Suspected shooting attack on Israeli bus kills child



A suspected shooting attack on an Israeli bus in the occupied West Bank killed a child overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, Israeli emergency services said.

The Israeli military said in a statement that an attacker opened fire on an Israeli civilian bus in the area of the Al Khader Junction, killing an Israeli child and injuring a number of other civilians. It said that the attacker turned himself into security forces following security pursuit.

At least four people were wounded, among them a child, aged around 12, who was critically hurt and died later in a Jerusalem hospital, medics and the hospital said.

Violence in the West Bank was already on the rise before the war in Gaza erupted on October 7 last year and has surged since, with frequent Israeli military raids, violence by Jewish settlers and Palestinian street attacks on Israelis.

Ireland to ask ICJ to widen genocide definition over Gaza war

LONDON: The Irish government will ask the International Court of Justice to expand its definition of genocide over Israel’s “collective punishment” of civilians in the Gaza Strip, Sky News reported on Thursday.

Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin said his government is “concerned” that a “narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide” is leading to a “culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimized.”

He added that there has been “collective punishment of the Palestinian people through the intent and impact of military actions of Israel in Gaza,” and that the Irish government “prioritizes the protection of civilian life.”

Ireland is set to link the request to the case brought by South Africa to the ICJ under the UN Genocide Convention, as well as a case brought by Gambia against Myanmar.

“By legally intervening in South Africa’s case, Ireland will be asking the ICJ to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide by a state,” Martin said. “Intervening in both cases demonstrates the consistency of Ireland’s approach to the interpretation and application of the Genocide Convention.”

The convention identifies the practice as the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” by killing, inflicting physical and mental harm, and imposing destructive conditions. Collective punishment is not currently part of the criteria.

Israel has also been accused of committing genocide by Amnesty International, which said the country has repeatedly attacked Palestinians, destroyed infrastructure and limited civilians’ access to food, water and medicine.

Amnesty’s executive director in Ireland, Stephen Bowen, called Dublin’s actions a “glimmer of hope,” adding: “Those like Ireland who have called for a ceasefire must join with other like-minded states to create this common platform to end the genocide. “They must be resolute; they must be relentless; they must be loud, clear, visible. This is genocide. This must stop.”

Israeli claims about Hamas fighters in hospitals may be ‘grossly exaggerated’: ICC prosecutor

LONDON: Israeli claims about Hamas using hospitals in the Gaza Strip as bases of operation may have been “grossly exaggerated,” an International Criminal Court prosecutor has said.

Speaking at an event in The Hague, Andrew Cayley, the ICC lawyer leading the investigation into alleged war crimes and breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza, said of the Israeli claims: “We need to be able to demonstrate very clearly what the level of military presence was, if at all, in these hospitals because I think we’ve been misled about that in the press.”

Israel regularly claimed that Hamas fighters were using hospitals as bases for cover and using patients and medics as human shields.

Cayley said the ICC was having “great difficulty assessing” the veracity of the claims “because clearly there are lies being spoken, but that’s really something we do need to get to the bottom of as a prosecution office.”

The former UK chief military prosecutor reports directly to Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, who last month secured arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and senior Hamas figure Mohammed Deif.

At the event, held to discuss attacks on healthcare in Palestine, Sudan and Ukraine, Cayley said damage caused to Gaza’s health infrastructure would be examined as part of the investigation into the war.

“Looking at damage to health facilities, destruction of health facilities, we’ll be coming on to that probably later next year. We’re having to do this in stages simply because of the resources that we have,” he added.

“Airstrikes, sieges, raids on hospitals. Add to that lack of fuel, electricity, food, medicine. That’s why the (healthcare) system has collapsed.”

He said he and his team had interviewed medical personnel who had worked in Gaza, and the ICC had seen “exceptionally good satellite imagery” that showed “on a daily basis how these (hospitals) are destroyed.”

Cayley added that his team are awaiting even better imagery to find evidence “showing either the truth or the falsehood of the usage of these facilities as military combat facilities.”

The World Health Organization said it had evaluated 35 hospitals in Gaza and determined that only 17 of them were even partly operational. Five others were labeled “fully damaged” and 13 “non-functional.”

Same flag used by HTS/FSA? That's a positive sign that SDF and HTS/FSA will strive to co-exist. Best case scenario I feel is HTS/FSA allows SDF to remain autonomous beyond the river in exchange for SDF recognising them as a legit government. Unfortunately, that doesn't settle the matter of Türkiye and SNA and HTS are unlikely to tell Türkiye to fuck off since they need them.

But HTS/FSA/SDF being on the same page is a step forward.

Israel says it targeted Hezbollah members in southern Lebanon

The Israeli army says it targeted a “number of Hezbollah” members in southern Lebanon who posed a “threat” to Israeli civilians. The army added that its troops remain deployed in southern Lebanon and will act in defence of the State of Israel.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported earlier that an Israeli air raid in Khiam, southern Lebanon, killed one person and injured another. Israel has been carrying out near-daily attacks in Lebanon since its ceasefire with Hezbollah came into effect last month in violation of the truce agreement.

Earlier in December, Hezbollah launched one “warning attack” at an Israeli base in response to the Israeli assaults. But following the attack, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem suggested that the group would leave dealing with Israeli violations to the Lebanese government.

Hezbollah and Israel reached a truce in November after more than 62 days of intense fighting that saw Israel bomb areas across Lebanon, killing more than 4,000 people.

Lebanese woman dies of injuries after Israeli air strike

Lebanon’s National News Agency reports that a woman, identified as Amal Dhaher, has succumbed to wounds sustained in an Israeli air strike on the southern village of Dibbine that had killed her husband and mother.

Israel bombed Dibbine earlier this week in violation of the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah that went into effect in November.

Brian Mast: Pro-Israel hawk set to lead US House foreign policy panel

Palestinian rights advocates in the United States are denouncing the selection of Republican Congressman Brian Mast to lead the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mast, a pro-Israel hawk known for his incendiary remarks about Palestinians, was nominated on Monday by fellow Republicans to be the chair of the influential panel in the incoming Congress, prompting outrage.

Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the antiwar group Code Pink, described Mast as the “most cruel, heartless member of Congress”.

“His total disregard for Palestinian civilians fans the flames of violence. His position as chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee bodes ill for a foreign policy that strives to protect human life and promote peace,” she told Al Jazeera.

Mast previously suggested that all Palestinians in Gaza are legitimate targets for Israeli violence and starvation.

“I don’t think we would so lightly throw around the term ‘innocent Nazi civilians’ during World War II. It is not a far stretch to say there are very few innocent Palestinian civilians,” the US congressman said last year.

US Muslim group calls Biden ‘mass murderer of Muslims’

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says a newly released White House strategy to combat Islamophobia is “too little, too late”, citing President Joe Biden’s unconditional backing of Israel’s war on Gaza.

“President Biden cannot credibly claim to care about Muslims or Islamophobia while simultaneously supporting the Israeli government’s destruction of mosques, desecration of Qurans, and mass murder of a predominantly Muslim population,” the group said in a statement.

“By enabling Netanyahu’s war crimes, President Biden has sadly become a mass murderer of Muslims.”

UNRWA chief lauds UN resolution backing agency

Commissioner-General of UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini welcomes the UN General Assembly’s vote to support the agency.

“159! The highest number of support votes ever for UNRWA at the UN General Assembly! And 158 votes for an immediate ceasefire,” Lazzarini wrote on X.

“It’s time the fighting stops in Gaza, hostages released, aid to flow in, UNRWA to maintain lifesaving + development services. No alternative to UNRWA now.

In October, the Israeli government banned UNRWA from operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

But the resolution on Wednesday called on Israel “to abide by its international obligations, respect the privileges and immunities of UNRWA and uphold its responsibility to allow and facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms into and throughout the entire Gaza Strip”.

Palestine slams Paraguay’s decision to move embassy to Jerusalem

Palestinian Foreign Ministry rebuked Paraguay for relocating its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, calling the decision a “violation of international law”.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its condemnation of this decision taken by the President of Paraguay, standing on the wrong side of history and rewarding the Israeli occupation for its continued commission of genocide against the Palestinian people,” the ministry wrote in a statement on X.

The ministry said Paraguay’s decision was in “complete contradiction” with its decision to recognise the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital on January 28, 2011.

It added that Paraguay ‘s President Santiago Pena’s move did not “give any importance to the honourable history recorded by the struggles of the peoples of Latin America to defend the values ​​of justice and peace and to combat the concept of colonialism, oppression and racism”.

The ministry said it would take the appropriate “diplomatic, legal and political measures” to prevent the changing status of Jerusalem.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967 and subsequently annexed it in 1980. Earlier this year, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is unlawful.

Palestinian PM discusses Gaza reconstruction with EU official

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa spoke to EU Commissioner for Mediterranean Affairs Dubravka Suica about the situation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.

During a phone call, Mustafa called for more international pressure to stop Israel’s attacks and to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza.

He stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation with the EU Commission for Mediterranean Affairs for Gaza’s reconstruction and the need for international coordination to mobilise resources to rebuild areas devastated by Israeli attacks, Wafa said.

Israel kills 13 security guards tasked with securing aid: Gaza authorities

The Gaza Government Media Office says the Israeli military has committed a “massacre”, assassinating 13 officers who helped secure aid convoys “as part of the starvation policy against civilians”.

The office added that Israel has killed 722 members of the security forces since the start of the war.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing Israeli crimes against the police and security forces securing the aid … and we call on international organisations and all countries in the world to condemn these crimes that are considered crimes against humanity under international law,” the office said.

Gaza has been placed under a suffocating blockade by Israel that has sparked deadly hunger across the enclave.

Moreover, Israel has been accused of protecting criminal gangs looting the little humanitarian assistance entering the territory, deepening the starvation crisis.


Israel issues new forced displacement orders in Gaza City

Israel has told residents in the Remal and Sabra neighbourhoods of Gaza City to leave their homes or face attacks, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.

A Wafa correspondent reported that Israel issued the threat for six residential blocks in both neighbourhoods in preparation for air strikes.

Since the war began in October 2023, the Israeli army has forced people out of their homes across the Gaza Strip with such threats – many multiple times. It has pushed residents to move to “safe zones” and later attacked those same designated areas. Rights groups and residents have repeatedly stressed that there is nowhere safe in Gaza.

Israel claims killing Hamas commander in Gaza City

The Israeli army says it “eliminated” the head of Hamas’s manufacturing department during an attack on the Al-Hurriya School in Gaza City this week.

In a statement on Telegram, the army, alongside the internal security service, Shin Bet, said Ammar Daloul, who it said was a company commander in the Zeitoun Battalion, was killed alongside six other alleged Hamas members.

Israel has been bombing shelters for displaced people and “safe areas”, claiming that it is targeting Hamas operatives.

Israeli bombing kills 8 people in central Gaza

Al Jazeera Arabic reports that an Israeli attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp has killed eight Palestinians and injured several others.

Nuseirat bombardment death toll rises to 25

Israeli attacks on the refugee camp in central Gaza have killed 25 Palestinians, including eight children, Al Jazeera Arabic reports.

Civil defence says it recovered bodies of 15 people killed in Nuseirat

The Palestinian Civil Defence says its crews have retrieved the bodies of 15 people in a residential home bombed by Israel in the central Gaza Strip.

Nuseirat attacks death toll rises to 33

The Gaza Government Media Office says Israeli attacks on a residential area in the refugee camp in central Gaza have killed at least 33 people, most of whom from the al-Sheikh Ali family.

“The occupation army knew that this is a residential block with many apartment buildings housing dozens of civilians, children, women and displaced people,” the office said, calling the bombing a “barbaric and heinous massacre”.

It urged countries across the world to denounce Israel’s attacks against civilians.

Israel kills top northern Gaza doctor

The Gaza Health Ministry says an Israeli quadcopter drone has killed Saeed Jouda, a top physician in the north of the territory.

The ministry said the drone “shot directly” at Jouda while he was heading from Kamal Adwan Hospital to al-Awda Hospital, bringing the number of medics killed in the war to 1,057.

Jouda was previously injured but continued to report to hospitals to treat patients, health authorities said.

“The Ministry of Health reiterates its appeal to all international and human rights institutions to provide protection for hospitals and health teams while they carry out their humanitarian duty,” it said in a statement.

“We call on all workers in the health system in all countries of the world to stand in solidarity with our health teams in the Gaza Strip, where the sector is being subjected to genocide.”

At least three people killed in Israeli attack on Khan Younis

At least three people were killed in Israeli shelling on tents housing displaced people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, our correspondent on the ground reports.

Several people were also injured in the incident.

At least two Palestinians killed in Israeli raids on the occupied West Bank

The head of the Balata refugee camp near the city of Nablus, Imad Tirawi, says Israeli forces shot one man dead after they entered the area in the early hours of Thursday.

Tirawi said that residents found the body of Jihad Abu Salim, who “was not known as a fighter” after the forces left the camp. However, the Israeli military said its forces “eliminated a terrorist during counterterrorism activity in Nablus and located a gun and ammunition”.

In a separate statement, the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah said Israeli forces had shot dead 25-year-old Muhammad Barahmeh in the northern city of Qalqilya early on Thursday, adding that Barahmeh’s body was taken by Israeli forces.

The Israeli army issued a similar statement to the killing in the Balata refugee camp, saying a “terrorist was eliminated” by the military and border police in Qalqilya.

Palestinian man and child injured by in Israeli raid on Beit Furik

A Palestinian man and a child have been injured during a raid on the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reports. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that a 34-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy were both shot while Israeli forces were carrying out the raid.

Dozens of people were also treated for suffocation due to tear gas used by the Israeli military during the incursion.

Sources told Wafa that several Israeli military patrols stormed various neighbourhoods in Beit Furik, which led to confrontations between residents and the Israeli forces.

Israeli forces evict Palestinian family from home in occupied West Bank

Israeli forces have forcibly evicted a Palestinian family from their home in the village of Jalbun, east of Jenin, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.

Local sources told Wafa that Israeli forces raided the house of Ahmad Omar Abu al-Rob’s family and forcibly expelled them from the third floor, where Abu al-Rob’s son, Omar, and his wife were living.

Israeli forces went on to convert the floor into a military outpost and told the family to leave the home for four days.

The village of Jalbun has been subjected to frequent incursions by Israeli forces who raid homes and turn some into military bases, forcing residents to evacuate for extended periods.

Israeli settlers fill water well with rubble in Jordan Valley

Israeli settlers have set fire to a room and filled a water well with rubble in the Jabaris area of the northern Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank. Local sources told the Palestinian news agency Wafa that settlers targeted a home belonging to the Faqih family.

The Jordan Valley has witnessed an increase in violent attacks by Israeli settlers, including physical assaults, evicting Palestinians from grazing lands and burning of property.

Main points on December 12th

• UN chief decried “recent and extensive violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” as Israel continues to push into Syrian territory beyond the occupied Golan Heights.
• A spokesperson for Syria’s new government said a “judicial and human rights committee will be established to examine the constitution and then introduce amendments”, with both the constitution and government suspended for three months.
• US Secretary of State Blinken visited Jordan and Turkiye to discuss the situation in Syria, as a top White House official defended Israel’s ongoing strikes on Syrian sites.
• Humanitarian groups continue to warn of the dire situation in the country, saying it is not ready to support hundreds of thousands of returning refugees.
• An Israeli attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp killed at least 33 people and left dozens of others injured or missing, the Gaza Government Media Office said.
• Israel issued more displacement orders for several areas in Gaza City, leaving already displaced people with nowhere to go.
• After a meeting with Netanyahu, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said a ceasefire and captives deal to end the war in Gaza is close, adding that it is “time to finish the job”.
• Israeli bombardment killed three displaced people sheltering in tents in Khan Younis.
• Israel said it targeted Hezbollah members, as Lebanese media outlets reported that one person was killed and another injured in an Israeli attack in the southern town of Khiam.
• The Palestinian Authority slammed Paraguay for relocating its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, calling the decision a “violation of international law”.
• Trump promised to “solve” the Middle East issue, saying Netanyahu knows that the incoming US administration wants the Gaza war to end.

Syria gov’t pledges ‘rule of law’ after al-Assad’s overthrow

A reminder that earlier today, Syria’s interim government vowed to institute the “rule of law” after years of abuses under ousted President al-Assad. The new government’s spokesman was quoted as saying by AFP news agency that the country’s constitution and parliament would be suspended during a three-month transition.

“A judicial and human rights committee will be established to examine the constitution and then introduce amendments,” Obaida Arnaout said. Speaking at the state television headquarters, seized by the new authorities, Arnaout said they would institute the “rule of law”. “All those who committed crimes against the Syrian people will be judged in accordance with the law,” he added.

UN experts raise questions on Israeli judicial system; warn more arrest warrants

As many as four top UN experts have warned that more arrest warrants may be issued by the International Criminal Court even against those individuals who are not Israeli nationals. One UN expert declared the Israeli judicial system incapable of dealing with its own war criminals.

Francesca Albanese, for her part, said that perpetrators of war crimes were also nationals of other countries such as Canada among others.