Hopes rise for new Gaza deal as Rafah invasion looms
Palestinians have right to ‘armed struggle’ against Israel, China tells ICJ
Palestinians have the “legitimate” right to use force against Israel, a legal adviser to China’s foreign ministry told the International Court of Justice today.
“In pursuit of the right to self-determination, Palestinian people’s use of force to resist foreign oppression and to complete the establishment of an independent state is an inalienable right,” Ma Xinmin said on fourth day of hearing’s at the world top court on the legality of Israeli’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Citing people who used “armed struggle against colonial occupation, aggression, and the domination by foreign forces” as examples, he said armed resistance from Palestinians was different from acts of terrorism.
“Numerous other resolutions recognize the legitimacy of struggling by all available means including armed struggle by people under colonial domination or foreign occupation to realize the right to self-determination,” he added.
Behavior of some soldiers falls into ‘criminal territory,’ IDF’s top lawyer says
The conduct displayed by some soldiers in Gaza falls into “criminal territory,” the Israel Defense Forces’ top lawyer said in a letter to military commanders.
“We have come across cases of improper conduct that deviates from IDF values and orders,” Israeli Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi wrote.
“Use of force is generally conducted in a professional and legal manner,” she said.
But she said there were also cases of “unjustified and operational misuse of force, including towards detainees; humiliation, which includes the use or confiscation of private property unnecessarily; and the destruction of civilian property contrary to orders.”
“Some incidents go beyond disciplinary boundaries and cross into criminal territory,” she added.
She did not expand on whether any soldiers are or could face criminal action over their conduct.
‘Promises of safe areas are empty,’ Doctors Without Borders says
The “promises of safe areas are empty,” and Israeli forces are not ensuring civilian safety in Gaza after two people were killed at its shelter in Khan Younis last night, the general director of Médecins Sans Frontières said.
According to the group, also known as Doctors Without Borders, an Israeli tank shell hit a known and clearly marked shelter where its aid workers and their families were housed in Al-Mawasi. The 64 people inside were not given an evacuation order and Israeli forces were “regularly informed” about the MSF team’s location, the organization said.
“The amount of force being used in a densely populated urban area is staggering, and targeting a building knowing it is full of humanitarian workers and their families is unconscionable,” MSF general director Meinie Nicolai, said in a statement.
A staff member’s wife and daughter-in-law where killed in the hit to the building, and shelling in the area delayed ambulances for the injured for two hours, according to MSF.
“We are outraged and deeply saddened by these killings,” Nicolai said. “On the same day the United States chose to veto an immediate ceasefire, two daughters saw their mother and sister-in-law killed by an Israeli tank shell.”
The IDF declined to comment to NBC News on the matter, and the aid organization said it has contacted Israeli authorities seeking an explanation.
U.K. reports ship ablaze in Red Sea, Israel intercepts attack on Eilat
Israel intercepted what appeared to be an attack launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels today near the port city of Eilat, as the group escalates its assaults over Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, authorities said.
Sirens sounded early this morning over Eilat, followed by videos posted online of what appeared to be an interception in the sky overhead.
The Israeli military later said the interception was carried out by its Arrow missile defense system.
Israel did not identify what the fire was, nor where it came from. However, the Arrow system intercepts long-range ballistic missiles with a warhead designed to destroy targets while they are in space.
The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack. They typically acknowledge assaults they conduct hours afterward.
On Thursday, there was a report of a possible attack in the Gulf of Aden, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. There was no other immediate information available.
