EXPLANER
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in nighttime Israeli strikes in central and southern Gaza, as tensions rise in the Red Sea.
Here’s how things look on Monday January 15, 2024:
Latest updates and human impact
- Israeli attacks continue unabated, killing and injuring dozens of civilians in central and southern Gaza. At least 22 people were killed and many injured when Israeli forces targeted al-Thalatheni Street in the central Gaza Strip.
- Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired an anti-ship cruise missile toward a U.S. destroyer in the Red Sea, which was shot down by a U.S. warplane, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X.
- This is the first Houthi attack recognized by the United States since US strikes in Yemen on Friday.
- Hamas released a 37-second video on Sunday showing three Israeli captives held in Gaza, saying they would reveal the captives’ fate on Monday and urging the Israeli government to end the offensive.
- The Israeli military says it has moved to a new phase of the war, centered on the southern end of Gaza, where nearly 2 million internally displaced Palestinians lack safe spaces to shelter.
- Gaza’s health ministry said nearly 24,000 people had been killed in the Israeli offensive. More than 60,000 people were injured in 100 days of war.
Diplomacy
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that his country will continue its war against Hamas until victory and will not be stopped by anyone, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
- The White House said Sunday that “now is the right time” for Israel to scale back its military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
- Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) said in a statement on Sunday that one of the biggest obstacles to the timely delivery of sufficient aid to Gaza was Israeli inspection of the aid. The statement comes after Israel accused Cairo of being responsible for the delay in the delivery of aid to Gaza during its defense before the ICJ.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken posted a message on Monday calling for the release of the remaining prisoners held in Gaza, on the 100th day since they were captured by Hamas. He did not mention Palestinian victims.
- Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who described herself to the press as a “friend of Israel”, will visit Jordan, Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories and the United Arab Emirates this week, it was announced on Monday his office.
Raids and violence in the West Bank
- Israeli forces arrested 25 students who were staging a sit-in to protest high tuition fees at An-Najah University in Nablus. Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hamdah Salhut reported that the protesting students received a text message from Israeli forces telling them to “surrender now.”
- Israeli forces reportedly attacked the family home of Nael al-Barghouti, the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner, in the village of Kobar in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
- The Israeli army said Friday it had killed three Palestinians who infiltrated a West Bank settlement and fired on soldiers.
- The Israeli army killed two Palestinians after accusing them of ramming their car into a checkpoint near Hebron.
- Local sources reported that Israeli forces bulldozed two houses belonging to Palestinians during a raid at midnight on Sunday in the town of Qalqilya, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.
- Armed Israeli settlers broke into the village of Burin, south of Nablus, and attacked the homes and properties of Palestinian residents after midnight on Sunday, Wafa reported.
- “Violent raids and arrests are now part of daily life in the occupied West Bank,” said Tel Aviv Tribune’s Mohammed Jamjoom, reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. At least 347 Palestinians have been killed and thousands arrested since October 7.