Blinken reiterates US opposes Israel creating "buffer zones" in Gaza
From CNN's Michael Conte and Jennifer Hansler
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria Yusuf Tuggar at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Nigeria, on January 23. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US will not support Israel creating so-called "buffer zones" permanently in Gaza that would effectively reduce the size of the Palestinian territory.
"When it comes to the permanent status of Gaza going forward, we've been clear, we remain clear, about not encroaching on its territory," said Blinken reiterated at a news conference in Abuja, Nigeria.
However, Blinken said that there may need to be "transitional arrangements" that provide "necessary security arrangements" to allow Israelis who fled areas adjacent to Gaza after October 7 to return.
Blinken also maintained that Gazans who fled their homes must be allowed to return and that Palestinians be able to govern themselves.
1:13 p.m. ET, January 23, 2024
Ongoing hostage talks not yet at level of "negotiations," White House says
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
Ongoing talks to secure the release of all hostages held in Gaza have not yet reached the level of “negotiations,” the White House said Tuesday, describing them instead as “sober and serious” discussions about what might be acceptable to all sides.
“I don’t know that it’s time now to be talking about holdups. These are ongoing discussions. I wouldn’t even classify them as negotiations quite at this point,” John Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator at the National Security Council, said.
But he did say the US would “absolutely” be supportive of a break in fighting longer than the one-week pause agreed to last year in exchange for the release of some captives.
“That would give us the opportunity to get all hostages out and more aid in, we would absolutely support a humanitarian pause of longer length than the week we were able to accomplish,” he said.
Brett McGurk, the White House Middle East coordinator, is in Cairo on Tuesday to continue discussions on a potential hostage deal, Kirby said.
Motaz Azaiza, a 24-year-old photojournalist who has been documenting the war on social media. CNN
Motaz Azaiza, a Palestinian journalist and photographer who has diligently documented life in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war, evacuated the enclave and landed in Doha on Tuesday via a Qatari Air Force plane, according to his social media.
“I had to evacuate for a lot of reasons you all know some of it but not all of it,” he wrote on his Instagram account, adding: “pray for Gaza.”
In a video posted Tuesday, Azaiza told his 18 million followers: “This is the last time you’ll see me with this heavy, stinky vest,” as friends gather around him and help him take off his press flak jacket.
Azaiza has built an international following for his reporting of Israel’s assault on Gaza since October 7, becoming one of the few sources of independent media in the war zone.
Most global news organizations have been unable to cover the conflict with their own correspondents on the ground. Israel, along with Egypt, has largely blocked international journalists from Gaza, saying they cannot cannot guarantee their safety.
The few foreign journalists who have been allowed to enter the enclave have primarily embedded with the Israel Defense Forces and may have had to submit their footage to the military for security review.
Israel strikes Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon
From Lauren Izso
Israeli fighter jets have carried out strikes on targets in Lebanon, including a "military asset" used by Hezbollah and operated by Iranian forces, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The IDF said it also struck several additional areas in Lebanon, including a military compound that Hezbollah operated in.
“Hezbollah’s military activity south of the Litani River in Lebanon, including the use and storage of armaments, is a clear violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. The IDF will continue to defend Israel’s borders from any threat,” it added.
Resolution 1701, passed in 2006, stipulated that the area south of the Litani should become a demilitarized zone.
Earlier, the IDF said there had been a number of launches from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Some launches caused minor damage at an Israeli Air Force base, and some were successfully intercepted, it said. No injuries were reported.
10:37 a.m. ET, January 23, 2024
"We were expecting to die at any minute:" Gazans describe fleeing Khan Younis as Israel expands operations
From CNN's Abeer Salman, Ibrahim Dahman, Celine Alkhaldi and Tim Lister
Palestinians displaced from Khan Younis travel with their belongings towards Rafah, in southern Gaza, on January 22. Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
Thousands of people are leaving Khan Younis, as the Israel Defense Forces said it has surrounded the city amid further operations west of the area.
A CNN video recorded Monday shows displaced people sitting on the side of streets and in the vicinity of the seashore as they head west and south. The IDF had instructed civilians to leave several districts in and around the city and head toward the coast, which it described to CNN as "safer."
The video shows cars, trucks, and tractors transporting families and their essential belongings, such as blankets, mattresses and food. Many, however, are walking.
Hisham Sayegh said he saw four people killed, which forced him to leave with his family as shelling in the area intensifies.
"There are dead people on the ground. We left them behind. There are people killed inside the houses,” Sayegh said. “We were expecting to die at any minute.”
Amer Hijjo, from northern Gaza, said he was on the move for a third time. “Now, we are displaced again to the unknown. The bombardment was all night. We woke up with a tank at the entrance of the house this (Monday) morning, so we left.”
Um Mohammad, a woman from Khan Younis, said she and her family are on the street until they figure out where to go — and they can not afford transport south to Rafah. "Vegetables, flour, and water are all expensive. There are no toilets. No one cares about us as if we are not human beings.”
“We have been in the streets for more than 100 days. Every place we go to, they tell us to leave, and here we are again and again in the streets,” she said.
Um Adel, a woman from Gaza City, told CNN that her family had been in Khan Younis, and her granddaughter died because “there was no oxygen or medication for her.”
9:58 a.m. ET, January 23, 2024
Qatar says it's receiving "constant replies" from Israel and Hamas as "serious discussions" continue
From CNN’s Mostafa Salem in Abu Dhabi
Qatar said it’s engaged in “serious discussions” with Israel and Hamas and is receiving “constant replies” from both sides, but statements made by Israeli officials “leads to a harder mediation process,” Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said in a news conference on Tuesday.
"Obviously when one side says they don’t accept the two state-solution and that they won’t stop this war eventually ... obviously leads to a harder mediation process,” Al-Ansari added.
Recently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls for Palestinian sovereignty following talks with US President Joe Biden about Gaza’s future, suggesting Israel’s security needs would be incompatible with Palestinian statehood.
Communication cuts and the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza also has an impact on the talks, but mediation efforts are in “full force” with Qatar exchanging ideas between both sides, Al-Ansari said.
“Our negotiators are working around the clock to exchange these ideas, a lot of these media reports are either missing elements or completely false," he said in response to media reports that Israel offered a two-month ceasefire to Hamas as part of a prospective hostage deal.
Some context: CNN has reported that two officials familiar with the talks said that Israel has proposed allowing senior Hamas leaders to leave Gaza as part of a broader ceasefire deal.
10:11 a.m. ET, January 23, 2024
Situation around Khan Younis hospitals is deteriorating amid intense shelling, UN says
From CNN's Abeer Salman, Ibrahim Dahman, Celine Alkhaldi and Tim Lister
The United Nations says that the situation at hospitals in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza has deteriorated as Israeli military operations in the area have expanded.
“Reportedly, Israeli forces struck the vicinity of Al Amal hospital and the ambulance headquarters, as intense fighting continued in the area, including dozens of casualties,” the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Tuesday, adding that it estimated that “13,000 displaced people who have taken shelter in Al Amal Hospital and the PRCS [Palestinian Red Crescent Society] headquarters were unable to leave.”
OCHA cited humanitarian partners as saying that people in the vicinity and in the Al Kheir area east of Al Mawasi had lost access to the health facility.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it has surrounded Khan Younis and instructed civilians to leave several districts and move toward the coast, which it described to CNN as “safer.”
Roads leading to al-Amal hospital were closed due to ongoing shooting by IDF in Khan Younis, the PRCS said later Tuesday. Social media video geolocated by CNN indicated that roads to Nasser hospital — some 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) away — had also been blocked since early Tuesday.
Separately, the UN relief agency in Gaza said that one of its shelters in the Khan Younis area had been hit. “At least 6 displaced people were killed and many more injured during intense fighting around the shelter. Terrified staff, patients and displaced people are now trapped inside the few remaining hospitals in Khan Younis as heavy fighting continues,” the agency’s director, Phillipe Lazzarini said on X (formerly Twitter).
CNN is seeking a response from the IDF on the reported strike close to or at the UNRWA shelter.
8:45 a.m. ET, January 23, 2024
UK and US will announce new sanctions on Houthis after more strikes in Yemen
From CNN’s Catherine Nicholls in London
The United Kingdom and United States will be announcing new sanctions on the Houthis “in the coming days,” UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday.
“We're going to use the most effective means at our disposal to cut off the Houthis’ financial resources, where they are used to fund these attacks [on commercial ships in the Red Sea],” Sunak told the House of Commons — the UK's Parliament.
“We are working closely with the United States on this and plan to announce new sanctions measures in the coming days.”
The news comes following another US and UK airstrike on Houthi targets in Yemen, which Sunak said were “limited to carefully selected targets, with maximum caretaking to protect civilian lives.” He also stressed that the strikes were “fully in line with international law, in self-defense, and in response to a persistent threat.”
The prime minister said that the sanctions were part of a wider UK response to the Houthi attacks on commercial vessels. He added that the UK will continue to deliver humanitarian aid to Yemen and help to negotiate peace in the country, Sunak said.
8:31 a.m. ET, January 23, 2024
Khan Younis surrounded by IDF as hundreds try to flee city’s hospitals. Catch up here
From CNN staff
Israel’s military said its troops have surrounded Khan Younis in southern Gaza, as hundreds of people displaced on hospital grounds in the city try to flee the area.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said people at its headquarters, as well as at the nearby Al-Amal Hospital, are “in a state of panic and trying to escape ongoing Israeli bombardment.”
A major Israeli military offensive underway in the west of the city is expected to last several more days, according to a source familiar with the operation.
Meanwhile, Israel is reeling from the deaths of at least 24 of its soldiers in Gaza, in what is the biggest single loss of life for Israeli troops in the enclave since the war with Hamas began.
Here are the latest developments:
Khan Younis: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said “dozens of terrorists” had been killed in the past 24 hours by its ground troops in coordination with Israel’s air force, as it steps up its military activity in and around Khan Younis. The city’s medical facilities have been battered by the Israeli assault.
Attempts to flee: Ahmad Nassem, a resident of Al-Amal neighborhood in Khan Younis, told CNN Tuesday that people were leaving their homes and turning back, adding: “We are getting ready to evacuate, but there are intense clashes all around us." The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said both the Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in Khan Younis are “in grave danger," with buildings exposed to shrapnel, putting lives at risk.
Israeli losses: The IDF said that at least 24 of its soldiers were killed Monday, after a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) struck a tank that was protecting Israeli troops and two two-story buildings collapsed on soldiers following the explosion. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Monday “one of the most difficult days” since the outbreak of war and said the IDF had launched an investigation into the incident.
Houthis targeted: After the United States and United Kingdom launched more strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen overnight – its eighth attack in just over 10 days – the Houthi rebel group warned the aggression “will not go unanswered.” British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the joint campaign to degrade the Houthis’ military capabilities will continue, as navigation in the Red Sea continues to be disrupted.
Truce talks: Israel has proposed letting senior Hamas leaders leave Gaza as part of a possible ceasefire deal, two officials familiar with the talks told CNN. Separately, Axios reported Monday that Israel had offered a two-month ceasefire as part of a prospective hostage deal. But an Israeli official told CNN Tuesday that any ceasefire-for-hostages offer is "far from being a proposal."
Humanitarian crisis:Israel is destroying Gaza's food system, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food said. "It's unprecedented to make an entire civilian population go hungry this completely & quickly," Michael Fakhri said in a social media post.Meanwhile, mounds of solid waste and sewage openly flowing in the streets are exacerbating health hazards in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, with air pollution adding to the toxic environment, according to aid workers and civilians in the area.
