December 25, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

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.

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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."