Gaza Turmoil
Live Reporting
4,000 Israeli soldiers disabled in Gaza offensive: report
Some 4,000 Israeli soldiers have suffered disabilities since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera reports citing Israeli media as saying.
It said the number is likely to rise to 30,000.
The AJ said Israeli army does not provide public records of casualties among its ranks for the purpose of avoiding a decline in morale in Israeli society.
The 4,000 soldiers have been recognised as having disabilities according to “Classification 3”, which means that they are entitled to all the treatments and rights granted to a disabled person in the Israeli army, the media outlet said.
Hard for Palestinian players to stay focused at Asian Cup, coach says
The Palestinian squad at the Asian Cup are finding it very hard to focus due to the conflict in Gaza, Reuters quotes coach Makram Daboub as saying, as he added that their presence at the tournament should remind the world that “Palestine exists”.
“Keeping focused, honestly, is difficult because most of the time the players are focusing on news after training or before it, even on the bus while going to training,” Daboub told reporters ahead of their group opener against Iran on Sunday.
Residents ‘terrified’ as strikes continue to pummel central Gaza: report
Bombing is ongoing in Khan Younis, with at least 10 Palestinians killed there since the early hours of the morning.
The situation is especially terrifying for Gaza’s central areas. A number of houses in Nuseirat and Maghazi camps have been attacked in the last hour.
Further south, on the western road linking Khan Younis to Rafah, a car was targeted by an Israeli missile, killing and injuring a number of Palestinians.
As Israel continues its military attacks in these areas, civilian casualties are only expected to rise.
South African protesters demand Gaza ceasefire at US consulate
Demonstrators have gathered outside the US consulate in Johannesburg demanding ceasefire in Gaza as part of a global protest movement.
Al Jazeera’s Fahmida Miller, reporting from the city, said many in the crowd accuse the US, which has supplied Israel with thousands of tonnes of military equipment since the war started, of “complicity in the bombardment of the Palestinian people”.
“The protest has been bolstered by South Africa’s case at the ICJ, charging Israel with genocide,” said Miller.
Roshan Dadoo, a leader of South Africa’s Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, who attended the protest, said: “We’re going to be here until we can make sure there is a ceasefire and sufficient humanitarian assistance for Gaza.”
Shot in ‘cold blood’: Killing of Palestinian grandmother sparks outcry
Relatives of Hala Khreis, a Palestinian woman killed by an Israeli sniper in northern Gaza, say the soldier shot her deliberately and in “cold blood” even though she was holding the hand of her small grandson who was waving a white flag and was walking along an evacuation route which had been declared safe.
Khreis was at the front of a group of Palestinians who had been ordered to leave their homes by Israeli forces.
They were told by the International Committee of the Red Cross that the route would be safe and that it had been “cleared” by the Israeli army.
Shot in ‘cold blood’: Killing of Palestinian grandmother sparks outcry
Relatives of Hala Khreis, a Palestinian woman killed by an Israeli sniper in northern Gaza, say the soldier shot her deliberately and in “cold blood” even though she was holding the hand of her small grandson who was waving a white flag and was walking along an evacuation route which had been declared safe.
Khreis was at the front of a group of Palestinians who had been ordered to leave their homes by Israeli forces.
They were told by the International Committee of the Red Cross that the route would be safe and that it had been “cleared” by the Israeli army.
Shot in ‘cold blood’: Killing of Palestinian grandmother sparks outcry
Relatives of Hala Khreis, a Palestinian woman killed by an Israeli sniper in northern Gaza, say the soldier shot her deliberately and in “cold blood” even though she was holding the hand of her small grandson who was waving a white flag and was walking along an evacuation route which had been declared safe.
Khreis was at the front of a group of Palestinians who had been ordered to leave their homes by Israeli forces.
They were told by the International Committee of the Red Cross that the route would be safe and that it had been “cleared” by the Israeli army.
What happened at the ICJ genocide hearings?
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) wrapped up hearings in The Hague yesterday. South Africa claimed “genocidal intent” against Israel in its war on Gaza. Israel rejected the charges as “libel”.
Here are the main arguments presented by both sides:
South Africa
Israeli forces have killed Palestinians en masse, including bombing civilian areas declared as “safe”.
Israel has inflicted “serious mental and bodily harm” on people in Gaza, with some 60,000 wounded.
Israel has imposed conditions intended to displace Palestinians.
Israel’s military has assaulted Gaza’s healthcare system.
Key Israeli decision-makers have explicitly expressed “genocidal intent” with their war statements.
Israel
Israel’s military is doing its best to save, not harm, Palestinian civilians.
Israel repeatedly blames Hamas for the death toll in Gaza which has almost reached 24,000.
Israel works extensively with international aid groups to help Gaza.
The ICJ should not have jurisdiction over the case because South Africa does not have a legitimate dispute with Israel.
The case relates only to charges of “genocide”, not other potential abuses that can be dealt with by Israel’s own courts.
CIA giving Israel intel on Hamas leaders, captives in Gaza
The CIA has been providing intelligence to Israel on senior Hamas leaders and captives held in Gaza, according to a New York Times report that quoted unnamed US officials.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reportedly ordered the formation of a new task force to gather intelligence on the captives’ whereabouts and Hamas leaders shortly after the October 7 attack.
The report says US officials believe that top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is hiding in the deepest parts of the group’s tunnel network under Khan Younis in southern Gaza, and that he is also believed to have surrounded himself by Israeli captives to make any operation against him highly challenging.
It said Washington is spending many more resources on collecting intelligence on Hamas than it was before the war, and is also carrying out more drone flights over Gaza to intercept communications between Hamas operatives.
Violent military raids becoming part of fabric of daily life in occupied West Bank
The latest round of overnight Israeli military incursions throughout the occupied West Bank shows once again that the raids have become part of the fabric of daily life.
On average, there are 40 Israeli army raids daily.
The fact that there are so many raids has led Israeli security officials to warn the situation might explode. Part of the reason for that is the military pressure.
Another reason is the economic pressure. There is so little work and closures that Palestinians who could once work in other areas, no longer can.
In the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem, which has been raided repeatedly, people say the trail of destruction left by the Israeli army is causing even more pressure.
Newborns at risk at Al-Aqsa Hospital faces total blackout
Doctors in central Gaza’s Al-Aqsa Hospital are sounding the alarm about a power outage that is putting the lives of their most vulnerable patients in peril.
“This situation is threatening the lives of many patients and newborns,” one doctor in the facility told Al Jazeera. “We’re trying to work with what we have but we will have to stop working completely because we don’t have any electricity.
“There’s a complete outage. How can we treat the patients?” she asked.
Another of the few remaining doctors in the facility said she is working with the flash on her phone to urgently treat vulnerable patients, including more than a dozen babies.
“We are trying to manage as best we can, even just to find some blankets for the children and babies. They suffer from malnutrition. They can easily get sick, even die, God forbid,” the doctor told Al Jazeera.
US gov’t employees plan walkout over Biden’s Gaza policies
US federal employees with 22 agencies plan to walk off the job this Tuesday to protest the Biden administration’s handling of the Gaza war, according to a report by US outlet Al-Monitor.
The group is reportedly calling itself Feds United for Peace and consists of dozens of government employees who will be observing a “day of mourning” to mark 100 days of Israel’s brutal attacks on Gaza.
The organisers have chosen to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal by the US government, but they have said they expect to see “easily hundreds” participate in the walkout.
Walkouts are expected at crucial top agencies, including the Executive Office of the President, the National Security Agency, the Departments of State, Defence, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs as well as US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Naval Research Laboratory.
At least 130 attacks on US forces in Syria, Iraq
There have been at least 130 attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria by groups falling under the umbrella of the “resistance axis” supported by Iran since the start of the war in Gaza, according to a report by the Lebanon-based outlet Al Mayadeen.
The media network, which is aligned with Hezbollah, quoted an unnamed US official as saying the number consists of 53 attacks in Iraq and 77 in Syria. The US has maintained bases and troops in both countries with the stated goal of combating a resurgence of ISIL (ISIS) forces.
The report comes a day after the Islamic Resistance in Iraq umbrella group of US-opposed forces claimed a rocket attack on a US base in Syria. The group has also claimed to have launched rockets and missiles directly at Israel multiple times, but no damage has been reported.
The group has said the attacks are aimed at combating US “occupation” in Iraq and US-backed Israeli attacks on Gaza.
In the last 24 hours…
At least 151 Palestinians have been killed and 248 wounded by Israeli attacks.
Since October 7, at least 23,708 Palestinians have been killed and more than 60,000 wounded.
Kuala Lumpur protesters show solidarity with Palestinians
People are holding up placards that read: ‘Stop the genocide’, as well as ‘Bombing children is not self-defence’.
This rally is also part of a global movement calling for a day of action against the Gaza war. In Malaysia, the movement is organised in collaboration with dozens of NGOs that say they want to educate people, not only about the atrocities that are happening in Gaza but also about the history of the occupation.
The organisers also want to highlight the rationale of the boycott movement, which is already having a strong impact. Last month, Malaysia’s government said it would no longer allow Israeli-owned ships to dock in Malaysian ports. It also said any vessel en route to Israel would not be allowed to unload cargo at any Malaysian port.
Pro-Palestine marches expected around the world as Gaza war nears 100 days
Hundreds of thousands are expected to take to the streets in cities around the world this weekend to protest the Gaza war.
One demonstration is already underway in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysa, where people have gathered at the US Embassy to “send a message to the US”, reports Al Jazeera’s Florence Looi from the city.
Other cities expecting protests this weekend include London, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Johannesburg, Amman, Washington DC, and Chicago.
In Photos: Iranian protesters rally over US, UK attacks on Houthis in Yemen
Iranian protesters on Friday night burn a Union Jack flag during a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people and Yemen’s Houthi rebels following the joint US-UK attack on Houthi military sites in Yemen on Thursday [Atta Kenare/AFP]
An Iranian protester with a placard during a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people and Yemen’s Houthi rebels in front of the British embassy in Tehran on Friday [Atta Kenar/AFP]
Iranian protesters hold anti-US and anti-Israel placards during a demonstration in front of the British embassy in Tehran [Atta Kenare/AFP]
Three teenagers killed near illegal settlement in occupied West Bank: Wafa
The Palestinian state news agency, Wafa, has identified the three Palestinians killed earlier near the illegal “Adora” settlement in Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
The three killed were 19-year-old Ismail Ahmed Yousef Abu Jahisha and his cousin Mahmoud Arafat Yousef Abu Jahisha, 16, as well as Adi Isma’in Yousef, also 16.
Wafa said the three were shot near the illegal settlement, appearing to contradict reports that the three had “infiltrated” the settlement.
More Israeli military raids across occupied West Bank
Israeli forces have conducted raids across the occupied West Bank overnight, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, storming and searching homes in:
Qalqilya city
Bethlehem city
The towns of Surif and Idhna in Hebron
Qabalan and Beita town, and the village of Yatma, in the south of Nablus
US military says its forces behind second attack on Yemen
The US military has confirmed that it carried out a missile attack on a Houthi radar site in Yemen at 03:45am local time [00:45 GMT] on Saturday morning.
US Central Command [CENTCOM], which is responsible for US forces in the Middle East, said Tomahawk missiles were fired from the US Navy’s US Carney at the radar site.
In a post on social media, CENTCOM described the attack as a “follow-on action” from the joint US-UK missile barrages late on Thursday night, which the US said had targeted Houthi military sites across Yemen.
Houthi officials are reporting that several people were killed on the first night of attacks. It is unknown, as yet, if there were casualties from the attack earlier tonight.
Israel rejects genocide accusations at World Court
THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Israel on Friday (Jan 12) rejected as "grossly distorted" accusations brought by South Africa at the UN's top court that its military operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide campaign against the Palestinian population.
It called on judges to dismiss South Africa's request to halt its offensive, saying it would leave it defenceless.
South Africa, which filed the lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December, asked judges on Thursday to impose emergency measures ordering Israel to immediately halt the offensive.
Cyprus 'not involved' in UK strikes on Yemen from island
NICOSIA (AFP) – Cyprus is "not involved" in military action against Yemen's Huthi rebels, the foreign ministry said Friday, after aircraft stationed at a British base on the island joined US-led strikes on the rebels.
Britain has retained sovereign control over two base areas in its former colony under the terms of the treaties that granted the island independence in 1960.
Early Friday, British warplanes, which had taken off from Akrotiri airbase on the island, hit Huthi targets in Yemen suspected of being used to launch missiles and attack drones at Red Sea shipping in support of Palestinian militants in Gaza, the British defence ministry said.
Massive protest in Sanaa after US, UK strikes on Yemen rebels
SANAA (AFP) – Hundreds of thousands of people, some carrying Kalashnikov rifles, massed for a major demonstration in Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa on Friday after US and UK attacks.
Crowds under a sea of Yemen and Palestinian flags chanted "Death to America, death to Israel" as they massed in the giant Sanaa square in the historic city's centre.
The Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who seized Sanaa in 2014 and have been at war with a Saudi-led coalition, came under heavy bombardment overnight with a series of military targets hit.
US, UK defend strikes on Yemen's Houthis as legal under international law
United Nations (Reuters) - The United States and Britain on Friday (Jan 12) defended to the UN Security Council the legality of strikes they launched against Yemen's Houthis for attacking Red Sea shipping while Russia and China accused the Western allies of raising regional tensions.
Russia called the US and British operation disproportionate and illegal.
Other countries expressed concerns that the US and British strikes against 28 locations would stoke regional tensions, already high over Israel's offensive against Gaza's ruling Hamas militants.
UN chief warns against escalation after US-UK strikes on Huthis
UNITED NATIONS (United States) (AFP) – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on all sides "not to escalate" the volatile situation in the Red Sea, his spokesman said on Friday after Washington and London launched strikes on Yemen's Huthi rebels.
The barrage of strikes early on Friday against the Huthis, who say they are acting in solidarity with Gaza, follow weeks of disruptive rebel attacks on Red Sea shipping and have stoked fears of the Israel-Hamas war spreading regionwide.
"The Secretary-General further calls on all parties involved not to escalate even more the situation in the interest of peace and stability in the Red Sea and the wider region," said Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
