Live Blog Update| Israel's genocide in Gaza
This is an entry from: Israel-Palestine live: Netanyahu rejects Hamas ceasefire proposal, vows ‘total victory’

Late night update

28 January 2024 23:48 GMT

Hello MEE readers, 

The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza since 7 October now stands at 26,422, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

At least 65,087 others have been wounded, the ministry added.

Meanwhile, tension across the region flared today after three US service members were killed and dozens injured in an attack on a military base near the Jordan-Syria border. 

While the White House and US Defense Department said the attack took place in Jordan, Jordanian officials said the strike hit a military base just across the border on Syrian soil. 

US President Joe Biden took on heavy criticism in the wake of the attack, which was likely carried out by pro-Iran militias in the region. 

Biden, during a campaign event today, vowed to respond to the deadly attack. 

Former US President Donald Trump took the opportunity to strike out against his campaign rival, saying in a social media post: "This brazen attack on the United States is yet another horrific and tragic consequence of Joe Biden’s weakness and surrender.”

In Israel, thousands, including ministers from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party, gathered for a conference calling to resettle the Gaza Strip.

At least 12 Israeli ministers participated in the conference about rebuilding Israeli settlements in Gaza and encouraging displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. 

Other updates include: 

  • Official Wafa news agency reported that medical sources said Israeli forces have committed 38 massacres in the Gaza Strip in the last 48 hours, killing 350 people, of whom at least 24 were killed in the Israeli shelling of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza.

  • Talks initiated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt to broker a deal between Israel and Hamas were "constructive" but meaningful gaps remain, a statement from the Israeli prime minister's office said.

  • Former US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has claimed that some pro-Palestine protests in the US could be linked to Russia, and called on the FBI to investigate their funding.

  • Turkey expressed concern after several countries suspended financing for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, and urged states to reconsider the decision.

  • The HMS Diamond, a British warship, has repelled a drone attack from Yemen's Houthis in the Red Sea.

  • Israeli jets have launched aerial attacks on two Hezbollah military sites in the southern Lebanese villages of Zibqin and Khula, according to Israel's military.