Blinken travels to the Middle East amid rising tensions; Israel vows to pursue all Hamas members

The human losses in Gaza do not stop, while the war between the Israeli Army and Hamas crosses some borders beyond the Palestinian enclave.

At least 14 people, including nine children, died this Thursday, January 4, in Khan Younisin the south of the territory, as a result of Israeli bombings in the area full of internally displaced people, said the local Ministry of Health.

In addition, Army fighter jets attacked three refugee camps, including Al-Nusseirat, in central Gaza, in which at least five Palestinians were killed. The assaults forced new evacuations to the already devastated southern coastal strip.

Thousands of families are trying to save their lives in a territory where deaths are increasing rapidly: The total number of fatalities rose to 22,438. Of them, 125 died in the last 24 hours alone, explained the Health portfolio.

The escalation of the long-standing conflict – which marked a turning point on October 7 due to the surprise attack by Hamas in southern Israel, where around 1,200 people died – is approaching its third month, amid international concern. that the war will expand in the region.

The UN, Riyadh and Doha reproach Israel's alleged plans to withdraw the population from Gaza

Added to the death and destruction are concerns about the fate of those who survive in Gaza and what the territory would become when the current fighting ends.

The criticism comes after on Wednesday, January 3, Israel's Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, declared that his country should promote the “emigration” of the Gazan population and then establish settlements in that Palestinian territory. Israel's Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, spoke along the same lines last Monday, January 1.

Furthermore, according to local press reports, such as the 'Times of Israel' newspaper, the plan described by the Netanyahu Administration as “voluntary migration” would be underway. Negotiations would even have been carried out with the Republic of Congo to be a destination for the Gazan population, something to which the Government of the African nation would have already agreed.

Indignation on the part of some Arab countries and Human Rights organizations is rising. This Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia responded that it rejects the “extremist comments” of the Israeli ministers, which is why it indicated the reoccupation of the strip and the construction of settlements as intentions to displace the population of Gaza.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said he was “very disturbed” by these calls from senior officials of the Netanyahu Administration.

Qatar, which played a mediating role in the temporary truce between Israeli troops and Hamas in late November, also “condemned in the strongest terms” the comments by both ministers.

“The policy of collective punishment and forced displacement practiced by the occupation authorities against the inhabitants of Gaza will not change the fact that Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian,” said a statement from the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Although two of his ministers made the call publicly, Netanyahu has not commented on the matter. So far, he has indicated that he agrees with the return of Gazans to their homes once the ongoing hostilities end.

Blinken arrives in the Middle East amid a mosaic of violence

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has already made several diplomatic visits to the region after the outbreak of new clashes since October 7, embarks on a new tour of the Middle East this Thursday, January 4, in which he will make “a stopover in several capitals, including Israel,” said a senior US government official, quoted by Reuters.

All while Washington continues diplomatic consultations on the war in Gaza, but this time accompanied by diplomat Amos Hochstein, who will also try to ease friction between the Israeli authorities and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, as well as in other areas of the region.

The occupied West Bank, Red Sea routes and Lebanon are among the places that have seen an increase in violence in the context of the ongoing conflict.

Tensions rise further after the death of Salah al Arouri, Hamas' number two, who was murdered last Tuesday, January 2, along with five other people after a drone attack in Beirut. A death that could mark greater involvement by Hezbollah, the Shiite group that supports Hamas from Lebanon. In fact, as well as al Arouri, several leaders of the group that controls Gaza have been welcomed into Lebanese territory.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed that his powerful militia, itself backed by Iran, “cannot remain silent” after the murder, so fears of other confrontations are latent.

Nasrallah assured that his forces would fight to the end if Israel decided to extend the war to Lebanon. However, he gave no concrete warnings about acting against Israel.

Although the government of the Jewish-majority country did not confirm or deny its possible role in Arouri's murder, it has promised to “eliminate” Hamas and persecute its leaders without limiting itself to the places where they are located, a threat in which Mossad director David Barnea insisted on Wednesday, just one day after the death of the Islamist group's number two.

Israel has refused to specify whether or not it carried out the operation, so Barnea's comments appear to be the strongest indication yet that the country was behind the explosion.

When asked about a possible Hezbollah response, Israeli Army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari simply responded that his military is “focused on the fight against Hamas.”

But the Defense Minister of Benjamin Netanyahu's Government, Yoav Gallant, was more defiant towards the Shiite group. “We will not tolerate the threats posed by the Iranian proxy, Hezbollah, and we will guarantee the security of our citizens,” he said in a statement, adding that there must be a “new reality” that allows the return of Israelis who have evacuated the areas of the north of his country, after the exchange of fire between the Army and Hezbollah, on the border between Israel and Lebanon.

Adding to the patchwork of violence across the region, two explosions on Wednesday killed 84 people during a memorial ceremony for the late Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, at a cemetery in southeastern Iran where he is buried.

With Reuters, AP and local media