Morning update

Good morning Middle East Eye readers. Here are the latest updates from Gaza, where Israel continues to violate the ceasefire more than two months after it came into effect:

• In Gaza, Israeli helicopters opened fire towards the southern city of Rafah as part of the ongoing military escalation, where Israeli forces are using explosives to demolish residential buildings, and their helicopters are firing heavily. 

• In Khan Younis, Israeli forces launched a heavy artillery bombardment accompanied by heavy gunfire from military vehicles.

• In central Gaza, Israeli military vehicles opened fire on the southeastern areas of Bureij and Maghazi refugee camps, marking a continued escalation on several fronts.

• Many people have been wounded from Israeli gunfire in Halawa camp, west of Jabalia city, northern Gaza Strip.

• A joint statement was issued by Britain, Canada, Japan and several European countries saying that civilians in Gaza are facing appalling conditions and 1.3 million people are still in urgent need of shelter. They called on Israel to ensure that international NGOs can operate in Gaza, where the complete collapse of the sewage infrastructure has left 740,000 people at risk of toxic flooding.

• The Israeli army said that it has carried out attacks on approximately 20,900 targets on various fronts during 2025, as part of ongoing military operations on several fronts. 

• The Israeli army also announced that it had carried out a combing operation on the border with Lebanon near the town of Arab al Aramsheh.