Hamas attack on Israel Situation Report #23

Military and Diplomatic Highlights:

· The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported the following activities as of December 14th:

o Shuja’iyya: IDF targeted Hamas Shuja’iyya Battalion and dismantled their central operating site located inside a school compound.

o Jabalia: A air strike was conducted against a sniper firing toward IDF troops. Additionally, weapons were seized, and several Hamas fighters were killed.

o Khan Yunis: IDF located several locations with Hamas weaponry and destroyed two tunnel shafts, a rocket launch site, and a weapons storage facility.

· Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets at civilian targets in Israel since October 7th. The IDF has stated that one in five of the rockets fired have landed within Lebanon.

· On December 13th, the IDF reported that an operation in Gaza resulted in the loss of eight soldiers.

Civil Protection and Humanitarian Assistance Highlights:

Israel:

· Magen David Adom (MDA) reported that on December 13th, sirens were activated in the Ashdod area. A supermarket center was damaged and MDA staff treated one person on the scene.

Gaza Strip:

· As of December 13th, heavy Israeli bombardments from air, land, and sea across Gaza continued, especially in Jabalya, in the northern Gaza Strip.

· The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that their emergency medical service stations in northern Gaza have stopped operating, due to the restrictions imposed by the IDF on the medical teams and fuel depletion required to operate their vehicles.

· The PRCS has also lost contact with their operations room due to a telecommunications blackout.

· On December 13th, the IDF designated an additional area (1.4 square kilometers) southwest of Khan Younis city for immediate evacuation:

o This area was home to about 37,000 residents and an estimated 5,000 Internally Displaced Persons who took shelter in three designated emergency shelters.

· Healthcare and Public Health Updates:

o The PRCS reported that all hospitals in Gaza City and Northern Gaza are no longer operational due to IDF operations.

o The hospitals in South Wadi Gaza can no longer receive large numbers of patients.

o The Al-amal hospital in Khan Younis is in desperate need of fuel.

o The PRCS in collaboration with the Qatar Red Crescent Society is establishing a 50-bed field hospital in Rafah. This hospital will also have an operating room and intensive care unit. The field hospital should be operational in a week.

· Humanitarian Aid from Egypt:

o On December 13th, the Israeli government for the second consecutive day, screened aid trucks at the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, before being allowed to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing. This measure will likely assist in alleviating delays in screening.

o A total of 152 trucks carrying humanitarian aid and four tankers of fuel entered Gaza on December 13th. This is above the daily volume recorded since the resumption of hostilities on December 1st but remains well below the daily average of 500 truckloads.

· A total of 268 dual nationals were evacuated from Gaza to Egypt and no injured people were evacuated on December 13th.

Violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL):

· The World Health Organization (WHO) is reporting that a total of 18,608 have been killed in Gaza since October 7th.

· A total of 135 UN Agency for Palestine Refugees staff members have been killed.

· For the second consecutive day (December 13th) IDF forces raided the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Northern Gaza:

o IDF took into custody numerous Hamas fighters.

o Five doctors and the entire female staff of the hospital were released by IDF forces after being detained the previous day. There are reports by those released that they were interrogated, beaten, and exposed to the harsh weather before they were released.

o Another 70 staff members (including the hospital director) remain detained by the IDF.

· IDF soldiers at the Jenin camp in the West Bank defied the mosque located in the camp. The IDF reported that these soldiers have been removed from the area and they will be disciplined.

Sources:

· Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #68

· UNRWA Situation Report #51 on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (all information is valid as of 12 December 2023 at 22:30)

· Palestine Red Crescent Society: Response report as of Saturday, October 7th 2023, 6:00 PM until Wednesday, December 13th 2023, 24:00 AM

· Israeli Defense Forces Twitter Page

· Magen David Adom Twitter Page

· Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Twitter Page

· Palestine Red Crescent Society Twitter Page

· UN Agency for Palestine Refugees Twitter Page

· WHO Occupied Palestinian Territory Twitter Page

Resources

ADL, We Stand with Israel Website

https://www.adl.org/stand-with-israel

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