IIsrael rejected charges of genocide in the Gaza Strip shortly before the start of explosive proceedings at the International Court of Justice. “Israel is fighting against Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full accordance with international law,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the eve of the start of the trial in The Hague. The judges must first rule on an urgent application from South Africa calling for the immediate cessation of Israeli military operations. The proceedings, which begin on Thursday with a hearing by South Africa, could have an impact on the further course of the war.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has passed a resolution calling for an end to attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on merchant ships in the Red Sea. The paper, adopted in New York on Wednesday, condemns the attacks and calls for their “immediate cessation.” Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked ships with alleged Israeli connections. The Yemeni rebels also repeatedly fire rockets directly at Israel. Resolutions of the Security Council are binding under international law and can thus develop international influence.
Report on alleged hostage release negotiations
Meanwhile, according to unconfirmed media reports, Qatar has put forward a new proposal for a ceasefire and the release of more hostages. Accordingly, all hostages should be released in return for a complete withdrawal of the Israeli army. The leadership of Hamas should go into exile. As Israel's war cabinet met on Wednesday evening to discuss efforts to release more hostages, the Islamist Hamas branded reports of such negotiations as a “Zionist hoax,” the Ynet news site reported.
Israel had previously rejected a withdrawal of the army before the destruction of Hamas and the release of the 136 remaining hostages. The Hamas leadership is also unwilling to leave the Gaza Strip and give up control of the coastal area. Therefore, the chances of an agreement between Israel and Hamas are considered slim.
With its lawsuit filed at the end of 2023 at the highest UN court, South Africa wants to prove that Israel intends to destroy the Palestinians and thus violates the UN Genocide Convention. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, 23,357 people have been killed as a result of Israeli military operations since the start of the war. The information cannot currently be independently verified.
Israel, on the other hand, reaffirms its right to self-defense after the bloody attacks by Hamas and other extremists on October 7, 2023. Around 1,200 people were killed and around 250 were kidnapped from Israel, around half of whom have been released so far. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said during a visit to Lebanon on Wednesday that she did not see any intent to commit genocide in Israel's military action in Gaza. Brazil and Colombia, however, expressed their support for South Africa's lawsuit.
A decision by the International Court of Justice on South Africa's urgent application to immediately end Israeli military operations is expected in the next few weeks. The main trial on the genocide charge can drag on for years.
Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz said on Wednesday: “The most urgent matter is the repatriation of the hostages, it is more important than any element of the fight.” Meanwhile, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in the evening that troops were in Khan Yunis in the south Gaza found a tunnel in which hostages had previously been held by Hamas. The hostages were there underground “under very difficult circumstances”. Hagari gave no further details.
An entire network of tunnels stretches for many kilometers beneath the Gaza Strip. To withstand Israel's bombs, some reach depths of dozens of meters. The terrorists also use the tunnels to appear out of nowhere and attack from behind. Brigadier General Dan Goldfus said on Wednesday that the army had since adjusted its strategy, according to the Times of Israel. While initially only the entrances to the tunnels were tracked down and destroyed, soldiers are now being sent in. The core of Hamas is underground. “We will defeat them there,” he said.
The humanitarian situation remains catastrophic
The humanitarian situation for the civilian population of the Gaza Strip remains catastrophic. Four medics in an ambulance were killed in an Israeli attack, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent on Wednesday. They were hit while transporting the injured in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Israel's army wanted to examine the report. Israel repeatedly accuses Hamas of misusing clinics and ambulances for terrorist purposes. Hamas rejects this.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war, there have been violent confrontations between the army and Hezbollah almost daily on Israel's northern border with Lebanon. The Shiite militia, which is allied with Hamas and also supported by Iran, repeatedly fires on Israel. According to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, it also uses an unusually large number of anti-tank missiles against residential buildings. It was said that with the precision weapons it could maintain the pressure without risking a major war with Israel. The Israeli army did not want to comment on the report when asked.
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