Israel’s war on Gaza updates: Death toll in besieged enclave nears 25,000

This live page is now closed. Follow along with our ongoing coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza here.

We will be closing this live blog soon. Here’s a review of today’s main developments:

• Fighting intensified in Khan Younis as Israel continued its deadly attacks across Gaza – including in Rafah and the Jabalia refugee camp.
• The Israeli army dropped flyers asking people in southern Gaza for information on captives taken by Hamas on October 7.
• Netanyahu has doubled down on his rejection of a Palestinian state, saying he would “not compromise” on Israeli security control west of the Jordan River.
• Footage and witness accounts shared with Al Jazeera have revealed how Israeli soldiers carried out summary executions in Gaza last month.

Palestinian supporters have started a 10-day march from Paris to Brussels where they will call on the European Council to end what they call Israel’s genocide on Gaza.

UK newspaper The Times has quoted Gadi Eisenkot, a member of Israel’s emergency war cabinet, who said that, in his opinion, Israel should accept a ceasefire in Gaza to secure the release of the captives still held there.

He said that two other members of the cabinet, Beny Gantz and Ayre Deri, are also in favour of this position, but that Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Prime Minister Netanyahu are strongly opposed.

He suggested that he, Gantz and Deri will abandon the cabinet if their arguments continue to be ignored, though they have not set a deadline.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said that Iran-backed groups fired ballistic missiles at a base in western Iraq that hosts US forces.

The agency said that most of the missiles were intercepted by the defence system at the al-Asad base, but that damage assessments are ongoing. At least one Iraqi service member was injured.

Iranian-backed Militants Attack Al-Assad Airbase, Iraq

At approximately 6:30 p.m. (Baghdad time) time Jan. 20, multiple ballistic missiles and rockets were launched by Iranian-backed militants in Western Iraq targeting al-Assad Airbase. Most of the missiles were intercepted by… pic.twitter.com/rYaNrRdRtu

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 20, 2024

The father of 17-year-old Tawfiq Ajaq, a Palestinian-American killed by Israeli fire in the town of Al-Mazra’a ash-sharqiya in the occupied West Bank yesterday, has slammed US support for Israel’s ongoing illegal occupation. The slain teen was buried on Saturday.

“They are killer machines,” Hafez Ajaq said of Israeli forces. “They are using our tax dollars in the US to support the weapons to kill our own children.”

“The American society does not know the true story,” he said. “Come here on the ground and see what’s going on… How many fathers and mothers have to say goodbye to their children? How many more?”

The US Office for Palestinian Affairs has said on X that it is “devastated to hear” about the killing of a young Palestinian man who was born and raised in the US.

Yesterday, 17-year-old Tawfiq Ajaq was killed by Israeli bullets in the occupied West Bank.

“We call for an urgent investigation to determine the circumstances of his death”, the Office added.

The US continues to offer unconditional support for Israel, despite its war on Gaza claiming nearly 25,000 Palestinian lives.

Devastated to hear about the killing of a 17 year old U.S. citizen, Tawfic Abdel Jabbar. We call for an urgent investigation to determine the circumstances of his death.

— U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs (@USPalAffairs) January 20, 2024

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud has said that the kingdom is “very worried” that exchanges between US forces and the Houthis could lead to further escalation.

“Of course, we are very worried … We are in a very difficult and dangerous time in the region and that’s why we are calling for de-escalation,” bin Farhan told CNN in an interview that will be aired on Sunday.

“We, of course, believe very much in the freedom of navigation. And that’s something that needs to be protected. But we also need to protect the security and stability of the region. So we are very focused on de-escalating the situation as much as possible,” he added.

Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné says on X that Palestinians have the right to a state and that France will “remain faithful to its commitment to achieve this goal”.

His words come as senior Israeli officials, most notably Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have been making strong statements opposing the creation of a Palestinian state.

Les Palestiniens ont le droit à la souveraineté et à un État. La France restera fidèle à son engagement pour atteindre ce but.

— Stéphane Séjourné (@steph_sejourne) January 20, 2024

Translation: Palestinians have the right to sovereignty and statehood. France will remain faithful to its commitment to achieve this goal.

The Israeli army spokesman, Daniel Hagari, has been saying for weeks that the focus of Israel’s ground offensive is now in the southern city of Khan Younis.

Remember, this is Gaza’s second-largest city and the Israeli army has said for some time that they believe all of Hamas’s leadership as well as an abundance of fighters are in this southern city.

The Israeli army also says that they believe captives are being held in tunnels underneath Khan Younis.

The focus on Khan Younis comes as the Israeli army said they have fully dismantled Hamas’s military capabilities in the north, which we do know is not completely true, because there are still pockets of fighters – there are still rockets being launched from there.

The Israeli army even says that there are exchanges of fire in Gaza City, but in southern Gaza is where they say they are shifting a lot of their focus on the hopes of retrieving the captives but also dismantling Hamas’s military capabilities there.

But that challenge is going to prove quite difficult given how many displaced Palestinians there are.

A video posted by Lebanese journalist Ahmad Rahhal and verified by Al Jazeera shows a levelled three-storey building in the southern village of Houla.

A short while ago, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said that an Israeli air strike hit the village.

المبنى المستهدف بالطائرات الحربية في بلدة حولا #جنوب_لبنان pic.twitter.com/Rwoo86LNLi

— AHMAD RAHHAL (@ahmmad_rahhal) January 20, 2024

Caroline Gennez, the country’s minister of development cooperation, says on X that if the International Court of Justice issues a ruling calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, Belgium will “fully support it”.

The court is now deliberating on the case, brought by South Africa against Israel, alleging genocide in the prosecution of the war in Gaza.

Satisfied: Belgium reaffirms full support for @CIJ_ICJ in this case. If the International Court of Justice calls on #Israel to cease its military campaign in #Gaza, our country will fully support it. pic.twitter.com/k2AAOro3o1

— Caroline Gennez (@carogennez) January 19, 2024

UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese has shared a report from Al Jazeera in which a Palestinian family says they saw Israeli soldiers execute a group of more than a dozen men.

“To Western governments: it is so disturbing to see you not condemning the horrendous, unspeakable crimes that ISR occupation commits in Gaza daily, IN THE SAME WAY as you did for the crimes on #Oct7,” Albanese said in a social media post on Saturday.

“The West’s double standards is what got us here. Time to end it.”

There’s growing pressure to hold Israel to account for its war on Gaza.

More countries are referring it to the UN’s top court, and its president is facing a criminal complaint in Switzerland.

So, can international justice stop Israel?

Watch Al Jazeera’s Inside Story to hear the debate:

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA), an agency that deals with issues of sexual and reproductive health, has said that 180 women each day are giving birth in Gaza, with Israel’s assault dramatically reducing access to maternal health services.

“Staff [at Emirati hospital, which oversees most maternity cases in Gaza] are operating far beyond their capacity with limited space, and women recovering from Cesarean births are discharged within a day,” the agency said in a statement on Saturday.

“Far too many births are taking place in unsafe, unclean conditions as women are unable to access hospitals and are forced to give birth in shelters. We cannot let this continue,” it adds.

Israel’s coordination office for its activities in Palestine has claimed on X that there is “no limit to the amount of humanitarian aid that can enter the Gaza Strip,” adding that close to 10,000 aid trucks have been transferred to Gaza since October 7.

Yesterday, a report from the UN humanitarian affairs branch in Palestine stated that Israel had denied nearly 70 percent of aid missions to north Gaza in the first half of January, allowing only seven of the UN’s 29 attempts to deliver life-saving supplies.

“People in Gaza are dying not only from bombs and bullets, but from lack of food & clean water, and hospitals without power & medicine,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on X earlier today.

Guterres has repeatedly and recently called for Israel to remove obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, who are now facing an unprecedented hunger crisis.

Humanitarian aid continues to enter Gaza, with close to 10K trucks being transferred since the start of the war.

There is no limit to the amount of humanitarian aid that can enter the Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/AkttdNjHvC

— COGAT (@cogatonline) January 20, 2024

Israel’s hard-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has underscored his opposition to a two-state solution in a social media post.

The post follows a series of statements from Israeli officials today shooting down comments from President Biden that Israeli leaders remain open to Palestinian statehood under certain circumstances, most notably from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

“I do deny a Palestinian state,” Ben-Gvir said. “Always!”

Al Jazeera’s correspondent on the ground reports that the bombing of a residential home in Jabalia refugee camp in north Gaza has killed multiple Palestinians.

The exact death toll was not immediately clear, but we will bring you updates when know more.

A Palestinian American activist whose grandfather was expelled from Palestine by Israeli forces during the 1948 explosion of Palestinians, known as the Nakba, has said that watching the war in Gaza unfold has been a reminder that the Nakba is ongoing.

“My family’s story is not unique. It is the same story that you’ll hear from millions of Palestinians inside Palestine and in the diaspora. Out stories are reminders of the fact that we were expelled from our homes,” Alana Hadid, an activist based in Los Angeles, told Al Jazeera on Saturday.

“I’m seeing daily what happened to my father. The Nakba has never ended, and it is continuing now on social media and on television,” she added.