As of: January 31, 2024, 5:56 a.m
By: Nail Akkoyun, Nils Hinsberger, Bona Hyun, Bedrettin Bölükbasi
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Press
Split
The US welcomes negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Israel attacks Hezbollah positions in Lebanon.
The news ticker about the war.
Means against
Hamas
: Israel confirms flooding of tunnels for the first time
Negotiations
in
Paris
: Hamas examines proposals for a ceasefire agreement
The information processed here about the war in Israel and the fight against Hamas in the Gaza Strip
comes from local and international media as well as news agencies.
Much of the information cannot be independently verified.
Update from January 31, 5:50 a.m.:
Almost four months after the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, according to a media report, at least half of all buildings in the coastal strip on the Mediterranean have been damaged or destroyed.
As the BBC reported on Tuesday after evaluating satellite data, between 144,000 and 175,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed.
That is between 50 and 61 percent of all buildings in the coastal area.
The footage also shows that the bombardment of the southern and central Gaza Strip has intensified since the beginning of December, with the hotly contested town of Chan Yunis in the south of the coastal area being particularly badly affected.
Israel repeatedly emphasizes that it is at war with the Islamist Hamas and not with civilians.
Hamas fighters used civilian buildings to attack from, store weapons and hide entrances to underground tunnels.
Across the Gaza Strip, residential areas have been devastated, once-bustling shopping streets reduced to rubble, universities destroyed and farmland disturbed, the BBC reported.
An Israeli soldier patrols the Gaza Strip during the ground offensive.
© Sam McNeil/dpa
Israel war: Hamas authorities give casualty figures
Update from January 30th, 9:24 p.m.:
As a result of the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, a total of 114 Palestinian people were killed within 24 hours, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority.
The number of deaths in the coastal strip since the start of the war has risen to 26,751, a spokesman for the authority announced on Tuesday.
65,636 people have been injured since then.
The numbers cannot currently be independently verified.
According to the Israeli army, around 10,00 members of terrorist groups have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war began.
This information cannot currently be independently verified.
Israel confirms flooding of Hamas tunnels for the first time
Update from January 30th, 8:04 p.m.:
Israel's army has confirmed for the first time that it has flooded the Islamist Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip.
The aim is to “neutralize the underground terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip,” the military announced on Tuesday evening.
Large amounts of water were channeled into the tunnels.
The military spoke of a “significant technical and technological breakthrough” in the fight against terrorism.
According to the army, soil analyzes were carried out to ensure that the groundwater would not be affected by the flooding.
Water was only pumped into suitable tunnel routes.
The Israeli army continues to use explosives to destroy tunnels.
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US media had already reported in December that Israel's military was testing flooding in tunnels where no hostages were suspected.
Seawater was pumped into some tunnels to find out whether the method was suitable for large-scale destruction of the tunnel network.
Experts said the tactic could have dramatic consequences for the environment.
Update from January 30th, 6:24 p.m.:
The Israeli army has apparently attacked a command center of the Shiite terrorist militia Hezbollah and an observation post of the group in southern Lebanon.
This is reported by the
Times of Israel
, citing the IDF.
It was said that two fighter jets were used for the attack.
It is not yet known whether Hezbollah fighters were killed in the attack.
Houthi militia reportedly ready for 'long confrontation' with US and UK
Update from January 30, 5:00 p.m.:
According to the
Reuters
news agency , US President Joe Biden commented on the attack on US troops in Jordan as he left the White House for a campaign event in Florida.
Biden said he had decided how to respond to the attack.
However, the president gave no further details.
He also said that the US does not want a major war in the Middle East.
Asked whether he blamed Iran for the attack, Biden replied, "They supply the weapons," according to
ABC
News correspondent Selina Wang.
Update from January 30, 4:00 p.m.:
The pro-Iranian Houthi militia in Yemen said it was ready for a “long confrontation” with the US and Britain.
This was reported by the broadcaster
Sky News
.
In a statement, Houthi commander Muhammad al-Atifi called Washington and London “forces of tyranny.”
Al-Atifi said: “The Americans, the British and everyone who coordinates with them must realize the strength of the sovereign decisions of the people of Yemen.”
Netanyahu rejects Hamas calls for war in Israel
Update from January 30, 3:00 p.m.:
With a view to Hamas' demands in the background of a possible deal to release hostages, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the Palestinian group's central demands.
“We will not end this war until we achieve all the objectives,” Netanyahu said, according to channel
Kan News
.
This means the elimination of Hamas and the return of all hostages.
“We will not withdraw the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip and we will not release thousands of terrorists,” he continued, adding: “None of this will happen.
But what will happen?
Total victory.”
After war with Hamas: Israel comments on plans for the Gaza Strip
Update from January 30, 2 p.m
.: After the end of the war against Hamas, Israel wants to retain military control over the Gaza Strip, according to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The area should be administered in a similar way to how Israel practices the West Bank, reports
The Times Of Israel
.
“After the war, when it's over, I think it's abundantly clear that Hamas will not control Gaza.
“Israel will control it militarily, but not in a civilian sense,” Gallant said.
Speaking before the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Gallant referred to the recent military operation in the West Bank, where Israeli soldiers killed three suspected Hamas members who were said to have planned an attack.
According to the Defense Minister, this is “military freedom of action at the highest level.”
“And yet we do not control the area in a civilian sense,” Gallant added.
Current situation in the Israel war: Hamas is considering ceasefire offers
Update from January 30th, 1:00 p.m
.: The terrorist organization Hamas says it is examining proposals for a ceasefire agreement in the war against Israel.
The proposals were said to have been presented at a meeting in Paris, reports
AFP
.
The USA, Israel, Qatar and Egypt came together for the negotiations.
Everyone involved was optimistic after the meeting.
Israel itself described the talks as “constructive”.
Nevertheless, there are still some “significant differences”.
Israel kills Hamas member in hospital
Update from January 30th, 9:30 a.m
.: Israeli soldiers are said to have shot three Palestinians in a hospital in the West Bank.
This was announced by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, which is controlled by the terrorist Hamas.
According to the Israeli army, one of the men killed was said to have been a member of Hamas.
The Palestinian planned to “carry out a terrorist attack in the near future and used the hospital as a hiding place.”
UNRWA employees are said to be in contact with Hamas
Update from January 30th, 7:07 a.m
.: Some employees of the UN Palestinian Relief Agency (UNRWA) are said to be connected to Hamas terrorists, reports the
dpa
.
After the first allegations were made against employees of the UN aid agency about involvement in the massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, some countries - including Germany - stopped their payments to the organization.
The latest research by the
Wall Street Journal
is said to have revealed that around ten percent of all 12,000 UNRWA employees in the Gaza Strip have connections to Hamas or the Islamist Jihad.
This emerges from an Israeli secret service dossier.
USA cautiously optimistic about negotiations in the Gaza war
Update from November 29th, 10:19 p.m.:
After talks about a possible new ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of more hostages, the US government has expressed cautious optimism.
“We can't talk about an impending agreement yet, but based on the discussions we've had over the weekend and over the last few days, we feel it's moving in a good direction,” the National Security Council communications director said , John Kirby, on Monday in Washington.
But there is still a lot to do.
Representatives from the USA, Israel, Egypt and Qatar held discussions in Paris at the weekend.
Those involved wanted to continue the discussions this week.
New hostage deal?
Israel apparently agrees on a framework agreement with mediators
Update from January 29th, 3:43 p.m.:
Mediators from Israel, the USA, Egypt and Qatar have agreed on a framework agreement for the release of the remaining American and Israeli hostages.
A draft is to be presented to Hamas today (January 29).
A source familiar with the matter told
NBC News
.
The agreed agreement provides for the release of the hostages held by Hamas.
Meanwhile, a ceasefire is to be held and further aid supplies are to be delivered to Gaza.
It is expected that Palestinian prisoners will also be released in return.
First report from January 29th:
Gaza City - According to Israeli media, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halewi has once again warned the country's political level that the Palestinian Hamas is increasing its military activities in the north of the Gaza Strip.
The achievements would “erode,” said Halewi.
Several weeks ago, the Israeli army declared that Hamas had been largely contained there and its capabilities had been destroyed.
But according to the military, Hamas is now regrouping.
Fear of Hamas rebuilding: Israel's army wants to show a stronger presence in the north again
Now the Israeli military radio
GLZ Radio
reported that the Israeli army wanted to increase its troop presence in the north again.
Most recently, rockets were fired from the north.
There were also clashes on the coast in the north, with five Hamas fighters killed.
According to the report, around 2,000 Hamas operatives are still in the north of the strip.
The army is probably planning quick and targeted attacks on remaining Hamas structures in the area.
If necessary, more extensive operations will be carried out, the military radio claimed.
A defense official told the broadcaster that since there is no civilian authority that can distribute humanitarian aid, Hamas is taking over this task, taking advantage of the power vacuum.
“If there was a party that could distribute these goods, then Hamas would be irrelevant,” the source said.
War in Israel: “Dozens of armed terrorists” killed in ground operation
Meanwhile, the Israeli army said it had killed “dozens of armed terrorists in clashes in the center of the Gaza Strip.”
In addition, the “activities against terrorists and infrastructure” in the south near Khan Yunis would continue.
Many weapons and equipment were seized.
The statement listed several battles with Hamas.
For example, four Hamas militants who were preparing to attack Israeli troops near Al-Amal Hospital were eliminated.
Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals for terrorist purposes and civilians as a shield.
(With agency material)