Israel-Hamas war: Iranian warship enters Red Sea
An Iranian war ship has passed through the Houthi-plagued Bab Al-Mandab strait into the Red Sea, Iran’s Tasnim news agency has reported.
It did not disclose the Alborz frigate’s mission but said Iranian naval vessels had been operating in the region “to secure shipping lanes since 2009”.
The strait has been the setting of a spate of attacks on container ships by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebel groups in recent weeks.
The group has said it will only stop if aid into Gaza is significantly increased.
Britain and the United States are drawing up plans to launch air strikes on the Houthis to deter further attacks.
The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which operates in the region, declined to comment on the vessel’s movements.
03:14 PM GMT
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03:13 PM GMT
Today's headlines
Hamas launched a salvo of more than 20 rockets on Israel as the clock struck midnight for the new year.
US officials fear strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen could benefit Iran, it was reported.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) suggested the war in Gaza will continue throughout 2024.
IDF data showed almost a fifth of the 170 Israeli soldiers who have died in Gaza since the war began were killed by friendly fire or in other accidents.
Hamas denied all allegations of rape and sexual assault as “lies and slanders”.
An Iranian war ship passed through the Bab Al-Mandab strait and entered the Red Sea after a spate of Houthi attacks on container ships.
Ilan Weiss, an Israeli thought to have been taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, was confirmed dead.
The IDF will withdraw some of its soldiers from Gaza as it shifts to more targeted operations against Hamas in a third phase of the war, an official told Reuters.
02:41 PM GMT
In pictures: Gaza today
01:56 PM GMT
Israel withdraws some troops from Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will withdraw some of its soldiers from Gaza as it shifts to more targeted operations against Hamas in a third phase of the war.
“This will take six months at least, and involve intense mopping-up missions against the terrorists,” an official told Reuters.
They added that those pulled out of the strip will be predominantly reservists.
Some will be redeployed to the northern border with Lebanon as attacks by the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group continue.
Others will return to civilian life to “re-energise the Israeli economy”, the official said.
01:39 PM GMT
Gaza death toll reaches 21,978
The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza by Israeli operations since October 7 now stands at 21,978, the strip’s Hamas-run health ministry has said.
It added that 56,697 Palestinians have injured during the same period.
01:09 PM GMT
IDF strikes Hezbollah drone site in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted an air strike on a site in southern Lebanon which it said Hezbollah was using to launch a drone.
It said the Iran-backed terror group was preparing to launch the drone near the village of Maroun al-Ras.
בשעות הבוקר כוחות צה"ל זיהו חוליית מחבלים מארגון הטרור חיזבאללה, שניסתה לשגר כלי טיס בלתי מאויישים לעבר שטח ישראל. כלי טיס של חיל האוויר תקף את החולייה בטרם הצליחה לבצע את השיגור והשמיד את כלי הטיס שבהם השתמשו>> pic.twitter.com/33hB9X1gSS
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) January 1, 2024
12:42 PM GMT
In pictures: Grief and destruction
12:18 PM GMT
Man thought taken hostage is dead
An Israeli who was believed to have been kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 was actually killed in the terror group’s attacks.
Ilan Weiss, 56, has been missing since October 7 when he joined the defence of Kibbutz Be’eri.
His wife Shiri, 53, and daughter Noga, 18, were both taken hostage and were released on November 25.
A number of Israelis who were thought to have been abducted by Hamas were later found to have been killed on October 7. Some of their bodies are still being held in Gaza.
12:01 PM GMT
Iranian war ship enters Red Sea after Houthi attacks
An Iranian war ship has passed through the Bab Al-Mandab strait and entered the Red Sea, Iran’s Tasnim news agency has reported.
The Alborz frigate’s movement comes after a spate of attacks on container ships passing through the strait by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebel group.
Iranian warships have been operating in the region “to secure shipping lanes since 2009”, Tasnim said.
Britain and the United States are drawing up plans to launch air strikes on the Houthis to deter further attacks.
11:53 AM GMT
Child vaccines enter Gaza
Thousands of child vaccines have been taken into Gaza, the Palestinian health ministry in the West Bank has said.
The ministry said the vaccines against childhood diseases including polio, measles, mumps and rubella will be given to those aged between eight and 14 months.
Yasser Bouzia, a ministry official, said 60,000 newborn babies in the strip have been largely cut off from medical care since the war began.
11:39 AM GMT
In pictures: IDF operations today
11:07 AM GMT
Hamas denies rape
Hamas has denied all allegations of rape and sexual assault as “lies and slanders” in a response to a New York Times article detailing evidence of such war crimes.
Basem Naim, a member of the terror group’s politburo, said there was no “conclusive evidence” of sexual crimes on and after October 7.
“The New York Times allegations contradict the very testimonies that Israeli women themselves said of the good treatment they had experienced from the Palestinian fighters on October 7,” he said.
He added: “Moreover, all Israeli female captives who were released from Gaza could only say well treatment they have received and the fighters (captors) keenness to provide them all they needed despite the difficult situation in Gaza.”
First responders to the massacre saw raped and abused bodies, writes Nataliya Vasilyeva, our Middle East Correspondent, in this investigation of Hamas’s sex crimes on and after October 7.
10:34 AM GMT
Hamas launches New Year rocket salvo on Israel
Hamas launched a salvo of more than 20 rockets on Israel as the clock struck midnight for the new year.
Air alert sirens sounded across the country and the Iron Dome anti-air defences intercepted missiles flying over Tel Aviv.
“I was terrified, like it was the first time I saw missiles, its terrifying,” Gabriel Zemelman said outside a Tel Aviv bar where he had gone to celebrate with friends.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for the attack in a video published on social media.
They said they fired M90 rockets in “response to the massacres of civilians” carried out by Israel.
There have been no official reports of deaths or damage.
10:06 AM GMT
Friendly fire kills fifth of IDF soldiers dead in Gaza
Almost a fifth of the 170 Israeli soldiers who have died in Gaza since the war began were killed by friendly fire or in other accidents.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said 18 were killed by friendly fire, two by stray bullets and nine when they were run over, their weapons accidentally fired or by shrapnel from controlled demolitions.
The total of 29 inadvertent deaths represents 17 per cent of all IDF deaths in Gaza.
09:44 AM GMT
War will continue all year, IDF suggests
The war in Gaza will continue throughout 2024, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has suggested.
Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, its spokesperson, said in a new year briefing that the Israeli armed force would be “required” for “warfare throughout this year”.
“Tonight, the year of 2024 begins,” he said.
“The objectives of the war require prolonged fighting, and we are preparing accordingly.”
He added: “These adaptations are designed to ensure planning and preparation for the continuation of 2024, as the IDF must plan ahead, understanding that we will be required for additional tasks and warfare throughout this year.”
09:22 AM GMT
US Houthi strikes ‘could benefit Iran’, officials fear
Pentagon officials fear air strikes on Houthi rebels could inadvertently benefit Iran, it has been reported.
Senior defence officials told the New York Times that Tehran, which backs the Yemen rebel group, stands to gain from any escalation of the conflict.
Adam Clements, a former US Army attache in Yemen, said: “The Iran-Houthi relationship greatly benefits from conflict, so why create more?”
Other officials and retired military officers told the newspaper that strikes on Houthi missiles, drones and boat sites are necessary to stop further attacks on Red Sea shipping.
Britain and the US are preparing a joint statement that could be issued as early as today giving the rebels a final warning to stop their attacks.
The US Navy destroyed three Houthi boats and killed at least 10 rebels as they attempted to board a container ship in the Red Sea on Sunday.
