Israeli bombings continued into the night on the Gaza Strip, where famine threatens residents. For Christians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Christmas Eve this year was swept away by conflict, while Pope Francis addressed his thoughts to the city of Bethlehem in his mass.
What you must remember :
■ The bombings continued into the night in the Gaza Strip: at least 78 people were killed according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
■ The Israeli army announced Monday morning the death of two Israeli soldiers, bringing to 156 the number of its losses since its troops operated on the ground in Gaza. On Sunday evening, authorities had announced the death of five hostagesfound in the Gaza tunnels.
■ In Bethlehemin the occupied West Bank, Christmas celebrations were canceled, reduced to the strict minimumin solidarity with Gaza. “ Our heart, tonight, is in Bethlehem »declared Sunday evening the Pope Francis during Christmas mass at the Vatican, even though the city – where Christ was born according to tradition – was deserted by pilgrims this year and canceled the majority of Christmas celebrations due to the war.
■ On Sunday evening, the Hamas Ministry of Health announced that an Israeli strike on the al-Maghazi refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip had left at least 70 dead. Earlier today, the Hamas government’s latest assessment was 20,424 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the start of the Israeli operation, and more than 54,000 injured people. By them, 70% of the victims are women and minors. 1 140 people were killed during the Hamas attack on October 7, according to data provided by the Israeli government. The Israeli army said Thursday it had killed more than 2 000 Palestinian fighters since the end of the truce in early December.
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8:42 a.m.: A Talmudic institute resumes its activity on the edge of Gaza
To the sound of cannons crackling in the middle of war, a Talmudic institute has resumed its religious teachings in Sderot with the aim of bringing life back to life in this Israeli town on the edge of Gaza, which was largely deserted after the bloody Hamas attack on October 7.
The majority of the town’s 35,000 residents have not returned after being evacuated following the attack by Hamas commandos, which left at least 40 dead.
The yeshiva, a place of study of religious texts, and its approximately 600 students were the first to return there. “ Sderot is a city in the process of development (…) We came to strengthen the city with Torah and Zionism », Testifies to AFP its spiritual director, Rabbi David Fendel.
This yeshiva is one of the flagship institutes of religious Zionism and its leader believes that it should again have “ a Jewish presence » inside the Gaza Strip, from which Israel withdrew its army and settlers in 2005.
On October 7, at dawn, while praying on the last day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, the students and their teachers were surprised by rocket fire alerts followed shortly after by shooting in the streets, a few dozen meters from the yeshiva. Some of the students, army reservists, went out to fight and others helped treat the wounded and evacuate them.
“ We want to be the guardians of the city and we study Torah here because it is the foundation of the Jewish nation. », assures Mr. Fendel.
08:22: The Israeli president wishes “a year of peace»
On the occasion of Christmas Eve, Israeli President Isaac Herzog published a message to the Christian community on Sunday evening. “ May this year be a year of peace “, he wrote while the conflict between Israel and Hamas has continued since October 7.
07:55: WHO calls for more food and water to be delivered to Gaza
In a message posted yesterday on water supply on site while access is still controlled by Israel.
He also highlighted the state of hospitals in the territory, as none of them are functioning normally anymore.
07:26: At the Christmas mass in Bethlehem, the “thoughts are with Gaza”
The holy city of Bethlehem, in the West Bank, celebrated a special mass overnight. Where, according to Christians, Jesus was born, Saint Catherine’s Church and its Basilica of the Nativity were full last night… but not bursting at the seams. The thousands of pilgrims and tourists usually expected did not come because of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Our special envoys, Hajera Mohammad and Eric Audra, were on site.
“My thoughts are with Gaza. Thousands of people have been deprived of their basic needs. »
Report from midnight mass in Bethlehem
06:59: Negotiations still underway for a truce
Egyptian and Qatari mediators are still trying to negotiate a new truce, after a seven-day break in fighting at the end of November, which allowed the release of 105 hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners as well as the entry into Gaza of large convoys of ‘humanitarian aid.
According to a source within Islamic Jihad, the leader of this Palestinian armed movement allied with Hamas arrived at the head of a delegation in Cairo.
A new draft agreement is being examined by the Israeli security cabinet, reports our correspondent in Jerusalem Michael Paul. It includes an initial two-week truce with the release of some 40 hostages, and the establishment of a technocratic Palestinian administration in Gaza. Subsequently, it would result in an Israeli ceasefire with a military redeployment and ultimately an exchange of all remaining hostages with all Palestinian detainees in Israel.
The Israelis would also examine the possibility of an exfiltration of Hamas leaders to Gaza, reminiscent of the exile of Yasser Arafat in Tunisia in 1982, after being banned from Beirut.
05:45: At least 30 people killed overnight in Gaza, according to Hamas
The Gaza Strip saw no respite during Christmas Eve. Early Monday, a bombing killed 12 people near the small village of Al-Zawaida (center), according to the Hamas health ministry.
During the night, a bombing in Khan Younes (south) left at least 18 dead, he added in a press release. The center of the territory also suffered around fifty successive strikes.
The weekend was particularly deadly in the Gaza Strip. At least 70 people were killed in a strike Sunday on the al-Maghazi refugee camp, according to the Hamas government, a toll that could not be independently confirmed by AFP.
5:30 a.m.: A Christmas without festivities in Bethlehem
In Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, pilgrims are usually numerous to celebrate Christmas in the city which, according to Christian tradition, was where Jesus was born. But in the current context of conflict in the Gaza Strip, the most important festivities have been canceled, reports our correspondent in the West Bank, Alice Froussard. Residents’ prayers go to Gaza, where the Christian community is dwindling year after year.
“ We will not abandon you », declared the Patriarch, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, to the Gazans, during his homily at midnight mass.
“ They no longer have a safe place, a house, a roof, they are deprived of everything essential to life, they die of hunger and even more, they are exposed to incomprehensible violence. It seems that there is no place for them, not only physically, but also in the minds of those who decide the fate of peoples », he added, in front of a few hundred faithful gathered in the Sainte-Catherine church.
► Find here our live from December 24