Situation at a glance: There is no end to the Gaza war in sight even at Christmas

The Gaza war continues to rage at Christmas – with no breakthrough in ceasefire talks in sight despite reports of progress. An Israeli delegation is waiting in Qatar for a response from the Islamist Hamas on details of an agreement, “but a positive response seems unlikely,” the Israeli news site “ynet” quoted a source as saying. In the evening, Israel’s President Izchak Herzog recalled the approximately 100 hostages who continued to be held captive in Gaza after 444 days “without basic humanitarian aid, medicine or visits from the Red Cross.”

Israel’s army intercepts another bullet from Yemen

Meanwhile, according to the military, Israeli air defense intercepted another missile that was approaching Israel from Yemen during the night. It was said that the projectile was fired outside the country’s own borders. Warning sirens sounded in several areas in central Israel. The sirens were triggered because of possible falling debris as a result of the shooting. According to the Magen David Adom rescue service, paramedics had to treat at least 20 people who fell while rushing to shelters or suffered anxiety attacks.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, the Houthi militias allied with Hamas have been attacking targets in Israel and ships in the Red Sea with rockets and drones. After the overnight shelling, the militia said it would continue its attacks until the aggression in Gaza ceased. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced tough military strikes against the Islamists in Yemen on Sunday because of the continued shelling. On Saturday night, a rocket from Yemen hit the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, leaving 16 people slightly injured.

Israel admits responsibility for killing Hamas foreign chief for first time

Meanwhile, Israel confirmed for the first time the killing of Hamas’s foreign chief, Ismail Haniya, in July in Iran’s capital Tehran. The statement came during a speech by Defense Minister Israel Katz on the action against the Houthi militia in Yemen, which is firing rockets and drones at Israel. “We will attack (the Houthis’) strategic infrastructure and behead their leaders. Just as we did with Hanija, Sinwar and Nasrallah in Tehran, the Gaza Strip and Lebanon,” Katz said, according to his ministry.

Haniya was killed on the night of July 31st in a targeted explosion in an Iranian government guest house. Israel killed Lebanese Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on September 27 and Gaza’s Hamas chief Jihia al-Sinwar on October 16.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have been mediating between Israel and Hamas for months because the two parties do not negotiate directly with each other. The aim is a ceasefire and the release of the hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners. An unnamed Israeli representative told Israel’s Kan channel that without Hamas providing a list of hostages who could be released, there would be no further progress.

Netanyahu insists on eliminating Hamas

Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke in parliament of “certain progress”, but reiterated that he would not agree to an end to the war until Hamas was completely eliminated. The war was triggered by the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, with more than 1,200 dead and more than 250 abducted. Since then, according to Palestinian figures, more than 45,200 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, although the number, which cannot be independently verified, does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

Meanwhile, three Israeli soldiers were killed in an explosion at a Hamas weapons and ammunition depot, the army said. It is being investigated whether the weapons depot was detonated remotely by Hamas fighters. On an army memorial page, the number of soldiers killed in the Gaza war and in the fight against the Lebanese Hezbollah militia was given as 821.

Christmas mass and subdued celebrations in Bethlehem

Meanwhile, Pope Francis is expected to speak out strongly against war and violence and remember people’s suffering at Christmas services in Rome. In a recent speech at the Vatican, he lamented the devastating consequences of the Gaza war. After children in Gaza were bombed the day before, he said: “This is cruelty. This is not war. I want to say this because it touches the heart.” Israel called his words “disappointing” because the pontiff ignored the fact that Israel was waging a multi-front war that was forced upon it.

In Bethlehem – the birthplace of Jesus Christ according to tradition – Christmas celebrations are expected to be muted this year because of the Gaza war. The procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and the midnight mass in Bethlehem should take place as usual. However, there will be no festive decorations in the small town in the West Bank or the lighting of a Christmas tree in front of the Church of the Nativity.