In the West Bank, Israeli settlers abduct and assault a Palestinian man in ash-Shuyukh before leaving him at an Israeli checkpoint. Israeli settlers also raze farmland in Umm al-Sharqhan in the Masafer Yatta area. Israeli forces issue demolition notices for 13 homes in ‘Anata. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Gaza City, Nuseirat refugee camp, Rafah, and Jabalia refugee camp, killing at least 27 Palestinians. A Palestinian infant dies due to hypothermia, bring the number of hypothermia-related infant fatalities in the past 7 days to 6. Hundreds of tents are flooded and damaged by inclement weather in Dayr al-Balah and Mawasi. An Israeli soldier is killed in combat in northern Gaza. 2 rockets are launched at Israel. In Syria, Israeli forces raid government buildings in Quneitra and al-Baath. In Yemen, Houthi forces fire a missile at Ben Gurion Airport, which is intercepted near Jerusalem. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 12/30; HA 12/31; UNOCHA 1/2)
More than 45,541 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 17,818 children and 12,287 women, and around 108,338 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 11,000 people are missing in rubble. 836 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 172 children. More than 6,500 people have been injured. Israel reports that 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,400 have been injured in Israel since 10/7/2023, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 392 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 2,485 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27/2023. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7/2023. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12/2023 due to the Israeli blockade. 87% of all housing units in Gaza have been destroyed or severely damaged since 10/7/2023. (AJ, HA, WAFA 12/30)
The Palestinian Prisoner Society says 4 Palestinians taken from Gaza to Israeli detention centers have died while in detention, bringing the number of known deaths in Israeli prisons since 10/7/2023 to 54. (AJ, WAFA 12/30; UNOCHA 12/31)
PA president Mahmoud Abbas extends condolences to the family of former U.S. president Jimmy Carter who died on 12/29. Abbas eulogizes Carter as “great peacemaker” and “the first American president to recognize the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.” (WAFA 12/30)
France condemns Israel’s targeting of hospitals in Gaza, including the Kamal Adwan Hospital, and expresses concern for Kamal Adwan Hospital director Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and other staff Israel has forcibly disappeared. WHO director-general Tedros Ghebreyesus and Amnesty International call for Abu Safiya’s immediate release. MK Ahmad Tibi requests to visit Safiya in detention, urging Israeli defense minister Israel Katz to release him. CNN reports that Abu Safiya is held at the Sde Teiman detention camp. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA, HA, NYT, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 12/30)
Israeli energy minister Eli Cohen threatens to have Houthi movement leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi assassinated if the Houthis continue their military action against Israel. (AJ 12/30)