Israel-Palestine live: Israel’s response to South Africa’s genocide case at the ICJ ends

Hezbollah said on Saturday that it hit an Israeli observation post with 62 rockets as a "preliminary response" to the killing of Hamas's deputy chief earlier this week.

An Israeli drone strike in a southern suburb of Beirut killed senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri on Tuesday.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that all of Lebanon would be vulnerable to further attacks if the group remained "silent" on the strike. 

The group hit a key post on a hilltop that Israel relied on for "aerial observation" and "air control", according to Hezbollah's statement early on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, Israel's military said heavy fire from Lebanon targeted northern Israel, adding that it responded by striking a "terrorist cell" that took part in the attacks.

Shortly after rocket sirens sounded across northern Israel, the military said "approximately 40 launches from Lebanon toward the area of Meron in northern Israel were identified".

Good evening Middle East Eye readers.

As Israeli forces continue to bombard Palestinian homes throughout Gaza into Saturday morning, global attention is now turning towards the International Court of Justice, which will begin holding hearings next week on South Africa's petition that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

A report by Axios on Friday revealed an urgent cable outlining plans for the Israeli foreign ministry to instruct its embassies to press diplomats and politicians in their host countries to publicly oppose South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice.

Meanwhile in Gaza, the humanitarian situation is continuing to deteriorate past levels the UN and aid agencies have ever seen before. Famine is on the rise, as are a number of communicable diseases, and the UN humanitarian chief has said the enclave is now "uninhabitable".

Here are some other developments from today:

• The families of Israelis who were killed in Kibbutz Be'eri by Israeli tank fire on 7 October demanded that the military conduct an investigation into the matter.

• A Turkish court ruled to formally arrest 15 people, and deport eight others, who are suspected of being linked to Israel's Mossad intelligence service.

• A Houthi official warned that any country that involves itself with the US-led coalition in the Red Sea will become a target and will lose its maritime security.

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken touched down in Turkey on Friday night, the first visit in a week-long tour of the Middle East aimed at discussing the war in Gaza.

• Israeli warplanes are dropping leaflets with the inscription "Ramadan Connects Us", a message suggesting that Israeli forces plan to stay in Gaza until Ramadan, exacerbating the hardships faced by the local population.

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Axios reported on Friday an urgent cable detailing plans for the Israeli foreign ministry to instruct its embassies to press diplomats and politicians in their host countries to publicly oppose South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice.

The case, filed last week by South Africa, accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza against Palestinians.

The cable was sent by the foreign ministry on Thursday, according to Axios, and the news outlet says it illustrates Israel's diplomatic action plan ahead of next week's ICJ hearing.

Several countries, including Turkey and Malaysia, have officially backed South Africa's petition.

Israeli forces on early Saturday morning bombed two homes in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, killing at least four Palestinians, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Sources at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah told the news agency that from Friday morning to midnight, they witnessed at least 35 people killed as well as more than 60 wounded.

Most of them were women and children.

The families of Israelis who were killed in Kibbutz Be'eri by Israeli tank fire on 7 October after their home was captured by Hamas members, demanded that the military conduct a "comprehensive and transparent investigation" into the matter, according to Channel 12 News.

The families wrote in a letter to the head of Israel's military calling for an investigation.

An Israeli commander told The New York Times last month that he ordered the commander of the tank in question to breach the home, even though there were civilians inside.

Six families of people who were taken captive during the 7 October attack on southern Israel have landed in Doha this afternoon to meet with Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.

According to Israel’s Channel 12, the families will discuss the lack of progress on the return of their relatives. The visit comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to the Middle East for a weeklong trip.

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the head of Yemen’s Houthi supreme revolutionary committee, spoke in an interview with BBC, in which he warned that any country that involves itself with the US-led coalition in the Red Sea will lose its maritime security.

The comments come as tensions continue to rise in the Red Sea. The Houthis previously said all other shipping not destined for Israel can pass through the Red Sea without fear of being harmed.

Martin Griffiths on Friday said Gaza had become "uninhabitable" as a result of Israel's relentless bombing campaign that has been taking place since October.

"Gaza has simply become uninhabitable. Its people are witnessing daily threats to their very existence - while the world watches on", Griffiths said in a statement.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken touched down in Turkey on Friday night local time, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Miller said that among the discussions the two countries will have is "preventing the spread of the conflict in Gaza".

Turkey this week officially backed South Africa's submission to the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Israeli warplanes are now dropping leaflets with the inscription “Ramadan Connects Us”, challenging the emotions of Gaza’s Muslims who are gearing up to celebrate the holy month in three months.

The message suggests that the Israeli forces plan to stay in Gaza until Ramadan, exacerbating the hardships faced by the local population.

“Yesterday, January 4, I was with my daughter in the local market, shopping for groceries, when leaflets started dropping on us,” said Khetam, a 48-year-old mother displaced from Gaza City to Khan Younus.

“This was the most frustrating feeling I experienced the entire month. We had hoped that the Israeli assault on Gaza would end soon, but it seems that Israel does not want to reach a ceasefire.”

Khetam said that Israel was using the month of Ramadan to “provoke our emotions and dash our hopes for a peaceful settlement before this time”.

“My 19-year-old daughter went crying after reading the leaflet. We already fled our home in Gaza and sought refuge in Khan Younis after the ground invasion of the city,” she said.

“We’re emotionally drained to face all of this. After the leaflets were dropped, we felt disheartened and decided to go home without completing my shopping,” Khetam added.

*Reporting by Walaa Sabah 

A young child has finally reunited with his father, who was thought to have been killed by Israeli forces in northern Gaza, according to a Gaza-based journalist.

The three-year-old child, Muhannad, lost touch with his father after Israeli tanks stormed the shelter they were seeking refuge in a few days ago. His father, who Muhannad thought was dead, was found by another family who took him in and "embraced him for ten days until he became one of them".

On Friday, the father and son reconnected in a celebration with mixed feelings amid the backdrop of war.

Commentators and online users are calling for an Ofcom investigation following British journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer's interview with a Palestinian politician, which has been described as "racist". 

Hartley-Brewer interviewed Palestinian MP Mustafa Barghouti on TalkTV on Wednesday, in a clip that the broadcaster has since promoted on social media. 

During the interview, a visibly angry Hartley-Brewer does not like Barghouti's answers, and says: "We haven’t got time to do the entire history of Benjamin Netanyahu, who is not a popular figure in Israel!"

Hartley-Brewer concludes the segment by saying: "Sorry to have been a woman speaking to you, but there you are."

The clip has since been viewed millions of times on the social media platform X, with several commentators and social media users condemning the British journalist's conduct as racist.

"On this occasion, you also have added racism masked as feminism," wrote academic Lina Khatib on X.

Read the full story here.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) announced that after three months of Israel's war in Gaza, almost 90 percent of the enclave's 2.3 million population has become displaced.

"Families forced to move repeatedly, searching for safety where there is none," Unrwa said.