Red Sea traffic down by 22 percent; Israeli strikes target east of Saida: Day 109 of Hamas-Israel war

Thank you for following our LIVE coverage from day 109 of the Hamas-Israel war.

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

Yesterday, 24 Israeli soldiers were killed in 24 hours in the deadliest day for the Israeli army since its offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Three soldiers were killed in Khan Younis, but the other 21 were all killed in a single incident in which a grenade fired at a an Israeli tank seems to have triggered explosives being set up by reserve soldiers inside buildings set for demolition. The troops were part of an operation to a controversial "buffer zone" all along Gaza's border with Israel.

👉 Here's what we know about yesterday's incidents and Israel's "buffer zone" project.

(Photo credit: Israeli army handout via Reuters)

A senior US official is holding talks in the Middle East on a new, possibly longer deal for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a pause in fighting in Gaza, the White House says, according to a report from AFP.

President Joe Biden's Middle East advisor Brett McGurk was in Egypt and would visit other countries, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said when asked about reports that Israel had proposed a two-month halt.

"If ... that would give us the opportunity to get hostages out and get more aid in, we would absolutely support a humanitarian pause of a longer length than the week," he said.

👉 Read more here.

The Israeli army targeted the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of Blida, Marjayoun district, according to our correspondent in the area, citing local residents. Israeli fire reportedly came from the army positions in Malkiya and Bayad.

Palestine reached the Asian Cup knockout rounds for the first time after beating Hong Kong 3-0 today for their maiden win in the history of the competition, AFP reports.

They just missed out on second spot in Group C but advance as one of the four best third-placed teams, with Oday Dabbagh the hero for his two goals.

Palestinian players and staff have lost loved ones in the conflict and said before the tournament that they hoped to provide some comfort to those suffering back home.

👉 Read about the match here.

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said one of its Khan Younis shelters for displaced people "was hit during military operations" yesterday, AFP reports.

"At least six displaced people were killed and many more injured during intense fighting around our the shelter," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini wrote Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter.

As Israeli troops press on, more than a million people are now crammed into Rafah, south of Khan Younis, which abuts the Egyptian frontier.

👉 Read more here.

The European Union faces a risk of consumer prices surging and growth slowing due to disruptions to shipping through the Red Sea, though it has yet to feel an economic impact, a top EU official says, according to a report from Reuters.

European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, who oversees the 27-nation bloc's economy, said shipping traffic through the Red Sea had decreased by 22 percent in one month in the face of attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels.

However, the decline will accelerate as shipping companies are re-routing vessels around the Africa continent, he said, adding that the Commission was monitoring the situation very closely.

"So far there has not been visible impact on energy prices and more generally impact on goods prices. But we already see impact on transport prices, which have increased," Dombrovskis told reporters after a meeting of EU trade ministers that addressed the issue. "Certainly, it's a risk factor."

👉 Read more here.

Here's the latest security update from southern Lebanon:

• An Israeli airstrike targeted the outskirts of Roumine, Sarba, and Houmine al-Fawqa, all located in the Nabatieh district, according to local residents. The strike targeted a villa, which was destroyed. No injuries have been reported so far. The sound of Israeli bombing was heard with intensity in villages east of Saida.

These towns are further north than the majority of strikes recorded since October, which mostly targeted villages along the border with Israel.

• Israeli warplanes attacked the outskirts of the town of Jmaijmeh, Bint Jbeil district, and a house was targeted, local residents reported — noting that the house was vacant — and some residents in the neighborhood suffered minor injuries from shattering glass, dust, and debris. Ambulances arrived to the area that was targeted.

This is the first time Jmaijmeh has been targeted by the Israeli army since the start of the conflict in October. 

The Health Ministry in Gaza says the Israeli army fired directly at a hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis, where civilians are caught amid heavy fighting, AFP reports.

"Israeli tanks are firing heavily on the upper floors of the specialized surgery building and the emergency building of Nasser hospital, dozens expected wounded," a ministry statement said.

Yesterday, Reuters reported on video footage from Nasser Hospital, the only major hospital still accessible in Khan Younis and the largest still functioning in Gaza, showing the trauma ward overwhelmed with wounded being treated on a floor splashed with blood. Distraught families surrounded surrounded small wounded children being treated several to a bed.

Outside the hospital building, people dug graves in the courtyard. "It's very difficult to leave the complex and go to any cemetery and bury them because we're under siege and anyone who leaves the complex is targeted," said Abdelkarim Ahmad, participating in the burials.

👉 Read the full report here.

Israel will not agree to a cease-fire deal with Hamas that leaves its hostages in Gaza or the militant group in power in the enclave, says Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy, according to a Reuters report.

He added that efforts were ongoing to bring about the release of the hostages but declined to elaborate, saying lives were hanging in the balance.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected conditions presented by Hamas to end the war and release hostages that would include Israel's complete withdrawal and leaving Hamas in power in Gaza.

"In exchange for the release of our hostages, Hamas demands the end of the war, the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza, the release of all the murderers and rapists," Netanyahu said in a statement, referring to Hamas' demand that all Palestinians currently detained in Israeli prisons be freed. "I reject outright the terms of surrender of the monsters of Hamas," Netanyahu said.

"Following the activation of alarm sirens in the northern part of [Israel] earlier this morning, the launching of several projectiles from Lebanese territory has been detected. Some of them were successfully intercepted by air defense fighters," Avichay Adraee, the Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesperson, wrote on X.

Referring to a strike announced by Hezbollah earlier this morning, in which they claim to have hit Israel's Meron air base, Adraee said that "minor damage was inflicted on the infrastructure at the airbase ... no injuries occurred in the incident, and an investigation into the circumstances is underway."

Echoing similar statements made following Hezbollah's Jan. 6 attack on the same air base, Adraee said that "due to the readiness of the forces and as part of operational preparedness, with the presence of additional backup systems, no damage was caused to the reconnaissance capabilities of the air force."

Hezbollah claims that the Meron air base, which is located on the top of Mount Jarmaq, is the only center for surveillance and air control in northern Israel.

👉 Read more about its significance here.

Amnesty International sent a letter to European Union foreign minister Josep Borrell and EU foreign ministers, urging them to call for an immediate cease-fire and put public pressure on Israel to immediately lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip.

“We are horrified by the scale of the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Gaza,” the letter said.

"We share the view of 153 States and the majority of UN bodies that a ceasefire is the only way to save lives, resolve the humanitarian crisis and facilitate the return of civilian hostages currently detained in the Gaza Strip,” the text continues.

The UK Maritime Commercial Operations Service (UKMTO) says it has recorded "unmanned aerial system activity" 46 nautical miles (approximately 85 km) south of the town of al-Makha, Yemen.

This information comes just hours after US and British forces carried out new air raids against Houthi positions in Yemen.

The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said on their official Telegram channel that at least three Israeli soldiers were killed when its fighters detonated an explosive device in a building west of Khan Younis as an Israeli infantry force entered it.

In the same area, three Israeli bulldozers and a Merkava tank were also targeted as clashes continue, the statement on Telegram noted.

The Israeli army shelled the outskirts of Rashaya al-Foukhar and Hebbarieh in the Hasbaya district in the last 30 minutes, residents of the village told L'Orient Today.

Picture from the funeral of one of Hezbollah's members in the southern Lebanon border village of Adesiseh in Marjeyoun district. (Credit: Hezbollah's media office)

Gaza is facing a "looming threat of famine" due to Israel's ongoing offensive in Gaza, a World Food Program (WFP) spokesperson said according to AFP.

"The risks of having pockets of famine in Gaza is very much still there," Abeer Etefa, AFP's senior Middle East spokesperson, said. "More than half a million people in Gaza are facing catastrophic food insecurity levels and the risk of famine increases each day, as the conflict is limiting delivery of life-saving food assistance to people in need."

The death of 24 Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip on Monday is “a heavy blow,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a joint address with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to AFP.

In the last hour:

•⁠ ⁠The Israeli army shelled the outskirts of the southern Lebanon border villages of Yarine and Dhairah in the Sour district, residents of the villages told L'Orient Today.

•⁠ ⁠The Israeli army shelled the eastern outskirts of the southern Lebanon border village of Mais al-Jabal in the Marjeyoun district, residents of the village told L'Orient Today.

Israeli forces said they had “encircled” the entire town of Khan Younis, according to AFP.

The soldiers “carried out a large operation during which they surrounded Khan Younis,” said an army statement.

The city is where Yahya Sinwar, the Gaza leader of Hamas considered to be the architect of the Oct. 7 attack carried out by the Palestinian movement on Israeli soil, was born and Israeli leaders say he is located.

A civilian was killed following Israeli drone fire at the entrance to al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younes, the Palestinian Red Crescent said on X.

The Gazan Ministry of Health announced a death toll of 25,490 people, mostly women, adolescents and children in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.

During the last 24 hours, 195 people were killed, added the minsitry, which also reported 63,354 people injured since the start of the conflict.

The UK will continue to "reduce the capacity" of the Houthis to carry out attacks in the Red Sea, warned British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, following further bombing raids by London and Washington against the Yemeni rebels.

"Since we took action ten days ago, the Houthis have launched more than twelve attacks on ships in the Red Sea," the British minister told reporters, calling the attacks "illegal" and "unacceptable."" What we have done again is to send the clearest possible message that we will continue to reduce (the Houthis') ability to carry out these attacks," the minister said.

For his part, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on X that "these attacks will not go unanswered and unpunished," adding that strikes had targeted the provinces of Sanaa, Hodeida, Taez and Al-Bayda.

Israeli shelling continues near the Amal hospital in Khan Younis, reported the Palestinian Red Crescent on X.

Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza announced on his social media accounts that he had "decided to evacuate" and stop reporting on the ongoing war in Gaza. Azaiza did not specify the reason for his decision.

Azaiza, since the start of the war, was on the frontlines reporting and documenting the aftermath of Israel's unrelenting bombing campaign and offensive in Gaza.

Constantly posting on his social media accounts updates of the dead and living under the bombardment, Azaiza garnered international recognition for his unflinching reporting and refusal to shy away from the horrors of war.

He finished by saying that he hopes to come back to Gaza someday.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented at least 83 journalists who have been killed since the start of the war, although others have documented an even higher number of journalists killed, with many calling the war in Gaza the deadliest ever for journalists.

Israel's prime minister has announced the opening of a military investigation following the "disaster" that led to the deaths of 21 Israeli reservists in a single Hamas attack in the Gaza Strip, according to AFP.

Israeli forces "have opened an investigation into the disaster. We must learn all the lessons and do everything we can to preserve the lives of our fighters," said Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement, referring to "one of the hardest days" since the start of the war.

Hezbollah announces that it attacked at 9:30 a.m. a military brigade near al-Nawaqir, facing the south Lebanon border village of Alma al-Shaab (Sour), and said they "directly hit the target."

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said that Israeli artillery fire had targeted its headquarters in Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip.

It also said that its ambulances were unable to reach the wounded in Khan Younis due to Israeli fire that "targets anyone who tries to move in the area."

A security source told L'Orient Today that the Israeli army bombed a three-floor house in the southern Lebanon border village of Blida (Marjayoun) last night without any casualties being recorded.

In the last hour:

•⁠ ⁠Several rockets were fired towards Israeli positions from southern Lebanon, a security source told L'Orient Today.

•⁠ ⁠Rocket alarms were activated in several towns in Western Galilee in northern Israel, Haaretz reported.

•⁠ ⁠The Israeli army bombed the outskirts of south Lebanon villages of Tayr Harfa, Blida, Shihine, Marwahin, Ramieh and Aitaroun.

•⁠ ⁠The Israeli army bombed the western part of the southern Lebanon border village of Mais al-Jabal, residents of the village told L'Orient Today.

In southern Lebanon, the night was relatively calm, despite the bad weather that had set in since Monday evening, reported our correspondent in southern Lebanon.

Only the town of Adaisseh (Marjayoun) was bombarded by Israeli artillery between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., according to security sources, while several towns saw Israeli planes flying over them.

This morning, only Hamamis Hill, south of Khiam (Marjeyoun), has been intermittently bombarded by Israeli artillery since 7.15 a.m., according to local residents.

In support of Gaza, Yemen's Houthi rebels are stepping up attacks on international traffic in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, causing headaches for major shipowners and increasing shipping costs.

On Monday night, the United States and the United Kingdom once again bombed Houthi sites in Yemen, in the hope of "weakening" the rebels' military arsenal and encouraging the resumption of traffic in the Red Sea, according to AFP.

They claimed to have aimed at eight targets of the group, which is continuing its attacks against maritime traffic, particularly in the Red Sea.

But for Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a senior Houthi official, these strikes only "increase the determination of the Yemeni people to assume their moral and humanitarian responsibilities towards the oppressed people of Gaza".

While the Netanyahu government is discussing a truce, it refuses to consider the longer-term "two-state solution" of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, European foreign ministers deplored on Monday, according to AFP.

Meeting in Brussels, they met separately with their Israeli counterpart Israel Katz and their Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki.

Katz said he was seeking European support for Israel's war against Hamas and for the release of the hostages.

"The [Israeli] minister could have made better use of his time and concerned himself with the security of his country and the high death toll in Gaza," reacted the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell, irritated by the Israeli refusal to discuss the two-state solution.

What other solutions can they think of?" asked Mr. Borrell. "Make all the Palestinians leave? Kill them?" he added. The Israelis "are sowing the seeds of hatred for generations to come."

Israel's proposal calls for the return to Israel of living hostages and remains in several phases, the first of which would include women and men over the age of 60, according to Axios.

This would be followed by female soldiers, non-military men under the age of 60, male Israeli soldiers, and hostage remains.

Under this plan, Israel and Hamas would have to agree in advance on the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for each hostage, according to category, Axios continues.

During a meeting on Monday with members of the hostages' families, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of an Israeli "initiative," but said he was not in a position to "detail it," according to the local press.

On the subject of negotiations for a possible second truce:

Again according to AFP, Israel has proposed to Hamas, via the mediation of Egypt and Qatar, a two-month pause in fighting and airstrikes in Gaza in exchange for the release of all hostages, reported the American website Axios on Monday evening.

This proposal does not imply an end to the war in Gaza, but a second truce, following the week-long truce that saw the release of around 100 hostages in exchange for at least 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

Some 250 people were kidnapped and taken to Gaza, of whom around 100 were released at the end of November in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. According to the same count, 132 hostages are still in the territory, 28 of whom are reported dead.

The situation in Gaza this morning:

Early on Tuesday, Palestinian witnesses reported Israeli artillery fire near the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, as reported by AFP.

The Palestinian Red Crescent accused the Israeli army of firing artillery on the fourth floor of its Khan Younis headquarters, and drones of opening fire, wounding people who had taken refuge in the medical complex.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), "hostilities are intensifying," while the Israeli army claimed on Monday to have taken control of Hamas command posts.

The Palestinian telecoms operator Paltel announced a further cut in internet and mobile communications, as a result of Israeli military operations in the territory where the situation was already critical for civilians.

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

Morning Brief

Teachers strike averted, government sites hacked, landmines found after flooding: Everything you need to know to start your Tuesday

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