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By Joseph Stepansky
Published On 22 Dec 2023

This live page is now closed. Please follow along with all the latest updates of the Israel-Gaza war on our new page, here.

23 Dec 2023 - 00:01
 (00:01 GMT)

Thanks for joining us

This live page is now closed. Please follow along with all the latest updates of the Israel-Gaza war on our new page, here.

For more context on the conflict, read more about how the UN Security Council finally came to pass the resolution calling for scaled-up aid, here.

Or read more about how Yemen’s Houthis gain from their attacks in the Red Sea, here.

22 Dec 2023 - 23:50
 (23:50 GMT)

Here’s what happened today

We’ll soon be closing this live page. Here’s a recap of today’s events:

  • UN Security Council passes resolution calling for massive increase in humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza.
  • The resolution’s approval follows days-long delay aimed at avoiding a US veto, but many observers slam the final text for not calling for a halt or break in fighting.
  • Israel’s bombardment of Gaza continues after it ordered civilians to evacuate the Bureij refugee camp; children are among the wounded in attacks on Deir el-Balah.
  • The head of the World Health Organization calls the situation in Gaza “heartbreaking” and warns famine is “looming”.
  • The US accuses Iran of being “deeply involved” in attacks by the Yemen-based Houthis in the Red Sea.
22 Dec 2023 - 23:35
 (23:35 GMT)

WATCH: Seeking truce for Gaza – Palestinian-Americans frustrated with government

22 Dec 2023 - 23:20
 (23:20 GMT)

Despite US announcement, Spain says still unsure about joining Red Sea coalition

The Spanish government said on Friday that it would “never participate in an operation from a unilateral point of view”.

“All decisions will always be taken under the umbrella of the European Union and NATO,” said government spokesperson Pilar Alegria.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had announced that Spain would be a member of a multinational coalition aimed at stopping Yemen’s Houthi rebels from attacking shipping in the Red Sea.

But the Spanish Defence Ministry said earlier this week that its participation “depends on the decisions of the European Union and NATO”.

Spanish opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo also said that Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had told him that Madrid had “decided not to intervene, at least not intervene in the conditions requested by the United States”.

22 Dec 2023 - 23:10
 (23:10 GMT)

Nuseirat attack survivor says house had more than 50 people inside

The unnamed survivor, who says his family members died in the Israeli attack on Friday, had been watching the UN Security Council meeting on Gaza when the house was bombed.

Here’s what he recalled of the attack:

“The house hosted six displaced families … my sisters, my uncle, my aunt. The house had a large number of displaced people inside. Me and my brother tallied the number of people inside; there were 52.

“Fifty-two people – most of them dead. A large number of injuries. You could say half of them [in the house] were children.

“We were sat down, I was eating. Suddenly, we saw three rockets falling on us, falling like rain.

“We were sitting and watching the Security Council, the Security Council’s decisions. They wanted to decide on a ceasefire, and they changed it to a decision on aid. Do we want aid? We want quiet, we want safety. We died.”

22 Dec 2023 - 23:00
 (23:00 GMT)

WATCH: Why Palestinians in East Jerusalem are losing their homes

Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem are losing their homes to Israeli settlers, through a process of evictions and demolitions.

Sandra Gathmann went to East Jerusalem for Al Jazeera’s Start Here to explain what’s happening and why.

This film was shot in August 2023, before the war on Gaza.

22 Dec 2023 - 22:50
 (22:50 GMT)

UNDP worker in Gaza killed with family in Israeli air attack

Issam al-Mughrabi’s death was announced by The United Nations Development Programme administrator Achim Steiner.

Issam’s wife, Lamya’a, as well as his children Mohammad, Suad, Lama, Luai and Obaideh – the youngest of whom was 13 – were killed near Gaza City.

“This war must end,” said Steiner. “No more families should endure the pain and suffering that Issam’s family and countless others are experiencing.”

22 Dec 2023 - 22:40
 (22:40 GMT)
Analysis

UNSC resolution ‘greenlighting genocide’: Former UNRWA official

Chris Gunness says what’s unfolding in Gaza is “an American-Israeli genocide – it’s not just an Israeli genocide”.

“Just as America provides Israel with $4bn of military support per annum, it’s also – as we’ve seen tonight – providing Israel with diplomatic and political cover to continue with a genocide which is marked by the wholesale and industrial ignoring of international humanitarian law,” Gunness told Al Jazeera.

He added that Israeli statements following the passage of the Security Council resolution make it clear the country plans to retain control of what goes into Gaza.

“It’s clear that [Israel] … as it’s done in the past, [intends] to have a veto over what goes into Gaza,” Gunness said.

22 Dec 2023 - 22:30
 (22:30 GMT)

WATCH: Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour’s full remarks at the UN Security Council

A powerful and emotional speech by Riyad Mansour following the adoption of the Gaza aid resolution by the Security Council, followed by remarks from Israel’s deputy permanent representative, Jonathan Miller.

22 Dec 2023 - 22:20
 (22:20 GMT)

Biden ‘heartbroken’ over reported death of American dual citizen captive

Earlier, we reported on the death of Gadi Haggai, a US dual national thought to have been taken captive by Hamas, announced by a group representing the families of the captives in Gaza.

According to an official Israeli tally, 129 people remain held in Gaza after the rest were repatriated in a November truce or recovered during a military offensive.

Of those still in Gaza, 22 are dead, the Israeli government says.

22 Dec 2023 - 22:10
 (22:10 GMT)

‘This is heartbreaking’: WHO chief on Gaza hunger

In his latest post on X, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus again warned that “famine is looming” in Gaza. He called for an “urgent improvement in food security”.

The situation is most acute in northern Gaza, where four of five households “are going entire days and nights without eating”. That’s the case for about half of the displaced people in the south, he said.

“This is catastrophic to the health of people across the Strip,” he said. “This is heartbreaking.”

Palestinians loot a humanitarian aid truck as it crosses into the Gaza Strip in Rafah on Sunday, December 17, 2023 [Fatima Shbair/AP Photo]
22 Dec 2023 - 22:00
 (22:00 GMT)

‘Future generations will condemn those who opposed ceasefire’: Scottish leader

Humza Yousaf, the first minister of Scotland, has condemned those who do not support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

“The world said ‘never again’ yet allows violence that results in the killing of more children. For shame,” he wrote on social media.

22 Dec 2023 - 21:50
 (21:50 GMT)

Security Council resolution ‘step towards ending aggression’: Palestinian Authority

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry statement also said the resolution is a step towards “ensuring the delivery of aid and protecting our people”.

The resolution has been widely criticised for failing to demand a halt or pause in fighting, despite appealing for Gaza aid deliveries to be scaled up.

22 Dec 2023 - 21:40
 (21:40 GMT)

Palestinian children injured in Israeli strikes on Deir el-Balah treated at hospital

Injured Palestinians, including children, wait for treatment [Doaa Albaz/Anadolu Agency]
A doctor carries an injured Palestinian baby to Al-Aqsa Hospital after an Israeli air strike in Deir el-Balah [Doaa Albaz/Anadolu Agency]
Injured Palestinians, including children, are brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital for medical treatment following Israeli attacks in Deir el-Balah, Gaza [Doaa Albaz/Anadolu Agency]

22 Dec 2023 - 21:35
 (21:35 GMT)
Developing

Israeli bombing kills at least 18 Palestinians in Nuseirat camp: Wafa

The Palestinian state news agency said that the strike hit a home in al-Ishreen Street in the east of the central Gazan camp and also led to dozens of injuries.

Al Jazeera Arabic said that the strike hit the home of the Khalifa family, with many of the dead from the family, as well as members of the al-Attar, Abu Shawish and al-Batniji families who had taken refuge in the home after being displaced from their own.

22 Dec 2023 - 21:30
 (21:30 GMT)

‘Israel holds the keys to Gaza’: AJ correspondent

Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor, James Bays, notes that Israel could have allowed more humanitarian aid into Gaza at any point since the war began.

“This is a man-made situation,” he wrote on X. “Israel cut the water, electricity and attacked the hospitals.”

Bays was commenting on a video post by UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who welcomed the UN Security Council resolution urging scaled-up assistance for Gaza as “good news”.

“Crucially, the UN resolution also calls for steps towards a sustainable ceasefire,” said Cameron, adding that “a sustainable ceasefire must mean that Hamas is no longer there”.

Israel says it will press on with its war on Gaza until Hamas is eliminated – a goal that Middle East analysts and other experts have said is unachievable.

22 Dec 2023 - 21:20
 (21:20 GMT)

Hamas slams Gallant’s ’empty threat’

The Palestinian group has responded to remarks by the Israeli defence minister, who said earlier today that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar would soon “meet the barrels of our guns”, according to Israeli media reports.

In a statement shared on its Telegram channel, Hamas said Gallant’s comment reflects his failure to achieve any of Israel’s stated goals in Gaza.

The Israeli army has only succeeded in killing civilians and destroying civilian facilities, the group added.

22 Dec 2023 - 21:10
 (21:10 GMT)

Blinken holds latest call with Israeli defence chief

In the call with Gallant yesterday, the US secretary of state discussed “the importance of increasing humanitarian assistance, protecting civilians, and preventing the conflict from expanding”, according to the State Department.

The call came as the US was negotiating with Security Council members over its opposition to a draft resolution. That resolution was passed today after it was softened in several areas, including avoiding any direct demands for a pause in the fighting.

As the widening casualty count has heaped pressure on the Biden administration, officials have said they want to see Israel move to “lower intensity” operations, but have said they will not impose terms or timelines.

22 Dec 2023 - 21:00
 (21:00 GMT)
Analysis

UN resolution ‘won’t change much’ on the ground in Gaza

That’s because “it’s impossible to deliver aid under bombs”, says Lorenzo Kamel, a professor at the University of Turin.

Kamel told Al Jazeera that the US’s decision to abstain – and not veto – the resolution demonstrates just how “watered down” it is.

“It’s so broad that it does not in any way create any … problem” for Washington, he said.

The Biden administration has faced widespread criticism for failing to back global calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. The US, which provides Israel with $3.8bn in annual military assistance, argues that such a move would only benefit Hamas.

Biden continues to provide staunch support for Israel amid the war on Gaza [File: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters]
22 Dec 2023 - 20:50
 (20:50 GMT)

If you’re just joining us

It’s 10:50pm (20:50 GMT) in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. Here are the latest updates:

  • The UN Security Council passes a resolution urging scaled-up Gaza aid after days-long delay.
  • Aid groups and several Security Council members criticise the resolution for not demanding a break in fighting to allow more aid deliveries.
  • Israel says it is allowing a sufficient amount of aid into the enclave, adding the UN – not Israeli inspections – responsible for any delays.
  • Deadly Israeli attacks continue across the south of Gaza after Israel orders residents of Bureij refugee camp to evacuate.
  • Israeli military says it has almost taken control of northern Gaza while intense fighting continues in two Gaza City neighbourhoods.
A picture taken from southern Israel on December 22, 2023, shows an Israeli army tank rolling past debris of buildings in Gaza [Jack Guez/AFP]