Gaza Strip

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Israel has intensified its ongoing offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, despite the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering the Benjamin Netanyahu administration to prevent genocidal acts in its war with the Palestinian militant group. According to a report by the news agency AFP on Saturday (Jan 27), overnight strikes were reported on Khan Younis, the current epicentre of Israel's assault on Gaza.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said some of the dead and wounded had been taken to the city's barely functioning Al-Amal hospital. Fierce fighting between the Israeli military and Hamas militants has raged for days around Khan Younis, forcing tens of thousands to flee further south to Rafah on the border with Egypt.

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The Palestinian Red Crescent Society also said that Israeli tanks were targeting Al-Amal hospital and it was under siege with heavy gunfire. Thousands of civilians remained trapped in southern Gaza as fighting intensified. 

The ICJ ruling

On Friday, the ICJ, the top court of the United Nations (UN), said that Israel must prevent genocidal acts in its conflict with Hamas and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israel must facilitate "urgently needed" humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory, the ICJ said.

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However, it stopped short of calling for an end to the fighting. The genocide case against Israel at the ICJ was brought by South Africa. A long vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, South Africa accused Israel of breaching the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, set up after World War II and the Holocaust.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the case as "outrageous" while Hamas hailed the court's ruling. 

Following the ruling, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said it had sacked several employees accused by Israel of involvement in Hamas' Oct 7, 2023 attack. The United States in response said it had suspended additional funding to the agency.

Also watch | Reactions to ICJ ruling on Israel's war in Gaza

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Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) denied Israel's charges it had colluded with Hamas by ignoring Israeli evidence of the group's "military use" of Gaza hospitals.

Death toll in Gaza crosses 26,000

The health ministry in the Gaza Strip said on Friday that the death toll in the war-torn region climbed to 26,083. A total of 183 people were killed in the last 24 hours, the ministry said, adding, 64,487 people have been wounded.

Hamas' Oct 7 attack on Israel killed 1,140 people, official figures showed. Hamas militants also seized about 250 hostages and Israel says around 132 of them remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 28 dead captives.

(With inputs from agencies)