The unstoppable offensive of the Israeli Army left, between the night of December 24 and the morning of December 25, at least 100 people dead after one of the bloodiest days of the ongoing war. Deadly Israeli airstrikes caused extensive destruction in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip and displaced more Palestinians. Meanwhile, Hamas and Islamic Jihad refused to surrender in exchange for a cessation of hostilities, amid an ambitious proposal by Egypt to end the conflict. Leaders of the Islamist group and Israel say the end of the war is still far away.
Amid the rubble, fearing attack and with their faith intact, Palestinian Christians participated in a nighttime Christmas mass in besieged Gaza City. But Christmas Eve arrived without respite and the smoke from the bombings rose again over the territory besieged by the Israeli Army.
Refugees in the Al-Maghazi camp in central Gaza had to endure a massive airstrike by Israeli troops. “We were all attacked,” said Ahmad Turkomani, a resident of the enclave, who lost several members of his family, including his daughter and his grandson. “There is no safe place in Gaza anyway,” he lamented.
More than 100 people lost their lives in the continuous assaults between the night of December 24 and the morning of this Monday, December 25, according to figures from the Gazatí Ministry of Health.
Among the fatalities are at least 78 in the Al-Maghazi camp. At least 12 of them were women, boys and girls, added the Health portfolio. Another 30 deaths were reported in other parts of the besieged coastal strip.
Several images show the extensive destruction in Al-Maghazi. The Israeli Army indicated that it was “reviewing the incident” because it involved an attack on a refugee camp.
After more than two months of war and the growing number of fatalities: 20,424, with a cut-off until December 24, the majority civilians, the United States, Israel's main ally, has qualified its irrefutable support by calling for actions to protect life of civilians.
Although this is not the first time that the troops of the country led by Benjamin Netanyahu attack a refugee camp in Gaza, the military institution assures that it is “committed to international law, including the adoption of viable measures to minimize harm to civilians. “.
“The Al Qasam Brigades will destroy the occupation Army”
For the first time since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, the leader of the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, sent a public message about the war, through his media. motion.
It is a “ferocious, violent and unprecedented battle” against Israel, Sinwar stated, mentioning that the armed wing of Hamas, the Al Qasam Brigades, “will destroy the occupation Army, they are on the way to crushing it and will not submit to the conditions.” of the occupation,” he added.
The Hamas leader stated that Israeli troops “are suffering heavy losses in lives and equipment.” According to Sinwar, Hamas reportedly attacked about 5,000 Israeli soldiers. Of this number, a third were killed, another third were wounded and the last third permanently incapacitated. .
However, the figures are not close to the information that the foreign Army has published. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), 489 soldiers have lost their lives since October 7, of which, 156 died in Palestinian territory, after their ground incursion, on October 27.
For their part, Israeli authorities point out that Sinwar could be hiding, like other militia leaders, in the enclave's network of underground tunnels, which is why they are intensifying their attacks throughout Gazan territory.
Hamas refuses to give up control of Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire
Hamas and its ally, the Islamic Jihad, have rejected an Egyptian plan that proposes that they relinquish power in the Gaza Strip in exchange for a permanent ceasefire, two Egyptian security sources told Reuters.
The Government of that country is mediating an ambitious plan, backed by Qatar, to end the hostilities, which initially includes a two-week truce between the parties and the release of between 40 and 50 hostages, in exchange for the release of between 120 and 150 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, the same sources added.
All in a plan that aspires to extend into a long-term pause in attacks. Representatives of both Hamas and Islamic Jihad have been holding separate talks with Egyptian mediators in Cairo, but have already refused to offer concessions beyond the possible release of more hostages captured on October 7, when the militants entered in southern Israel, where they killed around 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 240.
“Hamas seeks to end the Israeli aggression against our people, the massacres and the genocide, and we discussed with our Egyptian brothers the ways to do so (…) We also said that aid to our people must continue and must increase and must reach all the population of the north and south. “Once the aggression stops and aid is increased, we are ready to discuss the exchange of prisoners,” said an official from the Islamist movement.
“The war is far from over”
On the other hand, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also issued a message about the war with Hamas and said that the conflict is far from over. He made the announcement with legislators from his party, Likud.
“We are not going to stop. We continue fighting, and we will intensify them in the coming days, and the fighting will last a long time and is not close to ending,” he asserted. In his statement he dismissed the possibility of carrying out a ceasefire, as has been proposed and pressured by the entire world, except the United States.
This Sunday, the IDF exposed what would be the northern headquarters of Hamas, which was tens of meters deep. “The underground headquarters was made up of two levels, with an intricate network of tunnels, used to direct the combat and movement of the terrorists,” the military reported, mentioning that this network was connected to a well that led to the residence. from the commander of Hamas' Northern Brigade, Ahmad Andur.
🔴WATCH: IDF soldiers exposed Hamas' northern headquarters.
Dozens of meters deep, the underground headquarters was made up of 2 levels, with an intricate tunnel network—used for directing combat and the movement of terrorists. This network was connected to a shaft leading to… pic.twitter.com/rioSighGz0
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 24, 2023
In addition, they intensify their operation in the south of the enclave. IDF troops directed a fighter jet, they said, to eliminate a Hamas commander who was located in the Khan Younis area.
“My heart is in mourning”: Pope Francis at Christmas
This Sunday, December 25, Pope Francis condemned the “appalling harvest” of civilian deaths in Gaza. “I embrace you all, in particular the Christian communities of Gaza, the parish of Gaza and the entire Holy Land,” he said.
He called for an end to military operations in Gaza and advocated for a solution, “to the desperate humanitarian situation,” with the entry of supplies. But he also stood in solidarity with the families of Israelis who have suffered since October 7.
“My heart mourns for the victims of the abominable attack on October 7 and I reiterate my urgent call for the release of those who still remain kidnapped.”
In his speech he criticized nations talking about peace, when the arms market continues to increase and public funds are spent on ammunition, weapons and other types of war equipment. “Saying “no” to war means saying “no” to weapons. The human heart is weak and impulsive; If we find instruments of death in our hands, sooner or later we will use them. And how can we even talk about peace, when the production, sale and trade of weapons are increasing?
He mainly lamented the death of the boys and girls, as well as the painful reality that those who survive the attacks have to go through, being so young, with the loss of their parents, or who are injured without being able to be cured and in a constant system of alarm because at any moment they can be bombed.
“They are the little Jesuses of today, these children whose childhood is devastated by war, by wars. Saying “yes” to the Prince of Peace means, then, saying “no” to war, courageously saying no to war, to all war, to the very mentality of war, a journey without direction, a defeat without winners. , an unforgivable madness,” he added.
With Reuters, AFP and EFE.
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