Monday, January 1, 2024
14:10 GMT – Gaza death toll rises to 21,978
The health ministry in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip said on Monday that at least 21,978 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since the war with Israel erupted on October 7.
The figure includes 156 deaths over the past 24 hours, health ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said in a televised press conference.
He added that 57,697 people have been wounded in Gaza since the start of the war.
09:30 GMT - Israel's war in Gaza will continue throughout 2024, a military spokesman has said in a New Year's message, insisting that tens of thousands of reservists would be needed for fighting.
"The IDF (Israeli Military) must plan ahead, understanding that we will be required for additional tasks and warfare throughout this year," Daniel Hagari told reporters.
"The objectives of the war require prolonged fighting and we are preparing accordingly."
07:59 GMT - Hundreds of thousands hold anti-Israeli protest in Istanbul, demanding ceasefire
Thousands of people have gathered in Istanbul for an event titled "Mercy for our martyrs, support for Palestine, curse on Israel", organised by Türkiye’s NGOs.
The event involved the participation of 308 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) .
After the morning prayers at Hagia Sophia Mosque, Eminonu New Mosque, Sultanahmet Mosque, and Suleymaniye Mosque, the participants rallied in the mosque courtyards, offering prayers for the martyrs and Palestinians who lost their lives in Israeli attacks.
Protesters waved Turkish and Palestinian flags rallied to the Galata Bridge on the Bosphorus chanting: "Murderer Israel, get out of Palestine" and "Allahu Akbar" (God is the greatest).
Read more here.
07:04 GMT - Aid to Gaza meets only 10 percent of population needs
Israel must increase humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza as the aid entering the enclave meets only 10% of its needs, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports.
“Half of Gaza's population is in a state of severe or extreme hunger, and 90 percent of Gaza's more than two million residents are going a whole day without food, often," Haaretz said.
“The 190 trucks that enter Gaza daily with Israel's approval provide only about 10% of the needs of Gazans,” it added.
0621 GMT - Israeli army intercepts drone over Syria's Golan Heights
The Israeli army has claimed that it intercepted an armed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over the occupied Golan Heights that was launched from Syria.
This marks the third such incident since the beginning of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7.
On Friday, the Israeli army said that rockets were launched from Syria toward Israel, and one reportedly landed in the occupied Syrian territories.
04:30 GMT - Israel to release reservists to families
The Israeli military will release some reservists who were called up to fight in Gaza, a move that it said would help the economy as the country prepares for a prolonged aggression on the tiny enclave.
"Some of the reservist soldiers will return to their families and their jobs already this week," said military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.
"This will allow a significant relief for the economy, and will allow them to gather strength ahead of the coming activities in the next year, and the fighting will continue and we will need them."
04:00 GMT - Medical teams in Gaza exhausted dealing with large numbers of patients' injuries: Doctor
A British doctor of Palestinian origin said medical teams in Gaza are exhausted, dealing with large numbers of patients.
“The medical staff (at the European Gaza Hospital in the city of Khan Younis) is very exhausted, and the emergency department always receives patients with difficult and complex cases,” Basil Badir, an orthopedic specialist from the team IDEALS, affiliated with the Islamic Aid charity organisation in the UK, told Anadolu in an exclusive interview.
Badir, who arrived in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza on December 25 with four doctors, stressed that health teams in Gaza are exhausted, especially those working in hospital emergency departments.
03:40 GMT - Israel rings under barrage of rockets from Gaza
Several rockets fired from Gaza targeted Tel Aviv and southern Israel as the country rang in the New Year, according to AFP journalists on the ground.
Air-raid sirens sounded as journalists in Tel Aviv saw Israeli missile defence systems intercept the rockets.
People who had gathered on the streets to celebrate New Year's Eve took shelter, while others continued to party.
02:50 GMT - UN food agency urges long-term ceasefire in Gaza
The UN World Food Program (WFP) reiterated that only a long-term ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access could end the deteriorating situation in Gaza.
International organisations and agencies continue to urge an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and increasing flows of humanitarian aid amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
"As we count down to a new year, there is a different kind of countdown in #Gaza," the WFP said on X, adding: "We are racing against time to avert a complete collapse of even the most basic services and starvation for millions."
For our live updates from Sunday, December 31, click here.
