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Live Updates: Imperative to Lift Restrictions to Access in North Gaza, UNICEF Deputy Director Says

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MOSCOW (Sputnik/Prime) - On Thursday morning, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said that the country had carried out a series of precision strikes against... 18.01.2024, Sputnik Africa

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Live Updates: Imperative to Lift Restrictions to Access in North Gaza, UNICEF Deputy Director Says

08:51 18.01.2024 (Updated: 18:06 18.01.2024)

MOSCOW (Sputnik/Prime) - On Thursday morning, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said that the country had carried out a series of precision strikes against "terrorist hideouts" inside Iran, which killed a number of "terrorists."

Pakistani aircraft have entered the airspace of Iran and successfully returned after delivering strikes on hideouts on its territory, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a source.

The attack killed seven non-Iranian nationals, including three women and four children, Alireza Marhamati, the deputy governor for security and law enforcement of the province, said.

"The sound of several explosions were heard around 4:30 am [local time, 01:00 GMT] today... One of our border villages was hit by a Pakistani missile attack... Three women and four children, who were non-Iranian nationals, were killed in the incident," Iranian news agency Fars quoted Marhamati as saying.

Marhamati added that another explosion was heard near the city of Saravan in the Sistan and Baluchestan province, but there were no casualties.

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17:00 18.01.2024

Imperative to Lift Restrictions to Access in North Gaza, UNICEF Deputy Director Says

No UNICEF humanitarian convoy has reached the northern part of the Gaza Strip in 2024 and it is imperative that the Israel-imposed restrictions to access are lifted given that Gaza faces a "near collapse," UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban said on Thursday after visiting the Palestinian enclave.

"Once aid gets into the Gaza Strip, our ability to distribute it becomes a matter of life and death," Chaiban said. "It is imperative that access restrictions are lifted, reliable ground communications ensured and movement of humanitarian supplies facilitated to ensure those who have been without aid for days receive desperately needed assistance."

Chaiban called for ensuring that commercial traffic gets flowing in Gaza in order to reopen markets and make families be less dependent on aid relief.

"There must also be fewer restrictions on the kind of aid we can bring in, such as generators for water pumps and pipes to repair water facilities, which are critical to restore the water and sanitation services essential for people’s survival," Chaiban said.

13:47 18.01.2024

Washington Urges Israel to Restore Telecommunications Access in Gaza Strip - Reports

US President Joe Biden's administration has urged Israel to restore telecommunications access in the Gaza Strip amid the longest-recorded blackout that lasted for six days and left millions of Palestinians without electricity or internet, the Politico newspaper reported on Thursday, citing US officials.

The United States has "been in touch with the government of Israel over this blackout and have urged them to turn telecoms back on," an unnamed US official at the White House was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

US officials are concerned over the possibility that the blackout could prevent information transmission on latest developments in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian movement Hamas, potentially aggravating a dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the newspaper reported.

13:46 18.01.2024

Arab Countries Intend to Present Plan to Resolve Israel-Palestine Conflict - Reports

Arab countries intend to soon present a plan to end the conflict between Palestine and Israel and create a Palestinian state, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Thursday, citing a senior Arab official.

Arab states are developing an initiative that suggests normalizing relations with Israel if it agrees to "irreversible" stepe to create a Palestinian state, the newspaper said.

The plan is expected to be presented within a few weeks.

11:58 18.01.2024

Top Turkish Minister Reportedly Calls on Pakistan, Iran to Take Steps for Early De-Escalation

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has held phone conversations with his Iranian and Pakistani counterparts, calling for an early de-escalation, a Turkish diplomatic source told Sputnik on Thursday.

"Fidan called on both sides to de-escalate and stressed that new problems should not arise in the region," the source said, adding that the Iranian and Pakistani ministers said that they are not seeking further escalation of the situation.

10:14 18.01.2024

Charge d'Affaires of Pakistan in Tehran Summoned to Iranian Foreign Ministry - Reports

Pakistani charge d'affaires in Iran has been summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry over an attack on the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan, the state-run Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday.

Iran carried out missile and drone strikes against Jaish al-Adl terrorists in Pakistan's Balochistan region on Tuesday, to which Pakistan responded with overnight precision strikes against "terrorist hideouts" in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan on Thursday.

The Pakistani diplomat has been summoned to the foreign ministry to provide explanations on several explosions that occurred in different areas near the city of Saravan in Sistan and Baluchestan province located close to Iran's border with Pakistan, the news agency reported.

The province's deputy governor, Alireza Marhamati, said that seven people, including three women and four children, were killed in the attack, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani Armed Forces have been put on "highest combat readiness" amid the worsening of relations with Iran, Reuters reported, citing a senior spokesperson of the Pakistani security service.

09:32 18.01.2024

Pakistani Prime Minister Cuts Short Davos Visit Amid Tensions With Iran

Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 22, 2023. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 18.01.2024

Pakistani Prime Minister Cuts Short Davos Visit Amid Tensions With Iran

18 January, 09:31

09:24 18.01.2024

UK National Dies From Iranian Strikes in Iraq's Erbil, Foreign Ministry States

A dual UK-Iraqi national died during the Iranian strikes on the Iraqi Kurdistan region earlier this week, the UK Foreign Office said in a statement following a meeting between UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Davos.

"The Foreign Secretary condemned the attacks in Erbil in Iraq, which killed UK-Iraqi dual national Karam Mikhael. Attacks like this violate the sovereignty of other states," a Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.

During the meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, Cameron also told Amirabdollahian that the attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on commercial ships in the Red Sea were "illegal and unacceptable" and that Iran "must use its influence with the Houthis to prevent further threats."

09:21 18.01.2024

A civil defense team carries out search and rescue operations in a damaged building following a missile strike launched by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the Kurdistan region’s capital of Arbil, on January 17, 2024. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 18.01.2024

Pakistan Hits 'Terrorist Hideouts' in Precision Strikes Inside Iran, Foreign Ministry States

18 January, 09:18

08:59 18.01.2024

US Forces Strike 14 Houthi Missiles Loaded to Be Fired at 'Any Time,' CENTCOM States

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Wednesday that the United States military has carried out strikes on 14 Houthi missiles that were loaded to be fired at "any time" in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen and presented an "imminent threat" to merchant vessels and US navy ships in the region.

Media reported earlier in the day, citing a US official, that the US had launched another round of strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen, including sites where the Houthis were preparing to launch new attacks.

"In the context of ongoing multi-national efforts to protect freedom of navigation and prevent attacks on US and partner maritime traffic in the Red Sea, on Jan. 17 at approximately 6 pm (EST) [23:00 GMT], US Central Command forces conducted strikes on 14 Iran-backed Houthi missiles that were loaded to be fired in Houthi controlled areas in Yemen. These missiles on launch rails presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region and could have been fired at any time, prompting US forces to exercise their inherent right and obligation to defend themselves," CENTCOM said on X.

CENTCOM added that the US strikes "will degrade the Houthi’s capabilities to continue their reckless attacks on international and commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden."

The command quoted USCENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla as saying that the US military "will continue to take actions to protect the lives of innocent mariners, and we will always protect our people," adding that the Houthis' actions "continue to endanger international mariners and disrupt the commercial shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea and adjacent waterways."

08:55 18.01.2024

CENTCOM Confirms US-Owned Bulk Carrier Ship Attacked by Houthis in Gulf of Aden

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that a US-owned bulk carrier was struck by Yemen's Houthis in the Gulf of Aden.

"At approximately 8:30 pm (Sanaa time) Jan. 17, an assessed one-way attack UAV [drone] was launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen and struck M/V Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden. M/V Genco Picardy is a Marshall Islands-flagged, US-owned and operated bulk carrier ship," CENTCOM said via the social media platform X on Wednesday.

The ship remained seaworthy and continued its trip with no injuries, but some material damage was reported, CENTCOM said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the missile attack on the Genco Picardy resulted in multiple direct hits.

08:54 18.01.2024

Sirens Sound in Communities Near Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces Say

Air raid sirens sounded near the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

"Sirens sounded in communities near the Gaza Strip," the IDF said in a statement on Telegram.

08:53 18.01.2024

IDF Chief of General Staff Says Likelihood of War in Israel's North 'Higher Than Before'

Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said Wednesday that the likelihood of a war in the country's north happening in the coming months is "higher than before" and that Israel "will go forward at full strength" against Lebanon when "we will need to."

"We are in a time of increasing readiness for fighting in Lebanon. We have a lot of lessons from the fighting in Gaza, many of which are very relevant to fighting in Lebanon, and there are some that must be adapted. We want to reach a very clear goal in Lebanon - this is to return the residents to the north, all of the communities in the north. We understand that this must come through a very significant change. 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," Halevi said at a reservists exercise in northern Israel, as quoted by the IDF on Telegram.

The situation in southern Lebanon deteriorated after the start of Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip due to the backlash from the Lebanese-based Hezbollah movement. The Israeli army and Hezbollah fighters regularly exchange fire in areas along the border.

08:51 18.01.2024

US-Iran Tensions Being 'Reflected on Iraqi Soil,' Foreign Minister States

The tensions between the United States and Iran are very much felt on the ground in Iraq, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hussein Fuad said during an event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"The tensions between Washington and Tehran are reflected on Iraqi soil," Fuad said during the event on Wednesday.

For Iraq, it is better if the United States and Iran sat down at the negotiating table and negotiated their differences, Fuad added.

The Iraqi Foreign Minister made the comments during a speech at Kurdish House on the Main Street in Davos.

08:50 18.01.2024

Pentagon Says Not Tracking Any US Military Forces on Ground in Yemen

Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder said on Wednesday that he is not aware of any US military forces operating on the ground in Yemen, amid strikes by the United States on Houthi militants in the country.

"I’m not aware of any US forces on the ground," Ryder said during a press briefing.

Last week, the United States and United Kingdom conducted strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, in response to attacks by Houthis on vessels in the Red Sea.

The Pentagon has no announcements on force posture changes in the Middle East, Ryder added.

08:47 18.01.2024

Israel Never Told US Palestinians Would Be Blocked From Returning Home – State Dept.

Israel has never communicated to the United States that its alleged policy is to block Palestinians from returning to the north of the Gaza Strip until a new hostage deal is struck, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Wednesday.

"No, it was not," Miller said when asked if it has ever been communicated to the US that Israel’s policy was not to permit people to return in order to leverage hostage talks.

According to Miller, Israel has communicated to Washington that it does not want to see Palestinian people displaced from their homes and that it would welcome a UN Gaza assessment mission so people could return to their homes.