8:30 am AEDT, 17 December
What’s happening?
Three Israeli hostages were accidentally shot dead by IDF troops. Because there were no Palestinian civilians in the area, soldiers thought they were Hamas combatants. Hamas operatives have been pretending to be civilians. The mother of one of the killed hostages was in Australia several weeks ago in an Israeli embassy supported delegation. Defence Minister Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Halevi took responsibility for the accidental killing.
The Red Cross president was in Israel, but said Red Cross pressure on Hamas to allow visits to hostages wouldn’t work. Meanwhile, Israel found weapons inside another hospital.
Israel has decided to re-open the Keren Shalom crossing into Gaza to deliver aid.
An explosive-laden ‘suicide’ drone sent by Hezbollah has killed an Israeli soldier in northern Israel. Meanwhile, Israel is increasing its threats to remove Hezbollah from the border with Israel, if the international community doesn’t do it first.
The US and UK navies shot down 15 Houthi drones heading towards Israel.
Background
Four major shipping companies have suspended operations in the Red Sea because of the Houthi threat. Here’s a background on how the Houthi attacks against shipping is affecting international trade. About 10 per cent of global trade passes through the Red Sea.
