While Palestinians grieved the deaths of more than one hundred persons who were murdered overnight in Israeli bombings, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to continue the war against Hamas terrorists on Monday. Gaza health authorities said that Israeli airstrikes were responsible for the deaths.

In the eleven-week-long conflict between Israel and Hamas, Netanyahu paid a visit to Israeli forces stationed in the northern Gaza Strip. This visit occurred just a few hours after one of the worst nights in the besieged zone.

Israel has been under pressure from its closest ally, the United States, to move operations in Gaza to a lower-intensity phase and limit civilian fatalities as a form of retaliation against Hamas for their deadly cross-border raid that occurred on October 7.

Netanyahu warned MPs from his Likud party that the conflict was not even close to ending. He also disputed what he referred to as media rumors that his administration might call a halt to the battle. He predicted that Israel would not be able to successfully liberate its other prisoners if it did not initially apply military pressure.

No, we are not going to quit. “The war will continue until the end, until we finish it, no less,” Netanyahu declared during his visit to Gaza. He has ignored appeals from the international community for a truce.

At a burial in Gaza, a line of Palestinian mourners caressed the white shrouds that were placed over the remains of at least seventy people. According to Palestinian health authorities, an airstrike that hit Maghazi in the middle of the strip killed these people.

According to Ibrahim Youssef, a man, his wife, and four children, including a newborn who was only four months old, were buried under the debris of the house in Maghazi, where they were residing.

He questioned, “What exactly did they do wrong?” “Were there resistance fighters here?”

There was a continuation of the strikes that started a few hours before midnight on Monday. Israel has reportedly increased its air and ground bombardment in the center of Gaza, according to Palestinian media.

Ashraf Al-Qidra, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health, stated that a significant number of people being murdered in Maghazi were females and children. As a result of Israeli planes and tanks striking homes and highways in the neighboring towns of al-Bureij and al-Nusseirat, eight additional people lost their lives, according to health officials.

An Israeli attack on Khan Younis, which is located in southern Gaza, resulted in the deaths of 23 Palestinians, raising the total number of Palestinians who died overnight to more than 100.

In a Christmas speech, Pope Francis referred to children who are dying as the “little Jesuses of today.” He stated that Israeli attacks were resulting in an “appalling harvest” of innocent people. This statement was made about the conflict in Gaza.

The Israeli army stated that it was evaluating the report of an event that occurred in Maghazi and that it was dedicated to minimizing the amount of harm that was caused to civilians. Israel asserts that Hamas operates in regions with a high population density and employs people as human shields; Hamas, however, disputes these allegations.

CELEBRATIONS IN BETHLEHEM HAVE BEEN CANCELLED

Bethlehem, a city in the West Bank controlled by Israel and where Christian tradition asserts that Jesus was born in a stable two thousand years ago, had its celebrations called off by the clergy of the Christian faith.

Palestinian Christians held a Christmas vigil in Bethlehem, including hymns and prayers for peace in Gaza. The vigil was lit with candles.

There was no vast tree, often the focal point of Bethlehem’s Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. The placement of nativity figurines in churches amidst the debris and barbed wire present was a show of sympathy for the people of Gaza.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two smaller terrorist organizations that are both dedicated to the destruction of Israel, are believed to be holding more than one hundred hostages in Gaza. These groups are said to have abducted 240 prisoners during their rampage through Israeli cities on October 7, during which they managed to murder 1,200 people.

Since then, Israel has thrown away a significant portion of the thin strip. The authorities in Gaza, which Hamas runs, have reported that there have been about 20,700 deaths in Gaza, including 250 deaths in the past twenty-four hours.

The great majority of Gaza’s population, which is estimated to be more than 2.3 million people, has been forced to flee their homes, and the United Nations has stated that the humanitarian situation is grave.

The Israeli military said on Monday that two of its troops had passed away in the previous day, increasing the total number of soldiers who had been killed since the beginning of combat operations on October 20 to 158.

Three different security sources have independently reported that an Israeli bombing that took place on Monday outside of Damascus, the capital of Syria, resulted in the death of a top adviser in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

According to the people who spoke with Reuters, the adviser, who goes by the name Sayyed Razi Mousavi, was in charge of managing the military alliance between Syria and Iran, which provides support to Hamas in Gaza.

According to a statement that was broadcast on Iranian official television, the Revolutionary Guards of Iran declared that Israel “will pay for this crime.”

Israel’s military chief of staff announced on Saturday that his troops had mainly secured operational control in the northern part of Gaza and that they would push their operations as far as they could in the southern part of the territory.

However, locals claim that the violence has only become more intense in the northern areas.

There has been very little public progress made as a result of diplomatic efforts led by Egypt and Qatar to negotiate a fresh ceasefire to liberate the remaining hostages who are being held in Gaza.

An Egyptian proposal to transfer authority in the Gaza Strip in exchange for a lasting truce was offered during discussions in Cairo. According to two Egyptian security officials who spoke to Reuters on Monday, Hamas and the affiliated Islamic Jihad have expressed their refusal to accept the idea.

The terrorist organizations have stated that they are not prepared to negotiate any release of captives unless Israel ceases its assault in Gaza. On the other hand, the Israelis have stated that they are only willing to discuss a halt to the continuing combat.

According to the United States Treasury Department, the United States and Britain slapped an additional round of penalties on individuals on Wednesday. These restrictions were placed on individuals in Turkey and other countries who have connections to the Palestinian Hamas militant group.

The Treasury Department issued a statement stating that the penalties will be directed at eight people who assist in managing Hamas’ funds and advance the organization’s goals and interests overseas.

“Hamas continues to rely heavily on networks of well-placed officials and affiliates, exploiting seemingly permissive jurisdictions to direct fundraising campaigns for the group’s benefit and funneling those illicit proceeds to support its military activities in Gaza,” said Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. According to Nelson, Hamas continues to rely heavily on these networks.

Treasury stated that some of the Hamas leaders that were targeted were headquartered in Turkey. Among those officials was Haroun Mansour Yaqoub Nasser Al-Din, considered one of the most critical financial operatives for the group in Turkey.

According to the report, Haroun Nasser Al-Din was a participant in a network that coordinated the flow of funds from Turkey and Gaza to the Hamas command center in the city of Hebron in the West Bank. This network also assisted in providing financial support to Hamas actions that caused more unrest in the West Bank.

At the end of November, Nelson made a trip to Oman and Turkey to contribute to the United States’ attempts to prevent Hamas and other organizations from being able to procure and transfer cash.

The Palestinian terrorist organization was subjected to the fourth wave of sanctions by the United States in response to its murderous incursion into Israel on October 7. Israel claims that the invasion resulted in the deaths of 1,200 Palestinians. The following military reprisal by Israel has resulted in the deaths of 18,000 individuals in Gaza, according to the local health professionals.

In synchronized moves on Wednesday, the British foreign office said that it had sanctioned seven additional individuals connected to Hamas. These individuals included Mahmoud Zahar, the co-founder of Hamas, as well as Ali Baraka, the chief of external relations for Hamas, who the United States also sanctioned.

A leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization and players in the financial network that supports Hamas are some of the targets of the sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom. These penalties also target persons in Lebanon and Algeria.

Hamas can’t advance in Gaza. The sanctions that were imposed on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad today will continue to cut off their access to finance and even more isolate them, according to the statement made by the British Foreign Secretary, David Cameron.

That was the second wave of sanctions that Britain has imposed against Hamas since the bombings on October 7.

In the United States and the United Kingdom, the sanctions act to prevent any transactions involving the individuals who are the subject of the sanctions, as well as any property and interests in property owned by the designated individuals.

In a statement to Reuters, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri stated that the penalties were unwarranted, and Hamas later stated that the sanctions were based on incorrect charges.

“We call on the American administration and the British government once again to review their aggressive policies towards our Palestinian people,” the Hamas organization stated in a statement.

Eli Cohen, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, expressed his satisfaction with the most recent sanctions and urged other nations to take similar actions, stating that “only a persistent and uncompromising struggle will lead to the collapse of the Hamas government.”

Other individuals who the United States has mentioned include Jihad Muhammad Shaker Yaghmour, who is the official representative of Hamas to Turkey, and Ismail Musa Ahmad Barhum, who assisted in the collection of funds from worldwide fundraisers into accounts belonging to the Hamas finance ministry, according to the Treasury Department.

Mehmet Kaya, who is also located in Turkey, was the focus of the penalties because he participated in several money transfers on behalf of Hamas. According to the statement, as a result of his engagement, Hamas received “tens of millions of dollars’ worth of financial services.”

Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, issued a plea on Friday for an immediate stop to the conflict in Gaza as well as an international peace conference to be held in order to find a long-term political solution that would ultimately result in the foundation of a Palestinian state.

Abbas, who is 87 years old, stated that the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in general has reached a worrisome stage that calls for an international conference and assurances from global powers. He made this statement during an interview with Reuters in his office in Ramallah.

In addition to Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza, he stated that Israeli troops had increased their attacks over the whole occupied West Bank over the past year, with Israelis increasing the level of violence against Palestinian villages.

The long-standing occupation was ended by diplomacy rather than through violent opposition, as he restated his viewpoint, which he has held for a long time.

I am a member of the nonviolent resistance. He stated, “I am in favor of negotiations that are based on an international peace conference and that are conducted under international auspices. These negotiations would lead to a solution that would be protected by world powers which would result in the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.”

At the same time that Israel was increasing its attacks on Gaza, Abbas was speaking. Over 17,000 people have been killed, 46,000 have been injured, and over 1.9 million people have been forced to flee their homes as a result of the conflict that has lasted for two months. More than half of these people seek refuge along the Egyptian border or the central region of Gaza.

One of the most senior officials in the United States stated that the concept of holding an international conference had been discussed among many partners. However, the plan was still in the very early stages of development.

According to the official, who spoke anonymously, “It is one of many options that are on the table that we and others would consider with an open mind,” but noted that no decision had been taken.

After Hamas terrorists went on a rampage across Israeli cities on October 7, murdering 1,200 people and capturing 240 captives, Israel commenced its campaign to exterminate the Hamas movement that administers Gaza. According to Israeli accounts, the war was undertaken so that Israel could eliminate the Hamas movement.

Abbas stated that he would restore the debilitated Palestinian Authority, execute long-awaited reforms, and organize presidential and parliamentary elections, which were delayed when Hamas won in 2006 and later forced the PA out of Gaza. He added that he would do all these things based on a binding international agreement.

Although he stated that the Palestinian Authority had complied with all of the peace agreements that had been struck with Israel since the Oslo Accords of 1993 and the subsequent understandings that had been reached over the years, he also stated that Israel had broken its promises to end the occupation.

THE ELECTION OF DEMOCRATICS
In response to a question about whether or not he would be willing to risk having elections because Hamas may repeat its victory from 2006, he responded, “Whoever wins wins, these will be democratic elections.”

Abbas stated that he had intended to have elections in April 2021; however, the representative of the European Union informed him before to the deadline that Israel was expressing opposition to holding polls in East Jerusalem, which resulted in Abbas being compelled to cancel the elections.

According to him, the Palestinian Authority (PA) had previously organized three rounds of elections that included East Jerusalem before Israel enforced the prohibition. He stressed that there would be no elections without East Jerusalem having been included.

During the 1967 conflict in the Middle East, Israel took control of Arab East Jerusalem. In a subsequent step, it annexed the city and declared the entire city its capital, a decision not acknowledged by the international community. According to Palestinians, the capital of their future state should be located in East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) would seize control of the strip, which is home to 2.3 million people, according to a post-war plan that was negotiated with officials from the United States. Abbas did not provide a precise picture of this plan. According to statements made by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, Israel would not tolerate the current situation in which the Palestinian Authority is in control of Gaza.

In response to a proposal that Israel has been putting up to construct a security zone in Gaza after the conflict, he stated, “The United States tells us that it supports a two-state solution, that Israel is not allowed to occupy Gaza, to keep security control of Gaza, or to expropriate land from Gaza.”

“America doesn’t force Israel to implement what it says.”

He stated that the Palestinian Authority (PA) continued to maintain its presence in Gaza as an institution and that it continued to pay monthly wages and expenditures totaling around 140 million dollars to employees, retirees, and families in need. More than three Palestinian Authority ministers are still present in Gaza, he noted.

“We need rehabilitation, we need big support to return to Gaza,” stressed President Abbas.

Today’s Gaza is not the Gaza that you are familiar with. Gaza was annihilated, including its mosques, schools, hospitals, and other educational institutions, as well as its infrastructure, buildings, and roads were devastated. Nothing is left to be claimed. As soon as we get back, we will want resources, and Gaza will require rehabilitation.

“The United States, which fully supports Israel, bears the responsibility for what is happening in the enclave,” added President Abbas.

Even though it is the only power that can tell Israel to cease the war and fulfill its duties, it does not do so. The United States of America supports Israel.