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Local media at a nearby hospital reported watching scenes of distressed Palestinians transporting their dead, including a baby, and attending to the injured in the aftermath of the attack on the Maghazi refugee camp situated to the east of Deir al-Balah. 

Among the reported 68 casualties are a minimum of 12 women and seven children, according to early hospital figures.

“We were all targeted,” said Ahmad Turkomani, who lost several family members including his daughter and grandson. “There is no safe place in Gaza anyway.”

Earlier, the Health Ministry in Gaza gave the death toll as 70. 

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

As Christmas Eve fell, smoke rose over the besieged territory, while in the West Bank Bethlehem was hushed, its holiday celebrations called off. 

In neighboring Egypt, tentative efforts continued on a deal for another exchange of hostages for Palestinians held by Israel.

The war has devastated parts of Gaza, killed roughly 20,400 Palestinians and displaced almost all of the territory’s 2.3 million people.

The mounting death toll among Israeli troops is 156 since the ground offensive began. Sparked when Hamas-led militants stormed communities in southern Israel on 7 October, killing 1,200 and taking 240 hostages.

Israelis still largely stand behind the country’s stated goals of crushing Hamas’ governing and military capabilities and releasing the remaining 129 captives. That’s despite rising international pressure against Israel’s offensive, the soaring death toll and unprecedented suffering among Palestinians.

“The war exacts a very heavy price from us, but we have no choice but to continue fighting,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

In a nationally televised speech, Israeli President Isaac Herzog appealed for the country to remain united. “This moment is a test. We will not break nor blink,” he said.

There has been widespread anger against his government, which many criticise for failing to protect civilians on 7 October and promoting policies that allowed Hamas to gain strength but Netanyahu has avoided accepting responsibility for the military and policy failures.

The Israeli military said it had completed the dismantling of Hamas’ underground headquarters in northern Gaza, part of an operation to take down the vast tunnel network and kill off top commanders that Israeli leaders have said could take months.

Efforts toward negotiations continued. 

The head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, arrived in Egypt for talks. 

The militant group, which also took part in the 7 October attack, said it was prepared to consider releasing hostages only after the fighting ends. Hamas’ top leader Ismail Haniyeh traveled to Cairo for talks days earlier.