Day 80 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Dec. 25

Sayyed Razi Mousavi, one of the top IRGC commanders in Syria, was killed in an Israeli strike near Damascus as the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza continues.

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. 25, 2023

11:00 pm: Israeli forces detain prominent Palestinian politician in West Bank raid

Israeli forces arrested senior Palestinian politician Khalida Jarrar at her home in the city of al-Bireh in the West Bank, according to media reports. Jarrar is a member of  the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a faction in the Palestine Liberation Organization that Israel labels as a terror group. Israeli forces arrested several other members of the group during the raid. In a statement, the Israeli army confirmed Jarrar’s arrest, describing her as a “wanted terrorist.” At least 4,785 Palestinians have been arrested in the West Bank since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, as Israel widens its arrest campaign in the territory.

11:00 pm: Two Israeli soldiers killed overnight in southern Gaza

Two reserve soldiers were killed overnight Monday in southern Gaza, said Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari, raising ground operation toll to 158. The soldiers, identified as Elisha Yehonatan Lober, 24, and Joseph Yosef Gitarts, 25, were killed in clashes in the south of the Gaza Strip. Two other soldiers were seriously wounded in the same battle, as well as another one in a fight in the north of the Gaza Strip.

9:27 pm: US airstrikes hit Iran-backed group in Iraq

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said US forces conducted airstrikes against three facilities used by the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq in response to attacks on US personnel in Iraq and Syria. Earlier on Monday, Kataib Hezbollah and affiliates attacked the Erbil air base in northern Iraq and injured three US personnel, one critically, Austin said in a statement.

The US military has counted 103 attacks on its forces in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 17. Most have been claimed by the Islamic Resistance of Iraq, an umbrella term for Iran-backed militias in the country, in response to the Gaza war, according to Agence France-Presse.

10:45 am: Senior Iranian official killed by Israeli strike in Syria

Sayyed Razi Mousavi, a senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed in an Israeli air strike near Damascus, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. 

Mousavi was one of IRGC’s senior advisers on Syria, according to Tasnim. 

7:30 am: UN rapporteur likens Israel’s actions in Gaza to Srebrenica, Rwanda 

UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine Francesca Albanese drew a parallel between Israeli actions in Gaza and genocide in Srebrenica and Rwanda. 

“It is not that different from other massacres of civilians if you look closer. Genocide is a process, not a single act. It must be prevented but in Gaza — as in Srebrenica and Rwanda before — the world is just letting it happen,” Albanese wrote on social media platform X. 

Her tweet came after at least 70 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza Sunday.

7:00 am: Two Israeli soldiers killed in northern Gaza Strip

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in northern Gaza, bringing the total Israeli death toll from the ground operation to 156, according to the Israeli army.

The soldiers, who were identified as Nitai Meisels, 30, and Rani Tamir, 20, were killed in clashes in the northern Gaza Strip. Another soldier was wounded in the same battle.

6:00 am: Pope addresses Israel-Hamas war in Christmas message 

During his annual Christmas message, Pope Francis called for peace in Gaza and the release of the hostages still being held in the enclave since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. 

"I plead for an end to the military operations with their appalling harvest of innocent civilian victims and call for a solution to the desperate humanitarian situation," he told the crowd at the Vatican’s Saint Peter's Square. 

"My heart grieves for the victims of the abominable attack of Oct. 7, and I reiterate my urgent appeal for the liberation of those still being held hostage," he said.

3:00 am: Israel denies visa requests of two UN workers

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said he instructed his ministry to not to extend the visa of a UN staff member in Israel and to deny a visa request by another. 

“The conduct of the UN since October 7th is a disgrace to the organization and the international community,” Cohen wrote on the social media platform X. “We will stop working with those who cooperate with the Hamas terrorist organization's propaganda.”

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