State Department Warned Trump Team of Looming UNRWA ‘Catastrophe’ in Gaza, Axios
UN officials said they’re concerned that after the laws come into effect, UNRWA staff won’t be able to move between Gaza and Israel, and the agency won’t be able to carry out deconfliction arrangements with the IDF. It’s also not clear if the IDF will treat the agency’s facilities as part of the UN, which can’t be targeted by Israeli forces under international law.
Trump Says ‘All Hell Will Break Out’ if No Hostage Deal by Inauguration, The Washington Post
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, confirmed that the first phase of the three-phase deal in the Doha talks calls for the release of 34 hostages in stages over a 42-day ceasefire. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday denied subsequent reports that there would be a pause in fighting in exchange for a list of hostages and their locations.
UAE Says It Has Discussed a Potential Role in Postwar Gaza, but Conditions Remain Unmet, CNN
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has touted the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other countries as potential partners to help govern the territory after the war, but the UAE had previously said that it would refuse “to be drawn into any plan aimed at providing cover for the Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip.”
Ireland Joins South Africa’s Genocide Case Against Israel, The New York Times
“Ireland, invoking Article 63 of the Statute of the Court, filed in the Registry of the Court a declaration of intervention in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip,” the court said in a statement on Tuesday.
Israel Blocks UN Probe Into Hamas Sexual Crimes From October 7 to Avoid Inquiry Into Abuse of Palestinians, Haaretz
Pramila Patten, the UN’s Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, has requested permission to investigate Hamas’ alleged crimes. However, she stipulated that her team must also be allowed to access Israeli detention facilities to examine claims of sexual violence by Israeli soldiers. Israel has refused the request.
In Israeli Video, Detainee Says Hamas Operates Out of Gaza Hospital, The New York Times
The military released footage of what it said was an interrogation of one of the more than 240 militants it had arrested in raiding the hospital, saying it backed up Israel’s allegations that Hamas and other armed groups deliberately embed themselves in hospitals in violation of international law. The New York Times was not able to independently verify the claims made in the video, or to determine the circumstances under which the detainee made the admission.
US Hails Lebanese Army’s Implementation of Truce, Even As Israel Views It As Inadequate, The Times of Israel
A senior American has praised the Lebanese army for the pace of its ongoing process of assuming control of southern Lebanon in accordance with the ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel, even as indications grow that Jerusalem views the progress as insufficient and is threatening to delay its withdrawal beyond the 60-day period laid out in the agreement.
Israeli Strikes Kill 17 People in Gaza, Nearly All of Them Women or Kids, AP
Five kids were killed as they sheltered together in the same tent, said Ahmed al-Farra, director of the children’s ward at nearby Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Their bodies were among the eight children and five women brought to the hospital after strikes on tents, homes and a vehicle.
2 Palestinian Children Among 3 Killed in West Bank Drone Strike; IDF Said It Targeted Cell of Gunmen, The Times of Israel
A security source cited by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, says the dead include Reda Basharat, 9, Hamza Basharat, 10, and Adam Basharat, 23.
I Also Could Have Been Killed in Vain Serving Israel’s Settlement Project, Haaretz
An anonymous IDF soldier writes, “It took me time to understand what they had endangered my life over. These trips are an entirely normalized part of the reality in the West Bank. Just like the time they sent us to guard a sukkah in the middle of a hostile village, or to accompany Palestinian children to school every day because it was easier than detaining the settlers who were abusing them.”
The Case Against Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Policy
Chuck Freilich writes, “These ulterior motives seem to drive the ongoing war in Gaza, even after Israel’s primary objectives were reached as early as January 2024. The killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last October might partly vindicate Netanyahu’s decision to continue fighting. Still, it seems incontrovertible that he has prolonged the war to serve his personal interests and manipulated the hostage issue for his own political benefit.”
Hostages in Gaza Endure Another Winter As Their Families Plead for a Ceasefire, AP
Tia Goldenberg writes, “In the first few weeks of captivity, there was food. Ingredients were delivered and Har took on the role of chef. When there were tomatoes, he made tomato soup with some rice. With canned peas, he made pea soup. But as the war dragged on and the temperature dropped, food became scarce. They were delighted when a captor brought one egg for them to share. For weeks, he and Marman split a single pita a day.”