“Sound bombs” were heard near Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem just before the start of the Friday prayers, Al Jazeera reported on December 22. Israeli soldiers on horses were seen chasing worshippers away from the Lions’ Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. Intense battles were reportedly underway between Israeli forces and Palestinian groups in the al-Manara, Tuffah and Daraj neighbourhoods in northern Gaza. Kibbutz Nir Oz announced that 73-year-old resident Gadi Haggai, abducted by Hamas on October 7, had died. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed to have struck the Israeli port city of Eilat in retaliation for its war on the Gaza Strip.