Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep fighting in Gaza until Hamas is destroyed, defying global calls for a ceasefire.
More than 20,674 people have been killed and 54,536 wounded in Israeli attacks since October 7– here are the key updates.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep fighting in Gaza until Hamas is destroyed, defying global calls for a ceasefire.
More than 20,674 people have been killed and 54,536 wounded in Israeli attacks since October 7.
On the 81st day of the war on Gaza, here are the latest updates on the situation.
1. Over 100 people lost their lives in an Israeli air strike on the Maghazi refugee camp overnight. Rescue efforts are underway as some families remain trapped under the rubble.
2. Palestinian authorities report a staggering toll, with 250 people killed in waves of Israeli bombardment over 24 hours on Christmas.
3. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Chief of the World Health Organization (WHO), has voiced deep concern over the state of Gaza's health system, describing it as an "unbearable strain."
4. Israel has decided not to renew the visa of one United Nations staff member in the country and will also deny the visa request of another UN employee.
5. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that the war will persist, expressing readiness to encourage Palestinians in Gaza to leave the enclave, as reported by Israeli media outlets. This statement has been condemned by Hamas.
6. Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel's opposition, has reiterated his call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign. Lapid stated, "Changing a prime minister in the middle of a war is not good. But the one in office is worse. He cannot continue," according to Israeli news outlet GLZ Radio.
7. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hosted a Christmas day lunch for the latest group of Palestinian-Brazilians repatriated from Gaza. Simultaneously, protestors in New York held Christmas Day rallies in solidarity with Palestine.
Latest casualty figures
Gaza
Killed: 20,674
Injured: 54,536
Missing: More than 7,000
Occupied West Bank
Killed: 305
Injured: More than 3,450
Israel
Killed: 1,139 killed on October 7
Soldiers killed: 158
Soldiers wounded: 834