:21].
The adviser to the Israeli prime minister told Sky News that he did not know whether the Israel Defense Forces killed the women, and said an investigation was underway.
He said: “We don’t shoot people who are going to church to pray, it just doesn’t happen, that’s not the way the IDF operates.”
His comments come after the Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the most senior Catholic figure in the UK, told Sky News it was a “cold-blooded killing.”
He added: “What absolutely puzzles me is, this does nothing to further Israel’s right to defend itself.”
09:48 AM GMT
Watch: 'Hamas leader's brother drives through tunnel beneath Gaza'
09:24 AM GMT
US Defence Secretary arrives in Tel Aviv
Lloyd Austin, the US Defence Secretary, has arrived in Tel Aviv ahead of meetings with Israeli officials.
Mr Austin will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, on Monday to discuss a new phase of the conflict.
American officials envisage that it would involve smaller groups of elite forces conducting more precise intelligence-driven missions to kill Hamas leaders and rescue hostages.
Mr Austin is still expected to reiterate support for Israel’s campaign to destroy Hamas, but also to restate the importance of civilian safety and the need to increase humanitarian assistance.
Read: US to push Israel for ‘small-scale’ raids only within three weeks
09:00 AM GMT
Pictured: Aftermath of Israeli attacks in Deir al Balah, Gaza
08:57 AM GMT
UN Security Council to vote on 'sustainable ceasefire' call
The United Nations Security Council will vote on a new resolution calling for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities” in Gaza.
The vote comes days after the United States blocked a previous Security Council resolution that would have called for a “humanitarian ceasefire” in the battered Palestinian territory, where Israel continues its deadly strikes in retaliation for Hamas’s unprecedented attack on October 7.
The new draft, drawn up by the United Arab Emirates and seen by AFP, calls for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip.”
It also affirms support for a two-state solution in the region and “stresses the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.”
“The UAE knows exactly what can pass and what cannot — it is up to them if they want to get this done,” a US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
08:46 AM GMT
Ben Wallace: Netanyahu’s tactics are weakening Israel
Going after Hamas is legitimate; obliterating vast swathes of Gaza is not.
Using proportionate force is legal, but collective punishment and forced movement of civilians is not.
We are entering a dangerous period now where Israel’s original legal authority of self-defence is being undermined by its own actions.
It is making the mistake of losing its moral authority alongside its legal one.
Read the full piece from former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace here
08:31 AM GMT
World Health Organisation appalled by 'effective destruction' of north Gaza hospital
.@WHO is appalled by the effective destruction of Kamal Adwan hospital in northern #Gaza over the last several days, rendering it non-functional and resulting in the death of at least 8 patients.
Many health workers were reportedly detained, and WHO and partners are urgently…— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 17, 2023
The Israeli military said troops operating “in the area of the hospital” had detained dozens of suspected militants, some of whom had taken part in the Oct. 7 attack, and had seized “numerous” weapons and military tactical equipment.
It said the hospital had been used as a command centre by Hamas, without providing evidence.
08:25 AM GMT
Pictured: Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip
08:21 AM GMT
Christian mother and daughter shot dead by Israeli sniper in church grounds in Gaza City
A Christian mother and daughter were killed in “cold blood” by an Israeli sniper in the grounds of a Catholic church in Gaza City, the diocese of Jerusalem said.
Nahida and her daughter Samar were inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, where the majority of Christian families have taken refuge since the start of the war, when they were shot dead with no warning.
“One was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety,” the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement.
Read more here
08:20 AM GMT
Israel risks breaking law with its ‘killing rage’, says Ben Wallace
Israel risks losing legal authority for its war in Gaza by going on a crude and indiscriminate “killing rage” against the Palestinian people, Ben Wallace warns today.
The former defence secretary warns the country’s tactics will “fuel the conflict for another 50 years” and will radicalise young Muslims across the world.
His comments, made in an article for the Daily Telegraph, come amid a shift in tone from Britain and the West toward Israel as the death toll in Gaza spirals.
Read the full story here
