The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness
Destroyed buildings in northern Gaza, seen from southern Israel on Wednesday. (Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images)

Israel expanding fight in Gaza refugee camps; strikes mount along northern border

Updated December 27, 2023 at 7:16 p.m. EST|Published December 27, 2023 at 1:53 a.m. EST
2 min

This live coverage has ended. For the latest updates, please go here.

Israel said it was expanding combat operations in Gaza Strip refugee camps Wednesday. A hospital director said the toll from a strike on a residential block in central Gaza’s Maghazi camp had risen to 80. Tit-for-tat strikes along the Israel-Lebanon border continue to escalate regional tensions: This week, Hezbollah has launched scores of rockets and drones into Israel, including at a Greek Orthodox church, wounding two Israeli Christians.

Key updates
Skip to end of carousel
At the White House, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, held talks with Ron Dermer, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, about “the transition to a different phase of the war to maximize focus on high-value Hamas targets” as well as “governance and security in Gaza” after the war, an official said.
Internet gradually returned in Gaza on Wednesday, after telecommunications provider Paltel said services were disrupted the previous day. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it was completely unable to contact its medical teams in Gaza during the blackout after its radio network at its Khan Younis headquarters was damaged by shelling.
An Israeli airstrike on a residential building Wednesday killed at least 20 people and wounded dozens of others near al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the Gaza Health Ministry said. The Israel Defense Forces did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The Washington Post could not independently verify the strike.
The United Nations appointed Dutch politician Sigrid Kaag to the new role of senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza. The position was mandated as part of the U.N. Security Council’s resolution last week to expand aid to civilians in the enclave. In a statement Wednesday, Sullivan welcomed the appointment.
U.S. military assets shot down 12 attack drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles and two land attack cruise missiles in the Red Sea fired by Houthi militants in Yemen, U.S. Central Command said on social media. There was no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries, it said. The Houthis are targeting commercial shipping in the waterway in protest over Israel’s war in Gaza.
At least 21,110 people have been killed in Gaza and more than 55,243 wounded since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. About 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
End of carousel
Skip to end of carousel
At the White House, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, held talks with Ron Dermer, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, about “the transition to a different phase of the war to maximize focus on high-value Hamas targets” as well as “governance and security in Gaza” after the war, an official said.
Internet gradually returned in Gaza on Wednesday, after telecommunications provider Paltel said services were disrupted the previous day. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it was completely unable to contact its medical teams in Gaza during the blackout after its radio network at its Khan Younis headquarters was damaged by shelling.
An Israeli airstrike on a residential building Wednesday killed at least 20 people and wounded dozens of others near al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the Gaza Health Ministry said. The Israel Defense Forces did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The Washington Post could not independently verify the strike.
The United Nations appointed Dutch politician Sigrid Kaag to the new role of senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza. The position was mandated as part of the U.N. Security Council’s resolution last week to expand aid to civilians in the enclave. In a statement Wednesday, Sullivan welcomed the appointment.
U.S. military assets shot down 12 attack drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles and two land attack cruise missiles in the Red Sea fired by Houthi militants in Yemen, U.S. Central Command said on social media. There was no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries, it said. The Houthis are targeting commercial shipping in the waterway in protest over Israel’s war in Gaza.
At least 21,110 people have been killed in Gaza and more than 55,243 wounded since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. About 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
End of carousel

Live coverage contributors 11

Live updates continue below

Israel-Gaza war

U.S. naval forces launched three additional strikes against Houthi forces in Yemen on Friday morning, targeting anti-ship missiles, according to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. In the Gaza Strip, internet and cellphone communications were gradually restored, ending a week-long outage that kept most of the territory’s 2.1 million people cut off, amid a war and humanitarian crisis.

Pakistan launched retaliatory strikes Thursday on militants in Iran, its Foreign Ministry said, as tensions in the Middle East appeared to be spreading.

Oct. 7 attack: Hamas spent more than a year planning its assault on Israel. A Washington Post video analysis shows how Hamas exploited vulnerabilities created by Israel’s reliance on technology at the “Iron Wall,” the security barrier bordering the Gaza Strip, to carry out the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. Stock traders earned millions of dollars anticipating the Hamas attack, a study found.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip has a complicated history. Understand what’s behind the Israel-Gaza war and read about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Loading...