Israel will eliminate Hamas leaders and end war ‘in months’, says Netanyahu

Israel will eliminate Hamas’s leadership and end the war in Gaza within “months”, Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed.

The pledge comes as the Israeli leader faces serious questions over whether his forces can defeat the terror group, which has been rebuilding its battalions in the northern part of the Strip.

He is also under pressure to agree to a truce and secure the release of the remaining 132 Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu said the war would not conclude before Israel had fulfilled its stated military objectives, but downplayed suggestions it would be pulled into a “forever war”.

“Our goal is a complete victory over Hamas,” Mr Netanyahu told a meeting of his party, Likud.

“We will kill the Hamas leadership, therefore we must continue to act in all areas of the Gaza Strip,” he continued. “The war must not end before then. It will take time, months not years.”

Mr Netanyahu claimed that Israel had destroyed three-quarters of Hamas’ battalions, and would deal a “fatal blow” to the Middle East’s “axis of evil”: Iran and its proxies Hezbollah and the Houthis.

He added that Hamas had presented “demands that we will not accept” over the release of hostages.

Israel has recently been forced to renew its efforts in the northern part of Gaza, having previously withdrawn forces to concentrate on its campaign in the south.

However, it was forced to change course amid warnings that Hamas was rebuilding northern battalions shattered earlier in the war. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) estimate roughly 2,000 Hamas fighters remain in the north of the Strip.

Its 162nd Division is “increasing the pace of operations and the pressure” on Hamas remnants in the area, according to The Times of Israel.

However, Mr Netanyahu is reportedly under pressure from Joe Biden, the US president, to end the war before he stands for re-election in November.

Politico reported on Monday that Mr Biden had called his Israeli counterpart a “bad f---ing guy” amid growing divisions over the war.

The US is thought to be alarmed by Mr Netanyahu’s lack of vision for ending the conflict and his opposition to Palestinian governance of Gaza.

04:27 PM GMT

Today's liveblog is now closed

Thanks for following today’s liveblog.

We will be back tomorrow with all the latest updates.

04:26 PM GMT

Houthis robbing innocent Yemenis, warns Shapps

Houthi attacks on Red Sea cargo ships “could send food inflation spiralling” with poorer countries likely to be worse affected, Grant Shapps has warned.

“It’s already having consequences which are damaging to the economies of the world,” the Defence Secretary told the Commons, adding: “all of which could send food inflation spiralling and will certainly hit those countries with the greatest poverty levels the hardest”.

Mr Shapps added: “The Houthis believe they are the region’s Robin Hood. But as I discussed with the Yemeni defence minister just yesterday when I saw him in Saudi, the only people they are robbing are innocent Yemenis, whose food and aid arrives via the Red Sea.”

04:21 PM GMT

Biden called Netanyahu a ‘bad f---ing guy’

Joe Biden reportedly called Benjamin Netanyahu a “bad f---ing guy”, amid growing tensions between the US and Israel.

Relations between the two leaders have become increasingly fractious, with Mr Biden maintaining his support for a two-state solution, a proposal Mr Netanyahu has rejected.

Mr Biden has privately called the Israeli prime minister a “bad f---cking guy,” the Politico news website reported, citing sources who had spoken to the president.

Andrew Bates, a spokesperson for Mr Biden, strongly denied the allegations, telling Politico “the president did not say that, nor would he”.

He added the pair have “a decades-long relationship that is respectful in public and in private.”

It comes as Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, makes his latest visit to the Middle East.

04:18 PM GMT

UK and US strikes hit 11 Houthi targets, says Shapps

Joint strikes by UK US forces on Saturday targeted three Houthi military facilities in Yemen, hitting 11 separate targets, Grant Shapps has said.

He told the Commons that the “precision strikes”  were in “strict accordance with international law and in self-defence”, adding: “We do not believe that there were any civilian casualties on Saturday night.”

The strikes were in response to Houthi attacks on commercial ships and the targeting of HMS Diamond in the Red Sea, which Mr Shapps described as “simply intolerable”.

03:51 PM GMT

Britain ‘will not hesitate to act again’, warns Shapps

Britain will, if necessary, not hesitate to respond again against the Houthis “in self-defence”, Grant Shapps has said.

He told the Commons: “We would much rather the Houthis simply stopped attacking international shipping, stopped damaging global trade and stop harming the prospects of their own people.

“At the same time, appeasing the Houthis today will not lead to a more stable Red Sea, indeed a more stable region.

“We are not seeking confrontation and we urge the Houthis and all those who enable them to stop these illegal and unacceptable attacks.

“But, if necessary, the UK will not hesitate to respond again in self-defence.”

03:49 PM GMT

Houthis still have appetite to disrupt Red Sea shipping, says Shapps

Strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen have not fully diminished the group’s appetite to disrupt Red Sea shipping, Grant Shapps said.

“These attacks have had a significant effect on degrading Houthi capabilities. But the Houthis’ intent to continue disrupting the Red Sea has not been fully diminished,” the Defence Secretary said.

Mr Shapps told the House of Commons the Government does not believe there were any civilian casualties from US-UK strikes against Houthis on Saturday.

03:39 PM GMT

Netanyahu says he ‘will not accept’ Hamas demands over hostages

Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not accept Hamas “demands” over hostages held in Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu, according to a statement from his Likud party, said the terms for the release of remaining captives “should be similar to the previous agreement”, which saw a ratio of hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners during a November truce.

He said an Israeli victory against Hamas in Gaza will deal a “fatal blow” to the terror group and other Iran-backed groups in the region.

03:26 PM GMT

Biden administration ‘must stop pressuring us’, says Israeli minister

The Biden administration “must stop pressuring” Israel by supplying fuel and humanitarian aid that ends up in the hands of Hamas, an Israeli minister has warned.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, said: “We value America, we love the administration, but we need to change the way we operate.

“America is our ally, our friend, but the Biden administration must stop pressuring us, bringing in fuel and humanitarian equipment that ends up going to Hamas,” he told a faction meeting of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party.

Mr Gvir’s remarks double down on comments he made to the Wall Street Journal that Israel’s key ally has not shown sufficient support.

“Instead of giving us his full backing, Biden is busy with giving humanitarian aid and fuel [to Gaza], which goes to Hamas,” he said in an article published Sunday.

03:09 PM GMT

Gaza latest pictures:

02:53 PM GMT

Blinken arrives in Saudi Arabia

Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, has arrived in Saudi Arabia for another Middle East crisis tour.

Ahead of the trip Mr Blinken stressed the need for “urgently addressing humanitarian needs in Gaza”, after aid groups have repeatedly sounded the alarm over the devastating impact nearly four months of war have had on the besieged territory.

On Sunday Jake Sullivan, Mr Biden’s national security adviser, said that Mr Blinken would use his visit to the Middle East to press Israel to do more to address the humanitarian situation.

“This will be a top priority of his when he sees the Israeli government – that the needs of the Palestinian people are something that are going to be front and centre in the US approach,” Mr Sullivan told Face the Nation on CBS News.

02:21 PM GMT

Hamas threatened nine-year-old Irish-Israeli hostage ‘with a knife’

The father of Emily Hand, the nine-year-old Irish-Israeli girl held hostage by Hamas for 50 days, has revealed his daughter was threatened with a knife during her ordeal.

Emily, who was released in November after being captured on Oct 7, suffers from panic attacks and often speaks in whispers, her father said in an interview with Israeli station Channel 12.

Thomas Hand, who is originally from Dublin, said: “She told me that they were threatened with a knife to be quiet. ‘If you don’t be quiet, we’ll kill you with this knife.’

“That’s an awful vision in your head as a parent, that she lived through that terror.”

Read more here

02:02 PM GMT

Israeli settler violence in West Bank ‘must stop’, says France

Israeli “settler violence must stop” against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the French foreign minister has said.

Stephane Sejourne said: “Under no circumstances can there be forced displacement of Palestinians, neither out of Gaza nor out of the West Bank.”

Mr Sejourne made the comments following a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.

01:33 PM GMT

Pictured: Blinken boards a plane headed to Saudi Arabia

01:12 PM GMT

UNRWA chief meets with UAE foreign minister amid funding crisis

The head of the main UN Palestinian relief agency (UNRWA) is visiting three Gulf states this week, seeking to drum up support after key donors suspended funding following Israeli allegations that some of its staff were involved in the Oct 7 attack.

Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General, said he met with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates’ foreign minister, on Monday to discuss UNRWA’s work in “preserving the stability in the region” and delivering aid to two million people in Gaza.

Some 15 of the agency’s most important donors, including the United States, have suspended funding over Israel’s allegations involving 12 of its 13,000 staff, prompting UNRWA to warn last week that it might be forced to shut down by the end of February.

Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, has previously said nine of those implicated had been terminated, one was dead and the identities of the other two were being clarified.

Juliette Touma, a spokesperson for UNRWA, said that Mr Lazzarini would then visit Qatar and Kuwait later this week.

12:41 PM GMT

Houthis train to attack mock Israeli town

12:15 PM GMT

‘Israel naval fire’ hit food convoy in Gaza, says UN agency

Thomas White, the director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, said:

11:48 AM GMT

Iran says ‘will not hesitate’ to respond to US attack on its territory

Iran has said it “will not hesitate” to respond in the event of US attacks on its territory after the White House declined to say whether strikes on Iran were ruled out.

Jake Sullivan, the White House National Security Advisor, said on Sunday that the US will press on with its retaliation against Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria.

Asked whether the United States would rule out the possibility of striking Iran directly, Mr Sullivan told NBC: “It would not be wise for me to talk about what we’re ruling in and ruling out.

“If [Iran] chose to respond directly to the United States, they would be met with a swift and forceful response from us,” he said.

Nasser Kanani, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, hit back on Monday, saying: “The Islamic Republic has shown that it has always reacted decisively to any threat to its security, territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

Iran “will not hesitate to use its capabilities” to respond to any attacks on its soil, said Mr Kanani during his weekly press briefing.

He nonetheless reiterated that Iran “does not seek to aggravate tensions and crises in the region”.

11:45 AM GMT

‘Time running out’ for diplomatic solution in south Lebanon, warns Israeli foreign minister

“Time is running out” to reach a diplomatic solution in south Lebanon, the Israeli foreign minister has said, amid tensions  between the two countries.

“Israel will act militarily to return the evacuated citizens” to its northern border area if no diplomatic solution is reached to end the violence, Israel Katz told his visiting French counterpart Stephane Sejourne, according to a statement issued by the Israeli foreign ministry.

11:31 AM GMT

Pictured: An injured Palestinian man is brought to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital for treatment following Israeli attacks

11:06 AM GMT

Australia stops ship carrying livestock from sailing around Africa to Israel

The Australian government said on Monday it had refused a request by a livestock exporter to send a ship carrying around 14,000 sheep and 1,500 cattle on a month-long voyage around Africa to Israel.

The animals have been on board the vessel for a month, prompting outcry from animal rights advocates who have likened their treatment to torture.

The MV Bahijah sailed from Australia for Israel on Jan 5 but abandoned a passage through the Red Sea due to threat of attack by Yemen’s Houthi militia and was ordered home by the Australian government.

The ship has been waiting off Western Australia for a week for the government to decide if it can head back to sea.

Several hundred cattle were offloaded in recent days but Australia’s biosecurity rules mean any animals that disembark must be quarantined.

10:34 AM GMT

Labour MPs face election backlash by Muslim voters over party’s stance on Israel-Gaza war

Labour MPs privately fear some colleagues could fail to get re-elected because of the backlash among Muslim votes to the party’s stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Supporters of Palestine have expressed anger at how long it took Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, to call for a ceasefire as Israel struck Gaza after the Oct 7 Hamas attacks.

Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary and ex-Tory prime minister, last week went further than Labour by saying the UK was looking at formally recognising the Palestinian state.

Read more here

10:19 AM GMT

Footage shows US strikes into Yemen on Feb 3

09:54 AM GMT

Top EU diplomat warns against cutting UNRWA funds

Josep Borrell, the European foreign policy chief, has warned that moves to suspend the funding of UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA were extremely ill-advised.

“Defunding UNRWA would be both disproportionate and dangerous,” Mr Borrell said of the agency which is embroiled in controversy over the alleged involvement of employees in the Oct 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.

“While some important donors suspended funding, there is a wide recognition that UNRWA is central to providing vital aid to more than 1.1 million people in Gaza suffering from catastrophic hunger and the outbreak of diseases.

“Defunding the agency would put hundreds of thousands of lives at risk,” said Mr Borrell.

He added in a blog article that “the agency has taken immediate steps and launched an investigation”, calling the allegations serious and which should not go unpunished if true.

09:32 AM GMT

Reader poll: Should Sunak give MPs a vote on future strikes against the Houthis?

You can have your say in our reader poll:

09:23 AM GMT

Gaza in pictures:

08:52 AM GMT

Rishi Sunak faces fresh calls from MPs for vote on Houthi strikes

Rishi Sunak is facing fresh calls to give MPs a vote on future strikes against the Houthis in Yemen after the UK joined a third wave of bombings over the weekend.

The most senior MP in both the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party issued statements on Sunday saying now was the time for the House of Commons to have a vote.

Downing Street figures argued when the first air strikes were made on Houthi targets last month that the action was limited and in self-defence and therefore no vote in the Commons was needed.

Read more here

08:23 AM GMT

Japan’s Itochu to end cooperation with Israel’s Elbit over Gaza war

Itochu Corp’s aviation unit will end its strategic cooperation with Israeli defence company Elbit Systems Ltd by the end of February over the war in Gaza, the Japanese trading house’s executive said on Monday.

Itochu Aviation, Elbit Systems and Nippon Aircraft Supply signed the strategic cooperation memorandum of understanding (MoU) in March 2023.

The company’s plans to end the collaboration after the world court ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians and do more to help civilians, Tsuyoshi Hachimura, the Itochu chief financial officer, has said.

Mr Hachimura said: “The partnership is based on a request from the Japan’s defence ministry for the purpose of importing defence equipment for the self-defence forces necessary for Japan’s security, and is not in any way related to the current conflict between Israel and Palestine.

“Taking into consideration the International Court of Justice’s order on Jan 26, and that the Japanese government supports the role of the Court, we have already suspended new activities related to the MoU, and plan to end the MoU by the end of February.”

08:14 AM GMT

Italy will become a target should it join attacks against Yemen, Houthi leader says

Italy will become a target if it takes part in attacks against Yemen, a senior official from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said in an interview published on Monday.

Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, the head of the Houthi’s supreme revolutionary committee, told La Repubblica, an Italian daily newspaper, that Italy must be neutral in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and put pressure on Israel to stop attacks on Gaza, adding that would be the only way to achieve peace in the region.

Italy said on Friday it would provide the admiral in command of a European Union Red Sea naval mission it has joined to protect ships from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militia.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said the mandate of the mission, which will be launched in mid-February, will be to protect commercial ships and intercept attacks, but not take part in strikes against the Houthis.

08:11 AM GMT

Russia to summon Israeli ambassador over ‘unacceptable’ comments

Russia’s foreign ministry will summon Simona Halperin, the Israeli ambassador,  over “unacceptable comments” she made in an interview, the TASS news agency cited the ministry as saying on Monday.

Halperin, according to the ministry, misrepresented Russia’s foreign policy stance in the interview with Russia’s Kommersant daily, published on Sunday.

The ministry described her comments as “an extremely unsuccessful start” to her diplomatic posting, which began last December.

In the interview, Ms Halperin criticised Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for playing down the importance of the Holocaust and said Russia was being too friendly with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas

07:58 AM GMT

Pictured: Gaza City after withdrawal of Israeli Forces

07:41 AM GMT

Five Kurdish-led fighters killed in drone attack on US base in Syria

Five fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were killed in an overnight attack on an American base in eastern Syria, a war monitor said Monday.

Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said: “Five members from SDF special forces were killed and around 20 wounded by a drone attack after midnight on al-Omar oil field.”

Al-Omar is the largest US-led coalition base in Syria.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of pro-Iran fighters opposed to US support for Israel in Gaza, claimed a drone attack on Sunday “against the US occupation base in the Al-Omar oil field”.

Mr Rahman said the attack hit an SDF section inside the base, in “the first attack by pro-Iran groups against American bases after the US strikes on Syria and Iraq” late last week.

A US-led coalition was set up in 2014 to fight Islamic State group jihadists who had seized swathes of Iraq and neighbouring Syria.

07:33 AM GMT

Israeli forces kill Palestinian gunmen in wide operations, military says

Israeli forces have killed dozens of Palestinian gunmen in operations throughout the Gaza Strip over the last 24 hours, the military said in a statement, citing the southern hub city of Khan Younis as one of the locations.

07:29 AM GMT

Pictures from Feb 5

07:24 AM GMT

Blinken to press Israel on humanitarian crisis

Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, said that Mr Blinken would use his visit to the Middle East to press Israel to do more to address the humanitarian situation.

“This will be a top priority of his when he sees the Israeli government – that the needs of the Palestinian people are something that are going to be front and centre in the US approach,” Mr Sullivan told Face the Nation on CBS News.

The State Department official said that the United States spoke every day with the Israelis on the humanitarian situation.

“But to get real breakthroughs on some of the big things, one of two things has to happen – the secretary has to show up or the president has to get on the phone with the prime minister,” he said.

“Whenever we come to Israel, we come with a list of things that we’re trying to push.”

07:07 AM GMT

Blinken travels to Middle East

Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, headed to the Middle East for another crisis tour on Monday in a bid to secure a new truce in the Israel-Hamas war.

On his fifth trip to the region since Hamas’s Oct 7 attack that triggered the war, Mr Blinken is expected to visit Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt and Qatar.

Ahead of the trip he stressed the need for “urgently addressing humanitarian needs in Gaza”, after aid groups have repeatedly sounded the alarm over the devastating impact on the besieged territory of nearly five months of war.

Said Hamouda, a Palestinian who fled his home in the Gaza Strip to the southern city of Rafah on the border with Egypt said: “The situation is indescribable.”

07:02 AM GMT

US hits Houthi missiles

The US says it has acted in “self-defence” to stop an “imminent threat” in the Red Sea.

American forces struck a land attack cruise missile and later targeted four anti-ship cruise missiles, “all of which were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea”, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on social media.

CENTCOM added that the US had “identified the missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined they presented an imminent threat to US Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region”.

06:55 AM GMT

Good morning

We are bringing you the latest on the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.