Bombs rain on northern Gaza

Israel fights to wrest full control from Hamas

FE Team | Published: December 24, 2023 21:25:51

GAZA, Dec 24 (Reuters/AFP/AP): Israel fought to wrest full control of northern Gaza from Hamas militants as the US and Israeli leaders discussed the outlook for the 11-week-old war, after the UN Security Council appealed for more aid for the Palestinian enclave.
Thick smoke hung over the northern town of Jabalia on Saturday and residents reported persistent aerial bombardment and shelling from Israeli tanks, which they said had moved further into the town.
US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the "objectives and phasing" of Israel's military operations, the need to protect civilian lives and securing the release of hostages from the Palestinian militant group, the White House said.
166 dead in the past 24
hours in Gaza Strip
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Sunday that at least 20,424 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war with Israel.
The toll included 166 deaths in the past 24 hours, it said, as fighting continued in the war that broke out when Hamas launched its October 7 attack on southern Israel.
US sees new isolation
from Israel support
Nearly three years after President Joe Biden took office vowing "America is back," the country's international image is taking a beating as his administration backs Israel in its war with Hamas.
In one step back from the newfound isolation, the United States on Friday, after painstaking negotiations, let through a UN Security Council resolution on humanitarian aid for the beleaguered Gaza Strip, after vetoing two earlier calls to halt the fighting.
But the United States still remained apart from some of its closest allies-Britain, France and Japan-which backed the resolution. The United States abstained, joined only by Russia.
A week earlier in the full General Assembly, the United States was joined by only two European partners, Austria and the Czech Republic, and none of its Asian allies in voting against a nonbinding ceasefire call in the war triggered by an October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.
Weekend of combat kills over
dozen of Israeli soldiers
More than a dozen Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in the Gaza Strip over the weekend, the Israeli military said Sunday, in some of the bloodiest days of battle since the start of Israel's ground offensive in late October and a sign that Hamas is still putting up a fight despite weeks of brutal war.
The mounting death toll among Israeli troops is likely to play an important factor in Israeli public support for the war, which was sparked when Hamas-led militants stormed communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 and taking 240 hostage.