Lebanon PM condemns Israel for Beirut strike

Lebanon’s prime minister has condemned Israel for the explosion in Beirut which killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri and six others.

Najib Mikati said the assassination “aims to draw Lebanon into a new phase of confrontations”, at a time when Hamas-ally Hezbollah has been involved in daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces.

The nation’s officials are preparing a complaint to the UN Security Council against the ‘blatant’ strike, which it sees as an ‘Israeli violation of Lebanese security’.

Meanwhile, Mark Regev, adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister, said Israel had not taken responsibility for the attack in Beirut, but did say “whoever did it, it must be clear that this was not an attack on the Lebanese state.

“Whoever did this did a surgical strike against the Hamas leadership.”

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, had vowed to kill al-Arouri before war broke out, while the US had placed a $5 million bounty on his head.

Israeli politician Danny Danon praised Israeli security forces on social media for killing Saleh al-Arouri, while the country’s finance minister wrote on X: “So, let all thine enemies perish.”

08:31 PM GMT

That’s all for today

Thank you for following today’s live blog. We will be back tomorrow with all the latest updates.

Today’s headlines:

• An explosion in Beirut killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri and six others.

• Israeli politicians congratulated the IDF on the assassination, though an adviser to the Israeli prime minister said Israel did not take responsibility.

• Hamas media outlet Al Aqsa TV announced the “cowardly assassination” as a “treacherous Zionist strike”.

• Netanyahu’s attempt to limit judicial influence was struck down by Israeli supreme court.

• Grant Shapps emphasised the need to protect the Red Sea from Houthi rebels.

• Turkey detained 33 accused of spying for Israel.

• Syria claimed an Israeli attack on Damascus outskirts caused material damage.

• Foreign Office delivered 87 tonnes of UK & Cypriot aid to Gaza.

• Israel confirmed it would appear before the ICJ to counter South Africa’s genocide case.

• Several were reportedly killed in bombing of Palestinian aid organisation HQ.

• Israel is withdrawing some of its troops in need of rest, saying the war is a “marathon not a sprint”.

08:14 PM GMT

Hamas chief blames Israel for strike

Ismail Haniyeh has labelled the strike on Beirut as a “fully-fledged terrorist act” for which Israel bears responsibility.

In a statement via television, the Hamas chief said: “We affirm that the Zionist occupation’s assassination of the brother, the great national leader, the Mujahid, Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri, and his fellow leaders and cadres of the movement, on Lebanese soil is a complete terrorist act, a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty, and an expansion of its aggression against our people and our nation.

“The Nazi-Zionist occupation bears responsibility for its repercussions, and it will not succeed in breaking the will of steadfastness and resistance among our people and their valiant resistance.”

07:57 PM GMT

Israel behind strike but did not inform US in advance, say senior American officials

Israel was responsible for the attack on Beirut which killed Saleh al-Arouri, but did not keep its US counterparts in the loop, senior American officials have told Axios.

Axios reporter, Barak Ravid said on X: “Two U.S. officials told me Israel was behind the strike in Beirut but didn’t notify the US in advance of the attack.

“A senior Israeli official confirmed Israel didn’t give the U.S. a heads up but said Israel notified the Biden administration ‘as the operation was happening.’”

It comes after The Washington Post quoted an anonymous US defence official confirming Israel responsibility for the strike on Beirut.

07:40 PM GMT

Two more Hamas leaders named among Beirut dead

Leaders from the Qassam brigades armed wing of Hamas, Samir Findi Abu Amer and Azzam Al-Aqraa Abu Ammar, were also killed in the alleged Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, according to Hamas’ Al Aqsa TV channel.

07:19 PM GMT

Israeli forces ready ‘for any scenario’ says IDF spokesperson

Israel’s military spokesman told reporters that the army remains focused on fighting Hamas after an explosion in Beirut that killed the deputy leader of Hamas.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said: “We are focused and remain focused on fighting against Hamas.”

He added: “We are on high readiness for any scenario.”

06:52 PM GMT

Hezbollah leader previously pledged ‘decisive response’ to any Israeli assassination

Hassan Nasrallah has previously vowed to retaliate against any Israeli targeting of Palestinian officials on Lebanese soil.

In a speech made in August, the Hezbollah leader said: “Any assassination on Lebanese soil against a Lebanese, Syrian, Iranian or Palestinian will be met with a decisive response.

“We will not tolerate this, and we will not allow Lebanon to become a new killing field for Israel.”‌

An Islamic Jihad political bureau member has said that Israel “will pay the price for its crimes, including the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri,” according to Lebanese Al Mayadeen state media.

Iran said the killing would “further ignite the resistance against Israel”, while Yemen’s Houthi movement expressed condolences.

06:39 PM GMT

Senior Hamas leader’s death is a ‘big loss’ for Hamas

Saleh al-Arouri was a member of the negotiating team in Cairo for the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was released from captivity by Hamas in 2011.

Gershon Baskin, a former Israeli hostage negotiator involved in Shalit’s release, described al-Arouri’s death as a “big loss” for Hamas, “especially because he was directly in charge of terrorist actions from the West Bank.”

The Hamas deputy leader was wanted by the US, who sanctioned him as a “specially designated global terrorist” in 2015.

Washington offered £3.96 million ($5 million) in exchange for the Palestinian militant, who announced Hamas’ responsibility for a June 2014 terrorist attack that involved the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank, including dual U.S.–Israeli citizen Naftali Fraenkel.

06:26 PM GMT

Israel bracing for response after Beirut explosion

Saleh al-Arouri is the most senior Hamas official to be killed since the Oct 7 terror attacks, and Israel is bracing for a serious response from Hezbollah, according to media outlet Axios.

The response could include launch of “long range missiles on targets in Israel,” a senior Israeli official told the outlet.

06:01 PM GMT

US Senate delegation to arrive in Israel on Tuesday

A bipartisan group of United States senators will travel to the Middle East on Tuesday night to meet with senior Israeli officials.

Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee are set to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders in Arab countries, according to Senator Kyrsten Gillibrand.

“We’re going to assess the status of the war as well as what the opportunities are for regional allies to create a path to peace,” the New York Democrat told CNN.

Later this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will also travel to the Middle East to discuss the next phase of the war in Gaza with Israeli officials.

05:53 PM GMT

Adviser to Israel PM refuses to confirm involvement in Beirut explosion

Mark Regev, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told MSNBC that Israel had not taken responsibility for the attack in Beirut, but “whoever did it, it must be clear: This was not an attack on the Lebanese state.”

“Whoever did this did a surgical strike against the Hamas leadership,” Mr Regev told the American broadcaster.

It came as The Washington Post reported an anonymous US defence official confirming Israel responsibility for the strike on Beirut.

05:48 PM GMT

Beirut death toll rises to six

Six people, including Hamas’ deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri, were killed in an explosion in the southern suburbs of Beirut, according to Lebanese state media.

“The number of martyrs... has risen to six,” in an alleged Israeli drone strike that targeted a Hamas office, said Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).

Earlier it reported that four people had died.

05:44 PM GMT

Lebanon PM condemns Israel for Beirut strike

Lebanon’s prime minister has condemned Israel for the explosion in the southern suburb of Beirut which killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri, saying the attack “aims to draw Lebanon” into the Israel-Hamas war.

“Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the explosion in the southern suburbs of Beirut that killed and injured many,” his office said in a statement.

The attack “aims to draw Lebanon into a new phase of confrontations” with Israel, at a time when Hamas ally Hezbollah has been involved in daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces.

Lebanese officials are said to be preparing a complaint to the UN Security Council against the ‘blatant’ strike in Beirut as a ‘new Israeli violation of Lebanese security’.

05:36 PM GMT

Israeli politicians congratulate IDF on assassination

Knesset Member Danny Danon of the Likud party has praised Israeli security forces for killing Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut.

Mr Danon wrote on X: “I congratulate the IDF, the Shin Bet, the Mossad and the security forces for killing senior Hamas official Salah al-Aaruri in Beirut.”

Quoting the Book of Judges, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also wrote on X: “So, let all thine enemies perish.”

This is despite cabinet secretary Yossi Fuchs’ orders to refrain from speaking publicly on the alleged Israeli strike, according to the Israeli broadcaster Channel 12.

05:20 PM GMT

Pictured: Beirut explosion

05:05 PM GMT

Hamas deputy leader killed in strike on Beirut

The deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau, Saleh al-Arouri, has been assassinated in an explosion in Beirut, Hamas has confirmed.

Saleh al-Arouri was deputy chairman of Hamas’s political bureau and Hamas’s military commander of the West Bank. He was elected deputy to Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in 2017, before being officially named the group’s number two.

Hamas media outlet Al Aqsa TV announced the “cowardly assassination” as a “treacherous Zionist strike” on the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahiyeh in the suburbs of Lebanon’s capital.

The Israeli military has said it will not comment on reports in the foreign media.

04:31 PM GMT

Hamas office in Beirut hit by explosion killing “senior Palestinian official” and three others

Four people including a “senior Palestinian official” have reportedly been killed in an alleged Israeli strike on a Hamas office in a Beirut suburb, according to Lebanese state media.

“Four people were martyred and a number of others injured when the Hamas office was targeted” in Dahiyeh, said Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).

In footage shared on social media by Sharmine Narwani, members of the public can be seen running down a street towards smoke and flames.

04:22 PM GMT

Rockets launched from Gaza at southern Israel

After a lull of nearly 42 hours, rockets have reportedly been launched from the Gaza Strip in the direction of southern Israel.

Hamas last fired rockets as the new year began.

Sirens are sounding in the city of Sderot, as well as the adjacent communities of Ibim and Nir Am, though there are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

03:46 PM GMT

Rocket sirens sound in northern Israel

Sirens activated in Shlomi, near the border with Lebanon.

It comes after the mayor of Shlomi told national broadcasters that Israel would be left with no other choice but a ground incursion into Lebanon.

Shlomo Ne’eman said that Hezbollah had dug tunnels along the border, not far from the northern Israeli town.

03:37 PM GMT

Malaysia welcomes South Africa’s ICJ genocide case against Israel

The Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has welcomed the application by South Africa before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel on alleged genocide violations in Gaza.

“The legal action against Israel before ICJ is a timely and tangible step towards legal accountability for Israel’s atrocities in Gaza and Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) at large,” a statement read.

It added: “Malaysia reiterates its call for a durable solution by granting the Palestinians their own independent and sovereign State, based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Malaysia’s prime minister has previously lauded the nation’s ties with Hamas and does not recognise Israel diplomatically.

03:11 PM GMT

Hostages will only be released after an IDF withdrawal, says Hamas chief

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh has said that hostages abducted from Israel will only be freed from Gaza under ceasefire conditions set by the Palestinian militant group.

“Hostages will not be released except under the resistance’s conditions,” Haniyeh said in a televised address.

Haniyeh said the movement had made its position clear to Qatar and Egypt, which is based on “a complete cessation of the aggression” against the Palestinians.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad informed Egypt that hostages would only be released after a ceasefire and withdrawal of Israel Defence Forces (IDF) forces from the Gaza Strip, according to Lebanese Al Mayadeen news channel.

The Hamas chief also said he is open to a single Palestinian administration governing Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

02:53 PM GMT

Troops need rest for 'marathon' war, says Israel

Israel is withdrawing some of its troops from Gaza to “rest” as the war against Hamas is “a marathon not a sprint,” an adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.

Mark Regev, the former Israeli ambassador to the UK, told Sky News: “We have to take troops out now to rest them, to let them come out of combat for a while so they can go in later.”

“We have to be able to rotate our troops in and out as is needed,” he added.

His remarks came as Gaza residents reported that Israeli tanks had pulled back from parts of the enclave’s north after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced plans to withdraw thousands of troops.

The IDF said the move would see it shift to more targeted operations against Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip.

“This will take six months at least, and involve intense mopping-up missions against the terrorists,” an Israeli official told Reuters.

However, the Israeli military continued to step up its offensive in the south in the key city of Khan Younis.

02:43 PM GMT

Pictured: Soldiers hold weapons during the funeral of Israeli military reservist

02:11 PM GMT

More than 22,000 killed in Gaza since October 7th, claims Hamas-run health ministry

A total of 22,185 Palestinians have been killed and 57,035 wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza since Oct.7, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said.

Some 207 Palestinians were killed and 338 were wounded in the past 24 hours, the ministry added.

02:02 PM GMT

Several reportedly killed in bombing of Palestinian aid organisation HQ

The Palestinian Red Crescent said that “several” people were killed and wounded in renewed Israeli bombardment of its headquarters in Gaza’s Khan Younis.

01:13 PM GMT

Only 15 per cent of Israelis want Netanyahu to keep job after Gaza war, poll finds

Only 15 per cent of Israelis want Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stay in office after the war on Hamas in Gaza ends, though many more still support his strategy of crushing the militants in the Palestinian enclave, according to a poll published on Tuesday.

Mr Netanyahu promised to crush Hamas after its Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 240 abducted to Gaza. Israeli forces have laid much of Gaza to waste in their nearly three-month retalitory offensive.

Mr Netanyahu has said such intense military pressure is also vital to ensure that the remaining 129 hostages still held in Gaza are returned after around 100 were freed in late November in a swap deal also involving hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

12:43 PM GMT

Pictured: A girl holds a kitten outside a tent in Rafah

12:38 PM GMT

Israel will appear before ICJ to counter South Africa's Gaza case

Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague to contest South Africa’s genocide accusations over the war with Hamas in Gaza, an Israeli government spokesman has said.

“The State of Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice at The Hague to dispel South Africa’s absurd blood libel,” spokesman Eylon Levy said in an online briefing.

“We assure South Africa’s leaders, history will judge you, and it will judge you without mercy,” Mr Levy said.

12:15 PM GMT

Israeli tanks 'pull back' in northern Gaza

Israeli tanks have pulled back in parts of northern Gaza, residents said, after the IDF announced plans to withdraw thousands of troops from the enclave.

The move came as the Israeli military stepped up its offensive in the south in the key city of Khan Younis.

Residents of Sheikh Radwan district in Gaza City, in the northern part of the enclave that Israel’s offensive focused on in the initial phase of the war, said IDF tanks had pulled back after what they described as the most intense 10 days of fighting since the conflict began.

Tanks also pulled out of Gaza City’s al-Mina district and parts of Tel al-Hawa district, while retaining some positions in the suburb controlling the enclave’s main coastal road, residents said.

11:56 AM GMT

Blair denies link to role in 'resettlement' of Gazans

Sir Tony Blair has strongly denied an Israeli media report linking him to talks last week about the resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza in other countries.

Channel 12 claimed on Sunday that the former British prime minister, who left office in 2007 and was a Middle East envoy charged with building up Palestinian institutions, was in Israel last week.

The news channel said he held meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior minister Benny Gantz about a mediation role after the war with Hamas.

He could also act as a go-between with moderate Arab states about the “voluntary resettlement” of Gazans, it added.

But the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a non-profit organisation he set up in 2016, said the report was “a lie”.

“The story was published without any contact with Tony Blair or his team. No such discussion has taken place,” it said in a statement on Monday night.

“Nor would Tony Blair have such a discussion. The idea is wrong in principle. Gazans should be able to stay and live in Gaza.”

10:47 AM GMT

Pictured: Israeli soldiers with their tanks gather at an area near the border with the Gaza Strip

10:33 AM GMT

Foreign Office working with partners to get more aid into Gaza

10:16 AM GMT

Syria claims Israeli attack on Damascus outskirts caused material damage

A Syrian military statement said an Israeli air strike early on Tuesday that came from the direction of the Golan Heights targeting positions in the outskirts of Damascus caused some material damage, Syrian state news agency (SANA) reported.

The Israeli military said it carried out a strike against Syrian military targets overnight between Monday and Tuesday, hitting what it described as “military infrastructure of the Syrian army,” in response to earlier rocket launches.

Late on Monday, it said five rockets were launched from Syrian territory. War planes also struck at Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, the military said.

09:37 AM GMT

Turkey detains 33 accused of spying for Israel

Turkish authorities have detained 33 people suspected of carrying out espionage for Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, the state-run Anadolu news agency has said, adding 13 others were being sought by police.

Anadolu said police had carried out simultaneous raids in 57 locations across eight provinces as part of an investigation that the counter-terrorism bureau of the Istanbul prosecutor’s office had launched.

Without citing sources, it said the suspects were believed to be aiming to identify, monitor, assault and kidnap foreign nationals living in Turkey as part of “international espionage” operations.

09:18 AM GMT

Israeli army says investigating soldier over killing of detained Gazan

The Israeli military said it is investigating a soldier suspected of shooting dead a Palestinian who had been captured and detained by troops in the Gaza Strip.

“The terrorist was handed over to the supervision of a soldier, who, under suspicion, allegedly shot him, resulting in his death,” the army said of the Sunday incident.

“In light of the preliminary information, a military police investigation has been initiated to examine the circumstances of the shooting,” it added in a statement sent to AFP.

09:05 AM GMT

Israel-Hamas war in pictures:

08:42 AM GMT

Shelling 'rocks length of Gaza Strip'

Shelling and missile strikes rocked the length of the Gaza Strip overnight into Tuesday, after Israel’s army warned its war against the territory’s Hamas rulers will last through 2024.

On Monday night into Tuesday morning, eyewitnesses reported missiles fired towards the city of Rafah in the south and shelling around the Jabalia refugee camp in the north.

Fighting was also reported around the central areas of Maghazi and Bureij, as well as the main southern city of Khan Yunis.

“It’s the worst year of our lives,” Gaza resident Sami Hamouda, 64, told AFP of 2023.

“Every new day is like the previous one: bombings, death and mass killings.”

08:31 AM GMT

Grant Shapps: We must protect the Red Sea from Houthi rebels

Read more from Defence Secretary Grant Shapps here

08:26 AM GMT

Netanyahu’s attempt to limit judicial influence struck down by Israeli supreme court

Israel’s supreme court has struck down a controversial law passed by Benjamin Netanyahu’s Right-wing coalition government that had rolled back some of the high court’s power and prompted nationwide protests last year.

In a statement, the supreme court said a majority of its judges had voted to invalidate an amendment to one of Israel’s quasi-constitutional basic laws. The change had caused “severe and unprecedented harm to the core characteristics of Israel as a democratic state”, the statement said.

The legislation, passed last summer, removed one, but not all, of the supreme court’s tools for quashing government and ministerial decisions. It took away the court’s ability to void such decisions if it deemed them “unreasonable”.

08:26 AM GMT

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