Smoke billows out of Khan Younis on Monday during Israeli bombardment in the southern Gaza Strip. (-/AFP/Getty Images)
Published January 22, 2024
“Which are the other solutions they have in mind?” he asked, referring to the Israelis. “To make all the Palestinians leave? To kill … them?” He added that the current Israeli military operation that has killed 25,000 people in the Gaza Strip is “seeding the hate for generations.”
But as he spoke, Israel appeared to be intensifying its operations in the densely packed southern part of the enclave. Amid heavy bombardment, families reported having to flee southwestern zones including the seaside al-Mawasi area, which had been designated by Israel as a safe zone.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it has completely lost contact with teams in the southern city of Khan Younis due to the Israeli “ground invasion.”
Israeli troops had stormed al-Khair Hospital in western Khan Younis and detained medical staff, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra called the health situation in Gaza “catastrophic and indescribable.” The Washington Post was unable to verify the report.
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SOURCE: www.washingtonpost.com
RELATED: Israel rejects mounting pressure for Palestinian state
Published January 22, 2024
Iran vowed retaliation for a strike in Damascus that killed senior military officials, American and Iraqi soldiers were injured on a U.S. base in Iraq, and the U.S. carried out its seventh strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
What we know
- Iran has vowed retaliation for a strike that killed five senior military officials in Damascus yesterday, an attack it blamed on Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.
- There have been at least 140 attacks on U.S. bases since Oct. 17, as tensions ripple out from the war in Gaza. There have been seven in the past week, including the heavy military strikes on Ain al-Assad base in Iraq, which injured U.S. and Iraqi soldiers.
- The U.S. launched an attack on a Houthi anti-ship missile aimed into the Gulf of Aden yesterday, its seventh round of strikes since the Iran-backed rebel group began targeting merchant vessels in the Red Sea. President Joe Biden conceded that they have yet to deter Houthi rebels.
- Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered opposing takeaways in an increasingly public disagreement about a potential two-state solution after the war. Netanyahu’s statements against a Palestinian state have become more forceful, as Biden insists it is not impossible.
- Nearly 180 people were killed in the last 24 hours in Gaza, pushing the confirmed death toll over 25,000, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than 62,000 have been injured, and thousands more are missing and presumed dead.
- Israeli military officials said at least 195 soldiers have been killed during the ground invasion of Gaza. About 1,200 people were killed and about 240 hostages were taken after Hamas launched multipronged attacks on Israel on Oct. 7.
- NBC News’ Richard Engel, Raf Sanchez, Matt Bradley, Chantal Da Silva, Anna Schecter and Ali Arouzi are reporting from the region.
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SOURCE: www.nbcnews.com
RELATED: Netanyahu Rejects Hamas’ Call to End Gaza War
FILE – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the weekly cabinet meeting at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Jan. 7, 2024.
Published January 21, 2024
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a proposal Sunday by Hamas militants to end the war in Gaza that now is in its fourth month.
“In exchange for the release of our hostages,” the Israeli leader said in a statement, “Hamas demands the end of the war, the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza, the release of all the murderers and rapists. And leaving Hamas intact.” “I reject outright the terms of surrender of the monsters of Hamas,” Netanyahu said.
Hamas on Sunday defended its October 7 terror attack on Israel but admitted to “faults” and called for an end to “Israeli aggression” in Gaza.
In its first public report on the attack that began the war, the militant group said it was a “necessary step” against Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, and a way to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners.
In late November, in a deal brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, more than 100 of the estimated 240 hostages who were taken captive to Gaza during the October 7 attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel, were freed in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Since that deal ended, Netanyahu has faced mounting pressure from within Israel and from some world leaders to secure the release of the 136 hostages who remain in captivity, perhaps two dozen of whom have died or been killed.
Some world leaders, but not U.S. President Joe Biden, have called for an immediate cease-fire in the fighting. About 1,200 Israelis were killed in the initial attack, and, according to Hamas health officials, more than 25,000 in Gaza during Israel’s counteroffensive, including civilians and militants.
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SOURCE: www.voanews.com
