The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Jan. 6 urged Middle Eastern nations to use their influence to prevent “an endless cycle of violence.” (Video: Reuters)

Netanyahu warns Hezbollah as Blinken seeks to avert escalation

Updated January 8, 2024 at 2:17 a.m. EST|Published January 7, 2024 at 1:30 a.m. EST
2 min

This live coverage has ended. For the latest updates, please go here.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu started a government meeting Sunday with a warning that the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah should “learn what Hamas has already learned in recent months” of devastation in Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting the Middle East to try to de-escalate tensions and prevent a wider war between Israel and Hezbollah, The Washington Post reported.

Key updates
Skip to end of carousel
A hack forced arrival and departure screens to display anti-Hezbollah and anti-Iran messages while disrupting baggage systems at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport this weekend. The Lebanese state news agency and Fouad Makhzoumi, a member of parliament, shared photos of arrival and departure screens displaying an Arabic message that bore the logo of Soldiers of God, a right-wing Christian group, and urged Lebanon to avoid joining the war between Hamas and Israel. The Post could not immediately verify who had hacked the screens.
Blinken said in a video message posted Sunday on social media that the United States has “an intense focus on preventing this conflict from spreading.” He said conversations with U.S. allies and partners in the region will be about steps they can take and using their influence to avoid wider conflict.
Later, Blinken told an Al Jazeera reporter that he was “deeply sorry” after a Gaza bureau chief’s son was killed. “This is an unimaginable tragedy that’s also been the case for far too many innocent Palestinian men, women and children,” Blinken said. Five members of Wael al-Dahdouh’s family have been killed, Al Jazeera said Sunday.
The International Rescue Committee is stopping its work at central Gaza’s only operational hospital after Israeli forces designated the surrounding area as a “red zone,” according to the medical aid group. Its emergency medical team “has been effectively forced to stop working” at al-Aqsa Hospital because it is no longer safe enough to do so, the organization said Sunday in a news release.
Israel has named former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak as its representative on an International Court of Justice panel set to hear allegations this week that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, according to Israeli media reports. The case was filed by South Africa. Israel has denied the allegations.
At least 22,835 people have been killed in Gaza and 58,416 wounded since the war began, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Israel estimates that 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.
End of carousel
Skip to end of carousel
A hack forced arrival and departure screens to display anti-Hezbollah and anti-Iran messages while disrupting baggage systems at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport this weekend. The Lebanese state news agency and Fouad Makhzoumi, a member of parliament, shared photos of arrival and departure screens displaying an Arabic message that bore the logo of Soldiers of God, a right-wing Christian group, and urged Lebanon to avoid joining the war between Hamas and Israel. The Post could not immediately verify who had hacked the screens.
Blinken said in a video message posted Sunday on social media that the United States has “an intense focus on preventing this conflict from spreading.” He said conversations with U.S. allies and partners in the region will be about steps they can take and using their influence to avoid wider conflict.
Later, Blinken told an Al Jazeera reporter that he was “deeply sorry” after a Gaza bureau chief’s son was killed. “This is an unimaginable tragedy that’s also been the case for far too many innocent Palestinian men, women and children,” Blinken said. Five members of Wael al-Dahdouh’s family have been killed, Al Jazeera said Sunday.
The International Rescue Committee is stopping its work at central Gaza’s only operational hospital after Israeli forces designated the surrounding area as a “red zone,” according to the medical aid group. Its emergency medical team “has been effectively forced to stop working” at al-Aqsa Hospital because it is no longer safe enough to do so, the organization said Sunday in a news release.
Israel has named former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak as its representative on an International Court of Justice panel set to hear allegations this week that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, according to Israeli media reports. The case was filed by South Africa. Israel has denied the allegations.
At least 22,835 people have been killed in Gaza and 58,416 wounded since the war began, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Israel estimates that 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.
End of carousel

Live coverage contributors 11

Live updates continue below

Israel-Gaza war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected what he said were conditions proposed by Hamas for the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza — including the end of the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Strip, leaving Hamas in place.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military ended its search for two Navy SEALs lost at sea during a mission to intercept Iranian weapons bound for militants in Yemen.

Oct. 7 attack: Hamas spent more than a year planning its assault on Israel. A Washington Post video analysis shows how Hamas exploited vulnerabilities created by Israel’s reliance on technology at the “Iron Wall,” the security barrier bordering the Gaza Strip, to carry out the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. Stock traders earned millions of dollars anticipating the Hamas attack, a study found.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip has a complicated history. Understand what’s behind the Israel-Gaza war and read about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Loading...