Middle East crisis live: Houthi missile fired at USS Laboon in Red Sea, says US military – The Guardian

“It is the right time” to scale back the Israeli offensive, the US says

The White House said “it is the right time” for Israel to scale back its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli leaders vowed again to continue their offensive against Hamas.

The comments highlighted growing differences between the close allies on the 100th day of the war on Sunday, the Associated Press reports.

The White House National Security Council spokesman, John Kirby, told US broadcaster CBS that the US had discussed with Israel “a transition to low-intensity operations” in Gaza.

We believe it is the right time for this transition. And we talk to them about it.

The comments came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahusaid in a televised address on Saturday that the war against Hamas would continue “until the end, until complete victory.”

We will continue the war…until we achieve all of our goals: eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages, and ensuring that Gaza never poses a threat to Israel again.

The war has raised tensions across the region, with Israel engaging in an almost daily firefight with Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, while Iranian-backed militias attack US targets in Syria and Iraq. In addition, Yemen's Houthi rebels have targeted international shipping, drawing airstrikes from the United States and Britain.

leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallahsaid his group would not stop until a ceasefire was in place for Gaza.

Updated at 05:25 GMT

An Israeli football player was arrested for displaying a message related to the Israel-Gaza war during a game in Turkey, according to Turkish media reports.

After scoring a goal for his team against Trabsonspor, Sagiv Jehezkel revealed a message that read “100 days. 07/10” on a bandage on the left wrist.

Earlier on Sunday, the country's justice minister announced an investigation into Jehezkel on suspicion of “incitement to hatred” after his club Antalyaspor fired him over the matter.

The Turkish Minister of Justice, Yilmaz Tuncsaid in an online post:

The Antalya Public Prosecutor's Office has opened a judicial investigation against Israeli football player Sagiv Jehezkel for public incitement to hatred over his vile celebration in support of the massacre committed by Israel in Gaza.

The whole story is here:

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinkenposted on social media that “100 days of captivity in Gaza is far too long” and that the US will “not rest” until all hostages are released.

Israelis marked the 100th day of the war with a 100-minute work stoppage and rallies to demand the return of hostages held in Gaza. But the anxiety that has gripped the country since the Hamas attacks on October 7 has not subsided Jason Burke in Jerusalem reported previously.

Blinken said on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday:

100 days of captivity in Gaza is far too long. The United States will not rest until all remaining hostages, including six Americans, are reunited with their families.

100 days of captivity in Gaza is far too long. The United States will not rest until all remaining hostages, including six Americans, are reunited with their families.

– Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) January 15, 2024

Blinken's post sparked an angry response Palestinian Mission to the United Nationswho tweeted:

100 days and not a single mention of the almost 24,000 killed – half of them children. Shame on those who continue to be complicit in not calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Updated at 04.28 GMT

Australian minister urges “sustainable ceasefire” ahead of Middle East trip.

Australia's foreign minister called for a “sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza as she embarked on a Middle East trip on Monday that included a visit to the occupied West Bank and meetings with the families of Israeli hostages.

Penny Wong She said she would use the visits to Jordan, Israel, the West Bank and the United Arab Emirates to advocate for a way out of the current conflict and a lasting peace in the form of a two-state solution, Portal reports.

Australia will also use its voice to push for more humanitarian assistance, better protection of civilians and de-escalation of regional tensions, she added.

At a press conference before her departure she said:

Our position is that we want to see a sustainable ceasefire and we see an international humanitarian, immediate humanitarian ceasefire as a step in that direction.

No ceasefire can be unilateral and no ceasefire can be unconditional.

Australia backed a UN resolution calling for a Gaza ceasefire in December, sparking a rare split with its ally the US.

Wong said in a statement that Australia supports Israel's right to defend itself in response to “terrorism,” but “the way in which it does so is important.” It also called for the unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas.

Updated at 04.00 GMT

Houthi missile fired at downed American destroyer, US says

US warplanes have shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired from Houthi militant areas in Yemen at a US destroyer operating in the southern Red Sea, the US military said on Sunday.

The mid-air interception is the latest incident in the Red Sea in which the Houthis have attacked international ships in what they say is a campaign to support Palestinians besieged by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, Portal reports.

It follows a series of American and British airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen that have drawn threats of a “strong” response from Iran-backed militias, adding to fears of a wider Middle East conflict beyond Gaza.

According to the US Central Command (Centcom), which released the news in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), no injuries or damage were reported in the recent incident.

Centcom said the missile was fired near the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah.

Earlier on Sunday, the Houthis complained that US aircraft were spotted flying near Yemeni airspace and coastal areas.

Houthi speaker Mohammed Abdulsalam described the activities of “enemy” aircraft as a blatant violation of national sovereignty.

Portal could not immediately determine whether the incidents were the same incident. Centcom did not immediately respond to a request for further details about the interception.

Updated at 03:26 GMT

The missile fired from Yemen at the destroyer USS Laboon in the Red Sea was shot down by US warplanes “near the coast of Hudaydah,” US Central Command (Cencom) said.

The port city of Hudaydah in western Yemen is the fourth largest city in the country.

Cencom said on

At approximately 4:45 p.m. (Sanaa time) on January 14, an anti-ship cruise missile was fired from the Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas in Yemen at the USS Laboon (DDG 58), which was operating in the southern Red Sea. The missile was launched near the coast of Hudaydah by… pic.twitter.com/jftZHQhA2e

– US Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 15, 2024

Updated at 03.03 GMT

A few hours before breaking news broke that the US had shot down a Houthi missile that was fired at a US destroyer in the Red Sea, Dan Sabbagh reported on the latest concerns surrounding the vital trade route:

Tensions remained high in the Middle East on Sunday as Western leaders, the Houthis and their allies all warned of possible further action following the US and UK bombing of rebel-held areas in Yemen on Friday.

As initial information from the United States suggested that only about a quarter of the Houthis' missile and drone strike capability had been destroyed, reports emerged that two boats were trying to threaten a merchant ship in the southern Red Sea.

A Houthi supporter said Sunday that the group's attacks on merchant ships navigating the busy waterway south of the Suez Canal would continue “because they are at war with Israel.”

Hussain al-Bukhaiti said that if the US and Britain continued to bomb Yemen, Houthi forces would attack Western warships “perhaps with hundreds of drones and missiles”, which would represent a significant escalation.

Not all ships attacked since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 had ties to Israel.

You can find the full report here:

Updated at 02:40 GMT

Opening summary

Welcome to our live coverage of the Middle East crisis – I'm Adam Fulton and here's the latest news.

A US warplane shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired from Iran-backed Houthi militant areas in Yemen at the USS Laboon in the southern Red Sea, US Central Command said on Sunday.

No injuries or damage were reported, it said.

More on that soon. In other key developments:

• Three gunmen who crossed into Israel from Lebanon and two Israelis were killed in clashes and an attack along the border between the two countries on Sunday, the army and medics said. The Israeli military said five soldiers were injured in the firefight with the gunmen. Earlier, an Israeli man was declared dead and a woman, who the local community said was his mother, later died after a rocket attack in the Israeli border community of Kfar Yuval that reportedly injured several Israelis.

• Since October 7, Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed a total of 23,968 Palestinians and injured another 60,582r, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said on Sunday. In the past 24 hours, 125 Palestinians were killed and 265 injured, the ministry added.

• Arab-Israeli legislator Ahmad Tibi said on social media that three of his relativesincluding a 10-year-old boy, was killed in an attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

• Hamas has broadcast video footage showing three Israeli hostages it is holding in Gaza In it, they called on the Israeli government to halt its offensive against the militant group and secure its release as both sides marked the 100th day of the war. The undated 37-second video broadcast on Sunday of the three prisoners – aged 26, 53 and 38 – ended with the sentence: “Tomorrow we will inform you of their fate.”

• Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Israel had “failed” in Gaza and was forced to negotiate. He made this remark in a televised speech on Sunday.

• Bangladesh has expressed support for South Africa in its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Bangladesh “welcomes the opportunity to file a declaration of intervention in the proceedings in due course,” the foreign ministry said. Namibia, meanwhile, rejected Germany's alleged support for the “genocidal intent of the racist Israeli state against innocent civilians in Gaza.” The Namibian presidency cited Germany's “inability to learn lessons from its terrible history” and pointed to the first genocide of the 20th century – the Herero-Namaqua genocide, carried out by German forces on Namibian soil from 1904 to 1908.

• The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has described the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza as a result of Israeli attacks on the other side of the Stripthat have displaced nearly 2 million Palestinians, one of the “most complex and demanding” operations in the world. In a tweet on Sunday after 100 days of Israel's war on Gaza, UNRWA said: “The massive destruction, displacement, hunger and loss of the last 100 days tarnishes our shared humanity.”

• The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners visited Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza and the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus said on

• The Palestinian Red Crescent has set up shelter tents for 315 displaced Palestinian families in the Mawasi Rafah area near the Egyptian border.

• An Israeli soccer player who displayed a message referencing the Israel-Gaza war during a game in Turkey has been arrested, according to Turkish media reports. Earlier on Sunday, the country's justice minister announced an investigation into Sagiv Jehezkel on suspicion of “incitement to hatred” after his club Antalyaspor fired him over the matter. Jehezkel scored a goal for his team and then showed a message that read “100 days. 07/10” on a bandage on his wrist.

Updated at 03:40 GMT