Israel-Palestine Escalation
Israel was hit by an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip on October 7, with Hamas movement's troops infiltrating border areas. On October 8, the Israeli government announced that it had invoked Article 40 of the Basic Law, which means the country was officially in a state of war.
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Live Updates: Turkey Denies Deporting Hamas Official Under US Pressure

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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - On Tuesday, a Hamas office in southern Beirut was targeted in a bombing attack believed to have been carried out by an Israeli drone. Six people died in the attack, including Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri and two military chiefs. Hamas acknowledged his death, while the Lebanese interim prime minister blamed it on Israel.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson RDML Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday that the Israeli army is at a very high level of readiness and prepared for any scenario.
"The IDF is in a very high state of readiness in all arenas, in defense and offense. We are highly prepared for any scenario. The most important thing to say tonight is that we are focused and remain focused on fighting Hamas," Hagari told reporters.
On October 7, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip while its fighters breached the border, attacking both civilian neighborhoods and military bases. As a result, over 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 21,800 people have been killed so far in Gaza as a result of Israeli strikes, local authorities said.
On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1. Over 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.
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15:56 03.01.2024
Blinken to Visit Turkey on Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Says
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will pay a visit to Turkey on December 6, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday.
"Dear friends, Blinken will arrive in Turkey on Saturday. He will come to Turkey as my guest. This is what the plan is at the moment; I mean, if nothing changes, he will come as our guest," Turkish broadcaster Haberturk quoted Fidan as saying.
14:17 03.01.2024
Turkey Denies Deporting Hamas Official Under US Pressure
The Turkish presidency on Wednesday dismissed reports that it had allegedly deported a senior official of Palestinian movement Hamas due to US pressure, saying that the statements had been based on fake media information of 2015.
On Tuesday, deputy Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed in a strike on the movement's office in southern Beirut by a suspected Israeli drone, state Lebanese media reported, citing Hamas. Despite this fact, Turkish broadcaster TV5 reported on the same day, citing Israeli media, that Ankara had allegedly deported al-Arouri after being pressured to do so by Washington.
"The claim in some media outlets, 'Israeli press: [Turkey] bowed to US pressure and deported senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri,' is not true. It has been revealed that the news in question was fabricated by quoting unfounded claims in the Israeli media in 2015," the Center for Countering Disinformation of the Turkish presidency's Directorate of Communications said on X.
The Turkish presidency called both the new and original 2015 reports "the product of an Israeli propaganda campaign," adding that they were designed "to manipulate public opinion."
09:14 03.01.2024
Erdogan to Hand Proposals for Gaza Settlement to Iranian President - Reports
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will transmit Ankara's proposals for a settlement in the Gaza Strip to his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, who is scheduled to visit Turkey on January 4, Turkish newspaper Star reported on Wednesday, citing sources.
Raisi will become Erdogan's first guest in 2024. The leaders will hold a one-on-one meeting behind closed doors and then, take part in the 8th meeting of the Turkish-Iranian High-Level Cooperation Council, the report said.
The agenda of the talks will include Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip, ways to stop the humanitarian crisis and establish a permanent ceasefire in the region, the news outlet reported.
Erdogan and Raisi are also expected to discuss relations between Turkey and Iran, including ways to develop trade and energy partnership, as well as defense industry cooperation and the signing of related agreements, the report said.
Moreover, the two leaders will exchange views on the recent events in the South Caucasus and Syria, as well as discuss anti-terrorist efforts, the newspaper reported.
08:20 03.01.2024
WHO Chief Slams Israeli Attacks on Al-Amal Hospital in Southern Gaza Strip
World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus condemned on Wednesday "unconscionable" Israeli strikes on Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said five people were killed and three others were injured in Israeli strikes on the organization's headquarters and the surrounding area of Al-Amal Hospital.
"I deplore today’s strikes on the PRCS-run Al-Amal hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, which severely damaged the Palestine Red Crescent Society training center located within the hospital complex … Today’s bombardments are unconscionable," Ghebreyesus said on X.
08:19 03.01.2024
Lebanon to File Complaint With UN Security Council Against Israel, Government Says
Lebanese Interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati contacted the foreign minister and ordered an urgent complaint to the UN Security Council due to the violation of the country's sovereignty by Israel after the attack on the office of Palestinian movement Hamas in southern Beirut, the Lebanese government said on Tuesday.
08:18 03.01.2024
Hamas Says Israeli Hostages Will Be Released Only on Palestine’s Terms
Israeli hostages will only be released on the terms of the Palestinian resistance movements because they are the masters of the situation in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, chairman of the political bureau of Palestinian movement Hamas, said on Tuesday.
"The release of enemy prisoners will only happen on the terms of resistance, because it is the master of the territory and time in the Gaza Strip and throughout Palestine," Haniyeh was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera broadcaster.
08:17 03.01.2024
UN Security Council to Hold High-Level Meeting on Palestine: French Ambassador
A high-level UN Security Council meeting will be held on January 23 to address the issue of Palestine and the regional environment, French Ambassador to the United Nations Nicolas de Riviere said.
"On the 23rd of January, we're going to have a high-level meeting that will be focused on the Palestinian issue but also the regional environment," Riviere said on Tuesday.
The ambassador added that the meeting would be in an open debate format and that ministers from the Middle East region and others have been invited to participate.
France presides over the UN Security Council for the month of January.
08:17 03.01.2024
Hamas Official's Killing Reportedly Halts Israel-Hamas Talks
The killing of the Hamas deputy leader in a Beirut blast on Tuesday brought to a standstill the Arab-mediated peace talks between the Palestinian group and Israel, the Israeli media reported.
The Israeli newspaper quoted Arab diplomatic sources involved in the Egypt- and Qatar-mediated peace process as saying that "the assassination has changed the situation, and now progress is not possible."

"The effort is now on ensuring that any response, especially from Lebanon, will be measured, and enable the eventual continuation of the negotiations," they told the newspaper.

08:15 03.01.2024
Hezbollah Threatens Retaliation to Israel for Assassinating Hamas Leader
Lebanon's Hezbollah movement on Tuesday threatened to retaliate against Israel for a suspected Israeli attack in Beirut that killed a senior official of Hamas and two commanders of the Palestinian movement's military wing.
"We view the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri and his fellow martyrs in the heart of Beirut's southern outskirt as a serious attack on Lebanon, its people, security, sovereignty and resistance. It also carries a symbolic political message, while being a dangerous development in the war between the enemy and the resistance axis. We at Hezbollah confirm that this crime would not be ever left unanswered and unpunished," the statement read.
Hezbollah offered its condolences to the Palestinians and Hamas. It also opined that the Beirut attack would "only reinforce the resistance in Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iran and Iraq with a belief in their rightfulness."
08:15 03.01.2024
US Rejects Israeli Officials’ Calls to Resettle Palestinians Outside Gaza: State Department
The United States rejects "irresponsible" and "inflammatory" statement by Israeli Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, who called for the resettlement of Palestinians outside Gaza, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Tuesday.
"The United States rejects recent statements from Israeli Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza. This rhetoric is inflammatory and irresponsible," Miller said in a statement. "They should stop immediately."
08:13 03.01.2024
US Senator Sanders Calls on Congress to Reject $10Bln Funding for Israel: Statement
US senator Bernie Sanders in a statement on Tuesday called upon Congress to reject the $10 billion in new funding for Israel to aid its "brutal war" on the Palestinians in Gaza.
"Congress is working to pass a supplemental funding bill that includes $10 billion of unconditional military aid for the right-wing Netanyahu government to continue its brutal war against the Palestinian people. Enough is enough. Congress must reject that funding. The taxpayers of the United States must no longer be complicit in destroying the lives of innocent men, women, and children in Gaza," the statement said.
The US senator underscored that Americans must understand that Israel’s war on the Palestinians is being waged with US bombs making them complicit in destroying innocent lives, and artillery shells with catastrophic results.
08:12 03.01.2024
Netanyahu Reportedly Bars Ministers From Talking About Hamas Deputy Leader's Killing
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put a gag on ministers on Tuesday after Lebanon and Hamas blamed the Jewish state for assassinating the Palestinian group’s deputy leader in Beirut.
The Prime Minister's Office instructed ministers not to be interviewed or make any references to the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri, the Israeli media reported. Israeli police were reportedly put on high alert in the wake of the Beirut bombing and told to get ready for rocket attacks and infiltration.
08:09 03.01.2024
Israel Did Not Notify US About Strike Near Beirut Killing Senior Hamas Official, Reports Say
Israel did not notify Washington about the drone strike near Beirut, Lebanon that killed the deputy chief of Hamas’ political bureau Saleh al-Arouri, Axios reported on Tuesday citing US and Israeli officials.
The Israeli leadership informed the Biden administration about the attack only after the operation had already begun, the report said.
08:08 03.01.2024
Two Commanders of Hamas' Military Wing Reportedly Killed in Beirut Blast
A suspected drone strike by Israel at the Hamas political office in Beirut killed two commanders of Al-Qassam Brigades, which is the Palestinian group’s military wing, state Lebanese media cited Hamas as saying.
Hamas also confirmed the assassination of its deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in the blast that targeted its office in a southern Beirut suburb, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.
Six people died in the explosion. Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned al-Arouri's killing as an "Israeli crime" that he said aimed to draw Lebanon deeper into the Israel-Hamas war.
08:06 03.01.2024
Assassination of Hamas Official in Beirut Highlights Danger of Spillover, UN Spokesperson Says
The killing of senior Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon underscores the warnings of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about a possible spillover of the Gaza conflict into the region, Deputy Spokeswoman Florencia Soto Nino said.
"I think this just really highlights what the secretary general had just said about the dangers of a spillover of this conflict into the wider region," Nino said during a press briefing.
Nino said that although the details of the incident have yet to be confirmed, the UN calls on all parties to de-escalate the situation.
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