What we know
- Iran has vowed retaliation for a strike that killed five senior military officials in Damascus yesterday, an attack it blamed on Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.
- There have been at least 140 attacks on U.S. bases since Oct. 17, as tensions ripple out from the war in Gaza. There have been seven in the past week, including the heavy military strikes on Ain al-Assad base in Iraq, which injured U.S. and Iraqi soldiers.
- The U.S. launched an attack on a Houthi anti-ship missile aimed into the Gulf of Aden yesterday, its seventh round of strikes since the Iran-backed rebel group began targeting merchant vessels in the Red Sea. President Joe Biden conceded that they have yet to deter Houthi rebels.
- Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered opposing takeaways in an increasingly public disagreement about a potential two-state solution after the war. Netanyahu’s statements against a Palestinian state have become more forceful, as Biden insists it is not impossible.
- Nearly 180 people were killed in the last 24 hours in Gaza, pushing the confirmed death toll over 25,000, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than 62,000 have been injured, and thousands more are missing and presumed dead.
- Israeli military officials said at least 195 soldiers have been killed during the ground invasion of Gaza. About 1,200 people were killed and about 240 hostages were taken after Hamas launched multipronged attacks on Israel on Oct. 7.
- NBC News’ Richard Engel, Raf Sanchez, Matt Bradley, Chantal Da Silva, Anna Schecter and Ali Arouzi are reporting from the region.
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Hostage talks continue as Israel rejects Hamas demand for full IDF withdrawal and a permanent cease-fire
TEL AVIV — Talks over the release of hostages in Gaza remain at an impasse over Hamas’ demand for a permanent cease-fire, a diplomat with knowledge of the talks told NBC News.
American, Qatari and Egyptian officials continue to push for an agreement that would free an estimated 130 captives believed to remain in Gaza, most likely hidden underground in tunnels or in private homes.
Hamas is demanding the permanent halt of fighting, a complete withdrawal of Israel forces from Gaza and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including some who carried out the Oct. 7 attack, according to Israeli officials.
A Hamas official said in an interview that the group will not move forward with anything until it has a promise that the war will stop and all Israeli troops will leave Gaza. “This is the core of the discussion,” the Hamas official said.
2 missing U.S. Navy SEALs declared dead after 10-day search off Somalia
Two U.S. Navy SEALs lost in nighttime seas during a raid on a small boat off Somalia were declared dead today.
The 10-day mission has shifted from search and rescue to recovery, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
“We regret to announce that after a 10-day exhaustive search, our two missing U.S. Navy SEALs have not been located and their status has been changed to deceased,” it said.
The two were not publicly identified, and CENTCOM said no further information would be made immediately available “out of respect” for their families.
Two U.S. defense officials said one of the SEALs had tried to board the vessel amid rough seas and fell into the water. The second dived in after the first, as is protocol, the officials said.
The vessel, known as a dhow, was carrying “Iranian advanced conventional weapons” as the raid took place Jan. 11, CENTCOM said today.
Louisiana mosque of U.S. teen fatally shot in the West Bank mourns
TEL AVIV — The Louisiana mosque of a Palestinian American teenager who was fatally shot in the occupied West Bank on Friday has been devastated by news of his death.
“We are like brothers and sisters," Karim Taha, a board member of Masjid Omar, the mosque Tawfic Hafeth Abdel Jabbar belonged to, said in a phone call today. "We all lived here in the ‘West Bank,’” he said, referring to the West Bank of the Mississippi River, where the teen lived.
“We all share happiness and sadness. We’re just like a family here," he said.
Abdel Jabbar's father, Hafeth Abdel Jabbar, told NBC News his 17-year-old son had been in the West Bank since May to spend time in Al-Mazra’a Al-Sharqiya, the village his dad grew up in. The teen had gone out to have a picnic with friends when he was fatally shot, he said.
The IDF and Israel police have said they are investigating the incident, which they both said was alleged to involve a civilian, an off-duty police officer and an IDF soldier.
“Everybody’s sad," Taha said. "And I guess there’s nowhere safe in Palestine now. Either you get hit by a soldier or the settlers.”
Time for international community to 'impose sanctions on Netanyahu and his coalition,' Palestinian ministry says
The repeated rejections by Netanyahu and other Israeli ministers prompted a call for international sanctions from the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in a statement today.
The ministry accused Israel's current right-wing coalition of sabotaging the peace process, condemning Netanyahu's recent statements about the matter as racist and "anti-peace" colonialism.
The statement added that "it is time for the international community to impose sanctions on Netanyahu and his coalition" to hold the Israeli lawmakers responsible for Netanyahu’s “systematic failure” and the humanitarian disaster befalling Palestinians.
150 aid trucks enter through Rafah crossing, Egyptian Red Crescent says
A total of 150 aid trucks and six fuel trucks went through the Rafah crossing today into Gaza, Dr. Khaled Zayed, head of the Egyptian Red Crescent, told NBC News.
There were also 35 wounded people, accompanied by relatives, who were transported into the northern Sinai Peninsula to receive medical treatment, Zayed said.
Jagan Chapagain, CEO of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said the Palestine Red Crescent Society received 80 trucks yesterday.
"Yet, the situation remains dire and the amount of aid entering into Gaza is not enough to address the immense needs," Chapagain wrote on X.
Amid tough re-election fight, San Francisco mayor declines to veto resolution on Gaza she criticized
SAN FRANCISCO — Amid a tough re-election fight, Mayor London Breed has declined to veto a nonbinding resolution from the San Francisco supervisors calling for an extended cease-fire in Gaza, a measure she blamed for inflaming tensions in the city.
The first-term Democrat posted her decision online Friday, faulting the board for veering into foreign policy in which its members have no legal authority or expertise. She said the debate over the resolution left the city “angrier, more divided and less safe.”
“Their exercise was never about bringing people together,” Breed wrote in a statement. “It was about choosing a side.”
A divided board approved the resolution earlier this month, which also condemned Hamas as well as the Israeli government and urged the Biden administration to press for the release of all hostages and delivery of humanitarian aid. Cease-fire advocates in the audience erupted into cheers and chants of “Free Palestine.”
Breed earlier criticized the supervisors, saying, “The process at the board only inflamed division and hurt.”
San Francisco joined dozens of other U.S. cities in approving a resolution that has no legal weight but reflects pressure on local governments to speak up on the Israel-Hamas war, now in its fourth month following a deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants.
Strike kills Hezbollah official in Lebanon, amid apparent Israeli shift to targeted killings
SIDON, Lebanon — An Israeli airstrike hit two vehicles near a Lebanese army checkpoint in south Lebanon on Sunday, killing a Hezbollah member and wounding several other people, including civilians, Lebanese state media and health officials reported.
The strike appeared to be part of a shift in Israeli strategy toward targeted killings in Lebanon after more than three months of near-daily clashes with Hezbollah militants on the border against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.
Hezbollah announced that one of its members, identified as Fadel Shaar, had been killed in the strike in the town of Kafra. Local civil defense and hospital officials said seven people were wounded, including two women, one of whom was in critical condition.
Video from the scene showed a passenger sedan in flames next to a small truck stopped in the middle of the road.
The Israeli military did not comment on the strike.
Sewage station floods out to surrounding areas, Gaza municipality says
Gaza's main sewage station has flooded and is now seeping out into the surrounding areas, according to a translated post on X from Gaza's municipality account.
The post included pictures of what appeared to be floodwaters as the municipality said the destruction of some parts of the station and its electrical generators have caused the station to fail. NBC News has not verified the post.
"We appealed several times to relief institutions and international organizations for the need to intervene to solve the health and environmental crises, but there is no real response so far," the municipality said.
Last week, the World Health Organization said two dozen cases of hepatitis A had been confirmed in Gaza by test kits the organization provided. Hepatitis A is a preventable and highly contagious liver infection caused by ingesting contaminated food and water, according to the WHO.
Netanyahu reiterates opposition to Palestinian state, says Gaza must be 'under full security control'
TEL AVIV — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his opposition to establishing a Palestinian state during a speech today, saying he informed President Joe Biden of his view that it would conflict with Israel's security.
"Gaza must be demilitarized, under full security control of the state of Israel," Netanyahu said. "I will not compromise on full Israeli security control over all the territory west of Jordan."
While he says he appreciates U.S. support, Netanyahu is unwilling to accept the U.S. view on the necessity of a two-state solution. The prime minister also said he opposed Hamas conditions on the release of more than 100 hostages who remain captive in Gaza Strip — the end of war and a complete removal of Israel's presence in the enclave.
"I am not ready to put up with such a fatal injury to Israel’s security, so we will not agree to it," he said. "The conditions set by Hamas sharpen a simple truth — there is no substitute for victory."
Netanyahu is facing increasing internal discord in Israel as citizens continue to call for another hostage deal. The Times of Israel reported today that thousands gathered in rallies in Tel Aviv, Caesarea and Jerusalem, where many demanded new elections be held.
IDF says it hit Hezbollah posts in Lebanon as Hezbollah claims direct hits on Israel
Israel's military said that fighter jets attacked Hezbollah infrastructure today, as the organization also claimed its own attacks against sites in northern Israel.
According to the IDF, jets attacked what was described as an observation post and a launch post belonging to Hezbollah in Markaba, a Lebanese village close to the border with Israel. The military also said that jets and tanks attacked a "Hezbollah operational command center and military compound" in various locations in southern Lebanon, without providing additional detail.
Hezbollah also claimed that it "directly hit" Israeli sites today, including a rocket attack on Israeli-occupied land in the Shebaa Farms.