‘Whoever says ‘no’ to Hamas is a hero. It’s those traitors that need to be dealt with,” Nasira said.
Footage published over the weekend revealed that another anti-Hamas militia has been established in the Gaza Strip.
The militia is headed by Shawqi Abu Nasira, who, according to media reports, formerly served as a Palestinian Authority officer. The published footage showed Nasira addressing a line of masked men standing at attention.
“This is for Hamas to hear. Your dirty shoes are more honorable than the biggest beard in Hamas,” he told the assembled men, according to a translation published on X/Twitter by the Center for Peace Communications.
Speaking to N12, Hossam al-Astal, leader of the Counter-Terrorism Strike Force militia, noted that Nasira’s militia is the fifth such group in Gaza.
Shawqi Abu Nasira addressing his militia men in Khan Yunis, Gaza. November, 2025. (credit: SCREENSHOT/X)
“There are now five militias operating in the Strip,” Astal told N12. “Abu Nasira has been in eastern Khan Yunis for several months. I started with four people, and today I have hundreds. We will put an end to Hamas. We are the day after.”
“ Instead of trying to arrest me as a collaborator, how about you catch my d**k! From Hamas leader [Khalil] al Hayya down to the least of them,” Nasira said. “We aren’t afraid of their barking because we are…”
‘Death to Hamas!’ militia men chant
The assembled men responded by shouting, “Lions!” The men thereafter chant “Death to Hamas!”
Nasira continued, labeling the Iranians “the enemies of Islam and Sunnis” and told the assembled militia men, “You’re not Israeli collaborators. You are the best among the people. Whoever says ‘no’ to Hamas is a hero. Whether it’s me or anyone else, whoever says ‘no’ to Hamas is a hero. It’s those traitors that need to be dealt with.”
Finally, he slams Hamas for obsessing over catching “collaborators” and asks, “If they aren’t spies and collaborators themselves, why don’t they start walking the streets without masks on?”
Following the publishing of the footage, Abu Nasira issued a public statement disavowing Nasira and affirming its alignment with Hamas.
“The Abu Nasira family in the homeland and diaspora affirms its adherence to the national principles and its complete alignment with the ranks of our people and its valiant resistance,” the statement read. “Regarding the actions of the individual known as Shawqi Abu Nasira and his joining the groups of the mercenary collaborator Yasser Abu Shabab, we hereby declare our complete disavowal of these behaviors, and we affirm that they represent none but their perpetrator.”
Astal has reportedly been able to “liberate an area from Hamas occupation,” managing to establish a “safe city” of almost one square mile in Khan Yunis.
Hossam al-Astal, leader of one of the anti-Hamas militias in Gaza, said in an interview with The Telegraph that he was willing to cooperate with former British prime minister Tony Blair in the establishment of a security force inside Gaza.
Astal has reportedly been able to “liberate an area from Hamas occupation.” “We’re using mainly handguns and AK-47s taken from Hamas,” Astal said, and added, “I can’t say how many fighters we have. Right now, that’s very sensitive – we’re in a war.”
According to the report, which was not confirmed by the IDF, Astal’s men have managed to establish a “safe city” of almost one square mile that works as a refuge for 200 people and is “free of Hamas.”
Astal’s comments also assure that he received logistical cooperation from the IDF, something that the military did not comment on, while also receiving freedom of action, protection from air strikes, and bespoke access to aid.
Palestinians walk past rubble as they return to their neighborhood, following Israeli forces’ withdrawal from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip October 11, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
The day after Hamas in Gaza
Astal worked until 2007 as a security official in the Palestinian Authority (PA), until Hamas’s coup of 2007 that saw the expulsion of the PA from the strip. He also survived an execution attempt and even managed to escape one of Hama’s prisons during the post-October 7 chaos in Gaza.
“Tony Blair is a decent politician,” he told theTelegraph. “I think his help can be useful, especially if it’s coming with an international agreement or mandate. We are ready to cooperate with anyone who will bring help to our people in Gaza.”
The article points out that this might be “jumping the gun,” taking into account that the current deal only covers a partial retirement of Israeli forces from the strip in exchange for all the remaining hostages.
“We will not stop fighting Hamas,” Astal insisted. “We have martyrs – Hamas has our blood on its hands. Even if Israel signs a treaty and stops the war with Hamas, we will not stop.”
“I am in touch with tens of former PA officers around Gaza, and we are all ready and waiting for zero hour, the moment when we are all going to liberate the Gaza Strip from Hamas,” he also warned.
JERUSALEM — As Israel seeks to excise Hamas from Gaza, it’s empowering militias led by the Palestinian group’s enemies, assisting and providing them with military support in an attempt to present them as an alternative to Hamas’s rule in the enclave.
The policy appears to date back to late last year, when Israel targeted local police forces in Gaza, justifying such attacks by saying that any government entity in Gaza is affiliated with Hamas; the result was chaos in parts of the Strip.
In the ensuing security vacuum, a 32-year-old Palestinian tribesman named Yaser Abu Shabab emerged with some 100 of his clansmen to control aid routes near the Kerem Shalom crossing, a critically important aid conduit at the Gaza-Israel boundary.
Aid organizations accuse groups like Abu Shabab’s of looting aid convoys, having ties to extremist groups and exacerbating famine in Gaza.
In May, Jonathan Whitall, then director of the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Territories, said in a news briefing that “criminal gangs, under the watch of Israeli forces,” have been “allowed to operate in proximity to the Kerem Shalom border crossing.”
A month later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged his government, following the advice of security officials, had “activated” clans in Gaza to work against Hamas.
“What’s bad about it?” he said in a video statement. “It’s only good and it only saves the lives of Israel Defense Force soldiers.”
Abu Shabab has since styled his group into the so-called “Popular Forces.” Soon after Netanyahu’s address, Abu Shabab released a statement of his own denying receiving any arms from Israel. But other posts touting the group’s security and aid operations show him working in areas under the full control of the Israeli military, and reports from Israeli media say he has received Kalashnikov rifles from the military.
Abu Shabab’s group may have been the first to make itself known in Gaza, but other militias have since cropped up, activists say, operating in various parts of the Strip in concert with the Israeli military.
One of the more prominent examples is led by Hussam Al-Astal, 50, a former officer in the Palestinian Authority’s security service who was accused by colleagues in the Palestinian Authority and Hamas of collaborating with Israel in the 1990s and of assassinating a high-ranking Hamas official in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
His group, which calls itself “The Strike Force Against Terror,” has cemented its control over Qizan Al-Najjar, a village south of Rafah, which Astal describes as a haven for those opposed to Hamas.
“Today in my area, we have no war,” Astal said in a phone interview Friday, adding that others are expected to come and that anyone entering the area was vetted for ties to Hamas.
“If you come here, you’ll see children playing. We have water, electricity, safety.”
Smoke rises from buildings following heavy Israeli attacks as Palestinians continue to flee northern Gaza toward the south.
(Khames Alrefi/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Astal made his comments the same day Hamas announced that it will accept parts of the Trump administration plan to end the war which began when Hamas forces invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas agreed to release hostages and largely give up its governing role in Gaza, which it has controlled since 2007.
In a video posted in September, Al-Astal promises to pay $50 dollars to anyone who kills a Hamas fighter.
“Every Hamas member I will personally throw in the trash heap. Hamas’s rule is ending,” he says.
On Friday, Al-Astal’s group was involved in one of the bloodiest instances of intra-Palestinian fighting in the enclave, when a Hamas unit attacked a neighborhood in Khan Yunis in a bid to arrest members of a prominent clan accused of collaborating with Israel.
In the ensuing firefight, five clansmen were killed, local sources say. Al-Astal said his forces assisted in fighting Hamas “using our special methods.” He did not elaborate on what those methods were, but the Israeli military released footage later on Friday showing it targeting Hamas militants it said were attacking a neighborhood in Khan Yunis; it said in a later that it killed 20 gunmen.
Reports on social media said 11 Hamas members were killed, and their bodies were dragged through the streets of Khan Yunis. One video taken by local activists and posted on the messaging app Telegram shows the camera lingering over bloodied corpses lined side-by-side on the ground.
Palestinians continue to flee to the southern regions with their belongings following Israeli airstrikes and ground assaults in Gaza Strip on Oct. 3.
(Saeed M. M. T. Jaras/Anadolu via Getty Images)
It wouldn’t be the first time Israel has tried to create alternative governance structures in Palestinian communities. Between 1978 and 1984, it formed the Villages League, which aimed to dismantle the influence of the Palestine Liberation Organization by relying on prominent Palestinians, giving them incentives in return for their cooperation as a more pliant authority. The initiative failed.
Around the same time, Israel empowered Palestinian Islamist groups including Hamas, hoping they would serve as a counterweight to the PLO and leftist, secular Palestinian factions that were prominent at the time.
Being seen as cooperating with Israel remains a black mark in Palestinian society. The families of both Abu Shabab and Al-Astal issued statements disowning them.
Al-Astal refused being characterized as a traitor, saying family members, including his sister, were killed by Israeli bombs. But he makes no secret of what he called coordination with the Israeli military, from whom he has received water, food and military equipment.
“Hamas says I’m a traitor because I coordinate with Israel,” he said.
“What do you think I’m coordinating? How to evacuate someone who is sick; how to provide food, water and services.”
Not all clans have been receptive to Israel’s overtures.
Last month, said Nizar Dughmush, the head of a prominent tribe in Gaza City, he was contacted by a militiaman who claimed he was an intermediary from the Israeli military.
“He said the Israelis wanted us to take charge of a humanitarian zone in Gaza City, that we should recruit as many of our family members as we could, and they would provide logistical support, like arms, food and shelter,” Dughmush said.
But Dughmush refused their offer, saying his family were civilians, and that though they were not affiliated with Hamas, they had no interest in being “tools of the occupation.”
Two days later, Dughmush said, Israeli warplanes began pounding the tribe’s neighborhood, killing more than 100 members of his clan. Dughmush claims Israeli forces entered the neighborhood 48 hours later and systematically destroyed every house.
“All of this is vengeance against us because we refused to cooperate,” he said. Two other clans, Dayri and Bakr, were approached in a similar fashion and had their areas attacked after rejecting Israel’s offer.
“I’m talking to you now as a displaced person, along with what’s left of my clan, all of us spread out in different parts of Gaza,” Dughmush said.
Al-Astal, who considers himself a longtime foe of Hamas, is unapologetic in his choices, which he sees as essential in a post-Hamas Gaza.
“There’s no place for Hamas here,” he said.
“We’re the new administration, and we’re the future.”
The Israeli military destroyed another building of the Islamic University in Gaza City on Sunday, saying Hamas had used the facility to monitor Israeli soldiers and plan attacks.
Videos published by both Israeli and Palestinian media showed the building being struck and collapsing, and the military confirmed the attack. The claims could not be independently verified.
According to Palestinians, displaced Gazans had been sheltering on the grounds of the university, which has been targeted several times during the nearly two-year war.
The Israeli military had issued a fresh evacuation order for parts of Gaza City’s Rimal neighbourhood and the port area, urging civilians to move immediately to the al-Mawasi “humanitarian zone” further south.
Israeli forces also hit the al-Kawthar residential tower, saying Hamas militants had installed intelligence-gathering equipment and observation posts there. The allegation could not be independently confirmed. Video footage showed the high-rise collapsing.
Israel has flattened dozens of high-rises in Gaza City, asserting that the Palestinian militant group Hamas uses residential towers for military purposes.
Israeli media reported that around 280,000 people have fled Gaza City, once home to roughly 1 million residents. The Hamas-run media office put the figure at about 350,000. Many civilians remain reluctant to relocate to designated safe zones, citing past Israeli attacks on such areas.
Israeli officials have said the airstrikes are part of preparations for a deeper ground offensive aimed at dismantling Hamas units believed to be based in Gaza City.
But the conservative daily Israel Hayom reported on Sunday significant resistance within the army’s top ranks to the planned assault. Senior officials warned that, especially after the recent attack in Qatar, Israel could be endangering its national security “in an unprecedented way.”
Security officials have questioned whether the operation can achieve its stated goal of destroying Hamas, warning it could last for months, jeopardize the lives of remaining hostages, cause heavy Israeli military losses and further isolate Israel internationally because of the images of destruction and civilian casualties emerging from Gaza.
The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 abducted. Israel says 48 hostages remain in Gaza, 20 of them believed to be alive.
The Hamas-run health authority in Gaza says more than 64,800 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. The tally does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, but the figures are regarded as broadly credible by the United Nations.
Large parts of the densely populated territory have been devastated by Israeli bombardments. Critics accuse Israel of war crimes and, in some cases – including Spain’s government – of genocide. Israel insists it is acting in self-defence.
Ambulances and emergency vehicles have been put out of service due to shelling, and destruction by Israeli bulldozers during incursions into several cities. According to an employee of the Palestinian Ministry of Health’s ambulance and emergency services at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, a significant number of ambulance officers have been killed and others injured while performing their duties. Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
Ambulances and emergency vehicles have been put out of service due to shelling, and destruction by Israeli bulldozers during incursions into several cities. According to an employee of the Palestinian Ministry of Health’s ambulance and emergency services at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, a significant number of ambulance officers have been killed and others injured while performing their duties. Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
Hamas has warned that not a single hostage would leave the territory “alive” unless the group’s demands were met.
“Neither the fascist enemy and its arrogant leadership… nor its supporters… can take their prisoners alive without an exchange and negotiation and meeting the demands of the resistance,” Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, said in a televised broadcast, referring to the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
A one-week truce in the war that collapsed on December 1 saw 105 hostages held by the group freed, including 80 Israelis released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. Israel on Saturday said 137 captives remained in the Palestinian territory.
He said that the “temporary truce proved our credibility”, and said that its fighters had partially or fully destroyed 180 Israeli personnel carriers, tanks and bulldozers in 10 days since fighting resumed in Gaza.
05:02 PM GMT
That’s all for today
Thank you for following our live coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict. The key developments from the day were the following:
Hamas has warned that not a single hostage would leave the territory “alive” unless the group’s demands were met.
Israeli tanks reached the centre of Khan Younis in a major new push into the heart of the main city in the southern Gaza Strip.
Mediation efforts are continuing to secure a new Gaza ceasefire and free more hostages held by Hamas despite ongoing Israeli bombardment that is “narrowing the window” for a successful outcome, Qatar’s prime minister said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he regrets the Security Council’s failure to demand a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, condemning the divisions that have “paralysed” the world body.
The IDF has reported that 1593 of its soldiers have been wounded since the start of the war on Oct 7, 559 of those in Gaza.
France said that one of its warships in the Red Sea was targeted by two drones coming from Yemen. Both were intercepted and shot down.
Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Vladimir Putin and voiced displeasure with “anti-Israel positions” taken by Moscow’s envoys at the United Nations.
Some Hamas fighters have surrendered in the northern Gaza Strip, Israel said.
The impact of the conflict on Gaza’s healthcare sector has been “catastrophic”, the World Health Organization chief said on Sunday at an emergency board meeting, saying conditions were ideal for the spread of deadly diseases.
04:25 PM GMT
WHO urges immediate humanitarian aide for Gaza
The World Health Organization’s executive board on Sunday adopted a resolution by consensus for combatting the worsening health situation in the Gaza Strip.
After the UN Security Council declined to demand a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group, the 34 countries on the WHO’s executive board adopted by consensus a resolution calling for the “immediate, sustained and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief” into Gaza.
04:13 PM GMT
Israeli tanks reach centre of southern Gaza’s main city
Israeli tanks have reached the centre of Khan Younis in a major new push into the heart of the main city in the southern Gaza Strip.
Residents said tanks had reached the main north-south road through the middle of Khan Younis after intense combat through the night. Warplanes were pounding the area west of the assault, while thick columns of white smoke rose over the city.
Smoke rises in Khan Younis – IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA / Reuters
“It was one of the most dreadful nights, the resistance was very strong, we could hear gunshots and explosions that didn’t stop for hours,” a father of four displaced from Gaza City and sheltering in Khan Younis told Reuters.
Israel launched the storm of Khan Younis this week after a truce collapsed, extending its ground war to Gaza’s southern half in a new, expanded phase of its two-month-old campaign to wipe out Hamas militants.
International aid organisations say this has left the enclave’s 2.3 million people with nowhere to hide.
03:54 PM GMT
In pictures
An Israeli army self-propelled artillery howitzer fires rounds – MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images
Chickens walk on top of rubble, at the site of Israeli strikes on a residential area – REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Israel’s Chief of Staff lighting a candle in Nahal – IDF
03:37 PM GMT
White House to intensify push for Ukraine and Israel aid
The White House will step up its engagement with US lawmakers trying to strike a bipartisan deal that would provide military aid for Ukraine and Israel, a Democratic senator said on Sunday.
Republicans have insisted that additional funding for Ukraine must be paired with major US border security changes but a bipartisan group of senators trying to broker a compromise have made little progress with less than a week before the US Congress leaves for a Christmas break.
“The White House is going to get more engaged this week,” said Senator Chris Murphy, the lead Democratic negotiator.
Murphy said the current border security demands by Republicans were “unreasonable” and that they were “playing games with the security of the world” by linking the military aid to US border security measures.
03:24 PM GMT
Israel cannot recover its hostages without negotiations, says Hamas
Hamas’ armed wing said on Sunday Israel will not be able to recover any of its hostages unless it engages in talks over conditional swap deals.
Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for the al-Qassam Brigades, said in an audio speech broadcast by Al Jazeera television that Israel will not be able to recover the captives by force, citing what he described a failed operation to free one of them.
He also claimed that Hamas fighters had partially or fully destroyed 180 Israeli personnel carriers, tanks and bulldozers in 10 days since fighting resumed in Gaza, and that the “temporary truce proved our credibility”.
03:08 PM GMT
Blinken: Palestinian civilian safety imperative
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Sunday it is “imperative” that Israeli military operations in Gaza protect Palestinian civilians, adding that the fighting should be followed by a durable peace leading to a Palestinian state.
03:01 PM GMT
Watch: Israel claims ‘Hamas fighters’ surrender in northern Gaza
02:54 PM GMT
Israel says 1593 soldiers wounded and 425 killed
The IDF has reported that 1593 of its soldiers have been wounded since the start of the war on Oct 7, 559 of those in Gaza.
It added that 425 soldiers have been killed.
02:44 PM GMT
France says its warships was targeted by drones from direction of Yemen
France said that one of its warships in the Red Sea was targeted by two drones coming from Yemen. Both were intercepted and shot down, according to the Associated Press.
A short statement from the Armies Ministry did not say who fired the drones at the French Navy frigate Languedoc.
France’s Armies Ministry said the drones “came straight at” the Languedoc two hours apart from the direction of Yemen. The warship destroyed them both about 110 kilometers (70 miles) off the Red Sea port of Al Hudaydah on the Yemeni coast, it said.
02:38 PM GMT
Pictured: Palestinian detainees
Israeli soldiers stand by a truck packed with shirtless Palestinian detainees – REUTERS/Yossi Zeliger I
02:26 PM GMT
Artillery Corps now operating inside the Gaza Strip
Since the start of the war, Israel’s Artillery Corps has been operating on the border of the Gaza Strip, assisting the ground forces with fire support for operations and rescue efforts.
In recent days, soldiers from the 282nd Brigade have begun operating in the Gaza Strip, in cooperation with the 188th Brigade in the Shuja’iyya area of the Gaza Strip, according to the IDF.
02:09 PM GMT
Netanyahu: Israel helped Cyprus foil Iranian-ordered attack against Israelis and Jews
Israel helped Cyprus foil an Iranian-ordered attack against Israelis and Jews on the island, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday, saying such plots were on the rise since the Gaza war erupted.
Netanyahu’s office gave no details of the planned attack but said in the statement on behalf of the Mossad intelligence service that Israel was “troubled” by what it saw as Iranian use of Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus “both for terrorism objectives and as an operational and transit area”.
The breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in northern Cyprus is recognised only by Turkey, which is sharply critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza since Oct. 7.
The internationally recognised government in the south of Cyprus has close relations with Israel.
01:43 PM GMT
Netanyahu speaks to Putin
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday and voiced displeasure with “anti-Israel positions” taken by Moscow’s envoys at the United Nations, an Israeli statement said.
Russia backed a UN Security Council resolution for a Gaza truce, which was vetoed by the United States on Friday.
Speaking to Putin, Netanyahu also voiced “robust disapproval” of Russia’s “dangerous” cooperation with Iran, the Israeli statement said
Netanyahu also expressed his appreciation of the Russian effort to release an Israeli citizen with Russian citizenship.
01:31 PM GMT
Pictured: Netanyahu heads the weekly cabinet meeting
Benjamin Netanyahu heads the weekly cabinet meeting – AFP
01:22 PM GMT
North Korea condemns US veto of Gaza ceasefire call at UN
A North Korean senior official criticised the United States for blocking a UN resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, claiming the veto showed Washington’s “double standards”, North Korean state media KCNA said on Sunday.
The United States vetoed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza at the United Nations Security Council on Friday.
The ceasefire resolution at the UN failed to pass after the United States vetoed the proposal and Britain abstained.
“The United States’ abuse of its veto power to protect an ally that massacred tens of thousands of civilians is not only a manifestation of illegal and unreasonable double standards, but also the height of inhumane evil,” Kim Son Gyong, North Korea’s vice foreign minister for international organisations, said via KCNA.
Kim argued the United States was contradicting itself by condoning continued fighting in Gaza while condemning North Korea’s recent satellite launch that caused no harm to any other country.
01:10 PM GMT
Hamas fighters surrender in northern Gaza, claims Israel
Some Hamas fighters have surrendered in the northern Gaza Strip, Israel said late on Saturday.
The Israeli military did not specify how many Hamas militants had been captured, but said they had surrendered in and near Gaza city, in the Shajaiya and Jabaliya neighbourhoods.
The claims come two days after Israel said it had detained hundreds of terrorism suspects.
Videos circulated on social media and Israeli news channels this week believed to show Hamas fighters detained by Israeli forces. The men in the videos had been forced to strip to their underwear and were blindfolded. The videos could not be independently verified, and reports emerged that there were civilian Gazans among those described as Hamas fighters.
12:50 PM GMT
Iran accuses jailed Swedish EU diplomat of conspiring with Israel
Iranian authorities have accused a Swedish EU diplomat, held in a Tehran prison for more than 600 days, of conspiring with Iran’s arch-enemy Israel to harm the Islamic republic, the judiciary said Sunday, reported by AFP.
“Johan Floderus is accused of extensive measures against the security of the country, extensive intelligence cooperation with the Zionist regime and corruption on earth,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online news agency said.
Corruption on earth is one of Iran’s most serious offences which carries a maximum penalty of death.
“The defendant has been active against the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of gathering information for the benefit of the Zionist regime in the form of subversive projects,” Mizan quoted the prosecution as saying.
Earlier Sunday, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called for the immediate release of the Swedish diplomat, arguing “there are absolutely no grounds for keeping Johan Floderus in detention.”
Floderus, 33, works for the European Union diplomatic service. He was arrested on April 17, 2022, at Tehran airport as he was returning from a trip abroad, and is being held in Tehran’s Evin prison.
12:33 PM GMT
Hamas attacks do not justify Israel’s punishment of Palestinians, says Russia’s Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday said it was not acceptable for Israel to use Hamas’ terror attack on Oct 7 as justification for the collective punishment of the Palestinian people, and called for international monitoring on the ground in Gaza.
President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly blamed the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas on the failure of years of US diplomacy in the Middle East, while aiming to position Russia as an important player with ties to all the major actors in the region.
12:22 PM GMT
Pictured: Fighting on Dec 10
Smoke rises from Israeli artillery shelling on the outskirts of Yaroun, a Lebanese border village with Israel – AP Photo/Hassan Ammar
Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip during an Israeli strike – MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images
Photo from the IDF of fighting in the Gaza Strip – IDF
12:03 PM GMT
Iran unveils drones armed with air-to-air missiles
Iran has reinforced its air defence capabilities by adding combat drones equipped with air-to-air missiles to its arsenal, state media reported on Sunday.
“Dozens of Karrar drones armed with air-to-air missiles have been added for air defence in all border areas of the country,” the official IRNA news agency said, reported by AFP.
The drones, with an operational range of up to 1,000 kilometres (620 miles), were exhibited Sunday morning during a televised ceremony organised at a military academy in Tehran.
“The enemies will now have to rethink their strategies” because the Iranian forces have “become more powerful”, IRNA quoted the commander-in-chief of Iran’s army, General Abdolrahim Mousavi, as saying.
The development of Iran’s military arsenal has sparked concern among many countries, particularly the United States and Israel, the sworn enemies of the Islamic republic.
The latter accuse Tehran of providing fleets of drones to its allies in the Middle East, notably to Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, and to the Huthi rebels in Yemen.
Iran also backs the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
11:43 AM GMT
Watch: Israeli offensive continues as Netanyahu rebuffs calls to end fighting in Gaza
11:27 AM GMT
Jordan says Israel aims to expel Palestinians from Gaza
Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi said on Sunday Israel was implementing a systematic policy of pushing Palestinians out of Gaza by a war that has killed thousands of civilians.
In remarks at a conference in Doha, Safadi, whose country borders the West Bank and had absorbed the bulk of Palestinians after Israel’s creation in 1948, also said Israel had created an “amount of hatred “ that would “haunt the region” and “define generations to come”.
11:14 AM GMT
Israeli army says five soldiers have died
The Israeli army have said in a statement that five of its soldiers have died in the Gaza War.
Four soldiers were killed in the battle in Southern Gaza, while the fifth succumbed to his wounds after fighting on October 7, according to the Israeli army statement posted on X.
11:00 AM GMT
Two Iranians questioned over suspected plots to attack Israelis in Cyprus
Two Iranians have been detained in Cyprus for questioning over suspected planning of attacks on Israeli citizens living in Cyprus, a Cypriot newspaper reported on Sunday.
The two individuals were believed to be in the early stages of gathering intelligence on potential Israeli targets, the Kathimerini Cyprus newspaper said, without citing sources.
The paper added that the Iranians were political refugees in contact with a person linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
A senior Cyprus official declined to comment, citing policy on issues concerning national security.
Barely a 40-minute flight from Israel, Cyprus is a popular holiday and investment destination for thousands of Israelis.
10:50 AM GMT
Watch: Crowding in Rafah as displaced Palestinians flee after evacuation orders
10:40 AM GMT
Yemen rebels threaten Israel-bound Red Sea ships
Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels have threatened to attack any vessels heading to Israeli ports unless food and medicine are allowed into the besieged Gaza Strip, according to Reuters.
The latest warning comes amid heightened tensions in the Red Sea and surrounding waters following a series of maritime attacks by Huthi rebels since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.
In a statement posted on social media, the Huthis said they “will prevent the passage of ships heading to the Zionist entity” if humanitarian aid is not allowed into Hamas-ruled Gaza.
The Huthis have recently attacked ships they claim have direct links to Israel, but their latest threat expands the scope of their targets.
Regardless of which flag ships sail under or the nationality of their owners or operators, Israel-bound vessels “will become a legitimate target for our armed forces”, the statement said.
Hamas welcomed the rebels’ “courageous and bold” decision.
“We call on Arab and Muslim countries to use all their capabilities, based on their historical responsibilities and in the spirit of chivalry, to lift the siege of Gaza,” it added in a statement sent to AFP.
Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, said his country would not accept the “naval siege”, noting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked US President Joe Biden and European leaders to take measures to address the situation.
10:29 AM GMT
‘Apocalyptic’ situation in southern Gaza
Israel is continuing to push on with its punishing air and ground offensive in southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled in search of shelter.
Aid groups have described the situation as “apocalyptic” and warned it is on the brink of being overwhelmed by disease and starvation.
Hamas said on Sunday that Israel had launched a series of “very violent raids” targeting the southern city of Khan Younis and the road from there to Rafah, near the border with Egypt.
At least 17,700 people, mostly women and children, have died in two months of fighting in the narrow strip of territory, according to the latest figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue its “just war”, while army chief Herzi Halevi said his forces needed to “press harder” in Gaza.
10:25 AM GMT
Pictured: Damage to homes in Gaza
A Palestinian man inspects the damage at the site of Israeli strikes on houses – REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
10:13 AM GMT
Netanyahu rebuffs calls to end fighting
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuffed on Sunday international calls to end the Gaza war, describing them as inconsistent with supporting the war-aim of eliminating Hamas.
Briefing his cabinet, Netanyahu said he had told the leaders of France, Germany and other countries: “You cannot on the one hand support the elimination of Hamas and on other pressure us to end the war, which would prevent the elimination of Hamas”.
10:00 AM GMT
Gaza health situation is ‘catastrophic’, says WHO chief
The impact of the conflict on Gaza’s healthcare sector has been “catastrophic”, the World Health Organization chief said on Sunday at an emergency board meeting, saying conditions were ideal for the spread of deadly diseases.
“It’s stating the obvious to say that the impact of the conflict on health is catastrophic,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the 34-member board.
“In summary health needs have increased dramatically and the capacity of the health system has been reduced to one third of what it was,” he said.
09:44 AM GMT
Displaced Palestinians shelter in Rafah
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, shelter in Rafah – REUTERS/Mustafa Thraya
09:31 AM GMT
Qatar says efforts to renew Israel-Hamas truce ‘continuing’
Mediation efforts are continuing to secure a new Gaza ceasefire and free more hostages held by Hamas despite ongoing Israeli bombardment that is “narrowing the window” for a successful outcome, Qatar’s prime minister said Sunday.
“Our efforts as the state of Qatar along with our partners are continuing. We are not going to give up,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the Doha Forum.
He added that “the continuation of the bombardment is just narrowing this window for us.”
Qatar was a key mediator in negotiations that resulted in a seven-day truce, which saw scores of Israeli hostages exchanged for Palestinians prisoners and humanitarian aid, until it ended at the start of the month.
“We are going to continue, we are committed to have hostages released, but we are also committed to stop the war,” Qatar’s prime minister said.
However, he said, “we are not seeing the same willingness from both parties”.
09:24 AM GMT
UN chief says its credibility is ‘undermined’
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Sunday said he regrets the Security Council’s failure to demand a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, condemning the divisions that have “paralysed” the world body.
Addressing Qatar’s Doha Forum, Guterres said the council was “paralysed by geostrategic divisions” that were undermining solutions to the Israel-Hamas war which started on October 7.
The body’s “authority and credibility were severely undermined” by its delayed response to the conflict, he said two days after a US veto prevented a resolution calling for a Gaza ceasefire.
“I reiterated my appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared,” he told the forum.
“Regrettably, the Security Council failed to do it,” he added. “I can promise, I will not give up.”
At almost exactly the same time Israeli negotiators pulled out of deadlocked truce talks in Qatar on Saturday, Israeli jets sent a prestige Doha-funded housing development in the Gaza Strip up in smoke.
Hamad City is named for the former emir of the Gulf petro-state, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, who laid the foundation stone on a visit 11 years ago.
Inaugurated in 2016, it was still among the newest projects in the Gaza Strip, the housing complex in the city of Khan Yunis boasting an impressive mosque, shops and gardens.
The first flats — more than 1,000 of them — were provided to Palestinians whose homes were destroyed in the war between Israel and Hamas two years earlier.
On Saturday it happened again, a day after a Qatar-brokered pause in the current war between Israel and Hamas expired.
First their phones pinged around noon with an “immediate” evacuation order SMS sent by the Israeli army, which says the system is aimed at minimising civilian casualties.
Around an hour later, five Israeli air strikes rained down on the neighbourhood in the space of just two minutes.
Bombs slammed into the pale apartment blocks one by one, reducing them largely to rubble and sending a huge pall of black smoke into the sky, as people fled and cries of ‘help!’ and ‘ambulance!’ rang out.
“At least we got through it,” 26-year-old Nader Abu Warda told AFP, amazed he was still alive.
– No phones –
The Israeli military has divided the Gaza Strip into 2,300 “blocs” and is now sending SMS messages to residents telling them to leave before they launch the strikes which they say will “eliminate Hamas”.
Around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, died in the Islamist movement’s October 7 assault on southern Israel and some 240 were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities.
The Hamas-led Gaza Strip government says Israel’s campaign has killed more than 15,000 people, also mostly civilians, since it was launched eight weeks ago.
The United Nations humanitarian agency, OCHA, has highlighted that the warning messages do not indicate where the recipients should go.
Ibrahim al-Jamal, a civil servant in his 40s, said he does not have any “internet, any electricity or even a radio to receive information” and that he has “never seen this map” setting out the different blocs.
“Many people in Gaza have never heard of it and it wouldn’t matter anyway as the bombings are taking place everywhere,” he said.
Humanitarian bodies say the most vulnerable in Gaza are the estimated 1.7 million displaced people.
Many of them do not have access to phones and have to rely on warning leaflets dropped by planes, not visible from inside an apartment.
– ‘Go where?’ –
According to the Gaza Strip’s Civil Defence emergency and rescue organisation, in recent weeks “hundreds of displaced families” had been taking refuge in 3,000 apartments at Hamad City.
Mohammed Foura, 21, already displaced once from Gaza City, told AFP that half an hour before the strike he had been warned by other residents to flee.
They shouted “get out, get out”, he said, as families piled their belongings into cars or carried them away in enormous bundles.
Nader Abu Warda fled Jabalia, near Gaza City, at the start of the war and no longer knows which way to go or what to do.
He, his wife and three children had been staying in a friend’s apartment in the complex.
“They told us ‘Gaza City is a war zone’, now it’s Khan Yunis,” he said. “Yesterday, they were saying ‘evacuate the east of Khan Yunis’. Today, they say ‘evacuate the west’,” he added, visibly exasperated.
“Where are we going now, into the sea? Where are we going to put our children to bed?”
