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The Israeli army claims to have discovered “the biggest tunnel” dug by Hamas under the Gaza Strip, Sunday December 17. “This massive network of tunnels, which is divided into several branches, extends for more than four kilometers and arrives only 400 meters from the Erez crossing point” between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli armed forces said in a statement. They also claim to have discovered a large number of weapons ready to be used in the event of an attack.
“Too many civilians are being killed,” says the French Minister of Foreign Affairs. France is concerned “at the highest point” by the situation in Gaza and calls for “a new immediate and lasting truce”, declared Catherine Colonna after a meeting with her Israeli counterpart in Tel Aviv on Sunday. She also called not to forget the victims of Hamas attacks. The head of French diplomacy must then meet families of hostages.
Telecommunications partially restored in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian operator Paltel reported in a press release “gradual recovery” of the network, down since Thursday, in the center and south of the territory.
A hospital that needs “resuscitation”. Devastated by Israeli bombings, the emergency department of al-Chifa hospital, located in northern Gaza, is “a bloodbath”, writes the WHO on Sunday. A team from the World Health Organization and other UN agencies was able to deliver medical equipment Saturday to the hospital, where “tens of thousands of people displaced” took refuge for shelter, underlines a WHO press release.
The Gaza Strip still bombed. Israel launched new strikes on the Gaza Strip on Sunday. At least 12 people were killed in Israeli strikes on the town of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, the Hamas health ministry announced. Witnesses also reported Israeli bombardment on the southern town of Bani Suheila.