Above photo: A Qassam fighting launches a Hamas-made RPG anti-tank shell against an Israeli Merkava Tank om Northern Gaza, January 2024. Screenshot from Al-Araby TV YouTube channel.
Battles Rage On In Northern Gaza.
Hamas rejects Blinken’s visit to Ramallah, saying there are “no differences between Israel and the Americans,” as U.S. and UK naval forces shoot down 21 Yemeni drones over the Red Sea. Meanwhile, Corbyn is set to join South Africa’s ICJ delegation.
Casualties
- 23,357+ killed* and at least 59,410 wounded in the Gaza Strip.
- 385 Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
- Israel revises its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,147.
- 520 Israeli soldiers killed since October 7, and at least 2,193 injured.**
*This figure was confirmed by Gaza’s Ministry of Health on January 10. Some rights groups put the death toll number closer to 30,000 when accounting for those presumed dead.
**This figure is released by the Israeli military.
Key Developments
- Former UK opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn to attend ICJ hearing as part of South African delegation to hold Israel accountable over genocidal actions in Gaza.
- White House describes South Africa’s lawsuit in ICJ as “meritless and counterproductive,” EU countries remain silent.
- Nissim Vaturi, backbench Likud member in Knesset, says no regrets over writing “burn Gaza now” in November.
- Israeli forces destroy hundreds of historical and cultural sites in Gaza and kill dozens of Palestinian intellectuals, writers, artists, and academics, according to PA’s Ministry of Culture.
- Hamas’s Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades ambush Israeli infantry unit in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, firing anti-tank shells at Israeli military vehicle.
- Abu Hamza, spokesperson of Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades, tells Israeli settlers, “Netanyahu’s promises for you to return to Gaza’s envelope are a mirage.”
- Hezbollah denies that commander of air unit killed by Israel on Tuesday.
- British and American naval forces allege destroying 21 combat drones and missiles launched by Yemen’s military forces, led by Ansar Allah.
- U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visits Ramallah to meet PA President Mahmoud Abbas, says U.S. supporting “concrete measures” to realize Palestinian state.
- Hamas rejects Blinken’s visit and says it “is to support the security of the occupation. There are no differences between Israel and the Americans.”
Israel To Confront International Court Of Justice Over Genocide In Gaza
Israeli officials are gearing up for the hearing in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) tomorrow after South Africa filed a lawsuit in December accusing Tel Aviv of committing genocidal actions against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The ICJ hearings will broadcast live on Thursday and Friday. Unrestrained U.S. backing of Israeli military actions and bombardment in Gaza has immunized Tel Aviv from any scrutiny under UN resolutions.
The ICJ ruling could end up as another international law that Israel does not respect. However, there is a high expectation for the Hague-based court to hold Israel accountable this time and implement a permanent ceasefire.
Former UK opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn will attend the ICJ hearing as part of the South African delegation. Corbyn, a longtime supporter of Palestinians and anti-apartheid activist, criticized the UK government’s position for not calling for a ceasefire.
“Every day, another unspeakable atrocity is committed in Gaza,” he said.
“Millions of people around the world support South Africa’s efforts to hold Israel to account. Why can’t our government?”
The UN special rapporteur, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, wrote on X that the ICJ should consider as evidence the Decentralised Damage Mapping Group’s report about the destruction of Palestinian homes and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
“ICJ should consider this as evidence of genocide when coupled with public statements documented before it by South Africa,” he wrote. “Between 45.3 to 55.9 percent of buildings in the Gaza Strip were “likely damaged or destroyed.”
Moreover, between 71.1 to 82.7 percent of buildings in the area around Gaza City in northern Gaza were “likely damaged or destroyed,” he added.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said that his country will assert its right to self-defense at the ICJ hearing.
“[We] will present proudly our case of using self-defence under our most inherent right under international humanitarian law,” he said. In the past, Israel refused to engage in legal proceedings by UN courts over brutal actions against Palestinians.
The ICJ has generated several statements from Palestinian, western, and even Israeli groups.
Countries that have voiced support for Palestine in the ICJ to end Israeli atrocities in the Gaza Strip include Turkey, Jordan, Malaysia, Bolivia, and the 57-member bloc of The Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC).
Only the US has objected to South Africa’s lawsuit at the ICJ. The White House described it as “meritless, counterproductive, and completely without any basis,” while EU countries remained silent.
Israeli MP Says No Regrets Over ‘Burn Gaza Now’ Tweet
Yet, some Israeli officials are still sticking with their calls for genocide in Gaza ahead of the Hague hearing.
On Wednesday morning, Nissim Vaturi, a backbench Likud member in the Knesset told a local radio that he had no regrets for writing on X “Burn Gaza now” in November.
“I stand behind my words. It is better to burn down buildings rather than have soldiers harmed. There are no innocents there… One hundred thousand remain. I have no mercy for those who are still there. We need to eliminate them,” Vaturi said.
On Tuesday evening, at least 15 members of the Nofal family were killed in an Israeli air strike in the Tal Al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip. Wafa news reported that the Kuwaiti Hospital received dozens of injured people following the air raid.
UNRWA Warns Humanitarian Conditions In Rafah On Verge Of Collapse
The UN refugee agency for Palestinians (URWA) warned that the humanitarian conditions in Rafah are on the verge of collapse as tens of thousands of Palestinians are crowded inside tents in the city’s main square.
UNRWA estimates that Rafah currently hosts 1.4 million Palestinians who fled from north Gaza, Khan Yunis and Deir Al-Balah. Pre-war population in Rafah was 300,000 inhabitants.
UNRWA’s spokesperson, Adnan Abu Hasna, told WAFA that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are being pushed by Israeli forces near the Egyptian border.
He added that UNRWA is running 155 schools-turned-shelters, but that the humanitarian conditions are on the verge of collapse.
“Gaza is the worst place on earth, and the Strip is being transformed into an uninhabitable place,” he said.
“The displaced are being pushed into this area, which is on the verge of explosion, especially since the conditions are miserable at all levels of daily living, social and economic, as well as at the level of providing aid,” he said.
Abu Hasna added that Israel’s relentless bombardment of north and central Gaza is hindering efforts to deliver aid to these areas.
“What is happening not only exceeds the capabilities of UNRWA, but it exceeds the capabilities of states, as an entire people is being displaced to the city of Rafah,” Hasna said.
Israeli Forces Bomb Palestinian Houses And Commit 14 Massacres
In the past 24 hours, Israeli forces shot dead six Palestinians who were walking on the coastal road in Al-Sheikh Ajleen, southwest of Gaza City.
In Deir Al-Balah refugee camp, in central Gaza, Israeli warplanes bombed a house, killing and injuring several Palestinians, while artillery forces shelled eastern and southern parts of Khan Younis.
In Al-Bureij and Al-Maghazi refugee camps in central Gaza, Israeli artillery killed at least 20 Palestinians overnight. Israel also bombed the house of the Asalia family in Jabalia, north of Gaza.
In Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, Israel’s navy force bombed the camp’s outskirts, injuring dozens of Palestinians in the Al-Waha and Sudaniya areas, Wafa reported.
At least 58 Palestinians were killed in central Gaza alone in Israeli bombardment, a Wafa correspondent added.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health said on Wednesday that at least 23,357 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli bombardment, and 59,410 were injured, while thousands remain missing under the rubble.
In the past 24 hours, Israel committed 14 massacres in Gaza, killing at least 147 Palestinians and injuring 243 others, the ministry added.
Israel Destroys Hundreds Of Historical And Cultural Sites In Gaza
Israel’s aggression on Gaza destroyed and damaged more than two hundred cultural and heritage sites, and took the lives of dozens of Palestinian writers, intellectuals, academics, and artists.
Among them was the academic and poet Refaat Al-Areer, who contributed to Mondoweiss in the past. At least 41 Palestinian artists and workers in the creative field were also killed by Israel in Gaza, according to a report by the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Ministry of Culture.
The ministry said that four of the slain artists were under the age of 18. Israel destroyed, completely or partially, 24 cultural centers and 195 historical sites, including 10 mosques and churches.
Israeli forces also damaged eight publishing and printing houses, and three art and media production studios.
Atef Abu Seif, the PA’s Minister of Culture, said Israel was targeting museums, theaters, public libraries, universities, schools, artistic murals, and book collections.
“[This is] a miserable attempt to obliterate national identity, erase the collective memory of our people, and destroy all evidence of their existence and connection to the land,” Abu Seif, who is a novelist from Gaza, said.
“Palestinian culture is the genetic gene of our national identity and is the essence and foundation of our historical narrative,” he added.
Hamas Fighters Ambush Israeli Infantry, While U.s. Shoots Down Yemen’s Combat Drones
On Tuesday, Hamas’s Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades released a video portraying an ambush of an Israeli infantry unit in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City. Hamas fighters also fired an anti-tank shell at an Israeli military vehicle which came to rescue the unit.
The Qassam Brigades said that it also downed an Israeli Skylark reconnaissance drone in eastern Al-Zaytoun, one of the first areas Israeli forces invaded in late October.
Abu Hamza, the spokesperson of the Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades, said in a video message on Tuesday evening that Palestinian resistance will continue unabated.
“We tell settlers that [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s promises for you to return to Gaza’s envelope are a mirage,” Abu Hamza said.
Israel’s military spokesperson said that one Israeli soldier was killed in the battles in Gaza in the past 24 hours, and a total of 520 military personnel were killed since October 7.
The Saudi-funded newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat said in a report, citing sources in the Palestinian resistance, that the initial cross-fence attack on Israeli military bases and settlements on October 7 was carried out by 70 Hamas elite fighters.
Hamas fighters were reportedly shocked at the ease with which they crossed the heavily fortified and expensively built Israeli fence around Gaza, whereupon the Hamas leadership allegedly decided to push more fighters into the settlements later on Saturday as a backup force and to secure the transfer of Israeli captives inside Gaza.
The 70 Hamas fighters had trained for the Al-Aqsa Flood operation since 2014. Hamas officials were warned of a dramatic operation to take place early in October, but without being briefed of the details.
In southern Lebanon, Hezbollah denied that the movement’s air unit commander was killed by Israel, following an attack on the Israeli northern military command base on Tuesday.
Ali Hussien Al-Burji was killed in an airstrike on his car on Tuesday, and an Israeli military spokesperson said he was in charge of Hezbollah’s drones.
On Wednesday, British and American naval forces said that they destroyed a total of 21 combat drones and missiles launched by Yemen’s military forces led by the Ansar Allah group (commonly known as “Houthis”).
The U.S. Navy announced that it shot down 18 drones and three missiles over the Red Sea, which was the 26th attack launched by Ansar Allah in the region in a bid to stop ships from sailing to Israeli ports.
Blinken Visits Ramallah As Israeli Forces Raid West Bank Towns
The U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited Ramallah on Wednesday to meet Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, and said that the U.S. is supporting “concrete measures” to realize a Palestinian state.
The PA has been powerless to stop settlers attacks or raids by Israeli forces on Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank.
Blinken said that “extremist settler violence carried out with impunity, settlement expansion, demolitions, evictions, all make it harder, not easier for Israel to achieve lasting peace and security.”
Hamas rejected Blinken’s visit.
“The aim of the visit is to support the security of the occupation. There are no differences between Israel and the Americans,” Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said.
Overnight, Israeli forces arrested dozens of Palestinians from Jenin, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Tulkarem, and Hebron.
East of Bethlehem, Israeli forces stormed a health clinic in the village of al-Rashaida, vandalizing and destroying its medical equipment.
The clinic serves 4,500 Palestinians in the area, including the Palestinian communities of Arab Al-Rawa’i and Arab Al-Walida, Wafa reported.
Israeli extremist settlers from the illegal outpost of Ma’ale Amos attacked Palestinian livestock and crops and blocked shepherds from using the lands east of Bethlehem, on several occasions since October.
Israeli forces also stormed Jenin city and Jenin refugee camp overnight, bulldozing roads. The Israeli raid lasted 11 hours, according to Wafa, and several Palestinians were arrested.
The Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club said Israeli forces arrested 26 Palestinians in the past 24 hours.
As of the end of December, there were 8,800 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, 80 of whom are women.