Live Updates: Palestinian death toll tops 23,700 amid genocide hearing at ICJ

Friday, January, 12, 2024

12:50 GMT - World Court lacks jurisdiction over Gaza war - Israel

Israel said the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has no jurisdiction under the Genocide Convention to order it to halt its war on Gaza.

Israel did not have the needed "special intent" to commit crimes under the Genocide Convention, its lawyer said on the second day of hearings of a case in which South Africa has demanded an immediate end of Israel's offensive against the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

"This is no genocide. South Africa tells us only half the story," lawyer Malcolm Shaw said.

12:38 GMT - Israel denies committing genocide, claims to protect its people

Weaponising the term “genocide” against Israel "averts" the aims of the UN Genocide Convention, Israel contended, claiming during its oral arguments at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague that it is only trying to protect its own people.

"The key component of genocide, the intention to destroy people, in whole or in part, is totally lacking," argued the Israeli delegation to the court.

It also asserted that the 1948 Genocide Convention "was not designed to address the brutal effects of intense hostilities on civilians," and added: "Even when the use of force raises 'very serious issues of international law, and involves an enormous suffering and continuing loss of life'."

11:48 GMT — Gaza's devastated Al Shifa hospital reestablishes some services: WHO

Gaza's largest hospital, which has been hard-hit by Israel's war on Gaza, has partially reestablished services, the World Health Organization said after reaching the facility for the first time in over two weeks.

The UN health agency said it and partners had reached the Al Shifa hospital in the north of Gaza on Thursday, delivering desperately needed fuel and medical supplies.

"The team reported that Al Shifa, previously Gaza's premier hospital, has (partially) reestablished services," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.

The hospital, which WHO described as "a death zone" after it largely ceased operations following raids and occupation by Israeli troops in November, now has 60 medical staff, Tedros said.

It also has "a surgical and medical ward with 40 beds, an emergency department, four operating theatres, basic emergency obstetric and gynaecologic services".

0939 GMT — Israel has shown 'recurring failures' to uphold int'l law — UN

The United Nations human rights office has said that Israel has repeatedly failed to uphold international humanitarian law since it launched its offensive in Gaza in response to a cross-border rampage by Hamas on Oct. 7.

"We've repeatedly highlighted Israel's recurring failures to uphold the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law: distinction, proportionality and precautions in carrying out attacks," said Elizabeth Throssell , spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

"The High Commissioner has stressed that breaches of these obligations risk exposure to liability for war crimes, and has also warned of the risks of other atrocity crimes."

0900 GMT — ICJ hears Israel's response to Gaza genocide accusations

Israel has begun presenting its defence at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague against South Africa's case that it has committed genocide.

On day one of the trial, South Africa presented hard evidence in the case it filed on December 29, accusing Israel of genocide and violations of the UN Genocide Convention with its actions in Gaza since October 7.

The South African side is requesting an injunction by the top UN court to halt Israel's military assault on Gaza, which has dragged on for more than three months, with the death toll rising to over 23,000 and nearly 60,000 people injured.

The 84-page filing by South Africa accuses Israel of acts and omissions "genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent … to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group."

0621 GMT — Qatar sends 18 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza

Qatar has sent an aircraft carrying 18 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which remains under Israeli blockade and faces continued attacks.

According to the Qatar News Agency, a Qatar Armed Forces plane carrying humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people in Gaza was dispatched to the city of El Arish, Egypt, near Gaza.

The aircraft, carrying 18 tons of aid, including food and shelter materials, will be transported from Egypt to Gaza.

0325 GMT — Türkiye airlifts 85 more Gaza residents for treatment

Türkiye transferred 85 more patients and wounded in the besieged Gaza from Egypt to Turkish soil Thursday, said Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

Two planes carrying patients and their companions landed in the capital Ankara on Thursday night.

A total of “85 patients and injured individuals from Gaza are being brought to Türkiye this evening from Egypt. Accompanied by a group of 106 escorts, the patients will receive medical treatment in our country," Koca announced on X.

0314 GMT — Israel allowed very little of Gaza aid this month: UN

The UN humanitarian office says Israel allowed only three of 21 deliveries of food, medicine and other lifesaving supplies to northern Gaza between January 1 and January 10.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the deliveries also included missions to provide medical supplies and fuel for water and sanitation facilities in Gaza City.

"The UN's ability to respond to extensive needs in the northern part of Gaza is being curtailed by recurring denials of access for aid deliveries and lack of coordinated safe access by the Israeli authorities," he told reporters Thursday. "These denials and severe access constraints are paralysing the ability of humanitarian partners to respond meaningfully, consistently and at scale."

05:20 GMT - Israel kills at least nine civilians

Israel has killed at least nine civilians and wounded several others in an air strike targeting a residential home in the Shawka neighbourhood, east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported its teams transported nine casualties following the Israeli attack on the Abu Seneima family home in the neighbourhood.

The Israeli raid reduced the house to rubble upon the heads of its civilian occupants.

05:00 GMT - Israel to counter genocide accusations at World Court

Israel will respond to strong accusations brought by South Africa at the UN's top court that its brutal war in besieged Gaza is a state-led genocide campaign aimed at wiping out the Palestinian population.

Israel has rejected the accusations of genocide as baseless and said South Africa was acting as a mouthpiece for Hamas resistance group.

The 1948 Genocide Convention, enacted in the wake of the mass murder of Jews in the Nazi Holocaust, defines genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group".

04:35 GMT - US, UK start striking Yemen's Houthis

The US and UK started carrying out strikes against Yemen's Houthi rebels.

This is the first time strikes have been launched against the Iran-backed group since it started targeting international shipping in the Red Sea late last year in solidarity with Palestine.

04:00 GMT - South African president says proud of country’s legal team

South Africa's president has said that he was pleased with how his country's legal team argued its case at the International Court of Justice [ICJ] against Israel for committing genocide in besieged Gaza.

"I have never felt as proud as I felt today when our legal team was arguing our case in The Hague," said Cyril Ramaphosa, addressing the Women's League of his ruling African National Congress party.

Ramaphosa said his country had put together a strong team of lawyers to represent South Africa's case at the top UN court in The Hague, the Netherlands.

03:22 GMT - ICJ genocide hearings offer hope for Palestinians: Amnesty International

Amnesty International has said that ongoing proceedings at the International Court of Justice [ICJ] related to South Africa's genocide case against Israel have the potential to safeguard Palestinian civilians, bring an "end to the man-made humanitarian catastrophe" in besieged Gaza, and provide a glimmer of hope for international justice.

"As the US continues to use its veto power to block the UN Security Council from calling for a ceasefire, war crimes and crimes against humanity are rife, and the risk of genocide is real. States have a positive obligation to prevent and punish genocide and other atrocity crimes," said Agnes Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International, in a statement.

"The ICJ’s examination of Israel's conduct is a vital step for the protection of Palestinian lives, to restore trust and credibility in the universal application of international law, and to pave the way for justice and reparation for victims," she added.

For our live updates from Thursday, January 11, click here.