Israel’s War on Palestine, Day 108: Israel is systematically obliterating Gaza, section by section.

As Israeli forces surround yet another hospital in Gaza, Hamas releases a letter clarifying its motives behind the October 7 attack, reiterating the Palestinian demand for the right to self-determination.

Casualties 

• 25,295+ killed* and at least 63,000 wounded in the Gaza Strip.
• 387+ Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
• Israel revises its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,147.
• 532 Israeli soldiers killed since October 7, and at least 3,221 injured.**

*This figure was confirmed by Gaza’s Ministry of Health on January 22. Some rights groups put the death toll number higher than 32,000 when accounting for those presumed dead.

Key Developments 

• UNOCHA: Only 15 bakeries still operational across Gaza, none in north.
• UNOCHA: Approximately 1.7 million internally displaced people in Gaza.
• Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor: Israel killed 94 professors in Gaza since October 7.
• Palestine Red Crescent Society: Israeli tanks near al-Amal City Hospital in Khan Younis, all contact with PRCS team in area lost. 
• Palestine Red Crescent Society: Israel besieges ambulance center in Khan Younis, prevents lifesaving movement.
• Israeli forces destroy entire neighborhood in Khan Younis via demolition, after soldier takes selfie with explosives. 
• Two Hezbollah fighters killed in Lebanon by Israeli drone strike. 
• Palestinian Ministry of Health: 190 Palesitnains killed and 34 injured in the last 48 hours. 
• Hamas publishes 16-page report to “clarify” background and dynamics of October 7 surprise attack.
• Israelis protest outside Netanyahu home, demand return of Israeli captives. 
• Wall Street Journal reports Hamas fighters remain resilient and have enough ammunition to fight for months.
• Israel approves the transfer of Palestinian Authority tax revenues through Norway, first time since October.

Israeli forces demolish Nasr and Abdul Qadir al-Qawasmi’s apartments in Hebron.Gaza’s Health Ministry says the Palestinian death toll in Gaza from over three months of war between Israel and the territory’s Hamas rulers has soared past 25,000. At least 178 bodies were brought to Gaza’s hospitals in 24 hours along with nearly 300 wounded people, according to a Health Ministry spokesperson.

• The U.S., Egypt and Qatar are pushing a hostage-release plan aimed ultimately at ending the Israel-Hamas war, diplomats involved in mediating the talks said. 

Israeli forces have killed 20% to 30% of Hamas’s fighters, U.S. intelligence agencies estimate, a toll that falls short of Israel’s goal of destroying the group.

The first known U.S. estimate of the group’s casualties shows its resilience after months of war that have laid swaths of the Gaza Strip to ruin. The U.S. estimate also found that Hamas still has enough munitions to continue striking Israel and Israeli forces in Gaza for months, and that the group is attempting to reconstitute its police force in parts of Gaza City, according to U.S. officials who confirmed a classified report. Israeli military officials say the war could continue for many more months. However, the U.S, Egypt and Qatar are pushing Israel and Hamas to agree on a phased plan to end the war, starting with freeing hostages. Neither side has agreed to the terms of the new proposal, but people briefed on the talks said Israel and Hamas at least were again willing to engage in discussions.

U.S., Israel Voice Conflicting Views on Future Palestinian State, Exposing Friction (Read)

The battle for Jerusalem plays out in the Armenian Quarter Jerusalemite Armenians are under pressure from Israeli settlers to relinquish control of property in the Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem’s Old City. In the battle for Jerusalem, many Armenians are adamant keeping the property out of the settlers’ grip

Israel’s Genocide in Gaza Continues

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected what he said were conditions proposed by Hamas for the release of remaining hostages in Gaza, including ending the war and withdrawing Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, according to a statementreleased by his office. He also reiterated his opposition to a two-state solution, putting him at odds with the Biden administration. “Gaza must be demilitarized, under Israel’s full security control. I will not compromise on full Israeli security control of all territory west of the Jordan River … My insistence is what has prevented – over the years – the establishment of a Palestinian state that would have constituted an existential danger to Israel. As long as I am Prime Minister, I will continue to strongly insist on this,” Netanyahu said. Niha Masih reports for the Washington Post.

“Not a single shekel will go to Gaza. Period,” far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote after Israel’s security cabinet approved a measure giving him power to freeze funds intended for the Palestinian Authority (PA). Since the Oct. 7 attacks, Israel has refused to disburse the full amount of taxes it collects on behalf of the PA, which are primarily used to pay public employees and retirees. Lauren Izso reports for CNN.

More than 25,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, the Hamas-run health ministry said. In the past 24 hours, 178 people have died, marking one of the deadliest days of the war so far, the ministry added. Mark Lowen reports for BBC News.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released footage yesterday of a tunnel in the city of Khan Younis where it said Hamas held around 20 hostages. The IDF found no hostages inside the tunnel, but it said that based on testimonies and DNA evidence, around 20 hostages were held there at different times. Lauren Izso and Teele Rebane report for CNN.

The IDF said it is reviewing the recent decision to destroy the main building of Gaza’s al-Israa University in what appears to have been a planned explosion by the military. The IDF said in a statement that Hamas “used the compound and its surrounding area for military purposes.” Miriam Berger and Hazem Balousha reports for the Washington Post.

A group of relatives of Israelis held hostage by Hamas stormed a parliamentary committee session in Jerusalem today, demanding that lawmakers do more to try to free them. Reuters reports.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it received a shipment yesterday from the Egyptian Red Crescent consisting of 80 trucks carrying humanitarian aid that arrived at the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza. Another 105 humanitarian aid trucks entered through the nearby Kerem Shalom on the same day, the aid organization said. Kareen Khadder reports for CNN.

REGIONAL RESPONSE

Iran accused Israel of launching an airstrike on Damascus on Saturday that killed senior Iranian military figures, raising fears of deeper regional turmoil. Among those killed were the head of intelligence in Syria for the Quds Force, the overseas arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, and his deputy, according to Iranian news and an Israeli defense official. Iranian state media reported that President Ebrahim Raisi condemned the strike, saying, “The Islamic Republic of Iran will not leave the crimes of the Zionist regime unanswered.” Israeli officials neither confirmed nor denied that Israel was behind the attack. Raja Abdulrahim, Hwaida Saad, and Farnaz Fassihi report for the New York Times.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said the kingdom will not normalize relations with Israel or contribute to rebuilding Gaza without a credible path to Palestinian statehood. “As long as we’re able to find a pathway to a solution, a resolution, a pathway that means that we’re not going to be here again in a year or two, then we can talk about anything,” Prince Faisal said. “But if we are just resetting to the status quo before Oct. 7, in a way that sets us up for another round of this, as we have seen in the past, we’re not interested in that conversation.” Melanie Lidman and Wafaa Shurafa report for AP News.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that one person was killed and five others were injured in what it says was an Israeli drone strike yesterday in southern Lebanon, approximately 4.9 miles from the Lebanese-Israeli border. Sarah Sirgany, Charbel Mallo and Lauren Izso report for CNN.

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

Israel’s foreign minister will address his counterparts from the European Union (EU) today as part of a “diplomatic battle” to win support amid criticism over the death toll in Gaza and Netanyahu’s apparent refusal to consider Palestinian statehood. Yisrael Katz’s office said he will meet privately with E.U. foreign ministers in Brussels to discuss defeating Hamas and returning hostages. Peter Baker and Adam Rasgon report for the New York Times.

U.S., British, and European officials are pressuring Israel to allow aid into Gaza through the Israeli Ashdod port, according to six U.S. and European officials. The proposed agreement would see aid shipped from Cyprus to Ashdod and then transported to Kerem Shalom. The White House confirmed on Friday that Israel would permit flour to enter Gaza via Ashdod. Vivian Yee, Matina Stevis-Gridneff, and Adam Rasgon reports for the New York Times

Creating two separate states is the only solution to ending the conflict between Israel and Palestineans, Britain’s defense secretary Grant Shapps said yesterday. Shapps said Netanyahu’s rejection of the idea was “disappointing” but not a “surprise,” adding “we very much distinguish between the views of individuals and our overall support for Israel as a country.” BBC News reports.

• Netanyahu rejects the idea of a Palestinian state. Hussein Ibish in his blog @Ibishblog examines the 2014 unity agreement and the dynamic of the Hamas-PA relationship. Read; Is There New Motivation for Palestinian Unification

The E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said yesterday that Israel’s plan to destroy Hamas is not working and that the European Union must pursue a two-state solution despite Israeli opposition. Borrell added, “What are the other solutions they have in mind. Make all the Palestinians leave? Kill all of them? … The way they are destroying Hamas is not the way to do it. They are sealing the hate for generations.” Andrew Gray reports for Reuters.

The United States, Egypt, and Qatar are pushing Israel and Hamas to join a phased diplomatic process that would begin with releasing hostages and lead to the withdrawal of Israeli forces in Gaza and an end to the war, according to diplomats involved in mediating the talks. The two parties’ “willingness to discuss the framework was a positive step [and] mediators are now working to bridge the gap,” one person briefed on the talks said. “The mediators have proposed a 90-day plan that would first pause fighting for an unspecified number of days for Hamas to first release all Israeli civilian hostages, while Israel would release hundreds of Palestinians that Israel has imprisoned, withdraw forces from Gaza’s towns and cities, allow freedom of movement in the Gaza Strip, end drone surveillance and double the amount of aid going into the enclave, according to the plan.” Summer Said reports for the Wall Street Journal.

Israel’s war on Gaza causes ‘cracks in the edifice of hypocrisy’

The extremity of Israel’s war on Gaza has become so unbearable that there are at last cracks in its political support. And the massive effort that Joe Biden has undertaken to back Israel no matter what it does is raising questions even in mainstream politics. 

There is, to begin with, the crisis over Netanyahu’s declaration that there must never be a Palestinian state. This totally contradicts U.S. policy— lip service to a Palestinian state. And it thereby incurred rebukes by Biden’s official spokesmen: the only way to get peace in the region is a two-state solution.

IRAN-PAKISTAN TENSIONS

Pakistan said today that Iran’s foreign minister will visit the country next week, signaling efforts to rebuild relations after the two countries exchanged missile strikes last week. Pakistan’s foreign ministry also said ambassadors of both countries have been asked to return to their posts by Jan. 26 after their initial recall. Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam reports for Reuters.

IRAN-BACKED MILITANTS

Iran-backed militants attacked an air base housing U.S. and Iraqi troops in western Iraq on Saturday, U.S. Central Command said, in the latest incident targeting U.S. forces amid rising regional tensions. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the strike was a part of a broad resistance to the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq, as well as a response to Israel’s operations in Gaza. Justine McDaniel, Annabelle Timsit, Louisa Loveluck, and Mustafa Salim report for the Washington Post.

MILITARY CONFLICT WITH HOUTHIS

White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer defended the U.S.-led coalition strikes against the Houthis saying, “the purposes here go well beyond deterrence.” “We are also seeking to degrade the Houthis’ ability to continue launching these attacks.” Ayesha Ali reports for ABC News.

The U.S. military said yesterday it had declared two Navy SEALs dead after they went missing 10 days ago during a maritime operation to intercept weapons from Iran heading to Houthi fighters. The SEALS were among the first known U.S. fatalities in the United States’ campaign against the Houthis. Yan Zhuang reports for the New York Times.

• Israeli tanks storming southern Gaza’s main city reached the gates of two hospitals, as the bloodiest fighting of the new year tore through areas sheltering hundreds of thousands of displaced. Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Israel’s plan to destroy Hamas in Gaza is not working.

Israel’s attack on Hamas following the militant group’s Oct. 7 assault is “seeding the hate for generations,” European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, urging parties to think more concretely about a two-state peace process. EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels today, where they’ll be joined by the top envoys from Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, and the Arab League.