Jan. 23: PM to hostages’ families: Qatar as mediator ‘problematic,’ US could apply more pressure

One-month Gaza pause focus of intensive talks, sources say

Israel and Hamas broadly agree in principle that an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners could take place during a month-long ceasefire, but the framework plan is being held up by the two sides’ differences over how to bring a permanent end to the Gaza war, three sources say.

Intense mediation efforts led by Qatar, Washington and Egypt in recent weeks have focused on a phased approach to release different categories of Israeli hostages — starting with civilians and ending with soldiers — in return for a break in hostilities, the release of Palestinian prisoners and more aid to Gaza.

Israel is also said to have made an offer this week for a two-month ceasefire during which Hamas would release the hostages in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners in stages. Under the proposal, Yahya Sinwar and other top Hamas leaders in Gaza would be allowed to relocate to other countries.

An Egyptian official said today that Hamas rejected the proposal.

The latest round of international shuttle diplomacy started on December 28 and has narrowed disagreements about the length of an initial ceasefire to around 30 days, after Hamas had first proposed a pause of several months, said one of the sources, an official briefed on the negotiations.

However, Hamas has since refused to move forward with the plans until the future conditions of a permanent ceasefire are agreed, according to six sources. Most of the sources consulted for this story requested anonymity in order to speak freely about sensitive matters.

While Israel has sought to negotiate one stage at a time, Hamas is seeking “a package deal” that agrees on a permanent ceasefire before hostages are released during the initial phase, said one of the sources, a Palestinian official close to the mediation efforts. Israel and Hamas are speaking through the mediators, not talking directly.

It is believed that 132 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza. The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 28 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.

The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered and three hostages were mistakenly killed by the military. One more person has been listed as missing since October 7, and their fate is still unknown.

Hamas has also been holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Drone attack targets US-led coalition base in Iraq

Several drones on Tuesday targeted an airbase in Iraq hosting US troops, causing injuries and damage, says a US military official.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October, there have been more than 140 attacks on US and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, deployed there to fight jihadists of the Islamic State group.

“Multiple attack drones were launched” at the Ain al-Assad base in the western Anbar province, a US military official tells AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.

“Latest reports include injuries and damage to infrastructure,” said the official, adding he did not have further details as yet.

An Iraqi security official meanwhile said a drone was shot down as it attempted to target the base.

In a statement, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of Iran-linked armed groups, claimed responsibility for two attacks Tuesday using drones against the base, saying they were acting in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which opposes US support for Israel in the Gaza conflict, has claimed most of the recent attacks on US-led forces in Iraq.

The same base was targeted by at least a dozen missiles on Saturday.

White House Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer on Sunday described that attack as “very serious,” saying it used “ballistic missiles that posed a genuine threat.”

Washington has on several occasions launched strikes on Iran-backed groups in retaliation for the attacks.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani is now calling for the international coalition to leave the country, saying that the deployment must end to ensure the country’s security.

There are roughly 2,500 American troops in Iraq and some 900 in Syria.

Tensions have been soaring across the Middle East since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, triggered by Hamas’s October 7 shock onslaught that killed 1,200 people and saw 253 taken as hostages to Gaza. The region has seen a surge in violence involving Iran-backed allies of Palestinian terror group Hamas.

New poll of US voters finds overwhelming support for Israel over Hamas in ongoing war

A new Harvard CAPS-Harris poll published this week of over 2,300 registered US voters found overwhelming support for Israel over Hamas in the ongoing war, triggered by the terror group’s October 7 murderous rampage.

In the poll, 83% of respondents said October 7 was a terror attack, while 17% said it was not. Broken down by age group, 94% of respondents aged over 65 said the attack — in which 1,200 people killed and 253 taken hostage — was terrorism, while 74% of those aged 18-24 said the same.

In addition, 74% of respondents said Hamas’s attack was genocidal and 75% of all respondents said the assault could not be justified by Palestinian grievances. These answers varied widely by age group. Some 54% of respondents aged 18-24 said the attacks were not justified, compared to 78% among participants aged 45-54, 87% of those aged 54-65, and 92% of those aged over 65.

Eighty percent of all respondents also said they support Israel more over Hamas, including 57% among those aged 18-24, about 70% for those aged 25-44, 80% of 45-54 year olds, 90% of those 54-65, and 93% of those over 65.

Most respondents, 69%, said Israel was trying to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza, and 66% said Israel was just trying to defend itself. Some 34% said they believe Israel was “committing genocide” in Gaza and not acting in self-defense.

Some 74% also said Hamas would like to commit genocide against Jews in Israel.

Overall, 67% of respondents said a ceasefire should only happen if the hostages are released and Hamas is removed from power in Gaza.

The poll was conducted among 2,346 registered US voters on January 17 and 18. The margin of error was not immediately available.

US strikes have destroyed more than 25 Houthi missile launch sites, 20 missiles

The United States has destroyed or degraded over 25 Houthi missile launch facilities and more than 20 missiles in Yemen since it started strikes in the country earlier this month, the Pentagon says.

Qatar as mediator ‘problematic,’ US could be applying more pressure, Netanyahu tells hostages’ families

In a recent meeting with the families of the hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Qatar acting as the mediator between Israel and the Palestinian terror group was “problematic,” and appeared to express disappointment with Washington for not applying more pressure on the Gulf state, which hosts Hamas leaders.

“I think you need to speak to the hearts of the international community to apply pressure on those who can apply pressure,” Netanyahu is heard telling the families in a leaked recording aired by Channel 12 tonight.

He says Qatar should be the first address, even as he notes that he has never thanked Doha publicly for its role.

“Qatar, from my point of view, is no different in essence than the United Nations… and the Red Cross, [Qatar] is even more problematic,” he says, adding, however, that he’s willing to speak to anyone “that would help me get them home.”

“I have no illusions about them. They have leverage [over Hamas]… Because [Qatar] funds them.”

Netanyahu says he got “very angry recently with the Americans” for renewing a deal to extend US military presence at a base in Qatar for another 10 years.

In addition to hosting Hamas leaders, Qatar also hosts the largest US base in the Middle East and is a major non-NATO US ally, a designation granted by the United States to close, non-NATO allies that have strategic working relationships with the US military.

Leveraging the deal “would apply pressure [on Qatar],” Netanyahu says in the recording.

He also says Qatar has given Israel commitments to ensure medications reach the hostages, as agreed in a celebrated but as-yet incomplete deal brokered by Doha and Paris last week to deliver much-needed medicines to the hostages, who have been held in captivity since the October 7 massacre.

The deal also included the provision of medical supplies, food and other humanitarian aid for Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu previously admitted that the Qatari commitment to deliver medicine to hostages was the only way Israel had to verify their delivery,

“We’ll know in a few days, maybe before,” Netanyahu tells the families in the meeting.

Netanyahu’s military secretary, Brig. Gen. Avi Gil, tells the families Israel is “supposed to receive via the Qataris a kind of confirmation… that [the hostages] received the medications.”

‘Hamas isn’t even in Gaza’: Noa Tishby interviews anti-Israel protesters

Noa Tishby speaks with anti-Israel protesters at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah on January 21, 2024. (Screenshots, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law).

Israel actress, model and director Noa Tishby, who is also a staunch advocate for Israel and previously served as a volunteer antisemitism envoy, aired footage from an anti-Israel protest at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday where she interviews protesters who appear to be clueless about the war against terror group Hamas.

Tishby goes around asking protesters at the event in Park City, Utah questions such as which river the infamous “river to the sea” chant calling for the destruction of Israel at such protests is referring to.

“For the river to the sea, Palestinians need to be free from the occupation,” one protester tells Tishby. “What river?” she asks. “I forgot the river’s name but the sea is the Red Sea,” says the protester.

That same protester says he thinks “Israel should be dissolved.”

Making lemonade ???? from watermelons ???? pic.twitter.com/lM0CvA52q6

— (((noa tishby))) (@noatishby) January 22, 2024

Another protester holding a colorful poster with a watermelon drawing says she thinks “it’s the Black Sea and the river on the other side of Gaza.”

The protester says she was holding a poster with content she didn’t quite understand, as it was handed to her, and was protesting “against the occupation of Palestine.”

An anti-Israeli protester at the Sundance Film Festival speaks to Noa Tishby, January 21, 2024, claims ‘Hamas isn’t even in Gaza.’ (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law).

Asked about the mass documentation and accounts of rape, mutilation and sexual violence committed by Palestinian terrorists during the October 7 massacre, the protester says she “heard things… and also they are not confirmed.”

A third protester tells her that the “Palestinian genocide is just awful,” and when Tishby asks about the Israeli hostages, she responds, “Unfortunately, I’m not that educated about that part.”

Another protester tells Tishby, “It’s a genocide, it’s not about Hamas… Hamas isn’t even there… in Gaza.”

“Are there hostages in Gaza right now?” Tishby asks her. “Oh, I don’t know,” comes the reply.

Tishby concludes with a piece-to-camera, saying: “So this is it, a demonstration at the Sundance Film Festival calling for the genocide of Jews. As you can see, some of the people don’t even know what it is they are talking about.”

Tishby was booted in April as a volunteer antisemitism envoy after criticizing the Netanyahu government’s judicial overhaul.

IDF spokesperson says over 100 Hamas operatives killed in Khan Younis area today

In an evening press conference, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says troops have killed more than 100 Hamas operatives in the west Khan Younis area today, during intensive battles.

“Troops on the ground are continuing their mission with determination,” Hagari says, a day after a blast killed 21 soldiers, the deadliest single incident for the IDF amid its ground operation in Gaza.

“Our forces are continuing a wide offensive on west Khan Younis, one of the major Hamas strongholds. This is a complex area, densely populated, and many Hamas terrorists are hiding in the area, including in sensitive sites, trying to surprise our forces,” he says.

“The forces are fighting courageously, with a variety of methods… and with close air and intelligence support,” Hagari says.

He says the troops are destroying Hamas infrastructure, including tunnels, and have killed more than 100 gunmen in the area today.

Asked about yesterday’s incident, in which a Hamas cell managed to launch RPGs at troops operating just 600 meters from the border, Hagari says, “There are still isolated terror cells close to the border.”

“There are IDF forces that continue to attack these squads in order to create the conditions for the return of the residents,” he says.

Hagari warns that small Hamas cells “will continue to accompany us and it will be necessary to constantly go back and deepen the achievement.”

IDF said to complete demolition operation in central Gaza where 21 soldiers were killed

The IDF reportedly completed its demolition operation in the central Gaza Strip, where 21 soldiers were killed in a blast yesterday.

Footage published by Channel 12 news shows several buildings being destroyed in a controlled blast, as part of the army’s efforts to establish a buffer zone on the Gaza border.

Amid the operation yesterday, Hamas operatives fired RPGs at two buildings rigged up with explosives, causing them to collapse, and also struck a tank, killing a total of 21 soldiers.

יממה לאחר האסון: הושלמה השמדת המתחם שבו נפלו 21 הלוחמים | תיעודhttps://t.co/AUCS3wSA8F | @ndvori pic.twitter.com/8FbNl6u1eG

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) January 23, 2024

US Mideast envoy in Cairo to focus on humanitarian pause, potential hostage deal

US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk is in Cairo for “active” discussions on ensuring the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and securing a humanitarian pause, the White House says.

White House spokesperson John Kirby says the Biden administration would absolutely support a longer humanitarian pause. He declines to specify a timeframe and cautioned he would not characterize the discussions as negotiations.

“The conversations are very sober and serious about trying to get another hostage deal in place,” Kirby told a regular White House briefing, adding the talks included discussion on how long of a pause would be needed to get the hostages out.

He said McGurk was also discussing other issues, including getting an assessment of Israel’s military operations and its efforts to protect civilians, as well as continuing to explore the idea of a normalization of Israel-Saudi ties.

Kirby reiterated Washington’s insistence that future post-conflict Gaza leadership could not include Hamas leaders, and said Washington did not want the territory of Gaza reduced.

“Whatever governance looks like in Gaza, after this is over, it’s got to be representative of the aspirations of the Palestinian people who are not represented by Hamas,” he said.

‘Terrible day’: US sends condolences to families of 21 IDF soldiers killed in Gaza

WASHINGTON — The US sends its condolences to the families of the 21 IDF soldiers killed yesterday while operating in Gaza, says White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

“It was a terrible day for the IDF yesterday,” Kirby laments during a press briefing. “That’s an enormous amount of troops lost in one day and certainly our condolences go out to all the families and their teammates as well.”

Kirby says that “sober and serious” talks are taking place aimed at another hostage deal, using a new pair of adjectives to reiterate the same assertion US officials have made for months.

He later clarifies that he would only characterize the talks as “discussions,” and not “negotiations,” explaining that there is a long way to go before an agreement.

Asked about reports of a new Israeli proposal to pause fighting for up to two months in exchange for a staged release of the remaining 136 hostages, Kirby reiterates that the US would support extended pauses in the fighting, stopping short of backing for a permanent ceasefire.

Norway, PA still weighing Israel-approved plan for transferring Palestinian tax revenues

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a conference to support Jerusalem at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, February 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

WASHINGTON — Norway and the Palestinian Authority have held off on accepting a new framework for Israel to transfer Palestinian tax revenues to the PA, which was approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet two days ago.

Norway’s Foreign Ministry says in a statement that it is still discussing the framework, and a PA official speaking tells The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity that Ramallah is also still reviewing the proposal.

The framework would see the Gaza services portion of the Palestinian tax revenues that Israel collects on the PA’s behalf transferred to Norway, which will be barred from funneling them to Ramallah without the approval of far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

The outline was pushed by White House Middle East czar Brett McGurk and US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew, a European diplomat tells The Times of Israel, lamenting that it gives too much authority to Smotrich, who has long had an adversarial relationship toward the PA.

The diplomat says the PA might be forced to accept the plan, since it is under pressure from the White House and several Arab capitals to end its standoff with Israel and accept the funds in order to be able to at least pay its employees in the West Bank, which it won’t be able to do in one month’s time.

Until November, Israel had been transferring the funds directly to the PA each month in line with the 1994 Oslo Accords, while deducting roughly $13 million each time to compensate for Ramallah’s welfare payments to security prisoners and their families, which Israel says incentivize terror.

After Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught, the Israeli cabinet voted to deduct a much larger sum of roughly $73 million — roughly 25 percent of the total revenues — from the monthly transfer, which amounts to the funds that the PA uses to pay for services and its employees in Gaza. Israel argued that it would not allow for the revenues to reach the Strip, claiming they could wind up in the hands of Hamas.

The PA responded to the latest deduction by announcing that it would not accept any of the funds if it meant they wouldn’t be able to pay for services in Gaza, daring Israel to allow its financial collapse, given that the tax funds make up roughly 60% of its annual revenues.

Without the PA, Israel would well find itself responsible for providing services for roughly three million Palestinians in the West Bank.

Iran-backed Houthis order all US, British staff of UN to leave Yemen

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have ordered all US and British staff of the United Nations and its agencies to leave the country within a month, a UN official tells AFP.

In a letter dated January 20 and shared on social media, the authorities in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa told the UN resident coordinator that employees with British and US nationality had one month to “prepare to leave the country.”

“They must be ready to leave as soon as the deadline expires,” the document said, adding that 24 hours’ notice would be given by letter.

While they only control a fraction of Yemen’s territory, the Houthis hold sway over most of the country’s population centers.

A UN official confirmed to AFP that they had received the memo.

“The UN and its partners have taken note of this and are waiting to see what are the next steps,” said the official, who asked to remain anonymous.

Peter Hawkins, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, is himself British.

The expulsion followed joint strikes by the United States and Britain against the Houthis aimed at ending the group’s attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, threatening global trade.

The United States has launched multiple further strikes and on Tuesday carried out a second set of joint strikes with Britain.

Last week, Washington redesignated the Houthis a “global terrorist group,” having lifted it in 2021 to ease aid delivery to the impoverished country.

Arab daily reveals how Hamas leaders in Gaza and outside communicate with each other

The Saudi-owned London-based Arabic-language daily Asahrq Al-Awsat reveals the communications system used by Hamas leaders and officials to exchange messages in Gaza’s underground without being detected.

Citing sources close to the terror group’s leadership, the daily reports that Hamas and its military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, have relied since 2009 on a terrestrial communications network that was initially developed by al-Qassam engineers and was upgraded over the years with technology smuggled in from abroad.

Switchboards were reportedly installed underground and connected to old landlines above the ground.

The sources add that Israel has been aware of the system for years, and has attempted to hack it or destroy it several times.

The network was reportedly still in function at the outbreak of the war, and was used to discuss the details of the November truce with Israel and the release of hostages, sources say. Some people were tasked with looping in the group’s leadership abroad, and relaying decisions made in Gaza through the use of encrypted software.

After the conclusion of the truce and in light of IDF advances on the ground inside Gaza, the Hamas leadership has been reportedly forced to resort to a more rudimentary method of communications – by exchanging written messages on pieces of paper carried by Hamas members and aides.

The same method is used to convey messages to those who are in contact with the leadership abroad. The latter, however, are not entitled to make decisions without the approval of the top level inside the Strip, particularly Yahya Sinwar, sources say.

Largest underground weapons production site found to date in south Gaza — IDF

Israeli troops operate inside a Hamas tunnel in the Khan Younis area, in an image released by the IDF on January 23, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says it has located a major Hamas tunnel network in the Khan Younis area, featuring the largest underground weapons production site found to date in southern Gaza.

Troops of the 7th Armored Brigade and elite Yahalom combat engineering team operated in what the IDF says is a “strategic and central” Hamas stronghold in Khan Younis, in a residential area and near two schools.

As troops raided the area, the IDF says Hamas operatives opened fire and launched RPGs, as well as detonated the entrances to several tunnels in the area, in a bid to prevent troops from entering.

The IDF says it waged several battles against “many” Hamas gunmen in the area, killing them in close-quarters combat, machine gun fire, tank shelling and airstrikes.

The 7th Brigade and Yahalom soldiers located several tunnel entrances in the area, which the IDF says led to a tunnel network some 1.5 kilometers in length, where Hamas hid an underground rocket manufacturing plant, the largest in southern Gaza.

After being investigated, the tunnel shaft was destroyed by the combat engineers.

IDF strikes ‘military asset’ belonging to Hezbollah, Iranian forces in Lebanon

The IDF says it struck a “military asset” belonging to Hezbollah and Iranian forces in Lebanon.

The strikes apparently come in response to Hezbollah’s missile attack on a sensitive air traffic control base in northern Israel earlier today.

In a statement, the IDF says fighter jets destroyed “a military asset used by the Hezbollah terror organization and operated by Iranian forces.”

Other Hezbollah targets were hit today in southern Lebanon, the IDF adds.

Qatar receiving ‘constant stream of replies’ from Israel, Hamas on deal talks, says spokesman

Qatar says it is engaged in “serious discussions” on a potential pause in Gaza fighting and a deal to secure the release of the hostages.

“We are engaged in serious discussions on both sides, we have presented ideas to both sides, we are getting a constant stream of replies from both sides, and that in its own right as a cause for optimism,” says Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari in a press conference

“We need to focus on the mediation process itself,” he adds.

The Associated Press reported earlier, citing an Egyptian official, that Hamas rejected an Israeli offer to pause fighting for two months and release Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners in stages.

The official said that Hamas leaders have also refused to leave Gaza and are demanding that Israel fully withdraw from the territory and allow Palestinians to return to their homes.

Under Israel’s proposal, Yahya Sinwar and other top Hamas leaders in Gaza would be allowed to relocate to other countries.

The Axios news site reported on Monday that Israel had submitted a proposal through Qatari and Egyptian mediators that would see it agree to pause its military offensive in exchange for a phased release of the remaining 136 hostages in Gaza.

The proposal does not heed Hamas’s demand for Israel to end the war completely, but does appear to go further than Israel has gone in previous offers, two Israeli officials were cited as saying.

Asked about media reports earlier today that a ceasefire deal was being discussed, Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy said the war’s goals were unchanged.

“The destruction of Hamas’ governing and military capabilities in the Gaza Strip and the return of all the hostages,” he said. “There will be no ceasefire that leaves the hostages in Gaza and Hamas in power.”

Levy declined to elaborate on efforts to free the hostages, who were taken to Gaza following the Oct. 7 rampage in which Hamas and other militants killed some 1,200 Israelis – the trigger for the war. Levy said lives were in the balance.

Former PM Ehud Barak calls on Netanyahu: ‘In the name of God, go’

Former prime minister Ehud Barak says Israel needs elections right away to avoid “sinking in the Gaza mud for years to come,” in an interview with The Telegraph.

“In the name of God, go,” he implores Netanyahu in the interview published Monday.

“Israel cannot announce victory without destroying the military and the governing capabilities of Hamas. But for Hamas to win it just needs to survive. And even if Israel kills [Hamas’s Gaza leader Yahya] Sinwar, they will still survive,” Barak says.

“The only way [out of the conflict] is to have an election straight away,” he adds.

The former prime minister, who also previously served as defense minister and an IDF chief of staff, says there’s “a vacuum of leadership” in Israel, blaming Netanyahu for rejecting the “explicit demand coming from the inner cabinet” to discuss and consider postwar plans in Gaza.

“If Bibi continues to reject [an exit plan] we will find ourselves sinking into the Gazan mud for years to come,” he says.

Barak takes aim at Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners, saying: “I compare them to the Proud Boys in America. Imagine if in the US one of them had become secretary of the treasury and the other put in charge of homeland security.”

“It is crazy but in Israel that is what happened and Netanyahu is dependent upon them. He is hostage to them,” he says.

“It isn’t that Netanyahu is against the two-state solution. But he has now destroyed any real opportunity to move forward. He cannot because he will lose these meshugenahs,” he says in reference to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who ran together in the 2022 national elections that brought Netanyahu back to power.

Barak points to Netanyahu’s cratering popularity in recent polls.

“All the polling shows 80 percent of adults, including a majority of his own party, see Netanyahu as the man responsible for this whole failure. About half expected him to resign immediately after October 7. On that day, Netanyahu totally lost the trust of the public,” Barak tells The Telegraph.

Barak, who previously served in a coalition with Netanyahu in 2011, has since become a harsh critic of the prime minister and was a vocal figure in last year’s judicial overhaul protests. He urged civil disobedience on multiple occasions, leading to fiery denunciations by coalition figures.

IDF says Hamas fired RPG at building, then tank, killing 21 soldiers preparing demolition

According to new details from the IDF’s investigation of yesterday’s blast in central Gaza, killing 21 soldiers, the Hamas operatives fired an RPG missile at a building while hiding in a nearby plantation.

Two buildings, some 600 meters from the Israeli border, had been rigged up with around 20 mines for detonation. The RPG fire from a few dozen meters away likely set off the mines, causing the structures to collapse and killing 19 soldiers inside and near them.

An IDF tank guarding the operation spotted the Hamas operatives and was about to return fire, but before managing to do so, the gunmen fired another RPG, hitting the tank and killing two troops.

The Hamas cell apparently fled following the attack.

The IDF is probing the security of such operations, as well as the number of troops close to and inside buildings that are intended to be demolished.

Halevi on deaths of 21 soldiers: ‘We share in the grief of their families, the pain is too great to bear’

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, issues a video statement, January 23, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi issues a video statement on the deaths of 21 soldiers in a blast and building collapse in the central Gaza Strip yesterday

“We share in the grief of their families for the heavy loss, and know that the pain is too great to bear,” Halevi says.

“If this is any comfort, I would like the families to know, they fell in battle near the border fence, during a defense operation in the buffer zone between the Israeli communities and Gaza. This is a task whose entire purpose is to create the security conditions for the safe return of the residents of [the Gaza border communities] to their homes,” he says.

“To that end, we went to war, which began with a cruel attempt to stop life, and we are more determined than ever to bring life back here, even more strongly,” Halevi continues.

The chief of staff says he toured the scene of the incident, met with commanders, and was briefed on the initial investigation of the blast.

“We, as always, will investigate the incident in depth and learn the lessons while fighting, so that such an incident will not happen again,” Halevi says.

He warns that the fighting in Gaza will be long and have “many more challenges in store for us,” and therefore the IDF is switching out the forces for R&R.

“On this difficult day, it is important to say, we have been fighting for 108 days and we do not forget October 7, we do not forget why we went to war,” Halevi says.

He says the IDF over the past day has been “expanding the fighting in Khan Younis, gaining more achievements, and at the same time continuing to fight in the north of the Gaza Strip and deepening the achievement.”

“On this day we feel the great and painful cost of war, but the one we are fighting now is necessary and just like no other. We will continue to fight for our clear right to live here in safety,” Halevi adds.

Troops kill Palestinian gunman who fired at them near West Bank town of Anabta

Weapons found by troops on a gunman's body in the West Bank, January 23, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says reservists killed a Palestinian gunman who opened fire at them near the West Bank town of Anabta.

In a statement, the IDF says troops of the 9306th Battalion guarding a highway spotted a gunman driving toward them and opening fire.

The soldiers returned fire, killing the suspect. No soldiers were hurt.

The weapons on the gunman’s body were seized.

Israeli animated short film ‘Letter to a Pig’ nominated for Oscar

The Israeli animated short film “Letter to a Pig” has been nominated for an Academy Award in the animated film category.

A partial list of nominees to the 96th Academy Awards is being announced today in Beverly Hills, California. The Oscars ceremony is set to air March 10.

“Letter to a Pig” deals with collective trauma from the Holocaust and remembrance, and will compete with four other short animated films for the award.

The 17-minute short, released in 2022 and directed by Tal Kantor, won best short film at the Israeli Film Academy Awards as well as a number of other accolades including “Best Narrative Short” at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.

‘Head still on’: Posters of Israeli hostages in Gaza defaced at Harvard

Hate graffiti on posters at Harvard University of Hamas-held hostages including 1-year-old Kfir Bibas, January 22, 2024 (Screenshots via X; used in accordance with clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

A number of posters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and put up at Harvard University have been defaced with hate graffiti.

Photos and footage circulating online show the posters bearing antisemitic conspiracy theory slogans such as “Israel did 9/11” and “I knew Epstein personally,” in reference to Jeffrey Epstein.

On the poster of Hamas’s youngest hostage, one-year-old Kfir Bibas, someone wrote “head still on.”

The night before Harvard begins a new semester, every single Jewish hostage poster on campus has been defaced with vile antisemitism. @LHSummers @BillAckman pic.twitter.com/uVg4mLV1rZ

— Shabbos Kestenbaum (@ShabbosK) January 22, 2024

Other posters bore slogans such as “Sure, Jan,” a popular response to someone saying something not believable to the listener.

Jewish students returning to @Harvard for the spring semester were met by horrific antisemitic vandalism scrawled on every poster of Israeli hostages hung on campus.
Harvard has yet to comment. Meanwhile, Harvard's co-chair of its newly-created presidential task force on… pic.twitter.com/gu76kVvQ8k

— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) January 23, 2024

The graffiti was discovered yesterday as university students return to campus after winter break.

Channel 12 reports that a group of Israeli students at the university have filed a complaint with the administration.

Harvard University, which has faced accusations of letting antisemitism run rampant on campus, has yet to comment on the posters.

Harvard’s former president Dr. Claudine Gay, resigned earlier this month amid plagiarism accusations and criticism over her testimony at a congressional hearing where she was unable to say unequivocally that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate the school’s conduct policy. She later apologized.

Posters of the hostages have been routinely defaced and torn down in cities all over the world.

IDF carries out operation to destroy Hamas tunnels on Khan Younis outskirts

As Israeli troops operate deep within Khan Younis, the IDF announces that reservists of Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade recently wrapped up offensive and defensive operations on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city.

Troops of the 630th Reserve Battalion operated with combat engineers to locate and destroy Hamas “attack tunnel” shafts and other underground infrastructure on the outskirts of northern Khan Younis, the IDF says.

Also as part of the Southern Brigade’s operations, reservists of the 261st Brigade worked to destroy Hamas infrastructure in the border area, the IDF says.

Amid their operation yesterday, Hamas fired RPGs at the troops, hitting a tank and apparently setting off mines that the IDF had rigged to demolish two buildings, killing 21 soldiers.

It was the deadliest single incident in the IDF’s ongoing ground offensive in Gaza.

As Israeli troops operate deep within Khan Younis, the IDF announces that reservists of Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade recently wrapped up offensive and defensive operations on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city.

Troops of the 630th Reserve Battalion operated with combat… pic.twitter.com/4PcvYz5Yeq

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) January 23, 2024

Hamas rejects Israel’s offer of two-month pause in Gaza fighting — Egyptian official

A senior Egyptian who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity says terror group Hamas has rejected Israel’s proposal for a two-month ceasefire in which Hamas would release Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners.

The official says Hamas leaders have also refused to leave Gaza and are demanding that Israel fully withdraw from the territory and allow Palestinians to return to their homes.

Under Israel’s proposal, Yahya Sinwar and other top Hamas leaders in Gaza would be allowed to relocate to other countries.

The official says Egypt and Qatar, which have brokered past agreements between Israel and Hamas, are developing a multi-stage proposal to try to bridge the gaps. The proposal would include ending the war, releasing the hostages and putting forth a vision for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

EU top diplomat says Israel can’t ‘have veto’ on Palestinian state

BRUSSELS, Belgium — EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell says that Israel cannot be allowed to unilaterally block the creation of a Palestinian state after the war in Gaza.

“One thing is clear — Israel cannot have the veto right to the self-determination of the Palestinian people,” Borrell tells a Brussels press conference with his Egyptian counterpart.

“The United Nations recognizes and has recognized many times the self-determination right of the Palestinian people. Nobody can veto it.”

The comments come after Borrell on Monday chaired talks between the EU’s 27 foreign ministers and the top diplomats from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and key Arab states.

Borrell has floated a roadmap involving an international conference on a two-state solution and has said peace needs to be “imposed” on Israel.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry says there is “an international consensus on the necessity of resolving the conflict on the basis of a two state solution.”

“It is time to implement it and the international community has the means, has the resources, has the mechanisms to do so,” he says.

Sunak says UK to announce new sanctions on Houthis, FM Cameron to visit Middle East this week

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets with Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo at Downing Street, London, Jan. 23, 2024. (Hannah McKay/Pool via AP)

Britain plans to announce new sanctions in the coming days targeting Houthi financing of attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says.

US and British forces carried out a fresh round of strikes yesterday in Yemen, targeting a Houthi underground storage site as well as missile and surveillance capabilities used by the Iran-aligned group.

“We’re going to use the most effective means at our disposal to cut off the Houthi’s financial resources, where they are used to fund these attacks,” Sunak tells parliament.

“We are working closely with the United States on this and plan to announce new sanctions measures in the coming days.”

Sunak also says British Foreign Secretary David Cameron will visit the Middle East this week.

IDF: Sensitive air traffic control base in north slightly damaged in Hezbollah barrage

The IDF says slight damage was caused to a sensitive air traffic control base atop Mount Meron following a barrage of rockets and missiles launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon.

According to the IDF, several of the projectiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system.

No injuries were caused in the strike on the Mount Meron base, the IDF says, adding that the incident is under further investigation.

The IDF says it has backup systems to ensure that the air traffic control base continues to operate, saying “there is no damage to the Air Force’s detection capabilities.”

New Zealand sending team to join Red Sea maritime coalition against Houthi attacks

New Zealand announces it is sending a six-member team to join an international maritime security coalition in the Red Sea.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the country’s defense personnel will contribute to protecting ships in the Middle East from operational headquarters in the region and elsewhere.

“Houthi attacks against commercial and naval shipping are illegal, unacceptable and profoundly destabilizing,” Luxon says in a written statement.

The deployment is mandated to conclude no later than July 31.

Shipping in the Red Sea has come under attack from the Iran-backed Houthis in what the Yemen-based group is a show of support for Palestinians in Gaza amid the war sparked by the October 7 onslaught by the Hamas terror group.

UK maritime agency says it received report of drone activity near Yemen

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency says it received a reports of uncrewed aerial system activity in the vicinity of 46 nautical miles south of Yemen’s Mokha.

Authorities are investigating, UKMTO adds.

Risk of famine rising in Gaza, UN’s World Food Programme warns

This photograph taken on January 22, 2024, on the southern outskirts of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, shows Palestinian families fleeing the city (AFP)

The food situation in the Gaza Strip is slipping deeper into catastrophe, with the risk of famine rising by the day, the UN’s World Food Programme warns.

A study conducted between November 24 and December 7 found that 2.2 million people living in Gaza were in a crisis level of acute food insecurity, or worse.

The situation has only deteriorated since then, says Abeer Etefa, the WFP’s senior Middle East spokeswoman.

“The situation in Gaza is of course slipping every day into a much more catastrophic situation,” with “a looming threat of famine,” she tells a press briefing in Geneva, via video-link from Cairo.

“The risks of having pockets of famine in Gaza is very much still there. More than half a million people in Gaza are facing catastrophic food insecurity levels and the risk of famine increases each day, as the conflict is limiting delivery of life-saving food assistance to people in need.”

Western and Arab officials have backed Israel’s assertion that Hamas is stockpiling food and fuel in the Gaza Strip, keeping it from residents who are in desperate need.

Israel additionally blames international organizations for delay in transfer of aid to the Strip.

Some 1,200 people were killed and over 250 hostages were abducted by Hamas on October 7, when 3,000 terrorists invaded Israel from the Gaza Strip, committing numerous atrocities, including weaponizing sexual violence on a mass scale.

Sirens sound in Kfar Giladi as rocket fire from Lebanon shows no sign of abating

Rocket sirens sound in Kfar Giladi, close to the northern border with Lebanon.

The communities close to the northern border are largely evacuated of civilians.

Earlier, Hezbollah said it had again targeted a sensitive Israel Defense Forces air traffic control base in northern Israel with a barrage of rockets.

Netanyahu, Gallant, Gantz after deadliest day for IDF in Gaza: ‘We bow our heads, but won’t stop before complete victory’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement on the deaths of 21 soldiers in Gaza, from a meeting in Ramat Korazim, northern Israel, January 23, 2024 (Screen grab used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz give a joint video statement in which they pledge that the war will continue at full strength despite the loss of 24 soldiers yesterday.

“We bow our heads in memory of our fallen, and yet we do not for a moment stop striving for an irreplaceable goal – the achievement of complete victory,” says Netanyahu, ahead of a meeting in Ramat Korazim with heads of municipalities in the north. “Together we will fight – and together we will win.”

“We continue at this time in the spirit of the fallen,” adds Gallant, “to complete the tasks and do everything that is required. Our forces are operating deep in enemy territory, in Khan Younis; fighters from the Paratroopers, the 7th Brigade, from Givati, across the entire southern region.”

Turning to the northern border, Gallant says that Israel is “keeping an eye on everything that happens in the north. Hezbollah continues to provoke…

“We are prepared, we do not want war, but we are ready for any situation that may develop in the north.”

“This morning our hearts are all broken in the face of the fallen and the families, and our hearts are all whole in the important task for which they fell and which remains for us to fulfill: to ensure the safety of Israel, the safety of our children and our future in this place,” says Gantz.

Minister Benny Gantz gives a statement on the deaths of 21 soldiers in Gaza, from a meeting in Ramat Korazim, northern Israel, January 23, 2024 (Screen grab used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

“We will do it together, we will do it in unity. I ask to strengthen the bereaved families, to know that we have to continue. I have no doubt that when they set out on their mission yesterday, they intended for us to continue, and that is what we will do,” Gantz says.

Qatar: Mediation efforts to end war between Israel and Hamas are ongoing

Mediation efforts on ending the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip are ongoing, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman says in a press briefing.

No further details are given.

Israel has reportedly submitted a proposal through Qatari and Egyptian mediators that would see it agree to pause its military offensive against the Hamas terror group for as long as two months, in exchange for a phased release of the remaining 136 hostages in Gaza.

The proposal does not heed the Hamas demand for Israel to end the war completely, but does appear to go further than Israel has gone in previous offers, according to the Axios news site, which cited two Israeli officials.

Separately, the Qatari spokesman adds that escalation in the Red Sea represented a “big danger,” speaking a day after US and British forces carried out fresh strikes against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi fighters who have disrupted global shipping in what they say is a show of support for Palestinians in Gaza.

IDF announces names of the final 4 of the 21 soldiers killed in Gaza incident

The IDF names the final four soldiers killed in the incident in central Gaza yesterday, in which a total of 21 soldiers were killed.

They are:

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Itamar Tal, 32, of the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Mesilot.

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Adam Bismut, 35, a squad commander in the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Karnei Shomron.

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Shay Biton Hayun, 40, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Zichron Yaakov.

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Daniel Kasau Zegeye, 38, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Yokne’am Illit.

Police arrest man over arson at Tel Aviv hostage display

A man has been arrested for allegedly setting fire to a display that has been constructed in a show of support for the hostages held in Gaza.

The Kan public broadcaster says dolls representing the hostages were set alight on Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Street.

Police say a 35-year-old man from Herzliya has been detained and taken for questioning.

It is believed that 132 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November.

Four hostages were released prior to that, and one was rescued by troops. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered and three hostages were mistakenly killed by the military. The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 28 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.

One more person is listed as missing since October 7, and their fate is still unknown.

Hamas is also holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Hezbollah claims it fired at Meron air traffic control base

Hezbollah claims it fired projectiles at the Meron air traffic control base.

There is no comment from the military.

The Israel Electric Corporation says that there are disruptions to power in the area, presumably due to rocket fire.

Earlier this month, the Israel Defense Forces said that the base had been damaged in a Hezbollah missile attack.

At least three rounds of projectiles have been fired toward northern Israel by the Lebanon-based terror group in the past few hours.

Freed hostages to lawmakers: ‘At this very moment, someone is being raped in a Gaza tunnel’

Aviva Siegel (L) and her daughter Shir testify at the Knesset caucus on victims of sexual and gender violence in the war, January 23, 2024 (Screen grab used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Aviva Siegel, who was released from Gaza in November, and her daughter Shir tell Knesset lawmakers that women and men are being raped by terrorists in tunnels under the Strip.

“The terrorists bring inappropriate clothes for the girls, the clothes of dolls. They turned the girls into their dolls, that they can do whatever they want with. And it’s unbelievable that they’re still there,” says Aviva, who was abducted from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza along with  her husband Keith. He is still being held hostage in Gaza.

“I can’t breathe, I can’t deal with it, it’s too hard. It’s been nearly four months and they are still there,” she tells the Knesset caucus on victims of sexual and gender violence in the war against Hamas.

“I want to tell you that the boys go through these things too. They can’t get pregnant, but they also go through it. And something must change now,” says Aviva.

“I would like to go back to captivity to protect the girls there, like I did when I was there. I felt like they were my daughters,” she says.

“My heart is there and it’s exploding. I can’t understand how the world is silent.”

Aviva’s daughter, Shir, tells the lawmakers that her mother’s testimony is “only the tip of the iceberg,” and blasts ministers for not being present to hear the accounts.

“They are sitting in captivity, they have not done anything wrong! We have no right to just sit here, we need to scream for them. At this very moment there is someone being raped in a tunnel,” Shir says.

“Where are the really important people? The decision makers who sit in the cabinet and aren’t hearing this?” she says.

Chen Goldstein Almog, who was also held in Gaza, told the lawmakers today that “there are girls there who have not had their period for a long time and maybe that’s what we should be praying for, that it’s the body protecting itself so that, God forbid, they will not be able to get pregnant.”

Testimony from witnesses, first responders, medical personnel and others have pointed to numerous cases of victims being sexually abused during the October 7 onslaught, during which thousands of Hamas terrorists rampaged through southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages into Gaza.

15 rockets fired at northern towns – report

Some 15 rockets were fired at communities in the north close to the border with Lebanon this morning, Channel 12 reports.

The Hezbollah terror group meanwhile claims responsibility for an earlier attack on a military position near Adamit.

No injuries or damage are reported.

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, using rockets, missiles and drones.

Woman released from Gaza: The hostages are being raped there, we must pray they aren’t pregnant

The Knesset caucus on victims of sexual and gender violence in the war, January 23, 2024 (Courtesy)

A hostage freed from Gaza tells lawmakers that the women still being held by terrorists in the enclave are being raped and have been abandoned.

“There are girls there who have not had their period for a long time and maybe that’s what we should be praying for, that it’s the body protecting itself so that, God forbid, they will not be able to get pregnant,” Chen Goldstein Almog says.

“When we said goodbye to the women who were in captivity with us, they were on edge, with great despair that they were still staying there,” Goldstein Almog tells the Knesset caucus on victims of sexual and gender violence in the war against Hamas.

“Some of the girls from the Gaza border towns do not know if their spouses or their parents are alive, if their community has been evacuated, what happened there,” she says, according to the Ynet news site.

“They feel that they have been forgotten, that they were abandoned on October 7 and they are still abandoned. It has been eight and a half weeks that there has been no sign of life from them,” she says.

Goldstein Almog, 48, her 17-year-old daughter Agam and sons Gal, 11, and Tal, 9, were taken hostage on October 7 during Hamas’s shock onslaught. Father Nadav and daughter Yam were murdered by the terrorists at the family’s home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. The four — mother, daughter and two boys — were released from Gaza in late November under a temporary truce deal.

For third time in an hour, rocket sirens in towns close to Lebanon border

For the third time in just over an hour, rocket sirens are sounding in towns close to the border with Lebanon.

Alerts warning of incoming fire are heard in Zivon, Kfar Hoshen, Sassa and Shefer.

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the Iran-backed terror group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid Israel’s war with the Hamas terror group.

IDF says troops have encircled Khan Younis, are pushing deeper into Hamas stronghold

Troops operating in the Gaza Strip in an undated photo released on January 23, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says that overnight it completed the encirclement of southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, killing dozens of Hamas operatives in the process.

The 98th Division led a major push into the western part of Khan Younis over the past day, with the 7th Armored Brigade and Givati Brigade encircling the city.

The division’s Commando Brigade has carried out operations deeper into Khan Younis, which the IDF says is a major Hamas stronghold.

Over the past day, the IDF says ground forces engaged in close-quarters battles with Hamas operatives and airstrikes were carried out, and “many dozens of terrorists” were killed.

The IDF says troops killed Hamas fighters wielding RPGs just dozens of meters from the soldiers, gunmen who had opened fire, and operatives booby-trapping buildings and roads with explosive devices.

Troops operating in the Khan Younis area also uncovered rockets prepared for launch, tunnels, and other weapons, the IDF adds.

אוגדה 98 מבצעת ביממה האחרונה מתקפה נרחבת בחאן יונס.
צוותי הקרב של חטיבת הצנחנים, חטיבת גבעתי וחטיבה 7 השלימו את כיתור חאן יונס ולוחמי עוצבת הקומנדו העמיקו את ההתקפה ללב המרחב, אשר משמש כמרכז כובד של חטיבת חאן יונס בארגון הטרור חמאס>> pic.twitter.com/6zak4sCu5D

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) January 23, 2024

PM mourns deaths of soldiers in Gaza: ‘We must learn the necessary lessons’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on January 18, 2024. (Yariv Katz/Flash90/pool)

Israel will “will not stop fighting until absolute victory,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says following the deaths of 21 Israel Defense Forces soldiers in Gaza yesterday.

The prime minister says in a statement that he that he mourns their passing and wishes “to strengthen the dear families of our heroic warriors who fell on the battlefield. I know that for these families, their lives will be changed forever.”

“The IDF has launched an investigation into the disaster. We must learn the necessary lessons and do everything to preserve the lives of our warriors,” he continues. “In the name of our heroes, for our lives, we will not stop fighting until absolute victory.”

Twenty-one soldiers were killed in central Gaza yesterday when two buildings collapsed following a large blast and Hamas operatives fired an RPG at a tank.

In addition, the deaths of three officers in fighting were previously announced.

Rocket sirens sound in towns close to Lebanon border

Rocket sirens sound in the northern towns of Avivim, Baram and Yir’on on the Lebanon border.

It is the second time within an hour that alerts have warned of incoming rocket fire in towns close to the northern border.

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the Iran-backed terror group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid Israel’s war with the Hamas terror group.

Meeting relatives of Gaza hostages, UK’s Sunak and Cameron pledge assistance

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Cameron (R) and Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wait ahead of a Ceremonial Welcome for the South Korean president on Horse Guards Parade in central London on November 21, 2023 (Frank Augstein / POOL / AFP)

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary David Cameron are said to have pledged that Britain will do everything it can to ensure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

The pledge came as Sunak and Cameron met the families of Gaza hostages at a lunch organized by the Conservative Friends of Israel.

Sunak and Cameron met with Orly and Ran Gilboa, parents of Daniela Gilboa, 19; Eli Albag, father of Liri Albag, 18; Liran Berman, brother of twins Ziv and Gali Berman, 26; and Ziv Abd, the girlfriend of Eliya Cohen, 26.

They all pleaded with Sunak to do everything in his power to secure the release of the remaining hostages.

Albag said Sunak told him he “will try to move every stone in the world to bring my daughter and all the hostages back. Our family is destroyed,” reports The Guardian.

Albag adds that the family has spoken to released hostages who saw Liri Albag in captivity and reported back that she was “doing okay.”

Liran Berman said that the release of the hostages is in Qatar’s hands, “and we know that the UK has a lot of leverage on Qatar so we came here to ask — to beg, to demand — to stop this and to release all the hostages,” reports The Guardian.

Shira Albag, second from left, and her daughter Shai hold up a picture of Liri Albag on Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on January 20, 2024 (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Palestinian armed with knife shot as she approached troops near West Bank settlement – report

A Palestinian woman armed with a knife approached a military position and was shot by troops near the perimeter fence of the West Bank settlement Psagot, Army Radio reports.

The outlet says troops “neutralized” the woman before she was able to enter the settlement. Her condition is unclear.

There are no reports of Israeli casualties in the incident.

ניסיון פיגוע ללא נפגעים סמוך לפסגות: מחבלת חמושה בסכין התקרבה לכיוון עמדה צבאית בסמוך לגדר ההיקפית של פסגות – הלוחמים שזיהו את המחבלת מתקרבת, ירו לעברה וניטרלו אותה לפני שחצתה את גדר היישוב pic.twitter.com/AifRhLvDQR

— הוד בראל Hod Barel (@hod_barel) January 23, 2024

IDF announces names of 7 more of the 21 soldiers killed in Gaza incident

Top Row (from L-R): Cpt. (res.) Ariel Mordechay Wollfstal, 28; Master Sgt. (res.) Elkana Vizel, 35; Cpt. (res.) Nir Binyamin, 29; Sgt. Maj. (res.) Mark Kononovich, 35; Sgt. First Class (res.) Sagi Idan, 24; Sgt. First Class (res.) Israel Socol, 24: Middle Row (from L-R): Sgt. First Class (res.) Hadar Kapeluk, 23; Sgt. Maj. (res.) Matan Lazar, 32; Sgt. First Class (res.) Elkana Yehuda Sfez, 25; Sgt. First Class (res.) Ahmad Abu Latif, 26: Bottom Row (from L-R): Sgt. First Class (res.) Cedrick Garin, 23; Sgt. Maj. (res.) Sergey Gontmaher, 37; Sgt. Maj. (res.) Rafael Elias Mosheyoff, 33; Sgt. First Class (res.) Nicholas Berger, 22; Master Sgt. (res.) Yoav Levi, 29; Sgt. First Class (res.) Yuval Lopez, 27

The IDF names another seven soldiers killed in the incident in central Gaza yesterday, in which a total of 21 soldiers were killed.

They are:

Sgt. First Class (res.) Ahmad Abu Latif, 26, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Rahat.

Cpt. (res.) Nir Binyamin, 29, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Givatayim.

Master Sgt. (res.) Elkana Vizel, 35, a squad commander in the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Bnei Dekalim.

Sgt. First Class (res.) Israel Socol, 24, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Karnei Shomron.

Cpt. (res.) Ariel Mordechay Wollfstal, 28, of the 205th Brigade’s 9206th Battalion, from Elazar.

Sgt. First Class (res.) Sagi Idan, 24, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Rosh Haayin.

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Mark Kononovich, 35, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Herzliya.

The names of four more soldiers have not yet been announced.

Rocket sirens sound in northern towns near Lebanon border

Rocket sirens sound in the northern towns of Arab al-Aramshe, Idmit, Eilon and Goren on the Lebanon border.

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the Iran-backed terror group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid Israel’s war with the Hamas terror group.

Gantz after 21 troops killed in Gaza: ‘The heavy price we’re forced to pay in such a just war’

Minister Benny Gantz (center) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) arrive for a press conference at the Defense Ministry, in Tel Aviv, December 16, 2023. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

Israelis must remain united in the wake of yesterday’s combat deaths of 21 IDF servicemen in Gaza, Minister Benny Gantz declares, sending his “heartfelt condolences to the families of the fallen and wishes of recovery to the wounded.”

“On this difficult morning, we must be united, remember the heavy price we are forced to pay for such a just war and the lofty goal for which our heroes fell – to secure our future, to return our daughters and sons, and to take care of Israel forever,” the former IDF chief of staff and current member of the war cabinet says in a tweet.

“Especially today, we are sending strength to all IDF soldiers and their commanders. We are all behind you.”

Scene after deadly Gaza building collapse like earthquake aftermath

Rescue forces described the scene of two collapsed buildings in central Gaza, in an incident in which 21 soldiers were killed, as reminiscent of the aftermath of an earthquake, military sources say.

Large numbers of troops from the IDF’s search and rescue units were deployed to the scene to help with search and rescue efforts.

The military said that troops were destroying structures and Hamas sites, as part of the army’s efforts to establish a buffer zone to allow residents of Israeli border communities to return to their homes, when an RPG was apparently fired toward a tank securing the forces.

The IDF said at the same time there was an explosion in two buildings, likely a result of mines planted by troops to demolish the structures.

Ynet reports that the IDF is expected to appoint a special investigation team to examine the circumstances of the incident in order to prevent its recurrence.

Far-right minister: Deaths of 21 soldiers in Gaza make it ‘clearer than ever’ fighting must continue

The deaths of 21 Israel Defense Forces reservists yesterday make it “clearer than ever” that Israel must not deescalate combat operations in the Gaza Strip, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir declares.

Calling it a “difficult and painful morning,” the far-right politician declares that “we must continue to subdue, crush and mow down the Nazi enemy in Gaza, with all our might.”

“The blood of hundreds of our best sons” was not shed “in vain,” he continues. “I wish we would be worthy of them and fulfill their will, which was written in blood — crushing and destroying Hamas and returning all the hostages. May their memory be blessed.”

Lapid: 21 soldiers killed in Gaza incident were ‘heroes of Israel’

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid speaks during a faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on October 12, 2023. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says it is “an unbearably difficult morning” after the announcement of the deaths of 21 soldiers in an incident in central Gaza yesterday.

“Heroes of Israel, lovers of the land, its defenders,” Lapid writes on X.

“I send a hug to the families of the fighters. The entire nation of Israel is with you in your difficult time. May their memories be a blessing,” he writes.

The IDF has already announced the names of 10 of the soldiers. The other 11 families have been notified, and the military will release their names soon.

Herzog: ‘The names of more of the best of our sons are added to the headstones of heroes’

President Isaac Herzog attends a ceremony in which Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron's tenure is extended for another 5-year term, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, December 18, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/FLASH90)

With the announcement that 21 soldiers were killed yesterday in an incident in central Gaza, President Isaac Herzog says that “more and more of the best of our sons” have died in the war.

“An unbearably difficult morning, in which more and more names of the best of our sons are added to the gravestones of heroes, when there is no war that is more just,” Herzog writes.

“The intense battles are taking place in an extremely challenging space, and we send strength to the soldiers of the IDF and the security forces, who are working with endless determination to realize the goals of the fighting,” he writes on X.

“On behalf of the entire nation, I console the families and pray for the healing of the wounded,” he writes. “Even on this sad and difficult morning, we are strong and remember that together we will win.”

Gallant after 21 soldiers killed in central Gaza incident: ‘Deaths compel us to achieve war’s goals’

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant gives a statement on the deaths of 21 soldiers in Gaza, from a meeting in Ramat Korazim, northern Israel, January 23, 2024 (Screen grab used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says it is a “difficult and painful morning” after the military announces 21 soldiers were killed in an incident in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday.

The soldiers were killed when two buildings collapsed following a large explosion, and a tank was apparently hit by an RPG.

“Our hearts are with the dear families in their most difficult time,” the defense minister writes.

“This is a war that will determine the future of Israel for decades to come – the fall of the soldiers compels us to achieve the goals of the fighting,” Gallant writes.

IDF says 21 soldiers killed when two buildings collapsed, tank hit in central Gaza

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says a total of 21 soldiers were killed in the incident yesterday in central Gaza, close to the border community of Kissufim.

He says that troops were operating in an area around 600 meters from the border, destroying structures and Hamas sites, as part of the army’s efforts to establish a buffer zone to allow residents of Israeli border communities to return to their homes.

“As far as we know, at around 4 p.m., an RPG was fired by terrorists at a tank securing the forces, and simultaneously, an explosion occurred at two two-story buildings. The buildings collapsed due to this explosion, while most of the forces were inside and near them,” he says.

Hagari says the explosion was likely a result of mines planted by troops to demolish the buildings, but the cause of the detonation was still under investigation.

For several hours rescue forces worked to extract the casualties from the collapsed buildings.

The IDF has already announced the deaths of 10 soldiers. Hagari says the other 11 families have been notified, and the military will release their names soon.

IDF announces deaths of 10 more soldiers killed fighting in Gaza, taking ground op toll to 208

Top row (L-R) Sgt. First Class (res.) Hadar Kapeluk, 23; Sgt. Maj. (res.) Matan Lazar, 32; Sgt. First Class (res.) Nicholas Berger, 22; Sgt. Maj. (res.) Rafael Elias Mosheyoff, 33; Sgt. First Class (res.) Cedrick Garin, 23: Top row (L-R) Sgt. First Class (res.) Elkana Yehuda Sfez, 25; Master Sgt. (res.) Yoav Levi, 29; Sgt. Maj. (res.) Sergey Gontmaher, 37; Sgt. First Class (res.) Yuval Lopez, 27.

The IDF announces the deaths of 10 soldiers who were killed in an incident in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday, during which two buildings collapsed following a large explosion, and a tank was apparently hit by an RPG.

Their deaths bring the toll of slain troops in the ground offensive against Hamas to 208.

The IDF is still probing the cause of the blast, but it is thought to have been caused by an RPG fired at the building where mines were stored. Rescue efforts continued for several hours after the incident.

They are:

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Matan Lazar, 32, of the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Haifa.

Sgt. First Class (res.) Hadar Kapeluk, 23, a squad commander in the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Mevo Beitar

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Sergey Gontmaher, 37, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Ramat Gan.

Sgt. First Class (res.) Elkana Yehuda Sfez, 25, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Kiryat Arba.

Sgt. First Class (res.) Yuval Lopez, 27, of the 205th Brigade’s 9206th Battalion, from Alon Shvut.

Master Sgt. (res.) Yoav Levi, 29, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Yehud-Monosson.

Sgt. First Class (res.) Nicholas Berger, 22, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Jerusalem.

Sgt. First Class (res.) Cedrick Garin, 23, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Tel Aviv.

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Rafael Elias Mosheyoff, 33, of the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Pardes Hanna-Karkur.

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Barak Haim Ben Valid, 33, a squad commander in the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Rishon Lezion.

Russia’s Lavrov meets with counterparts from Iran, Turkey and Lebanon ahead of UNSC meeting

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with his counterparts from Iran, Turkey and Lebanon ahead of the United Nations Security Council meeting on Tuesday due to discuss the Middle East, the Russian foreign ministry says.

The bilateral meetings focused on the Gaza Strip, Syria and “the tense situation” in the Red Sea, the ministry says on the Telegram messaging app on Tuesday. The meetings took place in New York on Monday.

The ministry says Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian agreed on the need for a swift ceasefire in Gaza and conditions for providing humanitarian assistance to civilians. Iran is a key backer of Hamas, whose devastating October 7 terror onslaught in southern Israel triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.

“General concern was expressed about the tense situation in the Red Sea, which has sharply degraded,” it says.

On Monday, the United States and Britain carried out an additional round of strikes against Yemen’s Houthis over their targeting of Red Sea shipping, the Pentagon said. The Houthis are an Iranian-backed rebel group that has ruled large swathes of Yemen since forcing the UN-recognized government from the capital Sanaa in 2014.

Lavrov and Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib talked about the importance of collective efforts of countries in the region toward an immediate ceasefire, the ministry says. The border between Israel and Lebanon has seen deadly skirmishes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah terror group, which is similarly supported by Iran, since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

With his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, Lavrov also discussed energy issues as well as “upcoming bilateral contacts.”

Mossad chief said to propose Hamas leaders leave Gaza as part of ceasefire deal

File: Mossad Director David Barnea speaks during a Conference of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), in Tel Aviv, on September 10, 2023 (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Mossad chief David Barnea proposed that Hamas leaders be exiled from the Gaza Strip as part of a broader ceasefire deal, according to a CNN report.

Citing officials familiar with the discussions, the US cable news network says Barnea raised the idea during a meeting in Warsaw last month with CIA director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, and that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken again floated the proposal while in Doha earlier this month.

One of the officials says the Qatari premier told Blinken that the idea “would never work,” as Hamas does not trust Israel would halt military operations in Gaza after the terror group’s leaders leave the enclave.

Blinken and Greek PM discuss shipping in Red Sea amid Houthi attacks

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke on Monday about the importance of protecting navigational rights and freedoms in the Red Sea, the State Department says.

US and British forces have launched strikes across Yemen against Houthi forces in recent weeks in response to months of Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping that the Iran-backed fighters cast as a response to the war in Gaza.

US, Britain say underground storage site targeted in latest strikes on Yemen’s Houthis

This image provided by the US Navy shows an aircraft launching from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) during flight operations in the Red Sea, January 22, 2024. (Kaitlin Watt/US Navy via AP)

WASHINGTON — The United States and Britain carried out an additional round of strikes against Yemen’s Houthis over their targeting of Red Sea shipping, the Pentagon says, targeting an underground storage site, missiles and other Houthi military capabilities.

The Pentagon details the eight new strikes in a joint statement with Britain, as well as from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands, which supported the latest military action, the statement says.

“These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of innocent mariners,” the statement says.

A separate statement from the UK Ministry of Defence says British aircraft used precision-guided bombs to strike multiple targets near the Sanaa airfield.

Egypt warns Israel that attempt to take over ‘Philadelphi Route’ will damage ties

A shepherd leads a flock of sheep in Rafah near the border with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip on January 16, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas. (AFP)

CAIRO — Egypt warns Israel that any attempt to seize security control of the strip of land that separates Gaza and Egypt will result in a “serious threat” to relations between the neighboring countries.

The Philadelphi corridor is a 14 kilometer (nine-mile) long slice of land on Egypt-Gaza border. Israeli leaders have talked about taking control of the corridor to prevent possible weapons smuggling into Gaza. Egypt fears that a military operation on the border could push large numbers of Palestinians onto its territory.

“It must be strictly emphasized that any Israeli move in this direction will lead to a serious threat to Egyptian-Israeli relations,” Diaa Rashwan, head of Egypt’s State Information Service, says in an online statement.

Rashwan says Gaza’s western border is secure and that Israeli claims that weapons were being smuggled from Egypt into Gaza are false.