Summary of the day so far
It’s 5:11am in Gaza and Tel Aviv and this blog is now closing. But first, here’s a summary of today’s main developments:
US secretary of state Antony Blinken will leave Thursday evening on his fourth crisis trip to the Middle East, an official has told Agence France-Presse and Reuters news agency. The trip will include Israel, the US official said on condition of anonymity, but did not offer any further detail. On previous trips, Blinken has visited a number of Arab countries too.
Israel carried out the strike that killed Hamas’s deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut, Lebanon, a US defense department official told Agence France-Presse anonymously on Wednesday. “The strike was an Israeli strike,” said the official, without providing further details. On Tuesday, al-Arouri was killed in Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut. Both Hamas and Hezbollah have blamed Israel for al-Arouri’s killing.
A local Hezbollah official and two other members were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon, Reuters reports two security sources saying. Wednesday’s strike bring the death toll in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon to nine Hezbollah members since the Iran-backed group began exchanging fire with Israeli forces at the start of October.
The United States sees no “clear desire” by either Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement or Israel to go to war with the other, a senior Biden administration official has told Reuters. The official was briefing reporters on condition of anonymity and referring to a speech earlier in the day by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on the assassination on Tuesday of a senior Hamas official in Beirut.
Twelve nations led by the United States on Wednesday have jointly warned Yemen’s Houthi rebels of consequences unless they immediately halt sea attacks that have been disrupting global commerce. President Joe Biden’s administration described the statement – joined by Britain, Germany and Japan – as a final warning, as Biden weighs possible military strikes against the Houthis if attacks persist, Agence France-Presse reports.
The US said that it is “not seeing any acts that constitute genocide” in Gaza, referring to South Africa’s case against Israel in the international court of justice in which it accused Israel of “genocidal” acts across Gaza. In a news briefing on Wednesday, US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, “Those are allegations that should not be made lightly ... we are not seeing any acts that constitute genocide … That is a determination by the state department.” Miller’s comments come as Israeli strikes have killed over 22,300 Palestinians across Gaza – which human rights organisations have described as an “open air prison” – since 7 October.
The international court of justice will hold public hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by South Africa in its case against Israel over “genocidal” acts in Gaza next week. In a press release on Wednesday, the ICJ said that it will hold public hearings at the Peace Palace in The Hague next Thursday and Friday. It added: “The hearings will be devoted to the request for the indication for provisional measures contained in South Africa’s application.”
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, has condemned what he called “inflammatory” comments made by two Israeli ministers who said Palestinians should emigrate from Gaza. In a tweet on Wednesday, Borrell wrote: “I strongly condemn the inflammatory & irresponsible statements by Israeli ministers Ben Gvir & Smotrich slandering the Palestinian population of Gaza & calling for a plan for their emigration.
A Qatari aircraft carrying 37 tons of aid for Palestinians in Gaza arrived in El Arish, Egypt, on Wednesday. The aid includes shelter kits and food items that will be further transferred to Gaza, the Qatari foreign ministry said in an announcement. Wednesday’s aircraft delivery brings the total amount of aid planes sent from Qatar to Gaza to 58, with a total of 1,814 tons of aid.
The US coordinated with Israel, Egypt and others in rescuing the mother of a US serviceman and her American brother-in-law in Gaza, the Associated Press (AP) is reporting. The news agency says it’s the only known operation of its kind to extract American citizens and their close family members during the months of fighting and Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
A senior official in the US Education Department has stepped down, citing President Joe Biden’s handling of the conflict in Gaza, Reuters is reporting, in the latest sign of dissent in the administration over the war.
And here are the latest images coming out of Israel as the fighting continues from the southern border and the remaining damage from the 7 October Hamas attacks can still be seen:
Here are some of the latest images coming out of Gaza as people flee the fighting and deal with the aftermath of airstrikes:
Let’s get a bit more background on the newly announced visit to Israel by the US secretary of state Antony Blinken.
He will leave Thursday evening on his fourth crisis trip to the Middle East, an official has told Agence France-Presse.
The trip will include Israel, the US official said on condition of anonymity, but did not offer any further detail. On previous trips, Blinken has visited a number of Arab countries too.
It will mark the US secretary of state’s fourth trip to the region and fifth to Israel – excluding a visit accompanying President Joe Biden – since Hamas carried out the 7 October attacks.
The announcement of this trip comes after a suspected Israeli strike killed a top Hamas leader in the suburbs of Beirut, increasing regional tensions even further.
Updated
The United States sees no “clear desire” by either Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement or Israel to go to war with the other, a senior Biden administration official has told Reuters.
The official was briefing reporters on condition of anonymity and referring to a speech earlier in the day by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on the assassination on Tuesday of a senior Hamas official in Beirut. Reuters reports that the official said:
From everything that we can tell, there is no clear desire for Hezbollah to go to war with Israel and vice versa …
However, the tension on the (Israeli-Lebanese) border is there because Hezbollah is firing across the border regularly at the Israelis and the Israelis obviously return fire.
Israel’s Defence Forces (IDF) have posted on X that they have carried out a strike in the southern Lebanese village of Yaroun.
Earlier, Reuters reported that a local Hezbollah official and two other members were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon, citing two security sources.
Wednesday’s strike brings the death toll in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon to nine Hezbollah members since the Iran-backed group began exchanging fire with Israeli forces at the start of October.
On Tuesday, Hamas chief Saleh al-Arouri was killed in Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut. Both Hezbollah and Hamas have blamed Israel, with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah calling the killing “flagrant Israeli aggression”.
תקיפת חוליית מחבלים, תשתית צבאית ואמצעי תצפית; צה"ל תקף מטרות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בשטח לבנון.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) January 3, 2024
כוחות צה"ל תקפו לפני זמן קצר חוליית מחבלים שפעלה במרחב הכפר יארון. בנוסף, צה"ל תקף אמצעי תצפית ותשתית צבאית בה שהו פעילים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה>> pic.twitter.com/AEjMjHOIwP
The US coordinated with Israel, Egypt and others in rescuing the mother of a US serviceman and her American brother-in-law in Gaza, the Associated Press (AP) is reporting.
The news agency says it’s the only known operation of its kind to extract American citizens and their close family members during the months of fighting and Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
Citing a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity – AP reports that Zahra Sckak, 44, made it out of Gaza on New Year’s Eve, along with her brother-in-law, Farid Sukaik, an American citizen.
One of Sckak’s three American sons, Spec. Ragi A. Sckak, serves as an infantryman in the US military.
The extraction involved the Israeli military and local Israeli officials who oversee Gaza and the occupied West Bank, the US official told AP. “The United States played solely a liaison and coordinating role between the Sckak family and the governments of Israel and Egypt”.
The state department has said about 300 American citizens, legal permanent residents and their immediate family members remain in Gaza.
Updated
A senior official in the US Education Department has stepped down, citing President Joe Biden’s handling of the conflict in Gaza, Reuters is reporting, in the latest sign of dissent in the administration over the war.
In a letter, Tariq Habash, special assistant in the education department’s office of planning, evaluation and policy development, said: “I cannot stay silent as this administration turns a blind eye to the atrocities committed against innocent Palestinian lives, in what leading human rights experts have called a genocidal campaign by the Israeli government.”
Habash is a Palestinian-American and an expert on student debt. He was appointed early in Biden’s presidency as part of a build-out of the Education Department’s student loan expertise, Reuters says.
State department spokesperson Matthew Miller said earlier in the day that the US has not observed acts in Gaza that constitute genocide. His remarks were in response to proceedings launched by South Africa at the International Court of Justice over Israel’s military operations in the territory. Israel also has denied claims of genocide in Gaza.
Reuters is also reporting that 17 Biden re-election campaign staffers have issued a warning in an anonymous letter that Biden could lose voters over the issue. Biden’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reports.
Germany’s Foreign Office has warned against travelling to Lebanon and asked German citizens to leave the country.
The warning is in the wake of the killing of one of Hamas’s most senior officials, Saleh al-Arouri. He died in Beirut in what was understood to be an Israeli drone strike. Israel has not confirmed or denied it was behind the attack.
The statement from the Germany ministry’s website says:
A further aggravation of the situation and expansion of the conflict cannot be ruled out, especially in view of the killing of the deputy chairman of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh Al-Arouri, in the Beirut area on January 2, 2024
Reuters reports that this applies particularly to the southern parts of Lebanon up to and including the southern urban areas of Beirut.
Israeli hostage Sahar Baruch was killed last month during a rescue attempt by special forces in Gaza, the Israeli military said on Wednesday, without giving details.
Hamas said on 8 December that a hostage it named as Sa’ar Baruch, had been killed during an attempted rescue operation, Reuters reports.
“At this point, it is not possible to determine the circumstances of Sahar’s death, and it is not known whether he was murdered by Hamas or killed by our forces’ fire,” the military said in a statement, according to Reuters.
Sahar Baruch was among the 240 hostages seized by Hamas gunmen when they stormed into southern Israel on 7 October.
More than 100 hostages have since been released under agreements brokered by Qatar and other countries and one hostage was rescued by Israeli forces. At least 123 remain in Gaza, of whom at least 23 have been declared dead by Israeli authorities.
Twelve nations led by the United States on Wednesday have jointly warned Yemen’s Houthi rebels of consequences unless they immediately halt sea attacks that have been disrupting global commerce.
President Joe Biden’s administration described the statement - joined by Britain, Germany and Japan – as a final warning, as Biden weighs possible military strikes against the Houthis if attacks persist, Agence France-Presse reports.
The Iranian-backed rebels, who control much of Yemen including the capital Sana’a and most of the Red Sea coast, have been firing on ships allegedly linked to Israel in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Here’s some of what the joint statement, released by the White House, had to say:
Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews …
The Huthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways.
The U.S. joins our partners and allies in calling for an immediate end to the Houthi’s illegal attacks against vessels and crews in the Red Sea.
— Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (@USAmbUN) January 3, 2024
We will continue to promote accountability for malign actors responsible for unlawful seizures and attacks.https://t.co/uhGwS18l3w
Updated
It is still unclear who is responsible for the double bombing of a crowd in the south-eastern Iranian city of Kerman, but whoever is behind the outrage is clearly willing to risk igniting a regional war.
In Washington, officials have been pointing towards the possible role of Islamic State or some affiliated Sunni extremist group, and away from the partnership of Israel and the secular Iranian rebel group, the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MeK), who have reportedly been behind previous attacks deep inside Iran.
Those earlier attacks have mostly been targeted assassinations, often on scientists, or acts of sabotage. Wednesday’s bombing in Kerman does not fit the pattern, US and UK officials argue. It was aimed at mourners marking the fourth anniversary of the US drone killing of Qassem Suleimani, a commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and arch-foe of Israel and US – but the attack was a horrifically blunt instrument, leaving scores of civilians among the dead, so it would be a remarkable departure for MeK and the Mossad.
Read the rest of our analysis here on the Kerman bombing and its context in relation to the Israel-Gaza war, from our world affairs editor Julian Borger in Washington:
Reged Ahmad here picking up the blog from Maya Yang
Reuters is reporting that the US secretary of state Antony Blinken is to leave Thursday for a visit to Israel and other Middle East countries.
The agency is citing a US official who was briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, and said that Blinken leaves Thursday night “for stops in a number of capitals, including Israel,” but provided no further details.
The official said US diplomatic envoy Amos Hochstein will also travel to Israel to work to soothe tensions between the country and Hezbollah, Reuters reports.
Summary
Here is where things stand:
Israel carried out the strike that killed Hamas’s deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut, Lebanon, a US defense department official told Agence France-Presse anonymously on Wednesday. “The strike was an Israeli strike,” said the official, without providing further details. On Tuesday, al-Arouri was killed in Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut. Both Hamas and Hezbollah have blamed Israel for al-Arouri’s killing.
A local Hezbollah official and two other members were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon, Reuters reports two security sources saying. Wednesday’s strike bring the death toll in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon to nine Hezbollah members since the Iran-backed group began exchanging fire with Israeli forces at the start of October.
UK foreign secretary David Cameron said that “more must be done to get humanitarian aid into Gaza” and that Israel “must allow significantly more supplies in to reduce the risk of hunger and disease”, Agence France-Presse reports. “The UK also wants to see the immediate release of hostages and progress towards a sustainable ceasefire,” Cameron, who was previously the UK prime minister, said.
The US said that it is “not seeing any acts that constitute genocide” in Gaza, referring to South Africa’s case against Israel in the international court of justice in which it accused Israel of “genocidal” acts across Gaza. In a news briefing on Wednesday, US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, “Those are allegations that should not be made lightly ... we are not seeing any acts that constitute genocide … That is a determination by the state department.” Miller’s comments come as Israeli strikes have killed over 22,300 Palestinians across the Gaza – which human rights organizations have described as an “open air prison” - since 7 October.
The international court of justice will hold public hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by South Africa in its case against Israel over “genocidal” acts in Gaza next week. In a press release on Wednesday, the ICJ said that it will hold public hearings at the Peace Palace in The Hague next Thursday and Friday. It added: “The hearings will be devoted to the request for the indication for provisional measures contained in South Africa’s application.”
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, has condemned what he called “inflammatory” comments made by two Israeli ministers who said Palestinians should emigrate from Gaza. In a tweet on Wednesday, Borrell wrote: “I strongly condemn the inflammatory & irresponsible statements by Israeli ministers Ben Gvir & Smotrich slandering the Palestinian population of Gaza & calling for a plan for their emigration.
A Qatari aircraft carrying 37 tons of aid for Palestinians in Gaza arrived in El Arish, Egypt, on Wednesday. The aid includes shelter kits and food items that will be further transferred to Gaza, the Qatari foreign ministry said in an announcement. Wednesday’s aircraft delivery brings the total amount of aid planes sent from Qatar to Gaza to 58, with a total of 1,814 tons of aid.
Updated
Israel carried out the strike that killed Hamas’s deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut, Lebanon, a US defense department official told Agence France-Presse anonymously on Wednesday.
“The strike was an Israeli strike,” said the official, without providing further details.
On Tuesday, al-Arouri was killed in Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut. Both Hamas and Hezbollah have blamed Israel for al-Arouri’s killing.
Meanwhile, Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari did not comment directly on his killing but said that the Israeli military was “highly prepared for any scenario” in its aftermath, Agence France-Presse reports.
Israeli public figures have accused the country’s judiciary of ignoring incitement to genocide in Gaza where Israeli strikes have killed more than 22,300 Palestinians since 7 October.
The Guardian’s Emma Graham-Harrison and Quique Kierszenbaum reports:
A group of prominent Israelis has accused the country’s judicial authorities of ignoring “extensive and blatant” incitement to genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza by influential public figures.
In a letter to the attorney general and state prosecutors, they demand action to stop the normalisation of language that breaks both Israeli and international law.
“For the first time that we can remember, the explicit calls to commit atrocious crimes, as stated, against millions of civilians have turned into a legitimate and regular part of Israeli discourse,” they write. “Today, calls of these types are an everyday matter in Israel.”
Signatories include one of Israel’s top scientists, the Royal Society member Prof David Harel, alongside other academics, former diplomats, former members of the Knesset, journalists and activists.
Represented by the human rights lawyer Michael Sfard, their 11-page letter contains multiple examples of “the discourse of annihilation, expulsion and revenge”.
The list of elite Israelis who have incited war crimes includes cabinet ministers and Knesset members, former top military officials, academics, media figures, social media influencers and celebrities, the letter says.
Updated
A local Hezbollah official and two other members were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon, Reuters reports two security sources saying.
Wednesday’s strike bring the death toll in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon to nine Hezbollah members since the Iran-backed group began exchanging fire with Israeli forces at the start of October.
On Tuesday, Hamas chief Saleh al-Arouri was killed in Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut. Both Hezbollah and Hamas have blamed Israel, with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah calling the killing “flagrant Israeli aggression”.
Updated
UK foreign secretary David Cameron said that “more must be done to get humanitarian aid into Gaza” and that Israel “must allow significantly more supplies in to reduce the risk of hunger and disease”, Agence France-Presse reports.
“The UK also wants to see the immediate release of hostages and progress towards a sustainable ceasefire,” Cameron, who was previously the UK prime minister, said.
He added that he discussed the issue with Israel’s new foreign minister Israel Katz.
The first UK maritime shipment of aid to Gaza arrived in Egypt this week, Agence France-Presse reports. According to the British government, the shipment carried nearly 90 tons of thermal blankets, shelter packs and other medical supplies.
The shipment is set to be transferred to the Rafah crossing by the Egyptian Red Crescent and will be distributed by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, across Gaza.
Updated
The US said that it is “not seeing any acts that constitute genocide” in Gaza, referring to South Africa’s case against Israel in the international court of justice in which it accused Israel of “genocidal” acts across Gaza.
In a news briefing on Wednesday, US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller responded to a question about South Africa’s request to the ICJ to issue an urgent order declaring that Israel was violating the Genocide Convention by saying:
“Those are allegations that should not be made lightly ... we are not seeing any acts that constitute genocide… That is a determination by the state department.”
Miller’s comments come as Israeli strikes have killed over 22,300 Palestinians across the Gaza – which human rights organizations have described as an “open air prison” - since 7 October. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes have forcibly displaced 1.9 million Palestinian survivors from their homes, leaving them grappling with severe shortages in basic necessities including food, water, fuel and medical supplies.
In November, a group of UN human rights experts warned that “grave violations committed by Israel against Palestinians in the aftermath of 7 October, particularly in Gaza, point to a genocide in the making”.
The ICJ has scheduled public hearings for next Thursday and Friday to hear oral arguments from South Africa and Israel surrounding South Africa’s case.
Updated
ICJ to hold public hearings on South Africa's genocide case against Israel next week
The international court of justice will hold public hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by South Africa in its case against Israel over “genocidal” acts in Gaza next week.
In a press release on Wednesday, the ICJ said that it will hold public hearings at the Peace Palace in The Hague next Thursday and Friday.
It added:
“The hearings will be devoted to the request for the indication for provisional measures contained in South Africa’s application.
In its request, South Africa asks the court to indicate provisional measures in order to ‘protect against further, severe, and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the Genocide Convention’ and ‘to ensure Israel’s compliance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention not to engage in genocide, and to prevent and punish genocide.’”
PRESS RELEASE: the #ICJ will hold public hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by #SouthAfrica in the case #SouthAfrica v. #Israel on Thursday 11 and Friday 12 January 2024. Watch live on @UNWebTVhttps://t.co/kHMCQklbfQ pic.twitter.com/t8Pgf5T4Ly
— CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) January 3, 2024
Updated
EU foreign policy chief condemns Israeli ministers' calls for Palestinian emigration from Gaza
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, has condemned what he called “inflammatory” comments made by two Israeli ministers who said Palestinians should emigrate from Gaza.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Borell wrote:
“I strongly condemn the inflammatory & irresponsible statements by Israeli ministers Ben Gvir & Smotrich slandering the Palestinian population of Gaza & calling for a plan for their emigration.
Forced displacements are strictly prohibited as a grave violation of IHL [international humanitarian law] & words matter.”
I strongly condemn the inflammatory & irresponsible statements by Israeli ministers Ben Gvir & Smotrich slandering the Palestinian population of Gaza & calling for a plan for their emigration.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) January 3, 2024
Forced displacements are strictly prohibited as a grave violation of IHL & words matter
On Monday, Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for promoting a “solution to encourage the emigration of Gaza’s residents” and re-establishment of Israeli settlements across Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the return of Israeli settlers to Gaza, adding that Israel should “encourage” Gaza’s 2.4 million Palestinian population to leave their land.
Here are some images coming through the newswires from Gaza where Israeli strikes have killed more than 22,300 Palestinians since 7 October while survivors grapple with severe shortages in food, water, fuel and medical supplies:
Updated
The US will continue to maintain a significant military presence in the Middle East, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.
Kirby’s comments come amid fierce fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, as well as the killing of senior Hamas figure Saleh al-Arouri who was killed in a drone strike in Lebanon on Tuesday. Both Hezbollah and Hamas have blamed Israel, with Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah calling the killing “flagrant Israeli aggression”.
Updated
A Qatari aircraft carrying 37 tons of aid for Palestinians in Gaza arrived in El Arish, Egypt, on Wednesday.
The aid includes shelter kits and food items that will be further transferred to Gaza, the Qatari foreign ministry said in an announcement.
Wednesday’s aircraft delivery brings the total amount of aid planes sent from Qatar to Gaza to 58, with a total of 1,814 tons of aid.
Qatari Aircraft Carrying Assistance for Palestinian Brothers in Gaza Lands at Egypt's Arish#MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/UCqc6lmDTs
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) January 3, 2024
Updated
Summary
It’s 9pm in Gaza City and Tel Aviv. Here are the latest headlines …
The United States remains “incredibly concerned” about the risk of the Israel-Gaza war spreading to other fronts, according to the US state department. The state department also said the US was not involved and had no reason to believe that Israel was involved in the explosions in central Iran earlier on Wednesday, nor was the US government was not given any advance notice about the strike in Beirut on Tuesday that killed a senior Hamas leader.
Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah, in a long speech in Beirut on Wednesday, asserted that the attacks on southern Israel by Hamas on 7 October, with militants bursting out of Gaza, has damaged Israel and the effects were not yet done. “What has happened since 7 October and what will happen in the future has weakened Israel,” he said.
In Nasrallah’s speech he extended condolences to the family of the senior Hamas figure Saleh al-Arouri who was killed in a drone strike in Lebanon on Tuesday. Hezbollah and Hamas have blamed Israel. He called the killing of Arouri “flagrant Israeli aggression on Beirut’s Dahiyeh” suburb.
EU foreign policy chief warned that the ‘Middle East might end up in flames’ if the current conflict escalates. Josep Borrell said at an event in the Portuguese capital Lisbon on Wednesday that the international community must impose a solution to the Israel-Gaza conflict as the warring sides are unable to come to terms.
Two explosions have killed at least 73 people [note: since updated to 103] and injured scores more at a memorial ceremony in Iran marking the fourth anniversary of the US killing of Qassem Suleimani, the military commander of Iran’s al-Quds force. A senior official called the blasts a “terroristic” attack, without elaborating on who could be behind them.
The Israeli army has said it is “prepared for any scenario” in the aftermath of a strike in Beirut that killed Hamas’s deputy chief. The assassination has stoked fears the war in the Gaza could boil over into a wider regional conflict. Iran has described the Israeli drone strike that killed the senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri late on Tuesday afternoon in Beirut as a “cowardly terrorist operation”. Israel has not formally said it carried out the attack.
Six people were killed in the explosion, reports say, including Arouri and two leaders of Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades. Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned a “new Israeli crime” and said the country was filing a complaint to the UN security council.
Hezbollah said its finger “is on the trigger” as it promised vengeance for Arouri’s death. The group said the attack in Beirut was “a serious assault on Lebanon … that will not go without a response or punishment” in a statement posted to Telegram.
A spokesperson for UN peacekeeping force Unifil inside Lebanon has said the organisation is “deeply concerned” about possible escalation in the region. A statement said “We are deeply concerned at any potential for escalation that could have devastating consequences for people on both sides of the blue line. We continue to implore all parties cease their fire, and any interlocutors with influence to urge restraint.”
Israel’s military has said that “intensive battles” continue in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip. It says that an IDF fighter jet struck an Islamic Jihad weapons production complex in the city, and that “during searches in a school, the troops located a tunnel shaft and photos of weapons”. The death of a soldier announced overnight by the IDF has brought the total number of losses for the Israeli army to 509 since 7 October. The claims have not been independently verified.
Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has been critical of US opposition to his previously stated push for the transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza. In a social media message posted overnight, Ben-Gvir said “The US is our best friend, but first of all we will do what is best for the state of Israel”. The US state department has pushed back against suggestions from some Israeli ministers that Israel could expel Palestinians from Gaza as part of a “day after” scenario for the war, saying “Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land.”
A total of 22,313 Palestinians have been killed and 57,296 have been injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement. 128 Palestinians were killed and 261 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry, which is run by Hamas, added. At least 85% of the population of the Gaza Strip has already been displaced from their homes by Israel’s military actions. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy has accused the World Health Organization of having “blood on its hands”, saying its silence about allegations of hospitals being used by Hamas “tells terrorists: keep going”. The comments came after US media reports claimed US intelligence believed Hamas had been active in the al-Shifa hospital complex, using it as a command and control centre, and holding “at least a few hostages” there.
My colleague Maya Yang is taking over the blog now for the next few hours. Stick with us as we bring you the developments as they happen.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah did not signal an immediate ramping up of the Lebanese militant and political group’s conflict with Israel, during a speech in Beirut earlier.
Here are some other takes on the speech from a BBC and a Reuters journalist via X-Twitter.
Nasrallah: Israel planned to attack Hezbollah after October 7th, but we pre-empted. Current Hezbollah actions “according to very strict calculations”, but “if you are considering a war with us, you will regret it.” No immediate threat of escalation, but definitely a warning.
— Paul Adams (@BBCPaulAdams) January 3, 2024
And Reuters in Iraq.
What has the Gaza war achieved according to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah? pic.twitter.com/8uW2xqg1eI
— Timour Azhari (@timourazhari) January 3, 2024
US still 'concerned' about Gaza conflict spreading
The United States remains “incredibly concerned” about the risk of the Israel-Gaza war spreading to other fronts, according to the US state department.
Meanwhile, the state department in a briefing said that the US was not involved in any way and had no reason to believe that Israel was involved in the explosions in central Iran earlier on Wednesday, Reuters reports.
Two explosions killed at least 103 people and injured scores more at a memorial ceremony in Iran marking the fourth anniversary of the US killing of Qassem Suleimani, the head of Iran’s Quds Force and one of the most powerful men in the Middle East, the Guardian has reported.
A senior Iranian official called the blasts a terrorist attack, without elaborating on who could be behind them. No one has immediately claimed responsibility for what appeared to be the deadliest attack to target Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The US state department also said that the US government was not given any advance notice about the strike in Beirut on Tuesday that killed a senior Hamas leader, which has been attributed by the US, Hamas, Hezbollah and others to Israel, although Israel has not officially taken responsibility. Hamas and Hezbollah are allies against Israel in what they term the Axis of Resistance, with Iran and others.
Updated
Even as Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah was getting ready to say in a speech in Beirut that Israel’s “real objective” in Gaza was to rid the territory of Palestinians, the United Nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs posted that “nearly 85% of people in Gaza have begun 2024 in a state of displacement”.
The UN office, with bases in New York and Geneva, has lamented the mass displacement and conditions for those of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who have been forced from their homes.
In a post on X-Twitter it said that as most of those displaced were “squeezed into extremely overcrowded spaces, the spread of diseases has intensified, putting a strain on an already overwhelmed health system that is struggling to meet immense needs”.
Nearly 85% of people in #Gaza have begun 2024 in a state of displacement.
— UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) January 3, 2024
With most squeezed into extremely overcrowded spaces, the spread of diseases has intensified, putting a strain on an already overwhelmed health system that is struggling to meet immense needs.
More 👇
Actually the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, estimates that 90% of the Gaza population has been displaced.
📍#Gaza almost 90% of #Gaza population have been forcibly displaced & lack everything
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) January 3, 2024
High risk of communicable disease outbreaks, many cases of meningitis, skin rashes, chickenpox & other diseases recorded -alarming rates of respiratory infections & diarrhea in children under 5 pic.twitter.com/oykr8SWkIR
Updated
Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah finished his speech in Beirut moments ago by saying “we do not fear war” with Israel.
He said that the killing of a senior Hamas figure, Saleh al-Arouri, in Lebanon yesterday at the Beirut offices of Hamas, for which Hamas and its ally, Iran-backed Hezbollah, blame Israel “will not go unanswered or unpunished.”
Nasrallah pledged that the killing of Arouri on Lebanese soil represented “a major, dangerous crime about which we cannot be silent.”
He warned that if Israel chose war with Hezbollah “it will be very costly.”
He said that support for Palestinian resistance was growing across Lebanon.
The speech lasted for approximately an hour and 20 minutes.
Hezbollah leader pledges a 'weakened Israel'
Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah is close to wrapping up a long speech in Beirut that was scheduled before the senior Hamas figure Saleh al-Arouri was killed in a drone strike when he was at the Hamas offices in Beirut on Tuesday.
But he asserted that the attacks on southern Israel by Hamas on 7 October, with militants bursting out of Gaza, has damaged Israel and the effects were not yet done.
“What has happened since 7 October and what will happen in the future has weakened Israel,” he said.
He is now warning that if Israel [further] attacks Lebanon the resistance from Hezbollah, the anti-Israeli militant group and political force based in Lebanon will know no limits.
Hezbollah and Hamas blame Israel for the killing of Arouri on Tuesday, while Israel has not formally declared responsibility.
Updated
Nasrallah accuses US of 'preventing the end of the war in Gaza'
Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah has addressed his remarks in an ongoing speech towards the Israeli military, declaring “God willing, you will not be able to achieve the goals of your war” against Hamas in Gaza and Hamas leaders more widely.
He also said “it is the Americans who are preventing the end of the war in Gaza” in its full-throated governmental support for Israel in its retaliation prompted by the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on 7 October, including the snatching of hostages, many of whom are still being held in Gaza.
Israel has killed more than 22,000 people in Gaza, mostly Palestinian civilians, and wounded more than 60,000, according to the Hamas leaders who govern the besieged Gaza Strip.
Earlier Nasrallah called out passionately: “From the river to the sea the land of Palestine is for the Palestinians and the Palestinian people only.”
The phrase “from the river to the sea” is interpreted by many as an antisemitic and anti-Zionist calling for the destruction of the state of Israel, but by others as a simple plea for the liberation of the Palestinian people and the establishment of a universally recognised state of Palestine.
Updated
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said that the attacks on southern Israel by Hamas fighters on 7 October “dealt a severe blow to normalisation efforts” that had been taking place between various Arab governments and Israel in recent years.
The latest country that had been moving closer to normalising relations with Israel prior to the Hamas attacks was a giant traditional enemy of the Jewish state, Saudi Arabia, under the auspices of the United States, now led by Joe Biden in a Democratic administration but accelerated by his Republican predecessor (and rival for the presidency again in 2024, Donald Trump).
Since 2020, in agreements brokered by Trump’s administration, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan have agreed to normalise relations despite the ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories.
In his speech that is still ongoing in Beirut, Nasrallah said that the Hamas attacks, which he referred to by the Islamist militant forces’ favoured name of Operation al-Aqsa Flood, was not just a strike against such normalisation but also had caused Israel’s deterrence capability to collapse.
Updated
The Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is accusing Israel of holding “the real objective” in its attacks on Gaza of driving all the Palestinians out of the territory.
“The objective is quite clear,” the leader said in his speech being delivered in Beirut, according to the English interpreter of his speech.
Nasrallah pointed to the “people forced to leave their homes in Gaza and the West Bank, to some extent, and southern Lebanon”.
“We have seen the great dangers … but at the same time we have seen the resistance and the defiance … the refusal to surrender of Gaza,” he said.
Nasrallah accused Israel of “starving people and inflicting the largest war of genocide during this century” against the Palestinians in Gaza.
Updated
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s speech in Beirut is on a lengthy passage focusing further on the late Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani, the fourth anniversary of whose assassination by US forces was marked by fatal explosions at a memorial event in central Iran earlier on Wednesday.
Nasrallah said Suleimani was a driving force in uniting various forces against Israel and western support for Israel in Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Yemen “and other countries”.
He said Suleimani led coordination and collaboration between elements of what Hezbollah and other anti-Israeli figures call the ”axis of resistance”.
Updated
Hezbollah blames ‘flagrant Israeli aggression’ for death of Hamas figure in Lebanon
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s speech in Beirut is under way and he has extended condolences to the family of the senior Hamas figure Saleh al-Arouri who was killed in a drone strike in Lebanon on Tuesday.
Nasrallah said he would come back to the topic of the assassination later in his speech.
Hezbollah and Hamas have blamed Israel for the killing of Arouri although the government of Benjamin Netanyahu has not officially declared responsibility for the strike on Arouri in Beirut or the explosions in Iran earlier on Wednesday.
He called the killing of Arouri “flagrant Israeli aggression on Beirut’s Dahiyeh”.
Dahiyeh is a predominantly Shia Muslim suburb to the south of central Beirut, where Hamas had an office.
Hezbollah supports Hamas and is backed by Iran in its aggressive existential opposition to Israel.
This blog is quoting Nasrallah in English as provided by an interpreter giving a live voiceover on Al Jazeera TV as the Hezbollah leader delivers his speech.
Updated
The leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, has begun a speech in Beirut. He has flagged that he will talk about the explosions in Iran earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli battle being waged in Gaza and Tuesday’s killing of a senior Hamas leader, who was in Beirut when he was hit with a drone strike.
First Nasrallah extended “our congratulations and condolences” for the “martyrdom” of Qassem Suleimani, the head of Iran’s al-Quds force, who was killed four years ago. At a memorial event for that death earlier today, more than 100 people were killed in two explosions.
Hezbollah blamed Israel for the explosions in Iran and for the killing on Tuesday of Saleh al-Arouri, a senior Hamas leader, in Lebanon at the Hamas office in Beirut. Israel has not been confirmed as the perpetrator of either event.
Suleimani was killed in Baghdad by US forces in 2020. Hezbollah supports Hamas and is backed by Iran.
Updated
There are big demonstrations going on in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank to protest the assassination of a senior Hamas leader, Saleh al-Arouri, on Tuesday.
Arouri was killed in Beirut by a drone strike widely attributed to Israel.
The event threatens a significant and dangerous escalation of Israel’s war against Hamas and its related conflict with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
The Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is due to give a speech in Beirut right now, in which he is expected to address the fact that the strike occurred inside Lebanon.
Here are some images from Ramallah.
Saleh al-Arouri was from the Ramallah area.
Ramallah
Updated
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has said more about the attacks in central Iran earlier on Wednesday at the memorial event for the US killing of Qassem Suleimani, the head of Iran’s al-Quds force, four years ago.
After condemning “terrorism in all its forms” and sending condolences to Iran, Putin also said the attack, which has killed many members of the general public attending the event, was “shocking in its cruelty and cynicism”, Reuters reports.
No entity has yet declared responsibility for the explosions at the event. Russia and Iran are strategic allies.
The explosions occurred close to the tomb where Suleimani is buried, in the central Iranian city of Kerman.
Updated
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has just condemned “terrorism in all its forms” and sent condolences to its ally Iran after the violent events there today.
Two explosions killed at least 103 people and injured scores more at a memorial ceremony in Iran marking the fourth anniversary of the US killing of Qassem Suleimani, the head of Iran’s al-Quds force and one of the most powerful men in the Middle East.
Putin is speaking out after the attack that took place at the cemetery in the central Iranian city of Kerman, Reuters is reporting, citing the Russian domestic news agency RIA.
A senior official there has called the blasts a “terroristic” attack, without elaborating on who could be behind them. No one has immediately claimed responsibility for what appeared to be the deadliest attack to target Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution.
We’ll bring you more of Putin’s statement shortly.
Updated
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to make speech after death of senior Hamas leader
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is expected to make a speech at the top of the hour in response to the assassination of the senior Hamas figure Saleh al-Arouri on Tuesday in Lebanon, where the pro-Hamas, Iran-backed Hezbollah group is based.
The Islamist groups have blamed Israel for the drone strike that killed Arouri yesterday, with most signs pointing to Israel on this even though the government there has not declared that it was responsible.
This will be the third time Nasrallah has made a speech relating to the Israeli war on Hamas and massive offensive in Gaza since October 7 when Hamas operatives broke out of Gaza into southern Israel and perpetrated a massacre there and took back hostages, many of whom are still being held.
We’ll bring you highlights in English from what Nasrallah has to say as soon as possible.
Updated
Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner general of UNRWA, has criticised the “dehumanisation” of Palestinians during the conflict.
In a post on social media, the chief of the UN’s mission to assist Palestinian refugees said:
Gaza: three long months of a brutal war, mass displacement, mass human losses and injuries, mass destruction. Unbearable suffering made worse by constant dehumanisation and promotion of hate speech going unchecked.
#Gaza: 🛑🛑 three long months of a brutal war: mass displacement, mass human losses & injuries, mass destruction.
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) January 3, 2024
Unbearable suffering made worse by constant dehumanization & promotion of hate speech going unchecked. pic.twitter.com/mZz5HLyWDO
At least 85% of Gaza’s population has been displaced by Israeli military action, and the local health authority states that over 22,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since 7 October.
Updated
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, will visit Turkey on Saturday to discuss bilateral and regional issues, Turkey’s foreign ministry has announced.
Blinken has been a frequent visitor to the region since the Hamas attack inside southern Israel on 7 October. Israel’s response to the attack has strained its fragile diplomatic relations with Turkey, which has recalled its representatives.
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has also compared the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to Adolf Hitler in public, and said his country was committed to bringing Israeli leaders before the international criminal court in The Hague.
Updated
Yemenis have marched in the Houthi-controlled capital of Sana’a today in solidarity with Palestine, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
EU foreign policy chief warns 'Middle East might end up in flames' if conflict escalates
The international community must impose a solution to the Israel- Gaza conflict as the warring sides are unable to come to terms, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday.
At an event in Lisbon, he said:
I believe that we have learned in these 30 years that the solution has to be imposed from outside because the two parties will never be able to reach an agreement.
If this tragedy doesn’t end soon, the entire Middle East might end up in flames.
The war reached deep into Lebanon on Tuesday with the killing in Beirut of the Hamas deputy leader, Saleh al-Arouri, in a drone strike. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied that it killed al-Arouri, Reuters reports.
Borrell added:
What happened yesterday with the death of one of the leaders of Hamas is yet another factor that could push the conflict to escalate
Borrell said he had plans to visit the Middle East, including Lebanon, to “explore ways out” of the conflict.
He added that he would present to the EU member states a proposal to create a mission to contribute to security in the Red Sea, which has seen ships targeted by Yemen’s Houthi rebels that they consider to have Israeli-links.
The proposal is set to be presented on Thursday and would require unanimity among member states for it to go ahead, he said.
Updated
Iranian state TV have said at least 103 people were killed in what senior officials described as “terrorist attacks” at a memorial ceremony in Iran marking the fourth anniversary of the US killing of Qassem Suleimani, Reuters reports.
Read more here
The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said on Wednesday he would present to member states a proposal to create a mission to contribute to security in the Red Sea.
Borrell told reporters at an event in Lisbon that the proposal would be presented on Thursday and would require unanimity among member states, Reuters reports.
Related: Israel-Gaza war: will the Red Sea crisis lead to a wider Middle East conflict?
Updated
At least 73 dead in blasts at memorial for Qassem Suleimani
Two explosions have killed at least 73 people and injured scores more at a memorial ceremony in Iran marking the fourth anniversary of the US killing of Qassem Suleimani, the head of Iran’s al-Quds force and one of the most powerful men in the Middle East.
A senior official called the blasts a “terroristic” attack, without elaborating on who could be behind them.
Initial eyewitness reports spoke of two explosions 10 minutes apart in the south central city of Kerman, while some reports spoke of four different explosions, suggesting that the incident was a highly sophisticated attack.
State-run media in Iran cited Babak Yektaparast, a spokesperson for the country’s emergency service, as saying 73 people had been killed and 170 wounded.
Read more here
Updated
Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told a delegation from US Congress that the current priority was to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, according to a presidency statement.
Sisi stressed the importance of “responsible action” to avoid widening the conflict in the region, the statement added.
Updated
Local official: explosions in Kerman in Iran caused by 'terrorist attacks'
Reuters is carrying a quote from a local official in Kerman province saying that the two explosions reported earlier at a ceremony in Iran were “caused by terrorist attacks”.
The semi-official Nournews had said earlier that “several gas canisters exploded on the road leading to the cemetery”.
State TV showed Red Crescent rescuers attending to wounded people at the ceremony to mark the 2020 death of the country’s top commander Qassem Suleimani in a US drone attack that had been ordered by then-US president Donald Trump.
Hundreds of Iranians had gathered. Some Iranian news agencies said at least 50 people were wounded, and it has been reported that at least 20 people have been killed.
The situation remains confused and unclear. The Guardian has seen video footage which appears to show smoke rising in the distance above a large crowd of people.
“Our rapid response teams are evacuating the injured … But there are waves of crowds blocking roads,” Reza Fallah, head of the Kerman province Red Crescent told state TV in Iran.
More details soon …
Updated
Attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea are unacceptable and must stop, a spokesperson for the German foreign ministry said on Wednesday, adding that Berlin was in contact with Brussels on a possible EU maritime mission in the region.
“These attacks are fully unacceptable and must stop,” Reuters reports the spokesperson told a government press conference in Berlin.
“We are examining all options that are possible under international and constitutional law,” they added when asked about how Berlin would respond.
Spain has already ruled out expanding the remit of the EU’s existing naval mission in the India Ocean to cover the Red Sea.
Updated
Our video team have this report on yesterday’s killing of the senior Hamas figure Saleh al-Arouri, including footage of the protests.
Updated
Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah have been protesting against the killing yesterday of senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri, who died in Beirut after what has been widely attributed to be an Israeli drone strike.
Yemen's Houthis claim to have targeted container ship bound for Israel
Yemen’s Houthis have “targeted” the CMA CGM Tage container ship bound for Israel, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on Wednesday.
Reuters reports he added that “any US attack will not pass without a response or punishment”.
On Sunday, US naval forces killed all crew on three Houthi boats that had been attacking a container ship.
At least 20 killed in explosion in Kerman in Iran, cause remains unclear – reports
Reuters has a quick snap that at least 20 people have been killed in the explosion in Kerman in Iran. The cause remains unclear.
Al Mayadeen news service has posted to social media that “eyewitnesses spoke of possibility of explosions being caused by gas cylinders, but official sources have yet to corroborate this”.
More details soon …
Updated
Explosions reported in Iran during ceremony remembering Qassem Suleimani – state media
Iranian state media reported on Wednesday that there had been an explosion near the cemetery in the southern city of Kerman during a ceremony held to mark the 2020 killing of Iran’s top commander Qassem Suleimani in a US drone attack at Baghdad airport.
Reuters reports state media gave no further details.
A further report suggested there had been a second explosion and that there were “several wounded”.
The circumstances are currently unclear although there is some unverified footage on social media which shows a cloud of smoke in the distance among a big crowd of people.
More details soon …
Summary of the day so far …
It is 2pm in Gaza City and in Tel Aviv. Here are the latest headlines …
The Israeli army has said it is “prepared for any scenario” in the aftermath of a strike in Beirut that killed Hamas’s deputy chief. The assassination has stoked fears the war in the Gaza could boil over into a wider regional conflict. Iran has described the Israeli drone strike that killed the senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri late on Tuesday afternoon in Beirut as a “cowardly terrorist operation”. Israel has not formally said it carried out the attack.
Six people were killed in the explosion, reports say, including Arouri and two leaders of Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades. Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned a “new Israeli crime” and said the country was filing a complaint to the UN security council.
Hezbollah said its finger “is on the trigger” as it promised vengeance for Arouri’s death. The group said the attack in Beirut was “a serious assault on Lebanon … that will not go without a response or punishment” in a statement posted to Telegram.
A spokesperson for UN peacekeeping force Unifil inside Lebanon has said the organisation is “deeply concerned” about possible escalation in the region. A statement said “We are deeply concerned at any potential for escalation that could have devastating consequences for people on both sides of the blue line. We continue to implore all parties cease their fire, and any interlocutors with influence to urge restraint.”
Israel’s military has said that “intensive battles” continue in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip. It says that an IDF fighter jet struck an Islamic Jihad weapons production complex in the city, and that “during searches in a school, the troops located a tunnel shaft and photos of weapons”. The death of a soldier announced overnight by the IDF has brought the total number of losses for the Israeli army to 509 since 7 October. The claims have not been independently verified.
Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has been critical of US opposition to his previously stated push for the transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza. In a social media message posted overnight, Ben-Gvir said “The US is our best friend, but first of all we will do what is best for the state of Israel”. The US state department has pushed back against suggestions from some Israeli ministers that Israel could expel Palestinians from Gaza as part of a “day after” scenario for the war, saying “Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land.”
A total of 22,313 Palestinians have been killed and 57,296 have been injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement. 128 Palestinians were killed and 261 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry, which is run by Hamas, added. At least 85% of the population of the Gaza Strip has already been displaced from their homes by Israel’s military actions. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy has accused the World Health Organization of having “blood on its hands”, saying its silence about allegations of hospitals being used by Hamas “tells terrorists: keep going”. The comments came after US media reports claimed US intelligence believed Hamas had been active in the al-Shifa hospital complex, using it as a command and control centre, and holding “at least a few hostages” there.
Updated
The Israeli military has issued more photographs of its troops operating on the ground inside the Gaza Strip.
Other images sent over the news wires to us today show Israeli construction work to install a barrier in southern Israel, and the continued impact of the Israeli bombardment of the south of the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has been critical of US opposition to his previously stated push for the transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza.
In a social media message posted overnight, Ben-Gvir said: “The US is our best friend, but first of all we will do what is best for the state of Israel: the migration of hundreds of thousands from Gaza will allow [Israeli] residents to return home and live in security and will protect the IDF.”
The US state department has pushed back against suggestions that Israel could expel Palestinians from Gaza as part of a “day after” scenario for the war, saying “Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land.”
Israeli media this morning, meanwhile, has been reporting that Israel has been conducting negotiations with Congo and other African negotiations about taking Palestinians who would agree to a “voluntary” resettlement.
The report, initially carried by Hebrew news site Zman Israel, cited a senior source in the security cabinet saying “Congo will be willing to take in migrants, and we’re in talks with others”.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has previously said it is not his government’s position to force “voluntary” resettlement of people of Gaza, and he has been critical of the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and Ben-Gvir for supporting the idea of emptying Gaza of Palestinians in public, without going so far as to dismiss them from his government.
Updated
A total of 22,313 Palestinians have been killed and 57,296 have been injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement.
128 Palestinians were killed and 261 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry, which is run by Hamas, added.
At least 85% of the population of the Gaza Strip has been displaced.
Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy has said that the death of an IDF soldier overnight has brought the total number of losses for the Israeli army to 509 since 7 October.
At least 174 of those have died inside Gaza during Israel’s ground operation there. The overall casualty figure from 7 October – including civilians – was about 1,200 people killed, revised down from an initial estimate of 1,400.
The health ministry in Gaza has said more than 22,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military action, and more than 55,000 people wounded. At least another 300 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank by Israel’s military or Israeli settlers since 7 October.
It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
Updated
IDF: 'intensive battles' continue in Khan Younis
In its latest operational update, Israel’s military has said that “intensive battles” continue in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip, and it claims to have located what it described as a “tunnel shaft” in a school.
On the Telegram messaging app, it wrote:
In Khan Younis, intensive battles against terrorist operatives are continuing. IDF ground troops identified a terrorist that attempted to plant an explosive device on a tank, and directed an IDF aircraft to strike the terrorist and three additional terrorists in the area. Furthermore, in Khan Younis, an IDF fighter jet struck an Islamic Jihad weapons production complex.
The statement also included the claim that “during searches in a school, the troops located a tunnel shaft and photos of weapons”, adding that “in Daraj Tuffah, IDF ground troops identified a terrorist cell operating drones used to observe IDF forces in the area. In coordination with IDF artillery and ground forces, a UAV struck the terrorist cell, and killed them”.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Updated
UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon 'deeply concerned' about 'devastating consequences' of potential escalation
Reuters reports that a spokesperson for UN peacekeeping force Unifil inside Lebanon has said the organisation is “deeply concerned” about possible escalation in the region.
It quotes the spokesperson saying:
We are deeply concerned at any potential for escalation that could have devastating consequences for people on both sides of the blue line. We continue to implore all parties cease their fire, and any interlocutors with influence to urge restraint.
The blue line is the UN-drawn boundary that separates Lebanon and northern Israel. Unifil was created in 1978 to confirm the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. It currently consists of 9,347 troops, with 209 staff officers and 809 civilians working in its administration.
Updated
The latest images from Gaza show that Israel continues to bombard the territory.
Updated
An Israeli government spokesperson has aimed criticism at the World Health Organization after US media reports claimed US intelligence believed Hamas had been based inside Gaza’s hospitals and held hostages there.
Overnight the New York Times, citing “a senior US intelligence official” reported that “the American government continued to believe that Hamas used the al-Shifa hospital complex and sites beneath it to exercise command and control activities, store weapons and hold ‘at least a few hostages.’”
Israel has repeatedly claimed that Hamas was using hospitals as bases for its activity, a claim which the group has denied.
Eylon Levy accused the WHO of having “blood on its hands” in a post on social media, writing:
And the WHO still says nothing. Silence tells terrorists: keep going. Use hospitals as military bases. We’ll turn a blind eye and claim your bases immune to military attack under international law. And when you tell terrorist to keep going, you have blood on your hands.
And the @WHO still says nothing.
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) January 3, 2024
Silence tells terrorists: keep going. Use hospitals as military bases. We’ll turn a blind eye and claim your bases immune to military attack under international law. And when you tell terrorist to keep going, you have blood on your hands. pic.twitter.com/O6IDmw6ayB
Updated
Iran: killing of Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut was 'cowardly terrorist operation' by Israel
Iran has described the Israeli drone strike that killed the senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri late on Tuesday afternoon in Beirut as a “cowardly terrorist operation”.
The Times of Israel quotes Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, saying:
The Zionist regime has not achieved any of its goals after weeks of war crimes, genocide and destruction in Gaza and the West Bank, despite the direct support of the US.
The evil activity of the terror machine of this terrorist regime in other countries is a real threat to peace and security and a serious alarm for the security of the countries in the region.
He said the attack that killed Arouri inside Lebanon was a “cowardly terrorist operation”.
Updated
IDF announces death of another Israeli soldier inside Gaza Strip
Israel has confirmed the death of another IDF solider overnight killed in fighting inside the Gaza Strip.
At least 174 Israeli soldiers have now been confirmed dead during the ground operation which began in late October. Local authorities in Gaza say over 22,000 Palestinians have been killed inside the territory by Israel’s military action since 7 October.
Updated
Overnight the US Central Command (Centcom) has posted an update on social media about the latest attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
Britain’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Authority earlier reported up to three explosions one to five nautical miles from a merchant vessel in the Bab al-Mandab strait.
In recent weeks, Houthi rebels have launched a flurry of drone and missile strikes targeting commercial vessels, which they say are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
On Jan. 2, at approximately 9:30 p.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthis fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen into the Southern Red Sea. Multiple commercial ships in the area reported the impact of the ASBMs into the surrounding water… pic.twitter.com/wXpmboqP2g
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 3, 2024
Updated
Israeli army 'prepared for any scenario' after Beirut strike
The Israeli army has said it is “prepared for any scenario” in the aftermath of a strike in Beirut that killed Hamas’s deputy chief.
The assassination has stoked fears the war in the Gaza could boil over into a wider regional conflict, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
A high-level security official in Lebanon told AFP that Saleh al-Aruri was killed along with his bodyguards in a strike by Israel. A second security official confirmed the information, while Hamas TV also reported Israel had killed Aruri in Lebanon.
Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari did not directly comment on the killing, but said afterwards that the military was in “very high state of readiness in all arenas, in defence and offence. We are highly prepared for any scenario.”
The strike adds to widespread fears that the nearly three-month-old Israel-Hamas war could become a wider regional conflagration.
Hamas said Aruri’s death would not lead to its defeat, while its Lebanon-based ally Hezbollah vowed the killing would not go unpunished, calling it “a serious assault on Lebanon … and a dangerous development”.
Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati condemned the killing and said it “aims to draw Lebanon” further into the war.
Updated
Welcome and opening summary
It has just gone 9am in Tel Aviv and Gaza. Welcome to our latest Israel-Gaza blog. I’m Martin Belam and I’ll be with you for the next while.
Israel’s military forces are ready for “any scenario” after the death of senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri. Senior IDF spokesperson Rear Adm Daniel Hagari made the comments to reporters after the assassination, without acknowledging his country’s involvement in the incident. “We are focused and remain focused on fighting against Hamas. We are on high readiness for any scenario”.
More on that in a moment but first, here’s a summary of the latest developments:
Senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri was killed in an explosion in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, reportedly caused by a targeted Israeli drone strike. Israel has not accepted responsibility, but says “whoever did this… [it was] a surgical strike against the Hamas leadership”.
Six people were killed in the explosion, reports say, including al-Arouri, a founder of Hamas’s military wing long targeted by Israel, and two leaders of Hamas’s elite military al-Qassam Brigades. Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned a “new Israeli crime” and said the country was filing a complaint to the UN security council.
Hezbollah said its finger “is on the trigger” as it promised vengeance for Arouri’s death, and later claimed it had launched a so-far unconfirmed missile attack on Israeli troops. The group said the attack in Beirut was “a serious assault on Lebanon… that will not go without a response or punishment” in a statement posted to Telegram.
The French President Emmanuel Macron has called on Israel to avoid escalation, “particularly in Lebanon”, after the strike. Agence France-Presse (AFP) is reporting that Macron spoke by telephone with Israeli minister and war cabinet member Benny Gantz.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has posted on X a number of hours ago about meeting families of the hostages who remain in Gaza, saying: “The effort is continuing. The contacts are being held; they have not been cut off. There was an ultimatum from Hamas; now it has been softened.”
Meanwhile Hamas said it won’t release any more hostages it took during the 7 October attacks on Israel, except under its own terms. The group’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, told Reuters he laid out the Hamas position to officials of Egypt and Qatar, countries trying to broker a ceasefire similar to the one in November that saw more than 100 hostages freed. Haniyeh is demanding “a complete cessation of the aggression” by Israel.
There’s growing friction between the US government and far-right ministers in Israel who have called for the rebuilding of Israeli settlements in Gaza, and for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to relocate to southern Lebanon. Such proposals, voiced by Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, two senior members of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, are abhorrent, the US state department said in a statement on Tuesday.
Turkey arrested 34 people on suspicion of spying for Mossad on behalf of Israel. “The Israeli intelligence service is recruiting personnel to be used in acts against Palestinians residing in our country and their families.,” a government official said. Without providing evidence, the official said the suspects were also spreading fake news and disinformation, carrying out robberies and blackmail for Israeli intelligence.
Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant said military operations in the south of the Gaza Strip around Khan Younis were focused on areas above what he said was a tunnel network where Hamas leaders were believed to be hiding. “We are reaching them all ways. There already is engagement and there are hostages there too sadly,” he told Israeli troops in footage shown on Israeli television, Reuters said.
At least 22,185 Palestinians have been killed and more than 57,000 wounded by Israel’s military action in Gaza, according to updated figures from the health ministry. It says that 207 Palestinians were killed and 338 were wounded in the past 24 hours. The Gaza health ministry is run by Hamas. The figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Separately, the Israeli military has claimed to have killed about 8,000 fighters in the Gaza Strip during its campaign. Additionally, since 7 October, at least 321 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank by Israeli troops or settlers. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
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