Israeli army kills 24 more Palestinians in Gaza Bringing the death toll to 20,000 since Oct.7

At least 24 civilians were killed and several others were injured in Israeli strikes on the neighbourhood of Khan Younis town in the southern Gaza Strip, where the European Hospital is located.

Israeli artillery shelled eastern neighbourhoods of Khan Younis, while in the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli Air Force planes bombed the market square of Jabaliya town with banned phosphorus bombs, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

The total number of deaths in Gaza since the beginning of the Israeli aggression exceeded 20,000, among them 8,000 children and 6,200 women, while the number of wounded reached 52,600.

It has also been reported that at least 20,000 people have died in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of a new round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on October 7.

Thus, among the victims are 8,000 children and 6,200 women. About 6,700 are missing.

On December 19, the Ministry of Health of Gaza in its Telegram channel cited data on 19,667 dead and 52,586 injured.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) stated that it lost three more soldiers in battles with the radical Palestinian movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.  

Sergeant Lavi Ghazi, as well as Lieutenants Omri Schwartz and Yaakov Elian were killed during the operation in the north of the Gaza Strip. At least seven other servicemen were seriously injured. Thus, 137 IDF soldiers have been killed in the war zone since the beginning of the ground operation. The total losses of the Israeli army since the escalation of the conflict have reached 469.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced that Israeli authorities ordered the evacuation of the population in the south of the Gaza Strip.

"The Israeli military on December 20 designated a new territory for immediate evacuation, it covers 20% of the central and southern parts of the town of Khan Younis," the office's press service said in a statement.

As OCHA notes, the territory designated by the Israeli military contains 32 shelters, which shelter more than 141,000 internally displaced persons forced to leave the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

Amidst the continuation of hostilities, the IDF fighter jets attacked Hezbollah's operational command centre in Lebanon on the evening of Wednesday, December 20.

"Recently, our fighter jets struck the Hezbollah operational command centre in Lebanon," the report said.

It is noted that Israeli soldiers also detected several terrorists approaching the security fence from the Lebanese side along the border in the Metula area. IDF soldiers opened fire and hit the targets.

In addition, four rocket launchers crossing into Israel from Syria were discovered. Troops struck them and a Syrian army post.

Moreover, the Palestinian movement Hamas rejected Israel's offer of a one-week truce in exchange for the release of about 40 hostages held by the militants.

Hamas insists that the Israeli army halt its offensive in the Gaza Strip before discussing potential hostage return deals, it specifies. Even if negotiations begin, Israel would have to release all Palestinian prisoners from its jails to free the remaining hostages in captivity.

The Israeli side responded by saying it would not stop its military operation in the enclave.