Monday, December 25, marks the 80 day of the war that started with rocket attacks on central Israel from Gaza and an invasion by thousands of Hamas militants. The conflict resulted in the deaths of over a thousand civilians, as well as hundreds of police and military personnel. Around 240 Israelis and foreign citizens were captured, with many still held in the Gaza Strip.
A ceasefire was in place from November 24-30, allowing the release of 105 hostages held by terrorists, including 81 Israelis. To date, Hamas has released a total of 109 hostages, with one female soldier rescued by the IDF during the Gaza operation. Unfortunately, some hostages have been confirmed deceased. Three hostages, who had escaped from terrorists, were accidentally killed by the Israeli military. According to the IDF, terrorists currently hold 128 hostages in the Gaza Strip, including 117 Israeli citizens.
On October 7, the first day of the war, Hamas terrorists targeted a music festival near the Gaza border in the Reim forest. Around 3,000 attendees were present at the festival. The attack resulted in hundreds of casualties and numerous hostages. Terrorists conducted massacres in Be'eri, Kfar Aza, and Nir Oz villages, claiming the lives of many, including elderly individuals, women, and children. Additionally, they invaded Sderot, Ofakim, Netivot, and other Western Negev settlements, causing fatalities and carrying out thefts against Israelis.
Shortly after the attack, Hamas declared war on Israel, giving its actions the name "Al-Aqsa Flood". In response, the Israeli government declared a state of war (for the first time since 1973) and the beginning of the War of "Iron Swords".
In Israel, almost 1,400 died on October 7 and in the following days of the war. About 11,000 people were wounded or injured. Among those killed were citizens of Israel, the USA, Canada, Great Britain, France, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova , Brazil, China, India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Philippines, Nepal, South Africa, Sudan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan.
Israel has not suffered such losses since the Yom Kippur War 50 years ago.
A ground military operation in Gaza has been ongoing since late October. During clashes with terrorists in the Gaza Strip, the IDF experienced substantial losses, with 154 soldiers killed. The IDF reported around 8,000 Hamas militants and their leaders killed in Gaza since the war's onset. Additionally, there were casualties among military personnel during border confrontations with Lebanon.
Since the beginning of the war, over 12,000 rockets have been launched from the Gaza Strip, with the IDF estimating that up to 15% landed within Gaza. Additionally, hundreds of rockets were fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon, with about 20% landing on Lebanese territory. Both Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists utilized attack UAVs.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis, in both the southern and northern regions, were compelled to flee their homes since the war began.
The IDF continues to intensively strike on Gaza targets using Air Force, Navy, and artillery. Over 22,000 targets in Gaza have been attacked since the war began. Strikes on southern Lebanon targets are routine, and the IDF is conducting operations within Syria.
The Gaza Ministry of Health (linked to Hamas) reports approximately 20,700 fatalities and 54,500 wounded since the war's onset.
UN reports 1.7 million Gaza residents displaced, with WHO stating 1.3 million in south strip shelters. The IDF says 1 million displaced Gazans are living in shelters in the south of the strip.
Humanitarian aid began on October 21, with a significant portion received by Hamas.
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
21:00
An alarm was activated in Upper Galilee due to a potential hostile drone infiltration, reported by the IDF spokesperson. Later, the IDF confirmed the alarm as false.
On Monday, December 25, Israel permitted the entry of 218 trucks carrying humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. At Kerem Shalom, 76 trucks were inspected and entered Gaza, while 142 trucks underwent checks at Nitsana and returned to Egypt before entering Gaza through the Rafah checkpoint.
An early warning rocket attack alarm sounded in the southern industrial zone of Ashkelon, along with the kibbutzim Netiv HaAsara, Zikim, and Karmiya.
20:00
The IDF reported that a car owned by Samer Fuad Talalka, abducted from Kibbutz Nir Am and later fatally shot by Israeli soldiers while attempting to escape, was discovered at the Indonesian hospital's premises, along with vehicles of Yotam Haim and Alon Lulu-Shamriz. The army stated bloodstains from another abductee were found in the car.
19:00
Palestinian sources reported two civilian deaths and one injury due to Israeli army actions in Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp.
Over two hours after the rocket attack on Rosh Hanikra and other northern Israeli villages, the Lebanese branch of Hamas claimed responsibility.
18:00
On December 25, the Gaza Ministry of Health (an affiliate of Hamas) announced that since the start of hostilities (October 7), about 20,700 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip and more than 54,500 have been injured. This information cannot be verified. Due to the large number of deaths, burials were often massive.
Based on the reports of the Ministry of Health, about 1,200 people have been killed in Gaza over the past week, while the number of wounded has increased by approximately 2,200. The World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly emphasized that it cannot confirm or deny the accuracy of the data on those killed and wounded provided by the Gaza Ministry of Health.
17:00
The IDF reports that militants from the terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad continue to use school buildings to carry out attacks on the Israeli military. Militants were repeatedly spotted in the territories of the Ar-Rafaa and Zawaha schools in the Daraj Tufa area in the north of the Gaza Strip. The militants were eliminated by soldiers of the Nahal brigade of the 162nd division.
Later, explosive devices placed in bags with UNRWA symbols, Kalashnikov assault rifles and 15 “suicide belts” were found at the site of the liquidation of the militants. The Israeli military managed to capture many militants for further interrogation. It turned out that some of them took part in the attack on Israel on October 7.
The London-based monitoring group, The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), reported that on December 25, the IDF conducted strikes on two Hezbollah and Iranian militia targets in the Saida Zainab area, south of Damascus.
The SOHR report notes that positions of the Syrian army were equipped with electronic warfare systems near the attacked targets. Preliminary information indicates casualties.
Lebanese TV channel Al-Mayadeen, associated with Hezbollah, reported the death of Said Reza Mousavi, a senior commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, due to the Israeli strike. Israeli authorities have not commented on this information.
16:00
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the northern Gaza Strip today, December 25. He was accompanied by IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Amir Baram, Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister Tzachi Braverman, and Military Secretary Major General Avi Gil. The visit was not announced for security reasons.
Netanyahu received reports from the commander of the 261st brigade and the commander of the 162nd armored division, and interacted with the soldiers. He assured that every effort would be made to ensure the troops' safety, urging them to persist until a victorious conclusion.
Sources in Gaza reported an IDF strike near the European Hospital in the southern strip.
In the past hour, multiple attacks were observed in the Rosh HaNikra area. However, the first alarm sounded only at 16:10, heard in Shlomi, Betzet, and the Achziv industrial zone. The IDF retaliated quickly.
15:00
IDF forces, general security officers (Shin Bet), and border police (MAHAV) detained 11 suspected terrorists in Judea and Samaria. The detainees were handed over to Shin Bet investigators for questioning.
The IDF reported that explosives and weapons were found in the village of Burqa and have since been destroyed. An explosive device was also destroyed in Abu Dis (near Jerusalem). The IDF confiscated stolen vehicles in Za'atar and weapons in Ein Sultan. Since the beginning of the war (October 7, 2023), about 2,460 terror suspects have been detained in the Palestinian Authority, about 1,210 of them are associated with the terrorist organization Hamas.
14:00
Explosion in the Rosh HaNikra area. Another shelling from Lebanese territory.
Fighting continues east of Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip.
13:00
Sources in Gaza: IDF artillery shelled the areas of Al-Balad, Bani Suhaila and Khuzaa in the south of the strip.
There are reports of fighting in the Shujaiyya area and shelling of the Erez checkpoint in the north of the Gaza Strip.
12:00
Another shelling of Israeli territory from Lebanon. The IDF striked back.
Sources in Gaza: IDF forces operate on the outskirts of Khuzaa and shell the eastern part of Khan Yunis, in the south of the strip.
11:00
"Tzeva Adom" alarms were heard in the Re'im area, near the border of the Gaza Strip. Launches of rockets or mortar shells were recorded. This was the first shelling from Gaza today. The alarm was later heard in the village of Netiv ha-Asara.
9:00
Sources in Gaza: IDF strikes target in Jabaliya.
In response to further attacks on targets on Israeli territory, the IDF launched strikes against Hezbollah targets in the Bayt al-Shaab area, in southern Lebanon.
8:00
The IDF published a report on activities in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours. It is reported that multiple targets were hit and attempts to attack the Israeli military were prevented. The attacks were carried out from land, air, and sea.
The IDF Air Force eliminated a group of militants who were firing at soldiers of the 14th Brigade. Other groups of militants who were preparing to fire on military personnel were also attacked.
In the Khan Yunis area, in the south of the sector, one of the commanders of Hamas militants was eliminated by an air strike. In the north of the sector, in Bait Lahia, a supply of weapons, ammunition and explosive devices was found. Soldiers of the 4th brigade in Khan Yunis also found weapons in one of the buildings.
PA sources: IDF forces are operating in Burka, northwest of Nablus. About 20 suspects were detained.
06:00
The IDF reports the death of two more soldiers during clashes in the Gaza Strip.
Sergeant Reservist Nitai Maisels, 30, from Rehovot, a fighter of the 14th Brigade, died in battle in the northern Gaza sector.
Sergeant Rani Tamir, 20, from Ganey Am, a fighter of the 50th battalion of the 'Nachal' Brigade, died in battle in the northern Gaza sector.
Another soldier of the 50th battalion of the Nahal brigade was seriously injured.
05:00
According to sources in Gaza, IDF tanks were advancing east of Al-Bureij last night, in the center of the sector. There were reports of clashes in Khan Yunis and east of Khan Yunis. The Israeli Air Force carried out strikes on targets in Al-Bureij, Nuseirat, and Jabalia. Roads connecting Al-Bureij and Nuseirat were destroyed.
Sources in the Palestinian Authority: IDF forces are operating in the camps of Ein al-Sultan and Akabat Jaber in Jericho.
04:00
Sources in Gaza: IDF shelled Abu Zaid's family house in Al-Bureij, in the center of the sector. There are casualties and injuries.
Sources in the Palestinian Authority report gunfire and explosions in Jenin.
PA sources: IDF forces are operating in Sa'ir, north of Hebron. A young man was injured during the clashes.
03:00
PA sources: IDF forces are operating in Akabe, north of Tubas.
PA sources: IDF forces are conducting an operation in Jenin.
02:00
Sources in Gaza: IDF artillery shelled the house of the Hussein family in al-Bureij, in the center of the strip.
01:00
Reported clashes between Israeli soldiers and militants at the entrance to the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus.
00:00
At least 166 people have been killed and 384 wounded in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, according to the Hamas health ministry. In total, since October, more than 20,400 thousand people were killed in the Gaza Strip, and more than 54 thousand were injured.
Sources in Gaza: IDF air force and artillery strike the Bureij refugee camp (the center of the Gaza Strip), casualties were reported.
Eleven people were reported killed in the attack on the Salah family's home in the Ma'an district, east of Khan Younis.
The most recent attacks from Gaza were recorded at 18:16 on December 24. Typically (though not always) during the ongoing war, terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip cease firing rockets into Israeli territory overnight.
