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Day 78 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Dec. 23

A picture taken during an organised tour by Yemen's Huthi rebels on November 22, 2023 shows the Galaxy Leader cargo ship (R), seized by Huthi fighters two days earlier, approaching the port in the Red Sea off Yemen's province of Hodeida. The Bahamas-flagged, British-owned Galaxy Leader, operated by a Japanese firm but having links to an Israeli businessman, was headed from Turkey to India when it was seized and re-routed to Hodeida November 19, according to maritime security company Ambrey. The Huthis said
A picture taken during a press tour organized by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Nov. 22, 2023, shows the Galaxy Leader cargo ship (R), seized by Houthi fighters two days earlier, approaching the port in the Red Sea off Yemen's province of Hodeida. — AFP via Getty Images

Clashes continued between Israel and Hezbollah on the Lebanon border and Iraqi militias claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Israel’s Karish gas field in the Mediterranean Sea.

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. 23, 2023

6:00 pm: Biden presses Netanyahu on protecting civilians but does not ask for cease-fire

President Joe Biden pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to protect civilian lives in Gaza, the White House said, as the country's forces mounted fresh military strikes in the territory.

The conversation came a day after the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding "safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale," though it stopped short of calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas militants.

"The President emphasized the critical need to protect the civilian population including those supporting the humanitarian aid operation, and the importance of allowing civilians to move safely away from areas of ongoing fighting," the White House said in a statement.

Biden told reporters at the White House earlier in the day that he had a "long talk" with Netanyahu, which he described as "a private conversation."

In response to a follow-up question, Biden said, "I did not ask for a cease-fire."

3:30 pm: Hamas says 200 killed in 24 hours of Israeli strikes on Gaza

More than 200 people were killed in 24 hours of Israeli strikes, Gaza officials said Saturday, and Israel announced the death of five soldiers after the UN failed to call for a cease-fire.

Eleven weeks into the Israel-Hamas war, Israeli forces pressed on with their offensive, a day after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution for more aid to flow into the besieged Gaza Strip.

Smoke rose over Khan Younis and AFP footage showed smoke drifting over the north of the coastal territory.

The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza reported 201 deaths in the past 24 hours across the territory, updating the death toll since the start of the war to 20,258, most of them women and children.

10:00 am: 'Israel-affiliated' ship struck by drone off Indian coast

A merchant vessel off the west coast of India was hit by a drone, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Saturday, according to Reuters.

The strike caused a fire on the Liberian-flagged chemical products tanker but was extinguished without crew casualties in the incident 120 miles (200 kilometers) southwest of Veraval, India, it said.

“Some structural damage was also reported and some water was taken onboard. The vessel was Israel-affiliated," the firm said on its website, adding that it was "destined for India at the time."

It said the Indian navy was responding.

8:00 am: Egyptian, Iranian presidents hold phone call

The presidents of Egypt and Iran, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Ebrahim Raisi, discussed the situation in Gaza and normalizing diplomatic ties between their two countries in what Iranian state television said on Saturday was their first phone call. 

"Raisi said Iran was ready to provide all its capacities to stop the genocide by the Zionist regime and send aid to the Palestinians," Iranian state TV reported.

7:00 am: Iran threatens to 'close' Mediterranean

An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander said the Mediterranean Sea could be closed if the United States and its allies continued to commit "crimes" in Gaza, Iranian media outlets reported on Saturday.

"They shall soon await the closure of the Mediterranean Sea, Gibraltar and other waterways," Tasnim quoted Mohammad Reza Naqdi, coordinating commander of the IRGC, as saying, according to Reuters.

Iran has no direct access to the Mediterranean itself and it was not clear how IRGC could attempt to close it off, although Naqdi talked of "the birth of new powers of resistance and the closure of other waterways."

"Yesterday, the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz became a nightmare for them, and today they are trapped ... in the Red Sea," Naqdi was quoted as saying.


Click here for our most recent updates.


For our previous live coverage, see:

Day 77 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Dec. 22

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

Day 75 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Dec. 20

Day 74 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Dec. 19

Day 73 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Dec. 18

Day 72 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Dec. 17

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

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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