Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu says war will last ‘many months’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu renews his pledge to eliminate Hamas as he vows action on the Gaza hostages. Warning: Graphic
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s war against Hamas will last “many months” as he renewed his pledge to eliminate the Palestinian militant group from Gaza.
Vowing to bring home all Israelis still held hostage in Gaza, Mr Netanyahu said the military was involved in a “complex fight” and needed time to achieve its goals.
“The war will continue for many months until Hamas is eliminated and the hostages are returned,” Mr Netanyahu told a news conference.
“We will guarantee that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” he said, adding that around 8,000 militants had already been killed in Israel’s military campaign in the Palestinian territory.
“Step by step we are depriving Hamas of their capabilities... We will also eliminate the leaders.”
The war between Israel and Hamas erupted after Hamas fighters carried out a deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7 that killed about 1,140 people, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
International mediators — who last month brokered a week-long truce that saw more than 100 hostages released and some aid enter Gaza — continue in their efforts to secure a new pause in fighting.
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HAMAS ‘SET TO RESUME HOSTAGE RELEASE TALKS’
US news outlet Axios and Israeli website Ynet, both citing unnamed Israeli officials, reported that Qatari mediators had told Israel that Hamas was prepared to resume talks on new hostage releases in exchange for a ceasefire.
When asked if a new deal for hostage releases was being negotiated, Mr Netanyahu said Hamas had been “giving all kinds of ultimatums that we didn’t accept”.
“We are seeing a certain shift (but) I don’t want to create an expectation,” he said without elaborating.
A Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Friday to discuss an Egyptian plan for renewable ceasefires, a staggered release of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and ultimately an end to the war, sources close to Hamas said.
SOUTH AFRICA ACCUSES ISRAEL OF GENOCIDE
South Africa has filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of crimes of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
In an application to the court on Friday, South Africa described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group”.
“The acts in question include killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction,” the application said.
The ICJ, also called the World Court, is a UN civil court that adjudicates disputes between countries. It is distinct from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which prosecutes individuals for war crimes.
As members of the UN, both South Africa and Israel are bound by the court.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the occupied West Bank with his country’s past apartheid regimen of racial segregation imposed by the white-minority rule that ended in 1994.
PRESS RELEASE: #SouthAfrica institutes proceedings against #Israel and asks the #ICJ to indicate provisional measures https://t.co/WedDXvtBD4pic.twitter.com/VCCDyORrLy
— CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) December 29, 2023
At least 21,507 people have been killed in Gaza since the war with Israel broke out nearly 12 weeks ago, according to Friday figures from the Palestinian health ministry.
That figure included 187 fatalities over the previous 24 hours.
At least 308 people have been killed while sheltering in UN shelters in Gaza since the war began, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees also said.
Palestine’s foreign ministry welcomed South Africa’s decision and said: “Israel’s stated policy, acts and omissions are genocidal in character [,] are committed with the requisite specific intent to the destruction of the Palestinian people under its colonial occupation and apartheid regime in violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention.
“Urgent intervention and action is needed to protect against and prevent further harm [t]o the Palestinian people.
However, Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat said they rejected South Africa’s “baseless claims”.
“South Africa’s claim lacks both a factual and a legal basis, and constitutes a despicable and contemptuous exploitation of the Court,” he posted on X.
MCDONALD’S MALAYSIA SUES PRO-PALESTINE GROUP
McDonald’s Malaysia has sued a pro-Palestinian group for $1.3 million over its calls to boycott companies allegedly supporting Israel.
In a statement issued Friday, the fast-food chain said the civil suit against BDS Malaysia was aimed at protecting “our rights and interests in accordance with the law”.
McDonald’s said it “does not support nor condone the current conflict in the Middle East”.
“While we understand and respect that the act of boycotting is an individual decision, we believe that it should be based on facts and not false allegations,” McDonald’s said.
McDonald’s has sought six million ringgit in damages for alleged defamation, according to a copy of the legal document seen by AFP.
In a post on the social media platform X on Friday, BDS Malaysia said “we categorically deny this” alleged defamation.
BDS Malaysia is part of the global Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, which was launched by Palestinian civil society organisations in 2005.
The campaign advocates political and economic action against Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.
In response to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, BDS Malaysia intensified calls for Malaysians to boycott Western brands, including McDonald’s, KFC and Zara, that it alleges are “complicit with Israeli atrocities towards Palestinians”.
HAMAS BRUTALISED WOMEN: INVESTIGATION
An investigation by The New York Times has found horrifying reports of the extent of abuse women faced at the hands of Hamas terrorists during their October 7 attack on Israel.
The Times found the sexual violence towards women were not isolated, but part of a broader pattern of gender-based violence.
Soldiers and volunteer medics told the outlet they found the bodies of more than 30 women and girls in and around the rave site in southern Israel, with their legs spread, clothes torn off and sign for abuse in the genital areas.
Israeli officials said everywhere Hamas struck on October 7, they brutalised women.
Hamas has denied Israel’s accusations of sexual violence.
SINGER DUA LIPA PULLS MUSIC VIDEO AHEAD OF RELEASE
Dua Lipa has pulled a music video that has cost hundreds of thousands of dollars after she decided it was “insensitive” amid the war in Gaza.
The British superstar, 28, secretly shot the video — which included explosions, crowds fighting and chaos — prior to the conflict.
Sources close to Dua said that although the video was conceptualised and shot prior to the start of the war in Gaza she made the decision to cancel the planned release. It was scrapped after a series of emergency meetings held among her team.
A music insider told The Sun that while the video was playful, it “contained themes of chaos — including car crashes, demolition, explosions, fireworks and crowds fighting.”
Dua has previously said: “With each passing day, my heart aches for the people of Israel and Palestine. Grief for the lives lost in the horrifying attacks in Israel.
“Grief as I witness the unprecedented suffering in Gaza, where 2.2 million souls, half of them children, endure unimaginable hardships.
“For now, I desperately hope for a ceasefire in Gaza and urge governments to halt the unfolding crisis.
UN CHIEF ‘STRONGLY CONDEMNS’ ATTACK ON AID CONVOY
The UN’s top aid official has issued a strong condemnation after reports that Israeli troops opened fire on an aid convoy in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
The Head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) affairs in Gaza said Israeli soldiers fired at an aid convoy as it returned from northern Gaza along a route designated safe by the Israeli military.
The UN emergency relief co-ordinator Martin Griffiths said the convoy was fired upon despite being “clearly marked” and “its movements co-ordinated with the parties”.
“Attacks on humanitarian workers are unlawful,” he posted to X, adding that “the conflict must stop”.
I strongly condemn an incident yesterday in which an aid convoy was fired upon while traveling from northern Gaza to Rafah.Â
— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) December 29, 2023
The convoy was clearly marked and its movements were coordinated with the parties.Â
Attacks on humanitarian workers are unlawful. The conflict must stop.
Shooting & other attacks on aid workers + convoys hinder lifesaving operation in #Gaza@UNRWA coordinates all its movements with the Israeli Authorities #NotATargethttps://t.co/AEeJAIfMGN
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) December 29, 2023
NO CAPTIVES WILL BE RELEASED WITHOUT CEASEFIRE
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan has responded to Israeli media reports that Hamas was nearing an agreement on a new captive release deal.
Speaking with Al Jazeera, Hamdan said Hamas informed all mediators that their priority is to stop the aggression against Gaza once and for all.
He said there is currently no talk of a captive exchange before fighting in Gaza stops.
He added that a possible release of captives in exchange for a month-long ceasefire, a detail that was reported by Israeli media, has not been discussed.
Originally published as Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu says war will last ‘many months’
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