Live Updates: Health situation in Khan Younis is catastrophic — ministry

Monday, January 22, 2024

14:58 GMT — The health situation in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza, has reached catastrophic levels under Israeli attacks, with many injured lying in hospital corridors, the Palestinian enclave's Health Ministry said.

"The health situation in Khan Younis is at an indescribable level of catastrophe. Many injured individuals are lying on the floors of Nasir Hospital," the ministry said in a written statement.

"The difficulty and delay in transporting the injured to Al Nasr Hospital are putting their lives in danger," added the statement, providing details on the difficulties faced by healthcare in the area.

It emphasised the significant challenges faced by health teams as they endeavoured to treat dozens of critically injured patients despite dire conditions, including shortages in medical supplies and drugs.

The Health Ministry had announced that, as a result of Israeli attacks targeting the areas where uprooted people took refuge, mass graves had been dug in the Al Nasr Hospital compound, where 40 people were buried.

14:58 GMT — Britain "disappointed" by Netanyahu's stance on Palestinian statehood

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opposition to a future sovereign Palestinian state is "disappointing", British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office said, reiterating British support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden have disagreed over the future creation of an independent Palestinian state, with Netanyahu saying at the weekend he would not compromise on "full Israeli security control of all territory west of the Jordan River".

Asked about Netanyahu's comments, Sunak's spokesman told reporters: "It's disappointing to hear this from the Israeli prime minister."

"The UK's position remains (that) a two-state solution, with a viable and sovereign Palestinian state living alongside a safe and secure Israel, is the best route to lasting peace," the spokesperson said.

14:47 GMT — 2 more fighters killed in clashes with Israeli army: Lebanon’s Hezbollah

Lebanese group Hezbollah said that two more fighters had been killed in the ongoing border clashes with the Israeli army in southern Lebanon, bringing the group's death toll to 166 since Oct. 8.

The two fighters were identified as Samah Asaad Asaad (Abu Tarab) from the town of Kfarkela and Ali Said Yahya from Tayibe town in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah did not provide any details about the circumstances leading to their death, saying they were killed on the road to Jerusalem, a phrase used by the group for its fighters killed by Israel.

Earlier on Monday, Hezbollah said that it had repelled an attack by Israeli forces off the southern border.

13:16 GMT — Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza storm Knesset panel to demand their release

Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza stormed a parliamentary committee session to demand a deal to secure their release.

"You won't sit here while they are dying there!" reads a sign held by relatives as they stormed a meeting of the Knesset's Finance Committee, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported.

13:09 GMT — Hamas has not made a solid deal offer: Netanyahu

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back after speculation that a new release of Gaza hostages was in the works, saying Israel was taking an unspecified initiative in the absence of an offer by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

"There is no real proposal by Hamas. It's not true," a statement from Netanyahu's office quoted him as telling representatives of hostage families after some relatives stormed a committee session in parliament, demanding a release deal.

"I am saying this as clearly as I can because there are so many incorrect statements which are certainly agonising for you," Netanyahu added. "Conversely, there is an initiative on our part, on which I shall not elaborate."

13:00 GMT — Israeli newspaper calls for investigation into killing of 3 hostages by poison gas in Gaza

An Israeli newspaper called for an independent investigation into the killing of three hostages with poison gas in Gaza.

Sergeant Ron Sherman,19, was captured by Hamas during a cross-border attack on Oct. 7.

In mid-December, the Israeli army said that it had recovered the body of Sherman and two other hostages from a tunnel in Jabalia in northern Gaza.

Hamas said the three were killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza.

One month after recovering their bodies, the Israeli army gave the families of the three hostages the pathology report and a report on how the bodies were found, without specifying if the army used poison gas during their attacks in Gaza.

"All these questions must be investigated by an outside body – one that will receive all the necessary information from the army and the government and present its conclusions to the public," Haaretz newspaper said.

Sherman’s mother has openly accused the army of intentionally killing her son.

12:55 GMT — EU pushes for Palestinian statehood

European Union foreign ministers argued that the creation of a Palestinian state is the only credible way to achieve peace in the Middle East, and they expressed concern about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s clear rejection of the idea.

“The declarations of Benjamin Netanyahu are worrying. There will be a need for a Palestinian state with security guarantees for all,” French Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Sejourne told reporters in Brussels, where the EU ministers met to discuss the war in Gaza.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Jordan's foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, also were in Belgium's capital for the discussion. The issue of Gaza’s future also has set Israel in opposition to the United States and its Arab allies as they work to mediate an end to the fighting in the besieged Palestinian territory.

11:40 GMT — Israel attacks schools sheltering 30,000 displaced Palestinians

Israeli forces have attacked two universities and three schools sheltering 30,000 displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis city in southern Gaza, with air strikes and artillery shelling, killing and injuring several people.

The army targeted five shelters in Khan Younis that housed 30,000 displaced people, the government media office in Gaza said in a statement.

The Israeli army used reconnaissance planes and artillery shells to attack Al Aqsa University, University College of Applied Sciences, Khaledia School, Al Mawasi School, and Industry School in Khan Younis, the statement said.

The shelling claimed the lives of several people and injured others who sought refuge in shelters that Israel claimed are safe, it added.

11:30 GMT - Israeli strikes kill 190 more Palestinians in Gaza in 24 hours

At least 190 people have been killed and 340 others injured in Gaza in the last 24 hours, bringing the total Palestinian death toll from Israel's deadly assault on the besieged enclave since October 7 to 25,295, the Health Ministry in the territory said.

A ministry statement said 63,000 others have been injured in the offensive during the same period.

"Many people are still trapped under rubble as rescuers are unable to reach them," it added.

10:50 GMT - Hezbollah reports one more militant killed in clashes with Israeli army

One of Lebanon's Hezbollah militants has been killed in the ongoing border clashes with the Israeli army in southern Lebanon, bringing the group's death toll to 165 since October 8.

The fighter was identified as Samah Asaad Asaad (Abu Tarab) from the town of Kfarkela in southern Lebanon.

Earlier on Monday, Hezbollah said that it had repelled an attack by Israeli forces off the southern border. There was no comment yet from Israel on the developments.

10:18 GMT - Germany calls for 'urgent humanitarian pauses' in Gaza

Germany has called for "urgent humanitarian pauses" in Gaza to allow unhindered humanitarian access for the Palestinian people.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock reiterated her government's strong support for Israel's war on Gaza but also said they expect measures to be taken to minimise the suffering of Palestinian civilians.

"We urgently need humanitarian pauses to alleviate the situation in Gaza, to alleviate the incredible suffering, especially for children. We also need humanitarian pauses in Gaza to finally free the hostages still held by Hamas," she told reporters in Brussels, ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

09:25 GMT - EU presses Israel on two-state solution after war in Gaza

The EU's foreign policy chief has insisted on a two-state solution as he told Israel it couldn't build peace "only by military means" ahead of talks with Israeli and Palestinian top diplomats.

"Which are the other solutions they have in mind? To make all the Palestinians leave? To kill off them?" Josep Borrell told journalists.

09:00 GMT - Lost contact with teams in Khan Younis: Palestinian Red Crescent

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has said that it has lost contact with its teams in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, due to the ground invasion by Israeli forces in the area.

"Israeli tanks near PRCS Al Amal Hospital, and we have completely lost contact with our teams due to the ground invasion," it said on X.

08:10 GMT - Saudi Arabia won't recognise Israel without path to Palestinian state: top diplomat

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister says the kingdom will not normalise relations with Israel or contribute to Gaza's reconstruction without a credible pathway to a Palestinian state.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan's remarks in an interview with CNN broadcast were some of the most direct yet from Saudi officials. It puts them at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has rejected Palestinian statehood and described plans for open-ended occupation over Gaza.

The dispute over Gaza’s future — coming as the war still rages with no end in sight — pits the United States and its Arab allies against Israel and poses a major obstacle to any plans for postwar governance or reconstruction in Gaza.

07:45 GMT - EU foreign ministers to meet Israeli, Palestinian counterparts

EU foreign ministers held separate talks with their Israeli and Palestinian counterparts on the prospects for lasting peace after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls for a future two-state solution.

The bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell risked incurring Israel's wrath by accusing it earlier of having "created" and "financed" Hamas to undermine the prospect of a possible Palestinian state.

Borrell insisted the only way to get an enduring peace in the region was for a two-state solution to "be imposed from outside."

05:30 GMT - Hamas says it avoided civilians in its October 7 attacks

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas published a 16-page report highlighting the motives behind its October 7 cross-border attack on Israel and its connection to the Palestinian cause while also countering Israeli allegations.

The report, titled "Our Narrative…Operation Al Aqsa Flood” and aimed at refuting Israel's claims, said Operation Al Aqsa Flood was a necessary step and a natural reaction against Israel's plans to eliminate the Palestinian cause, seize lands, Judaize the Palestinian lands, and establish complete control over Al Aqsa Mosque and holy sites.

During the operation, "some faults" may have arisen in its implementation due to the swift breakdown of the Israeli security and military system, leading to chaos along the border areas with Gaza, the report noted.

04:50 GMT - EU foreign ministers to meet Israeli, Palestinian counterparts

EU foreign ministers hold separate talks Monday with their Israeli and Palestinian counterparts on the prospects for lasting peace after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls for a future two-state solution.

The bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell risked incurring Israel's wrath by accusing it earlier of having "created" and "financed" Hamas to undermine the prospect of a possible Palestinian state.

Borrell insisted the only way to get an enduring peace in the region was for a two-state solution to "be imposed from outside".

04:13 GMT - Lebanon's Hezbollah targets Israeli soldiers who were ‘planning attack’

The Lebanese group Hezbollah said they targeted Israeli soldiers with missiles as they prepared for an attack on Lebanon.

According to a Hezbollah statement, the soldiers were preparing for an attack on Lebanese territory from an Israeli military post when they were targeted with missiles near its southern border region.

The attack reportedly resulted in a precise hit, causing casualties and injuries on the Israeli side.

03:30 GMT - US exploits events in Red Sea to fabricate international crisis: Houthis

The US exploits events in the Red Sea to fabricate an international crisis and blame the Houthis for its consequences, the official spokesman for the Yemen-based group said.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam said on X that there are “American attempts to mislead public opinion about what is happening in the Red Sea.”

“In the face of these attempts, we reiterate our confirmation that the target (of the group's operations) is Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine,” he said.

For our live updates from Sunday, January 21, click here.