Day 94 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Jan. 8

Health officials in Gaza said the enclave had seen its deadliest 24-hour period since the war begin, with 247 people killed overnight.

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.

Click here for our most recent updates.

Live updates (all times EDT):

Monday, Jan. 8, 2024

7:16 pm: Pentagon: No impact on Middle East ops following Austin's hospitalization

Pentagon officials on Monday denied that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s admittance to the hospital last week has had any impact on US military operations in the Middle East, after top department officials failed, for more than three days, to notify the White House and members of Congress of the defense chief’s hospitalization. Jared Szuba reports.

6:48 pm: Blinken to Israel: Reducing Gaza casualties an 'absolute imperative'

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is returning to Israel and carrying the same message he delivered on each of his four previous visits since Hamas’ October 2023 attack.

The top US diplomat's meetings with Israeli officials come after President Joe Biden said he was “quietly working” to get Israel out of Gaza. Elizabeth Hagedorn reports.

12:10 pm: How damaging was Hezbollah's rocket barrage on Israeli air base?

In a first since Oct. 7, Hezbollah hit and damaged infrastructure at an Israeli air base in the north of the country, not far from the border with Lebanon.

Hezbollah fired more than 40 rockets and several missiles at Mount Meron, which is just five kilometers (three miles) from the Lebanese border. Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported that because the anti-tank missiles were fired straight forward, the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system failed to intercept them. Rina Bassist reports.

8:51 am: Journalist Wael Dahdouh, 'the mountain,' inspires Gaza through tragedy

Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Gaza has lost most of his family members and relatives but is determined to continue covering the Israeli bombardment of the enclave. Beatrice Farhat reports.

6:15 am: Lebanon’s fragile economy buckles under risk of Israel-Hezbollah war

Since the outbreak of the Hamas-Israel war on Oct. 7 and the increasing skirmishes on Lebanon’s southern border, the country’s beleaguered economy has been hit hard and experts told Al-Monitor that it won’t be equipped to handle an all-out war with its neighbor. Jack Dutton reports.

Click here for our most recent updates.