January 22, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Egypt has rejected accusations that it has not maintained the security of its border with the Gaza Strip, leading to arms smuggling in the enclave.

The head of Egypt's State Information Service, the media outlet of the Egyptian government, blamed "extremist Israeli leaders who seek to drag the region into a state of conflict and instability." 

Chairman Diaa Rashwan's statement followed last week's claim by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that weapons and military equipment were being smuggled into Gaza through Egypt. Netanyahu went as far as to say that the border between Gaza and Egypt must be “shut," and called for the closure of the Philadelphi Corridor, a strip of land, less than 9 miles long, that serves as a buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza.

Rashwan said that Egypt has made efforts to combat smuggling by constructing a wall along the Philadelphi Corridor, destroying more than 1,500 tunnels in the border area, and increasing the headcount of its border guard.

Rashwan said that Israel is only accusing Egypt of smuggling to "create legitimacy for its attempt to occupy the Philadelphi Corridor."

Correction: The description of the Philadelphi Corridor has been updated to indicate that it’s less than 9 miles long.

A major Israeli military offensive is underway in western Khan Younis in southern Gaza, already killing and wounding dozens of people, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza.

Nearly the entire population of the enclave faces a humanitarian crisis, aid organizations say, as people in some areas describe sewage flowing through the streets. The World Health Organization and other groups are warning about the spread of disease and the dire situation of healthcare facilities.

Meanwhile, the United States and the United Kingdom carried out additional strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, marking the eighth round of attacks in just over 10 days, two defense officials told CNN.

Here are the key things to know:

S d British forces struck eight Houthi targets in Yemen on Monday, according to a joint statement from the countries involved in the strikes.

The targets were Houthi underground storage and sites associated with the group's missile and air surveillance.

The United States and United Kingdom carried out the operations with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands, the countries said.

The strikes are smaller than the first joint operation on January 11 that struck over 30 Houthi targets. 

The leader of the World Health Organization is "deeply concerned" by reports of fighting around the two hospitals in Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on social media that fighting near Al-Amal Hospital and Monday's raid on Al-Khair Hospital put "patients and people seeking safety within these facilities at risk" and prevent other people who are hurt from being able to reach the hospitals.

The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza said dozens of people had been killed and wounded in the latest offensive in western Khan Younis, where several medical facilities and the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) headquarters are located. 

Health officials also said that Israeli forces Monday stormed the Al-Khair Hospital and detained a number of its medical staff, amid an ongoing “siege” of the area.

The PRCS said Monday night that the situation remains "extremely dangerous" there and that ambulance teams are facing "significant difficulties in reaching the wounded and injured due to the continuous bombardment in the governorate."

When asked to comment on the storming of the hospital, the Israel Defense Forces said it “cannot comment on ongoing activities.” A source told CNN that a major Israeli military offensive is underway in western Khan Yunis and is expected to last several more days.

The United States and the United Kingdom carried out additional strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Monday, marking the eighth round of attacks on the rebels’ infrastructure in just over 10 days, two defense officials told CNN.

Nasr Al-Din Amer, the head of the Houthi-run Saba news agency, said strikes hit Yemen’s capital Sana’a and the cities of Taiz, Al-Bayda, and Hajjah.

President Joe Biden spoke to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday, the White House said earlier in the day, about a range of topics including security in the Red Sea. 

CNN reported on Monday that the US has named the ongoing operation to target Houthi assets in Yemen “Operation Poseidon Archer,” suggesting a more organized and potentially long-term approach to the operations in Yemen that have been aimed at deterring the Houthis from attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

The US has now struck Houthi targets in Yemen eight times since January 11, the majority of which the US military has carried out unilaterally. The first wave of strikes, in which the US and UK hit approximately 30 sites across Houthi-controlled Yemen, marked the beginning of Operation Poseidon Archer, one official said.

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on Monday that the Houthis had not launched a new attack on commercial shipping since January 18. The Houthis claimed on Monday to have attacked a US-owned cargo ship, the M/V Ocean Jazz, but a defense official told CNN that claim was not true.

The post was updated with the details provided by the Saba news agency.

Israel's national security minister is threatening to quit his position and "not be part of the government" if Israel decides to end the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Ben Gvir has a history of making threats like this. In late November, during a negotiated pause in the fighting to allow an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners — Ben Gvir threatened to quit Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu's government if the attacks on the Gaza Strip were not resumed as soon as the humanitarian truce came to an end.

A video of his comments was posted on social media by CNN affiliate KAN News, an Israeli public broadcaster. 

Mounds of solid waste and sewage openly flowing in the streets are exacerbating health hazards in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, with air pollution adding to the toxic environment, according to aid workers and civilians in the area.

“Everywhere in Rafah, if you walk, you will see a lot of solid waste and a lot of water sewage building up on the street,” said Salwa Tibi, 53, who works at the humanitarian agency CARE International. “You will find a lot of diseases in the shelters.”

Despite the hazards, children in desperate search of food can be seen picking scraps from rubbish piles, Tibi said.

Israel’s siege of the Palestinian enclave has collapsed waste collection and disposal services, according to the United Nations relief agency UNRWA, and the scarcity of clean drinking water and toilets has created an “explosively dangerous” environment for the spread of disease, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Thursday. 

Gazans also describe air pollution caused by smoke from people burning wood instead of fuel, supplies of which have been largely cut off from the territory. 

CNN’s Celine Alkhaldi contributed reporting to this post.

Israel’s former foreign minister is stressing the urgency of determining who could control Gaza when the fighting between Israel and Hamas end – and said there are likely three “real options”: Hamas, Israel or a different Palestinian regime.

Tzipi Livni said Monday in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that a Palestinian regime was the only feasible suggestion but stressed that it is “truly urgent” to decide if this would be in the form of the Palestinian Authority or another group. Delaying this decision would only lead to Hamas continuing to exist, and therefore the conflict between Israel and Hamas continuing too, Livni argued.

“Israel doesn't and shouldn't take care of (the) 2 million Palestinians that are there,” said Livni, who served as foreign minister in the Kadima party government until 2009. “We don't want to reoccupy Gaza. We just need to take care of our security.”

The former foreign minister suggested that the “entire international community” needed to ensure that any new Palestinian leadership would not be formed by Hamas or any other terrorist group.

Nearly the entire population of the Gaza Strip faces a humanitarian crisis, aid organizations say. Millions of people have been displaced since October 7 and they are struggling to stay dry and warm as winter temperatures and rains set in.

Less than a week into the Israel-Hamas war, the United Nations appealed to the world asking for nearly $300 million in aid to assist Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Within a month, the figure nearly quadrupled as the entire Gaza Strip plunged into a humanitarian catastrophe.

Three months into the war, international donors, mostly governments, have provided just over half of the requested funds through the UN’s plan, according to data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ (OCHA) Financial Tracking Service.

The figures reveal that only four-fifths of the emergency funding needed to ensure food security and roughly a quarter of what’s needed for shelter, water and sanitation have been provided.

Even before Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza, the enclave has been among the world’s top recipients of aid per capita for years. Before the war, four in five people depended on international help and as many as 1.84 million people were food insecure, according to the World Food Program.

Keep reading about Gaza's history of reliance on foreign assistance and the humanitarian aid needed to keep people alive today.

The post was updated.