January 11, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Hezbollah says it has launched "dozens of rockets" toward northern Israel on Thursday in response to Israeli strikes that killed two paramedics in Lebanon.

The Iran-backed group — which has one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East — said its strikes on the Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, near the Lebanese border, were also in support of the "steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip."

The Lebanese Civil Defense said two of its members were killed in the earlier attack on an ambulance in Hanin, according to the country's state news agency NNA.

What Israel says: The Israel Defense Forces said it identified 10 launches from Lebanon toward Israel, with sirens sounding in Kiryat Shmona and the nearby community of Margaliot. Three of those were intercepted, the military said.

"In addition, earlier today (Thursday), a number of launches toward Israeli territory were identified. In response, the IDF struck the sources of the fire," the IDF statement said.

Israel said its military also struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, including "military sites, a military post, and terrorist infrastructure," as well as a number of other areas in Lebanon.

Houthi leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi said that any United States aggression against Yemen “will not go unanswered,” amid fears that the rebel group's attacks could escalate Israel’s war against Hamas into a wider regional conflict. 

Al-Houthi said in a speech on Thursday that the response from the group will be “much greater” than this week’s barrage of drones and missiles on the Red Sea. 

The leader said that Yemen is ready “to confront American aggression” and criticized US and United Kingdom support for Israel, stating it “will not deter” Yemen's actions. 

Al-Houthi said the strategy in preventing Israeli-linked ships from traversing the Red Sea has been effective, citing the recent American attack on the Houthis’ navy as evidence of this impact. 

Furthermore, al-Houthi accused the US and the UK of trying to involve other countries in the confrontation against Yemen, warning that those who target Yemen and its naval forces risk their maritime safety and commercial shipping interests. 

"Those who want to get involved and attack our people and target the naval forces are risking their maritime safety and their commercial ships," al-Houthi said. 

Some background: The Iran-backed Houthis began launching the attacks soon after the start of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, claiming they were targeting ships with ties to Israel as they stood in solidarity with the Palestinian people. 

On Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council approved a resolution calling on the group to “cease its brazen” attacks in the Red Sea, as the United States and Britain hinted at military strikes.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during a meeting Thursday that the UK would "continue to take action to defend freedom of navigation and protect lives at sea," according to a statement from Downing Street.

The warnings come as the militants continue a weeks-long campaign to launch drones and missiles at vessels in the commercially vital shipping lane, which they say are revenge against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.

That continued Thursday, when the US Defense Department said the rebels fired an anti-ship missile into international shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden. A commercial vessel reported seeing the missile hit the water, and there were no injuries or damage, according to a US spokesperson.

This post has been updated with information about another missile fired by Houthi rebels and new remarks from the British prime minister on Thursday.

CNN's Max Foster, Michael Conte and Oren Liebermann contributed reporting to this post.

There is a clear and "attractive" path toward peace in the Middle East, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as he wrapped up his latest multi-nation visit to the region, which came amid fears the Israel-Hamas fighting could spark a wider regional conflict.

The path includes assured security for Israel, isolating and marginalizing Iran, and the establishment of a Palestinian state, he said, adding that these things are tied together.

It will be up to the governments in the region to commit to such a path, Blinken said.

"All of which, I believe countries are prepared to do. And it's also the best way to address the most fundamental security concern that Israel and many others have, which are the actions that Iran and its proxies have taken," he told reporters in Cairo before his flight back to the United States.

The top US diplomat also insisted that his visit to the region resulted in concrete steps toward ending the conflict in Gaza. "First, an agreement by Israel to have the United Nations send an assessment team to the north of Gaza to look at the conditions that would be necessary to start to get people moving back to the north," he said. "Second, we have a commitment from the Palestinian Authority to issue meaningful reform."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday the Israel-Hamas war is not ramping up into a broader regional conflict, but he did admit that there were "danger points."

"I don't think the conflict is escalating," Blinken said. "There are lots of danger points. We're trying to deal with each of them."

Here's what he detailed:

He also said that efforts were underway to end the fighting in Gaza, but that Israel had to ensure that October 7, 2023, doesn't happen again. "We also want to see this conflict come to an end, and until it does, to make sure that humanitarian assistance goes up for people who need it," he added.  

Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations said in a statement to CNN that the seizure of a crude tanker by the Iranian army on Thursday does not constitute hijacking, but is rather a “lawful undertaking sanctioned by a court order.”

A vessel was boarded Thursday by at least four armed people in the Gulf of Oman and has diverted its course toward Iranian territorial waters, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.

The ship’s company security officer reported hearing unknown voices over the phone, after which communications with the vessel were lost, UKMTO said. The reported seizure happened early Thursday morning (around 10:30 p.m. ET Wednesday) in waters between Iran and Oman.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-associated media outlet Tasnim News Agency said that Iran had seized the tanker and is transferring it to an Iranian port, in retaliation for the United States confiscating the same vessel and its oil last year.

Tasnim cited a statement from the Iranian Navy saying the seizure came after an order from an Iranian court.

A maritime monitoring website, Tanker Trackers, said the vessel seized was a Marshall Islands-flagged crude oil tanker named St Nikolas, formerly known as the Suez Rajan.

The Suez Rajan, which was at the center of a dispute between the United States and Iran, was seized by the US government last year after a court found that it was used to “covertly sell and transport Iranian oil to a customer abroad,” the US Department of Justice said in a press release. 

The seizing of the vessel was described by the Iranian mission to the UN as "a lawful undertaking sanctioned by a court order". They said it "corresponds to the theft of Iran's very own oil. Adhering to the established legal procedures is the most prudent approach for the resolution of this matter."

Some context: There are international concerns that the conflict in Gaza could spill into the wider Middle East region.

Adding to this concern is the actions of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who are stepping up their strikes on ships in the Red Sea, which they say is revenge against Israel for its military campaign on Hamas in Gaza.

On Tuesday, the US Navy shot down 21 Houthi missiles and drones launched from Yemen, according to a statement from US Central Command, in one of the largest Houthi attacks to take place in the Red Sea in recent months.

The attacks have forced some of the world’s biggest shipping and oil companies to suspend transit through one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes, which could potentially cause a shock to the global economy.

CNN’s Mostafa Salem in Abu Dhabi contributed to this reporting.

South Africa’s justice minister said the case it has taken to the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza affords the court the opportunity to “act in real time” to prevent what he described as genocide “continuing in Gaza.”

Addressing journalists outside the steps of the Peace Palace in The Hague after South Africa concluded its oral arguments at the hearing on Thursday, Ronald Lamola said he hoped the case would be “impactful” to the people of Gaza. 

“This case presents the court with an opportunity to act in real time to prevent genocide from continuing in Gaza by issuing an urgent injunction,” Lamola said. 

Lamola expressed his hope that the case will deter Israeli soldiers in Gaza from continuing their actions, saying they may realize that they may be called individually before the court one day. 

The justice minister told journalists that South Africa had presented a “compelling argument” to the court based on facts and “jurisprudence.” 

He said his government had faith that the judges of court would be able to “exercise professionally” in reaching a decision. 

He also strongly refuted a claim from Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat that South Africa is the “legal arm” of Hamas, stressing that the South African delegation only has a mandate from the South African government.

Bassem Naim, a member of the Hamas political bureau, welcomed the first session of the International Court of Justice case accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, convened at South Africa's request, in a statement on Thursday.

“We look forward to the court issuing a decision that does justice to victims, by calling 2 stop the aggression & holding war criminals accountable,” Naim said in a written statement published on Hamas’ website on Thursday. 

More context: Throughout today's ICJ hearing, South Africa stressed that it condemned the attacks on civilians and taking of hostages by Hamas on October 7.

Addressing the various charges of hypocrisy that have been laid against South Africa, including why it has not also brought a charge of genocide against Hamas, Vaughan Lowe, one of South Africa's lawyers, said this is a matter for the International Criminal Court – and not the ICJ.

“Hamas is not a state and cannot be a party to the genocide convention, and cannot be a party to these proceedings,” Lowe said.

The ICJ hears cases brought by states accusing others of violating their United Nations treaty obligations, whereas the ICC tries individuals for crimes including war crimes and crimes against humanity.

CNN's Christian Edwards contributed reporting to this post.

The Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has expressed its support for South Africa's International Court of Justice case accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, calling a “historic event” in the “joint struggle against perceived injustice and genocide.” 

In a written statement published on Thursday, the ministry emphasized that a central focus of the Palestinian legal and diplomatic strategy is to hold Israel accountable through legal avenues and international justice institutions.

That sentiment was echoed by the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which also expressed its support for South Africa's stance and its efforts to bring the case to the ICJ, according to a statement published on the state news agency NNA on Thursday.

Both Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority's ministries accused Israel of committing crimes that amount to genocide.

“The ministry expresses its aspiration for a just and quick ruling that protect the human rights laws, especially international humanitarian law,” the Lebanese foreign ministry statement said. 

The Palestinian Authority ministry concluded its statement by expressing its “confidence” in the legal advocacy presented by South Africa against Israel at the court on Thursday. 

The Israeli Foreign Ministry criticized South Africa in response to the International Court of Justice case that South Africa brought forth accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

"Today we were witness to one of the greatest shows of hypocrisy in history, compounded by a series of false and baseless claims," Lior Haiat, a spokesperson for the ministry, said on X, formerly Twitter.

Haiat accused South Africa of "functioning as the legal arm of the Hamas" and ignoring the massacre carried out by the militant group in Israel on October 7.

"South Africa seeks to allow Hamas to return to commit the war crimes," Haiat claimed.

What South Africa argued: South Africa has "unequivocally condemned" Hamas attacks, Minister of Justice Ronald Lamola said in court. But, he said, the oppression of Palestinian people did not just begin following the Hamas attacks, arguing it has been ongoing for years. While discussing Israel's air strikes in Gaza since October 7, one of South Africa's representatives, Adila Hassim, said Palestinians in Gaza have “been killed if they have failed to evacuate, in the places to which they have fled, and even while they have attempted to flee along Israeli-declared safe routes.”

“Israel’s special genocidal intent is rooted in the belief that in fact the enemy is not just the military wing of Hamas, or indeed Hamas generally, but is embedded in the fabric of Palestinian life in Gaza,” said Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, another lawyer representing South Africa.