US strikes Houthi anti-ship missiles, military says
From CNN's Mary Kay Mallonee
The US military conducted strikes in Yemen against two Houthi anti-ship missiles aimed to launch at the southern Red Sea, US Central Command said Tuesday evening.
The Houthi missiles posed an "imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region," CENTCOM said.
It comes after the US and the UK carried out additional strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Monday.
The Iran-backed Houthis have said they won’t stop their attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea until the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza ends.
11:37 p.m. ET, January 23, 2024
US airstrikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq kill at least 1
From CNN's Nechirvan Mando and Maija Ehlinger
US strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq killed at least one person and injuredtwo others, an Iraqi security source told CNN on Tuesday.
The strikes targeted three facilities used by Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah and other Tehran-affiliated groups following repeated attacks on US forces, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
The person killed was a Kataib Hezbollah fighter, according to a post on the group's Telegram channel.
Regional tensions: The strikes on Tuesday are the first in Iraq since the beginning of the month, when the US targeted a member of an Iranian proxy group operating in the country who one US official said had “US blood on his hands.”
They also come after multiple strikes against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen over the past week and a half, as the US looks to reign in the aggressive actions of Iran-backed groups in the Middle East amid heightened tensions in the region.
US forces in Iraq and Syria have been targeted at least 151 times since attacks began on October 17, according to a US official — 10 days after Hamas attacked Israel.
Blinken reiterates US opposes Israel creating "buffer zones" in Gaza
From CNN's Michael Conte and Jennifer Hansler
Antony Blinken speaks during an event in Washington, DC. on October 31, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/File
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," Blinken said at a news conference in Abuja, Nigeria.
However, Blinken said 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.
7:32 p.m. ET, January 23, 2024
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.
11:38 p.m. ET, January 23, 2024
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,” the IDF said.
Resolution 1701, passed in 2006, stipulates 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.
7:55 p.m. ET, January 23, 2024
"We were expecting to die at any minute": Gazans flee Khan Younis as Israel expands operations
From CNN's Abeer Salman, Ibrahim Dahman, Celine Alkhaldi and Tim Lister
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 her family had been in Khan Younis, and her granddaughter died because “there was no oxygen or medication for her.”
