Friday 26 / July / 2024
Israeli media report that the country's troops are engaged in fierce fighting with armed Palestinian militants in the north of the Gaza Strip.
The Haaretz newspaper reported that the Israeli army had confirmed that forces of the 98th Brigade raided Jabaliya overnight into Sunday.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari previously said that warplanes had attacked targets in Jabaliya, a densely populated area that was once a refugee camp, after the civilian population there had been told to evacuate.
The Times of Israel on Sunday said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had called for an estimated 100,000-150,000 Palestinians in the Jabaliya area to leave.
The militant organization Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the US, Germany and others, cited heavy clashes between its fighters and Israeli forces in the area of Jabaliya, about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) north of Gaza City.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has expressed "extreme concern" about the calls for evacuation of both Jabaliya as well as Rafah in the south.
Israel expands evacuation order.
Egypt backs South Africa's case at the World Court against Israel
Egypt said it would join South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the move comes because of "the worsening severity and scope of the Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians."
In December, South Africa brought a case to the ICJ claiming Israel was committing the crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip, a charge Israel rejected as "baseless."
The ICJ ordered Israel in January to take all measures within its power to prevent forces from committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. It also instructed Israel to take action to protect Palestinian civilians from further harm and allow humanitarian aid to enter the territory while it considers the broader case.
Egypt, along with the United States and Qatar, had been mediating between Israel and Hamas.
Talks for a truce and hostage exchange deal, however, stalled earlier this week amid Israeli military action in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Israel took control of the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, an operation that has halted humanitarian aid deliveries via the facility into Gaza.
