Live Updates: Palestine to open ICJ hearings on Israeli occupation

Monday, February 19, 2024

06:13 GMT - Palestine to open ICJ hearings on Israeli occupation

The state of Palestine will be the first of 52 countries to speak as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) begins six days of hearings.

“We want to hear new words from the court,” said Omar Awadallah, the head of the UN organizations department in the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, ahead of the case.

“They’ve had to consider the word genocide in the South Africa case,” he said, referring to the separate case before the court. “Now we want them to consider apartheid.”

05:46 GMT - Israel's plan to restrict Palestinians' entry to Al Aqsa during 'is a crime': Hamas

Israel's plan to restrict Palestinians' entry to Al Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is a reflection of the Zionist crimes and religious war waged by radical elements of the Israeli government against the Palestinian people,” Hamas said.

The Palestinian resistance group in a statement criticised Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement of his intention to limit Palestinians' access to Islam’s third holiest site during the fasting month.

It criticized Netanyahu's approval of Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's call to ban Palestinians from entering Al Aqsa during Ramadan, saying it is a "violation of the freedom of worship” in the holy mosque.

05:12 GMT - Israel sets Ramadan deadline for Rafah ground offensive

Israel will launch its long-threatened offensive against Rafah next month if Hamas has not freed the remaining hostages held in Gaza by the start of Ramadan, Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz said.

"The world must know, and Hamas leaders must know — if by Ramadan our hostages are not home, the fighting will continue everywhere, including the Rafah area," Gantz, a retired military chief of staff, told a conference of American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem Sunday.

Speaking at the same Jerusalem conference on Sunday, Netanyahu renewed his vow "to finish the job to get total victory" over Hamas, with or without a hostage deal.

04:25 GMT - Israel insists on attacking Gaza to 'impose displacement'

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that Israel insists on continuing its attacks on Gaza to "impose displacement," especially on the city of Rafah.

"The Israeli government and its army are continuing their attacks on various cities in Gaza, especially Rafah, with the aim of forcibly displacing citizens. We will not accept this, and neither will our brothers, nor the world," he said in a meeting of the Palestinian government held in Ramallah, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

He emphasised that the situation in Rafah has become "extremely dangerous and difficult," requiring the Palestinian government to act swiftly.

03:53 GMT - WHO helps evacuate 14 patients from Gaza's besieged Nasser Hospital

The World Health Organization (WHO) helped evacuate 14 patients from Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, which is under siege by Israeli forces, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.

The patients, including five on dialysis and three in intensive care, were transported to hospitals in the south as a result of the WHO’s efforts, the ministry said in a statement.

It said pressure was being maintained on Israel to evacuate all patients from the hospital, which it has converted into a military barracks after cutting off its electricity and preventing oxygen devices from operating.

03:20 GMT - UN agency says there is not enough food in Gaza

The Israeli army’s expansion of its operation in the city of Rafah “risks cutting the lifeline of assistance into Gaza, causing further suffering,” the UN agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said.

The agency issued the statement on its X account. UNRWA added that “there is not enough food in Gaza.”

“In the Nuseirat (refugee) camp in the middle Gaza, UNRWA and World Central Kitchen provide hot meals to 1,700 people displaced in & around this shelter,” the agency noted.

02:42 GMT - UN vetoes Security Council resolution demanding ceasefire

The UN Security Council is expected to vote Tuesday on an Arab-backed resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, which the United States announced it will veto.

Algeria, the Arab representative on the council, put the draft resolution in a final form that can be voted on. Council diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorised to speak publicly, said the vote will take place Tuesday morning.

In addition to a ceasefire, the final Algerian draft, obtained by The Associated Press, reiterates council demands that Israel and Hamas “scrupulously comply” with international law especially the protection of civilians, and rejects the forced displacement of Palestinian civilians.

For our live updates from Sunday, February 18, click here.