what to remember from January 26, 2024

Fierce fighting is taking place in the south of the Gaza Strip where thousands of civilians have fled Khan Younes in recent days. For Doctors Without Borders, “there is virtually no health system left in Gaza.”

The decision was expected. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest court of the UN, called on Israel on Friday January 26 to prevent any possible act of “genocide” in Gaza. An accusation immediately judged “scandalous” for Israel, which is at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, this Palestinian territory where concern is growing over the fate of civilians. Franceinfo summarizes what you need to know about the day.

ICJ calls on Israel to prevent any act of “genocide” in Gaza

The International Court of Justice ordered Israel to allow humanitarian access to Gaza but also to “prevent and punish” the incentive to “genocide”. Israel must take “immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance that Palestinians urgently need to address the adverse living conditions faced by Palestinians“, ruled the International Court of Justice.

The ICJ, which sits in The Hague, however, did not call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army is leading a military offensive in response to the unprecedented attack carried out against Israel on 7 October by the Palestinian Islamist movement. The ICJ has no leverage to impose its decisions. It was South Africa which seized it, arguing that Israel was violating the United Nations Convention on Genocide, established in the aftermath of the Second World War and the Holocaust.

Many reactions poured in after this decision. The European Union has requested its application “immediate”. The decision was welcomed by Turkey, Iran, Spain and Qatar, the mediator which hosts the Hamas leadership. Saudi Arabia has asked that Israel “be accountable” for his “violations” of international law. On the other hand, it has been described as “unfounded” by Washington, Israel’s main ally. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu judged “scandalous” the accusations. While France stressed that the crime of genocide required “establishing an intention”.

Fierce fighting in southern Gaza

Thousands of civilians have fled Khan Younes, located in the south of the Gaza Strip, in recent days. Intense fighting rages near the Nasser and Al-Amal hospitals in Khan Younes. The army claims to have surrounded the hometown of Yahya Sinouar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, considered the architect of the October 7 attack. Not far away, in Rafah, tens of thousands of displaced people are crowded into a very small area against the closed border with Egypt, according to an AFP journalist.

“There is virtually no health system left in Gaza,” denounced Doctors Without Borders on Friday, after most of the services at the Nasser hospital, where the NGO still worked, were “now out of order” due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. “The surgical capacity of the Nasser hospital”, the largest health structure” in Khan Younès, is now “almost non-existent”, and the “a few members of the medical staff who remained at the hospital have to deal with very low stocks of medical equipment”deplored MSF in a press release.

Unrwa separates employees, Washington cuts funds

The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), in the sights of the Israeli authorities for a long time, parted ways on Friday with several employees accused of being involved in the Hamas attack on October 7. “Any employee who has been involved in acts of terrorism will be held accountable, including through legal action”said the head of the agency, Philippe Lazzarini, in a press release.

A few minutes later, a scathing response came from Washington, which indicated that it would suspend “temporarily” any additional funding to the UN agency. The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, spoke with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to “highlight the need for a rapid and thorough investigation into this matter”.

The blow is hard for the agency, regularly accused by Israel of corruption and collusion with Hamas, which it systematically defends. “France has taken note with dismay of the information communicated today by UNRWA, relating to the participation of some of these employees in the terrorist attacks of October 7 against Israel,” reacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday evening. The Quai d’Orsay “take note” of “launching an investigation and suspension of these employees”.