Venezuelans expelled

Israel ordered the Venezuelan ambassador and his staff to leave the country by Jan. 30. The move, announced Jan. 28, comes after Venezuela expelled Israeli diplomats on Jan. 6 over the Gaza operation. One week later, Venezuela said it was breaking off relations completely, though it left its ambassador in place. “We’re proud that the State of Israel that exists today, led by these criminals, made this decision,” Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro told Al-Jazeera.

Schalit alive, Sarkozy says

After speaking with French President Nicolas Sarkozy the father of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit said he has hope for the release of his son from Gaza. Noam Schalit made the remarks Jan. 27 after being summoned to see Sarkozy. Schalit told reporters in Paris that Sarkozy assured him his son is alive and that France is “using every means available” to free him. The soldier has dual French-Israeli citizenship.

Israel strikes back in Gaza

The Israeli Air Force targeted a Gaza man in response to the launching of a Qassam rocket into Sderot. It was the second rocket attack on Israel and the second retaliatory attack in less than 24 hours. Israel’s Jan. 29 air strike targeted Machmad Uda Chamdan Samiri, 25, a known terror operative of the Global Jihad, the Israel Defence Forces said. Samiri was wounded in the strike. Following a rocket attack on southern Israel on Jan. 28, Israel launched a successful aerial attack against a weapons-making facility in Rafah, the IDF said.

U.S focus narrows

The Obama administration’s focus on Israeli-Arab peace is solely on the Palestinian track for now, Hillary Rodham Clinton said in her first news briefing as U.S. secretary of state. She was asked Jan. 27 about her earlier pledges to advance Israel-Syria talks. She said the focus now is appropriately on the new special envoy to the Israel-Palestinian talks, George Mitchell, and his visit last week to the region.