Saturday, January 20, 2024
12:59 GMT - Hostage families ramp up for truce-for-hostages deal
Relatives of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza protested outside the home of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, expressing frustration over his far-right government’s lack of progress in getting the more than 100 captives released as the war in Gaza drags on.
A group representing families of the hostages said they had "begged for 105 days" and now demanded the government show leadership and take bold steps to free the hostages.
A member of Israel’s War Cabinet has called a ceasefire the only way to secure their release, a comment that implied criticism of Israel's current strategy.
12:26 GMT - Hamas dismisses Biden comments on Palestinian state
A senior Hamas official dismissed comments by US President Joe Biden about the possibility of Israel agreeing to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
"The illusion that Biden is preaching about a state of Palestine and its characteristics does not fool our people," Izzat al Rishq, member of Hamas's political bureau, said in a statement.
"Biden is a full partner in the genocidal war and our people do not expect any good from him."
Biden said Friday it was still possible that Netanyahu could agree to some form of Palestinian state after the two leaders spoke by phone for the first time in nearly a month, while Israel's war in Gaza grinds on.
12:01 GMT - 2 people killed as Israeli drone hits car in Lebanon
An Israeli drone targeted a vehicle near Tyre City on a road between Bazouriye and Borj el Shamali towns, resulting in two deaths, the Lebanese National News Agency reported.
Another attack targeted a house in the Marwahin area on the border with Israel, the agency added.
Earlier Saturday, Lebanon’s Hezbollah announced in a statement that its members targeted Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of Hunin Castle and Al Dhahirah site with “appropriate weapons.”
11:48 GMT - Palestinians mourn teenager killed in West Bank
Palestinians gathered to mourn the death of a teenager killed by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli aggression has surged since the war erupted in Gaza.
In a case that has drawn concern from the White House, seventeen-year-old Tawfiq Ajaq was shot dead on Friday in the town of Al Mazraa Al Sharqiya, east of Ramallah, the Palestinian news agency Wafa and relatives of the young man said.
Ajaq was a US citizen, according to his father and a local official in the area, Hassan Zeben.
09:59 GMT — 2 Iranian military advisers killed in Israeli strike on Syria: local media
Two high-ranking Iranian military advisers were killed in an Israeli strike on the Syrian capital Damascus, Iranian media outlets reported.
"Two high-ranking Iranian advisers were martyred in today's attack by the Zionist regime (Israel) in the Mazzeh neighbourhood of Damascus," Iran's Mehr news agency said, quoting an informed but unnamed source.
State-run Press TV reported the same information, adding the two were members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
09:31 GMT - Israeli offensive in Gaza kills 165 more in 24 hours – ministry
At least 165 Palestinians have been killed and 280 injured in the last 24 hours, and people are still trapped under rubble as Israeli forces continue their assault on besieged Gaza, the territory's Health Ministry said.
"The Israeli occupation committed 14 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, leaving 165 martyrs and 280 injured during the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement.
"Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them," the statement added.
Israeli forces blew up multiple homes in the town of Al Qarara, northeast of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing several people and injuring others, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
08:56 GMT - Gaza death toll reaches 24,927: Health Ministry
At least 24,927 people have been killed in Gaza since the breaking out of Israel's war on the besieged Palestinian territory on October 7, the enclave's health ministry said.
A ministry statement said at least 165 people were killed over the past 24 hours alone, while another 62,388 have been wounded since Israel's war on Gaza began.
05:32 GMT - Israel kills several civilians in refugee camp
Israel has murdered at least seven civilians in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central besieged Gaza and Al Amal neighbourhood in Khan Younis, the Palestinian WAFA news agency reported.
Israeli warplanes bombarded a house belonging to the Darwish family in the camp, which led to the murdering of five civilians and the wounding of several others, WAFA reported.
The Israeli jets also launched multiple strikes on the Al Amal neighbourhood, murdering at least two people and wounding several others, it said.
04:49 GMT - Families of Israeli captives say they have lost trust in Netanyahu
Families of Israeli captives who are being held in besieged Gaza have said that they have lost trust in the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in seeking the return of the captives.
Israeli public broadcaster KAN cited the families who stressed they would carry out their own initiatives. They, however, did not specify what that would that would look like.
KAN quoted one family who said: "Any delay in the negotiations will put their lives [Israeli captives in Gaza] in danger."
04:00 GMT - Egypt urges NAM summit to condemn Israel's carnage
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has urged the 19th Non-Aligned Movement summit in the Ugandan capital of Kampala to condemn Israel's carnage in besieged Gaza.
He made the statement on behalf of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi and stressed that "the Middle East region is witnessing a widespread crisis as a result of Israel's continued brutal aggression on the Gaza Strip."
Shoukry urged the Movement "to adhere to its historical positions in condemning the Israeli illegal practices and to reject the Israeli attempts to expel the Palestinian people and to obliterate their cause."
For our live updates from Thursday, January 19, click here.
