15:40 GMT — Women and babies killed 'execution-style' in Gaza school
Israeli forces carried out an execution-style killing of many Palestinians, including women, children, and infants, who had sought refuge inside the Shadia Abu Ghazala School in northern Gaza, witnesses said.
The incident occurred in the Al Falujjah area, west of Jabalia refugee camp.
Disturbing footage obtained by Al Jazeera reportedly shows bodies, including those of newborns, piled up inside the school.
“The Israeli soldiers came in and opened fire on them,” a woman at the scene said.
“They took all men, then entered classrooms and opened fire on a woman and all the children with her.”
The woman said there were newborn children among them. “The Israeli soldiers executed those innocent families at point blank,” she added.
19:43 GMT — UN inquiry to investigate Gaza after conflict ends
The UN will launch an inquiry to investigate agency personnel who were killed and damage to its facilities after the conflict in Gaza ends, an official said.
"We have seen reports of a UNRWA (Palestinian Refugee Agency) school being destroyed,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
“After the conflict, there will need to be a board of inquiry from the UN to look at the loss of property and the loss of UN lives.
18:39 GMT — Adoption of resolution demanding Gaza cease-fire 'victory for life,' says UN
After the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, an official of the assembly stressed on Wednesday that the resolution must be implemented.
"The PGA (President of General Assembly Dennis Francis) firmly believes that what happened yesterday was a victory for life," assembly spokeswoman Monica Grayley told reporters in New York.
Her remarks came a day after 153 nations in the General Assembly voted in favor of the draft resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, while 10 opposed it and 23 abstained.
15:50 GMT — Gaza war to continue 'with or without international support': Israel foreign minister
Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said that the war in Gaza would continue "with or without international support".
"Israel will continue the war against Hamas with or without international support. A ceasefire at the current stage is a gift to the terrorist organisation Hamas, and will allow it to return and threaten the residents of Israel," Cohen told a visiting diplomat, according to a statement issued by his ministry.
15:30 GMT — People of Gaza 'running out of time and options': UNRWA chief
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees warned that the people of Gaza were "running out of time and options" as Israel's war on Gaza grinds on.
"They face bombardment, deprivation and disease in an ever shrinking space," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini told the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva.
Lazzari, who has described the situation in Gaza as "hell on earth," warned that people in the Palestinian territory "facing the darkest chapter of their history since 1948, and it has been a painful history".
15:27 GMT — Israel’s actions against Palestinians ‘remind us of apartheid’: Ex-South African minister
The conditions that Israel has imposed in Palestinian territories and on Palestinians are very similar to what South Africans experienced under apartheid, according to leading figure of the country’s anti-apartheid movement.
Many South African freedom fighters, including former President Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and even ordinary South Africans who have visited the occupied Palestinian territories were disturbed by what they saw, Ronnie Kasrils, a Jewish South African who fought apartheid and served as a former intelligence minister, told Anadolu Agency.
“It just reminded us of what we experienced during apartheid; the repressiveness, cruelty, police brutality, restrictions on movement, arrests, detentions and illegal settlers who have taken Palestinian land,” he said.
1418 GMT — Pope reiterates call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza
Pope Francis reiterated his call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza amid soaring civilian casualties in Israeli attacks on the besieged enclave.
“I continue to follow the conflict in Israel and Palestine with much worry and pain,” he said during a weekly general audience. “I renew my call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. There is so much suffering there.”
“I encourage all parties involved to resume negotiations, and call on everyone to make an urgent commitment to get humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” he said.
13:30 GMT – Gaza death toll rises to 18,608
The Gaza death toll from Israeli attacks has mounted to 18,608, the enclave's health ministry has said.
In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry added that 50,594 others have been injured since October 7.
Israel continues its deadly attacks on Gaza after Hamas fighters launched a cross-border offensive in southern Israel more than two months ago.
04:50 GMT - Australia backs UN resolution for Gaza ceasefire in rare split with US
Australia Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said the country had supported a UN resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza out of concern for civilians in the besieged enclave, in a rare split with close ally the United States.
After dire warnings by UN officials over a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza in the two month long Israel's war there, the 193-member UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire with 153 countries including Australia voting in favour and 23 abstaining. Ten countries voted against including the US and Israel.
"Australia has consistently affirmed Israel's right to defend itself," Wong told a news conference in Adelaide after the UN resolution passed. "And in doing so, we have said as Israel must respect international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals must be protected. "The resolution we have supported is consistent with the position we have previously outlined on these issues.
04:35 GMT - Resolve of Palestinians made Biden realise Israel's war in Gaza is 'madness': Hamas
The resistance and steadfastness of the Palestinian people made US President Joe Biden realise the "madness" of Israel’s military invasion of Gaza, a senior Hamas leader said.
Osama Hamdan made the remarks at a press conference in Beirut when he was asked about a comment by Bid en earlier in the day that Israel is losing support around the world.
The Israeli invasion "will have catastrophic repercussions" on Israel and on Biden’s reelection prospects, he added.
03:51 GMT - UNGA overwhelmingly votes for Gaza truce; US, Israel vote 'no'
The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly passed a non-binding resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in besieged Gaza — a call the paralysed Security Council has so far failed to make, piling pressure on Israel and its ally the US.
The body, which includes all 193 UN member nations, voted 153 in favour of the resolution, exceeding the 140 or so countries that have routinely backed resolutions condemning Russia for its assault on Ukraine.
Ten countries, including the United States and Israel, voted against it, while 23 abstained. The Palestinian envoy to the UN called the General Assembly ceasefire resolution "historic".
03:30 GMT - Hamas welcomes UN demand for immediate ceasefire in Gaza
Hamas has welcomed the United Nations' demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in besieged Gaza and urged the international community to continue pressuring Israel to abide by the resolution, a senior official of the Palestinian resistance group, Izzat El Reshiq, said in a statement.
More than three-fourths of the 193-member UN General Assembly backed the move, which was vetoed by the United States in the Security Council last week.
03:00 GMT - Yemen's Houthi official advises vessels on risks of navigating through Red Sea
Mohamed Ali al Houthi, head of Yemen's Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Committee, has posted a message on X advising on the risks that cargo ships could face while travelling through the Red Sea.
Any vessels navigating through the Red Sea are not allowed to travel towards the occupied Palestinian territories, the post said, adding that all ships that pass Yemen should keep radios turned on, and quickly respond to Houthi attempts at communication.
Houthi also advised against cargo ships "falsifying their identity" or raising flags different from the country belonging to the cargo ship owner.
For our live updates from Tuesday, December 12, click here.
