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Live blog: Palestinians in Gaza flee Israeli attacks as US, UK bomb Yemen
Israel’s brutal war on Gaza — now in its 109th day — has killed at least 25,295 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded 63,000, local authorities say as Netanyahu’s opposition to sovereign Palestine frustrates his Western allies.
Palestinians, carrying their belongings as they flee from intense Israeli attacks, migrate towards Rafah and Deir Al Balah from Khan Younis. / Photo: AA
AA
Palestinians, carrying their belongings as they flee from intense Israeli attacks, migrate towards Rafah and Deir Al Balah from Khan Younis. / Photo: AA
Tuesday, January 23, 2024
2205 GMT — Israel has pounded the southern city of Khan Younis, pushing thousands of Palestinians in Gaza to flee even further south.
Families made their way on foot down the coastal highway, smoke billowing from the city behind them.
Others loaded blankets and belongings into vehicles or donkey carts.
Israel’s war has displaced some 85 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, and one in four of them are starving, the UN says.
It comes as American and British militaries bombed multiple sites in Yemen that they said were used by the Houthi group to attack shipping in the Red Sea, as fears grow that Israel’s war on Gaza will spark a regional war.
More updates 👇
0200 GMT — Hamas denies receiving two-month ceasefire offer from Israel
Hamas has not received a proposal for a two-month ceasefire in Gaza via mediators, a media officer for the Palestinian resistance group told Anadolu Agency.
The US-based Axios news website earlier quoted two Israeli officials who said that Israel offered Hamas a proposal via Qatari and Egyptian mediators that includes up to a two-month pause in the fighting as part of a multi-phase deal that would include the release of all remaining hostages held in Gaza.
Speaking to an Anadolu correspondent, Walid Kilani, the media spokesperson for Hamas in Lebanon, said the offer was seen on media platforms but his group “hasn’t received it officially.”
He stressed that the Hamas’s “main condition is a full and comprehensive cease-fire, not a temporary one.” If this condition is agreed to, then there can be talks over exchanges of prisoners in batches, Kilani added.
Israel estimates that Hamas has been holding 136 Israelis in Gaza.
2342 GMT — Families of captives storm Israel’s Knesset
Dozens of family members of captives held in Gaza have stormed a committee meeting in Israel’s parliament, demanding a deal to win their loved ones’ release, as European foreign ministers joined growing international calls for Israel to negotiate on Palestine’s sovereignty after the war.
The developments showed the increasing pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has dug in on both fronts. He has insisted to the Israeli public that pursuing the devastating aggression in Gaza is the only way to bring the captives home.
At the same time, he has rejected the United States’ vision for a postwar resolution, saying he will never allow a Palestinian sovereignty.
The family members of the captives held up signs and yelled, “You won’t sit here while they are dying there!”
“These are our children!” they shouted. Some had to be physically restrained, and at least one person was escorted out.
2300 GMT — Israel kills Palestinian teen in occupied West Bank
The Israeli army has fatally shot a teenager during raids near the city of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank.
The young man was killed in confrontations between Palestinians and occupying Israeli forces in the town of Araba, south of Jenin, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
It identified the teen as Yamen Mohammed Husseti, 17, who succumbed to his wounds after being transferred to the town’s medical emergency centre.
2200 GMT — ‘No let-up in the atrocities inflicted on Gaza’: UN
The UN relief chief has voiced concern over the ongoing Israeli aggression in besieged Gaza.
“More than 25,000 people reportedly killed — including two mothers every hour,” Martin Griffiths said on X. “Hospitals overcrowded, besieged and under fire. Homes were reduced to rubble. Places of safety turned into places of danger.
“There is no let-up in the atrocities inflicted on Gaza since 7 October,” he said.
For our live updates from Monday, January 22, click here.
SOURCE: TRTWORLD AND AGENCIES
