A picture taken on January 5, 2024 shows Gaza City鈥檚 Al-Ghossein cemetary, damaged amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas. The conflict triggered by Hamas鈥檚 deadly October 7 attack on Israel has caused massive destruction in the Gaza Strip, killing tens of thousands and leaving residents on the brink of famine. Much of the territory has become unrecognizable, as entire neighborhoods which were once bustling with people, cars and donkey-drawn carts have been reduced to rubble. (Photo by AFP)
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES 鈥� Israel bombarded the southern Gaza Strip Thursday as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended a days-long regional tour aimed at preventing the Israel-Hamas war from spreading.
His final stop in Egypt coincided with a hearing at the UN鈥檚 top court over an urgent appeal for Israel to immediately suspend its military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Adila Hassim, a top lawyer for South Africa which has brought the case against Israel, said Israel鈥檚 bombing campaign aimed at the 鈥渄estruction of Palestinian life鈥� and had pushed Palestinians 鈥渢o the brink of famine鈥�.
In Cairo, Blinken met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose country is a mediator in the Gaza war now in its fourth month.
Blinken鈥檚 nine-country Middle East trip concluded after Wednesday鈥檚 UN Security Council resolution that demanded Iran-backed Yemeni rebels 鈥渋mmediately cease鈥� attacks which have disrupted shipping in the Red Sea and stoked fears the conflict could spread.
Violence involving Iran-backed armed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria as well as Yemen has spiked during the war, leading to heightened fears it could spread.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the conflict is escalating,鈥� and nobody wants that, Blinken told reporters on the airport tarmac at the end of his brief Cairo stop.
鈥淚srael doesn鈥檛. Lebanon doesn鈥檛. I actually don鈥檛 think Hezbollah does,鈥� he said referring to the Lebanese movement, a Hamas ally, which has exchanged regular fire with Israeli forces over their border.
South Africa accused Israel before the International Court of Justice of breaching the United Nations Genocide Convention in its response to Hamas鈥檚 October 7 attack, which triggered the war.
鈥淣o armed attack on a state territory, no matter how serious鈥� can provide justification for or defend breaches of the convention,鈥� said Pretoria鈥檚 Justice Minister Ronald Lamola, setting out his country鈥檚 case at the court in The Hague.
South Africa is a longtime backer of the Palestinian cause.
鈥楢bove the law鈥�
In Gaza鈥檚 southern city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt and overrun with displaced people fleeing fighting further north, Palestinians mourned their dead and expressed hope the ICJ could render justice on their behalf.
鈥淚srael considers itself above the law. We ask鈥� the international judges to judge Israel鈥� and its government, Hisham al-Kullah said, holding a dead baby whose body was one of several to arrive at Rafah鈥檚 Al-Najjar hospital.
Another mourner, Mohammad al-Arjan, expressed hope that 鈥渢he court stops the war鈥�.
Israel, which will lay out its defenSe on Friday, has already accused South Africa of serving as Hamas鈥檚 鈥渓egal arm鈥�.
The war began when Hamas launched its unprecedented October 7 attack, which resulted in about 1,140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Militants also took around 250 hostages, 132 of whom Israel says remain in Gaza, including at least 25 believed to have been killed.
Israel has responded with a relentless military campaign that has killed at least 23,469 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Hamas鈥檚 press office said early Thursday that 62 people had been killed in strikes overnight, including around Gaza鈥檚 main southern city of Khan Yunis.
The wounded included several children who arrived at the city鈥檚 Al-Nasser hospital. A boy with a pained expression and blood down one side of his face walked in. A man carried the limp body of a girl from an ambulance.
Israel鈥檚 military said in a statement on Thursday that 鈥渦nderground combat鈥� led to the discovery of more than 300 tunnel shafts under Khan Yunis, and that 鈥淚sraeli hostages had been inside鈥� one vast tunnel.
During a visit with troops in central Gaza, Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi said the militants had prepared their defenSes 鈥渙ver a very long period of time in a very organiZed way鈥�, adding it is 鈥渁 very, very complex battlefield鈥�.
Makeshift clinic
The war has triggered an acute humanitarian crisis, with an Israeli siege sparking shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday said there are 鈥渘early insurmountable challenges鈥� to aid delivery in Gaza.
鈥淚ntense bombardment, restrictions on movement, fuel shortages, and interrupted communications make it impossible for WHO and our partners to reach those in need,鈥� he told reporters.
The WHO says only a few Gaza hospitals are even partly functioning.
In Rafah, former Gaza health ministry staffer Zaki Shaheen converted his shop into a makeshift clinic.
鈥淲e got help from the health ministry,鈥� aiming to ease pressure on overburdened hospitals, Shaheen told AFP.
鈥淲e receive no less than 30 or 40 cases per day, morning to night. I鈥檒l be sleeping, then someone comes in with an injury or a burn, so we treat them,鈥� he told AFP.
The United Nations estimates 1.9 million Gazans have been uprooted by the war.
Before his final stop in Egypt, Blinken sketched out a possible post-war future for Gaza after meeting Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Bahrain鈥檚 King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa.
Blinken told Abbas that Washington supported 鈥渢angible steps鈥� towards the creation of a Palestinian state 鈥� a long-term goal that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu鈥檚 hard-right government has opposed.
In Cairo Blinken said movement towards a Palestinian state, alongside a rapprochement between Israel and Arab countries, is the way to isolate Iran.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a path that brings Israel鈥檚 needs and desires for integration,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you make the necessary commitment to security and you move down the path to a Palestinian state, it鈥檚 the single best way to isolate Iran and the proxies.鈥�
Yemen鈥檚 Huthi rebels, who say they are acting in support of the Palestinians, have carried out numerous attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea, a vital artery for international trade.
On Thursday armed men in 鈥渕ilitary-style鈥� uniforms boarded an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, a maritime risk management company said, before Iranian state media reported Iran鈥檚 navy had seized an American oil tanker following 鈥渁 court order鈥�.