KEY POINTS
- US, UK slap new sanctions on 4 key Houthi leaders
- US makes rare condemnation of supposed Israeli strike on UN shelter in Gaza
- Israeli minister accuses Qatar of being "largely responsible" for Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre
The war in Gaza has entered its 112th day, and instability in the Middle East continues as fighting intensifies between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas militants in southern Gaza's main city.
Washington, Israel's main Western ally, is in an awkward position after a leaked recording purportedly revealed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's criticism of Qatar as a mediator in hostage talks.
- Iran a 'legitimate target' for Israeli missile strikes: Top Israeli minister
- Houthis claim 'direct hit' on US vessel after CENTCOM says rebel militia strike again
- Blinken urges Israel to protect civilians after alleged UN shelter strike
- Iran warns countries normalizing relations with Israel will pay heavy price
- Austin reaffirms Washington's support for Israel
- Hezbollah's Nasrallah slams Saudi's liquor store opening
- Israeli army urges 4 Khan Yunis neighborhoods to leave area
- Missile sightings, explosion reported in Red Sea, off Houthi-held Hodeidah
- Report of 'attack' in Red Sea, off Yemen: UKMTO
Bill Burns, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is expected to meet negotiators to push for a hostage release deal as the U.S., along with mediators Qatar and Egypt, engage in intensive talks over a potential ceasefire-hostage agreement to free more than 130 abductees still in Hamas captivity.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is due to announce an order Friday in the high-stakes case filed by South Africa against Israel.
Amid rising fears of a wider conflict beyond the Israel-Hamas war, Israel's economic minister Nir Barkat said Iran has become a "legitimate target" for missile strikes following attacks by Iran-backed groups targeting Israel and U.S. military assets in the region.
In the Israel-Lebanese border, Iranian-backed Hezbollah continues to fan the flames as it claimed early Friday that it attacked another Israeli military site.
Another Iran-backed militia, Yemen's Houthi, also continues to disrupt Red Sea shipping activities. It has been firing drones and missiles toward U.S.-owned ships and other vessels it claims are headed to Israeli ports.
Back in war-torn Gaza, Netanyahu refuses to bend to international calls for an immediate ceasefire. His unyielding attitude draws from the bitter and decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict that reached a frenzied high on Oct. 7, when Hamas operatives raided Israel, murdering more than 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and abducting over 240 others.
Attack report off Yemen: UKMTO
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Friday local time that it received a report of an "attack" in the Red Sea, approximately 60 nautical miles southwest of Aden in Yemen.
Authorities are still investigating the incident and vessels have been advised to transit the area with caution.
UKMTO WARNING
— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) January 26, 2024
INCIDENT 020 - ATTACKhttps://t.co/XsgrK5uW2N#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/tWGmLJhgI4
Missiles fired near Red Sea vessel: UKMTO
The UKMTO said Friday that it received a report of missile sightings off of the Houthi-controlled Hodeidah in Yemen. An explosion was sighted just 0.5 nautical miles from the reporting ship, it added.
The vessel and crew are safe, and authorities are investigating the incident.
Protesters block Kerem Shalom crossing anew
Protesters have once again gathered at the Kerem Shalom crossing to block the flow of humanitarian aid trucks into the Gaza Strip, local media reported.
The blockage marks the third consecutive day that demonstrators staged a rally at the crossing as part of their efforts to call for the immediate release of remaining hostages still in Hamas captivity.
The Netanyahu government has been under increasing pressure to secure the release of remaining abductees while also allowing more humanitarian aid to enter the war-torn enclave.
IDF urges 4 Khan Yunis neighborhoods to evacuate
Residents of four Khan Yunis neighborhoods have been urged by the IDF to evacuate immediately to a designated humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi through Al-Bahr Street, as per a notice posted on X by IDF spokesperson for Arab media Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee.
The affected areas are as follows: Al-Nasr, Al-Amal, City Center and Blocks 107-112 of the city's refugee camp.
#عاجل 🔴🔴 الى سكان منطقة خان يونس في أحياء النصر، الأمل، مركز المدينة والمخيم (المعسكر) في بلوكات 107-112: من أجل سلامتكم عليكم الانتقال فورًا إلى المنطقة الإنسانية في المواصي عن طريق شارع البحر pic.twitter.com/RFMSwDNTWv
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) January 26, 2024
The announcement comes following earlier evacuations among residents of southern Gaza's main city as fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas reach unsafe highs.
Hezbollah leader slams Saudi's liquor store opening
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday criticized the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's move of opening its first liquor store in more than 70 years, saying Saudi "has lost all its shame."
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has lost all its shame and the opening of Alcohol stores on the pious land is just one of the many examples.
— حسن نصر الله (@SH_NasrallahEng) January 24, 2024
Austin reaffirms US support to Gallant
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over the phone to reaffirm Washington's support for Israel's right to self-defense.
Austin also noted the importance of ensuring that humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza are uninterrupted, as per a statement by Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder.
He reaffirmed U.S. commitment to diplomatic exchanges to resolve rising tensions in the Israeli-Lebanese border and "the shared goal of avoiding regional escalation."
Countries that normalize relations with Israel will pay 'heavy price': Iranian FM
Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in an interview published by Al-Monitor Thursday that any country normalizing relations with Israel will have to pay a "heavy price."
He said Iran isn't looking to "widen" the Israel-Hamas war, adding that it has sent messages to Washington about the risk of further tensions in the Middle East. He said U.S. support of Israel was contradictory to the country's claimed humanitarian values.
His warning comes amid rising tensions in the region as initiated by Iran-backed militias such as Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Yemeni Houthi rebels.
China asks Iran to rein in Houthis or risk business ties: Report
Chinese officials have pressed the Iranian government to help keep Houthis in check in the troubled Red Sea, or else business relations with China may be at risk, Reuters reported Friday, citing four Iranian sources and a diplomat familiar with the matter.
"Basically, China says: 'If our interests are harmed in any way, it will impact our business with Tehran. So tell the Houthis to show restraint," one official briefed on the talks but spoke on condition of anonymity told the outlet.
The talks took place in both Beijing and Tehran in recent meetings, the Iranian sources said. They did not reveal when exactly the discussions happened and which officials attended the meetings.
Beijing reportedly did not specifically comment or make threats on how exactly trade ties with Iran could be affected due to continuing Houthi attacks, the sources said.
However, China and Iran have had solid oil-related transactions in the past years. Tanker tracking data from trade analytics firm Kpler showed that Chinese oil refinery companies bought more than 90% of Iranian crude exports in 2023.
Israeli minister alleges Qatar 'largely responsible' for Hamas' Oct. 7 rampage
Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday slammed Qatar after the foreign ministry issued a statement that called out the Israeli prime minister over his purported comments that Qatar was "problematic."
He accused Qatar of financing terrorism and of being "the patron of Hamas." He further alleged that Qatar was "largely responsible for the massacre committed by Hamas of Israeli citizens."
Smotrich's comments were made in response to the Qatari foreign ministry's criticism of a leaked audio wherein Netanyahu supposedly criticizes the country's mediating role in talks for a ceasefire deal.
Blinken again asks Israel to protect Gaza civilians
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday renewed his call on Israel to protect civilians in Gaza following a deadly airstrike on a United Nations shelter.
"We have reaffirmed this with the government of Israel and it is my understanding that they are, as is necessary and appropriate, looking into this incident," he said.
The rare condemnation comes after a building where hundreds of displaced Gaza residents in Khan Yunis was hit in intensified clashes between Israeli troops and Hamas militants. The UN said the facility was struck by Israeli fire.
The IDF has since said it had "currently" ruled out the strike was from Israeli forces, adding that it was conducting a review of the incident and "examining the possibility that the strike was a result of Hamas fire."
US, UK jointly sanction 4 Houthi officials
The United States and United Kingdom on Thursday jointly imposed sanctions on four officials of the Yemeni Houthi rebel militia, also called Ansarallah, the U.S. Department of State said in a statement.
"The United States is continuing to take action to hold the Houthis accountable for their illegal and reckless attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden," the statement noted.
Houthis claim 'direct hit' on US ship
The Yemeni Houthi rebel militia on Thursday claimed that it had a "clash" with U.S. forces in the Red Sea "while they were protecting two American commercial ships."
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sare'e said the fire exchange resulted in a "direct hit on an American vessel," and "several of our ballistic missiles struck their targets despite [US] warships' attempts to intercept them," as per a Google-translated statement. The exchange lasted for over two hours, as per Sare'e.
Shortly after, the U.S. Central Command announced that Houthis fired three anti-ship ballistic missiles from Yemen toward the container ship M/V Maersk Detroit, a U.S.-owned and operated vessel.
Houthis Attack Commercial Shipping Vessel with Anti-Ship Missiles
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 24, 2024
On Jan. 24 at approximately 2 p.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists fired three anti-ship ballistic missiles from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward the U.S.-flagged, owned, and operated… pic.twitter.com/nlAJgVDgDU
Seemingly denying the Houthis' claim about directly hitting an American ship, the U.S. military said one Houthi missile "impacted in the sea" while the other two were shot down by a U.S. destroyer.
Hezbollah claims attack on Israeli army observation post
Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas that has a much larger weapons arsenal than the Palestinian militant group, said early on Friday that it attacked a "surveillance dome" belonging to the IDF using "specialized missile weapons."
It published footage of the supposed attack, but the Israeli army has yet to confirm the claim.
Iran now a 'legitimate target' for Israel: Economy minister
Israel's economy minister told The Telegraph Thursday that Iran has become a target of Israeli missile strikes amid continuing attacks toward Israel and U.S. assets by Iranian-backed militias in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.
"Iran is a legitimate target for Israel. They will not get away with it. The head of the snake is Tehran," he said, adding that he recommends "the strategy that President [John F.] Kennedy used in the Cuban missile crisis," wherein what the former U.S. president "basically said then was a missile from Cuba will be answered by a missile from Moscow."
He went on to note that Israel believes Iran's warning that it wants to destroy Israel. "We are not going to allow another Holocaust," he reiterated.
CIA chief to meet mediators in the coming days to push for hostage deal
Burns is expected to meet Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari negotiators in the coming days to push for a ceasefire deal that will free the remaining hostages in Hamas captivity, the Washington Post first reported.
Specifically, Burns will meet David Barnea, chief of Israel's intelligence agency Mossad, Abbas Kamel, Egyptian intelligence director, and Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Qatar and Egypt played key roles in brokering a deal with Hamas in November, when more than a hundred abductees were freed under a seven-day truce deal.
White House says grateful to Qatar after purported Netanyahu leak
The White House on Thursday was quick to reiterate that it was thankful to Qatar's mediating role in getting hostages back home.
"Qatar is a key partner in the region. We're grateful for their support of our continued efforts to try to get hostages out of Gaza and reunited with their families," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement.
This comes after the release of a recording wherein Netanyahu allegedly criticized Qatar as a mediator in negotiations for a ceasefire-hostage agreement.
Qatar 'appalled' by Netanyahu's alleged remarks
Qatar is "appalled" by the alleged remarks Netanyahu purportedly made during a meeting with the families of remaining hostages in Gaza, spokesperson of the Qatari foreign ministry, Majed al-Ansari, said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
We are appalled by the alleged remarks attributed to the Israeli Prime Minister in various media reports about Qatar’s mediation role. These remarks if validated, are irresponsible and destructive to the efforts to save innocent lives, but are not surprising.
— د. ماجد محمد الأنصاري Dr. Majed Al Ansari (@majedalansari) January 24, 2024
For months, and…
Al-Ansari's comments came after the release of a recording by Israeli television wherein the Israeli prime minister was allegedly heard criticizing Qatar's mediating role in the possible release of hostages in exchange for a ceasefire.
"Qatar, from my point of view, is no different in essence than the United Nations...and the Red Cross. [Qatar] is even more problematic," Netanyahu allegedly said, adding that since Qatar had "leverage" over Hamas because it "funds" the Palestinian terror group, he was willing to coordinate with them to get Israeli hostages back home.
"These remarks if validated, are irresponsible and destructive to the efforts to save innocent lives, but are not surprising," al-Ansari said.
