KEY POINTS
- Mexico, Chile refer Gaza war to ICC over possible crimes committed by both sides
- Houthis say US, UK should expect its "inevitable" retaliation
- Israel is working on an Iran counterattack: Netanyahu
It is the 105th day of the Israel-Hamas war, and the fighting between Israel and Hamas has triggered a ripple effect in the Middle East that risks further friction between neighbors Iran and Pakistan following tit-for-tat strikes. Iranian-backed Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, also continues to risk an all-out war near Israel's northern border with Lebanon, while Yemeni Houthi rebels are still running amok in the Red Sea.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday announced in a televised speech that he was opposed to a two-state solution, saying a Palestinian state would invite more attacks on Israel.
- Israel working to deter Iran's aim of regional power: Netanyahu
- Former IDF chief Eisenkot says ceasefire necessary to get hostages back 'alive'
- Hezbollah says it attacked 5 IDF targets in the last day
- Afghan Taliban expresses 'alarm' over Iran-Pakistan tensions
- Senior PIJ propaganda official eliminated in Israeli airstrike: IDF
- Pakistan holds emergency security meeting
- Aunt of former child abductee says Netanyahu holding up hostage deal
- EU calls for ceasefire with 2 conditions for Hamas
- Iran conducts air defense, cyber warfare drills amid rising regional tensions
- Iraqi resistance claims drone attack on U.S. 'base' near Erbil airport: Iranian media
- Iran frees Greek sailor from seized St. Nikolas: Owner
- Palestinian Authority says ready for reform under international oversight
Iran defended its attacks in Pakistan that killed six people earlier this week and said the retaliatory strikes by the Pakistan Armed Forces killed foreign nationals, not Iranians.
Pakistan has said its retaliatory attacks in Iranian territory were carried out professionally and were implemented to protect the security of its people.
Over in the tension-packed Israeli-Lebanese border, Hezbollah has been launching rockets toward northern Israeli communities. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has been returning fire. It has also reinforced its northern border amid increasing concerns from residents near the area.
Yemen's Houthi rebel militia has been targeting U.S.-owned vessels in recent days, with another ship being attacked by anti-ship ballistic missiles Thursday night.
Back in the war-torn Gaza Strip, the Israeli army has been engaging in heavy fire fights against Hamas militants. Fighting is especially fierce in the enclave's second-largest city, Khan Yunis.
The latest eruption of tensions in the Middle East started on Oct. 7, when Hamas militants raided Israeli communities, killing more than 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting more than 240 Israelis and foreigners.
Hamas allies and Iran-backed armed groups have since targeted Israel, drawing from the turbulent history of the Israel-Palestine conflict marred by years of violence and seemingly fruitless efforts toward peaceful coexistence.
The live update has ended.
Israel's Iron Dome downs drone from Lebanese territory
Israel's Iron Dome defense system on Friday afternoon intercepted a drone "that crossed from Lebanon in the maritime space in the north of the country," the IDF said.
PA says it's ready for revamp under international oversight: Arab media
The Palestinian Authority, which has governance of only pockets of the Gaza Strip after it lost control to Hamas, told Sky News Arabia Friday that it is ready for a "reconstruction," as per a Google translation.
It added that it was not opposed to "the presence of an international and Arab oversight body for reconstruction."
The news comes after the Israeli government said last month that it was willing to accept a "reformed" PA in a post-war Gaza.
Iran frees 1 Greek sailor from seized vessel: Owner
Iran has released the only Greek sailor from an oil tanker involved in U.S.-Iran dispute that Iran's Navy seized last week, the vessel's owner revealed Friday, as per AFP. There are still 18 other crew members being held in Iran, all of which are Filipino seafarers.
The St. Nikolas, formerly Suez Rajan, was seized by Iran last week off Oman. At the time, the Iranian Navy said it captured the ship in compliance with a "court order in response to the theft of Iranian oil by the United States in 2023."
Read the full story here.
Iraqi resistance claims it attacked US base in Iraq's Kurdistan: Iranian media
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq on Friday claimed that it attacked a U.S. base in Iraq's Kurdistan region using a drone, Iranian state media reported, citing a statement posted on the militant group's Telegram channel.
The insurgent group said it attacked a "U.S.-run installation near Erbil International Airport" early Friday, with the attack being carried out due to Washington's support for Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The U.S. army has yet to confirm the report.
Iran conducts air defense drills amid rising regional tensions
Iran, which backs Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi rebels, said its air defense drills that started Thursday were a success. It claimed that drones it used in the exercise would immediately "enact the defense system appropriate to the target" once a hostile target is detected, Iranian state media Press TV reported Friday.
On Friday, the second day of the exercise, spokesperson of the drills Brig. Gen. Abbas Farajpour said the participants, which include Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), "practiced different methods and tactics of electronic warfare and cyber warfare in order to deal with an electronic invasion."
The exercise come as tensions continue to simmer in the Middle East, as triggered by the raging war in Gaza between Israeli forces and Hamas militants.
Israel not prepared for full-blown war in northern front: Hezbollah official
Israel is not ready for an all-out war with Hezbollah, Mohammad Raad, a top official of the Iranian-backed terror group warned Friday, as per local media. He said the Israeli army is tired after more than 100 days of fighting.
"It has frustrated and embarrassed all those who support it," he said, further noting that Israel is just not prepared for "what the Islamic resistance in Lebanon has prepared for it."
European Parliament calls for permanent ceasefire with two conditions for Hamas
The European Parliament narrowly voted in favor of a resolution that calls for a "permanent ceasefire," but with two conditions for the Palestinian Hamas movement.
First, all the remaining hostages the terror group's operatives abducted during their Oct. 7 carnage in Israel must be freed, and second, Gaza should be fully demilitarized.
Israel's ambassador to the European Union and NATO, Haim Regev, hailed the vote, calling it a "loud and clear moral voice."
A loud and clear moral voice by the @Europarl_ EN that calls for a ceasefire provided all hostages are released unconditionally and Hamas is dismantled!
— Ambassador Haim Regev (@HaimRegev) January 19, 2024
Thanks to all MEPs who supported this resolution, and to @TonoEPP for his strong position.
The center-right European People's Party (EPP) threatened to pull support for the resolution if the two conditions were not explicitly linked to the call for a halt to the fighting in Gaza.
Aunt of young ex-hostage accuses Netanyahu of 'holding up' hostage release deal
Liz Hirsh Naftali, the great-aunt of Abigail Mor Edan, the 4-year-old Israeli-American hostage who was among more than a hundred abductees freed during the seven-day ceasefire deal, said Netanyahu was holding up a possible new hostage exchange deal.
"What I want to take a moment to talk about is that this hold-up is really not with the U.S. or with the Qataris. This holdup is with the Netanyahu government. He wants to keep this war going to remain in office," she said during a Thursday media briefing where the families and loved ones of remaining hostages in Gaza spoke with American senators.
"We need Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to stop making this propriety himself but to make this priority the return of the hostages through a deal," she added.
Pakistan convenes emergency security meeting
Pakistan's prime minister will hold an emergency security meeting Friday with the country's intelligence and military leaders after it carried out retaliatory strikes in Iran.
Read the full story here.
Senior PIJ propaganda leader killed: IDF
An Israeli Air Force (IAF) airstrike that was carried out under the guidance of the Israeli army's Southern Command and Israel's security services agency Shin Bet killed Wael Abu Fanounah, the deputy head of the Hamas ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad's (PIJ) information and propaganda system, the IDF said Friday.
אתמול חוסל ואא׳ל אבו פנונה, סגן ראש מערך ההסברה של ארגון הג'יהאד האיסאלמי הפלסטיני, במסגרת תקיפה של חיל האוויר, בהובלת פיקוד הדרום ובהכוונה של אגף המודיעין ושב"כ>> pic.twitter.com/NNFxry7cAU
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) January 19, 2024
Israeli troops exhume bodies from Khan Yunis cemetery in search of hostages' bodies
The Israeli army operated at a cemetery in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, earlier this week, leaving the area damaged and some human remains exposed. The IDF told CNN Thursday that it was exhuming and removing bodies as part of a search for the bodies of hostages taken by Hamas during their Oct. 7 killing spree.
When the bodies are determined to not be among those abducted by Hamas, they are "returned with dignity and respect," an IDF spokesperson told the outlet.
The spokesperson added that Israel's identification process was conducted "at a secure and alternative location" to ensure "optimal professional conditions and respect for the deceased."
Taliban urges restraint amid Iran-Pakistan tensions
Afghanistan's Taliban issued an official statement late Thursday, calling on Iran and Pakistan to exercise restraint, saying the recent violence was "alarming," as per Taliban spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi.
He added that "both sides should direct efforts towards further strengthening regional stability" and resolve their disputes through dialogue and diplomacy.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considers the recent violence between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan alarming, and calls on the two neighboring countries to exercise restraint. pic.twitter.com/NlOQMRSn4i
— Abdul Qahar Balkhi (@QaharBalkhi) January 18, 2024
The Afghan militant group that took over Kabul in mid-2021. The government takeover led to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Hezbollah says it attacked 5 IDF targets with "direct" hits
Hamas ally and Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah said it attacked a total of five Israeli army assets Thursday, including a "gathering" of Israeli soldiers around the vicinity of the Adamit barracks in northern Israel.
All of the sites targeted Thursday were "directly hit" by Hezbollah forces, its leader Hassan Nasrallah said. The IDF has yet to confirm whether the facilities and locations revealed by Hezbollah are accurate.
Ex-IDF chief jabs Netanyahu, says ceasefire the only way to retrieve hostages 'alive'
Former IDF chief and Knesset member Gadi Eisenkot in an interview with local Channel 12 on Thursday said "whoever speaks of absolute defeat is not speaking the truth," adding that "the situation already in the Gaza Strip is such that the goals of the war have not yet been achieved," as per a translation by The Times of Israel.
Regarding allegations of leadership lapses that led to the Oct. 7 massacre, Eisenkot, a war cabinet member, said Netanyahu is not absolved of responsibility.
On the growing signs of mistrust among the Israeli public following the massacre, the former military leader said the "lack of trust from the Israeli public in his government is no less serious."
Eisenkot's son, Gal, was among more than 190 Israeli soldiers killed in clashes with Hamas in the Gaza Strip since the war started.
He also talked about the remaining hostages in Gaza, saying "it's impossible to retrieve the hostages alive soon without a deal," adding that containing Hamas' power and holding accountable those responsible for the Oct. 7 massacre would "still be valid" after a temporary ceasefire to free the hostages.
Israel is working to deter Iran's regional goals: Netanyahu
Netanyahu on Thursday said Israel is "working" on a counterattack to "stop" Iran from achieving its goals to "conquer, to collapse" regimes in the Middle East, as per a translation by local i24 News.
"If Iran is doing it now, how important it is that we stop them before they obtain nuclear weapons?" the Israeli leader said.
Netanyahu: Who said we're not attacking Iran? pic.twitter.com/VyMO5mDVCE
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) January 18, 2024
His remarks came after Iran carried out attacks in Iraq and Pakistan in recent days. Iran has said the attacks in Iraq "totally destroyed" a base belonging to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.
Houthis US, UK can expect "inevitable" retaliation
Yemeni Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sare'e shared early Friday that the recently re-designated terror entity said "a retaliation to the American and British attacks is inevitable, and that any new aggression will not go unpunished," as per a Google translation.
بيانٌ صادرٌ عنِ القواتِ المسلحةِ اليمنية
— العميد يحيى سريع (@army21ye) January 18, 2024
بسمِ اللهِ الرحمنِ الرحيم
قال تعالى: {وَقَاتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ الَّذِينَ يُقَاتِلُونَكُمْ وَلَا تَعْتَدُوا إِنَّ اللهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْـمُعْتَدِينَ} صدقَ اللهُ العظيم
بعونِ اللهِ تعالى وانتصاراً لمظلوميةِ الشعبِ الفلسطينيِّ في قطاعِ… pic.twitter.com/FjvdybaBgG
The warning came after the U.S. launched fresh strikes targeting Houthi missiles Thursday following an attack by the Yemeni rebel militia against a U.S.-owned vessel transiting the Red Sea.
Mexico, Chile refer war in Gaza to ICC
Mexico and Chile have referred the raging Gaza war to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation of "possible crimes" committed by any of the warring parties, the Mexican foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday.
The ministry further explained that the referral was made over "growing worry" of the "escalation in violence" in the Gaza Strip, "particularly against civilian targets," following Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.
Israel is not a member of the court, which is based in The Hague. The country also doesn't recognize the ICC's jurisdiction.
IDF attacks Hezbollah launching sites
Israeli troops on Thursday attacked several rocket launching positions of Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, the IDF said. The attacks were carried out after an anti-tank missile was fired from Lebanese territory at the Manara area, in northern Israel, Wednesday.
מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו מוקדם יותר היום תשתית טרור ועמדת שיגור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים עיתרון ואל עדייסא שבדרום לבנון.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) January 18, 2024
בנוסף, כוחות צה״ל תקפו במהלך היום מספר עמדות שיגור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה, ביניהן מבנה ממנו בוצע ירי נ״ט לעבר מרחב מנרה אתמול >> pic.twitter.com/wUPERSCJEk
Houthis attack another US-owned ship
The Houthis on Thursday night attacked another U.S.-owned ship, the M/V Chem Ranger with two anti-ship ballistic missiles, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said. The Marshall Islands-flagged vessel is a Greek-operated tanker ship.
The ship was not directly affected in the attacks but CENTCOM said the missiles hit "the water near the ship."
Third Houthi Terrorists Attack on Commercial Shipping Vessel in Three Days
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 19, 2024
On Jan. 18 at approximately 9 p.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at M/V Chem Ranger, a Marshall Island-flagged, U.S.-Owned, Greek-operated tanker… pic.twitter.com/moBkH0Al5B
Yemeni Houthis earlier this week attacked a U.S.-owned ship that multiple outlets reported was on its way to Israel.
Iran condemns Pakistan's retaliation
The Iranian foreign ministry late on Thursday condemned Pakistan's retaliatory strikes in Iran, saying the attack was conducted "on non-Iranian villagers on the border of the two countries," as per the Iranian government's semi-official Mehr News Agency.
The ministry said it "expects the friendly and brotherly government of Pakistan to adhere to its obligations in preventing the establishment of bases and the deployment of armed terrorist groups on its soil."
Iran said its Wednesday strikes in the Balochistan province of Pakistan, which Islamabad said killed six people, including two children, were a "preventive action against a terrorist group preparing to infiltrate" Iranian territory.
Pakistan retaliated Thursday with multiple airstrikes, which Iranian media said killed nine individuals, including four children.
Netanyahu announces he's opposed to Palestinian state after war
The Israeli prime minister on Thursday publicly declared that he would not take steps toward the establishment of a Palestinian state in a post-war Gaza, drawing a rebuke from its top Western ally.
Netanyahu insisted that a Palestinian state would only invite more attacks on Israel. The State of Israel "must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River." The notion "collides with the idea of sovereignty," he said.
"This truth I tell or our American friends, and I put the brakes on the attempt to coerce us to a reality that would endanger the state of Israel," he added.
He also remained defiant despite U.S. calls to scale back the war, saying the Israeli army will not stop its offensive until all of Israel's war goals are achieved – including the elimination of Hamas.
"We obviously see it differently," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said of Netanyahu's remarks, as per multiple outlets.
U.S. Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a news briefing following Netanyahu's speech that there was "no way" Israel can achieve long-lasting peace and security without the establishment of a Palestinian state.
"This is not a question of the United States pressuring them to do anything. This is about the United States laying out for them the opportunity that they have," Miller clarified.
