The Israeli army stepped up operations today against Hamas in the south of the besieged Gaza Strip, while the United States of America (US) pressured Israel to make more efforts to spare the population, which is at risk of starvation. "The war will be long. We are paying a very high price for that war, but we have no choice but to continue fighting," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned his government as he paid tribute to 153 soldiers killed since the ground offensive in Gaza began on October 27.
After clashes devastated much of the north of the Palestinian territory, the army said it was now focusing its main operations in the south, searching for Hamas leaders in the large city of Khan Yunis, where many civilians had fled.
In another Palestinian territory, the occupied West Bank, the city of Bethlehem, where according to Christian tradition Jesus was born, is preparing for a "dark" Christmas tonight, without believers, while in Gaza the bombing continues non-stop from north to south.
Smoke rose above Khan Yunis after the attack, and powerful explosions recorded by Agence France-Presse reporters from southern Israel shook the central part of the small enclave.
The US, Israel's closest ally, is increasingly insisting on targeted operations in Israel's war against Hamas, which was launched on October 7 after the sudden attacks by Palestinian extremists, led by that Islamic organization, which rules Gaza, on Israel, due to the large number of Palestinian civilians killed.
In northern Gaza, soldiers found a weapons cache near schools, a mosque and a medical center that contained explosive belts intended for children, dozens of mines and hundreds of grenades, the army announced today.
In Bethlehem, Manger Square in front of the Church of the Nativity was almost empty a few hours before Christmas Eve.
Thousands of worshipers and tourists have always gathered there, but Palestinian Christians cannot celebrate this year because they are unable to ignore the plight of Palestinians in the besieged and bombed Gaza.
After arriving at the square, the Latin Patriarch Gianbattista Picabala spoke briefly to a small group of Christians.
"Our hearts are with Gaza, with all the people of Gaza, with special attention to our Christian community that is suffering, but I know that it is not just us who are suffering," he said.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza, the narrow coastal area between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, is dire, most hospitals are not working and in the next six weeks the entire population is at risk of facing food shortages leading to starvation, the United Nations (UN) has warned.
Despite the fact that the UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution calling for the immediate delivery of large quantities of humanitarian aid, crucial to the people of Gaza, there was no significant increase on Saturday.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said today that a humanitarian ceasefire is the only way out so that aid reaches those in need and hostages are freed, and further displacement is avoided, and "above all, devastating human losses stop".
"War defies logic and humanity and prepares a future with more hatred and less peace," he said.
Egyptian and Qatari mediators are still trying to negotiate a new truce after a week-long ceasefire in late November that allowed the release of 105 hostages for 240 Palestinian prisoners and the entry of large humanitarian aid convoys.
However, now neither side is giving in.
Hamas, an organization considered a terrorist organization by the US, the EU and Israel, is seeking an end to the conflict before hostage negotiations.
Israel is open to the idea of a truce, but rules out any ceasefire before the Islamic organization is eliminated.
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