UNGA adopts resolution urging Israel to end Gaza aid restrictions

The UN General Assembly has adopted a draft resolution, demanding that Israel allow full humanitarian access into Gaza, respect the inviolability of UN premises, and comply with its obligations under international law.

The resolution responds to the ICJ’s recent advisory opinion outlining Israel’s obligations as both an “occupying power” and a UN member state.

On the work of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), the resolution “strongly warned against any attempts to diminish its operations and mandate and called upon the Israeli Government to respect the Agency’s privileges and immunities”.

“The Assembly also urged immediate efforts to address the financial and operational crises affecting UNRWA,” it added.

The resolution received support from 139 countries, with 12 voting against and 19 abstaining.

UNGA resolutions are not binding in terms of international law as opposed to the UN Security Council resolutions.

Main events on December 12th

• The Palestinian Ministry of Interior and National Security says agencies in Gaza have received more than 4,300 distress calls since the start of the storm there.
• A spokesperson for UN chief Guterres says continued Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are having “devastating” effects.
• The UN General Assembly has adopted a draft resolution, demanding that Israel allow full humanitarian access into Gaza, respect the inviolability of UN premises, and comply with its obligations under international law.
• UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territory Albanese says the cost of rebuilding Gaza should be paid not only by Israel, but also by the US, Germany, Italy and the UK, as they are the main arms suppliers to Israel.
• A group of foreign ministers from the Middle East and Asia have reaffirmed their support for the UNRWA, stressing that it plays an “essential role” in delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza.
  
  

Irish artist McGettigan says will return Eurovision winning trophy

In a video shared by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Charlie McGettigan – who won the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest – has said he plans to return his winning trophy in the latest act of protest against Israel’s inclusion in next year’s competition.

McGettigan noted in the video that he can’t find his trophy but will return it whenever he does.

He said the move was in solidarity with Swiss artist Nemo, who won Eurovision in 2024 and announced yesterday that they would return their trophy in protest of Israel’s war on Palestinians in Gaza.

“Following on from 2024 winner Nemo doing the same yesterday, this is great solidarity with the Palestinian people,” the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign wrote on social media of McGettigan’s announcement.

It added that the European Broadcasting Union, which organises Eurovision, “is wrecking its own contest to preserve Israel’s artwashing of genocide, but the tide has turned and artists and the public reject that!”

For more on the growing protests and boycotts over Israel’s inclusion in Eurovision, see this story from earlier this week.

📣 We are delighted to announce that 1994 Eurovision winner for Ireland Charlie McGettigan has decided to hand back his trophy to the EBU in protest at apartheid Israel's continued participation in the contest! #BoycottEurovision pic.twitter.com/TuJeQWUsuO

— IPSC (@ipsc48) December 12, 2025

Israel commits genocide while demanding its neighbours demilitarise | Jeremy Scahill



In this UNAPOLOGETIC episode from the Doha Forum, investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill examines how Israel has carried out a campaign that meets the legal and moral definitions of genocide in Gaza, while simultaneously insisting that Palestinians must not resist and that neighbouring states must demilitarise. Scahill situates Israel’s assault within a wider history of US militarism, privatised warfare, and the global security industry, showing how Gaza has become a testing ground for surveillance, weapons and siege tactics.

We also discuss the collapse of the 2025 cease-fire, the regional implications of Syria’s political shift, and the contrasting strategies of Gulf states as the war reshapes regional power.

Norman Finkelstein EXPOSES Israel’s DARKEST SECRET



We oppose white supremacy. We opposed male supremacy. So what is problematic about just saying instead of using these vague terms like I'm not a Zionist, why not just use the straightforward term whether or not you're a Jewish supremacist?

Israel is technically a Jewish state as a legal matter. It's a state of the Jewish people. But there's nothing Jewish about Israel.

Britain Threatened To DEFUND ICC If It Prosecuted Netanyahu

Will this documentary put Keir Starmer behind bars?

Declassified presents the first documentary about Britain's complicity in the Gaza genocide, exposing Keir Starmer's shady spy flight missions for Israel. What does a British base in Cyprus have to do with Israel's genocide in Gaza?

Declassified travelled to this Mediterranean island to investigate the hundreds of spy flights Keir Starmer has sent over Gaza, that coincided with Israeli airstrikes and the killing of British aid workers We go where the British media and military experts have refused to look and ask whether this scandal could put Keir Starmer in The Hague.

"We've seen this before" | James Jackson

Germany has built its new identity on turning its back on its past, but at what cost? Today, the far-right is topping the polls, police violence is soaring, and free speech is increasingly restricted.

In this eye-opening episode of The Tea with Myriam François, we are joined by journalist and podcaster James Jackson to dive into Germany’s complex and troubling relationship with Israel, Zionism, and its own historical identity. From Angela Merkel’s declaration that Israel’s security is Germany’s 'Staatsräson', to the silencing of Palestinian solidarity and dissenting Jewish voices, we unpack the dangerous intersections of history, politics, and power.

The German approach to confronting history was to declare, “We were all guilty as a nation” - a line that conveniently absolves individuals of the blame. “Ultimately it's a redemption narrative, a guilt pride - so you're proud of how evil your nation was and how you've accepted that.”

Flooding in Gaza result of ‘systematic obstruction of aid’, says Oxfam

Bushra Khalidi, policy lead of Oxfam in the occupied Palestinian territory, says Palestinians are “wading through sewage, mud and debris” due to the ongoing storm.

“This is not a failure of preparedness or capacity; it’s the direct result of the systematic obstruction of aid,” Khalidi said.

“The Israeli authorities continue to block the entry of basic shelter materials, fuel and water infrastructure, leaving people exposed to entirely preventable harm. When access is denied, storms become deadly. This suffering is being manufactured by policy, not weather,” she added.

_{Palestinians struggle to live under harsh conditions as cold weather damages tents amid Israeli attacks in Gaza City, Gaza, on December 12}

Palestinians unsure where to move to after storm floods tents

We need to remember that Israel completely destroyed Gaza’s infrastructure over the past two years, which is why nearly all of Gaza’s streets are flooded despite the rain having stopped.

There is no way to take this water away in any way, and people in the tents have been literally drowning. Despite the fact that the rain stopped, everything is still very wet, their clothes, their tents, their blankets, if they have them, of course. Most Palestinians don’t know where to relocate, and that’s what’s been happening in the past two days.

“All our mattresses and clothes were soaked. We’ve been suffering from the war for two years, and just when a ceasefire is finally reached, the suffering of winter has befallen us as well,” Al Bahtiti told Al Jazeera.

Sarah Daoud Ghanem, 34, a mother of four, also shared with Al Jazeera a similar experience with the storm. “As you can see, the water reached halfway up the tent. It soaked the clothes and the bedding. We couldn’t even see if there is anything left. We are like a stray dog; we keep moving from one place to another,” she said.

We’re talking about a storm that hit the Gaza Strip. At least 14 Palestinians died from this storm, 13 buildings collapsed, and we’re talking about hundreds of other houses that are threatened to collapse at any minute.

Yesterday, we went to that neighbourhood, and this building collapsed, and we saw how fragile even the building, the stone, the ceiling, the brick, how fragile they are and threaten to fall at any minute.

Nowhere for the water to go’ in Gaza as infrastructure destroyed, machinery blocked

The rains have forced the Anera aid organisation to close a health facility and a kitchen in Gaza. The clinic has reopened after much struggle, but the kitchen has not.

“Our kitchen has not been able to reopen due to flooding in Deir el-Balah, meaning that people who have been suffering from the heavy rain are also unable to get a cooked meal delivered to them,” Anera deputy country director Fidah Mousa told Al Jazeera from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

“The rain has stopped but the water is still there because there is no infrastructure or machinery to drain it.”

She said parents and family members are trying to help their loved ones, but it is futile because there is no place for the water to go. There is also a large volume of untreated waste that is now being moved around by the water, increasing the risk of diseases.

“People are living in it, people are moving in it, people are using blankets and kitchen items that have been polluted by this water,” Mousa said, adding that Anera has observed concerning cases of pneumonia and other illnesses.

She said Israeli authorities have blocked much of the humanitarian aid coming into the enclave, so many people are still unable to get the resources they need, including tents and blankets, during the winter storm.

Gaza storms kill 14 Palestinians, including 3 children

https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/13/middleeast/gaza-storms-kill-14-palestinians-intl


_{Men walk along a muddy alley at a makeshift camp sheltering displaced Palestinians after heavy rains in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City on December 11}

Severe weather conditions over the past 72 hours in Gaza have left 14 people dead, including three children, the director general of the Gaza-based Health Ministry Munir Al-Boursh told CNN.

Storm Byron created ‘complex humanitarian catastrophe’ in Gaza: Media Office

Gaza’s Government Media Office has released the following updates from the onset of the storm since yesterday morning:

Winter is worsening the already dire living conditions of people of #Gaza.

For displaced families every rainfall brings flooding, damage, and renewed hardship.

UNRWA teams — displaced themselves — continue working to support people wherever possible. They are pumping wastewater… pic.twitter.com/mOsY4A0Rvt

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) December 13, 2025

Palestinian man shot dead by Israeli forces in northern Gaza’s Jabalia

Israeli forces have shot dead Muhammad Sabri Al-Adham, 19, in northern Gaza’s Jabalia area, according to medical sources cited by the Wafa news agency.

Despite the ongoing ceasefire, Israel continues to launch air raids on areas in the Tuffah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City, and north of Rafah, southern Gaza. Palestinian houses are also being demolished east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Since the October 10 ceasefire agreement, at least 383 people have been killed and 1,002 others injured, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Israeli army claims to have killed one person for crossing yellow line in southern Gaza

The Israeli military says troops killed one Palestinian person yesterday in southern Gaza who it claimed had crossed the ceasefire-designated invisible “yellow line”. In a post on Telegram, the army said that while two people were identified crossing the line, only one of them was killed.

Since the establishment of the yellow line, as part of the ceasefire agreement that divides where Israeli forces are stationed and Palestinian daily life, Israel has blamed and killed Palestinians for crossing the barrier, which is not clearly marked.

Gaza’s death toll rises

Three bodies were brought to hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours, including two people killed by Israel and another previously killed now recovered.

The enclave’s Health Ministry said this brings the total death toll since the start of the ceasefire on October 10 to 386 people killed and 1,018 injured.

A total of 70,654 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since the start of the genocidal war in October 2023.

Palestinian man succumbs to injuries from Israeli attack in Gaza’s al-Mawasi area

Muhammad Abu Hussein died from injuries sustained in an Israeli attack carried out weeks ago on his tent in the al-Mawasi area, near ​​Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, medical sources have told the Wafa news agency.

Since the October 10 ceasefire, at least 386 people have been killed and 1,018 others wounded in the enclave, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Virtual reality offers escape to Gaza children wounded in Israel’s war


_{alah Abu Rukba sustained an injury to his head during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza}

Inside a makeshift tent in the heart of the besieged Gaza Strip, Israel’s genocidal war, which has destroyed neighbourhoods, schools and hospitals, decimated families and shattered lives for more than two years, no longer exists.

Virtual reality technology is taking Palestinian children struggling with physical and psychological wounds to a world away, where they can feel safe again.?

“After I was injured in the head, I try to forget the pain,” Salah Abu Rukba, a Palestinian child taking part in the sessions, told Al Jazeera at the VR Tent in az-Zawayda, central Gaza.

“When I put on the headset, I forget the injury. I feel comfort as I forget the destruction, the war, and even the sound of the drones disappears.”

Lama Abu Dalal, communication officer at Gaza MedTech – the technology initiative spearheading the project – said Abu Rukba and the others have constant reminders of the war etched in their bodies.

But the VR headset makes them forget their life-changing wounds and simply be children again, if only for a few moments.

Gaza MedTech was launched by Palestinian innovator Mosab Ali, who used VR to comfort his injured son. Ali was later killed in an Israeli attack.

Studies have confirmed that VR can have beneficial effects in the treatment of mental disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Offering this service in Gaza is hard to sustain, as spare parts of the equipment are barred from entry into Gaza by Israel’s ongoing punishing blockade.

_{Gaza MedTech was launched by Palestinian innovator Mosab Ali, who used VR to comfort his injured son}

The United Nations estimates that more than 90 percent of children in Gaza are showing signs of severe stress driven by the loss of safety and stability, and will require long-term support to heal from the psychological effect of the conflict.

Multiple UN bodies, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN humanitarian office OCHA, and independent UN experts, have called for immediate and unimpeded access to Gaza for essential medical equipment and psychological support.

US envoy support for new Israeli settlements contrary to international law: Palestinian Authority

The Palestinian Authority’s presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh has rejected comments made by US envoy Mike Huckabee in support of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The US ambassador to Israel had said there is no need to react to Israel’s approval of 19 new settlements on occupied Palestinian territory since it is “neither an annexation nor a declaration of sovereignty”.

The PA representative said the statement is rejected and condemned since it is “contrary to the international consensus that voted in Resolution 2334 against settlements and considered them all illegal, stressing that no one is authorised to give legitimacy to the occupation and its policies”.

“We demand that the US administration adhere to international law and international legitimacy resolutions if it is interested in stopping violence and escalation and achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, stressing that recognising legitimate Palestinian rights is the only way to achieve peace and security for all.”

What’s the latest in the occupied West Bank?

Israeli soldiers launched a series of violent raids late last night across the occupied West Bank, as reported by local sources including the Wafa news agency:

Israeli forces set up checkpoint, search houses in southern Syria: Report

Israeli troops have advanced towards the village of Saida al-Hanout in the countryside of Quneitra, in southern Syria, near the border of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA.

A SANA correspondent reported that the forces, comprising eight military vehicles, set up a checkpoint at the village’s first entrance, while a number of soldiers entered the village and began searching several houses.

Local sources also told the news agency that residents refused the Israeli forces’ offer of food aid as well as to answer questions about the situation in Syria.

Yesterday, Israeli forces released two citizens who had been arrested while passing through a checkpoint set up by the Israeli military between the town of Umm Batna and the village of al-Ajraf.

According to a tally by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), Israel has launched more than 600 air, drone or artillery attacks across Syria since a lightning offensive by allied opposition groups led to the end of the al-Assad dynasty’s 54-year reign.