Israel's aggression on besieged Gaza — now in its 88th day — has killed at least 21,978 Palestinians and wounded 56,697 as Tel Aviv continues bombardment of cities, towns and refugee camps across the enclave.
Tuesday, January 2, 2024
11:01 GMT - Israel will not boycott ICJ genocide case
Israel's National Security Council Chairman, Tzachi Hanegbi, stated that Israel will not boycott the genocide case filed against it at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by South Africa for causing the deaths of over 21,000 Palestinians, mostly children and women, in besieged Gaza.
Speaking to Yediot Ahronot newspaper, Hanegbi stated that Israel, as a signatory to the Genocide Convention, will participate in the case.
He denied the genocide accusation, labelling it as "false" .
10:26 GMT - Overnight Israeli air strikes across Gaza kill over 30
At least 31 Palestinians have been killed in overnight Israeli air strikes on areas across besieged Gaza.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said on Tuesday that a series of Israeli airstrikes on residential areas in the city of Deir al Balah, central Gaza, killed 22 Palestinian civilians, most of them women and children.
Another Israeli airstrike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza also left several casualties among the civilians.
09:36 GMT - Israel raids town in occupied West Bank, kills at least four
Israeli forces have reportedly killed four youths and injured six others after invading the town of Azoun, situated east of Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank.
Local sources say that a substantial military presence infiltrated the town from various directions, resulting in heightened clashes and confrontations.
Israeli forces conducted extensive raids and searches of both residential homes and commercial establishments, seizing surveillance camera recordings during the operation, according to local sources.
08:50 GMT - Israel is pulling thousands of troops from Gaza
The Israeli military has confirmed that it was pulling thousands of troops out of Gaza, a step that could clear the way for a new long-term phase of lower-intensity fighting in the Palestinian enclave.
The confirmation of the planned troop drawdown came the same day that Israel’s Supreme Court struck down a key component of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious judicial overhaul plan.
While the plan is not directly connected to the war effort, it was the source of deep divisions inside Israel and had threatened the military’s readiness before October 7.
08:00 GMT - More strikes after Israel warns war will last through 2024
Shelling and missile strikes rocked the length of the enclave overnight into Tuesday, after Israel's army warned its war on Gaza will last through 2024.
On Monday night into Tuesday morning, eyewitnesses reported missiles fired towards the city of Rafah in the south and shelling around the Jabalia refugee camp in the north.
Fighting was also reported around the central areas of Maghazi and Bureij, as well as the main southern city of Khan Younis.
07:16 GMT - Israel assassinates jailed Palestinian man: prisoner affairs groups
Palestinian prisoner affairs groups have accused Israel of assassinating an incarcerated Palestinian man in an Israeli jail, seventh such death since October 7.
In a joint statement cited by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner's Society said Israel assassinated Abdul Rahman Bassem Al Bahsh, 23, from the city of Nablus.
The statement said Al Bahsh was siezed on May 31, 2022 and sentenced to jail for 35 months. It added that the number of Palestinians who have been killed in Israeli prisons since October 7 has risen to seven.
04:55 GMT - Hamas urges ICRC to document rights abuses against Palestinians
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has called on the International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC] to document human rights violations against Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons, especially incarcerated females.
In a statement, Hamas urged the ICRC and rights groups "to fulfill their obligations in addressing the brutalities and deprivations of the rights of female Palestinian prisoners within Zionist occupation prisons."
The statement noted that "Palestinian women prisoners are encountering systematic and arbitrary malnutrition and neglect of their medical needs."
04:00 GMT - Israel assassinates jailed Palestinian man: prisoner affairs groups
Palestinian prisoner affairs groups have accused Israel of assassinating an incarcerated Palestinian man in an Israeli jail, seventh such death since October 7.
In a joint statement cited by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner's Society said Israel assassinated Abdul Rahman Bassem Al Bahsh, 23, from the city of Nablus.
For our live updates from Monday, January 1, click here.
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