KEY POINTS
- Blinken will return to the Middle East as Hamas studies a 3-stage truce proposal
- Iran's IRGC says it is not afraid of a confrontation with the US
- Desperate loved ones of hostages press for Gaza aid to stop until abductees freed
Tensions in the Middle East are prompting action from the international community even as global concern remains high about the raging war in Gaza that has now entered its 118th day.
U.S. forces on early Thursday carried out strikes "against an Iranian-backed Houthi UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) ground control station and 10 Houthi one-way UAVs," according to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
- Protesters now in Ashdod port: Local media
- Houthis fire missile toward Red Sea: Arab media
- IDF withdraws 7th Engineering Brigade from Khan Yunis: Report
- Victims of Oct. 7 blame Iran for Hamas atrocities: Lawsuit
- Explosion near vessel off of Houthi-held Hodeidah: UKMTO
- Iran's IRGC has scaled back its senior leadership's presence in Syria: Report
- UNRWA may shut down by March if funding remains suspended
- Biden expected to announce executive order on Israeli settler violence in West Bank: Report
Amid global concern for the negative impact of the Yemeni Houthi rebel militia's continuing attacks against merchant shipping in the Red Sea, the European Union is considering launching its own maritime mission to help in efforts to defend commercial vessels in the area.
In Israel's chaotic northern border with Lebanon, another Iran-backed group, Hezbollah, continues to cause mayhem as it claimed to attack seven Israel Defense Forces (IDF) assets in the last day.
Back in the distressed Gaza Strip, Israeli troops continue to comb the enclave for tunnel networks and Hamas infrastructure as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintains the war will continue until Hamas is eliminated.
There are calls for countries that cut funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to reverse their decision following allegations that some employees of the agency were directly involved in Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.
Netanyahu is under mounting pressure from the U.S. and other allies to recognize a two-state solution that should address the violent history of the Israel-Palestine conflict that erupted on Oct. 7, when Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israelis and foreigners and dragged some 240 hostages into Gaza.
The live update has ended.
Norway 'reasonably optimistic' some countries will reverse UNRWA decision: FM
Norwegian foreign minister Espen Barth Eide told Reuters Thursday he was "reasonably optimistic" that some countries that halted funding to UNRWA will resume their payments as many countries understand the "very, very serious consequences" of drying up the agency's funds.
"They're looking for a way out. And maybe if now UNRWA comes up quickly with a good response, which is accepted as serious, they will then happily restart," Eide said.
Biden expected to issue executive order on Israeli West Bank settlers: Report
U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to issue an executive order that will rein in Israeli settlers in the West Bank in Gaza who have been attacking Palestinians in the occupied territory, Politico reported Thursday, citing a U.S. official and congressional aide and documents viewed by the outlet.
The Biden government is expected to announce later Thursday sanctions on individuals who engaged in violence in the West Bank, as per the documents.
Under the new executive order, four Israeli settlers will be sanctioned as they are accused of being directly involved in attacks against Palestinians and "systematic acts" that displaced Palestinian communities, U.S. officials told Axios.
Israeli warplane strikes Hezbollah post in southern Lebanon after rockets launched
An Israeli fighter jet struck a Hezbollah paramilitary post in Tayr Harfa, southern Lebanon Thursday following "a number of [rocket] launches" from Lebanese territory earlier in the day.
The launches were targeting the Metula and Kiryat Shmona areas in northern Israel, the IDF said. There were no casualties in the incidents, the Israeli army added.
מטוס קרב של צה״ל תקף לפני זמן קצר מבנה צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בטיר חרפא.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 1, 2024
במהלך היום זוהו מספר שיגורים משטח לבנון לשטח ישראל למרחבים מטולה וקריית שמונה.
צה״ל תקף את מקורות הירי, אין נפגעים pic.twitter.com/G5Zcfoix1a
UNRWA may shut down by February-end if funding remains suspended: Chief
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini on Thursday said "if the funding remains suspended, we will most likely be forced to shut down our operations by the end of February not only in Gaza but also across the region."
He said the raging war in Gaza was proof that "it is time to reinforce and not weaken UNRWA."
Lazzarini's comments came after multiple countries, including the U.S., UNRWA's top donor, announced they have halted funding to the agency following allegations that 12 of its employees were directly involved in atrocities that Hamas committed during their shock invasion of Israel on Oct. 7.
IRGC scales back senior officer deployments in Syria: Report
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has started limiting deployments of senior officers in Syria following a series of Israeli strikes that killed several members of the IRGC, Reuters reported Thursday, citing five sources familiar with the matter.
Instead of a significant presence in Syria, the Guards will now manage its Syrian operations remotely, with help from Hezbollah, a Lebanese terror group that, like Hamas, is backed by Iran, as per three sources.
Three of the sources also said the decision to withdraw senior officers is driven party by Iran not wanting to be directly involved in the Middle East conflict.
One source told the outlet that Iran doesn't have plans to "abandon" Syria but its presence and movement in the country has been reduced "to the greatest extent."
Explosion reported near vessel off Yemen: UKMTO
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) on Thursday said it received reports of "an explosion a distance off the vessel's starboard side" around 57 nautical miles west of Hodeidah, a Houthi-held area in Yemen.
The ship and crew are safe and are now transiting to the vessel's next port of call, the group said.
UKMTO Warning Incident 026 update 001
— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) February 1, 2024
ATTACKhttps://t.co/XsgrK5uW2N
UKMTO has received a report of an incident 57NM west of Al Hudaydah, Yemen. Master reports an explosion a distance off the vessel’s starboard side. Vessel and crew are safe.#Marimesecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/7y1GK8rFQ6
This comes about an hour after the UKMTO said it received an incident report of an "attack" off Hodeidah.
Oct. 7 victims take Iran to court
A total of 67 individuals, some of which were injured in Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, while others were taken hostage, on Wednesday filed a lawsuit at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, as per NBC News.
The plaintiffs said the atrocities on Oct. 7 were "masterminded and funded by the Islamic Republic of Iran," adding that the country "bears direct responsibility" for Hamas' invasion wherein the Palestinian terror group murdered more than 1,200 people and abducted some 240 Israelis and foreign nationals.
"In many places across the world, Iran's actions have been met with silence. But Plaintiffs will not be silent. And the laws of the United States are not silent either," the lawsuit states.
IDF withdraws one brigade from Khan Yunis: Arab report
The Israeli army has pulled out its 7th Engineering Brigade from Khan Yunis, southern Gaza's main city, Sky News Arabia reported Thursday.
The outlet also reported that Israeli tanks have "completely withdrawn" from an area northwest of Gaza City.
The IDF has yet to confirm the reports, but it has withdrawn some reserve units from Gaza in recent weeks amid U.S. pressure to scale back operations in the enclave.
Houthis fire missile toward Red Sea: Arab media
The Houthis on Thursday fired a missile toward the Red Sea, Arab media reported, citing unnamed sources.
The UKMTO has since said it received an incident report of an "attack" Thursday, west of the Houthi-controlled Hodeidah port in Yemen.
UKMTO Warning Incident 026
— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) February 1, 2024
ATTACK
UKMTO has received a report of an incident 57NM West of Al Hudaydah, Yemen.
Authorities are investigating.#Maritimesecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/7g9dUkU6NE
This comes after the EU's foreign policy chief unveiled the bloc's plan to launch its own naval taskforce in the Red Sea, where Houthis have been running amok since November.
Protests in Israel in bid to block humanitarian aid into Gaza
Protests are underway at the Ashdod industrial port in southern Israel as demonstrators demand humanitarian aid be denied entry into the Gaza Strip until the remaining hostages in Hamas captivity are freed, local media reported Thursday morning.
On day 118 of the #IsraelHamasWar, protests continue against aid deliveries to #Gaza
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) February 1, 2024
i24NEWS correspondent @P_Klochendler details that 7,500 tons of humanitarian supplies, primarily consisting of flour, are being channeled through the Ashdod port, where protesters are expected pic.twitter.com/etMknCuqdz
Ashdod industrial port, southern Israel - A group of demonstrators, mostly from the radical fringes of the Zionist-Religious movements and West Bank settlements are blocking one of the access roads to the port, chanting, "No transfer of (humanitarian) aid to the enemy!"
— Pierre Klochendler (@P_Klochendler) February 1, 2024
Follow… pic.twitter.com/VyUJIwllsR
The Ashdod demonstration comes a day after some protesters at the Kerem Shalom border crossing were detained for questioning.
The Netanyahu government is under increasing pressure from desperate loved ones and supporters of hostages to get the abductees back home.
Iran isn't afraid of war with US: IRGC chief
"We hear threats coming from American officials, we tell them that they have already tested us and we now know one another; no threat will be left unanswered," chief of Iran's IRGC, Hossein Salami, said Wednesday, as per Iranian media.
"We do not look for war, but we are not afraid of it. This is the well-known truth," Salami added.
His remarks came amid mounting pressure on the Biden administration to strike Iran following the killing of three U.S. servicemen in Jordan that Washington attributes to Iran and militant groups it supports.
Blinken to return to Middle East later this week
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make another visit to the Middle East later this week as part of the White House's efforts to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from expanding throughout the region.
This will be his fifth trip to the region – at a time when hopes are increasing over a potential ceasefire deal that could see the release of more hostages.
Hamas confirmed that it has received a three-phase truce proposal and is studying it.
UN agencies call on countries to continue funding UNRWA
The United Nations' Inter-Agency Standing Committee, which is a collective UN-led group of aid agencies, on Wednesday called on countries that halted funding to the UNRWA over Oct. 7 allegations to reverse their decision.
The committee said allegations that some UNRWA employees played a hand in Hamas' Oct. 7 atrocities were "horrifying," and noted the UN chief's previous promise that any UN worker involved in terrorism will be held accountable.
"However, we must not prevent an entire organization from delivering on its mandate to serve people in desperate need," the committee said in a statement.
The decision by some countries to pause UNRWA funding "will have catastrophic consequences for the people of Gaza," it said, appealing "for these decisions to be reconsidered."
"The world cannot abandon Gaza," the statement concluded.
Hezbollah claims to have attacked seven IDF assets
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of heavily-armed pro-Iran group Hezbollah, on Thursday said the "resistance" militia attacked seven assets of the Israeli army, including a building in the Metula area where Israeli soldiers were stationed.
Another IDF asset in the Manara area was struck "with appropriate weapons," which led to some damage, Nasrallah said.
The IDF has yet to confirm the Lebanese terror group's claims.
EU plans to launch Red Sea naval mission this month
The 27-member bloc is looking to launch its own maritime taskforce in the Red Sea amid continuing attacks by Yemeni Houthis targeting commercial shipping activities in the area.
The EU is set to discuss "the creation of a new Navy mission of the European Union to participate in escorting the merchant ships in the Red Sea facing the attacks by the Houthis," said the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell late Wednesday.
"Not all member states will be willing to participate, but no one will obstruct," he noted.
Chairing today the informal meeting of EU Defence Ministers
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) January 31, 2024
Three main issues on the agenda:
1) EU military support to Ukraine
2) Defence Readiness: We need to strengthen the EU Defence industry
3) security challenges in the Red Sea, Sahel & Gulf of Guineahttps://t.co/o18fsB4FQ5
He said he hopes the mission will be launched by Feb. 17, adding that the bloc also has to decide "which country will take command" of the European Red Sea taskforce.
He clarified that the European maritime mission will not participate in "any kind of actions against the Houthis" but will only be focused on the protection of ships and intercepting Houthi attacks.
Seven EU member nations have expressed readiness to provide either ships or planes for the mission, while Belgium has already committed to sending a frigate, AP reported. Germany is expected to also send a frigate, as per the report.
US strikes Houthi drone ground control post
U.S. forces early on Thursday identified and struck a drone "ground control station and one-way attack UAVs in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen" that "presented an imminent threat" to U.S. Navy ships and commercial vessels in the region.
"This action will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy vessels and merchant vessels," the U.S. military said in a statement.
CENTCOM Self-Defense Strike Against Houthi UAVs and Ground Control Station pic.twitter.com/9LUKQS2HEB
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 1, 2024
The latest strikes on Houthi paramilitary assets came after the Yemeni rebel militia said it will continue attacking American and British warships in the Red and Arab Seas.
