Israel-Hamas War Day 224: What happened at the ICJ, Gaza, Lebanon?

A senior official in the terrorist organization Hezbollah was killed in a retaliatory strike by the IAF, after the group claimed to use a new missile-launching drone to attack Israel Thursday night, Israeli media reported on Friday morning. 

According to Hezbollah, during the attack, the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) flew towards an IDF base near Metulla and targeted IDF soldiers.

Israel on Friday defended the military necessity of its Gaza offensive at the International Court of Justice after South Africa asked judges to order it to halt operations in Rafah and completely withdraw from the Palestinian territory.

Israeli Justice Ministry official Gilad Noam called South Africa's case, which accuses Israel of violating the Genocide Convention, "completely divorced from facts and circumstances."

"(The case) makes a mockery of the heinous charge of genocide," Noam said.

Ahead of Israel's presentation, several dozen pro-Israeli protesters gathered outside, displaying photographs of hostages taken by Hamas fighters on Oct. 7 and demanding their release.

On Thursday, South Africa's ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, requested the court to order Israel to "immediately, totally and unconditionally, withdraw the Israeli army from the entirety of the Gaza Strip."

Israel defended its offensive in Rafah at the World Court on Friday, saying it was acting in self-defense against Hamas fighters and asking judges to reject a request from South Africa to order its withdrawal from the Palestinian territory.

One soldier was wounded and is in serious condition after an encounter with terrorists in Jabalya, in the northern Gaza Strip, the military announced on Friday.

This comes after the IDF reported ramping up operations in Jabalya and Rafah, intensifying operational control, and striking terror targets.

Israel Air Force fighter jets struck weapons facilities and eliminated terrorists who launched mortar shells at IDF troops.

The IAF struck several military structures in Gaza, as well as terror cells, anti-tank positions, and additional terrorist infrastructure.

Rocket sirens sounded in Gaza border communities on Friday morning.

Spain will not authorize ships carrying weapons for Israel to call at its ports, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Friday, after the country refused to let a ship call at the southeastern port of Cartagena.

The ship was the first to be denied access to a Spanish port, Albares said, adding the refusal was consistent with the government's decision not to grant weapon export licenses to Israel since Oct. 7, as Spain doesn't "want to contribute to war."

The US Central Command said on Friday trucks carrying humanitarian assistance began moving ashore via a temporary pier in Gaza at 9 a.m. local time.

On Thursday evening, Israeli media reported that dozens of Israeli settlers attacked and injured an Israeli driver and set fire to his truck in the area of the Kochav Hashahar intersection in the West Bank.

Upon receiving the report, the IDF arrived at the scene and worked to separate the Israeli citizens from the driver and provide the driver with medical treatment.

Dozens of Israeli citizens reacted violently towards the troops. As a result, two IDF officers and another soldier were slightly injured and treated on the spot.

IDF soldiers are deployed in the sector and work to maintain the safety of the residents, law and order.

The IDF condemned any display of violence against soldiers and security forces and said it would "work to bring justice."

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, spoke at the UN Security Council's discussion on the situation of the Gaza hostages on Friday.

Erdan, in his address to the Security Council, said "Until today, you have done nothing for the release of the hostages! How can you call for a ceasefire before doing everything possible to bring the hostages home?"

"If the council really wants the war to end, it should put the issue of freeing the hostages at the top of the agenda," Erdan stated. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on Thursday on the importance of a military campaign in Rafah, one day after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant took him to task for failing to have a day-after plan, and warning of the consequences.

“The battle in Rafah is critical,” Netanyahu said, as he visited soldiers in the Bnei Netzarim military base, and focused on the importance of the IDF destroying the last remaining four Hamas battalions in the terror group’s last stronghold in Gaza.

“It is not only the remaining battalions there but their escape and supply pipelines. This battle, of which you are an integral part, is a battle that will decide many things in this campaign,” Netanyahu told the soldiers.

Netanyahu has faced criticism, both domestic and international, for his push to enter Rafah, with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stating on Thursday that the Biden administration has been clear in its opposition to “a potential major military operation and Rafah.”

But, she noted that Israel assured the White House that its military activity in Rafah was limited and targeted.

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, December 15, 2023 (credit: IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA/REUTERS)

She stressed that while the US supported Israel’s stance that Hamas could not remain in Gaza, she appeared to back Gallant in his position, in stating that the White House has “underscored the importance of having a clear and concrete plan for the day after the conflict in Gaza.”

Arab league voices opposition to war at Manama

In Manama, Bahrain, the Arab League met on Thursday to voice its opposition not just to the Rafah operation, but to the war itself, and to call for an immediate ceasefire and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave. It stressed the need for a two-state resolution to the conflict, one based on the pre-1967 lines.

It also called for “the deployment of United Nations international protection and peacekeeping forces in the occupied Palestinian territory until the two-state solution is implemented.”

US Deputy State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said that the focus has been on ending the conflict. The US, he said, has been focused on talks with Arab partners about playing a constructive role in Gaza when conditions allow.

Additional security forces “could compliment” Israeli military efforts in Gaza, he stressed.