- At least 18 Palestinians killed after Israeli attacks targeted a house in Khan Younis overnight.
- Israeli forces raiding locations across the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem with reports of fierce Palestinian resistance.
- UN humanitarian chief says Gaza has become a place of “death and despair” for Palestinians.
- Lebanon filed official complaint to the UN Security Council, saying that Israel fired six missiles in the attack that killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in a Beirut suburb.
- At least 22,600 people killed and 57,910 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll from the October 7 attack on Israel stands at 1,139.
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If you’re just joining us
It’s just after 11:15am (09:15 GMT) in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel.
Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
- Israeli forces intensifying operations in Zawaida in central Gaza, moving in with tanks, armoured vehicles, and attack drones.
- Hezbollah fires 62 rockets at Israeli air base, in “preliminary response” to killing of Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut.
- Death toll mounts from overnight Israeli attacks on southern and central Gaza. At least 18, including many women and children, killed in Khan Younis’s al-Manara neighbourhood.
- Residents of the occupied West Bank reel from another night of violent raids, with fierce clashes reported in Nablus city and Shu’fat refugee camp.
- US Secretary of State is in Turkey for talks with Erdogan on the Gaza war. He next heads to Greece as part of his regional tour.
- UN humanitarian aid chief says Gaza has become “uninhabitable… a place of death and despair” three months into the war.
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List of key events on day 92 of the war
- Israeli air attack that targeted a house in Khan Younis overnight killed at least 18 Palestinians overnight. Three people were killed and several wounded in an Israeli attack on a house in Deir el-Balah city in the central area of Gaza.
- Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinians reported in the occupied West Bank’s Nablus city and Shu’fat refugee camp amid raids.
- Israel’s army says it hit Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Friday with air strikes, tank fire and artillery shelling. Hezbollah launched missiles at an Israeli air base with 62 missiles on Saturday.
- US Secretary of State is in Turkey, and will also visit several other Middle East nations before heading to Israel and the occupied West Bank next week.
Read the list of key events here.
Residents and civil defense teams have been carrying out search and rescue operation after Israeli attacks in Gaza’s Deir al-Balah. [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency] -
Why is Lebanon home to so many Palestinian refugees and leaders?
Successive waves of Palestinian refugees to Lebanon have led to a stateless population of up to about 270,000 people, who live in 12 camps across the country.
It started with the Nakba of 1948, when 750,000 Palestinians were expelled during the creation of Israel, and has continued since, as resistance leaders and refugees alike sought shelter from Israeli attacks.
Read our explainer to find out why so many Palestinian refugees and officials are in Lebanon.
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Hezbollah says this was only an initial strike to avenge al-Arouri’s killing
Hezbollah put out a statement and said the 62 missiles it launched against an Israeli air base were part of its “initial” response to al-Arouri’s killing. We were expecting this to happen. Hassan Nasrallah promised a response to the killing.
Things really depends on what the Israelis do next. They would have expected a response and would have been on high alert for these attacks.
Hezbollah does have a political calculation and doesn’t want Lebanon to suffer from an all-out war, but it is talking tough and says if Israel wants to escalate, it will respond in kind.
Israel is putting immense pressure on Hezbollah positions in the south with air strikes and drones. That’s interesting because the more pressure it puts on Hezbollah, there may be a misfire or a miscalculated strike from either side and that could escalate things.
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Israeli forces intensifying operations in az-Zawayda
We are getting news that the Israeli military is stepping up its military action and air strikes in az-Zawayda in an attempt to clear the way for its forces to invade the heart of central Gaza.
Az-Zawayda is a strategic location because from there it is easy to get to all the entrances of central Gaza’s refugee camps.
There are reports of attack drones hovering at low levels and tragically targeting people who are trying to flee the horror of the bombs. Injuries and deaths from these attacks have been reported at al-Aqsa Hospital.
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1h ago(08:25 GMT)
Palestinian man mourns loss of wife, two children in overnight strikes
“The Israeli government claims democracy and humanity, but they are inhumane,” says Abdel Razek Abu Sinjar, whose wife and two children were killed in overnight Israeli strikes in southern Gaza.
“They killed women and children who have nothing to do with this [war].”
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Israeli forces shoot and injure two Palestinians in Qatanna
The Palestinian men were shot in the foot during a military raid in the town, 12km (7.5 miles) northwest of occupied East Jerusalem, according to a report by the Palestinian Wafa news agency.
Numerous Palestinian men were also arrested.
At least 325 Palestinians have been killed and 3,800 injured in near-daily raids by Israeli forces throughout the occupied West Bank since October 7.
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Maghazi refugee camp shelled
Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza has come under heavy artillery fire as fighting continues between the Israeli military and Palestinian fighters in the area.
The Maghazi camp has repeatedly been targeted during the war.
On December 24, more than 100 Palestinians were killed by air strikes there in one of the war’s deadliest attacks.
Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/6/israel-war-on-gaza-live-israeli-forces-raid-occupied-west-bank-towns
