Deregistration of NGOs under new Israeli rules ‘will have catastrophic impact on Gaza services’

New rules in Israel for registering NGOs, under which more than a dozen groups have already been rejected, could have a catastrophic impact on aid work in Gaza and the West Bank, relief workers have warned.

The NGOs have until December 31 to register under the new framework, which Israel says aims to prevent “hostile actors or supporters of terrorism”.

Requests are rejected for “organisations involved in terrorism, antisemitism, delegitimisation of Israel, Holocaust denial, denial of the crimes of October 7,” Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism told AFP.

The ministry said 14 out of 100 registration requests have been rejected since November.

The Humanitarian Country Team of the Occupied Palestinian Territory warned that dozens of groups face deregistration and that, while some had been registered, “these NGOs represent only a fraction of the response in Gaza and are nowhere near the number required just to meet immediate and basic needs”.

“The deregistration of NGOs in Gaza will have a catastrophic impact on access to essential and basic services,” it said.

The amount of aid entering Gaza remains inadequate. While the ceasefire agreement stipulated the entry of 600 trucks per day, only 100 to 300 are carrying humanitarian aid, according to NGOs and the UN.

The NGOs barred under the new rules include Save the Children, one of the best known and oldest in Gaza, where it helps 120,000 children, and the American Friends Service Committee.

They are being given 60 days to withdraw all their international staff from the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and Israel, and will no longer be able to deliver any aid.

‘Lives depend on it’: WHO urges countries to open doors to Gaza patients

The head of the World Health Organization has warned that more lives could be lost unless patients from Gaza are able to head abroad for treatments or undergo medical evacuations to the occupied West Bank.

In a post on social media, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the WHO and its partners have evacuated more than 10,600 patients from Gaza with severe health conditions, including more than 5,600 children, since the start of the war.

“Yet, many more patients remain in Gaza awaiting evacuation to receive appropriate health care,” he said. “According to Ministry of Health, 1092 patients have died while awaiting medical evacuation between July 2024 and November 28, 2025. However, this figure is likely underreported.”

Since October 2023, @WHO and partners have evacuated over 10,600 patients from Gaza with severe health conditions, including over 5600 children, each one in need of critical advanced treatment.

Yet, many more patients remain in Gaza awaiting evacuation to receive appropriate… pic.twitter.com/h9dgKG6ztV

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 19, 2025

No adequate shelters or warm clothes for Palestinians braving Gaza’s storms

The current storms in Gaza are among the “harshest” periods people there have faced, says resident Ahmad al-Najjar.

“Thousands of Palestinians … have been pushed [to al-Mawasi] sheltering in inadequate tents that [have] been exposed to the harshest conditions,” he told Al Jazeera, speaking from Gaza’s southern area of al-Mawasi.

Strong winds have destroyed thousands of tents and left people homeless once again, he said.

“Just yesterday, two trucks were allowed [in]to the Gaza Strip while [600] trucks are supposed to enter every single day,” added al-Najjar.

No materials for shelter have been allowed in by Israel since the ceasefire, he said. Meanwhile, Israeli forces continue to launch deadly attacks while babies and young children are dying due to the cold, he added.

“Many more are expected to die with no aid … [or warm] winter clothes.”

How Zionist evangelicals seek to erase centuries of Palestinian Christianity

Soumaya Ghannoushi, a writer and expert in Middle Eastern politics, argues that Zionist evangelicals are attempting to erase centuries of Palestinian Christianity. Ghannoushi says that they are betraying the faith while actively supporting a colonial project that is dismantling Christianity in its own birthplace. She explains that their actions effectively support a “colonial project,” stating, “They defend a state that bombs churches while claiming to uphold biblical values.”

'FIRST JEWISH PRESIDENT': Adelson Promises Trump $ For Third Term Run

Krystal and Saagar discuss Trump saying he is the first Jewish President.

Some more about the Bondi beach shooting

Ten minutes of terror: how the Bondi mass shooting unfolded, in real time

At 6.41pm Sunday, on a footbridge overlooking Archer Park at Bondi beach, two gunmen opened fired in what would become Australia's worst mass shooting since the Port Arthur massacre. Guardian Australia's video team has verified and pieced together footage posted to social media, showing the attack from different angles

‘We are all human beings first’: Jews and Muslims embrace at vigils for those killed in Bondi beach terror attack ► https://www.theguardian.com/australia...
‘We need to be here’: a paddle-out for Bondi – in pictures ► https://www.theguardian.com/australia...
‘Pandemonium’, a woman in labour and every bandage in the clubhouse: how lifesavers became first responders in the Bondi shooting ► https://www.theguardian.com/australia...

CNN decided to do an expose about the cop that shot the attacker and ended the massacre.

Hero officer who took down Bondi shooter praised as footage reveals how massacre was brought to an end

https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/19/australia/australia-shooting-hero-officer-video-intl-hnk-dst



A police officer hailed as a hero for shooting dead one of the attackers responsible for the Bondi Beach massacre has been identified by Australian media as Detective Senior Constable Cesar Barraza. 

Videos from the tragedy give a clearer picture of how the antisemitic attack that killed at least 15 people unfolded and how Barraza, armed only with a handgun, moved in to take out the attackers from about 45 meters (150 feet) away – helping to end Australia’s worst mass shooting in almost 30 years.

Barraza is believed to have shot dead Sajid Akram, 50, according to The Sydney Morning Herald and CNN affiliates 9News and 7News. Minutes later, Akram’s son and alleged accomplice Naveed, 24, was shot and critically injured.

...

People can be seen fleeing the footbridge as the two men approach, with the shooter alleged to be Naveed opening fire in multiple directions while Sajid heads into the park where an open air Hannukah celebration was taking place.

There, Sajid Akram is confronted by an unarmed bystander, father of two Ahmed Al Ahmed, who tackles him and manages to wrestle the rifle from him.

Sajid then heads back toward the bridge. As he moves away, video shows another bystander, believed to be Reuven Morrison – who was later killed in the attack – hurling objects at him.

...

The officer named as Detective Senior Constable Cesar Barraza raises his gun and fires the shot that kills Sajid. The surviving shooter returns fire in the officer’s direction for over a minute until he gets taken down by another bullet. It’s unclear if the officer also fired that shot or if the bullets came from fellow officers who were engaging the final shooter.

Analysis of the footage shows the officer was about 45 meters from the gunman – a shot considered tough with a handgun, for even the most experienced marksman.

To be fair CNN also did a story about Ahmed as linked there, at least getting the facts right apart from never mentioning he is a Muslim while there are ongoing efforts to make him out to be Christian... Yeah it shouldn't matter, but apparently to enough people it does to keep up the disinformation about him being a Lebanese Christian instead of a Syrian Muslim.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/bondi-attack-hero-ahmed-al-ahmed-arguing-about-faith/106148028

Bondi hero Ahmed al-Ahmed presented with $2.5 million cheque in hospital

Ahmed al-Ahmed has been presented with an oversized novelty cheque for $2.5m, representing the funds raised for him among the $5m that had been donated for different fundraisers supporting people in the aftermath of the terror attack.

Palestinian wounded in East Jerusalem as Israel launches West Bank raids

Israeli soldiers have raided several areas across the occupied West Bank, injuring and arresting Palestinians.

A young man was shot in the leg with live ammunition in the town of ar-Ram, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, which said its crews were prevented from immediately reaching the scene.

Israeli forces raided al-Khader south of Bethlehem, as well as Arroub north of Hebron, where they arrested a teenage boy, according to the Wafa news agency.

Soldiers also stormed the town of Nilin, located west of Ramallah.

Female prisoner from Bethlehem describes detention in Damon prison

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office has cited the following from Aisha Awad al-Obaidat from Bethlehem, who has been detained in Israel’s Damon prison since June 20:

Holy Land’s top Catholic leader hails Palestinian ‘resilience’ on visit to Gaza

The top Catholic leader in the Holy Land has visited the Gaza Strip’s only Catholic church to share a message of Christmas hope and support.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa was greeted by children in Santa hats and keffiyehs in the courtyard of the church compound, which was gaily decorated with twinkling lights and Christmas ornaments.

“I know the situation is difficult, but I see with the children, the school, the activities, a little light of hope,” he said in English to several dozen people gathered for the festivity. “You have been a wonderful testimony, not only of resilience, but of faith and hope for many people not just in Gaza, but many other parts of the world.”

He said the Christian community aims to be a “stable, solid reference point in this sea of destruction” as the rebuilding slowly begins. The Holy Family compound was hit by fragments from an Israeli shell in July, killing three people in what Israel then called an accident and expressed regret over.

“We cannot forget what happened. And we will never forget. But now we have to look forward,” said Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. “We need to cure, to heal our hearts.”

Israeli army claims Palestinian killed in Gaza ‘terrorist’ who crossed truce line

The Israeli military has confirmed killing another Palestinian in central Gaza, again claiming that the person was a “terrorist” who was undermining the ceasefire that has been routinely violated by Israel.

The army said in a short statement that its forces operating in central Gaza identified the individual who allegedly crossed the so-called yellow line delineated in the ceasefire “and approached the forces in a manner that posed an immediate threat”.

“Immediately after the identification, the air force, guided by the forces, eliminated the terrorist in order to remove the threat,” it said, adding that Israeli soldiers reserve the right to attack again.

The Israeli military has killed a number of Palestinians, including children, for allegedly crossing the yellow line, accusing them of being armed fighters.

Israeli attack in Gaza City injures four Palestinians

Four Palestinians have been injured in Israeli artillery shelling in Gaza City, in the latest violation of a ceasefire agreement, medical sources said. The four were rushed to the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in central Gaza after Israeli forces shelled a school-turned shelter in Tuffah neighbourhood of eastern Gaza City.

The targeted area is among the locations from which the Israeli army had withdrawn under the ceasefire agreement in force in the Gaza Strip since October 10.

Six Palestinians killed in Israeli attack in Tuffah, Gaza City

We reported earlier on an Israeli attack on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City that wounded at least four people.

In what appears to the same attack, medical sources say six Palestinians have been killed, and others, including children, were injured, after Israeli forces shelled a school housing displaced people near al-Durra Hospital in the Tuffah neighbourhood of eastern Gaza City.

Deadly Israeli attack in Gaza City reportedly hit a wedding

Local sources say that Israeli tank shells struck the second floor of a school-turned-shelter while displaced families were gathered there to attend a wedding. The school was sheltering civilians who had fled earlier fighting.

Ambulances and rescue teams continue to respond at the scene as access was only granted minutes earlier, according to sources on the ground.

Israeli army says it was shooting at ‘suspects’ in deadly Gaza City strike

The Israeli army has confirmed that it was behind the strike on the shelter for displaced Palestinians, but says it was firing on “suspects”.

In a short statement, the military described the incident as taking place “during an operational activity by [military] forces in the Yellow Line area in the northern Gaza Strip”.

It claimed that its forces identified several suspects in buildings and immediately fired at them, and said it is investigating. The army confirmed civilian casualties by saying harm was done to “uninvolved individuals”.

Gruesome videos from the scene of the strike circulating on Palestinian media showed body parts at the site of the strike in Gaza City, and terrified civilians carrying several wounded people away.

Severe hunger still plagues Gaza, warns Islamic Relief

The IPC’s new report on hunger in Gaza shows that “nowhere near enough” aid is getting into the Strip since the ceasefire was announced, says international aid organisation Islamic Relief.

“There has been some fragile improvement to address the famine, but acute malnutrition is still at critical levels in many areas of Gaza and half a million people are still suffering severe hunger as winter sets in,” the organisation said in a statement.

Malnourished children are not getting care due to a shortage of essential medical supplies, food remains unaffordable – if it is available, and the rate of aid coming in is insufficient to due Israeli’s blockade, said Islamic Relief.

“Islamic Relief warns a return to famine remains a real threat in the coming months, unless there is renewed commitment to a full and lasting ceasefire, greater humanitarian access, and progress on rebuilding services, livelihoods and the economy,” the organisation said.


_{Arjwan al-Dahini, a Palestinian child, who doctors say suffers from severe acute malnutrition, sits with her mother during a medical examination at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on December 16, 2025}

‘Hundreds of thousands could rapidly slip back into famine’: UN agencies

The UN’s top agencies have welcomed the IPC’s report that famine is no longer in effect in Gaza, but emphasised the global monitor’s warning that the situation remains critical for civilians in the enclave.

“Without sustained, large-scale expansion of food, livelihood, agriculture and health assistance, together with increased commercial inflows, hundreds of thousands of people could rapidly slip back into famine,” the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

“Humanitarian needs remain staggering, with current assistance addressing only the most basic survival requirements. Children under five, along with pregnant and breastfeeding women, remain among the most vulnerable, facing worryingly high levels of malnutrition despite recent improvements.”

The ceasefire has created space for recovery, but it has not erased the damage of two years of conflict.

Only 50% of #Gaza's health facilities are partially functional and many have been damaged during the conflict https://t.co/ETMYpU6G9n pic.twitter.com/tEqwbQNuNZ

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) December 19, 2025

Israel claims abundant aid entering Gaza as it rejects ‘distorted’ IPC report

Israel’s military and political authorities have once again rejected the findings by the world’s most reputable hunger monitor, which earlier said famine is no longer gripping Gaza but that the food situation remains dire for Palestinians.

COGAT, the Israeli army entity in charge of managing aid into Gaza, claimed in a statement that between 600 to 800 trucks of humanitarian aid have been entering the enclave daily since the October ceasefire, 70 percent of which carried food.

It said the IPC is only using partial data for its reports, again stressing that “the real challenge” is improving collection and distribution inside Gaza and preventing Hamas from taking the aid.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry also said in a statement that the IPC report is “once again deliberately distorted and doesn’t reflect the reality” in the besieged enclave.

It claimed that the aid that Israel has allowed to enter as part of the ceasefire is nearly five times more than what the IPC itself believes is required for Gaza.

Both entities have previously rejected several IPC reports, which detailed how famine began to take hold in Gaza as a direct result of Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid.

Agencies warn limited access by Israel undermining Gaza aid

The UN’s FAO, WHO, WFP and UNICEF say import restrictions and access constraints imposed by Israel, as well as “major funding gaps”, are severely hindering their capacity to operate at the necessary scale in Gaza.

They said in a statement that interventions supporting food security, nutrition, health, water, sanitation, hygiene, agriculture and livelihood recovery are particularly affected, and warned that hundreds of thousands in the enclave are in dire need of that assistance.

“Even though markets are now better stocked with nutritious food following the improved flow of humanitarian and commercial deliveries, vulnerable families, especially those with children, cannot afford to buy it,” the agencies said.

According to the UN, since the ceasefire in October, more than 730,000 people have been displaced, many living in makeshift shelters and are heavily reliant on humanitarian assistance.

_{Displaced Palestinians gather to receive donated food portions at a charity kitchen in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on December 17}

Israel’s ‘dual use list’ preventing aid from entering Gaza: Advocate

Natasha Hall, a senior advocate for Refugee International, has told Al Jazeera that aid has only entered Gaza in a “trickle” following the October 10 ceasefire.

That’s largely because of what she described as Israel’s “opaque dual use list”, which prohibits items Israel maintains can be used for military purposes. The list “has included things like diapers and bandages. It’s unclear how those could be used as weapons or any kind of dual use,” she said.

Other barriers to adequate aid access include the “blockage of the Rafah crossing, which was the main conduit for humanitarian aid in the past”.

UN criticises latest US sanctions on ICC judges

The United Nations has condemned Washington for intensifying “reprisals” against international institutions, after the Trump administration slapped sanctions on two more International Criminal Court judges over their investigation of Israel.

The judges hit with US sanctions on Thursday – Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia – had voted earlier this week to reject a challenge by Israel which sought to end a war crimes probe in Gaza.

The United States has already sanctioned nine ICC judges and prosecutors for their probes of alleged Israeli war crimes.

“Yesterday’s announcement of US sanctions against two more [ICC] judges … represents a further intensification of reprisals against international institutions,” the UN rights office said on X.

“Such targeting of judges, as well as prosecutors and UN experts, runs counter to the rule of law and administration of justice.”

Gaza ceasefire must be ‘fully implemented’: Guterres

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says it is “crucial” to move to phase two of the ceasefire in Gaza.

“I think it’s very important to move with the peace process as a whole … [and] to make sure that phase one, and namely the ceasefire, are fully implemented,” Guterres said during a news conference in New York.

Guterres also said humanitarian needs in Gaza are growing faster than aid can get in, and called on Israel to open more border crossings.

“Buildings – already battered by bombardment – are collapsing under the weight of rain and wind, claiming more civilian lives,” he said. “Water and sanitation services, hospitals, and bakeries are struggling to recover from destruction, supply shortages, and continued restrictions on what can enter.”

He continued, “Strikes and hostilities continue, pushing the civilian toll of this war even higher and exposing our teams to grave danger.”

Guterres pushed for the opening of border crossings, the lifting of restrictions on critical items, the creation of safe routes inside Gaza, and unimpeded access.

‘We have nations acceptable to all sides’ for Gaza international force: Rubio

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been addressing reporters in Washington, DC, where he also discussed Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. He said:

Rubio addresses conditions of disarming Hamas, Hezbollah

We have more lines from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also spoke about disarming Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon: