Israel to expand Gaza offensive, it’s going to be a long war Netanyahu says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, wears a protective vest and helmet as he receives a security briefing with commanders and soldiers in the northern Gaza Strip, on December 25, 2023.  © Avi Ohayon, AP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Gaza Strip on Monday and vowed to step up the army’s assault in the Palestinian territory, his party said, despite international efforts to halt the fighting. The announcement came after at least 70 people in the Palestinian enclave were killed in Israeli strikes Monday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Summary: 

• Christmas was a somber holiday for Palestinians this year as Israel pursued its relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip. At least 70 Palestinians were killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza on Monday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. 
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Gaza Strip on Monday and vowed to step up the army’s assault in the Palestinian territory in the coming days.
• At least 20,674 people have been killed, mostly civilians, and 54,536 injured in Israel’s ensuing assault on the Gaza Strip, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. Israeli officials say 1,139 were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in southern Israel, among them 695 Israeli civilians including 36 children.
• Divisions in Israeli politics are beginning to reappear after 80 days of unity amid Israel’s war on Gaza, reported FRANCE 24’s Luke Shrago
• A special session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, was attended by many more people than usual, including a certain number of families and relatives still detained in Gaza. 
• Pope Francis on Monday called for an end to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine that this year have cast a shadow over one of the world’s favorite holidays. In his annual Christmas Day “Urbi et Orbi” mass at the Vatican, Pope Francis called for an end “to every war, to the very mindset of war, an aimless voyage, a defeat without victors, an inexcusable folly”. May peace “come in Israel and Palestine, where war is devastating the lives of those peoples”, he said.
• Families of hostages taken by Gaza militants booed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday as he addressed parliament, vowing to bring the captives home but saying “more time” was needed. “Now! Now!” the families chanted from the gallery when Netanyahu said Israeli forces first needed to increase military pressure on Gaza’s Hamas rulers.
• Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza will likely cost it at least another 50 billion shekels ($14 billion) in 2024 and result in a near-tripling of its budget deficit, the Finance Ministry said on Monday, projecting that fighting will last through February.
• France24/ AFP