Updates: Israeli attack on school-turned-shelter in Gaza kills six people

That’s a wrap from us.

For more context on the conflict, read our coverage of today’s events here.

Learn more about the toll that cold temperatures have wrought in the enclave, including today’s death of a 29-day-old boy from hypothermia, here.

And catch up on what came of the talks between Israel and Lebanon as pressure mounts to disarm Hezbollah, here.

Here are the major developments of the day:

• The Israeli army has confirmed it was responsible for a strike on a shelter for displaced Palestinians that killed at least six people, but said it was firing on “suspects”. Gruesome videos from the scene showed terrified civilians carrying several wounded people away.
• Top UN agencies warned that hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza could quickly slide back into famine if Israel does not allow in enough aid.
• US State Secretary Marco Rubio has said Hamas must no longer pose a threat to Israel when asked whether the group can undergo partial disarmament and hold onto its light weapons.
• The United Nations has condemned Washington for imposing sanctions on two more International Criminal Court judges over their investigation of Israel.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the Houthis’ detention of another 10 UN personnel in ⁠Yemen, taking the total to 69.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office has cited the following from Aisha Awad al-Obaidat from Bethlehem, who has been detained in Israel’s Damon prison since June 20:

• During her lawyer’s visit, she revealed “systematic oppression” and said she and several other female detainees were subjected to several abusive incidents.
• Gas was directly sprayed into their eyes, they were thrown to the ground, beaten on the back with shoes, and restrained with plastic handcuffs from behind.
• Several tear gas bombs were used against them in two incidents.
• One prisoner fainted and her blood pressure dropped without any medical examination. She was only given water to drink.
• Another prisoner has been suffering from hand and foot twists since a previous incident at the hands of prison authorities without receiving treatment.

Natasha Hall, a senior advocate for Refugee International, has told Al Jazeera that aid has only entered Gaza in a “trickle” following the October 10 ceasefire.

That’s largely because of what she described as Israel’s “opaque dual use list”, which prohibits items Israel maintains can be used for military purposes.

The list “has included things like diapers and bandages. It’s unclear how those could be used as weapons or any kind of dual use,” she said.

Other barriers to adequate aid access include the “blockage of the Rafah crossing, which was the main conduit for humanitarian aid in the past”.

The Palestinian Authority has condemned the Trump administration’s sanctions on two more International Criminal Court (ICC) judges over their investigation of Israel, calling it a “serious infringement on the independence of the international judiciary”, Wafa has reported.

In a statement, Palestinian authorities said that such measures “risk pushing the global system toward chaos and the absence of the rule of law, while undermining international efforts to uphold accountability and justice”.

The United States has already sanctioned nine ICC judges and prosecutors for their probes of alleged Israeli war crimes.

Earlier today, the United Nations also condemned Washington for intensifying “reprisals” against international institutions.

The Palestinian authority urged the US to push Israel “to halt its ongoing crimes and violations against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem”.

“These violations include colonial settlement expansion, colonist violence, and the continued withholding of Palestinian clearance revenues,” authorities stated.

Israeli forces have arrested a young Palestinian man in the southwestern area of Az-Zawiya town, located west of Salfit in the occupied West Bank.

Local sources told the Wafa news agency that armed soldiers in armoured vehicles stormed the town and took the young man to an unknown location.

More raids were reported in Ramallah, Qalqilya and Jenin. The footage below shows Israeli soldiers raiding the town of Bal’a, east of Tulkarem.

عاجل | قوات الاحتلال تقتحم بلدة بلعا، شرق طولكرم. pic.twitter.com/qW2Kel9c6d

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) December 19, 2025

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the Houthi detention of another 10 UN personnel in ⁠Yemen, taking the total to 69, his spokesperson said.

The Iran-aligned Houthis detained the additional UN staff on Thursday, said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, ⁠and Guterres calls for the immediate release of all those detained.

“These detentions render the delivery of UN humanitarian assistance in Houthi-controlled areas untenable. This directly affects ‌millions of people in need and limits their access to life-saving assistance,” Dujarric said.

The ‌United Nations has repeatedly rejected Houthi ‌accusations that UN staff ⁠or UN operations in Yemen were involved in spying. Houthis have controlled most of ‌Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, since seizing power in 2014 and early 2015.

Here’s a quick look at the latest developments:

• The Israeli army has committed another violation of the Gaza ceasefire, launching an air strike on a shelter for displaced Palestinians that killed at least six people.
• Top UN agencies issued a stern warning that hundreds of thousands of people in the enclave could quickly slide back into famine if enough aid is not allowed in by Israel.
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed the need for Hamas to longer pose a threat to Israel when asked whether the group can undergo partial disarmament and hold on to its light weapons.
• A young Palestinian man was shot in the leg by Israeli soldiers in the town of ar-Ram amid multiple raids across the occupied West Bank.

Hamas has condemned the Israeli government’s approval of thousands of new homes as part of illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.

The group said in a statement that it considers the move a “serious escalation” in Israeli efforts to advance illegal settlements and “a new crime added to the record of colonial occupation, which is full of violations of internal law”.

“The settlement plan is part of a systematic policy aimed at Judaising Jerusalem and isolating it from its Palestinian surroundings, and changing its character and identity,” Hamas said.

The United Nations has condemned Washington for intensifying “reprisals” against international institutions, after the Trump administration slapped sanctions on two more International Criminal Court judges over their investigation of Israel.

The judges hit with US sanctions on Thursday – Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia – had voted earlier this week to reject a challenge by Israel which sought to end a war crimes probe in Gaza.

The United States has already sanctioned nine ICC judges and prosecutors for their probes of alleged Israeli war crimes.

“Yesterday’s announcement of US sanctions against two more [ICC] judges … represents a further intensification of reprisals against international institutions,” the UN rights office said on X.

“Such targeting of judges, as well as prosecutors and UN experts, runs counter to the rule of law and administration of justice.”

The top Catholic leader in the Holy Land has visited the Gaza Strip’s only Catholic church to share a message of Christmas hope and support.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa was greeted by children in Santa hats and keffiyehs in the courtyard of the church compound, which was gaily decorated with twinkling lights and Christmas ornaments.

“I know the situation is difficult, but I see with the children, the school, the activities, a little light of hope,” he said in English to several dozen people gathered for the festivity. “You have been a wonderful testimony, not only of resilience, but of faith and hope for many people not just in Gaza, but many other parts of the world.”

He said the Christian community aims to be a “stable, solid reference point in this sea of destruction” as the rebuilding slowly begins. The Holy Family compound was hit by fragments from an Israeli shell in July, killing three people in what Israel then called an accident and expressed regret over.

“We cannot forget what happened. And we will never forget. But now we have to look forward,” said Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. “We need to cure, to heal our hearts.”

The UN’s FAO, WHO, WFP and UNICEF say import restrictions and access constraints imposed by Israel, as well as “major funding gaps”, are severely hindering their capacity to operate at the necessary scale in Gaza.

They said in a statement that interventions supporting food security, nutrition, health, water, sanitation, hygiene, agriculture and livelihood recovery are particularly affected, and warned that hundreds of thousands in the enclave are in dire need of that assistance.

“Even though markets are now better stocked with nutritious food following the improved flow of humanitarian and commercial deliveries, vulnerable families, especially those with children, cannot afford to buy it,” the agencies said.

According to the UN, since the ceasefire in October, more than 730,000 people have been displaced, many living in makeshift shelters and are heavily reliant on humanitarian assistance.

The UN’s top agencies have welcomed the IPC’s report that famine is no longer in effect in Gaza, but emphasised the global monitor’s warning that the situation remains critical for civilians in the enclave.

“Without sustained, large-scale expansion of food, livelihood, agriculture and health assistance, together with increased commercial inflows, hundreds of thousands of people could rapidly slip back into famine,” the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

“Humanitarian needs remain staggering, with current assistance addressing only the most basic survival requirements. Children under five, along with pregnant and breastfeeding women, remain among the most vulnerable, facing worryingly high levels of malnutrition despite recent improvements.”

The ceasefire has created space for recovery, but it has not erased the damage of two years of conflict.

Only 50% of #Gaza's health facilities are partially functional and many have been damaged during the conflict https://t.co/ETMYpU6G9n pic.twitter.com/tEqwbQNuNZ

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) December 19, 2025

Israeli soldiers have raided several areas across the occupied West Bank, injuring and arresting Palestinians.

A young man was shot in the leg with live ammunition in the town of ar-Ram, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, which said its crews were prevented from immediately reaching the scene.

Israeli forces raided al-Khader south of Bethlehem, as well as Arroub north of Hebron, where they arrested a teenage boy, according to the Wafa news agency.

Soldiers also stormed the town of Nilin, located west of Ramallah.