• It is the 57th day of the war: According to Hamas, over 16,000 Palestinians have been killed, including 5,600 children. In Israel, 1,200 people died in the attack on October 7th.
• Since yesterday, after the ceasefire for the release of the hostages ended, the Israeli army has resumed the bombing of Gaza: according to Hamas, there were 178 dead and over 500 injured yesterday.
• Israel: “If Hamas releases the list of 10 hostages to be released, we will be ready for a new ceasefire.”
• The words and acronyms to understand the conflict: Here is the glossary.
• The history of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, explained here.
5:06 p.m. – Hostage families ask to meet Netanyahu “tonight”
The families of hostages held in Gaza, including many of those released in recent days, are demanding a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A statement from the family forum said it wanted the meeting “tonight” after a week-long hostage rescue ceasefire ended due to Hamas violations and Israel announced it was withdrawing from the talks. “The end of the ceasefire and the resumption of fighting force us to immediately provide the families of the hostages with up-to-date information,” we read in the forum. “The returned hostages request a meeting this evening with the Prime Minister and members of the War Cabinet, as well as all families of the remaining hostages.”
5:03 p.m. – All clear in northern Israel, “defective plane”
The alarm has stopped in northern Israel. According to the military spokesman, an attack helicopter intercepted an Israeli drone that was found to have a technical error. This process activated the alarm sirens. But this time there were no rocket launches from Lebanon.
5:03 p.m. – Hamas, 300 Palestinians killed in attacks on Gaza City
Israeli attacks on the eastern part of Gaza City, in the Shejaiyeh district, killed 300 Palestinians. This was reported by the Hamas Information Office, according to which the Star of David Air Force bombed over 50 residential buildings in the neighborhood.
4:38 p.m. – Alarm sirens in northern Israel, including in Nazareth
Warning sirens are wailing in large locations in northern Israel, including Nazareth. The military radio reported it. Residents were ordered to enter emergency shelters.
4:33 p.m. – Negotiations are stopped, Israel withdraws its delegation to Qatar
Israel has decided to withdraw its delegation from the Gaza ceasefire negotiations underway in Qatar. The Mossad officers who were in Doha were recalled to their homeland due to the “deadlock” in negotiations. “At the direction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mossad chief David Barnea ordered his team in Doha to return to Israel,” said a statement from Netanyahu’s office, quoted by Al Jazeera. According to the Israeli prime minister, Hamas “did not keep its part of the agreement, which provided for the release of all children and women according to a list sent to and approved by Hamas.” The Mossad chief thanks the CIA chief, the Egyptian intelligence minister and “The Qatari Prime Minister for their cooperation in the enormous mediation efforts that led to the release of 84 children and women from the Gaza Strip and 24 foreign citizens,” we read again in the press release. The issue concerns Hamas’s proposal to include some of those who died in Gaza in the number of hostages to be released.
4:08 p.m. – EU: Working for new humanitarian breaks in Gaza
The temporary pause in “hostilities between Israel and Hamas” allowed for the release of some hostages and the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip. Is not enough. Humanitarian pauses should resume while working toward a comprehensive political solution for all Palestinian territories.”
EU High Representative Josep Borrell writes this on the head of EU diplomacy and notes that after the end of the ceasefire “the already very high number of civilian casualties continues to increase” and regrets “the increase.” Violence in the West Bank, where, according to the United Nations, 271 Palestinians were killed.”
4:00 p.m. – Attempted to attack Israeli soldiers with knives, killed
A Palestinian was killed today after he tried to attack soldiers with a knife at a checkpoint a few kilometers from Nablus in the West Bank, according to an Israeli military spokesman. His identity is currently unknown. There has been no comment on this episode on the Palestinian side.
3:30 p.m. – Israel and Erdogan can welcome fleeing Hamas terrorists
Israel has said that Turkey, if it wants, will be able to accept members of Hamas’s military wing who are still alive at the end of the conflict. Commenting on President Recep Tayyep Erdogan’s support for Hamas, Israeli Foreign Minister Ely Cohen wrote for the region’s residents in the future.” “Your presidency,” Cohen concluded, “will then be able to control the Hamas terrorists, to welcome those who have not been eliminated and who have fled Gaza to your country.”
3:05 p.m. – Macron: “To eliminate Hamas, Israel risks 10 years of war”
The goal of the “total destruction of Hamas” must be “clarified” by Israel, as it risks triggering “ten years” of war. This was stated by French President Emmanuel Macron. “The total destruction of Hamas, what is that? Does anyone think this is possible? If so, the war will last ten years, and I don’t think anyone knows how to seriously define this goal. Therefore, this objective must be clarified,” Macron said from Dubai, adding that “the good fight against terrorism is not systematic and sustained bombing.”
12:00 – Attack on Khan Yunis from sea and sky, order to evacuate
The Khan Yunis area in southern Gaza was the target of intense bombing last night. According to local sources, the air force attacked buildings in the city, while artillery fired in parallel on the agricultural area of Karara near the border with Israel, and the navy opened fire on targets on the coast of nearby Deir el-Balla. Meanwhile, the military spokesman issued immediate evacuation orders in Arabic for residents of Khan Yunis and Deir el-Ballah districts. The order is to advance south towards the Muwassi dunes and the border town of Rafah.
In Khan Yunis, the military spokesman reported, the air force hit 50 targets last night. He added that the navy had “attacked Hamas military targets with high-precision ammunition” in Deir el-Ballah. In addition, infrastructure used by Hamas naval forces was hit. Military radio noted that Israel is currently operating in the area and firing from a distance. According to the broadcaster, these are preparatory operations with a view to a possible deployment of ground troops.
11:17 a.m. – Intense Israeli bombardment of southern Lebanon
The Israeli army this morning attacked several locations in southern Lebanon along the dividing line between the two countries. This was reported by the Lebanese state news agency Nna, according to which the military attacks were concentrated in the areas of Naqura, Yarun, Tayr Harfa, Marun Ras, Blida and Qawzah.
11:13 a.m. – Hezbollah claims to have fired a rocket at Israeli positions
The Lebanese Hezbollah claimed responsibility for launching Grad rockets against Israeli military positions in the Upper Galilee. This was reported by the Lebanese Armed Movement’s Al Manar TV channel. According to the statement, the attack was in response to enemy aggression against locations in southern Lebanon. The Hezbollah missile, the statement said, hit a military target near the settlement of Dishon, about a kilometer from the demarcation line between the two countries.
11:12 a.m. – Austin: “The US hopes that the ceasefire will be restored”
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Washington hopes the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will be restored. “We will continue to work with Israel, Egypt and Qatar on efforts to reinstate the pause,” he said. Austin blamed Hamas for the resumption of fighting and noted that it had failed to draw up a new list of hostages to be released, according to SkyNews.
10:34 a.m. – Tehran announces a naval exercise with Russia and China
The commander of the Iranian Navy, Rear Admiral Shahram Iran, announced that the Islamic Republic would host a joint naval exercise with Russia and China. Irani, quoted by Mehr Agency, said that “Pakistan, Brazil, Oman, India, South Africa and some Caspian Sea countries” had been invited to the exercise as “observers”. The rear admiral stated that the main part of the exercise will take place in the Jask region of Hormozgan province during “Faij”, a ten-day period in February to commemorate the events of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
9:57 a.m. – Israel increases attacks in the southern Gaza Strip
Israel is bombing targets in the southern Gaza Strip today, stepping up its new offensive after a week-long lull in fighting. Many of the attacks were focused on the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza, where the army said it attacked more than 50 Hamas targets with aircraft, tanks and marines. Yesterday the army dropped leaflets urging residents to leave the area, but according to the United Nations it does not appear that large numbers of people have actually moved. lcl
9:48 a.m. – NGO: “Two pro-Hezbollah militiamen killed in Israeli attack in Syria”
Two Syrian pro-Hezbollah fighters were killed today in Israeli strikes on sites of the Iranian-backed Lebanese armed movement near the Syrian capital Damascus. This was stated by the NGO Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. “Two Syrian fighters working for Hezbollah were killed and seven others (…) injured in Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah sites near Sayyida Zeinab,” said Rami Abdel Rahmane, director of the NGO.
9:11 a.m. – The Pope: “With money we can fight hunger and the climate crisis”
“How much energy is being wasted by humanity in the many ongoing wars, for example in Israel and Palestine, in Ukraine and in many regions of the world: conflicts that will not solve the problems, but will worsen them!” How many resources are wasted on armaments, that destroys lives and ruins the common home! So said the Pope in his speech at COP28 in Dubai, read this morning by Cardinal Pietro Parolin. “I make a proposal: ‘With the money used for weapons and other military expenses, we create a global fund to finally eradicate hunger’ (Encyclical Fratelli tutti, 262) and carry out activities that promote the sustainable development of the world “Promoting the poorest.”, combating climate change.”
9:10 a.m. – Palestinian Red Crescent: “Israel bans the entry of aid from Rafah”
Israel has banned humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing on the enclave’s border with Egypt. This was stated by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. “Today, the Israeli occupation forces informed all organizations and entities operating at the Rafah border crossing that the entry of aid trucks from the Egyptian side into the Gaza Strip is prohibited from today until further notice,” the organization said on X. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society added added that the initiative had worsened the suffering of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip and made the work of humanitarian organizations more difficult.
9:07 a.m. – Unicef: “More than 5,300 children were killed before the ceasefire”
Before the fighting subsided, more than 5,300 Palestinian children were killed in 48 days of relentless shelling, a figure that does not include many children still missing and presumed buried under the rubble. This is what Unicef says and adds: “Children need a permanent humanitarian ceasefire.” All children of the State of Palestine and Israel deserve peace. If the violence reaches this intensity again, it can be assumed that hundreds more children will be killed and injured every day. As of yesterday, the Gaza Strip is once again the most dangerous place in the world for children.”
“For seven days – explains the Director General of Unicef Catherine Russell – there was a glimmer of hope for children in the midst of this terrible nightmare. More than 30 children held hostage in Gaza have been released and reunited with their families. The humanitarian pause has allowed us to increase deliveries of vital aid to Gaza and the wider region. UNICEF and its partners were able to significantly expand their operations and programs. And we were able to begin reuniting separated children with their families. This was not enough to meet the scale of humanitarian needs, but it was a start. We now need safer and more predictable access to reach injured, displaced and traumatized children. And we need to help children exposed to the cold, wet weather. Children need a permanent humanitarian ceasefire. We call on all parties to ensure that children are protected and supported in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law. “All children of the State of Palestine and Israel – concluded Russell – deserve peace and the hope for a better future.”
08:38 – Israel: “Over 400 targets have been hit since the end of the break”
The Israeli army said today that it has struck more than 400 “terrorist targets” in the Gaza Strip since the end of the lull in fighting with Hamas. Air, sea and ground troops were involved, it is said, and warplanes hit “more than 50 targets in a major attack in the Khan Yunis area” in the south of the territory.
8:36 a.m. – The great flight south of Gaza begins again: “We, twice displaced people, are fleeing in our pajamas.”
(Lorenzo Cremonesi) The worst has arrived. With the end of the ceasefire, Israeli forces concentrated their bombing raids on the south of the Gaza Strip. After the northern Gaza Strip, the target is now Khan Younis: The region’s second-largest city has around 205,000 inhabitants in normal times, but the heads of the local Nasser Hospital estimate that around a million refugees have arrived in the last month. Almost 80 percent of the region’s two million and 200,000 inhabitants are now homeless and displaced in the central south: over two thirds of the entire population are bivouacked in makeshift shelters. “Since the early hours of the morning, the Israelis have been dropping leaflets urging people to evacuate to Rafah, on the border with Egypt. But we have already fled the north on their orders and now we do not have the means to go further,” say the refugees interviewed by Al Jazeera and the other reporters present on the scene. According to local health sources controlled by Hamas, at least three of the nearly 200 deaths in the past few hours were journalists. Some airdropped leaflets offer telephone directions and maps via QR code to reach so-called “safe areas” in the south. Israel arbitrarily determines the areas where it promises not to attack and broadcasts them over the Internet. But it does not take into account the tragic situation on the ground: the lack of electricity and communication lines undermines any information campaign.
Here is the full article.
8:31 a.m. – The bombs return to Gaza, claiming 200 lives. “Hamas releases more hostages”
(Davide Frattini) The grid of blue lines divides Gaza’s 363 square kilometers into sectors that are sometimes so small they look like pieces of a puzzle. It is the inhabitants of the Strip who must solve the mystery to save themselves: the army has decided to use this new tactic to push the civilian population out of the areas where fighting will intensify. The map is updated in real time. The area has a number, the leaflets and messages distributed by the troops indicate where to move on the survival chessboard. The number of Palestinians killed yesterday was nearly 200, over 16,000 in the 56 days of war.
Here is the full article.
8:15 a.m. – Hamas: “The death toll since the end of the ceasefire is 240”
The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip said today that 240 people have been killed in Palestinian territory since the end of the ceasefire. Another 650 people were injured in “hundreds of airstrikes, artillery and naval strikes throughout the Gaza Strip,” it said in a statement, adding that Israeli forces “particularly targeted Khan Yunis, where dozens of houses were destroyed.”
6:43 a.m. – Palestinian media: Israeli raids in Khan Yunis, three mosques destroyed
Israel carried out new airstrikes on the southern part of the Gaza Strip, destroying three mosques in Khan Yunis. Palestinian media reported on it.
4:49 a.m. – World Food Program, storming Cindy McCain: “She’s not doing enough for Gaza”
Storm over Cindy McCain, the executive director of the World Food Program, who is accused by her staff of not doing enough and of not using her position to denounce the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Many members of the World Food Program are angered by his refusal to publicly call for a ceasefire, and many are calling for his removal. “The World Food Program’s response has been and continues to be inadequate,” denounced a woman from the World Food Program staff during a virtual meeting attended by McCain. As the New York Times reported, John McCain’s widow was also accused of endangering the organization’s impartiality by attending a security forum and sitting next to Ehud Barak, Israel’s former prime minister.
2:51 a.m. – Bombs in Gaza, clashes in the West Bank: It’s a night of fighting
Bombs in Gaza, exchanges of artillery fire and rockets between Hezbollah militiamen and Israeli troops on the border with Lebanon and clashes in the West Bank: it is a night of fighting that is taking place in these hours, with outbreaks in various areas, while the negotiations of international mediators continue relentlessly and try to restore the ceasefire.
12:32 a.m. – Syrian media: Israeli airstrike near Damascus
“Israel launched an airstrike near Damascus.” This was reported by Syrian state media, Al Jazeera and Haaretz reported. No further information is currently available. Since the war against Hamas began on October 7, Israel has carried out dozens of airstrikes against alleged infrastructure and weapons depots of Hezbollah and other local pro-Iranian militias, repeatedly hitting airports in Damascus and Aleppo.