Day 87 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Jan. 1

The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft strike group, deployed to the Mediterranean Sea by the Pentagon to deter attacks by Iran-backed groups, will be pulled in the coming days, according to an ABC News report.

Rina Bassist, Ezgi Akin, Beatrice Farhat, Elizabeth Hagedorn, Adam Lucente, Jack Dutton, Jared Szuba and Al-Monitor’s contributors on the ground in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel contributed to this blog.

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Live updates (all times EDT):

Monday, Jan. 1, 2024

7:15 pm: Hezbollah says three fighters killed in southern Lebanon

Lebanon’s militant group Hezbollah said on its Telegram account on Monday that three of its fighters were killed in southern Lebanon.

The statement gave no detail about how the three were killed but said they “were martyred on the road to Jerusalem.” Security sources said they were killed in an Israeli raid on two houses in the Lebanese village of Kafr Kila near the border, where Hezbollah maintains security control, Reuters reported.

4:00 pm: Hamas sent Israel hostage deal proposal, but two sides still far apart, Axios reports

Hamas through Qatari and Egyptian mediators gave Israel a proposal for a new hostage deal Sunday, according to two Israeli officials and one source with knowledge of the proposal.

Israel rejected the proposal that included a three-phase process. Each phase would include a pause in fighting for more than a month in exchange for the release of hostages, one of the Israeli officials told Axios.

2:00 pm: Israeli military to withdraw two brigades from Gaza Strip 

Israel will withdraw some of its military forces from the Gaza Strip to shift to more targeted operations against Hamas in the enclave and to allow reservists to return to their homes and their jobs, reported Reuters. Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari confirmed that two reservist brigades would be released this week, adding that additional releases on other fronts are also expected in the weeks ahead. 

8:00 am: Israel army warns Gaza war will continue through 2024

Unrelenting Israeli bombardment rocked Gaza on Monday, while an army spokesperson warned the war on the besieged territory's Hamas rulers will continue through 2024.

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met troops inside Gaza on Monday and vowed in a statement that "life will return to its course" for residents of border communities hit in Hamas's Oct. 7 attacks that triggered the war.

Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the army was preparing for the "prolonged fighting" ahead "throughout this year."

He later said some of the 300,000 Israeli reserve soldiers will be "gradually" released.

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