Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv late Saturday calling for the release of hostages being held in Gaza by Hamas militants, on the eve of the 100th day of their captivity. The protest came as Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu said “no one will stop” his country from achieving victory and as the US carried out a fresh strike on a Houthi rebel target in Yemen, amid fears the conflict could engulf the wider region. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
This blog is no longer being updated. Click here for more on the Israel-Hamas war.
Summary:
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Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza gathered for a 24-hour protest in Tel Aviv to call for their release and mark the nearly 100 days since the October 7 Hamas attack.
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The US carried out a fresh strike on Saturday on a Houthi rebel target in Yemen after the Iran-backed militants warned of further attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The strike on a Houthi radar site comes amid heightened fears that Israel's war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas could engulf the wider region.
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Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched in central London on Saturday as part of a "global day of action" to oppose Israel's bombing campaign in Gaza. Protests also took place in Johannesburg and Lahore.
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Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that no one will stop Israel from achieving victory in its war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
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Visiting the devastated Gaza Strip, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, said "the massive death, destruction, displacement, hunger, loss and grief of the last 100 days are staining our shared humanity".
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Israeli officials say 1,139 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in southern Israel, among them 695 Israeli civilians including 36 children. Militant fighters took some 240 hostages during the attack, and 136 are still in Gaza, Israeli foreign ministry adviser Tal Becker said on January 12.
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At least 23,843 people have been killed and 60,317 wounded in Israel's ensuing assault on the Gaza Strip, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave.
Yesterday's key developments:
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Israel made an arrangement with Qatar that will allow the delivery of medications to hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, a statement from the Israeli prime minister's office said on Friday.
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Accused by South Africa of committing genocide against Palestinians, Israel insisted at the International Court of Justice that its war in Gaza was a legitimate defence of its people and that it was Hamas militants who were guilty of genocide.
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Yemen’s Houthi rebels vowed fierce retaliation for US and UK strikes against them, further raising the prospect of a wider conflict in a region already beset by Israel's war in Gaza.
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”.
The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)
