Israel-Hamas war | Top developments on January 5, 2024

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Turkey to kick-start his fourth tour of West Asia since start of the Israel-Hamas war.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday warned Israel that it will respond swiftly "on the battlefield" to the killing of Hamas's deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri in one of its Beirut strongholds.

"The response is inevitably coming. We cannot remain silent on a violation of this magnitude because it means the whole of Lebanon would be exposed," Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech.
 

The US State Department said on Friday t hat it is offering $10 million for information on five Hamas financiers or anything leading to the disruption of the Palestinian militant group's financial mechanism.

In a statement, the State Department said five financiers are Abdelbasit Hamza Elhassan Khair, Amer Kamal Sharif Alshawa, Ahmed Sadu Jahleb, Walid Mohammed Mustafa Jadallah, and Muhammad Ahmad ‘Abd Al-Dayim Nasrallah, who have all been previously designated global terrorists by Washington. 

A Canadian doctor working in the Gaza Strip has said that the human tragedy in the Gaza Strip was very huge. 

Dr Yasser Khan, a Canadian ophthalmologist operating on the injured at the European hospital in Khan Younis, said, "The human tragedy is so huge here, I don't think people have an idea of how tragic this is, unless they actually come and see it for yourself."

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Friday that existence and protection of Israel cannot be questioned but called for more humanitarian pauses in the conflict and said there should be no occupation of the area (Gaza Strip) afterwards.

Addressing a press conference alongside her Luxembourg counterpart Xavier Bettel, Baerbock warned against the risk of the conflict widening in the region.

Israeli forces tightened security for Palestinians hoping to pray in Al-Aqsa on Friday (January 5), making it hard for many to get into the compound, the third-holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina.

Reuters video showed Israeli forces standing behind barriers and pushing worshippers backwards, ahead of weekly Friday prayers.

The hill on which the mosque sits is also the most sacred site for Jews who call it the Temple Mount. The area is often the scene of clashes.

Palestinian worshipers say Israeli authorities have restricted their access to al-Aqsa compound since the start of Israel's war on Hamas militants in Gaza on October 7.

Gaza health ministry on Friday said that the death toll from the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas has reached 22,600.

The Israeli army has said that it forces struck over 100 targets across the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, including military positions, rocket launch sites and weapons depots.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is headed back to the Middle East, will discuss immediate measures to increase  substantially humanitarian assistance to Gaza. 

"We don't expect every conversation on this trip to be easy. There are obviously tough issues facing the region and difficult choices ahead," US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

An Israeli man was killed in the October 7 Hamas attack and his body taken to the Gaza Strip, said his kibbutz community on Friday (Jan 5). Tamir Adar was said to be alive and held by Palestinian militants in Gaza, but the Israeli military confirmed that he was killed on October 7, said the Nir Oz kibbutz, in a statement.

"The IDF (army) informed the family that he was murdered on October 7, and since then his body has been kept in Gaza," the statement read.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi joined the mourners for the funerals of the 85 people who lost their lives in the twin blasts which were claimed by the Islamic State group, said state media. 

The victims include "44 women and children" and at least a dozen Afghan nationals, state TV reported. "The funeral for the martyrs of the terrorist attack will take place at 10:00 am (0630 GMT) at the Emam Ali mosque in the city of Kerman," it added.

President Raisi was present in Kerman "to attend the funerals and commemorate the martyrs" after also visiting Soleimani's grave, the report said.
 

The commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, while attending the funeral for the victims of twin ISIS bombings, said that their deaths will be avenged.

Nearly 84 people were killed in the twin blast which took place at the memorial of Iran's former top commander Qassem Soleimani in the city of Kerman on Wednesday (Jan 3). Soleimani was assassinated by a US drone in Iraq in 2020.

On Thursday, ISIS said that two of its members had detonated explosive belts in the crowd which had gathered at the cemetery. “We will find you wherever you are,” said Iranian Major-General Hossein Salami, at the funeral while hinting at Islamic State.

Israel Defense Forces (DF) said they carried out strikes on more than 100 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip over the past day.

The strikes, carried out by air, sea, and ground forces, hit Hamas command centers, launch positions, weapons depots, and other infrastructure, according to the IDF.

EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell is visiting to discuss growing tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border and the need to avoid regional escalation, according to an EU statement.

The families of people held captive in Gaza protested outside the residence of Benny Gantz, the Israeli defence minister, in Rosh Ha’ayin this morning, according to the Jerusalem Post.

“The lives of our relatives are in daily danger, and the Israeli government has the commitment and ability to save them, before it is too late and there is no one left to save,” they said in a statement.

The Israeli Defence Forces has formed a team to probe into the deadly attack by the Hamas militant group on October 7, Haaretz newspaper reportedly said.
 

Israeli forces in its air strikes caused the destruction of at least 50 homes in the al-Sikka area of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on Thursday (Jan 4) at dawn, media reports said.
 

Hamas releases footage of what it says are members of its military wing Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades fighting Israeli vehicles and soldiers on the outskirts of Gaza City. 

Israeli forces searched houses in the Nour al-Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm on Thursday, detaining hundreds of people suspected of militant activities, media reports citing the military.  

As the extended raid ended in the afternoon of its second day, the Palestinian Red Crescent said it had treated 21 casualties, of whom 17 suffered injuries from beatings during detention and interrogation and one from live fire.

In a post on social media platform X, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) updated the toll of hostages still in Hamas detention to 136. The IDF said that three "Israeli citizens, who until now were defined as missing, are now recognised as hostages. They join Hadar, Oron, Hisham and Avera, bringing the total number of Israeli hostages held in Gaza to 136."

Israel is sending its envoy to Spain Rodica Radian-Gordon back to Madrid, more than a month after recalling her over "outrageous remarks" made by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez questioning the legality of Israel's war in Gaza.

Back in November, Sanchez had questioned the war, saying he had "serious doubts" over the legality of Israel's action in the Gaza Strip.

In an interview, Sanchez said the world had to tell Israel "it needs to base its actions on international humanitarian law, and with the images we are seeing and the growing number of people dying, especially boys and girls, I have serious doubts".

Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz on Thursday decided to send back the nation's envoy to Madrid. He said that the decision was taken as there "was a change in the messages for the better" from the government of Spain.

In a televised statement made just two days after the killing of Hamas deputy chief, Saleh al-Arouri, Khaled Meshaal, a Hamas leader said that Israel "wants to export the crisis to abroad" and expand the circle of aggression.

"It thought that assassinations of leaders would break the will of resistance, and weaken the leadership, not knowing that this is a big delusion," he said.

The deputy chief of Hamas, Saleh al-Arouri, was killed in a drone strike in the southern suburb of Beirut, a stronghold of allied Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. Arouri as per reports, was meeting with a group of Palestinian and Lebanese men from factions allied to Hamas.

Israel has been blamed for the killing, however, the nation has not confirmed or denied involvement.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday (Jan 4th) presented a plan for the post-war administration of the Gaza Strip. Putting forward his plan, he said that neither Hamas nor Israel would govern the Palestinian territory once the hostilities there conclude.

Before submitting it to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet, Gallant unveiled the outline of his plan to the media.

The plan says that the war in the territory will continue until Israel has secured the return of the hostages taken on October 7, dismantled Hamas's "military and governing capabilities", and got rid of any remaining military threats.

After that, it says, a new phase will begin during which "Hamas will not control Gaza and will not pose a security threat to the citizens of Israel", with unspecified Palestinian bodies assuming the territory's governance.

It further says that Israel would reserve its right to operate inside the territory, but there would be "no Israeli civilian presence in the Gaza Strip after the goals of the war have been achieved".