UN Security Council demands that Houthi rebels stop their attacks on ships

Israeli army kills at least nineteen Palestinians in nighttime attacks in Gaza

The Israeli army again fired on several parts of the Gaza Strip on Thursday morning, killing at least nineteen Palestinians. This was reported by news channel Al Jazeera and the Palestinian state news agency Wafa. Dozens of people were injured throughout the Palestinian territory. The Israeli army also carried out raids in Nablus, Ramallah, Qalqilya, Jenin and Hebron in the occupied West Bank. Several Palestinians were arrested.

Several Israeli bombings of the southern city of Rafah occurred at least Thursday morning twelve Palestinians killed. In Khan Younis, also located south of Gaza, Israeli warplanes targeted a residential area reports Wafa. At least 7 people were killed and 25 injured.

The centrally located Nuseirat refugee camp was also shelled by the Israeli army on Thursday morning. It is not known how many victims there were. The nearby city of Deir al-Balah also came under fire on Wednesday. At least forty people are said to have been killed and injured in an attack by the Israeli air force right next to the Al-Aqsa hospital. The reported death tolls are for NRC cannot be independently verified.

The United Nations warned again on Thursday that Israeli violence in central and southern Gaza is affecting the entire local health system under great pressure, due to the failure of several medical facilities. On Wednesday, the Israeli army fired on an ambulance in Deir al-Balah, killing at least four Palestinian Red Crescent aid workers. In recent weeks, Israel has shifted the focus of its offensive from the north of the Gaza Strip to the center and south of the area.

Genocide case against Israel starts today, solidarity manifestations for Israel and Palestinians in The Hague

Is Israel committing genocide in Gaza? The judges of the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ) will consider this question on Thursday and Friday, in a case brought by South Africa. The indictment: In a document of more than eighty pages, South Africa states that Israel's actions in Gaza go beyond self-defense and that the country is aimed at the destruction of the Palestinians.

South Africa therefore wants the International Court of Justice, the highest judicial body of the United Nations dealing with conflicts between countries, to declare that Israel is in violation of the signed Genocide Convention and that the country immediately cease all attacks on Gaza.

Also read: Aggrieved Israel will defend itself 'with pride' against genocide charges

Request for interim measures
The case could potentially drag on for years, mainly because it takes a lot of time and research to answer the question of whether Israel is committing genocidal acts. These first two days are dedicated to public hearings. These are aimed at South Africa's request to take interim measures at short notice to “protect against further, serious and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the Genocide Convention” and “to ensure that Israel fulfills its obligations under the Genocide Convention – not to engage in genocide, and to prevent and punish genocide -.

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South Africa's plea is scheduled for Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., while Israel's turn is on Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It is striking that the country is defending itself, because Israel rarely cooperates in international legal cases. The Israeli delegation will hold a press conference in The Hague on Thursday afternoon at 5 p.m. Families of hostages will also be present.

It is unclear what the consequences of a possible court ruling could be. Even if the ICJ orders Israel to immediately cease attacks on Gaza, that does not automatically mean that the violence will stop. Although the court's decisions are binding, it cannot enforce them. In 2022, the ICJ also ordered Russia to immediately suspend its invasion of Ukraine.

Solidarity events will also be organized in The Hague on Thursday for both Israel and the Palestinian population. These will take place near the Peace Palace, home to the International Court of Justice and where the hearings will take place on Thursday and Friday.

Also read: Is Israel committing genocide? Judges in The Hague will consider this

UN Security Council demands that Houthi rebels stop their attacks on ships

The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on Wednesday demanding that Yemen's Houthi rebels immediately stop their attacks on ships in the Red Sea. International news agencies write this. The resolution also states that the Houthis must let go of the cargo ship Galaxy Leader. The ship was hijacked by the Houthis in November and has been in a Yemeni port ever since. Since then, the 25 crew members have been held hostage.

The resolution, which also states that UN member states may under international law defend their ships against attack, was adopted by eleven of the fifteen members of the Security Council. Russia, China, Algeria and Mozambique abstained.

The Houthi rebels, who say they are attacking Israeli-affiliated ships in retaliation for the attacks on Gaza, immediately condemned the resolution as “a political game.” According to them, the United States is violating international law by supporting Israel in the war against Hamas. The rebels say that Israel must “immediately stop all attacks that hinder life and its continuity in Gaza” and that it is the job of the Security Council to ensure that Palestinians in Gaza are freed from the “Israeli war.”

In the night from Wednesday to Thursday, according to the Reuters news agency, the largest Houthi attack so far took place: American and British ships in the Red Sea downed 21 drones and missiles that had been fired at cargo ships. No one was injured.

Welcome to this blog

In this blog, NRC follows the situation in Israel and the Gaza Strip and the developments related to it. You can read our previous blog here.