Hamas wants a 'complete and comprehensive cease-fire'; two Hezbollah fighters killed: Day 115 of Hamas-Israel war

Thank you for following our LIVE coverage from day 115 of the Hamas-Israel war.

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

(Credit: AFP)

Shallow tombs of people killed in Israeli bombings are lined up at a makeshift cemetery in a residential neighborhood near Gaza City's al-Shabiyah district on Jan. 29, 2024. Israel's relentless military offensive has killed at least 26,637 people in Gaza since Oct. 7, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The White House says comments on Gaza resettlement by some Israeli politicians are reckless and incendiary, Reuters reports.

"Irresponsible, reckless, incendiary I go so far as to say," White House spokesman John Kirby said of the comments, adding however that it involved only "a couple" of ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet.

Israel's hard-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged Jewish settlers to return to Gaza at a packed gathering on Sunday, drawing condemnation from Palestinians who said his words amounted to a call for their forced deportation.

👉 Read more about Sunday's event here.

A senior Hamas official says the Palestinian militant group wants a "complete and comprehensive cease-fire" in Gaza, after mediator Qatar said a framework for a temporary truce was being proposed, AFP reports.

"We are talking first of all about a complete and comprehensive cease-fire, and not a temporary truce," Taher al-Nunu told AFP, saying that once the fighting stops "the rest of the details can be discussed" including hostage release.

👉 Read more about the ongoing negotiations here.

Yesterday, CIA Director William J. Burns, Mossad Chief David Barnea, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel met in Paris for negotiations regarding Israel's war in Gaza, having drafted a proposal that incorporates demands from both sides. The White House described these meetings as “constructive.”

Today, Qatar's prime minister announced that Sunday's meetings had indeed resulted in the framework for a phased truce, which he described as "good progress," and said he would be relaying it to Hamas.

👉 Read what we know about the Hamas-Israel negotiations here.

Displaced Palestinians receive food aid at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) center in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Jan. 28, 2024. (Credit: AFP))

In Rafah, southern Gaza, where 1.5 million displaced people have taken refuge, AFP heard from Palestinians — concerned by recent funding cuts to UNRWA — that the support they receive from the UN humanitarian aid organization amounts to a lifeline.

"We live on aid from UNRWA. If it stopped, we would die of hunger, and no one would look at us," said Sabah Musabih, 50.

Amal Abdel Moneim, a refugee from Gaza City in the north, said there were no other organizations offering help. "Our people are supported by no one except UNRWA," he said. "If UNRWA stops supporting us, our people will be lost and dead."

👉 Read more here.

Hezbollah announces the death of one of its fighters, Hussein Khalil Hashem, born in 1996 in the town of Shebaa in southern Lebanon.

The total number of Hezbollah members killed in the conflict so far is 176, according to L'Orient Today's count.

Here are updates from southern Lebanon in the last 30 minutes:

• Hezbollah announced having targeted the Israeli Biranit base, located near the town of Hula in, Marjayoun district, at 5:10 p.m.

• Hezbollah said its fighters targeted a group of Israeli soldiers on the hill of al-Tayhat, opposite the southern Lebanese town of Mais al-Jabal, with missile weapons at 6:00 p.m.

• Hezbollah said it targeted a deployment of Israeli soldiers in the Israeli Jardah site, facing Dhaira, Sour district, at 6:30 p.m.

• According to a security source, Israeli artillery targeted the area between Shihine and Jibbayn, both located in Sour district.

• Israeli artillery shelling also targeted the outskirts of Beit Lif and Ramieh, both located in the Bint Jbeil district, a security source reported.

Hezbollah announces the death of its fighter, Hussein Fadel Awada, born in 1998 in Aitaroun, Bint Jbeil district, and a resident of the town of Harouf, Nabatieh district.

The total number of Hezbollah members killed in the conflict so far is 175, according to L'Orient Today's count.

The Israeli army will "go into action very soon" in the north of the country, on the border with Lebanon, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says, according to a report from AFP.

The minister informed soldiers stationed near the Gaza border that they would be leaving the area to go instead to northern Israel, where there has been continuous cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah since Oct. 8.

"They'll be going into action soon ... so the forces in the north are being reinforced," said Yoav Gallant, adding that reservists would be leaving their positions to prepare for these future operations.

According to the official Israeli tally of casualties at the border, nine soldiers have been killed in over three months of fighting. These numbers have not been verified by an independent source.

Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi recently said that the likelihood of a war "in the coming months" in the north of the country was now "much higher than it was in the past."

Here’s what happened in southern Lebanon in the last 30 minutes:

• Israeli artillery targeted the outskirts of the town of Yarin, in Sour district.

• Several rockets were launched from Lebanon towards northern Israel, security sources confirmed with L'Orient Today. According to Haaretz, sirens were heard in northern Israel.

• The outskirts of the southern Lebanese towns of Jibbin and Tyr Harfa, both located in Sour district, were targeted by Israeli artillery, according to security sources.

• Three houses were destroyed in Yaroun, Bint Jbeil district, due to an airstrike that targeted the town earlier this afternoon. No injuries were reported.

Here’s what happened in southern Lebanon in the last 30 minutes:

• Israeli artillery targeted the outskirts of the town of Yarin, in Sour district.

• Several rockets were launched from Lebanon towards northern Israel, security sources confirmed with L'Orient Today. According to Haaretz, sirens were heard in northern Israel.

• The outskirts of the southern Lebanese towns of Jibbin and Tyr Harfa, both located in Sour district, were targeted by Israeli artillery, according to security sources.

• Three houses were destroyed in Yaroun, Bint Jbeil district, due to an airstrike that targeted the town earlier this afternoon.

(Credit: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)

Israel's hard-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged Jewish settlers to return to Gaza at a packed event entitled "Conference for the Victory of Israel – Settlement Brings Security: Returning to the Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria," yesterday, Reuters reports.

"We yelled and we warned," Ben-Gvir told the event organized by settler groups, which was attended by hundreds of people and as many as a dozen government ministers, according to Israel's Channel 12 television. "If we don't want another Oct. 7, we need to return home and control the land."

👉 Read more here.

Here’s what happened in southern Lebanon the last 30 minutes:

• An Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese town of Taybeh, Marjayoun district, targeted a house and completely destroyed it, residents told our correspondent, Muntasser Abdallah.

• The Israeli army targeted Maroun al-Ras, Bint Jbeil district, and ambulances are currently en route to the site of the strike.

• Hezbollah announced that it targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers at the Samaka site, located in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms, at 3:55 p.m.

Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responds to an announcement from the Israeli army that soldiers are not permitted to shoot at Palestinians approaching the Gaza border fence in the north of the Strip, according to a report from Haaretz.

"From inquiries I made today," the far-right security minister said, "there is a claim that too many soldiers are not allowed to shoot. This is a red line, if there is such a decision, we will disrupt the operations of the coalition."

A military spokesperson clarified that "there is no change in the instructions to open fire, and the army forces are acting according to the instructions not to allow any party to reach the border fence." The spokesperson also said that dozens of people had been killed by the Israeli army in the last month near the border.

Dr Ahmed El Mokhallalati posted a video on X showing several doctors from the UK, US, Norway, and France, among other countries, who are carrying out surgeries in the European Hospital in Khan Younis.

“Despite our efforts, hundreds of patients have been waiting for operations for months. The health system in Gaza is collapsed, and we’re doing our best to save lives,” Dr El Mokhallalati said. “Most patients in Gaza can’t access medical treatment, as Israel has destroyed the majority of the hospitals in Gaza Strip.”

He called on other doctors around the world to join the struggling medical teams in Gaza and offer their support.

Here's what's been happening at the Lebanon-Israel border during the past 30 minutes:

• Israeli artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of Marwahine, Dhayra, Jibbain, in Sour district, and Rashaya al-Foukhar, in Hasbaya district, residents told our correspondent in the south.

• Israeli warplanes targeted the outskirts of Taybeh, Marjayoun district, and an area between Hula and Markaba also Marjeyoun district, according to eyewitnesses.

• An Israeli warplane fired a missile on an area located in the vicinity of Maroun al-Ras, Bint Jbeil district. The missile did not explode, residents told L'Orient Today.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed concern about tensions in the Middle East and urged Iran to de-escalate, after the attack that killed three American service members in northeastern Jordan, near the Syrian border.

The UK "absolutely condemns" the drone attacks that US President Joe Biden said were carried out by Iranian-backed fighters, Sunak was quoted as saying at a press conference by Al Jazeera.

“We are concerned and urge Iran to continue to defuse tensions in the region,” he added. Before continuing: “We stand resolutely alongside our allies to bring stability and peace to the region.”

For his part, the Prime Minister's spokesperson told journalists: "We believe that the attack was carried out by radical militant groups supported by Iran and operating in Syria and Iraq , in accordance with the assessment of the United States."

According to Iranian and Syrian sources, the recent airstrikes in Syria may have been an unsuccessful Israeli attempt to target other members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Sayyida Zeinab neighborhood of Damascus.

However, the Tasnim news agency – which is not owned by the Iranian state but is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – claims that the two reported victims were Syrian civilians working in the targeted building and that other Syrian victims may be nearby. Footage suggests the strike occurred in an agricultural area.

The Syrian Defense Ministry said the Israeli airstrike originated from the occupied Golan Heights and targeted southern Damascus around 1 p.m. (local time), causing civilian casualties, injuries and damage.

Iran's ambassador to Syria, Hossein Akbari, said no Iranian advice centers were targeted and no Iranian military or civilian advisers were injured. Akbari also stressed that such attacks would not deter the "Axis of Resistance."

Spain will maintain its relations with the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), despite accusations concerning the alleged involvement of some of its employees in the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, the Minister of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday.

“We will not change our relationship with UNRWA,” which is “an essential United Nations agency to alleviate the humanitarian situation,” declared Minister Jose Manuel Albares before the Congress of Deputies.

Spain will nevertheless "follow closely the internal investigation" announced by the agency "and the results it could produce," continued the head of Spanish diplomacy.

The German Foreign Ministry rejects any idea of ​​​​Israeli resettlement in Gaza and transfer of the Palestinian population, according to a statement by the German Ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, published on X.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to confirm Monday that his country circulated an intelligence dossier that some UNRWA personnel participated in the Oct. 7 attack from Gaza, describing the relief agency as “pierced by Hamas.”

“We have discovered that 13 UNRWA employees participated, directly or indirectly, in the Oct. 7 massacre,” he told British channel TalkTV, according to Reuters. “In UNRWA schools, the doctrines of extermination of Israel, the doctrines of terrorism, the glorification of terrorism, the praise of terrorism are taught,” he added.

Caretaker Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said the suspension of aid to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) is “a historic error which will deprive Palestinian refugees of all hope in a life and a better future.”

“This is a threat to regional security and that of host and donor countries,” he added, after a meeting with the United States Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson, according to comments reported by our correspondent Hoda Chedid.

The United States will respond "consequentially" to a drone strike in Jordan blamed on pro-Iran groups and which killed three American service members, a White House spokesperson said Monday.

President Joe Biden "will respond, you know, in a very consistent way. But we're not looking for war with Iran. We're not looking for a broader conflict in the Middle East," John Kirby said on CNN, spokesperson for the National Security Council.

The surgical department of Al-Amal Hospital, located in Khan Younis has completely ceased its activities due to the depletion of oxygen reserves, announced the Palestinian Red Crescent on X.

“The Israeli occupation continues to target and besiege the hospital for the eighth consecutive day, amid ongoing shelling and gunfire in the hospital's vicinity,” it added, deploring the fact that the army “targets anyone moving near the hospital.”

The Red Crescent finally said that displaced people were evacuating its headquarters as well as the hospital following the call for evacuation launched this morning by Israeli troops.

The political bureau of the Amal movement, a Lebanese party allied to Hezbollah, denounced in a press release the suspension announced by several countries of their funding of UNRWA. “These arbitrary measures are condemnable and reprehensible, while the Palestinian people are suffering a collective genocidal war in Gaza,” it said. The political bureau of the party called on the countries and governments concerned to reverse their decision.

Here's what has been happening at the Lebanese-Israeli borders during the past 30 minutes:

- Missiles were fired at Israeli positions, a security source told our correspondent in the South.

- Hezbollah announced that it hit a group of Israeli soldiers in the Hunin Castle area with rockets at 1:30 p.m. as well as another group of soldiers near the Zarit Barracks, across the border from Ramieh, at 2:10 p.m.

- According to an Israeli army spokesperson quoted in Haaretz, alarms were activated in Kiryat Shmona and the surrounding area in northern Israel, where five launches from Lebanon were detected. No casualties or damages were reported.

- Israeli artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of Shihine, Majdal Zoun and Umm al-Tout (Sour).

The EU called for an audit of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) following accusations by Israel that several of its members participated in Hamas's Oct. 7 attack, AFP reports.

"What is absolutely clear is that these actions are urgent. They are important and they should be launched without any delay," EU Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer said.

The EU is one of UNRWA's biggest donors and has yet to announce whether or not it will suspend funding for the UN agency, following the lead of the United States and several other countries.

Romania announced the suspension of its funding to UNRWA, due to Israeli accusations that some of its employees were involved in the attack perpetrated by Hamas on Oct. 7, reports Reuters.

UNRWA dismissed several members of its staff and promised a thorough investigation, but Israel nevertheless announced its decision to prohibit it from continuing to work in Gaza after the war.

Lebanon's caretaker foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib said that his country had a "historic chance" to bring an end to the years of border disputes with Israel once the fighting in southern Lebanon comes to an end.

"Israel will be able to build a wall on the border" once the border has been demarcated, the minister stated.

Read the full story here.

A Palestinian man sits on the side of a street that has been bulldozed by Israeli forces during a raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Jan. 29, 2024. (Credit: Zain Jaafar/AFP)

In southern Lebanon:

Israeli artillery strikes targeted the Khiam plain (Marjayoun), according to residents cited by our correspondent.

The site of Tallet Aazieh, located between Kfar Kila and Deir Mimas (Marjayoun) was also hit by two artillery shells.

Strikes also hit the outskirts of Marwahin (Sour).

In two separate statements, Hezbollah claimed attacks on a group of Israeli soldiers near the Matat Barracks (across the border facing Rmaish) with rockets at 11:15 a.m. and Metula at 11:45 a.m.

The disaster management unit at the federation of municipalities in the Sour district, responsible in particular for displaced people from villages in southern Lebanon hit by Israel, has reopened its doors, said the president of the federation, Hassan Dabbouq to L'Orient Today.

A temporary closure was decided on Friday after several attacks against the staff of this administration and until measures are taken to prevent new incidents. “As a measure we decided to monitor the entrances and exits” of the building housing this unit,” said Dabbouq.

Iraqi authorities condemned the drone attack that killed three American soldiers deployed on the border between Jordan and Syria, calling for “stopping the spiral of violence” in the Middle East.

Iraq is ready to help "develop fundamental rules of engagement to avoid further repercussions in the region and prevent the expansion of the conflict," said Iraqi government spokesperson Bassim Alawadi.

According to the Gazan Ministry of Health quoted by AFP, 20 members of the same family, the Al-Mutwi, were killed in an Israeli strike on Khan Younis. They are among the at least 140 people killed in the Gaza Strip overnight. 

Israeli strikes targeted the outskirts of Naqoura (Sour), according to residents contacted by our correspondent in the South.

In addition, Israeli media reported that two soldiers were wounded after being targeted with Burkan missiles in the Biranit barracks opposite Rmaish (Bint Jbeil). In a statement this morning, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the strike, which was carried out by Hezbollah fighters at 8 a.m.

In a statement, Hezbollah claimed an attack on a group of Israeli soldiers gathered near the Jal al-Alam site, opposite the southern Lebanese border village of Labbouneh, at 10 a.m. with a Falaq missile.

The Jal al-Alam position has been hit daily by Hezbollah since last Thursday. On Thursday, the party published a video taken by a camera aboard a rocket, showing alleged damage to surveillance infrastructure at the site.

In December, a source close to Hezbollah, who requested anonymity, told AFP that the party considered the Jal al-Alam position a key target because of the Israeli surveillance equipment located there.

In southern Lebanon:

Israeli bombings hit the outskirts of Dhairah and Alma al-Shaab (Sour), according to residents cited by our correspondent.

Oil prices climbed today, according to Reuters, after a drone attack on US forces in Jordan added to worries over supply disruption in the Middle East as Houthi rebels stepped up their attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, hitting a Trafigura-operated fuel tanker.

Risks of a widening conflict in the Middle East come at the same time that Russian refined product exports are set to fall, with refineries and a major oil terminal under repair following drone attacks by Ukraine.

Brent crude futures rose 26 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $83.81 a barrel by 7:40 a.m. GMT after hitting a session high of $84.80. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 23 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $78.24 a barrel after reaching an intraday high of $79.29 earlier in the session.

On the diplomatic front, and while the head of the CIA, William Burns, met on Sunday in Paris with senior Egyptian, Israeli and Qatari officials, Israel reported "constructive" discussions. A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, however, stressed that there were "still differences" and that further talks were expected in the coming days, according to AFP.

A security source confirmed to AFP that President Biden had sent Burns to try to negotiate the release of the last 132 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a cease-fire.

According to the New York Times, the proposed agreement would involve a two-month truce and the release of all hostages, as well as that of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

In Gaza, Israeli bombings and heavy fire continue near the Al-Amal hospital in Khan Younis, the Palestinian Red Crescent said on X.

Japan and Austria announced that they were, in turn, suspending funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), due to Israeli accusations that some of its employees were involved in the attack perpetrated by Hamas on Oct. 7, report AFP and Reuters.

UNRWA dismissed several members of its staff and promised a thorough investigation, but Israel nevertheless announced its decision to prohibit it from continuing to work in Gaza after the war. 

Here is what happened at the Lebanese-Israeli borders this morning:

- Hezbollah announced that it hit the Biranit barracks (facing the Lebanese border village of Rmaish in the Bint Jbeil district) with Burkan missiles at 8 a.m.

- Israeli warplanes fired two missiles on the outskirts of Rmaish (Bint Jbeil district), residents told our correspondent in the South.

- Israeli artillery, positioned at the "Birkat Risha" Israeli site, targeted the outskirts of Ramieh and Beit Lif (Bint Jbeil), according to residents.

Here is what happened at the Lebanese-Israeli borders last night, according to security sources relayed by our correspondent in the South:

- After 10 p.m.: Burkan missiles were fired toward Israeli positions.

- Israeli artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil), Yarine, Marwahin and Jibbayn (Sour).

- After 11 p.m.: Israeli artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil).

- Israel's artillery fired flare bombs over Maroun al-Ras and Yaroun (Bint Jbeil).

- Hezbollah released a statement claiming that it hit the Khirbet Maer Israeli base with two Falaq 1 missiles.

- An Israeli drone fired a missile on the outskirts of Yaroun.

- The outskirts of Yaroun and Aita al-Shaab were subjected to Israeli artillery shelling.

- After 11:30 p.m.: Israeli flare bombs were fired over Dhairah (Sour).

- Hezbollah released a statement claiming that it hit the al-Raheb Israeli site with Burkan missiles at 11 p.m.

In southern Lebanon, Hezbollah announced Sunday evening the deaths of three of its members. Our correspondent in the South confirmed that they were killed in an airstrike on Marwahine (Bint Jbeil).

In three press releases, the party announced the death of Sadek Mohammad Hachem, born in 1992 and originally from Reshknanieh in South Lebanon, Ali Jammal Shokr, born in 1988 and originally from Nabi Sheet in Bekaa, and Hussein Hassan Hallaoui, born in 1998 and originally from Kfar Kila, in South Lebanon. These three fighters died "on the road to Jerusalem," the formula used since the beginning of October by Hezbollah to announce the death of its members killed in fighting with Israel, in Lebanon and Syria.

This is the first time that Hezbollah has mentioned the date of birth of its fighters in press releases announcing their deaths.

According to the count of L'Orient Today, 174 members of Hezbollah have died, in Lebanon and Syria, since Oct. 8.

In the Gaza Strip:

At least 140 people were killed last night, announced the Gazan Ministry of Health, quoted by AFP, affirming that the Israeli army continued its bombings on Monday against hospitals in the locality of Khan Younis where the fighting is concentrated.

Last night, a strike attributed by Washington to a pro-Iran group killed three American soldiers, for the first time since the start of the war in Gaza on Oct. 7.

After this attack, which according to the American president occurred on soldiers "based in the northeast of Jordan, near the Syrian border," US President Joe Biden declared late on Sunday "We will respond."

For its part, Tehran claimed "to have no link and has nothing to do with the attack on the American base," according to Iran's permanent representation at the UN, cited by AFP. According to them, “resistance groups in the region are responding to the war crimes and genocide committed by the Zionist regime,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani, referring to Israel. “They decide their actions on the basis of their own principles,” he continued, quoted by state news agency IRNA.

Before we get started, be sure to read the Morning Brief so that you can catch up on anything that you might have missed over the weekend.

Morning Brief

Girl killed in flooding, 2024 budget approved, Israeli strikes kill seven: Everything you need to know to start your Monday

Good morning!

Thank you for joining us for our live coverage of the 115th day of the Israeli offensive in Gaza.