Jan. 11: Houthis brace for 1st US strikes in Yemen in retaliation for Red Sea strikes

Egypt’s Suez Canal revenues down 40% due to Houthi attacks

In this image obtained from the US Department of Defense, the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan transits through the Suez Canal, Egypt, on August, 6, 2023. (Photo by Moises Sandoval / US Department of Defense / AFP)

Dollar revenues from Egypt’s Suez Canal are down 40 percent from the beginning of the year compared to 2023, Canal authority head Osama Rabie says, after attacks on ships by Yemen’s Houthis caused major shippers to divert away from the route.

Ship traffic was down 30% in the period between Jan. 1 and Jan. 11 compared to a year prior, Rabie says, speaking on a late night talk show.

The number of vessels to pass through the Suez Canal dropped to 544 so far this year, from 777 in the equivalent period of 2023, he says.

The Suez Canal is a key source of scarce foreign currency for Egypt, and authorities have been trying hard to boost revenues in recent years, including through an expansion of the Canal in 2015. A further expansion is underway.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea for weeks to show support for Palestinian terror group Hamas in its war against Israel.

Many commercial shippers have diverted vessels to other routes. The United States announced last month a new international mission to patrol the Red Sea and deter attacks.

Rabie says only ships that had to proceed promptly with their journey had diverted around the Cape of Good Hope, and that others were waiting for the situation to stabilise.

The security concern to shippers could not be overcome with discounts or other incentives offered by the Canal, he says.

“A very large portion of the goods will return (to the Canal) once this matter is finished,” he says, referring to the Houthi attacks.

Houthi leader says no attack will go unanswered, as reports swirl of impending US-UK strike on rebel group

Abdul Malik Al-Houthi gives a video statement on January 11, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

As reports swirl of a joint US-UK strike against the Houthis in the coming hours, the leader of the Yemeni rebel group issues a statement declaring that no attack will go unanswered.

“Any American aggression will not go unanswered,” says Abdul Malik Al-Houthi in a statement.

“Whoever wants to get involved and attack our dear people and target our naval forces is putting [their country’s] navigation and commercial ships at risk,” he adds in the video address where a sign featuring the Houthis slogan — “God is the Greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, A Curse Upon the Jews, Victory to Islam” — can be seen in the background.

The US along with the UK have lost their patience with the Houthis after repeated attacks in the Red Sea that have disrupted international shipping routes and have reportedly decided to conduct a strike within the coming hours.

But the decision to widely leak the strike ahead of time appears aimed at limiting the scope of the escalation, as the US continues to work to prevent the conflict from spreading across the Middle East.

Strikes on Houthis could come within hours, according to reports

Speculation is rampant that strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels could be ordered overnight, some of it seemingly based on UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calling an emergency cabinet meeting.

The political editor for the Times of London newspaper reports that Britain is expected to join the United States in conducting air strikes on military positions belonging to the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen “within hours.”

Steven Swinford claims on X that the strikes are imminent, with “carefully choreographed statements” to follow.

BREAKING:

Joe Biden, the US President, is expected to make a statement tonight in the wake of military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen

The strikes are expected shortly, with a series of carefully choreographed statements from the US, the UK and other international…

— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) January 11, 2024

“You don’t hold an emergency cabinet meeting unless you’re considering a military response,” former UK ambassador William Patey tells Sky News. “The Americans have clearly put some military options on the table and have invited us to participate.”

Joyce Karam of Al-Monitor also reports on social media that a strike could come as early as tonight.

UPDATE: US/UK strikes expected vs Houthis
• UK emergency cabinet mtg
• Strikes could be as soon as tonight
• Hit Yemen coast
• 27 Houthi attacks in Red Sea
• Warnings, interventions failed
• Disruption in response to Gaza war https://t.co/1vWGRXfmcb

— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) January 11, 2024

Al Jazeera rebuffs Israeli accusation that slain pair were terrorists

Palestinians look at a car targeted by an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Jan. 7, 2024, in which two journalists were killed. (AP/Hatem Ali)

Al Jazeera has rejected allegations by the Israeli army that one of its journalists was a terror operative after it killed him in a Gaza air strike.

“Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemns and wholly rejects – and indeed expresses its very considerable surprise at – the Israeli army’s false and misleading attempts to justify the killing of our colleague Hamza Wael Dahdouh and other journalists,” the Qatar-based network says in a statement.

Israel initially said the two were riding with a terrorist flying a drone when hit, then appeared to backtrack Monday, before reversing course again Wednesday, publishing what it said was proof the two were actually part of Gazan terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Israeli military action reported in Lebanon, West Bank, Gaza

The Hezbollah-affiliated al-Meyadeen news site reports Israeli shelling near the town of Aitaroun in the south of Lebanon.

Elsewhere, Palestinians report that troops are raiding the Nur Shams refugee camp outside of Tulkarem in the West Bank.

#عاجل| جانب من اقتحام مدينة طولكرم pic.twitter.com/A1j3byubKS

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) January 11, 2024

Strikes are also reported in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

There is no comment from the Israel Defense Forces.

UK cabinet said meeting on response to Houthis attacks

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is holding a call with his cabinet about a possible response to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militants on Red Sea shipping, British media report.

The Times of London newspaper reports that the meeting comes with Britain and the United States preparing to launch military strikes against the Iranian-backed Houthis.

The British government also held a meeting of the national security council earlier on Thursday, the Times adds.

Sunak’s Downing Street office did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment.

Sky News reports that Keir Starmer, the leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, will be briefed by the government following the virtual cabinet meeting, which was slated to start an hour ago.

Separately, Downing Street says Sunak had spoken to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi earlier on Thursday and the two leaders had discussed the rise in Houthi attacks and its disruptive impact on shipping.

US, Houthis bracing for retaliatory strikes over Red Sea attacks — report

Demonstrators shout slogans and brandish their weapons during a march in solidarity with the Palestinian people, in the Huthi-controlled capital Sanaa on January 11, 2024. (Mohammed Huwais/AFP)

Yemen’s Houthi rebels are fortifying positions and moving weapons and personnel from others in anticipation of a US and UK attack in the wake of continuing attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The report quotes maritime executives who were told about target lists including radar stations and drone launch sites around key Houthi-controlled cities, though US defense officials are quoted saying that the plan will be to strike back without risking a major escalation.

According to a Houthi source quoted by the Journal, the Iran-backed group has moved its missiles to bunkers in densely populated areas of the capital Sa’ana.

The report notes that an Iranian spy ship thought to have aided in the Houthi attacks left the region to return to the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, in a sign that Tehran also sees Western retaliation looming.

White House says people in Gaza starving, calls for more aid trucks

Abdullah, an Egyptian truck driver waits to deliver a load of humanitarian aid bound for the Gaza Strip at a holding area at Kerem Shalom Crossing on the intersection of two borders: between Egypt and southern Israel and the Gaza Strip and southern Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Gazans are facing starvation and more humanitarian aid must get in, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby tells reporters.

“We recognize that there are real food security issues in Gaza,” he says. “We understand there’s a lot of hunger and starvation in Gaza.”

Kirby says not enough aid trucks are getting into Gaza.

“There is not enough trucks getting in, we’re not satisfied with the level right now,” he says.

Kirby also reiterates the US’s rejection of genocide accusations at The Hague, telling reporters that claims made at the court will not stop the US from making sure Israel has what it needs to defend itself.

“We’re going to continue to supply them with the tools and capabilities they need to do that,” Kirby says.

Talks on getting medicine to hostages advancing — report

High-level talks between Qatar and Hamas are moving toward a deal that could see vital medicine delivered to Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, The New York Times reports, citing officials.

The talks also include negotiations on moves to get more medical supplies into the Strip, where health authorities say they are facing shortages of drugs and equipment.

An Israeli official says there has been progress on the issue, while Hamas’s Husam Badran says the terror group is engaged in the talks “with great positivity.”

An official says discussions are also underway with international organizations on how to get the medicine to the hostages, who have had no access to the Red Cross since being taken on October 7.

Many suffer from chronic conditions requiring specific medications. Israel had earlier accused the Red Cross of doing too little to attempt to get medication to the hostages.

“The fact that so many hostages have been denied the medications they need is a death sentence,” says Daniel Lifshitz, whose grandfather Oded Lifshitz is held in Gaza. “They should have received what they needed on the first day.”

Houthis fired missile at shipping lanes in Gulf of Aden, US says

The US Central Command says Yemen’s Houthi rebels attacked shipping lanes in the Arabian Sea with an anti-ship ballistic missile early this morning, the 27th such attack since mid-November.

The attack occurred in the Gulf of Aden, according to CentCom.

“One commercial vessel reported visually observing the missile impact the water; however, there were no injuries or damage reported,” a statement says.

Report: Cabinet picked up bickering where it left off last week

News reports indicate that ministers continued to squabble at a security cabinet meeting last night, a week after a similar meeting reportedly ended in a shouting match as lawmakers and military brass argued over plans for a probe into the army’s failings leading up to October 7.

According to some reports, Likud’s David Amsalem took aim at National Unity party head Benny Gantz, accusing him of yelling and leaking details of the meeting to the media.

Gantz responded that he was not the leaker and would take a polygraph test to prove it.

According to Channel 12 news, after Amsalem told Gantz to stop screwing around with him, Netanyahu got on his feet and told Amsalem to cut it out.

The channel also reports that Likud’s Miri Regev continued to harp over the plans for a probe into the army’s failings, after leading criticism a week earlier over the decision to announce the investigation despite fighting in Gaza ongoing.

“You owe me an answer over whether the probe will cover until October 7 or from October 7,” she told IDF head Herzi Halevi, according to the report.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who has backed the probe, answered her that he was dealing with it, to which she responded that he should be sure to bring the decision about the probe to the cabinet for approval, the channel says.

The Ynet news site reports that Otzma Yehudit party head Itamar Ben Gvir also tried to go after Gallant, saying he had been pushing for a year for the army to assassinate terror leaders, a policy the military had largely desisted from in the past decade.

According to the report, Gallant shot back, “Just because you were questioned by the Shin Bet doesn’t mean you understand intelligence.”

Ben Gvir was investigated by the security service over suspected terror activity in his youth.

Ynet also reports that Regev brought popcorn and passed it around as a joke when the caterwauling kicked off.

IDF spokesman says Hamas atrocities being ignored as Israel accused

In response to the ongoing legal proceedings at the International Court of Justice against the military’s war in the Gaza Strip, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says Israel will not allow the world to forget Hamas’s October 7 atrocities.

“In these days, it is important to mention that we are fighting in a just war like no other. A war that the enemy chose to open, knowingly, as it carried out crimes against humanity and cruel acts not seen in the Western world for decades,” he tells his nightly press conference.

He says many of the atrocities are documented “by the terrorists themselves. But despite this, many in the world attempt to ignore them, as if they did not happen.”

“No, they occurred. And we remember, and we will not forget, and we will not allow the world to forget,” he says.

Changing to speaking in English, Hagari says “We will never forget the Hamas massacre of October 7th. We will never let the world forget the Hamas massacre of October 7th. We will never let the world forget the hostages being held by Hamas since October 7th.”

“Never again is our call to action, because never again is now,” he adds.

Hamas put tens of millions of dollars into massive tunnel network, IDF says

This image from video shows a Hamas tunnel under an apartment near Gaza City believed to have been used as a hideout by Yahya Sinwar, in a video published by the IDF on December 29, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

Hamas used more than 6,000 tons of concrete and 1,800 tons of steel for the hundreds of kilometers of tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip, the IDF says, citing new intelligence.

The IDF says information recovered by troops in Gaza, along with the hundreds of underground passages that have been investigated so far, indicate that Hamas invested tens of millions of dollars in its tunnels project.

“The Hamas terror organization chose to invest these precious resources in building a terror infrastructure used to harm Israeli citizens and IDF forces, while cynically exploiting the civilian population in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF says.

Amid the ground operation in Gaza, the IDF has been operating to demolish Hamas’s main tunnel networks.

US rejects Israeli claim that South Africa acting as Hamas’s legal arm

US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel says the US does not agree with Israel’s condemnation of South Africa as the legal division of Hamas, but also rejects the accusation that the country is committing genocide.

“That is not a characterization that I would make from up here about our South African partners,” he says in answer to a question.

“The allegation that Israel is committing genocide is unfounded,” Patel says.

He notes that over 7,000 trucks of humanitarian aid have entered Gaza since late October, but says it’s not enough, calling for more aid, and not only aid, to get in faster.

“More humanitarian aid needs to be flowing into Gaza, more commercial goods need to be flowing into Gaza,” he says, telling reporters that the issue was a centerpiece of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s talks in the region.

Patel also condemns Iran’s seizure of a Greek oil tanker, calling for the immediate release of the ship and its crew.

It calls the seizure the latest of a series of Iranian actions which are “a menace to the global economy.”

He says the US will consult with regional partners about how to respond to Iran.

Gallant: Many troops still in Khan Younis, not targeting Gazans indiscriminately

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant looking into Gaza on January 11, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Visiting the border with southern Gaza, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant indicates that Israel is still in full fighting mode in Khan Younis, while ensuring access to humanitarian aid for civilians.

“There are a great many troops inside, west of here, operating within Khan Younis is a very very impressive way, above ground and below,” he says, while visiting an area across from the southeastern Gaza town of Khuza’a, on the outskirts of Khan Younis.

He says that there is no more justified war than the one being waged by Israel against Hamas and no more moral army than the IDF, in apparent reaction to charges made against Israel at the Hague.

The army “still differentiates each day between those who are involved and need to be eliminated and those who are uninvolved, for whom we provide access to humanitarian aid, medicine, food, water, to separate between the civilian population and murderous lowlife terrorists who we will hunt until they are finished off.”

Iran claims it had court order to legally seize Greek oil tanker

In this satellite photo provided by Planet Labs PBC, vessels identified as the Virgo, left, and the Suez Rajan, by the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, are seen in the South China Sea on Feb. 13, 2022. (Planet Labs PBC via AP, File)

Iran says the nabbing of an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman earlier today was legal and is backed by a court order.

The Iranian navy’s “seizure of the oil tanker does not constitute hijacking; rather, it is a lawful undertaking sanctioned by a court order and corresponds to the theft of Iran’s very own oil,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations tells The Associated Press in a statement. “Adhering to the established legal procedures is the most prudent approach for the resolution of this matter.”

The St. Nikolas was earlier named the Suez Rajan, associated with the Greek shipping company Empire Navigation.

In a statement to the AP, Athens-based Empire Navigation acknowledged losing contact with the vessel, which has a crew of 18 Filipinos and one Greek national.

“Empire have no such knowledge of a court order or the Iranian navy having seized their vessel, and have still not been contacted by anyone,” the company said.

In 2021, the Suez Rajan was involved in a yearlong dispute that ultimately saw the US Justice Department seize 1 million barrels of Iranian crude oil on it.

South African Jews protest country’s ICJ accusations, say it dismisses antisemitism concerns

South Africa’s Jewish Board of Deputies, an umbrella group representing the mainline Jewish community in the country, says its country’s leadership is “inverting reality by accusing Israel of genocide,” noting that it leveled the charge almost immediately after the war began, and has never condemned Hamas’s massacres inside Israel.

In a statement issued by National Chair Karen Milner, the group accuses Pretoria of ignoring “concerns over antisemitism with contempt.”

“Global Jewry are united that these charges have at their root an antisemitic worldview, which denies Jews their rights to defend themselves. They won’t silence us by denying our reality,” the statement reads.

It also notes that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa sought to protect others charged or convicted of war crimes at The Hague.

“Why did President Cyril Ramaphosa not feel ‘duty-bound’ to hand over convicted genocide President of Sudan Omar Al Bashir, when he visited this country? Or see it as a ‘matter of principle’ to hand over Russian President Vladimir Putin to the ICC when he was expected to visit South Africa? Or take a ‘principled stand’ when he met last week, with Mohamed Dagalo of Sudan, the commander of the RSF militia who has just inflicted genocide on the non-Arab communities across Darfur,” Milner writes.

‘Hypocritical’ South Africa backing ‘monsters’ bent on actual genocide, Netanyahu charges

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a weekly cabinet meeting at the Hakirya base in Tel Aviv on December 31, 2023. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses South Africa of “representing monsters” and “accusing Israel of genocide while it is fighting genocide,” saying its case at the Hague is evidence of a “world turned upside down.”

“A terror organization carries out the worst crime against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, and now comes along someone to defend them in the name of the Holocaust,” he says in a video statement. “What chutzpah.”

“South Africa’s hypocrisy cries out from the heavens,” he adds. “Where were you South Africa when millions of people were killed or displaced from their homes in Syria and Yemen, and by whom? By Hamas’s partners.”

Netanyahu defiantly says Israel will “continue battling terrorists… until total victory.”

“We will continue to reject the lies, we will continue to protect our just right to defend ourselves and ensure our future,” he says.

Human Rights Watch head fetes South Africa for taking Israel to court

The head of Human Rights Watch is praising South Africa for bringing Israel’s military campaign against Hamas to the ICJ, saying the international community should be responsible for ensuring that Israel complies with any judicial decision.

“South Africa is providing important leadership here. It’s really using this important opportunity,” Tirana Hassan, executive director of Human Rights Watch, tells Reuters.

“If Israel does not comply with the measures or orders of the court, then it is up to the international community to ensure that they are leveraging whatever pressure that they can to encourage Israel to actually implement the measures,” she says.

Human Rights Watch, which released its World Report today outlining abuses around the globe, accused Israel last night of using the starvation of civilians as a means of warfare in the Gaza Strip, which constitutes a war crime. Israel has vigorously denied the charge, with truckloads of aid allowed into the Strip daily.

“In the throes of this war, what we have seen is consistent, flagrant violations of international humanitarian law,” Hassan says. “We were able to document elements of this one crime — the crime of starvation.”

She calls for “unfettered humanitarian access” to Gaza.

Israel says aid deliveries must be inspected for fear they will be used to smuggle arms or defensive aid to Hamas or other terror groups in the Strip.

Israeli strike hits car in southern Gaza, killing 8 — reports

Palestinian reports indicate that an Israeli strike targeted a car in the southern Gaza Strip, killing eight people.

The reports say the strike occurred in the al-Manara neighborhood of Khan Younis.

There is no immediate comment on the strike from Israeli authorities.

Israeli reports describe the attack as a “targeted assassination.”

Man killed in car explosion in suspected gangland assassination in Tira

A man has been killed in a car-bombing in Tira in a suspected gangland assassination.

Police say they received calls about an explosion in the central Arab-majority city in Israel and found “a lifeless person” in a burning vehicle.

The remnants of the explosion were handled by police sappers, the police say.

The suspected assassination comes just over 24 hours after another suspected murder in Tira. On Tuesday, a man in his 30s was found dead in his own backyard after being fatally shot.

There is a violent crime epidemic in the Arab community, with homicides last year reaching an all-time record at more than double the number for 2022.

Jewish students sue Harvard over skyrocketing antisemitism on campus

Harvard University is being sued by Jewish students who accused it of allowing its campus to become a “bastion” of rampant antisemitism.

In a complaint filed on Wednesday night, students accused Harvard of “selectively” enforcing its anti-discrimination policies to avoid protecting Jewish students from harassment, ignoring their pleas for protection, and hiring professors who support anti-Jewish violence and spread antisemitic propaganda.

“Based on its track record, it is inconceivable that Harvard would allow any group other than Jews to be targeted for similar abuse or that it would permit, without response, students and professors to call for the annihilation of any country other than Israel,” the complaint says.

The complaint accused the prestigious 388-year-old university of violating a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination.

It was filed eight days after Harvard president Claudine Gay resigned, under fire for her handling of antisemitic attacks and incidents in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, when thousands of terrorists invaded southern Israel by land, sea, and air, and killed 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and took 240 hostages.

Gay also faced multiple plagiarism allegations.

Harvard did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

Other schools, including New York University and the University of California, Berkeley, face similar lawsuits.

Plaintiffs in the Harvard lawsuit include Alexander Kestenbaum, a master’s degree candidate at Harvard Divinity School.

They also include five unnamed students at Harvard’s law and public health schools, and the nonprofit Students Against Antisemitism.

The students said the purported need to let people express themselves freely is no defense for Harvard to sit idly and allow escalating “Jew-bashing.”

10 rockets fired at north, IDF says

The IDF says more than 10 rockets were fired from Lebanon at Kiryat Shmona and Margaliot, with three knocked down by Iron Dome interceptors.

Footage from the northern city shows several rockets impacting, though there are no reports of injuries.

Surveillance camera footage shows several rocket impacts in Kiryat Shmona, following a barrage fired from Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/Hlvwhwt3bt

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) January 11, 2024

Several more missiles were also fired by Hezbollah at other areas in northern Israel.

The army says it carried out strikes on a series of Hezbollah sites in Lebanon over the course of the day.

Among the sites hit by fighter jets and artillery were military buildings, an observation position, and other infrastructure belonging to the terror group, according to the IDF.

The IDF says it also carried out artillery shelling against areas in southern Lebanon, presumably to foil planned Hezbollah attacks.

The IDF says it carried out strikes on a series of Hezbollah sites in Lebanon today.

Among the sites hit by fighter jets and artillery were military buildings, an observation position, and other infrastructure belonging to the terror group, according to the IDF.

The IDF says it… pic.twitter.com/wPNAEfCsRl

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) January 11, 2024

It says it’s striking the launch sites where missiles were fired from.

Criticism of ICJ case echoes across Israeli political sphere

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and Israeli politicians from across the political spectrum are leveling heavy criticism over the International Court of Justice hearing accusing Jerusalem of genocide in the war against Hamas.

In a video statement posted on X, Lapid says, “It is not Israel that is on trial today, but the integrity of the international community. If a country that protects itself from a brutal murderous terrorist attack can find itself in court for genocide, then the genocide convention has become a reward for terrorism and antisemitism.”
Lapid referenced Hamas’s October 7 massacres and said, “Instead of the murderers being put on trial, the world is judging the murdered.”

It is not Israel that is on trial today, but the integrity of the international community.

If a country that protects itself from a brutal, murderous terrorist attack can find herself in court for genocide, then the Genocide Convention has become a reward for terrorism. pic.twitter.com/CgMQgunSpX

— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) January 11, 2024

After a meeting with German Vice Chancellor Robert Habak in Jerusalem, Economy Minister Nir Barkat says, “Instead of starting proceedings against Hamas, the hypocritical court in The Hague charges Israel with false allegations, fabrications and antisemitic blood libel plots.”

“Anti-Israelism is the new antisemitism,” he charged, adding that Israel tries harder than any other country to minimize civilian casualties “and the court in The Hague is after us. It’s a circle of hypocrisy.”

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett calls it “the Dreyfus affair of the 21st century,” referencing the infamous antisemitic prosecution of a Jewish officer in France over 100 years ago. “This is a shameful display [of] hypocrisy and blatant antisemitism.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir goes with some other choice historical reference points: “Seventy-eight years after the terrible Holocaust visited upon us by the German Nazis and three months after the Nazis from Gaza added to the massacres, the world is joining in… and spreading blood libels against Israel.”

“Never before have so many miscreants taken part in such vile lies,” he adds.

Blinken says pathway to Palestinian state best way to stabilize region, isolate Iran

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to members of the media before boarding his plane to return to Washington, following his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East, in Cairo, Egypt, January 11, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says a pathway to a Palestinian state is the best way to stabilize the wider region and isolate Iran and its proxies.

Shuttling between Israel and Arab states, Blinken has been pushing for a way forward from the bloodshed in Gaza, even as the conflict threatens to spread further to Lebanon, Iraq and Red Sea shipping lanes.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi at the end of his Mideast tour, Blinken says the region faces two paths, the first of which would see “Israel integrated, with security assurances and commitments from regional countries and as well from the United States, and a Palestinian state — at least a pathway to get to that state.”

“The other path is to continue to see the terrorism, the nihilism, the destruction by Hamas, by the Houthis, by Hezbollah, all backed by Iran,” he says.

“If you pursue the first path … that’s the single best way to isolate, to marginalize Iran and the proxies that are making so much trouble – for us and for pretty much everyone else in the region,” he says.

UN human rights experts praise ICJ case, accuse Israel of acting ‘with impunity’

Israel has yet to have a chance to defend itself against genocide charges at the International Court of Justice, but the chattering class of UN human rights experts are already ready to weigh in against the country.

In a tweet sent out by the UN’s Geneva headquarters, the group of independent special rapporteurs and other Special Procedure mandate-holders praises South Africa for bringing the case to The Hague “at a time when the rights of Palestinians in #Gaza are being violated with impunity.”

"We commend South Africa for bringing this case to the @CIJ_ICJ at a time when the rights of Palestinians in #Gaza are being violated with impunity. We call on all States to cooperate with the Court as it interprets the Genocide Convention.” – @UN_SPExperts

— United Nations Geneva (@UNGeneva) January 11, 2024

The same group condemned Israel yesterday for an alleged strike last week in Beirut that killed top Hamas terrorist Saleh al-Arouri and other members of the armed group.

Israel will present its case against Pretoria’s charges tomorrow.

US special envoy sanguine on calming Israel-Lebanon border

US special envoy Amos Hochstein says he is hopeful diplomacy can calm tensions on the disputed border between Lebanon and Israel, where the Israeli military and terror group Hezbollah have been exchanging fire for three months.

“I’m hopeful that we can continue to work on this effort to arrive together, all of us on both sides of the border, with a solution that will allow for all people in Lebanon and Israel to live with guaranteed security and return to a better future,” Hochstein tells reporters after meeting Lebanese officials.

Hezbollah says two first responders killed in strikes, claims attacks on north

The Hezbollah terror group claims to have carried out five attacks on northern Israel today

In statements, Hezbollah says it launched missiles and other projectiles at Israeli military positions near Metula, Yiftah, Adamit, and Malkia.

Lebanese media, meanwhile, reports several Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon today.

A civil defense group affiliated with Hezbollah says two of its rescuers were killed and an ambulance was destroyed in a strike in the town of Hanin.

The terror group named the two, saying the first responders were killed “on the road to Jerusalem,” its term for operatives killed in the conflict with Israel.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the attacks inside Israel or the reported Lebanon strikes.

IDF says troops killed wanted senior member of Islamic Jihad in West Bank raid

Weapons seized by IDF troops in the West Bank village of Jaba', January 11, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Reservists of the elite Duvdevan unit and Border Police officers operating in the northern West Bank village of Jaba’ killed a wanted senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative, the military says.

The terror operative, identified by Palestinian health officials as 37-year-old Majdi Abd al-Latif Fashafsha, was armed, according to the IDF.

The IDF says another wanted Palestinian was arrested in Jaba’, and troops seized weapons from Fashafsha’s home and other buildings in the village.

Iran confirms its navy seized tanker in Gulf of Oman

File: Vessels identified as the Virgo, left, and the Suez Rajan, by the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, are seen in the South China Sea on February 13, 2022. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Iran confirms that its forces seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, which was reported earlier in the day to have been boarded by armed men in military uniforms.

The state-run IRNA news agency runs a brief story acknowledging the seizure by Iran’s navy. It does not identify the vessel, but says the seizure came as a result of a judicial order.

Suspicion had immediately fallen on Iran as the ship was once known as the Suez Rajan and had been involved in a yearlong dispute that ultimately saw the US Justice Department seize 1 million barrels of Iranian crude oil on it.

The apparent seizure also comes after weeks of attacks by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea.

Rocket sirens sound in Metula near Lebanon border

Sirens warning of incoming rocket fire sound in Metula, a town close to the northern border with Lebanon.

Communities near the border have been largely evacuated of civilians since the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group began attacking on October 8.

Foreign Ministry: South Africa is ‘legal arm of Hamas,’ ignores terror group’s attempt to carry out genocide on Oct. 7

Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa to the Netherlands Vusimuzi Madonsela (left) speaks, as Israel's delegates look on, as he sums up South Africa's demands of the International Court of Justice in The Hague in response to what South Africa claims is Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip, January 11, 2024 (Youtube screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

After South Africa presents its genocide case against Israel in The Hague, Israel calls the proceedings “one of the greatest displays of hypocrisy in history.”

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lior Haiat says that South Africa “is functioning as the legal arm of Hamas,” and accuses Pretoria of “ignoring the fact that Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, murdered, executed, slaughtered, raped and kidnapped Israeli citizens, just because they were Israelis, in an attempt to carry out genocide.”

In his tweet, Haiat says that South Africa “seeks to allow Hamas to return to commit the war crimes, crimes against humanity and sexual crimes they committed repeatedly on October 7.”

He also calls South Africa’s lawyers “the representatives of Hamas at the court.”

White House envoy Hochstein meets Lebanon’s caretaker PM

US special envoy Amos Hochstein (L) meets with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Beirut on January 11, 2024 (JOSEPH EID / AFP)

White House special envoy Amos Hochstein meets with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Beirut.

Hochstein is also set to meet with powerful Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally.

The northern border has seen a surge of violence since the deadly Hamas onslaught in southern Israel on October 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza, with the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group launching rockets, missiles and drones at Israel on a near-daily basis, which Israel has responded to by hitting Hezbollah targets close to the border.

Israel has said that the window for a diplomatic solution is rapidly closing.

Ahead of the meeting, a spokesperson for the US National Security Council said it was “an effort to advance discussions to restore calm” along the border between Lebanon and Israel.

South Africa wraps ‘genocide’ claims, demands immediate halt to war; no mention of Hamas entrenchment in Gazan civilian life

Protesters watch South African legal adviser John Dugard on a large video screen, as they follow the hearings during a demonstration outside the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Jan. 11, 2024 (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

THE HAGUE — The three-and-a-half-hour hearing in the International Court of Justice ends, following presentations by South Africa’s legal delegation charging Israel with committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza during the ongoing war against Hamas following the terror group’s October 7 atrocities.

Its ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, completes South Africa’s presentations by reiterating its demands of the court, the first of which is an “immediate” halt to Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

The thrust of the South African argument brings together the heavy death toll of Palestinian civilians; the widespread damage caused to civilian infrastructure; the severely limited access Gazans have to food, water, medical supplies and medical treatment; and the restrictions on the entry of fuel into the territory.

South Africa’s presentation combines this with highly inflammatory statements made by some senior Israeli government ministers that could imply that civilians are being targeted, and alleges that Israel has genocidal intent and is conducting a genocidal campaign against the general Palestinian population of Gaza.

The inflammatory comments by Israeli ministers will require explanation by Israel’s defense team to counter allegations of genocidal intent.

But South Africa’s argument lacks any mention of how deeply Hamas entrenched its military installations and fighters among Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.

Its legal representatives also say that Israel is “exterminating” Palestinians in Gaza and “herding them into smaller and smaller areas to be attacked, killed and harmed,” and compare the IDF’s operation to “the killing fields of Cambodia.”

Earlier in today’s hearing, John Dugard, a member of South Africa’s legal team, called the Gaza Strip “a concentration camp where genocide is taking place.”

He was laying out arguments that South Africa has jurisdiction to take Israel to court over the genocide charge, and was repeating remarks made in 2023 by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“Israel has a genocidal intent against the Palestinians in Gaza,” Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, advocate of the High Court of South Africa, also told the court earlier. “The intent to destroy Gaza has been nurtured at the highest level of state.”

Lawyer for South Africa: Israel’s war in Gaza is not self-defense since it is ‘in occupation’ of Strip

Prof Vaughan Lowe sets out provisional measures sought by South Africa in its case against Israel for alleged genoicde in Gaza, at the International Court of Justice in The Hague on January 11, 2024 (Reuters screenshot; used in accordance with clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

THE HAGUE — Prof. Vaughan Lowe KC lists in court the provisional measures that South Africa is requesting from the International Court of Justice.

Those include “immediately suspend[ing] its military operations in and against Gaza” and desisting from the “deprivation of access to adequate food and water.”

The measures also include humanitarian assistance for Gazans, including access to adequate fuel, shelter, clothes, hygiene and sanitation and medical supplies and assistance.

In addition, he says Israel must desist from the “destruction” of Palestinian life in Gaza.

Lowe claims that Article 51 of the UN charter permitting a country to defend itself from attack is not applicable to Israel’s war in Gaza, since, he contends, Israel remains “in occupation of Gaza” due to its control of its access points.

“Israel says it aims to destroy Hamas. But months of bombing, flattening entire residential blocks, cutting off food and water to an entire population cannot credibly be argued to be a manhunt for Hamas,” claims Lowe.

He also alleges “Israel’s apparent inability to see that it has done anything wrong in grinding Gaza and its people into the dust.”

Citing UN officials, Lowe says the suspension of Israel’s military operations is critical in enabling the provision of humanitarian relief to Palestinians in Gaza.

He also points out that no disciplinary measures have been taken against those in Israel, including government officials and Knesset members, for what South Africa’s application describes as “incitement to genocide.”

The war was sparked by the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught in which some 1,200 people in Israel were killed and approximately 240 kidnapped and held hostage in Gaza, mainly civilians.

Report: Western intel officials suspect Qatar knew more before Oct. 7 than it let on

View of the destruction caused by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, southern Israel, seen on October 15, 2023. (Edi Israel/Flash90)

Anonymous Western intelligence officials tell POLITICO that they suspect Qatar knew more about Hamas’s October 7 onslaught ahead of time than it let on, but say they lack hard evidence to back up the suspicion.

“We’re still looking into it,” says a top intelligence official of a major European power, adding that there was “smoke” but no smoking gun.

They certainly see a motive for Qatar to back such an attack: “It is in Qatar’s interest to put obstacles in the way of the normalization process between Saudi and Israel,” says one of the officials. “Any refitting for the balance of power is going to undermine Qatar’s position as the top diplomatic player that can do everything.”

Qatar has positioned itself as an indispensable mediator in indirect hostage talks between Israel and the Hamas terror group.

Sirens warning of suspected drone attack sound in towns close to Lebanon border

Sirens warning of suspected incoming drones sound in a number of communities close to the border with Lebanon.

The border area has seen a surge of violence since the deadly Hamas onslaught in southern Israel on October 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza, with the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group launching rockets, missiles and drones at Israel on a near-daily basis, which Israel has responded to by hitting Hezbollah targets close to the border.

The alerts come as White House special envoy Amos Hochstein is set to meet with officials in Beirut later today “in an effort to advance discussions to restore calm” along the border between Lebanon and Israel, according to a spokesperson for the US National Security Council.

Lawyer says The Hague should order measures against Israel due to ‘urgency’ of risk to Gazans’ lives

Blinne Ni Gharalaigh speaks on behalf of South Africa in its case alleging Israeli genocide in Gaza, at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, January 11, 2024 (Screen grab)

THE HAGUE — Blinne Ni Gharalaigh SC presents South Africa’s contention that the International Court of Justice should order provisional measures against Israel due what she says is the urgency of the risk to Palestinian lives in Gaza and the risk of “irreparable prejudice” to their rights.

“Huge swaths of Gaza are being wiped from the map.. Experts warn that deaths from deprivation and disease risk outstripping deaths from war,” asserts Ni Gharalaigh.

“The condition of urgency is met when acts of exceptional prejudice can occur before the court can make a final decision,” she continued.

Ni Gharalaigh cites several judgments by the ICJ ordering provisional measures during recent conflicts, including a ruling on a case before the court regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine where the court said that Russia’s activities, which included the destruction of buildings and infrastructure, gave rise to risk of irreparable prejudice, and had taken into account the fact that Ukrainians during that conflict lacked access to water, food, essential medicines and heating.

“It would be a departure from jurisprudence that this court has established and recently confirmed not to order provisional measures in this case,” she says.

Hostages’ relatives use loudspeakers to shout messages to Gaza in hope their loved ones can hear

Large loudspeakers are used by relatives of Gaza hostages to send messages in the hope their family members can hear, at the border near Khan Younis, January 11, 2023 (The Families Headquarters)

Relatives of hostages held in Gaza use huge and powerful speakers to shout messages to the Strip in the hope that their loved ones will hear.

“Don’t lose hope. We are turning the world upside down to bring you back,” they shout toward Khan Younis. “We can’t believe it’s almost day 100. Stay strong, it’s almost over.”

Relatives of hostages held in Gaza use powerful speakers to shout messages to the Strip in the hope that their loved ones will hear, January 11, 2024 (Youtube screenshot).

Sunday will mark 100 days since the devastating October 7 onslaught in which 3,000 terrorists stormed the border, murdering some 1,200 people and taking around 240 hostages.

Hostage’s brother: ‘136 are held in Gaza by monsters, and The Hague talks about Israel committing genocide’

A digital banner, calling for the return of the hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7 Hamas cross-border onslaught in Israel, stands outside the International Court of Justice prior to a hearing in The Hague, Netherlands, Jan. 11, 2024 (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

The brother of a man held hostage in the Gaza Strip says today’s hearing at The Hague is utterly absurd, with the court discussing Israel’s actions rather than the terrorists’.

“Only Israelis can understand the magnitude of the absurdity — 136 are kidnapped to Gaza by monsters, and they talk about Israel committing genocide,” Michael Levy, whose brother Or is held in Gaza, tells the Kan public broadcaster.

“There is an understanding that something much bigger is happening here beyond just the ridiculous accusations,” he says.

Or Levy, 33, was taken hostage when terrorists stormed the Nova festival on October 7. His wife Eynav Elkayam Levy, 32, was murdered.

The two have a two-year-old son.

Or (left) and Eynav Levy went to the Supernova desert rave on October 7; Eynav was killed and Or is considered missing (Michael Levy via AP)

Relatives of a number of hostages are at The Hague as they campaign for loved ones’ release.

It is believed that 132 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive. Hamas is also holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

South Africa presentation on ‘genocidal intent’ highlights problem for Israel in The Hague case

Judges preside over the opening of the hearings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, January 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

THE HAGUE — The presentation by South Africa representative Tembeka Ngcukaitobi alleging genocidal intent on behalf of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza highlights a key problem for Israel in the case against it in the International Court of Justice.

According to the Genocide Convention, the killing of civilians must be accompanied by deliberate intent in order to be considered genocide, so inflammatory comments by senior Israeli officials, including the prime minister, defense minister, and other members of the security cabinet cited by Ngcukaitobi are very damaging.

Juxtaposing those comments with videos of IDF soldiers repeating messages alleging there are no innocent people in Gaza — even if these are outliers — presents a line of argument that the Israeli representatives will need to overcome in their defense against the charges on Friday.

During his presentation, Ngcukaitobi references not only senior ministers but also numerous MKs, including Deputy Knesset Speaker MK Nissim Vaturi who said on X that the goal was “erasing the Gaza Strip from the face of the earth.”

He also pointed to President Isaac Herzog’s comments about the October 7 atrocities, saying “it’s an entire nation out there that is responsible” and his signing of an artillery shell destined to be used in the war in Gaza, as well as inflammatory comments by popular musicians, journalists and others about destroying or “erasing” Gaza as evidence of genocidal rhetoric that had filtered down to actions by IDF soldiers on the ground in Gaza.

Crucially, the proceedings this week are not seeking a definitive ruling whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, but rather provisional court orders against Israel on the basis that the allegations of genocide are simply plausible, a much lower evidentiary bar.

Lawyer in Gaza case at Hague presents ‘genocidal rhetoric’ of Netanyahu, Gallant, Ben Gvir

Tembeka Ngcukaitobi puts forward South Africa's accusations against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, January 11, 2024 (Screen grab)

THE HAGUE — Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC takes to the podium to present South Africa’s allegations that the “destruction of Palestinian life in all its manifestations” is a result of “genocidal rhetoric” by senior Israeli officials, which has been reflected in the actions and rhetoric of IDF soldiers on the ground in Gaza.

He cites comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referencing on more than one occasion, when discussing the war in Gaza, the biblical injunction for the Jewish people to “remember what Amalek did to you.” The Bible recounts that King Saul was commanded to destroy all men women, and children of the Amalekite people, Ngcukaitobi observes.

He also cites comments by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant describing Palestinians as “human animals” as well as comments by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir saying that those who supported and celebrated the October 7 atrocities should also be targeted in the IDF operation in Gaza.

Ngcukaitobi also plays video footage of IDF soldiers dancing and singing in Gaza, saying they would fulfill the Biblical commandment of destroying Amalek and singing “there are no innocents in Gaza.”

“Genocidal utterances aren’t out in the fringes, they are embodied in state policy. The intent to destroy is understood by soldiers on the ground,” alleges Ngcukaitobi.

“Any suggestion that Israeli officials did not mean what they said, or were misunderstood by soldiers on the ground, should be rejected by this court,” he says.

חדר העיתונאים בהאג צופה בסרטון שמוקרן לשופטים שבו חיילים שרים למחות את זרע עמלק -ואין בלתי מעורבים. pic.twitter.com/BmenbEeeGP

— נדב איל Nadav Eyal (@Nadav_Eyal) January 11, 2024

At international court, South Africa lawyer claims some of Israel’s acts in Gaza fit ‘genocide’ charges

Adila Hassim puts forward South Africa's accusations against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, January 11, 2024 (Screen grab)

THE HAGUE — An attorney for South Africa puts forward the accusation that Israel is committing “acts of genocide” during its war against the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip.

“South Africa contends that Israel has transgressed Article II of the convention, by actions which show a systematic pattern of conduct from which genocide can be inferred,” says Adila Hassim.

“Palestinians in Gaza are being killed by Israeli weaponry and bombs from air, land and sea. They are also at immediate risk of death from starvation and disease, due to the destruction of Palestinians towns, the limited aid being allowed in, and the impossibility of distributing aid as the bombs fall. This makes life impossible,” Hassim says.

“It is not necessary for the court to come to a final view whether Israel’s conduct constitutes genocide but only whether some of the acts might possibly be considered within the convention’s provisions,” she says.

“It is clear that at least some, if not all, of these acts do fall within the convention provisions,” she says.

“Israel has also deliberately imposed considerations on Gaza calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the people,” she claims.

South Africa justice minister at international court: ‘Israel has crossed the line’

South Africa’s Justice Minister Ronald Lamola at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, January 11, 2024 (Screen grab)

THE HAGUE — South Africa’s Justice Minister Ronald Lamola charges at the International Court of Justice that Palestinians have suffered at the hands of Israel since 1948.

“The violence and the destruction in Palestine did not begin on October 7, they have experienced violence for the last 76 years,” Lamola says.

“In the Gaza Strip since 2004 Israel exercises control over land crossings, civilian infrastructure. Entry and exit to Gaza is strictly prohibited, with Israel operating the only entry points,” he says. However, as the enclave also shares a land crossing with Egypt.

“Gaza is still considered to be under occupation by international law,” he says.

“South Africa unilaterally condemned the targeting of civilians by Hamas and taking of hostages on October 7, 2023,” he says. “That said, no attack, however serious, can justify breaches to the convention whether as a matter of law or morality.”

“Israel has crossed this line, and breached the [genocide] convention,” he says. “This is why South Africa has filed this case.”

Lamola concludes by invoking Martin Luther King Jr.’s statement that the moral arc of the universe is long, but bends towards justice.

The war was sparked by the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught in which some 1,200 people in Israel were killed and approximately 240 kidnapped and held hostage in Gaza, mainly civilians.

International court hears allegations of Gaza ‘genocide,’ swears in Aharon Barak as Israel’s representative

Hearing begins at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, January 11, 2024 (Screen grab)

THE HAGUE — The International Court of Justice proceedings in The Hague get underway, with the 15 permanent judges plus two ad hoc judges from Israel and South Africa entering the courtroom in the Palace of Peace.

ICJ President Judge Joan Donoghue introduces Israel and South Africa’s designated ad hoc judges, former Israeli Supreme Court president Aharon Barak and South Africa’s former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke.

Donoghue swears in both ad hoc judges, and reads out the allegations made by South Africa in its application against Israel under the Genocide Convention.

A court registrar then reads out the provisional measures South Africa has requested the court to order against Israel, including ordering it to “take no steps in furtherance of its military operation” and “desist from the commission of any and all acts in under the scope of Article II of the genocide convention.”

WATCH: Hearing begins at The Hague in case accusing Israel of Gaza ‘genocide’

People prepare to install an 'October 7 massacre' banner outside the International Court of Justice prior to a hearing in The Hague, Netherlands, Jan. 11, 2024 (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

Proceedings begin at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, where Israel is being accused of committing “genocidal” acts during its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The hearing can be watched here and below.

South Africa has lodged an urgent appeal to the court to force Israel to “immediately suspend” its military operations in the Strip.

In its application to the ICJ, South Africa based its accusation both on actions taken by Israel throughout the war and controversial comments made by Israeli officials regarding Palestinians in Gaza and how they should be treated.

Read more: ‘We should be worried’: Israel faces peril at The Hague in Gaza ‘genocide’ case

Rocket sirens sound in Kissufim near Gaza border

Sirens sound in Kissufim close to the Gaza border, warning of incoming rocket fire.

The communities located close to the Strip have been largely evacuated of civilians since the war began on October 7 with the Hamas onslaught in which some 1,200 people were killed and approximately 240 taken hostage to Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside Hague ahead of Israel hearing

Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside the The Hague ahead of a hearing at which Israel will face accusations that it has committed “genocidal” acts during its war against Hamas in Gaza.

Many wave Palestinian flags as they call for a ceasefire.

This is the scene outside the international court of justice in The Hague as it prepares the international court of justice (ICJ) to hear arguments alleging that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza pic.twitter.com/sTCHTabOaN

— Haroon Siddique (@Haroon_Siddique) January 11, 2024

The hearing comes after South Africa lodged an urgent appeal to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to force Israel to “immediately suspend” its military operations in Gaza.

Robed officials from both countries will go head-to-head in the Great Hall of Justice in the Peace Palace in The Hague, a world away from the devastation seen in Israel and Gaza since the start of the war, sparked by the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught in which some 1,200 people in Israel were killed and approximately 240 kidnapped and held hostage, mainly civilians.

President Isaac Herzog yesterday dismissed the charges as “atrocious” and “preposterous.”

Several hundred join pro-Israel solidarity march to The Hague ahead of ‘genocide’ hearing

Pro-Israel activists march to The Hague on 11 January, 2024 (Jeremy Sharon/Times of Israel)

THE HAGUE — Several hundred people arrive for a solidarity rally and march with Israel on a freezing cold morning in The Hague in the Netherlands, ahead of proceedings in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) initiated by South Africa against Israel on charges of genocide against Palestinians during the ongoing war in Gaza.

The marchers, who include activists from Christian Zionist organizations as well as members of local Jewish communities, will proceed from a central point in The Hague toward the ICJ  where they will demonstrate in front of a an exhibition highlighting the plight of Israeli hostages held by the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

Raul Berghaus, an activist from Amsterdam, insists that Israel is not committing genocide and says that if any party has committed such a crime in the current conflict, it is Hamas.

“Israel has the right to defend itself and I think unfortunately the only way to do that is to do what is doing,” says Berghaus. “Israel is the only country which warns civilians to leave because we have to do our job.”

Raul Berghaus at a pro-Israel march to The Hague on 11 January, 2024 (Jeremy Sharon/Times of Israel)

The war was sparked by the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught in which some 1,200 people were killed and approximately 240 kidnapped to Gaza and held hostage, mainly civilians.

The hearings in the ICJ are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. local time.

IDF reveals new video of Khan Younis tunnel where it believes hostages were held by Hamas

Israeli soldiers show journalists an underground tunnel where the IDF said it had found evidence hostages were held by terrorists in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, on January 10. 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

The IDF reveals new video of a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, where it believes hostages were previously held by the terror group.

The tunnel was located by the Commando Brigade, the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, and other special forces, and connects to a wide underground network, the IDF says.

“After investigating the tunnel, it can be said that there were Israeli hostages in it,” the IDF says.

On Wednesday, the military took journalists from international outlets to see the tunnel.

The IDF says that so far in the Khan Younis area, troops have uncovered more than 300 tunnel shafts leading to major Hamas tunnels in the area.

More than 100 tunnels have so far been destroyed or rendered inoperable, it adds.

The IDF reveals footage of Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza's Khan Younis, where it believes hostages were previously held by the terror group.

The tunnel was located by the Commando Brigade, elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, and other special forces, and connects to a wide… pic.twitter.com/8dSK7slRcI

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) January 11, 2024

IDF says fighting ongoing against Hamas in southern, central Gaza

Soldiers operating in the Gaza Strip in an undated photo released January 11, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says fighting continues against Hamas in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis and Maghazi in the Strip’s center.

In one incident in Maghazi, the IDF says, troops of the Golani Brigade spotted three Hamas gunmen coming out of a tunnel. The gunmen were then struck by an aircraft.

In another incident, the IDF says reservists of the Yiftah Brigade spotted eight Hamas operatives moving toward a school in Maghazi, and killed them with sniper fire.

In Khan Younis, the IDF says troops of the Givati Brigade spotted three Hamas operatives coming out of a building where weapons were stored, and called in an airstrike.

Also in the Khan Younis area, the Commando Brigade spotted two Hamas operatives, one planting an explosive device and the other observing from a rooftop. The IDF says says both operatives were killed in an airstrike by a fighter jet.

לוחמי צק״ח גולני הפועלים במרחב אל מע'אזי זיהו שלושה מחבלים חמושים בקלצ'ים.

במעקב אחר החוליה באמצעות כלי טיס, זוהו המחבלים כשהם יוצאים מפיר מנהרה וחוסלו בתקיפה על ידי כלי טיס של חיל האוויר >> pic.twitter.com/ni1bQNCVIW

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) January 11, 2024

Maritime agency unable to contact ship near Oman after it was boarded by unauthorized persons

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) authority receives a report of a vessel located around 50 nautical miles east of Oman’s Sohar being boarded by unauthorized persons.

UKMTO says that it is unable to make further contact with the vessel at this time and that authorities are investigating the incident.

The incident is the latest since the US set up a multinational naval task force last month to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks, which are endangering a transit route that carries up to 12 percent of global trade.

The Houthis say they are targeting Israeli-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling Hamas.

The Israel-Hamas conflict began when the Palestinian terror group carried out a devastating cross-border attack from Gaza on October 7 that killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The 3,000 terrorists who burst into Israel across the border also abducted at least 240 people, most of whom remain as hostages in Gaza.

UK maritime agency says it received report of ‘incident’ near Oman

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) receives a report of an incident 50 nautical miles east of Oman’s Sohar.

No further details were reported about the incident.

Yesterday the United Nations Security Council demanded an immediate end to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea.

The Iranian-backed Houthis have said they launched the attacks with the aim of ending Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip, which was launched in response to Hamas’s devastating October 7 onslaught.

Police, Shin Bet say they foiled attacks planned by 2 East Jerusalem ISIS supporters

Police and the Shin Bet say they foiled a plot for attacks by two East Jerusalem supporters of the Islamic State terror group (ISIS).

According to the statement, the two suspects wanted to use explosive devices in attacks on security forces, but were arrested before they could carry out their plans.

Police say the 21-year-old and 23-year-old are residents of Jabel Mukaber in East Jerusalem.

The two were said to have watched online content from the terror group, including videos of killings by the organization around the world.

Pedophilic material was also found on the phone of one of the suspects, police said. A separate investigation has been opened into the matter.

Daughter of missing airman Ron Arad: ‘We were also told they were doing everything they could’

Missing Israeli Air Force officer Ron Arad, photographed by Amal militants in Lebanon in 1987. (Wikipedia)

The daughter of missing airman Ron Arad issues a plea for the government to make a deal for the return of the hostages held by terrorists in Gaza, saying that like today’s families, they too were told to just be patient.

“From the first week after that black Saturday [October 7], when I began to understand the magnitude of the disaster that happened to our nation, I have been retracing our family history, and all I want to do is scream,” Yuval Arad writes on the Facebook page of her mother, Tami Arad.

“For the past three months, I memorized the names of all the hostages, I read the life story of each one and I felt how the hole in my heart that my father left in me only widens,” she writes.

“We were also told, ‘Everyone is coming back, did you see the pilots from the Yom Kippur War.’ We were also told ‘we are doing everything.’ We were also told ‘patience.’ We also counted days, nights, weeks, months and years,” she writes.

“And we also begged the Red Cross, and we also flew around the world to meet with international officials to exert pressure. And there were yellow ribbons and blue balloons, videos to raise awareness, media interviews and requests for help. And that’s why I write these things. Because not only is history repeating itself in front of my eyes, it seems people refuse to learn from history, and I can’t take it anymore,” she writes.

“In order to bring the hostages home, the decision-makers, the government and its leader, have to make difficult decisions,” she writes. “You have to negotiate with a murderous terrorist organization, and above all give up things, make painful concessions. They will hurt us as a people and as a country, and they will hurt the ministers of this government politically. And that is exactly why there is no deal.

“I suppose there will be those who think that the kidnapped have five years and four months [the time Gilad Shalit was held captive by Hamas in Gaza]. According to the evidence from the hostages and the recent photos that were released, it doesn’t look that way,” she writes.

“For a deal you need to take responsibility, stand in front of the cameras, look straight ahead and say ‘we have made a decision.’ And it doesn’t happen because leadership and responsibility are two qualities that have fallen captive as well. And they must be brought back home, along with 136 injured and hurting civilians,” she writes.

Yuval Arad, the daughter of Ron Arad, March 9, 2009 (Uri Lenz/Flash 90)

Ron Arad bailed out of his plane during an operation in southern Lebanon in 1986. Israel believes he was captured by the Shiite Amal movement before being handed over to Iran, and moved from Lebanon to Iran and then back again.

Several signs of life were received in the first two years of his incarceration, including photos and letters, the last of which was sent on May 5, 1988.

Arad has long been assumed to have died many years ago, although intelligence reports have differed as to the circumstances, timing and location of his death.

It is believed that 132 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed the deaths of 25 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.

Hamas is also holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

NYC issues vacate orders to parts of buildings for stabilization work due to Chabad HQ tunnel

Hasidic Jewish students sit behind a breach in the wall of a synagogue that led to a tunnel dug by the students at Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters, January 8, 2024, in New York. (Bruce Schaff via AP)

New York building officials issue emergency work orders to stabilize a historic synagogue and its neighboring structures after an illicit underground tunnel was discovered at the sanctuary earlier this week.

An investigation by the city’s Department of Buildings uncovered a tunnel that was 60-foot-long (18.3 meter), 8-foot-wide (2.4 meter) and 5-foot-high (1.5 meter) located underneath the global headquarters of the Chabad Lubavitch movement. It extends under several buildings in the vicinity.

“As a result of this extensive investigation, we have issued emergency work orders to stabilize the buildings above the tunnel, vacate orders in parts of the buildings to ensure occupant safety, and enforcement actions against the property owners for the illegal work,” Andrew Rudansky, a spokesperson for the buildings department, says in an email to The Associated Press.

A small group from the Hasidic movement, acting independently, attempted to break through a synagogue wall — a last-ditch attempt to connect part of the sanctuary to a building next door in order to expand the complex. The incident ended with shouting, scuffles and arrests

Rabbi Motti Seligson, a spokesperson for Chabad, characterized the tunnel as a rogue act of vandalism committed by a group of misguided young men, and condemned the “extremists who broke through the wall to the synagogue, vandalizing the sanctuary, in an effort to preserve their unauthorized access.”

Ahead of ICJ hearing, US slams ‘unfounded’ genocide claims against Israel

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller answers questions during a news briefing at the State Department, Washington, July 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

The Biden administration reiterates its opposition to the International Court of Justice hearing at which Israel is charged with genocide, on the eve of The Hague proceeding requested by South Africa.

“Allegations that Israel is committing genocide are unfounded. In fact, it is those who are violently attacking Israel who continue to openly call for the annihilation of Israel and the mass murder of Jews,” US State Department spokesman Matt Miller says in a statement.

“Genocide is one of the most heinous acts any entity or individual can commit, and such allegations should only be made with the greatest of care,” he adds.

“Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas’ terrorist acts — acts that Hamas has vowed to repeat again and again until Israel is completely destroyed. Israel is operating in an exceptionally challenging environment in Gaza, an urban battlespace where Hamas intentionally embeds itself with and hides behind civilians,” he continues.

While reiterating his condemnation of Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught, Miller says the US still expects that Israel “comply with international humanitarian law in its operations against Hamas.”

He also highlights the feeling in Washington that the IDF has not done enough thus far to protect civilians, calling on the Israel “look for more ways to prevent civilian harm and to investigate credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian law when they arise.”

Miller also appears to reference US displeasure with calls from Israeli lawmakers for collective punishment and for mass displacement of Palestinians, which helped build South Africa’s case against Israel. “We continue to condemn dehumanizing rhetoric on all sides,” the State Department spokesman says.

Justice Ministry said to believe ICJ will stop short of demanding Israel halt Gaza war

File: This photo shows an exterior view of the Peace Palace, which houses the International Court of Justice, or World Court, in The Hague, Netherlands on February 18, 2019. (AP/Peter Dejong)

Israel will face accusations at the UN’s top court today that it has committed “genocidal” acts during its war against Hamas in Gaza, charges that President Isaac Herzog yesterday dismissed as “atrocious” and “preposterous.”

South Africa has lodged an urgent appeal to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to force Israel to “immediately suspend” its military operations in Gaza.

Robed officials from both countries will go head-to-head in the Great Hall of Justice in the Peace Palace in The Hague, a world away from the devastation seen in Israel and Gaza since the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught.

Officials in the Justice Ministry tell the Haaretz daily they believe the ICJ could issue injunctions against Israel, but will not order a halt to the fighting in Gaza.

Unnamed jurists quoted by the newspaper says these injunctions could include demanding Israel allow more aid into Gaza, form an investigative panel or allow Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza.

Biden envoy to hold talks in Beirut as part of bid ‘to restore calm’ along Israel-Lebanon border

US special envoy Amos Hochstein, center, arrives for a meeting with Lebanon's parliament speaker in Beirut on November 7, 2023. (AFP)

White House special envoy Amos Hochstein will meet with officials in Beirut later today “in an effort to advance discussions to restore calm” along the border between Lebanon and Israel, according to a spokesperson for the US National Security Council, amid continued skirmishes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah.

“The United States has made clear it does not support the ongoing conflict spreading into Lebanon and continues to exhaust all diplomatic options to see Israeli and Lebanese civilians return to their homes and live in security and stability,” the spokesperson says.

IDF officer said to discuss future of ‘Philadelphi Route’ during talks in Egypt

A senior IDF officer has returned from Egypt after holding talks relating to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, Channel 13 news reports.

Citing unnamed senior security figures, the network says the discussions dealt with increasing humanitarian aid into Gaza and the future of the Philidelphi Route, which runs along border between the Strip and Egypt.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that once the war in Gaza is over, Israel will retain security control of the enclave’s territory along the border with Egypt to prevent weapons from being smuggled through tunnels into the Strip.

The report further says that efforts to increase aid for Gaza were the most significant focus of the talks, while quoting the senior Israeli officials saying there’s been no breakthrough on a new agreement to release hostages being held by Hamas terrorists.