Israel pounds Gaza with no end in sight to war

Israel pounded Gaza on Monday, exacerbating the dire conditions for civilians with no end in sight to the war Hamas says has killed more than 20,000 people in the Palestinian territory.

Pope Francis decried the "desperate humanitarian situation" in Gaza, calling for an immediate ceasefire and the freeing of hostages during his traditional Christmas message at the Vatican.

Festivities in Bethlehem, the revered birthplace of Jesus Christ in the occupied West Bank, were meanwhile effectively scrapped amid the conflict, leaving the city's usually vibrant streets with only a handful of worshippers and tourists.

The war erupted when Hamas militants broke through Gaza's militarised border and attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, and seizing 250 hostages, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Israel vowed to crush Hamas and launched a retaliatory military campaign in Gaza, including extensive aerial bombardment and siege, killing at least 20,424 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

The Gaza health ministry said an Israeli air strike killed at least 70 people on Christmas Eve at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp.

The army said it was "reviewing the incident", adding it was "committed to international law including taking feasible steps to minimise harm to civilians".

Zeyad Awad, a resident of Al-Maghazi in the Gaza Strip's centre, said the strike caused "extensive, enormous destruction and panic in the hearts of my children".

"My child said to me, 'Protect me, what's happening? I can't breathe'."

Ten members of one family were killed in an Israeli strike on their house in the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza, the health ministry said.

In a separate attack, the ministry said 18 people were killed in an overnight strike on Khan Yunis.

There was no respite on Christmas Day, with the army saying it continued its ground, air and sea operations and struck several Hamas targets, including commanders. 

Before dawn, an Israeli strike "targeting a house" in the central Al-Zuwaida area killed at least 12 people, mostly women and children, the Gaza health ministry said. AFP was unable to independently verify the tolls.

'Real hunger'

In southern Gaza, an AFP correspondent reported heavy bombings through the night in Rafah and Khan Yunis. In the north, live AFPTV footage on Monday morning showed a long plume of smoke extending across the horizon.

Grasping empty containers, dozens of Gazans waited on a street in Rafah for food to be distributed.

"Now there is real hunger. My children are dying of hunger," said one of them, Nour Ismail.

Vast areas of Gaza lie in ruins and its 2.4 million people have endured dire shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine, alleviated only by the limited arrival of aid trucks.

Eighty percent of Gazans have been displaced, according to the UN, many fleeing south and now shielding against the winter cold in makeshift tents.

The head of the UN refugee agency, Filippo Grandi, called for an end to the suffering, saying: "A humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza is the only way forward."

The World Health Organization said it led missions to barely functioning hospitals in northern Gaza at the weekend, describing growing desperation and starving people stripping an aid truck of supplies.

"Everyone we speak to is hungry," said Sean Casey, a WHO emergency coordinator. "There's the risk of famine."

Israel lashed out at the UN on Monday, with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen accusing the world body of "hypocrisy" and ordering his ministry not to extend one UN employee's entry visa and to refuse entry for another.

He condemned in a statement on X the "secretary-general who legitimised war crimes", adding: "We will stop working with those who cooperate with the Hamas terrorist organisation's propaganda."

Israel vows to keep fighting

Pope Francis on Monday appealed for an end to the hostilities.

"I plead for an end to the military operations with their appalling harvest of innocent civilian victims," he told thousands of faithful gathered in Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

"My heart grieves for the victims of the abominable attack of October 7, and I reiterate my urgent appeal for the liberation of those still being held hostage," he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday the war was exacting a "very heavy price" on the army, as the death toll of soldiers killed in the conflict continued to mount.

"But we have no choice but to keep fighting," he said, adding: "This will be a long war."

The army said Monday two more soldiers had been killed, bringing to 17 the number killed since Friday and 156 since Israel's ground assault began on October 27.

Two freed detainees and a medic said Sunday that Palestinians held by the Israeli army in Gaza had suffered torture, a charged denied by the military.

The war has heightened tensions across the Middle East. Cross-border fire has erupted almost daily between Israel and Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement.

And Yemen's Huthi rebels have fired at cargo vessels in the Red Sea, leading the United States to build a naval taskforce to deter the missile and drone strikes.

Iran on Monday rejected US accusations that a drone strike targeting a Japanese-owned chemical tanker off the coast of India had been fired from its territory.