Israel’s war on Gaza live: Three US troops killed near Jordan-Syria border

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

And you can always read more about the conflict here.

We will be closing the live blog soon. Here’s a recap of today’s major developments:

• A drone attack has killed three US service members and injured dozens near the Jordan-Syria border; Washington blamed Iran-backed groups for the incident, pledging to respond.
• Jordan, Turkey, Amnesty International and the WHO have called on countries to reinstate funds for UNRWA.
• The head of the United States CIA has met with officials from Qatar, Egypt and Israel in France for talks, indicating there is momentum to try to reach a captives deal that would temporarily halt Israel’s attacks.
• Thousands fleeing fighting in Khan Younis have arrived at overcrowded Rafah, where people are sleeping on the street and in tent camps flooded with sewage.
• Hezbollah and Israel have continued to exchange fire, with the Lebanese group saying three of its fighters were killed.
• Israeli forces raid the occupied West Bank town of Jenin.

David Cameron has condemned the attack that killed US troops near the Jordan-Syria border, which he blamed on “Iran-aligned militia groups”.

“We continue to urge Iran to de-escalate in the region,” Cameron wrote in a social media post.

The UK itself has been involved in hostilities in the Middle East, participating in US-led attacks against the Houthi group in Yemen.

We strongly condemn attacks by Iran-aligned militia groups against US forces. We continue to urge Iran to de-escalate in the region.

Our thoughts are with those US personnel who have lost their lives and all those who have sustained injuries, as well as their families.

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) January 28, 2024

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reports a late night Israeli drone assault on the edges of Yaroun, near the country’s border with Israel.

NNA also said there was Israeli artillery shelling in the same area.

The Lebanese group says it fired rockets at an Israeli site near Shtula in the central sector of the border late in the evening.

Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire since the start of the war in Gaza and Israeli leaders have pledged to push the Lebanese group’s fighters off the border, sparking growing fears of an all-out war.

The US National Iranian American Council (NIAC) says Washington and Tehran “are now closer to the brink of being pulled into a full-blown regional war by the vortex of violence” unleashed by the conflict in Gaza.

The group called on Biden to secure an immediate ceasefire between Israelis and Palestinians.

“President Biden must show leadership and recognize that there is no military solution to this crisis that has only been expanded and prolonged by military escalation and a dearth of diplomacy,” NIAC president Jamal Abdi said in a statement.

The talks in France indicate that there is momentum now to try to iron out the sticking point and try to reach a deal. That’s a contrast to what we were hearing earlier, which sounded more negative.

One of the reasons this is also complicated is because even though there is this initiative to try to affect some kind of cessation of hostilities, there’s still a lot of questions about how long a potential cessation of hostilities would last. Some media outlets have quoted Israeli officials saying it could be 30 days, others saying it could be up to two months.

Netanyahu is under a lot of pressure from a lot of different factions throughout Israel. You have families of captives being held in Gaza saying the government needs to be doing a lot more to try to secure their release. You also have members of the Israeli war cabinet that are openly questioning if Netanyahu is doing enough to secure the release of those captives.

Beyond that, you also have far right-wing members of his government who have been saying that they are concerned that if a deal is reached, it would not be a good deal.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has condemned the former US House speaker for saying that some demonstrators calling for an end to the war in Gaza are tied to the Russian president.

Nancy Pelosi, a top Democrat, did not provide any evidence to back her comments.

Thousands of people have been protesting across the country in demand of a ceasefire and public opinion polls show that most Americans support ending the war.

“Pelosi’s claim that some of the Americans protesting for a Gaza ceasefire are working with Vladimir Putin sounds delusional, and her call for the FBI to investigate those protesters without any evidence is downright authoritarian,” CAIR director Nihad Awad said in a statement.

Local Palestinian platforms have published videos showing Israeli infantry soldiers storming residential neighbourhoods in the town of Ya’bad, southwest of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

The videos showed a large deployment of Israeli vehicles and soldiers raiding separate neighbourhoods and streets.

The Lebanese group identified the fighters as Hussein Halawi, Ali Shokr and Sadeq Hashem. It said they were killed on “the road to Jerusalem” – a symbolic phrase Hezbollah has been using to describe its ongoing clashes with Israeli forces, which started after the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

Earlier, the Israeli military announced attacking Hezbollah positions in south Lebanon.

Jacky Rosen, a staunchly pro-Israel lawmaker, says “proxies of Iran’s regime” are responsible for the drone attack that killed three US service members.

“Iran must be held accountable,” she wrote in a social media post.

Most US members of Congress have been opposing a ceasefire in Gaza while also warning against expanding the conflict.

My heart is shattered after news that three U.S. servicemembers were killed and dozens wounded from an attack launched by proxies of Iran’s regime. We will never forget their bravery, valor, and service to our nation. Iran must be held accountable.

— Senator Jacky Rosen (@SenJackyRosen) January 28, 2024

The Jordan News Agency quoted the Jordanian minister of government communications, Muhannad Al-Mubaidin, as saying that the kingdom will fight back against anyone who tries to assault its security, “with full ability and determination”.

“Jordan will continue to confront the danger of terrorism and drugs and weapons smuggling through the Syrian border to Jordan,” Al-Mubaidin said.

His comments come after an attack near the Jordan-Syria border killed three US service members. Washington said the incident took place in northeast Jordan but Amman said the targeted base was not on its territory.

Lloyd Austin says he is “outraged and deeply saddened” by the killing of three US troops near the Jordan-Syria border.

Austin echoed Biden’s comments in blaming Iran-backed groups for the attack, pledging to “respond at a time and place of our choosing”.

“The president and I will not tolerate attacks on American forces, and we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our troops, and our interests,” he said in a statement.

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri says the Palestinian group had warned the US administration of the expansion of the conflict in the Middle East as a result of the “aggression on Gaza”.

Abu Zuhri said that the Arab and Muslim nation “will continue its role to protect Palestinian blood and what is happening in Gaza is a disgrace to the world”.

The former US president and current presidential candidate has hit out at his likely opponent in the general elections in November over the attack that killed three American service members.

“This brazen attack on the United States is yet another horrific and tragic consequence of Joe Biden’s weakness and surrender,” Trump wrote in a social media post.

He added that today’s incident, Hamas’s October 7 attack and the Russian invasion of Ukraine would not have happened if he had still been in power. “Instead, we are on the brink of World War 3,” Trump wrote.

Biden has been facing scathing Republican criticism over the killing of US service members, highlighting how his political opponents will cite the violence in the Middle East to paint him as ineffective.

Still, the US president has vehemently refused to call for a ceasefire to end the war on Gaza.

The Toronto Star reports that officials in Ottawa are monitoring the disappearance of Mansour Shouman, who was working as a citizen journalist and aid worker in the region.

Global Affairs Canada – a government department that manages the country’s diplomatic and consular relations – said in a statement: “Canadian officials continue to monitor the situation closely and are in direct contact with the family members. Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed.”

The Toronto Star wrote that it spoke with people close to Shouman, who “say they fear he has been detained or killed by the Israeli military while travelling between Khan Younis and Rafah on Tuesday, January 23”.

According to the newspaper, Shouman, an engineer with degrees from the University of Calgary and Queen’s University, was living in Gaza City before the war after moving from Canada in 2022 with his wife and five children, aged 16, 14, 10, six and four.

Agnes Callamard, the secretary general of Amnesty International, has called the cuts a “heartless decision” by some of the world’s richest countries “to punish the most vulnerable population on earth because of the alleged crimes of 12 people”.

“Right after the ICJ ruling finding risk of genocide. Sickening.”

While Western nations, including the US, rushed to suspend UNRWA’s funding after allegations that members of the agency participated in the October 7 attacks, the same countries have failed to formally revise their ties with Israel despite mounting reports of abuse by Israeli forces.

Sickening heartless decision of the richest countries in the world to punish the most vulnerable population on earth because of the alleged crimes of 12 people. Right after the ICJ ruling finding risk of genocide. Sickening. https://t.co/ARrPqUdyHA

— Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) January 28, 2024

Talks held on Sunday initiated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt to broker a captives deal between Israel and Hamas were “constructive” but differences between the sides remain, a statement from Netanyahu’s office has said.

The statement added that the talks were held in Europe and that further discussions are planned for later this week.

“There are still significant gaps in which the parties will continue to discuss this week in additional mutual meetings,” the statement said, as reported by the Reuters news agency.