War on Gaza
Live Reporting
4 PRCS staff killed in Israeli strike on ambulance in central Gaza
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) January 10, 2024
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) January 10, 2024
Gaza journalist says five colleagues killed in Israeli attack on ambulance
— MoTaz (@azaizamotaz9) January 10, 2024
WHO cancels sixth aid mission to Gaza over security concerns
The World Health Organization cancelled another planned medical aid mission to Gaza on Wednesday over security concerns, the sixth such cancellation in two weeks.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was the sixth mission to northern Gaza cancelled by the U.N. agency because requests to visit had not been approved or assurances over security provided since its last visit, on 26 December.
"Intense bombardment, restrictions on movement, fuel shortage and interrupted communications make it impossible for WHO and our partners to reach those in need," he told a virtual press conference from Geneva. "We call on Israel to approve requests by WHO and other partners to deliver humanitarian aid."
Israel, South Africa trade barbs on eve of genocide case
South Africa and Israel exchanged allegations on the eve of hearings at the top UN court which will hear South African claims that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in its Gaza offensive.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, also known as the World Court, will hold sessions on Thursday and Friday in a case brought in late December accusing Israel of failing to uphold its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convent.
Situation lamentable in all Gaza hospitals: Red Cross
Robert Mardini, director of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), tells Al Jazeera that all hospitals in Gaza suffer from a total collapse of the healthcare system, calling it “unacceptable and dangerous”.
“The medical supplies in the Gaza Strip are absolutely insufficient to provide relief to the wounded and sick,” he said.
“Hospitals in northern Gaza are no longer able to provide any surgical services.”
Gaza integral to statehood, peace conference needed: Palestinian leader tells Blinken
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Gaza is integral to Palestinian statehood hopes and should not be cut off as a result of Israel’s war with Hamas, Reuters reports citing an official statement.
The statement, published by the Palestinian news agency Wafa, further quoted Abbas as saying that Palestinians must not be displaced from Gaza or the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where he wields limited governance following a 2007 schism with Hamas.
Abbas further called for the “convening an international peace conference to end the Israeli occupation of the land of the State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, which achieves peace and security for all,” according to Wafa.
Blinken urges Israel to engage with region on 'postwar path' to Palestine state
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday called on Israel to work with moderate Palestinians and neighboring countries on plans for postwar Gaza, saying they were willing to help rebuild and govern the territory but only if there is a “pathway to a Palestinian state.”
The US and Israel are united in the war against Hamas but sharply divided over Gaza’s future, with Washington and its Arab allies hoping to revive the long-moribund peace process, an idea that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition partners sharply oppose.
Palestinian bodies buried in schoolyard in Gaza’s Maghazi camp
Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to bury their relatives, killed in Israeli bombardment, on school grounds in the Maghazi refugee camp instead of taking them to a proper burial site.
“Because of the difficulty of removing bodies from a school there, which serves as an evacuation centre, family members had to bury their relatives on the school grounds, rather than take them to a proper burial site.
“This is how intense the situation is in central Gaza,” says Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Gaza.
New research shows extent of climate damage caused by Israeli bombing of Gaza
The Guardian reports that in the first two months of its war on the Gaza Strip, Israel’s bombardment of the territory yielded more planet-warming gases than 20 climate-vulnerable nations do in a year.
The research revealed that the climate cost of the first 60 days of Israel’s military response was 281,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide, or the equivalent to burning at least 150,000 tonnes of coal.
On the other hand, Hamas rockets fired into Israel during the same period generated about 713 tonnes of CO2, which is equivalent to approximately 300 tonnes of coal.
Talk about future PA role in Gaza a distraction: Fatah official
Dalal Salameh, a member of the central committee of the Palestinian party Fatah, which leads the Palestinian Authority (PA), has criticised the US’s proposal for the PA to lead Gaza after the war.
“All proposals being made in this context are attempts to escape from the primary prerogative, which is ending the aggression,” Salameh told Al Jazeera. “The details discussed about the day after and the shape of the authority in Gaza are a way to escape another prerogative, which is ending the occupation.
“Every day we hear proposals about the day after. But let me tell you, they are all about running away from discussing ending the occupation,” she said.
‘Staunch enemy of peace’: Smotrich’s fund transfer rejection slammed
Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich once again rejected a US request to transfer funds to the Palestinian Authority, drawing an angry response.
In a statement, the Palestinian foreign ministry said Smotrich’s statements are “a blatant challenge to the US administration [forced] to translate its positions into real actions and pressures that will make Israel to submit to the international will for peace”.
“He has no right and does not have any authority to interfere with the funds of the Palestinian people and the ways in which they are spent,” it said, adding Smotrich is known to be “a staunch enemy of peace.”
China urges Israel to stop ‘collective punishment’ in Gaza
Beijing’s foreign ministry called for a comprehensive and immediate ceasefire and urged Israel to stop “collective punishment” against Gaza civilians.
It also called urged the “parties to the conflict” in Gaza to implement the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
In November, China called on the UN Security Council to formulate a “concrete” timetable and roadmap for a two-state solution to achieve a “comprehensive, just and lasting” settlement of the Palestinian issue.
‘Palestinian people are here to stay’
Riyad Mansour, the UN Palestinian ambassador, told the UN General Assembly his people are “being slaughtered,” with entire families killed and stressed “the horrors need to end and the only way to end them is a ceasefire”.
“The whole world is calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” he said, accusing Israel of “destroying everything to make Gaza unlivable”.
But he added: “The Palestinian people are here to stay.”
Israel’s far-right cabinet ministers have repeatedly called for the “voluntary emigration” of Palestinians from Gaza.
Mansour said: “This assault is without precedent in modern history – in the scale and pace in the killing of children, of UN personnel, of medical and rescue teams, of journalists.”
Footage shows damaged caused in West Bank by Israeli raid
Footage shared on social media shows the damage caused to infrastructure and Palestinians’ livelihoods by an Israeli raid in Jeni, occupied West Bank.
Multiple daily raids by Israeli forces across the West Bank have intensified since October 7 with at least 340 Palestinians killed and almost 4,000 wounded.
Footage documenting the vandalism wreaked by the occupying Israeli army after a night-long raid into the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank. pic.twitter.com/bUl8jblTJz
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 10, 2024
Five Palestinians wounded during Nablus raid
The victims, including a minor and an elderly woman, were hit by live rounds fired by Israeli forces, reports the Palestinian Wafa news agency.
One of the injured was also beaten by Israeli forces, it said, citing ambulance crews that responded to the scene.
Israeli forces blocked access to the Old City and deployed snipers on rooftops. Troops also broke into several homes and offices, including the office of the Palestinian Fatah party, Wafa reported.
The raid on Nablus was one of numerous overnight incursions in areas near Ramallah, Hebron, Tulkarem, el-Bireh, and Tubas. Such raids have become a near-daily occurrence in the occupied West Bank since October 7.
Palestinian ministry agrees $2.4m package to support Gaza workers
The Palestinian Ministry of Labor has announced a $2.4m package to support Gaza workers who have been expelled from Israel since October 7 but are unable to return home to the besieged enclave.
The Wafa news agency reports that the funds – created as part of a cooperation agreement with The Palestinian Employment Fund and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development – will provide emergency aid, including basic needs such as food, over the next three months.
Prior to October 7, an estimated 18,500 workers from Gaza had permits to work in Israel. Following the attack, Palestinian workers were forcefully ejected from the country, with the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israel was “severing all contact with Gaza”.
Israel violating rules of engagement: Lebanon
Lebanon’s speaker of parliament has accused Israel of violating the rules of engagement and UN Resolution 1701 – intended to resolve the 2006 Lebanon War – while carrying out the attacks since October 7.
“The daily Israeli escalation is targeting the depth of residential areas, civilians and even ambulances and journalists,” Nabih Berri said.
Caretaker PM Najib Mikati added that while Lebanon sought “permanent stability and a permanent peaceful solution”, it was “receiving warnings through international envoys about a war on Lebanon”.
Since October 8, continuing clashes at the border between the Israeli army and Hezbollah have resulted in the deaths of dozens of Lebanese civilians and more than 140 Hezbollah members.
Israel and armed groups in southern Lebanon – some 200km (124 miles) from the Gaza Strip, particularly Hezbollah, have engaged in frequent back-and-forth exchanges across the United Nations-patrolled Israel-Lebanon border.
Palestinian Red Crescent recovers four dead, eight wounded
In a post on X, the aid group posted footage of its members rushing victims into ambulances at dawn after Israeli forces attacked central Deir el-Balah city.
The victims were sheltering in a home that came under Israeli artillery fire in the al-Hakr area, according to the rescue group.
Israeli continues its indiscriminate attacks in central and southern Gaza where hundreds of thousands of people have fled since the bombing began on October 7.
No let-up in attacks in central, southern Gaza
Once again, there is no let-up in attacks on civilians across the Gaza Strip.
Overnight, homes were targeted in the western side of Rafah city in the Tall as-Sultan area. This is very close to al-Mawasi evacuation zone, where many Palestinians are living in makeshift tents.
Fifteen people, all from the same family, were killed in the overnight strikes on Rafah. The vast majority are women and children, all sheltering in the same home.
On the eastern side of Rafah, the Israeli military is still carrying out artillery shelling on homes and razing agricultural land. This is taking place east of Salah al-Din Street.
In the Bureij and Maghazi refugee camps, the Israeli military has continued its bombardment. At least six people are reported killed as of the early hours of this morning.
We were expecting a de-escalation of Israel’s aerial bombardment as the war enters its third phase, but we are seeing the opposite.
UN Security Council to vote on condemning Houthi attacks
The UN body is set to discuss a US-proposed resolution today that would demand an immediate halt to the attacks on vessels in the Red Sea by the Houthis.
The draft resolution said the attacks “undermine navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace and security”, and it called for the condemnation of all arms deals carried out with the Iran-backed group.
The Houthis have carried out 26 attacks in the Red Sea since November 19, the day it seized the Japanese-operated cargo ship, Galaxy Liner, in what it said was retaliation to Israel’s war on Gaza.
Last month, the US formed an international maritime coalition of 12 countries to combat the attacks in the vital international shipping route.
Hunger in Gaza reinforces genocide charges against Israel: UN special rapporteur
Francesca Albanese says that the severe hunger being experienced in Gaza “aggravates charges of genocide” against Israel.
The International Court of Justice will hear arguments on Thursday and Friday this week on South Africa’s accusation that Israel has committed acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Israeli military bulldozers destroy streets in Jenin; Nablus old city stormed
Local media are reporting that Israeli bulldozers are destroying infrastructure and roads – including those around the Ibn Sina Hospital – in Jenin, as raids that began some seven hours ago continue in the city in the occupied West Bank.
The Wafa news agency also reports that Israeli forces have stormed and shut down all entrances to the old city in Nablus.
Raids and arrests are also being reported in the following locations:
The Ain al-Sultan camp, north of Jericho
The Jalazoun camp, north of Ramallah
The town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron
Two men were arrested in Dura, southwest of Hebron
A man has been arrested in the city of Tulkarem
Two people have been arrested in the city of el-Bireh
A man was arrested in the Al-Faraa camp, south of Tubas
Israeli forces, Palestinian fighters claim successes in battle for Gaza
Hamas fighters carried out several attacks on Israeli forces on Tuesday in northern Gaza, including detonating explosives in tunnels as Israeli forces approached, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters fired mortar shells at Israeli forces in central Gaza.
The latest battlefield assessment from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP) also reports that the fight for control of Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip continues, with both Palestinian and Israeli forces claiming successes.
Palestinian fighters continue to launch rocket barrages at southern Israel, including on Sderot city, according to the US-based think tanks.
Several Palestinians were also killed in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday where Palestinian fighters clashed in nine locations with Israeli forces and claimed to have inflicted causalities on the occupation forces.
In southern Lebanon, Hezbollah conducted 10 attacks on Israeli forces in northern Israel and Israel’s military claimed to have killed Hezbollah’s air force commander for southern Lebanon, Ali Hussein Burji, while he attended the funeral of the group’s senior commander Wissam al-Tawil, who was also killed in an earlier Israeli attack.
Israeli military announces death of another soldier in Gaza
A 24-year-old major and combat medic has been killed during a battle in central Gaza, the Israeli military has said.
A second Israeli soldier was also seriously injured in the same battle.
Since Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza began, 183 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,065 wounded, according to the UN citing official Israeli sources.
The latest reported death does not appear to be part of that total.
Maldives, Namibia, Pakistan support South Africa’s ICJ case
The Maldives, Namibia and Pakistan have joined the list of countries expressing support for the genocide case filed against Israel by South Africa at the ICJ.
The three countries each expressed their support for the case in speeches delivered during a UN General Assembly session on Tuesday.
Namibia’s Ambassador Neville Gertze told the UN that his country “welcomes and supports” South Africa’s case. “Namibia both identifies and aligns with the arguments put forward by South Africa,” Gertze said.
Other countries that have already expressed support for the case include Bolivia, Jordan, Malaysia and Turkey.
The ICJ will hold hearings to consider provisional measures on Thursday and Friday this week.
UK Foreign Secretary Cameron says worries Israel might have breached int’l law
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron says he is “worried” that tactics used during Israel’s war on Gaza may include breaches of international law. Cameron said that though legal advice points to Israeli compliance with international law, “lots of occasions” are under question.
US military says 18 Houthi attack drones, anti-ship missiles shot down over Red Sea
The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said that it shot down 18 Houthi “one way attack” aerial drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles and one anti-ship ballistic missile over the southern Red Sea, preventing a “complex attack” that threatened dozens of vessels in international shipping lanes.
The attack on Tuesday was the 26th launched by the Yemen-based Houthis on shipping lanes in the Red Sea since November 19 in protest of Israel’s war on Gaza.
Fighter jets from the US’s Dwight D Eisenhower aircraft carrier and four destroyers, including one from the UK, took part in the operation, according to CENTCOM.
The US last month formed a maritime coalition to combat the attacks in the vital international shipping route.
At least 31 Palestinian journalists in Israeli prisons: RSF
As we reported earlier, Israel released Diaa al-Kahlout, the Gaza correspondent for news outlet Al Araby Al Jadeed, on Tuesday.
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), al-Kahlout is one of 32 Palestinian journalists arrested since October 7 and the only one to be released so far.
The remaining 31 Palestinian journalists imprisoned by Israel are mostly being held without charge, says RSF.
The imprisoned journalists all work for Palestinian media outlets or are freelancers and were mostly arrested in the occupied West Bank, the media rights organisation said.
“This unprecedented wave of arrests and detentions, while the war continues in the Gaza Strip, has clearly been carried out with the deliberate aim of silencing the Palestinian media,” RSF added.
US, UK forces shoot down Houthi missiles, drones in Red Sea
WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - U.S. and UK forces shot down 21 drones and missiles fired by Yemen-based Houthis on Tuesday into the Southern Red Sea towards international shipping lanes, the U.S. military's Central Command said.
U.S. Central Command said there were no injuries or damage reported, adding that this was the 26th Houthi attack on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea since Nov19.
Iranian-backed Houthi militants have stepped up attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea in protest against Israel's war in Gaza. Various shipping lines have suspended operations, instead taking the longer journey around Africa.
The Houthis have vowed to continue attacks until Israel halts the conflict in Gaza, and warned that it would attack U.S. warships if the militia group itself was targeted.
U.S. Central Command said 18 drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles and one anti-ship ballistic missile were shot down by U.S. and British forces.
Hezbollah targets Israeli base to avenge Lebanon killings
BEIRUT (AFP) – Lebanon's Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah said it targeted a command base in northern Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for the killings of one of its commanders and a Hamas leader.
Hezbollah said the attack was part of its response to the killings of top field commander Wissam Tawil on Monday and Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri on January 2.
The Shiite Muslim movement, a Hamas ally, said in a statement that it had targeted the "enemy's northern command centre" in the Israeli city of Safed with "several suicide drones".
US top diplomat Blinken urges Israel to avoid harming civilians in Gaza
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday (Jan 9) urged Israel to make "hard choices" to normalise relations with more of its neighbours, a new appeal to smooth the path to creating a Palestinian state.
Blinken, in his fourth visit to the Middle East since the war erupted in October, also urged Israel to support Palestinian leaders willing to live peacefully alongside Israelis and warned the daily toll in its war with Hamas in Gaza was far too high.
It was also vital that Israel achieve its objective of eradicating the threat from Hamas, he said at the end of a day of talks in Tel Aviv.
