Houthis fire anti-ship ballistic missiles in Red Sea, US officials say
From CNN’s Lucas Lilieholm
Yemen's Houthi rebels fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles into the southern Red Sea on Tuesday night, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said Wednesday.
No damage was reported, CENTCOM said in a statement. It marks the latest in dozens of Houthi attacks on commercial vessels since October 7, which the rebels say are in solidarity with Hamas amid the militant group's war with Israel.
“Multiple commercial ships in the area reported the impact of the ASBMs into the surrounding water though none have reported any damage,” CENTCOM said, adding that the attacks endangered the lives of innocent mariners and continued to “disrupt the free flow of international commerce.”
The latest Houthi attacks come after the Iran-backed group condemned the killing of senior Hamas leader Saleh Al-Arouri in a strike in Lebanon on Tuesday, calling it a "cowardly crime" and expressing support for revenge to be taken against Israel.
A US official told CNN that Israel carried out the strike in Beirut. Israel did not claim responsibility for the attack, which has raised fears of a potential escalation in fighting in the region.
Some more background: The Red Sea is one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes and prolonged Houthi attacks there could disrupt the global economy.
The US has deployed warships to the waterway and last month launched Operation Prosperity Guardian, a multinational maritime coalition, to strengthen security in the critical global shipping lane.
The Biden administration was not told about the operation in advance, the official said.
Arouri,deputy head of Hamas' political bureau, was "martyred in a treacherous Zionist airstrike in Beirut," Hamas media outlet Al Aqsa TV said.
If confirmed, Arouri would be the most senior Hamas official killed by Israeli forces since the start of the war sparked by the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
Israel did not claim responsibility for the strike in Beirut, which was condemned by Hamas' regional allies, raising fears of a potential escalation in fighting in the Middle East.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday urged Israel to avoid escalation "particularly in Lebanon," according to a statement from the French presidency.
Here's what else you need to know:
Rising toll: Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least22,185 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, as the Israel Defense Forces intensifies its military campaign in the central part of the territory. CNN is unable to independently confirm the figures provided by the health ministry in Gaza due to restricted access to the region and the difficulty in verifying accurate numbers amidst the ongoing war.
Military moves: On a visit to Gaza,Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel's military operations in the strip will continue for some time but will change as it assesses the situation. “The feeling that we will stop soon is incorrect — without a clear victory, we will not be able to live in the Middle East," he said.
Resettlement rebuke: A far-right Israeli official said the country is "not just another star in the American flag," after Washington described his call for the resettlement of Gazans outside of the enclave as "inflammatory and irresponsible." National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir previously declared that Israel's war with Hamas presents an "opportunity to concentrate on encouraging the migration of the residents of Gaza." State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said the US had been told by Israel "that such statements do not reflect the policy of the Israeli government."
Court claim: Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice to answer South Africa's claim that it is committing genocide in its war against Hamas, an Israeli government spokesperson said. Eylon Levy said Israel would appear at The Hague “to dispel South Africa's absurd blood libel.”
US senators' visit: A bipartisan group of US senators was scheduled to travel to the Middle East Tuesday night to meet with senior Israeli officials to discuss the Israel-Hamas war. The Senate Intelligence Committee members are also expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Arab leaders during the visit, according to Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
7:18 a.m. ET, January 3, 2024
Far-right Israeli official hits back after US criticizes Gaza resettlement remarks
From CNN’s Mitchell McCluskey
Itamar Ben Gvir takes part in a Cabinet meeting at the Kirya, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defense, in Tel Aviv on December 31, 2023. Abir Sultan/AFP/Getty Images/File
A far-right Israeli official hit back Tuesday after Washington described his call for the resettlement of Gazans outside of the enclave as "inflammatory and irresponsible."
“Very appreciative of the United States of America but with all due respect we are not just another star on the American flag," Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said in a translated post on X, formerly Twitter.
Ben Gvir on Monday declared that Israel's war with Hamas presents an "opportunity to concentrate on encouraging the migration of the residents of Gaza," echoing comments a day earlier by another member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition.
In a rebuttal Tuesday, US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said the US had been "told repeatedly and consistently" by Israel "that such statements do not reflect the policy of the Israeli government," as officials consider the coastal enclave's post-war future.
Responding to the US statement, Ben Gvir on Tuesday called the US a "good friend" but said the "emigration of hundreds of thousands from Gaza" will allow Israeli settlers to return and "live in security."
“The United States is our good friend, but first of all we will do what is good for the State of Israel," he said.
What the Israeli officials said: Israel’s Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, also responded to the US State Department's rebuke following his comments calling for the resettlement of Gazans outside of the Gaza Strip.
“More than 70% of the Israeli public today supports a humanitarian solution of encouraging the voluntary immigration of Gaza Arabs and their absorption in other countries,” Smotrich said in a post on X.
He added that Israel could not afford to live in close proximity to “a hotbed of hatred and terrorism where two million people wake up every morning with a desire to destroy of the State of Israel,” adding that the residents of Gaza desired the “slaughter and rape and murder Jews wherever they are.”
Smotrich said that achieving peace and prosperity required a “new, collaborative way of thinking with our friends in the international community.”
On Sunday, Smotrich called for Palestinian residents to leave Gaza to make way for Israelis who could "make the desert bloom," Reuters reported. A day later, Ben Gvir expressed his support for resettling Palestinians from Gaza overseas.
US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said on Tuesday that “such statements do not reflect the policy of the Israeli government.”
Some context: Last month, US officials discussed post-war Gaza governance plans with the Palestinian Authority along with regional US allies — making it a key focus as they try to look beyond the immediate conflict.
In the US statement Tuesday, Miller said the State Department had been "clear, consistent, and unequivocal that Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land, with Hamas no longer in control of its future and with no terror groups able to threaten Israel."
"That is the future we seek, in the interests of Israelis and Palestinians, the surrounding region, and the world," he said.
CNN’s Jonny Hallam contributed to this report.
12:09 a.m. ET, January 3, 2024
France's Macron urges Israel to avoid escalation with Lebanon
From CNN's Xiaofei Xu and Mitchell McCluskey
Emmanuel Macron visits a Royal Jordanian Air Force base outside Amman, Jordan on December 22, 2023. Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images/File
French President Emmanuel Macron urged Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz to avoid escalation “particularly in Lebanon,” according to a statement from the French presidency.
Macron’s comments come after Hamas accused Israel of carrying out a strike in Beirut that killed senior Hamas leader Saleh Al-Arouri on Tuesday. Israel has not claimed responsibility.
“The President of the Republic stressed that it was essential to avoid any escalatory attitude, particularly in Lebanon, and that France would continue to pass on these messages to all players directly or indirectly involved in the area,” the French statement read.
Macron also expressed concern over the civilian death toll and humanitarian emergency in Gaza.
The French president also spoke out against “unacceptable” statements calling for the forced displacement of Gazans.
Two members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition have in recent days expressed views that Palestinian residents should leave Gaza as officials consider the coastal enclave's post-war future.
9:34 p.m. ET, January 2, 2024
US official says Israel carried out strike that killed senior Hamas leader in Beirut
Arouri was considered one of the founding members of the group’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and was based in Beirut.
Two other leaders from Hamas’ military wing, Samir Findi Abu Amer and Azzam Al-Aqraa Abu Ammar, were among those killed in the strike, according to Hamas officials.
Israeli government spokesperson Mark Regev said that Israel had "not taken responsibility" for the attack. During an interview with MSNBC, the senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had "seen the reports" about the attack.
12:13 a.m. ET, January 3, 2024
Hamas political leader claims "cowardly assassination" of Saleh Al-Arouri is a "terrorist act"
From CNN's Jonny Hallam
Ismail Haniyeh speaks to the media in Istanbul, Turkey on September 22, 2023. Cem Tekkesinoglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, mourned the death of senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri, calling the attack in Lebanon a "terrorist act."
In a televised speech, Haniyeh condemned Arouri's killing as a "cowardly assassination" and blamed Israel for the deadly strike.
Haniyeh also mourned the deaths of two leaders from Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades — Samir Findi Abu Amer and Azzam Al-Aqraa Abu Ammar — who were killed in the same strike.
Despite the assassinations, Haniyeh claimed Hamas would not be beaten.
"A movement whose leaders and founders fall as martyrs for the dignity of our people and our nation will never be defeated," Haniyeh said.
At least four people were killed in the attack that targeted an office belonging to Hamas in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahieh, Lebanese news agency NNA reported. The area is also a stronghold of Iran-backed Hezbollah.
"Israel has not taken responsibility for this attack," Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with MSNBC. "But whoever did it must be clear that this was not an attack on the Lebanese state. It was not an attack even on Hezbollah."
Escalation fears: For nearly three months, tit-for-tat fighting between Israel’s military and Hezbollah has largely stayed within a roughly 4-kilometer range of the border region, with Hezbollah striking Israel while Israel struck Lebanon.
The fighting has raised fears among the United States and other Western countries that a full-scale war could break out between Israel and the Middle East’s most powerful paramilitary organization, Hezbollah.
Those fears have so far failed to materialize, but the blast in Beirut on Tuesday afternoon is likely to fuel concerns about the potential for escalation.
8:15 p.m. ET, January 2, 2024
US denounces comments by far-right Israeli officials on resettlement of Palestinians
From CNN’s Jennifer Hansler
Calls from far-right Israeli officials for the resettlement of Gazans outside of Gaza are "inflammatory and irresponsible," the US State Department said on Tuesday.
Two members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition have in recent days expressed views that Palestinian residents should leave Gaza as officials consider the coastal enclave's post-war future.
In a statement, US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Washington had been "told repeatedly and consistently by the Government of Israel, including by the Prime Minister, that such statements do not reflect the policy of the Israeli government."
In the statement Tuesday, Miller said the State Department had been "clear, consistent, and unequivocal that Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land, with Hamas no longer in control of its future and with no terror groups able to threaten Israel." "That is the future we seek, in the interests of Israelis and Palestinians, the surrounding region, and the world," he said.
What the Israeli officials said: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday called for Palestinian residents to leave Gaza to make way for Israelis who could "make the desert bloom," Reuters reported. A day later, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said he supported resettling Palestinians from Gaza overseas. During a political meeting, he declared that Israel's war with Hamas presents an “opportunity to concentrate on encouraging the migration of the residents of Gaza.”
CNN’s Jonny Hallam contributed to this report.
2:55 a.m. ET, January 3, 2024
What we know about the senior Hamas leader killed in the Beirut attack
From CNN’s Abeer Salman and AnneClaire Stapleton
People search for survivors inside an apartment following a massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, on January 2. Hassan Ammar/AP
Hamas said Tuesday that one of its senior leaders has been killed in an attack in the south of the Lebanese capital Beirut,raising fears of a potential escalation in fighting in the region.
Hamas media outlet Al Aqsa TV said Saleh Al-Arouri,deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas, was “martyred in a treacherous Zionist airstrike in Beirut.”
If true, Arouri would be the most senior Hamas official killed by Israeli forces since the start of the war sparked by the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
Here's what we know about Arouri:
The prominent Hamas political and military leader was born in 1966 in the village of Aroura in the Ramallah district of the West Bank. He went on to play a role in founding the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas in the West Bank, and is considered to be the mastermind behind arming the group.
Arouri was a member of Hamas since 1987 and considered its leader in the West Bank prior to his death, according to the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). He has been a member of Hamas Politburo since 2010 and was elected its deputy head in 2017, ECFR added.
He had been repeatedly detained by Israel, including for long periods between 1985-1992, and 1992-2007, according to ECHR.In 2010, he was deported by Israel to Syria, living there for three years before moving to Turkey and traveling to several countries, including Qatar and Malaysia. He finally settled in the southern suburbs of Lebanon.
The Israeli army demolished Arouri's house in Aroura in October. The IDF said at the time that forces “operated in the town” to “demolish the residence of Saleh Al-Arouri, deputy head of the Hamas terrorist organization’s political bureau and in charge of Hamas’ activities in Judea and Samaria.”
In 2015, the US Department of the Treasury designated Arouri as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and offered a reward of up to $5 million for information on him. CNN has reached out to the US State Department to see if the reward will be paid and to whom.
He was married with two daughters and lived in Lebanon at the time of his death.
"Dreams have been shattered": Displaced Palestinians describe fear, death and disease as war rages into 2024
From CNN's Sana Noor Haq
Mohammed Aghaalkurdi says his nephews and nieces in Gaza are “craving a warm and healthy dinner” this year, as hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians try to seek protection from Israel’s bombardment and ground offensive.
“While children all around the world are celebrating Christmas and New Year’s and setting resolutions for what is hoped to be a bright future, children of Gaza are being heavily attacked,” Aghaalkurdi, a program officer with UK-based charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), said Monday.
Aghaalkurdi’s testimony was shared with CNN by MAP. He’s staying in a rented house in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, with at least 10 other people — including five of his colleagues and their families.
Israel’s complete siege on the Palestinian territory and severe restrictions of essential supplies entering the strip have triggered spiraling food prices, leaving 2.2 million residents in Gaza at risk of severe dehydration, malnutrition and infectious diseases including upper respiratory tract infections, diarrhea, lice and scabies, chickenpox, skin rash, jaundice and meningitis, according to the World Health Organization.
Israeli attacks on Gaza since Hamas’ October 7 attacks have killed at least 22,185 Palestinians, most of whom are women, children and the elderly, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health. CNN is unable to independently confirm the figures provided by the health ministry in Gaza due to restricted access to the region and the difficulty in verifying accurate numbers amidst the ongoing war.
“For more than 80 days, (children) have been unmercifully killed and displaced with their families for countless times until (they) ended up in a helpless and cold tent, unprotected, hungry and thirsty,” Aghaalkurdi said. “Their beautiful dreams have been shattered and turned into nightmares filled with fear and homelessness. Surrounded by exhausted and busy adults (looking for food and drinking water), our kids have lost the beautiful meanings of life. “Despite what has been happening, there is a little hope we carry inside our hearts that calm will prevail soon and our kids will heal.”
Salwa Tibi, a displaced aid worker with humanitarian agency CARE International, told CNN on Tuesday she hopes 2024 will bring “security, safety, peace and prosperity.”
Tibi, 53, is staying in a rented house in Rafah, southern Gaza, with at least 20 relatives including eight children — the youngest of whom is 3 months old.
“(I) hope Gaza will be reconstructed as quickly as possible, and that life will return to normal despite the severe pain, losses of loved ones, friends and relatives,” she said.
