On the 95th day of war, the head of American diplomacy is in Tel Aviv where he must have discussions, which promise to be difficult, with the Israeli authorities to obtain a de-escalation of the conflict with “ the absolute imperative » to spare Palestinian civilians in Gaza plunged into a catastrophic humanitarian situation.
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What you must remember :
■ US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv where he intends to push Israel to do more to protect civilians in Gaza and try to stem regional escalation.
■ Senior pro-Iranian Hezbollah military official killed in an Israeli strike on Monday in southern Lebanon, amid fears of a regional conflagration.
■ On the Israeli-Palestinian border, Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah exchanged artillery fire, air raids, drone attacks and guided missile attacks this Monday. The intense activity of this front has further increased fears of a regional conflagration.
■ The Israeli army also announced on Monday that it had killed a “ central figure » of Hamas in Syria, responsible for firing rockets at Israel from Syrian territory. The Jewish state is usually very silent about its operations in Syria, this press release being one of the rare announcements in this direction.
■ The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights the UN says “ very concerned ” speak ” high balance sheet » Palestinian journalists killed in the Gaza Strip.
■ According to a new report announced Monday January 8 by the Hamas Ministry of Health, 23,084 people were killed in Gaza since the start of the war on October 7. The majority of the dead are women, adolescents and children. There are almost 60 000 injured.
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5:35 a.m.: Blinken’s warning to the Houthis
When it comes to the Red Sea, the international community as a whole faces a challenge. These attacks, the Houthis’ persistent attacks on international maritime traffic, pose a threat to all. Every day, around 15% of world trade passes through this strait, via the Red Sea. These attacks have a real impact on the prices people have to pay for food, medicine and energy. Ships must be diverted, insurance premiums are increasing, and the fundamental principle of freedom of navigation is at stake. The international community therefore has every interest in upholding this principle. As I said, 40 countries came together to make it clear that the actions of the Houthis must stop. And other countries have made it clear that if this continues, there will be consequences. So we believe that the Houthis need to understand the message that countries around the world are sending them that this has to stop, and that’s what we’re focused on.
5:20 a.m.: The elimination of Wissam al-Tawil, a hard blow for Lebanese Hezbollah
This 49-year-old officer is part of the new generation of commanders trained by the founders of Hezbollah’s military wing Imad Moughniyé, killed in an Israeli attack in Damascus in 2008, and Moustapha Badreddine, who died in Syria in 2016, says Paul Khalifeh, our correspondent in Beirut. He rubbed shoulders with the head of external operations of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, General Qassem Soleimani, assassinated by the United States in Baghdad four years ago. Wissam al-Tawil has fought all of Hezbollah’s wars over the past 30 years in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. He occupied important functions in the military system deployed since October 8 in southern Lebanon against the Israeli army. The elimination of this senior Hezbollah officer marks a new phase in the war on the Lebanese-Israeli front. For 3 months, Hezbollah had succeeded in imposing specific rules of engagement on the Israeli army by waging a war of attrition in a 5 km border strip on both sides of the demarcation line. Elsewhere in Lebanon life continued almost normally. But with the elimination of Hamas number 2 in Beirut on January 2 and the targeting of Wissam al-Tawil 20 km from the front, these rules were shattered. Israel shows that it is willing and able to strike anywhere. Hezbollah now faces a major challenge: reestablishing deterrence without provoking all-out war.
5:10 a.m.: An Israeli delegation in Cairo to resume negotiations on the release of hostages
According to the newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeeda delegation of Israeli security officials arrived in Cairo to resume negotiations for the release of the last hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
5:00 a.m.: US Secretary of State Blinken to meet Mr Netanyahu and war cabinet
Mr. Blinken is scheduled to meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog this Tuesday morning, then Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the war cabinet. He is also expected to meet opposition leader Yair Lapid on Wednesday.
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