 This tusks belong to elephants. They shoot their most beautiful on the elephants and we should leave them on the elephants. Every tusk you see today represents an animal that has been killed. Welcome to this breaking news edition. I'm Vatiya Levendor, coming July from Tel Aviv. Thanks for joining me this hour. It's day 98 of war. Here are the latest developments on the ground in Israel. On the northern front two anti-tank missiles were recently fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel. There were no casualties reported but the IDF is now retaliating and returning fire. Red alert sirens went off across the western galley late this afternoon after nearly a 24 hour respite. In the south fighting continues in the Gaza Strip as the IDF continues to push further south in the enclave. Earlier today the IDF announced that the Israeli Air Force together with troops operating on the ground destroyed more than 700 Hamas rocket launchers since the beginning of its offensive operation. That would be consistent with the significant drop in the rate of rocket fire from Gaza directed toward Israel in recent weeks. Although strikes apart from damaging Hamas infrastructure have also eliminated dozens of terrorists including leaders of Hamas' Nakba forces. Well let's cross now live to our correspondent Pierre Clashen-Lew standing by for us on the Israel-Gaza border. Obviously the first piece of information this hour that we are getting is that it is no longer reports but confirmed by the Israeli government that at least part of the Qatari proposal for a ceasefire is going to be going through. That the Israeli hostages 136 of them that are still being held captive in the Gaza Strip at least some of them will be receiving medication. Yeah I think that we need to be very cautious with this communicate by the Israeli Prime Minister office that the chief of the Mossad, Dede Barnea has managed to reach an agreement with the Qatari government regarding the medication for the hostages that are being held in the Gaza Strip. There's no confirmation right now from the Qatari government or from one of the Hamas spokespeople in Lebanon, in Doha or inside the Gaza Strip. So right now it's only an information that we get from the Prime Minister's office. So I think we need to be cautious but the Prime Minister's office insists that the medication should reach the hostages within the coming days. Now Pierre, Defence Minister Yav Galen says that the Israeli army has entered places that Hamas never thought it would reach. And that Israel will reach a situation soon where it will completely overwhelm Hamas. Obviously more gains on the ground for the IDF, but what does it mean on the ground in terms of the amount of soldiers that are facing guerrilla warfare tactics that are getting injured and unfortunately killed in the current conflicts. And also the further south they move, what happens to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip that they've instructed to move south? Are they now having to move centre or north? No, they can't move north first of all because there is the 99th division of the Israeli army which sits on the east to the west of the Gaza Strip south of Gaza City and prevents the return of the displaced Palestinian population from the northern sector. And there are about a million of them. So all of them are crammed basically in the southern sector of the Gaza Strip. There are still people in some of the neighbourhoods of Hanyunas and this is also one of the reasons why the offensive in Hanyunas and out of Hanyunas is taking time. But it's also due to the fact that there is an immense network of tunnels. There is a lot of infrastructure. The forces under the tutelage of the 98th division, seven brigades all in all are operating in Hanyunas, building by building, block by block. It takes a lot of time. So there's always a feeling that the army, the Israeli army is bogged down right now. But it's not right. Defense Minister Joav Galan said that Hamas never imagined that the IDF would be able to reach certain places. I think that he was referring for instance to that huge factory to produce long-range rockets that was discovered or at least it was announced earlier this week that it was discovered underneath El Borej refugee camp. There's also fighting. So this is the workshops. All this infrastructure is critical to Israel's progression inside the Gaza Strip. Now regarding the casualties and the wounded, you've got to take into consideration the fact that this is not a deadly war as it used to be. First of all, because soldiers, from the time they're wounded until the time they're hospitalized, it takes about one hour and six minutes at the most. So there's a lot of soldiers that were critically wounded that were saved. Correspondent Pierre Kloshenlai giving us an update from the south of the country. Thank you very much for that. Now for more on the situation on the ground, I want to cross now live to our correspondent Zach Anders who's standing by for us in the north of the country. Zach, what is the latest any confirmation on the strikes and the retaliation from the IDF? Also in the last few hours, Red Alert sirens going off in the western gallery. That's closing off almost 24 hours of quiet. Now it seems that there's infiltrations. Yeah, we continue to see the Red Alerts come through. These again appear to be rocket and ATGM fire that are originating in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah's claim responsibility for five attacks so far today, no reports of casualty or damage. We're still waiting to see the results of what these strikes in southern Lebanon produce because they have over the past several days been quite intense. And these IDF strikes are hitting structures, buildings and areas inside populated areas. Now remember a lot of people in southern Lebanon have evacuated both on their own and by the urging of Hezbollah, which operates as the authority in southern Lebanon. And it has much of these places reported in Lebanese media at least have been evacuated, not necessarily under some sort of mandatory evacuation but on their own accord. So they know that these strikes are taking place. They know these strikes are happening and the IDF is making it clear that they will continue to strike positions where they believe Hezbollah is using or hiding. But unlike in Gaza, it's not a situation where there's an effort to warn the civilian population ahead of time in the same fashion as dropping leaflets from the air. We have not seen that in some of these areas in southern Lebanon. Of course, the hostilities haven't escalated to this level of intensity that would warrant or require so much effort to be put in, not necessarily perhaps in the mindset of Hezbollah here as they are utilizing the area and the landscape to their advantage. But unlike Hamas, not so much the human shield element. Hezbollah has actually put forward an effort to move people away from this fighting, but then again move their fighters into the area as well. So again, five attacks today has was claim responsibility for does not appear any damage or casualties, at least not reported here on the north. Also important to mention that the main difference as well in terms of Hamas and Hezbollah is the density of the area in which the IDF has to operate. But that doesn't take away from the fact that the same way tensions are high in the south tensions are high in the north. Nasrallah, the secretary general of Hezbollah said to speak once again. What are we likely to hear? What has been his rhetoric thus far? Well, his speeches and engagements have taken a very specific approaches to honoring the dead. And he has spoken on the anniversaries of Sulamani's death dedicated the hour and 20 minute speech that he gave. There was a good amount of references. Almost the first half of the speech was dedicated entirely to Sulamani's life work. The plans that they had put forth as this so-called axis of resistance. And it's not necessarily a very, very forward thinking language. There's obviously rhetoric about the enemy and what the attack or response will be that there will be a fierce response. But as far as specifically laying out targets or what Hezbollah sees as a win or a strategy towards a win, the language does not necessarily point to that. And he continues to allude Nasrallah that there is a plan in place and that they won't let outside actors, including the U.S., the U.K. He speaks in broad terms of Europe, not to allow them to distract from the plan that was already set in motion before this conflict. Again, another speaking engagement on Sunday. This is going to be, again, on the anniversary of the assassination of Al Tawil, his brother-in-law. Again, you will have to imagine it will be a speech speaking to the issues here in the north, but much of it honoring the fighters that have fallen already in this conflict. Alright, Al Correspondent Zach End is giving us an update from the north of the country. Thank you very much for that. Meanwhile, the situation in the Red Sea seems to be escalating. Maritime incident was recently reported off the southeast coast of Yemen early Friday evening by the United Kingdom's maritime trade operations. Thus, after the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have pledged to continue its attacks on ships in the area and its support for Hamas in Gaza. Their threat coming following overnight, Western military strikes by air and sea that targeted 16 Houthi positions, including command centers, munition depots and air defense systems. U.S. President Joe Biden says action will protect the free flow of international commerce that has been disrupted amid the latest Houthi attacks. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak added that the strikes were quote, limited, necessary and a proportionate action. Our aim is very clear. It's to de-escalate tensions and to restore stability to the region. That's why allies over the past few weeks have issued several statements of condemnation of what's happening, calling on the Houthis to desist. Indeed, just this week we've seen a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning what's happening and saying that states have a right to self-defense. We have acted in self-defences incumbent now on the Houthis to stop carrying out these attacks, putting people's lives at risk and disrupting the global economy. And joining me here in studio to discuss this in more depth is Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Geron Avital, a former commander of the IDF Special Forces. Thank you for coming in this evening. The report that has come out in the past hour or two being that there was an incident off the coast of Yemen. It's still not clear whether this was some kind of Western retaliation or a Houthi strike. What is very clear is that the U.S. has made almost crystal that it is not looking to engage in a fight with Iran. Is Iran likely to take it that way given that the Houthis are part of its axis or its proxy of evil? Yeah, I think Houthi and Hezbollah, they are proxies of Iran, but they have also some independence of decision-making. And I think this is the way the coalition that we are fighting against operates. So it's not like somebody is pushing the button in Tehran. It's more complicated than that. I think the strong coalition response was in place. We've been waiting here for quite some time. There's no way that the Houthis, I think they overplayed their hands in many respects, that the Houthis would actually prevent the commerce lines that are so necessary to global economy. And to Israel, for sure, on the pretext of Gaza, this is unacceptable. And I think the coalition did well and we'll have to see what the Houthis are preparing. Their talk is very dramatic, but I hope they don't have too much in their hands. But they did some damage to Saudi Arabia. Saudi was talking about the escalation, this conflict. So the strike of the coalition was necessary, but we have to wait and see what is next. Why aren't we seeing Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf nations getting involved? Truly, when we talk about the fact that these attacks are influencing international shipping, they are part of that community. But as I say to people sometimes from the West, the Middle East is an intricate puzzle. And the way you play the puzzle, sometimes the returks of the leaders speak to the inner circle or the public and they play foreign policy in a different fashion. So I think they are part of this effort, but it's a tacit agreement. Saudi Arabia, the Houthis are an enemy of Saudi Arabia, but Saudi Arabia is calling for the escalation of the conflict in the Red Sea and so on. So this is the way we play the game. The coalition was doing right in striking the Houthis. We have to see whether they are preparing something more dramatic next, but this is unacceptable. I want to remind the audience that at least two wars started from this area of the Suez Canal, the 67 war and before the 56 war, which was won by a coalition of Israel, France and Britain. So this history is coming back in this context and of course we can't allow this embargo and this threat on those vital commerce lines for sure. So Ron, stay with me. I do want to focus more on the military angle. But first, while the battle is continuing on the ground, it also continued in the courtroom today. This is Israel finally took to the ICJ podium to defend itself against South Africa's accusation that the Jewish state is perpetrating deliberate genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel's foreign affairs legal advisor Talbekah opened the three hour hearing Friday morning, arguing that if there was anyone committing genocidal attacks in the region, it was and is Hamas. The Israeli legal team also reminded the court that war is messy, but that Israel was fully committed to complying with the rules of law, arguing it even strives to do so in the face of Hamas's utter contempt for the law. Take a listen. This case concerns a large-scale armed conflict with tragic consequences for civilians on both sides. Yes, there is a heart-wrenching armed conflict, but the attempt to classify it as genocide and trigger provisional measures is not just unfounded in law. It has far-reaching and negative implications that extend well beyond the case before you. Ultimately, entertaining the applicant's request will not strengthen the commitment to prevent and punish genocide, but weaken it. It will turn an instrument adopted by the international community to prevent horrors of the kind that shocked the conscience of humanity during the Holocaust into a weapon in the hands of terrorist groups who have no regard for humanity or for the law. And joining me now from London is Natasha Hausdorff, a barrister and international law expert and the director at UK Lawyers for Israel. Thank you so much for taking the time this evening to be with me. Thank you. It's good to be with you. Now, at the end of two days of hearings in The Hague, there's no knowing how the International Court of Justice will rule. But there can be no doubt that the ostensible legal basis for the allegation that Israel is carrying out deliberate genocide in Gaza is unfounded and that any fair-minded court would dismiss it. The big question, Natasha, is, is this a fair court? Well, that's absolutely right, and I'm afraid only time will tell. I don't think in light of the submissions that we heard today, Israel could have possibly done more. I think it's important to bear in mind how hard it is to prove a negative. But not only did Israel put forward very forcefully an evidential basis to demonstrate the care that it is taking in an unparalleled fashion towards Palestinian civilians, both in terms of the framework of the law of armed conflict and also over and above the provisions of international humanitarian law. But we've also seen clear argumentation and warnings to the court on what the consequences would be if the law was thrown out of the window in the way that South Africa is submitting for and in the clip that you just played, those warnings were made very forcefully. Now it was Israel's day to take the podium, but South Africa wasn't quiet. Just listen to the comments by the South African legal team after the hearing today. The State of Israel today has failed to disprove South Africa's compelling case that was presented before the court yesterday. We stand by the facts, the law, and all the evidence we have submitted yesterday. And we believe and stand very confident that those facts, the law, still are in violation of the genocide convention. So after listening to that and also watching the last two days of proceedings, do you agree that Israel served its interests in participating in the proceedings or should it rather have boycotted them? Again, I think that's going to ultimately depend on the decision that the court comes to. But it's clear that Israel is a country of law and order and that as a result ministers, decision makers and civil servants operate often on the basis that international legal institutions, the international court of justice included are similarly respectful of the law. And I'm afraid only time will tell how far along the international court of justice is down the political agenda that South Africa is seeking to pursue. I mean, what we've just heard in that clip is tone deaf to the content of the submissions that were made today, not least those which were perhaps less easy to predict in relation to South Africa misleading the court as to the correspondence that had existed between South Africa and the state of Israel in advance of this application being made. One of the shocking revelations was that it seems to have jumped the gun and hasn't allowed Israel to properly respond in the normal fashion before bringing a case on the basis of there being an actual dispute. And that goes to the question of jurisdiction that the court has to even hear the case, let alone order the provisional measures that South Africa is seeking. And so there is ample scope for the court, both in terms of the politicization of this case, but also in terms of the letter of the law on jurisdiction as well as the merits of this, which it has to consider to an extent in the context of this preliminary hearing for this case to be thrown out. So many world bodies nowadays lack not only purpose but legitimacy. The world is far away from 1945 and World War II, however, the rulings are still damaging to many nations. Would this now be the case for Israel? And the reason I ask that as well is outside of the proceedings or what they tend to rule, Germany now says that it's going to intervene in the ICJ case on Israel's behalf blasting the genocide claims. So does that mean that the court might move ahead and actually convict Israel? How damning would that be? Well, we just need to be clear that this isn't a conviction of sorts, as one might see in a criminal court, for example, the International Criminal Court, which has its own agenda against individual Israelis and is continuing its investigation despite the absence of jurisdiction in that case. But here, the fact that Germany has now come out and has joined the United States and the United Kingdom, all respected, law-abiding countries, upholders of the rule of law, that is significant because it does mean that if the court decides this case based on a political agenda and lawfare rather than on the law and the facts as they've had presented to them today, then a decision against Israel really wouldn't have very much credibility. And that is critical. We've seen many international legal institutions, the International Criminal Court included and also the UN Human Rights Council and other UN bodies, pursuing latent political agendas against Israel, devoid of any basis in law or fact. And that continuing process, if it infects the International Court of Justice, also will undoubtedly undermine its credibility and any ruling that it may issue against Israel in this case. Absolutely. It almost appears that it would have some kind of knock-on effect. Natasha Haustoff, a Barristan international law expert and the director at UK Lawyers for Israel, thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Still with me in Studio Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Doron Avital, this may have a knock-on effect. The question is if the politics will influence the military tactics on the ground. If they do rule that Israel is in fact blatantly causing a genocide in the Gaza Strip and they need to help their fighting, Israel's not under any obligation to actually abide by that ruling. But is it likely that it would? I think the case is absurd and I think Israel would follow its tactics and objective in the way in the conduct it did until now. I mean, we have a back in our coalition. It's a good reminder, by the way, to us as well, that we are part of a coalition, to see Germany behind us, to see Britain, to see the US. This is critical. It's true in the battlefield and it's true in diplomacy. So we need them behind us, even in the context of the Gaza Strip and the way we conduct forward. I think the milestone of the hostages is clear for us, so there's no way we can back from it. And the question of targeting the senior Hamas leaders, it's part of it, of course. So I don't think, I think we are in a third phase in terms of the fact that we go surgical in the context of targeting really the target objective that we need, but I don't think it will affect us militarily. The military would abide by the military objective that the government would prescribe to it. And they are very clear right now, the hostages first, senior leaders of Hamas, and of course dismantling the infrastructure that we are in Gaza. There's no denying that there is a very clear bias by many against the State of Israel, against Jews around the world. But what is clear is not to play the victim in the sense that we do have a fortune of the West that backs us and a fortune of nations that are global leaders that support Israel's right to self-defense. Would it be fair to say that despite even the fact that world bodies like this lack legitimacy, South Africa in itself is no longer even a vital African leader, it's not a leader anymore on the continent to the point that surely this has, it bears barely any weight on Israel? I think what we have to remember, and I keep coming back to my old point, which I think, by the way, to say in all fairness we as well as sometimes forgot it. We are part of a coalition in the context of, even in the context of the Khutim we've been discussing that the context is Iran, China, Iran, Russia. And we have a different coalition. The coalition runs, by the way, from India to the moderate Arab states, to Europe and to the U.S., of course, as our main ally. And we have to work out with them. And as we move from this conflict forward, we'll see ourselves participating also in designing a Middle East with our allies. So this is something that Israelis would have to rethink, because in the last few years we've been thinking of ourselves as almighty power that just conducts its policy on its own. No, we are part of a coalition, we have to work with our coalition. Of course we have our objective, the right for self-defense is trivial. We are fighting against a cruel enemy. We have to win, we have to bring our hostages back. But we also have to work out of our coalition in the diplomatic landscape and in shaping this region. Do you believe that if Israel does go off almost on a tangent, you said that there's a clear objective to secure the hostages. But it has to do so according to the lines and the rules of war, but also to appease its coalition partners. Of course, it's part of the dialogue, I think. In the end we have a dialogue also in a coalition between partners. And we do this dialogue, I think, in a respectful manner. The connection, the intimate connection between the U.S. became clear in this conflict for sure. We never saw a president and a Secretary of State in our war cabinet before. Okay, this is part of the new landscape. Dialogue, yes. Of course, no, we don't get prescription for nobody. We're independent state. We have our object. We have our commitment to our citizens. We have our commitment to the hostages. Nobody prescribes nothing but the fair dialogue with goodwill. The great philosopher Emmanuel Kant all the time talked about goodwill. So we have to show also goodwill to our friends and allies in terms of the day after Gaza. Well, hopefully that goodwill will also shine through at the ICJ where we need it the most. Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Zaron Avital, thanks for being with me. It's been 100 days since the trauma that rocked Israel. More than 1,200 dead, more than 5,000 wounded, over 160,000 displaced. Join I-24 News for our special coverage on January 14, marking 100 days since the massacre of October 7. Follow us on the border with Gaza for first-hand accounts of eye witnesses, survivors, and fighters. 100 days of war, January 14. 9 p.m. local, only on I-24 News. The only media in Spanish that keeps you informed and connected with the Latin community in Israel. News 24, only on I-24 News. Welcome to this breaking news edition. I'm Batya Levendol, coming July from Tel Aviv. Thanks for joining me this hour. It's day 98 of war. Here are the latest developments on the ground in Israel. On the northern front, two anti-tank missiles were recently fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel. There were no casualties reported, but the IDF is now retaliating and returning fire. Red Alert sirens went off across the western Galilee late this afternoon, after nearly a 24-hour respite. In the south, fighting continues in the Gaza Strip as the IDF continues to push further south in the enclave. Earlier today, the IDF announced that the Israeli Air Force, together with troops operating on the ground, destroyed more than 700 Hamas rocket launchers since the beginning of its offensive operation. That would be consistent with the significant drop in the rate of rocket fire from Gaza directed toward Israel in recent weeks. Although strikes, apart from damaging Hamas infrastructure, have also eliminated dozens of terrorists, including leaders of Hamas' Nakba forces. Well, let's cross now live to our correspondent, Pierre Clashenla, who is standing by for us on the Israel-Gaza border. Obviously, the first piece of information this hour that we are getting is that it is no longer reports but confirmed by the Israeli government that at least part of the Qatari proposal for a ceasefire is going to be going through, that the Israeli hostages, 136 of them, that are still being held captive in the Gaza Strip, at least some of them will be receiving medication. Pierre? Yeah, I think that we need to be very cautious with this communique by the Israeli Prime Minister office that the chief of the Mossad, Dedy Barnea, has managed to reach an agreement with the Qatari government regarding the medication for the hostages that are being held in the Gaza Strip. There's no confirmation right now from the Qatari government or from one of the Hamas-spokespeople in Lebanon, in Doha, or inside the Gaza Strip. So right now it's only an information that we get from the Prime Minister's office. So I think we need to be cautious but the Prime Minister's office insists that the medication should reach the hostages within the coming days. Now Pierre, Defense Minister Joav Galen says that the Israeli army has entered places that Hamas never thought it would reach and that Israel will reach a situation soon where it will completely overwhelm Hamas. Obviously more gains on the ground for the IDF but what does it mean on the ground in terms of the amount of soldiers that are facing guerrilla warfare tactics that aren't getting injured and unfortunately killed in the current conflict. And also the further south they move, what happens to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip that they've instructed to move south? Are they now having to move center or north? No, they can't move north first of all because there is the 99 division of the Israeli army which sits on the east to the west of the Gaza Strip south of Gaza City and prevents the return of the displaced Palestinian population from the northern sector and there are about a million of them. So all of them are crammed basically in the southern sector of the Gaza Strip. There are still people in some of the neighborhoods of Hanyunas and this is also one of the reasons why the offensive in Hanyunas and out of Hanyunas is taking time but it's also due to the fact that there is an immense network of tunnels. There is a lot of infrastructure. The forces under the tutelage of the 98th division, seven brigades all in all are operating in Hanyunas building by building, block by block. It takes a lot of time so there's always a feeling that the Israeli army is bogged down right now but it's not right. Defense Minister Joav Galan said that Hamas never imagined that the IDF would be able to reach certain places. I think that he was referring for instance to that huge factory to produce long range rockets that was discovered or at least it was announced earlier this week that it was discovered underneath El Borej refugee camp where there's also fighting. So this is the workshops. All this infrastructure is critical to Israel's progression inside the Gaza Strip. Now regarding the casualties and the wounded you've got to take into consideration the fact that this is not a deadly war as it used to be. First of all because soldiers from the time they're wounded until the time they're hospitalized it takes about one hour and six minutes at the most. So there's a lot of soldiers that were critically wounded that were saved. Correspondent Pierre Klushenle giving us an update from the south of the country. Thank you very much for that. Now for more on the situation on the ground I want to cross now live to our correspondent Zach and as you're standing by for us in the north of the country. Zach, what is the latest any confirmation on the strikes and the retaliation from the IDF also in the last few hours Red Alert sirens going off in the western Galilee that's closing off almost 24 hours of quiet. Now it seems that there's infiltrations. Yeah, we continue to see the Red Alerts come through these again appear to be rocket and ATGM fire that are originating in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah's claim responsibility for five attacks so far today. No reports of casualty or damage. We're still waiting to see the results of what these strikes in southern Lebanon produce because they have over the past several days been quite intense and these IDF strikes are hitting structures, buildings and areas inside populated areas. Now remember a lot of people in southern Lebanon have evacuated both on their own and by the urging of Hezbollah, which operates as the authority in southern Lebanon and it has much of these places reported in Lebanese media at least have been evacuated not necessarily under some sort of mandatory evacuation, but on their own accord. So they know that these strikes are taking place. They know these strikes are happening and the IDF is making it clear that they will continue to strike positions where they believe Hezbollah is using or hiding, but unlike in Gaza, it's not a situation where there's an effort to warn the civilian population ahead of time in the same fashion as dropping leaflets from the air. We have not seen that in some of these areas in southern Lebanon. Of course the hostilities haven't escalated to this level of intensity that would warrant or require so much effort to be put in, not necessarily perhaps in the mindset of Hezbollah here as they are utilizing the area and the landscape to their advantage, but unlike Hamas, not so much the human shield element. Hezbollah has actually put forward an effort to move people away from this fighting, but then again move their fighters into the area as well. So again, five attacks today has was claim responsibility for does not appear any damage or casualties, at least none reported here on the north. Also important to mention that the main difference as well in terms of Hamas and Hezbollah is the density of the area in which the IDF has to operate, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the same way tensions are high in the south, tensions are high in the north. Nasrallah, the secretary general of Hezbollah said to speak once again. What are we likely to hear? What has been his rhetoric thus far? Well, his speeches and engagements have taken very specific approaches to or honoring the dead and he has spoken on the anniversaries of Sulamani's death, dedicated the hour and 20 minute speech that he gave. There was a good amount of references. Almost the first half of the speech was dedicated entirely to Sulamani's life work. The plans that they had put forth as this so-called axis of resistance and it's not necessarily a very forward thinking language. There's obviously rhetoric about the enemy and what the attack or response will be that there will be a fierce response, but as far as specifically laying out targets or what Hezbollah sees as a win or a strategy towards a win, the language does not necessarily point to that and he continues to allude Nasrallah that there is a plan in place and that they won't let outside actors including the US, the UK, he speaks in broad terms of Europe, not to allow them to distract from the plan that was already set in motion before this conflict. So again, another speaking engagement on Sunday. This is going to be again on the anniversary of the assassination of Al Tawil. His brother-in-law, again, you will have to imagine will be a speech, speaking to the issues here in the north, but much of it honoring the fighters that have fallen already in this conflict. Alright, our correspondent, Zach Enders, giving us an update from the north of the country. Thank you very much for that. Meanwhile, the situation in the Red Sea seems to be escalating. Maritime incident was recently reported off the southeast coast of Yemen early Friday evening by the United Kingdom's maritime trade operations. Thus, after the Iranian backs, Houthi rebels have pledged to continue its attacks on ships in the area and its support for Hamas in Gaza. Their threat coming following overnight, Western military strikes by air and sea that targeted 16 Houthi positions, including command centers, munition depots, and air defense systems. US President Joe Biden says action will protect the free flow of international commerce that has been disrupted amid the latest Houthi attacks. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak added that the strikes were, quote, limited, necessary, and a proportionate action. Our aim is very clear. It's to de-escalate tensions and to restore stability to the region. And that's why allies over the past few weeks have issued several statements of condemnation of what's happening, calling on the Houthis to desist. Indeed, just this week, we've seen a UN Security Council resolution condemning what's happening and saying that states have a right to self-defense. We have acted in self-defense. It's incumbent now on the Houthis to stop carrying out these attacks, putting people's lives at risk and disrupting the global economy. And joining me here in studio to discuss this in more depth is Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Geronomi Tal, a former commander of the IDF Special Forces. Thank you for coming in this evening. The report that has come out in the past hour or two being that there was an incident off the coast of Yemen. It's still not clear whether this was some kind of Western retaliation or a Houthi strike. What is very clear is that the US has made almost crystal that it is not looking to engage in a fight with Iran. Is Iran likely to take it that way, given that the Houthis are part of its axis or its proxy of evil? Yeah, I think Houthi and Hezbollah are proxies of Iran, but they have also some independence of decision making. And I think this is the way the coalition that we are fighting against operates. So it's not like somebody's pushing the button in Tehran. It's more complicated than that. I think the strong coalition response was in place. We've been waiting here for quite some time. There's no way that the Houthis, I think they overplayed their hands in many respects, that the Houthis would actually prevent the commerce lines that are so necessary to global economy. And to Israel, for sure, on the pretext of Gaza, this is unacceptable. And I think the coalition did well and we'll have to see what the Houthis are preparing. Their talk is very dramatic, but I hope they don't have too much in their hands. But they did some damage to Saudi Arabia. Saudi was talking about the escalation, this conflict. So the strike of the coalition was necessary, but we have to wait and see what is next. Why aren't we seeing Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf nations getting involved? Really, when we talk about the fact that these attacks are influencing international shipping, they are part of that community. Yes, that's right. But as I say to people sometimes from the West, the Middle East is an intricate puzzle. And the way you play the puzzle, sometimes the returks of the leaders speak to the inner circle or the public, and they play foreign policy in a different fashion. So I think they are part of this effort, but it's a tacit agreement also Saudi Arabia. The Houthis are an enemy of Saudi Arabia, but Saudi Arabia is calling for the escalation of the conflict in the Red Sea and so on. So this is the way we play the game. The coalition was doing right in striking the Houthis. We have to see whether they are preparing something more dramatic next, but this is unacceptable. I want to remind the audience that at least two wars started from this area of the Suez Canal, the 67 war and before the 56 war, which was won by a coalition of Israel, France, and Britain. So this history is coming back in this context, and of course we can't allow this embargo and this threat on those vital commerce lines for sure. So on stay with me, I do want to focus more on the military angle, but first, while the battle is continuing on the ground, it also continued in the courtroom today. This is Israel finally took to the ICJ podium to defend itself against South Africa's accusation that the Jewish state is perpetrating deliberate genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel's foreign affairs legal adviser, Talbekah, opened the three hour hearing Friday morning, arguing that if there was anyone committing genocidal attacks in the region, it was and is Hamas. The Israeli legal team also reminded the court that war is messy, but that Israel was fully committed to complying with the rules of law, arguing it even strives to do so in the face of Hamas's utter contempt for the law. Take a listen. This case concerns a large-scale armed conflict with tragic consequences for civilians on both sides. Yes, there is a heart-reaching armed conflict, but the attempt to classify it as genocide and trigger provisional measures is not just unfounded in law. It has far-reaching and negative implications that extend well beyond the case before you. Ultimately, entertaining the applicant's request will not strengthen the commitment to prevent and punish genocide, but weaken it. It will turn an instrument adopted by the international community to prevent horrors of the kind that shocked the conscience of humanity during the Holocaust into a weapon in the hands of terrorist groups who have no regard for humanity or for the law. And joining me now from London is Natasha Hausdorf, a barrister and international law expert and the director at UK Lawyers for Israel. Thank you so much for taking the time this evening to be with me. Thank you. It's good to be with you. Now, at the end of two days of hearings in The Hague, there's no knowing how the International Court of Justice will rule, but there can be no doubt that the ostensible legal basis for the allegation that Israel is carrying out deliberate genocide in Gaza is unfounded and that any fair-minded court would dismiss it. The big question, Natasha, is, is this a fair court? That's absolutely right, and I'm afraid only time will tell. I don't think in light of the submissions that we heard today, Israel could have possibly done more. I think it's important to bear in mind how hard it is to prove a negative, but not only did Israel put forward very forcefully an evidential basis to demonstrate the care that it is taking in an unparalleled fashion towards Palestinian civilians, both in terms of the framework of the law of armed conflict and also over and above the provisions of international humanitarian law. But we've also seen clear argumentation and warnings to the court on what the consequences would be if the law was thrown out of the window in the way that South Africa is submitting for. And in the clip that you just played, those warnings were made very forcefully. Now it was Israel's day to take the podium, but South Africa wasn't quiet. Just listen to the comments by the South African legal team after the hearing today. The State of Israel today has failed to disprove South Africa's compelling case that was presented before the court yesterday. We stand by the facts, the law, and all the evidence we have submitted yesterday. And we believe and stand very confident that those facts, the law, still are in violation of the genocide convention. So after listening to that and also watching the last two days of proceedings, do you agree that Israel served its interest in participating in the proceedings or should it rather have boycotted them? Again, I think that's going to ultimately depend on the decision that the court comes to, but it's clear that Israel is a country of law and order, and that as a result ministers, decision makers, and civil servants operate often on the basis that international legal institutions, the International Court of Justice included, are similarly respectful of the law. And I'm afraid only time will tell how far along the International Court of Justice is down the political agenda that South Africa is seeking to pursue. I mean, what we've just heard in that clip is tone deaf to the content of the submissions that were made today, not least those, which were perhaps less easy to predict in relation to South Africa misleading the court as to the correspondence that had existed between South Africa and the State of Israel in advance of this application being made. One of the shocking revelations was that it seems to have jumped the gun and hasn't allowed Israel to properly respond in the normal fashion before bringing a case on the basis of there being an actual dispute. And that goes to the question of jurisdiction that the court has to even hear the case, let alone order the provisional measures that South Africa is seeking. And so there is ample scope for the court both in terms of the politicization of this case, but also in terms of the letter of the law on jurisdiction, as well as the merits of this, which it has to consider to an extent in the context of this preliminary hearing for this case to be thrown out. So many world bodies nowadays lack not only purpose, but legitimacy. The world is far away from 1945 and World War II. However, the rulings are still damaging to many nations. Would this now be the case for Israel? And the reason I ask that as well is outside of the proceedings or what they tend to rule, Germany now says that it's going to intervene in the ICJ case on Israel's behalf blasting the genocide claims. So does that mean that the court might move ahead and actually convict Israel? How damning would that be? I would just need to be clear that this isn't a conviction of sorts, as one might see in a criminal court, for example, the International Criminal Court, which has its own agenda against individual Israelis and is continuing its investigation, despite the absence of jurisdiction in that case. But here, the fact that Germany has now come out and has joined the United States and the United Kingdom, all respected, law-abiding countries, upholders of the rule of law, that is significant because it does mean that if the court decides this case based on a political agenda and lawfare rather than on the law and the facts as they've had presented to them today, then a decision against Israel really wouldn't have very much credibility. And that is critical. We've seen many international legal institutions, the International Criminal Court included and also the UN Human Rights Council and other UN bodies pursuing blatant political agendas against Israel, devoid of any basis in law or fact. And that continuing process, if it infects the International Court of Justice, also will undoubtedly undermine its credibility and any ruling that it may issue against Israel in this case. Absolutely. It almost appears that it would have some kind of knock-on effect. Natasha Hausdorf, a Barristan International Law expert and the director at UK Lawyers for Israel, thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Still with me in Studio Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Doron Avital. This may have a knock-on effect. The question is if the politics will influence the military tactics on the ground. If they do rule that Israel is in fact blatantly causing a genocide in the Gaza Strip and they need to help their fighting. Israel's not under any obligations to actually abide by that ruling, but is it likely that it would? I think the case is absurd and I think Israel would follow its tactics and objective in the way in the conduct it did until now. I mean, we have a back in our coalition. It's a good reminder, by the way, to us Israelis that we are part of a coalition to see Germany behind us, to see Britain, to see the US. This is critical. It's true in the battlefield and it's true in diplomacy. So we need them behind us even in the context of the Gaza Strip and the way we conduct forward. I think the milestone of the hostages is clear for us so there's no way we can back from it. And the question of targeting the senior Hamas leaders, it's part of it, of course. But so I don't think... I think we are in a third phase in terms of the fact that we go surgical and less in the context of targeting really the target objective that we need. But I don't think it will affect us militarily. The military would abide by the military objective that the government would prescribe to it and they are very clear right now. The hostages first, senior leaders of Hamas and of course dismantling the infrastructure that we have in Gaza. There's no denying that there is a very clear bias by many against the State of Israel, against Jews around the world. But what is clear is not to play the victim in the sense that we do have a fortune of the West that backs us and a fortune of nations that are global leaders that support Israel's right to self-defense. Would it be fair to say that despite even the fact that world bodies like this lack legitimacy, South Africa in itself is no longer even a vital African leader. It's not a leader anymore on the continent to the point that surely this has barely any weight on Israel? I think what we have to remember and I keep coming back to my old point which I think, by the way, to say in all fairness, Israel is sometimes forgotten. We are part of a coalition. Even in the context of the Khutim we've been discussing that the context is China, Iran, Russia and we have a different coalition. The coalition runs, by the way, from India to the moderate Arab states to Europe and to the U.S. of course as our main ally and we have to work out with them. And as we move from this conflict forward we'll see ourselves participating also in designing a Middle East with our allies. So this is something that Israelis would have to rethink because in the last few years we've been thinking of ourselves as an almighty power that just conducts its policy on its own. No, we are part of a coalition. We have to work through a coalition. Of course we have our objective. The right for self-defense is trivial. We are fighting against a cruel enemy. We have to win. We have to bring our hostages back. But we also have to work out of our coalition in the diplomatic landscape and in shaping this region. Do you believe that if Israel does go off almost on a tangent you said that there's a clear objective to secure the hostages but it has to do so according to the lines and the rules of war but also to appease its coalition partners? Of course it's part of the dialogue I think. In the end we have a dialogue also in a coalition between partners and we do this dialogue I think in a respectful manner that the connection or the intimate connection between the U.S. became clear in this conflict for sure. So we never saw a president and a secretary of state in our war cabinet before. Okay, this is part of the new landscape. Dialogue, yes. Of course no, we don't get prescription for nobody. We're independent state. We have our object. We have our commitment to our citizens. We have our commitment to the hostages. Nobody prescribes nothing but the fair dialogue with good will. The great philosopher Emmanuel Kant all the time talked about good will. So we have to show also good will to our friends and allies in terms of the day after Gaza. Well hopefully that good will will also shine through at the ICJ where we need it the most. Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Daron Avital, thanks for being with me. Luther King's famous 1968 mountain top speech was based on his trip to the Promised Land. Well now, 55 years later, his prophetic words are coming true. Hundreds of African American women took a journey of a lifetime to the Holy Land. We'll introduce you to the amazing female spiritual religious leaders who are infusing new energy into the next generation of African Americans. In addition, I'm Batia Levinville coming to you live from Tel Aviv. Thanks for joining me this hour. Heat of war. Here are the latest developments on the ground in Israel. On the northern front, two anti-tank missiles were recently fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel. There were no casualties reported, but the idea is now retaliating and returning fire. Red alert sirens went off across the Western Galilee late this afternoon after nearly a 24-hour respite. In the south, fighting continues in the Gaza Strip. The idea continues to push further south in the enclave. Earlier today, the idea announced that the Israeli Air Force, together with troops operating on the ground, have destroyed more than 700 Khamas rocket launches since the beginning of its offensive operation. That would be consistent with the significant drop in the rays of rocket fire launched from Gaza toward Israel in recent weeks. Those strikes, apart from damaging Khamas infrastructure, have also eliminated dozens of terrorists, including leaders of Khamas' Nukhba forces. Well, let's cross now live to our correspondent, Pierre Clauchin-Lew, who is standing by for us on the Israel-Gaza border. Pierre reports coming out now that the family is demanding some kind of video proof that their loved ones that are still being held captive in the Gaza Strip would in fact be receiving this medication. You called it first earlier, saying that we should take this news with a pinch of salt. Absolutely. And I think that the families of the hostages also take it with a pinch of salt. They are very circumspect. They say we'll see when the medication reaches the hostages. And many of the hostages suffer from chronic diseases. I've heard even a hostage suffering from cancer, one from colitis. There's a lot of ailments that the hostages are suffering from, and not from captivity, from before captivity. And imagine also the other hostages that might also suffer from other ailments that they contracted during the captivity. So it's a very delicate situation. The families of the hostages are very, very circumspect. The thing is there is no confirmation by the Qatari government, neither by Hamas at this moment. It's a message by the Prime Minister's office because the Mossad spy agency is under the tutelage of the Prime Minister's office. But because it's a Shabbat, the message was relayed to the Israeli media. I'm not even sure that the families were informed before that message was relayed to the Israeli media. Pierre, another major story that's coming out of the Gaza Strip in the last few days is the latest tunnel that was found by the IDF, rather, and Khan Yunus, a highly populated area. It was extremely complex. What more do we know about this tunnel and why it was different from some of the other ones that have been uncovered by the IDF? I'm not sure it's that different, but the extent of the tunnel network in Khan Yunus surprised the IDF. And that's why the tunnels are a major asset of Hamas that the IDF wants to dismantle because it says that if the infrastructure, which is underground the Gaza Strip, is not dismantled, Hamas can rebuild itself very quickly. So infrastructure is critical for the success of the war against Hamas. And as time goes by, and the IDF gains experience in discovering tunnels, checking the tunnels, and also dismantling them, that allows the IDF to maybe do it more safely in Khan Yunus, especially that many of the hostages are believed to be held underneath Khan Yunus with the political and military leadership of Hamas. They're working very, very cautiously and at the same time, probably more efficiently with the experience that they gained already. From IDF messages that there is also fighting underground in certain places. But what we know is that hundreds of kilometers have been already dismantled in the northern sector of the Gaza Strip and there are still tunnels in the northern sector of the Gaza Strip. So imagine in Khan Yunus and in the central sector of the Gaza Strip with the four refugee camps. That's also very difficult. But maybe the best news that the IDF could project to the Israeli public in its incremental offensive with a very incremental process is the fact that they uncovered in one of the tunnels underneath the El Buraj refugee camp a major factory manufacturing rockets, long-range rockets that could hit north of the center of the country. And that's a very important asset that Hamas has lost. And that's why also you hear the Israeli Defense Minister Yohav Galan saying that Hamas never imagined that Israel would be in certain places that Hamas thought were unreachable by the IDF. Karis, I'm Pierre Klosh and they're giving us an update there from the south. Thank you very much for that. And now for an update on the situation in the north. Let's go to our correspondent Zach Anders. Zach, what is the latest that is happening on the ground at the moment? We know in the last few hours the IDF has been returning fire and giving a retaliatory strikes to Hezbollah in the southern part of Lebanon following their attacks earlier in the day. Are you hearing anything on the ground? What do you know? Well hello from Haifa. It has been three hours since the last red alarm. Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for five attacks throughout the day today. It does not appear that there has been damage or casualties, at least none that's been reported thus far today. In southern Lebanon however, the IDF says it has struck three different towns in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. They say they also claim to have destroyed buildings where Hezbollah was inside at the time as they were conducting these strikes. We have not yet seen Hezbollah respond to today's level of strikes and release any more information as to their losses or casualties. We do know that the number of Hezbollah, at least that Hezbollah's own media channel has announced is standing at over 150 killed in southern Lebanon. And more Hezbollah fighters have been killed in southern Syria, although not to the acknowledgement of Hezbollah. This however is a tense night for what's happening in Yemen and in the Red Sea knowing that the connections that bind the Houthis and Hezbollah to Tehran and Tehran still have yet to see a significant response or even strong language coming out of Tehran yet in regards to U.S. and U.K. strikes that are targeting Houthi positions in Yemen to disrupt or halt their continued attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. Of course Tehran and Iran heavy hand in what's happening both in Yemen and here in southern Lebanon with the direction and the aid and the weapons that have been supplied to Hezbollah as they continue to fight and fire upon northern Israel. Correspondent Zach and is giving us the latest on the ground in the north of the country. Thank you for that. And joining me now is Professor Kobe Michael, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies and the former Deputy Director General for the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs. Good evening to you. Thanks for joining me. Good evening to you. Now Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that Israel will be handing over medications that will be transferred to the hostages that are being held in Gaza over the next coming days. As our correspondent Pierre Clashandler pointed out that has only been confirmed by the Israeli side. The other parts or partners to this deal would be Qatai in Egypt who have not confirmed anything as of yet. Is that because this is only Israel's sort of part of the deal? It doesn't necessarily benefit the Qataris, the Egyptians or the Gazans for that matter but simply the Israeli hostages. There are exactly the calculations of Prime Minister Netanyahu in this regard but I assume that it was very well calculated before announcing it publicly and I assume that it wouldn't have been announced if it was not deeply rooted to the reality because it might be a huge mistake mainly vis-à-vis the families of the hostages. I assume that this is part of the diplomatic game that takes place here between the Egyptians, the Qatarians, the Americans and the Israelis and at the end of the day I assume that this medical assistance will reach to the hostages and I hope that this is a sort of a beginning of something which is much bigger than that. It's an awful question to ask but it does beg the question how Israel, the IDF for that matter, knows the conditions of the hostages given that the Red Cross hasn't been in to see them and there's very little known about their whereabouts. Some of the hostages aren't even being held captive by Hamas but Palestinian, Islamic jihad, other terror factions and smaller fraction groups but also some citizens affiliated with some of these groups as well. Is it not likely that more so than medication, they need food, water, possibly even medical attention in hospitals? How is this information being passed that there's certain medications that need to enter the Strip? First of all I think that our working assumption should be that we don't have the full details or intelligence about their medical situation but I assume in the very same time that at least some details were transferred by Hamas to the mediators and the families of the hostages are pretty familiar with their medical condition and their medical needs and when we say that the Red Cross will be involved in that it doesn't mean that the Red Cross will necessarily meet them in person. It means that the Red Cross will take the medical assistance and will transfer it to Hamas by some mediators on the ground. It doesn't mean that the Red Cross will meet in person the hostages themselves. The situation is pretty complicated and we have to assume that we don't have the full picture about the situation of the hostages but I think that Israel does the utmost efforts in order to accumulate more or together more and more information about their situation and as I said before I hope that this is the first beginning of something which is much broader than the medical assistance. Professor, stay with me because I do want your analysis on another topic but in the meantime while the battle continues on the ground it's also continued today in the courtroom. This is Israel finally took to the ICJ podium to defend itself against South Africa's accusation that the Jewish state is perpetrating deliberate genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel's Foreign Affairs legal advisor Tal Becker opened the three-hour hearing Friday morning arguing that if there was anyone committing genocidal attacks in the region it was and is Hamas. The Israeli legal team also reminded the court that war is messy but that Israel was fully committed to complying with the rules of law arguing it even strives to do so in the face of Hamas's utter contempt for the law. Take a listen. This case concerns a large-scale armed conflict with tragic consequences for civilians on both sides. Yes, there is a heart-reaching armed conflict but the attempt to classify it as genocide and trigger provisional measures is not just unfounded in law it has far-reaching and negative implications that extend well beyond the case before you. Ultimately, entertaining the applicant's request will not strengthen the commitment to prevent and punish genocide but weaken it. It will turn an instrument adopted by the international community to prevent horrors of the kind that shocked the conscience of humanity during the Holocaust into a weapon in the hands of terrorist groups who have no regard for humanity or for the law. Well, let's go now live to the hage. I-24 News contributor Alex Kadier is standing by for us. Alex, what is the summary of day two? We've now seen both days wrap up both sides presenting their case. What is the latest? Well, today was very much about Israel defending itself in court, making its case against these accusations by South Africa of genocidal acts and the crux of that argument was really an accusation in and of itself by Israel accusing South Africa of ignoring or at least not taking sufficient account of Hamas's actions on the 7th of October, saying that they prove those actions described as atrocities by the Israeli legal team prove Israel's right to self-defense. And that was the crux of that argument, accusing South Africa of being complicit in those by ignoring them in this court action. That was the position from the Israeli side. The response, or at least certainly an argument that was mentioned yesterday by the South African team by the Justice Minister, Ronald Lamola, was that actually his argument, South Africa's argument says no matter the nature of the attack, no matter the nature of the crimes committed by Hamas, including atrocity crimes, he said it would not justify breaching the genocide convention. That is why South Africa brought this action, but certainly a tense day here at the International Court of Justice, certainly a strong, robust defense by Israel against these accusations. Now we wait. It'll be a matter of weeks until we get a response from the court on those preliminary measures, possibly ordering Israel to stop all military action in Gaza. So, Alex, we are now waiting for some kind of decision to be made by the court. If the decision is binding, does Israel actually have to abide by it? Explain a little bit to us about the laws of the ICJ. Yeah, absolutely. An ICJ decision on these preliminary measures, effectively saying to Israel, all military action in Gaza until a verdict is reached, now bear in mind that verdict could take years to come. That is legally binding, but the enforcement is down to the UN Security Council, and there all eyes will be, of course, on the United States and their power of veto, whether or not they choose to block any enforcement action. Let me give you a parallel example, certainly of one example where the ICJ ruled that Russia had to stop all military action in Ukraine, and that decision was broadly ignored by Russia. So, these orders are legally binding, but they are only enforceable if the UN Security Council, including the United States, decides to enforce them. Hi, 24 News contributor, Alex Kazier joining us from The Hague. Thank you so very much for that update. And joining me now from Jerusalem to continue this conversation is Professor Robbie Sable, a professor of international law at Hebrew University of Jerusalem's faculty of law. Good evening to you. Good evening. It's interesting that today was Israel's day to take the stand. There was three hour long arguments being made for Israel's case, but South Africa also had the final word after Israel spoke, speaking about the fact that the legal hearing today bore no claims whatsoever. Take a listen. The State of Israel today has failed to disprove South Africa's compelling case that was presented before the court yesterday. We stand by the facts, the law and then all the evidence we have submitted yesterday. And we believe and stand very confident that those facts, the law still are in violation of the Genocide Convention. Professor, do you believe that Israel served its interests in participating in the proceedings or should it have rather boycotted them as many critics have suggested? Certainly. I think it was we proved the point that we have a case and it was made very well. And by the way, South Africa didn't have a last word. They spoke not in the court. We had the last word which was an advantage although we had no time to prepare as South Africa did. But the last word in the court was ours and I think the very precise and correct and legal arguments raised by Israel will have some effect. Perhaps not on the judge from Lebanon but on the court there are impartial judges from democratic states and I believe that it will have some influence on them and I'm beginning for the first time to be slightly optimistic that there won't be a call for immediate ceasefire because it will be absolutely absurd to call on Israel to stop fighting while Hamas is still firing rockets and holding hostages. It will be so patently unfair that I hope the court will not try and reach such a decision. In your view, was it better or worse that Israel spoke after South Africa presented its case? Is there reason to be somewhat satisfied? How did the Israeli team perform at the Hague? I think it was an advantage. Again, the South Africans had the advantage many, many weeks to prepare. We didn't. But the fact that we answered and they had no opportunity to answer us back I think is certainly a legal advantage. Now the most damning evidence that South Africa had on Israel was some of the rhetoric from the incumbent government's far-right ministers. Lawyers often instruct their clients not to say anything that will incriminate them. Do you think that this will actually force Netanyahu now to rein in cabinet ministers and a lot of the narrative in which they are spewing out? I doubt whether he can because he has a very strange coalition. But I think the point was made very clearly by Professor Sean by others. This was not government policy. South Africa didn't manage to provide any evidence because there is none. But the government policy was as the rhetoric of these extreme right-wing politicians. So clearly Israel has democracy. People can express their views including members of the coalition what decides at this point was made very clearly by Professor Sean is government policy decisions of the security cabinet and South Africa had nothing to say on this because there was nothing to say. Professor Robby Sable, thank you so very much for your time and your analysis this evening. Thank you. Now in a breaking news update there is a gunfight currently occurring in the village of Adora in the West Bank. I'd like to still go now to Kobe Michael, professor who is still with us. What is the latest at the moment that is happening in the West Bank? Is it likely that the warnings that were given just a few days ago that the West Bank could be on the verge of a total eruption in terms of violence is likely coming to the very forefront? The West Bank was already erupted. I mean we are in a terrible war in the West Bank since March 22 and this terrible war was intensified because of October 7th and because of the Palestinian Authority weakness and the unwillingness to operate against the terror factions in the Palestinian cities in the Palestinian Authority and fortunately we have very good intelligence and we have very solid presence there and therefore we are able to enter the cities and the refugee camps in order to arrest the terrorists or to kill them and to dismantle all the infrastructures and laboratories there and to go out but we see that the terror is more intensified there and we see that it is not only in Jenin area it is also in Tulkarem area and in Hebron area and it looks that we will have to continue tackling this challenge and I think that this is part of the multi-front war that Israel is engaged in mainly after October 7th. Professor, the IDF is currently engaged in an offensive in the Gaza Strip we know that they are also operating on the northern border against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. This is dealing with an enemy that is outside of Israel's borders which is obviously much harder to combat but there is also a significant challenge in and of itself that there are a fortune of Palestinians in the West Bank that have been arrested with either some kind of close affiliation to Hamas or to ISIS. This is within Israel's borders. How difficult isn't for the IDF to really rein this in and are they prepared to be able to do so? Does this change the projection of the break the wave operation that we had prior to the October 7th massacre and obviously subsequent war? No, I think that the IDF does a very good job in the West Bank by the way as well as a very good job in the Gaza Strip as well and I think that we we are succeeding in the West Bank to prevent terrorism and to throat many terror attacks that were prepared and planned but this is as I said before a war of terrorism or a very well organized terror campaign which is heavily supported by Iran and Hezbollah and unfortunately after years of neglecting the refugee camps and some other places in the Palestinian Authority by the Palestinian security apparatus we find these hornet nests in many cities and many refugee camps and now we have to dismantle them and I think that they are very successfully. How is one able to dismantle them? For a lot of the viewers that don't fully understand the workings, the intricate workings of the Israeli security apparatus is a lot of this done with the aid of the Shin Bet and I'll just advise our audience that the reports coming out now of that shootout in the West Bank in the village of Adora is saying that there was at least one terrorist and two injured, it's not clear exactly who those two injured are but professor Gilbert about the security apparatus and the workings of finding and arresting some of these people. Generally speaking we have a very good intelligence about the Palestinian terrorist groups or factions or organizations in the West Bank and even further than that about the Palestinians generally speaking and we have a very good experience of translating intelligence to operations and the forces there are very experienced in this regard and we have a very good control over the territory because we are there and therefore I think that we are succeeding in working these threats and the idea that they have a very big quantities of weapons and they are very motivated to terrorize Israel from these territories and they are supported by the Iranians and with all of these aspects they are not succeeding so well but from time to time and it looks that it will continue until we will reach to a very significant achievement in the Gaza Strip and this will I assume will calm the situation in the West Bank as well. Thank you so very much for your analysis tune in again at the top of the hour we'll have more updates on the 98th day of the war and also more updates on their breaking news developments out of the West Bank stay tuned. If the plastic particles breaks up it does not stop at the micron size it can actually go even smaller so once the size goes below one micron people call it nano plastics because now its size is in the nano range. These tusks belong to elephants they are most beautiful on the elephants and we should leave them on the elephants every tusk you see today represents an animal that has been killed. In the south fighting continues in the Gaza Strip as the IDF continues to push further south in the enclave. Earlier today the IDF announced that the Israeli Air Force together with troops operating on the ground have destroyed more than 700 Hamas rocket launchers since the beginning of its offensive operation. That would be consistent with the significant drop in the rays of rocket fire launched from Gaza toward Israel in recent weeks. Those strikes apart from damaging Hamas infrastructure have also eliminated dozens of terrorists including leaders of Hamas's Nukhba forces. Let's cross now live to our correspondent Pierre Kloschenle who is standing by for us on the Israel-Gaza border. Reports coming out now that the family is demanding some kind of video proof that their are still being held captive in the Gaza Strip would in fact be receiving this medication. You called it first earlier saying that we should take this news with a pinch of salt. Absolutely and I think that the families of the hostages also take it with a pinch of salt they are very circumspect they say we'll see when the medication reaches the hostages and many of the hostages suffer from chronic diseases or even a hostage suffering from cancer one from colitis there's a lot of ailments that the hostages are suffering from and not from captivity from before captivity and imagine also the other hostages that might also suffer from other ailments that they contracted during the captivity so it's a very delicate situation the families of the hostages are very very circumspect the thing is there is no confirmation by the Qatari government neither by Hamas at this moment it's a message by the prime minister's office because the Mossad spy agency is under the tutelage of the prime minister's office but because it's a Shabbat the message was related to the Israeli media I'm not even sure that the families were informed before that message was related to the Israeli media Pia another major story that's coming out of the Gaza Strip in the last few days is the latest tunnel that was found by the IDF rather and Han Yunus a highly populated area it was extremely complex what more do we know about this tunnel and why it was different from some of the other ones that have been uncovered by the IDF I'm not sure it's that different but the extent of the tunnel network in Han Yunus surprised the IDF and that's why the tunnels are a major asset of Hamas that the IDF wants to dismantle because it says that if the infrastructure which is underground the Gaza Strip is not dismantled Hamas can rebuild itself very quickly so infrastructure is critical for the success of the war against Hamas and as time goes by and the IDF gains experience in discovering tunnels checking the tunnels and also dismantling them that allows the IDF to maybe do it more safely in Han Yunus especially that many other hostages are believed to be held underneath Han Yunus with the political and military leadership of Hamas so they're working very very cautiously and at the same time probably more efficiently with the experience that they gained already we know from IDF messages that there is also fighting underground in certain places but what we know is that hundreds of kilometers have been already dismantled in the northern sector of the Gaza Strip and there are still tunnels in the northern sector of the Gaza Strip so imagine in Han Yunus and in the central sector of the Gaza Strip with the four refugee camps that's also very difficult but maybe the best news that the IDF could project to the Israeli public in its incremental offensive with a very incremental process is the fact that they uncovered in one of the tunnels underneath the El Buraj refugee camp a major factory manufacturing rockets long range rockets that could hit north of the center of the country and that's a very important asset that Hamas has lost and that's why also you hear the Israeli defense minister you have Galan saying that Hamas never imagined that Israel would be in certain places that Hamas thought were unreachable by the IDF Correspondent Pierre Clauch and they're giving us an update there from the south thank you very much for that and now for an update on the north let's go to our correspondent Zach Anders what is the latest that is happening on the ground at the moment we know in the last few hours the IDF has been returning fire and giving a retaliatory strikes to Hezbollah in the southern part of Lebanon following their attacks earlier in the day are you hearing anything on the ground what do you know well hello from Haifa it has been three hours since the last red alarm Hezbollah has claimed nearly four five attacks throughout the day today it does not appear that there has been damage or casualties at least none that's been reported thus far today in southern Lebanon however the IDF says it has struck three different towns in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah infrastructure they say they also claim to have destroyed buildings where Hezbollah was inside at the time as they were conducting these strikes they have not yet seen Hezbollah respond to today's level of strikes and release any more information as to their losses or casualties we do know that the number of Hezbollah at least that Hezbollah's own media channel has announced is standing at over a hundred fifty killed in southern Lebanon and more Hezbollah fighters have been killed in southern Syria although not to the acknowledgement of Hezbollah this however is a tense night for what's happening in Yemen and in the red sea knowing that the connections that binds the Houthis and Hezbollah to Tehran and Iran still have yet to see a significant response or even strong language coming out of Tehran yet in regards to US and UK strikes that are targeting Houthi positions in Yemen to disrupt or halt their continued attacks on shipping in the red sea of course Tehran and Iran heavy hand in what's happening both in Yemen and here in southern Lebanon with the direction and the aid and the weapons that have been supplied to Hezbollah as they continue to fight and fire upon northern Israel Correspondent Zach End is giving us the latest on the ground in the north of the country thank you for that and joining me now is Professor Koby Mikhail a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies and the former deputy director general for the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs good evening to you thanks for joining me now Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that Israel will be handing over medications that will be transferred to the hostages that are being held in Gaza over the next coming days as our correspondent Pierre Clashendla pointed out that has only been confirmed by the Israeli side the other parts or partners to this deal would be Catay in Egypt who have not confirmed anything as of yet is that because this is only Israel's sort of part of the deal it doesn't necessarily benefit the Qataris the Egyptians or the Gazans for that matter but simply the Israeli hostages they are exactly the calculations of Prime Minister Netanyahu in this regard but I assume that it was very well calculated before announcing announcing it publicly and I assume that it was it wouldn't have been announced if it was not deeply rooted to the reality because it might be a huge mistake mainly vis-à-vis the families of the hostages and I assume that this is part of the diplomatic game that takes place here between the Egyptians the Qatarians, the Americans and the Israelis and at the end of the day I assume that this medical assistance will reach to the hostages and I hope that this is a sort of a beginning of something which is much bigger than that It's an awful question to ask but it does beg the question how Israel and the IDF for that matter knows the conditions of the hostages given that the Red Cross hasn't been in to see them and there's very little known about their whereabouts some of the hostages aren't even being held captive by Hamas but Palestinian, Islamic jihad other terror factions and smaller fraction groups but also some citizens affiliated with some of these groups as well is it not likely how is this information being passed that there's certain medications that need to enter the strip? First of all I think that our working assumption should be that we don't have the full details or intelligence about their medical situation but I assume in the very same time that at least some details were transferred by Hamas to the mediators and the families of the hostages are pretty familiar with their medical condition and their medical needs and when we say that the Red Cross will be involved in that it doesn't mean that the Red Cross will necessarily meet them in person it means that the Red Cross will take the medical assistance and will transfer it to Hamas by some mediators on the ground it doesn't mean that the Red Cross will meet in person the hostages themselves the situation is pretty complicated and we have to assume that we don't have the full picture about the situation of the hostages but I think that Israel does the atmost efforts in order to accumulate more or together more and more information about their situation and as I said before I hope that this is the first beginning of something which is much more than the medical assistance Professor stay with me because I do want your analysis on another topic but in the meantime while the battle continues on the ground it's also continued today in the courtroom this is Israel finally took to the ICJ podium to defend itself against South Africa's accusation that the Jewish state is perpetrating deliberate genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip Israel's foreign affairs legal advisor Tel Beka opened the three hour hearing this morning arguing that if there was anyone committing genocidal attacks in the region it was and is Hamas the Israeli legal team also reminded the court that war is messy but that Israel was fully committed to complying with the rules of law arguing it even strives to do so in the face of Hamas's utter contempt for the law take a listen this case concerns a large scale armed conflict with tragic consequences for civilians on both sides yes there is a heart-reaching armed conflict but the attempt to classify it as genocide and trigger provisional measures is not just unfounded in law it has far-reaching and negative implications that extend well beyond the case before you ultimately entertaining the applicant's request will not strengthen the commitment to prevent and punish genocide but weaken it it will turn an instrument adopted by the international community to prevent horrors of the kind that shocked the conscious of humanity during the holocaust into a weapon in the hands of terrorist groups who have no regard for humanity or for the law well let's go now live to the Hague I-24 news contributor Alex Kadier is standing by for us Alex the summary of day 2 we've now seen both days wrap up both sides presenting their case what is the latest well today was very much about Israel defending itself in court making its case against these accusations by South Africa of genocidal acts and the crux of that argument was really an accusation in and of itself by Israel accusing South Africa of ignoring or at least not taking sufficient account of Hamas's actions on the 7th saying that they prove those actions described as atrocities by the Israeli legal team prove Israel's right to self-defense and that was the crux of that argument accusing South Africa of being complicit in those by ignoring them in this court action that was the position from the Israeli side the response or at least certainly an argument that was mentioned yesterday by the South African team by the Justice Minister Ronald Lamola was that actually his argument South Africa's argument says no matter the nature of the attack no matter the nature of the crimes committed by Hamas including atrocity crimes he said it would not justify breaching the genocide convention that is why South Africa brought this action but certainly a tense day here at the International Court of Justice certainly a strong robust defense by Israel against these accusations now we wait it'll be a matter of weeks before we hear a response from the court on those preliminary measures possibly ordering Israel to stop all military action in Gaza so Alex we are now waiting for some kind of decision to be made by the court if the decision is binding does Israel actually have to abide by it explain a little bit to us about the laws of the ICJ yeah absolutely an ICJ decision on these preliminary measures effectively saying to Israel you have to stop all military action in Gaza until a verdict is reached now bear in mind that verdict could take years to come that is legally binding but the enforcement is down to the UN Security Council and there all eyes will be of course on the United States and their power of veto whether or not they choose to block any enforcement action let me give you a parallel example certainly of one example where the ICJ ruled that Russia had to stop all military action in Ukraine we know that that decision was broadly ignored by Russia so these orders are legally binding but they are only enforceable by the UN Security Council including the United States decides to enforce them I-24 News contributor Alex Kazier joining us from the Hague thank you so very much for that update and joining me now from Jerusalem to continue this conversation is Professor Robbie Sable a professor of international law at Hebrew University of Jerusalem's faculty of law good evening to you good evening it's interesting that today was Israel's day to take the stand three hour long arguments being made for Israel's case but South Africa also had the final word after Israel spoke speaking about the fact that the legal hearing today bore no claims whatsoever take a listen the state of Israel today has failed to disprove South Africa's compelling case that was presented before the court yesterday we stand by the fact the law and all the evidence we have submitted yesterday and we believe and stand very confident that those facts the law still are in violation of the genocide convention Professor do you believe that Israel served its interest in participating in the proceedings or should it have rather void kind of them as many critics have suggested certainly I think it was we proved that we have a case and it was made very well and by the way South Africa didn't have a last word they spoke not in the court we have the last word which was an advantage although we had no time to prepare as South Africa did but the last word in the court was ours and I think the very precise and correct and legal arguments raised by Israel would have some effect not on the judge from Lebanon but on the court there are impartial judges from democratic states and I believe that it will have some influence on them and I'm beginning for the first time to be slightly optimistic there won't be a call for immediate ceasefire because it will be absolutely absurd to call on Israel to stop fighting while Hamas is still firing rockets and holding hostages it will be so patently unfair that I hope the court will not try and reach such a decision in your view was it better or worse that Israel spoke after South Africa presented its case is there reason to be somewhat satisfied how did the Israeli team perform at the egg I think it was an advantage again the South Africans had the advantage they had many many weeks to prepare we didn't but the fact that we answered and they had no opportunity to answer us back I think is certainly a legal advantage the most damning evidence that South Africa had on Israel was some of the rhetoric from the incumbent government's far-right ministers lawyers often instruct their clients not to say anything that will incriminate them do you think that this will actually force Netanyahu now to reign in some of his cabinet ministers and a lot of the narrative in which they are spewing out has a very strange coalition but I think the point was made very clearly by Professor Shaw and by others this was not government policy South Africa didn't manage to provide any evidence because there is none but the government policy was as the rhetoric of these extreme right-wing politicians so clearly Israel's democracy people can express their views including members of the coalition what decides at this point was made clearly by Professor Shaw is government policy decisions of the security cabinet and South Africa had nothing to say on this because there was nothing to say. Professor Robby Sable thank you so very much for your time and your analysis this evening thank you now in a breaking news update there is a gunfight currently occurring in the village of Adora in the West Bank I'd like to still go now to Kobe Michael Professor who is still with us what is the latest at the moment that is happening in the West Bank is it likely that the warnings that were given just a few days ago that the West Bank could be on the verge of a total eruption in terms of violence is likely coming to the very forefront the West Bank has already erupted I mean we are in a total war in the West Bank since March 22 this war was intensified because of October 7 and because of the Palestinian Authority weakness and unwillingness to operate against the terror factions in the Palestinian cities in the Palestinian Authority and fortunately we have very good intelligence and we have a very solid presence there and therefore we are able to enter the cities and the refugee camps in order to arrest the terrorists or to kill them and to dismantle all the infrastructures and laboratories there and to go out but we see that the terror is more intensified there and we see that it is not only in Jenin area it is also in Tulkarem area and in Hebron area and it looks that we will have to continue tackling this challenge and I think that this is part of the multi-front war that Israel is engaged in mainly after October 7 Professor the IDF is currently engaged in an offensive in the Gaza Strip we know that they are also operating on the border between Hezbollah in southern Lebanon this is dealing with an enemy that is outside of Israel's borders which is obviously much harder to combat but there is also a significant challenge in and of itself that there are a fortune of Palestinians in the West Bank that have been arrested with either some kind of close affiliation to Hamas, to ISIS this is within Israel's borders and are they prepared to be able to do so? Does this change the projection of the break the wave operation that we had prior to the October 7 massacre and obviously subsequent war? No, I think that the IDF does a very good job in the West Bank by the way as well as a very good job in the Gaza Strip as well but I think that we are succeeding in the West Bank to prevent terrorism and to throw many terror attacks that were prepared and planned but this is as I said before a war of terrorism or a very well organized terror campaign which is heavily supported by Iran and Hezbollah and unfortunately after years of neglecting the refugee camps and some other places in the Palestinian authority by the Palestinian security apparatuses we find that these hornet nests in many cities and many refugee camps and now we have to dismantle them and I think that we are very successful in How is one able to dismantle them for a lot of the viewers that don't really understand the workings the intricate workings of the Israeli security apparatus is a lot of this done with the aid of the Shin Bet and I'll just advise our audience that the reports coming out now of that shootout in the West Bank and the village of Adora is saying that there was at least one terrorist and two injured it's not clear exactly who those two injured are but professor explain a little bit about the security apparatus and the workings of finding and arresting some of these people generally speaking we have a very good intelligence about the Palestinian terrorist groups or factions or organizations in the West Bank and even further that about the Palestinians generally speaking and we have a very good experience of translating this intelligence to operations and the forces there are very experienced in this regard and we have a very good control over the territory because we are there and therefore I think that we are succeeding in working these threats and the idea that they have a very big quantities of weapons and they are very motivated to terrorize Israel from these territories and they are supported by the Iranians and all of these aspects that are not succeeding so well but from time to time and it looks that it will continue until we will reach to a very significant achievement in the Gaza Strip and this will I assume will come the situation in the West Bank as well Professor Kobe Michal thank you so very much for your analysis tune in again at the top of the hour we'll have more updates on the 98th day of the war we'll have more updates on their breaking news developments out of the West Bank stay tuned if the plastic particles breaks up it does not stop at the micron size it can actually go even smaller so once the size goes below one micron people call it nano plastics because now its size is in the nano range these tusks belong to elephants they shoot their most beautiful on the elephants and we should leave them on the elephant every tusk you see today represents an animal that has been killed in the last 24 news news 24 news 24 news reports suggest that when the salient was neutralized at the scene the IDF home front command meanwhile has ordered residents of the community to remain in their homes as well as lock their doors and windows until further notice back to the war today marks day 98 here are the latest developments on the ground in Israel on the northern front two anti-tank missiles were recently fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel the IDF is now retaliating and returning fire Red alert sirens went off across the western galley late this Friday afternoon after nearly a 24 hour respite in the south fighting continues in the Gaza Strip as the IDF continues to push further south in the enclave earlier today the IDF announced that the Israeli air force together with troops operating on the ground have destroyed more than 700 Hamas rocket launchers since the beginning of its offensive operation that would be consistent with the significant drop in the rate of rocket fire that has been targeted from the Gaza Strip toward Israel in recent weeks those strikes apart from damaging Hamas infrastructure have also eliminated dozens of terrorists including leaders of Hamas' Nukhba forces well for more on the situation on the ground let's go now to our Zach Anders who is standing by for us in the north what has happened since the IDF has been retaliating to some of the infiltrations from southern Lebanon has anything been new in the past hour or is it more of the same well I could certainly start by giving you a weather report as to what's changed is really coming down here in the north it has not been a change though to the last update which was a red alert about three hours ago and Hezbollah claiming responsibility for five attacks no apparent casualties no extensive damage from these attacks they do again appear to be ATGM launches the anti-tank guided missiles they're launched by Hezbollah on the ground from positions that have a line of sight into northern Israel these are pieces of equipment that Israel is used to they were used in the 2006 war the missiles however are new and updated provided by Iran these have arranged traditionally of about 7 miles but we have detected in the last few weeks that some of these ATGM launches appear to have originated farther inside southern Lebanon and reached deeper inside northern Israel suggesting a longer range of up to 10 miles which a lot of this evacuation notice the buffer that was created on the onset of three kilometers from the border here was designed to create some space for those ATGM launches because they're the only weapon that would not be able to provide a red alert for however these ATGMs appear to have been able to go even farther past this buffer past this evacuation zone on the border here suggesting that perhaps these new missiles that Iran has been supplying has a longer range this is what we're hearing from the IDF as well as some of the people that live here in the north and have been reporting to the northern council their fears as they are outside this evacuation zone but again continue to be under threat regardless but again the recap of today's events five Hezbollah attacks they've claimed responsibility for no casualties here in the north the IDF striking at least three towns in southern Lebanon from the air and with artillery we're hearing at these Hezbollah positions as it's destroyed another set of Hezbollah posts we'll wait and see from Hezbollah if there was any casualties as they often report their own losses and obviously those attacks happening earlier in the afternoon I suppose some positive news Zach that the rain is what's coming down and not drones stay safe out there and thank you for the latest update and joining me now from Ranana in central Israel is Premier General Hanan Geffen former commander of the elite IDF 8200 intelligence good evening to you firstly in the last few days the Shin Bet directly warned the Prime Minister over the volatile situation in the West Bank are we seeing it now go from volatile to an actual outburst of violence and is the IDF able to contain it while fighting on other fronts I do want to just point out to our viewers that the latest update is that we have actually been neutralized on the scene the IDF is now scanning every house for more the situation in the West Bank is actually from the start of this war is regarded by Israel as something that should be built differently that was built in the past years because there are some strongholds of Hamas in the West Bank called by the leaders of Hamas in Gaza to rise to attack Israeli villages on the same model that Hamas did in the villages around Gaza St so we see now most of the these strongholds are daily or lightly rather been attacked thousands of their operatives the leaders political and military are in jail and trying to keep these guys as low profile as possible and this is what actually happening the case right now that was reported around the federal is not outstanding we see this kind of local initiative here and there but in general I would say the situation in the West Bank is kept at bay and moving from the West Bank obviously to the main front of this war in the Gaza Strip what do you make of the news out of the prime minister's office this evening that Israel will hand over medications to be transferred to the hostages being held in Gaza over the coming days the families of some of these hostages are pretty skeptical are you yeah I joined them I'm skeptical even more I would say it's a cynical move not by Hamas because I don't believe Hamas is even able Hamas is not it is a move by the Qataris by the Israelis we are consumed by the hopes that something good will come out of it but my experience with these kind of guides for dozens of years they are cynical they do not regard these kinds of for humanitarian efforts I would say they are rather interested in their hostages prisoners in the Israeli prisons than anything of children or elderly one who needs medicine so I think I believe it's the only thing the only thing that might influence them is the continuous pressure bring them they are now crying for ceasefire from all of the reaction from the Hezbollah to Iran to the Houthis to every government that support them the South African of course crying for stop the ceasefire and this is exactly the opposite what Israel should do and then we will see maybe we'll see some activities that will be really realized and not the cynical kind of this kind playing with the emotions of the people I'm sorry I'm disrupting the happiness of the hopes I don't believe that this is a real thing Well nothing is for nothing part of a deal orchestrated by Qatar what are the Palestinians or Hamasah should say in the Gaza Strip get out of it I don't see what because the food supply is there the medicine is already on the way and this kind of thing do not matter to the Hamasah leaders really they are cool and do nothing to the 2 million people that are living in host in tents now because keeping them safe area in this kind of world this is not something that move this guys they are too cynical and we again are doing the same mistake that a sub society a democratic society do when it faces such a terrible very cruel organization it's hard to believe that the negotiations were anything but complex given Hamasah doesn't even know where some of the hostages are being held how do they plan on getting medicine to them and since no one not even the Red Cross knows the conditions that they're in how can it be sure that medicine is even needed for some of them no water, food, adequate sunlight surely they need actual medical attention I tell you what will happen they will take one or two hostages that they can reach easily and we get a picture of one hostages getting and saying what they did in the worst case saying nothing in the best case and that's what we create here in Israel and Qatar will write a victory on their boots but that's not a real thing I don't believe it's a game we play with ourselves not with the Hamas Hamas is not part of this game I'm sorry again I saw it to see these families of the children and elders crying and demanding the help and on the other side nobody will listen and on stay with me I do want to get your analysis on more angles of this war but while the battle continues on the ground it also continued today in the courtroom this is Israel finally took to the ICJ podium to defend itself against South Africa's accusation that the Jewish state is perpetrating deliberate genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip Israel's foreign affairs legal advisor Talbeka opened the three hour hearing Friday morning arguing that if there was anyone committing genocide attacks in the region it was and is Hamas the Israeli legal team also reminded the court that war is messy but that Israel was fully committed to complying with the rules of law arguing it even strives to do so in the face of Hamas's utter contempt for the law take a listen this case concerns a large scale armed conflict with tragic consequences for civilians on both sides yes there is a heart-reaching armed conflict but the attempt to classify it as genocide and trigger provisional measures is not just unfounded in law it has far-reaching and negative implications that extend well beyond the case before you ultimately entertaining the applicants request will not strengthen the commitment to prevent and punish genocide but weaken it it will turn an instrument adopted by the international community to prevent horrors of the kind that shocked the conscious of humanity during the holocaust into a weapon in the hands of terrorist groups who have no regard for humanity or for the law and joining me now for more analysis on this from Berlin is journalist and political analyst James Jackson thank you so much for taking the time this evening my pleasure Germany says it will intervene in the ICJ case on Israel's behalf blasting the genocide claim Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just phoned German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and thanked him for Germany's decision but why was this the case what does Germany have to get out of it Germany argues that because of their in view of their history committing the holocaust as well as you know which was one of the reasons why the Jewish state came to exist they argue that they have a special duty towards security of Israel which they have has been referred to as the start the reason for the existence of their state even going so far although some would also argue that that's just a political statement without much basis on in the constitution so Germany has long been a supporter of Israel and perhaps their support has gone further than that of many other western nations I think actually one thing I've argued on your channel before is that Germany has offered a lot of supportive words of Israel and particularly offered a lot of control of this freedom of speech at home but I'd say this is actually a time where Germany is standing up internationally for Israel because of course in the past Germany hasn't voted against the ceasefire cause votes in the UN they voted to abstain alongside other countries like the UN like the UK and unlike countries like neighbouring Austria which has always voted against a ceasefire so I think Germany's taking what you might consider its diplomatic might and even its moral high ground as the country which kind of rose from the ashes of Nazi Germany is also going to be a very controversial decision because as the German government says we know that different countries assess Israel's operation in Gaza differently so Germany has actually already received a lot of criticism for its backing of Israel and particularly for its censoring of pro-Palestinian voices at home in fact I'm not sure if you saw this but there's even been a strike Germany campaign so almost like a BDS campaign against Germany particularly focused on the cultural institutions and that was actually backed by Anne Ernau who's the French noble laureate for literature so I think this move will go down very well in Israel and I'm sure many Israelis will feel supported by Germany but it's going to continue to be controversial and perhaps rub some feathers the wrong way especially because Germany is actually already a third party in another court case which was brought by Gambia for the crime of genocide which was brought by Gambia against Myanmar so Germany is actually intervening to support the prosecution of genocide against Myanmar but then to oppose it in the case of Israel and of course the German government would argue they're on the side of the facts and the Hamas are the ones on the side here which Vice Chancellor Robert Harbeck said to cameras today we've spoken a lot about obviously the politics and the government but let's talk a little bit about the people on the ground what is the mood in Europe regarding the case among its society the atmosphere in the country is involved is quite clear but how do people there feel about it usually the world doesn't care much for conflicts not involving them the catch 22 is they appear to prick up only when they're involved so I'm going to disagree with you there because that may have been the case in the past but I think what we've seen since Russia's war on Ukraine the full-scale invasion we've seen a large amount of solidarity across Europe for refugees and also for and I've reported very widely on the Ukrainian refugees and I'm actually working on a documentary for the BBC about the efforts to prosecute Russia for war crimes and genocide and I think actually people do care but people are very divided on this question now Germany might particularly the government but also the population is more pro-Israel than many other comparable nations in Western Europe I think in Eastern Europe you might see more of a pro-Israel more of a staunchly pro-Israel stance but within Germany and particularly countries like France and the UK the populations are divided as to whether they think Israel is going too far in its war game in its war goals against mass of course when you look at the figures from the Gaza Health Authority which is controlled by Hamas the numbers of dead civilians are very high and so many people, protesters are questioning you know is Israel doing all it can do to limit civilian casualties and I think what we're going to see is also going to be crucial at the side crime trial what is Israel's intention here I think it's relatively interesting the latest update that has come out at least in the past hour with the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rejecting the premise of the International Court of Justice proceeding to determine whether Israel is in fact perpetrating a genocide in Gaza Trudeau has not been very outspoken at all or to say anything of the least pro-Israel in his stance and there's also been unprecedented and unparalleled increases of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionist rhetoric all throughout Canada so this is relatively surprising and perhaps goes to your point of view disagreeing with what I said earlier that perhaps the world is actually taking an interesting conflict that don't necessarily involve them I think so and I think this is why it's interesting to have the ICJ involved in this because we're hearing people making a legal case and it's not just people like you and me talking heads on TV we're hearing legal arguments and you know genocide is the crime of crimes it's very very hard to prosecute and actually nation states I just did an interview not long ago with Dirk Moses the editor of the genocide journal and nation states actually don't really like the crime of genocide being prosecuted because that's international law and international law takes away power from states and so it's always been controversial and if you look at how many genocides have actually been ruled to have happened it's only two since the Second World War so it's very hard to prove particularly because of this emphasis on intent and of course a lot of people do question if it is a waste of time and whether we should be focusing on questions of individual war crimes that were committed rather than this big question of is it genocide James Jackson journalist and political analyst joining me from Berlin thank you so very much for both your time as well as your analysis thank you meanwhile the situation in the red sea seems to be escalating maritime incident was recently reported of the southeast coast of Yemen early Friday evening by the United Kingdom's maritime trade operations this after the Iranian maritime duty rebels pledged to continue its attacks on ships in the area and its support for Hamas in the Gaza Strip their threat coming following overnight western military strikes by air and sea that targeted 16 Houthi positions including command centers, munition depots and air defense systems US President Joe Biden says that the action will protect the free flow of international commerce that has been disrupted amid the latest Houthi attacks British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak added that strikes were limited necessary and a proportionate action our aim is very clear it's to de-escalate tensions and to restore stability to the region that's why allies over the past few weeks have issued several statements of condemnation of what's happening calling on the Houthis to desist indeed just this week we've seen a UN Security Council resolution condemning what's happening and saying that states have a right to self defense it's incumbent now on the Houthis to stop carrying out these attacks putting people's lives at risk and disrupting the global economy we're still waiting ever so patiently from Ranana in Central Israel is reserve Brigadier General Hanan Geffen Hanan I'd like to ask you specifically about the Houthis because this does appear to be a front that is picking up that is relatively far from within Israel's borders being the West Bank and also on Israel's direct borders being Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon and Gaza of which the IDF is currently involved in an incursion to try and drive out Hamas how do the Houthis sort of weigh in here in terms of the threat that they pose on Israel we've seen the international community getting involved because obviously there's a massive threat to international shipping but just how much of a threat are these attacks actually having on Israel itself well they started with an encouragement of Iran again part of the fronts of the Iranian access that they built Hezbollah Iraqis, Syrian some Syrian pro-Iranis and the Houthis to help Hamas we started with one or two missiles forward to Iran turn out to be a war international coalition against the Houthis and Iran which actually Israel the country is out not the commercial and the international commerce now this is a I don't believe that they saw that this will be the outcome they saw they didn't believe that such a coalition will come out that's a huge miscalculation because this is an international waterway so I have the commerce they try to differentiate Israel out of the others making a lot of mistakes on the way so certainly given what they would call innocent ships this is one on the other hand I would say that they are facing this multinational coalition which as the British prime minister said they are acting in self-defense and what is the main to see as the situation escalates what other measures this coalition will take in the meantime Israel is staying on the sidelines apart from the commercial difficulties Israel is not the Houthis any more than it was in the first day and it turned to be a front with its own merits the front of the Houthis and the Red Sea former commander of the elite IDF 8200 intelligence units reserve Brigadier General Hanan Geffen thank you so much for joining me this evening and I'd like to end the broadcast by crossing to our correspondent Pierre Clashendor who is standing by for us on the Israel-Gaza border Pierre updates in the last couple of minutes sirens ringing out in Ashdod as well as areas among the Gaza border communities the first rocket sirens in 34 hours and a surprise twist that reports indicate it may have been by Palestinian Islamic jihad right I mean the fact that it was at 9 p.m. is maybe a hint that it's from Palestinian Islamic jihad because one of their military leaders in 2019 was killed at 9 o'clock in an airstrike at the time so it could be very possible that the timers of the rocket launches were scheduled for 9 o'clock and that would be the indication that it's Palestinian Islamic jihad but there was a lull of 27 hours on the whole Israeli territory from rocket launches emanating from the Gaza Strip that's the first time that there's been such a long lull in rocket fire which shows that's the ground offensive and the dismounting of Hamas infrastructure is working now there were two salvos one in Ashdod three interception we just saw them because we're near Ashdod now and there was a second salvo on the communities of Al-Mim Sa'ad which are in the vicinity of the Gaza Strip a few kilometers away from the Gaza Strip if here the residents have about a minute to seek shelter from rocket fire in the communities around the Gaza Strip they have probably 10 seconds not more than that so you can imagine the stress when you live in those communities but they've been mostly evacuated after October 7th massacres absolutely which is also why at this hour there are no reports of any casualties or injuries at least Correspondent Pierre Clushenlow who's been standing by for us all evening on the Israel Gaza border giving us the latest updates thank you very much for that well that does bring us to the end of this breaking news edition but stay tuned because we have one more coming up at the top of the hour for anything you miss make sure to check out our website at i24news.tv you can see that right there on your screen otherwise we'll see you again at the top of the hour for more updates right here in studio thanks for watching 100 days since the trauma that rocked Israel more than 1200 dead more than 5,000 wounded over 160,000 displaced join i24news for our special coverage on January 14 marking 100 days since the massacre of October 7th follow us on the border with Gaza for first-hand accounts of eyewitnesses survivors and fighters 100 days of war January 14th 9 p.m. local only 24 news news edition I'm back to 11th all coming tonight from Tel Aviv thanks for joining me this hour out of the west bank medicine security forces responded to reports of a shooting attack near the southern village of Adora again David I don't ambulance services that it had received a call of one wounded at the scene but that the victim was conscious reports suggest that one of Salem was neutralized at the scene the IDF home front command meanwhile ordered residents of the community to remain in their homes as well as lock their doors and windows until further notice back to the war today marks day 98 here are the latest developments on the ground in Israel on the northern front two anti-tank missiles were recently fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel there were no casualties reported but the IDF is now retaliating and returning fire Red alert sirens went off across the eastern galley late this Friday afternoon after nearly a 24-hour respite in the south fighting continues in the Gaza Strip as the IDF continues to push further south in the enclave earlier today the IDF announced that the Israeli air force together with troops operating on the ground have destroyed more than 700 Hamas rocket launches since the beginning of its offensive operation that would be consistent with the significant drop in the rate of rocket fire that has been targeted from the Gaza Strip toward Israel in recent weeks those strikes apart from damaging Hamas infrastructure have also eliminated dozens of terrorists including leaders of Hamas' Nukhba forces well for more on the situation on the ground let's go now to our Zach Anders who is standing by for us in the north Zach not too much has happened since the IDF has been retaliating to some of the infiltrations from southern Lebanon has anything been new in the past hour or is it more of the same well I can certainly start by giving you a weather report as to what's changed it is really coming down here in the north it has not been a change though to the last update which was a red alert about three hours ago and Hezbollah claiming responsibility for five attacks no apparent casualties no extensive damage from these attacks they do again appear to be ATGM launches the anti-tank guided missiles they're launched by Hezbollah on the ground from positions that have a line of sight into northern Israel these are pieces of equipment that Israel is used to they were used in the 2006 war the missiles however are new and updated provided by Iran these have a range traditionally of about seven miles but we have detected in the last few weeks that some of these ATGM launches appear to have originated farther inside southern Lebanon and reached deeper inside northern Israel suggesting a longer range of up to 10 miles which a lot of this evacuation notice the buffer that was created on the onset of three kilometers from the border here was designed to create some space for those ATGM launches because they're the only weapon that would not be able to provide a red alert for however these ATGMs appear to have been able to go even farther past this buffer past this evacuation zone on the border here suggesting that perhaps these new missiles that Iran has been supplying has a longer range this is what we're hearing from the IDF as well as some of the people that live here in the north and have been reporting to the northern council their fears as they are outside this evacuation zone but again continue to be under threat regardless but again the recap of today's events five Hezbollah attacks they've claimed responsibility for no casualties here in the north the IDF striking at least three towns in southern Lebanon from the air and with artillery we're hearing at these Hezbollah positions the IDF says it's destroyed another set of Hezbollah posts will wait and see from Hezbollah if there was any casualties as they often report their own losses and obviously those attacks happening earlier in the afternoon I suppose some positive news Zach that the rain is what's coming down and not drones safe out there and thank you for the latest update and joining me now from Ranana in central Israel is Brigadier General Geffen former commander of the elite you know good evening to you firstly in the last few days the Shin Bet directly warned the Prime Minister over the volatile situation in the West Bank are we seeing it now go from volatile to an actual outburst of violence and is the IDF able to contain it while fighting on other fronts I do want to just point out to our viewers that the latest update is that three assailants have actually been neutralized on the scene the IDF is now scanning every house for more and the situation in the West Bank is actually from the start of this war is regarded by Israel as something that should be built differently that was built in the past years because there are some strongholds of Hamas in the West Bank called by the people of the leaders of Hamas in Gaza to rise to attack Israeli villages on the same model that Hamas did in the villages around Gaza Street so we see now most of the these strongholds are daily or likely rather been attacked thousands of their operatives the leaders political and military are in jail and trying to keep these guys at the low profile as possible and this is what's actually happening the case right now that was reported around the federal is it's not outstanding we see this kind of local initiative here and there but in general I would say the situation in the West Bank is kept at bay and moving from the West Bank obviously to the main front of this war in the Gaza Strip what do you make of the news out of the prime minister's office this evening that Israel will hand over medications to be transferred to the hostages being held in Gaza over the coming days the families of some of these hostages are pretty skeptical are you yeah I joined them a little more I would say it's a cynical move not by Hamas because I don't believe Hamas is even able Hamas is not it is a move by the Qataris by the Israelis we are consumed by the hopes that something good will come out my experience with which is kind of going for thousands of years they are cynical they do not regard these kinds of of a fortune I would say they are rather interested in their hostages prisoners in the Israeli prisons than anything of a children or elderly one who needs a medicine so I think I believe it the only thing the only thing that might influence them is the continuous pressure breakgaming which we are now crying for ceasefire from all of the reaction from the Hezbollah to Iran to the Houthis to every government that support them South Africa of course crying for stop the ceasefire this is exactly the opposite what Israel should do and then we will see maybe we will see some activities that will be really realized and not a cynical kind of this kind playing with the emotions I am sorry I am disrupting the happiness of the host I don't believe that this is a real thing well nothing is for nothing part of a deal orchestrated by Qatar what are the Palestinians or Hamasas should say in the Gaza Strip get out of it I don't see one because the food supply is there the medicine is already on the way and that doesn't this kind of thing do not matter to the Hamasas leaders they are very cool and do nothing to the 2 million people that are living in host in tents now because keeping them safe area in this kind of world this is not something that move this guys are too cynical and we again are doing the same a mistake that a civil society do when it faces such a terrible, very cruel organization it's hard to believe that the negotiations were anything but complex given Hamasas doesn't even know where some of the hostages are being held how do they plan on getting medicine to them and since no one, not even the Red Cross knows the conditions that they're in how can it be sure that medicine is even needed for some of them no water, food, adequate sunlight do you think they need actual medical attention? I tell you what will happen they will take one or two hostages that they can reach easily and we get a picture of one hostages getting and saying what they dictate in the worst case or say nothing in the best case and that's what they will create here in Israel a move and Qatar will write a victory on their boots but that's not a weird thing I don't believe it's a game we play with ourselves not with the Hamas, Hamas is not part of this game I'm sorry again I saw to see these parameters of the children elders crying and demanding the help and on the other side nobody will listen and stay with me I do want to get your analysis on more angles of this war but while the battle continues on the ground it also continued today in the courtroom this is Israel finally took to the ICJ podium to defend itself against South Africa's accusation that the Jewish state is perpetrating deliberate genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip Israel's foreign affairs legal advisor Talbekah opened the three hour hearing Friday morning arguing that if there was anyone committing genocide attacks in the region it was and is Hamas the Israeli legal team also reminded the court that war is messy but that Israel was fully committed to complying with the rules of law arguing it even strives to do so in the face of Hamas's utter contempt for the law take a listen this case concerns a large-scale armed conflict with tragic consequences for civilians on both sides yes there is a heart-wrenching armed conflict but the attempt to classify it as genocide and trigger provisional measures is not just unfounded in law it has far-reaching and negative implications that extend well beyond the case before you ultimately entertaining the applicant's request will not strengthen the commitment to prevent and punish genocide but weaken it it will turn an instrument adopted by the international community to prevent horrors of the kind that shocked the conscious of humanity during the holocaust into a weapon in the hands of terrorist groups who have no regard for humanity or for the law and joining me now for more analysis on this from Berlin is journalist and political analyst James Jackson thank you so much for taking the time to be with me here this evening my pleasure firstly Germany says it will intervene in the ICJ case on Israel's behalf of blasting the genocide claim Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just phoned German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and thanked him for Germany's decision but why was this the case what does Germany have to get out of it so Germany argues that because of their in view of their history committing the holocaust as well as which was one of the reasons why the Jewish state came to exist they argue that they have a special duty towards security of Israel which they have been referred to as the start the reason for the existence of their state even going so far although some would also argue that that's just a political statement without much basis on in the constitution so Germany has long been a supporter of Israel and perhaps their support has gone further than that of many other western nations I think actually one thing I've argued on your channel before is that Germany has offered a lot of supportive words of Israel and particularly offered a lot of control of this freedom of speech at home but I'd say this is actually a time where Germany is standing up internationally for Israel because of course in the past Germany hasn't voted against the ceasefire calls votes in the UN they voted to abstain alongside other countries like the UN UK and unlike countries like neighbouring Austria which has always voted against the ceasefire so I think Germany is taking what you might consider its diplomatic might and even its moral high ground as the country which kind of rose from the ashes of Nazi Germany but then it's also going to be a very controversial decision because as the German government says we know that different countries assess Israel's operation in Gaza differently so Germany has actually already received a lot of criticism for its backing of Israel and particularly for its censoring of pro-Palestinian voices at home in fact I'm not sure if you saw if your viewers saw this but there's even been a strike Germany campaign so almost like a BDS campaign against Germany particularly focused on the cultural institutions and that was actually backed by Erno who's the French noble laureate for literature so I think this move will go down very well in Israel and I'm sure many Israelis will feel supported by Germany but it's going to continue to be controversial and perhaps rubs and feathers the wrong way especially because Germany is actually already a third party in another court case which was brought by Gambia for the crime of genocide which was brought by Gambia against Myanmar so Germany is actually intervening to support the crime, the prosecution of genocide against Myanmar but then to oppose it in the case of Israel now of course the German government would argue they're on the side of the facts and the Hamas are the ones committing genocide here which Vice-Chance Robert Harbeck said to cameras today. We've spoken a lot about obviously politics in the government but let's talk a little bit about the people on the ground what is the mood in Europe regarding the case among its society? The atmosphere in the country is involved is quite clear but how do people there feel about it usually the world doesn't care much for conflicts not involving them the catch 22 is they appear to prick up only when Israel the Palestinians are involved. So I'm going to disagree with you there because that may have been the case in the past but we've seen since Russia's war on Ukraine the full scale invasion we've seen a large amount of solidarity across Europe for refugees and also for I've reported very widely on the Ukrainian refugees and I'm actually working on a documentary for the BBC about the efforts to prosecute Russia for war crimes and genocide and I think actually people do care but people are very divided on this question. Now Germany might particularly look at the government but also the population is more pro-Israel than many other comparable nations in Western Europe I think in Eastern Europe you might see more of a pro-Israel more of a staunchly pro-Israel stance but within Germany and particularly countries like France and the UK the populations are divided as to whether they think they think Israel is going too far in its war game in its war goals against mass of course when you look at the figures from the self authority which is controlled by Hamas the numbers of dead civilians are very high and so many people, protesters are questioning is Israel doing all it can do to limit civilian casualties and I think what we're going to see is also going to be crucial at the genocide trial what is Israel's intention here? I think it's relatively interesting the latest update has come out at least in the past hour with the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rejecting the premise of the International Court of Justice proceeding to determine whether Israel is in fact perpetrating a genocide in Gaza Trudeau has not been very outspoken at all or to say anything of the least pro-Israel in his stance and there's also been unprecedented and unparalleled increases of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionist rhetoric all throughout Canada so this is relatively surprising and perhaps goes to your point of view disagreeing with what I said earlier that perhaps the world is actually taking in interesting conflicts that don't necessarily involve them I think so and I think this is why it's interesting to have the ICJ involved in this because we're hearing people making a legal case and it's not just people like you and me talking heads on TV we're hearing legal arguments and you know genocide is the crime of crimes it's very very hard to prosecute and actually nation states I just did an interview not long ago with Dirk Moses the editor of the Genocide Journal and nation states actually don't really like the crime of genocide being prosecuted because that's international law and international law takes away power from states and so it's always been controversial and if you look at how many genocides have actually been ruled to have happened it's only two since the Second World War so it's very hard to prove particularly because of this emphasis on intent and of course a lot of people do question if it is a waste of time and whether we should be focusing on questions of individual war crimes that were committed rather than this big question of is it genocide James Jackson journalist and political analyst joining me from Berlin thank you so very much for both your time as well as your analysis thank you meanwhile the situation in the red sea seems to be escalating maritime incident was recently reported of the southeast coast of Yemen early Friday evening by the United Kingdom's maritime trade operations this after the Iranian Bank Tutti rebels pledged to continue its attacks on ships in the area and its support for Hamas in the Gaza Strip following overnight western military strikes by air and sea that targeted 16 Houthi positions including command centers, munition depots and air defense systems US President Joe Biden says that the action will protect the free flow of international commerce that has been disrupted amid the latest Houthi attacks British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak added that the strikes were limited necessary and a proportionate action our aim is very clear it's to escalate tensions and to restore stability to the region that's why allies over the past few weeks have issued several statements of condemnation of what's happening calling on the Houthis to desist indeed just this week we've seen a UN Security Council resolution condemning what's happening and saying that states have a right to self defense we have acted in self defense it's incumbent now on the Houthis to stop carrying out these attacks putting people's lives at risk we'll still wait us waiting ever so patiently from Renanah in central Israel is Reserve Brigadier General Hanan Geffen Hanan I'd like to ask you specifically about the Houthis because this does appear to be a front that is picking up that is relatively far from within Israel's borders being the West Bank and also on Israel's direct borders being Hezbollah and southern Lebanon and Gaza of which the IDF is currently involved in an incursion to try to drive out Hamas how do the Houthis sort of weigh in here in terms of the threat that they pose on Israel we've seen the international community getting involved because obviously there's a massive threat to international shipping but just how much of a threat are these attacks actually having on Israel itself well it started as they started with an encouragement of Iran again part of the access that they built Hezbollah Iraqis, Syria and southern Syria and the pro-Iranis and the Houthis to help Hamas we started with one or two missiles forwarded to Iran turn out to be a war international coalition against the Houthis and Iran which actually Israel the country is out not the commercial and the international commerce now this is a I don't believe that they saw that this will be the outcome they saw they didn't believe that such a coalition will come out that's a huge risk calculation because this is an international waterway heavy commerce they try to differentiate Israel out of the others making a lot of mistakes on the way so certainly given what they would call innocent ships this is one on the other hand I would say that they are facing this multinational coalition which as the British Prime Minister said they are acting in self-defense and what is made to see as the situation escalates what other measures this coalition will take in the meantime Israel is staying on the sidelines apart from the commercial difficulties Israel is not suited by the Houthis any more than it was in the first day and it turned to be a front with its own merits the front of the Houthis and the Red Sea former commander of the elite IDF 8200 intelligence units reserve Brigadier General Hanan Geffen thank you so much for joining me this evening and I'd like to end the broadcast by crossing to our correspondent Pierre Clashendot who's standing by for us on the Israel Gaza border Pierre updates in the last couple of minutes sirens ringing out in Ashdod as well as other areas among the Gaza border communities the first rocket sirens in 34 hours and a surprise twist that reports indicates it may have been by Palestinian Islamic jihad right I mean the fact that it was at 9 p.m. is maybe a hint that it's from Palestinian Islamic jihad because one of their military leaders in 2019 was killed at 9 o'clock in an airstrike at the time so it could be very possible that the timers of the rocket launches were scheduled for 9 o'clock and that would be the indication that it's by Palestinian Islamic jihad but there was a lull of 27 hours on the whole Israeli territory from rocket launches emanating from the Gaza Strip that's the first time that there's been such a long lull in rocket fire which shows that the ground offensive and the dismantling of Hamas infrastructure is working now there were two salvos one in Ashdod three interception we just saw them because we're near Ashdod now and there was a second salvo on the communities of Al-Ummim Sa'ad which are in the vicinity of the Gaza Strip a few kilometers away from the Gaza Strip if here the residents have about a minute to six shelter from rocket fire in the communities around the Gaza Strip they have probably 10 seconds not more than that so you can imagine the stress when you live in those communities but they've been mostly evacuated after October 7th massacres absolutely which is also why at this hour there are no reports of any casualties or injuries at least Correspondent Pierre Clushenle who's been standing by for us all evening on the Israel Gaza border giving us the latest updates thank you very much for that well that does bring us to the end of this breaking news edition but stay tuned because we have one more coming up at the top of the hour for anything you missed make sure to check out our website at i24news.tv you can see that right there on your screen otherwise we'll see you again at the top of the hour for more updates right here in studio thanks for watching Luther King's famous 1968 mountain top speech was based on his trip to the promised land well now 55 years later his prophetic words are coming true hundreds of African-American women took a journey of a lifetime to the holy land we'll introduce you to the amazing female spiritual and religious leaders who are infusing new energy into the next generation of African-Americans news 24 if the plastic particles breaks up it does not stop at the micron size it can actually go even smaller so once it decides goes below one micron people call it nano plastics because now it sizes in the nano range these tusks belong to elephants they shoot their most beautiful on the elephants and we should leave them on the elephant every tusk you see today represents an animal that has been killed welcome to another breaking news edition I'm Betty Leventhal coming to you live from Tel Aviv thanks for joining me this hour we start with developing news out of the west bank medics and security forces responded to reports of a shooting attack near the southern village of Adora the Magan Davidadom ambulance service says it received a call of one Israeli moderately wounded at the scene the 34-year-old victim was shot in the leg but was fully conscious reports suggest that three terrorists were neutralized by Israeli security forces Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that the assailants opened fire at troops conducting a patrol in the area it says troops are continuing to scan the village back to the war today marks day 98 here are the latest developments on the ground in Israel on the northern front the IDF responded this evening to two anti-tank missiles that were fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel earlier in the day there were no casualties reported after that incident red alert sirens went off across the western Galilee after nearly a 24-hour lull in Gaza fighting continues in the strip as the IDF continues to push further south into the enclave meanwhile in the past hour incoming rocket alert sirens sounded in Ashtod as well as communities closer to the water with the Gaza Strip marking the first rocket attack in some 34 hours as the area is largely evacuated there were no immediate reports of injuries or damages a statement out of the prime minister's office this evening also claimed that as part of a Qatari broke a deal medication could reach the hostages still being held captive in Gaza well with me here in studios political and international security analyst Martin Hemelmark and good evening to you I'm curious to know what you make of the news coming out of the prime minister's office this evening that Israel will likely hand over medications that will pass through the Gaza Strip not only to the hostages but also to the Palestinians I'm assuming Hamas and Palestinians I mean Jihad they're probably needed as well the families of the hostages though are relatively skeptical saying they require video proof do they have reason to be skeptical of course they have reasons to be skeptical Hamas isn't provided even minimal evidence that these people are even alive and their well-being so think of it this way if you're one of the hostages relatives if you get proof that video proof that one of your relatives got the medicine that's proof that they're alive that's something much bigger than just the medicine for them and I think that that's part of the idea here is whoever gets the medicine proved they got the medicine it proves that they're alive well right now we're running on the hypothetical so assuming that Hamas which already has an entire team started to filming videos a lot of them we saw with the hostages being loaded into vans and then driven into Israel as part of hostage exchange deals that we saw in late November and early December a lot of them were instructed as to what to say and to do obviously we're talking about a terror group that is filming you and probably has a gun to your head is probably threatening your family members some of which are still being held hostage in Gaza how do we know even if the videos of Hamas holding the medication or showing the hostages holding the medication that they're actually getting it they're clearly not a viable source would the families feel somewhat better if the Red Cross who has done absolutely nothing at the moment in terms of aiding the hostages being held in the strip not even knowing where half of them are being held or if they being held by Hamas be any kind of a calming factor to the families would be much better if the Red Cross could give it to the actual hostages but I dealt very much that Hamas would agree to something like that because they don't want the location given away they don't want the Israel to find out where they're actually being held and I'm sure some of it is very complicated that I'm sure they're spread out over different areas so it's not going to be that easy to get the medication to them I think though the fact that there'll be some confirmation they got it will at least be some solace to relatives the hostages that maybe their loved ones really are alive Martin stay with me we've got more to discuss but first I want to get an update from the ground in the north how Zach Anders joins us Zach is it ever going to progress to more than just strikes back and forth not to say that anyone wants another war but surely a final blow needs to occur in order to put an end to the back and forth well if we zoom out here and take a look at what's happening with the strikes in Yemen the U.S. and the U.K. taking very strong position against the Houthis action targeting some 27 vessels that have attempted to transit through the Red Sea this appears to have reached its breaking point the U.S. the U.K. now putting force at least their involvement militarily with these air strikes what kind of message does this send to Tehran and what will Iran's response be with its two primary proxies Hezbollah and the Houthis in the region the Houthis are right now experiencing the results of their aggression Hezbollah on the other hand has with mostly with impunity been operating and firing upon northern Israel and been receiving what analysts could say would be proportional with the IEF responding to these strikes responding to where Hezbollah has been firing from eliminating the commanders that have been giving these orders carrying out these strikes but you're right where does it go from here especially with as many as 80,000 that remained evacuated in northern Lebanon as many as 50,000 have evacuated or left fled northern Lebanon so you've got two massive populations of displaced peoples and a border that continues to simmer with these exchanges with Hezbollah firing not just rockets but with personnel on the ground we've noted five Hezbollah attacks that they've claimed responsibility for today the average daily of seven attacks since the war began where does it go from here the diplomatic talks don't appear to have affected any positive results the US envoy that visited yesterday in Beirut again reporting that the Lebanese parliament the Lebanese government the current caretaking prime minister is all expressing their desire for this to end but there is still the X factor Hezbollah not in the room with these negotiations does not appear to be taking any sort of stance that they would be receptive or willing to work out some sort of agreement again Nasrallah's rhetoric is at the top of the mountain it's war footing from Hezbollah and it does not appear that they're going to be coming down anytime soon Nasrallah will speak again Sunday on the one week anniversary of one of his senior commanders the commander of their special forces the Rodwan forces also his brother-in-law who was killed last Sunday he will speak again the tone of these speeches has been very firm anti Israel that they will continue to fire upon these positions as long as the IDF is in Gaza however has that escalated and the rhetoric at least escalated to a full out engagement to clarifying that from Hezbollah stance that they intend to incur into northern Israel and move with ground forces for now that's the part that's been left out but these continued exchanges of rockets the continued fire of projectiles launching drones attempting to violate Israeli airspace does continue to seem to be the MO but again how long can this last Alright correspondent Zach and is giving us the latest on the ground in the north thank you for that Still with me in studio Martin Hemel back pointed out the Houthi rebels are starting to really bear the brunt of their aggression near the Suez Canal in the Red Sea how soon is it before Hezbollah Hamas even starts to feel international coming down on is it only when the global shipping or anything to do with other countries is sort of brought into the war that they get involved surely Israel could deal with some assistance on both Hamas and Hezbollah many of who around the world consider as terrorist organizations Well I think when it comes to Hezbollah the United States has a fairly robust military presence all around the region in the Gulf in Cyprus in Europe in the Red Sea and I think that they've made it clear that they're watching Hezbollah as well that they are trying to deter Hezbollah from going into a full scale war so I think that the fact that the United States has exercised retaliation against the Houthis makes their threats a little bit more credible now a little bit more believable because until now they haven't taken any action now they're showing they're willing to take the risk and so I think that would be a message that will be registered with Hezbollah to a certain degree and when they have to factor in how far should they go with this fighting as for Hamas it really is an Israeli Hamas issue right now and most of the world is not very sympathetic to the war the way it's going and the very fact that the United States and some key countries are standing with Israel is very very important I don't think it will see any military action there It wouldn't come as a surprise by any means that Iran is getting nervous at what's happening at the moment with regards to the strikes on the Houthi rebels and their positions just off the coast of Yemen but what's interesting and surprising perhaps in the development is that Egypt is starting to get a bit anxious as to what is happening you would think that Egypt, Jordan, even countries in the Gulf would have been more outspoken possibly more involved in what's happening considering that this could really expand to an all out war Egypt's very very worried about what's going on with the Houthis because it derives an enormous amount of money over ships that go through the Suez Canal if shipping isn't continuing the Red Sea it will not go through the Suez Canal Egypt will lose billions of dollars so they're very much quietly but definitely supporting the American initiative in trying to deter the Houthis from doing this one would think that you know on the one hand the Houthis are saying that they're doing this in support of their brothers in the Gaza Strip that they're trying to attack at first but no one seems to have been broadened to involving more of the region and of the West but surely also from Hamas's point of view it could be taking attention away from its war at the moment and its sort of tactic is this more of a catch-20 tour is it very clear that they are trying to help or is it possible that they could be taking attention away and for their own personal gain Hamas would welcome any massive intervention from Houthis Hezbollah, militias in Iraq anything to widen this conflict out and make it into a major major conflictation that's exactly what they want they want this to become a regional war with active Iranian participation because that will create allies for themselves and force Israel to deal with other fronts so if Hezbollah were to go for a major war the Houthis were to continue to fight or if Iran were to get directly involved that's all music to Hamas's ears. We've spoken a few times in studio about whether or not Israel is prepared for a multi-front war we've already seen that yes while it is engaged in a fully fledged war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip that the situation in the north if the Gaza Strip had not been occurring simultaneously given the amount of deaths on both the Israeli and the Lebanese side would be considered also a fully fledged war as a part for tit for tat or escalations there's also the West Bank rising up in violence and obviously the Houthi attacks as well what we haven't really spoken about is if countries in the Middle East are prepared for a much broader conflict. Well I think when it comes to countries like Saudi Arabia the Emirates, Oman those countries they really hope it doesn't go into a full-scale war because they have a lot to lose let's not forget Saudi Arabia fought a very extensive war with the Houthis and the Houthis have struck at Saudi installations, Saudi oil finders and Saudi Arabia launched massive attacks against the Houthis they don't want to see that returning they don't want to see that coming back they don't want to see a threat to shipping in the Gulf, the Persian Gulf because of a confrontation with Iran so they would like to see everything localized as much as possible but Iran seems to have a lot of attacks and wants to raise the incidents and now that the United States has said okay they've made their move they've really struck the Houthis hard it'll be interesting to see what Iran and the Houthis do after that Martin Bear with me I do want to get an update from the south of the country where our correspondent Pierre Klushendler is standing by for us Pierre, it does appear that the IDF is moving further and further south into the strip from the Mediterranean point of view Israel has pointed out that the aid is going to increase going into the strip and the latest development tonight being that included in that aid is going to be medication that not only goes to the Palestinians and of course some of the tariff actions as well in the enclave but also to the hostages we've spoken about the concern that some of the families may have over that but is there concern that this isn't actually going to get anywhere near the hostages the fact that we've seen convoys being hijacked by Hamas by a Palestinian Islamic GI being stolen for whatever or looted for whatever aid is coming into the strip where's the guarantee the hostages will get it there's no guarantee I mean it's a very very fragile situation first of all we don't have any guarantee from the Qatari government that there is indeed a deal we don't have a guarantee from Hamas that there is a deal with the investment of the Prime Minister's office and the families of the hostages are very circumspect they want to see it happening want to see it and until they see it they won't believe it now the thing is it's a complicated operation if it happens first of all because the Israeli government has to get that medication there's many hostages that suffer from chronic illnesses but there's also hostages held in captivity for 98 days who might also suffer from various ailments so this medication will be transferred to the ICRC the International Committee of the Red Cross who will transfer it to Hamas to distribute it to the different spots where the hostages are being held and it's a battleground it's probably in the area where the high intensity warfare is occurring right now or maybe the central area of the Gaza Strip and furthermore some of the hostages are held by Islamic Jihad who just launched the Salvos of rockets an hour ago there's no guarantee that they are part of the deal Israel on its side will allow an enlargement of the medication list that it transfers every day to the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip medication that Israel refused to pass to the ICRC up until now it could be medication for cancer patients in the Gaza Strip it could be all kind of medication that they have not received so it's an important deal both for the Palestinian population and for the hostages and maybe because it's important for the Palestinian population maybe Hamas has agreed we don't know Correspondent Pierre Clashen want to thank you very much for your reporting throughout the evening in the south of the country Martin I want to get your take on this because obviously this is the main story this evening exactly in terms of whether they will get their aid, how much medication surely some of them don't even need medication they need actual medical attention of course if you've gone also a considerable amount of time without medication whether it's high blood pressure or it's a lack of drugs concerning diabetes or issues like that you don't have damage and you need medical attention and some of these people are also wounded at the time of October 7th and so they need ongoing care that's a whole other issue right now and how they're going to get that care and if they'll get that care obviously it's a big question mark at the moment but hopefully they do in fact get that care Martin Hemmel political and international security analyst thank you very much for being with me I want to give you with this report meeting the resilient heroes these IDF soldiers were seriously wounded in the Gaza Strip in battle and yet they refuse demobilization completely in fact they've returned to the front line where they are needed you have no idea who this man is standing in front of you he's the bravest commander in the IDF he saved my life he fought like a lion with us and I find him in a really crazy situation and this man sends only good energy but he's a bit crazy to go back into battle after losing his eye isn't he what can I say to him he's completely nuts you paid a high price didn't you a wounded mother goes back to her children afterwards doesn't she all my children were here waiting for me in civilian life Yossi is the father of a one and a half year old child Yaron Yakov and is in his fourth year of automotive engineering studies on October 7th like many others Yossi was abroad as soon as he knew what was happening he immediately went back to Israel a month ago a bullet fragment penetrated his cornea and he lost use of his eye I felt very bad at home I really feel better here even under enemy fire when they're firing missiles at us but I prefer to be here with my soldiers and I need them the trouble with doing a story about real heroes is that they usually don't see it that way how are you you remember him from the first time I felt like his face was familiar but the truth is he recognized me first he said to me we know each other the only answer I could come up with was that we'd been seeing too much of each other lately have you ever had a soldier wounded twice no, never and do you remember the first thing you asked me you asked me when you could go back to combat Major Uri is a reservist in a special parachute commando unit and has found himself in this department twice in the course of six days both times after explosive devices were detonated as they went through Gaza and the two attacks 18 of his soldiers were wounded and were hospitalized with him including Elon who he met today for the first time until recently they were kept in an induced coma hi my brother you're looking better you're a real miracle yes that's what they say how do you feel better I can't believe my eyes yes I've been told it's a miracle they've managed to put me back together again I can even move my hand a little when you wake up and hear that Uri has gone back into combat is it something you understand for him it's the obvious thing to do and I knew that's what he would do I have an image stuck in my head I'm on the stand when I look up I see our friend with a bloody face he was bleeding from his nose eyes and mouth and still he managed to shout it's alright, it's going to be okay any officer who had been wounded instead of me would have reacted in the same way there's nothing extraordinary about this situation and all the strength and courage is shown by the families who support us the medical teams who take care of us and our comrades who are in there fighting bravely during the two attacks against the terrorists Uri lost three of his officers Sholev Zaltzman Alex Spitz and Shai Tormin losing so many comrades reinforces your sense of responsibility and our obligation to see through what we've started you also look at the world differently and it puts life's values in their rightful place it's something else that's enough you've risked your life enough already I'm no hero I think you are and I understand that you are hyper motivated full of courage you've given enough your whole future is ahead of you you've got to let it go now I don't think I can do it, it's too difficult for me we meet Sharaf commander of the Nahal Commando Unit in a hotel in central Israel where his parents, residents of Mefal-Sim on the edge of the Gaza Strip are being temporarily re-housed the famous Sabbath morning of October 7th he was at home and immediately went out with three other officer friends in his boots to position themselves on the fence and protect his house he was wounded in the hand by a grenade thrown at him as soon as he was healed he joined his men in Gaza leading them in an operation against terrorists he was wounded when a large explosive was detonated as they passed don't you ever wonder why fate has already struck twice don't you ever say to yourself why us? of course it was very devastating when it happened what are the odds of something like that happening I tried to get on with life in a more or less normal way but when I was alone with myself I told myself that after two injuries Sharaf had given enough of himself I don't think I can stay cooped up at home knowing that my team my men are still fighting in Gaza since the war isn't over when you give your child this kind of education and the tears and the moment of truth arrives how can you tell him right now not to go you've played with your fate once then again these people have all the right qualities everything that makes these people so proud to be Israeli but as we expect them to listen to what we have to say they expect the same from us the only thing that we'll tell us if everything we're doing was worth it as a people, as a nation and we'll come out of this hardship even stronger, more united and we'll defeat our enemies there's no doubt about it we have no other choice and before we end this breaking news broadcast we'll recap the developing story at this hour comes out of the West Bank 34 year old Israeli man was injured after three terrorists infiltrated into the West Bank village of Adora as you can see in the security camera footage that is currently on your screen you can see them right there crossing through the fence into Israeli territory now the victim was shot in the leg but was fully conscious this according to Maghen David Adam the rescue and ambulance service that was the first to get to the scene reports suggest that three terrorists were neutralized by Israeli security forces that constructed residents in the area to stay indoors and even lock their homes while they were scanning the area the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that the assailants opened fire at troops conducting a patrol in the area and that they are still continuing to scan the village for possible more assailants now obviously this comes as the Shinbe security and intelligence agency has been giving direct warnings to the Prime Minister that the situation in the West Bank is on the brink of moving from volatile to an all out eruption of violence and that brings us to the end of this breaking news broadcast I want to thank you so very much for being with me here this evening I'm Bati Leventhal thanks for watching for anything you missed make sure to check out our website or tune in again tomorrow did you know that Martin Luther King's famous 1968 mountaintop speech was based on his trip to the promised land well now 55 years later his prophetic words are coming true hundreds of African-American women took a journey of a lifetime to the holy land we'll introduce you to the amazing female spiritual religious leaders who are infusing new energy into the next generation of African-Americans