Day 76 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Dec. 21

Hamas rejected an Israeli offer for a week-long cease-fire in exchange for the release of 40 hostages held in Gaza, the Wall Street Journal reported, as heavy fighting was reported in northern Gaza.

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.

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Live updates (all times EDT):

Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023

8:01 pm: UN Security Council has reached resolution Washington 'can support,' says US ambassador

The UN Security Council has reached an agreement on a resolution on the situation in Gaza that the US approves, US Ambassador the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in the evening.

The vote on the resolution is scheduled for Friday morning,

The resolution, put forth by the United Arab Emirates, has been delayed for several days amid talks aimed at avoiding a US veto.

“I just want to share with you that we have worked hard and diligently over the course of the past week with the Emiratis, with others, with Egypt, to come up with a resolution that we can support. And we do have that resolution now,” Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement. 

A reference to the “cessation of hostilities” was changed to a “suspension,” according to a UN update.

1:10 pm: Starbucks nosedives among both pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian activists

Trouble has been brewing for Starbucks since activists criticized its perceived stances on the Israel-Hamas war, leading to several of its cafes being vandalized and the global brand embroiled in political controversy. Jack Dutton reports.

7:06 am: Barrage of rockets from Gaza heads for southern, central Israel

Dozens of rockets were fired from Gaza toward southern and central Israel, sending people running for shelters. The rockets were fired at major urban centers including Ashdod, Ashkelon, Herzliya, Ra’anana, Ramat Gan and Tel Aviv. Shrapnel and fragments fell in some of the cities, but no major damage was reported.

2:00 am: Three more Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza 

Three Israeli soldiers were killed overnight in battles in the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said, and eight others were seriously injured. The Israel Defense Forces said it had carried out airstrikes on 230 Hamas targets over the past day. On Wednesday, Hagari said that the military had begun to battle Hamas fighters in the Gaza City neighborhoods of Daraj and Tuffah, suggesting that Israel is perhaps nearing the end of its operations in northern Gaza. 

1:50 am: Lebanese civilian killed by Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon

A woman was killed and her husband wounded when Israeli shelling hit their house in the town of Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon, the official National News Agency reported. At least 107 people have been killed in Lebanon since cross-border fire between the Israeli army and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia began shortly after Oct. 7. Most of the dead were Hezbollah fighters, along with 17 civilians, three journalists and one Lebanese soldier, according to AFP. On the Israeli side, four civilians and seven soldiers have been killed, according to Israeli officials.

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