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ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 430

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The Daily Edition

What Matters Most On Thursday, December 21, 2023

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Troops of the 36th Division operate in Gaza City's Shejaiya neighborhood, in a handout image published December 21, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

Live updates (closed)

Dec. 21: IDF says 2,000 Hamas gunmen killed this month, 8,000 since war outbreak

By Joshua Davidovich, Jacob Magid and ToI Staff

US takes issue with brewing Security Council resolution * Pro-Israel Dems join calls for PM to shift strategy due to ‘unacceptable’ humanitarian crisis * 3 soldiers killed in Gaza

10:10 pm

'Thanks to you, I'll sing with new enthusiasm': Bocelli writes to freed hostage who used his music to endure captivity
9:43 pm

'I'll haunt you in your sleep': Brother of hostage mistakenly killed by IDF shares fuming call he had with Gallant
8:49 pm

Nikki Haley: 'Pro-Hamas countries' Qatar, Iran and Turkey should take in Palestinians fleeing war

ToI in Gaza City

Under the heart of Gaza City, IDF digs up a vast hive of lairs where Hamas’s elite hid

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A central square in Gaza's largest city that until October 7 was a humming center of Palestinian retail and commercial activity hid an extensive warren of Hamas tunnels used by the terror group's top officials to hide from Israel, the military has revealed. Among those whose homes or offices were... Continue Reading

Palestine Square in Gaza City's Rimal neighborhood, December 19, 2023. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

Israeli soldiers are seen on a Namer APC near Palestine Square in Gaza City's Rimal neighborhood, December 19, 2023. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

ToI podcastDaily Briefing Dec. 21: Day 76 – A visit to Gaza’s ‘underground terror city’

Yotam Haim, left, and his mother, Iris Haim, in an undated photo. (Courtesy)

'Don’t hesitate for a second if you see a terrorist'

‘Not your fault’: Mother sends love, support to troops who killed son in tragic error

Iris Haim records message for battalion involved in killing of 3 escaped hostages, insisting her family doesn’t blame them for what happened and that they want to meet them

Troops and dogs of the Oketz canine unit are seen in the Gaza Strip, in a handout image published November 26, 2023 (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF dog recorded escaped hostage calling for help days before mistaken slayings

By Emanuel Fabian

Promoted Content

On Dec 7th, Jews around the world came together to banish the darkness

Tens of thousands of people came together to light the first Hanukkah candle in an online event organized by the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism.

Hamas said to reject Israeli offer for 7-day truce in Gaza, release of 40 hostages

Hamas has rejected an Israeli proposal for a week-long truce in the Gaza Strip in return for the release of some 40 hostages, including all women and children the terror group still holds, according to a report Wednesday. Citing Egyptian officials, the Wall Street Journal reported that under... Continue Reading

Illustrative: Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists stand guard as a Red Cross vehicle transports newly released hostages in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 28, 2023. (Flash90)

Screen capture from video of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking about the war on Hamas, December 20, 2023. (X. Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Taking flak from right, Netanyahu vows war will Hamas will continue ‘until the end’

This picture taken from the Israeli side of border with Lebanon shows smoke billowing following Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon on December 21, 2023 (Jalaa Marey / AFP)

Two wounded in Hezbollah missile attack, as northern border heats up

By Emanuel Fabian

Civilians hurt in Dovev; missiles cause damage in several towns; drone alarm sounds in some towns as interceptor missile explodes over Safed; IDF strikes Hezbollah sites in response

An Israeli Air Force fighter jet flies over the border area with south Lebanon, in northern Israel on December 20, 2023. (Jalaa Marey/AFP)

Hezbollah fires overnight rocket salvo at northern towns after IDF strikes in Lebanon

By ToI Staff and Emanuel Fabian

Shaare Zedek Medical Center director-general Prof. Ofer Merin is one of three doctors on a unique committee determining the death of hostages held in Gaza. (Courtesy of Shaare Zedek)

Interview'There is a clear understanding that people need closure'

How an unprecedented medical committee determines when a hostage held in Gaza is dead

By Renee Ghert-Zand

Prof. Ofer Merin explains how he and two colleagues have devised unique protocols for using visual and other intelligence information to decide whether a person is no longer alive

File: National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi gives a statement to the media at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv on October 14, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Israel may ease opposition to PA ruling post-war Gaza, Hanegbi implies in Arabic op-ed

In column on Saudi news site, national security adviser says Israel not interested in administering Strip; far-right lawmakers react angrily, say he doesn’t represent Israel

Michael Hilkowitz

The 2 hostages Hamas has held for thousands of days

If we don’t bring them all home now, the hostages are at real risk of being stuck in Gaza for years and years, like Avera Mengistu and Hisham Al-Sayed

Principles for ending the war and a roadmap to peace

A Camp David Summit #3 will entail Israel’s full withdrawal from a demilitarized Gaza, and (almost) ridding the Strip of Hamas

Smoke billowing after Israeli strikes in the central Gaza Strip, December 20, 2023. (Mahmud Hams/AFP)

IDF says it’s fighting in new areas as it nears end of ground offensive in north Gaza

By Emanuel Fabian

Spokesman says army now operating in Gaza City neighborhoods of Daraj and Tuffah, where one of Hamas’s last battalions stands; in south Gaza, top general says troops advancing

Palestinian men surrender to troops in northern Gaza's Jabaliya, on December 10, 2023. (Social media; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

IDF says it is probing deaths of several Gazans at its detention centers

By AFP and ToI Staff

A television screen broadcasting French TV channel France 5 as French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during an interview in the 'C a vous' TV show, at the Elysee Presidential Palace, in Paris, December 20, 2023. (Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

France’s Macron: Fighting terror does not mean ‘flattening Gaza’

By AFP and ToI Staff

FILE - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) and son Yair in Tel Aviv, January 23, 2020. (Aleksey Nikolskyi/Sputnik Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Yair Netanyahu likes online post accusing IDF chief of October 7 ‘military coup’

Post on X, approved of by PM’s son, claims Halevi knew of the onslaught ahead of time and failed to inform the premier

'No imminent expectation for hostage deal. We’re pushing it'

Blinken: Ending Israel-Hamas war ‘as quickly as possible’ top priority for US in 2024

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that bringing the Israel-Hamas war to an end “as quickly as possible” is a top priority for the Biden administration in the year ahead. The goal was listed as the number four priority set by Blinken for 2024 during a year-end press conference. Supporting Ukraine... Continue Reading

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during his end-of-year news conference on December 20, 2023, at the State Department in Washington, DC. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP)

The empty Security Council chamber is pictured at UN headquarters in New York City on December 20, 2023. (Charly Triballeau/AFP)

UN Security Council vote on Gaza ceasefire call postponed again

By AFP and ToI Staff

Reporter's notebook

Devastation of Gaza border towns a ‘gut punch,’ says Huckabee during evangelical tour

Standing outside a row of burned and shattered homes in Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the Gaza border, Mike Huckabee declared Wednesday that “if we don’t stand with Israel, we stand for chaos," during the first day of what the former Arkansas governor said was possibly his most important trip in over fifty years of... Continue Reading

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee (C) and Likud MK Danny Danon (R) tour the ruins of Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the Gaza border on December 20, 2023. (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)

Nahida Khalil Anton (left), and her daughter, Samar (via X)

IDF again denies killing mother and daughter at Gaza church, cites Hamas fire in area

By ToI Staff and AFP

Celebrities and influencers including Jerry Seinfeld, Debra Messing, Montana Tucker, Scooter Braun, Michael Rapaport, Caroline D'Amore, Gregg Sulkin and Emily Austin have headed to Israel to meet with hostage families and visit the sites of the October 7 massacres. (Screenshots via Instagram, design by Jackie Hajdenberg, via JTA)

Seinfeld, Montana Tucker among stars in Israel to ‘bear witness’ to Hamas atrocities

By Jackie Hajdenberg

Scooter Braun, Debra Messing also visit to see the devastation after the October 7 massacres, meet survivors, and talk with relatives of those held hostage in Gaza

The camping area from the Supernova desert rave, recreated for the 'Nova 6.29' exhibit, remembering the 360 people who were gunned down by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy Tribe of Nova)

Tel Aviv exhibit simulates aftermath of rave where Hamas killed 360 on Oct. 7

By Jessica Steinberg

Recreation of the festival space produced by the Tribe of Nova gives a sense of the horror

At war: Psychologist details signs children are in distress — and how to help

Former US president Donald Trump greets supporters as he arrives at a commit to caucus rally in Waterloo, Iowa, December 19, 2023. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

Trump, accused of employing Hitlerian rhetoric, denies reading ‘Mein Kampf’

By AFP

At Iowa rally, Republican frontrunner declares immigrants are ‘destroying the blood of our country,’ says Nazi leader used such language ‘in a much different way’

More Headlines

Illustrative: The Ktziot Detention Camp on September 13, 2022. (Nati Shohat/FLASH90)

Police question 19 guards in connection with fatal beating of Palestinian prisoner

The aftermath of the bombing at the Argentinian Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 1994. (AFP)

US indictment accuses senior Hezbollah figure of helping plan 1994 AMIA bombing

By Larry Neumeister

Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen publish a video showing how the group hijacked an Israeli-linked shipping vessel in the Red Sea on November 20, 2023. (Screen capture/X)

Greece to join naval coalition protecting Red Sea shipping against Houthi attacks

By Agencies and ToI Staff

ExplainerCar prices set to rise due to higher purchase tax, Houthi attacks, strong dollar

Illustrative: A ZIM container ship at the Haifa port, November 14, 2011. (Yaakov Naumi/Flash90)

Malaysia bans Israeli-flagged ships from using its ports in response to Gaza war

By AFP and ToI Staff

Israeli-made radiation protection suit developed by StemRad. (Courtesy)

Israel’s StemRad inks $4.5m contract to shield US troops from gamma radiation

By Sharon Wrobel

Illustrative: A 16-month-old child with 'fifth disease' caused by parvovirus B19 (Andrew Kerr via Wikimedia Commons)

New study shows Israel experiencing unprecedented outbreak of ‘fifth disease’

By Renee Ghert-Zand

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen gives a press conference about a humanitarian aid corridor from the Cyprus to the war-torn Gaza Strip, in Larnaca, Cyprus on December 20, 2023. (Elisa Amouret / AFP)

In Cyprus, Foreign Minister Cohen backs plan to ‘fast track’ aid to Gaza via island

By AFP and ToI Staff

The scene where a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit and caused damage in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, October 24, 2023. (Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Tech initiative, backed by Google, to create 400 jobs in the Negev

By Sharon Wrobel

A booking photo provided by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation on Aug. 10, 2023, shows Hardy Carroll Lloyd, of Follansbee, West Viginia. (West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP, File)

White supremacist jailed for threatening jury in Pittsburgh synagogue shooter trial

By AP

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