Intl desk, Jan 09: Israeli forces have killed at least 50 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip in the past day, medics said, as authorities warned that more hospitals in the enclave could close over dire fuel shortages.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expresses optimism about the prospects of a ceasefire and captives release deal in Gaza, saying “we’re very close” to reaching an agreement.
Israel’s military says it has recovered the body of captive Yousef al-Ziyadna from an underground tunnel in the city of Rafah in Gaza.
Israel’s genocide in Gaza has killed at least 45,936 Palestinians and wounded 109,274 since October 7, 2023. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day and more than 200 were taken captive.
Israeli settlers torch car near Bethlehem
The settlers set fire to a Palestinian-owned vehicle in the village of Wadi Rahhal, south of Bethlehem, according to Al Quds Today and a Palestinian activist.
The activist, Ihab Hassan, posted footage of the attack on X, showing a vehicle engulfed in flames.
The latest incident follows days of violence across the occupied West Bank, with settlers attacking and setting fire to Palestinian homes and vehicles across the territory and Palestinian gunmen shooting and killing three Israelis near the city of Qalqilya.
The UN meanwhile says violence by Israeli settlers reached record levels in 2024, with nearly four incidents reported every day.
Pro-Palestinian activist destroys Netanyahu wax figure in Mexico
Footage of the incident, which took place on Tuesday, shows the masked activist using a hammer and damaging the wax statue of the Israeli prime minister at a museum in Mexico City.
The statue had been doused in red and a Palestinian flag lay at its feet.
The activist later toppled the statue and declared: “Long live Palestine”.
Israel’s embassy in Mexico condemned what it called an “odious act”, saying it “sends a dangerous message of violence, intolerance and hate that goes beyond all legitimate criticism”.
Israel’s attacks on Gaza have killed 369 aid workers so far
The UN’s humanitarian agency (OCHA) says the death of a Palestinian aid worker who was wounded in an Israeli air attack on a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse on January 5 has taken the number of humanitarian workers killed in Israel’s war on Gaza to 369.
The figure includes 263 UNRWA staff.
OCHA, in its weekly update on Gaza, noted that Israeli forces also fired 16 bullets at a clearly marked WFP convoy on January 5, although no injuries were reported.
It also highlighted a statement from Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, in which the group said eight of its staff had been killed in the Israeli war. But MSF said it is “yet to receive accountability or admission of responsibility for the killing, maiming, or dehumanization of [its] staff and patients”.
Source: News agencies and Al Jazeera