CrossFireArabia
An Australian priest, identified as David Gould, has announced his conversion to Islam after serving for 45 years in the Australian Church. Following his decision, he has adopted the name Abdul Rahman, describing the move as a personal spiritual journey.
CrossFireArabia
An Israeli soldier killed himself in a military base in northern Israel, taking the suicide-related death toll to 61 since the beginning of the Gaza war in October 2023, local media said.
According to the Haaretz newspaper, a soldier serving compulsory military service sustained critical injuries after shooting himself inside a base and was pronounced dead Tuesday evening in a hospital.
A military statement earlier said that a soldier was seriously injured in a shooting at a military base in northern Israel and was taken to the hospital, where he later died, noting that the military police had opened an investigation into the incident.
A total of 279 Israeli soldiers have attempted to commit suicide from the beginning of 2024 until July 2025, amounting to roughly one completed suicide for every seven attempts, according to a report by the Knesset Research and Information Center.
The Israeli army earlier confirmed that 48 soldiers had taken their own lives during military service since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.
At least 13 soldiers also died of suicide outside military service due to psychological problems, including six since the beginning of this year; raising the total number of suicides since the start of the war to 61, Haaretz said.
Twenty Israeli soldiers died by suicide in 2024, and 16 others since the beginning of this year until July, Haaretz reported, noting that since then at least four additional soldiers have taken their own lives.
In October, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir acknowledged a worsening mental health crisis within the army, saying thousands of soldiers were receiving psychological treatment. He urged commanders to stay alert, detect mental health problems within their units, and ensure that soldiers seek immediate treatment.
Nearly 10,000 Israeli soldiers out of 19,000 injured in Gaza are suffering from psychological disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder and are being treated at the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department, according to a previous report by the public broadcaster KAN published in late July.
Israel has killed nearly 70,700 victims, mostly women and children, and injured more than 171,000 in Gaza since October 2023 and reduced the enclave to rubble according to Anadolu.
CrossFireArabia
Civil defense teams retrieved the bodies of 30 victims from the same family on Tuesday from the rubble of their house in western Gaza City.
The victims were members of the Salem family, who were killed Dec. 19, 2023, in an Israeli airstrike on their house in the al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City, the Civil Defense said in a statement.
Sixty family members are believed to have been killed in the attack.
The house was the first site included in an organized campaign launched by the Civil Defense to search for thousands of Palestinians believed to be trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip according to Anadolu.
Search operations will continue using limited equipment, including an excavator, to recover the bodies from the rubble, said the agency.
Israel occupies more than half of Gaza and continues to target Palestinians in other areas outside its control, according to Palestinian authorities.
Israel has killed nearly 70,700 victims, mostly women and children, and injured more than 171,000 in Gaza since October 2023, and reduced the enclave to rubble.
CrossFireArabia
An old 1967 photo of a Palestinian woman from Jericho holding a water canister on top of her head in Jericho.
CrossFireArabia
The White House views Israel’s assassination of Al-Qassam leader, Raed Saad, as a violation of the Gaza ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump, two US officials told Axios.
The officials said the White House sent a stern private message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the strike.
Israel murdered Raed Saad on Saturday in Gaza City. Israel calls Saad the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing. The attack murdered four people in total.
US officials said Israel did not notify or consult Washington before the strike.
“The White House message to Netanyahu was clear,” a senior US official said. “If you want to ruin your reputation and show you do not abide by agreements, be our guest. But we will not allow you to ruin President Trump’s reputation after he brokered the Gaza deal.”
An Israeli official confirmed that the White House expressed anger. The official claimed the message was softer and cited concerns from “certain Arab countries.” US officials rejected that account and said the White House was unequivocal that Israel violated the ceasefire.
The development comes as Israel continues to reject moving to the second phase of Trump’s ceasefire agreement to end the genocide in Gaza.
Israeli media reported ongoing resistance inside Netanyahu’s government to advancing the next phase. An Israeli security source told the public broadcaster that implementing the second phase “remains far from achievable.”
Netanyahu is expected to meet President Trump at Mar-a-Lago on December 29.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued daily ceasefire violations on Monday. Naval boats opened heavy fire toward Gaza’s coast. Israeli aircraft launched an airstrike alongside intense artillery shelling east of Khan Younis. Artillery fire also hit areas east of al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
Hamas condemned the Israeli violations and called on mediators and guarantor states to intervene. The movement said Israel seeks to undermine and sabotage the agreement.
Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya reaffirmed commitment to the ceasefire in a recorded speech marking the movement’s 38th anniversary. He said starting the second phase is a top priority to secure full Israeli withdrawal.
Al-Hayya said any international forces in Gaza should focus only on maintaining the ceasefire and separating the two sides at Gaza’s borders. He stressed that resistance and its weapons remain a legitimate right under international law and are tied to establishing a Palestinian state.
Al-Qassam Brigades said Israel’s assassination of Saad represents a blatant breach of the ceasefire. The group said Israel crossed all red lines by targeting its leaders and civilians and by continuing military aggression.
Al-Qassam said Israel is disregarding President Trump’s plan and held him and the mediators responsible. The group affirmed its right to respond and defend itself by all means.
The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire began on October 10 after two years of Israeli genocide that killed more than 70,000 Palestinians and destroyed most civilian infrastructure.
Despite the agreement, Israel continues airstrikes, alters the agreed withdrawal line known as the Yellow Line, and restricts vital humanitarian aid to Gaza’s population according to the Quds News Network.
