Israel At War Wed January 22

 Israel at war day 474

- An unnamed source tells Asharq Al-Awsat that an agreement was reached at a meeting between Israeli security chiefs and the head of Egyptian intelligence that the Palestinian Authority will manage the Gazan side of the Rafah Border Crossing with Egypt, under “international supervision and monitoring by the UN.

- President Trump re-designates the Houthis as a terrorist organization.

- Netanyahu approached Trump, through his associate Minister Ron Dermer, with a request to remain in several outposts in southern Lebanon.  Reminder: in four days, Israel must completely withdraw from Lebanon.

- Former hostages Romi, Emily, and Doron were held in UN shelters in Gaza, facilities intended for civilian use.The UN has refused to condemn Hamas for using civilian spaces to hide hostages, raising serious questions about the misuse of humanitarian infrastructure.

- Israel attempted on Wednesday to play down reports and speculation that the Palestinian Authority would play a larger role in postwar Gaza and that a deal with Saudi Arabia could include the establishment of a Palestinian state.

- Politico report: Trump administration officials have already begun working and discussing the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hams to secure the release of all hostages and make the truce permanent. But they also admit it is challenging and might not be achievable. At the same time, administration officials make it clear that efforts to promote normalization with Saudi Arabia are expected to be very high on the agenda

- Iran’s Vice President  Mohammad Javad Zarif says Tehran was caught by surprise by Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel.“We didn’t know about October 7 he asserts that Israel has failed in its Gaza war objectives.“Right now as you look at Gaza… Netanyahu did not achieve his goal of destroying Hamas, Hamas is still there. Israel had to come to a ceasefire,” he says. “I wouldn’t suggest anybody start rejoicing over destroying Hamas as well as the Palestinian resistance, or cutting Iran’s arms, because the resistance will stay as long as they’re occupied.”

- Trump said at a press conference that he wanted to visit the Middle East but not immediately and that without him, there would be no deal. He also claimed that if they had made a deal in about six months, there would have been 11 more hostages alive.

- Steve Witkoff, in an interview on Fox News, refers to his role in closing the ceasefire between Israel and Hams: I convinced the parties to close the deal by telling them that Trump expects the truth. We did not deal with the math of the deal, how many prisoners would be released for each abductee; it was closed in May under the Biden administration, and our role was to expedite the process