Live: Palestinian death toll in Gaza nears 26,000

Biden's Middle East envoy Brett McGurk was in Doha recently discussing a possible agreement for the release of hostages held in Gaza, the White House said.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said that the US was involved in "very serious and intensive discussions" with Qatar on the issue.

"We are hopeful it will bear fruit and bear fruit soon," he told reporters.

Kirby also said that Israel has shifted to a lower intensity phase of the war, and also added that the US is prepared to increase humanitarian aid in war-torn Gaza.

NetBlocks, an online tech watchdog, has reported that the internet blackout in Gaza has now reached more than 96 hours, making it the longest telecommunications disruption in the conflict so far.

The watchdog added that most people in Gaza have not been able to reach the outside world since 12 January.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society reported Israeli shelling near al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis.

The shelling has caused "a state of panic and fear among patients, medical teams, and displaced individuals", according to the relief organisation.

The Senate is set for a vote tonight on a resolution introduced by Bernie Sanders, which if passed would require the State Department to report on any human rights violations committed by Israel's military using American weapons.

"It should not be controversial to ask how US weapons are used," Sanders said on X, formerly Twitter, ahead of the vote which is expected to take place on Tuesday evening.

While it is unlikely to pass, it will provide an opportunity for a showdown at the Senate between lawmakers in support of Israel's war in Gaza and those against it.

Rescue crews have recovered the bodies of 20 Palestinians, in addition to dozens of others who were wounded, from the rubble left by an Israeli strike in Gaza City.

Thousands of Palestinians remain trapped under the rubble all across Gaza, with many believed to be dead.

On Monday, a group of grassroots activists launched a disruption at a weapons manufacturing plant for RTX, formerly known as Raytheon, in protest against US arms being sent to Israel as it bombs Gaza.

Fifty protesters gathered for hours in the cold in Vergennes, Vermont, to prevent workers from entering the RTX plant.

Here are some photos from the protest that the demonstrators shared with Middle East Eye.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the comments on Tuesday during an interview while in Davos for the World Economic Forum.

Biden’s top diplomat said that the question of Palestinian statehood also needed to be addressed.

“Arab countries are saying this: They’re saying, look, we’re not going to get into the business, for example, of rebuilding Gaza only to have it levelled again in a year or five years and then be asked to rebuild it again,” Blinken told CNBC News.

Israel’s Knesset has approved an extension of an emergency order that allows Israeli authorities to deny detained Palestinians from Gaza the option to meet with lawyers, according to a report by Haaretz.

The order, which allows Israel to prevent prisoners from meeting with a lawyer for up to 180 days, was extended for an additional three months.

Mosab Abu Toha, a Palestinian poet from Gaza, published a story in The New Yorker about what it was like to go through Israeli detention as he attempted to leave Gaza in November.

British oil major Shell suspended all shipments through the Red Sea indefinitely after US and UK strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels triggered fears of further escalation, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the decision.

Wael al-Dahdouh, Al-Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, has been transferred to Egypt to seek medical attention, local media reported on Tuesday. 

Egyptian authorities facilitated the transfer, following a request from the Egyptian journalists’ syndicate. 

The transfer comes after Israeli forces killed Dahdouh’s 27-year-old son, Hamza, in an air strike on a car in Rafah earlier this month. 

His wife, son, daughter and grandson were also killed by Israeli forces in October. 

European Union member states have given initial backing to create a naval mission to protect ships from attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea, European diplomats said on Tuesday.

The diplomats said the aim was to establish the mission by 19 February, according to Reuters. 

The member states said they hoped that the mission would then become operational shortly afterwards, and it would work in coordination with other like-minded partners in the region as part of efforts to stop disruptions to the important trading route.
 

The US has carried out new air strikes against Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles in Yemen on Tuesday, US officials told Reuters.

Two rights groups have criticised the UK’s weapons exports to Israel, and have vowed to continue pursuing legal action to end the arms exports to Israel.

Global Legal Action Network and Al-Haq issued a statement on X on Tuesday, saying that the UK government has accepted Israel’s response to accusations over restricting food, water, and medical supplies to Palestinians in Gaza, violating international laws. 

“We maintain that there is a clear risk British weapons might be involved in the atrocities against civilians in Gaza and continue our High Court challenge to end UK arms exports to Israel now in compliance with UK rules and international law,” the group said. 
 

Israeli President Issac Herzog will participate in the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Thursday, in an attempt to promote a deal for the captives in Gaza, according to Israeli media. 

A statement issued by Herzog's office said that the purpose of the visit is to promote "intense political pressure" in an attempt to bring about the release of the captives held in Gaza “quickly and peacefully”.

The World Health Organisation reported on Thursday that there is a growing number of cases of hepatitis A in central Gaza and Rafah, mainly due to contaminated water and the sanitation conditions. 

The virus is spread when a person consumes contaminated food or water of an infected person.