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Day 71 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Dec. 16

Yakov Argamani, father of 26-year-old Israeli hostage Noa Argamani, speaks to media outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, now informally called the "Hostages Square", in Tel Aviv on Dec. 16, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The Israeli army was on December 16 investigating the killing of three hostages which it said had been mistakenly identified as a threat by soldiers, an incident that sparked protests in Tel Aviv.
Yakov Argamani, father of 26-year-old Israeli hostage Noa Argamani, speaks to media outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, now informally called "Hostages Square," in Tel Aviv on Dec. 16, 2023. — ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images

At least one of the three Israel hostages mistakenly shot and killed by Israeli forces in Gaza was holding “a stick with a white cloth on it,” an IDF official told reporters Saturday.

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. 16, 2023

6:34 pm: Netanyahu hints at resumed Israel-Hamas talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to indicate that new Qatar-mediated talks were underway to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. An earlier round of negotiations ended earlier this month with the collapse of a temporary pause in fighting in exchange for the release of around 110 captives.

Speaking at a press conference Saturday, Netanyahu vowed to maintain military pressure on Hamas. 

“The instruction I am giving the negotiating team is predicated on this pressure, without which we have nothing,” he said. 

The comments came shortly after Israel’s intelligence chief, Mossad leader David Barnea, reportedly met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Friday night in Europe to discuss the resumption of talks.

5:37 pm: Pentagon dispatches top officials as concerns grow over Israel’s conduct in Gaza war

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and top general CQ Brown are headed to Tel Aviv to press Israeli leaders on scaling down their war effort in Gaza to a more focused campaign as international pressure mounts over civilian deaths. 

Austin is expected to advise senior Israeli officials on ways to shift the campaign from wide-scale ground-clearance operations to more focused strikes against Hamas' leadership, while preparing for a postwar governance and restoration of services. Jared Szuba reports.

2:50 pm: USAID contractor, family killed in Gaza in Israeli airstrike

A contractor for the US Agency for International Development in Gaza was killed alongside his family in an Israeli airstrike in November, his employer, the nonprofit Global Communities organization, announced today.

“We are deeply saddened to confirm the tragic loss of our colleague, Hani Jnena (33), along with his family in Gaza, including his wife, Abeer (32), and their two young daughters, Mariam and Zayna, aged 4 and 2,” Global Communities said in a statement.

1:45 pm: UNRWA chief warns Gazans may 'start dying of hunger'

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini warned in an interview Saturday that Gazans could “start dying of hunger” as the war continues.

“The World Food Programme is extremely worried that we are now going into starvation. What I can tell you is I saw firsthand that people are hungry. This is something completely new in Gaza. We never saw it in previous conflicts,” he told the New Statesman.

“People are really talking about hunger. I would not be surprised if people indeed start dying of hunger, or a combination of hunger, disease, weak immunity,” Lazzarini added.

7:25 am: Israeli hostage mistakenly killed by IDF was holding white flag

 At least one of the three Israeli hostages mistakenly shot and killed by Israeli forces in Gaza was holding “a stick with a white cloth on it,” an IDF official told reporters today.

The official said that the three emerged from a building near IDF positions on Friday while troops were in the middle of “intense fighting” in the Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City.

“A cry for help [was] heard in Hebrew,” the IDF official said, after which a military commander ordered a cease-fire, however firing continued “toward the third figure.”

The IDF said a preliminary investigation is currently underway.

6:40 am: Communications down in Gaza for second day

Internet and phone connections are down in Gaza for a second day, according to internet advocacy group NetBlocks.org.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said the outage, which began early Thursday, is obstructing aid efforts after the group lost contact with teams on the ground.

6:01 am: Israeli military raids two schools in Gaza City

Israeli forces carried out raids on two schools in Gaza City “due to information regarding Hamas terrorists that concealed themselves within schools,” the IDF said in a statement today.

Also on Friday, Israeli strikes targeted a building in the Jabalia refugee camp after the IDF noted “the movement of a number of Hamas terrorists on the roof,” the statement added.

1:10 am: Netanyahu already campaigning for next elections

Signs indicate that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might not step down after the war is over, but will rather run again for Israel’s leadership.

Families of hostages held in Gaza accuse Netanyahu of prioritizing Israel's military campaign over negotiations with Hamas. In a poll published last Friday, 70% of Israelis felt Netanyahu should resign over the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, reflecting a growing political cleavage within Israeli society. Mazal Mualem reports.


Click here for our most recent updates.


For our previous live coverage, see:

Day 70 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Dec. 15

Day 69 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Dec. 14

Day 68 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Dec. 13

Day 67 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Dec. 12

Day 66 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Dec. 11

Day 65 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Dec. 10

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

Day 63 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Dec. 8

Day 62 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Dec. 7

Day 61 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Dec. 6

Day 60 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Dec. 5

Day 59 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Dec. 4

Day 58 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Dec. 3

Day 57 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Dec. 2

Day 56 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Dec. 1

Day 55 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Nov. 30

Day 54 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 29

Day 53 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Nov. 28

Day 52 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Nov. 27

Day 51 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Nov. 26

Day 50 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Nov. 25

Day 49 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Nov. 24

Day 48 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Nov. 23

Day 47 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 22

Day 46 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Nov. 21

Day 45 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Nov. 20

Day 44 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Nov. 19

Day 43 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Nov. 18

Day 42 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Nov. 17

Day 41 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Nov. 16

Day 40 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 15

Day 39 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Nov. 14

Day 38 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Nov. 13

Day 37 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Nov. 12

Day 36 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Nov. 11

Day 35 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Nov. 10

Day 34 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Nov. 9

Day 33 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 8

Day 32 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Nov. 7

Day 31 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Nov. 6

Day 30 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Nov. 5

Day 29 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Nov. 4

Day 28 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Nov. 3

Day 27 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Nov. 2

Day 26 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 1

Day 25 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Oct. 31

Day 24 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Oct. 30

Day 23 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Oct. 29

Day 22 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Oct. 28

Day 21 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Oct. 27

Day 20 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Oct. 26

Day 19 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Oct. 25

Day 18 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Oct. 24

Day 17 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Oct. 23

Day 16 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Oct. 22

Day 15 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Oct. 21

Day 14 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Oct. 20

Day 13 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Oct. 19

Day 12 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Oct. 18

Day 11 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Oct. 17

Day 10 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Oct. 16

Day 9 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Oct. 15

Day 8 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Oct. 14

Day 7 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Oct. 13

Day 6 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Oct. 12

Day 5 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Oct. 11

Day 4 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Oct. 10

Day 3 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Oct. 9

Day 2 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Oct. 8

Day 1 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Oct. 7

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