Israel’s war on Gaza updates: Officials report ‘massacre’ in Deir el-Balah
Gaza’s government media office says Israeli forces killed 30 people in a supposedly ‘safe area’ over the past 24 hours.
- Fierce fighting, air attacks and shelling have been reported in Khan Younis, including in the vicinity of the European Gaza Hospital.
- Dozens have been killed in Israeli attacks on homes and a mosque in central Gaza, local authorities say.
- Fierce fighting, air attacks and shelling have been reported in Khan Younis, including in the vicinity of the European Gaza Hospital.
- Dozens have been killed in Israeli attacks on homes and a mosque in central Gaza, local authorities say.
- A Houthi official says US raids in Syria, Iraq and Yemen will unite people against “the American colonial presence” in the region.
- EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warns that defunding UNRWA is “disproportionate and dangerous”, saying that it amounts to collective punishment.
- At least 27,365 people have been killed and 66,630 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel from the October 7 Hamas attacks stands at 1,139.
Spain to send extra funds to UNRWA
Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares says the country will send the UNRWA an additional 3.5 million euros ($3.8m) in aid.
Major donors to UNRWA, including the US, UK and Germany, suspended funding after allegations that 12 of its tens of thousands of Palestinian employees were suspected of involvement in the October 7 attacks.
Madrid contributed 18.5 million euros ($19.9m) directly to UNRWA in 2023, including 10 million euros ($10.8m) approved in December following the decision to triple development and humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territories.
‘The ball now is in Hamas’s court’, says US official
A senior US State Department official has told the AFP news agency that it is “impossible to say” if Blinken and his team will achieve “a breakthrough” on a trip to the Middle East.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, reiterated the public US line that “the ball right now is in Hamas’s court”.
He also noted that Blinken will seek to lay the groundwork for action immediately after any halt to the war, which has isolated the US on the world stage and led to growing escalation in the region.
“If we get a humanitarian pause, we want to be in a position to move as quickly as possible on the various pieces of day after,” he added.
Here’s what happened today
We will be closing this live page soon. Here’s a recap of the day’s main events:
- Houthi-affiliated media says several US and UK air raids struck the Yemeni cities of Hodeidah and Saada.
- Gaza’s government media office says Israeli forces have killed 30 people in a supposedly “safe area” in the central part of the coastal enclave in the past 24 hours.
- Hezbollah says it has launched 961 military operations against Israel since the war on Gaza began.
- UNRWA has said there is very limited access to clean water and sanitation amid relentless bombardment in Gaza.
- Israeli forces have arrested at least 14 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since Saturday evening, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.
- At least 27,365 Palestinians have been killed and 66,630 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, the Palestinian Health Ministry says.
Hezbollah claims attacks against Israel
The Lebanese group says it launched six separate attacks today, including targeting two buildings in the town of Manara in response to the Israeli bombardments of civilian homes in Lebanon.
Hezbollah also said it targeted a gathering of Israeli troops and struck bases in the disputed Shebaa Farms area, which Lebanon claims as its own.
Al Jazeera’s Wael Dahdouh’s mother dies
The mother of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief has died at a hospital in Gaza due to illness.
Dahdouh, who has become a symbol of the perseverance of Palestinian journalists in Gaza, had lost his wife Amna, son Mahmoud, daughter Sham and grandson Adam to an Israeli air raid in October.
Dahdouh was later wounded in an Israeli drone attack that killed his colleague, Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abudaqa. Last month, his eldest son, Hamza – a journalist who worked with Al Jazeera – was also killed in an Israeli attack alongside fellow journalist Mustafa Thuraya.
‘Where is Hind?’: Palestinian girl and rescue crew still missing
The Palestine Red Crescent Society has once again raised questions about the fate of the six-year-old girl who was trapped in her family’s car in Gaza City on Monday after the vehicle was attacked by Israeli forces.
The PRCS had sent rescuers to the area to help Hind but it lost contact with them.
“Where is Hind? Where are Yousef and Ahmed? Are they still alive? We want to know their fate,” the PRCS said in a social media post.
“150 hours have passed and the fate of our colleagues, Yousef Zeino and Ahmed al Madhoun, from the PRCS EMS team, who went to rescue the 6-year-old girl, Hind, remains unknown.”
Where is Hind? Where are Yousef and Ahmed? Are they still alive? We want to know their fate.
⭕️150 hours have passed and the fate of our colleagues, Yousef Zeino and Ahmed al Madhoun, from the PRCS EMS team, who went to rescue the 6-year-old girl, Hind, remains unknown.… pic.twitter.com/zEyUB0y3Mm— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) February 4, 2024
US military publishes footage of attack launches against Houthi targets
It is not clear whether the footage was from the US raids reported today by Yemeni sources or from previous attacks.
Video of launches from USS GRAVELY, USS CARNEY, and USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER supporting strikes on Iranian-backed Houthi targets pic.twitter.com/EMSkDANoeF
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 4, 2024
US, UK launch raids in Yemen: Report
Houthi-affiliated media outlet Al Masirah TV is reporting several US and UK air raids on the Yemeni cities of Hodeidah and Saada.
The raids come after the US and UK launched dozens of strikes overnight on Saturday.
We will bring you more on this shortly.
Search for survivors in Deir el-Balah rubble continues
The situation is really deteriorating in the middle of the Gaza Strip, in particular in Deir el-Balah town where a residential building belonging to the Khattab family has been completely destroyed.
There are still people who are stuck under the rubble and there are ongoing efforts by the civil defence team to pull them from under the wreckage of the destroyed buildings.
Similarly also, the attacks continued on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the past hour where the Israeli military drones have opened fire against residential buildings there amid ongoing efforts to force those people in these areas to flee to Rafah just to have a kind of full military mobility on the ground against the Palestinian fighters.
US ‘must not provide another dollar’ for Israel’s war: Bernie Sanders
The progressive US senator has called for ending Washington’s funding for “the horrific war against the Palestinian people”.
“For the sake of the Palestinian people and our own standing in the world we must not provide another dollar for the Netanyahu war machine,” Sanders said in a statement.
His comments come as the US House of Representatives prepares to pass a $17.6bn aid package for Israel, which stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice.
For the sake of the Palestinian people and our own standing in the world we must not provide another dollar for the Netanyahu war machine. pic.twitter.com/R24NIX89pC
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) February 4, 2024
Israel plan to hire 65,000 foreign building workers to replace Palestinians
The Israeli government has said it will bring workers from India, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan to resume construction stalled since October 7 when Palestinian workers were sent home after Hamas’s attack.
A Housing Ministry spokesperson said new groups of foreign workers were expected to arrive in coming weeks as the government seeks to avoid a blockage in supply.
Some 72,000 Palestinian workers were employed on construction sites in Israel before the war.
Houthis reject US dismissal of link between Gaza war and Red Sea attacks
Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam has said that the US is supporting Israel as it carries out “the most heinous of crimes” in Gaza.
“But when the world became alarmed by the bloodiness of what was happening against the Palestinian people, Washington was not ashamed to deny the occurrence of genocide,” he said.
“Anyone who can do that can easily deny the connection between what is happening in the Red Sea and Gaza.”
The Houthis say they are targeting Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea to help bring an end to the war on Gaza but US officials have dismissed the link between the conflict and the Yemeni group’s attacks.
Gaza authorities report ‘heinous massacre’ in Deir el-Balah
Gaza’s government media office says Israeli forces have killed 30 people in a supposedly “safe area” in the central part of the territory in the past 24 hours.
“The occupation army targeted the safe homes of citizens with direct bombardment from military jets. It also bombed a mosque in the same area, which led to the killing of many people,” the office said.
“We hold the Israeli occupation fully responsible for this heinous massacre and the ongoing massacres against our Palestinian people. We also blame the international community and American administration and President Biden personally for the continuation of massacres and crimes in violation of international law and all international treaties and conventions.”
People trapped at al-Shifa Hospital completely terrified
Israeli surveillance drones and quadcopter military drones are opening fire every now and then on people inside the medical complex.
They are also unable to get out from the facility as Israeli forces have been redeployed again in the central neighbourhoods of Gaza City, as fighting continues with Palestinian fighters in the area.
Videos have emerged from the area showing Palestinian fighters targeting Israeli tanks and Israeli snipers killing at least seven Palestinians.
PRCS received 6,947 aid trucks through Rafah since Oct 21
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says that the trucks it received from its Egyptian counterpart contained water, food, relief items, medicine and medical supplies.
It also says:
- The total number of trucks that entered the besieged Gaza Strip through the Karem Abu Salem border crossing (known in Hebrew as Kerem Shalom) reached 2,884.
- PRCS’s own share of the trucks was 4,990, while aid from 4,841 trucks was distributed to UNRWA and other relevant parties.
If you are just joining us
It is now 10pm (21:00 GMT) in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. Here are the latest developments:
- An Israeli attack on a house in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza has killed at least seven people.
- EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warns that defunding UNRWA could threaten regional stability.
- Hamas says it targeted six Israeli tanks, shot a soldier and fired a shell at a building housing troops in separate attacks in Gaza City.
- Canada says it will impose sanctions on some Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
- Hezbollah says it has launched 961 military operations against Israel since October 7.
- The US intends to carry out additional air strikes against Iran-backed groups in the Middle East, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says.
Jordan’s FM tells French counterpart: Gaza war must end
In a meeting in Amman between Ayman Safadi and Stephane Sejourne, the Jordanian foreign minister warned that the risk of the war expanding regionally increases every day that the war continues.
According to Jordan’s official news agency Petra, Safadi “stressed the necessity of launching immediate and effective international action to stop the war and the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe it has caused”.
وزير الخارجية خلال لقاءه نظيره وزير الخارجية الفرنسي ستيفان سيجورنيه، يحذر من ان خطر توسع الحرب يزداد مع كل يوم يستمر فيه العدوان على غزة وشدد على ضرورة إطلاق تحرك دولي فوري وفاعل لوقفها وما تنتجه من كارثة إنسانية غير مسبوقة.#بترا #الاردن pic.twitter.com/Orb518o19m
— Jordan News Agency (@Petranews) February 4, 2024
US raids in Iraq, Syria ‘designed to limit risk of escalation’: Biden
In a letter to top legislators, the US president presented legal justification for the military strikes against Iran-linked groups, saying the attacks aimed to protect and defend US assets in the region.
“The strikes have been taken to deter the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and affiliated militia groups from conducting or supporting further attacks on United States personnel and facilities and have been conducted in a manner designed to limit the risk of escalation and avoid civilian casualties,” Biden wrote.
He added that he will order “additional measures” against Iran-backed groups if necessary.
The White House has been facing calls by some US lawmakers to seek authorisation from Congress before taking military action in the Middle East.
‘Gaza journalists struggling to stay alive’
Shorouk al-Assad, a member of the General Secretariat of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, has said that journalists in the besieged coastal enclave are living through unprecedented times as they are being targeted by Israeli forces.
“The most important challenge today is the survival of journalists in light of their targeting and bombardment by Israel, in addition to the killing of their families, the destruction of their neighbourhoods, and the death of their colleagues,” she told Al Jazeera.
She also said:
- At least 73 media offices have been bombed since October 7
- All of Gaza’s radio stations are no longer operating due to bombardment, power outages, or the killing or displacement of staff
- Only 40 journalists remain in northern Gaza and they are besieged and isolated, with no means to send food or relief items to them
- Some 70 journalists have lost close family members
Turkey says Israel will be safe after creation of Palestinian state
Speaking to TRT Haber, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Israel was not seeking security but “more land”.
“Israel will be safe the day it gives its own state to the Palestinians,” TRT News reported.
Fidan also warned that tensions between the US and Iran must not deepen and that the situation in the region was “not great”.
Defunding UNRWA ‘disproportionate and dangerous’: EU foreign policy chief
Josep Borrell has rejected cuts to UNRWA after several countries, led by the US, suspended funding to the UN agency in response to Israeli allegations that UNRWA employees were involved in Hamas’s October 7 attack.
“If some doctors in a European hospital were involved in criminal activities, there would be a thorough investigation and all appropriate actions would be taken,” Borrell said in a statement.
“However, no government would ever stop funding the health service, as this would primarily punish the people who receive these services. The wrongdoing of individuals should never lead to the collective punishment of an entire population.”
He also noted that the agency provides services to Palestinian refugees across the Middle East, not just in Gaza, warning that “UNRWA’s demise would also be a serious risk for regional stability”.
Israeli attack kills seven in central Gaza
The Palestinians were killed after an Israeli bombing of a house in the al-Hakar area in Deir el-Balah, the Wafa news agency has reported.
Earlier, we reported that Israeli forces had also struck the al-Shuhada mosque in central Gaza in an air raid.
Biden condemns ‘anti-Arab hate’ after WSJ column
In an apparent response to the Wall Street Journal column that called Dearborn, Michigan – home to a large Arab community – “America’s Jihad Capital”, the US president has denounced “hate in all forms”.
“Americans know that blaming a group of people based on the words of a small few is wrong,” Biden said in a social media post.
“That’s exactly what can lead to Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate, and it shouldn’t happen to the residents of Dearborn – or any American town.”
Last week, we reported that Arab American officials in Michigan – a key swing state – refused to meet with Biden’s campaign manager over the president’s unwavering support for Israel’s war on Gaza. You can read the full report here.
Americans know that blaming a group of people based on the words of a small few is wrong.
That’s exactly what can lead to Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate, and it shouldn’t happen to the residents of Dearborn – or any American town.
We must continue to condemn hate in all forms.
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 4, 2024
Jordanian, Dutch air forces carry out Gaza aid airdrops
Aircraft from the Royal Jordanian Air Force and the Royal Netherlands Air Force carried out two airdrops near the Jordan Field Hospital in the besieged coastal enclave, Jordanian media has reported.
The airdropped aid includes humanitarian and medical supplies equipped with GPS-guided parachutes to ensure precise delivery.