Israel-Hamas war updates: Hunger in Gaza ‘highest ever recorded’ – Report

This live page is now closed. For the latest live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war, follow along here.

You can read about the UN-backed report warning of catastrophic hunger levels in Gaza, here.

And read our analysis piece on why Israel is killing so many of its own, here.

We will soon be closing this live page. Here’s a recap of today’s events:

• The UN Security Council is set to vote on a new Gaza resolution after days of negotiations aimed at avoiding a US veto.
• A UN-backed report warns the entire population of Gaza faces a food crisis, with 576,600 people at catastrophic – or starvation – levels.
• The Committee to Protect Journalists says journalists are being killed at a rate with no parallel in modern history.
• There is no longer any functional hospital left in northern Gaza due to a lack of fuel, staff and supplies, the World Health Organization says.
• The Palestinian Prisoners Club says Israeli forces have arrested more than 4,655 people in the occupied West Bank since October 7.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu met this evening with the families of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza.

In a statement outlining the talks, his office said Netanyahu reiterated that the war would continue until all of Israel’s goals are achieved.

“There will not be another round. There is a national consensus that embraces the entire people: There needs to be victory – until the goals are completed,” said Netanyahu, promising to “do everything to safeguard the soldiers’ lives”.

Yonatan Shamriz, whose brother Alon was among the three Israeli captives killed by the military in Gaza, says that he angrily threatened Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in a phone call.

“I told him I’d hunt after him until he is in the ground – him and everyone sitting there,” he told Israel’s Channel 12, according to quotes published by the Times of Israel. “[I told him] that they’re responsible for what happened.”

“I told him that I wouldn’t rest and would haunt him in his sleep, that when he falls asleep, he’ll see a photo of my brother,” Shamriz added.

Explaining his anger, Shamriz said that his family had been destroyed by Alon’s death.

“There were so many things we planned to do together that we’ll no longer be able to do, and I have a heroic brother who is now … resting.”

Palestinian Red Crescent Society crews and paramedics have been arrested and taken to an unknown location after Israeli forces “invaded” its ambulance centre in Jabalia, the group says in a statement on X.

“Children and women are still trapped inside the centre,” the statement said.

“We call on the international community to pressure the occupation authorities for the immediate release of our teams and to provide protection for them. We also demand the protection of women and children and ensure their safe evacuation as they remain trapped inside the centre,” it added.

Earlier, PRCS said it had lost contact with the ambulance centre after telecommunications were cut off. Israeli forces have been repeatedly accused of targeting medical workers in Gaza.

🚨Occupation forces invaded the PRCS ambulance center 🚑 in #Jabalia, north of the #Gaza Strip, this evening. 🛑They arrested the crews and paramedics, taking them to an unknown location. ⚠️Children and women are still trapped inside the center.
📢We call on the international…

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) December 21, 2023

The coalition is meant to counter threats by the Yemen-based Houthi group, which has promised to attack all commercial ships coming to and from Israel.

A US military spokesperson declined to list all of the countries that have joined, saying: “We’ll allow other countries, defer to them to talk about their participation.”

At least 12 of the countries are known: Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, Spain the UK and the US.

The Pentagon said Greece and Australia have also joined. Analysts have said more Arab countries would need to participate to optimise the coalition’s effectiveness.

Each country will contribute what they can, said Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder. “In some cases that will include vessels. In other cases, it could include staff or other types of support,” he said.

The Palestinian news agency identified the victim as 21-year-old Youssef Refaat Haj Yahya.

According to the report, he died after being shot at close range while driving his vehicle on Thursday near al-Hikma School, in the village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank.

Yahya was taken to a hospital where he died of his injuries on Friday.

Israeli forces also carried out separate raids in Halhul and Surif, both in the Hebron governorate, Shuafat, in occupied East Jerusalem, Qaffinm in the Tulkarem governorate, and Yabad in the Jenin governorate.

مواجهات بين فلسطينيين وقوات الاحتلال في مدينة حلحول شمال الخليل في الضفة الغربية#حرب_غزة #فيديو pic.twitter.com/IINW9XKnNc

— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) December 21, 2023

[Translation: Confrontations break out between Palestinians and occupation forces in the city of Halhul, north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.]

US news outlet Bloomberg says that about 180 container ships that were once set to sail through the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea have been rerouted around Africa or were stopped and told to wait for instructions, citing data from US digital freight platform Flexport Inc.

Yemen’s Houthis have been carrying out attacks on what they say are Israeli-linked ships passing through the important maritime corridor, in sympathy with Palestinians as they endure relentless bombardment.

Bloomberg says that “hundreds more [ships] are almost certain to join” the ships diverted from the Suez Canal unless a US-led coalition announced this week can end the Houthi attacks.

Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller made the announcement today, adding that Canada’s government could not guarantee safe passage out of the enclave.

Miller said the government will start accepting applications and expects the programme to be operational by January 9.

He said the visas would last for three years if applicants meet certain criteria. He did not say how many would be available.

David Adler, a Progressive International general coordinator, says that the US government is increasingly out of step with domestic public opinion and global opinion.

“A plurality of US citizens, across all parties, would support the end of arms shipments to Israel amid the current escalation of hostilities,” Adler told Al Jazeera. “The disconnection is extreme, I think, between where citizens are … and where Congress is. Congress is writing laws to equate anti-Zionism to anti-Semitism, it’s writing laws to give this carte blanche cheque to the Israeli government to do whatever it needs.”

“No question the US is feeling the pressure of increasing diplomatic isolation,” Adler added. “However, I think it’s also very revealing that the most muscular and most important thing the US has done is not mobilising its diplomatic resources for a ceasefire, it’s not mobilising its financial resources for humanitarian aid, it’s to mobilise an alliance of mostly Western NATO powers to enter the Red Sea and to unblock these arteries of shipping – and that’s revealing of where the priorities of this government are.”

We’re just getting word in from diplomatic sources that are telling Al Jazeera that they expect this vote now to potentially happen at 6:30pm New York time, that would be 23:30 GMT, about two hours from now.

What we can read into that is perhaps one of two things: That they have reached some sort of agreement, and they are now crafting amendments to the original four-page draft that we’ve been looking at now for several days.

Or, they’ve reached an agreement, and now the various members of the Security Council need to take that agreement back to their capitals for final sign-off.

We simply do not know. We also do not know how the US will vote on this. Is the US prepared to veto, or will they abstain?

The fact that we are now hearing that there is a time set for this vote … seems to mean that there is some sort of progress.

The key sticking point, we’ve been told by diplomatic sources, was the language in the original resolution calling for the UN to monitor and expedite the aid shipment into Gaza. We have also heard that perhaps it was the US that also today wanted to reexamine the language of a humanitarian pause, or a suspension of hostilities to be more precise.

The Convent of the Missionaries of Charity and the Holy Family Church were included on a list of Gaza religious sites that US congressional staffers had sent to Israel’s military in October, according to Politico.

The list, which had been provided by Catholic Relief Service, included the coordinates of four sites. US Senate staffers sought assurances from Israel that the sites would be protected, according to the US news outlet, which cited a series of emails sent between October 14 and 26.

They were told Israel “can’t guarantee” the safety of civilians at the sites, according to the Politico report.

Last week, the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem said that a mother and daughter were killed by an Israeli sniper in the courtyard of the Holy Family Church. Meanwhile, an Israeli rocket targeted the convent, destroying its generator and causing major damage.

She was shot by a sniper, a message posted by the ministry on Telegram said.

People inside the besieged hospital in northern Gaza, are in “a state of horror” as a result of the presence of Israeli snipers, detention by Israeli forces, and the absence of water, food and medicine.

We’ve published several new pieces of content covering all aspects of the conflict. Here are a few highlights:

• Analysis: Why is Israel’s military killing so many of its own?
• Explainer: Will the US again veto the UNSC resolution on Gaza?
• Opinion: It is time the labour movement takes a stand for Palestine
• Video: Could Israel’s war on Gaza cause a wider conflict?

And there’s plenty more here.

Muneer Alboursh, the director general of health in Gaza, was injured along with his family in an Israeli air attack that targeted his sister’s house in Jabalia, Al Jazeera’s correspondent Anas al-Sharif said.

Alboursh’s daughter Jana was killed in the same attack.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and French Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu discussed the Yemen-based Houthi group’s attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

The Pentagon described those attacks as a “serious threat to global shipping and civilian lives”. The call came after the US on Tuesday launched a joint international force to protect commercial shipping off the waters of Yemen.

The Houthis have vowed to attack ships heading to and from Israel in solidarity with Gaza. That has prompted major shipping companies to reroute away from the arterial corridor.

“The United States and France are both making significant contributions to stability in the region and seek further collaboration on bilateral and multilateral solutions,” the Pentagon said.