Palestine-Israel war
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International Criminal Court says probing journalist deaths in Gaza
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has confirmed it is investigating potential crimes against journalists since the outbreak of fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, where dozens of reporters have been killed.
Media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said in November that it had filed a complaint with the Hague-based ICC alleging war crimes over the deaths of journalists trying to cover the conflict.
“The office of prosecutor Karim Khan has assured the organisation that crimes against journalists are included in its investigation into Palestine,” the organisation announced a day ago.
Humanitarian aid arriving in Gaza ‘too little, too late’: WHO
— United Nations (@UN) January 9, 2024
Pakistan must support South Africa in ICJ genocide case against Israel: Senator Mushtaq
— Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan | ?????? ????? ???? ??? (@SenatorMushtaq) January 9, 2024
126 killed, 241 wounded in Gaza Strip in past 24 hours: ministry
The Health Ministry in Gaza says Israeli forces have committed “12 massacres” throughout the Gaza Strip on the 95th day of the ongoing conflict that resulted in 126 Palestinians being killed and 241 others wounded, Al Jazeera reports.
The ministry indicated that a number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, while ambulance and civil defence crews are unable to reach them.
WATCH: British MP slams Israeli ambassador for ‘grotesque genocidal rhetoric’
— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) January 9, 2024
South Africa may win ICJ order against Israel in Gaza genocide case: lawyer
Veteran international human rights lawyer Francis Boyle, renowned for his success in genocide cases at the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) sees a high possibility of South Africa winning its case against Israel, an outcome he believes will entail serious consequences.
“I have read all of the pleadings by South Africa … and my analysis, based on my knowledge, judgment and experience, is that South Africa will win a cease-and-desist order against Israel for genocide against the Palestinians,” Boyle told Anadolu Agency in a video interview.
Boyle, who won two requests at the ICJ in 1993 under the Genocide Convention for the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina against Yugoslavia, said South Africa has a team of “first-rate international lawyers” for the case.
“From the documents I’ve read, they know exactly what they’re doing. Again, that is why I believe they will win a victory,” he said, adding that he expects an order to be issued within about a week.
Gaza footballer’s journey from pitch to hospital amid Israel’s invasion
Before October 7, Khalid Mohammed Abu-Habel had managed to juggle his two passions in life: Football and becoming a doctor, Al Jazeera reports.
Last year, the 22-year-old won the third-tier championship to earn a promotion to the Al Ataa club from Khan Younis. But now, Abu-Habel spends most of his time volunteering at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir El-Balah as an emergency doctor, working for more than 72 hours a week, sometimes even longer.
He and his family have also been displaced from their home in the Maghazi refugee camp more than once.
“I was fully prepared to put on stellar displays on the pitch this season, but everything has changed due to the Israeli aggression,” he said. “It has now been three months since I kicked a ball.”
What is the genocide case against Israel at top UN court?
(Reuters) - The ICJ, also called the World Court, is the highest United Nations legal body, established in 1945 to deal with disputes between states. It should not be confused with the treaty-based International Criminal Court, also in The Hague, which handles war crimes cases against individuals.
Both South Africa and Israel are signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention which gives the ICJ the jurisdiction to rule on disputes over the treaty.
Gaza war becoming more complicated as Israel hits Hezbollah
Mohammed Cherkaoui, professor of conflict resolution at George Mason University, says the complexities of Israel’s war on Gaza continue to grow.
“Someone in the Middle East is trying to provoke Hezbollah into a confrontation. It can be an exercise of managing one war by opening up a new one – from Gaza to Lebanon – which then could lead to a wider regional conflict,” Cherkaoui told Al Jazeera.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is running out of strategies, he noted. “He doesn’t have the upper hand in Gaza so he wants to maximise the support from the West.”
Cherkaoui said the pursuit of diplomacy by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “should start with a ceasefire”, but that “is not on the table”.
“Blinken has to reconstruct his approach to the Israelis. Without ending the Gaza war, we cannot prevent another clash with Hezbollah.”
PA must play post-war role in Gaza, Hamas should disarm: German FM
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, speaking on a visit to Egypt, has said that Germany and Egypt both affirm that the occupied West Bank and Gaza belong to the Palestinian people.
However, she called for a revamped Palestinian Authority (PA) to play a key role in governing Gaza after the war, adding that Hamas should lay down its arms.
Baerbock, who is expected to visit the Rafah crossing today, also appealed for more aid to urgently enter the enclave, saying Palestinians’ suffering cannot continue.
Iran’s Khamenei says ‘history will remember crimes’ long after Israel is destroyed
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says Israel will one day cease to exist but its actions against Palestinians will be remembered.
“These crimes will remain in history. Even after the Zionist regime is fallen and destroyed and removed from the face of the Earth with God’s help, these crimes will not be forgotten,” he told a gathering in the city of Qom.
“On that day, they will write in history books that there were a people who came to rule in this region and committed so many crimes and killed thousands of children and women within weeks.”
Khamenei said “those who see clearly” have been predicting for long that Israel will be defeated and Palestinians will emerge victorious.
MSF shelter targeted in southern Gaza
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, said that a shell hit their shelter in Khan Younis, where more than 100 employees and their families were taking shelter.
“Four people were injured, including the five-year-old daughter of one of our employee who is in critical condition,” the organisation said in a post on X.
MSF said it had previously informed the Israeli forces about the shelter and had not received orders to evacuate it.
More than 4,000 Palestinian students killed, 384 schools destroyed
Palestinian Ministry of Education says that 4,296 students have been killed and 8,059 were injured in Gaza and the occupied West Bank since October 7.
In a statement, the ministry said that 4,257 students were killed in the Gaza Strip and 39 in the West Bank.
In Gaza, 281 government schools and 65 schools affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA) were bombed and vandalised, resulting in 83 of the buildings being severely damaged and seven completely destroyed.
Hezbollah drone hits Israeli military command in north: Report
Israel’s GLZ Radio reports a Hezbollah attack drone crashed into the military headquarters of Israel’s Northern Command in Safed.
No casualties reported.
Palestinian Foreign Ministry denounces Israel’s military for running over man after shooting him
The ministry shared graphic footage of the incident on X, calling it an act of “horrific documented brutality”.
As we reported earlier, the video shows an Israeli military vehicle running over a Palestinian man lying on a street in Tulkarem after shooting him during a raid on the occupied town.
“The Ministry views this heinous crime as a translation of the racist incitement practiced by the pillars of the Israeli right and the extreme right, who treat all Palestinians as suspects who must be killed,” said the ministry’s statement.
57 bodies brought to al-Aqsa Hospital in 24 hours: Health ministry
At least 57 people killed in Israeli attacks were brought to al-Aqsa Hospital in the last 24 hours, the Palestinian health ministry said.
Another 62 wounded Palestinians were also brought to the health facility.
Al-Aqsa Hospital is the largest hospital in central Gaza, where Israeli strikes are most intense.
Earlier this week, many health workers and hundreds of patients had to evacuate the facility due to heavy Israeli bombardment in the area. Now, only a handful of doctors are left to treat emergency cases that pile in every hour.
Report warns of health risks to captives held in Gaza
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel has published a report warning against the health risks faced by the captives held in Gaza.
Israeli news outlet Haaretz says the report was compiled by doctors and is based on interviews with the families of captives, examination of medical files and the testimonies of those released.
It adds that the damage may be irreversible and might lead to death, so every additional day in captivity puts them in grave danger.
The families and supporters of the captives have repeatedly held marches in Israel and demanded politicians secure their release. Families of six captives visited Qatar last week, where they said they had meetings with senior officials, including Qatar’s PM, for talks on the captives’ release.
Guatemala opposes South Africa’s genocide case against Israel
Guatemala has expressed its opposition to a genocide case filed by the South African government against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
It said in a statement that it supported “Israel’s legitimate defence against the attacks of the terrorist group Hamas” and that “Israel’s purpose has always been to repel the constant invasions that seek to frighten the population”.
South Africa and Israel will present arguments in The Hague on Thursday and Friday, as the UN’s highest court reviews the claim that Israel has committed crimes of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Bolivia, Jordan, Malaysia, Turkey and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation have expressed their support for South Africa’s application.
Occupied West Bank faces ‘major escalation’, Netanyahu warned
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly been warned by senior Israeli security officials that the occupied West Bank is “on the brink of a major escalation”, Israeli media report.
The situation stems from the Israeli government’s refusal to transfer tax revenue to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and allow more than 150,000 Palestinian workers back to their jobs in Israel, Channel 12 reports.
The taxes – managed by Israel under interim accords from the 1990s and usually handed over monthly – make up more than half of the PA’s budget. More than 130,000 civil servants rely on the tax transfer to pay their salaries.
Massive Israeli air strikes in Maghazi refugee camp
People hoped that there would be a de-escalation, but we are seeing a surge in air strikes.
People are trapped in this small strip of land and waiting to die.
Overnight, we saw ongoing and constant artillery shelling, particularly in the southern part of Khan Younis. This is very close to Rafah. We could hear every single air strike.
In Rafah itself, a home was targeted in the eastern al-Junaynah district in the early hours of the morning. This neighbourhood has been repeatedly targeted and a quarter of it has been destroyed.
We are also hearing reports of ongoing extreme bombing in central Gaza. Within the last 15 minutes, there were massive air strikes in and around the Maghazi camp as well as in the Bureij refugee camp earlier.
What’s been happening in the occupied West Bank?
Widespread overnight Israeli raids across the occupied West Bank have been reported.
- Raids were reported in Qalqilya, Nablus and Ramallah, where a man and his son were arrested. Six Palestinians were arrested in Bethlehem.
- Heavy fighting in Tulkarem and Tulkarem refugee camp after three Palestinian men were shot dead by Israeli forces in the city.
- Footage has also emerged of an Israeli military vehicle running over the lifeless body of one of the men.
- Palestinian Red Crescent says nine people have shrapnel injuries following an Israeli aerial attack on a home in the Tulkarem camp.
- Israeli bulldozers filmed intentionally destroying infrastructure in the camp. Another bulldozer was hit by an explosive device.
- Since October 7, at least 340 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli army and settler attacks across the occupied West Bank, with 60 of these deaths occurring in Tulkarem alone.
Jeremy Corbyn calls on UK government to support ICJ genocide case
Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the British Labour Party, has called on the UK government to support the genocide case filed by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
“Many people are very pleased that the government of South Africa has taken an initiative in going to the International Court of Justice in order to hold Israel to account for the deaths of so many wholly innocent people in Gaza,” Corbyn said in a speech in the UK parliament on Monday.
“Cannot the government understand that and at least support South Africa’s process?” Corbyn added.
South Africa and Israel will present oral arguments at public hearings in The Hague on Thursday and Friday this week, as the UN’s highest court considers South Africa’s request the court takes “provisional measures” to protect Palestinians with “extreme urgency”.
The governments of Bolivia, Jordan, Malaysia and Turkey, as well as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, have expressed support for South Africa’s application to the court. While France’s UN ambassador has said that France will support the court’s decision.
Israeli delegation arrives in Egypt to resume talks on Gaza captives: Report
Egyptian sources have confirmed to the Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper that an Israeli security delegation has arrived in Cairo with the aim of “resuming negotiations aimed at releasing Israeli prisoners held by resistance factions in Gaza”.
Citing sources in Egypt, the London-based outlet said that Cairo had suspended its mediation efforts after the assassination of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in an Israeli drone strike on a Beirut suburb on January 2.
More than 240 people were taken captive by Hamas and other groups during the attack on Israel on October 7.
It’s believed some 128 remain captive in Gaza.
'Freedom is paid for in blood': In the occupied West Bank, families long to bury their dead
(Web Desk) – An Israeli strike killed six Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, four of whom were brothers. The attack took place in the city of Jenin and left a total of seven dead, including an Israeli police officer. As the family of the brothers buried their “martyrs”, others are still waiting for the remains of relatives held by the Israeli army to be returned.
She doesn’t cry. She doesn’t speak. Ibtesam Darwish simply looks stunned. “I wasn’t just their mother, I was their friend,” she says. “We were so close.”
Sitting in her neighbour’s courtyard in Qabatiya, a city in the northern occupied West Bank, she waits for the remains of her sons.
Explainer: What is the genocide case against Israel at top UN court?
THE HAGUE, (Reuters) - The International Court of Justice will hold hearings this week on a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide in the Gaza war and seeking an emergency suspension of its military campaign.
WHAT IS SOUTH AFRICA'S CASE?
In its 84-page filing South Africa says that by killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious mental and bodily harm and by creating conditions on life "calculated to bring about their physical destruction", Israel is committing genocide against them.
"The acts are all attributable to Israel, which has failed to prevent genocide and is committing genocide in manifest violation of the Genocide Convention," the filing says, adding that Israel also failed to curb incitement to genocide by its own officials in violation of the convention.
Israeli forces claim they locate large underground weapons factory in Gaza
AL BUREIJ, Gaza (Reuters) – Israeli forces located what they claimed was the largest weapons production site so far found in Gaza, with underground workshops they said were used to produce long-range missiles capable of hitting targets in northern Israel.
The military said that in addition to missiles, the workshops produced copies or adaptations of standard munitions like mortar shells and were connected through underground shafts to a tunnel network used to transport the weapons to fighting units throughout the Gaza Strip.
On Monday, the Israeli military took a group of reporters to visit the site in the Bureij area in the middle of the narrow coastal enclave, which has been devastated by weeks of bombardment and ground fighting.
Hundreds of Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested after blocking NYC bridges, tunnel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Pro-Palestinian protesters blocked several New York City bridges and a tunnel on Monday to demand an immediate ceasefire in the three-month-old Israel-Hamas conflict before police arrested hundreds of them and reopened the roadways.
Dozens of chanting demonstrators sat at entrances to the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges across the East River, as well as at the Holland Tunnel connecting New York City with New Jersey across the Hudson River, local media reported.
Police arrested 325 demonstrators, a New York Police Department spokesperson said, and all of the locations were cleared before noon.
Israel shifts to deadlier strikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria
BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) – Israel is carrying out an unprecedented wave of deadly strikes in Syria targeting cargo trucks, infrastructure and people involved in Iran's weapons lifeline to its proxies in the region, six sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The sources, including a Syrian military intelligence officer and a commander in the regional alliance backing Damascus, said Israel had shifted strategies following the Oct. 7 rampage by Hamas into Israeli territory and the ensuing Israeli bombing campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon.
Although Israel has struck Iran-linked targets in Syria for years, including areas where Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has been active, it is now unleashing deadlier, more frequent air raids against Iranian arms transfers and air defence systems in Syria, the sources said.
Difficult for Blinken to dampen regional tensions without ceasefire: analyst
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s diplomatic efforts rest on a ceasefire in Gaza says Andrea Dessi, Assistant Professor in International Relations at the American University of Rome.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Dessi said that “[avoiding] regional spillover, particularly vis-a-vis Hezbollah in Lebanon” will be “foremost” on Blinken’s mind, as he tours the region this week.
But, Dessi added, “the reality of the situation is that unless there is a decisive direct call for an immediate ceasefire – not a pause, but a ceasefire – in Gaza, it will be very difficult to be able to diplomatically resolve and dampen the tensions across the entire region”.
The Israeli army has been acting not only with “complete impunity” but also with “complicity” from the Biden administration and “a number of European member states”, Dessi told Al Jazeera.
“The real central issue here is the onslaught on the Gaza Strip,” Dessi added.
Israeli air strike kills two journalists in Gaza, including son of Al Jazeera bureau chief
GAZA (AFP) - Al Jazeera said two journalists in Gaza were killed by an Israeli air strike that they claimed was targeted. The Israeli army acknowledged the strike, but said it was targeting a "terrorist".
Hamza Al Dahdouh, a journalist and camera operator for Al Jazeera, and Mustafa Thuraya, a freelance video journalist who worked with Agence France Press (AFP) and other international media, were killed Sunday by an Israeli drone strike on their car near the southern Gaza city of Rafah, according to Al Jazeera.
A third freelancer, Hazem Rajab, was wounded in the attack.
US secretary of state rallies Mideast to prepare for Gaza post-war
ABI DHABI (AP) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday (Jan 8) that four key Arab nations and Turkey have agreed to begin planning for the reconstruction and governance of Gaza once Israel’s war against Hamas ends.
Blinken, who is on an urgent Mideast mission aimed primarily at preventing the conflict from spreading as fears rise of a regional war, said Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey would consider participating in and contributing to “day after” scenarios for the Palestinian territory, which has been devastated by three months of deadly Israeli bombardment.
Those countries had previously resisted US calls for post-war planning to begin, insisting that there must first be a cease-fire and a sharp reduction in the civilian suffering caused by Israel’s military response to Hamas’ deadly Oct 7 attacks.
Lebanon's Hezbollah says commander killed in Israeli strike
BEIRUT (AFP) – Israel on Monday killed a top Hezbollah commander in a strike on south Lebanon, the Iran-backed group and a security official said, as regional tensions soar amid the Gaza war.
Hezbollah in a statement announced the killing of a "commander" for the first time in three months of cross-border clashes with Israeli forces.
It said Wissam Hassan Tawil had died "on the road to Jerusalem" -- the phrase used by the Shiite Muslim movement for fighters killed by Israel.
Israeli attacks on central, southern Gaza intensify; Palestinian fighters battling ‘across’ the territory
Air, land and sea attacks on Gaza by Israel have intensified while Palestinian fighters continue to battle Israeli forces across much of the Palestinian territory, while rockets continue to be fired into Israel three months after Israel’s war on the territory began.
According to the latest UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) situation report, 249 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and 510 injured in a 24-hour period between Sunday and Monday.
Biden, Saudis call for Israeli restraint as Gaza suffers another bloody day
GAZA (Reuters) - Pressure grew on Israel on Monday (Jan 8) from its staunch ally the United States and from Middle East powers to ease its assault on Gaza as its forces said they engaged in "tough battles" against Hamas militants in central and southern parts of the enclave.
Following talks with Arab leaders, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed late Monday in Tel Aviv on the latest leg of a regional tour aimed at preventing the war - now entering its fourth month - from turning into a wider conflagration.
Israeli officials have said they are entering a new phase of more targeted warfare after mass bombardments that have devastated the Gaza Strip and killed more than 23,000 Palestinians.
