Day 82 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Dec. 27

The US Army's Central Command said that US naval carriers shot down 12 suicide drones launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen in a 10-hour period.

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. 27, 2023

10:40 am: Blinken, Fidan Wednesday hold phone call

In a phone call on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed Sweden’s accession to NATO, the Israel-Hamas conflict and the “importance of increasing the speed and scale of humanitarian assistance to Gaza,” according to a statement from State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

9:00 am: Jordanian king, Egyptian president denounce any plans to displace Palestinians

Jordanian King Abdullah II traveled to Cairo and met with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to discuss the situation in Gaza. In a statement after the meeting, the two leaders denounced “attempts to liquidate the Palestinian issue or to displace the Palestinians from their lands or their internal displacement.” They reiterated the call for an immediate cease-fire and entry of relief aid into the Gaza Strip and said the international community “bears responsibility” to see that the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council and General Assembly are implemented and that the conflict not expand to a regional or international level.

7:30 am: Blinken to visit Israel, region next week

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Israel and other countries in the region next week, reported the Israeli news outlet Ynet, although the State Department has not confirmed the visit. Reporting on the trip comes against the backdrop of US pressure on Israel to wrap up the second stage of the war — the current ground operation in Gaza — and move to a third stage of targeted operations against Hamas targets. Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer is currently in Washington and on Tuesday met at the White House with national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Axios has since reported that Blinken is also expected to visit the West Bank, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

3:00 am: Israel’s strategic affairs minister meets Blinken, Sullivan in Washington

Reuters, reporting on a Tuesday evening meeting between White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in Washington, quoted a White House official saying that the two discussed post-Israel-Hamas war planning, including governance and security in Gaza. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also attended the meeting, the Israeli outlet Ynet reported. Discussions were also said to have focused on efforts to release hostages held in Gaza and Israel's transition to the third phase of the war to focus on “high-value Hamas targets.”

1:50 am: Three people killed in Israeli strike in southern Lebanon

Three people were killed in overnight Israeli strikes that hit a residential building in Lebanon’s southern town of Bint Jbeil. The victims were all from a single family, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency. The Israel-Lebanon border has seen heavy exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group since Oct. 7. The Israeli military has not issued a comment. The town of Bint Jbeil, a Hezbollah stronghold, was largely destroyed during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

12:00 am: Three Israeli soldiers killed in the northern Gaza Strip 

Three Israeli soldiers were killed overnight in Gaza, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said, bringing the Israeli death toll in its Gaza ground operation to 164. 

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