Israel rejects genocide case as ‘baseless’ – full statementHere’s the full Israeli foreign ministry response to news that South Africa has launched a case at the International court of justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of “genocidal” acts in Gaza.
Israel rejects “with disgust” the “blood libel” spread by South Africa in its application to the UN’s top court, Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat posted on social media. He continued:
South Africa’s claim lacks both a factual and a legal basis, and constitutes a despicable and contemptuous exploitation of the Court.
South Africa is cooperating with a terrorist organization that is calling for the destruction of the State of Israel.
The Hamas terrorist organization – which is committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and sought to commit genocide on 7 October – is responsible for the suffering of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by using them as human shields and stealing humanitarian aid from them.
Israel is committed to international law and acts in accordance with it, and directs its military efforts solely against the Hamas terrorist organization and the other terrorist organizations cooperating with Hamas.
Israel has made it clear that the residents of the Gaza Strip are not the enemy, and is making every effort to limit harm to civilians and to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
We call on the International Court of Justice and the international community to completely reject South Africa’s baseless claims.
Israel rejects with disgust the blood libel spread by South Africa in its application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
South Africa’s claim lacks both a factual and a legal basis, and constitutes a despicable and contemptuous exploitation of the Court.
South Africa… pic.twitter.com/dqyhY8WYE0
— Lior Haiat 🇮🇱 (@LiorHaiat) December 29, 2023 Key events
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A member of the UK parliament, Claudia Webbe, has hailed South Africa’s decision to launch a case against Israel in the International Court of Justice over accusations of Israel committing “genocidal” acts in Gaza.
Webbe, who represents Leicester East, tweeted:
“I fully support South Africa invoking the Genocide Convention today, against Israel, at the International Court of Justice.
The UK government, prime minister and Labour party leader should consider their complicity and position.
Ceasefire now.”
As a UK Member of Parliament, I fully support South Africa invoking the Genocide Convention today, against Israel, at the International Court of Justice.
The UK government, Prime Minister and Labour Party leader should now consider their complicity and position.
Ceasefire Now
— Claudia Webbe MP (@ClaudiaWebbe) December 29, 2023 Palestine foreign ministry ‘welcomes’ South Africa’s launch of genocide case against Israel at ICJPalestine’s foreign ministry has welcomed South Africa’s decision to launch a case at the International Court of Justice in which it accused Israel of “genocidal” acts in Gaza.
In a statement released on Friday, Palestine’s foreign ministry said:
Israel’s stated policy, acts and omissions are genocidal in character [,] are committed with the requisite specific intent to the destruction of the Palestinian people under its colonial occupation and apartheid regime in violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention. Urgent intervention and action is needed to protect against and prevent further harm [t]o the Palestinian people.
The court must immediately take action to protect the Palestinian people and call on Israel, the occupying power, to halt its onslaught against the Palestinian people, in order to ensure an objective legal resolution.”
UN humanitarian chief ‘strongly condemns’ attack on aid convoyThe UN’s top aid official has issued a strong condemnation after reports that Israeli troops opened fire on an aid convoy in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
As we reported earlier, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) affairs in Gaza said Israeli soldiers fired at an aid convoy as it returned from northern Gaza along a route designated safe by the Israeli military.
Martin Griffiths, the UN emergency relief coordinator, said the convoy was fired upon despite being “clearly marked” and “its movements coordinated with the parties”.
“Attacks on humanitarian workers are unlawful,” he posted to social media, adding that “the conflict must stop”.
I strongly condemn an incident yesterday in which an aid convoy was fired upon while traveling from northern Gaza to Rafah.
The convoy was clearly marked and its movements were coordinated with the parties.
Attacks on humanitarian workers are unlawful. The conflict must stop.
— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) December 29, 2023 Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner general of UNRWA, said the agency coordinates all of its movements with Israeli authorities, adding:
Shooting & other attacks on aid workers + convoys hinder lifesaving operation in #Gaza.
Summary of the day so farIt’s 10.30pm in Gaza City and Tel Aviv. Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
South Africa has launched a case at the UN’s international court of justice (ICJ) against Israel for what it said were “genocidal” acts in Gaza. In its application on Friday, South Africa asked the court to issue provisional, or short-term, measures ordering Israel to stop its military campaign in Gaza, which it said were “necessary in this case to protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people”. Israel rejected the charge, with a foreign ministry spokesperson blaming Hamas for the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by using them as human shields and stealing humanitarian aid from them.
At least 21,507 people have been killed in Gaza since the war with Israel broke out nearly 12 weeks ago, according to Friday figures from the territory’s health ministry. That figure included 187 fatalities over the previous 24 hours. At least 308 people have been killed while sheltering in UN shelters in Gaza since the war began, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees also said.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said he is “very concerned” about the growing threat of infectious diseases facing the people of Gaza. Nearly 180,00 people are suffering upper respiratory infections and about 136,400 cases of diarrhoea have been recorded since mid-October, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a social media post on Friday. Half of the diarrhoea cases have been among children aged under five, he said.
Qatari mediators have told Israel that Hamas has “agreed in principle” to resume talks on the release of further hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a weeks-long pause in fighting, according to a report by Israel’s Walla news on Friday. Separately, a Hamas official said that a delegation from the militant group was due in Cairo on Friday to look at an Egyptian plan for a ceasefire that would end the war in Gaza. Sources close to Hamas say Cairo’s three-stage plan provides for renewable ceasefires, a staggered release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and ultimately a ceasefire.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said it located and destroyed a hideout belonging to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in northern Gaza. An investigation by IDF troops found the apartment, located on the outskirts of Gaza City, as well as a large tunnel system under it which was part of a network used by senior Hamas members, an IDF spokesperson said on Friday.
The director of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has accused Israel of firing on an aid convoy in Gaza. In a social media post, Thomas White said: “Israeli soldiers fired at an aid convoy as it returned from northern Gaza along a route designated by the Israeli army – our international convoy leader and his team were not injured but one vehicle sustained damage.”
Israel has detained at least 14 Palestinians, including a child, during its latest raids inside the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Friday. On Thursday the UN published a report deploring what it said was a “rapid deterioration” of human rights in the West Bank and urged Israeli authorities to end violence against the Palestinian population there.
Two Al Jazeera journalists have been assaulted by Israeli soldiers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank near Dura, in the Hebron region, the news network reported. It said Israeli soldiers “severely beat” one of its correspondents and a photographer and confiscated all their equipment while they were working.
The Israeli military said a Palestinian rammed a car into people in the occupied West Bank on Friday, wounding four, according to medics. Soldiers “neutralised” the driver at the scene near a military post south of the city of Hebron, the military said.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, is “gravely concerned” about the further spillover of the conflict in Gaza which could have “devastating” consequences for the entire region, his spokesperson has said. In a statement on Friday, Guterres warned of a “continued risk of wider regional conflagration” the longer the conflict in Gaza continues.
Iran has announced it has hanged four people it claims were engaged in “sabotage” on behalf of Israel. The three men and one woman had been sentenced to death on charges of “moharebeh”, or “waging war against God”, and “corruption on Earth” through their “collaboration with the Zionist regime”, and were executed in Iran’s north-west province of West Azerbaijan.
Hamas ‘ready in principle’ to resume talks over hostage release, Qatar tells Israel – reportQatari mediators have told Israel that Hamas has “agreed in principle” to resume talks on the release of further hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a weeks-long pause in fighting, according to a report.
Citing three Israeli officials, Israel’s Walla news outlet is reporting that the Qatari mediators have conveyed a message to Israel that Hamas “agrees in principle” to return to the negotiating table to try to reach a deal.
The deal would involve the release of about 40 hostages still being held by Hamas in exchange for a few weeks of a ceasefire and other conditions, the report says.
The talks would be centred around a proposal put forward by the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, a few weeks ago during a meeting with the head of the US CIA, Bill Burns, and the Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abd al-Rahman al-Thani.
That proposal included the release of about 40 hostages held in Gaza, including women, men over the age of 60 and those requiring urgent medical treatment. In return, Israel would halt military operations in Gaza for a week or two, and release a number of Palestinians who have been held in Israeli prisons.
An Israeli official said the Qatari message was still very preliminary but described it as a positive development, Walla reported. The official said:
We have moved from a standstill to a very cold situation.
Another Israeli official said Israel has not yet received a detailed proposal from the Qataris and is waiting to hear more details.
UN chief ‘gravely concerned’ further spillover of Gaza conflictThe UN secretary general, António Guterres, is “gravely concerned” about the further spillover of the conflict in Gaza which could have “devastating” consequences for the entire region, his spokesperson has said.
In a statement issued by Stéphane Dujarric, Guterres warned of a “continued risk of wider regional conflagration” the longer the conflict in Gaza continues.
He described the escalating violence in the Israel-occupied West Bank as “extremely alarming”, noting “intensified Israeli security forces operations, high numbers of fatalities, settler violence and attacks on Israelis by Palestinians”.
The UN chief was also “increasingly concerned” about the “spillover effects of the continuing attacks by armed groups in Iraq and Syria, as well as the Houthi attacks against vessels in the Red Sea, which have escalated in recent days”, he said, adding:
The Secretary-General urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint and take urgent steps to de-escalate tensions in the region.
The Secretary-General again appeals to all members of the international community to do everything in their power to use their influence on the relevant parties to prevent an escalation of the situation in the region.
Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz has held a phone call with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz.
During the call, Scholz underscored the need to protect civilians and avoid regional conflict, according to a statement from the German federal government.
Gantz informed the chancellor of the latest developments in Gaza and on Israel’s northern border, the statement said.
WHO chief ‘very concerned’ about threat of infectious diseases in GazaThe head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said he is “very concerned” about the growing threat of infectious diseases facing the people of Gaza.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, posting to social media, warned that people who have been displaced from their homes have been falling sick while sheltering in overcrowded health facilities.
Nearly 180,00 people are suffering upper respiratory infections and about 136,400 cases of diarrhoea have been recorded since mid-October, he said. Half of the diarrhoea cases have been among children aged under five, he said.
He said the WHO and its partners are working “tirelessly” to support Gaza’s health authorities by supplying medicines, testing kits and trying to improve access to safe water, food, hygiene and sanitation services.
As people continue to be massively displaced across the south of #Gaza, with some families forced to move multiple times and many sheltering in overcrowded health facilities, my @WHO colleagues and I remain very concerned about the increasing threat of infectious diseases.… pic.twitter.com/yszTuAN8Eu
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 29, 2023 Israel rejects genocide case as ‘baseless’ – full statementHere’s the full Israeli foreign ministry response to news that South Africa has launched a case at the International court of justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of “genocidal” acts in Gaza.
Israel rejects “with disgust” the “blood libel” spread by South Africa in its application to the UN’s top court, Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat posted on social media. He continued:
South Africa’s claim lacks both a factual and a legal basis, and constitutes a despicable and contemptuous exploitation of the Court.
South Africa is cooperating with a terrorist organization that is calling for the destruction of the State of Israel.
The Hamas terrorist organization – which is committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and sought to commit genocide on 7 October – is responsible for the suffering of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by using them as human shields and stealing humanitarian aid from them.
Israel is committed to international law and acts in accordance with it, and directs its military efforts solely against the Hamas terrorist organization and the other terrorist organizations cooperating with Hamas.
Israel has made it clear that the residents of the Gaza Strip are not the enemy, and is making every effort to limit harm to civilians and to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
We call on the International Court of Justice and the international community to completely reject South Africa’s baseless claims.
Israel rejects with disgust the blood libel spread by South Africa in its application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
South Africa’s claim lacks both a factual and a legal basis, and constitutes a despicable and contemptuous exploitation of the Court.
South Africa… pic.twitter.com/dqyhY8WYE0
— Lior Haiat 🇮🇱 (@LiorHaiat) December 29, 2023 Israeli military says it destroyed hideout belonging to Hamas leader Yahya SinwarThe Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said it located and destroyed a hideout belonging to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in northern Gaza.
An investigation by IDF troops found the apartment, located on the outskirts of Gaza City, as well as a large tunnel system under it, a spokesperson said.
An IDF spokesperson said the apartment was part of a network of tunnels constructed by Hamas, where senior members of the militant group moved and operated, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The tunnel was later destroyed by combat engineers, the spokesperson said.
From the Times of Israel’s Emanuel Fabian:
The IDF says it has located and demolished a hideout apartment belonging to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in northern Gaza, along with a large tunnel system under it.
The apartment, located on the outskirts of Gaza City, was found by the 14th Reserve Armored Brigade and later… pic.twitter.com/QYaHoeCwVT
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 29, 2023 Israel accuses South Africa of ‘collaborating’ with Hamas after ‘baseless’ genocide court appealIsrael has rejected South Africa’s announcement that it has launched a genocide case at the UN’s international court of justice accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
A statement from Israel’s foreign ministry, reported by Reuters, reads:
South Africa is collaborating with a terrorist group that calls for Israel’s destruction. The people of Gaza are not an enemy of Israel, who is making efforts to limit harm to non-combatants.
South Africa launches genocide case against Israel at UN’s top courtSouth Africa said it had approached the UN’s international court of justice (ICJ) under the Geneva convention with respect to acts committed by Israel in Gaza.
In a statement, South Africa said it was ‘“gravely concerned with the plight of civilians” caught in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip “due to the indiscriminate use of force and forcible removal of inhabitants.”
It said there were “ongoing reports of international crimes, such as crimes against humanity and war crimes” being committed as well as “reports that acts meeting the threshold of genocide” in the Palestinian territory.
An application in this regard was filed before the court on 29 December 2023 in which the court is requested to declare on an urgent basis that Israel is in breach of its obligations in terms of the genocide convention, should immediately cease all acts and measures in breach of those obligations and take a number of related actions.
It said South Africa “condemns all violence and attacks against all civilians, including Israelis”, adding that it had continuously called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and for talks to resume “that will end the violence arising from the continued belligerent occupation of Palestine”.