December 25, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

At least 70 people were killed in an Israeli attack at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza on Sunday, according to the strip's Hamas-run health ministry. 

A video posted by the Palestinian Red Crescent shows several wounded people from the camp being taken into ambulances. 

In response to a CNN inquiry, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had received reports of an incident at the camp, which it was reviewing.

"Despite the challenges posed by Hamas terrorists operating within civilian areas in Gaza, the IDF is committed to international law, including taking feasible steps to minimize harm to civilians," the IDF said. 

Some context: The IDF says that Hamas hides terrorist infrastructure in and around civilian institutions in Gaza, including refugee camps and hospitals, and has repeatedly denied targeting civilians. Despite growing international criticism from some of Israel’s staunchest allies over the growing civilian toll in Gaza, Israel has not changed course in its military pursuit of Hamas.

Pope Francis said the message of Jesus’ birth is being rejected by war as he began Christmas celebrations in the Vatican on Sunday. 

With heavy fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Christmas celebrations have been effectively canceled in Bethlehem, located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. 

The pope, who has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, tonight stressed that the birth of Jesus offered a stark contrast to the “power of the world” and the desire for “might, fame, and glory.”  

Francis pointed out that when Jesus is born “none of the powerful take notice of him” and urged believers not to see God in "pagan terms" as “a powerful potentate in the sky” who is linked to “power, worldly success and the idolatry of consumerism.” 

He said that God is instead marked by “closeness, compassion and tenderness” and does not “burst on the scene with limitless power” but instead “descends to the narrow confines of our lives.”  

The pope’s celebration of midnight mass was attended by an estimated 6,500 inside St. Peter’s Basilica along with cardinals, bishops, and priests.  

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday disclosed new information about an underground Hamas tunnel network which the military said it recently demolished following the recovery of the bodies of five Israeli hostages. 

Citing recent operations over the past few weeks in “the area of the Jabalya camp,” the IDF said in a statement it "exposed a strategic tunnel network that served as Hamas' northern headquarters in Gaza. The underground headquarters, which included two levels … with many routes, was used for directing combat and the movement of terrorists.”

“The network was connected to a shaft leading to the residence of the Commander of Hamas' Northern Brigade,” Ahmed Ghandour, it said.

The IDF previously identified Ghandour as "a leading figure in the planning and execution of the October 7th massacre." In late November, the IDF said Ghandour and four other “senior commanders” were killed in IDF operations.

In their Sunday statement, the IDF said the underground network, used by Hamas, “also passed beneath a school and a hospital.” CNN has not independently verified details of the tunnel network's location.

After the bodies of the hostages — Ziv Dado, Eden Zecharya, Ron Sherman, Nik Beizer and Elia Toledano — were recovered, the IDF said it dismantled the “subterranean headquarters.”

Church bells echo through the labyrinth-like streets of Bethlehem. With Christmas approaching, the city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank should be teeming with visitors. But this year, it is almost deserted.

Local leaders made the decision last month to scale back festivities in solidarity with the Palestinian population, as heavy fighting raged between Israel and Hamas in the devastated Gaza Strip.

More than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel’s air and ground offensive, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza and nearly 85% of the strip’s total population has been displaced.

The war was sparked by Hamas’ terror attack on October 7 on southern Israel in which at least 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 others taken hostage.

Many here have ties to Gaza through loved ones and friends, and a sense of misery has fallen upon the city revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

Decorations that once adorned neighborhoods have been removed. The parades and religious celebrations have been canceled. In the city center, the traditional enormous Christmas tree of Manger Square is conspicuously absent.

Traveling into Bethlehem, about 8 kilometers south of Jerusalem, isn’t ordinarily an easy journey. The Israeli-built West Bank barrier restricts movement, as do the various checkpoints leading in and out of the city. It’s only got worse since Hamas’ brazen attack.

Since October 7, Israel has restricted movement in Bethlehem and other Palestinian towns in the West Bank, with military checkpoints allowing access in and out, impacting Palestinians trying to get to work.

The occupied territory has also experienced a surge in violence, with at least 300 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

He and his family live in Al Shawawra, a Palestinian village near Bethlehem, and visit each Christmas “because our relationship with our Christian brothers is a strong relationship.”

He explains: “We join them in their celebrations, and they also join us in our celebrations. But this year’s holiday season is very bad.”

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Israeli forces are "intensifying" operations inside Gaza and will continue to fight until victory over Hamas is achieved, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement released Sunday.  

Netanyahu also talked about the Israeli soldiers who were killed during military operations in Gaza. 

"The war has a price, a very heavy price in the lives of our heroic soldiers, and we will do everything to safeguard the lives of our soldiers. However, there is one thing we will not do: We will not stop until we achieve victory," he said

Netanyahu's statement comes after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday during a news conference that the conflict "needs to move to a lower-intensity phase."

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels are stepping up their strikes on ships in the Red Sea, which they say are revenge against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.

Now, newly declassified United States intelligence suggests that Iran has been "deeply involved" in the operations, US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson told CNN.

The Houthi rebels have launched over 100 attacks against about a dozen commercial and merchant ships transiting the Red Sea over the past four weeks, CNN previously reported.

The attacks have forced some of the world’s biggest shipping and oil companies to suspend transit through one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes, which could potentially cause a shock to the global economy.

The Houthis are believed to have been armed and trained by Iran, and there are fears that their attacks could escalate Israel’s war against Hamas into a wider regional conflict.

Here’s what we know about the Houthis.