EXPLAINER
Negotiations for one-month pause are moving forward while Israeli forces continue military onslaught in Khan Younis.
Here’s how things stand on Wednesday, January 24, 2024:
Latest updates
- Israel and Hamas have tentatively agreed on exchanging Israeli captives for Palestinian prisoners during a one-month ceasefire, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, reported Reuters news agency on Tuesday. However, differences persist in achieving a permanent resolution.
- Israeli forces have ordered more than 500,000 people to leave Khan Younis in southern Gaza, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in its daily situation update on Tuesday.
- Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza arrived in Qatar on Tuesday after evacuating Gaza. “I left Gaza with a broken heart and eyes filled with tears,” Azaiza said in a post on X.
- Columbia University barred several individuals accused of spraying pro-Palestine protesters with a foul-smelling chemical during a demonstration last week, the university’s provost said in an email to affiliates on Monday night.
Human impact and fighting
- Almost 200 Palestinians have been killed and 354 injured in Israeli attacks in the past 24 hours, according to the UNOCHA.
- On Monday, Israeli troops raided the al-Khair Hospital in the west of Khan Younis, arrested staff and ordered civilians at the hospital to move further south, said UNOCHA.
- The US military said in a post on X that its forces destroyed two Houthi antiship missiles on Wednesday.
- The Israeli army said 24 of its soldiers were killed during combat in northern Gaza on Monday, making it the deadliest day for its forces since October 7.
- The World Food Programme said on Tuesday there is a “risk of having pockets of famine in Gaza”.
Diplomacy
- The UN Security Council held an open meeting in New York on Tuesday where representatives from more than 60 countries presented statements on the situation in Gaza.
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the UNSC that a two-state solution is the “only way” to achieve peace in Palestine.
- UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron will arrive in Israel on Wednesday, according to the UK foreign office. He is expected to advocate for increased humanitarian aid in Gaza and the release of all captives.
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that the US remains “clear about not encroaching on [Gaza’s] territory”, as the Israeli military says it is attempting to create a new “buffer zone”.
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