Despite reported truce talks progress, Tel Aviv keeps up airstrikes, poised to hit Yemen’s Houthis

Reports that a Gaza cease-fire is imminent are gathering steam, but Israel is continuing its air strikes on the Palestinian enclave, with hospitals being bombed in the north, killing civilians.

In northern Gaza, intensified attacks on the vicinity of the Kamal Adwan Hospital had forced the intensive care unit out of service following a huge fire, prompting medical personnel to transfer patients to another ward, Al Jazeera reported on Dec 18.

At the al-Awda Hospital, two medical staff were wounded from shrapnel after the Israeli military detonated robots laden with explosives.

Israel is also expected to respond to Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the coming weeks following another ballistic missile fired by the group, The Jerusalem Post said in a report.

Israel intercepted a ballistic missile and a drone launched by the Houthis on Dec 16.

Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesperson, said in a televised address on Dec 16 that Houthis launched a hypersonic ballistic missile called “Palestine 2” targeting central Israel, vowing to continue military operations against the country until the Israeli military ends its war in Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the missile was intercepted before it reached Israeli territory, but alerts were triggered due to the possibility of falling debris.

The Houthi spokesperson said the attack was in response to Israel’s “massacres” against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been waging a war for more than a year, killing more than 45,000 people.

Meanwhile, the US military said it conducted an airstrike on Dec 16 against a facility operated by the Houthis in Yemen.

“The targeted facility was a hub for coordinating Houthi operations, such as attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” the US Central Command said in a post on X.

The threats and attacks continue even as preparations are underway for the Developing Eight (D-8) Organization for Economic Cooperation summit in Cairo, where world leaders, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are expected to attend.

Topics on Syria’s political transition and the Israel-Palestine conflict are expected to be tackled at the summit. The D-8, created in 1997, comprises Iran, Turkiye, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt and Nigeria.

Palestinian group Hamas said on Dec 17 that reaching an agreement for a cease-fire and prisoner exchange is possible if Israel stops setting new conditions.

In a statement, Hamas referred to the discussions on a cease-fire mediated by Qatar and Egypt in Doha as “serious and positive”.

In recent weeks, truce talks have resurfaced in hopes of halting the fighting between Hamas and Israel, which is now in its 14th month and amid the impending leadership change in the United States. US President Joe Biden and the nation’s incoming leader Donald Trump have both vowed to work for the release of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.

Heavy restrictions on aid flow have also been a cause of concern amid impending threat of harsh winter conditions.

Twenty Democratic legislators in the US have urged the Biden administration to halt the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel, noting that the Israeli government has not complied with US demands to let more aid into Gaza.

Israel had been accused by the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor of “urbicide”.

In a statement on Dec 17, the Geneva-based group said Israeli soldiers “have been using aerial bombardment, explosive-laden robots and bulldozers to lay waste” to areas in northern Gaza.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a Dec 17 update that attacks on civilian infrastructure continue, particularly in north Gaza, where the World Health Organization (WHO) reported “appalling conditions” at Kamal Adwan Hospital, and where 61 out of 95 attacks on school buildings took place since Oct 6 this year.

In a post on X on Dec 17, UNICEF said Gaza has been “nothing short of hell on Earth” and called on all parties to the conflict, and on “those with influence over them”, to take decisive action to end the suffering of children.

Also on X, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus vented frustration over difficulties faced by WHO missions to Kamal Adwan Hospital amid Israeli “hostilities”.

“The conditions in the hospital are simply appalling. We urge for the protection of healthcare and for this hell to stop! Ceasefire!” he said.

Contact the reporters at jan@chinadailyapac.com