Updates: Israel kills 20 in attack on al-Mawasi camp in Gaza

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You can read more on one Palestinian family’s olive harvest amid settler attacks in the occupied West Bank here.

Watch our video on Israeli forces arresting medics in a hospital in the occupied West Bank during an Israeli raid here.

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But before we do, here’s a recap of the day’s significant developments:

• At least 44,532 people killed and 105,538 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, 2023.
• More than 100 patients inside the besieged Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north of the enclave are at risk of death.
• The Israeli army claims it targeted senior Hamas members in its attack on the al-Mawasi camp in southern Gaza, where at least 20 Palestinians were killed.
• The Prisoners’ Affairs Commission (PAC) and the Palestine Prisoner’s Society (PPS) have reported that a Palestinian detainee has died in Israeli detention.
• Israeli forces severely beat an elderly man on his land in the occupied West Bank town of Aqraba in the Nablus governorate,
• Qatar’s PM says the incoming US administration wants a Gaza ceasefire deal secured “now, today even”.
• UNRWA says Israel has increased a disinformation campaign against the agency through a series of billboard advertisements.
• Israeli army claims that the six captives found in Khan Younis in August could have been killed by Hamas but refused to rule out that an Israeli air strike killed them.

The Times of Israel is reporting that the country’s wars on Gaza and Lebanon as well as the conflict with Iran are “expected to continue to take a toll on the country’s economy and finances”, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

“The evolving conflicts in the Middle East since October 2023 will continue to shape economic activity,” the OECD said in its economic outlook report. “After a fast recovery from the slump in the aftermath of 7 October 2023, private consumption has grown sluggishly, with consumer confidence remaining weak in October 2024.”

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has condemned what it called brutal attacks by “terrorist settler militias” on two towns near Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

The violent Israeli settlers set fire to property and vehicles in the towns amid intensifying daily assaults on Palestinians.

The settlers have been emboldened to commit these crimes in the occupied territory by the “glaring and unjustifiable failure” of the global community to stop the Israeli killings, the ministry said.

This morning, Wednesday, terrorist #settler militias carried out brutal attacks on the towns of Beit Furik and Huwwara near Nablus. In Beit Furik, they set fire to an under-construction house, a grocery store, and a vehicle. Similarly, in Huwwara, they torched another… pic.twitter.com/lbio8Rvw4e

— State of Palestine – MFA 🇵🇸🇵🇸 (@pmofa) December 4, 2024

Reuters news agency is reporting that the incoming US Middle East envoy met Qatari and Israeli PMs to push for a ceasefire and captives deal.

A source briefed on the talks told Reuters that Steve Witkoff travelled to Qatar and Israel in late November to push for a deal before Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

The meetings signal that Qatar has resumed its role as a key mediator after suspending it last month.

The source added that Hamas negotiators would likely return to Doha soon to facilitate a new round of talks.

Failure to stop Israel’s war on Gaza will exacerbate the conflict and the cycle of violence in the region, according to Jordan’s King Abdullah.

He added that immediate action must be taken to pressure Israel to allow sufficient aid into the besieged enclave where more than 44,500 Palestinians have been killed since October last year.

Six-year-old Nasser Tanatra is scared of the rock-strewn hilltop where he used to play and pick flowers near his family home.

The boisterous child, the youngest of seven siblings, used to dash to the top of Jabal al-Ras with his 10-year-old sister Urood to gather wild sage and zaatar.

But in mid-September, about 20 Israeli settlers, protected by soldiers, erected tents and began living on the hilltop, about 50 metres (164ft) from the family’s two-storey home.

Ever since, they have attacked and harassed the Tanatras and their neighbours in the Palestinian village of Umm Safa. At night, the settlers fire bullets in the air and release aggressive dogs to roam outside villagers’ homes. From above, they flash bright lights onto the houses, blare music and sing loudly.

Read more here.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar says there “may now be an opportunity” to secure the return of the captives held in Gaza, The Times of Israel reports.

Saar, who was speaking at an OSCE Foreign Ministers’ Conference in Malta, said Israel “is serious” about reaching a deal to get them out and asked for the European Union’s support in gaining a deal.

According to Saar’s office, the minister told EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas that Israel wants to “open a new page in our relations with the European Union, one of constructive dialogue and cooperation”.

Josep Borrell, Kallas’s predecessor, regularly criticised Israel for its conduct in the wars on Gaza and Lebanon.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in the occupied West Bank said Israeli forces raided a hospital in Nablus and arrested a patient.

The ministry in a statement called it “a flagrant violation of all international laws and conventions that stipulate the protection of treatment centres and patients”.

Earlier, Palestinian media reported that special forces from the Israeli army stormed the Arab Specialized Hospital and arrested Ayman Ghanem, who was wounded in a bombing near the town of Aqqaba on Tuesday.

The Israeli army claims it targeted senior Hamas members in its attack on al-Mawasi camp in southern Gaza where at least 20 Palestinians were killed.

The army said secondary explosions that were identified suggested “the presence of weaponry in the area”.

According to Palestinian Civil Defence teams, dozens of people were wounded in addition to those killed.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority quotes security sources as saying only an agreement can bring back the captives held in Gaza, adding that information about their whereabouts is dwindling.

The officials also said those taken captive cannot be brought back alive by a military operation and a deal must be reached and concessions must be made.

At least 10 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli air strike on the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City.

Local sources told Wafa news agency that Israeli fighter jets targeted a house belonging to the ad-Dalu family in the neighbourhood.

Since Israel began its war on Gaza last year, at least 44,532 Palestinians have been killed and 105,538 wounded.

Israeli opposition leaders and media figures have warned that the government reform proposals were threatening press freedoms.

“In the years since this government was formed, Israel has fallen 15 places in the freedom of speech index,” opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid said.

A former journalist, Lapid said the current government did not want a balanced media landscape but media “like in Hungary, like in Russia – restrained, frightened, submissive, shallow”.

Israel is ranked 101 out of 180 countries, compared with 86 in 2022 before Netanyahu formed his coalition government.

This year, it banned Al Jazeera from reporting in Israel and later from the occupied West Bank due to its coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Last month, the government also announced it would stop state advertising in and subscriptions to the Israeli left-wing media outlet Haaretz.

In recent months, the government bills have focused more on Israeli media, including one to grant the government greater control over television ratings data and legislation.

Qatar’s prime minister says the incoming US administration wants a Gaza ceasefire deal secured “now, today even”.

We are trying to coordinate with them our efforts, and all of us agree and are hoping to get over this situation before the president [Donald Trump] comes to the office,” he was quoted as saying by Sky News.

The prime minister added that Qatar was cautiously optimistic about its renewed efforts to secure a deal but said it required “maximum pressure” by those involved to end the fighting.

He also defended Hamas having a political office in Doha and said it was set up “with full transparency and coordination, and at the request of the US and Israel at that time to have this as to be used as a negotiation platform”.

Representatives of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) have met with the head of the Geneva-based International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS) to discuss how Israeli attacks have hindered rescue operations since the start of the war on Gaza.

Palestinian first responders offered a view of the current state of the organisation’s humanitarian operations and also briefed the visiting delegation to Nablus in the occupied West Bank about challenges, “including repeated assaults and restrictions by Israeli forces, obstructing access to the wounded and patients”.

The Israeli military has systematically attacked the health system in Gaza since the start of the war and killed record numbers of paramedics and humanitarian workers.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) yesterday welcomed Mr. Jagan Chapagain, Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, on a special visit to assess its humanitarian response in the #WestBank and #Gaza Strip.
⭕Accompanied by… pic.twitter.com/bAZEKMRzN2

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) December 4, 2024

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry welcomes the UN General Assembly’s adoption of two pro-Palestinian resolutions, Wafa news agency reports.

The UN adopted the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine resolution with 57 countries voting in favour, seven countries abstaining and eight countries voting against it.

The ministry also welcomed the Division for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat resolution with 101 countries voting in favour, 42 abstaining and 27 against.

The ministry said the adoption of the resolutions emphasised the need to end the Israeli occupation and to achieve the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

It added that the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine resolution pushes for an international peace conference, which will be chaired by Saudi Arabia and France in June and aims to implement UN resolutions on Palestine and a two-state solution to achieve a just peace.