Day 88 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Jan. 2

A leading Hamas figure has been killed as the war continues to rage in Gaza, despite the Israeli military's announcement that reservists from at least two brigades will be sent home this week.

Rina Bassist, Ezgi Akin, Beatrice Farhat, Elizabeth Hagedorn, Adam Lucente, Jack Dutton, Jared Szuba and Al-Monitor’s contributors on the ground in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel contributed to this blog.

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Live updates (all times EDT):

Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024

6:05 pm: US slams Israeli ministers' 'inflammatory' calls for Palestinians to leave Gaza

The US State Department slammed comments by far-right Israeli cabinet ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir calling for the resettlement of Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip. 

“This rhetoric is inflammatory and irresponsible,” State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said in a rare statement criticizing two Israeli officials by name. Elizabeth Hagedorn reports.

4:31 pm: US pulls aircraft carrier from Mediterranean as Israel escalates in Lebanon

The US Navy’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, is headed home to Virginia after nearly three months in the eastern Mediterranean Sea on an extended deployment to deter Iran and Hezbollah from launching major attacks amid the Hamas-Israel war in the Gaza Strip. Jared Szuba reports.

3:20 pm: Who is Saleh al-Arouri, top Hamas official killed in Beirut?

Senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri was killed in an explosion in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday. As the group accuses Israel of the bombing, the event marks a potentially major escalation in the Israel-Hamas war.

Arouri played a large political and military role in Hamas. Israel has not commented on Arouri’s death. The incident may elicit a strong response from Hezbollah. Adam Lucente reports.

12:00 pm: Top Hamas official killed in Beirut as Lebanon-Israel tensions soar

An explosion rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday, killing Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy political leader of Hamas. Adam Lucente and Beatrice Farhat report.

4:30 am: Israel says suspected drone enters northern territory as border clashes with Hezbollah continue

The Israeli military said sirens went off in the northern communities of Iftach, Malkia and Ramot Naftali over a suspected drone from Lebanon. The Israel-Lebanon border area has been rocked by heavy exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and Iran-backed Hezbollah in tandem with the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza. The Israeli army earlier reported striking Hezbollah targets in the southern Lebanese village of Yaroun in response to two missiles fired from Lebanon toward the northern town of Shlomi. Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported a series of Israeli strikes and shelling in several areas and towns in the south, including in the area between Dhayra and Alma al-Shaab and between Bint Jbeil and Maroun al-Ras.

12:20 am: Israeli strike reported on outskirts of Syria's capital

The Syrian military said an Israeli airstrike had targeted several positions on the outskirts of Damascus. In a statement cited by the official news agency, SANA, a military source said the strike had come from the direction of the Golan Heights and only caused material damage. No further details were provided.

The Israeli army confirmed the strike in Syria, saying in a statement that it had hit military infrastructure belonging to the Syrian army, without specifying the location of the targets. It said the strike was in response to five rockets fired from Syrian territory toward northern Israel on Monday. Israel has stepped up airstrikes against Iranian-linked targets inside Syria since the war in Gaza began in October.

12:10 am: Four Palestinians killed in West Bank raid

At least four Palestinians were killed during an Israeli raid in the West Bank town of Azzun, the official Palestinian news agency, WAFA, reported. Violent clashes erupted when Israeli forces stormed into Azzun, with soldiers firing live bullets, stun grenades and tear gas at residents, according to WAFA. The Israeli military said it had carried out a counterterror operation in Azzun, during which four gunmen who hurled explosives at soldiers were killed. Three makeshift "Carlo" submachine guns were also seized during the operation, the army said, adding that an officer had been injured in the confrontations. 

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