At least 79 journalists killed during Israel-Hamas war, journalism advocacy group reports
From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq
Colleagues and family members mourn over the body of Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqa, who was killed during Israeli bombardment, during his funeral in Khan Younis, Gaza, on December 16. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
In the three months since the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas began, at least 79 journalists have been killed in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Monday.
As of January 8, the deaths include 72 Palestinians, four Israelis, and three Lebanese, according to CPJ's data.
The CPJ statement listed the names of all journalists killed since October 7, saying thye reporting was "based on information obtained from CPJ's sources in the region and media reports." It includes Al Jazeera photojournalist Hamza Al-Dahdouh and Palestinian freelance videographer Mustafa Thuraya, who were killed in Gaza on Sunday.
"Journalists in Gaza face particularly high risks as they try to cover the conflict during the Israeli ground assault, including devastating Israeli airstrikes, disrupted communications, supply shortages, and extensive power outages," CPJ said in the statement.
"CPJ emphasizes that journalists are civilians doing important work during times of crisis and must not be targeted by warring parties," said Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator.
"CPJ is investigating all reports of journalists and media workers killed, injured, or missing in the war, which has led to the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992," the journalism advocacy group said.
A senior Hezbollah militant, Wissam Tawil, was killed by an Israeli drone strike on his car in southern Lebanon, a Lebanese security source told CNN on Monday. Hezbollah/Telegram
A senior Hezbollah commander, Wissam Tawil, was killed by an Israeli drone strike on his car in southern Lebanon, a Lebanese security source told CNN on Monday.
In a statement this afternoon, Hezbollah also acknowledged the death of Tawil, known as Hajj Jawad, in an Israeli attack.
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.
Tawil is the most senior Hezbollah commander to be killed in an Israeli strike since the onset of daily crossfire between the Lebanon-based group and Israeli forces in October.
The organization published photographs of Tawil posing with top officials, including slain Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani as well as slain Hezbollah militant leaders Imad Mughniyyeh and Mustafa Badreddine, further indicating that he was a high-ranking Hezbollah commander.
Some background: On Saturday, Hezbollah launched a rocket barrage on an Israeli airbase in northern Israel, in an attack the group said was a “preliminary response” to the suspected Israeli attack that killed Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in southern Beirut last week.
Israel and Hezbollah have since traded strikes over the past day, three months since hostilities broke out in October.
Overnight and into this morning, Israeli fighter jets, a helicopter and a drone struck southern Lebanon where Hezbollah operates.
Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah military compound in the area of Marwahin and an Israeli helicopter targeted an area where an anti-tank missile launch was fired earlier. The IDF also said that an Israeli drone struck a launcher which was used to fire in Israeli territory.
Hezbollah-owned Al Manar said the group had been targeting Israeli forces on the border between Lebanon and Israel.
This morning Israeli air force struck “a series of Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon, including military sites,” after an anti-tank missile was launched toward the city of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel.
UN agency in Gaza says there have been 63 direct hits on its facilities since war began
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy and Sana Noor Haq
An aerial view of a destroyed UNRWA Palestinian school following Israeli attacks in Jabalya, Gaza, on December 12. Mahmoud Sabbah/Anadolu/Getty Images
The UN's main agency in Gaza says there have been 220 incidents involving its premises, including 63 direct hits during the three-month-long war.
In a situation report published Monday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) also said there had been 23 incidents of "military use and/or interference" at UNRWA facilities since October 7. It did not say who was responsible.
As of January 6, 146 of its employees have been killed, the UN agency added.
UNRWA has more than 30,000 staff, most of whom are Palestinian refugees, according to its website. More than 13,000 staff members are based in the Gaza Strip, according to agency statistics.
One of its two headquarter offices is located in the Gaza Strip.
The agency's shelters are still harboring huge numbers of internally displaced Palestinians, the report said, highlighting that the average shelter is currently housing four times its capacity.
As of January 2, close to 1.4 million internally displaced people were sheltering in 155 UNRWA installations, the report said.
The agency's chief, Philippe Lazzarini, highlighted the devastating impact of the conflict in a recent social media post, saying Gaza is "simply becoming uninhabitable."
7:44 a.m. ET, January 8, 2024
Antony Blinken criticizes "inflammatory" comments from far-right Israeli ministers. Here's the latest
Blinken said Palestinian civilians must be allowed to "return home as soon as conditions allow."
“They cannot and they must not be pressed to leave Gaza,” he said in a press conference alongside Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
His comments come after Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sparked outrage when both far-right ministers made comments advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip.
Here are the latest developments:
Healthcare critical: The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said a key hospital in central Gaza "must remain functional" after several aid organizations withdrew their medical staff from the facility due to increased Israeli military activity in the area. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Al-Aqsa hospital was the "most important hospital remaining" in central Gaza, and demanded that medical staff and their families be protected.
Khan Younis strikes: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it targeted the southern city of Khan Younis with 30 strikes overnight into Monday. Israeli troops and air force hit "underground targets, terror infrastructure, and weapons storage facilities," the IDF said. CNN cannot independently verify operational details reported by the IDF.
IDF admits to striking journalists: The IDF admitted on Monday it carried out an airstrike that killed two journalists working for Al Jazeera in Gaza on Sunday, saying forces were targeting a terrorist. “An IDF aircraft identified and struck a terrorist who operated an aircraft that posed a threat to IDF troops,” the military told CNN.
Israel names judge: The Israeli government has named its judge for the panel that will consider South Africa’s claim at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel is “in violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention” because of its war in Gaza. Israel firmly rejected the accusation and said it would appear before the court.
Post-war Gaza stance: The resettlement of Palestinians out of Gaza is "outright, officially and unequivocally" not Israel’s position, Israeli President Isaac Herzog told NBC on Sunday. It comes after some Israeli cabinet members appeared to suggest a forced displacement of Palestinians out of Gaza. Almost 90% of Gaza’s more than 2 million population has been forcibly displaced due to Israel’s war on Hamas, according to the UN.
6:56 a.m. ET, January 8, 2024
Israel names its judge for the International Court of Justice genocide case
From CNN's Lauren Izso and Tim Lister
Former Israeli Supreme Court President Aharon Barak attends a press conference together with some of the families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on November 3. Ronen Zvulun/Reuters
The Israeli government has named its judge for the panel that will consider South Africa’s claim at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel is “in violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention” because of its war in Gaza.
Israel firmly rejected the accusation and said it would appear before the court.
The prime minister’s office announced Monday that retired Supreme Court justice Aharon Barak will be Israel’s appointee to the 15-judge panel at ICJ in the Hague.
Barak, who is 87, was the President of Israel’s Supreme Court from 1995 to 2006.
Both parties in a case are entitled to name a judge to be part of the panel that hears evidence.
South Africa will formally present its case on Thursday.
6:52 a.m. ET, January 8, 2024
IDF admits it carried out strike that killed Al Jazeera journalists, says "terrorist" was target
From CNN’s Lauren Izso and Kareem Khadder
Journalists Hamza Wael Al-Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya car was struck during an Israeli attack in the city of Rafah, Gaza, on January7. Anadolu/Getty Images
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) admitted on Monday it carried out an airstrike that killed two journalists working for Al Jazeera in Gaza on Sunday, saying forces were targeting a terrorist.
“An IDF aircraft identified and struck a terrorist who operated an aircraft that posed a threat to IDF troops,” the military told CNN. “We are aware of the reports that during the strike, two other suspects who were in the same vehicle as the terrorist were also hit.”
One of the people killed in the strike was a journalist and drone operator who was working for Al Jazeera, the network’s Jerusalem and Ramallah bureau chief told CNN.
“Mustafa Thuraya was a drone operator used by Al Jazeera since the beginning of the war, a freelancer. He is known as a drone operator journalist in Gaza,” Waleed al-Omari said.
He was one of several journalists, including photojournalist Hamza Al-Dahdouh, who had gone to northern Rafah “to cover the aftermath of an Israeli strike on the Abu Al-Naja family house which killed dozens,” al-Omari said.
As they were returning to Khan Younis, “drone strikes targeted two cars — the first vehicle which had Hamza and Mustafa and a driver, and a second car that had the reporter of Palestine Today and a driver.”
Thuraya and Al-Dahdouh were killed and their driver was critically injured, and both occupants of the other car were killed, al-Omari said.
There is no indication Thuraya was operating a drone at the time of the strike, when the journalists were returning from filming.
Accusations of "systematically targeting" journalists: Pressed by CNN as to whether they knew there was a journalist drone operator in one of the cars, the IDF said: “For now we can’t elaborate. We will let you know when we have more information.”
Al-Dahdouh, the photojournalist, was the son of Al Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh. Two of his other children were killed along with his wife and a grandchild in an Israeli airstrike in October.
Al Jazeera in a statement Sunday accused Israel of “systematically targeting” Al-Dahdouh, adding: “Al Jazeera condemns, in the strongest terms, the ongoing crimes committed by Israeli occupation forces against journalists and media professionals in Gaza."
"This alarming trend requires immediate attention and action from the international community. We urge the International Criminal Court, the governments and human rights organisations, and the United Nations to hold Israel accountable for its heinous crimes and demand an end to the targeting and killing of journalists.”
Israel says categorically that it does not target journalists, but the Committee to Protect Journalists said 77 journalists and media workers were killed in Gaza between October 7 and December 31. Of those 70 were Palestinians, four Israeli and three Lebanese.
6:26 a.m. ET, January 8, 2024
Israeli defense minister says IDF will move to next "phase of war"
From CNN's Lauren Izso and Tim Lister
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks during a press conference at Israel's Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, Israel, on December 18. Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters/File
Israeli forces will shift from the “intense maneuvering phase of the war” toward “different types of special operations,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said.
“We’re close to the next phase in the north, including Gaza City,” where Israeli troops have largely established control, at least above ground, Gallant said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Monday.
As tens of thousands more civilians crowd into southern parts of Gaza, Gallant acknowledged that Israel’s military offensive needs “to take into consideration the huge number of civilians" and military tactics would need to adjust.
“It will take some time,” Gallant said. “But we aren’t going to give up.”
Key context: Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 22,600 people, 70% of whom are women and children, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Friday.
CNN cannot independently verify the casualty figures reported by the Gaza ministry due to limited access to the area and the challenges of confirming precise numbers during the ongoing conflict.
6:04 a.m. ET, January 8, 2024
IDF launches 30 strikes overnight against Khan Younis
From CNN's Lauren Izso and Tim Lister
Israeli bombardment lights up the night sky over Khan Younis, Gaza, on January 7. AFP/Getty Images
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it hit the southern city of Khan Younis with 30 strikes overnight into Monday, as it intensifies its military assault in central and southern Gaza.
CNN cannot independently verify operational details reported by the IDF.
Israeli troops and air force hit "underground targets, terror infrastructure, and weapons storage facilities," the IDF said.
The IDF claimed that in Khan Younis “troops identified 10 terrorists in areas from which rockets were launched toward Israeli territory." Forces then struck the areas with an unmanned aerial vehicle.
In an agricultural area in central Gaza, the IDF said troops located a tunnel shaft, thousands of dollars and weapons. In al-Maghazi in central Gaza, a fighter jet struck a weapons storage facility where long-range rockets were stored.
Some context: Deadly bombardment has ramped up in the southern city of Khan Younis in recent weeks, including on Saturday, when an Israeli airstrike killed at least seven family members, the Hamas-run health ministry said.
Then on Sunday, Hamza Wael Al-Dahdouh, 27, the son of Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief, was killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike, alongside Al Jazeera employee Mustafa Thuraya, the network reported.
The IDF has issued several evacuation orders telling civilians to leave much of the area. Israeli bombardment and besiegement has forcibly displaced almost 90% of Gaza's more than 2.2 million population, according to the UN's agency for Palestine refugees.
8:56 a.m. ET, January 8, 2024
Palestinian civilians must be allowed to return home, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says
From CNN’s Caitlin Danaher in London
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani attend a press conference in Doha, Qatar, on January 7. Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said Palestinian civilians must be allowed to “return home as soon as conditions allow” and "must not be pressed to leave Gaza" following comments from two far-right Israeli ministers.
Blinken made the comments during a press conference on Sunday with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha.
“They cannot and they must not be pressed to leave Gaza,” he said.
Blinken criticized “irresponsible” and “inflammatory” statements made by Israeli ministers and lawmakers calling for a resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza. He did not specifically name the Israeli ministers who made the comments.
Key context: Blinken's comments come after Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sparked outrage when both far-right ministers made comments advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said on Sunday the resettlement of Palestinians out of Gaza is “outright, officially and unequivocally” not Israel’s position.
Additional reporting from CNN's Niamh Kennedy in London.
