Israel steps up offensive in Gaza's Khan Younis, forcing Palestinians to flee

This live blog is wrapping up now. Thanks to all for following along. The New Arab will be back at 7am GMT with live coverage of Israel's war on Gaza. 

Protesters marching in Philadelphia against the bombardment of Gaza chanted about genocide on Sunday outside an Israeli-style restaurant, leading Gov. Josh Shapiro to call the demonstration “antisemitic.”

In Philadelphia’s Center City and University City neighborhoods, hundreds of people marched to criticize Israel's military actions in Gaza, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. However, it was unclear why some specifically protested the restaurant. A video of demonstrators outside of Goldie Falafel depicted people chanting, “Goldie, Goldie, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” which garnered backlash from the Democratic governor.

However, last month, a group of protesters gathered outside Laser Wolf, a Middle Eastern restaurant owned by the same restaurant group as Goldie, owned by Michael Solomonov.

Solomonov first came to prominence with Zahav, an Israeli restaurant he opened in Philadelphia in 2008. His food empire has expanded with a number of Israeli- and Jewish-style restaurants in the city.

He has come under fire from pro-Palestinian activists for various ties to Israeli institutions accused of aiding Israel's war on Gaza, claims which cannot be verified. 

Read the full report here.

Israeli authorities are investigating claims by U.S. researchers that some investors may have known in advance of a Hamas surprise attack on Israel on October 7 and used that information to profit from Israeli securities.

Research by law professors Robert Jackson Jr from New York University and Joshua Mitts of Columbia University found significant short-selling of shares leading up to the attacks, which triggered a war nearly two months old.

"Days before the attack, traders appeared to anticipate the events to come," they wrote, citing short interest in the MSCI Israel Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) that "suddenly, and significantly, spiked" on October 2 based on data from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

"And just before the attack, short selling of Israeli securities on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) increased dramatically," they wrote in their 66-page report.

Read the full report here.

There are reports from Palestinian news agency Wafa of multiple deaths and injuries following an Israeli attack on the Sheikh Radwan area of Gaza City.

Women and children are believed to be among the casualties in the attack, which hit a residential building belonging to the al-Yaziji family.

There were no immediate reports on the exact number of casualties.

The Sheikh Radwan district is near the Kamal Adwan Hospital compound in Jabalia, which has also been separately targeted by Israeli bombings.

The US senator has signalled his opposition to the Biden administration’s proposal to send $10.1bn to Israel to resupply the country’s Iron Dome and David’s Sling defence systems as well as replenish military stocks.

“I believe that it would be absolutely irresponsible to provide an additional $10.1bn in unconditional military aid that will allow the Netanyahu government to continue its current offensive military approach,” Sanders said on the Senate floor on Monday.

“What the Netanyahu government is doing is immoral, it is in violation of international law, and the United States should not be complicit in those actions.”

Sanders continues to face pressure from US progressives to call for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza.

We cannot be complicit in the current approach of the Israeli government. https://t.co/LnGgMzkKmm

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 4, 2023

The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 63 journalists and media workers have been killed during Israel's war on Gaza, as of December 4.

This includes the deaths on Sunday of Hassan Farajallah of Al-Quds TV and Shima el-Gazzar, a journalist for the Al-Majedat network who was killed alongside her family members in an Israeli air strike on Rafah in southern Gaza.

The overall death toll includes 56 Palestinians, four Israelis and three Lebanese nationals.

“CPJ emphasizes that journalists are civilians doing important work during times of crisis and must not be targeted by warring parties,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa programme coordinator.

“Journalists across the region are making great sacrifices to cover this heart-breaking conflict. Those in Gaza, in particular, have paid, and continue to pay, an unprecedented toll and face exponential threats."

As of December 4, in the #Israel #Gaza war, CPJ has documented:

- 63 journalists and media workers killed: 56 Palestinian, 4 Israeli, and 3 Lebanese
- 11 journalists injured
- 3 journalists missing
- 19 journalists arrestedhttps://t.co/7NI0X03BuS#NotATarget

— Committee to Protect Journalists (@pressfreedom) December 4, 2023

Israel has assembled a large system of pumps that may be used to flood tunnels used by Hamas under the Gaza strip in a bid to drive out fighters, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing U.S. officials.

Around the middle of November, Israel's army completed the set-up of at least five pumps about a mile north of the Al-Shati refugee camp that could move thousands of cubic meters of water per hour, flooding the tunnels within weeks, the report said.

It was not clear whether Israel would consider using the pumps before all hostages were released, according to the story. Hamas has previously said it has hidden captives in "safe places and tunnels."

Reuters could not verify the details of Monday's report.

Read the full report here.

Dozens of religious and civil society groups in Canada are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to “realign” his government’s foreign policy to reflect values of human rights and peace.

In an open letter, the groups – including the Canadian Council of Imams, Independent Jewish Voices Canada and the United Church of Canada – raised concerns over Canada’s “unquestioning and uncritical support for the Israeli government’s actions”.

“This stance has raised serious concerns among us about the impartiality of our nation’s foreign policy. We can no longer remain silent in the face of Canada’s biased approach that contradicts the values of justice and fairness,” they said.

“This approach has proven to be a failure on all fronts. It has neither promoted justice nor positioned Canada to help broker peace.

A 14-year-old  child has been shot and is in a critical condition in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. The boy, who was not named, was shot in the chest and hand by Israeli forces during a raid in the town of Bani Naim east of Hebron.

Two young men were also injured when Israeli forces fired live bullets during the confrontation with Palestinians in the Wadi al-Joz neighbourhood near the entrace to the town, Wafa said. Their injuries were described as “moderate”.

The three injured Palestinians were transferred to hospitals in Hebron.

A video posted on Instagram by Palestinian photojournalist Abdul Rahman al-Kahlout appears to show the bombardment of Khan Younis by Israeli forces.

In his post, al-Kahlout wrote that the “intense attacks” have spurred “terror and panic” among residents.

“Residents describe this night as resembling a day of judgment, enduring consecutive shocks and living in constant fear and anxiety. Authorities are calling for urgent intervention to halt these hostile actions and protect innocent lives,” he added.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Abdelrahman Alkahlout عبد الرحمن الكحلوت (@abd.pix96)

The World Health Organization issued the warning in a statement renewing its calls for the protection of Gaza hospitals and civilians, as Israeli forces intensify their ground offensive in the south of the enclave.

“We have seen what happened in northern Gaza. This cannot be the blueprint for the south. Gaza cannot afford to lose another hospital as health needs continue to soar,” the UN agency said.

Israel’s military operations in southern Gaza, especially in Khan Younis, could cut off access to the Nasser Medical Complex and the European Gaza Hospital as the number of sick and injured Palestinians increases, WHO said.

“Lack of access would also limit WHO’s ability to deliver aid to these hospitals,” it added

A UN official warned on Monday that "an even more hellish scenario" looms in Gaza in which humanitarian aid simply grinds to a halt.

"The conditions required to deliver aid to the people of Gaza do not exist," said Lynn Hastings, UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories.

Since the end of a seven-day truce, Israeli forces have pushed into southern Gaza, "forcing tens of thousands... into increasingly compressed spaces, desperate to find food, water, shelter and safety," Hastings said.

"Nowhere is safe in Gaza and there is nowhere left to go."

"If possible, an even more hellish scenario is about to unfold, one in which humanitarian operations may not be able to respond," Hastings said in a statement.

Read the full report here.

Palestinian photographer Tariq Dahlan has shared a video showing the challenges Gaza-based journalists face amid a new telecommunications blackout in the territory.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by طارق دحلان (@tariq_dahlan)

Israeli forces have deployed more than 50 armoured vehicles and four bulldozers, as it carried out a new raid in the city of Jenin and its refugee camp in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Wafa also reported of gunfire being exchanged near Jenin’s Nazareth Street.

A reconnaissance plane was also seen flying over the city during the raid, according to Wafa, adding that several Israeli snipers were also positioned on the roofs of a number of houses and buildings.

Several neighbourhoods in Jenin and within the camp also experienced power outage during the raid.

At least five people have been killed across the occupied Palestinian territory following the latest raid.

The Palestine Red Crescent has shared a video showing its emergency crews responding to Israeli attacks on Gaza ciivlians once night falls.

⚠️At nightfall, the occupation forces escalate their attacks on innocent citizens and their homes in the #Gaza Strip, transforming their nights into a living hell. 🚑 Meanwhile, the PRCS paramedics persist in their efforts to evacuate the wounded and martyrs.

📍Video credit:… pic.twitter.com/biWxryQnz5

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) December 4, 2023

A chartered aircraft flew 120 Russian nationals evacuated from the Gaza Strip home to Moscow on Monday, Russia's Emergencies Ministry said.

A ministry statement on the Telegram messaging app said 30 children were among those on board the Ilyushin-76 aircraft that landed in Moscow.

The Emergencies Ministry has so far flown more than 880 Russian nationals home aboard nine flights.

(Reuters)

Israel’s office for coordination in the Palestinian territories, known as COGAT says 180 trucks carrying food, water, shelter equipment and medical supplies were “dispatched” to international aid groups operating in Gaza through the Rafah crossing.

The Israeli agency said the trucks had “undergone a security check” at the Nitzana crossing.

COGAT also said that two diesel fuel tankers were also sent from Egypt to the aid groups operating in Gaza “for the operation of vital infrastructure in the Gaza Strip”.

Rights groups say that the limited humanitarian aid and fuel deliveries allowed into Gaza since October 7 only amount to a small percentage of what is needed

Norwegian Refugee Council Secretary-General Jan Egeland says “indiscriminate Israeli bombardment” of civilians in southern Gaza has “reached new depths”.

The ongoing killing of Palestinians “will not make Israel safe”, Egeland said in a post on X.

“Borders to Israel and Egypt must be opened for civilians in crossfire if the war continues.”

“Our humanitarian workers in Gaza currently have zero possibility to deliver aid to the desperate civilian population. Israel is forcing Palestinian civilians to move from one killing field to the next,” he added.

All day we receive harrowing reports from our aid workers in southern Gaza. The indiscriminate Israeli bombardment of the densely packed civilian population has reached new depths
Each week we tell ourselves that things in Gaza cannot get any worse: but they keep getting worse

— Jan Egeland (@NRC_Egeland) December 4, 2023

Israel is launching attacks in the vicinity of Kamal Adwan hospital, located north of the Gaza Strip. The hospital is currently sheltering thousands of internally displaced people.

صورة مباشرة من محيط مستشفى كمال عدوان شمال غزة pic.twitter.com/N2jJkXCqhu

— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) December 4, 2023

Israeli forces are also shelling close to the Red Crescent-run Al Amal hospital in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.

🚨A video shows intense shelling that occurred hours ago in Khan Younis, south of the #Gaza Strip, just 500 meters from the PRCS headquarters and Al-Amal Hospital.

🚨 فيديو يظهر قصف عنيف حدث قبل ساعات في خانيونس جنوب القطاع على بعد 500 متر فقط مقر الجمعية ومستشفى الأمل التابع… pic.twitter.com/5x6ByfyoQF

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) December 4, 2023

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the World Health Organization was notified by the Israeli miliary that it should remove supplies from its two medical warehouses in southern Gaza “within 24 hours, as ground operations will put them beyond use”.

“We appeal to Israel to withdraw the order, and take every possible measure to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and humanitarian facilities,” the WHO director-general said in a post on X.

Today, @WHO received notification from the Israel Defense Forces that we should remove our supplies from our two medical warehouses in southern Gaza within 24 hours, as ground operations will put them beyond use.

We appeal to #Israel to withdraw the order, and take every…

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 4, 2023

Martin Griffiths, the UN chief for humanitarian affairs, wrote on X that things in Gaza are "apocalyptic". 

"Every time we think things cannot get any more apocalyptic in Gaza they do," Griffiths said. 

“Such blatant disregard for basic humanity must stop,” he added.

Every time we think things cannot get any more apocalyptic in #Gaza, they do. pic.twitter.com/aE8m33zYZC

— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) December 4, 2023

The Palestine Red Crescent says it has lost contact with the central operations room in the Gaza Strip as well as all its teams.

Communications networks in Gaza have been repeatedly severed since the war began due to Israel’s bombardments.

“We feel extreme concern about the possibility of our teams continuing to provide emergency services,”

🚨PRCS: We have completely lost contact with the operations room in the #Gaza Strip and all our teams operating there due to the fourth telecommunication blackout during the ongoing aggression on the #Gaza Strip.#NotATarget#IHL pic.twitter.com/5L41PQY06B

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) December 4, 2023

The White House said on Monday that an attack on three vessels in the Red Sea over the weekend constituted threads to international peace and stability.

In a briefing with reporters, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington has "every reason to believe that these attacks, while they were launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran."

The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that the conditions required to deliver aid in Gaza do not exist. 

"The conditions required to deliver aid to the people of Gaza do not exist. If possible, an even more hellish scenario is about to unfold, one in which humanitarian operations may not be able to respond. 

What we see today are shelters with no capacity, a health system on its knees, a lack of clean drinking water, no proper sanitation and poor nutrition for people already mentally and physically exhausted: a textbook formula for epidemics and a public health disaster.  

The quantities of relief supplies and fuel allowed in are utterly insufficient. Despite the enormous efforts of the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent Societies, UN agencies and other partners, the use of only the Rafah crossing - meant for pedestrians - to bring in trucks of goods does not work.

Nowhere is safe in Gaza and there is nowhere left to go."

Israeli forces killed Anas al-Faroukh, 23, in the town of Sa’i near Hebron, in the occupied West Bank.

Three other Palestinians were also killed on Monday – one in Qalandiya refugee camp and two in Qalqilya – raising the death toll to 258 since October 7, the health ministry says.

Earlier, soldiers raided Kufr Aqab and Qalandiya refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, injuring 44 Palestinians, according to the Palestine Red Crescent

Telecommunication services are again cut off in Gaza after being repaired.

“We regret to announce the complete cessation of the communications and internet services within the Gaza Strip as the main paths that were previously reconnected were disconnected again,” the Palestinian telecoms company Paltel said in a statement.

The cutoff means casualty figures from Israeli attacks and details of ground fighting cannot be immediately known. Communications networks in Gaza have been repeatedly severed since the war began because of Israeli bombardment.

The Palestinian communications ministry has appealed to neighbouring Egypt to operate communication stations near the Gaza border and activate roaming services on Egyptian networks. Egypt has not complied. 

⚠️ Confirmed: Live metrics show that the #Gaza Strip is now in the midst of a near-total internet blackout; the incident impacts the telecoms backbone via Israel, mirroring previous recorded outages, and will be experienced as a total loss of communications by most residents 📉 pic.twitter.com/EujmEvVb3j

— NetBlocks (@netblocks) December 4, 2023

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters that Washington is asking Israel to let more fuel into the battered Gaza Strip after the end of a pause in its ally's war on the Palestinian enclave.

"We've made clear we want to see it back up not just to the level of fuel that went in during the pause, but actually higher," Miller said.

It was too early to make a definitive assessment of whether or not Israel was heeding U.S. calls to protect civilians in its renewed military operations in Gaza, the State Department said on Monday.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that Israel's targeted evacuations were an improvement compared to telling an entire city to vacate. Washington had seen some aspects of Israel's operations in south Gaza that do not look like the earlier assault on the north, Miller said.

Intense Israeli air strikes hit the south of the Gaza Strip on Monday, killing and wounding dozens of Palestinians, including in areas where Israel had told people to seek shelter, residents and journalists on the ground said.

Israel's closest ally the United States has urged it to do more to safeguard civilians in the southern part of Gaza than in last month's campaign in the north. But about 900 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes since a week-long truce ended on Friday, Gaza health authorities said.

Turkey warned Israel of "serious consequences" if it tries to hunt down Hamas members living outside Palestinian territories, including in Turkey, a Turkish intelligence official said on Monday.

"Necessary warnings were made to the interlocutors based on the news of Israeli officials' statements, and it was expressed to Israel that (such an act) would have serious consequences," the official said.

Israel's public broadcaster Kan reported on Sunday that Israel would hunt down Hamas in Lebanon, Turkey and Qatar even if it takes years, the head of Israel's domestic security agency Shin Bet said in a recording. It was unclear when Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar made the remarks or to whom.

The official Palestinian WAFA news agency said at least 50 people were killed on Monday in an Israeli air strike that hit two schools sheltering displaced people in the Daraj neighbourhood in the north of the Gaza Strip.

It was not immediately possible to verify the report independently.

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides will visit Egypt and Jordan on Tuesday as part of an initiative to establish a humanitarian aid corridor to Israeli-besieged Gaza.

Cyprus, the closest European Union member state to the Middle East, has offered to host and operate facilities for sustained aid directly into the Gaza Strip once hostilities between Israel and the Palestinian militant Hamas group cease.

Christodoulides planned to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and King Abdullah of Jordan. There were "technical discussions" on the matter between Cypriot and Israeli officials on Sunday.

I can't run to save my life, how will I evacuate?': Gaza's disabled face a death sentence ⬇ https://t.co/WHtYLqsl5h

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) December 3, 2023

The Cypriot plan is aimed at expanding capacity for humanitarian relief directly to the coastal Gaza Strip beyond limited deliveries being made through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Palestinian enclave.

Such an aid corridor faces logistical, political and security challenges - Gaza has no port and its waters are shallow.

Britain, which sent 80 tonnes of Gaza-destined aid in the form of mostly blankets and tents to Cyprus last week, has offered watercraft able to access the coastline without the need for special infrastructure if the corridor ever materialises, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The Hamas movement’s branch in Lebanon announced on Monday the creation of a unit that Palestinians and other men in the country can join to partake in the war with Israel.

"The Islamic Resistance Movement - Hamas in Lebanon announces the establishment and launch of "Vanguards of the Al-Aqsa Flood," the group said, calling on men to join its ranks "to liberate Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque."

'Al-Aqsa Flood' is the name given to Hamas' operation since October 7 when it carried out a large-scale and surprise attack in southern Israel.

Once one of the safest parts of Gaza before the war, Khan Younis' residents are now faced with a fate similar to those who left cities like Jabalia and Gaza City, says The New Arab's correspondent in the enclave.

As the Israeli army advances from the east, many from Khan Younis have begun heading towards Rafah, the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip, bordering Egypt, our correspondent says.

"Unfortunately, if Israeli troops attack Khan Younis, there will not be anywhere for the people to seek refuge. Rafah is very crowded from the displacement," she said.

"Up to one million people could leave and head to Egypt [border]," she added.

Khan Younis had already become overcrowded with Palestinians displaced from the northern parts of Gaza by Israel's bombardment.

Israeli airstrikes target the vicinity of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza.

Intense strikes are also reported in the districts of Zaytun, Tuffah, Jabalia, Shujaiya, and Khan Yunis making no distinction between north, central, and south, with hundreds feared dead and injured.

UNRWA, the United Nations agency, reported on Monday that nearly 1.9 million individuals in Gaza have been displaced since the beginning of the war.

"A staggering 1.2 million people are sheltering in 156 Unrwa installations across all five governorates," they stated.

🛑 Almost 1.9 million people have been displaced in the 📍#GazaStrip since the war began.

This is over 80% of the population of #Gaza

A staggering 1.2 million people are sheltering in 156 @UNRWA installations across all five governorates - including in the North & Gaza City. pic.twitter.com/09FwMvawBR

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) December 4, 2023

The Israeli army said Monday it was taking "aggressive" action against "Hamas and other terrorist organisations" in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip.

The advance of Israeli forces meant that in the north and east of the city, civilians could no longer travel along the Salah al-Din road that runs through the Palestinian territory, it said. 

Palestinian Red Crescent: 24 wounded in an Israeli  forces' raid in Qalandiya, north of Jerusalem, including 13 by gunfire.

Hamas says it targeted an Israeli tank in the Al-Faluja area in northern Gaza with a Yasin 105 shell, killing and injuring a number of Israeli soldiers around it.

Sirens were heard in Sderot and other settlements in the Gaza periphery after Hamas' armed wing fired rockets.

Gaza's health ministry spokesperson has updated the death toll in the enclave from Israel's war to 15,899, saying 70% of these casualties were women and children.

More than 41,300 people have also been injured. Many more are presumed dead as they are stuck beneath the rubble.

The Palestinian telecommunications company Paltel said Israeli bombardment has resulted in a complete telecoms blackout in Gaza City.

The Israeli army reportedly opened fire on civilians, including journalists, along the Salah al-Din Road which connects Gaza's north and south.

A video shared online shows two women and journalists taking cover as gunfire could be heard.

تغطية صحفية: "دبــابــات الاحـــتلال تطلق الرصــ.ـاص صوب النازحين والطواقم الصحفية على طريق صلاح الدين في غزة". pic.twitter.com/gB01YBEDrd

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) December 4, 2023

Israel says 14-year-old Ahmad Salaymeh, who was released last week from Israeli detention in a prisoner-hostage swap deal with Hamas, cannot resume his education at a public school.

The 8th grader attempted to rejoin his class on Monday morning, but the school headmaster informed him that they received instructions from the municipality not to readmit any pupil released from prison in the swap deal. 

Read the full story here.

A Palestinian customs officer was shot dead by Israeli forces in the Qalandiya refugee camp, the Palestinian health ministry has said.

He was identified as Ali Ibrahim Alqam, 32.

عاجل| تغطية صحفية.. وزارة الصحة: ارتقاء الشاب علي إبراهيم علقم (32 عاماً) برصــ.ـاص الاحـــتلال في قلنديا شمال القدس. pic.twitter.com/y9mFWAKnlv

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) December 4, 2023

The camp, situated between Jerusalem and the West Bank's Ramallah, was raided by the Israeli military earlier Monday.

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross said Monday that she had arrived in war-torn Gaza, warning that the suffering in the Palestinian territory was "intolerable".

"I repeat our urgent call for civilians to be protected in line with the laws of war and for aid to enter unimpeded," Mirjana Spoljaric said on X, formerly Twitter, adding that "the hostages must be released and ICRC allowed to safely visit them".

I have arrived in Gaza, where people’s suffering is intolerable.

I repeat our urgent call for civilians to be protected in line with the laws of war and for aid to enter unimpeded.

The hostages must be released and @ICRC allowed to safely visit them.https://t.co/64AaIwOLQJ

— Mirjana Spoljaric (@ICRCPresident) December 4, 2023

The World Health Organization (WHO) will hold an extraordinary session of its Executive Board on December 10 to discuss health conditions in the Occupied Palestinian territory, a document from the UN global health agency showed on Monday.

Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had convened the session after receiving a request from 14 members of the WHO's board, the WHO document said. A WHO spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Germany urged Israel on Monday to guarantee "realistic" protection to civilians in the Gaza Strip, as Israel moved ground forces into the south of the territory..

"Something we expect from Israel is that they not only urge civilians to leave the danger zone, but that they are in a realistic position to find safe shelter elsewhere," foreign ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer told a regular press briefing.

"Too many civilians have already been killed in this war," he said.

The commander of Israel's armoured corps said on Monday that his and other ground forces were close to achieving their war mission in the northern Gaza Strip and were operating elsewhere in the Palestinian enclave against Hamas.

"The goals in the northern section have almost been met," Brigadier-General Hisham Ibrahim told Israel's Army Radio.

"We are beginning to expand the ground maneouvre to other parts of the Strip, with one goal: to topple the Hamas terrorist group."

Sirens rang across central Israel as rockets were launched from Gaza, in response to the killing of civilians, Hamas' armed wing said.

Israeli police said fragments of rockets fell on Tel Aviv after the missiles were intercepted, damaging a vehicle.

Iran will respond to attacks on its interests in Syria, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said on Monday when asked about the killing by Israel of two Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Syria last week.

"No action against Iran's interests and our advisory forces in Syria will go unanswered," Kanaani said.

Two Iranian Revolutionary Guards members who served as military advisers in Syria were killed in an Israeli attack, Iranian state media reported on December 2, in the first reported Iranian casualties during the ongoing war on Gaza.

Dozens of Israeli tanks entered the southern part of the Gaza Strip near Khan Younis on Monday, witnesses told AFP, with the Israeli military widely expected to start ground operations in the area soon.

Armoured personnel carriers and bulldozers were also seen.

Amin Abu Hola, 59, said the Israeli vehicles were "two kilometres (1.2 miles) inside" the Palestinian territory in the village of Al-Qarara near Khan Younis, while Moaz Mohammed, 34, said Israeli tanks were on the southern part of Salah al-Din road which runs from the north to the south of the strip.

The death toll from Israel's war on Gaza has reached 15,523, with more than 41,300 wounded, the territory's health ministry said Monday.

Thousands more stuck beneath the rubble are presumed dead.

Israeli forces carried out a raid in the Qalandiya refugee camp, south of the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Images shared on social media showed Israeli soldiers standing on the rooftops of buildings in the camp and vehicles patrolling the area.

قوات الاحتلال تنشر جنودها فوق مبان في مخيم قلنديا pic.twitter.com/2EewRfIFAK

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) December 4, 2023

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group and the Israeli army continued to trade cross-border fire on Monday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be tried as a war criminal over Israel's ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.

In a speech to a meeting of an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) committee in Istanbul, Erdogan said that Gaza is Palestinian land and will always belong to the Palestinians.

Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in a car and detained two others during a raid in the occupied West Bank on Monday.

One of those killed was Alaa Nazzal, a senior official in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which Israel had been pursuing for over a year, said Alaraby TV.

تغطية صحفية: "قوات الاحــــتلال تغتال الــمــطـــارد علاء نزال من قلقيلية؛ بعد الاشتباك معه صباح اليوم وتحتجز جثمانه". pic.twitter.com/7xCOPR6Wqs

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) December 4, 2023

The second victim was identified as Anas Qaraqe'.

Clashes were reported Monday morning in Qalqilya after Israeli forces mounted further raids.

⭕اشتباك مباشر مع قوات الاحتلال خلال اقتحامها مدنية قلقيلية pic.twitter.com/Eg1LbCg8uL

— إذاعة الأقصى - عاجل (@Alaqsavoice_Brk) December 4, 2023

Staff at Gaza's Baptist Hospital (Al-Ahli Arab Hospital) told Alaraby TV that they were unable to treat wounded patients being admitted to the medical centre.

There were reports Monday morning that the Israeli army was nearing the hospital, which witnessed a massacre after an Israeli airstrike in October.

The Baptist hospital is out of service, it’s crowded with hundreds of injuries and lack of medical aids.

مستشفى المعمداني في غزة خارج الخدمة والجرحى دون علاج. pic.twitter.com/LXqaHGm07K

— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) December 4, 2023

The Israeli army said three more of its soldiers have died in battle in northern Gaza, raising the death toll since Israel's ground invasion of the enclave to 77.

It brings the total number of Israeli military personnel killed since October 7 - among them those who died in the Hamas attacks themselves, and including soldiers, reservists, kibbutz guards and others - to 401, according to AFP tally.

An Israeli airstrike on a school in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, currently being used to house displaced Palestinian families was hit in an Israeli strike Monday morning, reportedly killing and wounding dozens.

تغطي صحفية: "طائرات الاحـــتلال تستهدف مدرسة يعيش فيها نازحون، في مشروع بيت لاهيا". pic.twitter.com/m3oHUXPKzj

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) December 4, 2023

Palestinian journalist Shaymaa al-Jazzar and several members of her family were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, local media reported Monday morning.