This handout picture released by the Israeli army on Dec. 24, 2023 reportedly shows Israeli forces operating in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Credit: Israeli Army / AFP/ handout)
Israel said it was shifting focus to southern Gaza in its war against Hamas militants, as the United States again pressed its ally to do more to protect Palestinian civilians.
Hamas launched an unprecedented attack against Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, killing about 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Hamas and other Palestinian militants also took around 250 hostages, of whom 105 have been released and several killed, including by friendly fire.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has led a relentless air and ground offensive that has left Gaza in ruins and killed 20,258 people, mostly women and children, according to the Palestinian territory's Hamas government.
On day 79 of the war, here are five key developments from the past 24 hours:
Israel pivots south
The Israeli army indicated its forces were close to having operational control in north Gaza, after weeks of intense fighting.
Now, "we focus our efforts against Hamas in southern Gaza," military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said.
Troops were notably looking to Khan Younis — the birthplace and powerbase of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas' leader in Gaza and the man Israel holds most responsible for the attack that sparked the war.
Hamas said new strikes had hit Jabalia and Khan Younis.
The army said it had attacked about 200 targets in Gaza over the past day and nine more soldiers were killed, bringing to 152 its overall death toll in the territory since the ground assault began.
Biden talks to Netanyahu
US President Joe Biden had a "long talk" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he emphasised "the critical need" to protect civilians.
Biden said he did not ask for a cease-fire.
Israeli officials gave a terse account of the call, saying Netanyahu "made it clear that Israel would continue the war until all of its goals have been achieved."
School weapons?
The army said it had located "a Hamas weapons compound inside a civilian structure" in north Gaza, adding troops found "explosive belts adapted for children" at the site.
Hamas blasted the statement, calling it "a continuation of the lying and misleading approach practised by the Zionist [Israeli] enemy to justify their massacring of innocent civilians."
'Lost contact' with hostage guards
Israelis, including friends and relatives of the 129 captives still believed held in Gaza, demonstrated again in Tel Aviv.
Hamas's armed wing said it had "lost contact" with militants tasked with guarding five of the hostages, including three elderly men who appeared in a hostage video the group released this week.
"We believe that those hostages have been killed" in Israeli strikes, said spokesman Abu Obeida without providing evidence.
Iran accused over ship attacks
A drone strike damaged a ship in waters off Veraval, India, according to two maritime agencies — one of which said the tanker was "Israeli-affiliated."
There was no claim of responsibility, but the Pentagon said it was a "one-way attack drone fired from Iran."
Iran dismissed US accusations that it was involved in attacks by Yemeni rebels on commercial ships around the Red Sea, saying the group was acting on its own.
Israel said it was shifting focus to southern Gaza in its war against Hamas militants, as the United States again pressed its ally to do more to protect Palestinian civilians.
Hamas launched an unprecedented attack against Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, killing about 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on...