Israel-Hamas war: Heavy rain compounds misery in Gaza

Leading Israeli officials have said "international pressures" will not halt their military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. 

"We're continuing until the end, until victory, until Hamas is annihilated," Netanyahu told soldiers over the radio after the Israel Defense Force military reported 10 deaths in the space of 24 hours, its worst losses in a day since late October. 

"I say this in the face of great pain but also in the face of international pressures. Nothing will stop us," the Israeli prime minister said. 

This follows the overwhelming, but nonbinding, UN General Assembly vote calling for a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, which only 10 countries opposed. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen also said on Wednesday that the country "would continue the war against Hamas with or without international support." 

"A cease-fire at the current stage is a gift to the terrorist organization Hamas, and will allow it to return and threaten the residents of Israel," Cohen told a visiting diplomat, as quoted by his ministry. 

Although Israel's closest ally, the United States, has continued to vote in its defense at the UN, even Biden administration officials have repeatedly and publicly urged Israel to do more to limit civilian casualties. Biden warned on Tuesday that the "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza was causing Israel to lose international support.

The International Committee of the Red Cross's rapid deployment coordinator, Stephen Ryan, told DW that conditions for civilians in Gaza "remain a living nightmare." 

"Last night, there was strong winds and rain. And with tens of thousands of people — or more — living in tents or under plastic sheeting, this situation is extremely difficult for families who are trying to look after their children, and for people who don't have access to enough food, enough water, or shelter," Ryan said. 

 Asked about the number of displaced people seeking shelter at the border crossing to Egypt in Rafah, at Gaza's southern tip, Ryan said he'd observed rapidly growing crowds.

"Just over 10 days ago, I passed by one site, one location not far from where our offices are based, and I saw that there was a couple of dozen tents," he said. "I passed one week later — just a few days ago — and there was hundreds, if not more."

Ryan said requirements for aid, not just in Rafah but all over Gaza, were rising sharply and that he feared efforts to send some supplies to the area were likely to fall short of what was necessary. 

He also said relief work was made considerably more difficult by continued fighting. 

"Parties to the conflict need to understand and to respect that the role of the Red Cross is to help civilians, and it's extremely difficult for us to do that in these conditions," he said. 

He said that although the Red Cross was used to working in dangerous areas, its staff still ultimately required both access and some sense of safety.

"Our goal is to try and provide assistance to civilians. People are in desperate need. But to do that we need to have access to do to reach the places where they are," Ryan said. "We need to ensure that it's safe for us to do so, so that we can continue doing this job tomorrow."

US President Joe Biden met at the White House with about a dozen family members of American hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza. 

It was Biden's first in-person meeting with relatives of the missing. 

Approximately eight US hostages are still being held in Gaza, according to the Biden administration. 

Hamas took some 240 people hostages, many of them Israeli or Israelis with dual citizenship, during its October 7 attack on Israel. 

Israeli officials believe around 135 hostages remain in Gaza.

During the seven-day truce between Israel and Hamas that expired early in December, hostages were regularly exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also attended Wednesday's meeting, as did Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, who will visit Israel on Thursday. 

Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the United States, Germany, and Israel, among other countries, as well as the European Union. 

The UN's children's agency said on Wednesday that cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah was causing school closures and disruptions in southern Lebanon. 

"Several dozen schools in the southern part of Lebanon have been closed... affecting more than 6,000 students," a UNICEF report said, noting that "attendance is minimal at schools that still remain open." 

Although the conflict in Gaza has not spread on a large scale, Israeli forces and Lebanese militants have exchanged fire of some kind on a more frequent basis since October 7.

UNICEF said that more than a quarter of households surveyed reported children not attending school, compared to 18% in April. 

The already-impoverished country's economy has shrunk for four consecutive years. 

"Desperate parents, grappling with ever-dwindling resources, are forced into a heart-wrenching struggle to keep their families afloat amidst the unrelenting challenges," UNICEF said.

The report also found rising pessimism among children in Lebanon, with one child in three expecting their lives to be worse one year from now.

Hezbollah is an Iran-backed Shiite political party and militant group in Lebanon. Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, Germany and several Sunni Arab countries, while the EU lists its armed wing as a terrorist group.

The United States and Britain have imposed an additional round of sanctions on people in Turkey and elsewhere linked to the Palestinian Islamist-militant group Hamas.

The sanctions were announced by the US Treasury Department and targeted eight officials who were said to be advancing Hamas' agenda and interests abroad and helping manage its finances.

"Hamas continues to rely heavily on networks of well-placed officials and affiliates, exploiting seemingly permissive jurisdictions to direct fundraising campaigns for the group's benefit and funneling those illicit proceeds to support its military activities in Gaza," said Brian Nelson, under-secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence.

Several of the Hamas officials targeted are based in Turkey, the Treasury Department said, including one of the group's key financial operatives, Haroun Mansour Yaqoub Nasser Al-Din.

Nelson visited Oman and Turkey at the end of November to work on efforts to deny Hamas and other groups the ability to raise and move funds.

Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization in Israel, the United States and other countries, as well as by the the European Union.

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned on Wednesday that the people of Gaza were "running out of time and options" as Israel continues to bombard and besiege the territory in response to a deadly October 7 terror attack by Hamas, the militant-Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip.

"They face bombardment, deprivation and disease in an ever-shrinking space," Philippe Lazzarini told the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva.

He said the UNRWA's ability to help Palestinians was on the verge of collapsing as 130 staff members have been killed in the most recent fighting. 

"The entire humanitarian response heavily relies on UNRWA's capacity," said Philippe Lazzarini. "It is now on the verge of collapse."

"We are very far from an adequate humanitarian response," he said, adding that when aid is delivered, it is often not more than a can of food and a bottle of water for an entire family.

Nearly 2 million Palestinians in Gaza have now fled their homes amid the Israel military operation, with many living in tents or other makeshift shelters.

The city of Rafah, on the Egyptian border, has the only crossing where aid can enter Gaza. The city has seen its population grow from 280,000 to more than a million, Lazzarini said.

"The people of Gaza are now crammed into less than one-third of the original territory near the Egyptian border," Lazzarini said, adding there could be an exodus over the border to Egypt. "It is unrealistic to think that people will remain resilient in the face of unlivable conditions of such magnitude, especially when the border is so close."

Displaced people housed in makeshift shelters in the Gaza Strip have had their plight aggravated by the strong winds and heavy rain that hit Gaza overnight to Wednesday.

The bad weather caused flimsy tents and shelters to tear and flood, while clothes and blankets were soaked through.

Many people suffered badly from the cold in the sodden conditions, while the danger of disease has risen even further amid squalor made worse by the flooding, according to the UN agency OCHA.

Israel's bombardment and siege of Gaza have forced nearly 2 million people from their homes and killed more than 18,000, mostly women and children, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run territory.

Here is a map of the vote in the UN General Assembly on a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.

An overwhelming majority of countries, 153, voted in favor of the resolution.

The United States and Israel were among the 10 countries that voted against it, while Germany was among the 23 that abstained.

The United Nations refugee agency chief has warned that the conflict in Gaza could cause more displacement in the wider region.  

"A major human catastrophe is unfolding in the Gaza Strip and so far the Security Council has failed to stop the violence," said Filippo Grandi, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees.

He was addressing the Global Refugees Forum in Geneva, an event hosted every four years.

Israel has been carrying out a military operation in Gaza targeting Hamas since the militant-Isalamist Palestinian group raided southern Israel and killed about 1,200 people and took about 240 hostages.

Over 18,400 Palestinians have since been killed, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in the Palestinian enclave.

About 80% of Gaza's 2.3 million people are estimated to have been displaced within the besieged territory, according to UN relief agencies. 

Qatar is planning to set up a field hospital in the Gaza Strip where Israel is carrying out a military campaign against the Palestinian militant-Islamist group Hamas.

The 50-bed facility will be established in the town of Rafah, said the Palestinian Red Crescent and the Qatari Red Crescent. It will include an operating room, an intensive care unit, a lab and a pharmacy.

The hospital will be run by a Palestinian Crescent team.

It is not yet clear when the facility will start operating.

Qatar has sent hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Gaza, which is governed by the Palestinian militant group. Hamas runs an office in Qatar's capital, Doha, and several of its leaders also live there.

Pope Francis has once again called for an "immediate" cease-fire in Gaza, saying "there is so much suffering there."

"I renew my appeal for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire," the leader of the world's more than 1.35 billion Catholics said during his Wednesday audience.

He pleaded for an end to suffering for both Israelis and Palestinians.

"May this great suffering for the Israelis and the Palestinians be over."

The pope also urged the release of all Israeli hostages by the Palestinian militant-Islamist group Hamas, and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

"Please: No to weapons, yes to peace," Francis said.

US President Joe Biden must transform his words into actions and call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, has said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

"US President Biden's statements yesterday must transform into actions, starting with calling for an immediate ceasefire and putting forward a comprehensive political plan based on international legitimacy and international law, ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state," he said.

Biden earlier said Israel was losing support over its "indiscriminate" bombing of Gaza, and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should change.

Israel on Wednesday announced that eight more soldiers have been killed in the fighting in Gaza, including a lieutenant-colonel who has commanded a Golani infantry regiment.

The country's military said 114 soldiers have died since Israel began its ground operations in Gaza on October 20.

Earlier, the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry said more than 18,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war.

Although there is a debate over the breakdown between civilian and combatant deaths, UN agencies and other international institutions believe the ministry's overall death toll is broadly accurate.

Hamas militants raided southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 hostages, some of whom have since been released.

Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including the United States and Germany.

Israelhas started pumping seawater through the network of Hamas-operated tunnels beneath Gaza, according to reports published by US outlets The Wall Street Journal and ABC News. 

The tunnels are crucial for militant group Hamas, who keep hostages, food, fighters and munitions below ground level.

The flooding attempt, however, could contaminate Gaza's fresh water supply and take weeks to have any strategic effect, an unnamed US official told US media.

Israel is believed to be evaluating the strategy's effectiveness. Israel has not yet commented on the US reports.  

Israel began its military operation in Gaza in response to the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack, which killed 1,200 people. Around 240 people were also taken hostage by the militant group, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by the US, Germany, the EU and others.

The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations said the overwhelming vote in favor of a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, in which 153 countries backed a cessation of fighting, marked a "historic day."

Riyad Mansour said the vote demonstrates that the US could no longer continue "to ignore this massive power" and described the General Assembly vote as a culmination of public sentiment.

"Today was a historic day in terms of the powerful message that was sent from the General Assembly," said the Palestinian ambassador. 

"It is our collective duty to continue in this path until we see an end to this aggression against our people."