- At least 101 Palestinians were killed, including 27 children and 31 women, in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the announcement of a ceasefire deal that is due to start on Sunday, according to the enclave’s civil defence.
- Israel’s cabinet is expected to convene a meeting today to approve the Gaza ceasefire agreement, according to reports.
- Two of Israel’s far-right, ultranationalist government ministers are threatening to resign from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government if the Gaza ceasefire deal is ratified.
- An estimated 15 children per day in Gaza are reported to have sustained war injuries that will leave them with life-changing disabilities, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said.
- Israel’s war in Gaza has killed at least 46,788 Palestinians and wounded 110,453 since October 7, 2023. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day and more than 200 were taken captive.
- Iranian, Egyptian top diplomats discuss Gaza truce dealIran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty have held a telephone conversation over the developments in Gaza, according to the ministries of the two countries.“Araghchi welcomed the agreement to establish a ceasefire in Gaza and to halt the crimes of the occupying regime,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.“He expressed gratitude for Egypt’s efforts in facilitating the agreement and voiced hope that the arrangements outlined in the agreement would be fully implemented,” it added.Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said Abdelatty stressed the need for the implementation of the agreement without delay.“He also emphasised the urgency of the immediate and sustainable implementation of humanitarian and medical aid to the Gaza Strip in the coming period,” the statement added.
- Netanyahu meeting with negotiating team; security cabinet to convene soonReporting from Amman, JordanAl Jazeera is reporting from Jordan because the Israeli government has banned it from operating in Israel and the occupied West Bank.The Israeli security cabinet meeting will reportedly get under way shortly after the Israeli prime minister meets with the negotiating team, which is said to be back from Doha after nearly a week of talks.This security cabinet meeting will not come easy for Netanyahu as there is still fierce opposition. Members of the far right are threatening to bolt the coalition if the deal is passed.Nonetheless, this is not the meeting in which the deal will be ratified. There’s still going to be the wider cabinet meeting on Saturday night, the day before this deal is set to go into effect.
- Three killed in western Gaza City: Civil defenceThe enclave’s rescue service says an unidentified number of people have also been injured after an Israeli bombing near western Gaza City’s al-Zafer Tower yesterday.We will keep you updated.
- Israel making ‘no effort’ to probe Gaza war crimes allegations: ICC chiefIsrael, despite its extensive legal expertise, has not properly investigated war crimes allegations brought against it during the war in Gaza, according to Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).“The question is have those judges [in Israel], have those prosecutors, have those legal instruments been used to properly scrutinise the allegations that we’ve seen in the occupied Palestinian territories, in the State of Palestine? And I think the answer to that was ‘no’,” Khan said in an interview with the Reuters news agency.“We’re here as a court of last resort and … as we speak right now, we haven’t seen any real effort by the State of Israel to take action that would meet the established jurisprudence,” he added.Khan also criticised the US House of Representatives’ vote last week to sanction the ICC for issuing an arrest warrant against Netanyahu, saying it “is a matter that should make all people of conscience be concerned”.On top of its warrant for Netanyahu, the ICC has also issued warrants for Israeli defence chief Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan [Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters]
- Israeli military escalation continues across GazaReporting from Deir el-Balah, central GazaIt’s been another very tragic morning across Gaza, following a series of air strikes that were conducted simultaneously across the Strip.The focus has been on the central parts of Gaza City, where civilians have recently fled following the destruction and the full evacuation orders of all border towns and villages in northern Gaza.Earlier today, Israeli quadcopter drones dropped grenades and bombs over the rooftops of buildings in Jabalia.Elsewhere, air strikes have intensified in the Zeitoun neighbourhood on the southern side of Gaza City.Drones and fighter jets continue to hover overhead in all areas of the Strip, indicating that the military operations will continue with momentum until the ceasefire takes effect, practically on the ground, as agreed on Sunday.
- Photos: Palestinians mourn loved ones killed in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis
- Mourners pray beside the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli air raids, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, January 17 [Hatem Khaled/Reuters]
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- Trump’s role in Gaza ceasefire fuels Arab American anger with BidenWashington, DC – When Samraa Luqman voted for Donald Trump in November, she believed that, even if there were a 1 percent chance that the former president would push for a ceasefire in Gaza, he would be a better option than the Democrats who had failed to stop the war.Trump ultimately won that race and is slated to re-enter the White House on Monday. And in the lead-up to his inauguration, Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas have agreed to pause hostilities in Gaza, where more than 46,700 Palestinians have been killed in the last 15 months.But Luqman says she doesn’t feel vindicated, even though Trump has claimed credit for pushing the ceasefire deal over the line.Instead, she’s outraged at outgoing United States President Joe Biden for failing to finalise the agreement months earlier.
LIVE: Israel kills over 100 in Gaza since ceasefire deal announcement
