A Palestinian mourns over the body of a relative killed in an Israeli strike at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis on the southern Gaza Strip on Dec. 28, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Credit: AFP)
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Catch up on yesterday’s LIVE coverage of Day 82 of the Israel-Hamas war here.
Israeli shelling on southern Lebanon blocked roads, struck residential areas and nearly hit two families. Intense shelling was reported in the south while Hezbollah continued announcing cross-border strikes following Wednesday's unprecedented number of attacks. Israeli military chief of staff Herzi Halevi said the army is at a “very high state of readiness” to expand the border clashes with Hezbollah. Young men in Kfar Kila briefly intercepted a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol, a UNIFIL spokesperson told L’Orient Today. The night before, one peacekeeper was injured and a UNIFIL vehicle was damaged after young men attacked a patrol in Taybeh. UNIFIL called for an investigation into the incidents.
An Iraqi tourist reported missing ten days ago was found dead in Bqaatouta, Keserwan, the Lebanese Army announced. The victim arrived in Lebanon on Dec. 4 accompanied by three other people before being lured, killed and buried by “a group of people of different nationalities,” the army said. The circumstances of the murder remain unclear though security services regularly announce and warn against ransom-motivated kidnappings. At least two Iraqi citizens were freed from kidnappers in Lebanon this year.
Civil Defense, Red Cross and the Lebanese Army rescued 25 people trapped aboard a Jounieh Teleferique cable car after two cabins collided. The rescue took place in phases, necessitating the use of an army helicopter and a civil defense crane. Earlier reports estimated that 43 people were trapped on the cable car but the Lebanese Tourism and Cable Car Development Company stated that there were only 25 passengers. In the press release, the company also said that the "automatic safety system" stopped the line following the malfunction, "to avoid any further damage.” Naji Boulos, one of the company's partners, told the state-run National News Agency, “We still don't know what caused the cable car to break down [on Thursday]."
At least 21,320 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, the enclave’s health ministry said yesterday. Israel approved a humanitarian corridor to deliver aid by sea from Cyprus to Gaza where severe shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine have persisted unimpeded by meager aid shipments delivered mainly through the Rafah border crossing. Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida said the group “won't entertain any deals until the aggression against [Palestine] completely ceases.”
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “Why do Arab Israelis in northern Israel feel abandoned by Netanyahu's government?”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz.