EXPLANER
The US Senate has proposed military funding to Israel as Gaza recovers from relentless bombardment.
Here’s how things look on Monday, February 5, 2024:
Humanitarian crisis in Gaza
- At least 234 Palestinians were killed and 343 injured in Gaza between February 2 and 4, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA reported.
- Additionally, Israeli forces are carrying out “significant destruction” of residential blocks across Gaza, particularly in the town of Khan Younis, OCHA reported.
- The spokesperson for Israel’s housing and construction sector said that in the coming weeks they hope to bring in 65,000 foreign workers from Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka and India, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hamdah Salhut reported of occupied East Jerusalem.
- Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza continue, with a recent target being Deir el-Balah, where thousands of internally displaced Palestinians are sheltering and which was widely designated safe in the first weeks of the war, Hani said Tel Aviv Tribune’s Mahmoud from Rafah in the south. Gaza.
Regional tensions and diplomacy
- US Central Command (CENTCOM) struck a Houthi anti-ship missile that was “ready to launch against ships in the Red Sea” early Sunday.
- Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized US President Joe Biden and said having Donald Trump in power would allow more freedom to fight Hamas.
- The US Senate on Sunday unveiled a bipartisan deal providing $14.1 billion in military aid to Israel.
- The Israeli military on Saturday issued its most detailed warning yet to Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon, saying it would be “ready to attack immediately” if provoked.
- Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, on Sunday warned Iran and armed groups he contends the United States would carry out more attacks if its forces in the Middle East continue to be targeted.
Attacks in the occupied West Bank
- Israeli forces stormed the Al-Ein camp, west of the city of Nablus, on Monday amid heavy fire, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.
- Wafa also reported that Israeli forces carried out a large-scale military incursion into the village of Ramin, east of Tulkarem in the northern occupied West Bank, on Sunday evening, local sources said.
- Also on Sunday evening, Israeli settlers gathered at the entrance to the town of Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah, and set rubber tires on fire, security sources reported, according to Wafa.
