Cease-fire and hostage talks appear stalled as U.N. warns of starving population in Gaza

As the death toll in Gaza reached an estimated 20,000 on Thursday, the majority of them women and children, a poll released last week by a leading Palestinian research firm offered a window into how Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank view the war. 

The survey, which was conducted in late November, found that 63% of Palestinians polled favored “armed struggle” as the best strategy to secure an independent state and end Israel’s occupation. That represents a 10% rise in support since a survey conducted by the same center three months ago. 

Only 20% of those polled supported negotiations and 13% backed non-violent protest. The results reflect the belief among many Palestinians that decades of appealing to the international community, conducting boycotts, and waiting for a two-state diplomatic solution have proved fruitless.

“It is important to understand that the majority of Palestinians do not see the attacks on Israel as terrorism,” said Khalil Sayegh, who was born and raised in Gaza, received a Master’s Degree from American University and is now a political analyst based in Washington, D.C. 

“They see ‘armed struggle’ as a normal reaction for the Palestinians to gain their freedom out of the occupation,” he added. 

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Canada today announced new study and work permits designed to help Palestinians or Israelis already in Canada or relatives of citizens and residents who have left Gaza or Israel.

Relatives of Canadian citizens or permanent residents who have left Israel, Gaza or the West Bank since the conflict started on Oct. 7 can apply for fee-exempt study or work permits, the government said.

Israelis and Palestinians who are already in Canada and who don’t want to return for safety reasons can do the same, said Canada’s minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, Marc Miller.

Miller called the situation in Gaza a humanitarian crisis. “Israelis and Palestinians in Canada will continue to find safety here, and we will do what we can to help loved ones who have fled the region, as well as eligible family members who remain in Gaza,” he said.

ABU DIS, occupied West Bank — A 13-year-old American Palestinian boy was released from an Israeli prison last night after he was strip-searched, interrogated and falsely arrested without access to his family or a lawyer, his family said.

Malik Jaffal says he spent a week in Ofer military prison stuck in a small room with 12 other boys with no soap and no showers after he refused to falsely confess to throwing rocks at soldiers.

Israeli soldiers shot him in the arm on Nov. 1 as he was on his way home from playing soccer with friends, he said in an interview translated by his U.S.-born mother, Dunia Mustafa.

He said that he is accustomed to shootings in his neighborhood but that he never imagined he would end up a victim.

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U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said today that Israel will have to transition to “lower-intensity operations” as its military campaign continues, and the sooner, the better.

“We are not dictating terms and timelines to the Israelis,” Kirby said.

“We have certainly talked about the importance of moving to lower-intensity operations. And obviously, we don’t want them to do it sooner than they think they can do it safely and effectively,” he said. “But we do believe — we believe that a transition in the near future is the best possible outcome.”

Kirby said that in a military campaign, tactics evolve as objectives are reached, and that Israel has said it will move to a lower intensity of operations. The U.S. has offered assistance in sharing its own lessons in past military actions, he said.

On a call with Rabbi Hyim Shafner of Kesher Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C., second gentleman Doug Emhoff "expressed solidarity with the congregation, offered messages of hope and resilience, and stressed the importance of combating antisemitism and all other forms of hate," a White House official said.

On Sunday, Kesher Israel faced threats from an assailant "yelling antisemitic language" outside the synagogue.

Today, Emhoff and Shafner spoke about the event, with Emhoff saying the Biden administration is committed to improving safety and security for Jewish communities and places of worship.

The U.N. Security Council has reached a resolution on the situation in Gaza that the U.S. can support, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

The vote has been delayed until Friday, a U.N. spokesperson said.

The resolution was put forward by the United Arab Emirates, and the U.S. vetoed it on Dec. 8. The language changed from a “cessation of hostilities” to a “suspension,” the U.N. said in its online updates about the issue today.

“It will support the priority that Egypt has in ensuring that we put a mechanism on the ground that will support humanitarian assistance, and we’re ready to move forward,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

A vote has not taken place. Thomas-Greenfield would not say how the U.S. would vote, but she said that if the resolution is put forward as is, it is something the U.S. can support.

“The draft resolution is not watered down,” she said in response to a question. “The draft resolution is a very strong resolution that is fully supported by the Arab group that provides them what they feel is needed to get humanitarian assistance on the ground.”

On Dec. 8, when the U.S. vetoed the resolution, Robert Wood, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said the measure called for an “unsustainable cease-fire that will only plant the seeds for the next war.”

After that vote, the U.N. General Assembly passed a similar resolution. But an assembly resolution is not legally binding, whereas all member states agree to abide by Security Council resolutions.

A top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they will not "waste any real opportunity" to free the remaining Hamas hostages.

Mark Regev, in an interview with NBC News' Andrea Mitchell, said the Israelis are "in communications with the Americans, with the Qataris, with the Egyptians" about the 100 or so people who have been held captive since Oct. 7, when Hamas launched a deadly surprise attack on Israel.

Regev, however, did not say whether Israeli negotiators have been talking to Hamas and insisted there would be no let-up in the fierce Israeli counter-attack that has killed an estimated 20,000 people in Gaza and drawn international condemnation.

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian telecoms provider Paltel said Thursday evening that communications were gradually returning to the central and southern areas of Gaza, after a two-day blackout.

Landline connections, mobile networks and internet connections were all disrupted during the day Wednesday.

Paltel blamed the outage on the current conflict, without providing details.

There have been at least four communication blackouts in besieged Gaza since the war began on Oct. 7.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — More than half a million people in Gaza — a quarter of the population — are starving, according to a report Thursday by the U.N. and other agencies that highlights the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s bombardment and siege on the territory in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

The extent of the population’s hunger eclipsed even the near-famines in Afghanistan and Yemen of recent years, according to figures in the report. The report warned that the risk of famine is “increasing each day,” blaming the hunger on insufficient aid entering Gaza.

“It doesn’t get any worse,’’ said Arif Husain, chief economist for the U.N.’s World Food Program. “I have never seen something at the scale that is happening in Gaza. And at this speed.”