Day 64 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Dec. 9

Fighting intensified on Saturday, and the nephew of former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot was killed in Gaza, three days after his son was also killed in the fighting.

Rina Bassist, Ezgi Akin, Beatrice Farhat, Elizabeth Hagedorn, Adam Lucente, Jack Dutton, Jared Szuba and Al-Monitor’s contributors on the ground in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel contributed to this blog.

Click here for our most recent updates.

Live updates (all times EDT):

Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023

11:40 am: Nephew of former Israeli military chief killed in Gaza

The nephew of former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot, who is currently serving in Israel’s war cabinet, was killed in Gaza on Saturday, three days after his son was killed in the fighting, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said. Five soldiers were killed on Saturday including Maor Cohen Eisenkot. Maor was killed by an explosive device hidden in a mosque at an entrance to a tunnel. Eisenkot’s youngest son Meir Gal was killed in a battle with Hamas last Thursday. As of Saturday, 97 Israeli soldiers were killed during the ground offensive in Gaza.

10:15 am: Erdogan blasts US support for Israel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the United States in a speech on Saturday, claiming that global justice is possible “but not with America because the USA stands with Israel,” the Associated Press reported. 

He accused the West of “barbarism” for its stance on the Israel-Hamas war and accused Western countries of turning a blind eye to Islamophobia.

9:00 am: Israeli hostage killed in Hamas captivity, community says

Israeli hostage Sahar Baruch, 25, one of the estimated 240 hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attack, was killed in Hamas captivity, according to a joint statement from Kibbutz Be’eri and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

“It is with great sadness and a broken heart that we announce the murder of Sahar Baruch, who was kidnapped from his home by Hamas terrorists to Gaza on Black Saturday and murdered there. His brother Idan was murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7. We share in the unbearable grief of his parents, Tami and Roni, his brothers, Guy and Niv, his family and all his loved ones. We will demand the return of his body as part of any hostage return deal. We will not stop until everyone is at home,” the statement read.

Click here for our most recent updates.