Israel-Hamas war: Israel ready to pause fighting again for more hostages as death toll nears 20,000
Israel has signalled it wants a second hostage exchange deal as the chief of Hamas heads to Egypt for ceasefire talks. Warning: Graphic
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Israeli President Isaac Herzog says his country is “ready” for a humanitarian pause in return for hostages amid growing international pressure to stop fighting in Gaza.
Mr Herzog hosted ambassadors and members of the Diplomatic Corps representing more than 80 countries for a briefing on the situation in Israel and Gaza.
During the briefing, he told ambassadors that Israel is ready to pursue a second hostage exchange deal after the one carried out in late November.
“Israel is ready for another humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid, in order to enable the release of hostages,” Mr Herzog told a gathering of ambassadors.
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His comments came as Israel continued its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, striking targets in the Jabalia refugee camp and the southern Rafah district.
Gaza health officials estimate at least 100 people were killed in the strike.
UN children’s agency spokesperson James Elder, who is on the ground in Gaza, has also expressed anger and disbelief about the situation in Gaza hospitals, where children recovering from amputations are being killed in the conflict.
He said that the Nasser hospital, the largest operational hospital left in the territory, had been shelled twice in the past 48 hours.
“I’m furious that children who are recovering from amputations in hospitals are then killed in those hospitals,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh is set to visit Egypt on Wednesday local time for talks on a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange with Israel, a source close to the Palestinian militant group said.
Qatar-based Haniyeh will head a “high-level” Hamas delegation to Egypt, where he is due to hold talks with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel and others, the source told AFP.
The discussions will be “on stopping the aggression and the war to prepare an agreement for the release of prisoners (and) the end of the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip,” the source said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to talk about the visit.
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MALAYSIA BANS ENTRY OF ISRAELI SHIPPING VESSELS
In an official statement, the office of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that the immediate ban on ZIM shipping company is in response to Israel’s actions against Palestinians in Gaza.
The statement said Israel is committing “massacre and brutality” against Palestinians.
At the same time, Malaysia said that it has also decided to no longer accept Israel-flagged ships to dock in the country.
In addition, Malaysia will also impose “a ban on any ship en route to Israel from loading cargo at Malaysian ports.”“Both of these restrictions are effective immediately.”
ACTIVISTS STAGE ‘DIE IN’ OUTSIDE AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER
Protesters wearing clothes resembling blue press vests worn by Palestinian journalists, have staged a “die in” protest outside the Melbourne offices of one of Australia’s largest news organisations.
The protest was held outside the offices of the The Age newspaper, which is owned by the Nine Network.
A recent report by the Islamophobia Register Australia found that 9News – also a part of the Nine Network – was one of five major Australian media outlets with ‘unbalanced’ reporting on the Gaza conflict that also failed to use ‘humanising language’ when reporting on Palestinians.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 68 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 7, primarily by Israeli air strikes in Gaza.
Protestors dressed in ‘Press’ costumes representing the 70+ journalists killed in the Israel-Palestine conflict having a ‘die in’ out the front of the Nine/The Age building this morning. pic.twitter.com/wF7UYOnQEO
— Miki Perkins (@perkinsmiki) December 19, 2023
DISTRESS CALLS DESCRIBE HORRORS, EXECUTIONS
Several distress calls from families stuck in their homes in Gaza City have been shared on WhatsApp, revealing bloody details of alleged Israeli army actions.
One call came from the Anan family who are stuck in their building opposite the Jalaa Tower site.
“Please Abu Ali, I just talked to my sister and she said Israeli soldiers entered their building and shot dead all the men,” one man says in an audio message shared online.
“My mother, sisters and uncle’s wife are all injured … One of them has an amputated hand. Please, Abu Ali, we need an ambulance, the Red Cross, anyone! They just want to leave the building they’re in and they can’t get out.”
It should be emphasized again and again that Israel is executing people in their homes. The harrowing testimonies are boundless on social media, but they are falling on deaf ears. https://t.co/6TCgZ5gTO9
— Marwa Fatafta مروة ÙطاÙطة (@marwasf) December 19, 2023
‘APPALLING’: AUSTRALIA CONDEMNS RED SEA ATTACKS
Australia has joined the US and other countries in issuing a joint statement condemning Houthi militant attacks in the Red Sea.
The Albanese government is also preparing to reveal whether it will act on an allied request to deploy a navy warship to the troubled waters.
A joint declaration, signed by nine countries, including members of the EU, NATO, Japan and New Zealand, said the recent targeting of ships travelling to Israel by Houthi militants was “appalling” and posed a threat to international commerce and maritime security.
“The numerous attacks originating from Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen, including the December 3 attacks against three commercial vessels in the Southern Red Sea connected to 14 nations, threaten international commerce and maritime security,” the statement read.
“The Houthi-led seizure of the Galaxy Leader on November 19 and the detention of its 25-member international crew – who remain unjustly detained – is appalling.
“There is no justification for these attacks, which affect many countries beyond the flags these ships sail under.”
GAZA BOMBARDMENT CONTINUES
Israel maintained its bombardment and ground combat overnight in the third month of the bloodiest-ever Gaza war.
Explosions were heard Tuesday night local time in the northern Gaza area, over a live AFPTV feed.
Strikes on Rafah overnight Monday-Tuesday killed at least 20 more people, the Hamas health ministry said, bringing more suffering to the southern town that has become a vast camp for displaced Palestinians.
In Tel Aviv, air raid sirens wailed as rockets fired from Gaza sent Israelis running into shelters before the incoming fire was intercepted by an air defence system.
HUTHI REBELS WILL NOT HALT ATTACKS
Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels said they would not halt attacks on Red Sea shipping despite the announcement by the United States of a new maritime protection force.
“Even if America succeeds in mobilising the entire world, our military operations will not stop … no matter the sacrifices it costs us,” senior Huthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said on X, formerly Twitter.
Bukhaiti said the rebels would only halt their attacks if Israel’s “crimes in Gaza stop and food, medicines and fuel are allowed to reach its besieged population”.
He spoke after Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin announced a 10-nation coalition on Monday to quell Huthi missile and drone attacks on shipping passing through the Red Sea, with Britain, France and Italy among countries joining the “multinational security initiative”.
Austin said the force would operate “with the goal of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and bolstering regional security and prosperity.” Y
Yemen's’s Huthi rebels have launched a flurry of drone and missile attacks on vessels passing through the Red Sea, aimed at pressuring Israel over its devastating war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
UN SECURITY COUNCIL IN TURMOIL
The UN Security Council is struggling to speak with one voice ahead of a vote on a new resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
A vote may come as soon as Tuesday morning local time if negotiations succeed in breaking an impasse 10 days after a US veto.
On December 8, despite unprecedented pressure from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the United States blocked the adoption of a resolution calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip, where Israel continues its deadly strikes in retaliation for Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack.
Last week, the General Assembly adopted the same non-binding resolution by 153 votes to 10, with 23 abstentions, out of 193 member states.
On the strength of this overwhelming support, Arab countries have announced a new attempt at the Security Council, with an uncertain outcome.
– with AFP
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Originally published as Israel-Hamas war: Israel ready to pause fighting again for more hostages as death toll nears 20,000
Read related topics:Israel Conflict
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