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

Al-Monitor Staff

Dec 20, 2023

Members of the UN Security Council hold sideline meetings as they take a break at the United Nations headquarters on Dec. 19, 2023, in New York City. — Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The UN Security Council has reached an agreement on a resolution on the situation in Gaza that the United States can support, US Ambassador the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

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):

Wednesday, Dec. 20

4:25 pm: Gaza death toll surpasses 20,000

The Palestinian death toll since the Israel-Hamas war began Oct. 7 has topped 20,000, according to the Hamas-run government media office. In a statement Wednesday, the latter said the victims included more than 8,000 children and 6,200 women, alongside more than 52,000 injured. Beatrice Farhat reports.

3:31 pm: Pentagon chief visits aircraft carrier positioned off Israel amid Gaza war

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a visit today to the USS Gerald R. Ford that if Israel were to shift to more precise tactics in Gaza, it would reduce the threat of attack by Iran’s proxies in the region. Jared Szuba reports.

12:00 pm: Israeli FM says Cyprus humanitarian corridor to Gaza imminent

In Nicosia, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met with his Cypriot counterpart, Constantinos Kombos, to discuss a maritime corridor to enable the transfer of aid from a port in Cyprus to the Gaza Strip. Rina Bassist reports.

11:45 am: Blinken defends US policy on Gaza

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken downplayed the growing isolation the United States is facing over its support for Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.

“Countries throughout the region, as well as countries around the world, want to work with us and are looking for American leadership in this crisis — even countries that may disagree with us,” Blinken told reporters.

Blinken spoke as diplomats scrambled at the UN Security Council to reach a compromise on a resolution to increase aid deliveries into Gaza. Earlier this month, the Biden administration drew global criticism for vetoing a UN measure calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Palestinian enclave.

7:49 am: Pentagon says deterrence mission to continue in eastern Mediterranean

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin declined to impose a timeline on the deployment of the US Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, which remains in a high state of readiness in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

During a visit to the aircraft carrier, Austin said it was “logical” that if and when Israel shifts to a more surgical campaign in Gaza, fewer regional proxy attacks would occur.

“I think if that happens — when that happens, is hard to speculate — it’s logical that you would see that, you would see some reduction in activity. But again, that’s speculation,” Austin said.

The Gerald R. Ford was the first carrier to arrive in the region after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Its deployment, which was originally scheduled to end in early November, is ordered to deter Iran and its proxies from opening new fronts amid Israel’s ongoing campaign in the Gaza Strip.

Elements of the Ford’s carrier strike group have conducted intelligence, surveillance and recon missions near Israel, the ship's Capt. Rick Burgess told reporters on Wednesday. The destroyers USS Carney and the USS Thomas Hudner have shot down drones fired by the Houthis in the Red Sea in recent months.

Meanwhile, the Ford itself remains within striking distance of Iran’s proxies in the Levant, Burgess told Al-Monitor.

7:30 am: Israeli airstrike hits area near Kuwaiti hospital in Rafah

An airstrike was captured in the background of Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud's program while broadcasting live in southern Gaza. Smoke and noise erupted in the area, reported to be near the Kuwaiti hospital.

3:00 am: Arab states slow to join US-led Red Sea task force

The United States announced a new maritime task force in the Red Sea, opting for a collective defensive approach after Houthi rebels in Yemen targeted a dozen commercial ships with drones and missiles in the area. Key Arab states have been slow to join the US-led mission, reports Jared Szuba from Manama.

2:50 am: Internet outages reported in Gaza

Internet connections and phone services have been cut across Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli bombardment, the main Palestinian telecom company said Wednesday. “We regret to announce that all telecom services in the Gaza Strip have been lost due to the ongoing aggression. Gaza is blacked out again,” PalTel said in a post on X. The internet monitoring site NetBlocks also reported a communications blackout, saying connectivity had been lost in Gaza’s southern areas.

2:30 am: Israel pre-emptively hits targets in southern Lebanon

The Israeli military said it had preemptively struck several Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon amid ongoing clashes on the border. Lebanese news outlets reported Israeli airstrikes near the border towns of Aita al-Shoub and Ramieh.

Click here for our most recent updates.

For our previous live coverage, see:

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