US Navy shoots down missiles targeting American cargo ship

Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news on the Israel-Hamas war for Wednesday, Jan. 24. For the latest news on the conflict in the Middle East, view our live updates file for Thursday, Jan. 25.

Houthi militants fired three anti-ship ballistic missiles Wednesday at an American-owned and operated cargo ship in the Red Sea, defying a U.S.-led military effort to prevent attacks on commercial shipping.

Two of the missiles aimed at the Maersk Detroit were shot down by the USS Gravely, a guided missile destroyer, and the third fell into the sea, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command.

The attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis followed a joint strike Monday in Yemen by U.S. and Great Britain warplanes and ships. The Houthis have launched more than 40 attacks from Yemen since November in what they maintain is a reaction to Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

This latest incident comes as the U.S. and other nations labor to keep the Israeli-Hamas war from spreading across the Middle East. About 15% of the world’s commercial traffic uses the Red Sea route, and the Houthi attacks have been disruptive and costly.

Since Jan. 11, the U.S.-led coalition has damaged or destroyed more than 25 Houthi missile launch facilities, more than 20 missiles, radar sites and arsenals, Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters Tuesday.

President Biden's abortion rally disrupt by repeated protests over Gaza

Developments:

∎ Accounts of the Israeli military's mistreatment of Palestinian detainees in Gaza has raised alarms among human rights groups, including a U.N. agency that said it might amount to torture, the New York Times reported.

∎ Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on all Muslim countries to cut all political and economic contact with Israel and said militants fighting in Gaza will win the war "in the not too distant future.”

∎ The foreign minister of Jordan, which shares a border with and recognizes Israel, accused its neighbor of making a "mockery" of international law. "Israel must be held accountable for its actions, for its war crimes, and for preventing the achievement of peace," Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said at a U.N. meeting on the war.

Netanyahu says no to a Palestinian state won't give in to 'Hamas monsters': Updates

Palestinians eyeing state in Israel land, Hamas official says

The militant massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7 has revived the dream of a Palestinian state that includes the current state of Israel, a senior Hamas official says.

Khaled Mashaal, in a Kuwaiti podcast drawing wide attention Wednesday, dismissed any two-state solution, rejected recognition of Israel and said there was "nearly a consensus" among Palestinians that their state should stretch from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. That would include the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and all of Israel.

Mashaal, a billionaire living in Qatar, said 17 years of rule in Gaza allowed Hamas to build military strength unimpeded by Israel. And he expressed no remorse for the thousands of deaths and the devastation triggered across Gaza by the militant assault.

“There was no freedom in Gaza," Mashaal said in a translation by The Times of Israel. "There was an apparent stability, but life was not good. Palestinians are not interested in improving their lives under occupation."

UN court to decide Friday whether to order Israel cease-fire

The U.N.'s International Court of Justice said it would decide Friday on South Africa's request for eight interim orders in its genocide case against Israel, including a mandate to stop the war.

South Africa argues that Israel's military campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 25,000 Palestinians − according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry − is tantamount to genocide. Israel has vehemently denied the accusation.

It's not clear whether Israel would comply with a provisional order for a cease-fire from the Netherlands-based court, but a refusal to do so could hurt the Israelis' international standing at a time when it's already under pressure to halt its offensive.

Shelling of Gaza shelter kills 9, wounds scores of Palestinians

Israeli ground forces have encircled the southern city of Khan Younis, Gaza’s second largest, the military said Wednesday. Thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee farther south and the destruction has been extensive. Two Israeli tank rounds struck a youth center sheltering 800 people, setting it ablaze, causing "mass casualties," U.N. refugee agency Director Thomas White said on social media. At least nine people were killed and 75 injured, he said.

The Israeli military said neither an airstrike nor artillery fire by its forces was responsible for the attack, and that it was investigating other possible causes, including "the possibility that the strike was caused by Hamas fire.''

The Biden administration condemned the strike without naming a culprit. "We deplore today's attack on the U.N.'s Khan Younis training center,'' said U.S. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel. "Civilians must be protected, and the protected nature of U.N. facilities must be respected.''

Heavy fighting also raged around the region's two main hospitals. Shelling hit the fourth floor of Al-Amal Hospital, killing one person and wounding 10 others, according to the Palestine Red Crescent rescue service.

Hamas reportedly rejects Israeli cease-fire plan

Pressure was mounting Wednesday for the Israeli government to negotiate a hostage deal, days after Palestinian militants killed 21 soldiers in the deadliest single attack on Israeli forces since the war began. But senior Egyptian officials were quoted by multiple news outlets as saying Hamas has rejected a two-month cease-fire proposed by Israel that would free the 130-plus hostages held by militants and thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli jails. The deal also would have allowed Hamas leaders in Gaza to relocate to other countries.

An Egyptian official, who was not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that Hamas insisted no more hostages will be released until Israel ends its offensive and withdraws from Gaza. The Wall Street Journal, however, said Hamas leaders have expressed a willingness to discuss releasing some captives in exchange for a significant pause in fighting.

Israel-Qatar rift amid hostage negotiations

Leaked remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disparaging Qatar have raised the ire of the small Arab country, which has been mediating negotiations with Hamas for the release of hostages held in Gaza and a pause in the war.

In a meeting with families of the captives Tuesday, Netanyahu expressed dissatisfaction with the mediation efforts by Qatar, which has deep ties to Hamas leaders.

“Qatar in my opinion is no different, in essence, from the U.N. It is no different, in essence, from the Red Cross, and in some ways it is even more problematic,” he said. Israel views those organizations with suspicion, seeing them as biased against it and not helpful enough in securing the hostages’ freedom.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed al-Ansari, replied in a social media posting that his government was “appalled” by the comments, broadcast by Israel's Channel 12 TV.

“If the reported remarks are found to be true, the Israeli PM would only be obstructing and undermining the mediation process, for reasons that appear to serve his political career instead of prioritizing saving innocent lives, including Israeli hostages,” al-Ansari said.

Qatar played a key role in the negotiations that led to more than 100 of the hostages being released in late November during a weeklong truce.

Israel reveals details of soldiers' deaths

Israeli soldiers were preparing to demolish two buildings outside central Gaza’s Maghazi refugee camp when a militant fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a tank nearby, the military said. The subsequent blast triggered the explosives meant for the demolition, collapsing the buildings onto the soldiers.

Israeli media said the troops were working to create an informal buffer zone along the border to prevent militants from attacking Israeli communities near Gaza. Military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the mission was to clear buildings to “create the conditions” that would allow the residents of the south to return to their homes.

Netanyahu mourned the Israeli soldiers and vowed to press ahead until “absolute victory,” including crushing Hamas and freeing the hostages.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel war updates: US cargo ship attacked near Yemen, Navy intervenes