Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

(While a “ceasefire” is ostensibly in place, Israel has continued its assault on Gaza without interruption. If Americans Knew considers the war to be ongoing, and in its 804th day.)

Since the “ceasefire” began on October 11, Israel has killed at least 411 Palestinians. Among the dead are at least 136 children. At least 1,115 have been injured. Death toll figures are tentative.

Israel has so far violated the 11 October ceasefire deal in Gaza at least 875 times in 75 days. More statistics below.


GAZA NEWS & HEADLINES:

(For some basic info on the Palestine-Israel conflict, go here. For more critical context, skim thisthis, and this. To read about a remarkable but underreported, 20-month-long peaceful protest in Gaza against Israel, go here.) 

Under Rubble and Candlelight: Gaza’s Christmas Under Genocide

As Gaza’s Christians shelter inside church walls amid ongoing Israeli strikes, Palestinians mark Christmas not as a celebration, but as an act of endurance.

In the Gaza Strip, Christmas arrives not with bells or processions, but with confinement, cold, and the low hum of uncertainty.

Inside Holy Family Church, more than 400 displaced Palestinians, many of them families who have lost everything, are marking another Christmas sheltered within church walls, surrounded by destruction and scarcity.

There are no toys for children, no festive meals, and no sense of safety; explosions can still be heard near the parish compound.

Gaza’s Christian community is enduring Christmas amid severe shortages of electricity, clean water, medicine, and winter clothing.

The parish continues to host daily prayers and Mass, not as a celebration, but as a means of preserving communal cohesion amid devastation (continue reading here).

Palestinian Christians in Gaza celebrate Christmas - in more peaceful times (2021)
Palestinian Christians in Gaza celebrate Christmas – in more peaceful times (2021)

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Where is Gaza’s food aid? How trucks disappear into Israeli checkpoints and black markets

In Gaza, aid meant to alleviate hunger has become a battleground, with trucks seized by armed, Israel-backed networks, taken to secret warehouses, and sold on the black market.

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Israeli Army Pushes Deeper into Gaza’s ‘Yellow Line,’ Displacing Civilians

Israeli occupation forces continue ceasefire violations in Gaza, expanding the Yellow Line, displacing civilians, and deepening a humanitarian and health crisis as famine warnings intensify.

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Israeli war chief vows troops ‘will never leave Gaza’

The defense minister pledged that Israel will resettle Gaza ‘at the right time,’ openly contradicting Netanyahu’s official position and Trump’s ‘peace plan’ for the strip.

OCCUPIED WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM NEWS & HEADLINES:

(Every day, Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem endure dozens of incidents like the ones below, at the hands of Israeli soldiers and/or settlers. For background on the West Bank, read this and thisFor information on the significance of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, read this and this.)

Youssef Omar Ahmad Aqel, 33, died several days after being shot in the chest by Israeli forces in the West Bank.
Youssef Omar Ahmad Aqel, 33, died several days after being shot in the chest by Israeli forces in the West Bank.

Palestinian Man Dies of Previous Injuries Near Jerusalem

Media sources reported that Youssef Omar Ahmad Aqel, 33, succumbed to serious injuries days after Israeli forces shot him in the chest with live ammunition.

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Christians in Bethlehem face existential threat under Israel’s occupation

Christmas should be the busiest time of the year for the shopkeepers of Manger Square, but the birthplace of Jesus is now a ghost town.

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How Israeli settlements threaten Palestine’s Christian heritage

As illegal Israeli settlements seize more land and violent settler attacks escalate, Palestine’s Christian community faces a quiet erasure.

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Israeli settlers rampage across West Bank as army raids intensify

Palestinians across the West Bank faced settler attacks amid Israeli army raids on several villages as Israel’s assault on Gaza continued.

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Israeli forces demolish shops in raids near occupied East Jerusalem

Commercial premises among buildings facing demolition as military incursions intensify near Qalandiya and Kafr Aqab.

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In West Bank Invasions, Israeli Forces Abduct Palestinians

Israeli occupation forces carried out widespread invasions across the occupied West Bank at dawn on Tuesday, abducting more than thirty Palestinians, while simultaneously tightening military restrictions through new checkpoints and road closures.
The Christmas tree at Manger Square near the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, West Bank, Dec. 3, 2022.
The Christmas tree at Manger Square near the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, West Bank, Dec. 3, 2022.

HEADLINES ABOUT ISRAEL:

(Israel is a tiny country, about the size of New Jersey, with a population smaller than the US state of Georgia – about 10 million (of which about 20 percent are Palestinians), yet it is in the news constantly. As has been demonstrated again and again, however, mainstream media rarely covers Israel accurately. IAK passes along only factual reporting.)

Israeli premier appears before court for 65th time to answer corruption charges

Netanyahu’s trial on charges of breach of trust, accepting bribes, and fraud, has been ongoing since May, 2020.

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Israel’s propaganda machine endangers every Jew on the planet – including me

Within hours of the horrific, antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney this month, the Israeli government and its proxies started pushing false narratives, outright lies and racism to a grieving nation.  

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Is Israel’s government waging war on Al Jazeera and the media?

Critics say Israel’s media laws, including a ban on Al Jazeera, aim to silence dissenting voices, undermining democracy and free speech.

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In Israel’s prison system, raping Palestinians is not an anomaly

Sexual abuse of Palestinians witnessed at Sde Teiman prison isn’t an anomaly, it’s how Israel maintains a system of fear & domination.

Scorching the Monk Forest: Israel’s ecocide in southern Lebanon

From white phosphorus to bulldozers, the destruction of South Lebanon’s woodlands shows how war was waged against the ecosystem.

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Israeli army stages new raid into southern Syria

A Palestinian protester dressed in a Santa Claus costume rings a bell in front of tear gas fired by Israeli troops during a demonstration against the settlements and demanding for free movement for the Palestinians during Christmas near a checkpoint in the West Bank city of Bethlehem December 23, 2014.
A Palestinian protester dressed in a Santa Claus costume rings a bell in front of tear gas fired by Israeli troops during a demonstration against the settlements and demanding for free movement for the Palestinians during Christmas near a checkpoint in the West Bank city of Bethlehem December 23, 2014.

HEADLINES FROM ISRAELI MEDIA:

(Get a glimpse inside this country that is rife with turmoil and contradictions that receives $63 million a day from America.)

Trump’s Gaza Cease-fire Is Theater Disguising Israel’s Desire to Prolong the War

The U.S. president is not challenging Israeli goals in Gaza, but accelerating them: towards a territory permanently trapped, without sovereignty, political resolution or accountability.

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Lead editorial: Israel Only Knows How to Demolish Palestinian Homes

Demolitions of Palestinian houses aren’t just cruel, but also pointless. They don’t achieve any goal other than increasing despair and violence. 

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New Data Reveals the Astronomical Cost of Netanyahu’s Trips Abroad During Gaza War

According to the data, use of Israel’s official aircraft for a single trip to Washington in February cost $424,000; Netanyahu’s visit to New York in September cost Israeli taxpayers $42,000 for the hotel alone.

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Netanyahu’s Aides Misled the Israeli Media for the Prime Minister and Spread Qatari Propaganda

The ease with which dubious information was shared with reporters – who then shared it with their viewers and readers – raises serious concerns about the integrity of the conduct of senior bodies in Israel.

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Report: Israel began airdropping weapons to Syrian Druze days after Assad’s ouster

Defensive equipment shipments continue, but arms deliveries tapered off as Israel sought talks with Sharaa and grew wary of Syrian Druze infighting, sources tell Washington Post.
A manger scene juxtaposed against concrete blocks seemingly pierced by a mortar shell: with Christmas looming, Banksy reveals his latest art piece.
A manger scene juxtaposed against concrete blocks seemingly pierced by a mortar shell: with Christmas looming, by Banksy

OTHER NEWS & HEADLINES:

Israel’s war on Gaza has made genocide an accepted weapon of war. We’re already seeing it in Sudan.

Israel’s genocide in Gaza set a global norm that views extermination as a ‘natural’ part of how nations and paramilitary groups wage war. We are already seeing this in Sudan.

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Trump’s Gaza plan: A foreign force to finish the job

Far from a neutral effort to restore calm, the move signals a calculated escalation in the US-Israeli campaign to crush Palestinian resistance under the pretext of post-war reconstruction.

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Nearly 50 US lawmakers call on Trump to address Israeli Gaza ceasefire violations

According to the letter, signed by 49 House Dems, Israel’s “bombardment against civilians, destruction of property and insufficient delivery of humanitarian aid” were jeopardizing the ceasefire that the US, Egypt and Qatar brokered in October.

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Bari Weiss Is Doing Exactly What She Was Installed at CBS to Do

Her role, from the onset, has been to police the CBS newsroom, an open acknowledgment that CBS News must reflect the ideological preferences of the Ellison family — namely, their fidelity to Israel and surveillance capitalism.

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UK government faces criticism as Palestine Action prison hunger strikers near critical stage

Six prisoners on remand risk organ failure, death after weeks without food while ministers refuse calls for a meeting to discuss their demands.

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Is the UK imprisoning pro-Palestine activists on Israel’s behalf?

As Western states arm Israel, they criminalize Palestine activists. There is a link between Israel’s prisoners and UK hunger strikers.

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UK police arrest Greta Thunberg over Palestine Action support

Thunberg joined the London demonstration to spotlight Palestine Action supporters on a near-fatal hunger strike.
Members of Gaza’s Catholic community gather for Christmas Eve in the Holy Family Church in Gaza city on 24 December. 
Members of Gaza’s Catholic community gather for Christmas Eve in the Holy Family Church in Gaza city on 24 December, 2024

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT) – A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:

Israel fails (as usual) to deliver on its promises for aid, fuel

Kahane May Be Dead, but His Followers Are Taking Over Israeli Education and Health

47 House Dems Call Out Israel’s ‘Near-Daily Violations’ of Gaza Ceasefire