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Israel prepared to defend itself against accusations of genocide in the Gaza Strip in the United Nations Supreme Court on Thursday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rejected for the first time calls by some right-wing ministers for a permanent occupation of the strip. I arranged it.
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Israel prepared to defend itself against accusations of genocide in the Gaza Strip in the United Nations Supreme Court on Thursday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rejected for the first time calls by some right-wing ministers for a permanent occupation of the strip. I arranged it.
As Israel’s war in Gaza continues to escalate, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, also known as the World Court, will hear a lawsuit brought by South Africa alleging Israel’s war against Hamas militants in Gaza in December. It was scheduled to be held on Thursday and Friday. Violating the 1948 Genocide Convention.
Israeli government spokesman Eilon Levy said on Wednesday: “Tomorrow the State of Israel will go to the International Court of Justice to clear South Africa’s absurd bloody libel, while Pretoria gives political and legal cover to the rapist regime of Hamas.” I will appear in court.”
The hearing will only deal with South Africa’s request for emergency measures to order Israel to halt military operations in Gaza while the court considers the merits of the case, a process that could take years. Colombia and Brazil expressed support for South Africa late Wednesday.
Israel launched an offensive after Hamas fighters crossed the border and rioted on October 7, with Israel saying 1,200 people were killed and 240 were abducted.
Since then, Israeli forces have destroyed much of Gaza, forcing nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million people to flee their homes at least once, creating a humanitarian catastrophe. More than 23,000 Palestinians were killed.
On the eve of the hearing, Prime Minister Netanyahu for the first time publicly opposed calls for Palestinians to leave voluntarily from right-wing members of his government, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. , gave way to Gaza. The Israelites settle there.
This position is Israel’s official policy, but Netanyahu’s previous comments on the permanent occupation of Gaza have been inconsistent and at times unclear.
“I want to make a few things absolutely clear: Israel has no intention of occupying Gaza permanently or displacing civilians,” Netanyahu said on social media X.
“Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian people, and we are doing so in full compliance with international law,” he said, adding that he may speak ahead of the ICJ hearing. .
Jordan and Egypt warned against Israel’s reoccupation of the Gaza Strip and appealed for permission for displaced residents to return, as Jordan’s King Abdullah and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi met on Wednesday.
On the ground in Gaza, fighting was fiercer than ever before. Israel in southern and central Gaza despite promises to withdraw some troops and move to more targeted operations and implored ally Washington to reduce civilian casualties. Military attacks intensified on Wednesday.
Israeli military chief spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari said in a teleconference late Wednesday that the military was concentrating its operations on Khan Yunis and refugee camps in the center of the district.
In the latest sign of an escalating three-month war, U.S. and British warships in the Red Sea have fended off the biggest attack yet by Yemen’s Houthis, who say they are acting in support of Gaza. Washington and London announced they had shot down 21 drones and missiles that targeted their shipping lanes. No one was injured.
The United Nations Security Council late Wednesday approved a resolution calling on the Houthis to immediately stop attacks on ships.
Israel announced this week that it plans to begin withdrawing troops from at least northern Gaza, following pressure from the United States to scale back operations and move toward more targeted operations.
The World Health Organization has canceled a scheduled medical aid mission to Gaza, citing security concerns, the sixth such cancellation in two weeks.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said four of its staff members were killed when their ambulance was hit by Israeli fire on a main road near Deir al-Bala in the central Gaza Strip. Two passengers in the ambulance were injured and later died.
Palestinian health officials at Abu Youssef an-Najjar Hospital in Rafah announced that four Palestinian children were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Rafah.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Wednesday, his fourth visit to the region since the start of the war, and met with Palestinian leaders, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
The State Department said Blinken expressed support for a Palestinian state and discussed efforts to protect and assist civilians in Gaza. The Palestinian Authority said Prime Minister Abbas told Blinken that he should not evacuate Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank.
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