January 9, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Israel's President Isaac Herzog has told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the legal case brought by South Africa against Israel is "atrocious and preposterous." 

"On Thursday, a proceeding will start in the International Court of Justice in the Hague, whereby South Africa has sued Israel for supposed genocide. There's nothing more atrocious and preposterous than this claim," Herzog told reporters in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters after their meeting, Herzog thanked Blinken for his "steadfast commitment" to Israel's safety.

He said Israel will present a case "using self-defense," to show that it is doing its "utmost" under "extremely complicated circumstances" to avert civilian casualties in Gaza. 

"We are alerting, we are calling, we are showing, we are sending leaflets, we are using all the means that international law enables us in order to move out people," Herzog maintained. 

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah announced in its daily update on Monday that at least 22,835 people have been killed in the besieged enclave since the October 7.  The ministry generates its data from hospitals in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Israel began its operation in Gaza immediately after Hamas launched a terror attack into southern Israel on October 7. Its militants killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped some 200 others. 

Some context: What is South Africa alleging? South Africa filed an application last month at the International Court of Justice to begin proceedings over allegations of genocide against Israel for its war against Hamas in Gaza.

South Africa is accusing Israel of being “in violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention.” It says that “acts and omissions by Israel . . . are genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent . . . to destroy Palestinians in Gaza,” according to an ICJ statement.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah announced in its daily update on Monday that at least 22,835 people have been killed in the besieged enclave since the beginning of the war.

That staggering death toll means that 1% of the enclave’s total pre-war population of 2.27 million people has now has been wiped out.

According to the ministry, an additional 58,416 people have been injured, which means more than one in 40 Gazans have now been wounded in the conflict. The ministry generates its data from hospitals in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Read the whole story here.

Palestinian militant group Hamas is using North Korean weapons in its war against Israel, according to South Korea’s spy agency.

In a response to CNN Tuesday, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) confirmed an earlier report by the US government-funded Voice of America that Hamas fighters used a North Korean-made F-7 rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

A photo in the VOA report, first published on its Korea service, showed the middle part of a rocket used in the F-7, NIS said.

The F-7 is the equivalent of the Soviet/Russian RPG-7 and Chinese Type 69-1 grenade launchers, according to the Small Arms Survey, which is funded by the Netherlands.

North Korea is a major illicit exporter of small arms and light weapons despite United Nations sanctions aimed at choking off its exports, according to analysts.

The VOA report is not the first to link North Korean weaponry to Hamas. Last October, a senior official with the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said it had evidence of Pyongyang exporting RPGs and potentially other weapons either directly or indirectly to the Islamist militant group.

North Korea’s cooperation with Hamas also likely extends to tactical doctrine and training, the South Korean official said at the time.

South Korea’s claims about Hamas using North Korean weapons come after the United States claimed last week that Russia is using North Korean-made missiles to attack Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel for high-stakes talks with top government officials on Tuesday to push them to better protect civilians and allow in more desperately needed aid as the war in Gaza shifts to a new phase.

Blinken has been dispatched to the Middle East four times in the more than three months since the October 7 Hamas attack and has made five visits to Israel during those trips. On each of his prior visits, Blinken has met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet. He does so again on Tuesday.

The stakes of this latest visit couldn’t be higher as concerns about the war spilling out into the wider region increase. On its conduct of the war in Gaza, the Biden administration has sought to maintain pressure on the Netanyahu government to curb its offensive and reduce harm to civilians. However, US officials have also offered unceasing support for Israel’s decision to carry out a military campaign, even amid growing international isolation.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the Israeli offensive, millions have been displaced, and the entire population in the war-torn strip faces the risk of famine, the UN has warned. US officials have publicly acknowledged that gaps remain between Israel’s “intentions” and “results” when it comes to the staggering toll on civilians.

Blinken said Monday he would talk to Israeli officials “about the future direction of their military campaign in Gaza.” Israeli officials have said they are transitioning to a more targeted, lower-intensity phase of the war. A senior US official said Blinken is expected to push on an “imminent” transition to such a phase, which officials have yet to see.

Read more about Blinken's visit to Israel.

A British surgeon who led an emergency medical team in central Gaza says the situation at Al-Aqsa hospital has been “beyond any doubt the worst thing” he’s seen in his career, as Jordan’s monarch warned Israel’s bombardment was creating an “entire generation of orphans.”

He said that often “there is no pain relief to give to these patients at all,” underscoring the dire humanitarian situation and lack of medical supplies in the Palestinian enclave following more than three months of Israeli bombardment.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has repeatedly said it is not targeting civilians. The IDF has also said that Hamas uses civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, as shields for its attacks on Israel, and that attacking those targets are essential as it works to eliminate Hamas from the enclave.

Israel has also said some hospitals are being used as command centers but has provided limited evidence to support that claim.

Read the full story:

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s delegation in Tel Aviv expects to discuss the Israeli defense minister's plan for the next phase of the war in Gaza during key meetings on Tuesday, according to a senior US official.

Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant put forward the military's plan for the next phase of the war. Gallant’s proposal states that Palestinians should not be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza until all the remaining hostages are freed. 

The US side is expected to push Israeli officials on an “imminent” transition of the war to a lower-intensity phase, the official said — which the US has not yet seen.

On Monday, Blinken said Palestinians "must not be pressed to leave Gaza" and criticized "irresponsible" comments by some Israeli ministers calling for people's resettlement outside the enclave.

It will be Blinken's fifth visit to Israel since the October 7 attack by Hamas. Ahead of touching down in Tel Aviv, the top US diplomat visited Arab nations involved in talks on another possible humanitarian ceasefire and hostage releases, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar.

Back in the US, President Joe Biden said Monday that he's been quietly working to persuade the Israeli government to "reduce — significantly get out of Gaza."

Here's what else you need to know:

US President Joe Biden said Monday that he's been working to persuade the Israeli government to reduce or "significantly get out of Gaza."

Speaking during a campaign event at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina — the scene of a horrific mass shooting in 2015 — Biden was interrupted by protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

"If you really care about the lives lost here you should honor the lives lost and call for a ceasefire in Palestine," a protester shouted at Biden, referring to the mass shooting that took the lives of nine churchgoers.

A group of protesters then began chanting "ceasefire now."

They were asked to leave, as supporters began chanting, “Four more years.” The moment underscores the divisions within the Democratic Party on the issue three months after Israel's military campaign in Gaza began following Hamas' October 7 attacks. 

Top diplomat in Israel: Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be the latest in a long parade of Biden national security officials to meet face-to-face with the Israeli government on Tuesday. It will be his fifth visit since the October 7 attack by Hamas.

The stakes of Blinken’s trip are high as America’s allies stood behind Israel at the start of the war but have grown critical as the civilian toll in Gaza rises. Those partners will be looking for evidence Israel is listening to the US, and, as tensions skyrocket in the region, allies are hoping Blinken can ensure Israel has a viable plan to end the war amid concerns over a wider conflict.

In just the past month, Israeli officials have also gotten visits from national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Amos Hochstein, a special envoy who works on energy issues and who has close ties to Israel and Lebanon.

Israel claimed responsibility for the death of a senior Hezbollah commander, Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14 on Monday.

Wissam Tawil, a senior commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan forces was killed by an Israeli drone strike in his car in southern Lebanon, a Lebanese security source previously confirmed to CNN. 

"As for the hit in south Lebanon, we did take responsibility. This is part of our war," Katz said in the interview.

Katz added that Israel is making Hezbollah "pay a price."

"We did not set a goal to thwart 150,000 missiles," he said. "We set a goal to restore security to the residents of the north, to restore security to the residents of the south and to the State of Israel."

Katz also reiterated that Israel has not claimed responsibility for last week’s blast in southern Beirut that killed the deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau, Saleh Al-Arouri.

Hamas operative killed in Syria: Meanwhile, Israel's military said it killed a Hamas militant in Syria, who it says was a central figure in firing rockets from Syria toward Israel in recent weeks.

Hassan Hakashah was killed in the southern town of Beit Jinn on Monday, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

Hamas has so far not publicly commented on Hakashah's death. 

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Sunday that while Israel is not looking for war with Hezbollah, if necessary, his country could "copy-paste" its military actions in Gaza to Beirut, Lebanon. 

Gallant said “the priority isn’t to get into a war” with Hezbollah but 80,000 Israelis displaced by cross-border exchanges "need to be able to go back to their homes safely," the WSJ reported. 

Gallant also stated that if no agreement is negotiated to make that possible, Israel would not shrink from military action, adding “we are willing to sacrifice.” 

Gallant also said he believes Israel is "fighting an axis, not a single enemy,” and “Iran is building up military power around Israel in order to use it," according to the report.

Israel is determined to destroy Iran-backed Hamas, but also to act with enough force to deter other potential adversaries allied with Tehran, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Gallant said in the WSJ interview.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Friday during a speech that the group's attacks on Israel aim "to mount pressure on the enemy government and to stop the assault on Gaza" and reiterated that the death of Saleh Al-Arouri, a senior figure in Hamas, in Beirut will “not go unpunished.” 

The Hezbollah leader also warned that people in northern Israel would be the first to suffer consequences in the event of a broader conflict.