IDF warns military campaign in Gaza could last throughout 2024
Iran’s Alborz warship enters Red Sea, news agency reports
An Iranian warship has entered the Red Sea, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency has reported, a day after the United States exchanged fire with Iran-backed Houthi boats in the strategic body of water.
Tasnim reported that the Alborz, a destroyer-class ship, had passed through the Bab al-Mandab Strait that separates the Gulf from Africa and marks the sea’s southern entrance.
The news agency said that Iranian warships have been operating in the region “to secure shipping lanes since 2009,” according to a translation by Reuters.
It comes after U.S. helicopters exchanged fire with Iran-backed Houthi crews in small boats, sinking three of the vessels, after they received distress calls from a commercial containership.
Kibbutz confirms the death of a 56-year-old man
Ilan Weiss, 56, who was believed to be missing since Oct. 7, when Hamas launched a multipronged attack on Israel, is believed to be dead, the Kibbutz Be’eri, where he lived, said in a statement today.
“It is believed he was murdered,” the kibbutz said.
IDF says 18 soldiers have been killed due to friendly fire
The Israel Defense Forces said today that 18 of its soldiers were killed as a result of friendly fire during its ground operations.
A total of 170 soldiers have been killed so far, it said, with 29 of those deaths resulting from accidents. Two of the deaths were due to “shooting irregularities,” it added.
Another nine deaths were a result of accidents linked to “ammunition, weapons and trampling,” it added.
IDF continues ground operation inside Gaza
Sirens sounded in Israel as Hamas launches rocket barrage on Tel Aviv
Sirens were sounded in central and southern Israel around midnight as Hamas’ military-wing the Qassam brigades said it had launched a barrage of rockets.
“We bombed the city of ‘Tel Aviv’ and its suburbs with a barrage of ‘M90’ rockets,” the group said in a post on Telegram.
Routine baby foods and vaccines return to Gaza Strip, health officials say
Routine baby food purchased by the Palestinian government and some donated by UNICEF has begun entering the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, the health ministry in Ramallah said today in a statement on Telegram.
It also said Egypt had preserved the food in cold storage until it was handed over to Gaza.
The supply also includes children’s vaccines for polio and measles, the ministry said, adding they are sufficient for 8 to 14 months.
IDF says it struck targets in Gaza, including senior Hamas commander
The Israel Defense Forces said today it killed Adil Mismah, a top commander in Deir al-Balah, as well as targets in Shejaiya in Gaza city.
The IDF conducted a “targeted raid on the terrorist organizations’ command and control center and located large quantities of weapons used by the terrorist organizations in the area of a mosque,” it said in a statement.
An Israeli aircraft also struck a militant launching rockets in Khan Younis, the IDF said, adding it separately attacked a unit launching mortar shells.
IDF is preparing for a year of war in Gaza
In a New Year’s Eve address, the top spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces warned that the war in Gaza would require “prolonged fighting” and “warfare throughout this year.”
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said: “We are wisely planning the management of the forces operating in the field, looking at the reserve system, the economy, refreshing forces, and continuing the combat training processes in the IDF.”
He also gave details of recent operations against Palestinian militants in the strip, and said that some reservists would return to their families this week.
He said this would “significantly ease the burden on the economy and allow them to gather strength for the upcoming activities in the next year, as the fighting will continue and they will still be required.”
Thousands join New Year’s Day demonstration in Turkey to denounce Israel’s Gaza campaign
Tens of thousands gathered in Istanbul, Turkey, today to show solidarity with the Palestinian people amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group in the Gaza enclave.
People gathered around the Galata Bridge in Istanbul to denounce the “terrorism” of both Israel and the banned Kurdish group PKK, the official Turkish agency Anadolu said.
Survivors of deadly Khan Younis air strike treated in Gaza hospital as they mourn dead relatives
Mohamad al-Laham, a survivor of a deadly airstrike attack in Khan Younis that killed dozens, told an NBC News crew that he believes the majority of his family was among those killed.
Destruction in Gaza on New Year’s Day
A Palestinian woman stands amid rubble and belongings in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on New Year’s Day, after Israel’s military said fighting would continue throughout 2024.
