Jerusalem's Old City Nearly Empty During New Year's Eve | VOA News

Jerusalem's Old City, usually bustling with holiday tourists and businesses open for shoppers, is nearly empty for New Year's Eve as Israel's war on Gaza continues.

Israel launched new bombing strikes on Hamas militants Sunday, with hospital officials saying at least 35 people were killed in Gaza City and no signs that the fighting will end soon as the calendar turns to 2024.

Israeli forces targeted the central part of the Gaza Strip, the narrow Palestinian territory along the Mediterranean Sea, while also carrying out operations in Khan Younis, Gaza’s second largest city in the south toward the border with Egypt.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu predicted Saturday that the Jewish state’s offensive, sparked by the shock October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, will last for “many more months” despite increasing international calls for a cease-fire.