HAITHAM IMAD/EPA
Displaced Palestinian children play in front of their tents on a rainy day in the town of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. According to the UN, around 90% of the population, or 1.9 million people, in Gaza have been displaced since the start of the conflict.
Israelis continue to fire almost daily at Palestinians, having killed at least 405 and injured more than 1,100 since October 10, the day of the ceasefire. Total number of Palestinians killed very close to 71 thousand. Israel is preparing to block NGOs on January 1st.
At least 405 people died due to Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, even with the ceasefire on October 10 with Hamas, according to the Ministry of Health controlled by the Palestinian radical Islamist group.
Gaza hospitals received the bodies of 12 people on Sunday, four of whom were killed and eight others whose bodies were recovered from rubble. The same source added that the total number of injuries since the ceasefire came into force has reached a total of 1.115.
Israel continues to control 54% of the Gaza Stripafter his troops go to the so-called “yellow line”, where continue to shoot Palestinians almost daily because they are considered suspects.
This latest report from the Palestinian authorities recorded four more deaths of citizens following building collapsesbringing the total death toll to 15. Many of these buildings were bombed during the war and are now affected by winter storms.
“Several victims remain under the rubble and on the roads, where ambulances and Civil Defense teams are unable to reach,” warned the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The conflict has been halted by a ceasefire since October 10. In the first phase, the agreement involved exchanges of prisoners and hostages, the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces and the access of humanitarian aid to the enclave.
The parties have directed mutual accusations of successive violationsbefore the next stages of the plan proposed by the United States with support from the international community, which has yet to be agreed.
Mediator Egypt hopes to announce the second phase of the ceasefire agreement on the Gaza Strip in January.
Israel prepares to block NGOs in 2026
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) recently warned of the harsh winter facing children in Gaza and also of new registration requirements by Israel for international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which could leave hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza without access to essential medical care in 2026.
The new rules could lead to the revocation of the registration of international NGOs from January 1, a move that would prevent organizations, including MSF, from providing essential services in Gaza and the West Bank.
“If MSF loses access to Gaza in 2026, due to the Israeli authorities, a large part of the Gaza population will lose access to essential medical care, water and life support,” warns the organization.
Regarding the press, the Israeli Supreme Court set a deadline of January 4th for the Israeli Government to make a decision on international press access to the Gaza Strip.
Since the start of the war in the Palestinian enclave, in October 2023, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from entering the territory under blockade independently, allowing access only to some professionals under their army.
The Foreign Press Association, which represents hundreds of members of international media in Israel and the Palestinian territories, asked Israeli courts more than a year ago for immediate access to the Gaza Strip.
On October 23, the Supreme Court gave the Israeli authorities a month to draw up a plan to allow journalists to enter, but since then there have been several extensions until finally setting January 4 as the deadline for a response.
In total, since Israel began its military offensive in Gaza, retaliating against the Hamas attack, on October 7, 2023, 70,937 Palestinians were killed and 171,192 were injuredmany with amputations and permanent sequelae, including children and women.
