After 14 months of conflict between Israel and Palestine, talks of a ceasefire agreement have headed in a promising direction. The proposed agreement entails the release of hostages in Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian land, and a strategy for displaced Gazans to safely return to their homes in the northern region of the enclave. Despite both Israeli and Palestinian officials expressing optimism over this agreement, hostilities from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) continue to endanger the lives and infrastructures of thousands of Gazans.
On December 16, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz informed the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Israel is “closer than ever” to securing a deal with Hamas to free the Israeli hostages and end hostilities in Palestine. A senior Palestinian official echoed this sentiment to reporters, describing the negotiations between the two parties as in a “decisive and final phase”.
“We believe – and the Israelis have said this – that we’re getting closer, and no doubt about it, we believe that, but we also are cautious in our optimism,” said White House spokesperson John Kirby. Despite talks of a ceasefire swirling in the media and among top officials, the IDF continues to conduct airstrikes on densely populated areas and have issued new orders of evacuation, exacerbating the already dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“In Gaza city, humanitarian partners say hostilities escalated over the weekend – particularly in areas affected by the new evacuation orders – leaving more Palestinians killed and injured,” said United Nations (UN) spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
On December 12, two airstrikes hit three residential buildings in an Al Nuseirat camp in central Gaza. According to figures from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), these airstrikes killed an estimated 49 Palestinians, including at least 17 children. Three days later, the IDF issued a direct airstrike on a school in East Tuffah, causing considerable damage to the building and injuring several civilians.
Local authorities have confirmed that approximately 110 Palestinians were killed from December 14-15 in the Gaza Strip. On December 16, the IDF conducted a bombardment on a school-turned-shelter in Khan Younis, located in the southern region of the enclave. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), at least 13 people died and 48 were injured in this attack.
UNRWA Senior Emergency Officer Louise Wateridge described the brutality of this attack to UN News, saying, “I have been to Nasser Hospital this morning. One of the children I spoke to, her name was Mona, 17 years old; she had very severe injuries to her leg – she had very severe shrapnel wounds – and she was in the hospital with her sister…their mother was crushed to death under the rubble.”
The IDF claimed that the shelter was used as a training compound that would coordinate attacks against Israel. Hamas refuted these claims and accused the IDF of trying to “justify indiscriminate killings”.
Manal Tafesh, a resident of the Khan Younis camp who has lost her brother and children in the attack, informed reporters that people were eating dinner in their homes when the airstrikes hit the camp. “Our children are gone, our children are gone. Our youth is gone. Our children are gone, and our lineage ended. When will this darkness end?” Tafesh said.
On December 16, the UN confirmed that more than 45,000 civilians have been killed over the past 14 months of conflict in Gaza. Catherine Russell, the Executive-Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), stated in a press release that approximately 14,500 Gazan children have been killed.
According to Dujarric, Israeli authorities had issued two new evacuation orders on December 13 and 14. These orders went into effect in Gaza City, northern Gaza, and the Deir al Balah area. The UN’s partners described 250 families moving southward from northern Gaza and roughly 450 families fleeing their homes in Deir al Balah. According to UN estimates, approximately 1,500 Gazans were displaced overnight on December 14 from Izbet Beit Hanoun.
Living conditions continue to grow worse in displacement shelters as the harsh winter season approaches. According to Russell, famine looms in the north and humanitarian access remains severely restricted.
On December 13, the World Food Programme (WFP) posted a statement on X (formerly known as Twitter), highlighting the urgency of the growing levels of famine among displaced persons in Gaza. WFP’s Head of Emergency Communications, Jonathan Dumont, warned that due to the restriction of humanitarian aid deliveries, most Gazans were likely not getting enough to eat. “To prevent famine we need to find a way to get a consistent flow of food in,” Dumont said.
Dumont went on to describe the deteriorating living conditions in Gaza, saying, “There’s no electricity or running water or sewage (treatment). Almost everyone has lost their home. A lot of people are living in tents.”
Russell added that infectious diseases have run rampant in displacement shelters, with an estimated 800 documented cases of hepatitis and 300 cases of chickenpox. Additionally, thousands of children are suffering from skin rashes and acute respiratory infections, which have been exacerbated by the cold weather.
Oritro Karim is a recent graduate from Rochester Institute of Technology and a working illustrator, graphic designer, painter, and writer.
