Death toll in Gaza continues to climb, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza will be a long one. Netanyahu said in a cabinet meeting on Sunday (December 24) that "it will be clear: this will be a long war [until] Hamas is eradicated and we restore law and order in the north and south." ”
Israel continues to bombard Gaza. The Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza said there were more than 166 Palestinians in the past 24 hours, and the total number of Palestinian deaths rose to 20,000,424. Israel says there were at least eight Israeli military personnel in the past day***, and the death toll rose to 154 since Israel began its ground operation in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu said, "It's been a tough morning after a very tough day of fighting in Gaza," and "this war has taken a heavy toll on us." However, we have no choice but to continue fighting. ”
In northern Gaza, Israel launched overnight airstrikes in the Jabaliya area and in the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza, the birthplace of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Fierce fighting continued on Sunday. Israel says it has attacked about 200 targets in Gaza over the past day and has achieved almost complete operational control over northern Gaza.
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the military was completing "operational control" of northern Gaza.
"The IDF is continuing ground operations in Khan Younis while preparing to expand its activities to additional areas of this strip, with a focus on the south," Hagari said. ”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, said on Sunday that Gaza's health system was being destroyed and renewed his call for a ceasefire.
"The destruction of Gaza's health system is a tragedy," he said on X (formerly Twitter), "We reiterate our call for a ceasefire now." ”
"In the face of constant danger and an influx of wounded, we see doctors, **men, ambulance drivers and many more continuing to work to save lives," Tedros said. ”
As of 20 December, the World Health Organization said there had been 246 attacks on health facilities in Gaza, including hospitals and ambulances, resulting in 582 deaths and 748 injuries.
Tedros commended health workers in Gaza for continuing their work in increasingly difficult circumstances.
Since the outbreak of the war, hospitals protected by international humanitarian law have been repeatedly attacked by Israel.
Only 9 of Gaza's 36 hospitals are currently partially operational, all in the south, and they are overcrowded.
Russian shelling in Ukraine's Kherson region killed four people and wounded nine.
At least four people were killed and nine injured in the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine that had been shelled by Russia in the past 24 hours, local authorities said on Sunday (December 24).
The head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, wrote on the social media Telegram that Russian troops fired **71 shells at the city of Kherson, hitting the city center, residential areas, medical and educational institutions, as well as "vital infrastructure." ”
Prokudin said the personnel included an elderly couple in their 80s and a child.
Ukrainian forces recaptured the city of Kherson, which had been occupied by Russia for several months, in November last year, but Russian forces continue to shell the area.
On the other hand, Kyiv said that Ukrainian air defenses shot down 14 of the 15 drones launched by Russia overnight.
"The Ukrainian Air Force and air defense forces destroyed 14 Witness drones in the Mykolaiv, Kirovograd, Zaporozhye, Dnipro and Khmelnytsky regions," the Ukrainian Air Force said on the Telegram information application. ”
Ukraine** has warned that Russia could step up its attacks on Ukraine this winter.
The authorities also cautioned that the focus of the attack could be on the destruction of Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
The drones were launched from Primorsko-Akhtarsky in the Krasnodar Krai region of Russia.
The Air Force said that most of these drones were launched from the eastern shore of the Russian Sea of Azov and caused no damage or personnel**.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that in the past 24 hours there have been 81 operational clashes on the front, and the Ukrainian army repelled 17 Russian attacks in Kupyansk, Kharkiv region, and 11 attacks in the **mut region of Donetsk region), the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.