Live Blog Update| Israel's genocide in Gaza
This is an entry from: Israel-Palestine live: Israel’s response to South Africa’s genocide case at the ICJ ends

Evening recap

4 January 2024 23:56 GMT

Good evening MEE readers.

Two days after top Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri was assassinated in Beirut, the US military killed Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, known as Abu Taqwa, deputy head of operations in the paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF).

The killing of Arouri has sparked concerns that Washington's attempts to try to prevent a spillover from the war in Gaza have failed, and a wider regional conflict could take place. You can read more on that here.

Khaled Meshaal, the former chief of Hamas who now leads its diaspora office, said in a speech eulogising Arouri that killing the group's leadership will not put a stop to the resistance against the Israeli occupation.

"Israel has assassinated dozens – hundreds and thousands – from our people’s leaders throughout the past decades, from all the groups,” he said, citing the killing of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmad Yassin.

"Every time a leader fell, another leader rose up. The martyrdom of one leader produces other leaders on the same road and with the same conviction and the same persistence."

Here are some more developments from Thursday:

  • US Senator Lindsey Graham took a visit to Israel and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He said: "We're going to do everything we can...to push forward to make Iran's worst nightmare real".
  • A death toll from the Palestinian news agency Wafa put the number of Palestinians killed on Thursday from Israeli attacks at more than 30.
  • Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant outlined new plans for the next stage of the war on Gaza, saying it will include a more targeted approach in the northern part of the besieged enclave while continuing a pursuit of Hamas leadership in the south.
  • Law for Palestine, a UK-based legal advocacy group, has published a list of more than 500 instances where Israeli officials have stated genocidal intent towards Palestinians since the war in Gaza began in October.
  • US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is travelling for a weeklong trip that includes stops in Israel and the West Bank, in addition to Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
  • A must-read: Maha Husseini's story on Palestinian survivors recounting their experiences in Israeli field executions. To read that piece, click here.

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