TRANSCRIPT
Israeli bombing has reportedly killed dozens of people in Gaza in the last 24 hours as regional tensions surge over the almost three-month-old war.
The Israeli military has reported more strikes in and around Gaza City, now a largely devastated urban combat zone, and Khan Yunis, the biggest city in the territory's south.
It claims to have killed Hamas fighters in the Khan Yunis area, struck terrorist infrastructure and hit militants attempting to place an explosive device near soldiers.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told a top US envoy he's seeking a fundamental change on Israel's border with Lebanon.
It's unclear what Mr Netanyahu's plans for the border are, but he has told senior advisor to President Joe Biden, Amos Hochstein, he's committed to allowing evacuated residents of the north to return to their homes safely.
“We're absolutely committed to achieving our war goals, that is destroying Hamas , releasing our hostages, making sure that Gaza doesn't become a threat again. And also making sure that we can return our citizens in the north and in the south. For that we'll apply maximum power with maximum precision everywhere that's needed.”
It comes after a suspected Israeli strike on Beirut killed a top Hamas operative, raising tensions between Israel and Lebanon.
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has responded to the death of the deputy chief of Hamas, Saleh al-Arouri, saying he thinks Israel wants to export the crisis abroad and expand the circle of aggression.
Although Israel has not confirmed or denied involvement, Meshaal has condemned the country for his death.
“This criminal, arrogant, Zionist enemy; despite it's failures and disappointments after three months of it's barbaric aggression on Gaza, it wants to annihilate the people of Gaza. In the light of its failure and its doubled losses of soldiers killed; it wants to export the crisis to abroad. It wants to expand the circle of aggression, thinking that this would confuse the calculations of resistance and the calculations of the region. It thought that assassinations of leaders would break the will of resistance, and weaken the leadership, not knowing that this is a big delusion.”
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has travelled to the Middle East in an effort to soothe tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
It's his fourth trip to the region since Hamas' October 7 attacks on southern Israel sparked a massive Israeli air and ground assault - and will include visits to Israel and the West Bank, as well as Jordan, Qatar and Greece.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller says Mr Blinken will meet with his foreign counterparts to discuss specific steps parties in the region can take to prevent the conflict from expanding.
“First, he will discuss immediate measures to increase substantially humanitarian assistance to Gaza. The United States has played a critical role in unlocking humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people, but conditions remain extremely difficult. The secretary will stress the imperative of expanding and sustaining safe access for humanitarian organizations to deliver food, water, medicine as well as for commercial goods to enter all areas of Gaza.”
US President Joe Biden has revealed he has recently spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he works to improve access to Gaza for humanitarian aid and gain the release of hostages held by Hamas.
Meanwhile, the US navy says a Houthi drone boat loaded with explosives has detonated in the Red Sea but failed to cause any damage or casualties, as the Yemen-based group continues its attacks in defiance of international calls to stop.
It comes one day after 12 countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Japan issued a joint statement cautioning the Houthis of unspecified consequences unless it halts its attacks.
The Iran-aligned Houthis have been launching waves of exploding drones and missiles at commercial vessels since November 19, in what they say is a protest against Israel's military operations in Gaza.
Mr Miller says the Red Sea will be discussed during Mr Blinken's week-long trip across Europe and the Middle East.
“As part of those discussions, he will raise the need to take steps to deter the Houthis attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Finally, he will emphasize the responsibility of all parties to help chart a path forward for Gaza that achieves lasting security for both Israelis and Palestinians, as well as a more peaceful, integrated region, building on the principles he laid out in Tokyo on November 8th and including a sustained mechanism for reconstruction and Palestinian-led governance of a unified West Bank and Gaza.”
