Israel-Hamas War: What happened on Day 88?

Saleh al-Arouri, deputy leader of the Hamas terrorist movement, was killed along with at least three other people in an alleged drone strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold for Hezbollah, according to Lebanese reports.

According to the reports, the strike targeted an office belonging to Hamas in Mushrifiyah in the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital.

Initial reports indicated that both an apartment and a vehicle were targeted in the area.

Arouri has been an Israeli target

Arouri has been noted as a central target for Israel in the past year due to his role in organizing terrorism in the West Bank.

People stand at a damaged building following an explosion at the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, Lebanon January 2, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR)

A member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist movement told Lebanese media after the incident that the secretary general of the movement, Ziyad al-Nakhala, was not harmed in the strike.

Turkish authorities have detained 33 people suspected of carrying out espionage for Israel's Mossad intelligence service, the state-run Anadolu news agency said on Tuesday, adding 13 others were being sought by police.

Anadolu said police had carried out simultaneous raids in 57 locations across eight provinces as part of an investigation that the counter-terrorism bureau of the Istanbul prosecutor's office had launched.

Without citing sources, it said the suspects were believed to be aiming to identify, monitor, assault and kidnap foreign nationals living in Turkey as part of "international espionage" operations.

Israel carried out a strike against Syrian military targets overnight between Monday and Tuesday in response to earlier rocket launches, the IDF said.

The IDF hit what it described as "military infrastructure of the Syrian army." Late on Monday it said five rockets were launched from Syrian territory. War planes also struck at Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, the military said.

Hamas negotiators have waived the condition of a final ceasefire and the withdrawal of IDF forces from Gaza in the ongoing talks with Israel for a second hostage release, according to a report by the Arab World News Agency (AWP), citing sources in Hamas.

"The five-way talks between Egypt, Qatar, the United States, Israel, and Hamas are ongoing, but so far no agreement has been reached," the source told AWP, adding that talks have "accelerated significantly in recent hours," with "Cairo and Doha making persistent efforts."

Over the last 24 hours, soldiers from Israel's navy and ground infantry units have identified terrorists placing explosive charges on Gaza beaches and nearby buildings with the intent to attack IDF troops, the military spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The navy, in cooperation with air and ground forces, killed several terrorists and destroyed explosives that posed a threat to IDF soldiers.

IDF reserve soldiers under the command of the Ephraim Brigade killed four armed terrorists Tuesday morning who barricaded themselves in a house during an operation in the town of Azzun in the northern West Bank, the IDF said in a statement.

During the operation, terrorists shot and threw explosives at the soldiers, who engaged them in a firefight and, after killing four, confiscated three 'Carlo'-type submachine guns.

A Syrian military statement said an Israeli air strike early on Tuesday that came from the direction of the Golan Heights targeting positions in the outskirts of Damascus caused some material damage, Syrian state news agency (SANA) reported.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials.

The IDF operated in the West Bank cities of Jenin, Jericho, and Kalkilya in the early hours of Tuesday morning, Israeli media reported.

In Jenin, the Israeli forces reportedly came under gunfire. The IDF personnel responded with live fire.

A total of 163 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza on Monday, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) reported that evening.

Of those trucks, 87 were reportedly inspected at Nitzana and transferred into the Strip through Egypt's Rafah crossing, while the remaining 76 were inspected and subsequently transferred through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

COGAT added that over half of the trucks were carrying food. The other trucks took water, medical supplies, and shelter equipment into Gaza.

163 humanitarian aid trucks were transferred to Gaza (Jan. 1).
87 inspected at Nitzana and transferred to Gaza via the Rafah Crossing.
76 inspected and transferred via Kerem Shalom.
Over 50% of the trucks carried food, the rest had water, medical supplies and shelter equipment. pic.twitter.com/bQw0smFx1O

— COGAT (@cogatonline) January 1, 2024

Iran's Alborz warship has passed through the Bab al-Mandab Strait and entered the Red Sea, the country's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.

Iranian warships have been operating in the region "to secure shipping lanes since 2009," Tasnim said.

Iranian-backed groups have not reduced their attacks in the Middle East. On the opposite, pro-Iranian media sought to highlight how the attacks are increasing. Al-Mayadeen media, which is pro-Iran, claimed that there were attacks targeting Al-Asad based in Iraq and Shaddadi in Syria, two places where US forces are located. The US is in Syria and Iraq to help defeat ISIS.

Reports on December 31 that the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier is heading out of the Mediterranean is also raising eyebrows in Iran and the region. While Gaza fighting appears to be reduced slightly, Iran continues to want to manage the conflict against Israel. Towards that end, Iranian Tasnim ran a long interview about the role of Qasem Soleimani in the region. Although the interview is ostensibly about Soleimani, who was killed in January 2020 by the US, the report examines recent details about the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen targeting ships and Palestinian terror groups targeting Israel.

Iran's Alborz warship has passed through the Bab al-Mandab Strait and entered the Red Sea, the country's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.

Iranian warships have been operating in the region "to secure shipping lanes since 2009," Tasnim said.

Aircraft carriers operating in the region

The article details questions about US aircraft carriers in the region. There were two carriers in the region, the Eisenhower and Ford.

Components of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKECSG), guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) and French Navy frigate FS Languedoc (D 653) transit the Strait of Hormuz November 25, 2023. (credit: VIA REUTERS)

The US had sent the second carrier after the October 7 attack to deter Hezbollah and others from escalating attacks.

The Iranian regime's view is that these naval assets have not been able to prevent the Houthis in Yemen from continuing attacks on ships. However, a US helicopter destroyed three small Houthi boats over the weekend, indicating that the Houthis are taking losses. The story about the US carrier leaving the region was covered in Al-Mayadeen media, which is pro-Iran, showing that pro-Iran figures in the region are watching this development closely.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Ministry has stressed that the recent killing of IRGC officer Razi Mousavi in Syria is not a setback for Iran. The opposite appears to be true since Iran’s regime has had a huge outpouring of funeral events for the late IRGC officer who was killed in an airstrike. Iran has blamed Israel. Iran’s foreign ministry is spinning this as being an incident that won’t stop Iran’s projects in the region. The Iranian foreign ministry also stressed that Iran-Egypt ties are improving. This could have negative implications because Iran backs Hamas in Gaza, which borders Egypt.