French FM Catherine Colonna, who is on a visit to Israel, called for an “immediate and durable” truce in the Gaza war. Eli Cohen, Israel's foreign minister, rejected Colonna’s call, calling it “irresponsible”, adding that “a call for a ceasefire now is a gift for Hamas”. The contrasting remarks from Cohen and Colonna highlighted the awkwardness between Israel and France during the joint briefing. A total of 18,787 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began on October 7, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on December 17. The Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank said the Israeli operation has killed 297 people in the occupied area in the ongoing war. A WHO team has described the emergency department at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza as a “bloodbath” and in need of “resuscitation”. The IDF said soldiers from the Nahal Brigade found a tunnel shaft inside a children's room in Jabalia. Several pro-Palestinian protests took place across the globe as Israel pressed on with its bombing camp
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