what to remember from Wednesday, January 3

The day was marked by the speech of the leader of Hezbollah, the day after the death of Hamas number two in an Israeli strike in Beirut.

Reactions follow one another following the death of Hamas number two and six other officials and executives of the Palestinian formation in a strike attributed to Israel which targeted them in the southern suburbs of Beirut, stronghold of Hezbollah. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, warned Israel on Wednesday January 3 against a war with Lebanon, while Germany called on its nationals to leave the country. Here is what to remember from the 89th day of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Hezbollah leader warns Israel against war with Lebanon

The leader of the powerful pro-Iranian Hezbollah warned that his group would fight “without limits” if Israel declared war on Lebanon, the day after the elimination of the number two of Palestinian Hamas near Beirut. “For the moment, we are fighting on the front in a calculated manner (…) but if the enemy thinks of launching a war against Lebanon, we will fight without limits, without restrictions, without borders (…)”assured Hassan Nasrallah in a speech broadcast live on television. “We do not fear war”he insisted. “No one has any interest in escalation” in the region, reacted for its part the American State Department while the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, called for “the responsibility”after meeting with the Lebanese Prime Minister.

Germany calls on its nationals to quickly leave Lebanon

“The security situation in the region is very volatile”assured the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, calling on German nationals to leave this country “by the most rapid means”. “A further aggravation of the situation and an extension of the conflict cannot be excluded, particularly after the assassination of the vice-president of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh al-Arouri, in the Beirut region on January 2, 2024. This applies in particular to the southern parts of Lebanon, up to and including the urban areas of southern Beirut”writes the ministry on its website.

Hamas still has ‘significant capabilities’ in Gaza, White House says

Hamas still has“significant capabilities” in Gaza, after almost three months of Israeli operations against the Palestinian movement, said a White House spokesperson. “We believe that reducing and defeating Hamas’s capabilities to carry out attacks inside Israel is an absolutely achievable goal for Israeli military forces.”said John Kirby.

“It can be done, militarily”he added, asserting that the Israeli army could “eliminate the threat that Hamas poses to the Israeli people”. But his “Will the ideology be eliminated? No. And is the group likely to be annihilated? Probably not”he said again.

Gaza: Israeli army confirms death of hostage during rescue operation

The Israeli military confirmed Wednesday that Israeli hostage Sahar Baruch, kidnapped during the October 7 attack by Hamas, was killed during a rescue operation in Gaza in December. “We informed the Baruch family that their son Sahar, a hostage in Gaza, was killed during a rescue operation carried out by special forces on the night of December 8”announced the army in a press release. “At this stage, we cannot determine the circumstances of his death and whether he was killed by fire from our forces or if he was assassinated by Hamas.”, added the army. Hamas announced on December 9 the death of this hostage during an attempt by the army to save him and released a video showing his remains.