Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war against Hamas "must not be stopped" until Israel achieves three main goals: "eliminate Hamas, return the hostages and ensure that Gaza is no longer a threat" to the country.
In a statement released by his cabinet this evening, the prime minister announced that Israel "will not give Hamas immunity anywhere" and that the fighting is being waged to "restore security both in the south and in the north."
"Until then and for this purpose, you must put everything aside and continue the fight with joint forces until complete victory is achieved," Netanyahu said.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, meanwhile, said the army had destroyed Hamas' military network in the northern Gaza Strip, but added that it took time to achieve this.
"There are no shortcuts when it comes to fighting terrorism," Hagari said, explaining that it took three months to defeat Hamas in northern Gaza.
He warned that despite the victory, there will likely be sporadic rocket fire on Israel from the area, and the Israeli army, he said, will "continue to deepen what it has achieved," Israeli media reported.
(BETA)
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met today with the leaders of Turkey and Greece, at the start of the latest Middle East diplomatic mission, as fears grow that Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza could expand.
Blinken spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Istanbul about what they and other countries could do to use their influence, particularly with Iran and its allies, to reduce tensions and speed up the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestine. territory and began planning the reconstruction and management of post-war Gaza.
The head of US diplomacy then traveled to Chania, a port city on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea, where he met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who assessed that "this is a difficult and challenging time."
Hours before Blinken's meetings, Lebanon's pro-Iranian Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel and said the barrage was an initial response to the killing of a Palestinian Hamas leader in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday, which was attributed to Israel.
In addition, Yemen's Houthi rebels, who are also backed by Iran, have stepped up attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea, disrupting international trade and increasing efforts by the US and its allies to patrol the key waterway and respond to threats.
Since December 19, extremists have carried out more than 20 attacks in a sort of response to Israel's war against Hamas.
Turkish officials were asked by Blinken to at least consider a potential monetary or other contribution to Gaza reconstruction efforts and participation in security arrangements, US officials said.
Erdogan strongly criticizes Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the war and its consequences for Palestinian civilians.
Blinken is in Jordan as of tonight, which is, next to Israel, the most frequent stop of his latest tours in the Middle East.
He will visit Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Sunday and Monday.
He is coming to Israel and the West Bank on Tuesday and Wednesday, and will end his visit in Egypt.
(BETA)
Today, the Israeli Air Force carried out new attacks on the besieged and devastated Gaza Strip, where dozens of Palestinians were killed in the past 24 hours, and the UN labeled the Palestinian territory an "uninhabitable place of death".
The war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic organization Hamas, which enters its fourth month tomorrow, has raised fears that it will spread due to increased violence on the Israeli-Lebanese border, in Iraq, Syria and the Red Sea.
Today, Lebanon's Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets at a military base in Meron, northern Israel, in an attack that was presented as the first response to the killing of another Hamas man in a suburb of Beirut, attributed to Israel.
The Israeli military confirmed that the base was the target of rocket fire from neighboring Lebanon.
In the Gaza Strip, journalists from France Press reported that last night and early this morning, Rafah, a city in the far south where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have taken refuge in recent weeks to avoid devastating bombardment, was attacked.
In the attacks on Khan Yunis, also in the south of the Strip, 22 Palestinians were killed, the Hamas government announced.
In the north of Gaza, where the Israeli ground offensive began on October 27, the bombardment also did not stop.
Despite calls from UN officials for an immediate end to the conflict for the people of Gaza, its endangered neighbors, and for generations to come and as it has been said "will never forget the 90 days of hell", Israel is adamant and affirms that it wants to continue the offensive until the hostages are returned and they do not eliminate Hamas' military and governance capabilities.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari warned on Friday that "2024 will be a year of fighting" and that the army continues to "fight in the north, center and south" of the Gaza Strip.
Rockets from the Gaza Strip continue to be fired towards Israel, but with less intensity, and anti-missile warning sirens, mainly in the south of Israel, near the Palestinian territory, are heard almost every day.
In the north on the border with Lebanon, Hagari announced that soldiers were on "a very high level of alertness".
Since October 8, the day after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the pro-Iranian Lebanese Hezbollah from southern Lebanon has been attacking northern Israel daily, mostly targeting military positions in support of its "Hamas" allies. Israel responds with attacks on targets in southern Lebanon.
In Syria and Iraq, attacks on US military bases have intensified since the 7th of October, and Yemeni Houthi rebels are attacking ships in the Red Sea and firing rockets at Israel as a sign of support for the Palestinians.
The High Representative of the EU for foreign policy and security, Josep Borelj, met today with Lebanese officials in Beirut and assessed that it is absolutely necessary to avoid Lebanon's involvement in the regional conflict.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met in Istanbul with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who condemns US support for Israel. Tomorrow in Amman, Blinken continues his tour of the region, visiting Arab countries and Israel.
In a video message sent to Blinken, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who lives in Qatar, urged the US secretary of state to focus on "ending the Israeli offensive and ending the occupation of the entire Palestinian land."
(BETA)
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said today that Lebanon must not be "drawn into a regional conflict" in statements in Beirut at a time when the exchange of fire between Lebanon's Hezbollah, an ally of Palestinian Hamas, and the Israeli army is intensifying.
"It is of crucial importance to avoid regional escalation in the Middle East, it is absolutely necessary to avoid Lebanon being dragged into a regional conflict," Borel said at a press conference in Beirut where he was visiting.
He said that he was also sending a message to Israel that "no one will emerge from the regional conflict as a winner."
Borelj spoke with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Miaktia and senior Lebanese officials about the situation in and around Gaza, including the impact of the war and the situation on the Israeli-Lebanese border.
"We are seeing a worrying intensification of the exchange of fire across the Blue Line," Borelj said.
The current demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon is known as the Blue Line, a UN-designated border that marks the line to which Israeli forces withdrew when they left southern Lebanon in 2000. The UN has Unifil peacekeeping forces deployed there.
Borelj wrote on the X network after the meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati that the focus of the conversation was the situation in the south of Lebanon, the impact of the war in Gaza and the situation in Syria.
"We agreed to work together through diplomacy towards de-escalation and long-term stability, which are in everyone's interest," Borel wrote.
He wrote on the X network that he also met with the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), General Arold Lazar, with whom he discussed the current escalation of risks along the Blue Line, the demarcation line between Israel and southern Lebanon.
"I reaffirmed the firm support of the EU to the UN mission, which plays a crucial role in preventing and reducing escalation," Borelj wrote and said that he praised Unifil's commitment.
(BETA)
Israeli forces have killed 122 and wounded 256 Palestinians in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the Gaza Health Ministry said.
The number of victims in the Israeli strikes on Gaza since October 7 reached 22.722 dead and 58.166 injured, the Ministry added.
Hezbollah said it hit an Israeli observation post early on Saturday with 62 rockets as a "preliminary response" to the killing of the deputy head of Hamas earlier this week, Reuters reported.
High-ranking Hamas official Saleh al-Aruri was killed on Tuesday, January 2, in an Israeli drone attack on the outskirts of Beirut.
Northern Israel was targeted by heavy fire from Lebanon, the Israeli military said, adding that it responded by targeting a "terrorist cell" involved in the rocket attack.
Shortly after sirens sounded across northern Israel, the military said "approximately 40 launches from Lebanon towards the Meron area in northern Israel have been identified."
There are currently no reports of casualties or damage, Reuters reports.
"Shortly after that, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) struck a terrorist cell involved in the attack.
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths has said the Gaza Strip has become "uninhabitable", three months after Hamas attacked Israel.
Griffiths said in a statement that "people are facing the highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded" and are at risk of starvation.
He added that people in Gaza also face "daily threats to their existence, while the world watches," reports Reuters.
He pointed out that tens of thousands of people, mostly women and children, have been killed or wounded, with families sleeping outside as temperatures plummet and areas where Palestinians have been told to relocate are bombed.
He also pointed out that several partially functional hospitals are overcrowded and running low on supplies, while infectious diseases are spreading, and around 180 Palestinian babies are being born every day amid the chaos.
Griffiths reiterated the UN's demands for an immediate end to the war and the release of all hostages. "It is time for the international community to use all its influence to make this happen," Griffiths said.
He added that aid workers face an "impossible mission" to provide for more than two million people in the Gaza Strip, while aid workers are being killed and communications continue to be cut off, roads are damaged, truck convoys are fired upon and basic supplies of goods are almost cut off. It does not exist.
"Gaza has shown the worst in humanity," Graffitts said, adding that it was long past time for the war to end.
Conflict between Israel and Hamas - 91th day.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Istanbul as part of his fourth tour of the Middle East since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7.
Blinken will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. During the weekend, he should discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip with Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
According to the Turkish daily, the main topic of the conversation will be Israeli attacks on civilians in the Gaza Strip, reports Reuters.
Blinken will also discuss regional cooperation in Turkey, including the final steps for Turkey's ratification of Sweden's accession to NATO, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Turkey has long pressed the US to end its support for an Israeli offensive that has so far killed more than 22.000 civilians and launch a cease-fire campaign that would be accompanied by efforts to reach a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue based on a two-state solution.
During the Middle East tour, Blinken will visit Israel, as well as the West Bank, as well as Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Bonus video:
