Gaza: ICJ expected to rule on Israel's ‘genocidal’ Rafah assault

Judge Nawaf Salam, head of the International Court of Justice, says Israel must immediately hold its military offensive.

The court was ruling on South Africa's emergency request to order a halt to the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, with Pretoria accusing Israel of "genocide". 

"Israel must immediately hold its military offensive of any other action in the Rafah governorate which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part."

The top UN court, the International Court of Justice, has opened a hearing to rule on a request to order Israel to halt its military operation in Gaza.

The court on Friday will rule on a plea by South Africa to order a halt to the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, with Pretoria accusing Israel of "genocide".

French President Emmanuel Macron will on Friday host the foreign ministers of four key Arab states for talks on the war on Gaza Israel's war on Gaza, his office said.

Joined by his own top diplomat Stephane Sejourne, Macron will discuss the situation with Qatar's Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, Egypt's Sameh Shoukry, Ayman Safadi of Jordan and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, the Elysee said.

UK police have arrested 16 people at a protest organised by a pro-Palestinian student group at Oxford University, in the latest flare-up on a prestigious campus over the war on Gaza.

Thames Valley Police said the individuals were arrested Thursday on suspicion of aggravated trespass, while one was also held on suspicion of common assault.

The arrests came after students entered a university administrative building on Thursday morning, claiming they had "exhausted all other avenues of communication" with administrators.

"Instead of engaging in dialogue with her students, the vice-chancellor chose to evacuate the building, place it on lockdown, and call the police to make arrests," a spokesperson for the Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) protest group said.

"We demand the administration meet with us to negotiate immediately."

It follows protests in recent weeks at more than a dozen UK universities, including at world-renowned Oxford and Cambridge, emulating similar actions on campuses in the United States and elsewhere.

The Australian Government will officially be designating Yemen's Houthis as a terrorist organisation under the Criminal Code Act 1995.

Australian Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said the decision to list the organisation follows advice from Australia's security agencies that the group "is directly or indirectly engaged in the preparing, planning, assisting in, or fostering of terrorist attacks".

"Ansar Allah's violent attacks in the Gulf of Aden and surrounding region have killed civilians, taken hostages and severely disrupted navigational rights and freedoms in the waters around the Arabian Peninsula, undermining maritime security and global prosperity," Dreyfus added.

The Danish parliament be voting on Tuesday on a proposal to recognise Palestine as a state, according to Dutch media.

Trine Pertou Mach reports the proposal has been put forward by the Red-Green Alliance, the Social Liberals, the Alternative and the Socialist People's Party.

"The government parties will also have a chance to vote for this when we vote next week. And I would like to clearly urge the government to change its position and follow Norway and the other European countries," according to the foreign affairs spokesman for the opposition Red-Green Alliance.

This comes after Norway, Ireland and Spain announced to officially recognise Palestine as a state.

US intelligence chief Bill Burns is expected to hold talks in Paris with representatives of Israel in a bid to relaunch talks aimed at finding a truce in Gaza, a Western source close to the issue said Friday.

The visit of the CIA chief to the French capital, expected on Friday or Saturday, comes after Israel gave the green light to the resumption of negotiations for the release of Israeli captives held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire.

27 countries have signed a statement critiquing Israel's shutdown of Al Jazeera. Israeli Prime Minister announced the publication will be banned in Israel, shutting down its offices and confiscating equipment.

The statement was published by the Media Freedom Coalition, promoting media freedom.

The Media Freedom Coalition said: "A free and diverse media landscape is crucial for democracies to function, especially in times of conflict, as people rely on independent information from multiple, reliable sources to stay informed and make their decisions.

"It is essential that all journalists be given unhindered access to cover events and developments as they unfold, so that they have the possibility to report and inform transparently and factually."

Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Lithuania, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK and the US all signed the statement.

NEW: MFC joint statement on the closure of Al Jazeera in Israel

The undersigned members of the MFC do not support the shut down of Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel

Read the full statement here: https://t.co/BtK8UublVP pic.twitter.com/rRCVk8m16i

— Media Freedom Coalition (@MediaFreedomC) May 24, 2024

Students at Oxford University in the UK are continuing their protest for Gaza, calling for the university to divest from Israeli institutions.

Students can be seen waving the Palestine flag, wearing keffiyehs and chanting for Palestine.

This comes after 16 people were arrested for "aggravated trespass".

Oxford students continue their peaceful action in protest against the university's refusal to divest from Israeli institutions, chanting for Palestine. pic.twitter.com/sBwmhDDTwe

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) May 24, 2024

European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Friday that recognising a Palestinian state was not a gift to Hamas.

Ireland, Norway and Spain said on Wednesday they would recognise a Palestinian state on 28 May to help secure a halt to Israel's war on Gaza and revive peace talks that stalled a decade ago.

"Recognising the Palestinian state is not a gift to Hamas, quite the contrary," he said. "The Palestinian authority is not Hamas, on the contrary they are deeply confronted."

He added that the EU had already talked to, financed, and met the Palestinian authority.

"Every time someone makes the decision to support a Palestinian state, ... the reaction of Israel is to transform it in an antisemitic attack," he added.

(Reuters)

The Israeli military said on Friday it had recovered the bodies of three captives taken into the Gaza Strip after they were killed during the 7 October attacks.

It said the bodies of Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum and Orion Hernandez were recovered overnight in a joint operation by the army and the intelligence services in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, where there has been intense fighting in recent days.

The bodies were identified by medical officials at the Israeli National Forensic Institute and the Israeli police, the military said.

(Reuters)

10 Palestinians and many others were killed after an Israeli airstrike targeted an apartment in Gaza City - Wafa reports.

Local sources told the agency the airstrike hit an inhabited apartment, killing 10 people, including women and children.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Friday he had decided to "sever the connection" between Spain's diplomatic mission and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in response to Madrid's plan to formally recognise a Palestinian state.

"I have decided to sever the connection between Spain's representation in Israel and the Palestinians, and to prohibit the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem from providing services to Palestinians from the West Bank," Katz said in a post on X, adding it was "in response to Spain's recognition of a Palestinian state and the anti-Semitic call by Spain's deputy prime minister to... 'liberate Palestine from the river to the sea'."

In response to Spain's recognition of a Palestinian state and the antisemitic call by Spain's Deputy Prime Minister to not just recognize a Palestinian state but to 'liberate Palestine from the river to the sea,' I have decided to sever the connection between Spain's…

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) May 24, 2024

A six-day-old US pier project in Gaza is starting to get more aid to Palestinians in need, but conditions are challenging, US officials said Thursday. That reflects the larger problems bringing food and other supplies to starving people in the besieged territory.

The floating pier had a troubled launch, with crowds overrunning some of the first trucks coming from the new US-led sea route and taking its contents over the weekend. One man in the crowd was shot dead in still unexplained circumstances. It led to a two-day suspension of aid distribution.

The US military worked with the UN and Israeli officials to select safer alternate routes for trucks coming from the pier, US Vice Admiral Brad Cooper told reporters Thursday.