Netanyahu defiant after UN court ruling, deadly Gaza offensive continues
ISRAELI PRIME Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday pushed back after the International Court of Justice ruling to limit death and destruction in the military’s Gaza offensive, declaring that “we decide and act according to what is required for our security.” Among the first deaths reported since the ruling, witnesses said three Palestinians were killed in an airstrike that Israel said targeted a Hamas commander.
Israel’s military is under increasing scrutiny now that the top United Nations court has asked Israel for a compliance report in a month. The court’s binding ruling on Friday stopped short of ordering a ceasefire, but its orders were in part a rebuke of Israel’s conduct in its nearly four-month war against Gaza’s Hamas rulers.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, the main organization aiding Gaza’s population amid the humanitarian disaster, said nine countries suspended their funding following Israel’s allegations that a number of Gaza staff members participated in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that sparked the war. Those include the United States, Britain, Italy and Finland.
Agency chief Philippe Lazzarini said it would be “immensely irresponsible” to sanction it and the community it serves at such a desperate time for Gazans, especially after it quickly fired the “small group” of staffers. The 13,000-strong agency, which relies almost entirely on countries’ contributions, said it now runs shelters for over 1 million people and its lifeline “can collapse anytime now”.
The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, destroyed vast swaths of Gaza and displaced nearly 85 per cent of the territory’s 2.3 million people. The Hamas attack in southern Israel killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and about 250 hostages were taken.
At least 174 Palestinians were killed over the past day, the Health Ministry in Gaza said. It does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its tolls, but has said about two-thirds are women and children.
Israel holds Hamas responsible for civilian casualties, saying the militants embed themselves in the local population. Israel says its air and ground offensive in Gaza has killed more than 9,000 militants.
Israel’s military said it had conducted several “targeted raids on terror targets” in the southern city of Khan Younis in addition to the airstrike in nearby Rafah targeting a Hamas commander.
Bilal al-Siksik said his wife, a son and a daughter were killed in the Rafah strike, which came as they slept. He said the UN court ruling meant little since it did not stop the war.
“No one can speak in front of them (Israel). America with all its greatness and strength can do nothing,” he said, standing beside the rubble and twisted metal of his home.
More than 1 million people have crammed into Rafah and the surrounding areas after Israel ordered civilians to seek refuge there. Designated evacuation areas have repeatedly come under airstrikes, with Israel saying it would go after militants as needed.
The World Health Organization and the medical charity MSF issued urgent warnings about the largest health facility in Khan Younis, Nasser Hospital, saying remaining staff could barely function with supplies running out and intense fighting nearby.
WHO footage showed people in the crowded facility being treated on blood-smeared floors as frantic loved ones shouted and jostled. Cats scavenged on a mound of medical waste.
“These are the only painkillers left we have. If you want to count them, they are only for maybe five or four patients,” Dr Muhammad Harara said.
Gaza’s Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said in a statement that Nasser Hospital lacked anesthesia and other medicines for intensive care units and had “dangerous” shortages of blood.
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has increasingly called for restraint and for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza while supporting the offensive.