By Mersiha Gadzo and Usaid Siddiqui

      UNRWA says it “cannot deliver meaningful aid” under intense Israeli bombardments of Gaza after the UN Security Council called for increased access.

      “Stop the genocide now,” says Bethlehem Pastor Munther Isaac, as churches across Palestine cancel Christmas celebrations.

      Journalist Ahmad Jamal Al Madhoun is killed in Gaza, bringing journalist death toll to 101, says the government media office in Gaza.

      More than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7. The revised death toll from Hamas’s attack on Israel stands at 1,139.

      Israel unable to define goals of war: Former official

      Former Israeli deputy chief of staff Yair Golan says that “continuing the fighting is impossible with a government that is unable to define the goals of the war”, referring to the Israeli government headed by PM Netanyahu.

      If the goal is to return the captives home “I would expect it to be reflected on the ground, to have certain achievements and some kind of progress”.

      “At the moment I don’t see it,” Israeli Maariv newspaper quoted Golan as saying in an interview with Israeli 103FM radio.

      “In the end when Netanyahu says the PA will not enter the Gaza Strip, who is left? That means we are going to manage the Gaza Strip? It should be emphasised in a very clear way. Israel is waging a war for which its best sons and daughters are fighting and sacrificing their lives without any war goals. This is shocking,” Golan said.