Jan. 19: IDF says rare sirens in Haifa triggered by interceptor launched at ‘suspicious target’

Hundreds call for intifada, hail Houthis at Columbia University anti-Israel protest

Pro-Palestinian students rally at Columbia University in New York on January 19, 2024. (Screen capture/YouTube)

Hundreds of students are rallying throughout Columbia University’s campus in New York.

The protest is reportedly organized by Students for Justice in Palestine, which is supposed to have been suspended from campus for the rest of the academic year.

Students are heard calling for an “intifada,” referring to deadly Palestinian uprisings that included participants carrying out suicide attacks that killed scores of Israelis.

Another chant repeated is, “Yemen, Yemen make us proud, turn another ship around” — a message in support of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which the US deems to be a terror organization.

Protesters are also chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which critics say is a call for the removal of the state of Israel.

A sticker photographed on a university trashcan features an antisemitic message: “Zionist donors and trustees, hands off our universities.”

Another clip shows students shouting, “NYPD, KKK, IDF, they’re all the same,” at police officers securing the demonstration.

And then, to make it clear that they support a VIOLENT uprising against Jews and Israeli, they chanted that the *only* solution is Intifada.

Not a two-state solution.
Not co-existence.
No even a permanent ceasefire.

They just want us gone (and preferably dead) pic.twitter.com/mactCiEhld

— Shai Davidai (@ShaiDavidai) January 19, 2024

US carries out fresh strikes against Yemen’s Houthis

Houthi fighters and tribesmen stage a rally against the US and the UK strikes on Houthi-run military sites near Sanaa, Yemen, January 14, 2024. (AP Photo)

The US military carried out another round of strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, targeting missile launchers that were preparing for attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, the White House says.

Washington is seeking to reduce the Iran-backed Houthis’ military capabilities, but the Yemeni rebels are still able to continue their attacks despite a week of strikes, and they have vowed that they will keep targeting merchant vessels.

“This morning, US forces conducted three successful self-defense strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby tells reporters.

“This is the fourth preemptive action that the US military has taken in the past week against Houthi missile launchers that were ready to launch attacks,” Kirby says.

“These actions were… done in self-defense, but it also helps make safer international waters for both naval vessels as well as merchant shipping.”

The air campaign against the Houthis began last week with American and British strikes on nearly 30 sites in Yemen using more than 150 munitions, while US forces later attacked a Houthi radar site in what was described as “a follow-on action” to the previous strikes.

‘He makes things worse at every opportunity’: Jewish Democrats blast Netanyahu

File: Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Democrat from New York, attends a House Judiciary Committee Field Hearing, in New York, April 17, 2023. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Fifteen Jewish Democrats, including some pro-Israel stalwarts, have slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he rejected the idea of creating an independent Palestinian state after the Israel-Hamas war.

“We strongly disagree with the prime minister,” says the brief statement released this morning by the office of Rep. Jerry Nadler, the New York representative who is the unofficial dean of Jewish House Democrats. “A two-state solution is the path forward.”

The statement — which comes amid rising calls from some Jewish lawmakers for a ceasefire — signifies growing impatience among Democrats with Netanyahu as the war persists indefinitely. The prime minister, who heads a coalition with far-right elements, has openly rejected the Biden administration’s hopes of forging a postwar two-state outcome.

Netanyahu’s tough talk appears to have triggered the two-sentence statement, along with other notes of reproval from pro-Israel Democrats. It also draws fire from at least one Jewish Democrat in the Senate, Brian Schatz of Hawaii. “He is, at every opportunity, making things worse,” Schatz tells NBC.

The list of 15 Jewish Democrats who issued today’s statement was significant for including at least seven lawmakers endorsed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s affiliated political action committee. AIPAC discourages open disagreement with Israeli governments on security issues.

Those seven are Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts, Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon, Dan Goldman of New York, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Mike Levin, Adam Schiff and Brad Sherman of California. (AIPAC endorsed Schiff and Slotkin in 2022; they are running for Senate this year, and the lobby is waiting to see who emerges from the primaries before giving an endorsement.)

Dozens of hostages’ families planning to camp out by PM’s home overnight to demand deal

Hundreds donning orange balloons mark the birthday of ginger-haired hostage Kfir Bibas, in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square on January 18, 2024. (Courtesy)

Dozens of relatives of the hostages in Gaza are en route to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home in Caesarea where they plan to camp out overnight and protest what they say is the government’s inaction in securing the release of their loved ones.

“The days of grace in which you dragged your feet are over,” says a statement from the Hostage Families’ Forum.

“Prove your leadership and lead a courageous move that will advance the plan that is known to be on the table. It is not about freeing hostages, it is about saving lives,” the families say to Netanyahu.

Senior Hezbollah official: Israel will receive ‘slap in the face’ if it expands ‘aggression’

Smoke billows over the southern Lebanese village of Odaisseh near the border with Israel on January 19, 2024. (Rabih Daher/AFP)

A top official from Lebanon’s Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah warns Israel would be hit back hard if it expanded the conflict along the Lebanon-Israel border.

“If Israel decides to expand its aggression, it will receive a real slap in the face in response,” Hezbollah’s number two, Naim Qassem, said in a statement.

Any restoration of stability on the border is contingent on “the end of the aggression in Gaza,” he added.

“The enemy must know the party is ready, that we are preparing based on the principle that an endless aggression can happen, just like our will to push back the aggression is infinite.”

IDF: Haifa sirens triggered by launch of air defense interceptor at ‘suspicious aerial target’

An apparent interception of an airborne projectile near the Haifa region, December 28, 2023. (Screen capture: X/Yair Schwartz)

The IDF says rocket sirens sounded in the northern city of Haifa due to an air defense interceptor missile being launched at a “suspicious aerial target.”

The IDF says the incident is over, without elaborating.

There are no reports of injuries or damage.

White House ‘seriously concerned’ over reports of Palestinian-American killed in clashes with IDF

Tawfiq Hijazi. (Courtesy)

The US is “seriously concerned” about reports that a Palestinian-American was killed in clashes today with the IDF in the West Bank, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says.

Kirby notes that the US is still looking into the circumstances of Tawfiq Hijazi’s killing.

Biden welcomes yet-to-be-announced Israeli decision to allow flour shipment into Gaza

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip after crossing the terminal border from Egypt, on January 17, 2024, during the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas. (AFP)

Biden on the call with Netanyahu welcomed the decision from the government of Israel to permit the entry of large shipments of flour into Gaza via Israel’s port in Ashdod, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says, adding that the sides “are separately working on options for more direct maritime delivery of assistance into Gaza.”

This appears to be the first time that Israel has used its Ashdod port to transfer aid to Gaza and comes days after Hebrew media reported that Israel agreed earlier this month to allow 150 truckloads of flour into Gaza, where the UN says there is a growing risk of famine.

Israel has refrained from announcing this decision regarding the flour shipments itself ostensibly due to its unpopular nature among large swaths of the public, given that the hostages remain in Gaza.

Biden, Netanyahu discuss hostages, shift to ‘targeted ops’ in Gaza, PA tax revenues — White House

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, second right, confers with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, right, during their meeting with US President Joe Biden, left, to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023. (Miriam Alster/Pool Photo via AP)

US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed ongoing efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages held in Gaza during their phone call earlier today, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says during a press briefing.

“The two leaders also reviewed the situation in Gaza and the shift to targeted operations that will enable the flow of increasing amounts of humanitarian assistance, while keeping the military pressure on Hamas and its leaders significant,” Kirby says.

The White House has been pushing for over a month for Israel to shift to lower-intensity fighting in Gaza amid the mounting death toll. While Israel has withdrawn one of the four divisions it had operating in Gaza, fighting has remained intense in southern Gaza and the death toll continues to rise.

Biden stressed “Israel’s responsibility — even as it maintains military pressure on Hamas and its leaders — to reduce civilian harm and to protect innocent civilians,” Kirby says.

Also during the call, Biden asked for a status update regarding the hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues that Israel has been withholding from the Palestinian Authority, which has infuriated the US. Kirby notes that the funds also go toward paying the salaries of the PA security forces with whom Israel cooperates to combat terror in the West Bank.

Israel’s security cabinet is slated to hold a Sunday vote on a new proposal that would see the funds transferred after months of delay.

“The president also discussed his vision for a more durable peace and security for Israel, fully integrated within the region, and a two-state solution with Israel’s security guaranteed,” Kirby added.

On this issue, there has been growing daylight between Israel and the US, with the former rejecting the latter’s vision for a post-war Gaza which would be reunited politically with the West Bank under the PA’s rule as part of a broader diplomatic initiative aimed at an eventual two-state solution and an expanded Abraham Accords.

Netanyahu has rejected the notion of establishing a Palestinian state but has offered few details on his alternative vision for Gaza while blocking the cabinet from holding discussions on the matter, knowing that it risks collapsing his coalition.

“We are not trying to force their hand or force them to change their policy…but we can’t talk about post war Gaza without discussing the Palestinian people’s aspirations and governance in Gaza”, Kirby says during his press briefing.

US brands as antisemitic South Africa’s demotion of Jewish cricket player after he praised Israel

David Teeger in a video uploaded by the SA Jewish Report, October 31, 2023. (Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

US antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt brands as antisemitic the decision by South Africa’s Under-19 team to strip Jewish star player David Teeger of his captaincy after he praised Israeli troops fighting Hamas in Gaza.

“Cricket South Africa removed David Teeger, who is Jewish, as the captain of the South Africa U19 cricket team on Jan 19th due to ‘security concerns’ related to anti-Israel protests,” Lipstadt tweets.

“‘Security concerns’ can and should be addressed by tightening security, not by punishing the object of the threat. When a Jew outside of Israel is held responsible for Israel’s policies, this is antisemitism,” she adds.

Sirens triggered in Haifa for 2nd time since war’s outbreak; 1st time was false alarm

Illustrative: A woman and her dog take cover in a stairway in Jerusalem, as a red alert siren sounds during a rocket barrage fired from Gaza into Israel, October 7, 2023. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

Incoming rocket sirens are sounding in the northern city of Haifa.

The cause of the alarms are under investigation.

It marks the second time in the ongoing war that sirens sound in the northern city, following a false alarm on October 11.

Report: Meds arrive at collection point in Gaza ahead of transfer to hostages by health ministry staff

Demonstrators hold up placards with images of children kidnapped in the Hamas terror attacks, Kfir (L) and Ariel Bibas, during a rally in solidarity with Israel and the people taken hostage, in Prague, Czech Republic on November 1, 2023. (Michal Cizek/AFP)

The medications for the hostages have arrived at a collection point in Gaza from which Hamas-run health ministry officials are slated to receive them and transfer them to a list of hostages deemed in need, Channel 12 reports.

An Israeli source speculates to the network that it’ll take time until the hostages receive the medications and that Israel will have to trust the word of the Qatari mediators that the meds reached their destinations.

Netanyahu speaks to Biden for first time in 27 days amid growing divide over war

US President Joe Biden, left, meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, to discuss the the war between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 18, 2023. (Miriam Alster/Pool Photo via AP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just got off the phone with US President Joe Biden, the White House says, in what was their first conversation in 27 days.

There is no immediate readout from either side, but Hebrew media reports that the conversation lasted for nearly 40 minutes and was held in good spirits.

While the US has continued to support Israel’s war against Hamas, divides have become increasingly glaring over Washington’s post-war vision for the Palestinian Authority to replace Hamas as the governing body as part of a broader initiative aimed at an eventual two-state solution.

Netanyahu reportedly rejected a US proposal, presented by Secretary of State Antony Blinken when he visited earlier this month, that would have seen Saudi Arabia help with the reconstruction of Gaza along with several other Arab countries in addition to agreeing to normalize ties with Israel, on the condition that Jerusalem agree to take steps to create a pathway to an eventual Palestinian state.

In their last phone call on December 23, Biden was said to have lost his patience and ended the call abruptly after Netanyahu again dragged his feet regarding US demands that Israel release hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues that it has been withholding from the PA.

The cabinet is reportedly slated to vote on a proposal to transfer those funds in the coming days.

In their latest call, the White House says that the pair discussed developments regarding the war in Gaza.

Pakistan says it can can overcome irritants with Iran through dialogue, diplomacy

Screen capture from video purportedly showing the aftermath of a strike by Pakistan on Iran, January 17, 2024. (X. Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s Office on Friday said it and Iran could mutually overcome minor “irritants” through dialogue and diplomacy, after both countries exchanged drone and missile strikes on militant bases on each other’s territory.

Netherlands summons Iran ambassador over child killed in Iraq attack

This handout photograph released and taken on January 16, 2024 by Kurdistan 24 broadcast news station shows a damaged building at a site hit by a missile attack launched by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region. (Kurdistan24/AFP)

The Dutch government has summoned the Iranian ambassador to the Netherlands following the death of a Dutch baby in an attack by Iran on Erbil, Iraq.

Iran on Monday struck Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, with ballistic missiles in what it said was an attack on an Israeli spy headquarters, a claim denied by Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdish officials.

The attack killed at least four people, including a prominent Kurdish businessman and his infant child.

A Dutch child of less than one year old had died in attacks by Iran on Erbil, Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot said in a statement.

Palestinian couple holds somber wedding in tent city for Gazans who fled war

A Palestinian couple is married in one of the tent cities erected near the Egyptian border due to the war, on January 19, 2023. (Screen capture/YouTube)

Palestinian groom Mohammed al-Ghandour wanted to give his bride a beautiful wedding, but after war began in Gaza, they had to flee their homes and the couple finally got married this week in the tent city where they now live.

Ghandour led his wife Shahad by the hand towards the tent decorated with some colored lights and a mirror with a gold-colored frame as a few relatives escorted them, clapping in time.

Inside the tent, Shahad, wearing a white dress and veil with traditional red embroidery, lifted her hand and Ghandour put a ring on it.

“I wanted a party. I wanted a celebration, a wedding. I wanted to invite my friends, my relatives and my cousins, like anyone would,” said Ghandour.

The couple are from Gaza City in the north of the tiny enclave where some of the worst of Israel’s heavy bombardment and the fighting between it and Hamas have taken place since the war began on October 7.

The homes of both Ghandour’s family and Shahad’s family were destroyed in Israeli airstrikes, they said, and they lost cousins and other family members in the bombardment.

“My happiness is maybe at 3 percent but will get myself ready for my wife. I want to make her happy,” said Ghandour.

The war began when Hamas fighters rampaged into Israel, killing more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 240 hostages. Israel’s bombardment and assault into Gaza have killed more than 24,760 people according to the Hamas-run health authorities there, who don’t differentiate between civilians and combatants and include in their figures Palestinians killed by errant Hamas fire.

Instead of the big party that Ghandour had wanted, he and Shahad had a small group of relatives who, like them, had managed to leave Gaza City and flee to Rafah, at the far southern end of the strip next to Egypt.

Shahad’s mother led a small group of women ululating in celebration of the marriage and somebody had saved batteries for a small portable music player.

For a wedding feast in an enclave that the UN warns is heading towards famine, the couple had only a few snacks in plastic packages, laid out carefully for them in the tent.

Both families had already spent lots of money on the wedding before the war began. Shahad had spent more than $2,000 on clothes, they said.

“My dream was to give Shahad the best wedding, the most beautiful in the world,” said her mother, Umm Yahia Khalifa.

“We prepared her wedding things and she was happy. But it is all gone in the shelling. Every time she remembers she starts to cry,” she said.

As the small wedding party began to clap and dance, people around them went about their daily chores among the lines of tents stretched across the sand, seeking food or hanging laundry.

A small girl in a pink and white dress smiled broadly as the clapping began and joined a group of other children dancing as the sun set behind the high border fence topped with barbed wire.

Palestinian-American teen killed in West Bank clash with IDF, Palestinian officials say

Tawfiq Hijazi. (Courtesy)

A Palestinian-American teenager was killed by Israeli security forces on Friday in the West Bank, Palestinian health officials said.

The Israeli military does not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The American-born Tawfik Hijazi was 17 years old, the boy’s uncle tells Reuters, adding that the incident occurred during clashes with the Israeli military that included stone-throwing by Palestinians.

The Palestinian official news agency WAFA says the youth had been killed by Israeli gunfire.

Gallant: As long as war continues in Gaza, fighting will continue in the north

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tours the northern border on January 19, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speculates that “as long as fighting continues in the south, there will be fighting in the north.”

“But we will not accept this reality for an extended period. There will come a moment when if we do not reach a diplomatic agreement in which Hezbollah respects the right of the residents to live here in security, we will have to ensure that security by force,” Gallant says while touring the Lebanon border.

‘Hamas wants death of every Israeli’: Indian influencers tour kibbutz where residents massacred on Oct. 7

A delegation of Indian journalists and influencers tour Kibbutz Kfar Aza on January 18, 2023. (Sharaka)

A delegation of Muslim and Hindu journalists and social media influencers toured one of the Gaza border kibbutzim where Israelis were massacred during Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught.

The 13-member delegation was organized by Sharaka, a grassroots organization looking to strengthen the bond between Israel and the Arab and Muslim world.

After the tour of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where dozens of residents were killed, Indian social media influencer Shefali Vaidya tweets, “Hamas does not want land or concessions. What it wants is the complete destruction of the State of Israel and the death of every Israeli citizen, down to the last one. This is a sober understanding of a chilling fact!”

It was one of the hardest mornings of my life to witness first hand, the destruction of Kibutz Kfar Aza, one of the worst affected Kibutzes in the October 7th attack on Israel by Hamas.

As we walked around the kibbutz on a perfect winter day with blue skies and sun shining,… pic.twitter.com/ebTdu3LtH5

— Shefali Vaidya. ???????? (@ShefVaidya) January 18, 2024

Responding to Netanyahu, Abbas spokesman says no regional security without Palestinian state

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomes Belgium's and Spain's prime ministers (not pictured) to his offices in the West Bank city of Ramallah on November 23, 2023. (Alaa Badarneh/Pool/AFP)

The spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says there can be “no security and stability in the region” without a Palestinian state.

The remarks come in response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection Thursday of calls by the United States to take steps toward the establishment of a Palestinian state after the war.

The comments from Abbas’s office echo those made hours earlier by US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller who argued that Israel’s longterm security is contingent on the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state in order to solve the conflict.

“Without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital on the borders of 1967, there will be no security and stability in the region,” Palestinian state news agency Wafa quotes Abbas’ spokesperson Nabil Abu Rdeineh as saying. The Palestinians seek Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem — which were captured by Israel in 1967 — for their future state.

Minister says UK looking at offloading aid in Israel so it could enter Gaza faster

Britain's Defense Secretary Grant Shapps talks to the media after a meeting with the Cyprus' president Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential palace in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Britain’s Defense Minister says the UK is looking into different ways of shipping additional humanitarian aid from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip more directly, including offloading aid in Israel from where it could enter the Palestinian enclave through the Kerem Shalom border crossing.

Defense Minister Grant Shapps says the ship “could go to Israel directly and even through Kerem Shalom that the Israelis have opened.”

Speaking after talks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides Friday, Shapps said these options, which would allow large quantities of aid to be delivered to the people of Gaza more quickly, require “quite a lot of organization work.”

Earlier this month, the British Royal Navy ship Lyme Bay delivered 96 tons of heating blankets, tents and Cyprus-donated medicine to Egypt’s Port Said from where it would enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing.

The delivery was part of a Cypriot initiative for a continuous supply of large quantities of aid more directly to Gaza from the eastern Mediterranean island nation some 240 miles (386 kilometers) away.

EU foreign policy chief: Israel ‘financed’ Hamas in bid to weaken PA

Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, speaks at a joint press conference with Lebanon's foreign minister following their meeting in Beirut on January 6, 2024. (Anwar Amro/AFP)

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says the State of Israel financed the Hamas terror group in a bid to weaken the Palestinian Authority.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied accusations by his opponents in Israel and some global media that his government spent years actively boosting Hamas in Gaza.

“Yes, Hamas was financed by the government of Israel in an attempt to weaken the Palestinian Authority led by Fatah,” Borrell says in a speech at the University of Valladolid, without elaborating further on such alleged financing.

Nearly 20,000 babies born in Gaza ‘hell’ since Oct. 7, says UN official mum on Israeli baby hostage

A nurse cares for prematurely born Palestinian babies that were brought from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City to the hospital in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Nov. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

The United Nations says that thousands of babies have been born in conditions “beyond belief” in Gaza since the war there erupted more than three months ago.

UNICEF spokeswoman Tess Ingram, back from a recent visit to the Gaza Strip, describes mothers bleeding to death and one nurse who had performed emergency caesareans on six dead women.

According to UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, nearly 20,000 babies have been born into the war that began after the Hamas terror onslaught inside Israel on October 7 in which some 1,200 Israelis were massacred and some 240 were taken hostage into Gaza.

“That’s a baby born into this horrendous war every 10 minutes,” Ingram tells reporters in Geneva via videolink from Oman.

“Becoming a mother should be a time for celebration. In Gaza, it’s another child delivered into hell,” she said, emphasizing a need for urgent international action.

Ingram makes no mention of Kfir Bibas — the 1-year-old Israeli boy still held hostage by Hamas — or of any of the children kidnapped by the terror group.

“Seeing newborn babies suffer, while some mothers bleed to death, should keep us all awake at night,” she says.

Hosting Hamas delegation, Moscow urges release of hostages, including 3 Russian nationals

A Hamas delegation led by Moussa Abu Marzouk (second from L) meets with Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov (second from R) in Moscow on January 19, 2024. (Hamas)

A delegation of members of the Hamas terror group has visited Russia, Moscow’s foreign ministry says in a statement

“The Russian side stressed the need for the immediate release of civilians, including three Russian nationals Andrey Kozlov, Alexander Lobanov, and Alexander Trufanov, who were kidnapped in the October 7, 2023 attacks and have been held by Palestinian groups ever since,” the foreign ministry.

The Hamas delegation was led by senior official Moussa Abu Marzouk and the Russian team was led by deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov.

BREAKING: HAMAS OFFICIAL STATEMENT

VISITS MOSCOW

“A leading delegation from Hamas holds political consultations in Moscow.

The delegation of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, headed by the head of the movement’s International Relations Office, Dr. Musa Abu Marzouk,  the… pic.twitter.com/x1otOtxJDM

— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) January 19, 2024

EU adopts sanctions target six individuals involved in financing Hamas — senior official

Women chant slogans while marching in a rally organized by supporters of Fatah and the Hamas terror group in solidarity with Gaza after the weekly Muslim Friday prayers in the city of Hebron in the West Bank on October 13, 2023. (Hazem Bader/AFP)

The European Union adopts a dedicated sanctions regime targeting Palestinian terror group Hamas, a high-ranking EU official says, adding that the first measures would target six people involved in the financing of Hamas.

“What we are doing now – it has been done today and I think it will be announced in the coming hours – [is that] we have adopted a dedicated regime for Hamas. We have listed six people” the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said.

The official added the six people were all from Arab or African countries and were all involved in financing Hamas, which has become the subject of Western reprisal after its assault on Israel last October.

Health minister issues directive barring treatment of Gazans in Israeli hospitals

Health Minister Uriel Busso when he was Knesset Health Committee chair moderating deliberations over health insurance reform on May 14, 2023. (Noam Moshkovitz/Knesset Spokesperson's Office)

Health Minister Uriel Busso orders Health Ministry director-general Moshe Bar Siman-Tov this morning to immediately cancel instructions issued yesterday by defense officials allowing the treatment of Gazans and individuals from Lebanon in Israeli hospitals.

Busso says that the policy of allowing treatment of Gazan terrorists, and others from combat areas brought into the country by the IDF, only in IDF medical facilities has not changed.

The minister claims that the instructions issued by the defense establishment yesterday were sent to hospital administrators without his knowledge or approval and that no formal discussion occurred between him, Health Ministry staff and defense representatives.

Busso directed Bar Siman-Tov today to inform defense officials that any requests for changes to the policy that has been in place since soon after October 7 must be brought to him and be considered in serious, professional deliberations under his auspices.

IDF troops discover replica of Israeli tank at Hamas training camp in Khan Younis

A replica IDF tank is seen in a Hamas training site in southern Gaza's Khan Younis, January 19, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Troops of the IDF’s 7th Armored brigade raided a Hamas training compound in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, where they located and destroyed replicas of Israeli armored vehicles used for training, the military says.

The IDF says the compound was used as a training site, as well as a meeting point for senior Hamas commanders of its Khan Younis Brigade.

In addition to the replica tank and other mock armored vehicles, the troops found several tunnel shafts, dozens of rocket launchers and other weapons, the IDF says.

Dutch prime minister urges Netanyahu to allow more aid into Gaza, ‘drastically’ reduce violence

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) meets Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at his office in Jerusalem, October 23, 2023. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says he urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “drastically” reduce the level of violence against Palestinians amid the war with Hamas in Gaza and to immediately pause fighting to let more aid into the war-battered enclave.

“Israel needs to let in much more relief goods much quicker,” Rutte says after a telephone call with Netanyahu.

“We have talked about concrete measures to do so.”

Palestinian Authority coordinating with Egypt, Israel on future of Gaza border crossings – report

The Palestinian Authority is prepared to govern the Gaza Strip at the end of Israel’s war with Hamas, a Palestinian official tells Sky News Arabia.

According to the Palestinian official, several high-level meetings have been held by Palestinian Authority officials and their Egyptian counterparts regarding the future of the Gaza Strip and its border crossings.

The report adds that the arrangements are being planned in coordination with Israel as well.

The talks have focused on the possibility of re-opening the Kerem Shalom Crossing for the entry and exit of goods and people from the Gaza Strip, while also examining the possibility of closing the Rafah Crossing on Gaza’s shared border with Egypt.

The Kerem Shalom crossing was reopened for the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza in mid-December after it was closed following the October 7 Hamas assault inside Israel.

However, it is operating at a limited capacity and remains shuttered for all purposes besides humanitarian aid.

Belgium to supply marine ship to EU mission in the Red Sea

Belgium will supply a marine ship to an EU mission to protect ships in the Red Sea from attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, Belgian broadcaster VRT reports, citing government sources.

Many commercial shippers have diverted vessels to other routes following attacks in the Red Sea by the Houthis, who control much of Yemen and say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians amid the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

While the Iran-backed group claims it only targets ships with ties to Israel, vessels with no clear connection to Israel have been attacked as well.

IDF says Iron Dome shot down drone from Lebanon near Acre, no sirens activated

The IDF says a drone that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon via the sea was intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system.

The aircraft was downed over the sea near Acre, without any sirens sounding.

Meanwhile, the IDF announces that it carried out a wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

The sites struck by fighter jets in Ramyah included military buildings and other infrastructure belonging to the terror group.

The IDF says it carried out airstrikes and tank shelling against Hezbollah observation positions and other infrastructure in Houla and Kafr Kila.

The army also announces that tanks shelled Syrian Army positions in southern Syria last night in response to rocket fire on the Golan Heights.

The IDF says a drone that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon via the sea was intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system.

The aircraft was downed over the sea near Acre, without any sirens sounding.

Meanwhile, the IDF announces that it carried out a wave of airstrikes… pic.twitter.com/QtQ26kCEsV

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) January 19, 2024

Swiss prosecutors say Herzog targeted with criminal complaint during visit to Davos

President Isaac Herzog speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 18, 2024, alongside a photo of Hamas-held Israeli hostage Kfir Bibas. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has been targeted with a criminal complaint during a visit to Switzerland, Swiss prosecutors say, amid allegations of crimes against humanity over the war against Hamas in Gaza.

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office (BA) confirms that it received a criminal complaint against the Israeli president, who was at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos on Thursday to discuss the Gaza war.

“The criminal complaints will now be examined in accordance with the usual procedure,” BA says in a statement, adding that it is in contact with the foreign ministry “to examine the question of the immunity of the person concerned.”

It does not say what the specific complaints were, or who filed them.

But a statement allegedly issued by the people behind the complaint, entitled “Legal Action Against Crimes Against Humanity” and obtained by AFP, says several unnamed individuals had filed charges with federal prosecutors and with cantonal authorities in Basel, Bern and Zurich.

The statement says the plaintiffs were seeking a criminal prosecution in parallel to a case brought before the UN’s International Court of Justice by South Africa, which accuses Israel of committing genocide in its war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

Addressing the issue of immunity, the statement suggests that it could be lifted “in certain circumstances”, including in cases of alleged crimes against humanity, adding that “these conditions are met in this case.”

Hamas says Gaza death toll at 24,762

Palestinians mourn the death of loved ones following an alleged Israeli strike on January 18, 2024, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, amid ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by AFP)

The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip says 24,762 people have been killed inside the enclave since the start of the war with Israel.

The toll includes 142 fatalities over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement says, while 62,108 people have been wounded since war erupted on October 7, the ministry says.

The numbers provided by the Hamas-run ministry cannot be independently verified, and are believed to include both civilians and Hamas members killed in Gaza, including as a consequence of terror groups’ own rocket misfires.

The IDF says it has killed over 9,000 operatives in Gaza, in addition to some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.

IDF chief meets with commanders of the 99th Infantry Division in Gaza

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi meets with commanders of the 99th Infantry Division in the Gaza Strip in this photo published on January 19, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi held a situational assessment with commanders of the 99th Division inside the Gaza Strip, the IDF says in a statement.

During the meeting, Halevi told the commanders that he understood the difficulties faced by reserve soldiers, who were pulled from their everyday lives at the start of the war.

“The tension between the battlefield and the home for reservists is understandable,” he said. “We’re following a plan, releasing some people while knowing that we will call them in again.”

During the situational assessment, Halevi met with the commander of the IDF’s Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman and the head of the 99th Division Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram, as well as the head of the Personnel Directorate, Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, the IDF says.

Soccer match between Belgium’s KAA Gent and Maccabi Haifa will take place without fans over safety concerns

A soccer match between Belgium’s KAA Gent and Israel’s Maccabi Haifa scheduled next month in Belgium should be played without fans because of fears of serious riots linked to the Israel-Hamas war, local authorities rule.

Belgian media reports that Ghent mayor Mathias De Clercq took the decision on the advice of local police.

Gent will host the Israeli club on February 21 in the second leg of their Conference League playoff.

“Based on police information, serious problems are expected,” says Thomas Dierckens, a spokesperson for Mayor De Clercq, as quoted by Flemish newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.

“The KAA Gent Arena has no outer perimeter, which makes control difficult, and there is a good chance that public order in and around the stadium will be disrupted. This not only has consequences for the safety of fans and players, but also sporting consequences,” he says. “If the match is stopped for more than half an hour due to disruption, UEFA will give KAA Gent a forfeit score of 0-5.”

Protests calling for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza have been taking place regularly in Ghent. Last week, pro-Palestinian activists reportedly disrupted the city’s New Year’s reception.

NATO prepares for biggest military drill in decades, 90,000 personnel to take part

Chair of the NATO Military Committee Admiral Rob Bauer, center, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Christopher Cavoli, left, and Supreme Allied Commander Transformation General Chris Badia prepare to address a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, January 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

NATO will launch its biggest military exercise in decades next week with around 90,000 personnel set to take part in months of drills aimed at showing the alliance can defend all of its territory up to its border with Russia, top officers say.

The exercises come as Russia’s war on Ukraine bogs down. NATO as an organization is not directly involved in the conflict, except to supply Kyiv with non-lethal support, although many member countries send weapons and ammunition individually or in groups, and provide military training.

The exercises – dubbed Steadfast Defender 24 – “will show that NATO can conduct and sustain complex multi-domain operations over several months, across thousands of kilometers, from the High North to Central and Eastern Europe, and in any condition,” the 31-nation organization says.

Troops will be moving to and through Europe until the end of May in what NATO describes as “a simulated emerging conflict scenario with a near-peer adversary.” Under NATO’s new defense plans, its chief adversaries are Russia and terrorist organizations.

“The alliance will demonstrate its ability to reinforce the Euro-Atlantic area via transatlantic movement of forces from North America,” NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, US General Christopher Cavoli, tells reporters.

Cavoli says it will demonstrate “our unity, our strength, and our determination to protect each other.”

Hezbollah official: Israel is not ready to face what we are preparing for it

Hezbollah official Mohammad Raad warns that Israel is not prepared for war against the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group, saying that it is “frustrated and embarrassed” by its losses in the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Raad says it is an honor for Lebanon that “resistance” groups in the country fight against Israel and accuses the Jewish state of being the “guardian of the arrogant people who plunder our wealth, control our waterways, impose their will on a number of our countries and dominate us.”

He says that Israel is suffering defeat in Gaza and that it has “failed to achieve its goals” in every aspect, indicating that “the hand of the resistance will remain supreme.”

“The Israeli enemy is forced to retreat and withdraw because it is tired and faces resistance that it did not expect, and it has frustrated and embarrassed all those who support it,” he adds.

“The Israeli enemy is not ready for war in the face of what the Islamic resistance in Lebanon has prepared for it.”

Palestinian detainees in Gaza were beaten by IDF soldiers, UN official says

A UN human rights official calls for an end to what he says is Israel’s ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees in Gaza, saying he has met men who had been held for weeks, beaten and blindfolded, with some released in diapers.

“These are men who were detained by the Israeli security forces in unknown locations for between 30 to 55 days,” Ajith Sunghay, a UN human rights representative who met with released detainees in the enclave, telling reporters by video link from Gaza.

“There are reports of men who are subsequently released, but only in diapers without any adequate clothing in this cold weather.”

Leader of Lebanon’s Christian bloc slams Hezbollah for turning country into ‘battlefield’

Samir Geagea, leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces party, speaks to an AFP journalist, during an interview at his residence in Maarab, north of the capital Beirut, on May 20, 2022. (Joseph Eid/AFP)

The head of Lebanon’s Christian political party Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea slammed the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group for turning the country “into a battlefield,” during a meeting with the UK’s ambassador to Lebanon Hamish Cowell, Lebanese media outlet LBCI Lebanon reports.

During the meeting, Geagea criticized Lebanon’s current caretaker government for granting too much power to Hezbollah.

“Instead of fulfilling its duties to serve Lebanon and its people, it handed over decision-making to a faction, allowing the country to turn into a battlefield, a mere commodity in the volatile regional scene,” LBCI reports him as saying.

Geagea also called for a solution to be found for the Palestinian people amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, saying that without it, the region will remain unstable.

Since the deadly Hamas onslaught inside Israel on October 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza, Hezbollah forces have carried out near-daily attacks on Israel, launching rockets, missiles and drones from southern Lebanon.

“We will not witness any stability in the region without resolving the Palestinian issue,” Geagea reportedly said. “It is time to take positions coupled with actions on this issue that has exhausted the region, Lebanon, and Palestine for more than 70 years.”

IDF says it wrapped up operation in West Bank’s Tulkarem refugee camp after 45 hours

Weapons recovered by IDF troops from the West Bank's Tulkarem camp, January 19, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

After some 45 hours, the IDF says it has wrapped up a counter-terrorism operation in the West Bank’s Tulkarem refugee camp.

During the raid, the IDF says troops scanned around 1,000 buildings and located more than 400 explosive devices, and seized 27 weapons and other military equipment.

Five explosive manufacturing labs and four sites used by local terror operatives to observe Israeli forces using surveillance cameras were also located and destroyed, the IDF says.

Engineering vehicles uncovered and destroyed dozens of explosives hidden under the roads of the camp, the IDF says.

The IDF says 37 wanted Palestinians were arrested during the operation, including several senior members of a local terror network.

At least eight Palestinian gunmen were killed during clashes with troops amid the raid, some of them in an airstrike on Wednesday.

One IDF soldier was also seriously wounded in the raid, which the army announced Wednesday. The IDF says troops located the gunmen, killing some and arresting others amid the operation.

Israel considering transferring tax revenues to Palestinian Authority via third party

Israel’s security cabinet discussed the possibility of transferring funds earmarked for the Palestinian Authority to a third party which could then transfer them to Ramallah during a meeting last night, but did not hold a vote to enact the potential solution, Hebrew media outlets report.

Since October 7, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has refused to hand over the millions of dollars in tax revenues that are owed to the Palestinian Authority, saying that the cash could be transferred to Hamas members.

Despite US pressure for Israel to release the funds, Smotrich has thus far refused to do so, but reportedly suggested the money be transferred to a third party before being handed over, allowing Israel to not be directly responsible for its transfer.

This possibility was discussed in the security cabinet last night, according to reports, as well as in a meeting with Smotrich, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

The ministers were reported to broadly agree with the suggested solution, although National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir requested more details before lending his approval.

According to reports, if these plans are enacted, Smotrich will retain the right to freeze all funding to the Palestinian Authority if the money is transferred to Palestinian officials in Gaza.

Gallant tells US defense secretary that Israel is committed to war in Gaza until goals are met

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (R) in a joint press conference with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Tel Aviv on December 18, 2023. (Screen capture/YouTube)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin yesterday evening that Israel is committed to continuing the war against Hamas in Gaza until its goals of eliminating the terror group and rescuing the hostages are met, Gallant’s office says in a statement.

Gallant briefed his US counterpart on operational developments in the war, including achievements in the ongoing military efforts to dismantle terror infrastructure and eliminate Hamas terrorists across the strip, his office says.

The two also discussed the need to minimize civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip while also fighting Hamas terrorists embedded within the civilian population, it adds.

Lebanese media outlets say IDF striking targets in southern Lebanon

Lebanese media outlets report that the IDF has hit some 10 targets in south Lebanon amid ongoing strikes.

There was no immediate comment from the IDF.

IDF: Deputy head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s propaganda unit killed in Gaza airstrike

The IDF and Shin Bet security agency say the deputy head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s propaganda unit was killed in an airstrike yesterday in the Gaza Strip.

According to the IDF and Shin Bet, Wael Abu Fanounah was responsible for publishing the terror group’s videos, including those of rocket fire at Israel, and creating propaganda videos of hostages.

It says Abu Fanounah previously held other senior positions in Islamic Jihad, including being the assistant to Khalil Bahtini, the terror group’s commander in northern Gaza.

Meanwhile, in the central Gaza Strip, the IDF says reservists of the 179th Brigade located a cache of weapons in a building after RPGs were fired at troops from the area.

In northern Gaza, the IDF says reservists of the 5th Brigade battled and killed several Hamas gunmen during several engagements, including using tank shelling and calling in airstrikes.

The IDF and Shin Bet security agency say the deputy head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's propaganda unit was killed in an airstrike yesterday in the Gaza Strip.

Wael Abu Fanounah, according to the IDF and Shin Bet, was responsible for publishing the terror group's videos,… pic.twitter.com/757XkoLQRd

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) January 19, 2024

Palestinian media reports 12 killed in airstrike near Shifa Hospital, Gaza City

At least 12 people have been killed in an Israeli airstrike near Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Palestinian media outlets report.

According to reports, the airstrike hit a residential building, killing at least 12 and injuring an undetermined amount of people.

Attempts to rescue people trapped under the rubble are ongoing, reports say.

There was no immediate comment from the IDF.

Egypt holds talks with Houthi rebels, Iran in attempt to restore calm to international waters

Egyptian officials are conducting talks with representatives from the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen as well as with Iran itself in an attempt to restore calm to international waters after Houthi attacks have severely impacted Red Sea shipping lanes, Arabic-language news outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

In recent days, “intensive Egyptian security meetings have taken place with prominent leaders from the Ansar Allah group,” an anonymous Egyptian official tells the news outlet, using the Houthi rebel group’s official title.

Cairo reportedly criticized the January 12 US and UK-led strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, as well as the subsequent US strikes, saying it believes the answer to ending the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea is not militaristic.

“It is better to push for a solution that accelerates the end of the main cause, which is the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip,” the Egyptian official tells Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, referring to the Houthi’s claim that it is targeting ships with ties to Israel as a show of support for Palestinians in Gaza.

As part of Egypt’s efforts to calm international waters, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is expected to visit Cairo in the coming days, the news outlet adds.

Lapid: If Palestinian Authority undergoes real reform, it could play a role in Gaza’s future

Head of opposition and head of the Yesh Atid party MK Yair Lapid leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on January 15, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

If the Palestinian Authority undergoes serious reform, it could play a role in Gaza’s future at the end of the war, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid tells the Kan public broadcaster’s radio channel.

“If the Palestinian Authority undergoes a real reform on the issue of incitement and corruption, its civilian apparatus can be used in some of the components in Gaza,” Lapid says, but cautions that he “doesn’t think anyone believes that a Palestinian state will be established in Gaza” once the war ends.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that the Palestinian Authority must have no role in Gaza’s future, accusing the Fatah-run administration of sharing Hamas’s goal of destroying Israel.

Hepatitis A, jaundice spreading among Gaza’s population, WHO chief warns

At least 24 cases of Hepatitis A and thousands of cases of jaundice have been detected in the Gaza Strip, as access to clean water remains severely restricted, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warns on X, formerly Twitter.

Hepatitis A, a viral liver infection, is usually mild “but can occasionally cause severe disease,” the WHO chief says.

While just 24 cases have been confirmed through testing due to limited means, the thousands of cases of jaundice are also believed to be linked to the liver infection, indicating it may have spread much further than testing shows.

“The inhumane living conditions — almost no drinking water, clean toilets or ability to keep the surroundings clean — will allow hepatitis A to spread further,” Ghebreyesus writes, describing the health crisis as “explosive.”

“The capacity to diagnose diseases remains extremely limited. There is no functioning laboratory. The capacity to respond remains limited too,” he adds.

“We continue to call for unimpeded and safe access of medical aid and for health to be protected.”

Cases of #HepatitisA, an inflammation of the liver, have been confirmed in #Gaza via test kits supplied by @WHO.

Hepatitis A is usually mild but can occasionally cause severe disease. 24 cases are confirmed and no deaths have been reported so far. There are several thousand…

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) January 18, 2024

Houthis promise safe passage for Chinese, Russian ships transiting through Red Sea

Members of the Yemeni Coast Guard affiliated with the Iran-backed Houthi group patrol the sea as demonstrators march through the Red Sea port city of Hodeida in solidarity with the people of Gaza on January 4, 2024. (AFP)

Russian and Chinese vessels transiting through the Red Sea will be granted safe passage, a senior Houthi official tells Russian outlet Izvestia in an interview.

Senior Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti insists the waters around Yemen, which some shipping firms are avoiding due to the ongoing aggression from the Iran-backed rebel group, are safe so long as vessels are not linked to certain countries, particularly Israel.

“As for all other countries, including Russia and China, their shipping in the region is not threatened,” he says.

“Moreover, we are ready to ensure the safe passage of their ships in the Red Sea, because free navigation plays a significant role for our country.”

Despite their insistence otherwise, the attacks carried out by the Houthi rebels have targeted ships with no apparent connection to Israel.

Attacks on vessels “in any way connected with Israel” will continue, he adds.

IDF announces death of soldier, bringing Gaza ground op death toll to 194

Staff sergeant Ori Gerby, 20, of the Givati Brigade's reconnaissance unit, from Herzliya. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF announces the death of a soldier who succumbed to wounds sustained during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, bringing the toll of slain troops in the ground offensive against Hamas to 194.

He is named as Staff Sgt. Ori Gerby, 20, of the Givati Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, from Herzliya.

North Korea says it tested ‘underwater nuclear weapon system’

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea says it had tested an “underwater nuclear weapon system” in response to joint naval exercises by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo that involved a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

The drills were “seriously threatening the security” of the North, so in response, Pyongyang “conducted an important test of its underwater nuclear weapon system ‘Haeil-5-23’ under development in the East Sea of Korea,” according to a statement from the defense ministry carried by state news agency KCNA.

The test of the “Haeil-5-23” system, a name North Korea has given to its nuclear-capable underwater attack drones, was carried out by the defense ministry’s think tank in the waters off its east coast, the report stated, without specifying a date.

“Our army’s underwater nuke-based countering posture is being further rounded off and its various maritime and underwater responsive actions will continue to deter the hostile military maneuvers of the navies of the US and its allies,” an unnamed spokesman of the ministry said in a statement, according to KCNA.

Early last year, Pyongyang said it had carried out multiple tests of a purported underwater nuclear attack drone — a different version of the Haeil, which means tsunami in Korean — claiming it could unleash a “radioactive tsunami”.

Analysts have questioned whether Pyongyang has such a weapon.

Earlier this week, South Korea, the United States and Japan carried out joint naval drills in waters off southern Jeju Island, which they said were in response to North Korea’s Sunday launch of a hypersonic missile.

The drills involved nine warships from the three countries, including the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.

US says Houthis launch missiles at tanker, causing no damage

Iran-allied Houthi militia launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at a US-owned tanker ship on Thursday night that hit the water near the vessel, causing no injuries or damage, says the US Central Command.

The incident, the latest amid growing tensions in the Red Sea that has disrupted global trade and raised fears of supply bottlenecks, took place at around 9 p.m. Yemen local time (1800 GMT), according to the post on X, formerly Twitter.

China to track developments in Red Sea, provide support to foreign trade enterprises

China’s Ministry of Commerce says it was closely tracking developments in the Red Sea in response to the escalating situation there and the country will provide support and assistance to foreign trade enterprises.

“It is hoped that all parties concerned will restore and ensure the security of shipping lanes in the Red Sea waters,” a spokesperson for the ministry said in a statement late Thursday.

The ministry said it hopes all parties jointly safeguard the smooth flow of global production and supply chains and the normal order of international trade.

The Houthis have launched dozens of attacks since November on vessels in the Red Sea, in what they claim is an effort to support Palestinians during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships targeted have had no ties to Israel whatsoever.

The attacks are part of a broad response to the Gaza conflict by a so-called Axis of Resistance, which includes the Houthis, Hamas and Hezbollah — all of whom are backed by Iran.

The Houthis, who rally under the banner “Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam,” have also launched several drones and missiles directly at Israel.

Houthis claim US ship hit in Gulf of Aden attack

Yemeni’s Houthi rebels claim they carried out a missile attack on a US ship in the Gulf of Aden.

The Houthis said in a statement posted early Friday on their social media that their “naval” forces had attacked the Chem Ranger “with several appropriate naval missiles, resulting in direct hits”.

It did not give a time or other details for the latest attack in international shipping lanes.

Houthi aggression against vessels in the Red Sea has led to strikes in Yemen by US and British forces, with the United States reporting its latest attack on Houthi targets on Thursday.

The specialist website Marine Traffic identified the Chem Ranger as a Marshall Islands-flagged chemical tanker sailing from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Kuwait.

British maritime risk management company Ambrey said a Marshallese chemical tanker sailing along the same route had reported a “suspicious” approach by drones.

One fell in the sea approximately 30 meters from the tanker, it added. “An Indian warship responded to the event.”

“There were no crew casualties or damage reported,” the monitor said.

The British maritime security agency UKMTO, without naming the vessel, also reported an incident in the same area in which a drone approached a merchant ship, with an explosion reported in the water about 30 meters away.

“Coalition forces are responding, vessel and crew are safe, vessel proceeding to next port,” it said in a bulletin.

There will be no Entebbe-like operation to save hostages in Gaza, says Eisenkot

There will not be an Entebbe-like operation to save the hostages in Gaza, says war cabinet minister Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff turned lawmaker with the National Unity party.

Speaking with Channel 12’s Uvda investigative program, Eisenkot says a daring rescue like the 1976 operation by an Israeli elite commando squad that saved 98 hostages from Palestinian and German terrorists in Entebbe, Uganda “will not happen.”

The terrorists hijacked an Air France jet flying from Tel Aviv to Paris on June 27, 1976, diverting to Entebbe airport in Uganda, where the hijackers were welcomed by dictator Idi Amin. The legendary, storied mission claimed the lives of four hostages and that of Yoni (Yonatan) Netanyahu, brother of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who led the rescue squad.

Eisenkot says the hostages taken by Hamas terrorists during the shock onslaught on October 7 are “spread out in such a way,” mainly underground, that the “probability after Ori Megidish, is extremely low.”

"לא יהיה מבצע בסגנון אנטבה". גדי איזנקוט עם אמירה שקשה לשמוע, מתוך הריאיון ששידרנו הערב: pic.twitter.com/lm3wsRP8OS

— עובדה (@Uvda_tweet) January 18, 2024

Pvt. Ori Megidish was rescued in late October by the IDF and the Shin Bet, days after Israel launched its ground operation in the Gaza Strip. She remains the only hostage of the remaining 132 abductees taken on October 7 to have been rescued through a military operation.

The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 27 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza. In late November, 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce. Four hostages were released before that. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered and three hostages were mistakenly killed by the military in a tragic incident last month.

Troops “are still making every effort and looking for every opportunity [to save hostages] but the likelihood is low, and to say that [it’ll happen] is a delusion,” says Eisenkot, whose son and nephew were killed fighting in Gaza last month.

“It needs to be said, bravely, that…it’s not possible to return the hostages, alive, in the near term, without a deal,” he says, blasting “anyone who is trying to sell fantasies to the public.”

Eisenkot says a pause to the fighting in Gaza “for a certain amount of time” will likely be required as part of any potential deal, pointing to the weeklong agreement secured in late November in which 105 civilians were freed from Hamas.

He says the next pause will likely be longer “by three or four times but after that, the war objectives will still be in effect.”

Eisenkot’s National Unity party agreed to join Netanyahu’s coalition on an emergency basis in a demonstration of political unity after the October 7 terror onslaught.

Gallant and US defense secretary Austin discuss Gaza war, regional security

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on “Israel’s shift to low-intensity operations in Gaza, the distribution of humanitarian assistance in Gaza, instability in the West Bank, and a range of regional security matters,” according to a readout of the call.

Austin emphasized to Gallant the need to step up humanitarian aid across Gaza, and protect civilians. In addition, he “acknowledged” Israel’s concerns over intensifying clashes with Iran-backed Hezbollah on the Lebanon border, and “reiterated US resolve to prevent the situation from escalating,” says the readout.