Friday, January 5, 2024
14:00 GMT — Northern Israel residents first to pay price of war — Hezbollah
Hezbollah has declared that residents of northern Israel, including settlers, will be first to pay the price of a war.
Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech that all of Lebanon would be exposed if the group did not react to the assassination of deputy Hamas chief Saleh al Arouri in Beirut.
Nasrallah added that its current operations on the southern borders opened a "historic opportunity" for Lebanon to liberate its land occupied by Israel and that the Islamic Resistance in Iraq also has a "historic opportunity" to get rid of the US presence in that country.
14:47 GMT — 90% of Gaza's population displaced multiple times: UN
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees reports that up to 1.9 million people, nearly 90 percent of Gaza's population, have been displaced multiple times.
1440 GMT — Hezbollah conducted 670 operations against Israel in last 3 months: Nasrallah
The Hezbollah leader said that the Lebanese group carried out 670 operations against Israel over the past three months.
"What is happening on the Lebanese-Israeli border is unprecedented since 1948," Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech.
“The enemy (Israel) does not acknowledge either fatalities or injuries, and this is part of its policy of general secrecy regarding its losses since Oct. 8,” he added.
14:16 GMT — Israeli far-right ministers criticise committee investigating Oct. 7 attacks
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, both known for their far-right political views and settler backgrounds, criticised a committee formed by Israeli army chief to investigate the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas.
The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation said earlier Friday that the investigation committee formed by Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and headed by former Defense Minister and former Chief of General Staff Shaul Mofaz also includes Reserve Maj. Gen. Yoav Har-Even and Reserve Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeevi-Farkash.
"The investigation should also include the issue of the historical mistake of the deportation, and certainly not appoint its architects to examine the failure that is a result of their actions," Ben Gvir said.
"These are people whose actions need to be investigated. These should not be the investigators,” Ben Gvir added.
For his part, Smotrich said: “My position: Operative investigations designed to draw lessons relevant to the continuation of the war must be done during the war, all the rest after the war. As far as I understand, this is also the position of the Chief of Staff.”
11:34 GMT — Palestinian death toll in Gaza tops 22,600 — ministry
The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza has climbed to 22,600, while 57,910 others are injured, said the Health Ministry in Gaza.
06:53 GMT — EU's Borrell visits Lebanon amid conflict with Israel
EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell will be in Lebanon from Jan. 5 to Jan. 7 to discuss the situation at the Israeli-Lebanese border and the importance of avoiding regional escalation, the EU has said in a statement.
"(Borrell) will re-emphasise the need to advance diplomatic efforts with regional leaders", the statement said.
13:00 GMT —15 Israeli soldiers injured in past 24 hours in Gaza battles
At least 15 Israeli soldiers were injured in the past 24 hours during ground battles in the Gaza Strip, the army said on Friday.
The number of wounded officers and soldiers since the beginning of the war on Oct. 7 has risen to 2,324, according to the Israeli army.
These numbers do not include soldiers who are routinely evacuated and those who arrive at the emergency room but are not tra nsferred to the hospital, the army said in a statement.
The number of soldiers and officers injured in ground battles in the Gaza Strip on Friday rose to 1,020, up from 1,006 on Thursday.
12:48 GMT — Israel imposes restrictions on Al-Aqsa Mosque worshippers
The Israeli police imposed strict restrictions on the entry of worshipers to Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem to perform Friday prayers.
An official in the Islamic Waqf (Endowments) Department in Jerusalem told Anadolu that only 15,000 people were able to perform Friday prayers in the mosque compared to over 50,000 in a regular Friday prayer.
The official, who preferred not to disclose hi s name, added: “The prayer halls and courtyards of the mosque were almost empty of worshipers due to Israeli restrictions.”
The Israeli police have been imposing restrictions on the entry of worshipers to Al-Aqsa Mosque since the start of the Gaza conflict on Oct. 7, but they tighten restrictions on Fridays.
12:41 GMT — Israel provides conflicting figures for Palestinians arrested in West Bank
The Israeli army on Friday announced that it had arrested 2,600 Palestinians in the West Bank since the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, with an additional five detained in various parts of the larger of the two Palestinian territories on Thursday night.
However, the latest Israeli army figures are disputed by two Palestinian rights organizations, which recorded 5,630 arrests since Oct. 7 as of Thursday.
The Israeli army said in a statement posted on X, “Since the beginning of the war, approximately 2,600 wanted persons have been arrested throughout the Judea and Samaria Division and the Bekaa and Valleys Division.”
The Israeli army claimed that approximately 1,300 of the wanted persons are associated with Hamas.
11:33 GMT — Israeli opposition leader slams quarrelling ministers, urging them to resign
The Israeli opposition leader condemned the fighting within the Cabinet concerning the investigation into the events of Oct. 7, calling it a disgrace and urging the ministers to resign.
Yair Lapid's remarks came after a heated verbal brawl during a Cabinet meeting to discuss security and political affairs on Thursday evening, the Israel Broadcasting Authority reported.
“The leaks from the Cabinet last night constitute a disgrace and provide further evidence of the peril posed by this government,” Lapid posted on X.
He added: “Israel must replace the government and its leadership; these people are unworthy of the sacrifices and valor exhibited by the men and women of the Israeli armed forces. They are incapable of steering strategic decisions and, as such, should tender their immediate resignations.”
04:25 GMT — Israeli forces kill Palestinian child in occupied West Bank
Israeli forces killed one Palestinian child and injured seven others during a raid in the town of Beit Rima northwest of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
A high school student, 17-year-old Aseed Tariq Anis Al-Rimawi, was shot in the chest with a live bullet during the raid, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa has said, citing health sources. He died after sustaining the wound.
Seven Palestinians injured in the raid were transferred to Salfit Governmental Hospital in the West Bank.
At least two Palestinians were injured with live bullets during an Israeli raid on the Balata Refugee Camp in the West Bank city of Nablus.
00:35 GMT - UAE condemns Israeli ministers' calls for ethnic cleansing against Palestinians
The United Arab Emirates [UAE] has condemned Israeli ministers' calls for the mass expulsion and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza and demanded an end to Israeli war in the besieged enclave.
"The United Arab Emirates strongly condemns the extremist statements of the Israeli Ministers of Finance and National Security calling for the displacement of Palestinians outside Gaza, reoccupation of the [Gaza] Strip, and the construction of settlements in it," said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, referring to extremist Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
It emphasised "the UAE's categorical rejection of these offensive statements and all practices and procedures carried out in contravention of resolutions on international legitimacy, which threaten further escalation and instability in the region."
23:36 GMT - Pro-Palestine protesters stage rally in Berlin under heavy rain
A group of pro-Palestine protesters have staged a rally in the German capital Berlin to protest Israel's ongoing aggression in Gaza, which has killed more than 22,400 people and left the coastal enclave in ruins.
Despite heavy rain, the protesters gathered outside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's office to express solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Carrying Palestinian flags, the crowd chanted slogans such as "Free Palestine" and "Stop the genocide."
23:25 GMT - Gaza hospital received 155 dead, 357 wounded after December attacks
Gaza's Al Aqsa Hospital received 155 dead and 357 wounded following Israeli attacks on two refugee camps in December, the medical charity Doctors Without Borders [MSF] has said, reiterating its call for a ceasefire.
"From the hospital, we can hear the bombing in the neighbourhoods northeast of Al Aqsa Hospital in Gaza’s Middle Area, near the Al Bureij and Al Maghazi refugee camps," it quoted Carolina Lopez, MSF emergency coordinator in the besieged enclave, as saying on its X account.
"No one and nowhere is safe in Gaza," the MSF said.
"We need a sustained #ceasefire now to prevent more deaths and injuries, to ensure the delivery of unhindered aid, and a massive scale up of health care to meet Gazans' medical needs," it added.
For our live updates from Thursday, January 4, click here.
