Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #77 [EN/AR/HE]

Key points

On 26 December, at about 19:00, the primary telecommunications provider in the Gaza Strip announced a halt in communication and internet services due to reported damage to its infrastructure. This followed a partial shutdown a few hours earlier due to ongoing hostilities. Humanitarian agencies and first responders have warned that blackouts jeopardize the already constrained provision of life-saving assistance in Gaza.

Between 23 and 26 December, heavy Israeli bombardment from air, land, and sea, continued across most of the Gaza Strip, specifically the Middle Area, where Israeli forces reportedly carried out more than 50 strikes on 24-25 December, on three refugee camps – Al Bureij, An Nuseirat, and Al Maghazi. Dozens of fatalities were reported and the roads connecting these camps were destroyed, hindering the delivery of relief aid to those in need.

Intense ground operations and fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups continued in most areas. The firing of rockets by Palestinian armed groups into Israel also continued. Between 23 and 26 December, 858 Palestinians were reportedly killed, and another 1,598 people were injured, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza. Between 22 and 26 December, 22* Israeli soldiers were reportedly killed in Gaza. Since the start of the ground operation, 162* soldiers have been killed, and 874 soldiers have been injured in Gaza, according to the Israeli military.

On 24 December, around 21:00, Israeli forces reportedly struck a residential block comprising several houses of the Qandil, Abu Ahed Abu Hamida, Abu Rahma, Si-Salem, and Al-Nawasra families in various locations in Al-Maghazi Camp, middle Gaza, killing more than 70 Palestinians and injuring tens of others including children and women. An unknown number of people are still believed to be trapped under the rubble. A spokesperson for The UN Human Rights Office expressed its grave concern about the continued bombardment of middle Gaza by Israeli forces, adding that “it is particularly concerning that the latest intense bombardment comes after Israeli forces ordered residents from the south of Wadi Gaza to move to Middle Gaza and Tal Al-sultan in Rafah.”

On 25 December, a team from the World Health Organization (WHO) visited Al Aqsa Hospital, in the middle area where many of the injured from the strike on Al Mahghazi Camp were taken and heard “harrowing accounts” shared by health workers and patients alike. The WHO Director-General expressed his concern regarding “the unbearable strain that escalating hostilities are putting on the few hospitals across Gaza that remain open – with most of the health system decimated and brought to its knees.”

According to the MoH in Gaza, between 7 October and 00:00 on 26 December, at least 20,915 Palestinians were killed in Gaza. About 70 per cent of those killed are said to be women and children. As of 26 December, 54,918 Palestinians have been injured. Many people are missing, presumably buried under the rubble, with many still waiting for rescue or recovery.

Humanitarian operations are facing increasing operational challenges due to intensified hostilities, insecurity, blocked roads, scarcity of fuel, and extremely limited communications. These four elements do not exist.”

On 23 December, two UN missions reached the north of Gaza, and distributed 19,200 litres of fuel, medical supplies, and food to four hospitals, including Shifa. Shifa was formerly Gaza’s largest hospital, but continuing hostilities and a surge in the number of wounded people have overwhelmed its capacities. The hospital can now only provide the most basic first aid and is currently hosting about 50,000 internally displaced people (IDPs).

On 25 December, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) with the International Red Crescent Society (ICRC) managed to evacuate 21 patients from Al Ahli Baptist Hospital and 13 patients from Shifa to Khan Younis, in the south. PRCS also evacuated teams from the ambulance centre in Jabalya, in the north, after Israeli forces reportedly forced them to leave the centre and destroyed the ambulances on 20 December, according to PRCS.

On 25 December, Israeli media published a video reportedly showing Israeli forces detaining hundreds of Palestinians inside Al Yarmouk football stadium in Gaza city. The video shows the detainees, including children, older people and persons with disabilities, being forced to strip to their underwear in degrading conditions. On 26 December, the media published video testimonies from Palestinian detainees who had been taken to Israel and then reportedly released back into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing. The detainees, including older persons, alleged that they had been tortured and ill-treated in captivity, with video footage showing bruises and burns on their bodies. They also reported being deprived of food, water, and access to toilets and being exposed to the elements.

As of 25 December, at 20:20, the Gaza Water Authority announced that the Israeli pipelines supplying water to the Bani Suhaila area east of Khan Younis had stopped working as a result of airstrikes that caused severe damage to the lines, which led to the failure to pump water to all areas of Khan Yunis. This line supplies about 14,400 cubic metres of water per day and is one out of two lines that supplies drinking water to the southern area; the Israeli pipelines supplying water to the north are not functioning since 8 October.

On 26 December, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Ms. Sigrid Kaag of the Netherlands as Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza pursuant to recent Security Council Resolution 2720. Ms. Kaag will facilitate, coordinate, monitor, and verify humanitarian relief consignments to Gaza. She will also establish a UN mechanism to accelerate humanitarian relief consignments to Gaza through States which are not party to the conflict. In executing these functions, she will be supported by the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS). Ms. Kaag is expected to begin her assignment on 8 January 2024.

Hostilities and casualties (Gaza Strip)

The following are among the deadliest incidents reported between 22 and 25 December:

On 22 December at about 13:00, at least 40 Palestinians were reportedly killed after eight residential buildings in Jabalya city in the north, were struck.

On 24 December, at about 21:40, at least 21 Palestinians were reportedly killed, and many others were injured, when their house was struck in Khan Yunis.

On 25 December, at about 15:30, ten Palestinians were reportedly killed, and many others were injured, when their house, near the European Hospital, east of Khan Yunis, was hit.

On 26 December, the bodies of 80 Palestinians reportedly killed in northern Gaza were returned through the Kerem Shalom crossing to the local authorities and buried in a mass grave in Rafah. According to Israeli media, the bodies had reportedly been taken to Israel for inspection, to determine whether any of them were hostages.

On 23 December, two IDPs were killed when two UNRWA schools sheltering IDPs in An Nuseirat, Middle Area, were hit. In Jabalya (North), airstrikes reportedly hit the vicinity of schools sheltering IDPs, killing and injuring tens of Palestinians.

According to Ministry of Education, between 7 October and 26 December, more than 4,037 students and 209 educational staff were killed, and more than 7,259 students and 619 teachers were injured in Gaza. According to the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate in Gaza, 82 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed in airstrikes since 7 October. According to the Gaza MoH, 310 Palestinian medics have been killed. According to the Palestinian Civil Defense at least 20 civil defense members have been killed since the start of hostilities.

Displacement (Gaza Strip)

Today, on 26 December, the Israeli military reiterated its call upon residents to leave an area, originally designated for evacuation on 22 December, covering about 15 per cent, or roughly 9 square kilometres, of Deir Al Balah governorate in central Gaza. Before the onset of hostilities, it was home to nearly 90,000 people, and it now includes six shelters that have accommodated about 61,000 internally displaced people, mostly from the north. In recent days, humanitarian partners have reported an influx of internally displaced people from Deir Al Balah governorate to the already overcrowded south.

The affected areas include Al Bureij and An Nuseirat Refugee Camps and north of An Nuseirat (Az Zaharaa, and Al Moughraga). Instructions accompanying the map call on residents to move immediately to shelters in Deir al Balah, which is already overcrowded, hosting several hundred thousand IDPs. The scope of displacement resulting from this evacuation order remains unclear at the time of reporting.

Obtaining an accurate figure of the total number of IDPs remains challenging. According to UNRWA, 1.9 million people in Gaza, or nearly 85 per cent of the population, are estimated to be internally displaced, including people who have been displaced multiple times, as families are forced to move repeatedly in search of safety. Lack of food, basic survival items, and poor hygiene, further exacerbate the already dire living conditions of IDPs, amplify protection and mental health issues, and increase the spread of disease.

Electricity

Since 11 October, the Gaza Strip has been under an electricity blackout, after the Israeli authorities cut off the electricity supply, and fuel reserves for Gaza’s sole power plant were depleted. For more information on electricity supply to the Gaza Strip, please see this dashboard.

Health care, including attacks (Gaza Strip)

On 25 December, in two separate incidents, Al Kheir hospital in Jabalya and the vicinity of the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia (both north of Gaza city) were hit and destroyed. Both were empty and non-operational at the time they were hit; in the latter, three Palestinians were killed, and others were injured. On 26 December, several IDPs were injured when the upper floors of the PRCS headquarters, in Khan Yunis, where thousands of IDPs are sheltering, were hit and damaged.

On 25 December, UNRWA delivered 80,000 vials of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to Gaza to protect children against vaccine preventable diseases.

According to WHO, as of 22 December, nine out of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially functional, all located in the south. These hospitals are operating at three times their capacity, while facing critical shortages of basic supplies and fuel. According to the MoH in Gaza, occupancy rates are now reaching 206 per cent in inpatient departments and 250 per cent in intensive care units.

On 23 December, WHO stated that northern Gaza had been left without a functional hospital due to the lack of fuel, staff, and medical supplies. Al Ahli Hospital is still treating patients but not admitting new ones, along with Shifa, Al Awda and Al Sahaba hospitals. These hospitals are not accessible by new patients, and they continue to care for existing patients while also sheltering thousands of IDPs.

• Today, on 26 December, the Israeli military reiterated its call upon residents to leave an area, originally designated for evacuation on 22 December, covering about 15 per cent, or roughly 9 square kilometres, of Deir Al Balah governorate in central Gaza. Before the onset of hostilities, it was home to nearly 90,000 people, and it now includes six shelters that have accommodated about 61,000 internally displaced people, mostly from the north. In recent days, humanitarian partners have reported an influx of internally displaced people from Deir Al Balah governorate to the already overcrowded south.

• The affected areas include Al Bureij and An Nuseirat Refugee Camps and north of An Nuseirat (Az Zaharaa, and Al Moughraga). Instructions accompanying the map call on residents to move immediately to shelters in Deir al Balah, which is already overcrowded, hosting several hundred thousand IDPs. The scope of displacement resulting from this evacuation order remains unclear at the time of reporting.

• Obtaining an accurate figure of the total number of IDPs remains challenging. According to UNRWA, 1.9 million people in Gaza, or nearly 85 per cent of the population, are estimated to be internally displaced, including people who have been displaced multiple times, as families are forced to move repeatedly in search of safety.

• Lack of food, basic survival items, and poor hygiene, further exacerbate the already dire living conditions of IDPs, amplify protection and mental health issues, and increase the spread of disease.