January 3, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage of Israel’s war against Hamas has moved here.

 People inspect damage to their homes caused by Israeli air strikes on January 3 in Rafah, Gaza.

Water has been restored in some parts of central Gaza, the municipality of Deir al Balah in central Gaza said.

The municipality said that in conjunction with the Palestinian Water Authority and other municipalities, it had been able to repair the Makrut water line, which is a critical source of clean water for many neighborhoods in central Gaza.

The repair comes as fierce fighting and Israeli strikes affect several areas of the Gaza Strip, according to the Israel Defense Forces and sources in Gaza.

The Jabalya refugee camp was struck by a substantial explosion which resulted in several civilian casualties. The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza said a family home was targeted, which resulted in “tens” of people “killed and injured.”

The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 22,300 people since October 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza.

Here’s what else has happened today:

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said it will hold public hearings January 11 and 12 regarding proceedings South Africa initiated last week against Israel over allegations of genocide for its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The hearings will be dedicated to South Africa’s request for “provisional measures,” which are emergency measures the court can order to preserve the rights of a party.

In its request on Friday, South Africa asked the ICJ to indicate provisional measures to “protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the Genocide Convention” and “to ensure Israel’s compliance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention not to engage in genocide, and to prevent and to punish genocide,” the court said in a press release.

South Africa is scheduled to present its oral arguments on January 11, and Israel is set to do the same the following day. 

Israel’s government spokesperson said Tuesday that Israel will appear before the ICJ at The Hague “to dispel South Africa’s absurd blood libel.”

The United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) urged the importance of ensuring the safety and security of global supply chains, particularly in the Red Sea, during a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday. 

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez condemned the recent series of attacks on international vessels claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, emphasizing that such acts disrupt trade and are unacceptable under international law. 

Dominguez highlighted the economic and logistical repercussions of these threats while noting that 18 shipping companies have rerouted around South Africa, adding 10 days to journeys and increasing freight rates. 

Dominguez said the IMO remains committed to monitoring the situation and collaborating with member states, industry partners and naval forces. 

More background: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels are stepping up their strikes on ships in the Red Sea, which they say are revenge against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.

The attacks have forced some of the world’s biggest shipping and oil companies to suspend transit through one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes, which could potentially cause a shock to the global economy.

Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a commemoration at the Imam Khomeini grand mosque in Tehran, Iran on January 3.

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.

Hassan Nasrallah gestures as he addresses his supporters at an Ashura ceremony in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon on October 23, 2015.

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.

Jake Sullivan speaks during a news briefing at the White House in Washington, DC on December 4, 2023.

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.

The US remains “incredibly concerned” about the conflict in Gaza spreading to the wider region, but that concern is not “any higher today than it has been from the beginning,” State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Wednesday following a strike in Beirut Tuesday that killed a top Hamas official.

Israel carried out the strike, a US official earlier told CNN.

Miller confirmed that the US did not receive advance notice of the strike and would not say when the US had been informed of it. 

He denounced the slain Hamas official Saleh Al-Arouri as “a brutal terrorist who was centrally responsible for the attacks of October 7, as well as other attacks against innocent civilians leading back to well before October 7.”

Asked about comments from the leader of Hezbollah warning that “this crime will not be left without a response and punishment,” Miller noted that “they’ve made comments in the past of similar nature.”

Hostage developments: Miller also said Wednesday that there are still six Americans who remain “unaccounted for” following the death confirmed last week of one of the American hostages in Gaza.

Judih Weinstein’s kibbutz confirmed last week that she had died in Hamas custody. Her husband was confirmed dead two weeks ago. 

Four Americans were released. 

Miller said the US government continues to try to work to bring the hostages home, but would not provide any details.

This post has been updated with Miller’s comments on the American hostages.

The Lebanese government is working to convince the Hezbollah group not to wage war against Israel, the country’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Abdallah Bou Habib said Lebanon does “not want any war” and told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that his country wants “peace in our southern borders.” His comments come in the wake of the deadly attack that killed senior Hamas leader Saleh Al-Arouri on Tuesday in southern Beirut.

Lebanon believes Israel to be responsible for both Tuesday’s attack in Beirut and the deadly explosion that took place during a memorial ceremony in Iran on Wednesday, Bou Habib said, expressing his fear that the Middle East is now “really approaching a regional war.”  

Israel has not claimed responsibility for either of the attacks in Beirut or Iran, though a US official later told CNN that Israel carried out the strike in Lebanon. But, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller also said the US has “no reason to believe” Israel was involved in the blasts in Iran.

As fears mount that the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah may make retaliatory moves against Israel, the foreign minister said his government is engaged in dialogue with Hezbollah, to dissuade the group from taking any action.

“It’s not like we can order them. We’re not claiming that but we can convince them and I think it is working in this direction,” Bou Habib said.  

Speaking from Washington, DC, before meeting with advisors at the National Security Council, he emphasized the United States’ role in brokering peace.   

Bou Habib called the US a “leader” in the search for peace, pointing toward its previous successes in leveraging its “influence” over Israel to create a peaceful outcome. 

This still from video released by Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, shows 25-year-old Sahar Baruch.

An Israeli hostage held in Gaza was killed last month during a failed rescue attempt by the Israeli military, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday.  

The military said it notified the family of 25-year-old Sahar Baruch that their son was killed on December 8 “during a rescue attempt by forces from a special unit,” according to an IDF statement.

The IDF said it hasn’t yet determined the cause of Baruch’s death, and that it is not known to Israel whether he was killed by Hamas or killed by Israeli soldiers. 

On December 9, the kibbutz where Baruch lived announced that he was killed in captivity.  

Hamas said at the time that he was killed during a failed Israeli rescue operation.   

On December 8, Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, released a video of Baruch’s corpse. The video included images of the alleged aftermath of the operation and a video statement from Baruch apparently filmed some weeks ago.  

It is unclear from the video how Baruch died.  

People watch the televised speech of Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah to mark the anniversary of the killing of slain top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, in a Beirut's southern suburb on January 3.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned on Wednesday that if Israel wages war with Lebanon, the response would be “limitless,” adding that the killing of a Hamas senior official in Beirut on Tuesday “won’t go unpunished.”

Nasrallah was delivering a pre-planned address to mark the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force military commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike in Iraq in January 2020. 

Nasrallah’s speech also follows the killing of Hamas senior leader Saleh Al-Arouri in Beirut, which a US official has told CNN was caused by an Israeli airstrike.  

Tensions have escalated between Israel and Hezbollah since the October 7, 2023 attack and the ensuing war between Israel and Hamas, which has prompted fears of a spillover into a wider regional conflict.

Tensions have escalated between Israel and Hezbollah since the October 7, 2023 attack and the ensuing war between Israel and Hamas, which has prompted fears of a spillover into a wider regional conflict.

“A war with us will be extremely costly,” he said, adding, “It would then be in Lebanon’s interest to go to war to the very end.”

“Yesterday’s crime was large and dangerous,” Nasrallah said about Al-Arouri’s death. “… This crime will not be left without a response and punishment. Between us and our enemies there is time and the battlefield.” 

Some background: Prior to October 7, Nasrallah had not spoken publicly in person since 2006, when a month-long war erupted between Lebanon and Israel.  

In that speech, Nasrallah called for a ceasefire and praised Hamas’ attacks on Israel, adding that they were fully planned and executed by the militant group.

The United States joined 11 countries on Wednesday in condemning Houthi attacks against commercial and merchant vessels in the Red Sea, warning against further attacks in a strongly worded statement. 

Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, are the countries that spoke out against the attacks alongside the US.

The attacks by the Yemeni-backed Houthi rebels, the statement said, are “illegal, unacceptable, and profoundly destabilizing” and in “direct threat to the freedom of navigation.”

The joint statement comes days after US helicopters sank three Houthi boats in the Red Sea after coming under fire, marking the first time that the US has killed members of the group. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Sunday that the US would continue acting in self-defense.

“We don’t seek a conflict wider in the region and we’re not looking for a conflict with the Houthis. The best outcome here would be for the Houthis to stop these attacks, as we have made clear over and over again,” Kirby said on ABC News.

The US doubled down on its assessment that Hamas and other Gaza militants used the enclave’s largest hospital complex as a command hub as well as to hold hostages and store weapons, with a senior intelligence official pointing to newly declassified intelligence that reinforces the conclusion of Israeli and US intelligence.

But the US intelligence community did not release any new evidence to support its assessment after questions were raised about to what extent the Al-Shifa Hospital was indeed the “beating heart” of Hamas operations, as Israel had claimed.

In late December, the Washington Post published an extensive investigation that cast doubt on some of Israel’s claims.

Israel had come under widespread criticism for its November siege and assault on the struggling hospital, where doctors had described the situation as “catastrophic.”

The new intelligence echoed previous allegations by US President Joe Biden’s administration and Israel in the days and weeks leading up to Israel’s November raid on Al-Shifa Hospital that intelligence indicated Hamas had a command and control node in the tunnels under the hospital complex.

A spokesman for the National Security Council, John Kirby, had also said the hospital was being used to store weapons and hold hostages.

In November, Hamas acknowledged using the hospital to bring in hostages as they “meticulously monitored” their health before detaining them in different locations, after Israel released video from the hospital’s security cameras showing hostages being brought inside. But Hamas denied using the hospital as a command hub.

Read more about the US doubling-down on its assessment.

Israeli soldiers cover their ears as they a fire mortar round from an armoured vehicle at a position along the border in southern Israel on January 3.

There have been fighting and Israeli strikes in several areas of the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, according to both the Israel Defense Forces and sources in Gaza.

Video from the Jabalya refugee camp showed the aftermath of a substantial explosion which resulted in several civilian casualties.

The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza said “tens” were “killed and injured” when a family home in Jabalya was targeted.

CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment on its operations in the area. 

Before the explosion in Jabalya, the Health Ministry in Gaza reported that over the previous 24 hours, 128 people had been killed in Gaza and a further 261 injured.

According to the Ministry, the total number of people killed in Gaza since 7 October has risen to 22,313, with more than 57,000 people injured.

The Gaza ministry, as well as its counterpart in the occupied West Bank, estimates that some 70% of the casualties have been women and children.

CNN is unable to independently confirm the figures provided by the Gaza ministry, due to restricted access to the region and the difficulty in verifying accurate numbers amidst the ongoing conflict.

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 IDF said its troops located a tunnel shaft inside a school in the Khirbet Khuza’a neighborhood of Khan Younis “and killed terrorists who attempted to plant an explosive device on a tank.”

“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 Khan Younis.