Live blog: Lebanon wants withdrawal of Israeli weapons from country's south

Friday, January 10, 2025

1142 GMT — Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati emphasised the need to remove weapons from southern Lebanon, saying the country is embarking on a new phase that should be marked by the return of stability.

During a press conference following his meeting with newly-elected President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace in Beirut, Mikati revealed that President Aoun had asked him to continue overseeing government affairs until a new administration was formed.

"We discussed the challenges ahead and the presidential speech, which sets the direction for any new government," Mikati said.

He further explained that the situation in the south was a critical topic during their discussion and that "Israel must swiftly and fully withdraw from southern Lebanon to restore stability."

"We are now at a point where we must see the removal of weapons from the south of the Litani River and the establishment of peace across the whole of Lebanon," he affirmed.

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1118 GMT — Director of Gaza's al-Awda Hospital warns of dire conditions

The director of al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza has raised alarms over the life-threatening conditions faced by patients and medical staff due to targeted attacks by the Israeli army.

Speaking to Anadolu, Mohamed Saleha revealed that Israeli forces had directly fired bullets and bombs at the hospital and its surroundings causing severe damage, including the burning of nearby homes.

Saleha emphasised that the facility, located in Tel al-Zaatar near the Jabalia refugee camp, is now the only operational hospital in northern Gaza following the closure of the Kamal Adwan and Indonesian hospitals due to Israeli bombardment.

"We rely on a small generator to run medical equipment for a few hours daily, limiting surgical procedures to life-saving cases," he said.

Saleha appealed for urgent medical support, including specialized doctors in orthopaedics and vascular surgery, while criticising the failure of international efforts, including those by the World Health Organization (WHO), to deliver medical supplies due to Israeli restrictions.

1019 GMT — Israeli soldier accused of war crimes faces legal complaint in Sweden

A legal case against Boaz Ben David, an Israeli soldier accused of war crimes during the Gaza war, has been submitted to a Swedish court, the Hind Rajab Foundation has announced.

"The complaint, filed with Swedish authorities, accuses Ben David of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possible acts of genocide during the recent military operations in Gaza," the foundation said in a statement.

"This move follows growing international calls to hold perpetrators of grave crimes accountable, ensuring justice for victims of the ongoing genocide in Gaza," it added.

According to the foundation, Ben David, a staff sergeant and sniper with the Latak Platoon of the Spearhead Company, is currently visiting Sweden as a tourist but may leave the country soon.

He is accused of being involved in the indiscriminate targeting of civilians, the destruction of Palestinian homes, and organized violence in Gaza, it added.

0924 GMT — 88 percent of Israelis support hostage exchange deal: poll

A public opinion poll published revealed that 88 percent of Israelis support a hostage exchange agreement as PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party faces declining popularity due to the prolonged war in Gaza.

The poll also indicated that if elections were held today, Netanyahu would struggle to form a government.

His political bloc is projected to secure only 49 seats in the Knesset, compared to 61 seats for the opposition.

This marks a shift from a similar poll conducted last week, which showed Netanyahu’s bloc with 50 seats and the opposition with 60 seats.

According to the poll, Netanyahu’s Likud party would secure 22 seats. The opposition National Unity Party led by Benny Gantz would win 19 seats, while Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party is projected to gain 15 seats. Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid would secure 14 seats.

0500 GMT –– Gaza war toll likely significantly undercounts deaths: study

An official Palestinian tally of direct deaths in the Israel-Hamas war likely undercounted the number of casualties by 41 percent through the middle of 2024 as Gaza's healthcare infrastructure unravelled, according to a study.

The peer-reviewed statistical analysis published in The Lancet journal was conducted by academics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Yale University and other institutions.

Using a statistical method called capture-recapture analysis, the researchers sought to assess the death toll from Israel's air and ground campaign in Gaza in the first nine months of the war, between October 2023 and the end of June 2024.

They estimated 64,260 deaths due to traumatic injury during this period, about 41 percent higher than the official Palestinian Health Ministry count. The study said 59.1 percent were women, children and people over the age of 65. It did not provide an estimate of Palestinian combatants among the dead.

More than 46,000 people have been killed in the Gaza war, according to Palestinian health officials.

0412 GMT — Palestinian killed in Khan Younis

A Palestinian was killed and three others were wounded on Friday morning in an Israeli bombardment of Khan Younis city, south of Gaza.

Palestine's news agency, WAFA, confirmed the casualties resulted from an Israeli drone bombing of a gathering of Palestinians in Khan Younis.

0726 GMT — Tel Aviv identifies the body of the Israeli dead captive

Israel confirmed that a hostage found killed in Gaza was Hamza Ziyadne, the son of another hostage, Youssef Ziyadne, found dead alongside him in an underground tunnel near the southern city of Rafah.

The family of Hamza, an Israeli Bedouin taken hostage by Hamas-led fighters alongside his father, had been notified of his death following the conclusion of forensic tests, the Israeli military said.

Earlier this week, it said the bodies of both hostages had been recovered close to those of armed guards from Hamas resistance group or another Palestinian armed group, adding their deaths did not appear to have been recent and it was not yet clear how they had been killed.

0229 GMT — UK aid group calls for release of detained Palestinian health care workers

The UK-based charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) has called on the British government to take "urgent action" to protect health care workers in Gaza, including the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, who was detained last month by Israel.

In a statement, MAP pointed out the increase in Israel's systematic attacks targeting Gaza's health system and medical staff, which is "making Palestinian survival impossible."

"We at MAP are extremely concerned for the life and safety of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and all Palestinian health care workers detained by Israeli forces," said Fikr Shalltoot, MAP’s Gaza director.

2300 GMT — Real 'progress' made in Gaza truce talks: Biden

US President Joe Biden has said there was "real progress" in talks for a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas in Palestine's Gaza, an agreement the US president is pushing for in his last days in office.

"We're making some real progress, I met with negotiators today," Biden told reporters at the White House.

2152 GMT — PLO warns of grave repercussions from Israeli laws targeting UNRWA

A senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) warned of severe consequences from two Israeli laws targeting the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) that are set to take effect soon.

The first law, passed in October by Israel's Knesset, or parliament, bans the UN agency's operations within Israel. The second revokes a 1967 agreement between Israel and UNRWA.

Ahmed Abu Holi, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, said that "implementing these laws could undermine UNRWA's mandate in the Gaza Strip and the (occupied) West Bank while eliminating its presence in East Jerusalem."

"This will deprive millions of refugees of vital services, including education, health care and life-saving emergency aid, leading to a humanitarian collapse in Gaza," he said in a statement on his Facebook page.

2123 GMT — Palestine calls on Christian world to act on Pope's position regarding Gaza genocide

Palestine urged the global Christian community to translate Pope Francis' known position on the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza into concrete action in the face of Israel's continued carnage.

In a statement, Palestine's Foreign Ministry welcomed the Pope's repeated calls to end the onslaught and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.

The ministry emphasised that his advocacy for a resolution based on the two-state solution aligns with international law and humanitarian principles.

"The statements and positions expressed by Pope Francis deserve to be translated into practical steps," the ministry said, calling on Christian institutions worldwide to heed the Pope's moral and ethical leadership.

2029 GMT — Israeli army claims to have intercepted drone flying from east

The Israeli army claimed that it intercepted a drone flying from the east toward the western Negev region in southern Israel.

In a statement, the army said, "The Air Force intercepted a drone coming from the east."

While the Israeli army did not specify the precise origin of the drone launch, Israeli media outlets, including Channel 12, said before the army's statement that the drone "might have been launched from Yemen."

For our live updates from Thursday, January 9, 2025, click here.