ICJ will rule on Friday in South Africa case against Israel's 'genocide' in Gaza: Day 110 of Hamas-Israel war

Thank you for following our LIVE coverage from day 110 of the Hamas-Israel war.

We'll be back tomorrow with more news updates and analysis, right here at L'Orient Today.

(Credit: Houthi Military Media/Handout via Reuters)

Yemen's Houthi rebels fired three missiles at two merchant ships in the Red Sea today in their latest attack in the commercially vital waterway, the White House says, according to an AFP report.

The report came after the Houthis vowed to keep up their attacks despite repeated US and British strikes against them.

One missile missed its target and a US Navy destroyer shot down the other two, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

US Central Command said the missiles were fired "toward the US-flagged, owned, and operated container ship M/V Maersk Detroit" without mentioning a second vessel being targeted.

No injuries or damage to the ship were reported, CENTCOM added.

👉 Read the full report here.

(Credit: Thilo Schmuelgen/Reuters)

Judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will rule on Friday whether or not they will grant emergency measures against Israel following accusations by South Africa that the Israeli military operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide, Reuters reports.

The United Nations' top court issued a statement this evening saying the 17-judge panel will hand down its ruling in court on Jan. 26 at 1200 GMT.

Earlier this month, in two days of hearings, South Africa asked the ICJ, also known as the World Court, to order an emergency suspension of Israel's devastating military campaign in the Palestinian enclave.

Rulings by the court are legally binding and without appeal, but the court has no way to enforce them.

👉 Read more here. 

Israel is not allowing ambulances and rescue workers to enter the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) shelter that it struck earlier today in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, despite repeated attempts from the World Health Organization (WHO) to mediate their entry, says UNRWA spokesperson in Gaza Adnan Abu Hasna, who spoke with L'Orient Today.

"Israel has blocked the road with sand bags to stop ambulances from passing," Abu Hasna said, noting that "the shelter, which was initially an education center, has around 10,000 displaced people from Gaza in total, and the building that was struck had 800."

Abu Hasna explained that UNRWA sends the coordinates of each official shelter directly to the Israeli army twice a day, once in the morning and once at night, in a process that's understood to mark them as supposedly safe zones.

👉 Read the full report here.

(Credit: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters)

Italy will provide hospital treatment for 100 Palestinian children from Gaza after transporting them by plane and ship in an operation to be launched in the next few days, says Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, according to a Reuters report.

The first 30 children will fly from Egypt, Crosetto said, where they sought refuge and medical assistance after escaping the Israeli bombardment of the neighboring Gaza enclave.

Another 30 will reach Italy with their families at the end of January aboard the military vessel Vulcano which will depart from the Egyptian port of al-Arish. Crosetto did not clarify when or how the remaining 40 children will be transported.

👉 Read more here.

(Credit: Lebanese Prime Minister's Press Office/AFP)

"Lebanon supports the implementation of a peaceful solution in the region," outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said during a meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, noting that "Italy and Europe have a role to play to this end."

Mikati added that "Lebanon is in favor of implementing international resolutions, in particular Resolution 1701 and maintaining cooperation between the army and UNIFIL." Resolution 1701 facilitated the end to the war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.

Tajani said he would be "touring Lebanon and the region to plead for calm and peace."

Here are security updates from southern Lebanon from the last 30 minutes:

• Rockets were launched from southern Lebanon towards sites in Israel, according to a security source. Haaretz reported that sirens were activated in northern Israel.

• Israeli warplanes targeted the outskirts of Yaroun, Bint Jbeil district, with six missiles, and it is not yet known if there are any casualties, the head of the municipality told L'Orient Today. Residents of the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil and of the villages surrounding it said that they heard the sounds of the strikes.

•  Israel also targeted the towns of Aitaroun, and Maroun al-Ras, both in Bint Jbeil district, according to reports from our correspondent in the south, Muntasser Abdallah.

(Credit: Mohammed Huwais/AFP)

An explosion went off near a vessel south of Yemen today, a British maritime security agency says, in the latest suspected attack on Red Sea shipping by Yemen's Houthi rebels, AFP reports.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said it had received reports of "an explosion approximately 100 meters from the vessel" 50 nautical miles south of the Yemeni port of Mokha.

UKMTO added that the vessel and crew were safe and that there were no reports of any injuries or damage.

The United States and Britain have carried out two rounds of joint strikes aimed at reducing the Houthis' ability to target shipping.

Earlier, Qatar announced that liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries may be delayed by attacks in the Red Sea.

👉 Read more here.

Israeli army tanks roll in southern Israel along the border with the Gaza Strip earlier today. (Credit: Jack Guez/AFP)

The Palestinian Authority Foreign Ministry says that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is showing clear disregard for the UN and international calls for an immediate cease-fire by promoting the prolonging of the war in Gaza by another six months, the Palestinian state-run agency Wafa reported.

Yesterday, Netanyahu said Israel “will not stop fighting until absolute victory."

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry's statement said Netanyahu's comments mean "the continuation of genocide and forced displacement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.”

“Netanyahu derives his courage from the failure of the international institutions to bear their legal and moral responsibilities to end the occupation,” the statement concluded.

Haaretz recently reported that the Israeli army's military campaign is based on a four-stage plan. The third stage, a thinning out of troops and a more targeted approach, was meant to begin within the first three months, the Israeli news outlet said. However, the plans are behind schedule and there are conflicting reports regarding Israel's withdrawal plans.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) headquarters in the Gaza Strip as well as al-Amal Hospital, which it services, both located in Khan Younis, are experiencing heightened levels of violence today, according to statements from the humanitarian organization. 

This morning, PRCS announced three displaced people killed and two injured in Israeli attacks on the northern gate of the organization's headquarters.

Four hours ago, PRCS posted on its official telegram channel that intense shelling was occurring in the vicinity of al-Amal hospital. On Monday, PRCS said it had lost contact with its staff at al-Amal, following reports that Israeli tanks had surrounded the medical facility.

One hour ago, PRCS wrote that the Israeli army was surrounding PRCS teams within the headquarters and al-Amal Hospital, restricting movement around both buildings.

Israel ruled out a Gaza cease-fire today when a government spokesperson pushed back against media reports of a possible new mediated deal with Hamas under which fighting would be halted in exchange for a hostage release, according to a report from Reuters.

"Commenting on reported cease-fire agreements, Israel will not give up on the destruction of Hamas, the return of all the hostages, and there will be no security threat from Gaza towards Israel," the spokesperson, Ilana Stein, said in a briefing.

"There will be no cease-fire. In the past there were pauses for humanitarian purposes. That agreement was breached by Hamas."

Thomas White, the director of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, says that a building complex sheltering tens of thousands of displaced people in Khan Younis has caught fire after it was hit amid escalating fighting.

“Safe access to/from the center has been denied for two days,” he said in a post on X, adding that people remain “trapped.”

The Yemeni Houthi authorities have ordered US and British staff of the United Nations and humanitarian organizations based in Sanaa to leave the country within a month, according to a document and a Houthi official quoted by Reuters.

The decision follows strikes by the US and Britain, with support from other countries, against military targets of the Iran-allied group, which has launched attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea that it claims are linked to Israel.

"The ministry ... wishes to emphasize that you must inform officials and workers of American and British nationality to prepare to leave the country within 30 days," says a letter sent by the Houthi foreign ministry to the UN's acting humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Peter Hawkins. The letter also orders foreign organizations not to hire American and British citizens for operations in Yemen. The Houthis' main negotiator, Mohammad Abdulsalam, confirmed the authenticity of the letter to Reuters.

An incident occurred 50 nautical miles (about 92km) south of Mokha, off the coast of Yemen, reports the UK Maritime Safety Agency (UKMTO) on X.

"The captain reports an explosion about 100 meters from a vessel on her starboard side. The vessel and crew are unharmed, no injuries or damage have been reported," says the agency's information note.

An incident occurred 50 nautical miles (about 92km) south of Mokha, off the coast of Yemen, reports the UK Maritime Safety Agency (UKMTO) on X.

"The captain reports an explosion about 100 meters from a vessel on her starboard side. The vessel and crew are unharmed, no injuries or damage have been reported," says the agency's information note.

In a statement, Hezbollah claimed a strike at 1:25 p.m. on the Israeli site of Bayad Blida, and opposite the Lebanese town of Blida in the district of Marjeyoun, in southern Lebanon.

A conference on the subject of building settlements in the Gaza Strip once the war is over will be held next week in Israel, at the initiative of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party, according to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, reported by Al-Jazeera.

The conference, called "Israel's Victory," should be notably followed by religious and far-right parties on the Hebrew political spectrum, including 20 ministers and members of the Knesset.

“The decision to go to war is in the hand of the Zionist entity [Israel], the decision to stop it is that of the Americans,” said Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah during the parliamentary session devoted to the Lebanese budget of 2024, cited by several local channels.

“We have the right to defend ourselves, and the price of defense is paid by the inhabitants of the South and the fighters, with blood,” he added, affirming that the objective of the party remains to “protect the country." The war in Gaza "defines the destiny of the region," he added.

"Lebanon is today in a position of strength. All these delegations visiting Lebanon show that we have become important in the map of the region."

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will travel to Ankara today, after two postponements of his visit, to meet with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

At the heart of the discussions between Raisi and Erdogan is the war in Gaza as well as the risks of its regionalization: you can read it here.

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi accused Israel of holding up aid deliveries to Gaza as the Israeli military continues its offensive on the enclave, AFP reports.

The Egyptian president said that though the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip is open 24/7, Israel's procedures to allow the entry of aid are obstructing the process. 

"This is part of how they exert pressure on the issue of releasing the hostages," he said.

Prior to the war, many Gazans were dependent on international aid that came into the enclave on a daily basis. Since the war started on Oct. 7, the number of aid deliveries have decreased significantly with the World Food Program saying that Gaza is facing a "looming threat of famine."

Israeli artillery targeted the surroundings of Adaisseh (Marjayoun), our correspondent reports, citing residents.

Furthermore, the surroundings of Boustan (Sour) were also targeted by Israeli artillery, according to residents of the region.

A couple watches the waves at the beach near a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah near the border with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip, on Jan. 24, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Credit: AFP)

The latest developments in southern Lebanon:

Israeli artillery targeted a hilly area between Dhairah, Jibbayn and Tayr Harfa (Sour), according to residents cited by our correspondent. The surroundings of Yarine (Sour) were also targeted.

Three Israeli shells fell near Rashaya al-Foukhar (Hasbaya), according to residents. In the same area, the surroundings of Kfar Hamam and Hebbarieh were also affected by "violent bombings," according to these same sources.

Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has called for the war against Hamas to end "with the eradication of the new Nazis," Haaretz reports.

Speaking at a parliamentary session at the Knesset in Jerusalem he compared the Hamas Oct. 7 attack to the prosecution and pogroms of Jews in Europe. "This is a war for the home" and said. "There will be no compromise for the promise of our future," he added.

It comes as Reuters reports that Hamas and Israel are edging close to a 30-day ceasefire, in exchange for hostages.

Israeli tanks have shot at people fleeing an area near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, according to Al Jazeera.

The Israeli military says it has targeted “numerous” squads of gunmen in the western part of the city, close to the southern city’s two main hospitals. Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson, Ashraf al-Qudra, has accused Israel of targeting the Nasser Hospital – one of two remaining medical facilities still operating. He says access has been blocked for patients and medics.

There has been a surge in aerial attacks and artillery shelling in the last hours, according to reports on the ground. The Israeli army has issued evacuation orders, and "entire families are being surrounded by Israeli military tanks and armored vehicles" Al-Jazeera adds.

The Gazan Ministry of Health announces a new toll of 25,700 dead and 63,740 injured in Gaza, Reuters reports, citing the ministry.

It added that 210 Palestinians were killed and 386 injured in Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours.

At least 210 people have been killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight, according to the Gazan health ministry.

The heaviest fighting has been in Khan Younis. The Israeli military says it has "encircled" the southern city and that its troops were intensifying operations.

The city is the birthplace of Hamas's Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar, who is accused of being the mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks that sparked the war.

The Israeli army destroyed, on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, the home of a Palestinian accused of complicity in the murder of four Israelis in the occupied West Bank last June, AFP learned from witnesses and local officials.

“A large force of the occupying army stormed the village before midnight and surrounded” the house of Basil Shehadeh, told AFP Adel Al-Amer, secretary of the council of the locality of Orif , southwest of Nablus.

South Africa expects the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to rule on Friday whether to grant emergency measures to stop the war in Gaza, Reuters reports, citing South African news site News24, which is based on two sources close to the case.

Earlier this month, South Africa asked the ICJ to order an emergency halt to Israel's military campaign in the Palestinian enclave, accusing it of carrying out "state genocide." Israel rejected the genocide accusations as "grossly distorted," adding that it had the right to defend itself and that it was targeting Hamas, not Palestinian civilians.

The Israeli army shelled the outskirts of Naqoura (Sour) over the past hour, residents of the village told our correspondent.

Doctors Without Borders says it is "deeply concerned for the safety" of people inside one of two remaining hospitals in Khan Younis.

Writing on X, the NGO warned that people will not be able to access urgent care due to heavy bombing and fighting near Nasser Hospital. They added that they cannot evacuate their 850 patients because the roads to and from the building are "either inaccessible or too dangerous."

The Israeli army has issued an evacuation order for the block where the hospital is located, as it intensifies its bombardments in the area. 

US Central Command forces conducted strikes against two Houthi anti-ship missiles that were aimed into the Southern Red Sea and were prepared to launch at 2:30 a.m. Sanaa time, US Centcom said on X. US forces identified the missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region, Centcom also said. US forces subsequently struck and destroyed the missiles in self-defense, it added.

The Israeli army continues to bombard Khan Younis this morning against the backdrop of discussions aimed at obtaining a truce in the war with Hamas, reports AFP.

Early in the morning, witnesses reported fire from Israeli military helicopters around Khan Younis where Hamas officials are hiding according to Israel, which claimed Tuesday to have "surrounded" the town.

The UN reported an "intensification" of violence and a new evacuation order relayed by the Israeli army affecting areas of Khan Younis where there are "88,000 inhabitants and around 425,000 people displaced" by the war who had found refuge there.

The Israeli government's rejection of a two-state solution is "unacceptable" and risks "prolonging the conflict," declared UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres before the Security Council in New York.

“The clear and repeated rejection last week of the two-state solution at the highest level of the Israeli government is unacceptable,” said Antonio Guterres during this Council meeting in the presence of numerous foreign ministers. “This refusal, and the denial of the right of the Palestinian people to have a state, could indefinitely prolong a conflict that has become a major threat to international peace and security,” he added.

The US has carried out strikes in Iraq against three facilities linked to Iran-backed militias, following "a series of escalatory attacks against the US" in Iraq and Syria, the Pentagon has said.

“US military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia group and other Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq,” the US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, said in a statement.

A senior Iraqi official has described the US strike as a "flagrant violation of Iraq's sovereignty."

The problems facing the region today "reaffirm the importance of the UN mission and UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) for the protection of Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity," said caretaker Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib at the UN Security Council meeting, in a report of the meeting published by the UN on its website.

"We urge all stakeholders not to fall into the Israeli trap of spreading war in the region," he continued. "Lebanon does not want war." "What happened on Oct. 7 did not happen from a vacuum," he added. "It will happen again if we don't reach a comprehensive solution."

As for the situation in Palestine, he questioned "Isn't it high time we recognized that we can't suppress each other?" and again insisted on the need for a two-state solution.

In the last two hours in southern Lebanon:

•⁠ ⁠The Israeli army shelled the outskirts of the southern Lebanon border village of Naqoura, a security source told L'Orient Today.

•⁠ ⁠The Israeli army shelled a residential area in the southern Lebanon border village of Kfar Kila in the Marjayoun district, residents of the village told L'Orient Today.

Wrap-up of what happened last night in southern Lebanon:

•⁠ ⁠A 23-year-old woman has been hospitalized after an Israeli shell hit a house in the southern Lebanese border village of Shebaa, causing significant damage – a security source and the hospital of Rashaya al-Wadi told L'Orient Today. The missile, which landed at around 9 p.m., did not explode. A video shows a broken ceiling and damage around the house.

•⁠ ⁠At 10:30 p.m. the border villages of Dhairah and Yarine (Sour) were shelled, as well as the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil), security source told L'Orient Today.

Be sure to read the Morning Brief so that you are caught up with what has been happening.

Morning Brief

International aid to Lebanon suspended, parliamentary budget session, inflation plateaus: Everything you need to know to start your Wednesday

Good morning!

Thank you for joining us for our live coverage of the ongoing war in Gaza.