Israeli airstrikes killed at the very least 43 Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip on Thursday, together with 11 individuals within the sprawling al-Mawasi tent encampment designated as a humanitarian protected zone for civilians.
Amongst these killed within the al-Mawasi strike was the director basic of Gaza’s police division, Mahmoud Salah, and his deputy, Hussam Shahwan, in response to the Hamas-run Gaza inside ministry.
“By committing the crime of assassinating the director basic of police within the Gaza Strip, the occupation is insisting on spreading chaos … and deepening the human struggling of residents,” Hamas added in an announcement.
The Israeli army mentioned it had performed the strike on the al-Mawasi encampment, simply west of the town of Khan Younis, and eradicated Shahwan, calling him the pinnacle of Hamas safety forces in southern Gaza, however made no point out of Salah’s dying.
Medics mentioned the 11 individuals killed included ladies and kids.
The newest strikes in Israel’s 15-month battle in Gaza, which has led to greater than 45,500 Palestinian deaths, got here as negotiations for a ceasefire-for-hostages deal appeared to have stalled once more, regardless of strain to conclude an settlement earlier than Donald Trump is sworn in as US president on 20 January. The battle was triggered by Hamas’s 7 October 2023 assault on southern Israel, during which 1,200 individuals have been killed and one other 251 taken hostage.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad mentioned in a video message on Thursday that an Israeli hostage had tried to take his personal life, with out giving additional particulars on the hostage’s id or present situation. In an announcement by the group on the Telegram messaging service, a spokesperson for al-Quds Brigades, the group’s armed wing, mentioned one of many group’s medical groups had intervened and prevented him from dying.
Different Israeli airstrikes killed at the very least 26 Palestinians, together with six within the inside ministry headquarters in Khan Younis and others in north Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp, the al-Shati seaside camp and central Gaza’s Maghazi camp.
“Because the yr begins, we received experiences of yet one more assault on Al-Mawasi with dozens of individuals killed, one other reminder that there isn’t any humanitarian zone not to mention a protected zone,” Philippe Lazzarini, the pinnacle of the UN company for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, mentioned in a submit on X. “Every single day with no ceasefire will deliver extra tragedy.”
Afterward Thursday, separate Israeli airstrikes killed at the very least 4 individuals in central Gaza Metropolis and two in its Zeitoun district, medics mentioned.
The newest deaths in Gaza got here because the Palestinian Authority (PA) within the occupied West Financial institution ordered the suspension of broadcasts by the Qatar-based Al Jazeera throughout the Palestinian territories, accusing the community of incitement, official media reported.
Al Jazeera is already banned from broadcasting from Israel amid a long-running feud with the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s authorities.
In September, armed and masked Israeli forces raided the Al Jazeera workplace within the occupied West Financial institution metropolis of Ramallah, saying it was “used to incite terror”.
The army issued an preliminary 45-day closure order, prompting the Palestinian overseas ministry to sentence “a flagrant violation” of press freedom.
On Wednesday, nevertheless, the official Palestinian information company, Wafa, mentioned Al Jazeera’s “insistence on broadcasting inciting content material and experiences characterised by misinformation, incitement, sedition and interference in Palestinian inner affairs” had led to its suspension.
An Al Jazeera worker contacted by Agence France-Presse confirmed the community’s workplace in Ramallah had obtained a suspension order on Wednesday.
Wafa mentioned: “The specialised ministerial committee, comprising the ministries of tradition, inside and communications, has determined to droop broadcasts and freeze all actions of Al Jazeera satellite tv for pc channel and its workplace in Palestine.
“The choice additionally consists of quickly freezing the work of all journalists, workers, crews and affiliated channels till their authorized standing is rectified because of Al Jazeera’s violations of the legal guidelines and laws in pressure in Palestine.”
Al Jazeera condemned the choice in an announcement, saying it “aligns with Israeli occupation practices concentrating on its media groups”.
It accused the PA, which has partial administrative management within the West Financial institution, of “trying to discourage Al Jazeera from masking escalating occasions within the occupied Palestinian territories” together with in Jenin and its refugee camp.
The PA’s safety forces have been engaged in weeks of lethal clashes with armed militants in Jenin, within the northern West Financial institution.
Analysts have urged the PA’s safety clampdown in Jenin is being pushed by a want to reassert its frayed authority on the West Financial institution and in addition to ship a sign to western international locations, not least the incoming Trump administration.
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