Joe Biden’s Middle East adviser is in the region to discuss a “break” in the hostilities in Gaza in order to free hostages kidnapped by Hamas, a White House spokesperson said on Tuesday, January 23. The envoy of the American president, Brett McGurk, “is located in Cairo” Tuesday and will make other stops in the region. “One of the things he’s discussing is the potential for a new hostage release deal, which would require a humanitarian pause of some length.”, said John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council. He described the discussions as “serious”. According to Israel, 132 hostages are still in the territory, 28 of whom are believed to have died. Follow our live stream.
Shooting at a hospital in the Gaza Strip. The Hamas Health Ministry announced that Israeli forces fired directly on a hospital in the town of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. “Israeli tanks fire heavily on the upper floors of the surgery building and the emergency building of Nasser Hospital, and dozens of injuries are expected”, says the ministry of the Palestinian Islamist movement. Questioned by AFP, the Israeli army, which had claimed earlier to have surrounded the city, did not comment on these allegations.
Deaths among Israeli soldiers. The spokesperson for the Israeli army announced the death of 24 reservists, killed the day before in the Gaza Strip. This is the heaviest daily toll on the Israeli side since the ground offensive in Palestinian territory.
Fighting in Khan Younes. Israeli forces claim to have “surrounded” the entire town of Khan Younes, the epicenter of the fighting in the south of the Gaza Strip. The city is where Yahya Sinouar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, considered the architect of the October 7 attack, was born.
Communications cut. The Palestinian telecoms operator Paltel announced this new cut as a result of Israeli military operations in the territory where the situation was already critical for civilians.