Live – Israel-Hamas: Blinken says Abbas “committed” to reform Palestinian Authority

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbach on Wednesday pledged 15 million euros in aid to the Lebanese army, amid growing concerns over tensions on the border with Israel.

The army must maintain “effective control” over the region to “control armed militants and terrorist organizations,” the minister visiting Beirut announced, adding that it would help the Lebanese army better protect its southern border with Israel. He said the aid would be used specifically to buy fuel and train Lebanese troops to patrol the border.

The Palestinian Red Cross blamed the Israeli military for killing six people, including four of its rescue workers, in an attack on an ambulance in the center of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. An earlier report reported four deaths.

Algerian international soccer player Nice Youssef Atal has appealed for sharing a video titled “A black day for the Jews” against the backdrop of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, his lawyers announced.

The 27-year-old, who is preparing to compete in the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) with Algeria, was sentenced on January 3 to eight months in prison and fined 45,000 euros for inciting hatred. religion

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Wednesday that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is “committed” to reforming government institutions in the occupied West Bank after a meeting between the two men in the Palestinian territories.

“I don't want to speak for President Abbas, but what I take away from this meeting is that he's committed to doing this and I think he's fully prepared to move forward.” Anthony Blinken answered a question about the Palestinian Authority president's commitment to reform.

Four rescue workers were killed in an Israeli attack targeting an ambulance at the Deir el-Balah entrance in the center of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the Palestinian Red Cross said.

“Four members of the Palestinian Red Crescent Ambulance Rescue Team were martyred after the occupation (Israel) targeted their vehicle on Salaheddin Street at the entrance to Deir-el-Bala,” the organization said in a statement published on X.

The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is “indescribable” and aid delivery faces “almost insurmountable” obstacles, the head of the WHO condemned on Wednesday, after months of relentless military bombardment.

“People queue for hours to get a small amount of water that is not clean or bread that does not have enough nutrition,” lamented the director. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a press conference. Geneva

“Only 15 hospitals are even partially functional. Lack of clean water and sanitation and crowded living conditions create an ideal environment for diseases to spread,” he warned.

The Hamas Health Ministry announced today that 23,357 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Movement began on October 7. Hamas also reported 59,410 wounded. Most of those killed were women, teenagers and children.

The head of US diplomacy, Anthony Blinken, today reiterated his support for the creation of a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank, urging Israel to spare civilians in the Gaza Strip, which has been bombarded.

Despite several diplomatic efforts, nothing seems to have ended the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which has entered its fourth month, while the UN has drawn attention to the devastating living conditions of the people in the territory. A regional riot is feared.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will visit Bahrain on Wednesday, adding another stop to his diplomatic marathon in the Middle East, a State Department official said. The diplomatic chief, who met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah in the West Bank this morning, will meet King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Bahrain. Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) on Wednesday condemned “with the utmost conviction” the strike against the MSF shelter in Khan Younes, which led to the death of the daughter of one of its staff members. “The shell (on Monday) went through the wall of the building where more than 100 MSF staff and their families were sheltering,” the NGO said in a press release. “Although MSF could not confirm the origin of the shell, it appears to be similar to that used by Israeli tanks.”

In its latest situation update, the Israeli military said it had “discovered more than 15 underground mines” in the area of ​​Makassi in central Gaza, adding that its troops had killed “several terrorists” in the area, according to reports. Guardian. He added that in Khan Yunis, “dozens of terrorist operatives were killed during the clashes in the area in the past day”. “In total, approximately 150 terrorist targets were attacked by IDF troops in the past day,” the IDF continued in a statement.

British and US forces have repelled the “biggest offensive” by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea to date, British Defense Minister Grant Shabbs announced on Wednesday. “Overnight,” the British ship HMS Diamond, along with American warships, “successfully repulsed the largest attack by the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Red Sea to date,” the minister wrote on the social network X (formerly Twitter).

US and British forces shot down 18 drones and three missiles launched by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea on Tuesday evening in a “complex” strike, the US military said. “The Iranian-backed Houthis launched an Iranian-designed complex attack in the southern Red Sea using drones, anti-ship missiles and an anti-ship missile,” the US military's Middle East Command (CENTCOM) said.

Since war between Israel and Hamas began on Oct. 7, the Houthis, who control much of Yemen and say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians, have stepped up attacks in the Red Sea to cut off international maritime traffic. of Gaza.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas this Wednesday to address the post-war deadlock in the region, particularly devastated by Israeli attacks. On Tuesday, he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Galland in Tel Aviv and urged Israel to spare Palestinian civilians in the war against Hamas in Gaza.

“We know that facing an enemy hiding among civilians, shooting at schools and hospitals, makes things incredibly difficult. But the price paid every day by civilians in Gaza, especially children, is too high,” he lamented. The Gaza Strip must receive “more food, more water, more medicine,” he acknowledged, and urged Israel to “stop taking actions that undermine the ability of Palestinians to govern themselves.

Hello and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the news of the war between Israel and Hamas. All the latest information about the clash can be found here.