He advocates de-escalation. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with several senior Israeli officials on Tuesday, January 9, to discuss the war in Gaza. In particular, he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as President Isaac Herzog, the country's war cabinet and the defense and foreign ministers. He is scheduled to hold talks later in the day with Benny Gantz, an opposition figure who has joined the war cabinet. Follow our live stream.
Blinken calls for “the protection of civilians.” Given the ever-increasing death toll, the US Secretary of State said he wanted to “talk about the direction in which the military operation in Gaza will take.” In particular, he wants to “insist on the absolute necessity” that Israel “does more to protect civilians.” According to the Hamas government, the Israeli army's operation in the Gaza Strip resulted in more than 23,000 deaths. A report that Franceinfo cannot confirm due to lack of independent verification.
Four Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza. The Israeli army announced the deaths of four of its soldiers early Tuesday, bringing to 180 the number of soldiers killed since its ground operations began in the Palestinian enclave. The IDF, whose campaign against Hamas is now in its fourth month, announced that it would now conduct targeted operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah announces the death of one of its “commanders.” The Lebanese Islamist movement reported Monday that Wissam Hassan Tawil had been killed in an Israeli attack, a first for the movement since October. The Israeli army said it had attacked Hezbollah “military sites” in Lebanon but did not immediately comment on the senior official’s death.