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Devastating wildfires tearing through swaths of Chile have killed more than 100 people, authorities said Sunday, as they warned that the death toll was set to rise. The Chilean National Disaster Prevention and Response Service said at least 112 people have died so far. Officials also said that 32 bodies have been identified, 38 autopsies have been conducted, and 10 bodies are ready to be delivered to relatives. News agency photographs and footage over the weekend laid bare the trail of destruction wrought in multiple communities by the infernos. Aerial shots from the El Olivar commune showed dozens of vehicles burned to shells alongside multiple houses reduced to ash. One video obtained by CNN showed the inside of a bus ferrying passengers through the city of Valparaíso as fires raged outside. RELATED ARTICLEColombia declares a disaster due to wildfires as it calls for international help There are currently 161 active fires burning across the country, the Chilean National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (SENAPRED) said. SENAPRED Director Álvaro Hormazábal told CNN affiliate CNN Chile that firefighters had controlled 102 of those fires but are still battling 40 others. Nineteen wildfires are under currently observation, Hormazábal added. President Gabriel Boric declared a state of emergency as coastal cities like Viña del Mar and Valparaiso choked in smoke. Residents living in central regions were also forced to evacuate their homes. Speaking at a press conference held after visiting affected areas on Sunday, Boric raised fears that the death toll would “increase significantly.” In a televised statement on Saturday, Boric said that the defense ministry would deploy more military units to affected areas, with all necessary resources made available. He declared Monday and Tuesday as days of national mourning for fire victims. Firefighters at the Botanical Garden in Viña del Mar. Javier Torres/AFP/Getty Images Burned vehicles in Quilpue, Viña del Mar, Chile. Rodrigo Arangua/AFP/Getty Images The human-caused climate crisis is making heat waves and droughts, which fuel wildfires, more frequent and intense. The world is also currently experiencing the El Niño phenomenon, boosting temperatures even further. Wildfires have intensified around the globe, providing a stark reminder of how the climate crisis is upending lives and inflicting billions of dollars a year in damage. And it will only get worse, according to experts. “Uncontrollable and devastating wildfires are becoming an expected part of the seasonal calendars in many parts of the world,” the UN Environment Programme said in a report published in 2022. The number of extreme wildfire events will increase up to 14% by 2030, according to the UN report. By 2050, the increase will climb to 30%. A man helps a fellow resident cool down with bottled water as forest fires burn nearby. Esteban Felix/AP In Chile, the fires come as the country battles a summer heatwave. The capital Santiago has been sweltering through consecutive days of hot and dry temperatures climbing above 33 degrees Celsius (91.4°F). Neighboring Colombia battled recent wildfires, declaring a disaster and also calling for international help to fight the flames. Emergency crews on the ground in Chile are prioritizing the fires in the port city of Valparaíso because of its proximity to urban areas. Local officials said 372 residents were reported missing. Located about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of the capital Santiago on Chile’s coast, Valparaiso is a popular tourist destination known for its colorful houses, idyllic hills and its historic old town. Valeria Melipillán, mayor of Quilpué city, the capital of the Marga Marga Province in central Chile’s Valparaíso Region, told CNN Chile that the wildfires are “probably the largest ever” in the region. Nearly 1,400 houses in the municipality have been damaged, Melipillán added. Chile’s Finance Minister Mario Marcel told reporters on Sunday that preliminary estimates for damages in the Valaparaíso region was expected to reach “hundreds of millions of dollars.” While evacuation efforts had been efficient, some living in affected areas did not want to vacate their homes, local search and rescue officials said. Rodrigo Mundaca, the governor of Valparaiso, said curfews were in place in the towns of Viña del Mar, Quilpué, Villa Alemana and Limache to allow authorities to focus on battling the blazes. Pope Francis, who hails from nearby Argentina, called upon people to “pray for the deceased and injured victims of the devastating fires that have affected central Chile.” Residents being evacuated by the military in Valparaiso, Chile. Lucas Aguayo Araos/Anadolu/Getty Images Aerial view of burned vehicles in the El Olivar commune. Javier Torres/AFP/Getty Images At least one person has been detained so far in connection to the wildfires, CNN Chile reported. According to police, the man was at his home in the city of Talca in central Chile doing welding work when a fire accidentally started and spread to nearby grasslands. The suspect will be arraigned on Sunday in Talca, according to the Maule Prosecutor’s Office. A man puts out a forest fire on the zone of a forest fire in the hills in Quilpe comune, Valparaiso region. Javier Torres/AFP/Getty Images Source:https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/03/climate/chile-wildfires-state-of-emergency-intl-hnk/index.html

At least 10 policemen have been killed in an attack in northern Pakistan as violence mounts in the run-up to national elections. Police reported on Monday that attackers had targeted a police station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail district with heavy weapons. Alongside the 10 people killed, at least six others were injured. end of list Police said that they have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to hunt down the attackers. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TPJ) issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. The armed group is believed to be an offshoot of the outlawed Pakistani Taliban (TTP), which, seeking to overthrow the government and establish strict religious law, has targeted the state and its institutions for years. Dera Ismail Khan is a former TTP stronghold. The remote northwestern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has witnessed a rise in violence as Pakistan’s 128 million voters prepare for February 8 elections. Rehan Zaib Khan, an independent candidate, and four aides were shot dead in the province’s Bajur district on January 31. In December, the TPJ claimed responsibility for an attack in Tehsil Daraban during which a suicide bomber detonated an explosive-laden vehicle outside a police station. The attack killed at least 23 troops and wounded 32. Last month, at least 101 people were killed when a suicide bomber targeted a mosque in the regional capital Peshawar. Two fronts Violence has been mounting across Pakistan as the vote approaches. Security threats are also rife in the southwestern region of Balochistan, where the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) – the most prominent of several separatist groups – have stepped up attacks. Last week, at least 15 people were killed when the BLA targeted military and security installations in the city of Mach, 65km (40 miles) south of Balochistan’s capital, Quetta Fearing violence during the February 8 ballot, Balochistan’s Information Minister Jan Achakzai announced on Sunday night that the internet service will remain temporarily restricted on election day. “Ensuring the safety and security of ordinary citizens is of utmost importance, as there is a concern that terrorists may exploit social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and other similar channels for communication purposes,” he wrote in a post on X. Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is strategically important because of its rich copper, zinc and natural gas reserves. Cities in the province are a constant target of armed groups. Baloch nationalists initially wanted a share of provincial resources, but later initiated a movement for complete independence. Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/5/armed-group-kills-10-in-pakistans-restive-khyber-pakhtunkhwa-region

Rescue teams search for survivors as local authorities say 30 people were killed in Israeli air attacks on “safe homes” and a mosque in central Gaza. Health workers, patients and displaced Palestinians trapped inside al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City are “completely terrified”, reports Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum as videos show Israeli snipers killing at least seven Palestinians nearby. Houthi spokesperson rejected US’s dismissal of a link between the Gaza war and Red Sea attacks, as the US launches more strikes on Yemen. At least 27,365 people have been killed and 66,630 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel from the October 7 Hamas attacks stands at 1,139. Islamic Resistance in Iraq claims responsibility for drone strike in Syria The umbrella group that includes militias such as Kataib Hezbollah says it was behind the drone attack on a US Base in Al Omar oil field in Syria’s Deir Az Zor province. The group said in a statement that the attack was a continuation of their approach to “resisting the occupation”, a show of support to the people of Gaza, and a “response to the massacres committed by the usurping entity against Palestinian civilians, including children, women, and the elderly”. “The Islamic Resistance confirms that it will continue to destroy enemy strongholds” it added. The group were also behind last week’s drone attack that killed three US military personnel in northeastern Jordan, near the Syria border. ‘From the river to the sea’: What does the Palestinian slogan really mean? The slogan calling for freedom for Palestinians from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea have been widely used around the globe since Israel’s war on Gaza started in last October. There have been attempts to curtail its use in pro-Palestinian protests across the Western world since then. Read more about what it means here. Click Jordan carries out aerial drops of humanitarian aid in northern Gaza The Royal Jordanian Air Force and the Dutch Air Force have made the aerial drops in the vicinity of the Jordanian Field Hospital 77 in northern Gaza, according to the Jordanian army. “The aid that was dropped contained relief, humanitarian and medical materials by means of special boxes equipped with parachutes guided by the GPS system, with the aim of delivering them to the specified locations and within the necessary timings,” the army said in a statement. At least six killed in drone strike on SDF training base in Syria We are getting reports that a drone struck a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) facility overnight killing at least 6 of its members. Sources told Al Jazeera the target was a training base in Syria’s Deir Az Zor province, and the drone hit a dormitory. US forces are also stationed at the training base. Reuters news agency also reported the incident, citing two local sources who say the drone had come from an area where Iranian-backed proxies are active and regularly launch strikes. The SDF has said that they have a right to an appropriate military response to the source of the attack. More information to follow… Click here to share on social media At least 540 Israeli soldiers wounded in ‘friendly fire’ since ground invasion Citing the Israeli army, Israel’s Channel 12 is reporting that at least 540 soldiers have been wounded since October 27. The total Israeli army death toll since October 7 stands at 562. Click here to share on social media WHO says 1,243 wounded evacuated from Gaza through Rafah crossing The World Health Organization says that 1,243 medical cases have been evacuated from Gaza to Egypt through the Rafah border crossing. At least 1,025 other Palestinians accompanied the patients as medical chaperones. The WHO chief has previously pointed to reports from the organisation’s employees in the Gaza Strip that indicate that the risk of famine is increasing every day in Gaza’s hospitals. Click here to share on social media Al-Quds says it struck Israeli soldiers in central Gaza, Khan Younis We are getting more information on the operations of al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, in the Gaza Strip. It said on Telegram that it used mortars to shell a group of Israeli soldiers and vehicles in the east of the Maghazi camp in central Gaza. It also said that its fighters bombed another group of Israeli soldiers and military vehicles with Grad missiles in the al-Amal neighbourhood, in the west of Khan Younis. Earlier, al-Quds Brigades said it attacked two separate groups of Israeli soldiers and vehicles around Khan Younis. Click here to share on social media

ISLAMABAD: At least 93 militant attacks across the country took place in the last one month (January 2024), killing 90 persons and causing 135 injuries. Also 15 individuals were abducted. The alarming statistics have been released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), an Islamabad-based think tank here on Thursday. As Pakistan gears up for the impending general elections, the first month of the year has witnessed a disconcerting surge in militant activities, with a staggering 102 percent increase compared to the last month of 2023. The statistics indicated that despite the rise in attacks, the impact on human losses was somewhat mitigated. A 15 percent increase in resultant deaths and a 19 percent rise in injuries were reported. Among those killed, the victims included 41 civilians, 37 security forces personnel and 12 militants. The injured comprised 81 civilians and 54 security forces personnel. The PICSS says the province of Balochistan bore the brunt of the onslaught, with 33 reported attacks leading to 31 deaths and 50 injuries. Mainland Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) experienced 30 attacks, resulting in 17 fatalities and 21 injuries. Former Fata (the newly-merged districts of KP) witnessed 24 attacks, claiming 36 lives and injuries to 57. Sindh faced four militant attacks, causing five deaths and six injuries. Punjab and Islamabad each reported a solitary attack with no significant casualties. As the electoral landscape heats up, attacks against election-related activities, including the targeting of candidates, have surged. The PICSS recorded 21 such attacks in January, claiming 10 lives and injuries to 25. Notably, two candidates lost their lives – Rehan Zeb Khan, a prominent youth leader and a local leader from Bajaur, and an independent candidate from Mir Ali in North Waziristan. Several candidates narrowly escaped harm in these attacks. In a countermeasure, Pakistani security forces successfully thwarted numerous attacks, eliminating at least 32 suspected militants while apprehending nine others. The report didn’t cater to the exact number of attacks foiled by the forces. Source:https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1153836-90-killed-135-hurt-in-93-militant-attacks-during-jan-2024

A truck loaded with gas exploded and set off a massive fireball that burned homes and warehouses in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, killing at least three people and injuring more than 200. The fire broke out on Thursday night in the Embakasi neighbourhood, government spokesperson Isaac Maigua Mwaura said on X, with many residents inside by the time the blaze reached their homes. end of list “One Lorry [truck] of an unknown registration number that was loaded with gas exploded, igniting a huge ball of fire that spread widely,” he posted on Friday, adding that vehicles, businesses and residential homes were engulfed by the flames. “A good number of residents [were] still inside as it was late at night,” he said. Some 222 people were rushed to various hospitals in the capital, according to Mwaura. The fire was eventually contained by Friday morning, but firefighters, rescue teams and police were looking for people trapped in the area. The initial cause of the explosion was unknown. At the scene after daybreak, several houses and shops were charred. The roof of a four-storey residential building about 200m from the site of the explosion was broken by a flying gas cylinder, and electric wires lay on the ground. Earlier, the Kenyan Red Cross said it had taken 271 people to health facilities around the capital and 27 were treated on site. Mwaura said the area had “been secured, and a command centre is now in place to help coordinate rescue operations and other intervention efforts”. “Kenyans are hereby advised to keep off the cordoned area in order to allow the rescue mission to be carried out with minimal disruptions,” he added. Caroline Karanja said fellow residents in the neighbourhood had to run away after the explosion and as police cordoned off the entire area. “Police were turning away everyone and so it was difficult to access my house and I had to seek a place to sleep until this morning,” Karanja told The Associated Press news agency. She said the smell and smoke were still choking and that she would have to stay away for a while because she had young children. “The whole building was shaken by a huge tremor, it felt like it was going to collapse. At first, we didn’t even know what was happening, it was like an earthquake,” James Ngoge, who lives across the street from where the fire broke out, told the AFP news agency. Ngoge said that his business, which was on the same street as the fire, was now “completely destroyed”. Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/2/at-least-two-dead-hundreds-injured-in-kenya-gas-explosion

About 1.9 million displaced Palestinians fear a new Israeli military onslaught after the defence minister pledged to attack an area once described as a “safe zone”. Israeli officials dismiss concerns over settler violence against Palestinians in occupied West Bank after US sanctions four Israeli settlers for their role in undermining “peace, security, and stability”. Qatar says Hamas responded positively to receiving a proposal to halt the war in Gaza, but a final deal is “weeks” away. At least 27,019 people have been killed and 66,139 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel from the October 7 Hamas attacks stands at 1,139. Syrian military says Israel targeted southern Damascus: State media The Syrian military has said that it downed a number of Israeli missiles launched from the Golan Heights, according to state news agency Sana citing a military source. The missiles were targeting a southern area in the capital Damascus, the report said. US approves plan for strikes on Iran-linked targets in Iraq, Syria: Report The United States reportedly approved a plan to attack Iran-linked targets in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the killing of three soldiers. US broadcaster CBS News reports the White House approved the targeting of Iranian personnel and facilities inside the two countries in response to the drone attack on Sunday at the Tower 22 base near the border between Syria and Jordan. Read the full story here. Click here to share on social media Footage shows destruction of at-Twam district in northern Gaza Palestinian journalists and activists shared footage on social media depicting the destruction of the at-Twam area in northern Gaza from Israeli shelling. The videos showed the impact of the attacks on neighbourhoods and residential squares. Palestinian residents returned to inspect their homes after they were targeted by Israeli forces. Palestinian activist Karam Naji, a resident, said in a video clip on his Instagram account he returned to the neighbourhood to check on his home following a brief cessation of fighting there. Jordan arrests 4 Israelis for illegally crossing the border The Jordanian army arrested four Israelis, soldiers among them, for illegally crossing the border, Israeli television station Channel 14 reports. The Israelis, who were detained near the city of Aqaba in Jordan, were released after several hours with the help of “political intervention”. They “accidentally entered the Aqaba area on Thursday during an ATV [all-terrain vehicle] trip”, the news report said. “Because of Jordan’s desire not to inflame the situation, the four young men were released at 1am after it was discovered they crossed by mistake.” Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/2/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-downplays-settler-violence-in-west-bank

Russian assets frozen in European accounts are generating billions of dollars in interest payments that could be diverted to help repair Ukraine’s war-torn economy — and the European Union just took a step closer to doing that. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Western countries froze nearly half of Moscow’s foreign reserves — some €300 billion ($327 billion). Around €200 billion ($218 billion) sits in the European Union — mostly at Euroclear, a financial institution that keeps assets safe for banks, exchanges and investors. EU leaders agreed a crucial $50 billion funding package for Ukraine on Thursday and came closer to finalizing a plan to use the profits piling up in Euroclear’s accounts. In a statement issued at the end of a summit, EU leaders said “potential revenues could be generated … concerning the use of extraordinary revenues held by private entities stemming directly from the immobilised Central Bank of Russia assets.” Belgium-based Euroclear disclosed Thursday that it has earned €5.2 billion ($5.6 billion) in interest on income generated by sanctioned Russian assets since they were frozen by EU and Group of Seven countries in 2022. “The number of sanctions and countersanctions that have been introduced since February 2022 are unprecedented and continue to have a significant impact on the daily operations of Euroclear,” the group said in a statement. The European Union and its allies are determined to make Russia foot part of the colossal bill for rebuilding Ukraine — estimated by the World Bank a year ago at $411 billion over the next decade. One proposal put forward by the European Commission would involve using a special levy to collect the windfall interest income, which would then be paid into the EU budget for the reconstruction of Ukraine. RELATED ARTICLEEU agrees $50B funding deal for Ukraine at pivotal time in the war That plan has been delayed by legal and financial concerns, with some EU member states and the European Central Bank worried that even carefully targeted measures could fall foul of international law and shake confidence in the euro as the world’s second biggest reserve currency. The EU has been at pains to contrast the illegality of Russia’s invasion with its own strict adherence to the rule of law. EU member countries have now agreed in principle to tap this windfall interest income, although the details of how this will be done practically must still be ironed out, an EU diplomat told CNN. Lawyers are working on the text of the agreement before returning it to EU member states for final approval. In its earnings statement, Euroclear — which settles cross-border trades and safeguards more than $40 trillion in assets — said it was focused on “minimising potential legal and operational risks” that may arise from proposals by EU officials to hand the money to Ukraine. Euroclear said additional administrative costs relating to the sanctions cost it €62 million ($67 million) last year, “with considerable senior management and board focus on the topic.” It added that cash on its balance sheet soared €38 billion ($41 billion) year-on-year to €162 billion ($175 billion), boosted by payments associated with frozen Russian assets, including bonds. These payments include, for example, interest paid on bonds, known as coupons, or the proceeds generated by securities that mature and are reinvested. Ordinarily, these payments would have been made to Russian bank accounts, but they have been blocked by the sanctions and are generating vast amounts of interest — even more so given the recent spate of rate hikes. Euroclear, for its part, is embroiled in several legal proceedings pertaining to the sanctions — almost exclusively in Russian courts — as claimants seek to access the assets blocked in its books. The company said it continues to retain profits related to these assets “until further guidance is provided on the distribution or management of such profits.” Source:https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/01/business/frozen-russian-assets-ukraine/index.html

At least one person was killed and four others were injured on Thursday after several blasts hit different parts of Balochistan including provincial capital Quetta, according to police. In Quetta, the explosion took place in the Spinny Road area. Police have cordoned off the area and are ascertaining the nature of the blast, Geo News reported. The explosions also took place in Naseerabad and Turbat districts of the province. According to police, at least three people were injured when a hand grenade exploded at the Dera Allah Yar Bhatti gate area in Naseerabad and one person was injured in a grenade blast in Turbat’s main market. Bomb disposal squad and rescue teams have arrived at the site of a blast in Quetta where, according to police, at least one person has died in the explosion. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Quetta Tariq Jawad told the media that 8 to 10 kg of explosives were used in the blast in the provincial capital. He said the deceased of the blast has not been identified yet, adding the preliminary investigation showed the victim was a passer-by. The SSP further said that no election-related was underway near the site of the explosion. The latest incidents come as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is scheduled to meet today (Thursday) to discuss the law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan amid an uptick in violence. In a statement today (Thursday), a spokesperson of the ECO said the electoral body has sought an immediate report from the chief secretary and Balochistan police chief on multiple explosions in the province. The situation was further aggravated Wednesday as violence marred electioneering activities as multiple terrorist attacks in a row rocked various cities of Balochistan and KP resulting in several injuries. A day earlier, Rehan Zeb Khan, an independent candidate for NA-8 and a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was shot dead while canvassing in KP’s Bajaur district. On Tuesday, a bomb attack on the PTI’s election rally in Sibbi killed four people. The uptick in violence sounded alarm over the country’s security situation ahead of the general elections — scheduled to be held on February 8. The deadly explosion came just a few days before the national-level polls, with political parties leading their electoral campaigns in full swing amid heightened security and deployment of law enforcers to ensure the law and order situation across the country. With more than 128 million voters, various circles have raised concerns over the deteriorating security situation in the country, especially in the aforementioned provinces, with some lawmakers even moving the Senate seeking poll delay in light of security threats. Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/1/israels-war-on-gaza-live-death-toll-in-gaza-nears-27000-66000-wounded

Hamas says it is still studying a proposal to halt the war in Gaza as Israeli bombardment continues. Palestinians released after being detained by Israeli forces in Gaza share harrowing accounts of suffering and torture while being held in Israel. Qatar’s PM warns if Israel’s war on Gaza does not end soon, the risks of a greater regional conflict will grow. At least 27,019 people have been killed and 66,139 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel from the October 7 Hamas attacks stands at 1,139. Palestinian journalist documents destruction of Gaza City Journalist Momin Abuowda has posted video on his Instagram account, reviewed by our verification unit, that shows the wreckage of Gaza City after the withdrawal of Israeli troops. “After more than 90 days, the Israeli occupation forces withdrew from the twin junction in the north of Gaza Strip,” Abuowda wrote in his post. If you’re just joining us It’s 7pm (17:00 GMT) in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. Here are some of the main developments this afternoon: The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 30,000 displaced people in schools near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis have no water, food or baby formula. UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini says this “is the time to reinforce and not to weaken UNRWA” as the International Court of Justice calls for more humanitarian assistance. More than 30 protests have taken place across Israel demanding the return of captives held by Hamas in Gaza, Israeli outlet Ynet reports. Some protesters have been trying to block aid deliveries from entering Gaza for days. Palestinian authorities have demanded an international investigation after a mass grave containing dozens of bodies was found at a Gaza school. Palestinian news agency Wafa reports Israeli forces have detained at least 41 Palestinians, including a woman, during raids and searches on Wednesday. Click here to share on social media UK deputy PM says strikes weakening the Houthis Oliver Dowden has said that continued strikes by the US and the UK are weakening the Houthis, but that no ground forces will be sent to Yemen. “Let’s be absolutely clear from the start. We have no plans whatsoever to put boots on the ground,” Dowden said in remarks on Thursday. “We need to tighten the pressure on the Houthis because at the root of this lies a commitment from the United Kingdom to ensure stability and free trade of goods and movement,” he added. An aircraft takes off to join the US-led coalition to conduct air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen [US Central Command via X/Reuters] Click Qassam Brigades claim several attacks on Israeli troops in Gaza City The armed wing of Hamas says that it has taken part in heavy clashes throughout the city, and in the last hour has released statements claiming several attacks: Qassam fighters say they targeted several vehicles of the Israeli army, including one belonging to its engineering corps, with Yasin-105 rockets on the outskirts of the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in Gaza City. The group says it has hit “enemy concentrations” in the west of Gaza City with “heavy-caliber” mortar shells. It also said its fighters seized three Israeli drones south of the Zeitoun neighbourhood in the city. Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/1/israels-war-on-gaza-live-death-toll-in-gaza-nears-27000-66000-wounded

Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah has announced the suspension of hostile operations against US troops as Washington ponders its response to a deadly drone attack that killed three of its soldiers. The group’s attempt to de-escalate late on Tuesday, which it said was motivated by a desire not to “embarrass” the Iraqi government, was met with some scepticism in the United States. The Pentagon alleges that there have been three further attacks since the attack in Jordan on January 28. end of list However, the White House has indicated that it is pondering a “tiered response” to Sunday’s attack. Speaking on Tuesday in Washington, DC, Biden tied the attacks to Iran. “I do hold them responsible in the sense that they’re supplying the weapons to the people who did it,” he said. However, he specified he did not want “a wider war” in the region. However, Al Jazeera correspondent Patty Culhane, reporting from Washington, DC, said Republican hawks were calling for strikes inside Iran. “For months, this administration has been saying the biggest concern they have is that this will lead to a wider war, and it seems fairly clear that striking inside of Iran would make it more likely rather than less,” she said. The threat of escalation has risen since Sunday’s attack, with tension mounting across the region. On Wednesday, Iran said it would respond to any threats from the US. “We hear threats coming from American officials, we tell them that they have already tested us and we now know one another, no threat will be left unanswered,” said Hossein Salami, chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. Powerful element Kataib Hezbollah is the most powerful element in a group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which has claimed more than 150 attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria since October 7. The US has so far responded to that campaign by conducting air raids and imposing sanctions against Iran-backed groups in Iraq, particularly Kataib Hezbollah. In its statement on Tuesday, Kataib Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi noted that many of its allies, in particular Iran, “often object to the pressure and escalation against the American occupation forces in Iraq and Syria”. Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed said the statement aimed to “alleviate or reduce the burden, the pressure that the government in Iraq has been facing since … the beginning of these attacks”. The Iraqi government, he said, has been engaged in talks with US military officials to find mechanisms guaranteeing the withdrawal of US and coalition troops from the country. Hawks apply pressure In the face of Biden’s caution over the US response to the attack in Jordan, hawkish members of the Republican Party have gone into overdrive as they appeal for more direct military action against Iran. Senator Lindsey Graham called on the Biden administration to “strike targets of significance inside Iran, not only as reprisal for the killing of our forces but as deterrence against future aggression”. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called for “striking directly against Iranian targets and its leadership”. Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/31/kataib-hezbollah-says-it-suspends-attacks-on-us-forces