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The United States is carrying out new strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen while Israel is carrying out more raids on towns in the occupied West Bank.
Here’s how things are going on Saturday January 13, 2024:
Latest updates
- Israeli forces carried out raids across the occupied West Bank overnight, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency, storming and searching homes in the towns of Qalqilya, Bethlehem, Hebron and Nablus.
- Three Palestinian teenagers were shot dead near the illegal “Adora” settlement in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, Wafa said.
- Martin Griffiths, the UN humanitarian chief, said he was “deeply alarmed” by Israeli statements on “plans to encourage the mass transfer” of Palestinian civilians from the Gaza Strip to third countries and again called for a ceasefire.
- Griffiths said the Israeli campaign in Gaza was carried out “with almost no regard for the impact on civilians”, adding that Palestinians may not be able to return to northern Gaza due to widespread destruction.
- Omar Shakir, director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) for Palestine and Israel, told Tel Aviv Tribune that more people in Gaza could now die from disease and starvation than from Israeli military attacks, as the situation in the enclave is catastrophic.
- Medical staff at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital struggle to treat patients after the facility ran out of fuel, Gaza authorities say, plunging one of the last remaining hospitals into darkness functional of the enclave and endangering the lives of patients.
- The Israeli bombardment of Gaza has cut off access to telecommunications and the internet, complicating rescue efforts by medical personnel.
Attacks on Yemen
- The United States has carried out a new air raid against Houthi forces in Yemen, a day after a series of strikes carried out in collaboration with the United Kingdom.
- President Joe Biden’s administration has promised to protect shipping in the Red Sea amid concerns about the impact of tensions in the Middle East on oil prices.
- Biden said Washington would continue to target the Houthis if they continued behavior he called “outrageous.”
- US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the US and British strikes were consistent with international law and the UN Charter.
Trial for “genocide”
- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) concluded its hearings in The Hague on Friday. South Africa has claimed “genocidal intent” against Israel in its war on Gaza. Israel rejected the accusations, calling them “slander.”
- Turkey is providing documents for the case, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, adding that he believed Israel would be found guilty in the case.
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country does not accept the premises of South Africa’s case and the false accusations against Israel.
- Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi expressed support for the case and said Amman was ready to submit legal documents and appear in court if the case continued.
