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

Fighting intensified over the weekend and the nephew of former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot was killed in Gaza as the humanitarian situation continues to worsen.

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):

Monday, Dec. 11, 2023

11:00 pm: Norwegian-flagged tanker hit by missile in Bab el-Mandeb Strait 

Norwegian-flagged chemical tanker MT Strinda was hit overnight Monday by an anti-ship missile in international waters in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the coast of Yemen, CENTCOM confirmed. None of its staff members on board were injured. The missile was reportedly launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen and the Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack. Since Oct. 7, the group has claimed responsibility for similar attacks on ships with some connection to Israel, such as partial ownership or being headed for an Israeli port.

7:30 pm: Blinken speaks with Israel’s Gantz about hostages, aid

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz on Monday to discuss efforts to ensure the safe return of the remaining hostages in Gaza and increase the humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller noted, “Secretary Blinken stressed the urgent need for affirmative steps to de-escalate tensions in the West Bank and reiterated that Israel must take all possible measures to avoid civilian harm. Secretary Blinken emphasized that the United States remains committed to advancing tangible steps towards the realization of a Palestinian state.”

3:20 pm: Leaders of Ireland, Spain, Belgium, Malta call on EU Council chief to discuss cease-fire

Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Spanish President Pedro Sanchez, Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo wrote a letter to European Council President Charles Michel calling for talks on a cease-fire in Gaza at the upcoming EU summit.

“We are writing to you in view of the step taken by United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, invoking Article 99 of the United Nations Charter for the United Nations Security Council to address urgently the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza,” they wrote.

2:38 pm: Israel to use border crossings to inspect humanitarian aid

Israel will enable trucks carrying humanitarian aid to be inspected at two crossing points between Israel and Gaza, reported Israel’s public broadcaster Kan. After inspection at the Kerem Shalom and Nitzana crossings, the trucks will enter the Strip via the Rafah crossing point between Egypt and Gaza. No trucks will enter Gaza directly via Israel, where authorities say the additional security inspection venues should accelerate aid deliveries to the Gazan population.

1:10 pm: 7 Israeli soldiers killed between Sunday and Monday

The Israeli military said that seven more soldiers were killed between Sunday and Monday, six of them during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip and one in an accident, bringing the death toll of Israeli troops in the Gaza ground offensive against Hamas to 104. The announcement came as IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar went into the Gaza Strip to meet with IDF commanders on the ground.

12:40 pm: Israeli defense minister says Hamas on 'verge of dissolution'

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Sunday that Hamas “is on the verge of dissolution" and that "the IDF is taking over its last strongholds.”

Speaking at a Monday press conference, Gallant added that hundreds of Hamas members have surrendered in recent days. “We have encircled the last strongholds of Hamas in Jabalia and Shujaiya. The battalions that were considered invincible, that prepared for years to fight us, are on the verge of being dismantled,” he said.

11:49 am: 61 aid trucks enter Gaza on Monday

Sixty-one trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing with Egypt on Monday, according to an Egyptian official. “This is the smallest number of aid trucks that have entered Gaza since Dec. 5,” CNN reported.

8:25 am: France, Germany, Italy push for EU sanctions against Hamas leaders

The French, German and Italian foreign ministers called on the European Union Monday to quickly adopt more sanctions against Hamas for its “atrocious and indiscriminate terror attacks” against Israel on Oct. 7. The three states are specifically pushing for additional individual sanctions against Hamas leaders. The issue is expected to be discussed at length during Monday's monthly meeting of European foreign ministers, Rina Bassist reports.

8:00 am: Middle East countries join global call for strike in solidarity with Palestinians

Several Middle Eastern countries and organizations heeded a global call for a strike on Monday in solidarity with the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian activists and grassroots organizations called on the people in Palestine and elsewhere in the world to join a strike in protest against the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and to pressure for a cease-fire, Beatrice Farhat reports.

2:30 am: 4 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza

The Israeli military announced on Monday the names of four more fallen soldiers killed in Gaza, bringing the number of those killed in action to 101. Earlier on Monday, the IDF and Shin Bet security service said they killed the new commander of Hamas' Shujaiyah battalion, Amad Krika, in an airstrike.

2:14 am: Hospital in Khan Yunis comes under heavy Israeli bombardment

Israeli jets launched several airstrikes in the vicinity of Al-Amal Hospital in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Yunis, the Palestinian Red Crescent said on the X platform. The hospital houses nearly 13,000 displaced people. Since resuming its offensive in Gaza in early December, the Israeli army has intensified its air and ground operations in the south of the enclave, where hundreds of thousands of people had fled at the onset of the war in October. On Sunday, Israeli tanks had reached the heart of Khan Yunis, where dozens of Hamas fighters surrendered, the Israeli army said.

2:00 am: Fire exchanges on Israel-Lebanon border intensify

Several Lebanese towns in the south have come under intense Israeli shelling, including in Naqoura, Zibqin, Yarin, Marwahin and Jebbayn, the official National News Agency reported on Monday. The Israeli army earlier reported that eight rockets were fired from south Lebanon toward the city of Ma’alot-Tarshiha in the north. The Iron Dome intercepted six of these rockets. There were no reports of injuries. The Israel-Lebanon border has been witnessing intense fire exchanges between the Israeli army and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement since the war in Gaza erupted Oct. 7.

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