This blog is now closed. See all our Israel-Gaza war coverage here

The Israeli heritage minister, Amichai Eliyahu, of Otzma Yehudit, the far-right party led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, said in a radio interview that the Gaza Strip must be “fully” occupied.

In comments reported by Haaretz, Eliyahu said: “Anyone who sells an illusion that [Hamas] will return to manage things does not want to remember what happened on Simhat Torah.”

Senior officer from Golani Brigade dies after failed attempt to rescue injured troops in Shejaiya area

• Israel-Gaza war – live updates

Two senior Israeli commanders and seven other soldiers have been killed by Hamas in a complex ambush in the Gaza City suburb of Shejaiya, an area that has seen intense urban fighting in recent days.

The latest Israeli combat deaths came amid fears of a rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza as heavy winter rains lashed the region and after reports by aid agencies of dwindling food stocks for the vast number of Palestinians who have been displaced to southern Gaza.

This blog is now closed. See all our Israel-Gaza war coverage here

Reports are coming in from the Reuters news agency that three Palestinians were killed on Tuesday during an Israeli raid on the occupied West Bank city of Jenin – that’s according to the Palestinian health ministry.

An Israeli drone attack killed the three Palestinians and injured others, medical sources say, adding that the Israeli raid included the city of Jenin and its refugee camp.

Between the afternoons of 10 and 11 December, 208 Palestinians were killed and another 416 were injured, according to the [Hamas run] Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza. Heavy Israeli bombardments from air, land, and sea across Gaza continued, especially in the central part, including Al Maghazi and An Nuseirat Refugee Camps, as well as in parts of northern Gaza. Meanwhile, intense ground operations and fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups continued, especially in Khan Younis, Jabalya, and the northern parts of Gaza Strip. Additionally, air strikes have reportedly targeted residential homes in the western and central parts of Rafah, areas designated as safe for displaced Palestinians by the Israeli army. The firing of rockets by Palestinian armed groups into Israel also continued.

Limited aid distributions are taking place in Rafah governorate. In the rest of the Gaza Strip, aid distribution has largely stopped over the past few days, due to the intensity of hostilities and restrictions of movement along the main roads, except for limited fuel deliveries to key service providers and a one-off high-risk mission on 9 December to Al Ahli hospital.

On 11 December, as of 22:00, 100 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies entered Gaza from Egypt, the same volume recorded on most days since the resumption of hostilities on 1 December. This is well below the daily average of 500 truckloads (including fuel) that entered every working day prior to 7 October. The ability of the UN to receive incoming aid has been significantly impaired over the past few days by several factors. These include a shortage of trucks within Gaza; the continuing lack of fuel; telecommunications blackouts; and the increasing number of staff who were unable to travel to the Rafah crossing due to the intensity of hostilities.

This blog is now closed.

• See all our Israel-Gaza war coverage

WHO chief says Gaza’s health system is ‘on its knees and collapsing’ amid intensifying ground offensive

• Israel-Hamas war – live updates

Israel has rejected suggestions it is trying to force Palestinians out of Gaza as Arab leaders and aid officials warn its intensifying ground offensive could leave civilians with few other options.

Some of the heaviest close-quarters fighting in more than two months of conflict took place over the weekend, as the Israel Defense Forces tried to consolidate control of urban centres in northern Gaza and pursued Hamas leaders in the heart of the biggest city in the south, Khan Younis.

This blog is now closed.

• See all our Israel-Gaza war coverage

Mediation efforts are continuing to secure a new Gaza ceasefire and free more hostages held by Hamas despite the ongoing Israeli bombardment that is “narrowing the window” for a successful outcome, Qatar’s prime minister said Sunday.

“Our efforts as the state of Qatar along with our partners are continuing. We are not going to give up,” sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told the Doha Forum, adding that “the continuation of the bombardment is just narrowing this window for us”.

If Israel is above international law, sanctions should be put on it. Israel should not be allowed to continue violating international humanitarian law and international law.

Our main concern is not the day after. It is today. We want the stop of atrocities and genocide that is happening today.

Civilian proportion of deaths is higher than that in all world conflicts in 20th century, data suggests

• Israel-Hamas war – live updates

The aerial bombing campaign by Israel in Gaza is the most indiscriminate in terms of civilian casualties in recent years, a study published by an Israeli newspaper has found.

The analysis in Haaretz came as Israeli forces fought to consolidate their control of northern Gaza on Saturday, bombing the Shejaiya district of Gaza City, while also conducting airstrikes on Rafah, a town on the southern border with Egypt where the Israeli army has told people in Gaza to take shelter.

This article was amended on 9 December 2023 to clarify that +972 Magazine is an Israeli-Palestinian publication.

Israeli media claimed images show Hamas fighters but several civilians have been identified including a journalist

• Israel-Gaza war – live updates

The International Committee of the Red Cross has said it is concerned by images of semi-naked Palestinian men being paraded by the Israeli military in Gaza, adding that all of those detained must be treated in keeping with international humanitarian law.

“We strongly emphasise the importance of treating all those detained with humanity and dignity, in accordance with international humanitarian law,” Jessica Moussan, a spokesperson for the ICRC, said in a statement.

This blog is closed.

• Full report: US defies appeals to back UN resolution for urgent Gaza ceasefire
• See all of our coverage of the Israel-Hamas war