Many of the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip are likely to have been killed, a spokesman for the group's armed wing said Sunday, blaming the Israeli leadership for their fate. Meanwhile, thousands of Israelis continued their 24-hour protest in Tel Aviv calling for the release of hostages. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
This blog is no longer being updated. For more coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, click here.
Summary:
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Hamas aired a video on Sunday showing three Israeli hostages it is holding in Gaza appealing on their government to stop the offensive against the Palestinian Islamist group and bring about their release.
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In his first televised appearance for several weeks, Hamas armed wing spokesman Abu Ubaida said many Israeli hostages "may have been killed", blaming their fate on Israel.
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The head of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday that Israel had failed to achieve its objectives in Gaza and that this will force it to negotiate.
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Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza gathered on Saturday evening for a 24-hour protest in Tel Aviv to call for their release, as the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas enters its 100th day.
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Israeli forces have killed at least nine Palestinian militants during operations in the Gaza Strip, the military said on Sunday.
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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 23,968 people have been killed and 60,582 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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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".
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)
