Israeli attacks kill 13 in Gaza overnight as ICJ to hold hearings on UNRWA ban, siege

Israeli forces killed at least 13 Palestinians, including three children in Gaza on Wednesday night and on Thursday morning, with the figure including three children, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

The heavy bombardment struck various areas in the Gaza Strip, including displacement tents in the Nuseirat area and Khan Younis.

Northwest of Gaza City in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, Israeli attacks killed six members of a family who were sheltering in their home.

In Khan Younis, bombing struck the al-Najjar family home, killing a man and his wife, while two other children were killed in the al-Attar area.

Residential homes were also razed throughout the night in north Rafah, local media reported, with the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor warning that Israel was now trying to force Palestinian civilians out of the Gaza Strip and implement "voluntary" migration.

It called this "the most dangerous phase of [Israel's] colonial project".

Fears of forced dispacement

The rights group said that Israel is "publicly beginning the forced displacement of residents outside their homeland, marketing this crime as 'voluntary migration' amid international silence," adding that this is a crime under international law.

Euro-Med said that by destroying entire neighbourhoods and implementing a stifling siege, "Israel deliberately designed this environment as a pressure tool to push residents to leave Gaza, leaving them no real choice".

Despite a Hamas delegation going to Cairo to continue ceasefire talks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel "will not lose this war, will not retreat or submit".

The continued bombardment came as Israeli media reported that Israel is planning on sending a delegation to meet with mediators in the coming days.

Hamas has remained insistent that Israel must completely withdraw from Gaza and stop the war before all of the captives are released.

On Wednesday, the military wing of Hamas shared a video of Israeli captive Omri Miran, 48, who addressed Israeli society, criticised how Netanyahu is handling the rescue of captives, and pressed for a truce deal to be reached.

"A deal must be reached as soon as possible so we don’t turn into coffins," he said. He also praised the demonstrators protesting in Israel, before calling for even more pressure on Netanyahu’s government.

ICJ hearing

Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) stated it will be holding hearings next week in The Hague regarding Israel’s ban on UNRWA and continued restrictions on aid entering the besieged enclave.

The public hearings will also include discussions on Israel’s legal obligations to allow the UN to operate, as well as attacks on the occupied West Bank.

The UN has asked the ICJ to provide a legal opinion on whether Israel has a right to ban UNRWA and aid to the Gaza Strip. 40 international organisations have sent in written statements before the hearings.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it will submit a written statement to the court.

This comes as Israel continues to implement a total siege of Gaza since 2 March, with no fuel, food,  equipment, medicines, or vaccines entering the enclave.

Since October 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, with thousands of uncounted victims believed to be trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.