Smoke billowing over Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip following Israeli bombardment on December 15, 2023. (Photo by Mohammed Abed / AFP)
Doha, Qatar: As Israeli attacks continued across Gaza Strip killing and injuring Palestinians, friends and colleagues paid tribute to Al Jazeera journalist Samer Abudaqa, the cameraman killed while reporting at a school in Khan Younis.
The Palestinian representative to the UN said “enough is enough” after the the Al Jazeera cameraman was left to bleed out. The father of four is the 59th Palestinian journalist and media worker to be killed since October 7.
Meanwhile protests took place in parts of Tel Aviv after Israeli military announced that it had mistakenly killed three Israeli captives held in Gaza.
Images on Israeli television showed large crowds gathering and blocking a main street in the city. “I would say that he [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] is responsible for everything that is happening … that happened, and is still happening,” protester Ilana Zeffren told Reuters.
Watch this page for more live updates:
[4pm Doha time] Israeli soldiers ‘failed to follow rules of engagement’
Three captives who were mistakenly shot dead in northern Gaza “were killed because the troops did not follow the army’s rules of engagement”, the Israeli army said.
Here are the main finding from its preliminary investigation:
- Three topless figures were spotted holding a long stick with a white cloth attached by a soldier
- The soldier felt threatened and opened fire
- Two were hit and fell. The third managed to escape to a nearby building
- The soldier reported this to his commanding officer
- The commander arrived at the scene, while an army squad followed the third captive in the building
- As the soldiers approached the building, they heard a plea for help in Hebrew
- The Israeli captive hiding inside the building came out before running inside again
- The soldiers said they believed that it was a Hamas member trying to pull them into a trap. They entered the building and killed the captive.
[2:30pm Doha time] Israeli bulldozers crush sick, wounded Palestinians outside Gaza hospital
Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif reported that Israeli bulldozers have trampled over the tents used by Palestinians taking shelter outside Kamal Adwan Hospital and brutally crushed them.
“A terrifying massacre and unspeakable scenes. What the Israeli occupation did inside Kamal Adwan Hospital is a horrific crime against citizens and medical staff,” al-Sharif said in a post on X.
“Dozens of displaced, sick and wounded people were buried alive. The occupation [Israeli] bulldozers trampled the tents of the displaced people in the hospital yard and brutally crushed them.”
[12:15pm Doha Time] Health ministry updates from Gaza
Palestinian health ministry officials in Gaza have shared these updates:
- Israeli forces targeting anyone who moves in Kamal Adwan and al-Awda hospitals
- South part of Kamal Adwan Hospital has been completely destroyed and 12 newborns are still in incubators inside the hospital
- Medical staff at al-Awda Hospital have refused Israeli order to evacuate
- Ambulances carrying the wounded out of Kamal Adwan Hospital have been targeted
- Israeli attacks targeted the al-Sahaba centre on Friday. It is the only maternity care centre operational in Gaza
[11:45am Doha time] Communications blackout and spiraling hunger compound misery in Gaza Strip
A prolonged communications blackout that severed telephone and internet connections compounded the misery Saturday in the besieged Gaza Strip, where a United Nations agency said hunger levels had spiraled in recent days.
Internet and telephone lines went down Thursday evening and were still inaccessible Saturday morning, according to internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org, hampering aid deliveries and rescue efforts as Israel's war against Gaza stretched into the 11th week. Read more
[10:30am Doha Time] Funeral of Al Jazeera journalist Samer ongoing in Gaza
The latest images and videos from Samer Abu Daqqa‘s funeral show his body being lowered into the ground and put to rest in the southern city of Khan Younis.
Dozens of people are in attendance, including journalists, to pay respect.
Al Jazeera Media Network says it holds Israel accountable for systematically targeting and killing Al Jazeera journalists and their families.
[9am Doha time] Shelling intensifies – Khan Younis under unceasing bombardment
As countless families and relatives bury their dead in Gaza, medical staff are struggling to save those still living but suffering terrible wounds from Israel’s indiscriminate attacks.
Efforts to rescue survivors from beneath the rubble of bombed buildings have become a nightmare, and each morning, new horrors and new tragedies are revealed following the overnight strikes on the Palestinian enclave.
[8am Doha time] Red Sea shipping disrupted
Global shipping lines Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd announced they were halting voyages through the Red Sea following attacks on vessels by Yemeni rebels.
Yemen's rebels struck a cargo ship in the Red Sea on Friday, causing a fire on deck, the latest in a spate of near-daily attacks in the commercially vital waterway.
The rebels later said they fired missiles at two other ships in the Red Sea.
