Israel bombs Gaza as rift with U.S. grows

Israel's war against Hamas militants in Gaza Strip leads to civilian casualties & destruction; US President Biden urges to end war; UN calls for ceasefire & protection of civilians.

Strip Israel bombed Gaza on December 14 in its war against Hamas militants as a top White House adviser travelled to Jerusalem with a rift growing over civilian casualties.

The war, now in its third month, began after the Palestinian group's unprecedented October 7 attacks on Israel that Israeli officials say killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

In response, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas. It began a relentless bombardment and ground invasion that has left swathes of Gaza in ruins. According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry's latest toll, 18,608 people, mostly women and children, have been killed.

Israeli air strikes across Gaza overnight killed at least 67 more, the Health Ministry said.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where violence since October 7 has surged to levels unseen in nearly two decades, the Palestinian health ministry said "a young man died from his wounds" as a result of ongoing Israeli "aggression" in Jenin, a militant stronghold.

U.S. President Joe Biden, whose government has provided Israel with billions of dollars in military aid, delivered his sharpest rebuke of the war on Wednesday. He said Israel's "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza was eroding international support.

But Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to carry on "until victory, nothing less than that", and Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said the war would continue "with or without international support".