what to remember from Monday January 8

The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, arrived Monday evening in Tel Aviv where he is to have discussions with the Israeli authorities to obtain a de-escalation of the conflict.

The war in the Gaza Strip passed the symbolic threshold of four months on Monday January 8. A senior Hezbollah military leader was killed in an Israeli strike, according to Hamas, while the Israeli army claimed to have targeted the town of Khan Yunis with new airstrikes, killing “ten terrorists preparing to fire rockets at Israel. The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, arrived in Israel Monday evening to try to obtain a de-escalation of the war in Gaza and prevent its contagion in Lebanon. Here’s what to remember from the day on the front lines of the war between Israel and Hamas.

Antony Blinken in Tel Aviv for “difficult” discussions

The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, arrived Monday evening in Tel Aviv where he is to have discussions, which promise to be difficult, with the Israeli authorities to obtain a de-escalation of the conflict with “the absolute imperative” to spare Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

Arriving from Saudi Arabia, he also intends to put pressure on the government of Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the future of the Gaza Strip, based on what he was able to hear in various Arab capitals during his tour. In particular, he was able to discuss with Riyadh the normalization of relations between Israel and the kingdom.

Earlier today, American President Joe Biden was challenged by demonstrators in Charleston (United States) asking for a cease-fire in Gaza. He assured to work “discreetly” so that Israel “significantly reduced” its presence in the Palestinian territory.

Top Hezbollah military leader killed in Lebanon in Israeli strike

A senior military official of pro-Iranian Hezbollah, Commander Wissam Hassan Tawil, was killed Monday in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese terrorist movement announced. He is the highest-ranking Hezbollah military official killed since clashes between the Hamas-allied terrorist organization and Israel resumed. Furthermore, in a rare statement on its operations in Syria, the Israeli army also claimed to have killed Hassan Akasha, a “central figure” of Hamas in Syria.

This Israeli raid comes after the death of Hamas number two, Saleh al-Arouri, and six other officials and executives of the Palestinian Islamist movement, in a strike attributed to Israel on January 2. The strike targeted an office of the movement in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah.

The city of Khan Younes targeted by new airstrikes

During the day, the Israeli army announced that it had killed “ten terrorists preparing to fire rockets at Israel” in Khan Younes, the main town in southern Gaza and the new epicenter of the fighting. Other strikes targeted Rafah, at the southern tip of Gaza, according to AFPTV. Hamas Ministry of Health for his part reported a new assessmentclaiming that 23,084 people had been killed in the Palestinian enclave since the start of military operations by Israel.

In Gaza, 85% of the population has been displaced, according to the UN

In the Gaza Strip, international organizations continue to warn of the ongoing health disaster, with humanitarian aid arriving in trickles, despite a UN Security Council resolution.

Rik Peeperkorn, representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Palestinian Territories, pleaded with AFP on Monday for a “humanitarian ceasefire, the only way to respond to desperate needs” Gazans. The WHO announced on X the cancellation for the 4th time since the end of December of a delivery of urgent medical supplies to the north of Gaza, due to lack of security guarantees.

In Gaza, bombings razed entire neighborhoods, displaced 85% of the population and caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, according to the UN. The peace organization also says “very concerned” speak “high balance sheet” journalists killed in Gaza. At least 79 journalists and media workers, the vast majority Palestinian, have been killed since the start of the war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.