GAZA/RAMALLAH, Dec 25 (NNN-XINHUA) – Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, expressed yesterday, his hope that Christmas day would be a date for an end of conflicts in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory.
“None of our people were spared from this offensive, the attempts at forced displacement, and the destruction of thousands of homes,” Abbas said in a speech on the occasion of Christmas.
“The river of blood, huge sacrifices, suffering, and heroic steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land, is the path towards freedom and dignity,” he stressed.
At least 166 Palestinians were killed and 384 others were wounded, during the past 24 hours, by the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, said the Gaza-based Health Ministry yesterday.
The casualties came as intense Israeli bombardment from the air, land and sea, as well as, ground operations continued in most parts of the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian security sources.
Eyewitnesses told Xinhua that, the eastern outskirts of the Al-Zaytoun neighbourhood, and the southern outskirts of Gaza City, suffered the most intense clashes over the past few hours, during which sounds of explosions were heard.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced a temporary tactical suspension of military activities for humanitarian purposes in the Al-Baraka neighbourhood in central Deir Al-Balah city, which will last for six hours during the day.
According to Israeli media, eight soldiers were killed and 13 others were injured during the battles in the past 24 hours.
The latest tally by the Gaza-based Health Ministry showed yesterday that, the Palestinian death toll has reached 20,424, and 54,036 others have been wounded, since the conflict broke out on Oct 7.– NNN-XINHUA
