Live blog: Yemen's Houthis strike 'US merchant vessel' as Gaza war rages

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

2011 GMT — Yemen's Houthis have said that their naval forces carried out an operation targeting a US merchant vessel.

They targeted the "American merchant ship Cole ... several appropriate naval missiles," the Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement.

A missile fired from Yemen hit a merchant vessel off the country's coast, maritime security firm Ambrey confirmed.

"A merchant vessel was reportedly targeted with a "missile" while under way... southwest of Aden, Yemen," Ambrey said, adding that "the vessel reported an explosion" on board.

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2133 GMT — Israeli troops storm Al Amal Hospital in southern Gaza

The Israeli army has stormed the courtyard of Al Amal Hospital affiliated with the Palestine Red Crescent Society [PRCS] in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza following a 10-day siege.

"Occupation forces are currently raiding Al Amal Hospital square [and are] stationed in front of the external gate of the reception and emergency department and firing heavily," the Red Crescent said on X.

"Despite ongoing bombardment and gunfire, the medical teams at PRCS Al Amal Hospital in Khan Younis persist in treating the wounded and patients," it added.

"Today, the hospital received seven martyrs, including a PRCS employee, and attended to nine injuries. The siege and targeting have endured for the tenth consecutive day."

2054 GMT — Efforts for new pause gain pace as Israel continues bombarding Gaza

International efforts towards a new pause in the brutal war on besieged Gaza gathered pace as Israel bombarded the Palestinian enclave during fierce fighting with Hamas fighters.

Hamas was reviewing a proposal for a six-week truce in its war with Israel, a source told the AFP news agency, after mediators gathered in Paris.

While talks take place, the population of Gaza is starving to death due to Israeli constraints imposed on humanitarian aid, the World Health Organization's emergencies director, Michael Ryan, said in the latest such warning.

As Qatari- and Egyptian-led mediation efforts intensified, a Hamas official said the group's leader, Ismail Haniyeh, "will be in Cairo today or tomorrow [Wednesday or Thursday]" to discuss the truce proposal.

A separate Hamas source told the AFP news agency the three-stage plan would start with an initial six-week halt to the fighting that would see more aid deliveries into the besieged Gaza Strip.

Only "women, children and sick men over 60" held by Hamas would be freed during that stage in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel, the source said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.

There would also be "negotiations around the withdrawal of Israeli forces", with possible additional phases involving more captive-prisoner exchanges, said the source, adding the territory's rebuilding was also among issues addressed by the deal.

1914 GMT — Blinken says war is top challenge to aid distribution in Gaza

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the challenge of deconfliction across besieged Gaza, where the Israeli military has intensified its brutal attacks, was the top obstacle to ensuring humanitarian aid reaches people in need.

Speaking in a hybrid town hall for State Department employees worldwide that the Reuters news agency observed, Blinken said Washington was pushing the Israelis "every day" to get more aid into the densely populated enclave and better protect civilians.

"Within the south, the single biggest problem is deconfliction: Making sure that the humanitarians know that they can go someplace safely, to get the aid that's gotten into Gaza to places in Gaza that actually need it," Blinken said in response to a question.

"That's an ongoing effort and an ongoing push. We're pushing on every single one of these lines every day. And we're also intensely pushing on the need to better protect civilians."

1701 GMT — Israeli attacks leave Gaza 'uninhabitable'

Israel's war on Gaza has damaged around half of all buildings in the Palestinian territory and rendered it uninhabitable, the United Nations has said.

"The level of destruction from the latest Israeli military operation rendered (Gaza) uninhabitable," the UN Conference on Trade and Development said in a report on Wednesday.

1929 GMT — Gaza economy needs billions of dollars, decades to go back to pre-conflict levels: UN agency

The UN has said it will take decades and substantial international aid to rebuild the socioeconomic conditions in war-torn Gaza to pre-conflict levels.

The assessment came in a report by the United Nations Conference On Trade And Development (UNCTAD) that outlined the severe social and economic deterioration experienced in Gaza since early October.

“UNCTAD’s assessment underscores that restoring pre-conflict socioeconomic conditions in Gaza will take decades and requires substantial foreign aid,” the UN body said in a statement.

1854 GMT — Violation of hospitals against international law: UN

Violation of hospitals is against international law, a UN spokesman has said after Israel raided a hospital in the occupied West Bank and killed three Palestinians.

"Hospitals need to be protected at all costs and the violation of hospitals is against international law.

"We also stand clearly against any type of extra-judicial killings," Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

1848 GMT — Israel's Netanyahu: UNRWA's mission 'must be terminated'

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) must be shut down.

"It's time for the international community and the UN itself to understand that UNRWA's mission must be terminated," Netanyahu told visiting UN delegates, according to a statement from his office.

"It seeks to preserve the issue of Palestinian refugees. We must replace UNRWA with other UN agencies and other aid agencies, if we want to solve the Gaza problem as we plan to do."

1846 GMT — White House advisor Sullivan and Israel's Dermer meet in Washington

White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan has met with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer in Washington to discuss the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the status of efforts to get hostages released, White House spokesman John Kirby said.

The United States has been working with Israel and Qatar to reach a deal for the release of hostages still held by Hamas.

1717 GMT — Pakistan Army reiterates 'unequivocal' support for Palestine, demands permanent cease-fire

Pakistan Army has reiterated "unequivocal" support for the people of Gaza, where Israel has killed nearly 27,000 people, noting the "extremely negative fallout of the conflict and the potential to spill over in the wider region."

The support was extended during a corps commander meeting at the army's headquarters in the northeastern garrison city of Rawalpindi with army chief General Asim Munir in the chair, said a military statement.

1708 GMT — Decisions to withhold funds from UN agency for Palestinians 'must be revoked': UN relief chief

UN relief chief Martin Griffiths has voiced support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) amid the agency's funding crisis sparked by allegations that some of its employees in Gaza took part in the October 7 cross-border attack on Israel.

"UNRWA is playing an indispensable role in terms of distribution, warehousing, logistics and human resources, with 3,000 staff responding to the current crisis," Griffiths told a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

"Decisions to withhold funds from UNRWA must be revoked,” he said.

1630 GMT — Three-stage Gaza truce plan being examined: Hamas source

Hamas is reviewing plans for a three-stage truce with Israel which foresee a weeks-long halt to war on Gaza, a source in the Palestinian resistance group has told AFP agency.

Only "women, children and sick men over 60" who are captive in Gaza would be freed at this stage, the source said, declining to be named given the sensitivity of the issue.

Israel says 132 of the hostages remain in Gaza including at least 29 people believed to have been killed.

1627 GMT — ‘Catastrophic situations’ at Khan Younis hospitals amid Israeli onslaught: Health Ministry

Hospitals in Khan Younis city are experiencing “catastrophic” situations amid a deadly Israeli offensive in southern Gaza, the Health Ministry in the enclave has said.

“Conditions are worsening at the Nasser Medical Complex and Al Amal Hospital in the city,” ministry spokesman Ashraf al Qudra said in a statement.

''Many patients and injured people are expected to die due to Israeli attacks, lack of medical resources, and insufficient food,” he warned.

1624 GMT — Gaza population 'starving to death' amid Israeli attacks: WHO

The Palestinian population of Gaza is starving to death due to constraints imposed on humanitarian aid, the World Health Organization's emergencies director Michael Ryan has said.

The WHO said the risk of famine in the Palestinian territory was already high and on the rise, with the space for humanitarian intervention being increasingly squeezed.

"This is a population that is starving to death, this is a population that is being pushed to the brink," Ryan told a press conference.

"The civilians of Gaza are not parties to this conflict and they should be protected, as should be their health facilities

1552 GMT — Israel's Netanyahu says 'real effort' being made to return hostages

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that a "real effort" was being made to return hostages held in Gaza but that it was too early to say how such a move would play out.

"This is a real effort," Netanyahu said in a meeting with families of the hostages, according to a statement released by his office. "It's too early to say how it will take place but efforts are being made in these days, in these moments, these very hours."

1542 GMT — UN agency for Palestinians is 'backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza': UN chief

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has voiced support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) amid the agency's funding crisis, which was sparked by allegations that some of its employees in Gaza took part in the October 7 cross-border attack on Israel.

"UNRWA is the backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza. I appeal to all member states to guarantee the continuity of UNRWA’s life-saving work," Guterres said at the opening of the 2024 session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

Guterres said the UN "immediately" acted after receiving the "very serious allegations" against UNRWA staff members.

1527 GMT — More than 6,400 Palestinians arrested by Israel in occupied West Bank since October 7

The Israeli army has detained 6,420 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since October 7, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.

“More than 400 children, 215 women and 51 journalists are among the detainees,” said a joint statement by the Commission for Detainees Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoner Society and Addameer Human Rights Association.

“These figures don’t include those arrested in the Gaza Strip as the Israeli occupation refuses to give information about their fate,” the statement added.

The statement estimated the number of detainees currently held in Israeli prisons at more than 8,800 Palestinians.

1439 GMT — China reiterates call for ‘authoritative’ peace conference on Palestine

China’s Foreign Ministry has doubled down on its proposal for a “broad-based, authoritative and effective” international peace conference on Palestine.

Beijing “stands ready to work with all parties” to hold the conference “as early as possible” to “formulate a concrete timetable and roadmap” for the implementation of the two-state solution, said spokesman Wang Wenbin, according to a transcript of a news conference in Beijing that was released by the ministry.

1427 GMT — 10 more Israeli soldiers injured in Gaza fighting, military says

Another 10 Israeli soldiers have been injured in Gaza in the last 24 hours, the military said.

Figures released by the army showed that 1,293 soldiers had been injured since Israel expanded its ground offensive in Gaza on October 27.

According to military figures, at least 560 soldiers have been killed and 2,807 others injured since the outbreak of the conflict on October 7.

1357 GMT — 30 Palestinians held by Israel found 'executed' in Gaza: NGO

A Palestinian nongovernmental organisation has accused the Israeli army of executing 30 Palestinians in Gaza.

“Thirty handcuffed and blindfolded bodies were found inside a school in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza,” the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement on Wednesday.

It said the dead Palestinians were detained by Israeli forces before their death.

“It’s clear that the occupation forces had carried out a field execution against these people,” the NGO added.

The group said Israeli authorities refuse to provide information about the fate of Palestinians held by Israeli forces in Gaza.

1336 GMT — IMF projections say 'high intensity' Gaza war to last through Q1

The International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s projections have shown that the Gaza war would continue with "high intensity" through the first quarter of 2024, and that hostilities would then slowly decline.

The IMF said "real GDP growth in (the) West Bank and Gaza is estimated to have dropped to about -6 percent" for 2023, a 9-percentage-point downgrade from its October regional outlook.

"We project that the economy will keep on contracting in 2024 if there is no fast and quick cessation of hostilities and reconstruction," said Jihad Azour, the IMF's director for the Middle East and North Africa.

1330 GMT — South African foreign minister says states must stop funding Israel's military

All states have an obligation to stop funding and facilitating Israel's military assault in Gaza after the World Court indicated that those actions could plausibly be genocidal, South African foreign minister Naledi Pandor has said.

1258 GMT — Spain to contribute voluntarily to world court investigating war crimes in Gaza

Spain's left-wing coalition government has said it will make a voluntary contribution to the Prosecutor’s Office of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to investigate human rights violations in Gaza under Israeli attacks.

At a meeting on January 30, the Council of Ministers decided that Spain will contribute to the ICJ Prosecutor's Office in the investigation of mass human rights violations in Gaza to hold those responsible to account before the court.

Within the scope of this politically significant voluntary contribution by Spain, the ICJ Prosecutor’s Office Trust Fund will receive $541,790 (500,000 euros) in 2024.

1257 GMT — Evidence given to ICC proves genocide in Gaza: legal team

Lawyers and human rights organisations pursuing a case against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) are confident their application will lead to concrete action.

Over 600 lawyers and rights groups from across the world presented their case to ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan last week, with the submission focusing on evidence of genocidal acts being committed by Israel in its ongoing war on Gaza.

The submission made to the ICC is a “legally strong and properly prepared case,” according to Abdelmajid Mrari, an international law expert and senior member of the Brussels-based Alliance for Freedom and Dignity International (AFDI), which is part of the group.

All elements of the evidence — text documents, photos and videos — indicated that the crime of genocide is being committed in Gaza, he told Anadolu in an interview.

1232 GMT — Survey shows 50% of Israelis oppose proposed hostage deal with Hamas in return for Gaza ceasefire

A new survey found that 50 percent of Israelis have opposed a proposed deal with Hamas to secure the release of 35 Israeli hostages in return for a 45-day ceasefire in Gaza, a new survey found.

The survey, conducted by Israeli Channel 12, showed that 35 percent of Israelis support such a deal with Hamas, while 15 percent did not give an opinion.

The White House said that negotiators seeking to broker a deal for the release of additional hostages held by Hamas have developed a “framework” that could lead to an eventual deal.

1202 GMT — Israeli army withdraws another reservist brigade from Gaza

The Israeli army has pulled out its 5th reservist brigade from Gaza, according to Israeli media.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN said the 5th reservist brigade had fought in northern Gaza and had seized the territory’s coastal area from Hamas fighters.

According to the broadcaster, one reservist brigade remains in the Palestinian territory. It remains unclear how many Israeli forces are deployed in Gaza.

1143 GMT — Senior Turkish official demands accountability for Israeli genocide in Gaza

The head of a Turkish parliamentary committee has demanded accountability for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and officials responsible for the genocide in Gaza.

“The International Court of Justice has declared with its ruling that Israel is not above the law or beyond the reach of justice," Cuneyt Yuksel, chairman of the Parliamentary Justice Committee, said at a press conference in Ankara.

“Turning a blind eye to acts of genocidal nature is contrary to the founding spirit and purposes of the UN,” he said, adding that Türkiye will closely follow the ongoing case and be the voice of the oppressed Palestinian people.

1026 GMT — Israeli forces reportedly destroy few kms of Gaza tunnels: Army Radio

Israel has so far been able to destroy a few kilometres of tunnels in Gaza allegedly dug by Palestinian resistance group Hamas with seawater, Israel's Army Radio has said.

"In the northern Gaza Strip, the (Atlantis) system has been partially successful, especially in tunnels close to the sea," Army Radio said.

“The army found it difficult to flow water under high pressure through the pipes,” as these tunnels are far from the sea, it added.

The radio noted that "in the central Gaza Strip, there was a limited attempt to activate the system, but it completely failed."

0952 GMT — Israeli army reportedly arrests UNRWA Palestinian workers

The Israeli army has arrested a number of workers at the UN agency for Palestinian refugees or UNRWA while they were moving to Rafah in southern Gaza, a witness told Anadolu on Wednesday.

Speaking to Anadolu reporter, a Palestinian woman, Fatema Abou Jou'eid, said the UNRWA workers were arrested on Monday as they were fleeing to Rafah from Khan Younis but did not provide a specific number.

"Those arrested UNRWA workers have no links to any Palestinian groups," she said.

"I don't know why those youths (UNRWA workers) were arrested, we were stopped at an Israeli military checkpoint, erected between Rafah and Khan Younis," she added.

There were no comments from the Israeli side on their arrest.

0944 GMT — Palestinian death toll in Gaza hits 26,900 amid Israeli attacks

At least 26,900 people have been killed in the besieged Palestinian territory since the war with Israel broke out on October 7, the Health Ministry in Gaza said.

The latest toll includes 150 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 65,949 people have been wounded in Gaza since the fighting began.

0925 GMT — Norway urges UNRWA donors to consider broader impact of funding cuts

Norway, a top donor to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), is urging countries that have cut funding to the agency to consider the consequences of their actions on the population in Gaza, its foreign minister has told Reuters.

The Nordic country on Sunday said it would maintain its funding to UNRWA following accusations that some agency staff took part in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, in contrast to several other countries that have paused payments.

0755 GMT — Three more Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza invasion

Three more Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting with Palestinian resistance groups across Gaza, Israel’s army has announced.

In a statement cited by the Times of Israel news website, the Israeli army said two other soldiers were seriously wounded in the battle in southern Gaza.

A total of 223 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the Israeli ground invasion on Oct. 27.

The number of Israeli soldiers killed since the launch of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7 has risen to 560.

0629 GMT — UAE confirms support for UN Palestine agency after Israel's accusations

UAE's foreign minister voiced support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the wake of the agency's funding crisis, which was sparked by allegations that some of its employees in Gaza took part in the October 7 cross-border attack on Israel.

In a phone call with UNRWA's Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan re-affirmed the UAE's "unwavering support" for UNRWA and the importance of the role it plays in delivering humanitarian aid and supporting Palestinian refugees, according to the local media.

Al Nahyan called on the countries that have suspended their funding to UNRWA to "urgently reconsider this decision" and continue to provide support to the agency to enable it to carry out its humanitarian tasks.

0357 GMT — Israel orders 88,000 displaced Palestinians to evacuate Gaza

Israel has repeated new evacuation orders for neighbourhoods in western Gaza City where 88,000 Palestinians live in shelters, the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) has said.

The area, which included the Ash Shati Refugee camp, was home to almost 300,000 Palestinians before October 7, OCHA stressed in its daily update for Monday.

"The new order covered an area of 12.43 sq km, which amounts to 3.4 percent of the total area of the Gaza Strip," OCHA added.

Some "1 per cent of the Gaza Strip have been placed under such orders‚" since Israel began issuing evacuation deadlines on December 1, OCHA added.

The residents of Gaza City in the west were told to flee south, despite large numbers of Palestinians leaving Khan Younis in recent days and dangerously overcrowded conditions in Rafah.

0032 GMT — US claims to have downed Houthi anti-ship cruise missile

The US has claimed to have shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired by Yemen's Houthi group toward the Red Sea.

"On January 30, at approximately 11:30 pm [Sanaa time], Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired one anti-ship cruise missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward the Red Sea. The missile was shot down by the USS Gravely (DDG 107)," US Central Command (CENTCOM) wrote on X.

It added there were no injuries or damage reported.

2351 GMT — Cutting funds to UNRWA 'catastrophic' for Palestine's Gaza

Cutting off funding to the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA will have "catastrophic consequences" for besieged Gaza, the heads of multiple UN bodies have said in a joint statement.

"Withdrawing funds from UNRWA is perilous and would result in the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza, with far-reaching humanitarian and human rights consequences in the occupied Palestinian territory and across the region," said the statement from heads of organisations that form the UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee.

The UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Japan, France and Finland recently joined the US, Australia and Canada in blocking the crucial funds to UNRWA.

"No other entity has the capacity to deliver the scale and breadth of assistance that 2.2 million people in Gaza urgently need," the UN bodies said. "The world cannot abandon the people of Gaza. We appeal for these decisions to be reconsidered."

2214 GMT — Houthis say received US warning threatening escalation

Yemen's Houthi group has said that it received a message from the US conveyed via Amman threatening to open fronts against it in response to its actions against Israel.

''The American threatening message is in response to the Yemeni people's rejection of the killing of people in Gaza,'' Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the group's Supreme Political Council, said in a statement on X.

"We say to the US that any folly in carrying out the American threat will fail and will not stop the Yemeni people from their mission to support Gaza,'' he added.

There has been no comment so far from the US on the Houthis' statement.

For our live updates from Tuesday, January 30, click here.