Day 81 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Dec. 26

The US Army announced Tuesday that it had attacked Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed faction in Iraq, after a spate of recent attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria. 

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):

Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023

3:45 pm: Iran-backed militants launch rockets at US troops in Syria

Iran-backed militants launched rockets at US targets at the al-Shaddadah base in Syria, NBC News reported, quoting two US defense officials. No casualties were reported in the attack.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iran-backed militias, claimed responsibility in a statement saying the attacks were in response to “American occupation” in the region and Israel’s war in Gaza.

11:45 am: Israel army chief says war 'will continue for many more months'

As the Israeli military expands operations in central and southern Gaza, Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi said at a press conference  that the war in Gaza “will continue for many more months, and we will work with different methods so that our achievements are preserved for a long time.”

“There are no magic solutions; there are no shortcuts when it comes to thoroughly dismantling a terrorist organization except being stubborn and determined in the fighting,” he added.

8:15 am: Explosions reported in Red Sea shipping lane off Yemen coast

Explosions in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen were reported on Tuesday after sightings of unmanned aircraft and missiles in two separate incidents, Reuters reported a British maritime authority as saying.

Two unmanned aircraft were seen before two explosions occurred five nautical miles from a vessel located 50 nautical miles west of Hodeidah, on Yemen's west coast, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations authority said in a statement.

8:05 am: Drone downed off Egypt’s Red Sea coast

A drone was shot down off the coast of Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Dahab, security sources told Al-Monitor without specifying its source. The incident comes amid a surge of attacks in the Red Sea claimed by Yemeni Houthi rebels. In late October, Israel claimed that the Iran-backed Houthis had sent drones toward its territories and that they had exploded in the Egyptian Red Sea towns of Taba and Nuweiba.

2:37 am: Palestine Red Crescent headquarters in southern Gaza shelled by Israel

Israeli artillery shelling struck the headquarters of the Palestine Red Crescent Society in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. In a post on X, the organization said the shelling hit the upper floor of the building, where thousands of displaced people were sheltering, causing several injuries. The attack comes as the Israeli army prepares to expand its offensive in southern Gaza. The Israeli army said it struck more than 100 Hamas targets in the area overnight.

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