Updates: Hamas-Israel ceasefire holds

Scouts marched under a clear blue sky in Bethlehem on Wednesday, as the Palestinian city emerged from the shadow of the war in Gaza to celebrate its first festive Christmas in more than two years.

Throughout the Gaza war that began with Hamas's attack on Israel in October 2023, a sombre tone had marked Christmases in the biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ.

But on Wednesday, celebrations were in full swing again in the occupied West Bank city, as a fragile truce held in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people are facing the winter in makeshift tents.

In Bethlehem, the sound of drums and bagpipes playing renditions of popular Christmas carols filled the air, as Christians young and old made their way to the city's central Manger Square.

Israel's parliament gave the initial go-ahead on Wednesday for a government-empowered inquiry into the surprise October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on southern Israel rather than the expected independent investigation demanded by families of the victims.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resisted calls to establish a state commission to investigate Israel's failures in the run-up to its deadliest day and has taken no responsibility for the attack that sparked the two-year Gaza war.

His ruling coalition voted on Wednesday to advance a bill which grants parliament members the authority to pick panel members for an inquiry and gives Netanyahu's cabinet the power to set its mandate.

Critics say the move circumvents Israel's 1968 Commissions of Inquiry Law, under which the president of the Supreme Court appoints an independent panel to investigate major state failures such as those which preceded the 1973 Yom Kippur war.

Survivors and relatives of those hurt in the Hamas attack have launched a campaign against the proposed probe, saying only a state commission can bring those accountable to justice.

Countries including Britain, Canada and Germany and others condemned the Israeli security cabinet's approval of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying they violated international law and risked fuelling instability.

"We call on Israel to reverse this decision, as well as the expansion of settlements," said a joint statement released by Britain, which also included Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain.

"We recall that such unilateral actions, as part of a wider intensification of the settlement policies in the West Bank, not only violate international law but also risk fuelling instability," the statement added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of violating the Gaza ceasefire by refusing to disarm, and said Israel would retaliate after a military officer was wounded by what the military described as a bomb.

In a speech at a graduation ceremony for Air Force pilots, Netanyahu mentioned the attack in Rafah, part of Gaza where Israeli forces still operate, and said Hamas had made clear it had no plan to disarm as foreseen under the October truce deal.

"Israel will respond accordingly," he said.

The Israeli army said that it had identified a Hamas financial official it killed two weeks ago in a strike in the Gaza Strip.

Abdel Hay Zaqut, a financial official in Hamas's armed wing, on December 13 in the same strike that killed military commander Raed Saad.

The Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said that Zaqut was killed while he was in a vehicle alongside Raed Saad in "a joint operation by the Israeli army and the Shin Bet", Israel's internal security agency.

Zaqut "belonged to the financial department of the armed wing" of Hamas, Adraee wrote on X.

"Over the past year, Zaqut was responsible for collecting and transferring tens of millions of dollars to Hamas with the aim of continuing the fight against the State of Israel," he said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Hamas political bureau officials in Ankara to discuss the ceasefire in Gaza and advancing the agreement to its second phase, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said.

The source said the Hamas officials told Fidan that they had fulfilled their requirements as part of the ceasefire deal, but that Israel's continued targeting of Gaza aimed to prevent the agreement from moving to the next phase.

The Hamas members also said humanitarian aid entering Gaza was not sufficient, and that goods like medication, equipment for housing, and fuel were needed, the source added. 

The UN has warned of deepening humanitarian needs in Palestine amid Israeli military aggression and illegal settler violence which continue to put Palestinians at risk, reported TRT World.

"Over the past two weeks, OCHA has documented further incidents resulting in the killing and injury of Palestinians," said UN's OCHA, adding that six Palestinians were killed, including five by Israeli forces and one by an Israeli settler, from December 9  to December 22.

The UN further pointed out that over 100 Palestinians [were] displaced due to demolitions and evictions over the past two weeks, including 63 in East Jerusalem and the rest in Area C.