December 25, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was interrupted by shouts from family members of hostages as he spoke during a special session of the parliament Monday.

The family members of the hostages captive in Gaza held posters and signs with the photos and names of their loved ones.

Netanyahu, who had just returned from a trip to Gaza, said a brigade commander on the ground told the prime minister that troops needed more time on location to complete their operation.

Citing previous interactions with families of fallen IDF soldiers, Netanyahu said he was told, “Our sons did not die in vain. We must not stop the war until we secure the complete victory over those who wish us dead.”

At this point, the family members in the gallery of the Knesset reiterated their chants, saying, “Everyone - now! Everyone – now!”

The prime minister said, “We spare no effort.”

“We will shake every tree and turn every stone to bring back all the kidnapped. Each one of them is precious. Since the beginning of the war, I have met with the families of the abductees, and I hear your personal stories. What is said here unites the people and unites us in a holy mission,” he added.

Key context: There are 129 hostages still in Gaza, according to the prime minister’s office. Of those, 22 are known to be dead, and their bodies remain in Gaza along with the 107 living hostages.

At least 250 people were killed and 500 others were injured over the past 24 hours in the areas of Bureij, Nuseirat and Al-Maghazi in central Gaza, the Hamas-controlled health ministry said Monday, adding the death toll across the enclave since October 7 is now 20,674.

CNN previously reported at least 70 people were killed in an attack on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp alone.

CNN reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment about the ministry’s latest statement. It said, “In response to Hamas' barbaric attacks, the IDF is operating to dismantle Hamas military and administrative capabilities.”

Israel’s war in Gaza is far from ending, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday, after he returned from a trip to the besieged enclave.

It was his second trip to the Gaza Strip since October 7.

Netanyahu told his fellow party members that he just returned from a trip to Gaza and met with Israeli soldiers there. They told him to continue the military operation.

“We don't stop, we keep fighting and we deepen the fighting in the coming day,” he said in the statement.

Pope Francis used his Christmas Day message to urge for a ceasefire and issue a plea for the end of the war between Israel and Hamas.

Urbi et Orbi – meaning “to the city [of Rome] and to the world” in Latin – is a papal address and blessing given during important occasions. 

Pope Francis repeated his call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and while reiterating his “urgent appeal” for hostages to be freed.

Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sent a letter to the Pope on Sunday, requesting his help for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Pope Francis has repeatedly called for the release of the captives and met with some of their relatives in November.

During his remarks, the Pope described the children “devastated” by war as the "little Jesuses" of today, lamenting the number of “innocents” being “slaughtered in the world” including those in “their mothers’ wombs” and others who are “in odysseys undertaken in desperation and in search of hope.”   

The Pope also appealed for peace in conflicts across the world, including in Ukraine, Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. 

He reiterated his criticism on arms trade, which he labeled "the interests and the profits that move the puppet-strings of war" and lamented that "arms production, sales and trade are on the rise." 

World Health Organization officials witnessed "acute hunger" and "rising desperation" during a visit to a heavily damaged hospital in the north of the besieged enclave, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Sunday.

A WHO team delivered supplies to the flashpoint Al-Shifa hospital on Saturday with humanitarian partners including the United Nations and World Central Kitchen.

The joint mission Saturday delivered 19,200 liters of generator fuel to Al-Shifa, where hospital authorities say 50,000 displaced people are taking refuge, according to Tedros. He said his colleagues saw Al Shifa's surgery wing "overflowing with Gazans" who were seeking safety and shelter.

Tedros emphasized that the risk of famine is high across Gaza, with people desperately searching for food.

"I can only imagine the torment that would drive people to such lengths," Tedros said, of people who have resorted to grabbing supplies from delivery trucks during the joint mission.

The mission also visited several maternity hospitals, where officials witnessed a lack of staffing, fuel, food, water, and pain medicine. At Al-Shaba maternity hospital, there are only three doctors to help deliver about 20 babies a day, including performing C-sections, Tedros said.

Some context: Israel has focused a huge amount of attention on Gaza’s hospitals since it began its offensive in Gaza in October, claiming Hamas uses medical facilities for military purposes. CNN cannot verify the claim. A key argument from Israel’s political and military leaders has been that any such misuse of Gaza’s hospitals by Hamas provides justification under international humanitarian law for Israeli military attacks.

Global shipping giant Maersk will restart operations in the Red Sea after suspending activity there following attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on commercial vessels.

The Danish company announced Sunday that it would resume shipments in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden following the establishment of a new US-led security operation to safeguard the area.

The multinational security operation includes the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.

Some of the world’s biggest companies, including oil giant BP, recently said they were suspending their operations in the Red Sea, also avoiding the crucial Suez Canal, following attacks on commercial ships by the Houthis, which the militants said were revenge against Israel for its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

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An Israeli attack killed at least 70 people Sunday at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, the strip's Hamas-controlled health ministry said.

"What is happening at the Maghazi camp is a massacre that is being committed on a crowded residential square," ministry spokesperson Dr. Ashraf Al-Qidra said in a Telegram post.

The Israeli military said it was reviewing reports of an incident at the camp and "taking feasible steps to minimize harm to civilians."

More than 20,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began in early October, according to the health ministry.

Catch up on the latest developments:

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.