One killed, two injured in Israeli airstrike on Qleileh, south Lebanon: Day 103 of Hamas-Israel war

Thank you for following our LIVE coverage from day 103 of the Hamas-Israel war.

We'll be back tomorrow with more news updates and analysis, right here at L'Orient Today.

Agence France Presse employees pose on the balconies and windows of the agency's headquarters in Paris, earlier today, holding portraits in support of AFP journalists working in Gaza. (Credit: Bertrand Guay/AFP)

A top Hamas official announced new conditions for delivering medicines to hostages held by the group in Gaza, insisting trucks carrying the drugs must not be inspected by Israel, AFP reports.

Under a deal thrashed out by mediators Qatar and France on Tuesday, medicines along with humanitarian aid are to be supplied to civilians in Gaza in exchange for delivering drugs needed by hostages held there.

Forty-five hostages are expected to receive medication according to the agreement.

"For every box of medicine that goes in for them, 1,000 boxes will go in for residents of Gaza," said Musa Abu Marzuk, a senior member of Hamas political bureau, in a post on X. "The medicines will be supplied to different hospitals," he said. "The pharmaceutical trucks will enter without Israeli inspection."

👉 Read more here.

The Jordanian army accused Israel of damaging a Jordanian field hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip and wounding two people, one medic and one ICU patient, AFP reports.

This comes during what residents of Khan Younis, the largest city in the south of the enclave, are calling one of the most intense nights of Israeli airstrikes since the start of the war, according to reporting from the BBC.

The Gaza Health Ministry said that at least 81 people were killed overnight in Israeli bombardment on southern Gaza. The intensified fighting followed yesterday's announcement from Qatar that a deal had been reached between Hamas and Israel for the delivery of medicine for hostages held in the Strip and an increase in aid and medicine for Palestinians caught in one of today's most dire humanitarian crises.

Qatar announced the delivery of medicines bound for hostages, but so far there has been no confirmation regarding the medicines reaching their final destinations.

👉 Read about last night's fighting around the Jordanian field hospital.

Wadi Hujjeir and Wadi Sluqi, two valleys in southern Lebanon, have been the focus of constant artillery shelling and airstrikes since cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began on Oct. 8.

On Tuesday and Wednesday mornings alone, at least 25 Israeli airstrikes were reported to have targeted Wadi Sluqi and the outskirts of Houla, Marjayoun district.

👉 Read about what makes these valleys so strategically important.

Jacob Burns, a humanitarian aid worker, was on assignment in Gaza from Dec. 17, 2023 to Jan. 4, 2024. He spent time in southern Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing Israeli bombardment have taken refuge. His mission was to repair and rehabilitate the health care services at one of Gaza's debilitated hospitals.

He tells L'Orient Today about what it was like to work in the midst of what several aid organizations are calling one of today's worst humanitarian crises.

👉 Watch the interview here.

This handout image provided by the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) shows boxes inside a Qatari military aircraft as two planes from Qatar containing aid for Gaza, including medicine for hostages, are unloaded at al-Arish airport in Egypt earlier today. (Credit: MOFA/AFP)

A top Hamas official announced new conditions today for delivering medicines to hostages held by the group in Gaza, insisting trucks carrying the drugs must not be inspected by Israel.

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has received a report of an incident 60 nautical miles south-east of the Yemeni port city of Aden, Reuters reports.

The vessel has reportedly been hit on the port side by an "un-crewed aerial system" causing a fire onboard.

The new UN coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, is in Egypt to "facilitate, accelerate and expedite" the delivery of aid into the besieged enclave, according to a post on the UN News account on X.

Kaag was appointed to fill a new position for monitoring and verifying aid shipments into Gaza in line with the UN Security Council resolution adopted last month. In her visit to Egypt, she met with several ministers in the Egyptian government as well as the Egyptian Red Crescent Society.

Speaking to reporters, Kaag said the meetings were "to see how we can facilitate, accelerate and expedite all areas of the assistance that is so much needed for civilians in Gaza, given the very acute humanitarian conditions that they have to live with.”

Israel's army chief says the likelihood of war breaking out on the country's northern border with Lebanon has become "much higher," according to reports from AFP and Haaretz.

"I don't know when the war in the north is, I can tell you that the likelihood of it happening in the coming months is much higher than it was in the past," Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi said in a statement.

Earlier this week the Israeli army posted a video on X describing Hezbollah as a threat to "all of western civilization." The army posted a separate video about Hezbollah’s elite commando Radwan unit, describing it as "an imminent threat" on Israel’s northern border.

Since the start of the war on Gaza and cross-border fighting with Hezbollah, Israeli media has reported on the fear that the Radwan Unit could one day infiltrate the country, should there be an all-out war on its northern frontier.

👉 Read L’Orient Today’s explainer about the Radwan unit.

Events from southern Lebanon over the last hour:

• An interceptor missile exploded over Beit Yahoun, Bint Jbeil district, according to local residents, at around 7 p.m.

• Israeli aircraft raided the area around the town of Yaroun, Bint Jbeil district, witnesses say.

• Israeli artillery fired nine shells in a quarter of an hour, in the direction of the Wadi al-Sluqi valley, according to residents who spoke with our correspondent in the region, Muntasser Abdallah

• The al-Qassam Brigades announced the death of their fighter in southern Lebanon, Walid Ahmed Hassanain, in a post on the group's official Telegram channel. Hassanain was from the Palestinian refugee camp of Miyeh-Miyeh, in Saida, southern Lebanon. According to L'Orient Today's correspondent, the Palestinian fighter was killed in the southern Lebanese town of Qleileh, in the Israeli strike we reported on earlier, which occurred at around 5:30 p.m. this afternoon.

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza has warned that it may lose the capacity to conduct complete blood count (CBC) tests “at any moment," in a post published on their official Facebook page.

The standard test is used to diagnose diseases and assess general health, including Hepatitis A. The health ministry confirmed earlier today that Hepatitis A is spreading in Gaza due to overcrowding in shelters across the Strip. The disease is a highly contagious liver infection that is contracted by contaminated food or water, or from close contact with a person or object that carries the infection.

Israeli war Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz says that the Israeli army's goals in Gaza "have not changed," and that "the first goal is the return of the hostages, and is a top priority in our timeline," Haaretz reports.

Gantz says that efforts for progress toward these goals are not diminishing and include Israeli initiatives involving various parties.

As reported by Reuters, on Jan. 1, Israeli army officials announced the military was shifting its tactics in preparation for a long-term war. Troops were withdrawn from northern Gaza as the army said its operations there would involve a "more targeted" approach.

However, despite having withdrawn one of four divisions operating in the north on Monday (Jan. 15), Reuters reported yesterday (Tuesday) residents witnessing the return of Israeli army tanks to areas they had previously withdrawn from. Reuters correspondents described renewed fighting, rockets launched from within the strip — evidence Hamas and an intense evening of Israeli airstrikes.

Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam says that the group will not stop its attacks on ships heading to Israel from the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, in an interview with Al Jazeera.

Abdulsalam spoke to Al Jazeera following the United States' designation of Yemen-based Houthi rebels as a "terrorist" group in response to its attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. He said that the US had no power to implement its decision against the Houthis, and denied reports that Iran has been supplying arms to the group.

He added that the Houthis would “not back down in its position in support of the Palestinian people.”

The US has designated the Yemen-based Houthi rebels, as a "terrorist" group, following its attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, according to a White House statement.

The White House’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, said in a statement that "these attacks fit the textbook definition of terrorism. They have endangered US personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized global trade, and threatened freedom of navigation."

The statement adds they have categorized "Ansar Allah" also known as the Houthis, as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist," so that its funds are frozen by US financial institutions and its members are banned from entering the US.

One person has been killed in a Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese town of Qleileh, Sour district, medical and security sources confirmed with L'Orient Today.

An additional two people have been injured, one of whom is in critical condition according to the medical source. The strike happened around 5:30 p.m., following an afternoon of continuous Israeli bombardment of southern Lebanon and Hezbollah rocket fire towards northern Israel.

Eyewitnesses say that shortly after the initial strike, the Israeli air force hit the same area in Qleileh with a second missile.

🔴 BREAKING: Several people have been injured in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese town of Qleileh, Sour district, security and Civil Defense sources tell L'Orient Today's correspondent in the south. We also understand that ambulances are currently en route to the town, in response to the strike.

The attack comes following an afternoon of continuous Israeli bombardment of southern Lebanon, as well as Hezbollah rocket fire towards northern Israel. More updates to follow.

Hezbollah strikes in the last hour:

• Shortly before 4:30 p.m., missiles fired from southern Lebanon targeted western Galilee. According to local residents, Israeli bombardments also hit the al-Jabala neighborhood in Mais al-Jabal, Marjayoun district.

• Hezbollah announced in a statement published on Telegram that its fighters fired at Israeli soldier in the Abad area around 3:15 p.m., directly hitting their target.

• Hezbollah announced in a statement on Telegram that its fighters fired at Israeli soldiers in the Tell Shaar area around 3 p.m., causing casualties.

• According to a security source, the Israeli locality of Roueissate al-Alam, in the occupied Shebaa Farms, was hit by missiles fired from southern Lebanon. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the strike, which took place at 2:50 p.m., targeting a group of Israeli soldiers in the Roueissate al-Alam area of the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms. Hezbollah says its fighters used Bourkan missiles and "directly hit" their target.

France has refused to support the accusations of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, brought by South Africa against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), denouncing the crossing of a "moral threshold."

"To accuse the Jewish state of genocide is to cross a moral threshold. We cannot exploit the notion of genocide for political ends," declared Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné, during questions to the government at the French National Assembly, according to AFP.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran had shared intelligence with Iraq on what it considers to be activities by Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, Reuters reports.

Iran said its Revolutionary Guards had attacked Israel's "spy HQ" in Iraq, in the Kurdistan city of Irbil, on Monday. Iraq later denied the existence of any such spy center in the country.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati stressed the need to "work for a cease-fire in Gaza and the delivery of humanitarian aid." He also called on "influential states to put pressure on Israel to stop its aggression on southern Lebanon and its continued violation of Lebanese sovereignty."

Finally, Mikati assured that "Lebanon respects Resolution 1701," and called on Israel to do likewise.

Several Israeli officials appeared to distance themselves from a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office which claimed that he had "not been involved" in the decision not to inspect a shipment of medicine to be sent to Israeli hostages in Gaza. "It was the Israeli army and security forces who took this decision," Netanyahu's office had said.

The shipment of these medicines had been obtained under an agreement negotiated with Hamas, via Qatar.

On X, Minister Benny Gantz stated, "The shipment of medicine to the hostages is a significant and important step for which we worked hard. The responsibility for the decision and its implementation lies at the political level – and with us alone."

"Bibi, enough of the bullshit. It's time you started taking responsibility instead of blaming others. Stop making decisions based solely on political considerations," wrote Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of the Israel Beytenou party, on X. "It's time you started taking responsibility instead of blaming others."

The situation in southern Lebanon over the last hour:

- Israeli combat planes carried out a strike on an area located between Ramieh and Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil), residents of the area told our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

- Israeli artillery bombarded a house in the town of Adaisseh (Marjayoun) without causing any casualties, residents told L'Orient Today.

- According to a security source, missiles were fired from South Lebanon toward Israeli positions.

- Israeli artillery fire targeted the outskirts of Marwahine and Boustan (Sour), according to residents.

- Hezbollah announced that it had targeted "Israeli soldiers near the Rihab site" (facing the Lebanese border village of Aita al-Shaab in the Bint Jbeil district) at 1 p.m.

- Israeli artillery fire targeted the outskirts of Yarine, according to residents.

More than twenty humanitarian organizations have expressed their "deep concern" about the recent escalation in Yemen, warning of its consequences on this country devastated by war and largely dependent on international aid, reports the AFP.

“The humanitarian crisis in Yemen remains one of the most serious in the world and the escalation will only worsen the situation of vulnerable civilians and hamper the ability of humanitarian organizations to provide [them] essential services,” underline 26 NGOs working in the country, including CARE, Save the Children and the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Find all the details of the NGO appeal here.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, warned that a full-scale war between Hezbollah and Israel would be a "total disaster," AFP reports. 

"The spillover that is already taking place, the risk of a full-fledged confrontation in Lebanon, it would be a total disaster. We need to avoid it at all cost," the UN chief stated.

Hezbollah and Israel have been trading near-daily fire along the border since Oct. 8.

For more on what a possible war between Hezbollah and Israel would look like, click here.

India is engaged in diplomatic negotiations with Iran over shipping attacks in the Red Sea, carried out by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, an Indian government source told Reuters.

India's foreign minister visited Iran this week for talks with his counterpart and said on Monday that the discussions focused on the situation in the Red Sea, where attacks have disrupted shipping.

The Indian source, who requested anonymity, said the finance ministry's banking division would also make it easier for exporters hit by the disruptions to obtain credit.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry announced that the Arab League will meet urgently following the attack by Iranian Revolutionary Guards on Irbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region, Reuters reports, citing the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.

Late Monday, the IRGC carried out an attack on the outskirts of Irbil. According to the Iranian state-run news agency IRNA, ballistic missiles destroyed "a headquarters" from which Israel's intelligence services operated – a claim denied by Kurdish and Iraqi authorities.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, described the conflict in Gaza as "upsetting," reports Reuters. He said what was needed to resolve the situation was a Palestinian state with a government structure "that gives the people what they want and works with Israel to be effective."

Blinken said Washington is hearing from virtually every country in the Middle East that they want the United States to be at the table discussing how to end the war between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.

The Jordanian army, in a statement cited by Reuters, deplored the significant damage suffered by its field hospital in Khan Younis after Israeli bombings. The army said it held Israel responsible for a “flagrant violation of international law.”

An Egyptian security source reported to AFP the arrival of a Qatari plane in Al-Arish "carrying medicines," after an agreement announced the day before by Qatar "on the entry of medicines...for the hostages in exchange for a shipment of humanitarian aid for civilians in the Gaza Strip.

Two Israeli artillery shells fell on the outskirts of the Khiam plain (Marjayoun), residents told our correspondent in southern Lebanon around half an hour ago.

Meanwhile, we received more information about the bombing that targeted Houla earlier today. According to residents, four empty houses were bombarded in the strikes.

Update on what has been happening in the past 30 minutes at the Lebanese-Israeli borders:

Residents reported that Israeli warplanes fired four missiles on houses in Houla (Marjayoun), according to our correspondent in southern Lebanon. A fifth missile targeted the Sbeh neighborhood in the village

(Photo sent to L'Orient Today by Houla residents)

Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani canceled a meeting with Iran's foreign minister at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to protest Iranian missile strikes on the Iraqi Kurdish city of Irbil, according to Reuters

On Monday, Iran struck Irbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, with ballistic missiles in what it said was an attack on an Israeli spy center, which officials said Iraqis and Iraqi Kurds vigorously denied. 

“Hepatitis A is spreading in the Gaza Strip due to overpopulation and the low level of hygiene in places housing displaced people,” reports the Gazan Ministry of Health. 

The Palestinian Red Crescent announced the deaths of four people in an Israeli army strike this morning in the Tulkarem refugee camp, in the northwest of the occupied West Bank, according to AFP.

Update on what has been happening in the past 30 minutes at the Lebanese-Israeli borders:

Three Israeli artillery shells have fallen on the outskirts of Mazraat Sardah (Marjayoun), near Wazzani, residents told our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

According to residents of Mazraat Sardah, the shells fell close to farmers in the fields, which terrified them and forced them to take refuge in safe places. No casualties were recorded.

Iran has not resumed resupplying weapons to Houthi rebels by sea after US- and UK-led airstrikes in Yemen last week in the Red Sea, Western officials told Bloomberg. Showing cautious optimism, the officials, who requested anonymity, said the military action may have succeeded in disrupting Iranian arms supplies to the Yemeni group, at least temporarily. They added, however, that it was still too early to assess their long-term impact.

These US-British strikes in the Red Sea were aimed at protecting the vital maritime route, according to the US administration which at the same time insists on its desire to avoid a wider war in the Middle East.

Find the full Bloomberg report here.

Gaza's Ministry of Health announced that the updated death toll in the enclave has increased to 24,448 since Oct. 7, AFP reports.

The ministry added that an additional 61,504 have been injured.

Update on what has been happening in the past 30 minutes at the Lebanese-Israeli borders:

An Israeli drone struck an area called Khallet al-Adas, located between Yarine and Dhairah (Sour), residents told our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

Moreover, Israeli artillery shelling has targeted the outskirts of Tayr Harfa, Dhairah, Jibbain and Shihine (Sour), according to residents.

An Israeli rocket also targeted the outskirts of Marwahin (Sour), a security source told L'Orient Today.

At 9:50 a.m., an Israeli drone struck a house near a mosque in the village of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil), which led to the burning of the house. No casualties were reported.

Hezbollah announced the death of one of its members, Rashid Mohammad Shaghlil, originally from Tamnin al-Fawqa in the Bekaa, "on the road to Jerusalem." 

This is the first death announced by Hezbollah since last Thursday when two rescue workers affiliated with the party were killed in an Israeli strike on a civil defense center in Hanine.

According to the count carried out by L'Orient Today, this death announced by the party brings to 162 members of Hezbollah killed since Oct. 8, including three deaths from the Resistance Brigades (a group allied to the party) and the two rescue workers.

Three of Japan's main maritime carriers confirmed to AFP that they were suspending the transit of all their cargoes through the Red Sea, due to the sharp rise in tensions in this region.

Nippon Yusen took this decision to “guarantee the safety of the crews,” explained a spokesperson for the group to AFP. Mitsui OSK Lines and Kawasaki Kisen have also confirmed their decision to completely avoid the area.

According to Al Jazeera, the situation was tense overnight in the occupied West Bank.

In Tulkarem, the raids on the town continue. Numerous Israeli military vehicles entered the city and armored bulldozers destroyed infrastructure and roads. A public hospital was surrounded by armored vehicles and prevented ambulances from reaching it, according to witnesses.

Furthermore, incursions also took place in Hebron, Jericho, Bethlehem and Ramallah.

We had already reported earlier on the raid in the Balata refugee camp where an Israeli drone targeted a car. The Israeli army declared that it had “eliminated” with this strike the “head of the terrorist infrastructure” in the camp, Ahmed Abdullah Abu Shalal. 

Residents of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun) told our correspondent in southern Lebanon that Israeli artillery shelling targeted the al-Tarash neighborhood, southwest of Mays al-Jabal, this morning, as well as the northern outskirts of the village and the al-Jamal valley, located between Mais al-Jabal and Houla.

After the announcement made by the Israeli army concerning the elimination of a Hamas officer in charge of counter-espionage, here is some additional information:

- Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed six Palestinian fighters, including the Hamas southern district officer responsible for interrogating suspected spies, the Israeli army says

- In a statement summarizing the operations of recent hours, the Israeli army said that the death of Bilal Nofal, head of counter-espionage, "has a significant impact on the terrorist organization's ability to develop and strengthen its capabilities.”

An Israeli drone fired three missiles on the western side of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil), the mukhtar of the village told our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

Residents also told L'Orient Today that they heard the sounds of the three explosions but could not confirm whether it was a missile attack from a drone or an artillery shelling.

Moreover, several missiles were fired from southern Lebanon toward Israeli positions, according to a security source.

US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson on Tuesday expressed her country's commitment "to finding diplomatic solutions to bring stability to the region as well as peace and prosperity to Lebanon," according to reported remarks by the embassy on X.

This message was published following a tour by Johnson with the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, the caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, and the caretaker foreign minister, Abdallah Bou Habib. 

The Israeli army reported having assassinated, in the Gaza Strip, a Hamas officer who was in charge of counter-espionage and investigation for the Islamist movement, reports Reuters.

In the Red Sea:

British maritime security company Ambrey reported that a Maltese-flagged container ship was approached by three sailboats and a drone 10 miles southwest of Dhoubab, Yemen, Reuters reported. No damage and no casualties were reported, the company added in a briefing note.

Here is what happened on the Israeli-Lebanese border last night, according to security sources contacted by our correspondent in southern Lebanon:

- After 11 p.m.: Israel bombed Wadi Slouqi and the outskirts of Markaba (Marjayoun).

- After midnight: Continuous Israeli artillery fire targeted al-Oueida Hill and the outskirts of Kfar Kila, Taybeh (Marjayoun), Alma al-Shaab and Dhaira (Sour).

- After 1 a.m.: Ten artillery shells fell on the hills of Hamamis and al-Oueida, the plain of Khiam (Marjayoun), the heights of Kfar Shouba (Hasbaya) as well as the surroundings of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil).

Gaza is experiencing "the longest telecommunications disruption recorded since the start of the conflict, with most residents unable to contact the outside world since Jan. 12," according to NetBloks, a web monitoring organization.

The Gazan health ministry reported at least 81 deaths overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday in Khan Younis and other areas across Gaza.

Today, Israel is increasing airstrikes in the south of the Gaza Strip. During the night, witnesses reported Israeli strikes near the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, the main city in the south of the enclave.

According to these witnesses, the strikes caused panic among the hundreds of people displaced by the fighting who have found refuge in recent weeks in the vast grounds of this hospital.

Israel claims that local leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas are hiding in this hospital, as it has previously done to justify attacks on other hospitals in Gaza. 

Make sure to read the Morning Brief so that you are caught up with everything that has been happening.

Morning Brief

Mikati plans for stability, Health Ministry figures for the south, private school strike suspended: Everything you need to know to start your Wednesday

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Thank you for joining us for our live coverage of the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.