Video shows injured patients arriving at a hospital in southern Gaza
In southern Gaza where Israel has expanded its military operation, injured people arrived at a hospital in the city of Khan Younis this morning. Some were carried in, others were put on stretchers.
Freed Israeli hostage describes sneaking her dog into captivity
Mia Leimberg emerged from almost two months’ captivity in Gaza with Bella, her Shih Tzu, in her arms.
“When we were there we had to feed her our leftovers — yeah I’m talking about you Bella,” the 17-year-old said looking down at the small white dog in her arms. “And we had to make sure that she doesn’t run wild where we were. We had to keep her so that she doesn’t go exploring and annoy anybody there.”
The teenager and her mother, Gabriela Leimberg, were visiting family in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak when they were taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7.
She, her mother, an aunt and the dog were set free as part of a swap for Palestinian prisoners, but her uncle and her aunt’s partner remain in captivity.
“It was difficult. I held (Bella) all the way there. It was an extra 4 kilos. And I’m just lucky enough that I managed to keep her through that whole situation and bring her back,” She said from her home in Jerusalem in her first media interview.
Leimberg’s father, Moshe Leimberg, said they searched for Bella during the weeks of his family’s captivity. The day of their release, he was surprised to hear his daughter came out holding the dog.
He described in more detail what his daughter went through to keep Bella. “She was worried that something would happen to the dog if she left her behind,” he said.
The teenager hid the dog under her pajamas as they were loaded into a vehicle that drove out of the kibbutz.
“Then they took them to tunnels ... she had the dog with her the whole time,” he said. “When they came out of the tunnel they had to climb up a ladder, that’s when the Hamas people noticed that this was not a doll, it was a living, breathing dog.”
“A bit of an argument ensued, and it was decided to let her keep the dog instead of leave it behind.”
The hostages cleaned up after the dog to prevent bad smells.
“She was very determined to bring the dog back, and one of the expressions that she has now, about the dog, is ‘I love you to Gaza and back.’”
She said they will fight for the freedom of the other hostages, including her uncle and aunt’s partner.
“We miss them every day and it feels wrong being here without them,” she said. “As much as I am happy to be back, we’re still not done.”
Only 69 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday, Palestine Red Crescent says
The Palestine Red Crescent Society received 69 aid trucks yesterday, it said yesterday in a post on X.
The trucks received aid through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and contained essential supplies, it added.
U.N. secretary-general to brief Security Council today
Guterres will brief the Security Council today after he invoked Article 99 of the charter calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Guterres has spoken to officials from seven different states, including Blinken since he made the rare move Wednesday to formally warn the Security Council of a global threat from the Gaza war, his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told a news conference yesterday.
Article 99 of the U.N. charter allows the secretary-general to present a matter before the Security Council which "in his opinion, may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security."
Palestinian Authority 'working with U.S. on postwar plan for Gaza'
American officials are working with the Palestinian Authority on a postwar plan for the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian prime minister.
Mohammad Shtayyeh told Bloomberg today that he was he was hopeful that Hamas would join the Palestine Liberation Organization as a junior partner in helping to establish a new independent Palestinian state that included the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem.
“If they [Hamas] are ready to come to an agreement and accept the political platform of the PLO, then there will be room for talk. Palestinians should not be divided,” he said.
Shtayyeh’s Palestinian Authority partially administers the occupied West Bank. His Fatah movement is a rival of Hamas, which controls Gaza.
He added that Israel’s aim to defeat Hamas completely is not realistic as “Hamas is in Lebanon, everybody knows Hamas leadership is in Qatar and they are here in the West Bank.”
Relatives hold vigils on first night of Hanukkah in Israel
Jacob Swid, whose son died fighting Hamas militants during the attack in a kibbutz on Oct. 7, lights a Hanukkah candle at a staging area in southern Israel, near the Gaza border last night.Families of hostages carry candles and raise placards during a vigil on the first night of Hanukkah in Tel Aviv.
Gaza aid program ‘no longer functioning,’ U.N. humanitarian chief says
The head of the United Nations humanitarian program in the Gaza Strip said today that it was “no longer functioning.”
“The pace of the military assault in southern Gaza is a repeat of the assault in northern Gaza,” Martin Griffiths told a press briefing yesterday in Geneva.
He added that there was “no place safe” for civilians in southern Gaza, which had been a “cornerstone” for the U.N. to protect people and provide aid.
“Without places of safety, that plan is in tatters,” he said.
Captive Israeli soldier killed in clash with special forces, Hamas says
A hostage was killed in a clash with Israeli forces attempting to reach the captive soldier, Hamas’ military wing, Qassam Brigades, said on Telegram today.
The militant group identified the victim as Sa'ar Baruch, 25.
“Military aircraft intervened and bombed the place with a series of airstrikes to cover the withdrawal,” the post said, adding that “the clash led to the death of the captured soldier.”
NBC News has not independently verified the claim.
Mom and her newborn in Gaza displaced in Gaza
Israa Kamal Al-Jumalah is a 28-year-old woman living in Gaza who gave birth the night of the initial truce. Today, as the war continues, the mother and her newborn are living in a Gaza hospital for the displaced.
IDF says it hit more than 450 sites in Gaza in past day
The IDF has said it struck almost 450 targets across Gaza Strip yesterday, adding that many targets across Khan Younis in southern Gaza were eliminated.
Some of these targets were killed by unmanned aerial vehicles, it said, adding that its troops continue to "locate and destroy underground tunnel shafts, weapons, and additional terror infrastructure."
The IDF's naval forces are also striking targets across central and southern parts of Gaza, it said.