Jan. 12: Rocket sirens activated overnight in southern moshav as Israeli strikes reported in Gaza

Rocket sirens activated in moshav near Gaza border

Incoming rocket sirens sound in Netiv Ha’asara, a moshav near the Gaza Strip that was evacuated after it was targeted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7.

The warning sirens are activated as Palestinian media linked to Hamas reports overnight Israeli strikes in Gaza.

Pentagon says Austin was in the hospital when he ordered strikes on Houthis

WASHINGTON — From his hospital room, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin first orchestrated and then watched in real time as the US retaliatory attack on Yemen-based Houthi militants unfolded Thursday night.

It was the latest in a series of responsibilities Austin has carried out from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he has been recovering from complications due to treatments for prostate cancer that he initially did not disclose.

On Friday, US President Joe Biden said it was a lapse in judgment for Austin to keep his hospitalization a secret, but said he still has confidence in the Pentagon chief.

Austin’s delays in disclosing his prostate cancer and his hospitalization have roiled the administration, Pentagon and Congress. Pentagon officials have repeatedly said that Austin has been performing his duties for the last week, even as he remains hospitalized.

US Navy warns American-flagged ships to stay away from parts of Red Sea as Houthis vow revenge

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The US Navy warns American-flagged vessels to steer clear of areas around Yemen in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden for the next 72 hours after the US and Britain launched multiple airstrikes targeting Houthi rebels.

The warning in a notice to shippers comes as Yemen’s Houthis are vowing fierce retaliation for the US-led strikes, further raising the prospect of a wider conflict in a region amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Denmark terror plot foiled last month had ‘links to Hamas’ — police

Two people are led from a helicopter to a car by police officers at a helipad in Karlsruhe, Germany, December 15, 2023. (Uli Deck/dpa via AP)

A terror plot foiled in December by the Danish police and intelligence services had links to the Islamist movement Hamas, Danish police say.

Danish prosecutor Anders Larsson has confirmed that the case “has links to Hamas,” Danish police told AFP in an email.

Shin Bet said to again plea with PM to buck far-right ministers in order to prevent West Bank flareup

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for a Likud party meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on January 1, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Shin Bet reportedly submitted a document urgently warning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to act in order to prevent an imminent flareup in the West Bank.

The document reported by Channel 13 comes several days after Channel 12 reported on similar warnings issued by security chiefs regarding the situation in the West Bank.

For months, the security establishment has urged Netanyahu to reverse the cabinet decisions taken after October 7 to withhold hundreds of millions in tax revenues that belong to the Palestinian Authority and block the return of some 150,000 Palestinians from work inside Israel and the settlements.

The former decision was taken as part of an effort by Israel to disconnect from Gaza, given that some of the tax revenues are used to pay services and employees in the Strip. The latter decision was taken as a security precaution following Hamas’s terror onslaught during which some 1,200 Israelis were brutally killed and another roughly 240 were taken hostage.

The security establishment has warned that the policies risk collapsing an already cash-strapped PA, which would leave Israel responsible for providing services to millions of Palestinians in the West Bank.

This image from video shows the moment a Border Police vehicle was targeted by a roadside bomb in the West Bank city of Jenin, January 7, 2024. (Screenshot: Telegram)

The PA has been unable to pay its employees, including members of its security services in full for months, and the Shin Bet document reported by Channel 13 warns that this could lead to PA troops turning their weapons on Israeli forces after decades of cooperation that the IDF has credited for curbing terror and maintaining stability in the West Bank.

The US has also repeatedly called on Israel to release the PA tax revenues, noting that they belong to Ramallah, effectively accusing Israel of stealing. Biden officials have warned that failure to do so risks opening up another front in the West Bank on top of the war in Gaza and the ever-intensifying state of affairs on the northern border.

But Netanyahu has not budged on the matter amid pushback from far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, whose support he needs to maintain his coalition.

Netanyahu reportedly reached out to UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed asking if Abu Dhabi would be willing to finance unemployment benefits for the Palestinian workers in the West Bank. The Emirati leader flatly rejected the request.

“A lot of blood could be spilled, for merely political reasons,” a security source tells Channel 13. “Not enough is being done to prevent this.”

Biden says Houthis a terror group, two months into review of whether to reapply label

US President Joe Biden talks with employees at the Nowhere Coffee shop, during a visit to discuss his economic agenda, Friday, Jan. 12, 2024, in Emmaus, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

US President Joe Biden says he thinks the Houthi rebels in Yemen are a terror group in what could mark a shift in the administration’s approach to the Iran-backed fighters who have been disrupting Red Sea shipping routes for weeks.

While in a Pennsylvania bookstore, Biden is asked by the traveling press pool whether he thinks the Houthis are a terror group. “I think they are,” he said.

During his first year in office, Biden removed the Houthis’ terror listing amid pressure from progressives who argued that it was harming efforts to deliver humanitarian aid in Yemen.

The administration said it decided to review that decision in November against the backdrop of repeated attacks by Houthis on international vessels in the Red Sea.

No update has been offered since then, but Biden’s response indicates that the administration might be leaning toward slapping the terror label back on the Houthis. It comes hours after the US led airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen for the first time in years.

Reporter: “The bombing of the Houthis — if the attacks don't stop, will you continue with the strikes?”

President Biden: “We will make sure that we respond to the Houthis as they continue this outrageous behavior, along with our allies.” pic.twitter.com/xJoXA6fcdL

— The Recount (@therecount) January 12, 2024

With a smoothie in hand from a nearby cafe, Biden is asked whether he has a message to Iran.

“I’ve already delivered the message to Iran.”

Asked whether he’s willing to continue bombing the Houthis if the attacks don’t stop, Biden responds, “We will make sure we respond to the Houthis if they continue this outrageous behavior.”

Israel blasts UN rights office for neglecting hostages in statement recapping war’s first 100 days

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk speaks during a press conference in Cairo on November 8, 2023. (Khaled Desouki/AFP)

Israel criticized the UN human rights office after its statement Friday on the conflict with Hamas made no call for the release of hostages held in Gaza.

The Geneva-based Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a statement marking 100 days since the conflict began on October 7.

“This Sunday will mark 100 days since Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups launched their horrific attack on Israel, in which 1,200 people, mostly Israelis, were killed and around 250 taken hostage,” the statement began.

“On the conduct of hostilities, we have repeatedly highlighted Israel’s recurring failures to uphold the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law: distinction, proportionality, and precautions in carrying out attacks,” it continued.

“Breaches of these obligations risk exposure to liability for war crimes.”

It called for a ceasefire to “end the appalling suffering and loss of life” and allow the prompt and effective delivery of humanitarian aid to a population “facing shocking levels of hunger and disease.”

Relatives of Israeli hostages held by Hamas gather along the Gaza border, equipped with powerful loudspeakers hanging from cranes, in an effort to get messages of hope across to them as their time in captivity nears 100 days, on January 11, 2024. (Jack Guez/AFP)

The statement provokes a response from Israel’s mission in Geneva.

“Not one word demanding the release of the hostages held in Gaza,” it said on X, formerly Twitter.

“A call for a ceasefire, without demanding the release of our hostages and the disarming of Hamas, is a call for terrorism to win.”

Volker Turk, UN high commissioner for human rights, has repeatedly called for the hostages to be freed but the latest statement from his office neglected the issue

IDF: Israeli moderately injured in West Bank shooting attack; 3 Palestinians killed by troops

A security incident near the Adora settlment in the southern West Bank on January 12, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

Three Palestinians who participated in a shooting attack in the southern West Bank have been killed by security forces, the military says.

The Israel Defense Forces says in a statement that one of the Palestinians opened fire at troops conducting a patrol in the settlement of Adora.

One Israeli, aged 34, was hurt in the attack.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says he is in good-to-moderate condition, after being shot in the leg.

The IDF says troops chased after the suspects, and “during searches, three terrorists were identified and eliminated by security forces.”

It says troops continue to scan the settlement.

Sirens triggered in Ashdod — first Gaza rocket attack in 34 hours

Iron Dome intercepts rockets from Gaza above Tel Aviv just after midnight as 2023 gives way to 2024. (Times of Israel)

Incoming rocket sirens are sounding in Ashdod, as well as communities closer to the border with the Gaza Strip.

It marks the first rocket attack in some 34 hours.

There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Trudeau slams ICJ case brought against Israel by South Africa

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during the leaders talk at the ASEAN-Indo-Pacific Forum (AIPF) on the sidelines of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 6, 2023. (Adek Berry/Pool Photo via AP)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa rejects the premise of the International Court of Justice proceeding to determine whether Israel is perpetrating a genocide in Gaza.

“Canada is engaged in five cases at the ICJ because we believe in the importance of that as an institution,” Trudeau says during a press conference.

“But our wholehearted support of the ICJ and its processes does not mean that we support the premise of the case brought forward by South Africa,” he adds.

Small boats approaching merchant ship southeast of Yemen — British trade authority

A map of an alert issued by United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations on January 12, 2024. (UKMTO/X)

UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) says it has received multiple reports of small boats approaching a merchant ship southeast of Yemen’s Gulf of Aden.

UKMTO WARNING 008/JAN/2024https://t.co/zHGNgQp1UB#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/KVYPsUT81Q

— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) January 12, 2024

Turkish foreign minister said to ask British counterpart to reduce tension in Gulf of Aden

File: Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a funeral in Ankara, Turkey, July 19, 2019 (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called on his British counterpart David Cameron to deescalate tension in the Gulf of Aden in a phone call on Friday evening, Turkish diplomatic sources say..

Fidan pointed out there were already many conflicts in the Middle East and the tension in the Gulf of Aden should be reduced, sources say.

Italy, Spain and France sit out of US, UK strikes on Houthis, highlighting EU divisions

An image grab taken from a video made available by Yemen's Al-Masirah television on January 12, 2023 shows fire and smoke billowing in Yemen, amid US and British airstrikes. (Al-Masirah TV/AFP)

Italy, Spain and France have stood out by not taking part in US and British strikes against the Houthi group in Yemen and not even signing up to a statement put out by 10 countries justifying the attack.

The divergence highlights divisions in the West over how to deal with the Iranian-backed Houthis, who have been targeting civilian ships in the Red Sea for weeks in what they say is a protest against Israel’s military campaign against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

The Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Bahrain provided logistical and intelligence support for the operation, US officials have said.

In addition, Germany, Denmark, New Zealand and South Korea signed a joint statement with these six nations defending the overnight attacks and warning of further action to protect the free flow of Red Sea trade if the Houthis did not back down.

A source in Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office says Italy had declined to sign the statement, and as a result, was not asked to participate in the attack against the Houthis.

However, a government source says Italy had been asked to take part, but declined for two reasons — firstly because any Italian involvement would have needed parliamentary approval, which would have taken time, and secondly because Rome preferred to pursue a “calming” policy in the Red Sea.

Illustrative: Houthi supporters chant slogans as they attend a rally marking eight years for a Saudi-led coalition, on March 26, 2023, in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a French official says Paris feared that by joining the US-led strikes, it would have lost any leverage it had in talks to defuse tensions between Hezbollah and Israel. France has focused much of its diplomacy in recent weeks on avoiding an escalation in Lebanon.

Signaling possible tacit support for the US action, the French foreign affairs ministry issues a statement saying the Houthis bore responsibility for the escalation.

However, a diplomat who is aware of France’s position says Paris did not believe the attack could be deemed legitimate self-defense.

Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles says Madrid had not joined the military action in the Red Sea because it wanted to promote peace in the region.

“Every country has to give explanations for its actions. Spain will always be committed to peace and dialogue,” she tells reporters in Madrid.

Earlier this week, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto made clear his reluctance to target the Houthis, telling Reuters that their aggression had to be stopped without triggering a new war in the region.

Medics, security forces responding to report of shooting attack near southern West Bank settlement

The scene of an alleged shooting attack in the West Bank settlement of Adora on January 12, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

Medics and security forces are responding to reports of a shooting attack near the southern West Bank settlement of Adora.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it has received reports of one wounded at the scene.

It says the victim is conscious.

The IDF Home Front Command, meanwhile, has ordered residents of the community to remain in their homes and lock their doors and windows until further notice.

PM phones German chancellor to thank him for intervening in ICJ case on Israel’s behalf

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a press conference in Tel Aviv, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, Pool)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phoned German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and thanked him for Germany’s decision to intervene as a third party in the ICJ genocide case on Israel’s behalf, the premier’s office says.

“Your stance and Germany’s stance on the side of the truth has touched all of Israel’s citizens,” Netanyahu told him, according to the Israeli readout.

“The blood libel, which is full of hypocrisy and malice, must not be allowed to prevail over the moral principles shared by our two countries and the entire civilized world,” Netanyahu added.

South African national cricket team removes Jewish captain, citing anti-Israel protests against him

David Teeger in a video uploaded by the SA Jewish Report, October 31, 2023. (Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

David Teeger, a rising star on South Africa’s cricket scene, has been removed as the country’s Under-19 team captain on the eve of the world championship competition.

Cricket South Africa cited threats to Teeger, who is Jewish, and the team over Israel’s war in Gaza ahead of the U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, which South Africa is hosting.

“We have been advised that protests related to the war in Gaza can be anticipated at the venues for the tournament. We have also been advised that they are likely to focus on… David Teeger,” the organization says in a statement.

“CSA has decided that David should be relieved of the captaincy for the tournament,” Cricket South Africa adds. “This is in the best interests of all the players, the SA U19 team, and David himself.” The statement says he would remain an “important and active member” of the team.

Cricket South Africa had previously suspended Teeger while it investigated hate speech allegations against him after he expressed support for Israeli soldiers following October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel. It later cleared him to return to the team.

Strong anti-Israel sentiment in South Africa has been in the spotlight as the International Court of Justice hears genocide charges brought against Israel by the South African government.

Many pro-Palestinian activists claim that Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians is apartheid, a term originally referring to the bygone regime of racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa. About 50,000 Jews live in South Africa; many say they hope to emigrate, citing anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiment as well as other other challenges.

Israel agreed to expand transfer aid to Gaza in exchange for meds for hostages — official

Families of hostages in Gaza hold a press conference at 'Hostage Square,' outside the Tel Aviv Art Museum, January 7, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Israel has agreed to expand the entry of medications as part of the humanitarian aid entering Gaza for Palestinians as part of the agreement Qatar brokered with Hamas that will see medications transferred to the hostages in the coming days, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

Negotiations were complex, as Hamas doesn’t want the transfer of medications to the hostages to lead to Israel discovering where exactly they’re being held, the official says.

The list of medications for the hostages will include ones deemed as “life-saving” by their doctors and believed to include medicine for those with chronic illnesses, heart disease, high blood pressure and asthma, the official says.

The official says that Israel has been pushing from the get-go for medications to be transferred to Hamas, which has until this week refused to cooperate. The terror group buckled amid heightened pressure from Qatar, the official says.

Hostage Family Forum demands visual proof loved ones receiving medications

Pictures of hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7 Hamas cross-border onslaught in Israel are placed by a table set during a protest outside the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Jan. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

The Hostage Family Forum issues a statement demanding visual proof that their loved ones receive the medication that Israel announced will be transferred to Gaza in the coming days.

“After 98 days in Hamas tunnels, all hostages face immediate mortal danger and need life-saving medicines. But in addition to medicines, the hostages also require extensive medical treatment,” a statement from the forum says.

IDF says it carried out airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in response to attacks on northern Israel

Smoke rises during an exchange of fire between the IDF and Hezbollah on the border between Israel and Lebanon, December 26, 2023. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

The IDF says it carried out airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon today in response to attacks on northern Israel.

It says the targets hit by fighter jets in Labbouneh, Ramyah and Ayta ash-Shab included various infrastructure used by the terror group.

Several missiles were fired by Hezbollah today at northern Israel. The terror group claims to target IDF positions near Menara, Yiftah, Malkia and Zar’it.

The IDF says it is shelling the launch sites with artillery.

Mother of hostage in Gaza continues to worry amid news of pending medication transfer

Omer Shem-Tov, taken captive in Gaza by Hamas terrorists on October 7, as they assaulted the Supernova desert rave. (Courtesy)

Shelly Shem-Tov, whose 21-year-old son Omer is among the Israelis being held by terrorists in Gaza, reacts to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that medicine will be transferred to the hostages in the coming days.

“I don’t know what his health status is after 100 days without his inhaler. I just want him home,” she tells Channel 12 in an interview.

In addition to having asthma, Omer also has celiac disease. It doesn’t require medication, but it means eating food with gluten is dangerous for him.

“Air is very important for him, and right now he has no air,” she says.

Many of the hostages are believed to be held in Hamas tunnels deep under Gaza.

Omer was attending the Re’im music festival on October 7 when Hamas’s terror onslaught began.

Israel will transfer medications to hostages in coming days, Netanyahu’s office says

Families of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza call to them over loudspeakers near the Israeli border with Gaza, January 11, 2024. (Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announces that Israel will hand over medications that will be transferred to the hostages being held in Gaza over the coming days.

The announcement comes one day after The New York Times revealed the existence of advanced negotiations brokered by Qatar between Israel and Hamas aimed at transferring medications to the many hostages in need of them.

Netanyahu’s office says the premier directed Mossad chief David Barnea to work with Qatar to see the medicine transfer through.

UKMTO receives report of incident in Red Sea near Yemen’s Aden

In this image provided by the US Navy, the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall and amphibious assault ship USS Bataan transit the Bab al-Mandeb strait on August 9, 2023. (Mass Communications Spc. 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/US Navy via AP)

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organization has received a report of an incident in the Red Sea near Yemen.

A UKMTO advisory note says an incident had been reported around 90 nautical miles southeast of Yemen’s port of Aden and that authorities were investigating.

Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi militants, who control much of Yemen, have launched wave after wave of exploding drones and missiles at commercial vessels since Nov. 19, in what they say is a protest against Israel’s military operations against the Hamas terror group.

US sanctions Hong Kong, UAE firms over Houthi support

Houthi military spokesman, Brigadier Yahya Saree, delivers a statement on the recent attacks against two commercial vessels in the Red Sea during a march in solidarity with the people of Gaza in the capital Sanaa on December 15, 2023. (Mohammed Huwais/AFP)

Washington announces new sanctions on two companies in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates, moving to crack down on the financial network funding Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The US Treasury Department says the firms had shipped Iranian commodities on behalf of a Houthi financial facilitator’s network and that “the revenue from the commodity sales supports the Houthis and their continued attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.”

US ‘not looking for conflict with Iran’ despite Houthi strikes — White House

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks at a press briefing at the White House in Washington, December 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The United States does not seek conflict with Iran despite carrying out strikes on Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthi rebels to stop their attacks on Red Sea shipping, the White House says.

“We’re not looking for conflict with Iran. We’re not looking to escalate and there’s no reason for it to escalate beyond what happened over the last few days,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby tells MSNBC.

The United States is assessing the impact of US-UK airstrikes on Houthis in Yemen, which targeted the Iran-backed militants’ ability to store, launch and guide its missiles or drones, Kirby says.

“We’re still doing the assessment of the actual impacts on all these targets. That work is ongoing. So I think we’ll have a better sense of the specifics of the damage done here in the coming hours,” Kirby says.

UN decries ‘systematic’ blocking of aid to north Gaza hospitals

A Palestinian child wounded in an Israeli airstrike is brought to Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Israel is consistently blocking humanitarian convoys into northern Gaza, making it increasingly difficult to bring desperately needed fuel and other aid to hospitals there, the United Nations said Friday.

After planning aid missions to the north, UN agencies said their convoys were subjected to slow and unpredictable inspections and then a near-systematic refusal from the Israeli side to proceed.

“Operations in the north [are] increasingly more complicated,” Andrea De Domenico, head of the UN aid agency OCHA’s office in the Palestinian territories.

Speaking from Jerusalem to a virtual press briefing, he describes how detailed coordination was required with a network of checkpoints, and “the Israelis have systematically, or quasi-systematically, refused” to let them through.

In recent days, he says the agency had had three missions partially approved out of 21 requested.

Since ordering civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate southward at the war’s outset, the IDF has severely limited the amount of humanitarian aid to the region, citing fears that those who remain are potential Hamas fighters seeking to hijack assistance. But UN agencies say hundreds of thousands of civilians still remain in northern Gaza in dire need of assistance.

Lucia Elmi, special representative for the UN children’s agency UNICEF in the Palestinian territories, also laments that “we can’t get sufficient aid in.”

“The inspection process remains slow and unpredictable, and some of the materials we desperately need remain restricted, with no clear justification,” she says.

Participants at march for hostages highlight physical, sexual violence to which abductees exposed

Women protest march in southern Israel calling for the release of the hostages on January 12, 2024. (Dafna Yosha)

Relatives and supporters of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas terror group marched in Israel to bring attention to the roughly 132 people remaining in captivity ahead of the war’s 100-day mark.

In one march near Kibbutz Urim in southern Israel, participants sought to focus attention on physical and sexual violence that hostages may be experiencing while in captivity. They bound themselves with red tape and marched behind a woman who writhed in a mobile cage. “Bring our sisters home now!” they chant.

The marches began as Israeli lawyers sought to defend the country against charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Protesters denounced the allegation, brought by South Africa.

“It’s a shame, it’s a shame. We are the one who were murdered, who were kidnaped, who were raped, and we’re going to trial and not the terrorist organization, what is wrong with you?” says Eleanor Sela, one of the marchers.

Hamas condemns US-led strikes on Houthis, saying Washington and London responsible for repercussions

A strike on Houthi rebel sites in Yemen on January 12, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

CAIRO — Hamas has condemned US-led strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, saying Washington and London are responsible for any repercussions in the wider region.

“We consider [the attack] a crime and a blatant aggression against Yemeni sovereignty, and a threat to the security of the region,” the Palestinian terror group said in a statement on Telegram.

Hamas and the Houthi rebels are allies, brought together by a common enemy, Israel, and backed by a common sponsor, Iran.

The Houthis have launched at least 27 attacks against commercial shipping since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted on October 7. The group says the attacks are in response to the war in Gaza, but many of the ships targeted have no connection to Israel.

The Kremlin also condemns the US-led strikes, calling them “illegitimate from the point of view of international law.”

“The countries that struck, they tried to put their actions on the basis of international law,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov tells reporters, referring to a UN resolution adopted earlier this week that demanded an immediate halt to attacks by the Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea. “This attempt was unsuccessful, because the adopted resolution does not provide any right to strike,” Peskov says.

However, he describes the rebels’ attacks on ships in the Red Sea as “extremely wrong” and adds that Russia “repeatedly called on the Houthis to abandon this practice.”

Yemen’s recognized government: US, UK strikes response to Houthi attacks aimed at dragging region to war

An image grab taken from a video made available by Yemen's Al-Masirah television on January 12, 2023 shows fire and smoke billowing in Yemen, amid US and British airstrikes. (Al-Masirah TV/AFP)

US and British air strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen this week are a response to the group’s continued attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea, Yemen’s internationally recognized government says.

The Saudi-backed government adds that the Iran-aligned Houthis bore responsibility for dragging the Arabian Peninsula country into an arena of military confrontation.

Several oil tankers have diverted course from the Red Sea since overnight US and British air strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, LSEG and Kpler shipping data showed on Friday, amid rising fears of a regional escalation of the Israel-Hamas war.

Germany says it’ll intervene in ICJ case on Israel’s behalf, blasting genocide accusation

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, talks to government's spokesman Steffen Hebestreit during weekly cabinet meeting of the German government at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Jan. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

The German government sharply rejects allegations before the UN’s top court that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza and warned against “political instrumentalization” of the charge.

Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit says in a statement that Israel was “defending itself” after the “inhuman” attacks by Hamas on October 7.

He says Germany would intervene as a third party before the ICJ under an article allowing states to seek clarification on the use of a multilateral convention.

The move allows Germany to present its own case to the court that Israel has not infringed the genocide convention and has not committed or intended to commit genocide.

Germany is not claiming to be legally impacted by South Africa’s case and therefore it does not require the ICJ’s permission for third party intervention.

As a signatory of the 1948 Genocide Convention, it has the right to join cases and put forward its arguments on the case.

Hebestreit stated that Germany “intends to intervene as a third party in the main hearing,” suggesting Berlin will intrude in South Africa’s primary case against Israel in which the court could take years to decide whether or not Israel has violated the Genocide Convention.

Accordingly, the move does not appear to influence this week’s proceedings — hearings where South Africa has requested an interim injunction from the court compelling Israel to implement a ceasefire. A decision on that more immediate matter is expected within one month.

L-R: Dr. Tal Becker, Prof. Malcolm Shaw KC, Dr, Gilad Noam, Dr. Galit Raguan attend a hearing in the case brought to the International Court of Justice at The Hague in which South Africa has accused Israel of committing genocide in its war with Hamas in Gaza, January 12, 2024. (International Court of Justice)

“In light of German history and the crimes against humanity of the Shoah, the German government is particularly committed to the [UN] Genocide Convention,” signed in 1948 in the wake of the Holocaust, Hebestreit says.

He says the Convention marked a “central instrument” under international law to prevent another Holocaust.

For this reason, he says, “we stand firmly against a political instrumentalization” of the Convention.

Hebestreit acknowledges diverging views in the international community on Israel’s military operation against Hamas in Gaza.

“However the German government decisively and expressly rejects the accusation of genocide brought against Israel before the International Court of Justice,” he says.

“The accusation has no basis in fact.”

Container rates soar amid concerns of prolonged Red Sea disruption

This photo released by the Houthi Media Center shows a Houthi forces helicopter approaching the cargo ship Galaxy Leader on November 19, 2023 in the Red Sea. (Houthi Media Center via AP, File)

Container shipping rates for key global routes have soared this week, with US and UK air strikes on Yemen stirring concerns of a prolonged disruption to global trade in the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest routes, industry officials say.

US and British warplanes, ships and submarines launched dozens of strikes across Yemen overnight in retaliation against Iran-backed Houthi forces for attacks on Red Sea shipping, widening regional conflict stemming from the Israel-Hamas war.

The benchmark Shanghai Containerized Freight Index was up over 16 percent week-on-week to 2,206 points today.

Rates on the Shanghai-Europe route rose 8.1% to $3,103 per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) on Friday from a week earlier, while the rate for containers to the US West Coast soared 43.2% to $3,974 per forty-foot-equivalent-unit (FEU) week on week, leading ship broker Clarksons says.

“The longer this crisis goes on, the more disruption it will cause to ocean freight shipping across the globe and costs will continue to rise,” Peter Sand, chief analyst at freight platform Xeneta, says.

“We are looking at months rather than weeks or days before this crisis reaches any kind of resolution,” he says, referring to the growing conflict.

‘Gaza is blacked out again,’ says main operator announcing internet, telecom services down

A damaged Paltel telecommunications building is seen in central Gaza's Bureij, January 8, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

All internet and telecom services in Gaza have been cut as a result of the Israeli bombardment of the Palestinian territory, the main operator says.

“We regret to announce that all telecom services in the Gaza Strip have been lost due to the ongoing aggression. Gaza is blacked out again,” says Paltel in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Tens of thousands attend pro-Houthi rallies across Yemen after US, UK ‘terror’ strikes

Illustrative: Houthi supporters chant slogans as they attend a rally marking eight years for a Saudi-led coalition, on March 26, 2023, in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

Tens of thousands of Yemenis gather in several cities to hear their leaders condemn US and British strikes on their country in response to attacks by Houthi rebels on Red Sea shipping.

The US and Britain carried out dozens of air strikes on Houthi military targets overnight, widening a wave of regional conflict unleashed by Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught.

“Your strikes on Yemen are terrorism,” says Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, referring to the United States. “The United States is the Devil.”

The Houthis, who rule much of Yemen, said they would target all ships heading to Israel, more than 1,000 miles away, and warned international shipping companies against using Israeli ports. Most of the ships they’ve wound up attacking have not been tied to Israel.

A large rally in Sanaa, Yemen in support of the Houthis and its actions in the region. pic.twitter.com/3xpQhxl1eZ

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) January 12, 2024

“We did not attack the shores of America, nor did we move in the American islands, nor did we attack them. Your strikes on our country are terrorism,” says Al-Houthi.

“They are terrorists and they are amazing at lying to the people of the world, but the awareness of the Yemeni people is a different awareness. Do you, Yemeni, think that America is defending itself or is it a terrorist?”

In Sanaa, protesters stomped on Israeli and American flags.

‘You’re the real genocide perpetrators,’ Katz tells Erdogan, referencing Armenian genocide, which Israel never recognized

Energy Minister Israel Katz signs off on the expansion of natural gas exports to Egypt, August 23, 2023. (via Twitter)

Foreign Minister Israel Katz hits back at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who boasted earlier today of having submitted materials to help boost South Africa’s International Court of Justice case accusing Israel of genocide.

“The president of Turkey, the country that carried out the Armenian genocide and thought the world would shut up about it, is ‘proud’ today that he handed over to The Hague tribunal materials that accuse Israel of genocide,” Katz tweets.

“We heard you. We have not forgotten the Armenian holocaust and [Turkey’s] massacres of the Kurds. You are the real genocide perpetrators. We are defending ourselves from your barbarian friends,” he adds.

Israel for decades has bucked Armenian pleas for Jerusalem to formally recognize the genocide perpetrated during the Ottoman Empire, not wanting to sour its ties with Turkey and Azerbaijan, which deny one took place.

South Africa’s justice minister says Israel failed to disprove ‘compelling’ genocide case

South Africa’s Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola says in a statement outside the International Court of Justice in The Hague that Israel has failed to present evidence against South Africa’s claim that it is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

“The State of Israel today has failed to disprove South Africa’s compelling case that was presented before The ICJ yesterday. We stand by the facts the law and all the evidence we have submitted,” Lamola says, adding that in light of Israel’s defense today, South Africa still believes it is acting in violation of the Genocide Convention.

“The State of Israel today has failed to disprove South Africa's compelling case that was presented before The ICJ yesterday. We stand by the Facts the law and all the evidence we have submitted” Minister Ronald Lamola @RonaldLamola #InternationalCourtofJustice pic.twitter.com/5aCWd14WVT

— News Live SA (@newslivesa) January 12, 2024

IDF says more than 700 Hamas rocket launchers destroyed since start of Gaza ground offensive

Rockets found by the Golani Brigade in a cemetery in the Gaza Strip, in an image published January 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israeli Air Force and troops operating in the Gaza Strip have destroyed more than 700 Hamas rocket launchers since the beginning of the ground offensive, the military says.

The IDF says ground troops have seized hundreds of rockets, including long-range projectiles, and located many launchers, as the military works to destroy Hamas’s rocket launch capabilities.

Together, ground troops and the IAF have destroyed more than 700 rocket launchers, the IDF says.

In recent weeks, there has been a significant drop in the rate of rocket fire from Gaza, which military officials attributed to Israel’s control of the ground and troops capturing Hamas’s rocket caches and launch sites.

Recently, the IDF says troops of the Golani Brigade located rocket launchers with primed projectiles in a graveyard in Gaza. It says the launchers were destroyed without causing damage to the cemetery.

In footage shared by the military, the IAF’s intelligence-gathering 100th Squadron is seen spotting Hamas firing rockets from a school and mosque in Gaza. The launchers are then struck by the IAF.

The IDF says Hamas “deliberately” places its launchers and fires rockets from civilian buildings.

Troops operating in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli Air Force have destroyed more than 700 Hamas rocket launchers since the beginning of the ground offensive, the military says.

The IDF says ground troops have seized hundreds of rockets, including long-range projectiles, and… pic.twitter.com/kLIT1AfH0U

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) January 12, 2024

Foreign Minister Katz accuses South Africa of violating Genocide Convention by supporting Hamas

Foreign Minister Israel Katz accuses members of the international community of double standards in matters that concern Israel upon the conclusion of Israel’s defense against South Africa’s charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice.

In a statement published by Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat, Katz says that South Africa’s claims were “baseless” and accused it of violating the Genocide Convention “by supporting the terrorist organization Hamas, which calls for the elimination of the State of Israel.”

“I hope that the complaint will be dismissed outright and I believe that justice will prevail,” he adds, thanking Israel’s legal team for their “impressive” arguments during today’s hearing.

הודעת שר החוץ ישראל כ"ץ @Israel_katz בתום הדיון בבית הדין הבינלאומי בהאג:

"כשזה נוגע לישראל נראה כי המוסר הכפול של חלק ממדינות העולם זועק לשמיים.

אין כל בסיס לטענות דרום אפריקה כנגד ישראל. להיפך. לא הוצגה כל ראיה לכך אלא רק ראיות למלחמת מגן מוסרית מאין כמוה.

דרום אפריקה עצמה… pic.twitter.com/0sUYIw2szk

— Lior Haiat ???????? (@LiorHaiat) January 12, 2024

In closing arguments, lawyer for Israel says entertaining South Africa’s request would weaken ICJ

Dr. Gilad Noam delivers the closing arguments in defense of Israel during the second day of hearings at the World Court, January 12, 2024. (Youtube screenshot)

Dr. Gilad Noam, presenting the closing arguments for Israel’s defense against South Africa’s charges of genocide in the ICJ, tells the court that were it to accept these claims it would embolden terrorist groups and provide them with cover to commit crimes against humanity in the future, as Hamas did on October 7.

“Entertaining the applicant’s request would weaken efforts to punish genocide and instead of [the court] being an instrument to prevent terrorist horrors would turn it into a weapon in hands of terrorist groups who have no regard for humanity and rule of law,” says Noam.

Granting South Africa’s request for provisional measures, “Would signal to terrorist groups that they can commit war crimes and crimes against humanity and then seek the protection of this court,” charges Noam.

Lawyer for Israel at ICJ: Halting IDF operation in Gaza would encourage repeat attacks by Hamas

Dr Christopher Staker speaks in defense of Israel during the second day of hearings at the World Court, January 12, 2024. (Youtube screenshot)

Christopher Staker, speaking for Israel’s defense team in the International Court of Justice, argues that South Africa’s request for provisional measures against Israel to halt its military operation in Gaza are designed to protect Hamas from Israel’s response to the October 7 atrocities it perpetrated, and would encourage the terror group to repeat those outrages.

“Provisional measures would stop Israel defending its citizens, more citizens could be attacked, raped and tortured [by Hamas], and provisional measures would prevent Israel doing anything,” he says.

“If granted, it would mean that when a recognized terror group commits terrorist attacks on another state, a third party seeking provisional measures can stop a party from defending itself,” says Staker.

Erdogan: Turkey providing evidence to ICJ, I believe Israel will be convicted

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Budapest, Hungary, on December 18, 2023. (Attila Kisbenedek/AFP)

Turkey is providing documents for the case brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice in which they allege that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinian civilians amid the war against Hamas in Gaza,  Erdogan says.

“I believe that Israel will be convicted there. We believe in the justice of the International Court of Justice,” Erdogan says, adding that Turkey will continue to provide documents, mostly visual, on the impact of the war in Gaza.

Erdogan: UK, US turning Red Sea into ‘sea of blood’ with airstrikes against Houthis

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slams the US and British airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen overnight as a disproportionate use of force and accuses the two countries of trying to turn the Red Sea into a “sea of blood.”

Speaking to reporters in Istanbul after Friday prayers, Erdogan says Ankara is hearing from various channels that the Iran-backed Houthi forces were carrying out a “successful defense” against the United States and Britain.

Israel says humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza disprove genocide claim

Dr. Galit Raguan speaks in defense of Israel during the second day of hearings at the World Court, January 12, 2024. (Youtube screenshot)

Dr. Galit Raguan, speaking in defense of Israel’s actions in Gaza, tells the court that Israeli policies of warning Palestinian civilians to evacuate from war zones and providing humanitarian aid demonstrate that there is not even plausibility to South Africa’s claims of genocide.

Raguan provides evidence of these practices, as well as the widespread use by Hamas of civilian infrastructure in Gaza, and says that it is this deliberate military strategy of Hamas that is the true source of civilian harm in Gaza and not any claimed genocidal campaign.

Raguan also denounces South Africa’s claims that Israel’s warnings to civilians to evacuate combat areas were an effort to destroy the Palestinian people.

“The applicant astonishingly claims that these efforts are themselves genocidal. A measure intended to mitigate harm to civilians is proof, according to the applicant, of Israel’s intent to commit genocide when it in fact proves the exact opposite,” she says.

Listing numerous Israeli efforts to facilitate humanitarian aid, including ambulances, hospital incubators, the supply of food, water, and medicine, the establishment of four field hospitals and two floating hospitals in the Mediterranean Sea, and the fact that Hamas steals humanitarian aid, she says this totally undermines the notion that Israel is seeking to destroy the Palestinian people in Gaza.

“Even this mere fraction is enough to demonstrate how tendentious the allegations of the South Africans are and how the allegations of genocide are baseless,” she says of the Israeli efforts.

“Would Israel delay its ground operation for weeks, would it invest massive resources to tell civilians where, when and how to [evacuate], to leave areas of fighting?” Raguan asks, saying that if Israel were seeking to commit genocide, it wouldn’t “maintain a dedicated staff of experts whose sole role is to deliver aid, despite themselves coming under attack” on October 7.

Pro-Israel protesters display images of hostages outside ICJ in The Hague

Protesters waving flags and pictures of the hostages, including baby Kfir Bibas, who were kidnapped during the October 7 Hamas onslaught in Israel, attend a protest outside the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Friday, January 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

Crowds of pro-Israel protesters gather outside the International Court of Justice in The Hague as Israel’s legal team offers its response to accusations brought by South Africa at the UN’s top court that it is committing genocide in its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The demonstrators hold large banners with images of the hostages still held by Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza, including 12-month-old Kfir Bibas, who will turn one later this month.

The demonstration also features a long table set for a traditional Friday night dinner, the likes of which is enjoyed by Jews across the world each week.

The table has one seat for every hostage still held in Gaza as a reminder of their absence.

Pictures of the hostages kidnapped during the October 7 Hamas onslaught in Israel are placed behind a table set during a protest outside the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Friday, January 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

Shaw: South Africa cherry-picked comments by Israeli politicians

Malcolm Shaw turns to the critical issue of intent in the genocide charges made by South Africa against Israel in the International Court of Justice.

He says that South Africa presented a “distorted picture” of comments made by Israeli politicians on the war in order to establish genocidal intent by Israel, and points out that only the policy decisions by the small Israeli war cabinet and the broader security cabinet are relevant in determining Israeli policy in the war in Gaza.

“To produce random quotes which are not in conformity with government policy is misleading at best,” says Shaw.

He cites by way of example a security cabinet meeting of October 29 when “the prime minister states time and again that ‘we must prevent a humanitarian disaster’ and the prime minister indicates possible solutions for the supply of water, food and medicine, and increasing the supply of [humanitarian aid] trucks” into Gaza.

Shaw also cites IDF directives in effect since October 7, in one of which, he says “‘Attacks will be solely directed at military targets while adhering to the principles of distinction, proportionality, taking precautions in attacks to reduce collateral damage’ — this is a directive that binds all IDF forces.”

He also cites numerous comments by Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declaring that the goal of the war is to destroy Hamas and it does not target the Palestinian people.

Lawyer for Israel: Not every armed conflict is a genocide, essence of crime cannot be lost

British jurist Malcolm Shaw looks on during a hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Friday, January 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

Prof. Malcolm Shaw, KC, speaking at the World Court in The Hague about the nature of South Africa’s charges of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, notes that civilians suffer in all armed conflicts “especially when a side attacks civilians and is unconcerned” by the welfare of civilians on its own side.

“Not every conflict is genocidal. The crime of genocide in international law and under the Genocide Convention is a uniquely malicious manifestation and stands alone among violations of international law as the zenith of evil, the crime of crimes, ultimate in wickedness,” he says.

“If claims of genocide were to become common currency of armed conflict wherever that occurred, the essence of that crime would be lost.”

WHO chief says Shifa hospital resumes partial services after weeks of war

Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, has partially reestablished services, the World Health Organization says, after reaching the facility for the first time in over two weeks.

The UN health agency says it and its partners reached the יospital in the north of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, delivering desperately needed fuel and medical supplies.

“The team reported that Al-Shifa, previously Gaza’s premier hospital, has (partially) reestablished services,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus writes on X, formerly Twitter.

The hospital now has 60 medical staff, a surgical and medical ward with 40 beds, an emergency department, four operating theatres, basic emergency obstetric and gynecologic services, he says, as well as limited laboratory and radiology services.

After more than two weeks, @WHO team and partners were able to reach Al-Shifa hospital in northern #Gaza today and deliver 9300 litres of fuel and medical supplies to cover 1000 trauma and 100 kidney dialysis patients.

The team reported that Al-Shifa, previously Gaza's premier… pic.twitter.com/D6u4qhTwLT

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) January 11, 2024

Earlier this month the US assessed that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad had used the hospital to command forces and hold some hostages but largely evacuated the complex before Israeli troops entered it.

Israel condemns claim it doesn’t have right to self defense against Hamas

Continuing his opening statement at The Hague, Foreign Ministry legal adviser Tal Becker lambastes South Africa for what he says were its “curated” and “distorted” allegations of genocide against Israel.

He also condemns South Africa’s assertion that Israel does not have the right to self-defense against Hamas.

“If the claim of the applicant now is that in the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas, Israel must be denied the ability to defend its citizens, then the absurd upshot of South Africa’s argument is this: Under the guise of the allegation against Israel of genocide, this court is asked to call for an end to operations against the ongoing attacks of an organization that pursues an actual genocidal agenda,” says Becker.

He also points to Hamas’s practice of embedding its military installations and fighters amid civilian infrastructure and of stealing humanitarian supplies as the real source of civilian death and suffering in Gaza.

“Hamas has systematically and unlawfully embedded its military operations, militants, and assets throughout Gaza, within and beneath densely populated civilian areas,” says Becker. “It has built an extensive warren of underground tunnels for its leaders and fighters several hundred miles in length throughout the strip, with thousands of access points and terrorist hubs located in homes, mosques, UN facilities, schools, and, perhaps most shockingly, hospitals. This is not an occasional tactic. It is an integrated, preplanned, extensive, and abhorrent method of warfare.”

Adds Becker: “Israel is committed, as it must be, to comply with the law, but it does so in the face of Hamas’s utter contempt for the law. It is committed, as it must be, to demonstrate humanity. But it does so in the face of Hamas’s utter inhumanity.”

“The key component of genocide — the intention to destroy a people, in whole or in part — is totally lacking,” Becker says.

“What Israel seeks by operating in Gaza is not to destroy a people, but to protect a people — its people, who are under attack on multiple fronts — and to do so in accordance with the law, even as it faces a heartless enemy determined to use that very commitment against it.”

“To maintain the integrity of the Genocide Convention, to maintain its promise and the court’s own role as its guardian,” Becker concludes, “it is respectfully submitted that the application and request should be dismissed for what they are: a libel, designed to deny Israel the right to defend itself, according to the law, from the unprecedented terrorist onslaught it continues to face, and to free the 136 hostages Hamas still holds.”

South Africa’s charges against Israel are ‘grossly distorted,’ Israel legal adviser at ICJ says

Legal adviser for Israel's foreign ministry Tal Becker speaks at the start of the second day of hearings at the World Court, January 12, 2024. (Youtube screenshot)

Israel’s military actions in Gaza are acts of self-defense against Hamas and other terrorist organizations, the legal adviser for Israel’s Foreign Ministry says at the opening of the second day of hearings at the World Court on Friday.

The adviser, Tal Becker, says South Africa on Thursday brought “a grossly distorted story” as it accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza during the first day of the hearings of the case it brought to the UN’s top court.

“If there have been acts that may be characterized as genocidal, then they have been perpetrated against Israel. If there is a concern about the obligations of states under the Genocide Convention, then it is in relation to their responsibilities to act against Hamas’s proudly declared agenda of annihilation, which is not a secret and is not in doubt,” Becker says.

He says Israel says is committed to complying with the law amid the war, “but it does so in the face of Hamas’s utter contempt for the law.”

He argues the “appalling suffering” of civilians, both Israeli and Palestinian, is the result of Hamas strategy, while South Africa’s demands that Israel halt the war would render Israel defenseless.

Houthis say 5 killed, 6 injured in US, UK airstrikes overnight

US and British airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen overnight killed five members of the Iran-backed group and wounded six, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claims.

“The raids led to the death of five martyrs and the injury of six others from our armed forces,” Yahya Saree writes on X.

Anti-Israel protesters rally outside the ICJ ahead of country’s defense against genocide claims

Anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protesters outside the International Court of Justice in The Hague on January 12, 2024 (Youtube screenshot)

A large anti-Israel protest is taking place outside the International Court of Justice in The Hague, as Israel prepares to respond to accusations of genocide brought by South Africa during Thursday’s hearing.

In videos shared on X, formerly Twitter, crowds can be heard chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and “five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terror state.”

Hague now pic.twitter.com/KP8PVYbWDm

— sabrina (@SabrinGh) January 12, 2024

WATCH: Israel responds at the World Court to South Africa’s genocide allegations

The second session at the International Court of Justice in The Hague is under way, with Israel presenting its rebuttal of South Africa’s claims of genocide in Gaza.

You can watch a livestream of the proceedings here.

Jordanian foreign minister says Israel is putting Middle East at risk of regional war

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi says Israel is dragging the Middle East into “the furnace of a regional war” that threatens the security and stability of the region.

Safadi calls for the international community to “bear its responsibility and stop the Israeli aggression and arrogance” amid the war in Gaza, and says that if it does not, “it allows the Israeli Prime Minister and the ministers of extremism, hatred and racism in his government” to pull the region into an all-out war.

Safadi’s comments come after the US and UK struck Houthi targets in Yemen overnight in response to weeks of attacks launched by the Iran-backed group at vessels transiting in the Red Sea.

‘Evil slander:’ Miri Regev denies handing out popcorn during security cabinet spat

Transportation Minister Miri Regev, at Ben Gurion International Airport, June 20, 2023. (Jonathan Shaul/Flash90)

Transportation Minister Miri Regev denies having handed out popcorn to fellow lawmakers during a squabble between security cabinet members on Wednesday, her office says in a statement.

Calling the reports of her having done so “fake news” and “evil slander,” the statement says that Regev “intends to act by legal means and exhaust all her rights against the media channels, journalists, and poison and hate mongers who are defaming her.”

“The spreading of the lies was intended to harm her good name, inflame hatred towards her and silence her in cabinet discussions,” the statement adds.

UK not immediately planning further strikes against Houthis in Yemen

Britain is not immediately planning further missions to strike against Houthi military targets in Yemen after carrying out a joint attack with the US overnight, British armed forces minister James Heappey tells the BBC.

Asked about possible further missions, he says, “There are none immediately planned, and that’s an important point. Last night was a limited, proportionate, necessary response.”

Red Crescent says head of Khan Younis Medical Center released from Israeli detention after 51 days

The Palestinian Red Crescent says that the head of the Khan Younis Medical Center, Dr. Awni Khattab, has been released from Israeli detention after 51 days.

He was released at the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and Gaza earlier this morning, after being arrested while evacuating patients from Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza to safe zones in the south earlier in the war, the Red Crescent adds.

Urgent – Palestine Red Crescent: Israeli Occupation forces releases colleague Awni Khattab, Director of #KhanYounis ambulance center, after 51 days of detention. He was released today at the Kerem Shalom crossing after being arrested at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint during the…

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) January 12, 2024

IDF says elite Hamas commanders who participated in October 7 assault killed in Khan Younis

Over the past day, the IDF says troops killed dozens of Hamas operatives during operations in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis and Maghazi in the Strip’s center.

In Maghazi, the IDF says the 36th Division killed some 20 Hamas operatives, including a commander in the terror group’s elite Nukhba force.

In Khan Younis, the 98th Division directed an airstrike on a building used by Hamas, killing seven operatives, the IDF says.

According to the IDF, among those killed in the strike was another Nukhba commander, who participated in the October 7 onslaught.

Also in Khan Younis, the IDF says troops of the Commando Brigade spotted three Hamas gunmen coming out of the home of an operative and approaching the forces. The commandos opened fire, killing the three.

In Bureij, close to Maghazi, troops of the Border Defense Corps’ 414th Combat Intelligence Collection unit spotted a Hamas gunman shooting at soldiers from a building, the IDF says.

The IDF says the unit’s soldiers piloted a drone to the window from which the gunman opened fire, and killed him.

צה"ל חיסל עשרות מחבלים בחאן יונס ובאל מע'אזי, ביניהם מפקדים בכוח הנח'בה של החמאס; באל בורייג' רחפן חיסל מחבל שירה מחלון לעבר כוחותינו.

באל מע'אזי, צוותי הקרב החטיבתיים הפועלים בפיקודה של אוגדה 36 חיסלו ביממה האחרונה כ-20 מחבלים ואיתרו אמצעי לחימה רבים >> pic.twitter.com/eI6ong4qYQ

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) January 12, 2024

Egypt establishes new security measures along ‘Philadelphi Route’ to reduce Israeli pressure for control

Egyptian soldiers patrol on a road parallel to the Philadelphi Corridor, a buffer zone that separates Egypt from Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, March 19, 2007. ( Cris Bouroncle/AFP)

Egypt is taking steps to reduce the pressure from Israel to take over control of the so-called Philadelphi Route in the Gaza Strip, which runs for 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) along the enclave’s border with Egypt, Arabic-language news outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

An Egyptian source tells the news outlet that the Egyptian army has already started carrying out new security measures “including conducting security patrols along the border by special operations forces to ensure that there are no activities that threaten security in that area.”

Israel has asked Cairo to let the IDF control the key Gaza-Egypt border road after the war, saying that this will prevent weapons from being smuggled into the coastal enclave, a request that has reportedly been soundly rejected.

The Egyptian source tells Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the country has sought to coordinate on the issue with Hamas and various other terror groups in Gaza, and has obtained “assurances that the Philadelphi Route area should be free of any resistance actions, to block the way for Israeli attempts to be present in that region.”

Houthis say attacks in Red Sea will continue despite US, UK airstrikes in Yemen

A spokesman for the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen says there was no justification for the airstrikes carried out by the US and UK in Yemen overnight and adds that the group will continue targeting ships heading towards Israel.

The United States and Britain launched strikes from the air and sea against Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to the group’s attacks on ships in the Red Sea, which it has claimed are in support of Gaza amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas — despite many of the targeted vessels appearing to have no connection to Israel.

Iran says airstrikes in Yemen violate country’s sovereignty, breach international law

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani says in a statement that Iran “strongly condemns” the US and British airstrikes in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, Nournews reports.

“We consider it a clear violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a breach of international laws, regulations, and rights,” Kanaani adds.

The airstrikes pounded targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen early Friday after weeks of disruptive attacks on Red Sea shipping by the Iran-backed rebel forces.

Israel readies to counter genocide accusations at International Court of Justice

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

THE HAGUE – Israel will respond later this morning to accusations brought by South Africa at the UN’s top court that its military operation in Gaza in response to Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught is a state-led genocide campaign aimed at wiping out the Palestinian population.

South Africa, which filed the lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December, asked judges yesterday to impose emergency measures ordering Israel to immediately halt the offensive.

Israel rejects the accusations of genocide as baseless and says South Africa was acting as a mouthpiece for the Hamas terror group that seeks to eliminate the Jewish state. The IDF is targeting Hamas terrorists, not Palestinian civilians, Jerusalem says.

The 1948 Genocide Convention, enacted in the wake of the mass murder of Jews in the Nazi Holocaust, defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

The court is expected to rule on possible emergency measures later this month but will not rule at that time on the genocide allegations with those proceedings potentially taking years.

The ICJ’s decisions are final and without appeal, but the court has no way to enforce them.

Saudi Arabia calls for restraint in response to US, UK strikes against Houthis in Yemen

A passenger airplane flies between a smoldering fire at a Saudi Aramco oil depot after a Yemen Houthi rebel attack, ahead of a Formula One race as the sun rises in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, March 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Saudi Arabia calls for restraint and “avoiding escalation” in light of the air strikes launched by the United States and Britain against sites linked to the Houthi movement in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia, which has in recent months engaged in peace talks with Yemen’s Houthis after engaging in a years-long bombing campaign against them, was closely monitoring the situation with “great concern,” its foreign ministry says in a statement.

“The kingdom emphasizes the importance of maintaining the security and stability of the Red Sea region, as the freedom of navigation in it is an international demand,” the ministry adds.

The chief negotiator for the Houthis, Mohammed Abdulsalam, said on Thursday the group’s attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea do not threaten its peace talks.

Biden: Strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen a direct response to rebels’ Red Sea attacks

A strike on Houthi rebel sites in Yemen on January 12, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

US President Joe Biden says that the United States and Britain, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands, had conducted strikes in Yemen at sites used by Houthi rebels.

“These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea — including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history,” Biden says in a statement released by the White House.

“These attacks have endangered US personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized trade, and threatened freedom of navigation,” Biden says.

Biden says he would “not hesitate” to direct further measures to protect people and the free flow of commerce.

Just 145 aid trucks entered Gaza on Thursday, UN agency says

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid line up at the Rafah Border Crossing, Egypt, on the way to Gaza, November 19, 2023. (AP/Amr Nabil, File)

Only 145 trucks of food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies entered Gaza on Thursday through Egypt’s Rafah Crossing and Israel’s Kerem Shalom Crossing, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says in its daily update.

Israel agreed during a November truce to begin allowing at least 200 trucks of aid into Gaza, with the US pushing for the number to approach the 500 trucks per day that entered the Strip before the war. Jerusalem says the UN and Egypt are causing massive bottlenecks in aid delivery, and that it is inspecting hundreds of trucks per day.

But aid agencies on the ground retort that delivering assistance throughout the Strip is nearly impossible as Israel’s military operations persist throughout Gaza.

“Between January 1 and 11, only 21 percent (5 out of 24) of planned aid deliveries of food, medicines, water, and other lifesaving supplies to the north of Wadi Gaza proceeded,” OCHA says amid growing concerns of food insecurity, particularly in northern Gaza where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain.

“Repeated denials of fuel delivery to water and sanitation facilities, have deprived people of access to clean water, escalating the risk of sewage overflows and rapidly intensifying the spread of communicable diseases,” OCHA says.

US, UK carrying out strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen — officials

A strike on Houthi rebel sites in Yemen on January 12, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

The United States and Britain have started carrying out strikes against targets linked to the Houthis in Yemen for the first time since Iran-backed group started targeting international shipping in the Red Sea after Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught against Israel.

“American-Zionist-British aggression against Yemen launches several raids on the capital, Sanaa, Hodeidah governorate, Saada, and Dhamar,” Houthi official Abdul Qader al-Mortada says on X.

A US official says the strikes were carried out from aircrafts, ships and a submarine.

The Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been targeting Red Sea shipping routes to show their support for Hamas. The attacks have disrupted international commerce on the key route between Europe and Asia that accounts for about 15% of the world’s shipping traffic.

BREAKING: VIDEO OF MAJOR STRIKES IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS IN YEMEN pic.twitter.com/BKb8oWitKe

— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) January 11, 2024

These are believed to be the first strikes the United States has carried out against the Houthis in Yemen since 2016.

Four US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, say a formal statement is soon expected to detail the strikes.

Earlier today, the Houthi’s leader said any US attack on the group would not go without a response.

The Houthis, who seized much of Yemen in a civil war, have vowed to attack ships linked to Israel or bound for Israeli ports. However, many of the targeted ships have had no links to Israel.

The US military said earlier today that Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into international shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden, the 27th attack by the group since Nov. 19.