Situation at a glance: WHO denounces the destruction of the health system in Gaza

The Israeli army continues to take intensive action against the Islamist Hamas in the north of the Gaza Strip. She announced that she had started an operation in Beit Hanun that night. After the operation at a hospital in nearby Beit Lahia on Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) accused the army of systematically dismantling the health system in the sealed-off coastal area. This is a death sentence for tens of thousands of Palestinians, the UN organization wrote on X.

Medical circles in the Gaza Strip also reported nine deaths this morning after an Israeli attack that is said to have hit a house in the refugee district of Al-Maghasi in the central section of the coastal area.

According to Palestinian figures, more than 45,430 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war began as a result of the Hamas massacre in Israel that left 1,200 dead on October 7, 2023, although the number does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Aid organizations complain about the immense suffering of the civilian population.

Information from the combat area is difficult to verify

The information from the combat area can generally hardly be verified independently. Israel justified the operation in the hospital by saying that Hamas terrorists were hiding in the clinic and misusing it for military purposes.

The Hamas-controlled health authority said its director, Hussam Abu Safeia, and dozens of staff members had been arrested and taken to a facility for questioning. There was no confirmation of this from the Israeli side. Some employees are said to have now been released.

The WHO complained on

Israel’s army had emphasized that it was protecting civilians, patients and employees of the clinic and was acting in accordance with international law. Medical circles in the Gaza Strip said that several people were injured in the operation.

Unicef: Record number of children live in conflict areas

The situation for civilians in the combat zones has been desperate for months. The suffering of children in Gaza is also addressed in a new report by the UN children’s fund Unicef, according to which more children worldwide than ever before are living in conflict areas or have been forcibly expelled from their homes.

Accordingly, a good 473 million children live in conflict areas – more than one in six children worldwide. Thousands of children were killed and injured in Gaza. In addition, the children there did not attend school for more than a year.

Chances of a ceasefire are slim

While the fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon has largely held for a month now, the chances of an imminent ceasefire in the Gaza war appear slim.

If the negotiations on a ceasefire and the release of around 100 hostages in the Gaza Strip do not bear fruit by the time US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20th, the Gaza talks would probably be delayed by several months due to the change of government in the US postpone, the US news site “Axios” quoted US and Israeli officials involved. This could cost the lives of other Israeli hostages.

Trump had threatened Hamas that if the hostages were not released before he took office, “all hell would break loose” for those responsible for the atrocities in the Middle East. Trump left it open what exactly he meant by that.

Some Israeli officials believe that if a deal with Hamas fails, Trump could support Israeli measures rejected by the previous U.S. administration of President Joe Biden, the news site reported. For example, restricting humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in Gaza.

New air strikes in Yemen – rocket alarm in Israel

According to military information, Israel’s air defense intercepted another rocket fired from Yemen near its own border that night. Shortly before, military facilities of the pro-Iranian Houthi militia in Yemen were again the target of air strikes.

The TV station Al-Masirah, which is considered the militia’s mouthpiece, spoke of attacks by the USA and Great Britain. There was no confirmation of this. Israeli military circles said that their own air force was not involved.

Israel’s military only attacked their infrastructure in Yemen on Thursday evening after repeated attacks by the Houthis. Sanaa International Airport was also hit. According to official information, at least six people were killed and more than 40 injured in the air strikes.

The Iran-backed Houthi militia says it is attacking Israel in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Their attacks on ships linked to Israel and its allies are also part of their fight. During the night, warning sirens wailed again in dozens of Israeli cities, including in the Jerusalem area and the Dead Sea.