• It is the 107th day of the war: According to Hamas, over 25,000 Palestinians have died. According to the UN, 70% of the victims are women or children (data from January 18). According to a US intelligence estimate, the Israeli Security Forces (IDF) have killed only 20-30% of Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip (data as of January 21). In Israel, 1,200 people died in the attack on October 7th.
• Israeli attack on Damascus, Tehran threatens harsh response
• Netanyahu reiterates his no to the two-state solution. Thousands in Tel Aviv against the Israeli Prime Minister
• Rockets against the anti-jihadist mission in Iraq
• Chief of Defense Staff Cavo Dragone in Israel a few days ago
• Meloni in Istanbul, bilaterally with Erdogan
10:34 a.m. – Israeli military operations in Khan Yunis
Israel continues today a major operation in the area of Khan Yunis, the southern Gaza capital, where “several terrorists were eliminated with the help of the air force” yesterday.
The military spokesman said this, according to which the military discovered “large quantities of weapons” stored in a Hamas facility during this operation. In Khan Yunis, the army operates both above and below ground, in a vast network of tunnels and bunkers that extend beneath the city's urban fabric.
9:53 a.m. – The number of victims in Gaza is more than 25,000
The death toll in Gaza since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas has exceeded 25,000, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry announced. A total of 25,105 people have been killed since October 7th. According to the UN, 70% of the victims are women or children (data from January 18). Furthermore, according to an estimate by US intelligence agencies, the Israeli Security Forces (IDF) have killed only 20-30% of Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip since the start of the conflict (data as of January 21).
9:31 a.m. – One of Hamas' leaders, Haniyeh, met with the Turkish foreign minister
In the last few hours there was a meeting between Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, about developments in the Gaza Strip, the possibility of a ceasefire and increasing humanitarian aid to the population of the Palestinian enclave, the release of hostages , who have been held captive in Israel since the October 7 attack, and the two-state solution.
The news comes from Turkey's Anadolu Agency, which cited diplomatic sources saying Fidan, Ankara's former intelligence chief, “received” Haniyeh yesterday. The agency did not name the location of the meeting.
9:03 a.m. – A tunnel was found where some of the hostages were being held
A tunnel where some of the Hamas hostages in Gaza were previously held “in harsh and inhumane conditions”: This was discovered – according to military spokesman Daniel Hagari – by soldiers under the house of a Hamas leader in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Strip. A large room was found in the tunnel – at a depth of about 20 meters – in which about 20 hostages were held, some of whom were later released. Drawings by the little girl Emilia Aloni, who was also released, were also found. To enter the building, the soldiers fought and killed Hamas militants, Hagari said.
8:52 a.m. – 195 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ground offensive began
So far, 195 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive against Hamas, the Israeli armed forces said.
7:21 a.m. – According to US estimates, the Israeli army has killed 20/30% of Hamas militants in Gaza
US intelligence estimates that the Israeli Security Forces (IDF) have killed only 20 to 30 percent of Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip. According to the Wall Street Journal, the United States believes that Hamas still has enough ammunition to continue the fight against Israeli forces for several months. Last week, the IDF said more than 9,000 Hamas operatives and members of other groups deemed terrorists had been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war began; That figure would be in addition to the approximately 1,000 militiamen killed in Israel on October 7 when gunmen attacked communities in the south, massacring about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping over 240 in Gaza.
6:25 a.m. – Palestinian Red Crescent, 4 dead and 21 injured in Israeli attack in Jabalia
Four people were killed and 21 others injured in an Israeli shelling east of the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Red Crescent made the announcement last night via X, formerly known as Twitter.
3:59 a.m. – The US confirms the stationing of missiles in Iraq. There are injured people
Iran-backed militants fired ballistic missiles at a U.S. troop base in Iraq, resulting in one Iraqi and possibly American death, U.S. Central Command confirmed. “At around 6:30 p.m. (Baghdad time) on January 20, Iran-backed militants fired multiple ballistic missiles and missiles in western Iraq, targeting al-Assad air base. The base's air defense systems intercepted most of the missiles, while others struck the base. The damage is assessed. Several US employees are being examined for head injuries. At least one Iraqi military service member was also injured,” the command wrote in a post on X.
3:35 a.m. – Israel attacks Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon
The Israeli Security Forces (IDF) today reported attacks on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon in response to attacks on northern Israel. The Times of Israel reports on this, noting that sites targeted by warplanes in Odaisseh and Houla in southern Lebanon included rocket launch sites and other infrastructure used by the terrorist group, the IDF reported.
3:18 a.m. – Israeli rockets north of Gaza: 4 Palestinians killed, 21 injured
A new Israeli rocket attack in the north of the Gaza Strip killed four Palestinians east of the Jabalia refugee camp; 21 other people were injured. He reported this with a post on the Palestinian Red Crescent's X, to which he also attached a video of the rescue.
3:01 a.m. – Guterres: No to the two-state solution unacceptable
The right of the Palestinian people to build their own state “must be recognized by all,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday at the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Uganda. “The refusal to accept a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians and the denial of the right to state-building for the Palestinian people are unacceptable,” the UN leader stressed in the Ugandan capital Kampala. Such a position “would indefinitely prolong a conflict that has become a serious threat to global peace and security, deepen polarization and embolden extremists everywhere,” Guterres warned. “The right of the Palestinian people to build their own state must be recognized by all.” In the final communiqué of the summit today, the Non-Aligned Movement “strongly condemned the illegal Israeli military aggression against the Gaza Strip” and called for “a permanent humanitarian ceasefire.” The leaders gathered in Kampala also called for “the independence and sovereignty of the State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in order to achieve a two-state solution.” The Non-Aligned Movement is a forum of 120 countries that are not officially part of any major power bloc. Its members include India, Iran, Iraq and South Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) decried the “inhumane living conditions” in the small coastal area of 2.4 million people, many of whom have been displaced by Israeli measures. On Monday, Guterres called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. Even the United States, Israel's main ally and supporter in the war against Hamas, recently reiterated its support for the creation of a Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated his opposition to the creation of a sustainable Palestinian state, drawing criticism from his American ally.
02.44 a.m. – Raisi: “The Damascus attack will not go unanswered”
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has vowed that the attack blamed on Israel that killed five Iranian Revolutionary Guardsmen in Damascus, Syria, will not go unpunished. The local media reported about it. “The Islamic Republic will not leave the crimes of the Zionist regime unanswered,” Raisi said in a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB on its website.
2:26 a.m. – The highlights of the Israeli attack on Damascus
(Guido Olimpio) Three points on the Israeli attack on Damascus. 1) This is the third operation of its kind within a month. Al Arouri was killed in Beirut, then Iranian General Mousavi in Damascus and now the senior Pasdaran officer still in Syria. Everyone is affected at meetings or gatherings. There is a safety issue for characters knowing they are being targeted. 2) The attack required preparation and reconnaissance, so it took time. However, it is part of the “exchange” in which Iranian missiles were fired in Iraq, Syria and Pakistan. 3) These are limited acts of war that allow Jerusalem and Tehran to confront each other “at a distance.”
2:14 a.m. – The death toll from air strikes in Syria rises to 10
The death toll from the Israeli airstrike in Damascus, Syria has risen to ten. “There were 10 fatalities following the Israeli attack this morning on a building in Damascus: five Iranians died, including three commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, three Syrians contracted to the Iranian militias and two Iraqis,” according to the Syrian Observatory for human rights”. .
1:53 a.m. – Raid in Syria, Iran blames Israel and threatens retaliation
Iran blames Israel for the attack on Damascus, which also killed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's intelligence chief in Syria and his deputy, and is threatening retaliation. This was announced by Tehran's Foreign Ministry.
The raid carried out in Syria, in which four members of Iran's Pasadaran died, “is a criminal and aggressive act of the Zionist regime,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said. “Without a doubt, the blood of these high-ranking martyrs will not be wasted, and the Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to respond to the organized terrorism of the false Zionist regime at the right time and place,” he added.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman emphasized that the military advisers of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who are in Syria at the official invitation of the Syrian government, have played an important role in helping the Syrian government, the army and the Syrian people fight terrorism and to contribute to the fight against terrorism and to create lasting peace, stability and security in the country in recent years. He argues that Israel's assassination of Iranian military advisers is “a clear sign of the deep and organized connection between this terrorist regime and various terrorist groups and ISIS in the region.”
1:41 a.m. – Dispute between Israel and the USA over the fate of the Gaza Strip: “No to two states”
(by Davide Frattini, Jerusalem correspondent) Forty minutes of talking to each other, and yet it doesn't seem to be the same phone call across the ocean. Bibi – as the American president always affectionately called him, as we will see after these weeks – only needed a few hours to deny Joe Biden and reduce his belief that “the emergence of a Palestinian state is not impossible,” even if Netanyahu remains in power. The prime minister's response is dry: “I will not accept compromises.” Israel must maintain security control over the area west of the Jordan, and this contradicts Palestinian demands for sovereignty.” In fact, it includes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Bezalel Smotrich – the finance minister and leader of the messianic far right – is even more hostile to the president, who unconditionally supported Israel after the Hamas massacres on October 7: “The Americans must wake up.” There is a broad consensus in the country against the Palestinian one Country.”
1:35 a.m. – Disagreement on Gaza, agreement on Libya and weapons. The one-hour meeting between Meloni and Erdogan
(Marco Galluzzo, our correspondent in Istanbul) Diplomats define them as meetings based on openness. Before yesterday evening, Recep Erdogan and Giorgia Meloni had had five bilateral meetings on the sidelines of as many international summits, where they met, “smelled” each other and said with great transparency everything negative that they had to say about each other, and in the end it resulted this openness to a respectful and in some ways even friendly relationship.
1:04 a.m. – The families of the hostages camped outside Netanyahu's house
The families of the hostages, still in Hamas hands, have camped outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's holiday home in the city of Caesarea, where he usually spends his weekends: they want an agreement for their immediate release.
“The families are fed up, we ask for an immediate agreement,” the forum said in a statement. Dozens of people, including many relatives and friends of the hostages, began mobilizing last night and set up tents right in front of Netanyahu's residence: they spent the night there and are continuing the protest today, Saturday.
They have announced that they will remain outside Netanyahu's residence until the prime minister comes out to listen to them and have committed to holding an international summit involving all countries affected by the crisis until the hostages are freed.
00:43 – Admiral Cavo Dragone in Israel in the next few days
Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chief of the Defense Staff, will be in Israel in the next few days to meet the Defense Minister and the Israeli Chief of Defense Staff along with several counterparts from allied countries. The aim of the visit was to “create greater awareness of the situation in the Gaza Strip and on the northern border between Israel and Lebanon.” The visit is part of a series of initiatives by Italy to promote a gradual mitigation of the current crisis and prevent its further extension. In fact, the Italian defense is present in southern Lebanon with around a thousand troops as part of the Unifil mission to ensure the security and stability of the region.
00:32 – Netanyahu vs. Biden on Palestinian sovereignty in Gaza
“Israel must maintain full control over the security of the Gaza Strip to ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel, and this contradicts the Palestinian demand for sovereignty.”
This is – according to Netanyahu's office – the position that Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated in yesterday's conversation with Joe Biden.
Netanyahu – the office added, citing reports that Netanyahu was not opposed to the two-state solution – “reiterated his consistent position for years,” he also announced at a press conference the day before meeting Biden.