Israel's foreign ministry on Friday said it "rejects with disgust" a case launched by South Africa at the International Court of Justice against what it called Israel's "genocidal" acts in Gaza. The news came as tens of thousands of Palestinians continued to stream into an already crowded town at the southernmost end of Gaza as World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of the growing threat of infectious diseases in the besieged Palestinian enclave. Read our liveblog to see how all the day's events unfolded.
Summary:
- South Africa has begun proceedings at the International Court of Justice, alleging violations of the Genocide Convention in relation to Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the court said in a statement.
- Israel rejected South Africa's launch of a genocide case against it as a baseless "blood libel" with no legal merit and said it was abiding by international law in its war on Hamas in Gaza.
- World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was "very concerned" about the growing threat of infectious diseases in the Gaza Strip.
- US President Joe Biden’s administration is bypassing Congress for the second time this month to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel as its ally continues to prosecute its war against Hamas in Gaza under increasing international criticism.
- The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said Friday an aid convoy came under fire by the Israeli military without causing any casualties.
- Israeli officials say 1,139 were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in southern Israel, among them 695 Israeli civilians including 36 children. At least 21,507 have been killed and 55,915 injured in Israel's ensuing assault on the Gaza Strip, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave.
Yesterday's key developments:
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Israeli forces bombarded cities, towns and refugee camps across Gaza on Thursday, killing dozens of people in a widening air and ground offensive against Hamas.
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Fifty Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip's Beit Lahia, Khan Younis and Maghazi areas, the Hamas-run health ministry said.
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A drone launched from Syria crashed near the village of Eliad in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, Israel's army said, after an Iraqi armed group with links to Hamas militants claimed responsibility for an attack in the area. No injuries were reported.
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Israel has given preliminary approval to Cyprus for a maritime humanitarian corridor to ship aid to Gaza, the Israeli foreign ministry said Thursday.
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”.
The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP, Reuters)
