The ministry said in a statement it had recorded 162 deaths over the past 24 hours, while a total of 57,910 people have been wounded in nearly three months of fighting. Heavy bombardments are reported near Deir el-Balah, including at the Nuseirat, al-Maghazi and Bureij refugee camps as Israeli forces residents to evacuate south.
At least 32 people killed in Khan Younis and five in Rafah as Israeli attacks continue across Gaza.
The cycle of violence continues along the Lebanon-Israel border.
Israel is carrying out a series of air strikes, targeting what it says are Hezbollah military infrastructure, fighters and launch sites. Lately, it has been stepping up its attacks.
It’s still confined largely along the 120km (75 miles) border, but Israel is trying to pressure Hezbollah to pull back because it believes it is the only way that the tens of thousands of Israelis can return to their homes in northern Israel.
Hezbollah however is refusing to do that, and says it will not discuss anything along the border until Israel’s attacks on Gaza stops.
Mass bombardment is continuing in central Gaza, as the Israeli military and its armou
red vehicles push deeper into the area, particularly around az-Zawaida.
red vehicles push deeper into the area, particularly around az-Zawaida.
The military is trying to carve out an area from az-Zawayda all the way to Nuseirat refugee camp, which is densely populated. Hundreds of thousands of people have stayed there simply because they have nowhere else to go, or they’ve concluded that no place is safer.
In addition to artillery shelling and air strikes, there are attacking drones hovering at a low level.
We’ve heard reports that people arriving at al-Aqsa Hospital, which is the only semi-functional health facility in Deir el-Balah, are being shot at by these drones.
In another reported case, a person was called by name to come out of his house and then shot dead by a drone.
Talking to people arriving in Rafah city from the centre, they describe the situation as hell on Earth.
Thousands of demonstrators in Jordan’s capital Amman have rallied in support of Palestinians in Gaza, calling for an end to normalisation with Israel.
The march began in front of the Husseini Mosque shortly after Friday afternoon prayers, and the main slogans chanted during the rally dealt with supporting the Palestinians in Gaza and denouncing Jordan’s relations with Israel.There were reports of a similar demonstration taking place in the city of Nizwa in Oman.
The UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says it does not have enough basic supplies, even nappies, to care for babies it is sheltering.“More supplies are needed urgently”, it says.
At least 22,600 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7, the Palestinian Ministry of Health says.
A total of 57,910 people have been wounded, the majority of them women and children. About 7,000 are missing, presumed to be dead under the rubble.
In a statement, the ministry says it had recorded 162 deaths over the past 24 hours.
Members of the Abu Sinjar family mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at their house in Rafah, southern Gaza, on January 5, 2024.
46m ago (11:30 GMT)Palestinian Foreign Ministry: Humanitarian crisis in Rafah tests international community’s credibility
The humanitarian crisis in Rafah is testing the remaining credibility of the international community, the United Nations Security Council and all relevant international institutions, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.
“For the 91st consecutive day, the Israeli government continues its deepening campaign of genocide, comprehensive destruction, and displacement in the Gaza Strip,” the ministry said in a statement.
The statement went on to say that Gaza’s population of more than two million faces two options: Death by bombing, starvation, thirst and deprivation of medical treatment or continued displacement, resulting in more than a million people crammed into Rafah, which now has the highest population density in the world.
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their homes due to Israeli strikes, shelter in a tent camp, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, December 29, 2023.Food prices spike in Gaza even as global costs sink
The scarce food that is available in Gaza is becoming virtually unaffordable, as prices soar in the wartime economy.
Right now, a 25kg (55-pound) bag of flour in Gaza costs between $40 and $100, compared with $10 before October 7, according to an Associated Press report.Some 40 percent of Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of famine.
Elsewhere in the world, food costs less than it has in three years, thanks to declining prices of sugar, vegetable oils and meat, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
Palestinians shop at a market, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, January 4, 2024.
The Israeli army has confirmed in a statement that it launched new strikes against Hezbollah targets today, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Fighter jets with the country’s air force attacked the areas of Ayta ash Shaab and Majdal Zoun in Lebanese territory.
The attack reportedly destroyed parts of Hezbollah’s infrastructure, including a military site where the group’s fighters were present
The incident took place on Thursday when Israeli forces targeted several areas in the region and caused mass casualties, according to a resident of the refugee camp.
The Israeli army had initially declared central Gaza a safer area, urging Palestinians to flee to there from the north, including Gaza City, when it launched its air attacks. The area is now heavily overcrowded and following Thursday’s escalation, many are again trying to flee.
The resident added that snipers are stepping up attacks on civilians.
In one instance, a sniper shot dead a mother and her infant, “piercing the baby’s skull with a bullet”. The child fell out of the mother’s arms as both died, the resident who witnessed these atrocities said.
An Israeli man previously thought to be alive and held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip was killed on October 7, his community says.
Tamir Adar, a 38-year-old from the Nir Oz kibbutz, was killed while “fighting the terrorists” and his body was “abducted to Gaza”, The Times of Israel reported.At least 132 captives remain in Gaza, the newspaper said.
