This life is now over.
Israel will allow the delivery of flour to the Gaza Strip through the port of Ashdod, the White House announced on Friday, January 19, following an exchange between Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The President welcomes the Israeli government's decision to authorize the delivery of flour for the Palestinian population directly through the port of Ashdod, near the Gaza Strip,” the White House said.
Moscow calls on Hamas to release all hostages. Russian diplomacy called on the Palestinian Islamist movement to release all hostages held in Israel during talks in Moscow on Friday. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov also reiterated that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is “of catastrophic proportions,” according to a report sent by Moscow after that meeting with Moussa Abou Marzouk, a member of the Palestinian group's political bureau.
New strikes at Khan Younès. The Israeli army intensively bombed the southern Gaza Strip on Friday. Witnesses reported shootings and airstrikes in Khan Younes, where Israel says many members of the local leadership of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas are hiding. According to the health ministry of Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in 2007, 77 Palestinians have died in Israeli attacks in several areas of the besieged Palestinian territory in recent hours.
The UN speaks of “thousands” of arrests in Gaza. The United Nations says “thousands” of men have been arrested by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war against Hamas. According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, detainees are often subjected to ill-treatment that may amount to torture.
Critical humanitarian situation. In Gaza, where around 80% of the population has been displaced by raids or fighting, the situation remains very difficult. The World Health Organization announced overnight that it had identified 24 cases of hepatitis A, a viral liver infection, and “thousands” of cases of jaundice that were “likely” linked to the spread of that hepatitis.
Conflict between the Houthis and Washington. Yemeni rebels have claimed responsibility for the shooting of an American tanker, the Chem Ranger, traveling in the Gulf of Aden, a new attack by the Iran-backed group against merchant ships in “solidarity” with Gaza. The American military command confirmed an attack on the tanker, but failed to reach it, as the rebels claim.