In the West Bank, Israeli forces shoot and kill a Palestinian man in Irtah, injure 7 others, including a child and a journalist, in Tulkarm City, punitively demolish a home in Shuweika, order Palestinians to flee several neighborhoods, and besiege the Thabet Thabet Hospital during the second day of raids in the Tulkarm area. Israeli forces also continue raids in Jenin for the eighth day in a row, demolishing the Hamza Mosque in Jenin refugee camp and destroying infrastructure. Elsewhere, Israeli forces demolish a Palestinian home in Tuqu’ and issue demolition notices for 7 homes in Furush Beit Dajan. Israeli forces also arrest 25 Palestinians during late-night raids in and around Tulkarm, Hebron, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem. In Gaza, Israeli forces open fire at a Red Crescent ambulance in Rafah and on Palestinians returning to their homes in Khan Yunis and Gaza City, no injuries are reported. Israeli forces also shoot and kill an unarmed Israeli military contractor. In Musmus, Israeli authorities force a Palestinian family to demolish their own home. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Nabatieh, injuring 20 people, and Zawtar, injuring 4 others. (AJ, AJ, HA, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 1/28; AJ, WAFA, WAFA 1/29; HA 1/30)
More than 47,354 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 17,818 children and 12,287 women, and around 111,563 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 11,000 people are missing in rubble. 880 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 179 children. More than 6,500 people have been injured. Israel reports that 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,400 have been injured in Israel since 10/7/2023, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 408 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 2,485 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27/2023. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7/2023. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12/2023 due to the Israeli blockade. 92% of all housing units in Gaza have been destroyed or severely damaged since 10/7/2023. Gaza Health Ministry director-general Dr Munir al-Bursh says 95% of al-Shifa Hospital is destroyed but that the old outpatient clinic building has been turned into an emergency department. The UN says more than 376,000 people have returned to northern Gaza since 1/27. (AJ, UNOCHA, UNOCHA, WAFA 1/28; WAFA 1/29)
At the UN Security Council, all members except the U.S. express support for UNRWA during a session on Israel’s banning of the agency. PA ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour says Israel’s aim is to get “rid of the Palestinian people,” including by destroying UNRWA. UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini warns that the ban on the agency will sabotage the recovery and political transition in Gaza. Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Slovenia, and Spain issue a joint statement to the UN Security Council, saying that they “deeply deplore” Israel’s anti-UNRWA legislation and condemn Israel’s withdrawal from its 1967 agreement with UNRWA. UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres writes a letter to the Israeli government, requesting that it retract its decision to ban UNRWA. French ambassador to the UN Nicolas de Riviere says France fully supports UNRWA. U.S. deputy ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea says the Trump administration has reversed the Biden administration’s endorsement of UNRWA and now supports the Israeli decision to close the UNRWA office in East Jerusalem. (AJ, AJ, HA, NYT, REU 1/28; AJ, WAFA, WAFA 1/29)
Israeli defense minister Israel Katz says Israel will occupy Mount Hermon in Syria indefinitely. (AJ, HA, REU 1/28)
U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff meets with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, discussing the Gaza ceasefire and the potential Saudi-Israel normalization deal. Witkoff says in an interview with Axios that the 2 did not “dig into” the normalization deal but that “[h]opefully it will happen in due course.” Witkoff also meets with PLO secretary-general Hussein al-Sheikh in Riyadh, reportedly at the request of the Saudi government. Qatari prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks with U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio, discussing ceasefire mediation efforts in Gaza. Rubio also speaks with his Egyptian and Algerian counterparts. (AJ, AX, HA, NYT 1/28; NYT, REU 1/29; AX 1/30)
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call. (AJ 1/28)
German chancellor Olaf Scholz says that any expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza would be unacceptable. (AJ 1/28)
The U.S. Senate fails to pass a bill that would impose sanctions on the ICC, 6 votes short of the 60 votes needed. The only Democrat to vote for the bill is John Fetterman (D-PA). (AJ, AJ, HA, NYT 1/28; HA 1/29)
U.S. president Donald Trump invites Israeli prime minister Netanyahu to the White House on 2/4. Netanyahu will be the first foreign leader to visit Trump since his inauguration. (AJ, AJ, HA, NYT, REU 1/28; AP 1/29)
The Hind Rajab Foundation says that it was a legal complaint filed by its founder Dyab Abou Jahjah against Israeli diaspora minister Amichai Chikli that forced Chikli to cancel his planned trip to Belgium last week. (AJ 1/28; HA 1/29)