by Davide Frattini, correspondent and online editorial team
Thursday, January 18, live news on the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Houthis claim attack on US ship. IDF: West Bank terrorist leader Abu Shalal killed
• 104th day of the war: According to Hamas, 24,450 Palestinians died, including around 10,000 children. In Israel, 1,200 people died in the attack on October 7th.
• Houthis on US terrorist list. You: We will continue the attacks.
• IDF: West Bank terrorist leader Abu Shalal killed
• Trucks carrying drugs arrived in Gaza.
• Iran attacks Pakistan, China calls for moderation.
10:23 a.m. – Isaac Herzog in Davos: An evil empire emanates from Tehran that is spending billions of dollars to destabilize the region and the world
(Federico Fubini) This is how Israeli President Isaac Herzog began in Davos: An evil empire emanates from Tehran that is spending billions of dollars to destabilize the region and the world. They must face a very strong coalition. Hamas is just one aspect of this jihadism, we must eradicate it. The Palestinians are our neighbors, but we are not ready to think about a political solution because the Israelis want to know first whether they can have peace.
10:12 a.m. – Action Aid: Hygiene conditions in Gaza are at risk
In Gaza, women and girls are forced to resort to unsafe methods to control their periods due to severe shortages of sanitary products, including sanitary pads: ActionAid has learned that some displaced women living in Rafah are cutting small pieces from their tents , which they rely on for protection from cold and rain, to use them as a substitute for sanitary napkins, thereby risking exposure to infections. The lack of water makes proper hygiene almost impossible: several women told us that they had gone for weeks without a shower, the NGO writes in a statement. An ActionAid Palestine worker, who wished to remain anonymous, was forced from her home three times and is now in the southern Gaza Strip, gave her statement: “I suffered during my period.” There was no water to drink during my period clean. I didn't have any sanitary pads for my needs. Rafah is currently hosting more than a million displaced people – more than four times the usual population – in extremely overcrowded accommodation and no privacy. Queues for toilets are very long and UNRWA estimates that there is only one toilet for every 486 people in the shelters. According to Unocha (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), only one of the three water pipelines from Israel to Gaza is currently functioning. On average, people only have access to 1.5 to 2 liters of water per day, which is less than the 3 liters necessary for survival and far below the minimum 15 liters needed per person per day for everyone to cover needs. Water and sanitation needs.
9:55 a.m. – Lavrov: Direct dialogue between Israel and Palestine is needed
Only direct dialogue is needed to resolve relations between Israel and Palestine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said this in a press conference on the 2023 budget. Ria Novosti reports on it. According to the Moscow diplomatic chief, dialogues brokered separately through the US and Arab countries will not be successful.
9:52 a.m. – Iran summons Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires
Tehran Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani condemned Pakistan's attack on Iran's southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province, which left at least nine people dead. “We officially sent our protest and request for explanation to Islamabad after summoning the Pakistani charge d’affaires in Tehran to the Foreign Ministry,” he added, quoted by Mehr.
9:47 a.m. – Israeli hostage Kfir Bibas will spend a year in captivity today
Kfir Bibas will now spend a year in captivity in the Gaza Strip. The red-haired Israeli child was kidnapped after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th. However, it is unclear whether the youngest of the Israeli hostages is still alive. It is the saddest birthday in the world, explains Jimmy Miller, first cousin of Kfir's mother Shiri Bibas, according to The Times of Israel. The only celebrations that will take place will be without the birthday child, who, along with his four-year-old brother Ariel and their parents Shiri and Yarden, have been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since their abduction from kibbutz Nir Oz. Bibas' extended family and Friends will gather at Geiselplatz in Tel Aviv today at 3 p.m. to continue raising awareness of Bibas' kidnapping. Several of the child's relatives recorded a song on Kfir called They Call Me Gingi.
The Kibbutz Nir Oz community held a typical kindergarten birthday party on Tuesday, without Kfir and his brother Ariel and their parents. Bibas' family and friends posted photos from the birthday party on social media to remind the world that Kfir, Ariel, Shiri and Yarden were brutally brutalized by Hamas in their home during the attack that killed around 1,200 people 240 were taken hostage. During the week-long ceasefire in late November, when other mother-child hostages were also released, none of Biba's family members were released. At the time, Hamas claimed that Shiri, Ariel and Kfir were being held by another terrorist organization. It was later said that they had been killed in an Israeli airstrike.
9:42 a.m. – Wafa, the number of victims of the Israeli attack in Rafah rises to 19
The Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that the death toll from the Israeli airstrike on Rafah has risen to 19. The victims were mostly children and women. According to Al Jazeera, the attack occurred in an area declared safe by Israel.
9:09 a.m. – Why Iran is attacking Pakistan and what it has to do with Hezbollah, Hamas and Houthis: the signals from the Ayatollahs
Tehran wants to portray any act of dissent or violence as part of a plan inspired by Jerusalem and Washington. At the same time, it uses the Palestinian Hamas, the Lebanese Hezbollah, the Yemeni Houthis and the associated Syrian-Iraqi Shiite militias as instruments of attack. Here is Guido Olimpio's report explaining the dynamics in the Middle East.
9:03 a.m. – Dozens of arrests by Israel in the West Bank
Israeli troops arrested dozens of people in raids in the West Bank. This was reported by the Palestinian news agency Wafa. In particular, 46 people, all belonging to the same family, were stopped in the village of Tuqu near Bethlehem and 18 in the village of Harmala in the southeast.
8:51 a.m. – Army operations in the southern and northern Gaza Strip continue
The army continues its operations in the Gaza Strip, particularly in the south and north, against Hamas structures. The military spokesman said around 60 Hamas terrorists had been killed in the last 24 hours. Of these – he added – 40 in Khan Yunis, where, among other things, a terrorist's residence was hit and grenades, machine guns, military equipment and technical assets were found. In the north of the Gaza Strip – the spokesman continued – air strikes were carried out on armed terrorists who posed a threat to soldiers, including some near a school. Also in the north, the soldiers penetrated an Islamic Jihad compound.
8:46 a.m. – Mutilated corpses and heads worn as trophies: the horror of October 7th
Hamas kept the victims' heads in the refrigerator and sold them for $10,000: New chilling video from October 7 comes from CNN. Other images that have already emerged show the mutilated bodies of soldiers killed in southern Israel on the day of the invasion. Here is Davide Frattini's account of the horrors of the mutilations.
8:20 a.m. – Media: Netanyahu rejects the US idea of an agreement with Riyadh
Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyhau would have rejected a proposal from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that included normalization with Saudi Arabia in exchange for a path to the establishment of a Palestinian state. This was reported by Nbc News, Israeli media reported, according to which Netanyahu said he was not prepared for such an agreement on the Palestinian state. Blinken argued that Israeli leadership's unavailability on this dossier – as a US source confirmed to the Times of Israel – will result in history repeating itself. According to NBC, Netanyahu has agreed to curb widespread attacks in Lebanon.
7:50 a.m. – Qatar spokesman: Medicine for hostages has arrived in the Gaza Strip
A shipment of medicine for dozens of Hamas hostages has reached the Gaza Strip. This was reported by a spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, explaining that the drugs arrived in Gaza yesterday as part of an agreement negotiated between France and Qatar. This was the first agreement between Israel and Hamas after the late November ceasefire that released dozens of prisoners, mostly women and children. For every box that arrives for a hostage, 1,000 boxes go to Palestinians in Gaza, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said in a post on X, without explaining how and when the aid will be distributed.
7:49 a.m. – Al Jazeera: 16 dead, including children, in Israeli raid on Rafah
Al Jazeera reports that 16 people, including young children, were killed in Israeli shelling in Rafah. The broadcaster said it had reviewed footage showing the bodies of three children killed in the bombing of a house east of Rafah arriving at Abu Youssef Al Najjar Hospital. Meanwhile, Gaza is experiencing its seventh day of communications blackout.
6:03 a.m. – Iran: Media, 3 women and 4 children killed in attack in Pakistan
Local media reported that at least three women and four children were killed in the Pakistani attack on the Iranian city of Saravan this morning. Videos posted on social media showed a number of buildings damaged by the attack as well as thick smoke. Some people got stuck under the rubble.
05.41 a.m. – Iran: Several injured in Pakistan attack
The Iranian city of Saravan in the southeastern province of Sistan and Balochistan was hit by missiles and drones from neighboring Pakistan, Mehr news agency reported this morning, saying several people were injured in the attack.
The raids came after Iran attacked Pakistani territory on Tuesday to destroy the bases of the Sunni separatist group Jaish ul-Adl. Pakistan yesterday condemned Tehran's actions and said several civilians were killed in the Iranian attack. Pakistan reserves the right to respond militarily against Iran.
5:30 a.m. – Iran: Pakistan, attacks against militant groups
The Pakistani military carried out attacks in Iran today, an intelligence official in Islamabad said. “I can confirm that we have carried out attacks against anti-Pakistani militant groups in Iran,” the source said this morning, adding that a government statement on the matter would follow later. Shortly before, Iranian media had reported explosions in the southeastern province of Sistan and Balochistan on the border with Pakistan. Two days ago, Iran carried out attacks on Pakistani territory against so-called terrorist targets.
5:10 a.m. – Iran: Media, explosions on the border with Pakistan
Multiple explosions were heard this morning in Iran's southeastern Sistan and Balochistan province, on the border with Pakistan. The Iranian news agency IRNA reported this two days after Tehran's attacks against terrorist targets on Pakistani territory.
4:48 a.m. – West Bank: More clashes in Tulkarem, death toll rises to 6
Arabic broadcaster Al Jazeera reports that the death toll in clashes with Israeli forces in Tulkarem in the West Bank that began yesterday has risen to six Palestinians. According to local sources, the Israeli army also sent numerous reinforcements to the area this morning.
Also according to Al Jazeera, there have been dozens of arrests by Israeli forces in the West Bank in the last few hours: 46 people from the same family were stopped in the Bethlehem area.
3:54 a.m. – Gaza: Palestinian media, 20 dead in Israeli raid on Rafah
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that at least 20 people, mostly women and children, were killed in an Israeli shelling that hit a house in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday evening.
Arabic channel Al Jazeera released a video showing the arrival of the bodies of three children at El Najar Hospital in Rafah after the bombing. In another video from the same hours, another child is seen being treated for head injuries at the same hospital. According to the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry, the death toll in Gaza since the Israeli offensive began on October 7 is at least 24,450 dead and 61,500 injured.
3:33 a.m. – Houthis accuse the US and UK of new attacks on Yemen
Houthi officials and local media report that new airstrikes have hit targets in Yemen. Al Jazeera reports on it. There are reports of attacks on military police in the Dhamar al-Qarn area south of the capital Sanaa and two airstrikes in the port city of Hodeidah. There are also reports of airstrikes in the cities of Saada and Al-Hawban. Houthi officials blamed the US and UK for the airstrikes after the Houthis said they fired missiles at a ship in the Red Sea.
3:14 a.m. – The US confirms the Houthis attack on an American ship
The US military has confirmed that a drone launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen hit an American ship in the Gulf of Aden. The Guardian reports on it. No injuries were reported in the attack, only some damage, US Central Command said in a social media post.
03:06 – Houthis claim attack on US ship
The Houthis said they attacked an American cargo ship, the Genco Picardy, with missiles. This was reported by the Guardian online, according to which a statement from the group's spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said: “Naval forces will not hesitate to target all sources of threat in the Red and Arabian Seas within the legitimate right to defend Yemen .” and to continue supporting the oppressed Palestinian people.
2:45 a.m. – Israeli inspection carried out, truck with drugs drives towards Gaza
The Israeli army carried out an inspection of medicine trucks at the Kerem Shalom border crossing towards Gaza. Haaretz reported that they are now moving on towards Rafah, from where they will enter the Gaza Strip.
02:13 – The leader of the Houthis speaks: We will continue to strike, this area will no longer be a slave to the Americans
(by Andrea Nicastro, Beirut correspondent) Full of religious fanaticism and ready to escalate the scale of the conflict, Yemen's Houthis have blockaded the Red Sea, challenged American gunboats and sent drones across the Arabian Peninsula, even attempting to attack Israel. With their curved daggers, they are a picturesque reality, but disturbing. This is the first interview by a Houthi representative in Corriere with Nasr al-Din Amer. Nasr al-Din, president of the Yemeni press agency Saba but also deputy head of the Partisans of Allah (Ansar Allah) media system, is the most visible face of the movement on Arab television. He says of himself: I am a Houthi leader. The interview took place via Zoom.
Why did you attack the American cargo ship? You said you would only hit ships connected to Israel.
Until the USA and Great Britain bombed us. Since then, both their military and civilian ships have become legitimate targets. (…).
Read the full interview here.
1:52 a.m. – Three Palestinians killed in a raid in the West Bank. The IDF: One of the people killed was a terrorist leader
Three Palestinians were killed by an Israeli drone strike near Balata camp near Nablus in the northern West Bank. The three were traveling in a vehicle when they were hit, according to the Palestinian agency Wafa, quoted by the Times of Israel. The Israeli Defense Forces released a statement about the attack, announcing that one of those killed was a terrorist leader in the West Bank who was preparing what was described as an imminent attack. This was Abdallah Abu Shalal, who – as the IDF was quoted by the Times of Israel – was killed in a joint operation by the army and the Shin Bet security service. After the attack on the terrorist cell – he later reported – weapons were found in the car. The other people in the vehicle could not be identified. The IDF released a video of the drone strike. The Palestinian Authority, citing security force sources, said the attack occurred during an Israeli Defense Forces raid on the camp near Nablus. He reports that the IDF soldiers initially prevented the Palestinian medical teams from reaching the site of the attack.
1:09 a.m. – Iran threatens: We won't stop. And Israel to Hezbollah: We are ready for confrontation
(by Davide Frattini, our Jerusalem correspondent) Pakistan, Iraq, Syria. And we don't stop there, announces Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, Iran's defense minister, just to highlight the prospects for those who still fear that the entire Middle East is embroiled in conflict. The ballistic missiles fly across the region's skies, hitting merchant ships sailing on the Red Sea (made by the Iranians and fired by the Houthis) and targeting terrorist groups and alleged Mossad bases (made by the Iranians and fired by the Iranians) in three Neighboring countries.
Read the full article here.
12:55 a.m. – Tehran claims to have attacked an Iranian terrorist group in Pakistan
Iran said it targeted an Iranian terrorist group in its attack in Pakistan. This was stated by Tehran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who was present at the forum in Davos.
00:35 – China asks Iran and Pakistan for restraint after airstrike
China urged Iran and Pakistan to exercise restraint after Islamabad accused Tehran of unjustifiably violating its airspace and carrying out illegal airstrikes over its territory that killed two children and injured three others. what Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said during the daily briefing.
“We call on both sides to exercise restraint, avoid actions that would lead to an escalation of tensions and work together to maintain peace and stability,” Mao said, adding that he regards both Iran and Pakistan as close neighbors and important Islamic countries. Both countries are close partners of Beijing and the states that are part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in different capacities. On Tuesday, Pakistan condemned the attack near the shared border between the two nations as completely unacceptable, including because it was unprovoked.
Iranian state agency Nour News reported that the attack destroyed the Pakistani headquarters of the jihadist group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice), which Tehran has listed on its blacklist of terrorist groups. The initiative came after Iran promoted a missile counteroffensive against spy centers and terror targets in Syria and the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. Tehran's move deepens numerous crises in the Middle East, including the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and attacks by pro-Palestinian Houthi rebels in Yemen on merchant ships transiting the Red Sea.
00:14 – Iran defends attacks in Iraq and Syria at UN: terrorist bases
Iran's UN Ambassador Saeed Iravani defended recent attacks against Mossad elements in the nearby Iraqi city of Erbil and against terrorist bases including ISIS in Idlib, Syria. Last night, Iran also launched missile and drone attacks on neighboring Pakistan, which borders the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, and said it had destroyed two bases of the Sunni separatist group Jaysh al-Adl. In a letter to the United Nations Security Council, Iravani said the operations in Iraq and Syria were carried out in accordance with Iran's inherent right to self-defense and to protect its sovereignty and national security in accordance with international law and the United Nations Charter.
January 18, 2024 (modified January 18, 2024 | 10:25)
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