- Israel’s military says it is on “high readiness for any scenario” after the assassination of Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri and six others in Lebanon.
- Al-Arouri was killed in a drone strike in southern Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold. Israeli has not claimed responsibility.
- Hezbollah says the attack “will not pass without punishment”.
- At least 22,313 people have been killed and at least 57,296 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll from Hamas’ October 7 attack in Israel stands at 1,139.
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Yemen’s Houthis claim to target Israel-bound ship
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the group targeted the CMA CGM Tage container ship, claiming it was headed for Israel.
Sarea also warned the US, which leads a naval coalition patrolling the waters, against interfering, saying any US attack “will not pass without a response or punishment”.
The statement comes three days after US naval forces killed 10 Houthi fighters and sunk three Houthi boats while they said they were responding to the group’s attack on a separate container ship — the Maersk Hangzhou.
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Sisi tells US Congress delegation the priority is to secure a ceasefire in Gaza
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has told a delegation from US Congress that the current priority is to secure a ceasefire in Gaza.
In a presidency statement, Sisi stressed the importance of “responsible action” to avoid widening the conflict in the region.
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Unclear if Hezbollah ‘willing to drag Lebanon into major conflict’
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati says the killing of Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri “aims to draw Lebanon” deeper into the Gaza war.
During the almost three-month-old war, Israel has traded almost daily cross-border fire with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah – an Iranian-backed ally of Hamas – while so far avoiding a full-scale war.
But after the assassination in Beirut, which Israel has not claimed, all eyes are on what happens next. Al-Arouri’s killing is “a significant escalation”, says Maha Yahya from the Carnegie Middle East Center.
“[But] I don’t think Hezbollah will be willing to drag Lebanon into a major conflict at this particular moment and time, given the situation regionally,” Yahya added.
Israel has also labelled Hamas’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar a “dead man walking” and promised to kill other commanders.
Hezbollah fighters in Aaramta, bordering Israel [Anwar Amro/AFP] -
Israel’s government shows it will target Hamas leaders ‘no matter where’
After Saleh al-Arouri’s killing, Israel’s government has made it clear that it will go after Hamas leaders no matter where they are.
It wants to show that it is taking this war seriously at a time when the public still supports it. The government also aims to ensure Hamas never returns, either militarily or politically.
Hezbollah has made it clear it will retaliate. The group has already been carrying out strikes on Israel’s northern border daily since the war started. We’ve seen some of the group’s mortar attacks this morning on the northern border.
Hezbollah has stronger capabilities than Hamas and they have grown in recent years. They now have long-range missiles that can hit here in Tel Aviv as well as other areas in Haifa. We haven’t seen a major escalation yet and when that could happen is still unclear.
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Palestinian prisoners group: 11,000 arrested in 2023
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) says that 11,000 Palestinians were arrested in 2023, including 1,085 children and 300 women.
The numbers of those detained are similar to those detentions that took place in the early years of the second Intifada in 2001-2002, the PPS said.
At least 5,500 Palestinians were arrested after October 7, including 355 children and 184 women.
Currently, there are 8,800 Palestinians in Israeli jails, including 3,291 Palestinians detained without charges.
Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/3/israel-hamas-war-live-hezbollah-vows-revenge-for-israeli-strike-on-beirut
