Israel-Hamas war | US Senate to vote on resolution investigating alleged Israeli abuses

Senator Bernie Sanders proposed the resolution last month amid increasing scrutiny of Israel's actions in Gaza. The resolution calls for the US State Department to investigate Israel's military operations, including an evaluation of its adherence to international humanitarian law.

European Union member states have given initial backing to a naval mission to protect ships from attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement in the Red Sea, European diplomats said on Tuesday.

Many commercial shippers have diverted vessels to other routes following attacks in the Red Sea by the Houthi militants, who control much of Yemen and say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians as Israel and Hamas wage war in Gaza.

The diplomats said the bloc's Political and Security Committee, which is responsible for foreign and defence policy. had given its initial support for the mission, which would work with like-minded partners.

"What we are seeing is a healthcare crisis", says the Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies (IFRC) Jagan Chapagain, during a humanitarian briefing on the Israel-Gaza war at the World Economic Forum.

More than 100 days into the conflict, the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under intense international pressure to end the fighting as civilian deaths soar and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens.

Gazans inspect rubble after an Israeli strike on a camp in Khan Yunis. The UN says the Israel-Hamas war has displaced roughly 85 percent of Gaza's 2.4 million people, many of whom have been forced to crowd into shelters and struggle to get food, water, fuel and medical care.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Tuesday the kingdom could recognise Israel if a comprehensive agreement were reached that included statehood for the Palestinians.

"We agree that regional peace includes peace for Israel, but that could only happen through peace for the Palestinians through a Palestinian state," Prince Faisal bin Farhan told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Asked if Saudi Arabia would then recognise Israel as part of a wider political agreement, he said: "Certainly."

The European Union has added Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to "terrorist" sanctions blacklist over the October 7 attacks. Addition to the list may see Sinwar's assets frozen in the 27-nation bloc.

Iraq has refuted Iran's claim that there was a Mossad base in Arbil, the capital of Kurdish autonomous region in Iraq.

"Concerning the alleged presence of a headquarters of Israel's Mossad, we visited the house, we inspected every corner of it and everything indicated that it was the family home of an Iraqi businessman," said Iraqi National Security Adviser Qassem al-Araji.

"These allegations are false and incorrect," he said.

British Foreign Secretary and former PM David Cameron condemned Iranian strikes in autonomous Kurdish regions in Iraq.

"These unprovoked and unjustified actions are an unacceptable violation of Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said of Monday's attacks in Erbil.

The situation surrounding Israel-Hamas war is getting complicated as other regional enmities appeared to be getting enmeshed in the issue.
 

The United States military has said that it has confiscated Iranian-made missile parts which were were being taken to Yemen's Houthi rebel. The military said that the missile parts were being hauled in a boat in the Arabian Sea.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has hailed Yemen's Houth rebels following repeated attcks on shipping in the Red Sea. Iran backs Houthi rebels in Yemen who oppose the civilian government there.

"We hope that these efforts will continue until victory", said Khamenei.
 

Ambrey, a maritime risk management company has said that a Greek-owned cargo ship has been hit by a missile off the coast of Yemen.

"A Malta-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier was reportedly targeted and impacted with a missile while transiting the southern Red Sea northbound," Ambrey said in an alert.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths on Tuesday (Jan 16) said Israel's war with Hamas had brought famine in Gaza. He added that the "great majority" of 400,000 Gazans characterised by UN agencies as at risk of starving "are actually in famine, not just at risk of famine". 

According to reports, at least seven or more people, belonging to the same family were killed in southern Khan Younis. 

IDF on Tuesday took to its X account to claim the Israeli military had killed dozens of terrorists in the city of Beit Lahia, while nine more were killed in the northern Shati camp.

The former US president Donald Trump said Israel would not have been attacked if he was still president while vowing to solve the situation unfolding the Middle East "very fast". 

The Republican front runner's remarks came after his big win at the Republican Iowa caucuses where called incumbent President Joe Biden the "worst president that we’ve had in the history of country," adding that if he was in the White House, "Russia would not have attacked, Israel would never have been attacked."

Trump also went on to vow to solve issues related to both the wars if reelected in November. 

"The Ukraine situation is so horrible, the Israeli situation is so horrible, what’s happened. We’re going to get them solved, we are going to get them solved very fast." 

The Israel Defense Forces announces that Sergeant First Class (res.) Nitzan Schessler was killed fighting yesterday in the southern Gaza Strip. The death toll is Israel's ground offensive against Hamas now rises to 189.

The 21-year-old hailed from the Israeli city of Hadera, and was a part of the 55th Brigade's 7155th Battalion.

The Palestinian health ministry said early Tuesday that three Palestinians were killed on Monday in the occupied West Bank in two separate clashes with the Israeli army. 

Speaking to the news agency AFP, witnesses said they saw young Palestinians throwing stones and hearing gunshots.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG) launched missile attacks on multiple "terrorist targets" in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq and Syria, state media reported on Tuesday (Jan 16).

The IRCG said it had struck the alleged Israeli "spy headquarters."

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The Houthi rebels on Monday warned the US and the UK over attacks on Yemen.

The militaries of the US and the UK responded to Houthi attacks last week by carrying out dozens of air and sea strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

“All American and British ships and warships involved in the aggression against our country are considered hostile targets,” Houthi spokesperson warned on Monday. 

The Israeli army lashed out at Hamas on Monday after the Palestinian militant group released a video where it announced the death of two hostages. 

The video showed a woman hostage named as Noa Argamani, 26, speaking under duress, revealing that two men she was held captive with had been killed.

Reacting to the video, the Israeli army said it was a "brutal use of innocent hostages." Military spokesperson Daniel Hagari also rejected Hamas's claim the two hostages were killed by Israeli bombing, by saying that the militant group was lying. 

The Israeli government said on Monday (Jan 15) that the intensive phase of its offensive on Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip would end soon. Addressing a press conference, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that an intense manoeuvring stage was already being reached in northern Gaza.