China says it is working to alleviate tensions in the Red Sea
HONG KONG — China is deeply concerned over the escalations in the Red Sea that has threatened global trade through the vital shipping route, foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said today at a briefing.
China, the world’s biggest exporter, was in “close communication with various parties” and has “worked actively” to alleviate the tensions in the region, Wang said.
His comments came after the U.S. military struck two anti-ship missiles in Yemen operated by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
Wang said the tensions were related to the war in Gaza and the priority was to “end the fighting.”
Cellular services return in Gaza, telecom says
Cellular services across the Gaza Strip are being restored, the enclave’s main telecommunications company Paltel said today in a post on X.
“Our crews are working hard to restore all communications services to what they were before the recent outage,” it said.
Mourners collect bodies at hospital in Rafah
Palestinians wait at a hospital to collect the bodies of their relatives killed in Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip today.
Attack to the south of Yemen being investigated, U.K. says
An attack to the south of Yemen was being investigated, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said today on X.
The arm of the British navy that oversees Mideast waterways, also warned ships in the waterway to “transit with caution.”
The warning came after Yemen’s Houthi rebels vowed to continue attacks on ships in the vital trade route, which they say they are carrying out in support of Gaza.
Without hostage release, ‘this war is meaningless,’ injured Israel soldier says
TEL AVIV — Israel should focus on securing a hostage deal instead of using military pressure to secure the release of those who remain in Hamas captivity, a reserve soldier told NBC News yesterday.
“I think this war is meaningless unless we have all the hostages,” said Stave, 21, who is being treated at Tel Aviv’s Sheba Medical Center for leg injuries sustained Oct. 7, when the militant group launched multipronged attacks on Israel.
Stave, who for security reasons spoke on the condition that he only be identified by his first name, said that securing their release was “the most important goal of the whole war.”
He added that he would prefer to see Israeli leadership prioritize securing a deal as a means of seeing the more than 100 hostages who remain in Gaza released “as costly as that may be.”
Another reserve soldier recovering at the facility said that he also wanted to see the hostages released, but he said he felt Israel’s military campaign in Gaza had so far “110%” been a success.
“We’ve killed and we’ve destroyed a lot of terrorists and a lot of terrorism tunnels and we’ve done a lot of amazing work. Are we done? No. We’re not done. There’s still a lot of work to do and there’s still Hamas out there and hostages are still missing, so we’re not done,” said Menachem who was injured Dec. 12 while fighting in Gaza.
The 20-year-old, who also declined to provide his last name for security reasons, said he felt driven to return to the fight. Those feelings had intensified after 24 soldiers were killed Monday as a building was being wired for demolition with explosives. It marked the deadliest day for his country’s forces since the war began.
“It doesn’t make me afraid or want to sit in bed and cry. There’s not where it goes,” he said. “It more just brought me inner fire to go back in there and fight with my brothers.”
More than 200 people killed in in the last 24 hours, Gaza Health Ministry says
At least 210 people were killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours, the strip’s Health Ministry said today in a statement on Telegram, raising the death toll since Oct. 7 to 25,700.
It added that another 386 people were injured and that “a number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads,” with emergency services unable to reach them.
It comes amid intensifying Israeli military campaign in southern Gaza, where health officials have said that some patients remain trapped in hospitals.
Operations in Khan Younis are intensifying, Israel’s military says
The Israeli military is intensifying operations around Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city, it said in statement on Telegram today.
It added that it had killed multiple members of Hamas as it battles the militant group around Gaza’s second-largest city.
NBC News has not been able to independently verify the claims.
U.S. forces strike Houthi missiles that were preparing to attack
U.S. forces early today struck two Houthi missiles that had been prepared to attack cargo ships and U.S. assets…
Read More: IDF intensifies assault on southern Gaza’s main city