January 16, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

A near-total internet blackout in the Gaza Strip has now passed 96 hours, according to the internet monitoring site Netblocks. 

It is the longest sustained telecoms internet disruption on record in Gaza since the onset of the conflict, Netblocks reports, with most residents unable to contact the outside world since January 12.

The Hamas-run government office in Gaza said the communications disruption makes it harder for the emergency services still functioning to reach people wounded in airstrikes. 

At least 80% of the communications sector has been destroyed already and technical crews who carry out reparation work are constantly targeted “despite prior coordination through international institutions,” the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said Monday.

On Friday, mobile network Ooredoo Palestine said its main telecommunication and internet lines had sustained damage in Israeli attacks, leading to the complete shutdown of services in the southern and central areas of Gaza. Another large Palestinian telecommunications company, Paltel, also announced Friday that all telecom services in Gaza Strip were cut off due to the “ongoing aggression.”

Israel did not respond to CNN’s multiple requests for comment on the communications blackout.

The US military launched new strikes against Houthi targets inside Yemen on Tuesday, targeting anti-ship ballistic missiles controlled by the Iran-backed rebel group, a defense official told CNN on Tuesday.

US forces struck and destroyed four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles that were preparing to launch from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the official said, and presented an imminent threat to merchant and US Navy vessels in the area.

Houthi missile strikes: A few hours later, however, the Houthis launched an anti-ship ballistic missile into international shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea, hitting the M/V Zografia, a Maltese flagged bulk carrier, the official said. The ship did not suffer significant damage and was able to continue its journey.

The strikes are at least the third round of attacks the US military has launched against the Houthis’ infrastructure since last Thursday, when the US and UK conducted a joint operation that targeted command and control nodes and weapons depots used by the Houthis to launch missile and drone attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has, for the first time, publicly acknowledged that he has received complaints through the State Department's dissent channel about the Biden administration's handling of the war in Gaza.

"We have something called the dissent channel that allows anyone in the department to raise a concern. We've had a number of those. I read every single one," he said.

Dissent over US policy in Israel-Hamas war: CNN has reported on the anger from personnel within the Biden administration about their policies toward Israel's war in Gaza, particularly as the humanitarian toll has continued to mount. At least one State Department official publicly resigned in protest. 

The Yemeni militant group, the Houthis, have claimed responsibility for an attack on a Greek-owned vessel which they said was headed toward Israel on Tuesday. 

Houthi military spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said the group attacked the ship, the "Zogravia" headed towards Israel with a "number of suitable naval missiles." 

In a live video message, Saree said the hit on the vessel was "direct." 

"The attack came after the ship’s crew rejected warning calls, including fiery warning messages," Saree added. 

According to Ambrey, UK-based maritime security firm, the Malta-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier was targeted while it was transiting northbound in the Red Sea, 76 nautical miles northwest of Yemen's port city of Saleef. 

Why this matters: This comes one day after Houthi rebels struck a US-owned and operated vessel in the Gulf of Aden. The Houthis promised that any future strikes on Yemen will not go unanswered.

Around 25 rockets were fired into southern Israel from Gaza on Tuesday morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has told CNN. 

The rockets were fired towards the southern town of Netivot and most were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system. No injuries were reported. 

Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, published a statement on their Telegram channel claiming they were behind the launches. 

One of the largest in weeks, the barrage on Tuesday showed that Hamas is still capable of firing rockets into Israel, even after more than three months of intense military operations by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip. 

Key context: While this is the largest barrage of rockets fired towards Israel from Gaza in weeks, it's still small compared to what Hamas was firing in the early days of the war that broke out after the October 7 attack on Israel when thousands of rockets rained down on Israeli cities and towns in the first week of the war.

The US Transportation Department issued an alert to American merchant ships on Monday, advising them to steer clear of the southern part of the Red Sea until further notice.

The Maritime Administration cautioned that there “continues to be a high degree of risk” facing ships transiting the Southern Red Sea, including the potential for “retaliatory attacks” by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Officials advised that although the decision is ultimately up to companies and individual vessels, “it is recommended” US-flag and US-owned commercial vessels avoid the area “until further notice."

The alert provided coordinates advising vessels to stay north of Yemen in the Red Sea and East of most of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden.

A previous alert, issued last week after US-led forces conducted strikes against Houthi facilities in Yemen, advised ships to avoid the area until Jan. 19.

That timeline has now been extended indefinitely. 

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has criticized the decision by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to withdraw one of its army divisions from the Gaza Strip on Monday, saying the move “will cost human lives.”

The far-right politician said that a “rocket barrage” launched from Gaza into Israel on Tuesday morning “proves once again that the occupation of the [Gaza] Strip is necessary for the realization of the combat goals.”

On Monday the 36th division, which comprises armored, engineering, and infantry companies, withdrew from the Gaza Strip after 80 days, the IDF said. The spokesperson said they withdrew for "a period of refreshment and training" and the division's future movements have not yet been decided.

The withdrawal means there are now three IDF combat divisions left in the Gaza Strip, alongside special forces, according to the spokesperson. 

Key context: Gvir’s comments highlight the tensions that exist within the Israeli government, and the wider defense and security establishment, over how much of a presence Israel should retain inside Gaza after the war.

Far-right politicians are pushing for complete re-occupation, along with the possible return of Jewish settlements in the Strip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under pressure from the United States to ensure a prominent role for the Palestinian Authority, said recently Israel has “no intention of permanently occupying Gaza.”

At least 10,600 children have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health said on Tuesday. 

At least 158 people were killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, and 320 others were wounded, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health added Tuesday.

“A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them,” the ministry said.

CNN cannot independently verify the Health Ministry's number due to restrictions on reporting from a war zone. 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday that more than 9,000 of the dead were Hamas fighters. CNN also cannot confirm this figure. 

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday said the "intensive manoeuvring stage" of Israel's military offensive in northern and southern Gaza will "end soon."

He added that the Israeli military was working to "eliminate pockets of resistance" in northern Gaza, Gallant said, which he claimed would be achieved through "raids, airstrikes, special operations and additional activities." 

After the October 7 attacks, Gallant said the original plan was for the "intensive manoeuvring stage" of Israel's military campaign in Gaza to last approximately three months.

In the three months since Israel started its war against Hamas in Gaza, more than 24,000 Palestinians have been killed, including many in areas Israel had told them to evacuate to.

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