ਹਮਾਸ-ਇਜ਼ਰਾਈਲ ਯੁੱਧ, 2023: ਇੱਕ ਵਿਸ਼ਲੇਸ਼ਣ

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Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri among the dead in an attack in south Beirut, the Palestinian group announces, along with six others, including two Qassam leaders. The Palestinian Red Crescent said an Israeli army strike on its Khan Younis headquarters has killed at least five displaced Palestinians. At least five Palestinians killed as Israeli raids continue across occupied West Bank. At least 22,185 people killed and at least 57,000 injured in Israel attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll from the October 7 attack in Israel stands at 1,139. Now more deaths due to hunger, thirst, winter cold and injuries caused due to bombing than direct bombing.

 

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Netanyahu is fin thickest of problems starting with the verdict of the Supreme court, On New Year’s Day, Israel’s Supreme Court pronounced the long-awaited judgment on the amendment passed by the parliament on July 24, 2023. In an 8-7 verdict, the court struck down the Netanyahu cabinet’s amendment to the ‘basic law’ that had removed the court’s power to declare the government’s decisions as ‘unreasonable’. This amendment had triggered 10-month-long protests and created unprecedented fissures within the Israeli society before the brutal Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. The January 1 court judgment must be studied in the peculiar background of Israel not having a written Constitution, although United Nations Resolution 181 on the partition of Palestine (November 1947) and Israel’s declaration of independence (May 1948) had envisaged the drafting of a Constitution. This was not done due to many reasons. Firstly, the draft prepared by Shalom Zvi Davidowitz, an American rabbi living in Israel, contained many references to God which were opposed by the ‘secular’ lobby.

According to historian Anita Shapira, discussions in 1949-50 did not settle anything and reached a deadlock. Hence, the first Knesset decided on a compromise resolution by Israeli politician Yizhar Harari that instead of a single document, a series of ‘basic laws’ would be written by the future Knessets. This was called the ‘Harari Resolution’. As a result, 11 ‘basic laws’ were written between 1958 and 1992. Israel is guided by these laws.

The Times of Israel (January 2) said the country could “plunge into a full-scale constitutional crisis”.
While one group of Israel watchers felt that Netanyahu’s all-out war against Hamas, despite international opprobrium over civilian deaths in Gaza, was meant to revive his domestic popularity, which was badly scorched by the protests, others said that he was already in the campaign mode. The Jerusalem Post, in an op-ed written before the court verdict, said Netanyahu “has made little secret of his plan to remain in office after the war”. The latest ploy is to declare that only he could stop another Oslo process —he is the only leader who can prevent the Americans (Biden) from imposing the ‘two-state’ solution.

Netanyahu's second problem is South Africa’s suit at the International Court of Justice, filed on December 29, 2023, for an urgent order declaring that Israel had breached its statutory obligations under the Genocide Convention during its war in Gaza.
The third problem is the opening of Lebanon and Hezbollah front assassinating Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas and co-founder of its military wing Izzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, in a drone attack while he was holding a meeting in Beirut. Some other high-ranking Hamas members were also killed. The fourth problem is the withdrawal of US aircraft carrier Gerald Ford and its task force from the West Asian seas deployed in support of Israel. The fifth problem is Houthi attack on cargo ships in red sea with drones unbated. The sixth problem is increasing internal disagreement in Israel with Netanyahu's approach of evacuation of Gaza and merciless dance of destruction and death unabated. The seventh problem is the increasing anti Israel voice globally making US to feel as the lone supporter in the war. Majority of the UNO and security councel have voted in favour of ceasefire which Netanyahu has been continuously rejecting. Israeli defence minister Gallant says military operations in south Gaza, which in the past have induced bombing of refugee camps and ‘safe zones’, will continue. Gaza’s Ministry of Health says 125 people are killed and 318 injured in a 24-hour period. Thousands of people gather for senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas and co-founder of its military wing Izzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, in a drone attack whose funeral in Beirut was largely attended . At least 22,438 people have been killed and at least 57,614 wounded in Israeli attackson Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll from the October 7 attack on Israel stands at 1,139.
The list of problems is getting longer.

On January 2, Israel assassinated Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas and co-founder of its military wing Izzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, in a drone attack while he was holding a meeting in Beirut. Some other high-ranking Hamas members were also killed. This made Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemn the strike as an ‘Israeli crime’ aimed at dragging Lebanon into a “new phase of confrontations” in the present war. Al-Arouri was second only to Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and was the operational link with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Yahya Sinwar and Al-Arouri were reportedly leading the present phase of the war in Gaza.

The development is the reported decision by the US authorities to reduce their naval presence in the region by the withdrawal of US aircraft carrier Gerald Ford and its task force from the West Asian seas, leaving only one carrier, Dwight D Eisenhower, there. Israeli media has attributed this setback to the ‘tense’ Biden-Netanyahu exchanges on the Gaza war, his ‘dismissive’ attitude towards the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the statements of Netanyahu’s right-wing colleagues about the future management of Gaza by excluding PA.

 

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Scores of people were killed or wounded in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza over a 24-hour period Friday and Saturday, the Hamas-run health ministry said. Video from a hospital in central Gaza shows staff urgently trying to treat severely wounded victims. Almost 90% of Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced during the war, according to the UN. The body's relief chief also issued a stark warning about possible famine and a public health disaster.
The Palestine Liberation Organization has rejected Israel's post war plans for Gaza, saying the future of the strip must be "determined by the Palestinian people, not Israel." Divisions have also emerged in Israel's own wartime government on a long-term vision for the enclave.
The US secretary of state is undertaking another shuttle diplomacy tour amid heightened fears that the war may spill over into a wider regional conflict involving Iranian proxy groups.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed Saturday that it had completed dismantling Hamas' command structure in northern Gaza. IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the IDF was now focused on dismantling Hamas in central and southern Gaza. Hagari told a press conference that around 8,000 Hamas militants had been killed in northern Gaza. Hagari said the IDF would continue its effort to dismantle Hamas, but this would take time.
At least 22,438 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israeli military operations that began following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
Almost 70% of those individuals killed in Gaza are women and children, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report released in December.
The Israel Defense Forces dropped new flyers in neighborhoods in central Gaza on Saturday, urging Palestinians to evacuate to the nearby city of Deir al-Balah. The IDF said people in the neighborhoods of Al-Amal, Al-Sdera, Al-Basateen, Al-Farouq and Ain Jalout are in a dangerous war zone. United Nations officials have previously said there is nowhere safe for civilians to go in Gaza. Many displaced residents have already fled to Deir al-Balah. Gazans told CNN this week that living conditions there are dismal, despite instructions from the Israeli military that it would be safer there.
Bombardment continues: At least 122 killed and 265 woukded by Israeli airstrikes over 24 hours spanning Friday and Saturday, Gaza's Hamas-controlled health ministry said. Videos from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the center of the strip showed staff members urgently trying to treat severely wounded victims. CNN cannot independently verify the casualty figures due to limited access in the area.
Khan Younis strike: Seven Palestinians were killed, including five children, in an Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis Saturday, according to Palestinian health officials and the Hamas-controlled health ministry. All seven were part of the same family, health officials told CNN. In addition, 45 people were injured, health officials said. The wounded were taken to Nasser Hospital in Gaza, and officials at the hospital confirmed the deaths and injuries to CNN.
Iranian commander's stark words: Iran is facing an "all-out battle" with an "enemy" actor, a top Iranian commander said, as Western nations vow to tackle the recent slew of attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
Post-war plans for Gaza: The Palestine Liberation Organization has rejected plans proposed by Israel on the future of Gaza, as rifts also emerge within the Israeli Government over its post-war vision. The PLO — which gave up armed resistance against Israel in a 1993 peace pact that saw the establishment of the Palestinian Authority — said, “The future of the Gaza Strip is determined by the Palestinian people, not Israel."
Netanyahu says war will continue: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Saturday that the war against Hamas " must not be stopped " until Israel achieves three main objectives: “eliminate Hamas, return our hostages and ensure that Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel.”
Hezbollah strikes: Fears of a wider wr are groing, as Hezbollah announced Saturday it had fired a total of 62 rockets at an Israeli observation post on the Israel-Lebanon border, as an "initial response" to the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Beirut. Red alerts warning of potential incoming rocket fire and shrapnel were issued for over 100 locations in northern Israel. The powerful Lebanese paramilitary group is among several Iranian proxy groups involved in inflamed tensions across the Middle East.
Blinken tour: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Istanbul to discuss the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He then headed to Greece on Saturday for the next leg of his multi-country trip through the region. Finding a way to deter a broader conflict in the Middle East — especially the issues involving Hezbollah and the Houthis — is a key focus of Blinken's tour.

 

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Biden says he wants ceasefire in Gaza and Israel to pull out. This is a sea change since he faced opposition after voices from USA itself against merciless Genocide in Gaza is decried world over. Also the threat of expansion of war since Hamas and Hezbollah commanders have been killed by Israel. The US secretary of state Blinken's diplomatic push comes as fears grow of a wider war in the Middle East after an Israeli strike in Lebanon killed a top commander in the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Fears of broader escalation were stoked by an Israeli strike in Lebanon that killed an elite commander in the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. Last week's assassination of a Hamas leader in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, has halted talks on a hostage deal, two senior administration officials told NBC News.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting with Israeli officials as the U.S. pushes its ally to scale back its deadly assault on the Gaza Strip and seeks to avert a wider war. It follows days of talks with Middle East leaders, who warned that anti-U.S. opinion is growing in the region, multiple sources told NBC News.
The Israeli military has indicated it is shifting to a less intense phase in the north, but said it was expanding ground operations in the key southern city of Khan Younis as it battles Hamas but also bombards areas where masses of civilians fled at Israel's urging.
More than 23,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than 57,000 have been injured, and thousands more are missing and presumed dead.
Israeli military officials say at least 185 soldiers have been killed during the country's ground invasion of Gaza, which came after 1,200 people were killed and about 240 hostages were seized after Hamas launched multipronged attacks on Israel on Oct. 7. NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell, Richard Engel, Raf Sanchez, Ali Arouzi and Josh Lederman are reporting from the region.
Israel's internal dissensions are also increasing since hostages held in Gaza are facing "immediate, life-threatening danger" as many were already suffering from various illnesses and are presumed to be cut off from any medical support, a group representing their families has warned. "Many hostages were kidnapped from home without vision aids, hearing aids, or mobility devices, thereby exacerbating their physical health problems and contributing to the deterioration of their mental well-being," the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said today. The forum described the medical treatment some hostages need, including mental support in a report released today, and called for their immediate release. Some of the elderly hostages suffer from respiratory diseases, it said, with some suffering from gunshot wounds during their capture and now at the risk of fatal infections.

Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila tells Al Jazeera only nine hospitals continue to operate in Gaza, without enough medical supplies or electricity. Iran deploys a warship to the Red Sea after the US Navy attacks and kills Houthis trying to commandeer a commercial vessel. Battles rage in central and southern Gaza after Israel announces it is pulling some troops from the ground invasion. At least 21,978 people have been killed and 57,697 injured in Israel attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll from the October 7 attack in Israel stands at 1,139. Israel-Hamas war: Hospitals facing ‘totally catastrophic’ situation

 

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While Gaza starves Israel wastes $6 bn worth food

A Palestinian woman cooks at a market. Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Israel's Ministry of the Environment reported that about 23 billion Shekels (USD 6.22 billion) worth of food is wasted every year in Israel. The ministry also reported that 1.4 million people in Israel live with food insecurity in that their economic situation does not guarantee a healthy diet.
The excess health cost to Israel's economy due to food insecurity in the country in 2022 was 5.2 billion Shekels (USD 1.4 billion), which was about 5% of the national health expenditures.
The economic damage to Israel's economy caused by the war in Gaza including the tens of thousands of families who were evacuated from their homes, said the ministry, will lead to a "real worsening of food insecurity among needy populations."
Also, 2.6 million tonnes of food will be lost in 2022 since about 30% of Israel's agricultural land is in the Gaza area on the conflict line. The war leads to a further increase in the loss of food in agriculture due to a lack of working hands and access restrictions to agricultural areas.
Food loss also has a high environmental cost. In 2022, 2.6 million tons of food were thrown away in Israel (along the entire value chain from the farmer to the end consumers). The environmental cost of food loss is estimated at approximately 3.9 billion Shekels (USD 1.05 billion) per year.
Food waste is about a third of the volume of household waste in Israel, and food loss in Israel is responsible for 6% of greenhouse gas emissions in Israel. Reducing the loss of food will make it possible to save many resources of energy, water, and land, will reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants into the air, and will also reduce waste treatment costs.

On the hand in Gaza people dying en mass of hunger.
A UN-backed report has recorded mounting starvation in Gaza while aid remains restricted.

Palestinians line up for a meal provided by aid agencies in Rafah, the Gaza Strip [Fatima Shbair/AP Photo]

Weeks of restricted access to food in the Gaza Strip have culminated in severe hunger and growing risk of famine in the besieged enclave.
Since early October, Israeli attacks across Gaza have damaged local bakeries and food warehouses, along with roads that are used to transport humanitarian aid. Israel’s total blockade on the enclave has also restricted food, water and fuel from entering in the first place.
More than 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is facing high levels of acute food insecurity, according to an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report on Monday.
The IPC, which measures hunger risks, also reported on Thursday that 2.08 million people in Gaza are facing “acute food insecurity” that can be classified in the organisation’s phase three of risk or above.
The IPC has five phases of acute food insecurity, ranging from none (phase one) to catastrophe or famine (phase five). Phase three and five are considered crisis and emergency. “Acute” food insecurity is a short-term phenomenon and tends to stem from unusual or man-made shocks, compared with “chronic” food insecurity, which is long term and a result of insufficient means for living.
Between December and February, Gaza’s entire population is projected to fall under phase three or above, according to the United Nations-backed report. If current hostilities and limited aid continue, Gaza is also at risk of experiencing a famine by early February. The IPC definition of famine is when at least 20 percent of the population in an area falls under phase five of acute food insecurity.

What does food access look like in Gaza?​

Families in Gaza have had to cope with deteriorating quality and declining quantities of food, along with an inability to cook meals due to fuel shortages.
Spending a day without eating any food has become usual. In early December, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported that nine out of 10 people across the enclave skip meals for long periods.
Nutritionally vulnerable groups such as pregnant women are at heightened risk, while baby formula and milk have been in severely short supply for toddlers who rely on it.
Even preparing meals requires finding alternatives to cooking gas, and aside from using firewood or cardboard, at least 13 percent of displaced people have been forced to burn solid waste, says the WFP.
Hunger has also quickly escalated since a brief truce ended in early December. Just 12 days after it ended, the WFP found that at least half of internally displaced people surveyed knew someone who had resorted to consuming raw meat.
Access to water is also scarce, with less than two litres (0.5 gallons) available for each person per day – far short of the 15 litres needed to survive, according to the WFP.

What level of food aid is entering Gaza?​

Since October 7, the number of trucks carrying food that entered Gaza in a month fell by more than half, compared with at least 10,000 trucks before the war.

Over two months of war, only 1,249 trucks carrying food assistance reached Gaza, the WFP reported on December 6. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also reported that over the first 70 days of the war, only 10 percent of the food needed for Gaza’s entire population entered the enclave.
The WFP has recommended that at least 100 trucks carrying just food and water enter Gaza a day, but on most days since the war even the total amount of trucks entering has been less than that. The agency also noted that damaged roads near Rafah at the border with Egypt – where must aid is now dispersed from – cannot accommodate this increase.
At the height of aid supply during the truce lasting from November 24 to December 1, some 200 trucks entered daily, while the WFP was only able to reach about 10 percent of Gaza’s population with in-kind and cash-based food assistance.
Even once food aid is supplied, access to a sufficient share has not been possible. A report from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and Al Mezan, a human rights organisation based in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, on December 14 found that people near Rafah’s food distribution centres would often have to wait in line for 10 hours, and sometimes still returned home empty-handed.
“I have to walk three kilometres to get one gallon [of water],” Marwan, a 30-year-old Palestinian, who fled south with his pregnant wife and two children on November 9, told Human Rights Watch. “And there is no food. If we are able to find food, it is canned food. Not all of us are eating well.”

Still, Gaza’s population primarily relies on humanitarian assistance for food, followed by local markets and assistance from friends or relatives. With rising shortages across all of these, support from relatives is also dwindling, according to the WFP.
As more of Gaza’s population is pushed into shelters in southern governorates, which are also under intense bombardment, competition for food is expected to increase, said the IPC.

(Al Jazeera)

Can people in Gaza access food locally?​

Fighting across the Gaza Strip, and especially in the northern governorates, has particularly made it difficult to access food and aid. Local farmlands, flour mills, bakeries and warehouses have also been directly damaged by Israeli bombardments. Only a month after fighting broke out, all of northern Gaza’s bakeries closed due to lack of supplies such as flour and fuel, the UN reported on November 8. Risks of being hit by Israeli strikes also resulted in movement restrictions for those seeking to leave their homes for food.

 

[dalvinder45]

War in Palestine escalates with Hezbollah launching a drone strike at the Israeli army's northern headquarters on January 9 in retaliation for recent strikes in Lebanon that killed top Hamas and Hezbollah officials. Israel's military acknowledged that one of its army bases in northern Israel was targeted but said there were no injuries or damage. It did not specify where the base was located.
Also Tuesday, an Israeli drone strike in Lebanon killed three Hezbollah members, officials said.
Hezbollah said it struck at the Israeli army’s northern command headquarters in Safed with several drones.
Hezbollah said the attack was in retaliation for an Israeli strike in Beirut last week that killed top Hamas official Saleh Arouri and six others, and for a drone strike on Monday that killed Hezbollah commander Wissam al-Tawil, the most senior member of the Iran-backed group to be killed in recent months.

The city of Safed is somewhat removed from where most of the daily Israel-Hezbollah skirmishes have been taking place as it is about 12 kilometers (7 miles) from the border.

The Israeli military said its air defense system was activated to try to intercept “hostile aircraft” and that a projectile struck the base, without specifying where it hit. Hezbollah later said it also attacked at least six Israeli posts along the border.
In the southern Lebanese village of Khirbet Selm, thousands of people took part Tuesday in the funeral of Hezbollah commander al-Tawil. His coffin, draped in Hezbollah’s yellow flag, was carried through the streets to the cemetery where he was laid to rest.
Israeli officials have been demanding for weeks that Hezbollah withdraw its fighters from the border area to allow tens of thousands of Israelis displaced by the fighting to return to their homes. During a visit to Israel last month, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said a “negotiated outcome” would be the best way to reassure residents of northern Israel.

“We in Hezbollah, we are the party of martyrs and become stronger by our martyrs,” Sheik Nabil Qaouk a member of Hezbollah’s Central Council, said in a speech during the funeral. He added that al-Tawil’s killing will not stop attacks along the border and will not return displaced Israelis to their homes near the border with Lebanon. Shortly before the funeral, an Israeli drone strike on the village inflicted casualties, killing a Hezbollah member, according to a Hezbollah official.

Earlier on Tuesday, an Israeli drone strike on the southern village of Ghandouriyeh hit a car, killing three Hezbollah members, according to two security officials and a Hezbollah official. It came a day after al-Tawil was killed in a drone strike in a nearby village. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with briefing regulations. State-run National News Agency reported than when an ambulance tried to reach the car hit in Ghandouriyeh, a drone fired a missile in front of it to cut the road, wounding a paramedic.
Tuesday’s attacks, relatively far from areas of operations along the Lebanon-Israel border, show the rising tensions along the frontier since Hezbollah started attacking Israeli military posts following the deadly Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Hezbollah says by keeping Israel’s northern front active, it is helping to reduce pressure on Hamas in Gaza. Hezbollah has lost 150 fighters in the near-daily exchanges of fire. There was no immediate word on the identities of the three Hezbollah members who were killed in the strike on Ghandouriyeh, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border with Israel.
Israel intensifies bombing and ground incursions in central and southern Gaza with dozens killed in overnight attacks, including 15 from one family in Rafah city – an Israeli-declared “safe zone”. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces launch a series of raids and are targeted with explosive devices and gunfire by Palestinian fighters.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah with protests outside. At least 23,357 people have been killed and more than 59,410 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel from the October 7 attack stands at 1,139.
With Houthi, Hezbollah, Lebanon and Occupied West Bank all aided by Iran entering into the battle field in support of Hamas and against Israel and with US and Europe trying to wriggle out Israel internal opposition may face a catastrophic situation instead soon since it is adamant on mayhem in Gaza against global outcry for stopping this genocide further.he state of Gaza’s health system was worse than expected a Canadian surgeon who's just returned from Khan Younis has told CNN. The World Health Organization has warned it "cannot afford" to lose the remaining operational hospitals in southern Gaza.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made clear to Israel that Palestinians must be allowed to return to their homes in Gaza "as soon as conditions allow" and must not be displaced from the enclave, the top US diplomat said in Tel Aviv.
The US Navy shot down a barrage of Houthi missiles and drones launched from Yemen in what the military called a "complex attack" by the Iran-backed militants.
Israel is set to appear before the International Court of Justice on Thursday in a high-stakes case that could determine the course of the brutal war in Gaza.

 

[dalvinder45]

South Africa's landmark case against Israel for its war on Gaza began on Thursday at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the World Court based in The Hague. Pretoria is accusing Israel of committing the crime of genocide in breach of the 1948 Genocide Convention. South Africa presented their case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, accusing Israel of committing genocide against the people of Gaza.
In a case that strikes at the heart of Israel’s national identity, South Africa formally accused the country of committing genocide against Palestinians and pleaded Thursday with the United Nations’ top court to order an immediate halt to Israeli military operations in Gaza.

During opening statements at the International Court of Justice, South African lawyers said the latest Gaza war is part of decades of Israeli oppression of Palestinians. The court “has the benefit of the past 13 weeks of evidence that shows incontrovertibly a pattern of conduct and related intention” that amounts to “a plausible claim of genocidal acts,” South African lawyer Adila Hassim told the judges and audience in a packed room of the Peace Palace in The Hague.


South Africa says Israel’s campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide. What can the UN do about it?

Nelson Mandela’s support for Palestinians endures with South Africa’s genocide case against Israel


The case is one of the most significant ever heard in an international court, and it goes to the core of one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.

Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment on Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File)
South Africa is seeking preliminary orders to compel Israel to stop its military campaign in Gaza, where more than 23,000 people have died, according to the health Ministry in the territory, which is run by Hamas. “Nothing will stop the suffering except an order from this court,” Hassim said.
A decision on South Africa’s request for so-called provisional measures will probably take weeks. The full case is likely to last years. However interim judgment can ask for a ceasefire.

Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)
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Israel launched its massive air and ground assault on Gaza soon after the deadly Hamas attack. Three months later, the offensive has driven nearly 85% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes. With only a trickle of food, water, medicine and other supplies entering through an Israeli siege, a quarter of the territory's residences face starvation. And much of northern Gaza, including Gaza City, has been reduced to a moonscape.

Although the court’s findings are considered binding, it was unclear whether Israel would heed any order to halt the fighting. If it doesn’t, it could face U.N. sanctions, although those may be blocked by a U.S. veto.

The White House declined to comment on how it might respond if the court determines Israel committed genocide. But National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called the allegations “unfounded.”

“That’s not a word that ought to be thrown around lightly, and we certainly don’t believe that it applies here,” Kirby said.

Injured Palestinians arrive at al-Shifa Hospital following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled, File)
That reaction came after South Africa insisted Israel committed genocide by design.

“The scale of destruction in Gaza, the targeting of family homes and civilians, the war being a war on children, all make clear that genocidal intent is both understood and has been put into practice. The articulated intent is the destruction of Palestinian life,” said lawyer Tembeka Ngcukaitobi. He said the case’s “distinctive feature” was “the reiteration and repetition of genocidal speech throughout every sphere of the state in Israel.”

Israel was unable to disapprove charges laid by South Africa in International Court of Justice. Israel laid out its defence against charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Tal Becker, the legal adviser of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, presented Israel’s opening statements arguing that South Africa had “ignored” the events of October 7 and that Israel had the right to defend itself.
Becker also stated that the court should apply provisional measures against South Africa, accusing it of maintaining close ties with Hamas.
Malcolm Shaw, a British professor of international law, then took the floor. He argued against South Africa’s claim the two countries were in a “dispute” instead labelling it a “unispute”. Galit Raguan, acting director of the international justice division at Israel’s Justice Ministry, then spoke after a short coffee break. She blamed Hamas for the high civilian toll in Gaza and asserted that Israel had not bombed hospitals. Christopher Staker, an international lawyer previously on the criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, was Israel’s fourth representative. He claimed Israel had facilitated humanitarian aid. Gilad Noam, Israel’s deputy attorney general for international affairs, presented Israel’s final arguments. He argued against the use of provisional measures, listing several reasons, including that Hamas is considered a terrorist organisation by Israel and other countries and had committed “a large-scale terrorist attack”.
We should expect a ruling from the court in favour of, or against, South Africa’s urgent request for provisional measures in a few weeks. Igt may be interim stay in the form of ceasefire, however it is certain that ICJ cannot ignore the genocide aspect, starvation, blockade of water and medical aid and carpet bombing,

 

[dalvinder45]

More than 10,000 children have been killed by Israeli airstrikes and ground operations in Gaza and thousands more are missing, according to the health ministry in Gaza. Children in Gaza face life threatening injuries, burns, disease, inadequate medical care, and losing their parents and loved ones.
About 1,000 children in Gaza have lost one or both of their legs as horrific war in Gaza entered its 100th day on January 14, 2024.

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IMAGE: Palestinian children wounded in an Israeli strike receive treatment at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. Photograph: Ahmed Zakot/Reuters

IMAGE: Doaa Abu Lashin, a Palestinian woman, reacts on seeing her daughter Zeinab Abu Lashin, who was killed in an Israeli strike, at the Abu Yousef al-Najjar hospital in Rafah in southern Gaza, January 13, 2024. Photograph: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters

IMAGE: A man kisses the body of a Palestinian child killed in an Israeli strike at the Abu Yousef al-Najjar hospital in Rafah. Photograph: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters

IMAGE: Buildings lie in ruins in Gaza as seen from Israel, January 14, 2024. Photograph: Amir Cohen/Reuters

IMAGE: Israeli military vehicles gather near the Israel-Gaza border in southern Israel. Photograph: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

IMAGE: Israeli soldiers operate in Gaza. Photograph: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via Reuters

IMAGE: Ayala Harel holds a placard depicting her uncle at a 24-hour protest calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and marking 100 days since the October 7 attack in Tel Aviv, January 14, 2024. Photograph: Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters

IMAGE: A woman takes a picture inside a tunnel in Tel Aviv set up to simulate the living conditions of the hostages kidnapped during Hamas' horrific October 7 attack. Photograph: Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters

IMAGE: The 'March on Washington for Gaza' in support of the Palestinian people in Washington, DC, January 13, 2024. Photograph: Anna Rose Layden/Reuters

IMAGE: Posters of US President Biden and plastic dolls are kept next to a fence near the White House during the 'March on Washington for Gaza'. Photograph: Anna Rose Layden/Reuters

IMAGE: A person holds a doll during the 'Ceasefire Now/Stop the War in Gaza' protest in London, January 13, 2024, to mark 100 days since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

 

[dalvinder45]

The death dance in Gaza, West Bank and Lebanon is continuing unabashed as israel has not bothered about global opposition sans USA and Britain. The current Israel-Hamas conflict has left nearly three times more people dead in Gaza than in the last 15 years combined, according to a report from United Nations Women, the organization's gender equality entity. The statistics released Friday say more than 24,620 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the latest war began with Hamas' attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. The UN's death toll also reflects the number released by the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza. CNN cannot independently verify these numbers due to the challenges of reporting from the war zone.
The report specifically analyzed the war's impact on women. According to the data:

• About 70% of those killed in Gaza since October 7 were women or children
• Two mothers are killed in Gaza every hour
• Gaza’s only two women’s shelters, both in Gaza City, are now closed
• Women lack adequate water and sanitation, including for managing menstrual hygiene, impacting mental and physical health
• Communications and electricity blackouts are severely restricting remote gender-based violence services
• 1.9 million people (or 85% of Gaza's total population) have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be 1 million women and girls, the agency said

Earlier Friday, the UN International Children's Emergency Fund said there had been nearly 20,000 births in Gaza during the current war — with many of the mothers suffering or dying in childbirth due to a lack of resources, and newborns facing dismal conditions.​

 

[dalvinder45]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden in a phone call Friday that public comments he made on Thursday, in which he appeared to reject the idea of creating a Palestinian state, were not meant to foreclose the possibility of a Palestinian state in any form, a person familiar with the conversation tells CNN. Biden and Netanyahu discussed the possible attributes of a future Palestinian state in a "detailed" and "serious" conversation, the person said. Biden administration officials have recently discussed the possibility of a future demilitarized Palestinian state, an idea Biden finds "intriguing," the person added.

While a determination on the merits of the case could take years, the court could order Israel to comply with provisional measures within weeks.
Last week’s hearing in ICJ was widely reported as one of the most significant ever South Africa claimed that a genocide was being committed in Gaza. Israel said that claim was a “blood libel.” The stakes are high; according to counsel for South Africa, they include “the future of international law” itself.

But in the near term, neither a finding that Israel has committed genocide nor a dismissal of South Africa’s suit are conceivable outcomes of the two days of pleadings before the ICJ.

First, at this stage the court is not considering the merits of the case—that will take years—or even confirming its jurisdiction. The hearing will determine whether there is prima facie jurisdiction and, if so, whether any of the provisioal n=measres suggestrdby S Africa should be awarded. Provisional measures effectively function as a form of interim injunction and are designed to preserve the rights of either party pending a judgment on the merits. To be awarded such measures, an applicant does not have to prove its case, that the measures sought are urgent and linked to those rights, and that failure to award them would result in irreparable harm.
Second, the allegations do not concern just the commission of genocide but also a failure of the obligations to prevent genocide and to punish public incitement to commit genocide. Even a court strongly sympathetic to Israel’s arguments denying that it is committing genocide is therefore unlikely to attempt a swift disposal of the application.

 

[dalvinder45]

The USA State Department officially confirmed the death of a US citizen in the West Bank on Friday and has asked the Israeli government for more information, a spokesperson told CNN., Citing Palestinian news agency WAFA, that Tawfiq Hafiz Ajjaq, 17, was fatally shot.
The Israel Defense Forces(IDF) and Israeli police told CNN it received a report that an off-duty police officer and an Israeli civilian fired toward a “Palestinian individual suspected of hurling rocks in the area of Al-Mazra'a ash-Sharqiya.” IDF says it is reviewing claims that a soldier has fired at him, while the Israeli police have also launched an investigation.
Intense Isfrael bombardment and heavy fighting in the area around a large hospital in southern Gaza killed at least 29 people Friday, according to Palestinian state news agency WAFA. Nasser Hospital, the largest remaining health facility in the city of Khan Younis, and several residential buildings came under "violent bombardment" by Israeli artillery and military vehicles, according to WAFA.

Khan Younis has been the epicenter of Israel's ground operation in recent weeks. The fighting has forced thousands of Gazans to flee the area, many of them already displaced from northern neighborhoods where Israel first launched its offensive.

Displaced Palestinians continue to arrive in overcrowded Rafah, near the border with Egypt, by "the thousands," a United Nations human rights official said Friday. There, they shelter in makeshift tents with little food or clean water.

A UN Human Rights official says he has met Palestinian men in Gaza who described being beaten, blindfolded and held for weeks in Israeli detention. The official, Ajith Sunghay, shared their accounts and called on Israel to observe international human rights laws. In a statement of response, Israel's military said it detains Gazans suspected of terror activities for security reasons and observes international law. It did not directly address most of the claims relayed by Sunghay.
Service is slowly being resgtored after a near-total telecommunications blackout in the Gaza Strip that lasted more than a full week — the longest of the Israel-Hamas war, according to the internet monitoring site NetBlocks.
US President Joe Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, one day after the Israeli leader appeared to reject the idea of creating a Palestinian state — a comment that would put him at odds with Biden’s position. The US president reiterated his support for a two-state solution to the conflict (one in which an independent Palestinian state exists peacefully alongside Israel).
The US struck additional anti-ship missiles belonging to the Houthi rebels in Yemen today, according to a US official, marking the sixth time in the past 10 days the US has targeted the Iranian proxy group. The US says it is trying to deter more attacks by the Houthis on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, but Biden conceded Thursday that so far the attacks have not abated. Concerns remain, meanwhile, about widening conflict in the Middle East during the Israel-Hamas war.

Fighting south of Gaza City damaged buildings at Al-Israa University on Wednesday, according to WAFA. Palestinian officials say all universities in the enclave have now been destroyed or at least damaged. CNN has geolocated images of the damage Wednesday that match the university's location. The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

[dalvinder45]

Gaza’s Health Ministry said the number of people killed in the Strip during this war has passed 25,000, a grim marker reached in just over 100 days of devastating conflict. The Biden administration is planning a sustained military campaign targeting the Houthis in Yemen after several days of strikes failed to halt the rebel group’s attacks on maritime commerce, The Washington Post reported.
The humanitarian catastrophe caused by Israel’s three-month military campaign against Hamas in Gaza counts some 52,000 pregnant women among its greatest victims. As airstrikes push 1.9 million people into an ever-smaller corner of the besieged enclave, disease is spreading, famine is looming and levels of anemia are so high that the risk of postpartum hemorrhage has soared and breastfeeding is often impossible. Forty per cent of pregnancies are high-risk, CARE international estimates.

Israel has continued its attacks across the Gaza Strip, including near hospitals and in the south of the besieged enclave, where ground operations are intensifying.

Here are the latest casualty figures as of January 21 at 11:30am in Gaza (09:30 GMT):
Gaza

• Killed: at least 25,105 people, including more than:
  • 9,600 children
  • 6,750 women
• Injured: more than 62,681, including at least:
  • 8,663 children
  • 6,327 women
• Missing: more than 8,000

The latest figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the occupied West Bank are as follows:

Occupied West Bank

• Killed: at least 369 people, including more than:
  • 95 children
• Injured: more than 4,000

In Israel, officials revised the death toll down from 1,405 to 1,139.
Israel

• Killed: about 1,139 people
• Injured: at least 8,730

Prenatal care is almost non existent — what remains of Gaza’s hospital network is on its knees, at 250 percent capacity and consumed with treating mass casualties from Israeli bombing. Far more women are giving birth outside of medical facilities — in displacement camps, even in the street — than inside them.

The Biden administration is crafting plans for a sustained military campaign targeting the Houthis in Yemen after 10 days of strikes failed to halt the group’s attacks on maritime commerce, stoking concern among some officials that an open-ended operation could derail the war-ravaged country’s fragile peace and pull Washington into another unpredictable Middle Eastern conflict.

The White House convened senior officials on Wednesday to discuss options for the way ahead in the administration’s evolving response to the Iranian-backed movement, which has vowed to continue attacking ships off the Arabian peninsula despite near-daily operations to destroy Houthi radars, missiles and drones. On Saturday, U.S. Central Command announced its latest strike, on an anti-ship missile that was prepared for launch.

The Houthis, one powerful faction in Yemen’s long-running civil war, have framed their campaign, which has included more than 30 missile and drone attacks on commercial and naval vessels since November, as a means of pressuring Israel, bolstering their standing amid widespread regional opposition to the Jewish state.

Administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, described their strategy in Yemen as an effort to erode the Houthis’ high-level military capability enough to curtail their ability to target shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden or, at a minimum, to provide a sufficient deterrent so that risk-averse shipping companies will resume sending vessels through the region’s waterways.

“We are clear-eyed about who the Houthis are, and their worldview,” a senior U.S. official said of the group, which the Biden administration designated this week as a terrorist organization. “So we’re not sure that they’re going to stop immediately, but we are certainly trying to degrade and destroy their capabilities.”

 

[dalvinder45]

An Israeli strike on the Syrian capital on Saturday destroyed a building used by the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, killing at least five Iranians, Syrian and Iranian state media reported.

The Syrian army said the building in the tightly guarded western Damascus neighborhood of Mazzeh was entirely destroyed, adding that the Israeli air force fired the missiles while flying over Syria's Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Israeli military did not comment.


A few hours later, an Israeli drone strike on a car near the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre killed two Hezbollah members who were in the vehicle and two people who were in a nearby orchard, an official with the group and Lebanon's state news agency said. One of those killed was Ali Hudruj, a local Hezbollah commander, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, without giving further details.

 

[dalvinder45]

Thousands flee Khan Younis as Israeli military surrounds city. {CNN}



Palestinians carry their belongings as they leave their homes and flee from Khan Younis, Gaza on Tuesday. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/Getty Images

Thousands of displaced Palestinians are fleeing Khan Younis in southern Gaza as the Israeli military said it has surrounded the city amid further operations west of the area.

CNN video shows displaced people sitting on the side of streets and in the vicinity of the seashore. The video shows cars, trucks, and tractors transporting families and their essential belongings, and crowds of people walking. Many of those fleeing described terrifying scenes.

"There are dead people on the ground. We left them behind. There are people killed inside the houses," said displaced Gazan Hisham Sayegh. "We were expecting to die at any minute."

Meanwhile, Israel is reeling from the deaths of at least 24 of its soldiers in Gaza, in what is the biggest single loss of life for Israeli troops in the enclave since the war with Hamas began. More than 25,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.

Hospitals under siege: Doctors without borders staff said they are unable to follow Israel's evacuation orders for the area around Al-Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, as the sounds of "bombs and heavy gunfire" go off nearby. "With heavy bombing and fighting moving closer to the areas surrounding Nasser Hospital, injured civilians will not be able to access immediate or urgent care," the group said. The United Nations said the situation at hospitals in the area has deteriorated as Israeli military operations expand.

Sticking point: Qatar is engaged in "serious discussions" with Israel and Hamas, but recent statements by Israeli officials presented an obstacle to progress, a Doha spokesperson said. "Obviously when one side says they don’t accept the two-state solution and that they won’t stop this war eventually ... obviously leads to a harder mediation process," he said. Meantime, UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres said Israel's rejection of a two-state solution is "unacceptable" and threatens to prolong the conflict.

US diplomacy: Ongoing talks to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza have not yet reached the level of "negotiations," the White Hosue said Tuesday, describing them instead as "sober and serious" discussions about what might be acceptable to all sides. It comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US will not support Israel creating so-called "buffer zones" permanently in Gaza that would effectively reduce the size of the Palestinian territory.

Wider conflict: US strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq killed at least one person and injured two others, an Iraqi security source told CNN. The strikes targeted three facilities used by Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah and other Tehran-affiliated groups following repeated attacks on US forces, Defense Secretary LLoyd Austin said in a statement. It comes as Israeli fighter jets carried out strikes on targets in Lebanon, including a "military asset" used by Hezbollah and operated by Iranian forces, the Israeli military said.

UK input: Britain and the US will announce new sanctions on the Iran-backed Houthis "in the coming days," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. The news comes following another US and UK airstrike on Houthi targets in Yemen. Meanwhile, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron will travel to Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Qatar and Turkey for talks with regional leaders this week on ending what he described as the "desperate" situation in Gaza.

Israel has continued its attacks across the Gaza Strip, including near hospitals and in the south of the besieged enclave, where ground operations are intensifying.

Here are the latest casualty figures as of January 21 at 11:30am in Gaza (09:30 GMT):

Gaza

• Killed: at least 25,105 people, including more than:
  • 9,600 children
  • 6,750 women
• Injured: more than 62,681, including at least:
  • 8,663 children
  • 6,327 women
• Missing: more than 8,000

The latest figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the occupied West Bank are as follows:

Occupied West Bank

• Killed: at least 369 people, including more than:
  • 95 children
• Injured: more than 4,000

In Israel, officials revised the death toll down from 1,405 to 1,139.

Israel

• Killed: about 1,139 people
• Injured: at least 8,730

Devastation across Gaza

According to the latest data from the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Palestinian government as of January 21, Israeli attacks have damaged:

• More than half of Gaza’s homes - 360,000 residential units have been destroyed or damaged
• 378 educational facilities
• 16 out of 35 hospitals are partially functioning
• 122 ambulances
• 221 places of worship

Nowhere safe to go

The Israeli army published an online map of Gaza strip on December 1, dividing the enclave into more than 600 numbered blocks. It asked Gaza’s civilians to identify the block corresponding with their area of residence and evacuate when ordered. However, leaflets ordering evacuations are inconsistent with online warnings, which has confused residents.
Furthermore, several Gaza residents have no reliable way to access the map with little access to electricity or the internet since the blockade of the 365sq-km (141sq-mile) strip has resulted in a collapse of telecommunications infrastructure.

Every hour in Gaza:

• 15 people are killed - six are children
• 35 people are injured
• 42 bombs are dropped*
• 12 buildings are destroyed

*Based on the first six days of the war, according to the Israeli army

Journalists killed

As of January 18, at least 94 journalists, mostly Palestinians, have been killed since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), 87 Palestinian, three Lebanese and four Israeli journalists have been killed.

Sixteen years of Israeli blockade

The Gaza Strip has a population of about 2.3 million people living in one of the most densely populated areas in the world and is located between Israel and Egypt on the Mediterranean coast.
Since 2007, Israel has maintained strict control over Gaza's airspace and territorial waters and restricted the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza.
After Hamas's October 7 attacks in southern Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to turn Gaza into a “deserted island” and warned its residents to “leave now”.

How the Hamas attack unfolded
On the morning of October 7 about 6:30am (03:30 GMT), Hamas fired a huge barrage of rockets into southern Israel with sirens heard as far away as Tel Aviv and Beersheba.

The group said it launched 5,000 rockets in the initial barrage. Israel’s military said 2,500 rockets were fired. About an hour later, fighters crossed into Israel in an unprecedented multipronged operation through land, air and sea. Most fighters entered through breaches in security barriers separating Gaza and Israel.Hamas surprise operation recorded the attack with cameras

Hamas’s surprise attack came after Israeli settlers had stormed Al Aqsa Mosque compound and after a record number of Palestinians had been killed by Israel at that point in 2023.

At 9:45am (06:45 GMT), blasts were heard in Gaza and at 10am (07:00 GMT), Israel’s military spokesperson said the air force was carrying out attacks in Gaza.

Gun battles continued between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters in several areas of southern Israel.
Israeli air attacks continued late into the night as did rocket fire into southern Israel.

Gaza's densely populated neighbourhoods
The Gaza Strip comprises five governorates: North Gaza, Gaza City, Deir el-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah.
North Gaza extends for 10km (six miles) and shares the only crossing into Israel through Beit Hanoon, also known as the Erez crossing.
North Gaza is home to the Jabalia refugee camp, the largest in the Gaza Strip.

Gaza City is the largest and most populous city with more than 750,000 residents. Remal, Shujayea and Tal al-Hawa are among its most well-known neighbour-hoods.
At the heart of the Remal neighbourhood is al-Shifa Hospital – the largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip.

Deir el-Balah is one of Gaza’s largest agricultural producers. It is also home to four refugee camps: Nuseirat, Bureij, Maghazi and Deir el-Balah.
Gaza’s only operating power plant is located along the district’s boundary with Gaza City.

Khan Younis is home to about 430,000 people. At its centre is the Khan Younis refugee camp, where about 90,000 people live.

Rafah is the southernmost district of Gaza with a population of about 275,000. Rafah is also the name of the crossing with Egypt that is located here.

Both Israel and Egypt have kept their borders largely shut and are responsible for further deteriorating the already weakened economic and humanitarian situation.

 

[dalvinder45]

Palestinian militants carried out the deadliest single attack on Israeli forces in Gaza since the Hamas raid that triggered the war, killing 24 soldiers, the military said Tuesday — a significant setback that could add to mounting calls for a cease-fire. However the local media says that Israel had put mines around two buildings to blast. Before the actual blast a fire from Hamas triggered the mines killing the 24 israeli soldiers 21 on the spot and 3 while moving them to hospital

Hours later, the military announced that ground forces had encircled the southern city of Khan Younis, Gaza’s second largest, and thick, black smoke could be seen rising over the city as thousands of Palestinians fled south. Witnesses said Israeli tanks and troops had also moved into Muwasi, a nearby coastal area that the military had previously declared a safe zone for Palestinians.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mourned the Israeli soldiers, who died when the blast from a rocket-propelled grenade triggered explosives they were laying to blow up buildings. But he vowed to press ahead until “absolute victory,” including crushing Hamas and freeing more than 100 Israeli hostages still held by the militants.
The Israeli military says its ground forces have “encircled” the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip after 24 of its soldiers were killed in the enclave in its largest single-day toll in the three-month war.
“Over the past day, troops carried out an extensive operation during which they encircled Khan Younis and deepened the operation in the area,” the military said in a statement on Tuesday, calling the city a stronghold of the Palestinian armed group Hamas.
A building sheltering hundreds of displaced people in southern Gaza was hit Wednesday amid intensified Israeli military attacks on Khan Younis, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, killing at least nine people and injuring 75 others.
In a video obtaibed and verified by CNN showing the UNRWA facility, a building surrounded by tents and temporary shelters is seen ablaze, with plumes of thick smoke.
The White House said it is gravely concerned by the strike.
The Israeli military ruled out that an Israeli aerial or artillery strike hit the facility, according to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces. The IDF said a “thorough review of the operations of the forces in the vicinity is underway,”
The Israeli military continues to operate in Khan Younis and the operation there will continue for "several days," the IDF said Wednesday.

Humanitarian crisis: Huge displacement camps have mushroomed across Gaza, where illnesses such as diarrhea, jaundice and Hepatitis A, are spreading due to overcrowded conditions and limited access to drinkable water or sanitation. Several displaced gaza residents detailed having no access to medicine or clothes amidst the soaking rain. Dozens of displaced women and children gathered in front of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza's Deir al-Balah on Wednesday, raising their hands and chanting for a ceasefire
Hospital shutdowns: The International Committee of the Red Cross issued a stark warning Thursday, saying that Gaza faces a complete medical shutdown unless immediate actions are taken to safeguard essential services. Meanwhile, the Israeli military operation in Khan Younis will shut down the largest operating hospital in southern Gaza, the director of affairs for the UN's relief agency for the enclave told CNN.
Houthi attacks: The US Navy shot down two missiles that the Iran backed Houthis fired Wednesday at the US-flagged, owned and operated M/V Maersk Detroit container ship, which was operating in the Gulf of Aden at the time, according to two US defense officials and US Central Command. The USS Gravely, which was nearby at the time, shot down two of the missiles, and one landed in the water, the officials said. There were no injuries or damage to the ship, CENTCOM said in a statement. Also, Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted US warships with ballistic missiles in the Gulf of Aden and Bab al-Mandab Strait on Wednesday, a Houthi spokesperson said.
International input: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Wednesday and “agreed on the importance of avoiding steps that would further threaten the security and stability" of the region, according to Erdogan. It is not clear, though, what that might look like in practice. Additionally, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric confirmed Wednesday that all American and British UN workers have been ordered to depart Yemen within one month. Dujarric called on Houthis to revoke the order, arguing the need for UN staff to help the people of Yemen. And, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Israeli forces have "taken steps to transition their opertions ," including moving toward more "targeted" operations.

In war front At least 20 killed and 150 wounded as Israeli tanks fire shells and live rounds at people in northern Gaza City who lined up to receive much-needed humanitarian supplies, health officials say. UN says heavy fighting has “encircled” two hospitals in Khan Younis – Nasser and Al-Amal – leaving thousands of “terrified staff, patients and displaced people trapped inside”. The Israeli military demolished hundreds of buildings near its fence with Gaza as it seeks to create “a buffer zone” in clear defiance of US demands. At least 25,700 people have been killed and 63,740 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from the October 7 Hamas attacks stands at 1,139.
Israel’s military says it is looking into the allegations that its forces opened fire on crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid in northern Gaza City. More than 170 people were wounded and killed in the attack, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Israeli troops and tanks pushed into Gaza City shortly after the ground invasion began in October and have battled Palestinian fighters there for nearly two months. The military has claimed it largely defeated Hamas in north but it still faces deadly attacks. Northern Gaza has been cut off from humanitarian aid, even as tens of thousands of people have remained there.

Meanwhile Cease-fire efforts for Israel-Hamas war gain steam. .UN court to issue ruling Friday on South Africa's request for order to halt Israel's Gaza offensive. Rifts within Israel resurface as war in Gaza drags on. The pressure from the relatives of the abducted Israelis for their release is mounting as demonstrations against Netanyahu have become a daily affair in Israel.

The International Court of Justice said that it will deliver its ruling Friday on whether to enact provisional measures to temporarily suspend Israel's military campaign in Gaza, according to an ICJ news release published Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The ICJ is the main legal arm of the United Nations and its ruling will take place at at 1 p.m. local (7 a.m. ET).

The move comes in response to South Africa's filing a legal action against Israel for what they allege are violations by Israel of its obligations under the "Genocide Convention."

South Africa took Israel to the ICJ, on claims that it is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and failing to prevent and punish genocide.

The hearings started on January 11. Israel has firmly rejected the accusations, calling them “false” and "grossly distorted."

Israel, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that South Africa “is calling for the destruction of the State of Israel," and that its “claim lacks both a factual and a legal basis.”

South Africa has asked the court to enforce “provisional measures” to protect the rights of Palestinians in Gaza “from imminent and irreparable loss.”

The provisional measures would function as a kind of restraining order to stop the dispute from escalating while the full case progresses through the court, which could take years. And while the court’s rulings are final and binding, in practice it has no way of enforcing them.

 

[dalvinder45]

ICJ has ordered Israel to take steps to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza but stopped short of ordering a ceasefire. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued Israel with six orders in relation to its bombardment of Gaza on Friday, but stopped short of calling for a full ceasefire.
The ICJ confirmed that it does have jurisdiction to hear the case submitted by South Africa and issued six emergency orders to Israel, as follows:
Israel must take all possible measures to prevent acts as outlined in Article 2 of the 1948 Genocide Convention. This entails not killing members of a particular group (in this case, Palestinians), not causing physical or psychological harm to members of that group, not inflicting living conditions which are calculated to bring about the end of the existence of a people, and not carrying out actions designed to prevent births within that group of people.
Measure approved by a vote of 15-2. Dissenting judges: Judge Julia Sebutinde of Uganda and the Israeli representative, Judge Aharon Barak. Israel must ensure its military does not carry out any of the above actions.

In a 45-minute judgement at the court in the Hague on Friday, presiding judge Joan Donoghue rejected Israel’s claim that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear South Africa’s case against it.
Earlier Israel said that South Africa failed to adequately communicate with Tel Aviv about the case before filing the application, as is required by the court’s own rules. However, the court rejected this argument, stating that South Africa had made a complaint to the Israeli embassy in Pretoria, to which Israel had clearly responded. Therefore a “dispute” over the interpretation of the law relating to genocide exists. South Africa has clear standing to submit its case, the court ruled.
South Africa had also requested nine emergency measures be taken against Israel by the court.

Israel’s war on Gaza has already killed more than 26,000 Palestinians in the besieged enclave. Israel’s blockade on the strip has also severely restricted access to food, water, fuel and medical support.

The emergency measures were announced as the court begins its deliberations on South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, for which it heard evidence earlier this month. South Africa has described Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide but Israel has rejected the allegation, claiming that its activities in Gaza stem from “self-defence”, and are necessary to root out Hamas. It has added that the war cannot end until that goal has been achieved.

At least 183 people have been killed and 377 wounded throughout the enclave in 24 hours, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

Overnight and throughout the day, Israel’s bombing campaign continues across the Gaza Strip, especially in Khan Younis, Gaza City, and the northern part of the enclave where we see ground battles restarting.
In addition to raids on evacuation centres, there is heavy air strikes and artillery shelling of Gaza City’s Remal neighbourhood, once a thriving area now turned into a pile of rubble.
Here in Rafah, a residential home full of displaced Palestinians was destroyed in an overnight air raid. At least three people were reported killed, but there are many under the rubble.
In Khan Younis, most of the fighting is taking place in the vicinity of al-Amal Hospital which has been under Israeli military siege for the past eight days along with the Nasser Hospital.
The situation on the ground is getting worse by the day despite reports about a possible initial phase of a ceasefire.
A large number of Palestinian civilians have been killed in Israeli attacks on residential homes in the Sabra and Tuffah neighbourhoods of Gaza City, Wafa news agency reports.At least 26,751 people have been killed and 65,636 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from the October 7 Hamas attacks stands at 1,139.

Hamas’s political chief reviews new truce proposal saying “priority is to stop the brutal aggression against Gaza and complete withdrawal of occupation forces”.
Israeli commandos disguised as medical staff and civilians gun down three men in Jenin’s Ibn Sina Hospital in the occupied West Bank, alleging they planned to carry out “terrorist” attacks

Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) have voiced alarm after several states suspended their funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) after Israel alleged some staff members were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack.
“In the Gaza strip, the humanitarian crisis has reached catastrophic levels, and any additional limitations on aid will result in more deaths and suffering,” it warned, stressing that the humanitarian organisations are already grappling to meet even a fraction of the urgent needs in Gaza.
It argued that such funding cuts contradict the provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice last week, which include immediate measures to ensure sufficient humanitarian aid flows into Gaza. “Much more aid is required to meet those needs, not less,” the MSF said, reiterating its call for an “immediate and sustained” ceasefire and the lifting of the blockade.

 

[dalvinder45]

On Thursday night, the US and the United Kingdom bombed multiple sites in Yemen that Washington said were Houthi facilities, a day after they shot down missiles fired by the Yemeni group in the Red Sea. The bombings are the first time during this war that the US or its allies have attacked Yemeni territory.
Earlier US Bombed Iraq nd Syria in retaliation to killing of thir three soldiers.

This is certainly an escalation of Hamas Israel war.

Israel also bomber Raffa killing hundreds. War thus will continue unabated.
Yemen’s Houthis will not be deterred by United States-led attacks on them in retaliation for their targeting of Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea, and could in fact be emboldened further, say analysts.
Similarly Hamas is not returning Israelis captives. it is also retaliating at places though in a limited scale. Iraq and Syria too are not likely gto sit back. Above all Iran aided by China and Russia will continue to fuel the fire.

 

[dalvinder45]

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Saudi Arabia's de-facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday at the start of a Middle East tour, a U.S. official said, as Washington sought to forge a Saudi normalization deal with Israel.
In the Gaza Strip, Palestine huddling under bombardment said they hoped Blinken's visit to the region would finally deliver a truce, in time to head off a threatened new Israeli assault on the last refuge at the enclave's edge.

 

[dalvinder45]

As Biden finalizes his plans for U.S. retaliatory strikes against Iran, six USAF KC-135 refueling tankers have started to arrive in the Middle East.
Their arrival raises the prospect of the U.S. launching airstrikes in the next 24 hours.
With mid-air refueling capabilities, a strike force can reach Tehran, although officials expect the strikes to target Iranian assets in Iraq and Syria.
Source: Flight Radar 24, Daily Mail

 

[dalvinder45]

US military struck more than 85 Iran-linked targets in Iraq and Syria after three US soldiers were killed on Sunday.​

A US aircraft takes off to conduct air strikes against military targets in the Middle East [File: US Central Command via X/Handout via Reuters]

The United States military has launched dozens of air strikes against targets in Syria and Iraq in the first retaliation for a drone attack that killed three soldiers at a remote US base in Jordan.
“At my direction, US military forces struck targets at facilities in Iraq and Syria that the IRGC and affiliated militia use to attack US forces,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement on Friday, referring to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
“Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing,” he added.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its military forces struck more than 85 targets in the two countries “with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from the United States”.
“The air strikes employed more than 125 precision munitions,” it added in a statement.
CENTCOM said the facilities that were struck included command and control operations centres, intelligence centres, weapons storage sites and other facilities connected to the militias or the IRGC’s Quds Force, the Guard’s expeditionary unit that handles Tehran’s relationship and arming of regional groups.
Three US soldiers were killed and about 40 others injured in a drone attack on the military base known as Tower 22 near the Jordan-Syria border on Sunday.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iran-linked groups, claimed responsibility for the drone attack

Iran has denied directing the attack, saying the groups act on their own.
“The US had said since the moment that attack happened that there would be a military response, and US officials like Joe Biden and Lloyd Austin said the response would come in multiple fashions. So this could very well be the first phase, but those retaliatory US air strikes have now begun,” said Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan, reporting from the Pentagon.
“This is the first step, I don’t think that it will be the last one,” she added.
On Friday, Syrian state media said that an “American aggression” on a number of sites in Syria’s desert areas and the Syrian and Iraqi border resulted in a number of casualties and injuries.
Iraqi security sources told Al Jazeera that six air strikes targeted a number of locations in the country.

“These airstrikes constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty … and pose a threat that could lead Iraq and the region into dire consequences,” Iraqi military spokesman Yahya Rasool said in a statement after the strikes. While the US strikes did not target any locations inside Iran, they are likely to increase concern about tensions in the Middle East spiraling from Israel’s more than three-month-old war on Gaza.
The strikes come hours after President Biden met with the families of the three troops who were killed on Sunday – identified as William Jerome Rivers, Kennedy Sanders and Breonna Moffett – as the service members’ remains arrived in the US.
Biden and his wife Jill visited the Dover air base in the US state of Delaware on Friday to honour the soldiers during the “dignified transfer” of their bodies.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CQ Brown, also attended – their presence highlighting the importance, as well as relative rarity, of returning dead service members in the wake of US exits from major foreign conflicts.