December 29, 2023

*) Hamas says ending Israeli aggression on Gaza is priority The Palestinian resistance group Hamas' military wing has said that ending Israel's aggression on besieged Gaza is a priority, reiterating their rejection of any hostage exchange deal or negotiations without this condition being met. This was stated in a recorded speech by Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for the Qassam Brigades, which was broadcast on Al Jazeera satellite channel. Forty-five Palestinians have been killed in attacks on several parts of the enclave early Friday and over 21,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s air and ground attacks on Gaza since October 7. *) Number of children killed in West Bank has reached unprecedented levels: UN The United Nations Children’s Fund has said that the number of children killed in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem has reached unprecedented levels. UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Adele Khodr noted that Israeli forces have killed 83 children in the past twelve weeks alone – more than double the number of children killed in all of 2022. Khodr added that the suffering of children in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, is part of the war on Gaza and must not fade into the background. *) Russia launches strikes across Ukrainian cities Russia has launched a wave of missile strikes across Ukrainian cities, including the capital, authorities said as they raised a nationwide air alert. The overnight attacks came days after Ukraine struck a Russian warship in the occupied Crimean port of Feodosia. Explosions were reported in Kiev and missiles struck at least five other Ukrainian cities, including Kharkiv in the northeast, Lviv in the country's west as well as Odessa in the south, the cities' mayors and police said. *) Iraq working to end US-led coalition’s presence in the country: Premier Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani has said that the government is working towards ending the US-led coalition against the presence of Daesh in the country. Following a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who was on a formal visit to Iraq, al Sudani said at a joint press conference that the leaders are working to conclude the US-led mission. Al Sudani added that the Iraqi government is in the process of “rearranging the relationship” between security advisers and forces under capable Iraqi forces. *) SpaceX launches secretive US military spacecraft on research mission SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket blasted back into space on Thursday night to ferry the US military's secretive X-37B drone to a research mission. After weeks of delays, the rocket launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Pentagon has released little information about the space drone and its mission, only saying that the mission would entail "multiple cutting-edge experiments".