U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza. He called on Hamas to do the same. Blinken on Tuesday was on his ninth urgent mission to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began more than 10 months ago. He did not say whether the “bridging proposal” addressed concerns cited by Hamas.
Quick Read
- Blinken Discusses Challenges in Cease-Fire Negotiations: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that while Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences over a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza, there are still “complex issues” and “hard decisions” that need to be addressed. Blinken is traveling to Egypt and Qatar for further negotiations after meetings in Israel.
- Israeli Airstrike on Gaza School-Shelter: An Israeli airstrike on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza killed at least 10 people, according to Palestinian officials. The Israeli military claimed the school was being used by Hamas militants for planning attacks.
- Bodies of Six Hostages Recovered in Gaza: The Israeli military recovered the bodies of six hostages during an operation in southern Gaza. The hostages were taken during Hamas’ October 7 attack, which sparked the ongoing conflict.
- Rocket Barrage from Lebanon Ignites Fires in Northern Israel: A barrage of 55 rockets fired from Lebanon caused fires in northern Israel. Israel’s military responded by striking the launch sites in Lebanon. The exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah has raised concerns of a larger escalation.
- Bodies of Two Hostages Returned to Israel: The bodies of two hostages, Yagev Buchshtav and Nadav Popplewell, were returned to Israel from Gaza. They were among the hostages taken by militants during the October 7 attack.
- Israeli Hostage Dies in Hamas Captivity: Avraham Munder, an Israeli hostage, was reported dead by his communal farming village. He was taken captive by Hamas on October 7 and had endured months of captivity.
- UN Chief Calls for Constructive Dialogue with New Israeli Ambassador: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized the importance of a constructive dialogue with Israel’s new ambassador, Danny Danon, amid ongoing tensions between Israel and the United Nations.
- Israeli Airstrikes Target Hezbollah Weapons Storage in Lebanon: Israeli airstrikes hit Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, causing large explosions. The strikes were part of ongoing military actions between Israel and Hezbollah.
The Associated Press has the story:
Blinken says ‘complex issues,’ ‘hard decisions’ remain over cease-fire plan
Newslooks- (AP)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza. He called on Hamas to do the same. Blinken on Tuesday was on his ninth urgent mission to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began more than 10 months ago. He did not say whether the “bridging proposal” addressed concerns cited by Hamas.
Even if the militant group accepts the proposal, negotiators will spend the coming days working on “clear understandings on implementing the agreement,” Blinken said. He said there are still “complex issues” requiring “hard decisions by the leaders,” without offering specifics.
Blinken is traveling to Egypt and Qatar on Tuesday for further negotiations after meetings in Israel on Monday.
His visit came days after mediators, including the United States, expressed renewed optimism that a deal was close. His trip also came amid fears the conflict could widen into a deeper regional war following the killings of top militant commanders in Lebanon that Iran blamed on Israel.
Here’s the latest:
Israeli airstrike on school-turned-shelter in Gaza kills at least 10 people, Palestinian officials say
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian officials say an Israeli airstrike on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City killed at least 10 people.
The Israeli military said Tuesday’s strike on the Mustafa Hafez school targeted Hamas militants who had set up a command center inside and were planning and launching attacks.
The Palestinian Civil Defense, first responders operating under the Hamas-run government, said the strike killed at least 10 people and that they were still searching for survivors. It said around 700 people were sheltering at the school when it was hit.
Earlier on Tuesday, a strike in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed five children and their mother, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where an Associated Press reporter counted the bodies.
The hospital said the father, Alaa Abu Zeid, a schoolteacher, has been in Israeli detention for the last nine months.
Bureij is one of several crowded, built-up refugee camps in Gaza that date back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.
Israel says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in dense residential areas. It has struck several schools-turned-shelters in recent weeks, accusing Hamas fighters of sheltering inside them.
Israeli military says it has recovered the bodies of 6 hostages in a Gaza operation
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it has recovered the bodies of six hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that started the Gaza war.
The military said in a statement Tuesday that its forces recovered the bodies in an overnight operation in southern Gaza. It identified the hostages as Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Avraham Munder, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell, and Haim Perry, without saying when or how they died.
The recovery came as the the United States, Egypt and Qatar are trying to mediate a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas that would see the release of scores of hostages held by the militant group.
Hamas is still believed to be holding around 110 hostages captured in the Oct. 7 attack. Israeli authorities estimate around a third of them are dead.
Israeli military says 55 rockets from Lebanon ignite fires in northern Israel
JERUSALEM — Israel’s military said that a barrage of 55 rockets from Lebanon has ignited fires in northern Israel.
The military said Tuesday that only some of the projectiles were intercepted by Israel’s air defense systems, while others fell in open areas. Firefighters were working to contain the blazes.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group said it fired “intense barrages of missiles” at military positions in Israel’s north. Israel said it struck the areas where the missiles were launched in Lebanon.
Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire since Oct. 8, causing widespread damage on both sides of the border and killing civilians and combatants on both sides.
Fears have increased in recent weeks of a larger escalation, with Hezbollah vowing retaliation for an Israeli strike last month in Beirut that killed one of its top commanders.
Bodies of 2 hostages returned to Israel from Gaza, their communal farm says
JERUSALEM — The bodies of two hostages were returned from the Gaza Strip, the communal farm they lived on announced Tuesday.
Kibbutz Nirim said that the bodies of Yagev Buchshtav and Nadav Popplewell had been returned to Israel from the Gaza Strip overnight. The kibbutz did not provide additional information and the Israeli military did not immediately confirm the information.
Israeli media reported that the two men — along with Avraham Munder, whose death his kibbutz announced Tuesday — were part of a larger military hostage extraction operation overnight.
Popplewell was declared dead by the Israeli military in June. Hamas said in May that Popplewell had died after being wounded in an Israeli airstrike. Israel’s military announced Buchshtav’s death in July.
The men were taken hostage by militants who stormed the border on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking roughly 250 hostages. About 110 hostages kidnapped that day remain in the strip. About a third of them are believed to be dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive on Gaza has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.
Another Israeli hostage dies in Hamas captivity, his village says
JERUSALEM — Another male hostage has died in Hamas captivity, his communal farming village announced Tuesday.
Kibbutz Nir Oz said that Avraham Munder had been killed while held hostage in Gaza “after enduring months of physical and mental torture.” It was not clear from the statement whether his body had been recovered. Israel’s military did not immediately confirm the information.
Of some 110 hostages remaining in Gaza who were captured in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, around 40 are believed to be dead, their bodies held in Gaza.
The kibbutz remembered Munder for his “clear voice, warm smile, and boundless love for his family and the kibbutz.”
Militants kidnapped Munder on Oct. 7 when they stormed Nir Oz, dragging some 80 of its residents back to Gaza.
Munder’s wife, daughter, and grandson were also taken hostage, but released during a brief cease-fire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. His son was killed on Oct. 7.
In total, militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, across southern Israel and took about 250 hostages back to Gaza. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.
UN chief calls for ‘constructive dialogue’ as a former Israeli ambassador to the UN returns to the post
UNITED NATIONS – From the early days of the Israel-Hamas war, Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan attacked U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, accusing him of being “an accomplice to terrorism” and calling for his resignation.
Now, Israel has a new ambassador, and the U.N. chief is calling for “a constructive dialogue.”
However, Danny Danon, who served as Israel’s U.N. ambassador from 2015-2020 and presented his credentials to the secretary-general on Monday, made clear he would be following in Erdan’s footsteps when it comes to Israel’s views about the United Nations.
Danon said he’s returning to the U.N. at a time of “immense challenges” for Israel and its people, saying 115 Israelis are still being held hostage in Gaza and face “ongoing atrocities and suffering.”
“I am committed to represent my country to show the real face of Israel, and to push back the lies and the hypocrisy that we unfortunately have to deal with here at this building,” he said.
Neither the U.N. Security Council nor the General Assembly have condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that killed about 1,200 people and triggered the war, though Guterres has repeatedly called for a cease-fire and the release of all hostages. He has also criticized the killing of over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including many women and children, mainly in Israeli airstrikes, as well as Israel’s obstruction to humanitarian aid deliveries.
For his part, Guterres said that “for the U.N., it is extremely important to have an objective relationship with Israel.”
“We have different points of view in many aspects in relation to the two-state solution, in relation to what has been happening recently,” Guterres said, “but that doesn’t mean that we should not have a constructive dialogue based on truth.”
Multiple Israeli airstrikes reported in Lebanon
BEIRUT — The Israeli army said it hit “a number of Hezbollah weapons storage facilities” in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley Monday night.
At least three Israeli airstrikes hit towns in the Baalbek district, Lebanese state media reported.
Videos from the scene showed a large fire and multiple explosions following the initial strike.
“Following the strikes, secondary explosions were identified, indicating the presence of large amounts of weapons in the facilities struck,” the Israeli army statement said.
A spokesperson for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the strike.
A similar scene took place last month after an Israeli airstrike on the southern coastal village of Adloun hit an arms depot, setting off a series of explosions that hit nearby villages with shrapnel.
