KEY POINTS
- Ceasefire deal negotiations expected to begin in Egypt in the coming days, report says
- Hamas official warns Netanyahu's rejection is the doom of remaining hostages
- IDF releases footage of southern Gaza tunnel believed to have held around 20 hostages
The war in Gaza has entered its 108th day, and tensions in the Middle East continue to simmer as Hamas allies and pro-Iranian groups attack Israeli and American assets.
Two U.S. Navy Seals who went missing while boarding an Iranian ship in the Gulf of Aden that allegedly carried advanced conventional weapons were declared dead Sunday following an "exhaustive" 10-day search, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
- 'No chance' hostages will return after Netanyahu's Hamas demands rejection: Official
- PIJ has not received hostage release proposal since Hamas deputy leader killed: Official
- EU to discuss Netanyahu's rejection of Palestinian statehood: Report
- Large blast heard at industrial complex in Iran's Semnan province: State media
- European Union wants a two-state solution: Borrell
In the heated Israeli-Lebanese border, two Hezbollah members were killed and several others injured in an Israeli drone strike in Kafra, southern Lebanon, Lebanese security sources said. The strike was carried out after the Iran-backed terror group fired a missile toward northern Israel.
To improve the protection of commercial shipping lanes in the turbulent Red Sea from continuing attacks by Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels, the United Kingdom said it will upgrade its air defense system in the area.
Back in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "outright" rejected Hamas' demands for a ceasefire-hostage deal. He said the Palestinian militant group's demands, which include the withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from the enclave, meant that Hamas would remain "intact."
Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas following the terror group's invasion of Israel wherein its operatives murdered more than 1,200 people and abducted over 240 others, around 130 of whom are still in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
Despite increasing pressure from allies and the international community to halt the fighting, Netanyahu remains unmoved as he draws from a frenzied history of the Israel-Palestine conflict that ultimately blew up during Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre.
Hamas base in Khan Yunis destroyed: IDF
Multiple raids over the past days in Khan Yunis, Gaza's second-largest city, resulted in the seizure of weapons and the destruction of Hamas infrastructure, including a military base, the IDF said Monday.
"We found a military base, we found a lot of enemy infrastructure, we destroyed them," an Israeli officer said as per a statement from the IDF. Tunnel shafts and other underground infrastructure were also destroyed during the raids, and terror group members were eliminated.
Blast in Iranian province due to warplane's sound barrier breach: Iranian media
The explosion heard at an industrial compound in Garmsar, southeast of Tehran, was due to a "fighter jet breaching the sound barrier in the area after flying at an altitude lower than the permissible limit," state media reported Monday.
It was not reported whether the warplane was of Iranian origin.
EU's Borrell presses Israel on Palestinian statehood
The European Union's foreign policy chief pressed the Israeli government Monday for discussions that will lead to Palestine's statehood.
"What we want to do is to build a two-state solution. So let's talk about it,"Josep Borrell said, adding that "peace and stability cannot be built only by military means."
As reported earlier, EU ministers are due to discuss the Israeli prime minister's rejection of a two-state solution to the years-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
EU to discuss Netanyahu's two-state solution refusal: Report
Foreign ministers of the European Union will discuss on Monday Netanyahu's remarks last week about the establishment of a Palestinian state, the Financial Times reported, citing a document circulated to the 27-member bloc's capitals.
The document reportedly urged member states to impose "consequences" on Israel if its leader continues to reject a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine. "There are incentives and disincentives for Israel," a senior EU official told the outlet.
Another official acknowledged that "it is hard to impose on Netanyahu." However, "he may not be around forever," the second official noted.
PIJ has not received official proposal for hostages release: Official
Ali Abu Shahin, a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's (PIJ) political bureau said the Iranian-backed group and Hamas ally has not received an official proposal regarding the release of the remaining hostages since the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri, Hamas' deputy leader, Israel's national broadcaster Kan reported Monday.
Arouri was assassinated in an airstrike in Lebanon earlier this month, in an area known as a Hezbollah stronghold. Hamas and its allies accused Israel of carrying out the strike and have vowed retribution for Arouri's killing.
Iran says it will avenge killing of 5 IRGC members
Iranian vice president Mohammad Mokhber late on Sunday said Israel should "wait for successive slaps" after the killing of five Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members Saturday in Syria, the Iranian government's semi-official Mehr News Agency reported.
Mokhber's comments came after Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said the IRGC members' "cowardly assassination" will not go unpunished. They were killed in an airstrike in Damascus, which the IRGC says Israel was responsible for.
Read the full story here.
'No chance' hostages will return: Hamas official
Netanyahu's rejection of Hamas' demands for the release of abductees only means "there is no chance for the return of the (Israeli) captives," Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters following the Israeli prime minister's statement.
Zuhri's remarks come at a difficult time for the loved ones of remaining hostages in Gaza as the Israeli army previously estimated that more than two dozen of the remaining abductees are believed to be dead.
Hamas held about 20 hostages in 830-meter-long tunnel: IDF
The Israeli army published footage of what it says was a Hamas tunnel that "used to hold about 20 hostages at different times.
The tunnel was about 830 meters (approx. 2,723 feet) long and about 20 meters (approx. 65 feet) deep. It had multiple rooms with bathrooms, power lines, and what looked like a cooking and dining area. Cookware and utensils can be seen in the said areas as per the footage.
This is where Hamas held hostages.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 21, 2024
IDF soldiers operated in a tunnel located at the heart of a civilian area in Khan Yunis that was used to hold about 20 hostages at different times. The tunnel was about 830 meters long and about 20 meters deep.
We cannot and will not rest… pic.twitter.com/fDxLNr6lXb
Negotiations for hostage release deal may start in the coming days: Report
Discussions for a possible hostage release deal may begin in the coming days as mediators push Israel and Hamas to join a "phased diplomatic process" that would eventually put an end to the war and see remaining abductees freed, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing diplomats involved in mediating the talks.
There was no real progress to the efforts of the U.S., Egypt and Qatar to get the warring sides onboard the staggered diplomatic process, said Taher Al-Nono, a media adviser to the terror group.
Israeli officials are reportedly pushing back on a permanent ceasefire and instead are suggesting a two-week pause in the fighting.
The report was published at around the same time Netanyahu rejected Hamas' terms before it releases the remaining hostages.
Hamas' ceasefire-hostage deal demands a 'mortal blow' to Israeli security: Netanyahu
The Israeli prime minister has refused to accept the demands Hamas made in the release of more than 100 remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip.
"Hamas is demanding, in exchange for the release of our hostages, the end of the war, the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza, the release of the murderers and rapists of the Nukhba and leaving Hamas in place," he revealed in a statement Sunday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 21, 2024
"We are continuing the war on all fronts and in all sectors. We are not giving immunity to any terrorist: Not in Gaza, not in Lebanon, not in Syria and not anywhere. Whoever tries to harm us, we will harm him.https://t.co/72A627wpQA pic.twitter.com/mZe5OmyvvH
He said agreeing to the terror group's terms would mean Israeli soldiers fell in vain and Israel's security cannot be ensured.
"We would be unable to safely restore the evacuees to their homes and the next October 7 would be only a question of time. I am not prepared to accept such a mortal blow to the security of Israel," he reiterated.
Britain to upgrade Red Sea air defense
The United Kingdom will upgrade the warhead and software of its Royal Navy's Sea Viper defense system that was "used decisively in the Red Sea to destroy Houthi drones," British Secretary of State for Defense Grant Shapps announced Sunday.
We’re upgrading the @RoyalNavy’s drone killing missiles - which have been used decisively in the Red Sea to destroy Houthi drones.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) January 21, 2024
Today’s £405 million investment will upgrade their warhead and software to make Sea Viper even more lethal against new and growing threats from… pic.twitter.com/LgsmVsQPix
The upgrades should make the Sea Viper "even more lethal" against hostile drones and missiles launched by Houthi rebels from Yemeni territory.
Britain's improvements to its air defense system in the Red Sea comes amid continuing attacks by Iranian-backed Houthis toward merchant shipping activities. In joint operations by the U.S. and UK last week, under the Operation Prosperity Guardian initiative, the navies of both countries conducted airstrikes in Yemen that targeted Houthi assets.
2 Hezbollah combatants killed in Israeli drone attack
Hezbollah lost two of its fighters in an Israeli drone strike in Kafra, southern Lebanon on Sunday, multiple outlets reported, citing Lebanese security sources.
The drone hit the vehicle where the Hezbollah members were in, killing them and wounding at least four others, as per the report. Earlier in the day, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for targeting northern Israeli with an anti-tank missile.
The latest strike targeting Hezbollah assets come amid intensified fire exchanges between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed terror group, which is also a steadfast Hamas ally.
2 US Navy Seals in Iranian ship raid declared dead
Two U.S. Navy Seals who were reported missing during a mission to board "an illicit dhow carrying Iranian advanced conventional weapons" on Jan. 11 have now been declared dead.
"We regret to announce that after a 10-day exhaustive search, our two missing U.S. Navy Seals have not been located and their status has been changed to deceased," CENTCOM said Sunday.
CENTCOM Status Update on Missing U.S. Navy Seals
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 21, 2024
We regret to announce that after a 10-day exhaustive search, our two missing U.S. Navy SEALs have not been located and their status has been changed to deceased. The search and rescue operation for the two Navy SEALs reported… pic.twitter.com/OAMbn1mwK8
Japan and Spain assisted in the expansive search for the missing Navy Seals. Other organizations, including Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center and the Office of Naval Research – Oceanographic Support also provided assistance, the U.S. military said. Recovery operations are now being conducted, it added.
