On December 29, local time, South Africa filed a lawsuit with the United Nations International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip.
According to information released by the International Court of Justice, South Africa stated in its complaint that Israel, through its State organs, State agents and other individuals and entities, committed genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. South Africa urges the International Court of Justice to take measures to prevent "further, grave and irreparable damage" to the rights of the Palestinian people under the Convention, while ensuring that Israel complies with its obligations under the Convention.
△ On December 29, local time, Israel bombed the city of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, and smoke covered the skyline. Source: CCTV news client
The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the same day saying that South Africa's move was "groundless" and called on the International Court of Justice to dismiss South Africa's lawsuit. The statement said that the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) was responsible for the suffering of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip by launching an attack on Israel on 7 October. Israel is committed to abiding by and acting in accordance with international law, and its military actions are directed only against Hamas and the organizations that cooperate with it.
On 7 October this year, a new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out. According to statistics released by the health department of the Gaza Strip on December 28, Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip have killed more than 21,000 people and injured more than 55,000. According to the Israeli side, more than 1,300 people from the Israeli side have died in this round of clashes.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, located in The Hague, Netherlands, and officially became operational in 1946.
China calls for unhindered access to Gaza for humanitarian supplies
On December 29, local time, the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation between Palestine and Israel. In his speech, the representative of China called for the establishment of relevant mechanisms as soon as possible to ensure the safe and unhindered access of sufficient humanitarian supplies to Gaza, and supported the early resumption of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.
Geng Shuang, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations: China urges Israel to immediately stop its indiscriminate military attacks, stop its collective punishment of the people in Gaza, and provide the necessary conditions for humanitarian agencies to carry out assistance in Gaza.
Image source: CCTV news client
Geng Shuang said that the current humanitarian situation in Gaza is extremely grim, with survival materials nearly exhausted, the medical system paralyzed, and social order on the verge of collapse, with tens of thousands of pregnant women facing the threat of extreme hunger and newborns not being fed because of their mothers' malnutrition. A man-made, predictable, and horrific catastrophe is unfolding in Gaza. We welcome the Secretary-General's appointment of the High Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, call on all parties to effectively and fully implement Security Council resolution 2720, and look forward to the establishment of mechanisms as soon as possible to ensure safe and unhindered access to Gaza for adequate humanitarian supplies.
Geng Shuang also pointed out that the crux of the protracted delay in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli issue lies in the failure to implement the "two-state solution" and the failure to guarantee the basic rights of the Palestinian people.
Geng Shuang, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations: We propose to convene an international peace conference on a larger scale, on a larger scale and with more effectiveness, and to promote the formation of a timetable and roadmap for the implementation of the two-state solution as soon as possible. We support Palestine becoming a full Member State of the United Nations and the early resumption of direct Palestinian-Israeli talks.
Several UN agencies have renewed their concerns about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank
On 28 December, a number of UN agencies spoke out again to express their concern about the current humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East warned on social media on the 28th that the Gaza Strip is battling "catastrophic hunger" due to the shortage of aid caused by the blockade, and 40% of the population is at risk of famine. UNRWA reiterated its call for a humanitarian ceasefire to be achieved as soon as possible to facilitate the arrival of more aid in the Gaza Strip.
Image source: CCTV news client
On the same day, the Office of the UN Human Rights Commissioner released a report saying that the human rights situation of Palestinians living in the West Bank has deteriorated since the outbreak of the current round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Between October 7 and December 27 alone, Israeli forces and law enforcement agencies among others killed at least 291 Palestinians in the West Bank, the highest number since records began in 2005, the report said. The report calls on Israel to immediately stop the unprovoked killings and detention of Palestinians in the course of law enforcement.
Image source: CCTV news client
In addition, UNICEF's Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Adil Hudur, also issued a statement on the 28th, saying that this year is the highest number of child deaths in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In the 12 weeks since the conflict began, 83 children have died in the West Bank as a result of conflict-related violence, more than double the number of child deaths in the region in all of 2022. UNICEF is deeply concerned about the safety and right to life of children in the area.
The Israeli army said it was expanding its military operations in central and southern Gaza
On the evening of December 29, local time, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari issued a statement saying that the Israeli army is expanding military operations against the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the central and southern Gaza Strip.
Hagari said in a statement that Israeli forces had recently launched large-scale air strikes against Allah targets in Lebanon aimed at driving them away from Israel's northern border.
The Israeli army claims to have destroyed the hideout of Hamas leaders in the northern Gaza Strip
On the evening of 29 December, according to an IDF statement, Israeli forces discovered and destroyed a hideout apartment of Hamas Gaza Strip leader Yahya Sinwar in northern Gaza and the tunnel system beneath it.
Hamas has not responded to this for the time being.
Hamas official: There will be no more detainees swap until there is a complete ceasefire in Gaza
Senior Hamas official Bassem Naeem said on December 29 that Hamas would not engage in any further exchange of detainees or negotiations until the Israeli army halted its military operations in the Gaza Strip, but that Hamas was "open to any political initiatives and programmes that could end the fighting in the Gaza Strip."
Naeem also stressed that the issue of post-war governance in Gaza is an internal Palestinian affair and "can only be decided by the Palestinian leadership".
A day earlier, the Egyptian government said it had drafted a framework agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which included a complete ceasefire through three phases, which had now been submitted to the relevant parties.
Source: China News Service (CNS1952) synthesized from CCTV news client
Editor: Wang Chao
The Chinese Embassy in the United States issues a safety alert!
Earthquake in Myanmar in the middle of the night
The annual Chinese characters of many countries are released, which one speaks your mind?