World
‘Shocking and brutal massacre’: World reacts to Israel’s al-Mawasi attack
The United Nations and countries across the Middle East have denounced Israel after its military attacked a designed humanitarian safe zone in Gaza, killing at least 90 Palestinians and wounding 300 others.
Israel said the target of Saturday’s attack in al-Mawasi was Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was not certain if the fighter had been killed. Hamas rejected the premise of the assault as “false”, saying that “defenceless civilians” were killed in the attack.
Photos and videos verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad agency showed Palestinians sifting through debris and what appeared to be remnants of tents at the location of the attacks.
Here’s how world leaders have responded:
Jordan
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack on “displaced persons’ tents in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, in an area that Israel had previously classified as safe, which resulted in the death and injury of dozens of Palestinians”.
Spokesperson Sufyan Al-Qudah said Jordan called for the international community to act to bring an end to Palestinian suffering amid Israel’s repeated violations of international law.
Egypt
In a statement, Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Israel’s “ongoing violations against the rights of Palestinian citizens” add serious “complications” to achieving a ceasefire deal.
Egypt has been among the countries working to mediate such an agreement between Israel and Hamas.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the Israeli raids on the al-Mawasi area,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Qatar
Doha has also been working as a mediator in ceasefire negotiations. On Saturday, it called the “shocking and brutal massacre” at al-Mawasi “a new chapter in the ongoing series of crimes” committed by Israel against Palestinians.
It warned the attack would further undermine efforts for a lasting peace, “thereby expanding the cycle of violence in the region and threatening international peace and security”.
Turkey
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called the attack “a phase of the Netanyahu government’s effort to annihilate the Palestinians entirely”.
“The fact that Israel once again opted for bloodshed when it was expected to respond to Hamas’s positive response to the ceasefire [proposal] is evidence that the Netanyahu government is trying to prevent negotiations for a permanent ceasefire,” the ministry said.
It called on countries supporting Israel to put an end to the “barbarism”.
Iran
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Nasser Kanaani called the attack on al-Mawasi the “latest crime in the series of crimes committed by the child-killing Zionist regime”.
“The Zionists have once again brutally shown that in order to compensate for the defeats suffered on the battlefield with the resistance, they do not recognise any humane and moral red line towards the defenceless residents of the Gaza Strip, but they must know that insisting on this path is nothing but a wider global hatred,” Kanaani said in a post on X.
Palestinian Authority
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority (PA) presidency, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said the attack was a “continuation of the genocidal war against our people, and the US administration bears responsibility for the continuation of the massacres.”
In a statement carried by the Wafa news agency, Abu Rudeineh added: “Without blind and biased American support, this occupation would not have been able to continue its bloody crimes against our people, and to defy international laws and the decisions of international courts that have demanded an end to the onslaught and protection for our people.”
United Nations
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “shocked and saddened” by the Israeli air raids which killed at least 90 Palestinians.
“The [Israeli military] stated that they were targeting two senior members of Hamas,” Guterres said in a statement. “The Secretary General underlines that international humanitarian law including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack must be upheld at all times.”
Hezbollah
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah decried Israel’s attack and said the Lebanese group’s attacks against Israeli targets fulfil the “duty” to support Palestinians and are not a “favour”.
“Today, the occupation carried out a large massacre against displaced people in al-Mawasi in Khan Younis. Then it justified it by saying it wanted to target [Hamas] leaders,” he said. “Are there worse injustices and oppression in the world?”
Saudi Arabia
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for “activating international accountability mechanisms” against Israeli abuses.
“The Foreign Ministry condemns in strongest terms the continuation of genocidal massacres against the Palestinian people at the hands of the Israeli war machine, the latest of which was the targeting [of] displaced people’s camps in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip,” it said in a statement.
Organisation for Islamic Cooperation
The OIC said it strongly condemned Israel’s “heinous massacres” in al-Mawasi as well as in the Shati refugee camp.
The organisation said it considers the attacks an “extension of the crime of genocide that the Israeli occupation continues to commit against Palestinian civilians, in blatant defiance of” UN resolutions and the orders of the International Court of Justice.
United Arab Emirates
The UAE denounced Israeli abuses in Gaza, including “the most recent targeting of camps for displaced people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, which led to numerous deaths and injuries to dozens of innocent civilians”.
The country’s Foreign Ministry also “reaffirmed the need for an immediate ceasefire to prevent further loss of life, reiterating the importance of protecting civilians and civilian institutions, according to the international law including international treaties”.
Oman
Oman said the Israeli attack was “an explicit act of terrorism and new evidence of the policy of deliberate extermination… towards the Palestinian people”.
The country’s foreign minister said in a statement that the raids, which targeted “unarmed civilians”, were in clear breach of international law.
UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory
Speaking to Al Jazeera on Saturday, Francesca Albanese said that Israel likely violated international law by striking in a designated humanitarian zone.
“I’m disgusted by the tolerance of Israel’s impunity which is enabling the genocidal war,” Albanese said.
In March, Albanese issued a report listing “reasonable grounds” to believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
United States
While the administration of US President Joe Biden has yet to respond to Saturday’s attack, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said, “We must do more to stop this.”
Writing on X, Jayapal said, “Israel is continuing a horrific assault on Gaza, forcing the closure of medical facilities and even restricting the entry of medical equipment.”
She called for an “immediate and permanent ceasefire to release the hostages and save lives”.
Colombia
President Gustavo Petro decried what he called “the greatest injustice”.
“I am even more outraged because this destruction of international human law is a prelude to the barbarism they want to unleash on all the oppressed people of the earth,” he said in a post on X.
World
Some flu measures decline, but it’s not clear this severe season has peaked
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. flu infections showed signs of a slight decline last week, but health officials say it is not clear that this severe flu season has peaked.
New government data posted Friday — for flu activity through last week — showed declines in medical office visits due to flu-like illness and in the number of states reporting high flu activity.
However, some measures show this season is already surpassing the flu epidemic of last winter, one of the harshest in recent history. And experts believe there is more suffering ahead.
“This is going to be a long, hard flu season,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, in a statement Friday.
One type of flu virus, called A H3N2, historically has caused the most hospitalizations and deaths in older people. So far this season, that is the type most frequently reported. Even more concerning, more than 91% of the H3N2 infections analyzed were a new version — known as the subclade K variant — that differs from the strain in this year’s flu shots.
The last flu season saw the highest overall flu hospitalization rate since the H1N1 flu pandemic 15 years ago. And child flu deaths reached 289, the worst recorded for any U.S. flu season this century — including that H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic of 2009-2010.
So far this season, there have been at least 15 million flu illnesses and 180,000 hospitalizations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. It also estimates there have been 7,400 deaths, including the deaths of at least 17 children.
Last week, 44 states reported high flu activity, down slightly from the week before. However, flu deaths and hospitalizations rose.
Determining exactly how flu season is going can be particularly tricky around the holidays. Schools are closed, and many people are traveling. Some people may be less likely to see a doctor, deciding to just suffer at home. Others may be more likely to go.
Also, some seasons see a surge in cases, then a decline, and then a second surge.
For years, federal health officials joined doctors’ groups in recommending that everyone 6 months and older get an annual influenza vaccine. The shots may not prevent all symptoms but can prevent many infections from becoming severe, experts say.
But federal health officials on Monday announced they will no longer recommend flu vaccinations for U.S. children, saying it is a decision parents and patients should make in consultation with their doctors.
“I can’t begin to express how concerned we are about the future health of the children in this country, who already have been unnecessarily dying from the flu — a vaccine preventable disease,” said Michele Slafkosky, executive director of an advocacy organization called Families Fighting Flu.
“Now, with added confusion for parents and health care providers about childhood vaccines, I fear that flu seasons to come could be even more deadly for our youngest and most vulnerable,” she said in a statement.
Flu is just one of a group of viruses that tend to strike more often in the winter. Hospitalizations from COVID-19 and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, also have been rising in recent weeks — though were not diagnosed nearly as often as flu infections, according to other federal data.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
World
Russia fires new hypersonic missile in massive Ukraine attack, Kremlin says
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Russia said on Friday it used its new hypersonic Oreshnik missile in an attack against Ukraine, according to reports.
The Kremlin said that the strike was carried out in response to what it said was an attempted Ukrainian drone strike on one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residences, something Kyiv has denied, according to Reuters.
The outlet noted that Ukraine and the U.S. have cast doubt on Russia’s claims about the alleged attempted attack on Putin’s residence on Dec. 29, the report said. Ukraine called it “an absurd lie,” while President Donald Trump also doubted the veracity of the claim, saying he did not believe the strike occurred and that “something” unrelated happened nearby.
This is the second time Russia has used the intermediate-range Oreshnik, which Putin has said is impossible to intercept because of its velocity, Reuters reported.
RUSSIA ALLEGES ATTACK ON PUTIN RESIDENCE AS UKRAINE DENIES CLAIM AHEAD OF TRUMP TALKS
A part of the Russian nuclear-capable hypersonic Oreshnik missile system at the site of the Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Lviv region, Ukraine, Jan. 9, 2026. (Security Service of Ukraine/Handout via Reuters)
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the strike targeted critical infrastructure in Ukraine, according to Reuters, which added that Russia said the attack also used attack drones and high-precision long-range land and sea-based weapons.
While Moscow did not say where the missile hit, Russian media and military bloggers said it targeted an underground natural gas storage facility in Ukraine’s western Leviv region, CBS News reported. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadoviy said the attack hit critical infrastructure but did not give details, the outlet added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the attack on social media, saying that the aftermath was “still being dealt with.”
“Twenty residential buildings alone were damaged. Recovery operations after the strikes also continue in the Lviv region and other regions of our country. Unfortunately, as of now, it is known that four people have been killed in the capital alone. Among them is an ambulance crew member. My condolences to their families and loved ones,” Zelenskyy wrote.
A resident stands on the balcony of his apartment, damaged during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Jan. 9, 2026. (Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters)
PUTIN RESIDENCE ATTACK VIDEO SLAMMED AS US OFFICIALS SAY UKRAINE DID NOT TARGET LEADER
The Ukrainian leader said the attack involved 242 drones, 13 ballistic missiles, one Oreshnik missile and 22 cruise missiles. Zelenskyy added that the ballistic missiles were aimed at energy facilities and civilian infrastructure as the people of Ukraine faced “a significant cold spell.” He said the attack was “aimed precisely against the normal life of ordinary people.” However, he assured that Ukraine was working to restore heating and electricity.
Zelenskyy claimed that in addition to the civilian infrastructure, a building of the Embassy of Qatar was damaged in the attack.
Apartment buildings hit by a Russian missile strike late yesterday, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the city of in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, on Jan. 9, 2026. (Stringer/Reuters)
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“A clear reaction from the world is needed. Above all from the United States, whose signals Russia truly pays attention to. Russia must receive signals that it is its obligation to focus on diplomacy, and must feel consequences every time it again focuses on killings and the destruction of infrastructure,” Zelenskyy added.
A spokesperson for the State Department told Fox News Digital that the U.S. remains committed to ending the war through diplomatic means, emphasizing that it is the only path toward a durable peace. The spokesperson underscored Trump’s desire to end the war that is approaching its fourth year.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
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