RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back Saturday after the International Court of Justice ruled to limit death and destruction in the military's Gaza offensive, saying: “We decide and act according to what “The first deaths reported since the verdict included three Palestinians killed in an airstrike that Israel said targeted a Hamas commander, according to witnesses.
The Israeli military is under increasing scrutiny as the United Nations top court has asked Israel for a compliance report within a month. The court's binding ruling on Friday was not enough to order a ceasefire, but its orders were in part a rebuke of Israel's behavior in its nearly four-month war against the Hamas rulers in the Gaza Strip.
The U.N. Agency for Palestine Refugees, the main aid agency for Gaza's population during the humanitarian disaster, said nine countries had stopped funding after Israel claimed that several Gaza personnel were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack were the ones that started the war. These include the United States, Great Britain, Italy and Finland.
The agency's chief, Philippe Lazzarini, said it would be “immensely irresponsible” to sanction it and the community it serves at such a desperate time for the people of Gaza, especially after quickly extinguishing the “small group” of employees had fired. The 13,000-person agency, which relies almost entirely on contributions from states, said it now runs shelters for over a million people and that its lifeline could “collapse at any time now.”
The war between Israel and Hamas has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, destroyed swathes of the Gaza Strip and displaced nearly 85% of the territory's 2.3 million residents, according to local health authorities. The Hamas attack in southern Israel killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 hostages.
At least 174 Palestinians were killed last day, the Health Ministry in Gaza said. The tariffs do not differentiate between combatants and civilians, but say about two-thirds are women and children.
Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties and says the militants are hiding among the local population. Israel says its air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 9,000 militants.
The Israeli military said it carried out several “targeted attacks on terrorist targets” in the southern town of Khan Younis, in addition to the airstrike in nearby Rafah against a Hamas commander.
Bilal al-Siksik said his wife, a son and a daughter were killed as they slept in the attack in Rafah. He said the UN court ruling meant little because it did not end the war.
“No one can speak before them (Israel). “America, with all its size and strength, can do nothing,” he said, standing next to the rubble and twisted metal of his home.
More than a million people crowded into Rafah and surrounding areas after Israel ordered civilians to seek refuge there. Designated evacuation areas have been subjected to repeated airstrikes, with Israel saying it would take action against militants if necessary.
In Muwasi, a narrow coastal strip that was once designated a safe zone but has been hit by an attack in recent days, displaced Palestinians tiptoed on sandals through trash-lined puddles in damp and cool weather. Walls of sheets and tarpaulins billowed in the wind. A mother cried after rain came in and soaked the blankets.
“This is our life. We have nothing and left (our homes) with nothing,” said Bassam Bolbol, whose family landed in Muwasi after leaving Khan Younis and failing to find shelter in Rafah.
Frustration with the uncertainty is growing. As thousands of Gazans fled Khan Younis to Muwasi, Israel released a video showing a crowd seemingly calling for the overthrow of Hamas.
The case, filed by South Africa at the UN court, alleged that Israel was committing genocide against the people of Gaza, which Israel vehemently denies. A final decision is likely to take years.
The court ordered Israel to urgently send aid to Gaza, where the UN has said aid entering the area is well below the pre-war daily average of 500 trucks. The UN also says access to central and northern Gaza is restricted due to “excessive delays” at checkpoints and increased military activity.
The World Health Organization and medical charity MSF issued urgent warnings about the largest health facility in Khan Younis, Nasser Hospital, saying remaining staff could barely work due to low supplies and heavy fighting nearby.
WHO footage showed people in the overcrowded facility being treated on blood-stained floors while their relatives screamed and jostled desperately. Cats eat a pile of medical waste.
“These are the only painkillers we have left. If you want to count them, there may only be five or four patients,” said Dr. Muhammad Harara.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said in a statement that Nasser Hospital was lacking anesthetics and other medicines for intensive care units and there were “dangerous” blood shortages.
The United States, Israel's closest ally, is increasingly calling for restraint and for more humanitarian aid to reach Gaza while supporting the offensive.
Further mediation is imminent to reach an agreement that secures the release of the hostages held in Gaza. During a week-long ceasefire in November, over 100 people were released as part of an exchange for Palestinian prisoners. An unspecified number of the remaining 136 are believed to be dead.
The U.S. CIA director will meet in Europe with the intelligence chiefs of Israel and Egypt as well as the prime minister of Qatar, said three people familiar with the matter, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks.
Netanyahu said in his address that he would “not take back a single word” of his previous criticism of Qatar and again accused the country of harboring Hamas leaders and funding Hamas.
“If they are positioning themselves as mediators, then please let them prove it and bring the hostages back and provide them with the medicines in the meantime,” he said.
While the prime minister's comments appeared to be aimed at his right-wing support base, other Israelis gathered again in Tel Aviv and outside Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem to call new elections, frustrated that the government had failed to bring all the hostages home. Israel, among other countries around the world, also celebrated International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Hamas has said it will release the hostages only in return for an end to the war and the release of large numbers of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
___
Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip. Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee and Zeke Miller in Washington, Julia Frankel in Jerusalem and Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece contributed.
___
Follow AP's coverage of the Israel-Hamas war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war