“We can not even describe” living conditions in Gaza, as babies freeze to death – Not a Ceasefire Day 63

Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

(While a “ceasefire” is ostensibly in place, Israel has continued its assault on Gaza without interruption. If Americans Knew considers the war to be ongoing, and in its 793rd day.)

Israeli forces killed at least 4 Palestinians on Thursday.

An eight-month-old baby, who succumbed to the cold, was among the dead.

UPDATE: A second baby has now died of exposure in Gaza.

A number of infants died of hypothermia in the winter of 2023-2024 and 2024-2025, for the same reason it has begun happening now: Israel’s refusal to provide shelter – a responsibility under international law.

At least 12 Palestinians were killed as torrential rains, high winds, and flash floods battered Gaza. 13 homes have collapsed and more than 27,000 tents have been destroyed. 

Since the “ceasefire” began on October 11, Israel has killed at least 383 Palestinians. Among the dead are at least 136 children. At least 1,002 have been injured. Death toll figures are tentative. More statistics below.

Israel has so far violated the 11 October ceasefire deal in Gaza at least 738 times in 63 days.

GAZA NEWS & HEADLINES:

(For some basic info on the Palestine-Israel conflict, go here. For more critical context, skim this, this, and this. To read about a remarkable but underreported, 20-month-long peaceful protest in Gaza against Israel, go here.) 

Baby dies of exposure, two more Palestinians die in Gaza

Eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar was reported dead on Thursday after her family’s tent in Khan Younis took in water as heavy rainfall flooded tent camps across the enclave overnight, according to the Reuters news agency.

An elderly Palestinian woman was killed Thursday when Israeli forces shelled the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, in a new breach of the ceasefire that has been in effect since Oct. 10, medics said.

A Palestinian man, Mahmoud Shubeir, was killed after a concrete wall in his war-damaged home collapsed on him in the Shati refugee camp in western Gaza City.

+++

Vast majority of illnesses in Gaza may be unreported, WHO cautions amid limited access

Teresa Zakaria of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that the living conditions in Gaza are so severe that “we can’t even describe it anymore,” adding that “all the basis for diseases to develop in a constricted environment with very limited access to prevention, to detection and response are all indicating that outbreaks can really spread out of control and very rapidly.”

“What is very important here to highlight is that we are probably missing the vast majority of diseases that are spreading in the territory at the moment just because we have not been able to detect them,” she said (continue reading here).

+++

AP: Every tally agrees – aid flow into Gaza falls short of the ceasefire terms

Under the October ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, Israel agreed to allow 600 trucks of aid into Gaza a day, or around 36,000 trucks.

However, Israel’s own figures suggest that an average of only 459 trucks a day (total ~27,500) have entered the Gaza Strip since Oct. 12, when the flow of the aid restarted, according to an AP analysis. 

In response to the AP analysis, COGAT insisted the number of trucks entering Gaza each day was above the 600 mark but refused to elaborate why the figures don’t match or provide raw data on truck entry.*

The U.N. says only 6,545 trucks have been offloaded at Gaza crossings between the ceasefire and Dec. 7, amounting to about 113 trucks a day. The U.N. figures do not include aid trucks sent by organizations not working through the U.N. network.

A Hamas document on Saturday provided to the AP put the amount of total aid trucks that have entered since the truce at 7,333.

*NOTE: Israel’s claims and promises carry little weight: historically, Israel has lied to the US and the world many times. Among Israel’s lies are numerous atrocity stories about the October 7th attack that have since been proven untrue (more examples  here). The Israeli military has also disseminated false stories about its own actions throughout the war. Previously, Israel has been caught in many lies – for examples, see this and this. Many of Israel’s lies have been debunked even by traditionally pro-Israel mainstream media.

RELATED: Kings of famine: Israel is behind price gouging in Gaza markets

+++

Israeli restrictions result in severe shortage of shelter

Tents and other winter supplies remain blocked at the Gaza border as Israel continues to restrict the flow of aid into the enclave.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said that since the ceasefire came into effect in October, only 15,600 tents had been brought into Gaza – enough to shelter about 88,000 Palestinians. This is in a territory where 1.29 million people are in need of shelter.

Israeli rights group B’Tselem said more than 6,500 trucks are currently waiting to be allowed by Israel into Gaza with essential winter supplies, including tents, blankets, warm clothing and hygiene materials.

RELATED: Heavy rains flood hundreds of displacement tents across Gaza for 2nd day

+++

OCCUPIED WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM NEWS & HEADLINES:

(Every day, Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem endure dozens of incidents like the ones below, at the hands of Israeli soldiers and/or settlers. For background on the West Bank, read this and this. For information on the significance of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, read this and this.)

New Israeli settlement in West Bank town near Bethlehem threatens the Christian presence in Palestine

A predominantly Christian town, residents of Beit Sahour tell Mondoweiss that the encroaching settler presence threatens the existence of the largest remaining Palestinian Christian community in the West Bank.

According to a report by the Balasan Initiative for Human Rights, the new Shdema outpost “marks a substantial escalation in Israel’s settlement expansion and territorial consolidation in the Bethlehem district [and] must be understood as part of a broader territorial strategy designed to reshape the demographic and geographic reality between Jerusalem and the Bethlehem hinterland,” the report states (continue reading here).

+++

Israel preparing largest ever act of ‘archeological cleansing’ in West Bank

Sebastia is, undeniably, a multi-layered archaeological site of extraordinary value. Once the Iron Age city of Samaria, capital of the Kingdom of Israel, it contains remnants of King Ahab’s palace that were unearthed in the 1930s.

In the first century BCE, King Herod of the Kingdom of Judea rebuilt the city, leaving behind a temple honoring his friend, Roman Emperor Augustus, near the older ruins. A well-preserved Roman theater, Byzantine church, and other antiquities have also been uncovered in the area.

But Sebastia’s archeological significance only sharpens the political contradiction at hand: While the site merits careful study, the gulf between the ethical commitments claimed by Israeli archaeologists and the state violence carried out in archaeology’s name to justify steps toward annexing the West Bank has never been more stark (continue reading here).

+++

WEST BANK HEADLINES:

New Video Appears to Undermine Israeli Account for IDF Shooting of Palestinian Man in West Bank

Illegal Israeli settlers storm Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa compound under police protection

Escalating Displacement Threats on Bedouin Communities in E1 Corridor

NEWS & HEADLINES ABOUT ISRAEL:

(Israel is a tiny country, about the size of New Jersey, with a population smaller than the US state of Georgia – about 10 million (of which about 20 percent are Palestinians), yet it is in the news constantly. As has been demonstrated again and again, however, mainstream media rarely covers Israel accurately. IAK passes along only factual reporting.)

Israel is Sinking into the Abyss of Netanyahu’s Dictatorship

Israel has reached a crisis point as a so-called democracy, with Netanyahu’s efforts to undermine the Israeli justice system. All his activities are geared toward escaping criminal prosecution and remaining in office.

In 2013, he declared that “Israel is an island of democracy in a sea of instability and despotism.” That’s been a popular Zionist myth for decades. But Israel was never democratic for the native Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel proper.

Netanyahu has been Israel’s PM for most of the past 30 years, and has become the “wolf tree” of Israeli politics, eclipsing the sun and stealing oxygen from other, more capable leaders. Now, with the help of convicted felon Donald Trump, he has become so empowered to “dictate” to the Israeli justice system (continue reading here).

+++

Israel blends ethnic cleansing and human trafficking

On 14 November, South Africa was abuzz with news that about 150 Palestinian refugees from Gaza were being held on the tarmac at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

Even though Palestinians did not require a visa at that time, they were unable to enter the country because they could not tick a few bureaucratic boxes such as having proof of accommodation while in the country.

There was significant pressure from protesters who showed up at the arrivals area in the airport for the Palestinians to be permitted entry. Some civil society organizations also intervened (continue reading here).

Israeli tank fires towards UN peacekeeping patrol inside Lebanese territory

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said that soldiers of the Israeli army fired bursts of machine-gun rounds from a Merkava tank above and near the patrol; both the Israeli tank and the UN team were inside Lebanese territory.

UNIFIL personnel immediately called on the Israeli army to stop firing at once, and no one was injured.

UNIFIL noted that the Israeli army knew in advance of the patrol’s location and timing.

NEWS & HEADLINES FROM ISRAELI MEDIA:

(Get a glimpse inside this country that is rife with turmoil and contradictions that receives $63 million a day from America.)

Report: Israel agreed to US demand to pay for massive Gaza rubble-clearing operation

The US demanded this week from Israel that it pay for the clearing of rubble from the Gaza Strip, and to be responsible for the massive engineering operation, Ynet (in Hebrew) reports, citing a senior Israeli official.

Israel agreed to the request, according to the report, which will cost up to one billion shekels. The Prime Minister’s Office does not respond to requests for comment.

According to The Wall Street Journal, there are 68 million tons of debris in Gaza, according to the UN Development Program.

On Sunday, the Qatari prime minister said, “We are not the ones who are going to write the check to rebuild what others destroyed. When you are talking about Gaza, Israel flattened this land.”

---

NOTABLE QUOTES: Social media was not “built for freedom”

From “How the pro-Palestine Movement is outsmarting the algorithms,” by Waging Nonviolence:

If social media platforms can code repression into these systems, then resistance has to be coded into how people use them. For Palestinians and their allies, the task is not to wait for a level playing field, but to learn how to keep one another visible inside tools that were never built for their freedom (continue reading here).

OTHER NEWS & HEADLINES:

AIPAC Spent Millions to Keep Her Out of Congress. Now, She Sees an Opening. 

A progressive North Carolina official who lost her 2022 congressional race after the pro-Israel lobby spent almost $2.5 million against her sees a fresh opening this midterm cycle, as a public disturbed by the genocide in Gaza has turned pro-Israel spending into an increasing liability.

Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam is preparing for a rematch against Rep. Valerie Foushee, D-N.C., for the 4th Congressional District seat she lost by nine points in 2022. This time, the Israel lobby’s potential influence has shifted:

Feeling the pressure from activists and constituents, Foushee has said she won’t accept money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (continue reading here).

+++

‘Deafening silence’: US journalist wounded by Israel says his government has done nothing

As a US citizen, Dylan Collins said no one from the Biden or Trump administrations has “ever publicly acknowledged that a US citizen was wounded” in Israel’s October 13, 2023 attack on members of the press in Lebanon. He approached both administrations, seeking answers and transparency, but was met with “deafening silence”. 

“For two years, I’ve made trips to the Capitol. I’ve met with lawmakers. I’ve met with the State Department. I’ve met with the FBI. I’ve sat down and showed them the raw footage. I’ve handed them physical copies of the investigations. As an American, I thought I’d find support. I thought my government would fight for me,” Collins said (continue reading here).

+++

Trump pressures ICC to ‘amend’ Rome Statute to shield war criminals

US President Donald Trump is pressuring the International Criminal Court (ICC) to amend the Rome Statute and create an exemption for US and Israeli leaders, officials confirmed on 11 December.

The move is aimed at shielding both governments from accountability for war crimes, including Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

The demands form part of an escalating attempt to block current and future investigations tied to Gaza and Afghanistan, where Israeli and US officials are directly responsible for grave violations of international law (continue reading here).

+++

MORE HEADLINES:

ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT) – A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:

Rising maternal malnutrition in Gaza drives up newborn mortality

Palestinian Detainee Dies in Israeli Prison

Israeli minister says war with Syria is now inevitable

Israel again urging US to strike Iran

(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)

---

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – DECEMBER 11, 2025*:

• At least 71,463 Palestinians killed, 182,069 injured – including:
• At least 70,373 killed in Gaza (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls)
• At least 1,095 killed in the West Bank (~223 children)
• At least 171,079 injured in Gaza
• About 11,000 injured in the West Bank

*NOTE: Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 10,000 more are still buried under rubble. Additionally, the numbers of injured and starved are very conservative estimates. Only the dead who are brought to hospitals are included in the official fatality count.

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – December 11, 2025: ~1,661 – including ~1,139** on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 471 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, about 52 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel. 

By one count, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 275 Palestinian journalists and media workers; Palestinians have killed 4 Israeli journalists (other groups have tallied between 215 and 328 Palestinian journalists killed – depending on the criteria used).

**NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers. Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org

• Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated
• The Zionist Takeover Of CBS News Continues With Tony Dokoupil Installed As Evening News Anchor.
• Larry Ellison and Jared Kushner bid to buy Warner Bros
• How Israel Organizes and Arms Settler Militias to Terrorize Palestinians in the West Bank
• Intel Memo: Exposing Israel’s Sophisticated Evangelical Foreign Influence Campaign
• “War Criminal” Hilary Clinton Defames Pro-Palestinian Protesters
• Israel’s biggest con trick: Hiding the true numbers it has killed in Gaza
• “Ask Jeffrey”: Epstein Ran Wexner’s Pro-Israel Philanthropy Machine, Emails Reveal
• Inside the Israel lobby’s lesser-known tool for influencing Congress: free travel
• Measure To Protect Israel From Global Arms Restrictions Tucked Into US Defense Budget
• Young Turks videos discuss Qatar, Mark Levin, Charlie Kirk, Tucker Carlson, Iran
• I was canceled by three newspapers for criticizing Israel
• West Bank: Israeli Settlers Steal & Slaughter Palestinian’s Donkey
• Israeli ministers ok massive hasbara budget for campaigns, influencers in 2026
• Seven Palestine Action Members are on Day 30 of Hunger Strike