New attacks tonight: "I feel guilty if I dance"
Around midnight on New Year's Eve, sirens sounded across Israel after Hamas fired a wave of rockets at the country.
24-year-old Ran Stahl tells AFP that he is finding it difficult to celebrate the new year after several of his friends were killed during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
- As soon as I start dancing, I feel guilty. The sadness and the loss will return.
Hamas has claimed responsibility for the New Year's Eve rocket attack on Israel in a social media post. There are no reports of dead or injured yet. On New Year's Eve, 24 people were also killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Health Authority.
- In the intense pain we live in, it is difficult to feel that it is a new year, says Gaza resident Kamal al-Zeinaty to AP.
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IDF: 19 Israeli soldiers have been accidentally shot
19 Israeli soldiers have been accidentally shot dead by their own side since the offensive in Gaza began, the Israeli military IDF said in a statement.
According to Haaretz, a total of 30 soldiers have been killed by mistake or accident. Nine of them have died when weapons were fired accidentally or in accidents involving military vehicles.
A total of 171 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ground invasion began.
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The Israel-Hamas war|The attacks
Israel withdraws thousands of soldiers from Gaza
Thousands of Israeli soldiers are withdrawing from the Gaza Strip, AP reports. It is believed to be the first time that Israel has reduced its military presence in the area since the ground offensive began.
- The goal of the war requires long-term fighting, and we are preparing accordingly, says Daniel Hagari, spokesperson for the Israeli military IDF, who did not, however, confirm whether the war is thus entering a new phase.
Israel has been under heavy pressure from its main ally the United States to reduce the intensity of the fighting.
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Settler violence in the West Bank deadliest ever in 2023
2023 was the worst year ever for settler violence in the West Bank, writes AFP.
At least ten Palestinians were murdered and dozens of homes burned down, according to the human rights organization Yesh Din, which monitors the situation in the West Bank. The worst was the situation in the two months that followed Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7.
"Hundreds of Israelis attacked Palestinian villages and set fire to houses and cars," Yesh Din writes in a statement.
Over 520 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank in 2023, according to the area's health authority.
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