Middle East crisis live: South Africa to begin genocide case against Israel at ICJ as fighting continues in Gaza

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Summary of the day so far

It’s 9am in Gaza, Tel Aviv and Beirut. Here are the latest developments:

• The international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague will begin hearing arguments in about two hours, at 10am local time, alleging that Israel is committing genocide in its war in Gaza. South Africa, which has brought the case to the UN’s top court, is asking the ICJ to act urgently “to protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the genocide convention, which continues to be violated with impunity”. Israel reacted furiously when the application was made. It says it is acting in self-defence, to protect Israelis by destroying Hamas.

• The UN security council has voted to approve a resolution drafted by the US and Japan to demand an end to attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels. The council voted down proposed amendments from Russia that would have weakened the resolution. The vote passed with 11 votes in favour, zero objections and four abstentions, including Russia, China and Algeria.

• The head of Yemen’s Houthi supreme revolutionary committee, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, has reacted to the UN resolution on navigation in the Red Sea. Al-Houthi said in a post on X that what Yemeni armed forces were doing comes within the framework of legitimate defence, and that any action they face will have a reaction. He also described the resolution as a “political game”. “We call on the Security Council to immediately release 2.3 Million people from the Israeli-American siege in Gaza,” he said.

• The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has condemned attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea as “reckless and dangerous” during a meeting with Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Manama, the penultimate stop of the diplomat’s whistle stop Middle East tour. Earlier on Wednesday he met the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, in the West Bank, where they discussed “ongoing efforts to minimise civilian harm in Gaza, accelerate the delivery of humanitarian aid, end extremist violence, and work towards an independent Palestinian state”.

• The US secretary of state Antony Blinken is preparing to travel to Egypt for more talks aimed at containing Israel’s war in Gaza. The diplomat is set to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo.

• The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has posted on X his views about the future of Gaza. He says “I want to make a few points absolutely clear: Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population. Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full compliance with international law.” The comments come as the international court of justice case against Israel is set to get under way on Thursday.

• Pramila Patten, the United Nations special representative on sexual violence, will visit Israel this month to look at allegations of rape and other sexual offences committed by Hamas fighters on and after 7 October. Patten has been granted investigative authority by Israel’s foreign ministry that will allow her to speak with survivors and released Israeli hostages who were raped or sexually assaulted. Her office portrayed the visit as an “information gathering mission”.

• The Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff said no village in Lebanon was out of the military’s reach, after an escalation in violence between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group based there. Herzi Halevi told a gathering of soldiers in Gaza that their actions in the besieged Palestinian territory had convinced him that they could take the fight into Lebanese territory if needed, AFP reported.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said there were nearly “insurmountable obstacles” to delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, saying the situation was “indescribable”. He said six planned missions to northern Gaza had been cancelled because Israel had rejected requests and not given assurances of safe passage, adding that a mission planned for today also had to be cancelled.

• A total of 23,357 Palestinians have been killed and 59,410 have been injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said. The ministry, which is run by Hamas, said 147 Palestinians were killed and 243 injured in the past 24 hours. About 1.9 million people, or nearly 85% of the total population of Gaza, are estimated to have been displaced from their homes. Only 15 out of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially functional. Three hundred and thirty Palestinians have also been killed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank over the same period, including 84 children, and nearly 4,000 people have been injured by Israeli security forces during that time.

• The IDF announced the death of another member of Israel’s troops inside Gaza, taking the total toll of the ground offensive to 186. The Israeli military has said that 1,065 of its soldiers have been injured in Gaza. Israel launched its military campaign after the 7 October surprise Hamas attack during which about 1,200 people were killed. An estimated 240 people were seized as hostages. About 130 are still believed to be in captivity. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty counts being issued during the conflict.

• Israel’s military claims to have “uncovered more than 15 underground tunnel shafts in the area” of Maghazi in central Gaza, where it says that its troops directed airstrikes that killed “several terrorists”. In Khan Younis, it claims that “in battles in the area over the last day, dozens of terrorist operatives were killed by IDF troops”, adding that “a total of approximately 150 terror targets were struck by IDF troops over the last day”. The claims have not been independently verified.

Palestinians in the West Bank have gathered in support of South Africa in its international court of justice genocide case against Israel’s war in Gaza. Here is an image of that rally on Wednesday in Ramallah:

People raise flags and placards as they gather around a statue of late South African president Nelson Mandela in Ramallah. Photograph: Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images

The US secretary of state Antony Blinken is preparing to travel to Egypt for more talks aimed at containing Israel’s war in Gaza.

The diplomat is set to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo, a day after talks with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, who “committed” to reforming the body to potentially reunite Gaza and the occupied West Bank under its leadership after the war, Blinken said.

The Middle East trip is the US secretary of state’s fourth aimed at preventing the conflict’s spread.

Blinken has sketched out a possible postwar future for Gaza after meeting Abbas and Bahrain’s King Hamad on Wednesday.

He told Abbas that Washington supported “tangible steps” towards the creation of a Palestinian state – a long-term goal that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right government has opposed.

In Bahrain, Blinken said Abbas was “committed” to reforming the Palestinian Authority “so that it can effectively take responsibility for Gaza, so that Gaza and the West Bank can be reunited under a Palestinian leadership”.

Just a month after its 75th anniversary, the genocide convention could be entering a new age of greater relevance as the international court of justice convenes in The Hague to consider the Israel-Gaza war.

South Africa has brought a case to the ICJ accusing Israel of committing genocide in its military response to the 7 October Hamas attack that killed hundreds of Israeli civilians. The South African case includes references to the Israeli use of blanket bombing and the cutting of food, water and medicine supplies to Gaza.

“The acts are all attributable to Israel, which has failed to prevent genocide and is committing genocide in manifest violation of the genocide convention,” the case states.

Israel has signalled its determination to rebuff the charges, which Tel Aviv and Washington have rejected as baseless. It could take the court years to make a ruling, but it could also issue “provisional measures” requiring actions, like a ceasefire, to mitigate the risk of genocide.

The Israeli government could ignore the measures, but to do so would cause enormous reputational harm and loss of influence on the world stage for Israel and its principal backer, the US.

Read the rest of our world affairs editor Julian Borger’s analysis here:

Senior White House adviser Amos Hochstein is expected to visit Beirut on Thursday, a US official has told Reuters, as part of US efforts to ease tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Washington is worried Israel’s war in Gaza could spread violence across the region, with armed groups backed by Iran launching solidarity attacks in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Lebanese group Hezbollah has been trading fire with the Israeli military across the southern border since Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza three months ago.

The border violence has forced tens of thousands on both sides to flee.

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati told a senior United Nations official on Tuesday that his country was ready for talks on long-term stability on its southern border with Israel.

Hochstein, the US energy envoy last year floated the possibility of talks on drawing the land border between Israel and Lebanon, after having mediated a 2022 deal setting the maritime borders between the two countries.

For more on what the international court of justice actually is and the details of the case, read our explainer by Helen Livingstone here:

What is the ICJ?

The international court of justice (ICJ) – not to be confused with the international criminal court (ICC), which tries individuals for war crimes – is the UN’s top court. Established in 1945, it is based in The Hague and rules on disputes between countries as well as giving advisory opinions.

It has 15 judges – which will be expanded by an additional judge from each side in the Israel case – elected for nine-year terms by the UN general assembly and the security council.

As the ICJ case is set to begin – fighting is still taking place in Gaza.

The Israeli military is now focusing major operations on the southern city of Khan Younis and built-up refugee camps in central Gaza.

Hamas’s press office said early Thursday that 62 people had been killed in strikes overnight, including around Khan Yunis, Agence France-Presse reports.

Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in his evening briefing the night before that forces were continuing “to act decisively above and below ground” in the area.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said an Israeli strike on an ambulance in central Gaza killed four medics and two other passengers on Wednesday. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incident when contacted by AFP.

Hundreds of people have been killed in recent days in strikes across the territory, including in areas of the far south where people have been told to seek refuge.

A heavy strike on Wednesday brought down a two-story building in the central town of Deir al-Balah, close to its main Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, killing at least 20 people, according to Palestinian health officials.

Late Tuesday, a strike in Gaza’s southernmost city, Rafah, hit a house, killing at least 14 people and wounding at least 20 others, including women and children, health officials said. AP reporters saw the dead and wounded being brought into nearby hospitals.

South Africa to begin genocide case against Israel at ICJ

The international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague will begin hearing arguments at 10am local time alleging that Israel is committing genocide in its war in Gaza.

South Africa, which has brought the case to the UN’s top court, is asking the ICJ to act urgently “to protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the genocide convention, which continues to be violated with impunity”.

It comes as the assault on Gaza – launched in response to the 7 October attacks on Israel by Hamas in which militants killed 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and took 240 people hostage – continues to wreak a devastating toll.

Israel reacted furiously when the application was made, calling it “baseless” and a “blood libel”. It says it is acting in self-defence, to protect Israelis by destroying Hamas. The country’s biggest supporter, the US, has dismissed the case as “meritless”.

Both sides’ legal teams will have the same amount of time to make their case – approximately three hours – with South Africa going first on Thursday and then Israel responding on Friday. Judgment will be reserved until a later date, but could come within weeks.

Read our full report on what to expect from the trial by Haroon Siddique in The Hauge:

Welcome and opening summary

Hello and welcome to our latest blog on the Middle East crisis, I’m Reged Ahmad and I’ll be with you for the next while.

It’s currently 7am in Gaza and Tel Aviv, and 6am in The Hague where South Africa is set to begin making arguments in its international court of justice case.

The case is scheduled to get under way at 10am local time. Israel is facing accusations by South Africa that it has committed “genocidal” acts in its war in Gaza. But they’re charges Israel’s president has dismissed as “atrocious” and “preposterous”. As part of the case, South Africa has lodged an urgent appeal to the UN’s top court to force Israel to “immediately suspend” its military operations in Gaza.

Meanwhile, fighting is continuing in the territory, with the Israeli military now focusing major operations on the southern city of Khan Younis, Associated Press reports.

More on that in a moment but first, here’s a summary of the latest developments:

• The UN security council has voted to approve a resolution drafted by the US and Japan to demand an end to attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels. The council voted down proposed amendments from Russia that would have weakened the resolution. The vote passed with 11 votes in favour, zero objections and four abstentions, including Russia, China and Algeria.

• The head of Yemen’s Houthi supreme revolutionary committee, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, has reacted to the UN resolution on navigation in the Red Sea. Al-Houthi said in a post on X that what Yemeni armed forces were doing comes within the framework of legitimate defence, and that any action they face will have a reaction. He also described the resolution as a “political game”. “We call on the Security Council to immediately release 2.3 Million people from the Israeli-American siege in Gaza,” he said.

• The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has condemned attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea as “reckless and dangerous” during a meeting with Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Manama, the penultimate stop of the diplomat’s whistle stop Middle East tour. Earlier on Wednesday he met the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, in the West Bank, where they discussed “ongoing efforts to minimise civilian harm in Gaza, accelerate the delivery of humanitarian aid, end extremist violence, and work towards an independent Palestinian state”.

• The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has posted on X his views about the future of Gaza. He says “I want to make a few points absolutely clear: Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population. Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full compliance with international law.” The comments come as the international court of justice case against Israel is set to get under way on Thursday.

• Pramila Patten, the United Nations special representative on sexual violence, will visit Israel this month to look at allegations of rape and other sexual offences committed by Hamas fighters on and after 7 October. Patten has been granted investigative authority by Israel’s foreign ministry that will allow her to speak with survivors and released Israeli hostages who were raped or sexually assaulted. Her office portrayed the visit as an “information gathering mission”.

• The Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff said no village in Lebanon was out of the military’s reach, after an escalation in violence between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group based there. Herzi Halevi told a gathering of soldiers in Gaza that their actions in the besieged Palestinian territory had convinced him that they could take the fight into Lebanese territory if needed, AFP reported.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said there were nearly “insurmountable obstacles” to delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, saying the situation was “indescribable”. He said six planned missions to northern Gaza had been cancelled because Israel had rejected requests and not given assurances of safe passage, adding that a mission planned for today also had to be cancelled.

• Britain warned of severe consequences after US and UK warships were forced to repel a barrage of 20 Houthi rockets, drones and cruise missiles fired at ships in the Red Sea. American and British forces say they shot down 18 drones and three missiles on Tuesday. The Italian defense minister, Guido Crosetto, has said that Yemen’s Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping must be stopped without triggering a new war.

• A total of 23,357 Palestinians have been killed and 59,410 have been injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said. The ministry, which is run by Hamas, said 147 Palestinians were killed and 243 injured in the past 24 hours. About 1.9 million people, or nearly 85% of the total population of Gaza, are estimated to have been displaced from their homes. Only 15 out of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially functional. Three hundred and thirty Palestinians have also been killed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank over the same period, including 84 children, and nearly 4,000 people have been injured by Israeli security forces during that time.

• The IDF announced the death of another member of Israel’s troops inside Gaza, taking the total toll of the ground offensive to 186. The Israeli military has said that 1,065 of its soldiers have been injured in Gaza. Israel launched its military campaign after the 7 October surprise Hamas attack during which about 1,200 people were killed. An estimated 240 people were seized as hostages. About 130 are still believed to be in captivity. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty counts being issued during the conflict.

• Israel’s military claims to have “uncovered more than 15 underground tunnel shafts in the area” of Maghazi in central Gaza, where it says that its troops directed airstrikes that killed “several terrorists”. In Khan Younis, it claims that “in battles in the area over the last day, dozens of terrorist operatives were killed by IDF troops”, adding that “a total of approximately 150 terror targets were struck by IDF troops over the last day”. The claims have not been independently verified.

• Israel’s military has also said that it is has again struck at what it described as Hezbollah terrorist targets inside southern Lebanon.

• The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported Israel detained a further 26 Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It brings the total number of detainees since 7 October to more than 5,780.

• Israeli politician Nissim Vaturi reiterated his call for Gaza to be burned down, saying “there are no innocents there”. Referring to Palestinians still in northern Gaza after repeated orders from the Israeli military for them to flee, Vaturi said: “One hundred thousand remain. I have no mercy for those who are still there. We need to eliminate them.” The comments came ahead of a hearing on Thursday at the international court of justice, where South Africa has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza.

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