The Israeli military on Tuesday reportedly ordered the evacuation of a hospital in the contested northern Gaza Strip, as the Israeli parliament voted to extend the state of emergency in the country for another year.
Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that patients had to leave the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia and that Israeli forces were besieging the facility.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had “conducted and completed a limited operation against terrorist operatives and infrastructure in the area of the Indonesian Hospital.”
The IDF said “a number of terrorists were apprehended” while “five additional terrorists were eliminated by the troops.”
It said the operation was based on “precise intelligence regarding the location of terrorists” and followed “attacks against IDF troops from the area of the hospital, including anti-tank missile attacks.”
“Terrorists also planted explosive devices and booby traps in the area surrounding the hospital’s compound,” the IDF statement said.
The information could not be independently verified.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war 14 months ago, there have been repeated skirmishes in and around hospitals in the coastal strip. According to the United Nations, hospitals have repeatedly been the target of massive attacks.
Israel accuses the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas of using hospitals and other civilian facilities as command bases or weapons stores.
State of emergency extended
Also on Tuesday, the Israeli parliament voted to extend the state of emergency in the country for another year.
The measure will now be in effect until December 25, 2025, local media reported, after 29 of 120 lawmakers voted in favour of the proposal. Seven voted against while the rest were absent or abstained.
The state of emergency enables the government to issue emergency decrees.
Hamas militants and other Palestinian extremists triggered the Gaza war by crossing into Israel and attacking Israeli communities on October 7, 2023. More than 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others were taken hostage to Gaza.
Israel subsequently declared a state of emergency, which was later extended.
Netanyahu’s Christmas message
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also addressed Christians around the world in a Christmas message.
“At a time when Israel is fighting on seven fronts, we deeply appreciate the steadfast support of our Christian friends around the world,” Netanyahu said in a statement released by his office on Tuesday
“We seek peace with all those who wish peace with us, but we will do whatever is necessary to defend the one and only Jewish state,” he said.
“Israel leads the world in fighting the forces of evil and tyranny, but our battle is not yet over. With your support, and with God’s help, I assure you, we shall prevail. From Jerusalem, city of peace, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”
Three killed in West Bank in Israeli operation
At least seven people have been killed in an Israeli military operation in Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian sources said on Tuesday.
According to the Ministry of Health in Ramallah, among the dead were two women aged 30 and 53, and an 18-year-old. Eyewitnesses said that they were killed in a drone strike. Subsequently, another four Palestinians lost their lives in two further incidents.
The Israeli military said its forces were on an anti-terrorist mission in Tulkarem when soldiers “killed a terrorist in a face-to-face battle.”
The IDF later said that a highly armored all-terrain vehicle was hit by an explosive device during the operation, moderately wounding the commander of a regional brigade. The remaining passengers, which included another commander, were not injured, the IDF said.
A total of 18 wanted people were arrested overnight in the West Bank, it said. Afterwards, the military also stated that armed Palestinians had opened fire on soldiers, who returned fire.
The military is investigating reports that uninvolved individuals were also killed in the operation in Tulkarem.
The information from the Palestinian Ministry of Health and that of the Israeli forces could not initially be independently verified in detail.
The tense situation in the West Bank has worsened significantly since the October 7, 2023 attacks.
Since then, 788 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in Israeli military operations, armed clashes and attacks by extremists, according to the local Health Ministry.
Palestinian security forces have also been in operation against Palestinian militants in Jenin since the beginning of December. On Monday, a second member of the security forces was reported killed.
Jenin, in the north of the West Bank, is known as a stronghold of militant Palestinians and is frequently raided by the Israeli military.
Observers believe the Palestinian Authority fears an armed uprising in the West Bank, which could threaten its grip on power.
