Israel-Palestine conflict: Gaza aid inspection checkpoints to open

Israel announces the opening of Nitzana and Kerem Shalom crossings

Israel has announced that it will open its Nitzana and Kerem Shalom crossings on Tuesday, 12 December to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (Cogat) says the move will facilitate aid inspections and double aid delivery into Gaza.

The Nitzana and Kerem Shalom crossings will be used as security screening points from which trucks will be forwarded to Rafah, Egypt, the only crossing into Gaza that has remained open for much of the conflict.

Aid organizations have struggled to provide assistance to civilians in Gaza caught up in the fighting.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of an impending "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza.

The Palestinian enclave has been under attack by Israeli armed forces since the militant, Islamist group Hamas, which runs Gaza, launched terror attacks on Israel on October 7.

Biden stresses 'unshakeable' support for Israel at Hanukkah reception

US President Joe Biden stressed the US will continue to provide Israel with military assistance until it "gets rid of" militant, Islamist group Hamas.

"Folks, were there no Israel, there wouldn't be a Jew in the world that was safe," he said during a White House Hannukah reception attended by some 800 guests on Monday night.

However, the US president also cautioned against a shifting public opinion.

"We continue to provide military assistance until they get rid of Hamas but we have to be careful," Biden said. "They have to be careful. The whole world's public opinion can shift overnight. We can't let that happen."

Nevertheless, Biden acknowledged having differences with Israeli leaders, including current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He recalled a time he wrote a note on a photo of the two men.

"I wrote on the top of it, 'Bibi I love you but I don't agree with a damn thing you had to say,'" Biden said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.

"It's about the same today," Biden said, adding that Israel is in a "tough spot" and that "I've had my differences with some Israeli leadership." Biden did not elaborate on the differences.

UN to vote on humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza

The United Nations General Assembly is set to vote vote on a non-binding resolution to demand an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. Calls for a cease-fire have grown ever louder as the situation drags on, but the US — a staunch Israeli ally — vetoed a binding UN Security Council resolution on one last week.

Tuesday's draft resolution is likely to be similar in language to the one blocked by Washington.

The October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas, classified by multiple countries as a terrorist organization, killed over 1,200 individuals, many of them civilians.

The ensuing Israeli military retaliation has killed more than 18,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

Israel has said that just over 100 of its soldiers have been killed since it launched its ground offensive into Gaza.