Latest developments in Israel-Hamas war

_________________

AFP

JERUSALEM - Israeli strikes on Monday battered Gaza where health officials reported dozens killed throughout the besieged Hamas-run territory, as the war put a damper on Christmas festivities.

Hamas launched a shock attack against Israel from Gaza on October 7, killing about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Hamas and other Palestinian militants also took around 250 hostages, of whom 105 have been released and several killed, including by friendly fire.

Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has led a relentless air and ground offensive that has left vast areas of Gaza in ruins and killed at least 20,674 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

On day 80 of the war, here are five key developments from the past 24 hours:

Deadly strikes

The Gaza health ministry said an Israeli strike late Sunday killed at least 70 people in Al-Maghazi refugee camp, in the territory's centre.

Camp resident Zeyad Awad said Israel's army had sown "panic in the hearts of my children" and accused it of targeting civilians "indiscriminately, without mercy".

The army said it was reviewing the incident and was "committed to international law".

The ministry also reported an Israeli air strike "targeting a house" in the central Al-Zawaida area which killed at least 12 people including women and children.

And in northern Gaza, the ministry said 10 members of one family were killed in an Israeli strike on their house in Jabalia camp.

An overnight strike on Khan Yunis in the south killed 18 people, according to the health ministry.

Palestinians inspect the damage at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp after an overnight Israeli strike on December 25, 2023. (AFP)

AFP was unable to independently verify the tolls.

Clothes are placed on a car to dry at a temporary camp for the internally displaced Palestinians in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on December 24, 2023. (AFP)

Netanyahu in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Gaza Strip and vowed to step up the army's assault, his party said.

"I just came back from Gaza... we're not stopping, we're continuing to fight and we're intensifying the fighting in the coming days," he told members of his Likud party according to a statement.

"It's going to be a long war that's not close to ending."

WHO urges more food, water

The World Health Organization said it led missions to barely functioning hospitals in northern Gaza, describing starving people stripping an aid truck of supplies.

The head of the UN health agency, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said mission participants witnessed "rising desperation due to acute hunger".

"Partners demand immediate scale-up of food and water to ensure population health and stability," he added on social media.

Israel slams UN

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen accused the United Nations of "hypocrisy" and called its response to the war a "disgrace".

Cohen said he had ordered his ministry not to extend one UN employee's entry visa and to refuse entry for another.

"We will stop working with those who cooperate with the Hamas terrorist organisation's propaganda," he said on social media.

Pope calls for ceasefire

Pope Francis deplored "the desperate humanitarian situation" of Palestinians in Gaza, calling for an immediate ceasefire and the freeing of hostages.

Christmas festivities in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem -- revered as the birthplace of Jesus Christ -- were effectively scrapped amid the conflict, with few worshippers or tourists on the usually packed streets.