January 3, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi blamed Israel for twin explosions that killed more than 100 people during a memorial ceremony in southeastern Iran on Wednesday.

Raisi, who is the head of the Iranian government, warned that Israel's punishment will be "regrettable and severe."

The Israeli military told CNN it had "no comment" on the explosions in Iran. No group has claimed responsibility for the blasts which Iran has called a "terror attack."

US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller told reporters Wednesday that the US does not "have any independent information" about the explosions, and that the State Department has “no reason to believe that Israel was involved.”

Some background: The blasts, at least one of which was caused by a bomb, according to Iranian state TV, came on the fourth anniversary of the death of military commander Qasem Soleimani.

The first explosion was 2,300 feet (700 meters) from Soleimani’s grave, and the second was 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) away as pilgrims visited the site, Iranian media said.

Soleimani was killed by a US airstrike ordered by former President Donald Trump at Baghdad International Airport four years ago Wednesday.

Israel’s military released a video Wednesday that it claims shows the dismantlement of a tunnel route it accuses Hamas of excavating under Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in Gaza.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the underground tunnel route was dismantled on November 24 by special forces and soldiers from the Yahalom Unit, which specializes in engineering tasks.

The IDF claims the hospital was not damaged and that humanitarian activities were able to continue while it dismantled the tunnel route, which it says spanned more than 250 meters.

CNN cannot independently verify the IDF’s claims.

Israel accused Hamas of developing the tunnel system beneath the hospital and connecting it to nearby tunnel shafts and other Hamas centers to carry out “terrorist operations," which Hamas has repeatedly denied. 

The IDF also insisted that Hamas systematically operates in Gaza hospitals and adjacent areas, "using the residents as human shields." Hamas has previously denied using the hospital as a command hub. 

Representatives from the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel expressed concern over attacks on shipping in the Red Sea during a United Nations Security Council meeting Wednesday.

Gilad Erdan, Israel's representative to the UN, highlighted the escalating threats to maritime trade posed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have claimed many of the reported attacks.

Erdan framed the Houthis as a harbinger of regional and global destabilization.

The Israeli ambassador emphasized that the repeated attacks on maritime vessels are not isolated incidents, but a “grim glimpse” into a potentially “chaotic future,” especially in the Middle East, if decisive action is not taken.

Erdan placed the blame on Iran, which is accused of funding the Houthis.

Erdan stressed the urgency of responding to these threats to prevent a future where terror organizations and regimes operate with “impunity” as he called for “immediate and robust action” from the international community to tackle the issue head-on. 

Ambassador Chris Lu, the US representative, asserted that Houthi forces pose significant threats to the "freedom of navigation, regional peace, security, and global commerce."

Lu noted that a multinational naval operation had been launched to protect ships in the southern part of the Red Sea and deter "lawless non-state actors."

The UK’s representative, Ambassador James Kariuki, emphasized the severe economic and humanitarian impact of the attacks, driven by the use of UAVs, missiles, and small boats, and demanded the release of the ENV Galaxy leader and its international crew. 

Some background: Houthi forces in Yemen have been targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea, claiming the attacks as revenge against Israel.

The Houthis are believed to have been armed and trained by Iran, and there are fears that their attacks could escalate Israel’s war against Hamas into a wider regional conflict.

Approximately 100 US soldiers who deployed to the Middle East in the wake of the Hamas October 7, 2023, attack have since returned home, an Army spokesperson told CNN on Wednesday. 

Lodewick added that 1,300 soldiers still remain on prepare-to-deploy orders. It's unclear which soldiers have returned to the US since their deployments. 

Roughly 1,200 service members total were deployed to the Middle East in the days following the Hamas attack as part of a broader deterrence message to keep the conflict from spilling out into the region.

The troops deployed included those assigned to Patriot and THAAD batteries from Fort Liberty, North Carolina, Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort Sill, Oklahoma, as well as troops providing explosive ordnance disposal, communications and other support capabilities. 

Hamas recently issued an ultimatum to Israel that there must be a permanent ceasefire in order for the remaining hostages in Gaza to be released.

However, the group has since engaged in negotiations, indicating that Hamas is not entirely wedded to its earlier ultimatum, two sources familiar with the discussions tell CNN. 

Israel’s rejection of Hamas' initial demand was expected, a source said, but the discussions since have been seen as an opening and an initial step in ongoing and complex negotiations.

While the back-and-forth is ongoing between Israel and Hamas — with the US and Qatar playing mediating roles — there is currently little traction in negotiations, both sources added. 

One source called it “super slow progress” but said the fact that both Israel and Hamas agreed that negotiations should resume is a huge step in and of itself.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said that Hamas appeared to have “softened slightly” following an ultimatum it had previously leveled on the hostages front. He did not elaborate on the specifics of the ultimatum.

Israel is now expected to give Qatar some feedback and try to start working toward common ground, one of the people familiar with the talks said. 

Six Americans remain unaccounted for since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Last week, Judi Weinstein Haggai, a dual Israeli-American citizen, was confirmed dead by her kibbutz. Her husband was also confirmed dead two weeks ago. Just four American hostages have been released since the start of the war. 

US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke on Tuesday with Israel’s Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer to discuss, among other issues, ongoing efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages, according to White House spokesperson John Kirby.

Hamas is condemning the “recent criminal attack" in the Iranian city of Kerman, according to a statement on social media on Wednesday. At least 103 people were killed after twin blasts there near the burial site of slain military commander Qasem Soleimani, in what Iranian officials called a terror attack.

Hamas said on Telegram it categorically rejects “all terrorist acts that target civilians and seek to destabilize stability and security in the Islamic Republic.”

The militant group attributed these destabilizing actions to “the agenda of the Zionist entity and its malicious plans that target security and interests of the peoples of the region.”

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blasts.

The Hamas statement conveyed condolences and sympathy to the Islamic Republic of Iran and the families of the victims. Hamas also extended prayers for a swift recovery for the wounded.

Fears of escalation: The blast occurred amid heightened tensions in the region as Israel fights an ongoing war in Gaza against Hamas, which is backed by Iran.

Earlier Wednesday, US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said the United States was not involved in the blasts in Iran and that it has "no reason to believe that Israel was involved" either.

Last week, Iran and several of its armed proxies accused Israel of assassinating a senior Iranian commander in Syria, vowing retaliation. Israel didn’t comment on the matter.

Anyone looking for clues about how Hezbollah would respond to the killing of a top Hamas figure in Beirut would not have found them in Wednesday's speech by the group’s leader.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah delivered a rousing televised address, praising Hamas fighters in Gaza and his militants who are facing off with Israel on Lebanon’s southern border.

In a speech that seemed geared toward a local audience, he dedicated the smallest portion of his address to recent developments, making only a passing reference to the two blasts that killed over 100 people in Iran on Wednesday.

He left his remarks on the killing of senior Hamas official Saleh Al-Arouri on Tuesday to the very end. Speaking about Arouri’s killing, he vowed that it would not “go unpunished.”

The attack, which US officials said was an Israeli airstrike, struck a popular neighborhood in Hezbollah’s southern Beirut stronghold.

Israel has neither denied nor claimed responsibility.

Nasrallah called it a “dangerous” development, an escalation that threatens to broaden the militant group’s border conflict with Israel. Still, he seemed to be deliberately vague about how Hezbollah would respond, ending his speech on a suspenseful note.

Nasrallah’s observers will understand that his open-ended timeframe aims to keep Israel guessing — a staple of the Hezbollah chief’s brand of psychological warfare.

But it also reflects the bind that the group finds itself in. Hezbollah may wish to launch a forceful response against Israel, but doing so without spiraling Lebanon into an all-out war may prove exceedingly difficult.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with Israel’s Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer on Tuesday to discuss Israeli military operations and efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.

The call comes ahead of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s scheduled trip to the Middle East later this week for discussions with Israeli officials on the next phase of the war. 

“They discussed ongoing Israeli military operations and ongoing efforts to see if we can secure the release of the remaining hostages," Kirby said.

He added that the "United States remains focused on working with a range of partners to help Israel defend itself to surge humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, and of course, to defend our national security interests in the region. That most certainly includes protecting the free flow of international commerce in the Red Sea."

A number of people are dead after artillery strikes near a hospital in southern Gaza, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), which runs the medical facility. It did not provide the specific number of people killed.

On Tuesday, the PRCS reported that five people were killed and three others were injured in strikes near the same hospital in Khan Younis.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment twice but has yet to receive a response. 

Some context: While some parts of Gaza have been quieter after the withdrawal of some Israeli units, intense combat continues in the Khan Younis area, according to both the IDF and Hamas’ military wing.

“The troops, including armored corps and engineering forces, conducted targeted raids on central locations in the area,” the IDF said. It spoke of intensive battles in the neighborhood.