Israel-Hamas war top developments on January 9

Israeli Defence Minister has told Antony Blinken that increasing pressure on Iran was 'critical'

"An increase in the pressure placed on Iran is critical and may prevent regional escalation in additional arenas," Yoav Gallant was quoted as saying in a government statement.

The Palestinian Red Crescent on Tuesday evacuated two bodies after civilians were shelled in the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, it said on social media platform X. 

The humanitarian organisation released footage of its workers loading two shrouded bodies into an ambulance. 

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said that despite the support of Western countries, Israeli armed and intelligence forces have not been able to retrieve hostages held in the Gaza Strip. 

While speaking in Qatar's Doha, he added that "they will never recover their prisoners unless they release all of our prisoners".

In his address, Haniyeh also says "the time has come for armed Jihad". 

Funerals were held on Tuesday for two of three Palestinian militants killed by Israeli forces in the northern West Bank, in a surge of deadly violence in the occupied territory.

Displaced Gazans in Khan Younis called on Tuesday (Jan 9) for US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to support their return to their homes in the north of the enclave.

A Palestinian dentist on Tuesday said he lost seven members of his family when an Israeli strike late Monday hit a relative’s house where they sheltered in Gaza’s central city of Deir al-Balah. 

According to State Department, Blinken told Netanyahu to avoid "further civilian harm" in Gaza. 

Oil prices rose by more than $2 on Tuesday on tensions in the Middle East and reduced Libyan output, but were yet to fully recovered from steep losses earlier this week.

Brent crude futures rose by $2, or 2.63%, to $78.12 a barrel at 1312 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained $2.09, or 2.95%, to $72.86 a barrel.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday in Tel Aviv for a cabinet meeting.

Medical staff and displaced people flee Al Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza in fear of Israeli strikes. Many Palestinians packed their tents and headed south amid intensified bombing around the Al Aqsa Hospital in the city Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip.

On Tuesday (Jan 9), US Secretary of State Antony Blinken engaged in discussions in Israel, aiming to formulate a strategy for Gaza's post-war reconstruction. Simultaneously, Israel's military is continuing its offensive operations in the troubled region.

Sean Casey, a coordinator for emergency medical teams in Gaza, expressed grave concern, stating that the entire health system in the enclave is swiftly deteriorating. Medical personnel and patients are evacuating facilities in southern Gaza, leading to a rapid collapse of the health system, especially in proximity to the European Gaza Hospital, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Israel retaliated against Hezbollah, using airstrikes in response to the Lebanese group's drone assault on the Israeli command center. The Israeli air force targeted the origin of the Hezbollah drones, intercepting several before reaching their destinations, as reported by Al Jazeera.

The death toll in the Gaza Strip has climbed to 23,210, the health ministry in the war-torn region said on Tuesday. The ministry said that 126 people were killed in the last 24 hours, adding 59,167 people had been injured so far. 

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Tuesday that "there is nothing more atrocious and preposterous" than a lawsuit filed in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in its Gaza offensive. The case was brought by South Africa and hearings would start from Thursday. 

"We will be there at the International Court of Justice and will present proudly our case of using self-defence under our most inherent right under international humanitarian law," Herzog said. 

The Israeli army announced on Tuesday that four more soldiers were killed, taking the total death toll since the war started on Oct 7 last year to 180. 

The Israeli military on Monday (Jan 8) showed journalists a cluster of weapons factories and tunnels used by Hamas in the Gaza Strip to manufacture rockets, the news agency AFP reported. Read more

Idan Amedi, an actor-singer most known for his role in the Netflix series Fauda was reported to be seriously injured while fighting as an Israeli army reservist amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.

The actor-singer’s condition was later confirmed by his father in an interview with the Walla news site who said that his son was no longer in danger.

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The Israeli army announced that four soldiers have been killed fighting in Gaza amid the ongoing war taking the total death toll in the ground offensive against Hamas to 180.

They are: 

Sergeant Roi Tal, 19 of the Kfir Brigade’s 94th Duchifat Battalion was killed in southern Gaza. 

Sergeant First Class (res.) David Schwartz, 26 of the Combat Engineering Corp’s 8219th Battalion, was killed in southern Gaza 

Sergeant First Class (res.) Yakir Hexter, 26, of the Combat Engineering Corp’s 8219th Battalion, was killed in southern Gaza. 

Sergeant First Class (res.) Gavriel Bloom, 27, a combat engineer in the 36th Division was killed in central Gaza. 

Source: Times of Israel

Washington's top diplomat Antony Blinken in Israel spoke with the United Nation's new coordinator for humanitarian and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip, said the US State Department. 

Blinken and Sigrid Kaag called for "strengthening the coordination mechanism delivering humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, and facilitating assistance to the northern part of the Gaza Strip to enable the return of displaced people," said the State Department in a readout. 

It added, "They emphasized a shared commitment to reach the most vulnerable including urgently expanding the entry of aid and commercial goods into Gaza, increasing use of localized aid to meet immediate needs, and enhancing funding for humanitarian assistance."

Kaag, who assumed her new position on Monday, is in New York and Washington, DC this week for meetings. 

In a recent interview with Israel's right-wing Channel 14 network, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Israel was behind the strike in southern Lebanon which killed Wissam al-Tawil, a commander of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah's elite Radwan force.

"Regarding the attack in southern Lebanon, yes, we did take responsibility for the assassination of the commander of the Quds Force," Katz told Channel 14 network, which corrects him for saying Quds Force instead of Radwan force, reported the Times of Israel. 

"This is part of the war," he added. Until the Israeli minister's claim, Israel had not announced that the country's army was behind the killing, even if it was widely understood to be the case. 

This is because Israel typically prefers to maintain a policy of ambiguity regarding its alleged operations abroad. 

Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad on Monday (Jan 8) released video footage which it claimed showed an Israeli hostage alive in its custody in Gaza after being held hostage during Hamas' Oct 7 assault against Israel.

The man in the video, who spoke in English and Hebrew languages, pleaded for his release and also paid tribute to another hostage Tamir Adar, who was announced dead in early January by his kibbutz community in southern Israel, according to news agency AFP reports.

The location, from where the video was shot, is not yet known.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Tel Aviv, on Monday amid his 4th tour to the Middle East since the beginning of the war for talks with Israeli leaders as he seeks to prevent the Gaza conflict from widening, said an AFP journalist travelling with him.

Washington's top diplomat is also expected to put pressure on Israel's government to reduce civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip.

Biden said that he is working with the Israeli government to reduce or "significantly get out of Gaza" at an event in the US state of South Carolina after he was interrupted by protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

"I understand the passion and I’ve been quietly working — been quietly working with the Israeli government to reduce — significantly get out of Gaza," said the US president after a group of protesters then began chanting "ceasefire now."