what to remember from Tuesday, January 9

Gaza civilians are paying a price that is “far too high,” declared American Secretary of State Antony Blinken, traveling to Tel Aviv.

New talks regarding the Gaza Strip. While American Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with several Israeli leaders, including Benjamin Netanyahu, on Tuesday January 9, a tripartite summit is to be held on Wednesday in Egypt. It will bring together King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Franceinfo takes stock of the main developments of the day.

Antony Blinken asks Benjamin Netanyahu to spare civilians in Gaza

The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, on Tuesday called on Israel to spare Palestinian civilians in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. While traveling in Tel Aviv, he reaffirmed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “the support (American) Israel’s right to prevent a repeat of the October 7 attacks”while emphasizing “the importance of avoiding more attacks on civilians” in Gaza, according to the State Department.

“The price paid every day by civilians in Gaza, especially children, is far too high”he later said at a press conference, noting that the Palestinian territory needed to receive “no more food, no more water, no more medicine”. He further urged Israel to “stop taking actions that undermine the ability of Palestinians to govern themselves”.

Israel considers it “crucial to increase pressure on Iran”

Increase “pressure on Iran is crucial” And “could prevent regional escalation” on other fronts of the war in Gaza, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday during a meeting in Tel Aviv with American Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Fears of a regional escalation of conflict between Israel and its other enemies, an informal alliance of Iran-backed armed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, have been growing since the start of the war in Gaza.

Israeli Supreme Court rejects media request for access to Gaza

Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a request from international media for free access to the Gaza Strip, citing “the extreme security situation” in the Palestinian territory. Seized by the International Press Association (FPA), Israeli justice raised the risk that such access “does not endanger the forces in action on the ground and the safety of soldiers” for example by revealing their location.

Justice notes that journalists can currently enter the Gaza Strip, for limited periods and on condition of being accompanied by the Israeli army. But according to the FPA, these accesses “were limited to selected foreign media” and were “strictly controlled”. Only journalists from Gaza, who were in the territory when the war broke out, are documenting this conflict in the besieged Palestinian territory.

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.

Hezbollah claims to have targeted Israeli army base

Lebanese Hezbollah announced Tuesday that it had targeted a military command center with drones in northern Israel, a country neighboring Lebanon, in retaliation for the death of one of its commanders, Wissam Tawil. Israel confirmed that“an enemy aircraft had fallen on its base”, without causing any injuries. An Israeli drone also targeted a car parked in a town in southern Lebanon, according to the official Lebanese Agency.

A meeting between Abdullah II, al-Sissi and Mahmoud Abbas is planned for Wednesday in Jordan

Jordan is due to host a meeting on Wednesday bringing together King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the “dangerous developments” in Gaza and “situation in the West Bank” occupied, the Jordanian royal palace announced on Tuesday.

This tripartite summit will be held in Aqaba, within the framework of “Jordan’s efforts to coordinate Arab positions to achieve an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid”according to a press release.